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Tuesday
Dec032019

Jonathan Van Ness becomes 'Cosmopolitan UK' mag's first non-female cover star in 35 years

ABC/Randy Holmes(NEW YORK) -- Jonathan Van Ness has become Cosmopolitan UK magazine's first non-female cover star in 35 years.  Boy George, the last man to grace the cover, appeared in 1984.

"Thanks for having me," Van Ness wrote in a tweet revealing the new cover. "@CosmopolitanUK showing more variations of beauty for young LGBTQ+ people YAS QUEEN."

The Queer Eye star wore an eye-catching Christian Siriano ruffled orange dress paired with striped socks and sneakers.

One of the headlines on the magazine read, "Yep. We did it. You're totally welcome," referring to their cover star.

Since posting, Van Ness' announcement has gained more than 27,000 likes and over 2,000 retweets.

"I just adore everything about this and honestly makes me feel like I can just do anything, thank you for blessing me with this," one tweeter said.

Another chimed in saying, "How is it even possible to look this good? This cover is stunning."

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tuesday
Dec032019

Anna Faris "feeling very fortunate" after family carbon monoxide scare 

ABC/Randy Holmes(NEVADA) -- Anna Faris has added the men and women of the North Tahoe Fire Department to the list of people she's grateful for this holiday season.

In a tweet last week that's just now making the wider rounds, the Mom actress, whose family rented a house in the North Tahoe area on the California-Nevada border for Thanksgiving, shared that first responders saved her family from a carbon monoxide incident.

The North Tahoe Fire Department retweeted her message Tuesday and encouraged others to check their carbon monoxide detectors when they travel.

"I'm not quite sure how to express gratitude to the north Lake Tahoe fire department -- we were saved from carbon monoxide," Faris wrote. "It's a stupidly dramatic story but I'm feeling very fortunate."

Two family members felt ill "shortly after arrival" and, mistakenly thinking they had altitude sickness, left the celebration to get checked out at a local hospital. Instead, they were diagnosed with CO poisoning, the Fire Department noted, adding "two additional patients" were also hospitalized, and nine other patients were "treated at the scene." 

A representative from North Tahoe Fire also reported that the home's CO level was subsequently discovered to be as high as 55 parts per million -- even with the windows open -- and that the home did not have carbon monoxide alarms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the long-term CO exposure indoors should be limited to less than 15 ppm.

Carbon monoxide is especially dangerous because it's an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be fatal, may include a dull headache, weakness, dizziness and nausea, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tuesday
Dec032019

Lena Waithe says she believes Queen & Slim has the potential to become a classic film

L-R - Daniel Kaluuya, Matsoukas, Waithe/Photo - Eric Charbonneau(NEW YORK) -- With a strong opening weekend for Lena Waithe's feature film debut Queen & Slim, the Emmy winner tells ABC Audio that she believes fans have the ability to make her new romantic action-drama a classic. 

"To me what you take away from it is what you bring to it," Waithe says. "I think that to me is my mission as an artist. I never want to tell people how to feel. I never want to be in control over how people receive my art."

She continues, "The rest really up to people... and they really make it what it is, you know. To me, Do the Right ThingBoyz n the HoodLove Jones. Those movies are classics. Not just because the artists, but because of what the people have said. And the people have kept those movies alive and the people keep revisiting those films. Even more so, I will say, than critics."

Waithe's film, which she wrote and executive-produced, stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as a new couple who go on the run after a minor traffic infraction turns deadly. 

Waithe hopes her film follows in the footsteps of films she grew up on that later became classics.

"Black people are the reason why Love Jones is so talked about... is the reason why The Five Heartbeats is so phenomenal," she explains. "Because... I love that story."

So far, Waithe's dream seems to be coming true. Thanks to the support of fans and celebrity friends like Snoop Dogg, Kelly Rowland, Big Sean, and Lil Rel, who decided to buy-out screenings of the film, Queen & Slim brought in an estimated $11.7 million for the three-day weekend and $15.8 over the five-day weekend.

Queen & Slim, directed by Melina Matsoukas, is in theaters.

