Today in Entertainment: Carol Burnett to receive Golden Globe award for TV achievement

“Morning Joe” co-hosts Mika Brzezinski, left, and Joe Scarborough.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

“Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski has apologized for referring to Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo as “wannabe dictator” President Trump’s “butt boy.”

During a segment discussing the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on the MSNBC show Wednesday morning, Brzezinski questioned whether Pompeo’s comments were “the words of a patriot.”

“I understand that Donald Trump doesn’t care. … He doesn’t care,” said Brzezinski. “But why doesn’t Mike Pompeo care right now? Are the pathetic deflections that we just heard when he appeared on ‘Fox & Friends,’ is that a patriot speaking? Or a wannabe dictator’s butt boy?”

Critics were quick to point out the homophobic nature of the insult, and Brzezinski promptly apologized on Twitter for her “super bad choice of words.” (While sometimes referring to a person eager to please for personal gain, a “butt boy” is also understood as a derogatory term for gay men.)

“I should have said ‘water boy’ like for football teams or something like that,” tweeted Brzezinski. “So Sorry!”

And it’s not the first time Trump’s critics have been called out for relying on homophobic jokes in their efforts to mock the president.

Fans are pushing back against the “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” backlash, driving the song to surge in both sales and streaming.

(Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” got a chilly reception on some airwaves earlier this year, but the seasonal favorite is heating up the charts, thanks to loyal fans who are pushing back against, well, the backlash.

The tune has grown controversial in recent years, due to a changing cultural climate and conversations cropping up in the wake of #MeToo, prompting some radio stations to remove the song from airplay.

But the tide appears to be turning for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”

On Monday, San Francisco-area radio station KOIT-FM (96.5) announced that it had returned the song to its rotation after a vast majority of listeners in an online poll voted to have it reinstated.

“KOIT’s listeners have spoken, and the overwhelming message is they do want to hear ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ on our station, as they have throughout the years,” KOIT program director Brian Figula said in Monday’s statement.

The radio station was one of several that had excised the song from their playlists, is now among those that reversed their original decision after fan outrage.

And it’s not just on the radio where “Baby” is gaining ground.

Billboard’s Holiday Digital Song Sales chart for the week of Dec. 15 feature three different versions of the song, with Dean Martin’s 1959 rendition at No. 2, Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé’s 2014 duet reentering the chart at No. 29, and Leon Redbone and Zooey Deschanel’s 2003 duet from the “Elf” soundtrack debuting at No. 41.

As for radio stations, they remain dedicated to giving the audience what it wants.

“More than seven out of every ten listeners who responded said although some lyrics of the song may reflect a different era and a different sensibility than today, still they love the tradition and history of the song, and want to hear it as part of their holiday season,” Figula’s statement added.

“At KOIT, we always listen carefully when our listeners take time to comment. In this case, it was very obvious what they wanted us to do.”

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Lucas Hedges finds the lightness within the dark drama of ‘Manchester by the Sea’

The late Tejano singer Selena was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Grammys.

(Photo by Rick Corrales)

Netflix is ready to “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.”

The streaming platform has ordered a new scripted series about the life of famed Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla.

“Selena: The Series” will follow the coming-of-age of a young Selena as her dreams of becoming a professional singer come to fruition, forcing her and her family to make life-changing personal and professional choices.

The family of the late singer is involved with the project and will serve as executive producers. Moises Zamora (“Star,” “American Crime”) is attached to write and executive-produce the series, which hails from Campanario Entertainment.

“Selena will always have a lasting place in music history and we feel great responsibility to do justice to her memory. With this series, viewers will finally get the full history of Selena, our family, and the impact she has had on all of our lives,” Suzette Quintanilla, Selena’s sister, said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with Campanario and Netflix to give fans a never-before-seen glimpse at our story and highlight why Selena will remain a legend for generations to come.”

Selena rose to fame in the late ’80s and early ’90s with hits like “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” and “Como La Flor.” She was shot and killed in 1995 at the age of 25 by her former fan club manager. Her death came months before she was slated to release her first crossover English-language album, which featured the hit singles “I Could Fall in Love” and “Dreaming of You.”

Jennifer Lopez famously played the singer in a 1997 biopic, which marked one of Lopez’s early breakout roles.

More recently, Selena served as the inspiration for a posthumous makeup line for MAC cosmetics that launched in 2016.

There is no premiere date yet for the series.

Hump day might be a lot more enjoyable this week thanks to Awkwafina, Laverne Cox and the Screen Actors Guild.

Cox (“Orange Is the New Black” and “Bad Hair”) and Awkwafina (“Ocean’s 8” and “Crazy Rich Asians”) are teaming up to announce the nominations for the 25th SAG Awards on Wednesday and will hopefully enliven the typical awards-show announcements with their sass and comedic chops.

The acting nominees will be revealed at 7 a.m. Pacific time at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.

The announcement — being made on TNT, TBS and truTV — will also be carried live on each outlet’s website and social media pages, as well as the SAG Awards site.

Here’s when and how to watch:

• Live on TNT, TBS and TruTV and their websites and social media pages
• tntdrama.com/sag-awards
• truTV.comsagawards.org
• TNT’s Facebook, Twitter @TNTdrama and YouTube channel
• TBS’ Facebook, Twitter @tbsnetwork and YouTube channel
• The SAG Awards homepage

Actresses Awkwafina, left, and Laverne Cox will announce the Screen Actors Guild Award nominees on Wednesday.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris will introduce Awkwafina and Cox.

Before that — at 6:50 a.m. Pacific — nominees in the the stunt ensemble categories will be announced by SAG Awards Committee chair JoBeth Williams and committee member Elizabeth McLaughlin during a live webcast on TNT and the SAG Awards’ websites.

The 25th SAG Awards ceremony will be simulcast live on Jan. 27 at 5 p.m. Pacific on TNT and TBS and on the networks’ mobile and smart TV apps.

Kathie Lee Gifford’s announcement that she’s leaving NBC’s “Today” show reduced her on-air BFF Hoda Kotb to a sea of tears on Tuesday, and their life preserver was the box of tissues that a prop master dropped from the ceiling.

Kotb, who knew about Gifford’s departure before the live announcement, was still emotional afterward, telling her longtime co-host that she had changed her life.

“The minute you stepped into my life with both feet, everything changed,” Kotb said through tears, prompting the tissue-box drop.

“You chose me and that’s how it started,” she added. “I was thinking about everything good that’s happened in my life has happened since you came.”

Kotb, who has become a fan favorite since co-hosting the freewheeling 10 a.m. hour of the program with Gifford since 2008, said Gifford hiring her enabled her to meet husband Joel Schiffman and adopt their daughter, Haley Joy Kotb. Gifford also invited Kotb to meet her family when she first joined the “Today” team.

“Everything happened. … How does one person step in your life and change it like that? And you did that for me,” Kotb said.

Gifford, who will officially sign off the show in April, referred to Kotb as “a beautiful Egyptian goddess” and thanked their viewers for sticking with them from their disastrous early days as a “nothing burger” outside on the plaza.

“You start sharing life, and your friendship shows up on the air,” Gifford said. “We weren’t colleagues very long. We became friends and now we’re going to be friends for the rest of our lives.

“I’m grateful to God for you,” Gifford added. “God’s used you in my life every bit as much as he’s used me in yours, sweetie. That’s the way it goes. No crumbs on his table.”

Gifford has co-anchored “Today’s” fourth hour with Kotb for the last decade and is retiring from the program to pursue other creative endeavors.

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Try telling him he can’t do it all

Time’s Person of the Year recognition for 2018 is shining a collective spotlight on “guardians” in what the magazine calls “the war on truth.”

The group is made up of four journalists and a newspaper that Time says “are representatives of a broader fight by countless others around the world.”

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Carol Burnett will need to clear some space on her crowded mantel: At next month’s Golden Globes ceremony, she will pick up yet another award honoring her long and distinguished career in television.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. announced Tuesday morning that Burnett will receive the inaugural Carol Burnett Award, a new prize honoring lifetime achievement in television.

The award was teased at last week’s nominations announcement for the Globes; it’s meant to be a bookend prize to the HFPA’s Cecil B. DeMille Award for film achievement. A five-time Golden Globe winner, Burnett is also the most decorated honoree of all time in the TV category, according to the organization.

“For more than 50 years, comedy trailblazer Carol Burnett has been breaking barriers while making us laugh,” HFPA President Meher Tatna said in a statement Tuesday. “She was the first woman to host a variety sketch show, ‘The Carol Burnett Show.’ She was also the first woman to win both the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and Kennedy Center Honors.

“And now we add another first to her running list: the first recipient — and namesake — of the new Golden Globe top honor for achievement in television, the Carol Burnett Award.”

Burnett, 85, will receive the award at the Golden Globes ceremony, which NBC will broadcast live from coast to coast on Jan. 6 from the Beverly Hilton hotel.

As if British Prime Minister Theresa May weren’t in enough of a Brexit bind, now she has to deal with a biting Andy Serkis impersonation that’s making the digital rounds.

Literally biting because it’s Serkis via his immortal rendition of Gollum.

The “Lord of the Rings” actor reprised a version of the One Ring-obsessed character in a new video posted by We Wants It. Much like the Gollum of the film series, Serkis’ May has her own fixation: the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

“Oh, Precious, our agreement,” says a blue-suit clad Serkis. “This is it. Our deal … We takes back control: Money, borders, laws, blue passportses.”

But another May personality quickly rebuts: “No. It hurts the people. Makes them poorer.”

The parody features the two sides of May arguing with herself and it’s somehow both hilarious and terrifying. One personality only cares about how much she wants the “juicy and sweet” deal, while the other recognizes that there are plenty of people opposed to the idea.

“They hates the deal, all of them hates it. They wants a people’s vote,” Gollum/May says to herself.

The People’s Vote refers to the efforts of those in the U.K. calling for a public vote on whether Britain will leave or remain in the EU based on the terms of the final exit agreement.

On Monday, the real May delayed the parliamentary vote for the Brexit plan because she feared it did not have enough support to pass. The vote had been scheduled for Tuesday.

While May has defended the deal (that EU leaders have said is the only one on the table), it has been slammed by both Brexit-backers and “remainers” who oppose leaving the 28-nation bloc. As of now Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, 2019.

Sarah Hyland

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

After her body rejected her first kidney transplant, “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland underwent dialysis last year and had to have a second transplant, she revealed Monday in an interview.

Recovery from that surgery has been relatively smooth, but the 28-year-old has contended with a spate of other medical issues that resulted in additional procedures.

After the second transplant, she had surgery to mitigate her endometriosis and another to repair a hernia. The chronic illnesses have resulted in six surgeries in the past 16 months, she told Self magazine, where she opened up about her tumultuous medical journey.

“I’m stable. I’m thriving. I’m super happy with life,” the 28-year-old actress said.

