Nita Strauss got an assist from the football world in getting surgery on her knee.
The guitar virtuoso recently went under the knife to repair a torn meniscus, and the operation was performed by Los Angeles Rams team doctorMichael Banffy.
“Meniscus repair surgery went as well as it could have!” Strauss writes in an Instagram post, adding that she’s “super grateful for the steady hands” of Banffy and “the great staff at the surgery center.”
Strauss already had a connection to the Rams organization, given her gig playing guitar during the team’s home games. She even received a Super Bowl ring after the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI earlier this year.
Aside from having surgery and getting a Super Bowl ring, Strauss’ 2022 included leaving Alice Cooper‘s live band to play with Demi Lovato on tour.
Comics fans both famous and not are tipping their hats to Stan Lee, who would have turned 100 years old Wednesday.
The man who created, or co-created, enduring characters including Spider-Man, Black Panther, Iron Man, The X-Men and Doctor Strange died at 95 in 2018.
And while the last of Lee’s beloved Marvel movie cameos was in the 2019 blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, his legacy lives on: Marvel Studios is gearing up to finally launch into the Marvel Cinematic Universe one of Lee’s most famous super-teams, The Fantastic Four, which he created with fellow comics visionary Jack Kirby back in 1961.
In 2012, Lee told ABC Audio that his “crowning moment” was creating Spider-Man. Having awkward teen Peter Parker become a superhero — and not relegated to a sidekick — was groundbreaking. He explained why: “Because, my publisher … when I told him the idea, he hated it. Hated it. So we had a book we were going to kill. And when you’re gonna kill a book, nobody cares what you put in the last issue … So I put Spider-Man in it and put him on the cover. And the book sold like crazy!”
Among those hailing Lee online Wednesday with #StanLee100 were Guardians of the Galaxy franchise writer-director James Gunn. The filmmaker turned guardian of Warner Bros. DC Comics characters posted several pictures of himself with Lee, saying, “You are missed, my friend.”
After spending three years in prison on a sex assault charge and a 2021 release when the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court overturned his conviction, Bill Cosby says he’s ready to get back on the road.
In an interview on WGH Talk, host Scott Spears asked Cosby if he planned to “return to the stage.”
Cosby replied, “Yes. Yes. Because there’s so much fun to be had in this storytelling that I do. Years ago, maybe 10 years ago, I found it was better to say it after I write it. And it is better to say it and not try to write it the same way to be read by others.”
Spears, who introduced the comedian as “legendary” and an “icon,” did not ask about the multiple accusations against Cosby, his conviction or his subsequent release. The conversation focused primarily on education and technology.
Cosby had been sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004.
Constand was just one of nearly 60 women who accused the former Cosby Show star of sexually assaulting them over decades.
Despite the deluge of allegations against him, Cosby has always maintained that he never engaged in nonconsensual sex.
In December of this year, five new women filed a lawsuit against the comedian and author, making similar claims.
Cosby’s representatives said those women were “unwilling to accept” Cosby being “vindicated” by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
This year we were all invited to Harry’s House — Harry Styles‘ house, that is. In addition to releasing a mega successful album, Harry made major moves in Hollywood, starring in two attention-grabbing films. His personal life also made headlines thanks to his much-discussed romance with Olivia Wilde.
Here’s a look at some memorable moments from Harry’s year as it was:
— In April, Harry released “As It Was,” the first single off his album Harry’s House. The song was a massive hit, spending 15 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the most-streamed song of 2022, according to music tracker Luminate.
— Harry’s House, his third solo album, was released in May. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned two more singles, “Late Night Talking” and “Music for a Sushi Restaurant.”
— Harry kicked off his Love on Tour North American trek in August, featuring a 15-night stint at New York’s Madison Square Garden and 12 nights at LA’s Kia Forum. The North American leg wrapped in November.
— There was much drama ahead of the September release of Harry’s starring turn in the Olivia Wilde-directed Don’t Worry Darling — including rumblings of a feud between Olivia and leading lady Florence Pugh, conflicting reports on why Shia LaBeouf left the project and rumors that Harry spit on co-star Chris Pine at the Venice Film Festival premiere. Yep, it got pretty wild. But it didn’t stop the movie from topping the box office.
— Harry’s other film had a much quieter debut. My Policeman debuted on Prime Video in November. In it, Harry played a 1950s British police officer who embarks on a forbidden affair with a man.
— In November, it was announced that Harry and Olivia were “taking a break.”
— Also in November, Harry scored six Grammy nominations, including the coveted Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. The Grammys air February 5.
The 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors, which featured Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder performing in tribute to U2, will air Wednesday on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
The ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. U2 was among the five honorees this year, alongside Gladys Knight, George Clooney, Christian music artist Amy Grant and composer/conductor Tania León.
To celebrate U2, Vedder took the stage to perform the Irish group’s songs “Elevation” and “One.” Hozier also took part in a performance of “Walk On.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden welcomed U2 into the Kennedy Center in a speech noting, “For more than 40 years, U2 has changed the world.”
“Anthems about civil rights, solidarity of workers, the struggle for peace,” Biden said. “Ballads about love and family. Concerts dedicated to ending poverty and disease.”