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tuesday
Dec032019

"I'm done running from my past": Marvel Studios surprises with teaser to Black Widow film

Marvel Studios(NEW YORK) -- In an operation worthy of the spies on which it centers, Marvel Studios just dropped the eagerly anticipated teaser trailer to Black Widow, the standalone adventure of Scarlett Johansson's super spy-turned Avenger.

Spoiler alert: Her character sacrificed her life to help save half of humanity during Avengers: Endgame, but Black Widow takes place years before, between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, when The Avengers were fractured and some of them on the run -- including ex-KGB agent Natasha Romanoff.  She apparently reunited with some of her former comrades, fellow assassins from the "Black Widow program" that spawned an army of highly trained agents like her.

Among this "family" to which Natasha returns are Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova and Rachel Weisz' Melina Vostokoff. "What brings you home?" Pugh asks her "sister" after the pair get reacquainted at gun- and knife-point.

"We have unfinished business," Nat replies.

The family reunion also includes David Harbour's Alexei Shostakov/The Red Guardian, the one-time USSR equivalent of Captain America, but now somewhat worse for wear. It looks like the Stranger Things star had a blast playing him.

"AH! Still fits!" Shoshtakov boasts about his snug superhero gear.

"You got fat," Weisz' character fires back.

The team tackles an army of baddies, and apparently the villain Taskmaster, who has the ability to mimic any fighting style he observes.

"One thing's for sure -- it's gonna be a hell of a reunion," Romanoff promises.

Harbour couldn't praise "phenomenal and funny" Aussie director Cate Shortland enough to ABC Audio, and calls the cast "phenomenal" as well, declaring, "I feel like I'm very very lucky to be a part of it." 

Black Widow opens May 1, 2020 from Marvel and Disney, parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tuesday
Dec032019

'The Voice' recap: The top 10 artists compete for a spot in the semifinals


Trae Patton/NBC(NEW YORK) -- The Voice live rounds continued on Monday, with the top 10 artists competing for America’s votes, and a spot in the semifinals. Along the way, they were advised by their coaches Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend.

Here are the highlights of Monday night's show:

Upon her mom’s advice, Rose Short, representing Team Gwen, delivered her take on "God's Country," by Blake Shelton.  She explained that, as a "military brat," she ended up in Texas where she heard a lot of country music.  Gwen, of course, was happy with the choice, because -- aside from the obvious -- it combined country, rap, pop, soul.  Blake thought Rose "killed it," and Gwen agreed.

Soul singer Shane Q, from Team Kelly, belted out Billy Ocean's "Caribbean Queen," a favorite of his dad, who was flown out to Los Angeles just to catch the performance.  Kelly praised the normally shy singer for coming out of his shell at just the right time and finally "doing physically what you can do vocally."

Team Kelly's Jake Hoot picked Rhett Akins’ "That Ain’t My Truck," in honor of his cousin, a Marine who was killed while serving in Afghanistan.  Gwen declared it was his best performance in the competition so far, adding that he sounded like a "true country singer."  The performance had Blake swallowing his pride and admitting that Kelly was "doing an incredible job" with him.  A stunned Clarkson declared "Hell has frozen over."

Team Gwen's Joana Martinez tackled "Impossible," a song written by former Voice coach Alicia Keys and popularized by another, Christina Aguilera.  Stefani advised the 16-year-old that the song was about "vocal Olympics," but encouraged her to be "strategic about the dynamics."  Gwen praised the performance, declaring that Martinez "manhandled the stage."

Team Legend's powerhouse singer Katie Kadan put her spin on Adele's "Rolling in the Deep."  She brought all four coaches to their feet as Kelly wiped away tears.  Blake joked that she had him "starting to create conspiracy theories" in his head, explaining, "No way somebody is this good who hasn't already made it in the music industry."  Legend added that everywhere he goes, everyone asks him about Katie.

Hello Sunday, the pair of 14-year-olds representing Team Kelly, delivered an emotional performance of Demi Lovato's "Stone Cold," a song about overcoming struggles.  It's a message to which the girls can relate, since Myla has dealt with juvenile diabetes since she was three, and Chelsea had been close with her through much of that time.  The performance brought the girls to tears and had Kelly struggling to keep it together as well.