Hyland was born with kidney dysplasia, which causes the organs to grow debilitating cysts. She had a kidney transplant in 2012, with her father giving one of his kidneys to his daughter.

But in October 2016, her body began rejecting the transplant and — under the scrutiny of social media and the public eye — Hyland’s weight dropped, her face swelled due to immunosuppressant drugs and fluid retention and her blood pressure spiked, damaging her vision, the mag said.

The candid star said she began dialysis in February 2017 to filter her blood because her kidneys couldn’t. However, the treatment fell short and the transplanted kidney had to come out. Doctors removed it that May, then in September of that year transplanted a kidney donated by her younger brother, Ian.

“I was very depressed,” she told the magazine. “When a family member gives you a second chance at life, and it fails, it almost feels like it’s your fault. It’s not. But it does.”

Hyland felt completely helpless, she said, and for a long time contemplated suicide.

“I didn’t want to fail my little brother like I failed my dad,” she said. “I had gone through [my whole life] of always being a burden, of always having to be looked after, having to be cared for.”

The thoughts subsided after she reached out to a friend, and she encouraged others to do the same.

“It’s not shameful,” she said. “For anybody that wants to reach out to somebody but doesn’t really know how because they’re too proud or they think that they’ll be looked upon as weak, it’s not a shameful thing to say. It’s not a shameful thing to share.”

Hyland said on Instagram on Monday that she shared her story so others might “feel like they’re not alone.”

“Hopefully those that are lucky enough not to experience this will learn about something new and take a moment to appreciate their health,” she wrote.

Prince’s estate announced its first crop of re-releases Monday.

(Chris O’Meara / Associated Press)

Three albums from late music legend Prince are about to see new life in vinyl, according to a Monday announcement from the artist’s estate.

Sony’s Legacy Recordings, in conjunction with Prince’s estate, announced the first wave of physical media re-released from the artist’s catalog, making it the first time that albums “Musicology,” “3121” and “Planet Earth” have been released on vinyl.

First announced in August, the deal between Legacy Recordings and the estate aims to make more of Prince’s catalog available to fans, including rare and out-of-print materials.

“The album trilogy … celebrates a sustained period of renewed creative energy and commercial triumph in Prince’s multi-faceted career,” Legacy said in a statement.

“These three albums marked Prince’s return to the top of the popular mainstream, a position he maintained while simultaneously pushing the envelope and breaking industry norms pertaining to marketing, distribution and live performance,” the release continued.

The era encapsulated by the albums — released in 2004 (“Musicology”), 2006 (“3121”) and 2007 (“Planet Earth”) — feature several of Prince’s most iconic live performances, including with Beyoncé at the 2004 Grammys, at his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2004 and from his Super Bowl halftime show in 2007.

The albums will be re-released on Feb. 8. In the meantime, new Prince music videos are released weekly to streaming services.

When the first trailer for “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” was released in July, it delved deep into the lives of its human characters — which was fine — and was accompanied by Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” — which was awesome — and everyone seemed happy to see that the titular titan seemed to be doing OK for himself. It was arty and magnificent.

But there wasn’t any fighting. And there was barely any destruction.

And if you’re coming in here to sell me a Godzilla film, then by gosh, it had better be apocalyptic.

Luckily, most of that appears to be rectified in the second trailer for “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” which was released Monday morning.

While the humans are still hanging out in the background, wringing their hands and staring in mute disbelief, far more of the footage is given over to the wrath of the titans.

Heck, Godzilla even takes on King Ghidorah head-to-head(-to-head-to-head) and it looks amazing.

See what it looks like when the world burns, but this time the old gods are to blame.

“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is scheduled to stomp its way into theaters May 31.

It’s summer 1985 and things are still pretty strange in Hawkins, Ind.

Netflix on Sunday unveiled a teaser for Season 3 of “Stranger Things,” giving fans a list of eight episode titles to mine for clues about the sci-fi series’ new season.

The new season will reunite viewers with Chief Hopper (David Harbour), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and their gang of middle-school outcasts, who find themselves at the center of the peculiar happenings in their small town.

The streaming giant also confirmed a 2019 release for the new season, which will center on the already announced arrival of the Starcourt shopping mall, which makes the finale episode title all the more foreboding. (Check out that earlier teaser below.)

Here’s the title list:

“Suzie, Do you Copy?”

“The Mall Rats”

“The Case of the Missing Lifeguard”

“The Sauna Test”

“The Source”

“The Birthday”

“The Bite”

“The Battle of Starcourt”

In March, Netflix announced that Priah Ferguson would return as Lucas Sinclair’s (Caleb McLaughlin) younger sister Erica, and Maya Hawke was cast in the new role of Robin.

Last week, the Emmy-winning show earned a Golden Globe nomination for dramatic television series and a supporting actor nod for Harbour, who in addition to playing the town sheriff is now Eleven’s adoptive father.

The Broadcast Film Critics Assn. clearly has a thing for crime, with Monday’s announcement of the TV nominees for the 24th annual Critics’ Choice Awards revealing lots of love for shows about skirting the law.

“The Americans,” famous for its super sneaky Russian spies; “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” and its depiction of the murder and aftermath; and “Escape at Dannemora,” with its tale of a real life jailbreak, lead all television nominees with five mentions apiece.

“Gianni Versace” and “Dannemora” are competing in limited series, with “Americans” in drama, but all four projects were buoyed by their performances, which got four nominations each.

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The Broadcast Film Critics Assn. announced its film nominees for the 24th Critics’ Choice Awards on Monday, with period black comedy “The Favourite” earning 14 nominations, just ahead of box office blockbuster “Black Panther,” which scored 12.

Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz all garnered nominations for their performances in “The Favourite,” with Yorgos Lanthimos also nominated for direction and editing.

Nipping at the heels of the two front runners are Damien Chazelle’s “First Man” with 10, “Mary Poppins Returns,” “A Star is Born” and “Vice” all nabbing nine nominations each and “Roma” with eight notices.

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Actress-turned-duchess Meghan Markle is on Time magazine’s short list for 2018 Person of the Year.

(Gareth Fuller / Associated Press)

Actress-turned-duchess Meghan Markle and “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler joined Donald Trump, separated families, Robert S. Mueller III and Christine Blasey Ford on Time magazine’s shortlist for the 2018 Person of the Year.

Selected by the magazine’s editors since 1927, the title is bestowed on a person — or people — who most influenced the news and the world, for better or for worse, during the last year. On Monday, the magazine revealed the top 10 candidates on NBC’s “Today” show, which will also name the titleholder on Tuesday’s show. Markle and Coogler were the only entertainment figures represented during another contentious news year.

Last year, the “Silence Breakers” who spoke out against sexual assault and misconduct earned the magazine’s cover spot.

Here’s who made the shortlist this year:

Donald Trump: The tweet-happy U.S. president was named the 2016 Person of the Year when he was president-elect. Last year, when he also made the shortlist, Trump tweeted he had passed on the nominal title, though Time disagreed

Separated families: Despite weathering the fallout of putting a crying Honduran child who had not been separated from her family on its magazine cover earlier this year, Time still selected migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border as candidates for its Person of the Year, again highlighting the battle over immigration in the U.S.

Vladimir Putin: The Russian president was named Person of the Year in 2007 and has continued to make headlines due to Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election, and his relationship with Trump. Which brings us to ...

Robert Mueller: The special counsel appointed by the Justice Department, who has been investigating allegations of Russian meddling in the election and Trump’s ties to Russia, has become a foil to the bombastic leader. Though the investigation has ensnared Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, his former campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and several others, Trump has repeatedly decried it as a “witch hunt” for evidence of collusion with Russia.

Ryan Coogler: The “Black Panther” director and screenwriter turned a lesser-known superhero into a cultural phenomenon with his groundbreaking film, which became a critical darling and broke a bevy of box-office records while boasting a predominantly black cast.

Christine Blasey Ford: The university professor who accused U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers brought the nation to a standstill with her emotional testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in September, throwing Kavanaugh’s shoo-in appointment into question for weeks.

Jamal Khashoggi: The Saudi journalist was killed soon after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, and his disappearance led to widespread criticism of the Arab nation, particularly Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is believed to have ordered Khashoggi’s murder.

March for Our Lives activists: The teenagers who survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., assembled to take on gun control and march on Washington, D.C., to speak out against gun violence.

Moon Jae-in: The South Korean president, who helped host the Olympic Games this year, mounted a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, officially bringing about an end to the war between the two countries.

Meghan Markle: The “Suits” actress who hails from California became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Britain’s Prince Harry in May, offering a fairy-tale reprieve from pressing conflicts around the world. In October, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child, who would be seventh in line to the British throne.

After a week full of new revelations from the Robert Mueller investigation, it was probably no surprise that Robert De Niro got the call to reprise his role as the special counsel for this week’s Saturday Night Live, which was hosted by Jason Mamoa with the musical guest Mumford and Sons.

With the always-on news cycle of 2018, the cold open is typically a feast-or-famine affair that benefits from standout, vaguely surreal moments — Kanye West in the White House, for example.

With so much news this week surrounding the legal affairs of the president’s inner circle, “SNL” imagined the FBI’s special counsel as the boogeyman in Eric Trump’s closet.

“Don’t be scared, it’s just me,” De Niro assured him, “your dad’s friend from work.”

Alex Moffat as a clueless Eric and Mikey Day as Don Jr. has been a solid pairing on Weekend Update, and they were natural choices given the news cycle.

Still, the segment lacked the sort of standout snap that makes the cold open the usual talking point for the episode, apart from its closing exchange. “People say you’re the worst thing that happened to my dad,” Moffat’s Eric Trump told De Niro. “No, getting elected president was the worst thing to happen to your dad,” he countered.

Watch a clip below.

Approaching the one-year anniversary of the movement’s birth, Time’s Up congratulated the women who earned 2019 Golden Globe nominations, including “Crazy Rich Asians” star and activist Constance Wu.

“We celebrate all of our sisters who were nominated for Golden Globe awards this year, including Constance Wu who became the first Asian woman to be nominated for best actress in more than 40 years,” the organization said in a statement to The Times.

(While few women of Asian descent been nominated for best actress in the awards’ 75-year history, Hailee Steinfeld, who is part Filipino, was nominated in 2017 for “Edge of Seventeen.”)

“As far as Asian Americans go, not Asian-Asians, there have been two others [in the comedy/musical category],” Wu told The Times on Thursday morning, reacting to her nomination for “Crazy Rich Asians,” the first contemporary-set all-Asian studio film in 25 years.

It is especially meaningful to receive a nomination for a leading role in an Asian American-centered story, Wu added.

In its Globes nominations kudos, Time’s Up also called out the lack of female filmmakers among this year’s all-male directing nominees.

“We are thrilled to see some progress in the diversity of artists recognized, but, once again, the best director category lacks a single woman nominee,” the statement read. “The body of work directed by women this year deserves acknowledgement.”