The president added, “From this Irish American president in a White House designed by … Irish hands, who built this and designed it, I want to thank U2 for all you’ve done and the way you lift people up.”
Meek Mill paid the bail of 20 incarcerated women in Philadelphia last week so they could spend the holidays with their families.
An Instagram post from the rapper’s REFORM Alliance nonprofit shared that the women were incarcerated at Riverside Correctional Facility and could not afford bail. Meek not only took care of the bail, but each woman was also given a gift card to purchase groceries or gifts for the holidays.
“For families impacted by the criminal justice system, the holidays can be an extremely challenging time,” the rapper said in a statement on Instagram. “No one should have to spend the holidays in jail simply because they can’t afford bail, and no child should be without their parents during this time if we can do something about it. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help these women be with their families and loved ones during this special time of year.”
While its domestic debut wasn’t as high as some prognosticators had guessed, Avatar: The Way of Water has proven it has got some serious sea legs in theaters: It just crossed the billion-dollar mark.
While that would be impressive for any movie, it is even more so considering the movie only came out in the States December 16.
Overseas moviegoers in particular can’t get enough of James Cameron‘s long-brewing sequel to the 2009 original, which is the highest-grossing film of all time. The movie had a short head start in some overseas markets, and while The Way of Water made more than $293 million here as of Monday, it took in nearly $662 million overseas, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
The sequel starring Zoe Saldaña, Kate Winslet, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver has also become one of the fastest films ever to cross the billion-dollar finish line: It took 2019’s Avengers: Endgame — which briefly topped Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all time — just five days to make a billion bucks. Its predecessor, 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, took 11 days. 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens took 12.
The Way of Water settles in just behind 2021’s Jurassic World, which took 13 days of global release to reach a billion bucks.
What’s more, as of Wednesday, the Avatar sequel is now officially the third-highest-grossing movie of the pandemic era, and stands poised to slide into Jurassic World: Dominion‘s second-place spot.
Earlier this month U2 was the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, and fans will finally get to see the celebration Wednesday, when the ceremony airs on CBS at 8 p.m.
At the event, the band is saluted by actors Sean Penn and Sacha Baron Cohen, who stays in character as Kazakhstan journalist Borat. The night also features several performances, with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder performing two U2 tracks, “Elevation” and “One,” and Hozier, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow and others performing “Walk On.”
And U2 isn’t the only act being honored. The special also features tributes to Gladys Knight, George Clooney, Amy Grant and conductor Tania León, with performances from The Highwoman, BeBe & CeCe Winans and Michael W Smith, Garth Brooks, Mickey Guyton and more.
Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl, which transformed the animated film into a full theatrical production, is streaming now on Disney+, and the cast is already buzzing about what could possibly be next. Broadway, maybe?
ABC Audio asked Adassa, who played the all-hearing Dolores, if she’s open to reprising the role should an Encanto musical make it onto the Great White Way. “I’m so there right now. Let’s go!” she responded.
Sally Wood, who served as the showrunner and executive producer of Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl, hinted, “We all wanted to take the show on tour.”
And while it’s still unknown if Encanto will join movies like Aladdin or The Lion King on Broadway, Wood spoke of the amount of effort that went into translating the fantastical film to a stage-ready production.
“It was quite hard to fit in,” she admitted, but revealed she cracked the code after thinking of building Casita, the Madrigal family’s magicalhouse, on stage. Then came “many hours on Zooms at very ridiculous times” with the cast, crew and Disney Animation personnel “to make sure that what we were creating would keep [the movie’s] authenticity.”
“I’ve never in my whole career worked on a show where every department worked so closely and was so proud of what we achieved at the end,” added Wood.
Adassa praised the production’s “attention to detail” and said she was so “impressed with the vision that they had.” She added people should be amazed by the stage adaptation because of how it captures the spirit of Encanto “in such an effortless way.”
Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl, which is a recording of the November concert events that reunited the original voice cast to perform songs from the film, is streaming now on Disney+.
Mariah Carey is still processing her latest Billboard milestone. Thanks to her hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” scoring another week at #1, she is now the first and only artist to lead the chart for 90 weeks.
Mariah celebrated the new milestone on Instagram, writing, “I can’t even handle this news.. I’m jumping up and down in the snow..!”
She added that as she’s celebrating in her element, her dog Cha Cha is “swimming around” while her other pet, Mutley,is “howling like a kid running around in circles feeling our energy.”
Billboard confirmed “All I Want for Christmas Is You” scored its 11th week at #1 on the Hot 100, which cemented her 90th week overall on top of the chart. In addition, she became the second artist behind Boyz II Men to have had three separate singles dominate the chart for 11 or more weeks.
Mariah also enjoyed a fun new milestone when it comes to streaming. She beat a record set by Adele for the most single-day streams on Spotify — on Christmas Eve, no less.
The Independent reports British listeners blasted “All I Want for Christmas” 21.273 million times over a 24-hour span, which broke the record previously set by Adele’s “Easy on Me.” That song was streamed 19.747 million times in a single day back in 2021.