Team Legend’s final artist, Will Breman closed out the show with a high-energy performance of "My Body" by Young the Giant.  After whipping the studio audience into a frenzy, Kelly joked that Will made it seem like it was his show, and the other artists were his opening act.  Legend called it a “masterful” performance.

Other artists performing on Monday included Team Legend's Marybeth Byrd covering Selena Gomez’s "Lose You to Love Me"; along with Team Blake's 18-year-old indie-pop singer, Kat Hammock, and Ricky Duran, tackling Shania Twain's "You're Still the One"; and Albert King's blues classic "Born Under a Bad Sign," respectively.

The evening also included country star Kane Brown performing "Homesick," off his latest album Experiment.

The Voice returns Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tuesday
Dec032019

'Marriage Story' wins big at 2019 Gotham Awards

Wilson Webb(NEW YORK) -- Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach's relationship drama, has been generating a lot of Oscar buzz, and it took a step closer at Monday's Gotham Independent Film Awards, grabbing all four awards for which it was nominated, including best feature film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film, which stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver as a divorcing couple negotiating custody of their son, also won best screenplay for Baumbach and best actor for Driver.

Best Actress honors went to Awkwafina for her role in The Farewell.

On the TV side, When They See Us won in the breakthrough series longform category, and PEN15 in the shortform category.

Previously announced tribute award recipients included actors Laura Dern and Sam Rockwell, and director Ava DuVernay.

Gotham Award nominees are selected by committees of film critics, journalists, festival programmers and film curators. Separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors and others directly involved in making films determine the final award recipients, according to THR.

Here's the complete winners list:

BEST FEATURE
Marriage Story (Netflix)

BEST ACTOR
Adam Driver -- Marriage Story (Netflix)

BEST ACTRESS
Awkwafina -- The Farewell (A24)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
American Factory (Netflix)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Marriage Story

BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR
Taylor Russell -- Waves 

AUDIENCE AWARD
Marriage Story (Netflix)

BINGHAM RAY BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR AWARD
Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre -- The Mustang 

BREAKTHROUGH SERIES – SHORT FORM
PEN15 (Hulu)

BREAKTHROUGH SERIES – LONG FORM
When They See Us (Netflix)

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Monday
Dec022019

Too worthy: Chris Hemsworth's wife sick of picking up all his Thor hammers around their house

Marvel Studios(AUSTRALIA) -- Many stars swipe mementos from their time on set, and unfortunately for Chris Hemsworth's wife Elsa Pataky, his many Mjolnirs are no exception: she says their home is lousy with Thor's hammers.

The Spanish actress tells the Australian radio show Fitzy & Wippa that Hemsworth has stolen a different hammer for each time he's played the God of Thunder in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  He's got five by now, and she's lamenting they're running out of room to show off his prized props.  

"Yes, he always picks the best places in the house," says Pataky.  Like the middle of the dining room table, one of the hosts added, quoting Hemsworth, to which Pataky says with a laugh, "I'm like, 'It's not going there. We have five of them...like, seriously, no.'"

Not just that, but since Avengers: Infinity War, Thor also acquired Stormbreaker, a massive magical axe, which means the Hemsworths have that underfoot, too.

Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Monday
Dec022019

Fans say Pete Davidson made them sign million dollar non-disclosure agreements to see his shows

NBC/Will Heath(NEW YORK) -- (NOTE LANGUAGE) If you're really eager to see Pete Davidson's new stand-up shows, be warned: he might sue you if you blab about them. 

That's the word from fans who recently attended the SNL cast member's recent comedy shows.  Each and every ticket holder must agree to a million dollar non-disclosure agreement.

Not only do fans have to lock up their phones for the show -- something comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle have done -- but fans are reportedly legally forbidden to share their thoughts about the performance to social media.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, one attendee griped, "...[The NDA] also authorizes them to confiscate...any cell phones, cameras or PDAs and that ANY BREACH of the agreement will REQUIRE PAYMENT OF $1 MILLION in damages as well as the legal costs." 

