Month: August 2023

Rihanna has given birth to her and rapper A$AP Rocky’s second child, a baby boy.

TMZ reported that the duo secretly welcomed their new son on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles. The newborn’s name has yet to be revealed, but reportedly starts with “R” just like his big brother, RZA.

The 35-year-old Rihanna first revealed her second pregnancy during her headlining performance at the 2023 Super Bowl 2023 halftime show in February, kicking off the show by cradling her budding belly in a red outfit, and later confirming that she was expecting baby No. 2. Rihanna joked to British Vogue the following month of the decision to perform while pregnant, “What the heck [was] I thinking?” The Fenty Beauty creator has called motherhood a “legendary” role, gushing, “You really don’t remember life before, that’s the craziest thing ever. It doesn’t matter.”

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have shown glimpses of RZA’s face on social media, but his name remained a secret until this May. The couple, who welcomed RZA in May 2022, haven’t yet commented on their new bundle of joy.

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Josh Groban has tested positive for Covid-19, forcing him to sit out his next string of performances in Broadway’s ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ‘  Groban’s understudy, Nicholas Christopher, will go on stage in his place, taking on the title role of Sweeney Todd during his absence.

Josh released the news in a video on Instagram, along with the caption: “Well, after avoiding it for a good long stretch, I’m bummed to say this mystery illness is in fact Covid. Tested positive today and will be resting hard to get well and back on stage ASAP. If you have tickets, I assure you the show is in brilliant hands with @nikriz and I’m grateful to him and the entire cast. I’ll see you again very soon! ”

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street began performances on February 26, and opened on March 26, at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City. The show features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Hugh Wheeler, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond,

Joining Groban as Sweeney Todd are Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs. Lovett, Jordan Fisher as Anthony, Gaten Matarazzo (“Stranger Things”) as Tobias, and Ruthie Ann Miles as Beggar Woman.

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Ron Cephas Jones, who won two Emmy Awards for his role on the hit NBC television drama “This Is Us,” has died at age 66. Jones’ manager, Dan Spilo, confirmed the actor’s death in a statement: “Beloved and award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones has passed away at the age of 66 due to a long-standing pulmonary issue. Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him. Ron’s inner-beauty and soul was evident to the huge audience from his multi-Emmy award winning performance on This is Us. He is survived by his daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones.”

Jones was best known for playing William Hill, a recovering drug addict with terminal cancer who reconnects with his biological son, Randall Pearson, played by Sterling K. Brown. Jones was nominated for an Emmy four consecutive times from 2017-2020 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, winning in 2018 and 2020. That same year, his daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones won an Emmy for her performance in the Quibi series “#FreeRayshawn,” making the pair the first father-daughter pair to win Emmys in the same year. Jones appeared in the shows “Mr. Robot,” “The Get Down,” and “Luke Cage,” as well as in the movies “Half Nelson,” “Across the Universe,” “Dog Days,” and “Dolemite Is My Name.” Jones was also a stage actor on and off Broadway, and he was nominated for a Tony Award in 2022 for his portrayal of Montrellous in the play “Clyde’s.”

Jones revealed to The New York Times in 2021 that he had a double-lung transplant at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in May 2020 after struggling from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, where he was a patient for almost two months. He was on and off a ventilator and had to learn to breathe, eat and walk again.

Sterling K. Brown posted a tribute to the actor, sharing: “Life imitated art today, and one of the most wonderful people the world has ever seen is no longer with us. [Jones] has passed away, and the world is a little less bright. Brother, you are loved. And you will be missed. Keep them laughing in the next phase of existence, and I’ll see you when I get there.”

“This Is Us” co-star Mandy Moore also shared: “Getting to know and work with Ron on the wild ride of ‘This Is Us’ was the greatest gift- he was pure magic as a human and an artist…I will treasure all of the moments forever.”

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AMC released a new trailer for the upcoming spinoff series The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, starring Norman Reedus.

The trailer sees Daryl Dixon (Reedus) is France, and features a new character (played by Clémence Poésy). Poésy’s character asks Daryl what led him to France; who replies, “bad decisions,” while she responds: “Maybe we’re the same that way, broken until the world ended.” Daryl Dixon also stars Adam Nagaitis, Anne Charrier, Eriq Ebouaney, Laika Blanc Francard, Romain Levi and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi.

Daryl Dixon joins two other ‘TWD’ spinoffs:  Dead City, (which had its season finale on July 20), and The Ones Who Live, which reunites Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira. Dead City and Daryl Dixon have already been renewed for second seasons.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres Sept. 10 on at 9 p.m. EDT/PDT on AMC and streaming on AMC+.  Take a look at the trailer – here.

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The trailer for the new film The Kill Room has been released, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman.

In The Kill Room, Thurman plays art dealer Patrice Capullo, while Jackson plays Gordon Davis, a mob boss who needs to launder money from hit jobs. According to a film synopsis, ‘Gordon concocts a scheme where Patrice will sell paintings for millions of dollars to launder his money. Gordon lets his hitman (Joe Manganiello) make the paintings too. However, those paintings become a phenomenon in the art world, bringing unwanted attention to Gordon’s scheme and demand for more product to sell.’

The Kill Room also stars Maya Hawke (Thurman’s daughter), as well as Debi Mazar, Dree Hemingway, Amy Keum, Candy Buckley, Larry Pine, Jennifer Kim, Matthew Maher, Tom Pecinka, and Alexander Sokovikov.

The Kill Room is set for release in theaters on September 29th.  Take a look at the trailer – here.

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