Guns N’ Roses are cashing another major paycheck after wrapping the U.S. leg of their 2021 Tour.
Billboardreports that the hard-rock legends sold a whopping 363,000 tickets during their rescheduled tour, which was postponed last year when COVID-19 shut down the entertainment industry. That number of tickets sold amounts to a $50 million payday for GN’R.
Originally called the 2020 Tour, the outing started on Super Bowl Weekend in January of last year at American Airlines Arena in Miami. About 11,200 tickets were sold for the event, which translated into $2.7 million in cold hard cash.
GN’R eventually pumped the brakes as the pandemic worsened and the tour was moved to summer 2021. However, the delay did little to dampen the cash flow because when the tour picked up again on July 31 at Pennsylvania’s Hersheypark Stadium, the outing made history at the time for becoming the concert with the best single-night earnings during the pandemic-era. That summer concert earned a resounding $2.3 million in ticket sales.
As the tour went on, that record was continually broken — for example, the band raked in $4.5 million at New Jersey’s Metlife Stadium on August 5.
Now, with their U.S. leg in the rearview mirror, the band is taking a breather before hitting the road again next year for the third leg of their tour, which kicks off in Lisbon, Portugal on June 4.
The tour is slated to wrap December 10, 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand.
That said, it’ll be awhile before we find out how their pandemic-era trek measures up to their previous Not in This Lifetime… Tour, which ran for four years and earned $584.2 million in ticket sales — making it the third highest-grossing concert tour in history.
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures
Cast members of Warner Bros. highly anticipated remake of Dune are weighing in on the original 1984 film and why the two should not be compared.
For Dune star Dave Bautista, who plays Baron Harkonnen’s nephew Glossu Rabban, the first Dune had a special appeal.
“I was a fan,” Bautista says of the David Lynch-directed adaptation. “It’s so odd, because it’s become one of those cult classics and it’s so different from the novel…It’s so different from what we’ve done. The performances are so over the top, so big, but there’s just something… great about the movie.'”
Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who portrays Imperial ecologist Dr. Liet-Kynes, has a different take on the original film, explaining that the 1984 version was hard to watch.
“I remembered watching the original and thinking, ‘This is weird,'” she laughs. “But still, there was something within it that kept pulling me in the saying, ‘Actually, you want to watch this from the beginning. Don’t watch it halfway through.’ [But, when] I found out I was about to play the role of Kynes, I started to then go back and watch it in its entirety.”
Meanwhile, Stellan Skarsgård, who takes on the role of villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, says its best not to compare the two projects.
“When [a film is] made out of a book, it has to be…filtered through the filmmaker’s psyche and his personality,” he explains. “And David Lynch makes one thing out of it. And then Denis Villeneuve does something totally different, because it’s a Denis Villeneuve film. It’s like…20 different kinds of Hamlet performances and they’re all different because they’re filtered through different personalities. So I don’t even compare them.”
Dune, also starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, is now available in theaters and on HBO Max.
Green Day has announced a new live album, The BBC Sessions.
The 16-track set collects each of the punk trio’s four performances at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios, recorded in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2001, together for the first time on one album. It’ll be released December 10.
Leading up to the record’s arrival, Green Day will be dropping one song from The BBC Sessions each week. The first selection is the 1994 rendition of the song “2000 Light Years Away,” which you can download now via digital outlets.
