Erik Pedersen Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorA day after the NBA and other leagues postponed games in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, some NFL teams have canceled or postponed their practices today.The Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and the currently unnamed Washington club scrapped practice this morning, and other clubs including the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers delayed the start of theirs.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorThe pro sports boycotts over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin continue to grow.Following the lead of the NBA, its Milwaukee Bucks and other teams and leagues, two-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka of Japan said today that she is skipping her semifinal match Thursday at the Western & Southern Open in New York City.“Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman,” she wrote in a social media post (read it in full below).

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorThe WNBA has postponed its three games scheduled for tonight. The league’s move follows the postponed of today’s NBA playoff games in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting by police in Kenosha WI.“The consensus is to not play in tonight’s slate of games and to kneel, lock arms and raise fists during the national anthem,” said Elizabeth Williams of the Atlanta Dream.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorUPDATED with NBA statement: The NBA has announced that all of tonight’s playoff games have been postponed. The late games were slated to air on TNT.The NBA and the NBPA today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to not take the floor today for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, today’s three games – MIL-ORL, HOU-OKC and LAL-POR have been postponed.

David Robb, Erik Pedersen As Hurricane Laura nears landfall as a massive Category 4 storm, some 1.5 million people in the Gulf Coast region are under evacuation orders ahead of what federal officials are describing as an “unsurvivable storm surge.”Today co-anchor and weatherman Al Roker said on MSNBC this morning, “I’ve never seen that phrase coming from the National Hurricane Center.” He added that “entire neighborhoods could be wiped out.”The National Hurricane Center said that Laura is

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorAfter months of speculation, the decision is in: SoFi Stadium, the new home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Raiders, will open its inaugural season next month without fans in the stands amid the coronavirus pandemic.According to a joint statement from the teams and the stadium (read it below), “Rams and Chargers games will be held without fans in attendance until further notice.”The news comes less than three weeks after the Rams open the new venue with

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorAllan Rich, an actor who was caught up in the Hollywood Blacklist of the 1950s but went on to have a 50-year film and TV career, has died. He was 94.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorThe big man has a big new deal.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorWith Hollywood production sideswiped by the coronavirus pandemic for five months, TV networks and streamers’ pipeline is starting to dry up.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorAfter the week that was — when a QAnon backer won a congressional primary and President Donald Trump embraced the, uh, fringe group during a White House briefing, Bill Maher felt it’s time that America learned the true identity of the shadowy figure behind it all.“It makes perfect sense that I — libertine, atheist, pot-smoking Trump-hating Bill Maher — am Q,” the Real Time said.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorA news anchor has been from his Cleveland radio station for referring the Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris as “colored.”WTAM brass sent Kyle Cornell packing Thursday after a social media backlash over his remarks that aired in a news teaser during Wednesday night’s Cleveland Indians game.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorComing to the HBO Max stage: Colin Quinn, Phoebe Robinson and Aida Rodriguez. The trio is set for separate comedy specials for WarnerMedia’s nascent streamer.Comedy veteran Quinn will headline and direct Summer of 2020: A Drive-In Comedy Special (working title), a special described as special is part documentary and part standup showcase.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorNetflix will deliver more unexplained disappearances, tragic events and bizarre occurrences starting in the fall.The streamer has set an October 19 launch date for the remaining six episodes of Unsolved Mysteries’ first season.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorNBCUniversal’s rookie streamer Peacock has drafted its first original sports-talk show. Brother From Another with Holley and Smith features co-hosts and EPs Michael Holley and Michael Smith discussing the latest news across sport, culture, entertainment, and politics every weekday afternoon.Holley and Smith met decades ago during their tenure at the Boston Globe, but Brother from Another is their first show together.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorToday on Celebrity Death Match: COVID-Edition: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper vs. MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorThe CW is firming up its fall schedule with premiere dates for the final episodes of Supernatural; its 2020 pickups Devils and Swamp Thing; the season premieres of Tell Me a Story, Pandora and The Outpost; and more. Check out the net’s updated schedule below.Production on the last two episodes of the 15th and final season of Supernatural hasn’t started yet but is slated to begin Tuesday.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorHeeeee-rrrrrrre’s Ned! Disney+ said today that it will stream the galaxy’s first alien-hosted talk show starting September 4. Watch a promo for Earth to Ned above and examine the key art below.Produced by The Jim Henson Company and Marwar Junction Productions, Earth to Ned is a decidedly different take on the late-night talk format.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorAnother live festival bites the dust. The American Film Institute announced Tuesday that its annual AFI Fest will go virtual as COVID-19 continues to affect Los Angeles.AFI officials detailed the decision to the Los Angeles Times.  Instead of its September in-person premieres, AFI Fest will feature virtual events in October.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorESPN and Fox shared bragging rights as the 41st annual Sports Emmys were handout out tonight.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorWelcome back, live sports.It’s been a historic day in Washington but also in Canada, where the first game of the NHL’s coronavirus-delayed Stanley Cup Playoffs is headed into a fifth overtime.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorTrini Lopez, an actor and singer who co-starred The Dirty Dozen actor and had hits with “If I Had a Hammer” and “Lemon Tree” — which was referenced in a popular Seinfeld episode — died today in Palm Springs. He was 83. Palm Springs Life magazine reported the news but didn’t give a cause of death.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorLorenzo Soria, who was in his third nonconsecutive term as president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the Golden Globe Awards, died today at his home in Los Angeles, He was 68.The Argentina-born, Italy-raised Soria was elected HFPA president in June 2019, following stints in the top post from 2003-05 and 2015-17.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorHulu announced premiere dates for its Animaniacs revival, anthology drama Monsterland, two other new series and a Greta Thunberg documentary during its virtual CTAM panel today.The new Animaniacs, from Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation and again exec produced by Steven Spielberg, will bow Friday, November 20 — some 22 years after the original wrapped its run.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorEXCLUSIVE: It won’t be absolutely free, but a new Frank Zappa movie is coming to North America. Magnolia Pictures has acquired rights to Zappa, a documentary directed by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter that will hit theaters and VOD on Thanksgiving weekend.Billed as an intimate and expansive look into the innovative life of the iconic — and iconoclastic — musician and artist, the pic was made with unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorPBS leads the nominations for the 41st annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, as it usually does, scoring 48 noms to top its closest rival by even more than last year. But there’s a shakeup for the No.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorBilly Goldenberg, a two-time Emmy-winning composer and 21-time nominee who was musical director for Elvis Presley’s 1968 “Comeback Special” and worked on scores of shows ranging from Night Gallery and The Young and the Restless to Columbo, Kojak, Rhoda and Steven Spielberg’s Duel, has died. He was 84.The news was confirmed on social media by Goldenberg’s friends Leonard Slatkin and Gary Gerani, but no cause of death was given.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorDisney Channel has renewed T.O.T.S. for a third season ahead of the toon series Season 2 bow.  The second season begins at 9 a.m. Friday, August 7, on the preschooler-targeted cable net.T.O.T.S. follows the adventures of best friends Pip and Freddy, a tenacious penguin and a kindhearted flamingo, who are the only non-stork delivery birds in-training at Tiny Ones Transport Service.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorIt’s been nearly five months since an original episode of The Haves and the Have Nots aired on OWN, but the wait is almost over. Tyler Perry’s signature drama series will return with back-to-back episodes starting at 8 p.m.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorNational Geographic has greenlighted a pair of specials to air in the coming months. Bin Laden’s Hard Drive, which spotlights newly declassified information on the notorious terrorist, premieres September 10, and Virus Hunters, about the experts working to prevent the next pandemic, bow November 1.In Bin Laden’s Hard Drive from Karga 7 Pictures, author and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen examines 470,000 digital files seized from al-Qa’ida founder Osama