The Time’s Up movement was first announced Jan. 1, unveiling an initiative to battle sexual harassment in industries including Hollywood, which included a legal defense fund to help underprivileged women.

The movement called for supporters to wear all black to the glitzy 2018 Globes ceremony and speak out against harassment and gender inequality.

As of Thursday, Wu was not yet sure if there will be a repeat of last year’s red carpet call to action or similar coordinated show of solidarity.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be a clothing statement, but the solidarity and the sisterhood that we have is always there and is growing every day — so it will 100% be there at the Golden Globes,” she said. “Maybe not in terms of wardrobe, but in terms of passion? For sure.”

Read the full Time’s Up statement below:

Statement from TIME’S UP on the 2019 Golden Globe Nominations

We celebrate all of our sisters who were nominated for Golden Globe awards this year, including Constance Wu who became the first Asian woman to be nominated for best actress in more than 40 years. We are thrilled to see some progress in the diversity of artists recognized, but once again the best director category lacks a single woman nominee. The body of work directed by women this year deserves acknowledgement. While we greatly admire the excellent work honored yesterday, we are also reminded of the vast imbalances that still exist across our industry and many other industries, and remain committed to our collective work.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Sinéad O’Connor is singing a new tune these days

Comedian Kevin Hart decided not to host February’s Academy Awards.

(Willy Sanjuan / Associated Press)

GLAAD would rather Kevin Hart hadn’t quit as Oscars host, with its leader expressing disappointment Friday morning on social media and on CNN.

“Kevin Hart shouldn’t have stepped down; he should have stepped up,” tweeted Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the LGBTQ advocacy group. “Hart’s apology to LGBTQ people is an important step forward, but he missed a real opportunity to use his platform and the Oscars stage to build unity and awareness.”

Ellis said the group “would still welcome that conversation” with the 39-year-old comic.

Hart, who got the job only Tuesday, walked away Thursday night rather than cave to “internet trolls” for old anti-gay tweets that had resurfaced after he deleted them. He later did an about-face and offered an apology to those he had hurt, saying he was stepping down because he didn’t want to distract from the awards themselves.

“We were hoping that this was going to turn into a teachable moment,” Ellis told CNN on Friday morning.

Ellis said Hart could have become an ally of the community if he had faced it, explained he had evolved and was willing to lead moving forward.

“It wasn’t the conclusion that I think everybody would have liked,” Ellis said.

The academy has yet to respond to Hart’s public exit or announce a replacement host. (But we have some ideas about who should get the gig.)

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: ‘I was terrified’: Kristen Stewart on working with Nicholas Hoult on their new movie ‘Equals’

The end is near. Or more precisely, the “endgame.”

On Friday, Marvel Studios unveiled the official first trailer for the latest “Avengers” film. The clip also confirmed the title for the project, “Avengers: Endgame,” and an April 26 release.

“Endgame” picks up where the events of “Avengers: Infinity War,” released in April, left off.

The beginning of the trailer focuses largely on Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in solitude before moving the focus to Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

The new footage also shows the return of Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, who did not appear in “Infinity War.” He was last seen in “Captain America: Civil War.”

Watch the trailer below.

(Jordan Strauss / Invision)

Kevin Hart is not going to apologize even if it costs him his Oscars gig.

The comedian took to social media multiple times on Thursday to address the backlash around his past homophobic comments that have resurfaced since it was announced Hart will host the Academy Awards in 2019.

[UPDATE: Kevin Hart steps down as 2019 Oscars host after backlash over past homophobic comments]

“I just got a call from the Academy and that call basically said, ‘Kevin, apologize for your tweets of old or we’re going to have to move on and find another host,’” said Hart in a video posted on Instagram. “I chose to pass. I passed on the apology.”

The tweets in question were those that resurfaced after it was announced Tuesday that Hart would host the 2019 Oscars by critics who pointed out the comedian has a history of making homophobic remarks (which he reportedly started deleting after the Oscars announcement).

In this latest post, Hart insisted that he had already “addressed this several times” and that he has “moved on.” He added that he was refusing to bow to any “internet trolls.”

“I’m not going to do it, man. I’m going to be me. I’m going to stand my ground,” said Hart. “Regardless, Academy, I’m thankful and appreciative of the opportunity. If it goes away, no harm, no foul.”

Hart had urged people to “stop searching for reasons to be angry” in an earlier post on Thursday.

“Our world is becoming beyond crazy. I’m not going to let the craziness frustrate me or anger me especially when I worked hard to get to the mental space that I’m at now,” Hart said in the earlier Instagram video. “I’m almost 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you.”

He added in the caption: “If you want to search my history or past and anger yourselves with what you find that is fine with me.”

In addition to the comments made on Twitter, Hart was getting backlash for a joke featured in his 2010 stand-up special.

“One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay,” Hart said in the special. “I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people … But me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will.”

As in, Hart would interject whenever his son exhibited any behavior that could be even vaguely perceived as “gay.”

When asked about the segment by Rolling Stone in 2015, Hart explained that the joke was supposed to be about his worries as a dad. He admitted it was not a joke he would make anymore, but not necessarily because he considered the joke or his attitude problematic.

“I wouldn’t tell that joke today, because when I said it, the times weren’t as sensitive as they are now,” said Hart.

More recently, GLAAD specifically called out Hart by name in their 2016 “studio responsibility index,” which examined LGBTQ representation in films released by the major studios the year prior.

“This year, there was a noticeable resurgence of outright offensive depictions of LGBT people, which relied on gay panic and defamatory stereotypes for cheap laughs,” said the LGBTQ media advocacy group in their study. “Among the worst were the Kevin Hart-starring films ‘Get Hard’ and ‘The Wedding Ringer,’ which contain more blatant and incessant gay panic humor than we have seen in a Hollywood film in years.”

In his Thursday statement, Hart chose to emphasize how people “live” and “learn” and “grow” and “mature” over the years rather than directly address any of his past comments.

“I’m in a great place,” said Hart. “A great mature place where all I do is spread positivity.”

Justin Timberlake.

(Amy Harris / Invision/Associated Press)

Justin Timberlake is sorry that the remainder of his Man of the Woods tour has now been postponed to next year while the singer recovers from bruised vocal cords, a problem that has dogged him since October.

“My vocal cords are healing but they are not all the way back to normal yet, so my doctors want me to continue to rest my voice,” the 37-year-old wrote on Instagram Wednesday night.

That means he’ll hold off on singing until next month.

“I’m really sorry,” Timberlake wrote. “I want to be back on the stage and I am doing all I can to get there quickly.”

Live Nation, the producer of the tour, confirmed on Thursday that the tour would resume in January, and tickets for the originally scheduled shows will be honored at the 2019 events.

Timberlake, whose tour accompanies his folksy fifth studio album, “Man of the Woods,” first canceled his Madison Square Garden show in New York in late October and had since postponed a slew of dates. (Though that didn’t derail his “silent interview” on “The Tonight Show” to promote his memoir “Hindsight” shortly after.)

The North American tour will now resume in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4, according to Live Nation.

Timberlake’s Los Angeles stop at the Staples Center — originally set for Nov. 27 — is now slated for March 10, Live Nation said. He’s also been rescheduled to play the Honda Center in Anaheim on Feb. 22.

Additional appearances in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Fresno and Oakland have also been pushed back to March, and tickets for the previously scheduled concerts are valid at the respective new dates in each city. Refunds are also available at point of purchase. (A full list of the rescheduled shows can be seen here.)

(Lionel Cironneau / Associated Press)

Oscar winner Faye Dunaway is returning to Broadway to play four-time Oscar winner Katharine Hepburn.

The “Bonnie and Clyde” star will embody the legendary actress with a devil-may-care personality in Matthew Lombardo’s “Tea at Five,” marking the show’s Broadway debut and Dunaway’s return to the Great White Way after 35 years, producer Ben Feldman said in a statement on Thursday.

Lombardo has created a new version of the one-woman-show, which took audiences to 1938 as Hepburn awaited word on the final casting for the role of Scarlett O’Hara to 1983, where they witness the sunset of her health and career.

The new show will be directed by Tony Award nominee John Tillinger and will have a limited engagement in summer 2019.

Additional information, including the complete creative team, dates and theater, will be announced early next year.

Dunaway made her Broadway debut in 1961 with “A Man for All Seasons” and followed it up with appearances in “After the Fall” and “The Changeling.” However, her breakthrough happened off-Broadway when she appeared in “Hogan’s Goat,” which led to her casting in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde.” (She later earned her Academy Award for the 1976 drama “Network.”)

The 77-year-old actress last appeared on Broadway in 1982 in the original play “The Curse of an Aching Heart.”

Father John Misty announced that he will host a benefit concert for victims of California’s recent wildfires.

(Suzanne Cordeiro / AFP/Getty Images)

Father John Misty, the singer, songwriter and occasional Chateau Marmont pianist, announced Thursday morning the California Wildfire Benefit Concert, an evening of music to benefit victims of the recent fires.

Misty, the stage name of Josh Tillman, is teaming up with Los Angeles-based concert promoter Goldenvoice and has scrolled through his contacts for a coterie of special guests, including Haim, Mac DeMarco, Lucius, Tim Heidecker, Rostam, Jonathan Wilson, Rivers Cuomo and Weyes Blood, among others.

Set for Dec. 18 at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in L.A., the night promises to be an intimate affair: an all-acoustic session of songs from some of the area’s most accomplished songwriters, with a Steinway & Sons-donated piano to add some class.

The benefit is the latest to raise money for those affected by the devastating fires. Over the weekend, Katy Perry, Gwen Stefani and Robin Thicke raised a reported $1 million as part of the One Love Malibu Benefit Concert. Last week, garage rocker Ty Segall and friends took over Zebulon in Frogtown to make money for those in need.

Proceeds from Tillman & Co.’s event will go to the Southern California Disaster Relief Fund, created by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles in partnership with United Way of Ventura County.

In a statement Thursday morning, organizers explained that “the fund is directed at low-income families whose lives and livelihoods are affected by the current wildfires in Southern California.” Specifically, the fund focuses on longer-term support to help individuals and families in need to rebuild their lives.

Bonus opportunity: Fans will be able to bid on front-row tickets to the concert through CharityBuzz. The high-bidder will also get a commemorative poster signed by participating artists and a room at the Ace Hotel.

Tickets for the all-ages concert range from $59.50-$199.50 and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. Pacific.

(Joe Pugliese / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Lowdown on ‘Hi-Fi’

Andy Samberg, left, and Sandra Oh will co-host the 2019 Golden Globes.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times; Micha Theiner / Los Angeles Times)

“Killing Eve” will meet “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” at the 76th Golden Globe Awards next month now that Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg have been announced as co-hosts of the annual show.

“They bring wit, charm and style to a room filled with the very best of film and television. It’s sure to be another unforgettable fun-filled night,” said NBC co-chairmen Paul Telegdy and George Cheeks in a statement on Wednesday.