Last month, Green Day wrapped their Hella Mega stadium tour alongside Weezer and Fall Out Boy. The band’s most recent album is 2020’s Father of All…
Here’s the track list for The BBC Sessions:
“She” (Live at the BBC June 8 1994)
“When I Come Around” (Live at the BBC June 8 1994)
“Basket Case” (Live at the BBC June 8 1994)
“2000 Light Years Away” (Live at the BBC June 8 1994)
“Geek Stink Breath” (Live at the BBC November 3 1996)
“Brain Stew/Jaded” (Live at the BBC November 3 1996)
“Walking Contradiction” (Live at the BBC November 3 1996)
“Stuck with Me” (Live at the BBC November 3 1996)
“Hitchin’ a Ride” (Live at the BBC February 12 1998)
“Nice Guys Finish Last” (Live at the BBC February 12 1998)
“Prosthetic Head” (Live at the BBC February 12 1998)
“Redundant” (Live at the BBC February 12 1998)
“Castaway” (Live at the BBC August 28 2001)
“Church on Sunday” (Live at the BBC August 28 2001)
“Minority” (Live at the BBC August 28 2001)
“Waiting” (Live at the BBC August 28 2001)
(ATLANTA) — A infant who was born at 25 weeks, after his mom was stabbed while walking on a trail in Atlanta, went home this month after spending nearly five months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The baby, Theodore Jude, was released from the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta at Egleston on Oct. 8 with a farewell parade from nurses, who lined the halls with rattles to say goodbye.
“We’re obviously super grateful and praising that he’s alive and with us,” said Theodore’s mom, Valerie Kasper. “It’s been a long journey and it’s already been exhausting and like a rollercoaster, and now that he is home, this is the start of a new thing.”
Kasper, 34, was walking near her car with her 3-year-old son, Benjamin, on June 5, when she was stabbed multiple times by a homeless man who later admitted to the stabbing, according to the Associated Press. Police said they believe “mental illness played a role” in the case.
While Benjamin sustained no physical injuries in the attack, Kasper was transported to a local hospital, where she underwent an emergency C-section.
“The trauma of the attack was pretty intense obviously and the moment of going into surgery was just as scary,” said Kasper. “When I went into surgery I was crying, saying, ‘Save my baby and save my uterus,’ because I thought if he didn’t make it, I would want to have another baby.”
Theodore weighed just two pounds when he was born, and was immediately whisked away to the NICU, according to Kasper.
While they were performing the C-section, doctors also repaired Kasper’s colon and liver, which she said were both damaged in the attack.
She was not able to see her newborn son until 24 hours after giving birth, when she went in a wheelchair to visit him in the NICU.
“I was in so much pain that I couldn’t handle sitting in the wheelchair and I almost passed out in the NICU,” recalled Kasper, who was also not able to hold her son because he was still so fragile. “It was really hard.”
Kasper spent the next week in the hospital recovering from her injuries and from giving birth. Shortly after she was discharged on June 12, Kasper received a call from the NICU that Theodore was not doing well and would have to be transferred to another hospital for surgery.
“That was devastating,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘This is it. This is the life of the NICU. How am I ever going to fall asleep waiting for these phone calls?'”
Theodore survived what would be the first of four surgeries following his birth.
Kasper and her partner, Steven Barkdoll, both teachers, spent the next several months traveling back and forth between the NICU and their home, where they stayed with Benjamin.
Kasper was only able to hold Theodore for the first time during a visit to the NICU on June 28, three weeks after his birth.
“It took like three people to help me into the chair, to help the baby in my arms, and he was still intubated so it was just extremely fragile moving him,” she said. “I was sitting there kind of in pain, wanting to enjoy the moment but also having to be aware of my own limitations.”
After several more months of treatment, doctors discharged Theodore from the NICU on Oct. 8.
It was then that he met his older brother, Benjamin, for the first time.
“Benjamin just like ran over to the stroller, so excited to see his brother,” Kasper said of the meeting, five months in the making. “That was a big day.”
Though the family is now home under one roof for the first time in months, the recovery continues for both Theodore and Kasper, who still has limited mobility and pain from her wounds.
Theodore remains on oxygen and a feeding tube, as well as a heart monitor, according to Kasper. He also takes several medications and has frequent appointments with doctors and specialists.
“It’s like bringing home a newborn baby that needs lots of attention, and he needs a little even more attention,” said Kasper. “He’s a cutie pie and we love all the snuggles, but it’s still a stressful situation to be in.”
