Month: September 2023

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness are separating after 27 years of marriage, confirming the news in a statement to People. 

Their statement reads: “Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth. We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth. Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love and kindness. We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives.”  The statement concludes: “Signed by “Deb and Hugh Jackman. This is the sole statement either of us will make.”

Jackman, 54, and Furness, 67, met in 1995 when they were cast in the Australian TV miniseries “Corelli”. Furness was already an established star in their native Australia, while Jackman had only recently graduated from drama school. The couple were married in 1996, and share two children, Oscar, 23, and Ava, 18.

Earlier this year, the couple celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary, with Jackson sharing on Instagram:  “I love you Deb. Today is our 27th wedding anniversary. 27 YEARS!! I love you so much. Together we have created a beautiful family. And life. Your laughter, your spirit, generosity, humor, cheekiness, courage and loyalty is an incredible gift to me. I love you with all my heart.”

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Russell Brand is refuting allegations in a new report published by The Sunday Times of London, accusing him of “rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse.”

The joint investigation between The Times of London and Channel 4’s documentary team “Dispatches” was published over the weekend in the U.K.  According to The Sunday Times, the British comedian has been accused of sexual assault by four women between 2006 and 2013.  Brand was married to singer Katy Perry between 2010-2012.

The newspaper reported that one alleged victim said Brand assaulted her when she was 16 (he was then in his 30s) during a three-month “emotionally and sexually abusive” relationship. Another alleged victim told the outlet she was raped by the comedian in his Los Angeles home in 2012 while a third, who was working with him in L.A., said he sexually assaulted her at his West Hollywood home in 2013 and threatened to take legal action if she ever spoke about the incident publicly.

Brand denied the allegations in a YouTube video titled “So, This Is Happening,” saying he “absolutely refutes” the “litany of astonishing, rather baroque, attacks. These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream media, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies. And as I’ve written about extensively in my books I was very, very promiscuous. Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual. I was always transparent about that then — almost too transparent — and I’m being transparent about it now as well.”

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Variety reported that Rachel McAdams will make her Broadway debut in Mary Jane, a new play by Amy Herzog opening spring 2024. Mary Jane debuted at Yale Repertory Theater in 2017 and had an Off-Broadway run at New York Theater Workshop the same year.

McAdams, 44, shared her love of theater in an interview with The New York Times, saying: “I’ve been looking for a play forever, but kind of casually — not fully committed to it — and this came along, I read it, and I was just so taken with it. I think it might be like riding a bike. [But] there’s a little bit of the unknown about it. And I think also just having emotional stamina — you really don’t know until you’re there if you’re going to be able to fill your vessel up enough to keep you going. So it’s just all those ‘I won’t know until I get there’ things, but I’m excited to do the work.”

Mary Jane will begin previews April 2, 2024, at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York City.

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Days after reuniting at the MTV VMAs, iconic boy band NSYNC have confirmed they will drop their first new song in over two decades.

The new single, “Better Place” will be featured in the upcoming animated sequel “Trolls Band Together” with a Sept. 29 release date.  A snippet from the song was featured in a new trailer for the film, which is the third installment in the popular animated franchise starring NSYNC’s Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick. Part of the song “Better Place” was also released on TikTok after NSYNC posted a cryptic teaser video on Instagram.

NSYNC’s reunion at the VMA’s on Tuesday night saw the famous boy band – comprised of Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick – presenting Taylor Swift with the award for Best Pop video.  Upon accepting her award, a visibly excited Swift asked: “Are you doing something? What’s going to happen now? They’re going to do something and I need to know what it is. ” 

“Better Place” will officially drop on September 29th; while “Trolls Band Together” opens in theatres Nov. 17.

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ABC revealed the full cast for Dancing with the Stars Season 32, with the celebrities and their professional dancing partners unveiled Wednesday on ‘Good Morning America’, as well as announced on social media.

Among the cast this season will be actresses Alyson Hannigan and Mira Sorvino, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Mauricio Umansky, singer Jason Mraz, and former professional football player Adrian Peterson. The Bachelorette Season 20 star Charity Lawson, Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix, and singer/actress Jamie Lynn Spears were previously announced as contestants.

Other contestants include model Tyson Beckford, actress Xochitl Gomez, reality TV star Harry Jowsey, social media star Lele Pons, and actors Matt Walsh and Barry Williams.

Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough will serve as co-hosts this season, with Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli judging the competition series.

Season 32 will premiere Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC and Disney+, with episodes available the next day on Hulu.

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Netflix shared a teaser trailer for the crime drama Pain Hustlers, featuring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans.

Pain Hustlers, based on the Evan Hughes book ‘Pain Hustlers: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup,’ follows Liza Drake (Blunt), a single mom struggling to raise her daughter. According to an official synopsis, Liza “takes a job at a failing pharmaceutical start-up, only to get involved in a dangerous racketeering scheme.”

Pain Hustlers is written by Wells Tower and directed by David Yates, known for the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. It also stars Andy Garcia, Catherine O’Hara, Jay Duplass, Brian d’Arcy James and Chloe Coleman.

Pain Hustlers will open in select theaters Oct. 20 and begin streaming Oct. 27 on Netflix. Take a look at the trailer for the film – here.

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