Rod Stewart extends Las Vegas residency into 2022

Rod Stewart extends Las Vegas residency into 2022
Rod Stewart extends Las Vegas residency into 2022
Denise Truscello

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, which is apparently why Rod Stewart has remained there for 10 years and counting.

The legendary singer has announced that he’ll return to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in 2022 for ten performances of his Rod Stewart: The Hits residency. This will mark his 11th year performing at the venue.

The new shows will offer fans the opportunity to hear a few new songs from Rod’s upcoming album, The Tears of Hercules, which is coming out November 12.

Rod’s 2022 dates are May 13-21 and September 23-October 1.  Tickets go on sale to the general public on October 23 at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster, but there are several pre-sales going on starting Wednesday via Rod’s fan club and a variety of loyalty programs.

Incidentally, Sting — Rod’s duet partner on the 1993 number-one hit “All for Love” — starts his first Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum, called My Songs, on October 29.

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Oops! Britney Spears’ sister’s offer of donation declined by mental health nonprofit

Oops! Britney Spears’ sister’s offer of donation declined by mental health nonprofit
Oops! Britney Spears’ sister’s offer of donation declined by mental health nonprofit
Worthy Publishing

How sketchy a person do you have to be to have a charity turn down your offer of a monetary donation?  That’s a question for Jamie Lynn Spears.

Britney’s little sister announced recently that she’d be donating a portion of the proceeds from her upcoming book Things I Should Have Said to a mental health nonprofit called This Is My Brave.  But on Tuesday, the organization said “no thanks.”

On Instagram, This Is My Brave posted, “We Heard You. We’re Taking Action. We are deeply sorry to anyone we offended. We are declining the donation from Jamie Lynn Spears’ upcoming book.”

In the caption, the nonprofit wrote, “We hear you. This Is My Brave was recently recommended to be a beneficiary organization for the proceeds from Jamie Lynn Spears’ upcoming book. We have made the decision to decline the offer of receiving proceeds from the book sales.”

According to Entertainment Weekly, This Is My Brave’s actions came after Britney fans flooded it with comments insisting that the charity not involve itself with Jamie Lynn.  Fans based their criticism on Britney’s recent comments claiming that her family has been complicit in allowing her toxic conservatorship to continue unchecked for 13 years, despite its impact on her mental health.

Recently, Britney wrote on Instagram, “Lord have mercy on my family’s souls if I ever do an interview !!!”

This Is My Brave’s mission statement is to “to empower individuals to put their names and faces on their true stories of recovery from mental illness and addiction.”

Jamie Lynn’s book Things I Should Have Said will be released January 22.

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Gal Gadot shares why she chose to report Joss Whedon for “threatening her career”

Gal Gadot shares why she chose to report Joss Whedon for “threatening her career”
Gal Gadot shares why she chose to report Joss Whedon for “threatening her career”
Warner Bros. Pictures

Gal Gadot doesn’t like conflict, but she’s no shrinking violet, either.

When speaking on Israeli TV in May, Gadot responded to a report from The Hollywood Reporter that alleged Justice League director Joss Whedon had verbally abused her after she voiced concerns about her character and the film’s dialogue.  She confirmed Whedon “kind of threatened my career and said if I did something, he would make my career miserable.”

Looking back on those comments, the 36-year-old Wonder Woman actress recently told ELLE magazine, “Oh, I was shaking trees as soon as it happened. And I must say that the heads of Warner Brothers, they took care of it.”

Adds Gadot, “You’re dizzy because you can’t believe this was just said to you. And if he says it to me, then obviously he says it to many other people. I just did what I felt like I had to do. And it was to tell people that it’s not okay.”

“I would’ve done the same thing, I think, if I was a man. Would he tell me what he told me had I been a man? I don’t know. We’ll never know,” she continues. “But my sense of justice is very strong. I was shocked by the way that he spoke to me. But whatever, it’s done. Water under the bridge.”

Gadot will next be seen starring alongside Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds in the action comedy Red Notice, coming to Netflix on November 12.

 

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Former President Trump denies Eddy Grant’s copyright-infringement claims over “Electric Avenue” use

Former President Trump denies Eddy Grant’s copyright-infringement claims over “Electric Avenue” use
Former President Trump denies Eddy Grant’s copyright-infringement claims over “Electric Avenue” use
Steve Thorne/Redferns

Former President Donald Trump denied singer-songwriter Eddy Grant‘s copyright-infringement claims in a formal response submitted to the court late Monday night.

