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Alec Baldwin has lined up another project, joining the cast of the upcoming feature film Kent State. The film is set to bring to life the violent and tragic events of May 4, 1970, when four students were shot and killed by the National Guard during a campus protest against the Vietnam War. Baldwin will play Kent State president Robert I. White.

Actress Annie Wersching, best known for her roles in the television shows 24, Bosch and Timeless, died of cancer early this morning. She was 45. Wersching continued to shoot even after her 2020 diagnosis, with prominent roles in Star Trek: Picard as the Borg queen in Season 2, and The Rookie. She also voiced Tess in the popular The Last Of Us video game, which was adapted into a TV series by HBO. Wersching’s husband, actor Stephen Full, issued a statement. “There is a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today. But she left us the tools to...

Australia was once a magnet for Hollywood filmmakers hoping to escape America's Covid crisis. But the country's filmmaking Golden Age has come to an end, as productions jump ship due to Australia's strict lockdowns and border closures. According to industry bible Variety, Australia's appeal has 'waned' among Hollywood producers in recent months due to the country's low vaccination rate and the uncontrollable spread of the Delta variant. While filming is technically considered 'essential work' in Australia, many productions have struggled to navigate complicated health regulations and border closures.

Mike Richards will not host the syndicated Jeopardy! after multiple controversies from his past emerged in the last few weeks. He just announced his exit in an internal memo. The show had already started production, which has been canceled for today as search for a permanent host resumes. In the meanwhile, guest hosts once again will be stepping in, with Richards remaining an executive producer. The news comes on the heels of a report about offensive and sexist comments towards his female co-hosts and guests Richards had made on The Randumb Show, a podcast he hosted for 41 episodes in...

♦ With the Gotham Awards moving to gender-neutral acting categories, the conversation shifts to when more awards shows will follow suit. IndieWire’s TV Awards Editor Libby Hill and Deputy Editor Ben Travers stopped for a Double Take to assess what might happen next — and what’s stopping it from happening sooner. BEN TRAVERS: On Thursday, the Gotham Film and Media Institute announced its annual awards show, the Gotham Awards, would be eliminating the Best Actor and Best Actress categories in favor of gender-neutral groupings that highlight Lead and Supporting performers. In addition, it tweaked the title of its Breakthrough Actor...

“Better Call Saul” star Bob Odenkirk was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday after collapsing on the set of the AMC show, Variety has confirmed. Odenkirk is currently in production on the sixth and final season of “Better Call Saul,” a spin-off of the wildly popular series “Breaking Bad.” Odenkirk collapsed on Tuesday at the show’s set in New Mexico and crew members immediately called an ambulance. Odenkirk is still receiving medical care, though the cause of the collapse has not been disclosed. Odenkirk, who is 58, portrays con-man lawyer Saul Goodman in “Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad.” “Better...

Tennis star Naomi Osaka said Monday she is withdrawing from the French Open after refusing to speak to the media at the grand slam. The four-time major winner posted a statement on Twitter saying she was pulling out so that "everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," adding that she would "take some time away from the court." Osaka revealed she had "suffered long bouts of depression" since winning her first Grand Slam title in 2018. Last Wednesday, citing mental health reasons, Osaka posted on social media she would not participate in any news...

At the end of a rocky 2020-21 season, following a toxic workplace environment controversy and amid declining ratings, Ellen DeGeneres is ending her daytime talk show. DeGeneres’ current contract takes The Ellen DeGeneres Show through the upcoming 2021-2022 season, the show’s 19th, and it will now be the program’s final chapter. Like this past year for the show, the announcement of its end was messy, with the news leaking to a tabloid, The Daily Mail, which broke it early Wednesday morning, thwarting DeGeneres’ and the show’s producer Warner Bros.’ plans of announcing the news on their own terms. DeGeneres will...

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...

Amidst the pomp-and-circumstance introductions of Tuesday night's Jeopardy!, a three-day returning champion flashed an 'OK' sign with three fingers, sending the Twitter world into a frenzy. When Kelly Donohue was announced by guest host Anderson Cooper, Donohue smiled and made a gesture of the sideways 'OK' gesture with three fingers out. This hand gesture has been used by far right-wing groups to represent white supremacy, and The Anti-Defamation League classified it as an official symbol of hate in 2019. But, this is not the only use of the symbol and Donohue has made very clear there was no 'hidden agenda...

Joy Behar, age 78, blamed a lack of sleep for using the incorrect pronouns in referring to Caitlyn Jenner on Friday’s The View. Behar referred to Jenner three times as “he” while discussing Jenner’s announced bid for California governor. “He’s got this guy Brad Parscale running his campaign. What do you think about that?” Behar asked co-host Sunny Hostin. “I mean, that guy was accused of using campaign funds to enrich himself. That’s who is running his campaign — or her campaign, rather.” She made the same gaffe one more time and again corrected herself. “I think that he should...

