Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith's $240 mn divorce? - Times of India

Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith's $240 mn divorce? - Times of India

02

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson: The Twilight superstars seemed to have gone back and forth in their relationship to finally call it quits! Pattinson and Stewart were madly in love but when a committed Stewart publicly cheated on Rob with Rupert Sanders, this caused much heartache for Rob and Sander’s wife Liberty Ross. Ross filed for divorce from Sanders but Stewart got second time lucky with Rob who decided to forgive her. But only for a short while. It seems that Robert could not forgive Kristen and is Tahliah Debrett Barnett aka FKA twigs. 

03

Clint Eastwood and Dina Ruiz: 83 year old Clint Eastwood split from his TV presenter wife Dina Ruiz after 17 years of marriage. The couple are said to have split this year but were living apart since June 2012 when Eastwood apparently fell out of love with his then wife Dina. The two have one daughter together, Morgan. While the 50 year old Dina is said to have rekindled her romance with high school sweetheart Scott Fisher, Clint Eastwood is allegedly dating Scott’s ex wife Erica! A classic case of wife swapping? 

04

Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana: Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper were reportedly in an on and off relationship for two years, from December 2011 to January 2013. The reason for the break up is allegedly their fight over Cooper’s ex girlfriend, actress Renee Zellweger. Renee had apparently sent the actor a note and some flowers after she saw his performance in Silver Linings Playbook. Saldana seemed angry and soon moved on when she secretly tied the knot with Italian artist Marco Perego in June 2013 in London. Bradley Cooper began dating Suki Wa terhouse but broke up with her. He is now reportedly dating Irina Shayk. 

05

Stacy Keibler and George Clooney: TV host Stacy Keibler dated Hollywood superstar George Clooney for two years before calling it quits. Clooney was in the past married to actress Talia Balsam and the couple divorced in 1993. Clooney who has had a string of girlfriends before, apparently said that he would never marry again. Stacey on the other hand was keen to get married and have babies but the TV host also apparently denied that, saying that was not the reason for her split with Clooney. Geor ge is currently married to lawyer Amal Alamuddin. 

06

Richard Gere and Cary Lowell: Hollywood hunk Richard Gere called it quits with Carey Lowell, his wife of 11 years. Gere was earlier married to super model Cindy Crawford and it is said that it was the age gap between them that caused the drift. While things seemed to go steady with wife Cary Lowell, the couple are now estranged and as per sources, have been living separately for a while. 

07

Kris and Bruce Jenner: After 22 years of marriage reality TV star Kris Jenner (57) ended her marriage with former Olympian Bruce Jenner. The couple apparently was not in a healthy marriage and Kris allegedly cheated on her husband. While they have children from their previous marriages, Bruce and Kris together have two kids together: Kendall and Kylie. Bruce Jenner under went a gender transformation and is now called Caitlyn Jenner. 

08

Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom: The two love birds of Hollywood called it quits, taking all by surprise! The couple officially made a joint statement in October this year, announcing their separation. In totality, the two have been together for six years and also have a son: two-year-old Flynn. They say the split is amicable and will soon formalize their separation as they will get divorced. Orlando and Miranda had been denying the rumours that arose a few months ago, in the hopes of keeping the press away. But it seems that the couple could not hide it anymore. Orlando allegedly even said that their busy careers were responsible for the break up. 

09

Rupert Sanders and Liberty Ross: Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders cheated on his model wife Liberty Ross with Twilight actress Kristen Stewart. The two were clicked kissing publicly. At that point, Kristen was already in a relationship with her Twilight co actor Robert Pattinson. When Pattison and Liberty Ross heard of the cheating, both called it quits with their respective partners. While Pattinson and Stewart tried to reconcile many times, Liberty went ahead to divorce her husband. 

10

Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus: The singer and actor met on the sets of ‘The Last Song’. Both Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth seemed inseparable. The young couple was also engaged for a year. But apparently things were not going great between the two. Liam’s closeness to actress January Jones seemed to be the reason for the split. There were also rumours doing the rounds that Liam was not too happy with Miley’s recent way of behaving (The twerking act with singer Robin Thicke). Post the split, Miley said that she loved Liam. A sorry state of affairs for both! After parting ways with Liam Hemsworth, Miley was dating Patrick Schwarzenegger, son of Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, after just five months of being together, the duo called it quits and Miley is currently single. 

