Did You Hear ...? Kevin Spacey’s worst week, Corey Feldman’s faltering accusation from the week in entertainment
An “American Beauty” and a “Graduate” were accused of sexual misconduct, one of the “Goonies” named a name, a Statue of Liberty fell for Halloween and a holiday tradition is getting underway. Here’s all that news and more from this past week in entertainment.
Kevin Spacey’s life is getting very complicated
It was a lousy week for the “Usual Suspects” star. First, actor Anthony Rapp accused the two-time Oscar winner of sexually assaulting him when Rapp was 14. Then Spacey put out an apology that got swift backlash as he also used it to come out as a gay man. Then a second man accused the actor of grabbing his crotch. Then Netflix suspended production on “House of Cards” and eight people working on the show reportedly alleged they’d been sexually harassed by its star. Then London police started up their own investigation related to Spacey’s time at the Old Vic Theatre in London, and along the way Spacey managed to lose his agents and his publicist. Yes, that really all happened inside of a week.
Corey Feldman struggles with naming alleged abusers
Feldman, who’s nearly $200,000 toward his goal of raising $10 million to make a feature film about what he experienced and observed as a child star in the ’80s, said Monday on TV that he was “not playing around” about naming pedophiles in Hollywood. He just wanted to have physical and legal protection (and the money to pay for the aforementioned) before he did it, he said. By Thursday, however, he’d changed his mind a bit, offering up one name. Subsequently, he had to defend a North Carolina man with a similar name after some people on social media ganged up on the wrong guy. Oops.
Women accuse Dustin Hoffman of inappropriate behavior
“The Graduate,” who’s now 80, was accused Wednesday of sexual harassment by a woman who was 17 in 1985 when she interned on his TV movie version of “Death of a Salesman.” He apologized, saying the behavior she described was “not reflective” of him as a person. Then a second woman accused him of similarly inappropriate behavior in the course of a couple of meetings in 1991. No comment from Hoffman yet on that second allegation, though “Death” director Volcker Schlöndorff issued a statement saying it was “just plain silly” and saying his leading man had been “a kidder” on set.
So, Halloween? It was creepy, but not creepy-like-that
As usual, Heidi Klum won Halloween with her awesome costume. Girlfriend absolutely loves the holiday. The old girl wasn’t the only celeb to go all-out for the 31st, even if some did it prior to the day. Think Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade as Milli Vanilli, LeBron James as the clown from “It” and Gwyneth Paltrow as — well, it’s a visual. Poor Wendy Williams, though. While dressed as an awesome, glitzy Statue of Liberty, she overheated and passed out on live TV.
The holiday movie season nears
OK, now forget Halloween, because Daylight Saving Time ended this weekend and — other than one more hour of sleep — that can mean only one thing: The holiday movie season is almost here! The Times has all sorts of news on high-profile projects including details on Batman’s Flying Fox from “Justice League,” Sam Rockwell’s possible shot at an Oscar and what the songwriters from “La La Land” are up to in “The Greatest Showman.” There’s a list of every holiday-season release, advice on which movies to get excited about and even a review of “Thor: Ragnarok.”
Domestic Goods — and Bads: Tyrese Gibson got emotional amid a tense custody battle — then an investigation into physical-abuse allegations against him was dropped. He even made up with Dwayne Johnson. … Hilaria Baldwin said she and hubby Alec Baldwin are expecting a fourth “Baldwinito.” That means another baby, for those who don’t speak Baldwinese.
Trumped: Stephen Colbert just couldn’t contain his excitement over the indictment of Paul Manafort.
R.I.P.: Frank Barron, former cartoon writer and Hollywood Reporter editor, died at 98. … Jack Bannon, cool-headed assistant city editor on “Lou Grant,” died at 77.
Bonus Links: “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host and Grade A weirdo Jennifer Lawrence had a delightful, unique interview with Kim Kardashian West. … What do One Direction and the Beatles have in common? Yes, there’s something. … The Country Music Assn. took a run at restricting free speech on the red carpet at the CMA Awards, then changed its mind after musicians and others complained.
Did You Hear …? runs in Entertainment at latimes.com.
cdz@latimes.com
Twitter @TheCDZ
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