Calling the protection "Orwellian," that fan continued, "Don't perform for the public if you don't want people to have an opinion about it!"

Others took a shot of their respective venues, posting online that they attended a Pete Davidson show, but disclosing nothing else.

Entertainment Tonight speculates that the security could be to keep his material fresh because the shows were being filmed for an upcoming Netflix special. 

Incidentally, however, in August, Davidson blasted a college crowd for using their cellphones during his routine, calling the offenders, "privileged little a**holes" who "ruin the show for people who actually want to be here."

 

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Monday
Dec022019

Fans go after Terry Crews for not "standing up" for Gabrielle Union in 'America's Got Talent' controversy

Trae Patton/NBC(LOS ANGELES) -- Fans are asking America's Got Talent host Terry Crews to "stand up" for his now former co-worker Gabrielle Union, who was fired after reportedly expressing concerns over allegedly racially insensitive situations during her time as a judge.

After a full week of support from celebrity friends, including the likes of Viola Davis and Ellen Pompeo, Union tweeted a message of "gratitude" to those who had her back.

"So many tears, so much gratitude," Union wrote. "THANK YOU! Just when you feel lost, adrift, alone... you got me up off the ground. Humbled and thankful, forever."

In response to her tweet, Crews tweeted the reply, "You're the best, Gabrielle! You will be missed!"

Not surprisingly, fans were quick to question Crews on his seeming lack of support for Union, who in 2017  publicly supported him during his sexual assault revelation.

"Come on Terry, you know this ain't right," one fan wrote. "Gabby spoke out and potentially damaged some of her own professional relationship to support you when you wanted, desired support and all you can say is tantamount to 'sorry, sucks to be you?'"

"She had your back and yet you can't have hers," another fan shared.

One fan added that Crews should have done more.

"Stand up for your sister!!!," the fan tweeted. "I'm disappointed...you're one of my fave actors...don't let a paycheck keep you from what's right."

Variety reported that Union, along with Julianne Hough, won't return for AGT's upcoming 15th season. Union had reportedly complained to NBC about several problematic situations, and was also told that her frequently-changing hairstyle was said to be “too black” for AGT‘s audience.

Over the weekend, America's Got Talent's producers released a statement about the issue, declaring, "We remain committed to ensuring a respectful workplace for all employees and take very seriously any questions about workplace culture,” and said they're “working with Ms. Union through her representatives to hear more about her concerns, following which we will take whatever next steps may be appropriate.”

Additionally, SAG-AFTRA, the union for TV, film and voice performers, says they're investigating Union's claims.

Crews, Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel are all expected to return to AGT.

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Monday
Dec022019

Dying 'Star Wars' fan gets special advanced screening of 'The Rise of Skywalker'

Lucasfilm(LONDON) -- With time running out, a hospice facility in England managed to secure a special advance screening of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker for one of its patients, a dying Star Wars fan they said wouldn't live to see the film's December 20 release date.

The patient, who's choosing to remain anonymous, was able to watch the film Friday morning, thanks to some behind-the-scenes mountain-moving by Disney CEO Bob Iger.

"I just want to say the biggest thank you to everyone that has helped to make this happen. During what is just a horrible situation to be in, you have helped to make some wonderful memories and bring some joy to my family," the man said in a statement.

The hospice released a photo of the man and his son wearing Stormtrooper helmets and holding blasters, flanked by Stormtroopers from the 501st Legion, the Star Wars-themed costumed charity group.

Hospice employee Lisa Davies brought the patient's wish to the attention of the staff. Over several days, the hospice used Twitter to get the attention of many people connected to Star Wars, including Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill. The request eventually made its way to Iger, who granted the wish.

"On this Thanksgiving, we at Disney are grateful to share The Rise of Skywalker with a patient and his family," Iger tweeted Thursday.

"I am utterly speechless about what has happened. We cannot thank Disney enough for helping us to fulfill our patient's wish," Davies said.

The patient's wife called the response to her husband's wish "mind-blowing," and she thanked the "incredible" members of "The massive Star Wars community" for their gifts and messages of support.

May the Force be with him. 

Star Wars is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.







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