“We’re just monitoring him as he grows and supporting him the best we can to try to get him off all the machines and let him be a big boy,” she said of Theodore, who now weighs 11 pounds.
Kasper said she and her family have been touched by the outpouring of support they have received, from a GoFundMe account that has raised over $100,000 to friends and family offering support and the nurses and doctors who helped she and Theodore recover.
“It’s definitely a big motivator and relief, in a way, to know that evil can happen, or bad things can happen, and the love shines through,” she said. “I just get overwhelmed by that.”
“I feel that once we’re back on our feet, we’re going to have to be giving back for sure,” Kasper added.
It’s one year down for Megan Thee Stallion and Pardison Fontaine, who recently celebrated their anniversary — and that celebration came a major piece of bling for the “hot girl.”
Taking to social media on Wednesday, the couple shared snippets of how they spent the day together, which included lots of rose petals, matching pajamas, good food and drinks. They also showed off the iced-out chain Pardi gifted his beau that bears Megan’s name underneath a fire emoji.
Pardi captioned the post, “VYBE RECAP !! I don’t know who bought all the iPhone 13s but baby was mad as hell I couldn’t find her one. Thank you @luxe_vvsjewelers for helping me get out the dog house and putting the icing on the cake for the special day.”
Megan and Pardi began dating on October 18, 2020 but the “Savage” rapper didn’t confirm the relationship until February during an Instagram Live, where she candidly said, “Yeah, he my boyfriend.”
Khalid has dropped a new song, which is our first taste of an EP he plans to release in December.
The song is called “Present,” and in a statement, Khalid explains “My mom raised me on R&B and whether it’s the harmonies or melodies, it will always be a part of my music. ‘Present’ is just the beginning and I love that it has a dual meaning.”
“It feels good to be more ‘present’ after such a trying year in the pandemic,” he goes on. “And it’s also a ‘present’ for my fans that have been with me every step of the way.”
“Present” is a song from a new EP Khalid plans to release on December 3. Scenic Drive, which he describes as a “tape,” is meant to be a companion piece to his 2018 EP, Sun City.
Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Khalid says he’s also made a new album, but decided to release the EP first.
“There’s two projects. They’re related. They’re related but it’s like the more mature cousin. And then the album is like its own thing, it’s like this new-born baby,” he explains. It’s named after a real-life place in his hometown of El Paso: “It’s this drive up this mountain side,” Khalid notes.
Scenic Drive features eight songs, six of which are collaborations with R&B or hip hop artists, including Ari Lennox, Lucky Daye, 6lack and Kiana Ledé.
“Those are artists that I listen to, that I love,” Khalid tells Lowe. “Everybody that I collaborated with, we’re friends, and we love each other. We respect each other as artists
“Present” is Khalid’s second new song of 2021, following “New Normal.”
Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for National Geographic
Hollywood is shaken after the death Thursday of Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer who was working on the Western Rust when a firearm was discharged on the set by star Alec Baldwin, with an unknown projectile striking and killing Hutchins.
It had been reported the film’s writer and director, Joel Souza, was critically wounded in the incident, but actress and co-star Frances Fisher says that’s not the case.
In a tweet early Friday morning ET, Fisher said Souza is “out of the hospital,” and that quotes regarding Baldwin that ran in the Daily Beast “are incorrect.” The publication claimed the actor fired a prop gun believing it was loaded with blanks, and “did not know the prop contained live rounds.”
The Daily Beast also reported: “Although there were early reports that the gun contained live ammunition, the movie’s production company later said it contained blank rounds.”
An investigation into the incident is underway, and neither Baldwin nor anyone else involved has been criminally charged with any wrongdoing.
