Free Republic

There will be no Golden Globes in 2022 on NBC, as the besieged HFPA continues to falter in reforming itself to the satisfaction of Hollywood studios and stakeholders. “We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform,” said the Comcast-owned network this morning. “However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right. As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes. Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January...

Besides the obvious changes in formant and technical reach due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jimmy Kimmel’s third time as host saw a lot of firsts at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards last night. For one, there was a host again after the TV Academy show ceremony tried to be like the 2019 Oscars and go without a frontman or frontwoman. Then there was the unprecedented total sweep by Canadian comedy Schitt’s Creek of every category it was nominated in. That sweep also saw a first for an import from the Great White North in a top series category. Additionally, with...

Craig Gore, a writer whose credits include “S.W.A.T.” and “Chicago P.D.,” has been fired from Dick Wolf’s upcoming “Law & Order” spinoff series after controversial Facebook posts about looters and the recent curfew put in place across Los Angeles. “I will not tolerate this conduct, especially during our hour of national grief. I am terminating Craig Gore immediately,” Dick Wolf said in a statement to Variety. Photos on social media show Gore holding a weapon with the caption “Curfew…” In another comment, Gore threatened to “light motherf—ers up who are trying to f— with my property,” in reference to protests...

A host of celebrities and scientists including Madonna, Robert de Niro and a clutch of Nobel Prize winners have called for radical change in the world rather than 'a return to normal' after the coronavirus lockdowns. Hollywood stars Cate Blanchett, Jane Fonda, Marion Cotillard and Monica Bellucci also added their names to the open letter published in the French daily Le Monde. The signatories are pleading for an end to unbridled consumerism and a 'radical transformation' of economies to help save the planet. The movement has been penned and led by actress Juliette Binoche and astrophysicist Aurélien Barrau. A full...

I have not forgotten that when it was announced that I was going to do The Apprentice, and when it then became a big hit, helping NBC’s failed lineup greatly, @DebraMessing came up to me at an Upfront & profusely thanked me, even calling me “Sir.” How times have changed!

Attorney Michael Avenatti blasted actress Alyssa Milano on Twitter Monday afternoon in response to a tweet she issued about his arrest for domestic violence last year. At the time, Milano wrote that the allegations against Avenatti were "totally disgusting" and that she was "disavowing" Stormy Daniels's former lawyer. Avenatti was arrested in November 2018 after an ex-girlfriend accused him of grabbing her by the wrist and throwing her out of his apartment. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office announced in February that Avenatti would not be charged with a crime. For some reason, the lawyer chose to respond on Monday...

A caravan of 10,000 actors, singers and musicians from South and Central American and Mexico are heading towards the border. The caravan, dubbed "Artists Without Borders" is heading towards Hollywood in hopes of making in big in Hollywood. Open borders activists in Hollywood are up in arms over the latest development and are now demanding a full border wall at the Mexico/California border. Several prominent actors have shared their concerns on twitter. "Someone stop this caravan. They're supposed to come here to clean my toilet, not take my job," said Alyssa Milano. "What the heck? An acting caravan? What is...

Michelle Rodriguez attested that her “Widows” co-star Liam Neeson is not a racist because of how he kissed Viola Davis during the movie. The actress came to Neeson’s defense Wednesday night at the amfAR gala in the wake of Neeson’s racially charged comments that he wanted to kill a “black bastard” to avenge a friend who had been raped. The actor later apologized and contended that his comments were taken out of context. “It’s all f—in’ bulls—. Liam Neeson is not a racist,” Rodriguez told Vanity Fair at the New York event. “Dude, have you watched ‘Widows’? His tongue was...

With swelling transient encampments abutting seven-figure homes, the beachside enclave has emerged as a flashpoint for the inequality shaping Los Angeles — and a real-world test case for the liberal ideology of the area’s showbiz residents. After the first attack, Randy Osborn figured it was just his turn. Tire slashings in his east Venice Beach neighborhood had become commonplace. But when his vintage Land Rover was hit a sixth time in the course of a few months, Osborn, who runs a small virtual reality company and has lived in Venice for seven years, began to worry he was being singled...

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is firing back at Christian Bale after the actor said during a Golden Globes acceptance speech that Satan inspired him when he played her father, Dick Cheney. While accepting an award in the “Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy” category late Sunday, the “Vice” star said to laughs from the crowd, “Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration on how to play this role.” A chuckling Bale also blasted Dick Cheney and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as “charisma-free [expletive]” during his fiery remarks. After the awards ceremony, Liz Cheney, 52,...

While Hollywood women have made incremental gains in below-the-line jobs like producing and editing, they backslid as feature film directors and continue on a path of “radical underrepresentation” in the industry, a new study says. Martha Lauzen’s “Celluloid Ceiling,” a comprehensive report of women’s behind-the-scenes employment in film run out of San Diego State University, hit on Thursday — and its analysis comes with a blazing criticism that Hollywood’s value shift is only lip service until the industry commits to transparency. “The study provides no evidence that the mainstream film industry has experienced the profound positive shift predicted by so...

