Although its road to launch was rocky, Starz’ three episode event The Continental is getting on track quickly.
After Colin Woodell was cast in the John Wick spin-off’s central role as Winston, five new cast members have been added to join him and Mel Gibson, who was previously cast as a character known as Cormac.
The series takes place in New York City in the 1970s, and shows how Woodell’s character came to be the suave owner of The Continental, the hitman hotel seen in the John Wick films; Winston is played in the films by Ian McShane.
The show has just added The Good Lord Bird‘sHubert Point-Du Jour, who’s been cast as a character named Miles; Jessica Allain, who starred with Meryl Streep in The Laundromat, will play Lou; Michelle Prada from Starz’ Vida will play KD; Vietnamese import Nhung Kate will play Yen; and Animal Kingdom‘s Ben Robson has been cast as Frankie.
John Wick fans might be wondering who will play The Continental‘s enigmatic concierge, Charon, who’s played in all the films by Lance Reddick. So far, it seems at this age — Woodell is 29 — Winston hasn’t yet met his eventual right-hand-man.
To get fans hyped for his upcoming Wonder world tour, Shawn Mendes is releasing a concert he filmed recently in New York City, which marked his return to live performance post-COVID.
“A few weeks ago we filmed an extremely special show…where I was lucky enough to be joined by incredible friends & activists,” Shawn captioned the announcement on Instagram. “It was my first show back in almost 2 years and it made me realize how much I missed live shows, but more importantly how crucial it is to raise our voices for change.”
“I’m so honoured to be able to share that night with you,” he added.
A Wonder Concert & Conversation comes out Friday at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on Watch Together via Messenger and on Instagram.
(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers on Thursday that the Justice Department will follow “the facts and the law” if the House of Representatives votes to refer former President Donald Trump’s ally Steve Bannon for criminal prosecution for defying a congressional subpoena.
“I will say what a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia said I think yesterday or a day before,” Garland said in response to a question on Congress’ potential contempt referral for Bannon. “If the House of Representatives votes for a referral of a contempt charge — then the Department of Justice will do what it always does in such circumstances, we will apply the facts and the law and make a decision consistent with the principles of prosecution.”
Garland’s first appearance in front of the House Judiciary Committee came on the same day that the House is set to vote on whether to hold Bannon, who formerly served as a White House advisor to Trump, in contempt of Congress.
Historically such prosecutions are rare and politically fraught — but Garland’s potential decision on the referral would have significant ramifications for the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol as it seeks to compel cooperation from individuals who allegedly had communications with Trump around that day.
The matter was further complicated over the weekend when President Joe Biden told reporters he hoped the department would move forward with prosecutions of those, like Bannon, who defy the select committee’s subpoenas. A DOJ spokesperson swiftly released a statement following Biden’s remarks restating the department’s independence, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki clarified afterward that the president was in no way giving direction to Garland on the issue.
“The Department of Justice will make its own independent decisions in all prosecutions based solely on the facts and the law. Period. Full stop,” spokesperson Anthony Coley said.
In the hearing, Garland also defended the Justice Department’s handling of its sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection. He testified Thursday that more than 650 people across the country have been charged in the more than nine months since the attack.
“The violence we witnessed that day was an intolerable assault, not only on the Capitol and the brave law enforcement personnel who sought to protect it, but also on a fundamental element of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power,” Garland said.
Republicans on the panel expressed concern about the treatment of some of the rioters being detained ahead of trial, after judges ruled they either presented a threat to the general public or a risk of flight and obstruction of justice.
Last week, a federal judge overseeing one case of a rioter being held in detention pending trial did make a referral to Garland to investigate whether jailed rioters are having their rights violated based on their status as Capitol riot defendants. Garland confirmed in Thursday’s hearing that the U.S. Marshals Service subsequently conducted an inspection of their conditions and the Civil Rights Division is reviewing the findings.
As Ray J continues to recover at home after a stay in a hospital, he’s moving on with his divorce from Princess Love.
The Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood star claims in court documents that they have a prenuptial agreement, and he requests termination of the court’s ability to award spousal support, according to TMZ.
As previously reported, the rapper/reality star was released from a Miami hospital last week after being treated for pneumonia. Shortly after announcing that he was taken to the hospital, Ray J filed to divorce his wife of five years, Princess Love. The “Wait a Minute” singer cited irreconcilable differences as cause for their separation. Ray J is seeking joint custody of his and Love’s two children — Melody, 3, and Epik, 1.
Cracks in Ray and Love’s relationship started to show last November, when the model accused her husband of leaving her “stranded” in Las Vegas and threatened to divorce him.
This latest filing marks the third time that the pair have tried to separate. Their first separation was in May 2020, but the couple patched things up that July and Love asked the court to dismiss her request. Four months later, Ray J was the one to file for divorce.
If you can’t wait for Billie Eilish‘s tour to start next year, maybe her new VEVO Official Live Performance video will tide you over.
In the video, shot on 35mm film, Billie performs the Happier Than Ever single “Lost Cause” in the Crystal Ballroom of LA’s Biltmore Hotel. She stands on a balcony in the ballroom, while brother FINNEAS plays bass down below, alongside a drummer who’s tucked into an alcove.
During this album cycle, Billie previously released live VEVO performance videos for “Your Power” and “Male Fantasy.”
(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner is out for the year with a hamstring injury, manager Dave Roberts announced.