The party-like ceremony, hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. at the Beverly Hilton hotel, will honor the best in film and television and marks the official kickoff of the 2019 awards-show season.

The three-hour telecast will air live, coast to coast, on NBC on Jan. 6 at 5 p.m. Pacific time.

Golden Globes nominations preview: 5 things to watch for, including ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ vs. ‘Roma’ »

The nominees will be announced early Thursday across 25 categories — 14 in film and 11 in television — and the winners are voted on by members of the HFPA.

“We’re excited to welcome Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg as co-hosts of Hollywood’s Party of the Year,” said HFPA President Meher Tatna in a statement. “Both Golden Globe Award recipients have continually showcased their talents in film and television, and we can’t wait see what their undeniable chemistry will bring to the Golden Globes stage.”

Oh, who famously starred as Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” won a 2006 Golden Globe for performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television; a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role and five Emmy nominations for supporting actress in a drama.

Her role as an MI5 officer hunting down a female assassin on BBC America’s “Killing Eve” earned her another Emmy nomination earlier this year.

As for Samberg, the “Saturday Night Live” alum won two Golden Globes in 2014 for his work on the cop comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which recently landed at NBC after being canceled on Fox.

It won’t be the first time for him to host a major awards show either: The comedian previously emceed the Primetime Emmy Awards as well as the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

The duo take over hosting duties from recent hosts Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and Ricky Gervais.

Actress Natalie Portman, left, in a recent interview alluded to a bikini photo of Jessica Simpson.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times, left; Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press, right))

Oscar winner Natalie Portman hears you, Jessica Simpson, and agrees that women should dress and behave however they like without judgment.

That’s a different tune than the one Portman appeared to sing in a USA Today profile published on Tuesday — one that prompted a lengthy statement from Simpson calling out Portman for shaming her, particularly amid the Time’s Up era that Portman helped usher in.

Portman plays a pop star in the upcoming film “Vox Lux,” which explores the underbelly of the music industry, and in discussing the topic, she lauded Madonna but appeared to throw shade at Simpson and the industry that touted “the virgin/vixen paradigms” around the millennium.

“I remember being a teenager, and there was Jessica Simpson on the cover of a magazine saying ‘I’m a virgin’ while wearing a bikini, and I was confused. Like, I don’t know what this is trying to tell me as a woman, as a girl,” Portman, 37, told the publication.

Simpson. 38, read those words Wednesday morning and, in a missive posted on Instagram and Twitter, said she was “disappointed,” but did not indicate what magazine cover Portman was referring to.

“As public figures, we both know our image is not totally in our control at all times, and that the industry we work in often tries to define us and box us in,” the fashion designer wrote.

“However, I was taught to be myself and honor the different ways all women express themselves, which is why I believed then — and I believe now — that being sexy in a bikini and being proud of my body are not synonymous with having sex,” Simpson added.

Simpson, who made no secret of losing her virginity after she wed 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey in 2002, had said that she’s always embraced being a role model to women by letting them know they can look and wear whatever they want and choose to have or not have sex whenever they want.

“The power lies within us as individuals,” Simpson wrote.

Addressing Simpson directly (and publicly) in the comments section of the post, Portman thanked her and said she she completely agrees with her.

“I only meant to say I was confused — as a girl coming of age in the public eye around the same time — by the media’s mixed messages about how girls and women were supposed to behave,” Portman wrote.

The actress said she didn’t mean to shame Simpson and is sorry for any hurt her words might have caused.

“I have nothing but respect for your talent and your voice that you use to encourage and empower women all over the globe,” Portman said.

UPDATE

2:21 p.m.: This story was updated with Portman’s apology.

This story was originally published at 11:52 a.m.

Singer R. Kelly.

(Noam Galai / Getty Images)

Phoned-in threats cleared the house at a screening of the “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary Tuesday night in New York City, leaving the singer’s ex-wife Drea Kelly more fired up than deterred.

“[S]everal anonymous threats were called in,” Lifetime said in a statement to The Times. “As a precaution, the network elected to evacuate the building.”

The incident was investigated and concern about a gunman in the house was determined to be unfounded, a New York Police Department spokeswoman told The Times.

The R&B singer has been accused of abusive and controlling behavior toward women, especially younger ones, allegations R. Kelly has denied. Those allegations are detailed in the three-part documentary series.

Tuesday’s screening was attended by alleged victims Jerhonda Pace, Kitti Jones, Assante McGee, Lisa Van Allen and Lizzette Martinez, in addition to Drea Kelly. Also there were #MeToo activist Tarana Burke, radio host Angela Yee and former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson. Burke and Yee were to have been part of a panel with Lifetime executive producer Brie Miranda Bryant.

“They thought they were putting us out; they just put gasoline on a fire and now we’re just gonna burn longer and stronger. You actually helped us when it was meant to harm us [because] this did nothing but unite us even more,” Drea Kelly told Rolling Stone.

The incident “lets me know we’re on the right track. We’re causing people to listen. We’re getting people’s attention and we’re getting attention from the one who thought that he was invincible and untouchable,” she said.

“Surviving R. Kelly” airs Jan. 3-5 on Lifetime.

Offset, left, and Cardi B arrive at the American Music Awards in October.

(Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press)

A little more than a year after they secretly wed, rappers Cardi B and Offset have split, according to Cardi B, who announced the break-up in an Instagram video on Tuesday night.

“Things just haven’t been working out between us for a long time. And it’s nobody’s fault, it’s just like I guess, we grew out of love,” the Okurr-trilling, “I Like It” rapper said.

“We’re not together anymore. It might take time to get a divorce, but I’m always gonna have a lot of love for him because he is my daughter’s father,” she added.

Cardi and Offset, a member of the rap trio Migos, secretly wed in Georgia in September 2017 before the arrival of their daughter, Kulture, who’s now nearly 5 months old.

Cardi, 26, real name Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, said that they remain good friends and business partners “who got a lot of love for each other.”

Offset, also 26, real name Kiari Kendrall Cephus, very publicly proposed to the “Bodak Yellow” MC in October and the two often discussed their plans for a blowout celebration. Then news of their actual marriage — and marriage certificate — leaked in June and the two welcomed their baby girl in July.

Reps for Cardi and Offset did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment.

(Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Joan Didion writes through ‘Blue Nights’

Kevin Hart will be hosting the Oscars next year.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Stepping into what is often considered one of the most difficult – and at times thankless — gigs in Hollywood, Kevin Hart is set to host the 91st Academy Awards.

The stand-up comedian and actor made the announcement himself Tuesday on Instagram, promising, “I will be sure to make this years Oscars a special one.”

“For years I have been asked if I would ever Host the Oscars and my answer was always the same,” Hart wrote. “I said that it would be the opportunity of a lifetime for me as a comedian and that it will happen when it’s suppose to.”

In tapping Hart, who has starred in box-office hits like “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and “Central Intelligence” and who boasts a massive social media following and large base of young fans, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is hoping to stem a steady decline in ratings for the telecast. In each of the past two years, under host Jimmy Kimmel, the ratings dipped, with March’s show reaching a record-low audience of 26.5 million viewers.

Facing perennial criticism over what many have decried as the sometimes tedious length of the Oscars, the academy has vowed that this coming year’s show, which is being produced by Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss, will not run over three hours. To trim the proceedings down, some awards will be given out during commercial breaks rather than live on air.

In an ultimately fizzled gambit to bring in a wider audience for the all-important telecast, the academy earlier this year announced the creation of a new award recognizing “outstanding achievement in popular film.” But after weeks of blowback, the academy’s board of governors reversed itself and decided to shelve the idea, at least for the time being.

Hart has previously served as emcee of the “MTV Movie Awards” along with his “Central Intelligence” co-star Dwayne Johnson.

The Oscars will air on ABC on Sunday, Feb. 24.

The American Film Institute announced 10 films and 10 television shows as honorees of the 2018 AFI Awards this morning.

“BlacKkKlansman,” “Black Panther,” “Eighth Grade,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “The Favorite,” “First Reformed,” “Green Book,” “Mary Poppins Returns,” “A Quiet Place,” and “A Star Is Born” were recognized as “culturally and artistically significant” films by the institute.

Netflix’s “Roma,” a Spanish-language film not eligible for the main list, was also recognized with an AFI Special Award which honors films outside the Institute’s criteria for American film.

On the television side, FX’s “The Americans,” “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” “Atlanta” and “Pose,” HBO’s “Barry” and “Succession,” AMC’s “Better Call Saul,” Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method,” Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and NBC’s “This Is Us” were all recognized.

The AFI Awards will be presented at an annual private luncheon on Jan. 4, 2019, in Los Angeles.

Terry Crews, left, Danai Gurira, Leslie Mann and Christian Slater will announce the Golden Globe nominees on Thursday morning.

(Ricardo DeAratanha, left, Carolyn Cole, Michael Nagle, Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

There are four Hollywood stars who are guaranteed to be awake bright and early for this year’s Golden Globe Awards announcement, regardless of whether they have a nomination in the offing.

Terry Crews, Danai Gurira, Leslie Mann and Christian Slater have been tasked with presenting the Golden Globe nominees at Thursday’s annual news conference, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. announced Tuesday.

The HFPA also said a major announcement regarding the Golden Globes schedule would be made prior to this year’s nominees.

Joining Crews, Gurira, Mann and Slater will be newly minted Golden Globe Ambassador Isan Elba (also the daughter of actor Idris Elba), HFPA President Meher Tetna and Golden Globe executive producer Barry Adelman.

The Golden Globe nominations announcement will take place on Thursday at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills.

Live-stream coverage of the event begins at 5:05 a.m., with the first categories announced at 5:15 a.m. and a second and final group of categories revealed shortly thereafter.

Pete Davidson

(Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images)

Pete Davidson says no matter what you do to him, he’s not going to kill himself.

Wait, what? Yes, exactly what you just read. Online trolls can’t bully him to death, he says. And he wonders why they’re getting away with such abusive behavior.

“I’ve been getting online bullied and in public by people for 9 months. I’ve spoken about BPD and being suicidal publicly only in the hopes that it will help bring awareness and help kids like myself who don’t want to be on this earth,” the “Saturday Night Live” actor said bluntly Monday on Instagram.

“I just want you guys to know. No matter how hard the internet or anyone tries to make me kill myself. I won’t.”

The “Saturday Night Live” actor, who has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, was presumably referring to his break from pop star Ariana Grande. The two met in March and became an item toward the end of May, got engaged just weeks into the relationship and then split up in October.

She has got around 137 million Instagram followers, some of whom have apparently been talking to — or at — Davidson online. He has no verified Twitter or Facebook accounts.

He said he has kept his mouth shut about the online bullying to this point and hasn’t mentioned any names — nor does he drop any names in the post.

“I’m trying to understand how when something happens to a guy the whole entire world just trashes him without any facts or frame of reference,” Davidson wrote. “Especially in today’s climate where everyone loves to be offended and upset it truly is mind boggling.”