For 2018, the minimum earnings requirement for Plan I eligibility is $33,660 in covered earnings in your base earnings period. For 2019, the minimum earnings requirement will be $34,330. Download a copy of the 2018 Benefits Summary, effective January 1, 2018 and the 2019 Benefits Summary, effective January 1, 2019. Calendar Year Deductible: In-Network Provider: Hospital: The Industry Health Network ‐ $150/person; $300/family BlueCard PPO/Beacon Health Options ‐ $250/person; $500/family Inpatient (Room and Board and Ancillary Services): 90% after $100 copay Outpatient Surgery: 90% after $100 copay Emergency Room: 90% after $100 copay; emergency room copay is waived if immediately...

Ellen Pompeo took a stand in an on camera interview for Net-A-Porter, calling out the publication during an actress roundtable interview. The “Grey’s Anatomy” star appeared in the video interview opposite Gina Rodriguez, Gabrielle Union, and Emma Roberts. When the conversation turned to representation in front of and behind the camera, Pompeo took a moment to address the elephant in the room and advocate for more inclusive sets of all shapes and sizes. “This day has been incredible, and there’s a ton of women in the room. But I don’t see enough color,” Pompeo said about the Net-A-Porter set. “I...

Showtime has given a pilot commitment to an untitled drama starring and executive produced by Golden Globe Award winner Gael García Bernal (Mozart In the Jungle) and created by Jonás Cuarón (Gravity). Lie To Me creator Sam Baum will also serve as an executive producer, along with journalist and DACA recipient, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, whose upcoming book Undocumented America inspired the series. Brad Weston’s Makeready and Showtime will serve as studio co-production partners. The as-of-yet untitled project centers on a Mexican-American family man living undocumented in the United States. When his wife is detained by ICE, desperate and resourceful undocumented...

This video will resume in 28 seconds Director Rob Reiner denounced Robert De Niro and other celebrities for their remarks against President Trump, saying it only helps the president. During an exclusive interview with The Hill’s new TV show “Rising,” which aired on Wednesday, Reiner addressed the controversy surrounding actor Robert De Niro’s “F---Trump” speech during the Tony Awards on Sunday. De Niro called the president a “f---ing idiot” and a “f---ing fool,” which was met with a standing ovation. “You’re helping Trump by saying ‘F--- Trump,’ because he can say 'look at these people, these elitists,' ” Reiner told...

Down at the beach, every other trash can is wrapped in what suddenly seems an unnerving image, given the recent school shootings, including last week’s in Texas. There’s baby-faced Alden Ehrenreich, as Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story from Lucsfilm and Disney, aiming squarely at the viewer with an outsized handgun (and it is exactly that, whatever fantasy blast it is presumed to emit in the latest installment of the sci-fi epic). Just below, a smiling Emilia Clark, as Qi’ra, clutches a double-barreled pistol. They are flanked by Joonas Suotamo, Chewbacca, who totes the space equivalent of an...

Several Hollywood celebrities freaked out over comments made by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, in which he referred to members of the MS-13 criminal gang as “animals.” During a roundtable discussion of California’s sanctuary state laws, Trump described members of MS-13 as “animals,” adding that immigration authorities were now “taking them out of the country at a level and rate that’s never happened before.” It is not the first time that Trump has used the phrase to describe the bloodthirsty organization, who have been classified by the FBI as the most violent and organized criminal network in the United States.

Hollywood stars Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, and others associated with the No Rifle Association initiative (#NoRA) have signed a letter demanding Bank of America revoke a loan made to Remington Arms. Alyssa Milano tweeted the list of signatories, which included Alec Baldwin, Michael Ian Black, Mia Farrow, Chelsea Handler, Debra Messing, Julianne Moore, Michael Moore, and Rosie O’Donnell, and a page full of others. Signatories also included Parkland gun control activist David Hogg.

Several celebrities took to social media and hit the streets to join the student activists and others who marched in Washington, D.C., and in other cities across the country in support of gun control. Left-wing actor Jim Carrey tweeted art of the Parkland student activists for gun control, captioning the tweet with a demand that lawmakers “stop taking NRA blood money.” “Today our nation’s youth are demanding their basic human right to go to school without dying in the name of greed. It’s time for Congress to act like adults worthy of their office. PASS TOUGHER GUN LAWS! BAN THE...

The Los Angeles Police Department will deploy 500 officers to wrap the Dolby Theatre in multiple barriers of armed security for the 90th Academy Awards on Sunday night, an event at which several of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars will actively push for more gun control in America. “We have these concentric rings of security that start in the middle and radiate outward,” said LAPD Cmdr. Blake Chow, the man tasked with overseeing the massive operation. “We have a lot of officers in fixed posts and foot beats keeping an eye on the event.” Several celebrities plan to wear orange lapel...