Horror and comedy collide in the Starz series Shining Vale, airing Sundays. Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear star as Patricia “Pat” Phelps and her husband Terry — a couple that moves their whole family into an old home that turns out to be haunted.
Judith Light plays Pat’s mother, Joan and tells ABC Audio she loves how the show combines genres.
“I think what [show creators] Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan have done has this really combination of comedy and drama and horror that is so deftly connected and complicated and funny,” she shares.
Not only did she love the combination of genres, when it comes to her role, Light says she was drawn to it because she found it “compelling” how Astrof and Horgan packed so many topics into the character.
“I saw with his character… I wanted to talk about women as they age and women and mental illness and the paranormal and relationships with your spouse and relationships with your children, it has everything,” the actress explains. “I don’t know how they did it. So I found it very I found it very compelling.”
At the end of the day, Shining Vale is a completely fictional series, however Light shares that she does believe in the paranormal.
“I do believe that there is something else, and I don’t know how it manifests itself, but I know that there are people that hear those things, see those things,” she says. “I do believe that there is paranormal activity that we are not necessarily prone to see or know.”
“I know that there is paranormal beyond what we know in this body, this tactile connection, that there is something else,” Light adds.
Unsurprisingly, Harry Styles‘ new single “As It Was” has scored a huge debut on the singles chart in his native U.K.
“As It Was” debuts at number one on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart with the biggest opening week of any single in 2022 to day. It sold 94,000 copies in its first week and racked up 10.5 million streams — that’s more U.K. streams than any other 2022 song has earned in its first week.
“As It Was” is Harry’s second number-one single back home, following “Sign of the Times,” which was released five years ago this week.
As MusicWeek notes, Harry is now the One Direction member with the most U.K. number ones, and the most U.K. solo hits: He’s had 12, while Zayn Malik has had 11. Niall Horan and Liam Payne have each had eight hits, while Louis Tomlinson‘s had four.
“As It Was” is from Harry’s upcoming third solo album, Harry’s House. We won’t know where the song will land chart-wise in the U.S. for a few days.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has determined that Will Smith will be banned from attending any of its events — including the Academy Awards — for a decade.
In a statement, the Academy noted Friday, “The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.”
It continued, “During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”
“Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards.”
The statement also expressed its, “deep gratitude to Chris [Rock] for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances,” and thanked “our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.”
Smith resigned from the Academy last week, prior to the decision, saying, “I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions…were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.”
A “heartbroken” Smith, who also posted an apology to the Academy and Rock the Monday after the Oscars, apologized to the “long list” of “those I have hurt,” including Rock…”his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home.”
Smith added, “Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”
The new recording features the former Police frontman joined by Mexican singer/songwriter KURT, an emerging Latin pop star.
The song is available now via streaming services and as a digital download, while a music video featuring Sting and KURT performing the tune together has premiered on YouTube.
“KURT is a wonderful singer who performs with great authority, sensitivity, and passion,” Sting says in a statement. “I thoroughly enjoyed working together with him on this song.”
Adds Kurt, who used to perform Sting’s songs when he would perform in bars early in his career, “For me, collaborating with Sting has been like getting to know one of my music superheroes…it’s a dream come true, and a true honor.”
As previously reported, “For Your Love” was featured on Sting’s most recent studio album, 2021’s The Bridge, and he was inspired to create a Spanish version during a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where he was captivated by the scenery of Baja, California, and the views of the Gulf of California. The original version of “Por Su Amor” was released in February.
The Spanish lyrics for the tune were written by musician, songwriter and producer Martin Kierszenbaum, who is also Sting’s manager. Martin also co-wrote of “For Her Love” and co-produced The Bridge album with Sting, as well as contributing keyboards to “Por Su Amor” and The Bridge.
The long-running ABC reality competition series Dancing with the Stars is sashaying to Disney+.
“Dancing with the Stars has entertained fans for 16 years on ABC, and we are excited to bring this beloved show exclusively to Disney+ as the platform’s first-ever live series, noted Kareem Daniel, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution chairman, in a surprise announcement.
Season 31 and 32 will run live on the streaming service starting this fall.
“The show’s broad appeal, as well as the overwhelming popularity of its Disney-themed competition nights, make Disney+ the perfect home for DWTS,” Daniel added.
An Instagram post announcing the move was liked by tens of thousands of fans, and earned “praise hands” from dancer Witney Carson, who said, “Huge!” Other dancing pros also replied with their support.
Over the show’s 30 seasons on ABC, the BBC Studios-produced show earned multiple Emmys, and its fall 2021 run, hosted by co-executive producer Tyra Banks, ranked among the top five unscripted series in the 18-49 demographic.
Network execs are reportedly aiming to fill DWTS‘ traditional Monday night slot with NFL football.
It’s a big day for Jack White. In addition to releasing his new solo album Fear of the Dawn on Friday, he performed the national anthem ahead of his hometown Detroit Tigers baseball team’s Opening Day game.
