AP National Entertainment News

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Imogen Poots has been thinking about a Sam Shepard quote: “People here have become the people they’re pretending to be.” Those 10 words, from a poem in his “Motel Chronicles” collection, are kind of about her character in “Hedda,” the quietly courageous Thea. But they’re also kind of about

WREXHAM, Wales (AP) — Wrexham’s celebrity owners have sold a minority stake in their on-the-rise soccer club to Apollo Sports Capital, a U.S.-based private equity firm. The deal, which was announced on Monday with no terms disclosed, includes investment by Apollo in the redevelopment of Wrexham’s stadium and the surrounding area in the small Welsh

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Raul Malo, the soulful tenor and frontman of the genre-defying, Grammy-winning band The Mavericks, has died. He was 60. Malo died Monday night, his wife, Betty Malo, posted on his Facebook page. He had been battling cancer. The frontman of The Mavericks had documented his health journey

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer Paramount Skydance’s hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros. Discovery places CNN and its sister cable networks squarely back into what is likely to be an extended period of management limbo. There was some relief at CNN with last Friday’s announcement that Netflix was buying Warner’s studio and streaming businesses,

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer President Donald Trump won’t be getting his wish. ABC said Monday it has signed late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel to a one-year contract extension. Kimmel’s previous, multiyear contract had been set to expire next May, so the extension will keep him on the air until at least May 2027. Kimmel’s

AMY TAXIN Associated Press SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — For a Disneyland enthusiast who marked his 15,000th spin Monday on an auto-racing attraction inspired by the animated film “Cars,” it’s not about winning. It’s about the ride. Jon Alan Hale said he was eager to try out the Radiator Springs Racers ride at Disney California

By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery’s friendly agreement to sell itself to Netflix just got upended by a hostile actor — Paramount, which made Warner shareholders a higher offer and touched off what is likely to be a lengthy fight in the latest episode of media industry consolidation.

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Perhaps the “Wicked” team should have called on Madame Morrible to enact some dark magic on Golden Globe voters before nominations were announced Monday. “Wicked: For Good” wasn’t nominated for best picture or best director, one of several surprising exclusions. Snubs at the Golden Globes seem even more shocking

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and BERNARD CONDON AP Business Writers NEW YORK (AP) — Paramount on Monday launched a hostile takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, initiating a potentially bruising battle with rival bidder Netflix to buy the company behind HBO, CNN and a famed movie studio along with the power to reshape much of the

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A memoir by Eric Dane, the “Grey’s Anatomy” and “ Euphoria” actor who has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, will be published next year. Dane’s “Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments” will be released by Maria Shriver’s The Open Field, a Penguin Random

By The Associated Press The Golden Globes nominees have been announced — as always, an eclectic and high-powered group of the biggest names from film and television. In the lead was Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” with nine nominations, adding to the Oscar favorite’s momentum and handing Warner Bros. a victory amid Netflix’s

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Golden Globes this year introduced a best podcast category and, predictably, the nominees announced Monday will get people talking. The six nominees for the inaugural best podcast award are “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard,” “Call Her Daddy,” “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” “The Mel

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer New York (AP) — Much has been made about the global touring economy in the last few years. Take, for example, that tours grossing over a billion dollars is a new phenomenon in the 2020s — a benchmark first crossed by Taylor Swift in 2023 with her landmark Eras

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has suggested that a deal struck by Netflix to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. “There’s no question about it,” Trump said Sunday, answering questions about the deal and various other topics as

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” scored a leading nine nominations to the 83rd Golden Globe Awards on Monday, adding to the Oscar favorite’s momentum and handing Warner Bros. a victory amid Netflix’s acquisition deal. In nominations announced from Beverly Hills, California, “One Battle After Another” landed nods

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer “Five Nights at Freddy’s” has powered up the box office once again. The sequel opened in 3,412 theaters in the U.S. and Canada this weekend and far surpassed expectations with $63 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Seemingly immune to widely negative reviews, “Five Nights at

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Rafael Ithier, a beloved musician and a founder of the legendary salsa band El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, whose hits have inspired Bad Bunny and other icons from the U.S. territory and beyond, has died. He was 99. An attorney for the Ithier

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and HILLEL ITALIE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday hosted the Kennedy Center Honors and praised Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, Gloria Gaynor, Michael Crawford and George Strait, the slate of honorees he helped choose, as being “legendary in so many ways.” “Billions and billions of people have watched them

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday presented the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees with their medals during a ceremony in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he was deeply involved in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled. This year’s recipients are actor

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Prominent American playwright and actor, Jeremy O. Harris, known for his Tony-nominated “Slave Play,” was arrested in Japan on suspicion of smuggling the psychedelic drug ecstasy, officials said Saturday. Officers at Naha Airport on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa arrested Harris on Nov. 16 for an alleged

NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was sentenced to three more months in prison Friday for violating the terms of his supervised release in a New York gang case by assaulting a man and possessing drugs. The 29-year-old artist from Brooklyn, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, admitted to the violations during a hearing

By JOHN ROGERS Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Frank Gehry, who designed some of the most imaginative buildings ever constructed and achieved a level of worldwide acclaim seldom afforded any architect, has died. He was 96. Gehry died Friday in his home in Santa Monica after a brief respiratory illness, said Meaghan Lloyd, chief

NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix’s $72 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. studio and its film and television operations drew quick reactions Friday. Film and television industry entities including guilds and the lobbying group for movie theater owners criticized the deal, warning it would harm consumers and cinema owners. In announcing the deal, Warner Bros.

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s anti-money laundering office has frozen the bank accounts of the Mexican co-owner of Miss Universe as part of an investigation into drugs, fuel and arms trafficking, an official said Friday. The country’s Financial Intelligence Unit, which oversees the fight against money laundering, froze Mexican businessman

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer Darlene Love will never stop thinking of her holiday classic, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” At this time of year, she couldn’t if she tried. “The post office, grocery store, elevator,” she says with a laugh, listing a few locations where she keeps hearing the song. “It just feels