Read more → Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith's $240 mn divorce? - Times of India

Singers Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale to divorce: reports - Reuters

Singers Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale to divorce: reports - Reuters

LOS ANGELES Singer Gwen Stefani has filed for divorce from rockstar husband Gavin Rossdale after 13 years of marriage, several news reports said on Monday.

In her divorce petition, Stefani, 45, cited irreconcilable differences and asked for joint custody of the couple's three children, 9-year-old Kingston, 6-year-old Zuma and 1-year-old Apollo, celebrity websites TMZ and People.com said.

Rossdale, 49, filed his response at the same time and also asked for joint custody, TMZ reported.

Neither Stefani nor Rossdale's attorneys immediately responded to emails seeking comment.

The couple has been together for about two decades, meeting when Stefani's band No Doubt toured with Rossdale's band Bush in 1995, People.com reported. They dated for six years before they wed in 2002.

"While the two of us have come to the mutual decision that we will no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood and are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment," the couple told the website in a statement.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Read more → Singers Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale to divorce: reports - Reuters

'Transparent' star says transgender Maura would envy Caitlyn - Washington Post

'Transparent' star says transgender Maura would envy Caitlyn - Washington Post

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. â€" Jeffrey Tambor says Maura Pfefferman, his transgender character in “Transparent,” would be envious of the attention Caitlyn Jenner’s getting.

“You bet,” Tambor told a TV critics’ Q&A session Monday. “Maura loves a red carpet and loves a party. Definitely, that’s something she would really like.”

The former Bruce Jenner is documenting her fledgling public journey into womanhood in an E! reality series and has been feted at the Espy Awards, on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine and elsewhere.

“We love Caitlyn,” said Tambor, who’s had dinner with Jenner. She’s gone on record as loving “Transparent,” he said.

Tambor was asked to compare his experience playing a man who opens up to his family about his gender identity with Jenner’s real-life experience.

“If my knees were knocking, you can imagine her knees,” he said after the panel. “I think she is courageous and I told her so. The example she is setting is so, so beautiful and it’s gonna go very, very far. (It’s) not only illustrative but also very inspiring to me.”

He doesn’t think of himself as a spokesman for the transgender cause, he said, “But I think as an ally I can do great good.”

Tambor said that he didn’t foresee Jenner appearing on Amazon’s “Transparent.” She has her own show, he said, smiling.

During what he called “field trips” dressed as Maura, Tambor said he was surprised to find it was easier than he had expected.

“It was life changing. ... People don’t look at you,” he said, aside from a few glances. A highlight came at a restaurant, when a man got up to leave and passed by Tambor’s table.

“He said, ‘Have a good day, ladies.’ I said, ‘Yes!’ I felt so good because I had made it up in my h ead it’s much more.”

When Tambor was asked about the possibility of more “Arrested Development,” he said that “there’s been talk.” But he’s focused strictly on taping season two of “Transparent,” he said, and was carrying script pages in his pocket.

The series returns Dec. 4 on Amazon, which has greenlighted a third season. “Transparent,” which also stars Judith Light and Bradley Whitford, received 11 nominations for next month’s Emmy Awards.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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'Game of Thrones' Casts Max von Sydow as Three-Eyed Raven for Season 6 - Variety

'Game of Thrones' Casts Max von Sydow as Three-Eyed Raven for Season 6 - Variety

The Three-Eyed Raven is getting a makeover in season six of “Game of Thrones” â€" Variety has confirmed that Max von Sydow will take over the role, which was originated by Struan Rodger in the season four finale of the HBO drama.

The enigmatic character is responsible for teaching Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) about his supernatural gifts, including his ability to transfer himself into the body of other creatures through the process of “warging.” Although Bran and his allies were absent throughout season five, they are confirmed to be making a return in the new season, which has commenced filming in Europe.

While von Sydow is not expected to have much screen time in season six, he will reportedly play a major role in the events of the new season. The same has been said of fellow new cast member Ian McShane, who is playing an undisclosed role.

Last week, HBO chief Michael Lombardo told reporters that the current plan is for “Game of Thrones” to end after eight seasons, despite earlier quotes that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were aiming to wrap up the epic series after seven years.

The series earned 24 Emmy nominations for season five, with noms for stars Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and drama series, among others.