The White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather rocker led a slide-heavy instrumental rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” on electric guitar, while backed by a three-piece band featuring drums, bass and keys.
White, of course, is a big baseball fan — you may remember that he co-owns the baseball bat company Warstic. However, his love of baseball may be overshadowed by the Sad Jack White meme, which captured him looking grumpy at a Chicago Cubs game several years ago.
White’s eventful day continues Friday with the launch of his Supply Issues headlining tour in Detroit. The massive outing is set to stretch all the way into September.
Don’t count Sam Smith among the artists who become upset when a song of theirs flops. In fact, the “Stay with Me” singer is grateful for the experience.
“I think having a few absolute stinkers in there is wonderful… Because you’ve got to dare greatly right?” Sam tells Spotify.
Noting their 2014 song “Money On My Mind,” the British singer revealed, “I’m really happy that I shot for the sky with some songs.”
Sam believes more artists should adopt this mindset, explaining, “There’s so much music snobbery out there.” They add, “Every single person has made a bad song. That is a fact,” which means artists should turn that disappointment into a learning opportunity to become even better.
The “Latch” singer also hinted against taking oneself seriously in the music industry because, according to them, “Absolutely no one knows what they’re doing.”
“Even the biggest writers in the world, who have written so many hits, they can pretend like they do, but they don’t know. They don’t know the magic,” they attested.
Sam reflected on their bigger hits and said the best advice they have about finding success is, “Keep your ears open at all times.”
“With writing music in the room with people, you just need to lean into the thing you’re good at,” they continued. “Some people are led by lyrics, but I’m definitely always led by a melody. When I’m in the room… I just sing and sing and sing until someone says, ‘That makes me feel good.'”
Another piece of advice is: “Never lower your standards.”
Said Sam, “You know what you need. And if you don’t know what you need, you need to ask yourself what you need. And then do not stop until you get that.”
Marvel Studios’ sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has bested The Batman, becoming the biggest movie in 2022 to date in terms of ticket pre-sales on Fandango.
Advance tickets went on sale on Thursday, and Fandango tells ABC Audio the Sorcerer Supreme conjured up “staggering” numbers of fans, with showtimes selling out for the May 6 release, leading theater chains to add showtimes to keep up with demand. It’s showing the biggest pre-sales since Spider-Man: No Way Home last year.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars at least two versions of Benedict Cumberbatch‘s title character, as well as returning Marvel movie players Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Rachel McAdams, as well as newcomer Xochitl Gomez, and X-Men veteran Patrick Stewart.
Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
Oliver Contreras/for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden celebrated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic confirmation to the Supreme Court at the White House on Friday with a tearful Jackson delivering a powerful message in perseverance.
“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. But we’ve made it,” Jackson said, clutching tissues in her hand. “We’ve made it — all of us. All of us. And our children are telling me that they see now more than ever that here in America, anything is possible.”
Reminding that her family, in one generation, went from “segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States,” she said she hopes her ascension to the court is a moment in which all Americans can take great pride.
“The path was cleared for me, so that I might rise to this occasion, and in the poetic words of Dr. Maya Angelou, ‘I do so now while bringing the gifts my ancestors gave. I am the dream and the hope of the slave,'” she said.
“In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the supreme court of the United States. And it is an honor, the honor of a lifetime, for me to have this chance to join the court, to promote the rule of law at the highest level, and to do my part to carry our shared project of democracy and equal justice under law forward into the future,” Jackson said.
Biden, donning his trademark Aviator sunglasses when he stepped out onto the South Lawn, spoke before Jackson, calling it “not only a sunny day.”
“This is going to let so much sun shine on so many young women, so many young Black women,” Biden began. “We’re going to look back and see this as a moment of real change in American history.”
Biden recalled the promise he made in the 2020 presidential campaign — ahead of the South Carolina primary — to nominate the court’s first Black woman.
“I could see it as a day of hope. A day of promise. A day of progress. A day when once again the moral arc of the universe — Barack used to quote all the time — bends a little more toward justice,” Biden said.
While he thanked the three Republicans who broke party ranks to vote for Jackson, who were invited but not in attendance at Friday’s event, Biden blasted those on the committee for their treatment of his first nominee.
“It was verbal abuse, the anger, the constant interruptions, the vilest, baseless assertions and accusations,” Biden said. “In the face of it all, Judge Jackson showed the incredible character and integrity she possesses.”
As the event kicked off Friday afternoon, scores of guests gathered on the lawn, chatting and taking photos with a flag-draped South Portico behind them under a sunny April sky as the Marine Corps band played patriotic tunes. Jackson’s parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, who grew up under segregation in the South, her husband, Patrick, a general surgeon, and their two daughters, Talia, 21, and Leila, 17, were front row to witness the historic moment.