The All-Star suffered the injury while hitting into a double play in the bottom of the seventh inning of the team’s 9-2 loss to Atlanta in game four of the National League Championship Series, Wednesday night.
“Early indication is it’s a grade two [strain], so I think that will be it from him,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game.
Turner did not speak to reporters after the game.
The Dodgers season could also be over tonight. They are down 3-1 in the NLCS heading into tonight’s game five in Los Angeles.
The first three games of the series were all won by one run. Atlanta took the first took games at home winning 3-2 and 5-4, respectively. Once the series shifted to Los Angeles, the Dodgers won 6-5, using a four-run bottom of the eighth rally to give them the 5-4 lead.
(New York) — The devastating drought in Southern California is expected to continue or worsen this winter, with drier-than-average conditions forecast for the hard-hit Southwest, including Southern California, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday in its winter weather outlook.
NOAA predicts drought conditions to continue in the Southwest, Plains and Missouri River Basin. But drought improvement is possible in Northern California, the Pacific Northwest, the upper Midwest and Hawaii, NOAA said.
Drier-than-average conditions are also forecast for the Southeast this winter. Wetter-than-average conditions are forecast in areas including the Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, NOAA said.
NOAA predicts a warmer-than-average winter in the Southeast and much of the eastern U.S.
Temperatures may fall below average from the Pacific Northwest through the northern Plains.
But more-than-normal snow and rain is forecast for the Ohio Valley and some of the inland Northeast, from western Pennsylvania to western New York to parts of Vermont.
Adele hugs Celine Dion; Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NARAS
Most Adele fans know that the singer just loves Celine Dion, but you may not be aware of the depths of her obsession…until now.
Adele submitted to Vogue‘s “73 Questions With…” video feature, in which a star is filmed walking around their home while answering a series of rapid-fire questions. In response to the question, “What’s the proudest possession that you own?” Adele, who’d been sitting on her patio, takes the interviewer into her house, plucks something off a table and hands it to him.
It’s a small black frame, and within the frame is a chewed-up wad of gum stuck to a piece of paper. Written on the paper are the words “Celine Dion’s gum.”
“James Corden, who’s a friend of mine but also does Carpool Karaoke, which I did, he did it with her and knew how much a fan of her I was,” Adele explains. “And so he made her spit her gum into a piece of paper and he framed it for me. And it’s my proudest possession!”
Also in the video, which actually lasts for 95 questions, Adele reveals that:
-At the 2012 Grammys, she was pregnant with her son.
-Her dream duet partner is country star Chris Stapleton.
-Her favorite lyricist is the late Leonard Cohen.
-She’s been bingeing the Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso.
-She wishes Barbra Streisand would record one of her songs.
-She prefers Prince Harry over Prince William, and the Spice Girls over The Beatles.
-Her fashion icon is Cate Blanchett.
-She’d choose either Lovecraft Country star Jonathan Majors or Idris Elba to be the next James Bond.
(CAIRO) —A man attempting to demolish one of four ancient sphinxes adorning the Tahrir square in Cairo was caught by security personnel, an eyewitness reports.
“I and my friends were in Tahrir when we saw someone climbing up to the head of one of the sphinxes. He was wielding a big hammer and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ before starting to hit it,” Abdallah Elbarawy, a 22-year-old law student at Cairo University, told ABC News.
“He was then captured by security guards, who took him away,” Elbarawy said.
Local media said the man, who was not identified, was being questioned.
An antiquities ministry source told ABC News that no damage was sustained to any of the sphinxes.
Last year, Egypt relocated the four ram-headed sphinxes to Tahrir in the heart of Cairo from the southern city of Luxor — a move criticized at the time by many archaeologists, who feared the artifacts could be damaged because of their exposure to air pollution and heat in the congested square.
The sphinxes were previously located in a courtyard behind the first pylon of the famed Karnak temple in Luxor.
After being transferred to Tahrir, the sphinxes were kept in wooden crates before being unveiled last April, shortly before Egypt held a procession for 22 royal mummies from the iconic square. They lie beneath a 90-tonne obelisk that dates back to the era of famous New Kingdom pharaoh Ramses II.
Egypt said it will soon re-open the Grand Avenue of Sphinxes, a 3,000-year-old road that connects Karnak Temple with Luxor Temple, to the public after completing excavation and restoration works in the ancient pathway.
The avenue is flanked by hundreds of ram-headed sphinxes, similar to the ones that were moved to Tahrir.
Netflix has released a new trailer for Red Notice, and in this one, we get a better idea of the plot.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recruits Ryan Reynolds‘ character, noted as the “second-most wanted art thief in the world,” in an effort to nab the best one: Gal Gadot‘s character, known as The Bishop.
However, while she’s on the titular list, this trailer notes a twist: Gadot uses some computer wizardry to frame Johnson’s FBI agent John Hartley, landing him on Interpol’s Red Notice, and they both get locked up.
The situation sets up a death-defying prison escape sequence seen in an earlier trailer.
“If we catch her together, I can clear my name, and I’ll make you the number-one art thief in the world again,” Hartley promises Ryan’s Booth.
“Trusting a thief can be dangerous,” Bishop warns the FBI agent, a comment by which Booth gets comically offended.
The trailer not only shows the two men tangling with assorted bad guys, but the character played by Johnson — who had a wrestling nickname The BrahmaBull — is actually fighting a real bull.