Davidson’s missive comes on the heels of the new video for Grande’s hit song “thank u, next,” whose title echoes a Twitter comment involving the actor.

The singer put Davidson’s statement and a comment of her own on her Instagram story around midnight, urging her many fans to change their behavior.

“[I] really don’t endorse anything but forgiveness and positivity. i care deeply about pete and his health. i’m asking you to please be gentler with others, even on the internet,” Grande said, in part.

Later in the statement, she got a bit more specific.

“[P]lease let whatever point you’re trying to make go. I will always have irrevocable love for him and if you’ve gotten any other impression from my recent work, you might have missed the point,” she said.

Here’s Grande’s statement in full:

“i know u already know this but i feel i need to remind my fans to please be gentler with others. i really don’t endorse anything but forgiveness and positivity. i care deeply about pete and his health. i’m asking you to please be gentler with others, even on the internet. i’ve learned thru my own mistakes not to be reactive on socials so i do understand. but you truly don’t know what anybody is experiencing ever. regardless of what they choose to display on social media or how they may appear in public. i can promise u that. so please let whatever point you’re trying to make go. I will always have irrevocable love for him and if you’ve gotten any other impression from my recent work, you might have missed the point.”

Borderline personality disorder is “marked by an ongoing pattern of varying moods, self-image and behavior,” according to the National Institute of Mental Health website. Symptoms can often result in impulsive actions and relationship problems, with people experiencing intense episodes of anger, depression and anxiety that last for hours or days.

People with BPD tend to experience things as all good or all bad, and according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the risk of self-harming behavior or suicide is an extreme risk.

UPDATE

Dec. 4, 10:18 a.m.: This post was updated with the statement from Grande.

This post was originally published on Dec. 3 at 12:37 p.m.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West at the opening night of “The Cher Show” on Monday.

(Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

Kanye West really, really liked “The Cher Show’s” opening night on Broadway. But at least one performer couldn’t tell, ’cause Ye apparently was messing with his phone the whole time.

“Hey @kanyewest so cool that you’re here at @TheCherShow!,” cast member Jarrod Spector tweeted at the rapper shortly after things got rolling on Monday night. “If you look up from your cell phone you’ll see we’re doing a show up here. It’s opening night. Kind of a big deal for us. Thanks so much.”

West might as well have taken a flash photograph — he was so busted.

West must actually read his mentions — at least the ones that blow up — because he replied with an apology a few hours later. And he apparently really did dig the show.

“The dynamics of Cher and Sonny’s relationship made Kim and I grab each other’s hand and sing ‘I got you babe,’” he wrote. “Please pardon my lack of etiquette. We have so much appreciation for the energy you guys put into making this master piece.”

But West might not have behaved as awful as all that. A Kanye source told TMZ that the rapper loved the show so much he was actually taking notes on his phone.

Still rude, but at least he didn’t tweet that apology halfway through the show.

Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd in October.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times )

Liquid adrenaline manufacturer Red Bull has announced the lineup for the 2019 Red Bull Music Festival Los Angeles, which will focus nearly as much on sight as on sound.

Most notably, the multi-event program will feature the first live performance of music from the blockbuster action-adventure game “Red Dead Redemption 2.” It will be the centerpiece of a festival that aims to explore how music intersects with gaming, film and photography.

Attendees will experience live “Red Dead Redemption 2” performances by composer Woody Jackson, Indonesian duo Senyawa and others featured in the game in what’s billed as a reimagining of the score “as a unique auditory installation.”

The festival, happening at various locations across multiple February dates, will also present the first U.S. stops on Swedish pop powerhouse Robyn’s upcoming North American tour. Hitting the States to promote her new album, “Honey,” Robyn will perform her first Los Angeles shows in eight years on Feb. 22 and 23 at the Hollywood Palladium.

The festival’s Feb. 7 opening event will aim a much-deserved spotlight on the performer San Cha. She’ll be introducing a new original piece, according the notes, “based around the telenovela programs of her childhood,” and will feature artists from a range of L.A.’s creative disciplines.

On Valentine’s Day, the Tupelo, Miss., rap team Rae Sremmurd will host an event described in release notes as “an eclectic show inspired by the golden age of Hollywood.” Along with surprise guests, hosts Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee will marry their hits with covers of “iconic love songs of past and present, putting a contemporary slant on classic silver screen romance.” The party will take place at the Reserve, which is in a historic bank vault in downtown Los Angeles.

On Feb. 16, the skate, film and art collective Illegal Civilization will take over the Pink Motel in Sun Valley — most visible these days as a setting in the Netflix show “GLOW” — for a daylong installment called Illegal Civ Movie Motel. The group is headed by Mikey Alfred, best known for his work with Jonah Hill on “Mid90s,” and Alfred and his peers will entangle skating, film screenings and a swap meet with music performances by affiliates including Show Me the Body, Tierra Whack and Tommy Genesis.

Throughout February the festival will take over the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Koreatown to present “Center Channel,” a film series with a mission to explore “the most compelling intersections of sound and film.” In conjunction with Los Angeles curators and tastemakers, programmers have scheduled not-yet-announced premieres, screenings, panels and live performances.

Tickets for all events go on sale Wednesday at noon.

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Tyra Banks culls real from fake in fab life Phase 2

The new trailer for “Captain Marvel” features a little something for everyone: additional details about the story, fight scenes in outer space and a cute cat.

The second trailer for the Marvel Studios film debuted Monday night, and it sends a clear message that Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, is the hero everyone has been waiting for. At least according to Disney.

While the first trailer hinted that Carol (played by Brie Larson) is trying to piece together what seems to be her forgotten past on Earth, this new promo provides more information about who she has become.

Carol explains to Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) that she is Kree, an alien race of “noble warrior heroes.” But then the trailer immediately reveals that wasn’t always the case.

It turns out that after somehow stumbling upon an injured and memory-less Carol, the Kree turned her into one of them. This gave her enhanced strength, a prolonged lifespan and various other superpowers.

And these powers appear to be no joke. The trailer shows Captain Marvel handle everything from hand-to-hand combat against what appears to be an elderly woman (but is likely an enemy in disguise) to flying around in space while taking out spaceships with energy blasts she shoots from her hands.

Looks like there is definitely hope for the remaining Avengers to save the universe following the events of “Avengers: Infinity War” after all.

“Captain Marvel” is scheduled to hit theaters March 8, 2019.

Brian May, left, and Adam Lambert perform at the Forum in 2014.

(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Bolstered by the success of the new biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen is going back on tour in North America next summer. And Adam Lambert will take the mic once again in place of the late Freddie Mercury, the band announced Monday.

The Rhapsody Tour will take place from mid-July to late August 2019 and feature (in the band’s words) 23 “giant shows.” They’ll play the Forum in Inglewood on July 19.

Tickets go on sale Friday, with pre-sale codes sent to fan club members and QueenOnline.com subscribers on Tuesday.

“The soaring success of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ — the Freddie Mercury/Queen movie that is set to become the biggest-grossing music biopic of all time — has proven that the public’s love for Queen remains as strong as ever,” the band said in a release.

“We are ready for America and raring to get back in the saddle,” drummer Roger Taylor said in the statement, with lead guitarist Brian May adding: “This is a great opportunity. Our last tour featured our most ambitious production ever and got us our best notices ever. So we decided to rip it apart and get even more ambitious!”

Lambert has been touring with the band since 2012 after sharing the stage with them during the 2009 “American Idol” finale. Completing the tour lineup are longtime collaborator Spike Edney on keyboards, Neil Fairclough on bass and Tyler Warren on percussion.

See the full list of dates here.

Lindsay Lohan at the European MTV Awards in Bilbao, Spain, on Nov. 4.

(Vianney Le Caer / Associated Press)

The docuseries “Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club” will debut in early January, MTV announced Monday.

The show chronicles Lohan — MTV labels her an “actress, influencer and entrepreneur” — in her efforts to launch her new Lohan Beach House in Mykonos. (She already has a nightclub in Athens and a beach club in Rhodes, Greece, and then there’s the thing where she’s taking over two islands off Dubai.)

“[W]hen the lines between romance, friendship, and work get blurred, the staff will quickly learn they’ll have to prove themselves to their toughest boss yet,” MTV said in its release, better than we ever could.

Based on what’s bubbled up so far in real life, we can expect details like staffers being told to wear matching shoes or they’re fired.

“I want to build an empire here,” Lohan says in a trailer you can watch below. The show itself was announced in July.

The show, which debuts on Jan. 8, promises viewers will see “a new side of Lohan” — previously known as a party girl and avid club-goer/train wreck — as she and her handpicked team of VIP hosts aim to put the place on the list of luxury destinations.

A week before the docuseries launches, the special “Lindsay Lohan: Welcome to the Beach Club” will air on Jan. 1, featuring a sneak peek at the show and its cast.

Also, at 10 p.m. the night before the premiere, “Lindsay Lohan: Most Memorable Moments” — yes, folks, there are a few to be sure — will be hosted by Aliana and Dakota Lohan, Lindsay’s younger sister and brother, respectively.

Halsey, left, performed at the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, recorded last month.

(Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images)

Halsey, who performed at the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show that aired Sunday night on ABC, posted a lengthy note on social media at the same time regarding the show’s perceived lack of trans inclusivity.

“I have adored the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show since I was young. Performing this year alongside other amazing artists, and hardworking models/friends was supposed to be the best night of my year. However, after I filmed the performance some comments were made regarding the show that I simply cannot ignore,” she wrote.

“As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have no tolerance for a lack of inclusivity. Especially not one motivated by stereotype,” continued the 24-year-old singer, who is out as bisexual. She then directed followers to the GLSEN website and said she had made a big donation to the organization, which champions LGBTQ issues in K-12 education.

The show featured 49 female models of various races and skin colors from at least 14 countries and six continents. However, a comment from a Victoria’s Secret executive in a Nov. 8 Vogue article — which ran the same day the show was taped — upset some transgender people and their allies, and appears to have sparked Halsey’s post. There was also discussion in the article about the absence of plus-size models on the VS catwalk.

“It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this? Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should,” Ed Razek, chief marketing officer for Victoria’s Secret owner, L Brands, told the magazine.

“Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is. It is the only one of its kind in the world, and any other fashion brand in the world would take it in a minute, including the competitors that are carping at us. And they carp at us because we’re the leader.”

Victoria’s Secret did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The quote was in the context of a larger discussion about criticism of the show on social media, which had ramped up ahead of the show. Halsey, for one, wasn’t having it.

“If you are a trans person reading this, and these comments have made you feel alienated or invalidated please know that you have allies. We stand in solidarity, and complete and total acceptance is the only ‘fantasy’ that I support,” she said in her Sunday post.

Also performing at the fashion show were Shawn Mendes, Rita Ora, the Chainsmokers, Bebe Rexha, Leela James, Kelsea Ballerini, and the Struts, most of whom posted generic social-media reminders to watch the show. None of them talked about trans exclusion.