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorSAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have struck a tentative deal for new three-year animation contracts.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorAs we roll toward the coronavirus-disrupted fall TV season, Fox has set premiere dates for a pair of drama series. Its Kim Cattrall-fronted Filthy Rich will bow at 9 p.m.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorUPDATED with teaser and premiere date, 10:37 AM: HBO has set an August 23 premiere date and released the first teaser for The Vow, its documentary series about the NXIVM scandal. Watch the clip above and read details of the series below.PREVIOUSLY, April 18, 2019: It sounded like a screenplay the moment the feds unsealed the indictments, and now HBO Documentary Films is producing a docuseries exploring the NXIVM organization.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorTo recall an old TV series: Seven is enough. Thirty-year superstar Garth Brooks told reporters today that he will not run for re-election as Entertainer of the Year at this year’s Country Music Association Awards.Brooks, who picked up CMA Awards’ top prize in 2019, said he doesn’t want to be nominated for it this year — or any other — and that it’s time for someone else to win the marquee prize.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorAre you ready to test the science of magic in the Harry Potter films? YouTube Originals has ordered a second season of Could You Survive the Movies? — its docuseries that picked up a Daytime Emmy over the weekend.Hosted by YouTuber Jake Roper, the series from Ample Entertainment explores the magic and science behind classic movies including Back to the Future, Jumanji and Die Hard.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorWhat do members of the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, R.E.M., Pearl Jam and Green Day have in common with the likes of Lorde, Sia and Regina Spektor? Outside of hordes of fans and albums sold, all have signed an open letter demanding that their songs get clearance before they can be played at political events.They are among the dozens of big names who are teaming with the Artist Rights Alliance to call on major U.S.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorThe longtime owner of Chateau Marmont wants to turn the L.A. landmark into a private club as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the status quo.In an interview published Tuesday in Wall Street Journal, André Balazs said he wants out of the traditional hotel biz and is looking to convert the nearly 90-year-old Marmont into a private residential space by the end of 2020.