Kamala Harris was the first to deliver remarks at the outdoor event on the White House South Lawn, calling it a “wonderful day” before a cheering crowd, and offering the public a powerful image of the first Black female vice president alongside the first Black woman to soon sit on the Supreme Court.
“The young leaders of our nation will learn from the experience, the judgment, the wisdom that you, Judge Jackson, will apply in every case that comes before you — and they will see, for the first time, four women sitting on that court,” Harris said to applause.
When she is sworn in after Justice Stephen Breyer retires at the end of the term, Jackson will also serve on the first-ever high court where white men constitute a minority of the membership, and become the first former public defender and first Florida-raised judge to sit on the Supreme Court.
Her Senate confirmation by a 53-47 bipartisan vote Thursday marked a big political win for Biden’s long-term legacy — and his short-term efforts to energize Democrats. But a cluster of positive COVID cases since Monday, including some like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who have had contact with Biden, has raised questions about whether the celebration could turn into a superspreader event.
Jackson, the first Black woman nominated and confirmed to the Supreme Court in its 233-year history, joined Biden in the Roosevelt Room Thursday afternoon to watch Democratic senators and other supporters break out in applause when Harris announced the vote.
But what should be considered a celebration for Democrats and the Biden White House risks being overshadowed by the pandemic Biden said this week is “under control.”
A growing number of Washington officials have tested positive for COVID, including two Cabinet members, two White House staffers, and at least 13 members of Congress.
Harris was in “close contact” with her communications director who tested positive, but she presided over Jackson’s vote in the Senate chamber without a mask just two days later. According to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone deemed a close contact should “wear a well-fitting mask for 10 full days any time you are around others inside your home or in public.”
“After consulting with a White House physician and reviewing CDC guidance, which we do for all engagements, the Vice President presided over the Senate while practicing social distancing — with limited and brief interactions from her chair. In addition, the Vice President tested negative today, and will continue to maintain strong protocols and follow the CDC’s guidance,” a White House official told ABC News.
The highly transmissible BA.2 variant appears to be closing in on Biden, 79, after he also appeared with Pelosi at two White House events this week — even sharing a kiss at one — prior to her positive COVID test.
Some 200 guests were invited to Friday’s ceremony including Jackson’s family, all current and former Supreme Court justices, Cabinet members, some members of the House, Democratic members of Congress from Florida — Jackson’s home state — and all 53 senators who voted for Jackson’s confirmation. No justices will attend, however, ABC News has been told.
While Biden is sure to want Republicans on hand for the victory lap as he aims to shore up the court’s credibility and Jackson’s vote, all three who voted for Jackson won’t be there. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine won’t be attending after she also tested positive for COVID this week, Sen. Lisa Murkowski was traveling to Alaska and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who gave Jackson a standing ovation in the Senate chamber, won’t attend either, his office said, but didn’t explain why.
The White House insists it won’t be a repeat of former President Donald Trump’s infamous and maskless Rose Garden event in October 2020 at which he nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the court, but with hugging and maskless photos likely as part of Friday’s festivities, the White House risks appearances at odds with CDC protocols and public messaging it has touted.
While the White House has said Biden and his inner circle follow the strictest COVID protocols for safety, Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, notably is now acknowledging that it’s possible the president will test positive for COVID “at some point.”
“The president is vaccinated and double boosted, and so protected from severe COVID. We take every precaution to ensure that we keep him safe, we keep the vice president safe, the first lady, second gentleman, our staff here,” she said on CNN Friday morning. “But, you know, it is certainly possible that he will test positive for COVID and he is vaccinated, he is boosted and protected from the most severe strains of the virus.”
While masks are no longer required at the White House, senior administration officials say the president continues to be tested regularly and people meeting with him are also required to be tested. All White House employees also undergo regular testing.
When pressed on Thursday by ABC’s Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce if those protocols also apply for other individuals meeting with the president, such as invited guests, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said they assess each event on a “case-by-case” basis.
“Now, if you are at an event, obviously there are assessments made on a case by case. But if somebody is going to be in close proximity, standing next to him, sitting next to him on a stage, that would be obviously different than a broad group of attendees,” she said.
Jack Johnson has announced a new album called Meet the Moonlight.
The eighth studio effort from the “Flake” artist will arrive June 24. You can listen to the lead single “One Step Ahead” now via digital outlets.
“When [producer] Blake [Mills] and I first got in touch we’d send each other playlists, and over time we realized we were drawn to music that sounds effortless despite all the effort put into making it,” Johnson says. “After a while we got a language together and I gained a trust in him that allowed me to let go, push outside my comfort zone, and get to a sound I really loved.”
Meet the Moonlight is Johnson’s first album in five years, following 2017’s All the Light Above It Too. More recently, he teamed up with Milky Chance for the 2020 single “Don’t Let Me Down.”
Johnson will launch a U.S. tour in support of Meet the Moonlight in June. The outing will stretch all the way into October.