Von Sydow is no stranger to iconic properties, and will next be seen “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” this December.

See More:‘Game of Thrones’ Stars Talk Emmy Nominations, ‘Sick’ Season 6 Scripts

The casting news was first reported by Entertainment Weekly.

Read more → 'Game of Thrones' Casts Max von Sydow as Three-Eyed Raven for Season 6 - Variety

Bachelor in Paradise is Back and Full of Tears: Who's Falling For Who After ... - E! Online

Bachelor in Paradise is Back and Full of Tears: Who's Falling For Who After ... - E! Online

ABC

Oh Kardashley in Paradise, how we have missed you.

Wait, is that not what the show is called? Is this not a reality show all about the exploits of Ashley I. as she attempts to find a man with whom to lose her virginity? Is there really another point to this venture?

Of course, we know that it's called Bachelor in Paradise, and that it is our favorite show with "Bachelor" in the title. It's just so fun, and so ridiculous, and so well edited.

It's also well cast, because this season is off to an amazing start already. Just in the first episode, there was a wedding, a mysterious medical emergency, a love triangle/pentagon, more priceless interactions between a girl and some animals, and enough tears to solve the California drought.

It was truly a night we will never forget, until tomorrow night, when another new episode airs. We will have Bachelor in Paradise coming out of every orifice, a nd we will like it whether we want to or not.

Anyway, the first big shocker of the night involved the fact that Ashley I.â€"also known as the Kardashian-wannabe virgin from Chris Soules' seasonâ€"brought her younger and more sexually experienced sister Lauren to paradise with her, even while she fully knew they would be competing for the same men. 

MORE: Marcus and Lacy are married! See how their wedding went down

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Lauren (ruining our name for all of us) deemed herself a "here for the wrong reasons" person, and spent most of her time being flirted with by Desiree Hartsock-reject Mikey T. while also trying to cobble together some self-confidence for her older sister.

Lauren also doesn't get to "compete" on the show as her own person, and neither does Ashley. Chris Harrison announced that the sisters were  a package deal. If one got a rose, they would both stay. We actually thought that drama would be shortlived, since Lauren had a bit of a breakdown, claiming she hated people and wanted to leave, but she was still in paradise by the end of the night.

Throughout the premiere, Ashley fell for Jared. Jaredâ€"along with all the other guysâ€"fell for Jade. Jade kinda fell for Jared, but she also fell for Tanner, and we also fell for Tanner after an intro involving cats and him dressing up as Kaitlyn . Carly fell for Kirk, and Kirk might have fallen for Carly back. Ashley S. fell for some birds, and we fell right back in love with Ashley S. 

READ: Our favorite Bachelorette conspiracy theory 

ABC

So, if you're keeping track, we love both Tanner and Ashley S, and both Ashley I and Jared are well on their way to having their hearts broken yet again.

As for that mysterious medical emergency, it's truly very mysterious. Ashley S. was carted off in an ambulance at one point with no explanation, followed by Dan, who we totally forgot was there until he jumped into that ambulance. Neither was seen or heard from again. We would hope it stayed that way just for mystery's sake, but we actually love Ashley S. too much for that to be acceptable. We would gladly give up an episode of Kardashley tears to watch two hours of Ashley S.'s ambulance exploits.

The end of the night brought another fun surprise by the name of Clare Crawley. She also appeared on season one of Bachelor in Paradise, during which she made friends with a raccoon. Now she's back, and of course she's got her eye on all of the guys who already have eyes on them.

It's going to be an interesting rest of the summer, to say the least. 

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READ: Who's still together from The Bachelor and Bachelorette?

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Amy Schumer Will Be Just One of Jon Stewart's Awesome Final Daily Show Guests - seattlepi.com

Amy Schumer Will Be Just One of Jon Stewart's Awesome Final Daily Show Guests - seattlepi.com

Jon Stewart is going out with a bang!

On Thursday night -- one week before his very last episode as host of The Daily Show -- he closed out by announcing who his final guests will be.

"Remember, next week is our last week," he said Thursday, according to CNN Money. "I can't wait to show my appreciation at all the support and enthusiasm that you guys have given this show all these years, so thank you all so much. Next week, tune in, it's going to be a ball."