Rexha, however, had a bit more to say, and added a video of her performance Monday on Twitter so followers could see it — in some cases, again.

“It has always been a big dream of mine to perform at @victoriassecret Fashion Show and it’s finally happening tomorrow!! So don’t you miss it!!!,” she posted Saturday on Instagram. “Watch me strutting my curvy ass body unapologetically down that runway.”

Wayne Shorter, front left, Cher, Reba McEntire, Philip Glass; back, Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andy Blankenbuehler, Alex Lacamoire.

(Greg Allen / Associated Press)

The Kennedy Center Honors, which once again were not attended by President Trump, included tributes Sunday night to the late former President George H.W. Bush, who died Friday at age 94.

“I think it’s appropriate to recognize the passing of a wonderful man who dedicated his life to service and who graciously attended this event many times during his administration, laughing, applauding, singing along and even shedding a tear from right up there in the presidential box,” host Gloria Estefan said to kick off the evening at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington.

She recalled being invited to the White House and how Bush “literally spent 45 minutes patiently talking to my 8-year-old son” about how government worked.

Estefan was recognized last year; this year, the lifetime artistic-achievement honors went to jazz great Wayne Shorter, pop diva Cher, country star Reba McEntire and composer Philip Glass, with a unique award of distinction going to the team behind “Hamilton”: Andrew Blankenbuehler, Thomas Kail, Alex Lacamoire and star Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Their names, like the other nominees’, were first announced this summer.

“In recognizing ‘Hamilton’ and its co-creators,” Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said in a statement at the time, “the Kennedy Center is making an unprecedented statement about an unprecedented work — a work that transcends cultural boundaries and tells America’s story in a powerful and contemporary way.”

On Sunday, comic Whoopi Goldberg introduced Cher and friend Cyndi Lauper sang “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Kelly Clarkson paid tribute to McEntire with a version of “Fancy,” the Bobbie Gentry song McEntire turned into a hit in 1990.

Jason Moran, the Kennedy Center’s artistic director for jazz, said Shorter’s sound over a six-decade career “holds a special place in the galaxy,” adding that he could safely say that “somewhere in the galaxy right now, a band is playing one of his pieces.”

And previous award winner Paul Simon did the honors for Glass, whom he praised for “never settling into one particular style, always developing and exploring.”

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who also missed last year’s event after several honorees threatened a boycott, returned in the wee hours Sunday from the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Though Bush attended most years and continued to do so after his presidency, he — like other heads of state, including Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton — missed a year due to major events. Trump is the first president to decline an invitation twice.

You can watch the Kennedy Center Honors when they are broadcast on CBS on Dec. 26.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

The Recording Academy said Monday morning it would delay its announcement of the 61st Grammy Award nominees to avoid competing with memorial services and public viewings for former President George H. W. Bush, who died Friday.

The organization had planned to announce nominees early Wednesday morning but will now share nominees in select categories on Friday at 5:30 a.m. PST via “CBS This Morning” and Apple Music.

A full nominations list across 84 categories will follow at 5:45 a.m. PST on Friday at Grammy.com — the academy’s website — as well as all of its social-media platforms.

Nominations cover recordings released between Oct. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2018.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: How black women are breaking out of their dramatic safe spaces and shaking up the comedy world

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Versatility in action

After a few weeks off for some legal trouble involving a parking dispute, Alec Baldwin was back in the pursed-lip saddle as President Donald Trump this week on “Saturday Night Live.”

Playing off the G20 summit in Argentina and recent revelations surrounding the Russia investigation, “SNL” found Baldwin’s Trump isolated and calling his “Mikey Coco Puffs” in attorney Michael Cohen, who was again played by Ben Stiller. Nostalgic for the late-night talks with Cohen and “vacations to Moscow,” the sketch found Trump sad to see his lawyer going to prison, and told him he was “like a son to me.”

“Then why’d you make me do such much illegal stuff?” Stiller’s Cohen asked. “That’s ’cause you were like a son to me,” Baldwin’s Trump countered. The sketch went on to nod toward Baldwin’s troubles as Trump hung up and Baldwin said he hadn’t been so mad since he “flipped out over that parking space.”

Fred Armisen also appeared in the sketch as Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, Cecily Strong as Melania Trump and Kate McKinnon as a wild-eyed Rudy Giuliani.

The Russia investigation received another callback at the end of the episode with McKinnon and Strong joined by Aidy Bryant, Leslie Jones, Melissa Villaseñor, Heidi Gardner, and newest cast member Ego Nwodim for a performance of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” dedicated to Robert Mueller in the hopes of an indictment for the president.

Still, that’s unlikely to be the night’s most talked about musical moment. Those honors likely go to Oxnard native Anderson .Paak, whose third album (which is named after his hometown) was released in November.

.Paak performed “Who R U” along with his single “Tints,” which featured an assist from Kendrick Lamar, who performed a few verses next to .Paak’s drum riser. It wasn’t a recast of a Christmas song, but it made a strong impression nonetheless.

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Bette Midler eats up her turn as Mengers, heading to the L.A. stage

Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” has already nabbed the singer her first No. 1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and now it has a video burning up social media.

The video dropped Friday afternoon and is rife with references to classic comedies from the early 2000s, including “Mean Girls,” “Legally Blonde” and “Bring It On.”

The buzzed-about video for “thank u, next” is in keeping with the song’s profile thus far. Grande released the song as a surprise earlier in the month, in the wake of the sudden end to her whirlwind romance with former fiance Pete Davidson.

Throughout the song, Grande recounts several of her exes and struggles from her past, grateful for all of it because it made her who she is today.

Those who need a Grande fix can check out the video here, but be aware that some colorful language is featured throughout. Also, be on the lookout for a few very special guest stars, including Troye Sivan, Jennifer Coolidge and “cool mom” Kris Jenner.

It’s been a minute since Miley Cyrus released new music, but much like Los Angeles, the drought is over.

Cyrus, in collaboration with British DJ and producer Mark Ronson, released “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” on Thursday, the first single from Ronson’s upcoming album, his first solo effort since 2015.

It’s the first new music from Cyrus in more than a year.

Cyrus brings her huskiest growl to the tale of love gone wrong, singing, “This world can hurt you, it cuts you deep and leaves a scar / Things fall apart, but nothing breaks like a heart.”

The accompanying video features Cyrus in a low-speed chase with a bevy of cop cars, smashing through walls as if she were a wrecking ball – or the Kool-Aid Man.

In the world outside, cultural references play out in disconnected fashion, as football players kneel and children visit a gun range, all while Cyrus looks on. Also, she goes to a strip club, so watch the video at your own risk.

However, the video does end with a stunning sequence of a car wreck that features Cyrus still inside the vehicle singing, as gold and glass float through the air around her, in what appears to be an obvious homage to Julie Taymor’s gold dust bus crash in 2002’s “Frida.”

The video is worth watching for those stylish seconds alone.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: DJ Steve Aoki balances decadent party image with business dreams

Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” was named the best film of 2018 by the New York Film Critics Circle on Thursday, giving the much-lauded movie another awards-season laurel and furthering Netflix’s momentum toward what many expect to be its first best picture Oscar nomination.

The critics’ group also named Cuarón best director for his work on the black-and-white, Spanish-language film, which is currently in limited release and will be available for streaming on Netflix starting Dec. 14. Following a year in the life of a middle-class Mexican family and their beloved live-in nanny, “Roma” — which draws from Cuarón’s own childhood memories — has earned rapturous reviews since in its initial outings at the Venice and Telluride film festivals earlier this fall.

In the acting categories, Ethan Hawke earned the best actor award for his performance as a pastor undergoing a spiritual crisis in the drama “First Reformed,” Regina Hall was named best actress for the comedy “Support the Girls.” Regina King drew the best supporting actress award for “If Beale Street Could Talk,” and Richard E. Grant was named best supporting actor for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Other films getting a boost in the awards season derby were “Eighth Grade,” whose director, Bo Burnham, earned the honor for best first film; “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which was named best animated film; Hulu release “Minding the Gap,” selected as best documentary; and Pavel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War,” which won best foreign language film.

The awards will be handed out in a ceremony on Jan. 7 in New York.

Hugh Jackman starred in “The Greatest Showman” last year and is now taking to the stage to see if he can match the hype.

The “Logan” actor appeared on “Today” on Thursday to announce his 2019 world tour, “The Man. The Music. The Show.” The tour will feature Jackman performing hits from “The Greatest Showman,” “Les Miserables” and other stage and screen roles.

“I’m on the back nine of my life right now,” Jackman said on “Today,” explaining the impetus for the show, “and this is about the best parts of the front nine.”

The tour launches with a 12-date European leg in May, beginning in Hamburg, Germany, and concluding with two shows in London.

The U.S. tour begins June 18 in Houston and wraps up with two shows at the Hollywood Bowl on July 19 and 20.

Fans of comic-book culture will notice that those Los Angeles dates coincide with San Diego Comic-Con, leaving Jackman either plenty of time for a jaunt south for a guest appearance at SDCC or a built-in excuse for the “Wolverine” actor to skip out altogether.

Tickets for a handful of Jackman’s tour dates go on sale Dec. 7 at 9 a.m. PST on HughJackmanTheShow.com. Tickets for the Hollywood Bowl appearances do not yet have an announced sale date.

Quentin Tarantino and Daniella Pick in 2016.

(Jean-Philippe Ksiazek / AFP/Getty Images)

Once upon a time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino married Daniella Pick, the Israeli singer-model he’s been engaged to since last year.

The two tied the knot in Los Angeles in an “intimate” ceremony, People reported exclusively Wednesday, ahead of a larger gathering that was planned for that night.

Tarantino, 55, and Pick, 35, met in 2009 when he visited Israel to promote “Inglourious Basterds,” but they had been dating steadily only for about a year when he popped the question in summer 2017. They’d been on and off before that.

It’s a first marriage for the director, who explained his take on marriage to GQ in 2009.

“When I’m doing a movie, I’m not doing anything else. It’s all about the movie,” he said. “I don’t have a wife. I don’t have a kid. Nothing can get in my way. … I’m not saying that I’ll never get married or have a kid before I’m 60. But I’ve made a choice, so far, to go on this road alone. Because this is my time. This is my time to make movies.”

Tarantino said at a conference in 2016 that he was going to retire after he had directed 10 movies.

His “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is in post-production now, while an untitled “Star Trek” project looms. That latter one would be his 10th full-length effort.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

READ MORE: Gemma Chan was on a legal track, now she’s a movie star

A “SpongeBob SquarePants” balloon floats over Central Park West last week during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Associated Press)

A fan of the Nickelodeon show “SpongeBob SquarePants” has started an online petition asking that the Empire State Building be lit up in yellow to remember series creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died Monday of ALS at age 57.

