George “Funky” Brown Dies: Kool & The Gang Drummer & Songwriter Was 74

NewsNation is hosting Wednesday night’s fourth Republican primary debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle, set to air live from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the network and the NewsNation’s website and app.

The stars are stepping out for Elle‘s big event!

Jaden Thompson Hollywood veteran Edward James Olmos once offered a piece of sage advice to Eva Longoria in the 1990s when she was an extra on the set of “Selena” in her hometown of Corpus Christie, Texas. “Move to LA,” he told the young actress. More 20 years later, Olmos presented Longoria’s feature directorial debut “Flamin’ Hot” with the award for Best Feature Film at the 38th annual Imagen Awards, which celebrate the wide ranging talents of Hollywood’s Latino community.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Billie Eilish and her brother and collaborator Finneas O’Connell have received Grammys, an Oscar and just about every award and honor and tribute and kudo young recording artists can imagine in the six years since her debut EP in 2017, but even they can still be awed by a tribute from a respected influence. That happened at Variety’s Hitmakers celebration in Los Angeles on Saturday, when Elton John’s lyricist of 56 years, Bernie Taupin — who has written the lyrics for everything from “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” to “Bennie and the Jets” and “Candle in the Wind” — paid tribute to their songwriting partnership when rewarding them with the Film Song of the Year honor for “What Was I Made For?,” their song from the summer blockbuster film “Barbie.” Before an audience that included Boygenius, Joan Baez, Olivia Rodrigo, Victoria Monet and many others (SZA hadn’t arrived yet), the following exchange took place: Taupin’s tribute and Eilish’s response (Finneas just said “Thanks guys!”) follows in full.

Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley, and other Glee cast members have reunited to add their voices to a previously unreleased song by their late costar, Naya Rivera.

Christopher Nolan has spoken about the “danger” of films only being available via streaming platforms, stressing that he believes in the ongoing importance of physical media.Speaking to The Washington Post, Nolan expanded on recent comments he made while introducing a screening of his film Oppenheimer, when he urged fans to buy the Blu-ray version, “so no evil streaming service can come steal it from you.”In the new interview, he clarified that he was joking in describing them as “evil”, but he did elaborate that the susceptibility of films disappearing from streaming platforms does concern him.“There is a danger these days that if things only exist in the streaming version, they do get taken down,” he said. “They come and go — as do broadcast versions of films, so my films will play on HBO or whatever, they’ll come and go.”“But the home video version is the thing that can always be there, so people can always access it.

Colman Domingo plays civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, in the Netflix film Rustin. Domingo said he felt a responsibility to introduce Rustin to modern audiences.

The biggest story of the 1936 summer Olympics in Berlin was Black track and field star Jesse Owens winning four gold medals and putting the lie to Adolf Hitler’s theories of race supremacy. A less-heralded U.S. gold medal triumph over host country Nazi Germany glides onto screens this Christmas with The Boys in the Boat from MGM Amazon Studios, directed by George Clooney.

“This was three years ago, that I had a note from an executive on a script that I wrote that I needed to make a character ‘Blacker’,” director Cord Jefferson said at Deadline’s Contenders Film L.A. panel for American Fiction. “A lot of this is taken directly from my personal experience having worked in entertainment.”

Kool & the Gang’s drummer and founding member George “Funky” Brown had died, aged 74.A representative for Kool & the Gang issued a statement to TMZ announcing the news yesterday (November 18) and revealing that Brown died on November 16 following a long battle with cancer. Brown was reportedly diagnosed with lung cancer three years ago.The statement read: “George Brown died November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer.

EXCLUSIVE: Film director Michelle Danner has finished Principal Photography on The Italians, stars Abigail Breslin, Matthew Daddario, Rob Estes,  David DeLuise, Perrey Reeves, Olivia Luccardi, and Lainie Kazan.

There were so many A-List stars at the Variety Power of Women: Los Angeles event and we have so many great photos from the afternoon!

TMZ, the band’s founding member died from Stage 4 lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles Thursday.A spokesperson for Brown told TMZ that donations can be made in his honor to the Lung Cancer Foundation of America.Brown discussed his sickness last month with KCAL News, saying that he had recovered for a brief time and was ready to perform again.However, his cancer returned earlier this year and he was forced to pull out of touring. “We’d join hands, and you’d say to yourself, ‘Let’s go make some people happy,’ ” Brown noted to the outlet, adding that to those struggling with cancer, “Don’t give up, never give up.”Brown co-wrote many of the R&B group’s hit songs, including “Ladies’ Night,” “Too Hot,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Celebration” and “Cherish.”Kool & The Gang was formed in 1964 in New Jersey.

It has been confirmed that the co-founder and drummer of Kool & The Gang George 'Funky' Brown has died at the age of 74.The musician was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer and died at his home in Los Angeles. "George Brown died November 16, 2023, in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer," a representative for Brown told TMZ.

Friends, was found dead in his hot tub at his Los Angeles home on October 28. He was 54 years old.

Pamela Chelin In honor of the late Robbie Robertson, whose “Killers of the Flower Moon” score was his final work, Martin Scorsese hosted a private tribute concert Wednesday in Los Angeles that had guests including Joni Mitchell, Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone watching Jackson Browne and other musicians perform Robertson’s songs as well as score excerpts. The tribute to Robertson — who died on Aug. 9 at age 80 — took place before 200 invited guests at the composer’s longtime recording-studio home, the Village Studios in West L.A.

John Bailey, the cinematographer whose credits including Oscar Best Picture-winning Ordinary People and The Big Chill and who became president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, died Friday in Los Angeles. He was 81. 

Hunter Ingram SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “Poirot,” Episode 6 of “Lessons in Chemistry,” now streaming on Apple TV+. For 30 minutes last year, Millicent Shelton was given control of a freeway off-ramp not far from LAX –– and she didn’t even need the whole half hour. Shelton was behind the camera directing the sixth episode of Apple TV’s “Lessons in Chemistry,” and in front of her was a very small window for her to get a wide shot that could establish the scope of a sit-in that really happened in 1950s Los Angeles. The shot follows period-specific cars as they descend the off-ramp, only to be blocked by protesters.

Tler Cameron is opening up about his heartbreak after Hannah Brown gave her final rose to Jed Wyatt on The Bachelorette.

Burna Boy has officially launched his I Told Them… Tour and we have the set list from the first show!