Tag Archives: Entertainment

Hugh Grant ‘Enormously Surprised’ To Hear Which Of His Films Quentin Tarantino Loves

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Hugh Grant has revealed Quentin Tarantino surprised him when he revealed his favourite film from the British actor’s vast back catalogue.

In a new interview with Letterboxd, the Heretic star recalled a “weird experience” at an event in London, in which a “sweaty person pushed his way through the crowd to me”, only to reveal himself as the Pulp Fiction filmmaker.

“To my enormous surprise, he said, ‘Oh, man, I love Music And Lyrics’,” Hugh continued.

“He said he watched it on a plane, and was so disappointed that the plane landed before the film ended, that he had to quickly go and order it from Blockbuster or something. And I thought, ‘Surely not, not Quentin Tarantino’…?”

Music And Lyrics featured Hugh as a former 80s music icon, who leans on an unlikely source when he’s tasked with writing a new song for a modern-day pop star.

Elsewhere in his Letterboxd interview, Hugh opened up about shooting those musical scenes, admitting: “[The dancing in Music And Lyrics] was hell, because it was freeform, just kind of ‘express yourself’, ‘enjoy the music’, ‘feel it’ like a real rock star, and I’m so not that person, and I really struggled with that.

“I had to have my charming makeup lady in New York bring me little swigs of whisky in a 7Up bottle and a certain amount of lorazepam to really get in the mood for that one.”

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Madonna Serves Up a ‘F**k Trump’ Cake With A Side Of Scathing Commentary

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Madonna didn’t sugarcoat her feelings as she revealed her utter disgust at President-elect Donald Trump’s looming return to the White House in her Instagram stories.

The pop star on Thursday first shared the picture of a cake with “Fuck Trump” written on top.

Then, the singer shared a picture of herself and said: “Trying to get my head around why a convicted felon, rapist, Bigot was chosen to lead our country because he’s good for the economy.”

Madonna has criticised Trump for years.

During his 2016 campaign, she shared video online of a Trump piñata being battered and criticised his sons (Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump), asking “How Big of. Pussy Do you have to BE to kill this Noble Animal for sport” after images of them posing with a dead leopard resurfaced.

When Trump did win eight years ago, she said it felt “like women betrayed us” with their support for him, and the following year she likened the heartbreak she experienced following Hillary Clinton’s loss to Trump to a breakup.

Midway through Trump’s first term, Madonna revealed how Trump’s presidency (and her son’s fledgling soccer career) prompted her to move to Portugal. “I felt like we needed a change, and I wanted to get out of America for a minute ― as you know, this is not America’s finest hour,” she said.

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Here’s Who Nabbed Nominations For The 2025 Grammy Awards

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It’s time to press play on Grammys season.

Nominees for the 67th Grammy Awards were announced by the Recording Academy on Friday morning, leaving music fans with a lot to sound off on.

To drop the news, broadcaster Gayle King and comedian Jim Gaffigan joined forces with a long list of past Grammy winners that included Kylie Minogue, Mark Ronson, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong and last year’s best new artist, Victoria Monét.

Honoring the work released between September 2023 through this August, this year’s slate of nominations features both Grammy veterans and a charming array of newcomers.

Beyonce' accepts the Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, Monday, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Beyonce’ accepts the Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, Monday, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

via Associated Press

Beyoncé’s most recent release, “Cowboy Carter,” earned 11 nominations, making her the most-nominated artist in the show’s history.

The western-infused album, which the artist herself has declared a “Beyoncé album” and not a country record, will compete in both pop and country categories.

One year after taking home album of the year for her 2022 effort, “Midnights,” pop heavyweight Taylor Swift’s 2024 double album, “The Tortured Poet’s Department,” emerged with six nominations. Her “Fortnight” collaborator Post Malone snagged seven nominations of his own.

A replica of a Grammy triphy at L.A.'s GRAMMY Museum. The 2025 nominations dropped on Friday.
A replica of a Grammy triphy at L.A.’s GRAMMY Museum. The 2025 nominations dropped on Friday.

Matt Winkelmeyer via Getty Images

It was a breakout year for artists like Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, who secured six and seven nods, respectively.