A firearm loaded with blank ammunition is still potentially deadly. One of the most notorious mishaps involving a weapon loaded with blanks happened on March 31, 1993, on the set of the film The Crow, where a rushed production led to the death of star Brandon Lee. A revolver was being used for a close-up, so prop bullets were needed to be seen in the pistol’s cylinder. One had broken off and stayed there, and when the pistol was chambered with a blank round, that force ejected the dummy slug, causing a mortal wound to Lee’s abdomen.
In 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum fatally shot himself on the set of the CBS series Cover Up when he playfully put a gun loaded with blanks to his own head and fired. The blank’s wadding — material that helps seal a charge inside of a round — ejected with enough force to penetrate Hexum’s skull.
In 2008, a Utah teen named Tucker Thayer fatally shot himself with a .38 loaded with blanks for a high school production.
For safety and budgetary reasons, many filmmakers have now switched to digital muzzle flashes, which are added in post-production.
Melanie C, aka Sporty Spice, admits she’s still “licking [her] wounds” following her Dancing with the Stars departure.
The Spice Girls member admitted to Entertainment Tonight that she finds it “so, so strange” her journey on the competition has come to an end.
“I was so committed… everybody on the show is, and all of a sudden it’s over,” Melanie remarked, adding that she finds it “surreal” that it ended so suddenly: “I did really hope and think I’d be there a little longer.”
Melanie and influencer Olivia Jade were in the bottom two on Monday’s show, but head judge Len Goodman saved Jade, the daughter of actress Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli. Last year, the couple pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal.
As for what Melanie plans on doing now, the “Wannabe” singer hinted that a trip to the recording studio is in order.
“I think there’s a whole album out there waiting to be written after this experience,” she teased. “I’ve done so much in my life. I’ve been so fortunate. I’ve had a great career. I was a Spice Girl, I was a solo artist, I’ve done theater, I’ve done so many different things, but nothing prepared me for this.”
Speaking of albums, Melanie shared more about Spice 25 —, the repackaged and remastered 25th anniversary edition of the Spice Girls’ debut album, Spice, out October 29 — which she says “brought back so many memories.”
“We dug into the archives, and we just found lots of demos, unreleased tracks. There’s so many little quirky moments. There’s a little edit of us just messing about in the studio,” she explained. “I think for those real fans out there who love to collect all the memorabilia, they’re gonna love it.”
(NOTE NATURE) Taraji P. Henson is ready to talk about one of the hardest moments of her life — gathering the courage to leave an abusive relationship.
Ahead of her new installment of Peace of Mind with Taraji, which airs on Facebook Watch, the Hidden Figures star shared a clip of the difficult conversation with Growing Up Hip Hop star Angela Simmons.
The two opened up about their troubled exes, with Taraji admitting she was physically abused by her partner when she was younger.
“Sometimes, as women, what we do is we fall in love and we go, ‘You know what? I’ll fix it later,'” the 51-year-old actress explained and revealed when she knew what she had was broken beyond repair. “For me it was when blood was drawn.”
“It started with the bruises and grabbing, things like that. And then once the fist came, once the balled hand came and the fists — and I’m missing a piece of my lip to this day — that’s when I knew I had to go,” Henson explained.
Taraji reveals that she “grew up around [abuse,]” and knew she had to break the cycle in order to protect her son, Marcell Johnson, who is now 27. “I was like, ‘I don’t want my son around this.'”
Peace of Mind with Taraji airs Mondays at 9 a.m. ET on Facebook Watch.
For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474.
Adele continues to shatter records with her new song “Easy On Me,” which she released last week.
Varietyreports that a record number of radio stations started playing “Easy On Me” in its first week of release and gave the single the most plays across a seven-day period in radio history: A total of 451 radio stations reported that they immediately put the single into rotation.
Furthermore, “Easy On Me” enjoyed the most single-week plays across five different musical formats, with over 6,000 total plays, making Adele the only artist to achieve this feat.
Adele’s doing pretty well on YouTube, too, where the video for “Easy On Me” has racked up over 99.2 million total views since it was posted on October 14.