There’s more than one unnerving viral problem in the US. Here’s a dangerous one: the spread of neurotic, unjustified, perpetual panic. The risk of getting seriously ill from COVID is, for people who are fully vaccinated, negligible. Be happy about this! Get out there! Go to a restaurant! See friends! Hug Granny! Instead, the United States of COVID is showing signs of turning into the Republic of Never-Ending Fear. People with large followings are painting a nightmare scenario of continuing misery. A shocking example is the ironically named MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid, who turns out to be joyless about the...

One of the biggest voices in sports will get a chance to host "Jeopardy." Broadcaster Joe Buck will guest host the program, putting himself in contention for the permanent job, according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. The program is cycling through guest hosts following the death of long-time host Alex Trebek. A number of celebrities, including Katie Couric, Ken Jennings and Dr. Oz, have taken a shot at the role. It's assumed the program will hire a new full-time host eventually. Buck's episodes will air during the summer, according to the Post. It's unclear how long Buck...

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced on Tuesday that Disney properties were making changes and “creating a place where everyone is welcome.” D’Amaro said the company had, starting in 2019, engaged employees and come up with a new guiding principle: Inclusion. D’Amaro wrote in a blog post, “Every Disney Parks cast member is familiar with our longstanding tradition of The Four Keys – Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency – which have guided our approach to guest service for more than 65 years.” He announced that “Inclusion” would become the Fifth Key which, along with the others will...

To honor Transgender Day of Visibility on Wednesday, Lucasfilm debuted an exclusive cover of the “Star Wars: The High Republic” comic book series that features two trans non-binary characters. “In honor of #TransDayOfVisibility we’re proud to unveil an exclusive cover highlighting Terec and Ceret, trans non-binary Jedi, currently featured in Marvel’s The High Republic comic,” the Instagram post read. “We support trans lives and we are passionate and committed to broadening our representation in a galaxy far far way.” First observed in 2014, the holiday is dedicated to celebrating transgender people and bringing awareness to the discrimination and violence they...

A children's graphic novel from the immensely popular "Captain Underpants" series will no longer be found in library and book store shelves after the publisher deemed it to contain "passive racism." The book in question is 2010's "The Adventures of Ook and Gluk" by Dav Pilkey, who has apologized for the work saying it "contains harmful racial stereotypes" and is "wrong and harmful to my Asian readers." The book follows a pair of friends who travel from 500,001 B.C. to 2222, where they meet a martial arts instructor who teaches them kung fu and they learn principles found in Chinese...

From cash-less concessions to advance-purchase of parking, the experience at Dodger Stadium will be decidedly different under guidelines announced by the team today as it prepares to welcome back fans during the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to revised state guidelines, fans will be permitted to attend outdoor sporting events in California beginning April 1, just in time for baseball season. The Dodger home opener is scheduled for April 9. Los Angeles County is currently in the Red tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which sets rules for businesses and activities during the pandemic. In the red tier, Dodger...

Reading the comments is rarely a good idea. But when opening a breaking news tweet on March 16 about a rash of horrific murders across Atlanta, including six Asian woman working in three separate spas, the overwhelming sameness of the replies was unavoidable, infuriating, and instructive. “Not quite the happy ending they were expecting,” crowed one. “No happy ending then?” asked another. “Definitely not a happy ending,” declared another, throwing in a gif of a stick figure drumming a “heyo!” rimshot to make sure anyone reading it would understand that they wanted a laugh. Endless tweets of the same snark,...

When it comes to diversity, inclusion and representation, Hollywood is far from where it needs to be, but we are seeing progress. However, there are many blind spots that have been overlooked and cracks in the foundation that are growing bigger and bigger each day. If it doesn’t fix them, the industry will have more problems than it can repair — one of them being the undervaluing of Black-led projects. McKinsey & Company released a study about the film and TV industry that is both not that surprising but is very eye-opening when it comes to the work that needs...

Everything is a risk. A year ago, this was our last normal weekend and we didn't even know it. Now, we're deep into a pandemic, with ever-rising Covid-19-related deaths, a new strain on the loose and news of people still experiencing symptoms months after testing positive. But as more people get vaccinated, it finally seems like there's hope on the horizon. Eventually, someday soon, the joys of normal life will return. And yet, we have to ask: Why bother? What's the point of ever leaving home again? Getting dinner, grabbing drinks, working out, seeing a movie. All these comforts of...