While Roan is veritable newcomer, rocketing into the public consciousness with the release of her studio debut, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” Charli’s sixth full-length album, “Brat,” elevated the English singer from a long-simmering underground pop icon to an inescapable, slime-green cultural phenomenon this past summer.

Chappell Roan arrives at the premiere of "Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour" on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at nya studios EAST in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Chappell Roan arrives at the premiere of “Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour” on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at nya studios EAST in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

via Associated Press

With seven nominations, Billie Eilish is the now only artist to have her first three albums each nominated for album of the year.

The beef between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake will now have a chance to play out in the awards sphere. Lamar’s hit Drake diss, “Not Like Us,” received five nods. His rival, who released the album “For All the Dogs” last fall, received none.

There will be plenty more spectacle to come when winners across 94 categories are announced at the 2025 Grammys, set to take place live from Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 2025.

Check out the nominees for some of the key categories below:

Album of the Year

André 3000 – “New Blue Sun”

Beyoncé – “Cowboy Carter”

Billie Eilish – “Hit Me Hard and Soft”

Chappell Roan – “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”

Charli XCX – “Brat”

Jacob Collier – “Djesse Vol. 4”

Sabrina Carpenter – “Short n’ Sweet”

Taylor Swift – “The Tortured Poets Department”

Record of the Year

The Beatles – “Now and Then”

Beyoncé – “Texas Hold ’Em”

Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather”

Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”

Charli XCX – “360”

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”

Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”

Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone – “Fortnight”

Song of the Year

Beyoncé – “Texas Hold ’Em”

Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather”

Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”

Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”

Sabrina Carpenter – “Please Please Please”

Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone – “Fortnight”

Best New Artist

Benson Boone

Sabrina Carpenter

Khruangbin

Chappell Roan

Teddy Swims

Songwriter of the Year

Edgar Barrera

Jessi Alexander

Jessie Jo Dillon

Producer of the Year

Daniel Nigro

Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II

Ian Fitchuk

Best Pop Solo Performance

Beyoncé – “Bodyguard”

Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather”

Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”

Charli XCX – “Apple”

Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica – “The Boy Is Mine – Remix”

Beyoncé Featuring Post Malone – “Levii’s Jeans”

Charli XCX & Billie Eilish – “Guess Featuring Billie Eilish”

Gracie Abrams Featuring Taylor Swift – “Us.”

Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”

Best Rap Performance

Cardi B – “Enough (Miami)”

Common & Pete Rock Featuring Posdnuos – “When the Sun Shines Again”

Doechii – “Nissan Altima”

Eminem – “Houdini”

Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar – “Like That”

Glorilla – “Yeah Glo!”

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”

Best R&B Performance

Chris Brown – “Residuals”

Coco Jones – “Here We Go (Uh Oh)”

Jhené Aiko – “Guidance”

Muni Long – “Made for Me (Live on BET)”

SZA – “Saturn”

Best Latin Pop Album

Anitta – “Funk Generation”

Kali Uchis – “Orquídeas”

Kany García – “García”

Luis Fonsi – “El Viaje”

Shakira – “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran”

Best Rock Performance

The Beatles – “Now and Then”

The Black Keys – “Beautiful People (Stay High)

Green Day – “The American Dream Is Killing Me”

Idles – “Gift Horse”

Pearl Jam – “Dark Matter”

St. Vincent – “Broken Man”

Best Alternative Music Performance

Cage the Elephant – “Neon Pill”

Fontaines D.C. – “Starburster”

Kim Gordon – “Bye Bye”

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – “Song of the Lake”

St. Vincent – “Flea”

Best Country Solo Performance

Beyoncé – “16 Carriages”

Chris Stapleton – It Takes a Woman”

Jelly Roll – “I Am Not Okay”

Kacey Musgraves – “The Architect”

Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

Best Musical Theater Album

“Hell’s Kitchen”

“Merrily We Roll Along”

“The Notebook”

“The Outsiders”

“Suffs”

“The Wiz”

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20 Years After ‘Mean Girls,’ Jonathan Bennett Is Finding New Ways To Make Fans Swoon

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To a generation of viewers, Jonathan Bennett will forever be known as Aaron Samuels, the dreamy jock who won the heart of Lindsay Lohan’s character in the 2004 teen comedy classic “Mean Girls.”