6 ways Trevor Noah will make The Daily Show his own

Jon Stewart's final Daily Show guests will be some of comedy's biggest names. The lineup:

Amy Schumer on Monday, Aug. 3

Denis Leary on Tuesday, Aug. 4

Louis C.K. on Wednesday, Aug.5

Stewart's very last broadcast will be on Thursday, Aug. 6. He has not announced who will be on his f inal show, though if it's anything like The Colbert Report's last episode, it'll be a crowd! Who would you like to see?

TODAY'S VIDEO: Mads Mikkelsen tells us all about the time he ate zebra meat

Other Links From TVGuide.com

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Stewart names final three 'Daily Show' guests - USA TODAY

Stewart names final three 'Daily Show' guests - USA TODAY

It's T-minus four shows left in Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' tenure.(Photo: Rick Kern, Getty Images for Comedy Central)

Bef ore Jon Stewart signed off Thursday night, he threw out the names of his last three Daily Show guests:

Monday, Aug. 3: Amy Schumer
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Denis Leary
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Louis C.K.

That likely means Thursday's finale will be light on plugging and heavy on nostalgia.

"We're gonna have a ball," he promised the audience. "I can't wait to show my appreciation for all the support and enthusiasm that you guys have given the show all these years. So next week, tune in â€" it's gonna be a ball."

Meanwhile, "Your Month of Zen," Comedy Central's streaming marathon of every single one of Stewart's Daily Show episodes is still in full force.

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One Direction shocks fans with unexpected new song - New York Daily News

One Direction shocks fans with unexpected new song - New York Daily News

Kevin Mazur/BMA2015/WireImage

One Direction band members Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles released a new song Friday.

One Direction is moving forward.

The fan-favorite pop group unexpectedly dropped a new song Friday morning â€" just two days after former bandmate Zayn Malik jumpstarted his solo career with new management and recording deals.

"Bit of a surprise!" tweeted band member Liam Payne. "Check out our new single! It's called Drag Me Down and I hope you love it as much as we do."

"Hopefully you love it, we're proud of it," Louis Tomlinson tweeted minutes later.

Bit of a surprise ! 😊 Check out our new single! It’s called Drag Me Down & I hope you love it as much as we do https://t.co/HPJn2Kij5M

â€" Liam (@Real_Liam_Payne) July 31, 2015

"Drag Me Down" is the first song released by the band since Malik announced he was leaving the group in March.

The new track, which is already available on iTunes and Spotify, appears to be stealing some of Malik's spotlight, as fans flooded to Twitter to share their excitement.

"Are u kidding? It literally blowed my mind!!" tweeted one fan. "#dragmedown on repeat is life!"

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for RCA Records

The new song comes out just two days after former band member Zayn Malik signed new management and recording deals.

Another added: "I LOVE IT! Just what you guys needed. Very different and fresh. Well done."

The band, which recently celebrated its fifth birthday, is currently working on a fifth studio album, due to come out in November. They are also currently in the middle of their North American "On the Road Again" tour.

Read more → One Direction shocks fans with unexpected new song - New York Daily News

Woody Allen on Soon-yi and his new movie Irrational Man - NEWS.com.au

Woody Allen on Soon-yi and his new movie Irrational Man - NEWS.com.au

Director Woody Allen and wife Soon-Yi Previn attend a special screening of "Irrational Man". Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Source: AP

EVEN after 23 years of marriage to South Korean-born Soon-yi Previn, Woody Allen would rather die than visit his significant other’s homeland.

“Soon-yi is dying to go to Seoul. She’s been on at me for years but I don’t really want to go,” Allen says, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ve spent years fobbing her off, saying, ‘Let’s go to Paris, let’s go to Barcelona.’ She’s now at the point of saying, ‘Enough Paris! Enough Barcelona! You’re going to be 80 years old in December; you’ll be dead soon and I’d like to go to Seoul!’ He deadpans. “So, I’m stalling as long as I can; maybe if I’m lucky I’ll be dead.”

Mortality is a recurring theme in the work of this iconic director-writer-actor, from as far back as Love and Death (1975) to his current upcoming movie, Irrational Man, a dark comedy in which an alcoholic philosophy professor (Joaquin Phoenix) plans the perfect murder. Surprisingly though, Allen seems unfazed at the prospect of turning 80.

