by tyler | Jun 19, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
After a food-realted health scare over the weekend, Quincy Jones is out of the hospital.
The famed music producer was transported from his Los Angeles home to the emergency room on Saturday after a 911 call was made, a representative for Jones told TMZ. After being treated for a bad reaction to food, he was released and in “good spirits,” reports the outlet.
CNN has reached out to a representative for Jones for comment.
Jones, who turned 90 in March, has worked with countless artists from Miles Davis to Ray Charles and Michael Jackson, producing Jackson’s “Off The Wall,” “Thriller,” and “Bad.”
He also produced the charity anthem “We Are the World.” On screen, Jones has produced numerous television and film projects, including an upcoming remake of “The Color Purple.”
He has won 28 Grammys throughout his career.
Jones revealed in his 2018 documentary “Quincy” that he had suffered from two brain aneurysms in the past.
by tyler | Jun 19, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Rapper Big Pokey has died at the age of 45 after collapsing on stage in Texas.
The artist, real name Milton Powell, passed away on Sunday, according to a post on his verified Instagram account.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton ‘Big Pokey’ Powell,” the post reads.
“He was well loved by his family, friends and loyal fans. In the coming days, we will release information about his celebration of life and how the public can pay their respects. We ask that you respect his family and their privacy during this difficult time,” it continues.
“Big Pokey will forever be ‘The Hardest Pit in the Litter,’” it adds, referencing the title of his debut album, which was released in 1999.
A video posted on Twitter showed Big Pokey collapsing backward while holding a microphone at a bar in Beaumount, Texas on Saturday.
The rapper hailed from the city of Houston, Texas and was a member of the Screwed Up Click rap collective.
Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner said in a post on Twitter that his “presence was larger than life in helping to catapult our hip hop scene nationally.”
“The City of Houston and I extend our prayers and condolences to our own Screwed Up Click legendary rapper #BigPokey family and friends,” Sylvester wrote.
And fellow Screwed Up Click member Bun B paid tribute on Instagram.
“I wasn’t ready for this. One of the most naturally talented artists in the city. Low key, humble mountain of a man who moved with honor and respect,” wrote Bun B.
“He was easy to love and hard to hate. He’d pull up, do what he had to do and head home. One of the pillars of our city. If heart of gold was a person.”
by tyler | Jun 16, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Carrie Fisher’s final movie, “Wonderwell,” shows the late actress playing a good witch alongside Rita Ora.
The trailer for the movie was released on Friday, and the film debuts in theaters and streams more than seven years after her death.
The movie is about a girl named Violet, played by Kiera Milward, and her sister Savannah, played by Nell Tiger Free, who travel to a medieval village for a fashion shoot for Savannah. Ora plays the fashion designer in charge of the shoot.
According to the official synopsis, “Neglected and bored, Violet wanders from the ancient Tuscan town into a nearby forest where she meets the enigmatic Hazel (Fisher), who may be the fabled witch of the woods.”
In 2016, Fisher had completed filming on the movie, before she died of a heart attack on Dec. 27 that same year. The release was put on hold following her death and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Wonderwell” is scheduled for release in select theaters and will stream on digital beginning June 23.
See the trailer here.
by tyler | Jun 16, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Actor and comedian Pete Davidson has been charged with reckless driving in connection to a car crash in Beverly Hills earlier this year, CNN has learned.
Greg Risling, assistant chief of media relations at the LA County District Attorney’s office, said Davidson is being charged with one misdemeanor count of reckless driving. His arraignment is scheduled for July 27.
“We believe that Mr. Davidson engaged in reckless driving, which ultimately resulted in his involvement in a serious collision into a home,” Rislong said. “Luckily, no one was seriously injured as a result of this collision. We know that reckless driving can have devastating consequences.”
The March 4 incident happened around 11 pm PT, when a vehicle Davidson was driving on a residential street crashed into a fire hydrant and a home.
CNN has reached to representatives for Davidson for comment.
“In 2022, traffic fatalities in Los Angeles have reached the highest levels seen in 20 years,” Risling also shared on Friday. “This is an alarming trend that we cannot ignore. As a result, it’s crucial that we take all allegations of reckless driving seriously and hold those responsible accountable.”
by tyler | Jun 13, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Though the project was never released, Joseph Fiennes being cast to play Michael Jackson in 2017 created a whitewashing controversy.
Now the actor is expressing regret for taking the role of the music icon in an episode of the anthology series “Urban Myths.” The pulled episode was about Jackson, Marlon Brando (played by Brian Cox) and Elizabeth Taylor (played by Stockard Channing) supposedly taking a cross-country road trip after 9/11.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Fiennes addressed the backlash to his casting.
“I think people are absolutely right to be upset,” Fiennes said.
“And it was a wrong decision. Absolutely,” he said. “And I’m one part of that – there are producers, broadcasters, writers, directors, all involved in these decisions. But obviously if I’m upfront, I have become the voice for other people.”
“I would love them to be around the table as well to talk about it,” Fiennes added. “But you know, it came at a time where there was a movement and a shift and that was good, and it was, you know, a bad call. A bad mistake.”
Due to the uproar, the episode was pulled before it aired, something Fiennes took partial credit for during his interview.
“I asked the broadcaster to pull it,” he said. “And there were some pretty hefty discussions, but ultimately people made the right choice.
Fiennes had initially defended the decision in a 2016 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“It’s Michael in his last days when, I have to say, he did look quite frankly rather differently than when we grew up with him in the ’80s or earlier,” Fiennes said then. “The decision with the casting and the producers – I wrangled with it, I was confused and shocked at what might come my way, and I knew the sensitivity, especially to Michael’s fans and to Michael’s family. It doesn’t negate who he was.”
In a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jackson rejected the idea of having a white actor portray him onscreen. Winfrey had asked him about reports that he wanted Pepsi to cast a white actor to play him as a child in a commercial.
“That is so stupid,” Jackson said at the time. “That’s the most ridiculous, horrifying story I’ve ever heard. It’s crazy.”
by tyler | Jun 13, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Pat Sajak is preparing to spin the wheel on television’s long-running game show “Wheel of Fortune” for the last time.
The host confirmed the news in a tweet on Monday, saying, “Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last.”
He continued, “It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)”
Sajak gave no indication of who may replace him, but Suzanne Prete, executive vice president of game shows at Sony Pictures Television – the studio that produces “Wheel” – told CNN in a statement that Sajak will “continue as a consultant on the show for three years following his last year hosting.”
“As the host of Wheel of Fortune, Pat has entertained millions of viewers across America for 40 amazing years,” Prete’s statement read, going on to say “We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season.”
Serving as the host of the Emmy-winning game show alongside co-host Vanna White for 40 years, Sajak and White stand as two of the longest-serving hosts of any television program in the game show category.
Sajak became the host of “Wheel of Fortune” after Chuck Woolery left the series in 1981. He continued his hosting duties as “Wheel” became syndicated in 1983, and has since hosted various spinoff shows including 2021’s “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.” The show first debuted in 1975.
The Chicago native won a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement award in 2011 and has earned three additional Emmys for his work hosting “Wheel.”
“Wheel of Fortune” is a game show similar to “Hangman” where contestants spin a wheel to earn money for solving word puzzles, and has been a primetime TV mainstay that airs alongside “Jeopardy.”