The actor, who is gay, has more recently been finding creative ways to reflect his lived experience through his work. This fall, he’s one of the principal stars of Hallmark’s “The Groomsmen” trilogy, in which he portrays Danny, a gay athlete who supports his two straight friends (Tyler Hynes and B.J. Britt) as they prepare for their respective weddings ― while holding out hope for a fairy-tale ending of his own.

In the series’ second installment, “The Groomsmen: Second Chances,” Danny grapples with a “My Best Friend’s Wedding”-like conundrum when he’s asked to be the best man for a longtime pal, Zack (Alexander Lincoln), who is preparing to tie the knot in Greece. What Zack doesn’t know, however, is that Danny has been suppressing his own feelings for him.

From left: B.J. Britt, Jonathan Bennett and Tyler Hynes star in Hallmark's "The Groomsmen" trilogy.
From left: B.J. Britt, Jonathan Bennett and Tyler Hynes star in Hallmark’s “The Groomsmen” trilogy.

Elena Nenkova/Hallmark Media

“I got married two years ago [to television personality Jaymes Vaughan] and I had a bunch of my best friends as my groomsmen, and I’ve been in a bunch of my friends’ weddings as their groomsmen,” said Bennett, who is also a co-creator and co-producer on the trilogy. “Half my friends are straight, half my friends are gay, and we’ve always been a wolf pack.”

“Those friends are there for you when you need each other,” he continued. “But they also have an innate ability to call you out on your crap when you’re not being your best self. So I thought there was an interesting story that hasn’t been told of that male squad in the romantic comedy space.”

Bennett made his Hallmark debut in 2020 when he appeared in “The Christmas House,” the network’s first holiday-themed offering to include an LGBTQ+ storyline. Similarly, “Second Chances” is billed as Hallmark’s first to feature a gay wedding in a principal storyline.

Of course, Bennett knew he’d have to stay true to rom-com tradition by having the film end on a happy note for both Danny and Zack. But he and the rest of the creative team nonetheless looked for unexpected ways to subvert LGBTQ+ tropes.

In "The Groomsmen: Second Chances," Bennett's character (left) must work up the courage to admit his feelings for his longtime friend (Alexander Lincoln).
In “The Groomsmen: Second Chances,” Bennett’s character (left) must work up the courage to admit his feelings for his longtime friend (Alexander Lincoln).

Elena Nenkova/Hallmark Media

Given the scarcity of openly LGBTQ+ athletes in professional sports, Bennett felt he would “offer aspiration and hope” to fans by making Danny a Major League Baseball player.

“We want to make sure when we’re telling stories ― whether it’s a holiday story or a wedding story ― that there’s always a seat at the table for everyone,” he said.

With four years of Hallmark experience under his belt, Bennett is also thrilled to be mentoring would-be heartthrobs as the host of “Finding Mr. Christmas.” Airing Thursdays, the competition series finds 10 actors vying to be the leading man in an upcoming Hallmark Christmas movie, “Happy Howlidays,” starring Jessica Lowndes and due out Dec. 21.

“My dream for the show is for it to be like the early days of ‘American Idol,’ where everyone gathers around the TV together at the holidays, and everybody has their favorites that they’re rooting for,” Bennett said. As to what makes the ideal Hallmark holiday heartthrob, he noted: “They have a wit and a kindness to them. They have a whole lot of heart and charisma coming out of their ears. And, of course, they look good in a Christmas sweater.”

Watch a teaser for “Finding Mr. Christmas” below.

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With his television career once again in high gear, Bennett also got to fulfill a lifelong dream this year when he made his Broadway debut in the musical “Spamalot” as Sir Robin. Looking ahead to 2025, he’s eager for an opportunity to return to the stage or turn his attention behind the camera by directing his first feature film.

Meanwhile, he and Vaughan have emerged as queer role models in their own right, offering quirky and colorful glimpses of their journey as a married couple to over 1 million followers on social media.

Bennett has been pleasantly surprised by just how warmly his marriage has been embraced by legions of youngsters ― and their parents ― who may be coming to terms with their own sexuality or gender identity.

“Sharing my love for my husband unapologetically with the world has been one of the biggest honors of my life,” he said. “We don’t post pictures of us kissing because we want pictures of us kissing ― I’m not even a good kisser. We do it because we didn’t have a love that looked like ours to look up to. This way, our love can be seen by the people who need to see it.”

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