As previously reported, Grant sued over alleged unauthorized use of his 1983 hit “Electric Avenue” in an animated video created by a third party during the 2020 presidential campaign and posted by Trump on his personal Twitter account. The 55-second video endorsed the then-president’s reelection and, according to court records, “sought to denigrate the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nominee, now-President Joseph R. Biden.”

“Defendants deny that they have willfully and wrongfully infringed Plaintiffs’ copyrights,” Trump’s response reads. “Plaintiffs’ claims against Defendants are barred, either in whole or in part, by the doctrines of fair use and/or nominative use.”

The former president also asserted that Grant cannot sue him because of what Trump’s attorneys called “Presidential absolute immunity.”

Grant is pressing ahead with his lawsuit.

“Given the court’s recent favorable determination, there are very few issues that remain to be resolved, Grant’s attorney, Brian Caplan, said in a statement provided to ABC News. “We are confident that our clients’ rights will ultimately be fully upheld and look forward to Mr. Trump fully explaining his actions.”

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Matt Bellamy releases ‘Back to the Future’-inspired ad for upcoming guitar

Matt Bellamy releases ‘Back to the Future’-inspired ad for upcoming guitar
Matt Bellamy releases ‘Back to the Future’-inspired ad for upcoming guitar
Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images

Where Matt Bellamy‘s going he might not need roads, but it appears he’ll need a guitar.

The Muse frontman stars in a Back to the Future-inspired video promoting the latest model from his Manson Guitars company, the DL-OR. The clip finds Bellamy wearing Marty McFly’s signature red puffer vest as he drives his own DeLorean to October 26, 2021, the day the DL-OR launches.

We can only assume that the DL-OR name is also a reference to the DeLorean.

Bellamy’s love for Back to the Future shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone who’s seen Muse’s “Pressure” video. In fact, the band’s latest album, 2018’s Simulation Theory, is basically a love letter to ’80s sci-fi movies.

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Russell Dickerson teases a tequila-infused new song

Russell Dickerson teases a tequila-infused new song
Russell Dickerson teases a tequila-infused new song
Spencer Combs

Russell Dickerson has written a banger, and he couldn’t wait to share it with fans. 

Russell turned to TikTok to show off the chorus of an untitled track he’s penned, in which tequila and the music of John Denver set the tone for a romantic night at home with his wife. 

“She likes it when I pour tequila/’Cause she knows that we about to/Have ourselves a little night/When I play John Denver/Through that little Bose speaker/And I start dimming those lights/And she knows by the way that I’m kissing on her/That we ‘gon take our time,” Russell sings in the chorus, poised in front of a microphone at a desk in his studio as he lip-syncs along to the hip-hop infused number. 

“Yoooooooo! Just wrote this one!!! Somebody please put a verse on thissssss,” the singer excitedly writes in the caption. 

“That sounds awesome dude!!” one fan cheered in the comments, with another raving, “Give it to us RD!!!!” accompanied by several fire emojis. 

While he’s still putting the finishing touches on this new track, Russell is climbing the charts with his single “Home Sweet” that’s currently in the top 20 on country radio.

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See Nicole Kidman “kill” as Lucille Ball in the teaser to Amazon’s ‘Being the Ricardos’

See Nicole Kidman “kill” as Lucille Ball in the teaser to Amazon’s ‘Being the Ricardos’
See Nicole Kidman “kill” as Lucille Ball in the teaser to Amazon’s ‘Being the Ricardos’
Amazon Studios

Nicole Kidman‘s casting as iconic comedienne Lucille Ball might have been controversial, but she takes no prisoners in the teaser to Amazon Studios’ Being the Ricardos

“I am the biggest asset in the portfolio of the Columbia Broadcasting System,” Kidman-as-Lucy says in voiceover. “The biggest asset in the portfolios of Phillip Morris tobacco, Westinghouse. I get paid a fortune to do exactly what I love doing.”

She continues, “I work side-by-side with my husband, who is genuinely impressed with me. And all I have to do to keep it is kill for 36 weeks in a row. And then, do it again the next year.”