“As Nickelodeon Studios is based in New York, I felt it fitting to ask the Big Apple to show its love for Stephen by embracing SpongeBob’s classic yellow glow,” fan Alison P. said in her petition on the Care2 website.

She said she started the petition as a way to honor Hillenburg and also to drive awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative neurological condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The petition had closed in on its 3,000-signature goal by early Wednesday afternoon.

Stephen Hillenburg at the world premiere of “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” in 2015.

(Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

“SpongeBob SquarePants has taught his audience not only about friendship but helped to drive awareness around the importance of ocean conservation,” Alison P. said. “It was Stephen’s genius that was able to invent a character who could connect with kids and adults to deliver such an important message in a fun and charming way.”

Though Hillenburg left the series in 2002 after about 60 episodes, it has continued on through 12 seasons so far and amassed a loyal fan base that includes both young and old. There have been two “SpongeBob” movies, with one more on tap for 2020.

Hillenburg went public with his ALS diagnosis in March 2017.

READ MORE: Stephen Hillenburg, creator of ‘SpongeBob SquarePants,’ dies at 57

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown in 1997.

(Rene Macura / Associated Press)

Bobby Brown and the estate of Bobbi Kristina Brown are suing Showtime and other distributors of the unauthorized 2017 biopic “Whitney: Can I Be Me,” alleging the defendants used more than half an hour of old footage of both Browns, plus his other children, without permission.

The suit, which seeks at least $2 million in damages, was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, where defendants Showtime, the BBC and Passion Pictures all have offices.

The named defendants — which also include Tracey Baker-Simmons, Wanda Shelley, B2 Entertainment and Simmons Shelley Entertainment, based in Atlanta — are accused of distributing footage including some shot for the 2005 reality show “Being Bobby Brown,” thereby violating the Browns’ privacy rights in pursuit of financial gain.

Though Brown was contacted by the filmmakers, the suit says, to be interviewed for “Can I Be Me,” he declined. A mention in the film’s credits suggests Brown’s production company OK’d the use of the “Being Bobby Brown” footage, including footage of Bobbi Kristina Brown, but the complaint says no such permission was given.

“The footage was actually recorded prior to the divorce in 2007 between Brown and Houston. Brown never signed or executed a release for the material that appears in the film,” the lawsuit says. “The footage of Brown is approximately fifteen (15) years old.”

The Los Angeles Times’ review of “Can I Be Me” noted that some voices were absent from the film, which was co-directed by Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal. (Neither director is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.)

“Broomfield, for his part, was hampered by the fact that he was not able to interview key people in Houston’s life, including ex-husband Bobby Brown, her closest friend Robyn Crawford, and Clive Davis, the Svengali who began her career,” Times critic Kenneth Turan wrote.

Showtime and the BBC declined to comment on Wednesday. And an email sent to Tracey Baker-Simmons was not immediately returned.

Bobbi Kristina Brown died in July 2015 from undetermined causes.

People walk past the Egyptian Theatre, a landmark venue showing films during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Mindy Kaling. Alec Baldwin. Naomi Watts. Pete Davidson. Awkwafina. Emma Thompson. Shia LaBeouf .

Those are just a few of the many names headed to Park City, Utah, in January for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. On Wednesday, the Sundance Institute unveiled the full lineup of feature films from all over the world set to premiere at the annual festival.

To mark the official lineup reveal, festival director John Cooper and programming director Kim Yutani visited the Times’ video studio for a livestream discussion. Joined by Times film reporter and The Reel host Mark Olsen, the two offered their instant analysis on the lineup and what trends to watch for come January.

Read our full report on the titles selected, and press play on the video below to watch a replay of the livestream.

The 2019 Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 24 to Feb. 3. For full coverage, make sure to bookmark latimes.com/entertainment and follow @latimesent on Twitter, @latimesent on Facebook and @latimes_entertainment on Instagram.

Rapper Mac Miller died Sept. 7 of an accidental overdose.

(Owen Sweeney / Associated Press)

Spotify has released a couple of new tunes from the late rapper Mac Miller.

A recording of his song “Dunno” and a cover of Billy Preston’s 1974 hit “Nothing From Nothing” are part of a Spotify Singles playlist that came out Tuesday on the streaming platform. They were recorded live in New York City before Miller’s death on Sept. 7.

Miller appears to get emotional about an ex-girlfriend — perhaps Ariana Grande? — in the wistful “Dunno,” from his 2018 album “Swimming.” And he puts a smoky, introspective spin on “Nothing From Nothing.” Listen to songs below.

Miller, who was 26, died from an accidental overdose of alcohol, cocaine and fentanyl, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office concluded.

The unexpected nature of his death left many strings untied, including a Halloween concert date at the Greek Theatre that became the peer-loaded tribute concert “Mac Miller: A Celebration of Life.”

Margaret Atwood announced Wednesday that a sequel to her iconic 1985 novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” is coming next year.

(Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)

In the surest sign yet that we are living in the age of reboots, revivals and sequels, Margaret Atwood announced Wednesday that a sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” her prescient 1985 novel, is in the works.

Titled “The Testaments,” the new novel is set 15 years after the protagonist’s final scene in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and is narrated by three female characters. Atwood revealed the news in a tweet Wednesday morning and said the book is set to be published next year.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” and its dystopian tale of life in Gilead, a patriarchal society overseen by fundamentalist zealots with a singular obsession with women’s reproductive rights has seen renewed cultural significance in recent days. The book’s continued relevance is thanks in part to the high-profile Hulu adaptation, along with plenty of other contributing factors.

“Dear Readers: Everything you’ve ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything!” Atwood wrote in her tweet. “The other inspiration is the world we’ve been living in.”

“I have published Margaret Atwood’s work since 1976 – her poetry, fiction and nonfiction,” publisher Nan A. Talese said in a statement Wednesday. “A manuscript from her is always a reason for joy. She writes wonderfully and has a mind like a steel trap. This new book is no exception.”

Beyond the timeline and the narrators, little else has been revealed about the sequel. The book is not, however, in any way connected to Hulu’s current adaptation.

“The Testaments” is scheduled for release on Sept. 10, 2019, by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday with a first printing of 500,000 copies.

(Anacleto Rapping / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: A New Mexican Revolution

Actress Amanda Bynes, pictured in 2013, battled several problems that played out in public for a few years.

(Neilson Barnard / Getty Images)

Former child star turned cautionary tale Amanda Bynes has resurfaced on the cover of Paper magazine looking happy, healthy and ready for a comeback.

Bynes broke through on Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy show “All That” before scoring a series of her own at age 13 with “The Amanda Show.” Her star continued to rise through the early 2000s with movie roles aplenty, including “What a Girl Wants,” “She’s the Man” and “Hairspray.”

But eventually, Bynes said in a new sit-down interview with Paper, self-image issues fueled her burgeoning drug habit and led to her abandoning acting altogether.

The actress recounted a moment on the set of “Hall Pass,” when, after seeing herself on a monitor, “literally tripping out and thinking my arm looked so fat because it was in the foreground or whatever and I remember rushing off set and thinking, ‘Oh, my god, I look so bad.’”

According to Bynes, it was a combination of image issues and Adderall abuse that resulted in her eventually leaving “Hall Pass.” Shortly thereafter, she found herself in a similar situation while watching her performance in “Easy A.”

Amanda Bynes on the cover of Paper magazine’s “Break the Internet” issue.

(Danielle Levitt / Paper)

“I literally couldn’t stand my appearance in that movie, and I didn’t like my performance,” she said. “I was absolutely convinced I needed to stop acting after seeing it.”

Bynes is clear that any bad behavior in previous years was spurred by drug use and not by psychological issues, saying that once she quit acting, her days were filled with little beyond getting high and self-destructing online.

“I’m really ashamed and embarrassed with the things I said. I can’t turn back time, but if I could, I would,” Bynes said. “And I’m so sorry to whoever I hurt and whoever I lied about because it truly eats away at me. It makes me feel so horrible and sick to my stomach and sad.

“Everything I worked my whole life to achieve, I kind of ruined it all through Twitter,” she said.

In the interview, Bynes also discusses her four years of sobriety and educational pursuit at Los Angeles’ Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, as well as her potential return to acting.

Aubrey Plaza, a Spirit Award winner herself, will host the 2019 Spirit Awards ceremony.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Film Independent announced on Tuesday that Aubrey Plaza will host the 2019 Spirit Awards.

“The search for a great Spirit Awards host is never easy,” Film Independent’s president, Josh Welsh, said in a release. “This year we said, ‘Let’s find someone funny, smart, a cinephile … being a great actor wouldn’t hurt and it would be an added bonus if they’ve previously won a Spirit Award.’ Then we realized, ‘Oh wait, that’s Aubrey Plaza!’”

“I am truly honored and delighted to host the Spirit Awards this year,” said Plaza in the release. “It is a dream come true to host a show that celebrates my greatest loves: independent film, the people that make them possible and live television.”

Plaza starred opposite Elizabeth Olsen in last year’s “Ingrid Goes West,” which she also produced. As a producer, she received a Spirit Award for best first feature for that film. She currently stars in FX’s “Legion” series, which is based on a Marvel comic of the same name. Season 3 of the show will premiere in 2019.

She is also well known for her role on the Emmy-nominated series “Parks and Recreation” and will next appear in Lars Klevberg’s “Child’s Play” remake with Brian Tyree Henry, scheduled for release on June 21, 2019.

The Spirit Awards are the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs. Nominees were announced on Nov. 16. Among this year’s best feature nominees are “Eighth Grade,” “First Reformed,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Leave No Trace” and “You Were Never Really Here.”

The 34th Independent Spirit Awards will broadcast live on IFC on Feb. 23, 2019. The ceremony will be held on the beach in Santa Monica.

One step up and two steps back? More like one door closing and another one opening.

So it is with Bruce Springsteen, who’s bringing “Springsteen on Broadway” to small screens the day after his autobiographical show closes following more than a year at New York City’s Walter Kerr Theatre.

“This is what I’ve presented to you all these years as my long and noisy prayer, as my magic trick,” Springsteen says to kick off the trailer released by Netflix on Tuesday, not quite three weeks ahead of the special’s debut on the streaming service.

Think of it as a two-hour reward for resisting the urge to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a ticket to the gig, which opened in October 2017.

Heavy on serious theatricality, the trailer offers a low-key taste of the nearly solo show — staged in a theater that seats fewer than a thousand — which on most nights has included Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa, on a couple of songs.

It’s a hybrid, but clearly not a Bruce concert. Far from it.

Unlike his raucous arena shows, there are no massive singalongs by the crowd. It doesn’t stretch to 3½ or four hours, though it’s apparently grown longer with time.

“It’s a coming-of-age story, and I want to show how this — one’s coming of age — has to be earned,” Springsteen told Esquire magazine this month. “It’s not given to anyone. It takes a certain single-minded purpose. It takes self-awareness, a desire to go there.

“And a willingness to confront all the very fearsome and dangerous elements of your life — your past, your history — that you need to confront to become as much of a free agent as you can. This is what the show is about.”

