Features
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Colleagues and friends of James Gandolfini are paying tribute to the actor in the wake of his sudden death Wednesday in Italy. Gandolfini was 51.
David Chase, who created The Sopranos, the hit HBO series for which Gandolfini is best known, called Gandolfini “a genius.”
In a statement, Chase called Gandolfini “one of the greatest actors of this or any time."
“I remember telling him many times, ‘You don’t get it. You’re like Mozart.’ There would be silence at the other end of the phone,” Chase stated, adding that
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Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Paula Deen has whipped up a frenzy on the Internet with her admission that she's used racial slurs in the past.
The celebrity cook known for her high-calorie recipes stated in a recent deposition -- the details of which were reported Wednesday -- that she's used the N-word multiple times. The deposition was related to a 2012 sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee of Deen's Savannah, Ga., restaurant against Deen and her brother.
According to TMZ.com, a lawyer asked Deen if she has ever used the N-word. Her response: "Yes, of course."
The 66-year-old Deen explained that she
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Ethan Miller/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The website BleedingCool claims it has obtained what it calls the first-ever casting notices for J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII.
According to the site, producers are looking for, a "late-teen female, independent, good sense of humor, fit," as well as a "young twenty-something male, witty and smart, fit but not traditionally good looking."
Other key roles, according to the site:
- "A second young female, also late teens, tough, smart and fit."
- "Seventy-something male, with strong opinions and tough demeanour [sic]. Also doesn't need to be particularly fit."
- "A
Michael Tullberg/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Rosie O'Donnell was reportedly all set to join her old pal and A League of Their Own co-star Madonna on stage for a Q & A in New York City Tuesday night, but a health scare scuttled the plans.
O'Donnell was to be on hand as Madge unveiled the concert film Madonna: The MDNA Tour, however, the New York Post reports O'Donnell pulled out "at the eleventh hour" when she received some frightening medical news.
"Rosie had a suspicious CAT Scan," according to a source, and she was forced to get examined before she was ultimately, "given a clean bill of health."
Madonna took the
Angela Weiss/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Spider-Man has lost one of his gal-pals for his next film.
The Descendants star Shailene Woodley had been cast as Mary Jane Watson for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which is scheduled to be released on May 2, 2014. However, the director of the film has announced that the scenes the 21-year-old actress has shot will be left on the cutting-room floor.
In a statement obtained by Deadline.com, director Marc Webb says, “I made a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship. Shailene is an incredibly talented actress and while we only
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Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic(LOS ANGELES) -- It’s been almost a year since Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise just days before his 50th birthday, and a source reveals to E! Online that the actor has come to terms with the split and is "in a really good place.”
Asked about Cruise and Holmes' current rapport, the source tells E!, “They have a good relationship. Soon after the split, obviously they didn’t. But they have managed to mend their relationship for the sake of [daughter] Suri. Things are cordial right now."
The source adds that the Mission Impossible actor is ready to date again
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Vera Anderson/WireImage(NEW YORK) -- James Gandolfini, best known for his role as mobster Tony Soprano in the 1999-2007 HBO series The Sopranos, has died.
HBO has confirmed Gandolfini has died at the age of 51 of a possible heart attack.
Gandolfini was on vacation in Rome, Italy, at the time of his death. TMZ notes he was expected to attend a film festival event this weekend in Sicily.
A statement from HBO reads:
We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. He
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MEHDI TAAMALLAH/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Miley Cyrus has never said publicly that she smoked pot, but in a new Rolling Stone interview she doesn’t exactly deny it either.
“I did a song with Snoop Dogg called ‘Ashtrays and Heartbreaks,’ so people can put it together for themselves,” Cyrus told the magazine.
“I think alcohol is way more dangerous than marijuana. People can be mad at me for saying that, but I don’t care,” the 20-year-old singer told Rolling Stone. “I’ve seen a lot of people spiral down with alcohol, but I’ve never seen that happen with weed.”
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LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- It worked for Zach Braff and Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas. Now James Franco has turned to crowdfunding to bankroll a trilogy of movies.
Franco launched his campaign on June 17 to raise $500,000 through Indiegogo, a crowdfunding alternative to Kickstarter. Unlike Braff and Thomas, Franco doesn't plan on directing the films. He's raising the money so that a group of young filmmakers from New York University, where he attended the film program, can adapt his 2011 short story collection, Palo Alto.
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Doug McKenzie/Getty Images(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) -- Country singer Slim Whitman died Wednesday. He was 90.
Best known for his 1952 hit, "Indian Love Call," Whitman joined the Grand Ole Opry cast in 1955. He earned a string of top 10 hits between 1952 and 1971, including his final hits, "Guess Who" and "Something Beautiful (to Remember)."
Whitman was also a star overseas with his single "Rose Marie," spending 11 weeks at #1 in England in 1954. His song, "Closer to the Waterfall," was used in the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and "Indian Love Call" was featured in the 1996 movie Mars Attacks!
Whitman
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Frank Micelotta/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Paramount has released its first trailer to Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.
Unlike the previous two teasers, the snippet gives a bigger peek of the movie's plot, when Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy and the rest of his Channel 4 news team head into the 1980s and the 24/7 world of cable news.
Anchorman 2, which also stars Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner -- as well as series newcomers Kristen Wiig and James Marsden -- opens Dec. 20.
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Murray Close/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Jurassic Park 4 is back on track.
Last month, production on the film was postponed, leaving its release date up in the air after it was originally scheduled to premiere in June 2014. Variety is now reporting that Jurassic Park 4 will now open sometime in 2015.
Executive producer Steven Spielberg, who directed the first two films in the dinosaur series, is said to be working on the script with director Colin Trevorrow and producers.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Adam Rose/NBC(NEW YORK) -- NBC announced Tuesday it is moving forward with an hour-long documentary that will capture actress Valerie Harper's battle with cancer.
The 73-year-old Mary Tyler Moore Show star announced in March that she had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
NBC has yet to schedule an air date for the documentary, which will be hosted by Meredith Vieira.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- It seems Charlie Sheen's reported feud with Selma Blair on the set of Anger Management has cost her her job.
Lionsgate, which produces the FX sitcom, announced on Tuesday, “We are confirming that Selma Blair will not be returning to Anger Management and we wish her the very best.”
The announcement came after TMZ.com reported that Sheen had told producers he would quit unless they began the process of firing Blair as soon as possible. TMZ reported earlier this week that Sheen was upset that she allegedly complained about his work habits to the show's executives.
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Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Ratings for The Voice are on the rise for its finale week.
The final performance show of the season for the NBC competition pulled in an estimated 12.3 million viewers on Monday night, according to Variety. That's an improvement of about 500,000 viewers from last week's performance show, but a smaller total than what The Voice enjoyed during the first half of the season.
The Voice crowned its fourth-season winner on Tuesday night.
The top-rated primetime programs for the week that ended Sunday were the third, fourth, and fifth games of the NBA Finals, televised by ABC.
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