Oscar-winner Javier Bardem plays Lucy’s husband and I Love Lucy co-star Desi Arnaz in the period piece, from Academy Award-winning writer Aaron Sorkin.

The snippet ends with Kidman, in full Lucy wardrobe, on the set of the show’s famous “grape stomping” scene.

Amazon says of the project, “Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear and cultural taboos” in the film, which is “a revealing glimpse of the couple’s complex romantic and professional relationship.”

The film is set during one critical week of production of I Love Lucy.

Being the Ricardos, which also stars Oscar-winner JK Simmons, with Nina Arianda and former Arrested Development co-stars Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat, hits Amazon Prime on December 21.

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Vended, featuring sons of Slipknot members, announces debut EP

Vended, featuring sons of Slipknot members, announces debut EP
Vended, featuring sons of Slipknot members, announces debut EP
Vended

Vended, the band featuring the sons of Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor and Shawn “Clown” Crahan, will release their debut EP next month.

The set is titled What Is It/Kill It, and will arrive on November 12. It’ll feature the previously released song “Asylum,” as well as the just-premiered tune “Burn My Misery.” Both tracks are available now for digital download.

Vended, which just performed at last month’s Knotfest Iowa festival, includes Griffin Taylor on lead vocals and Simon Crahan on drums. The five-piece lineup also features guitarists Cole Espeland and Connor Grodzicki, and bassist Jeremiah Pugh

Slipknot, meanwhile, is currently touring the U.S. on the Knotfest Roadshow. The outing continues Tuesday in Tampa, Florida.

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Is Harry Styles joining the MCU?

Is Harry Styles joining the MCU?
Is Harry Styles joining the MCU?
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

(POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT) Some fans would already call Harry Styles a superhuman, but now he might be playing one in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The potential casting news came out of last night’s L.A. premiere of The Eternals. Variety writer Matt Donnelly tweeted, “Big reveal from #TheEternals premiere — Harry Styles has joined the MCU as Eros, brother of Thanos.

Eros — also known as Starfox in the comics — is said to be the complete opposite of the evil Thanos, who was played by Josh Brolin in The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy films. He’s carefree and has the power to change people’s emotions. To quote Marvel’s own database, “Eros grew up to be a fun-loving, carefree womanizer in contrast to his brother…”

Do with that what you will, tabloids. 

Apparently, Harry makes a cameo as the character at the end of The Eternals. Variety editor Marc Malkin also tweeted, “When Harry Styles shows up in the MCU. Audience squealed.”

The Eternals hits theaters November 5.

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Paul McCartney recalls what happened after Bob Dylan hooked The Beatles up with some potent marijuana

Paul McCartney recalls what happened after Bob Dylan hooked The Beatles up with some potent marijuana
Paul McCartney recalls what happened after Bob Dylan hooked The Beatles up with some potent marijuana
Mary McCartney; Mark and Colleen Hayward/Redferns

Paul McCartney is not shying away from retelling the highs and lows of his career — emphasis on the prior in his upcoming memoir The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, due out November 2.

He shared an excerpt with The Times of London on Sunday, which focused on the time Bob Dylan hooked The Beatles up with some potent marijuana.

“What happened is that we were in a hotel suite, maybe in New York around the summer of 1964, and Bob Dylan turned up with his roadie,” the excerpt begins — adding the event took place right after Dylan released his fourth studio album, Another Side of Bob Dylan.

McCartney continued, “We were just drinking, as usual, having a little party. We’d ordered drinks from room service — scotch and Coke and French wine were our thing back then — and Bob had disappeared into a back room.”

Apparently, band mate Ringo Starr left the room around the same time, only to return a while later “looking a bit strange,” according to Sir Paul. “He said, ‘I’ve just been with Bob, and he’s got some pot,’ or whatever you called it then.”

“And we said, ‘Oh, what’s it like?’ and he said, ‘Well, the ceiling is kind of moving; it’s sort of coming down.’ And that was enough,” McCartney who was in his early 20s at the time, continued. “After Ringo said that, the other three of us all leapt into the back room where Dylan was, and he gave us a puff on the joint.”

McCartney confessed that the band “were giggling, laughing at each other” and described a “hilarious” moment where he ran after George Harrison “like a cartoon chase.”

“We thought, ‘Wow, this is pretty amazing, this stuff,'” Paul reminisced, adding that night went on to become an inside joke with everyone involved.

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