Amazon closes $8.5B deal to acquire Hollywood studio MGM

EXCLUSIVE: Robert Downey Jr. has teamed with bestselling environmental author Thomas Kostigen to write Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time. The book has been acquired by Blackstone Publishing’s president/CEO Josh Stanton. The actor/producer and Kostigen have written a book they say provides a smart, accessible, and game-changing roadmap to making climate-solving food choices. The deal marks the first major non-fiction book from Downey Jr., best known for his iconic turns as Iron-Man and Sherlock Holmes and partnering with wife Susan Downey in their Team Downey production label. Downey Jr. leaned into nutrition since early in his Marvel run to prepare for the rigors of that role. While there has been a preoccupation in Hollywood in cutting down carbon footprints, doing it through a diet seems an innovative wrinkle.

Manori Ravindran International EditorFew people can say their comfort zone is in playing strong women, but for Gillian Anderson, it ’s become something of a personal brand.The American-British actor, who was once best-known for her skeptical FBI agent Dana Scully in Fox’s long-running sci-fi hit “The X-Files,” has gone on to play detective Stella Gibson in “The Fall,” notorious British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Crown” and sex therapist Jean Milburn in “Sex Education.” (And you wouldn’t want to cross any of them.)Anderson — who will receive the Variety Icon Award in a ceremony at CannesSeries on April 1 — will next be seen portraying the rarely dramatized Eleanor Roosevelt, opposite Viola Davis’ Michelle Obama and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Betty Ford, in Showtime’s drama “The First Lady.” But portraying no-nonsense women didn’t begin as a conscious choice for Anderson. In 1993, she recognized a “stark difference” between the Dana Scully role and “pretty much everything else on television at the time,” though, at age 24, she wouldn’t have labelled Scully as the feminist icon she’d come to represent.“I don’t think it was as clear-cut in my mind as being, ‘Oh, this is a feminist character,’” she says.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to become a permanent fixture in Hollywood.

Sending love. Celebrities including Jamie Lee Curtis, Seth Green and Hilarie Burton are rallying around Bruce Willis and his family amid his aphasia battle.

WARSAW, Poland -- The ashes of Poland’s award-winning composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki were rest during a state funeral Tuesday after a two-year delay brought on by the pandemic.Poland's President Andrzej Duda, Penderecki's widow Elzbieta Penderecka and their two children, musicians, artists and throngs of ordinary Polish citizens attended funeral in the southern city of Krakow.Penderecki died in Krakow March 29, 2020, at the age of 86, but COVID-19 restrictions led to a lengthy postponement for the renowned composer's funeral.German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier did not attend the service after testing positive for COVID019. Penderecki worked and taught in Germany for many years.Penderecki’s cream-colored urn will be interred among Poland's greatest authors and scientists at the National Pantheon at Krakow’s St.

READ MORE: Prince William and Kate Middleton issue 'unprecedented' statement after criticism that Caribbean tour is 'tone deaf' So it's a bit of a surprise to find the Hollywood superstar spent a significant portion of her life living in cramped south-west London digs before she ever made it to the big screen. Less than six years ago, Margot was roughing it in a six-person house-share in Clapham, reports The Sun.

Refresh for updates… The 94th annual Academy Awards are being handed out tonight in Hollywood, and Deadline will be updating the winners live as they are announced.

Mark Wright turned down a huge job offer in Hollywood because he didn't want to leave his wife Michelle Keegan at home alone in Essex, according to the star. The 35 year old former TOWIE favourite revealed he'd been asked to present an exciting new dating show in the City of Angels, but sadly said no. While Mark was based in California for three years until the pandemic hit, presenting a major primetime entertainment show called Extra, he insisted he will never uproot his family permanently.

EXCLUSIVE: The UCB Theatre is coming back as Mosaic founder Jimmy Miller and former CEO/Owner of The Onion Mike McAvoy have acquired the legendary comedy brand with the financial support from Elysian Park Ventures.

The 31-year-old American actor is one of the big favourite to pick up a gong at Sunday’s Oscars. Awards season is in full swing in Hollywood, with the 94th Academy Awards taking place this weekend.

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate is finalizing a deal to acquire a minority stake in London and LA-based management and production company 42, we can reveal.

Happy in Hudson! Amanda Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski have settled into their new normal since relocating their brood to a farm in upstate New York.

investigation found the deal “would not significantly reduce competition" in European markets, including for movie and TV production, wholesale supply of TV channels and retail supply of “audiovisual services."The commission, the European Union's executive arm, and its top competition watchdog said MGM's content can't be considered “must-have" and it's “not among the top production studios,” despite holding the rights to successful franchises including James Bond.Known for its roaring lion logo, MGM is one of the oldest studios in Hollywood but its star has faded considerably over the years.It still has a vast library, with famous characters such as Rocky, RoboCop and Pink Panther, which Amazon has said it would use to create new movies and shows.

Scott Disick appears to be quite smitten with his new girlfriend Holly Scarfone, as the pair continued their romance on the California coast after a quick getaway to Paris. The reality star, 38, and the fledgling Instagram model, 23, were spotted enjoying a night out in Hollywood on Thursday (March 10). Scott kept a low-profile in a black baseball cap, while Holly dared to impress in a skintight minidress, as seen in photos here, via Daily Mail.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWarnerMedia has been owned by telco giant AT&T for less than four years and it will soon have a new parent company — likely by the end of next month.Discovery’s shareholder vote on the acquisition of WarnerMedia is set for today during a special meeting of stockholders set for 10 a.m. ET. The deal is expected to get an easy thumbs-up given the approval already bestowed by Discovery’s oldest and most influential holders, investor John Malone and Advance/Newhouse Co.

EXCLUSIVE: Audible has snapped up the rights to three podcasts from Audio Up – two series created by James Ellroy, the Demon Dog of American literature, and The Playboy Interviews.