“Springsteen on Broadway” premieres Dec. 16 on Netflix.

Tell your kids to break out the Casio keyboard, because Sesame Street Records is back.

Warner Music Group’s Arts Music division and Sesame Workshop announced a joint effort on Tuesday to relaunch Sesame Street Records in the United States and Canada. The move will bring a wealth of “Sesame Street” recordings to both online streaming and purchasing platforms.

“‘Sesame Street’ and music have had a longstanding harmony that began nearly 50 years ago,” Kevin Gore, president of Warner Music’s Arts Music division, said in a statement Tuesday. “I’m thrilled this partnership with Sesame Workshop is our first initiative for Arts Music in the kids’ music space.”

“I watched the first [‘Sesame Street’] episode, owned their first album, shared this music with my kids, and I can’t think of a better brand or mission as our foundation in this space,” Gore continued.

Sesame Street Records will comb through the extensive back catalog of the series to repackage material in new CD, vinyl, download and streaming series, targeted at a new generation of listeners.

“Music has always been a vital way for audiences to connect with ‘Sesame Street’ as we work toward our mission of helping kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger and kinder,” said Steve Youngwood, Sesame Workshop’s president of media and education and chief operating officer in Tuesday’s press release.

“In Arts Music, we’ve found a passionate and forward-thinking partner who understands what our timeless songs mean to generations of families.”

In September, Sesame Records released a “Letters” series of albums from the archives, including “F is for Fun” and “G is for Grover.” Fans can also expect new albums on Friday, Nov. 30 with the release of “All-time Favorites 1” and “All-time Favorites 2.”

Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

(Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images)

Actor Robert De Niro has confirmed his split from wife Grace Hightower, issuing a statement Tuesday that puts his stamp on breakup news that slipped out just before Thanksgiving.

“Grace and I have two beautiful children together. We are entering a period of transition in our relationship which is a difficult but constructive process,” the Oscar winner said in a statement.

“I honor Grace as a wonderful mother and ask for privacy and respect from all as we proceed to develop our roles as partners in parenting.”

De Niro, 75, and actress-singer-philanthropist Hightower, 63, have been married for 21 years and dated for 10 years before that. They have two children together, 20-year-old Elliot and 6-year-old Helen.

Last Wednesday, it was reported that they were no longer living together and hadn’t been seen as a couple at events since the end of summer.

“Sometimes things don’t work out the way you hope or want them to,” an insider told People magazine last week.

(Clarence Williams / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Givens KOs Her Image : Actress Beats 250 Others for ‘Rage in Harlem’ Role

(Christopher Polk / Getty Images)

The man of the woods needs some more quiet time at home.

Justin Timberlake will not perform a concert scheduled for Tuesday night at Staples Center, according to the pop singer’s representative, who blamed “bruised vocal cords” for the postponement.

The show in downtown Los Angeles was supposed to have marked the resumption of Timberlake’s tour behind this year’s “Man of the Woods” album following a string of dates he called off for the same reason before a Thanksgiving break.

But evidently the star’s vocal rest — as demonstrated this month in a so-called silent interview on his friend Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show — hasn’t yet healed the problem.

Timberlake’s rep said tickets for the Staples gig will be honored when the concert is rescheduled for a later date.

“The Rider” producers Mollye Asher and Bert Hamelinck.

(Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

The 28th Independent Filmmaker Project’s Gotham Awards kicked off awards season by crowning the story of a Midwestern cowboy as the top feature film.

“The Rider” won the the best feature award at the Gotham Awards on Monday night, edging out a number of movies widely considered to be major contenders for Oscar nominations including “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “The Favourite.”

Directed by Chloé Zhao, “The Rider” follows a Lakota rodeo rider who was once a rising star on the circuit. But his hopes are sidelined when a riding accident causes brain damage and affects his motor skills. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017 and Sony Pictures Classics released it in the U.S. in April.

Other top winners of the night include “Eighth Grade” and “First Reformed,” which took home two awards a piece.

Elsie Fisher, who stars in “Eighth Grade” as a shy middle schooler whose struggles with social anxiety leave her motivational YouTube videos as one of the only places she is able to express herself, won the breakout actor award. Breakout director went to Bo Burnham.

Regina Hall and Elsie Fisher.

(Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

Veteran filmmaker Paul Schrader won the screenplay award for “First Reformed,” while Ethan Hawke took the best actor prize for his work portraying a protestant minister of a dwindling church faced with questions of faith and his own mortality.

Toni Collette was recognized in the best actress category for her work as an artist and matriarch of a family haunted after the death of her secretive mother in the horror film “Hereditary.”

The special jury prize for ensemble performance went to Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone for their work in “The Favourite.”

On the nonfiction side, RaMell Ross’s “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” about the everyday lives of African Americans in Alabama, won the top documentary prize.

The Mr. Rogers doc “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” — which was also among the documentary nominees — took home the audience award.

In the breakthrough series categories, critical darling “Killing Eve” won the award for long-form series, while “195 Lewis” was the winner in the short-form category.

PHOTOS: Gotham Independent Film Awards 2018 Red carpet arrivals >>

Screenwriter Terry Rossio at the “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” premiere in 2017.

(Jesse Grant / Getty Images )

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Terry Rossio has apologized for using a racist slur in a tweet defending people who are opposed to vaccinations.

“In a recent Twitter post arguing against stereotyping and hate speech, I referenced the ‘n-word’ (the actual word) as an example of what not to do,” Rossio tweeted Saturday. “That was a mistake. I am sorry.

“I now understand that the word has no place in any conversation, ever,” he added.

Last week, the “Shrek” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” screenwriter argued that using the term “anti-vax” was the equivalent of calling someone a specific racist slur that is inappropriate to reproduce in this family-friendly news publication.

“My heart goes out to all the parents of vaccine damaged children, who have to not only endure the sadness of their loss, but also the vitriol of ill-informed and insensitive people (such as those here),” Rossio said in a now-deleted tweet. “Anti-Vax is equivalent to calling someone a ... and makes as little sense.”

And yes, he used the actual slur in the tweet.

Plenty of people across social media responded to Rossio’s claim by pointing out that his use of the slur was inappropriate and that the word “anti-vax” was not at all the same as the racist slur in question.

In his apology Rossio does not back down from his initial argument that using the term “anti-vax” is a form of “hate speech.”

“You can’t make a point against hate speech and reference actual words of hate speech,” Rossio tweeted. “I continue to stand against hate speech and dehumanizing labels in any form.”

Read Rossio’s full apology below.

People walk past the Egyptian Theatre, a landmark venue showing films during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Awards season is well underway but the Sundance Institute is already looking to start the conversation on the next group of potential critical darlings.

The lineup of feature films set to compete at the annual film festival will be announced Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 1 p.m. PT and The Times will be home to the exclusive livestream analysis with festival director John Cooper and programming director Kim Yutani. The two will be joined by Times film reporter and The Reel host Mark Olsen to discuss the big picture trends from this year’s lineup, what to watch for and what else to expect from new director Yutani. The 2019 Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 24-Feb. 3, 2019 in Park City.

Be sure to bookmark latimes.com/entertainment and follow the Los Angeles Times on YouTube and Facebook for Wednesday’s livestream as well as full analysis of the feature film lineup.

In the meantime, check out our Sundance 2018 coverage, including film critic Justin Chang’s daily diary, The Times’ celebrity portraits and our full festival recap from The Reel.

Vernita Lee, left, with daughter Oprah Winfrey.

(George Burns / Harpo Inc. via Associated Press)

Vernita Lee, Oprah Winfrey’s mother, has died at age 83, the family confirmed Monday.

Lee died on Thanksgiving Day at home in Milwaukee and has already been laid to rest in a private funeral, the family said in a statement.

She is survived by daughters Winfrey and Patricia Amanda Faye Lee, the latter of whom she put up for adoption and later reconnected with, as well as her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her two other children, son Jeffrey Lee, who died in 1989, and daughter Patricia Lee Lloyd, who died in 2003.

Vernita Lee, who worked as a maid, was 18 and not married when Winfrey was born in rural Mississippi in 1954. Winfrey was reportedly raised by her grandmother until age 6, when she reunited with Lee and moved to Milwaukee.

No other details about Lee’s passing were provided, and a spokeswoman for the Oprah Winfrey Network said the TV host would have no statement of her own at this time.

The 2019 Emmy Awards are scheduled for September.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The Emmy Awards will return to Fox — and to Sunday night — in 2019.

The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will air live Sept. 22, 2019, the Television Academy and Fox announced Monday. The ceremony will take place at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles.

Fox, along with fellow broadcasters CBS, ABC and NBC, share broadcasting rights for the ceremony, with each network hosting the awards once every four years.

In 2018, however, NBC opted to move the Emmys to a Monday night, so as not to disrupt its regularly scheduled “Sunday Night Football” programming.

Producers and host(s) for the 2019 ceremony will be announced at a later date.

The question of who will host next year’s awards is generating more curiosity than ever with a network that recently rebranded itself New Fox. When the broadcaster last presented the ceremony in 2015, Andy Samberg hosted. He has since taken his talents – and his canceled TV show, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” – to NBC, leaving Fox’s comedy roster a little lacking.

Maybe the network can look to its newsier counterpart for talent and turn the show over to Fox News host Tucker Carlson. It would be memorable at least.

Alec Baldwin leaves a New York Supreme Court on Monday after his arraignment in connection with harassment and attempted assault charges.

(Richard Drew / Associated Press)

Alec Baldwin appeared in a New York court Monday for a hearing related to his November arrest on suspicion of assault and harassment over a parking dispute.

The actor, 60, said nothing as he was arraigned on violation- and misdemeanor-level charges that prosecutors had reduced to harassment and attempted assault, the Associated Press reported.

He did not enter a plea.

The arrest stemmed from a Nov. 2 dispute over a parking space that a friend was allegedly holding for Baldwin in Manhattan’s West Village, a police spokeswoman told The Times at the time. After another man pulled into the spot, a verbal dispute turned physical, she said.

Baldwin “punched a complainant, 49 years old, and was arrested” on charges of assault and harassment, she said. The actor’s representative had no comment at the time.

Baldwin has said he did nothing wrong, and his attorney argued the same on Monday.

“Mr. Baldwin is a public figure whose reputation has been damaged by media reports that claim that he punched a man on a New York City street,” said his lawyer, Alan Abramson, according to the AP.

“There is incontrovertible video evidence that has been turned over to the district attorney’s office that proves beyond all doubt that Mr. Baldwin never punched anyone.”

Abramson predicted that Baldwin would be cleared once the matter was “fully investigated.”

According to a police report obtained by the Blast, the actor told officers at the scene, “He stole my spot,” and then admitted, “I did push him.” The other man said Baldwin hit him on the left side of his face with a closed hand, according to the report.

Baldwin was released on his own recognizance with a court date set for next year, the Blast said.