“I have always been obsessed with mortality, since I was five years old. There’s not a big change between age 5 and 85, to me. I was always at death’s door every second. I mean, I was always petrified. I am not planning anything big because I don’t like to do that,” he explains. “There’s a sadness when people get together and drink and celebrate and there’s a great exchange of insincerities all over the place,” he says. “It’s just not for me. I’ll be very happy to go with my family to a restaurant and have a quiet dinner. It’s the same thing New Year’s Eve. I’d prefer to sleep through it and not get involved.”

Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi are one of the exceptional Hollywood couples that have stood the test of time. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI Source: AFP

His family is happily intact, though if there was ever a marriage destined to fail it was the Allen-Previn union. Born out of controversy (Soon-yi was the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow, Allen’s then-girlfriend of 10-plus years and the leading lady in 13 of his films), the relationship came to light when Farrow found nude photos of Soon-yi in Allen’s apartment.

At age 44, Soon-yi is 35 years younger yet, against the odds, the couple is still going strong and raising their two adopted daughters: Bechet, born in 1999 in China, and Manzie, born in 2000, in Texas.

He smiles. “Soon-yi is fine, she’s great. She took the kids to see An American in Paris this afternoon on Broadway.”

Mia Farrow and Woody Allen and Farrow's adopted daughter (now wife) Soon-Yi Previn (centre) arriving at the airport in an undated picture. Source: News Limited

Irrational Man addresses fate and the random decisions we make in life that can often be the most impactful. “A random moment for me that was very meaningful was when I once threw a New Year’s Party. I got a nice thank you present after the party from Mia Farrow,” he recounts. “She sent me a book and said, ‘It was a lovely party; here is a book you might like.” Randomly, I called to say thanks for the book. I happened to say, ‘Should we have lunch next week?’” He pauses. “And from that, grew a worldwide industry.” (The demise of the Allen-Farrow relationship was one of the most acrimonious in Hollywood history and kept many attorneys employed.)

With the United States already in the middle of the 2016 presidential race, what does Allen make of his former employee, Donald Trump, throwing his hat into the ring?

He chuckles. “Donald Trump was in my movie Celebrity. Actually, he was very good. I think it’s amusing, and I think Donald Trump adds a lot of spice. I am sure everybody will at least watch the debates if he is in it. Otherwise, it’ll be a group of carbon copy, vapid attitudes and everybody saying the same thing. Trump would liven it up.

“But I don’t think he really wants the job. I think he’s flamboyant and he lends a theatrical element.

“Perhaps the eccentricity and arrogance of Trump might make for a good character in one of Allen’s future movies?

“I could make individual jokes about it but it wouldn’t stimulate me enough to write a whole script because the issue is that only right now it’s very hot. Every television program would make hilarious Donald Trump jokes; the mere mention of his name will get a laugh and it would be very commercial. But cut to five years or even two years, it will be old news, unless he gets elected president. But from what it looks like, it will be fun for everybody except the Republicans,” he laughs, “but then it wil l go away and be old news and my movie will look like yesterday’s newspaper.”

Allen has the stamina of a man half his age and remains one of Hollywood’s most prolific directors. What’s his secret? “I’ve been lucky. I have had good health and I’ve remained active, athletic and energetic. It’s genetic, plus there’s the fact that I don’t lead a sedentary life. I exercise and I eat well. I don’t smoke and I don’t have any terrible health-ruining habits, and I enjoy working.”

“If tomorrow I get a stroke and I can’t remember my name, then it’s over. But if my health holds out and if I turn out to be as healthy as my father, actually both my parents lived to be 100, I see no reason why I couldn’t continue to make films. I’ve got a million ideas and I like to write,” he says. “I don’t know what else I would do. I really don’t.”

Watch a clip from Woody Allen's new film Irrational Man, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone and Parker Posey. Photo: Sony Pictures Classics

Read more → Woody Allen on Soon-yi and his new movie Irrational Man - NEWS.com.au

Jon Stewart signing off 'Daily Show' fake newscast for real - Junior College

Jon Stewart signing off 'Daily Show' fake newscast for real - Junior College

Ahead of his final episode a week from tonight, The Daily Show recently released a compilation video of Stewart answering questions from audience members before the show.

Noah will face his first significant test nearly instantly.

“Let me say this: I have been summoned by a surprisingly wide variety of individuals over the years â€" from tech giants, to financial captains, to Billy Joel”, Stewart said with a smile, before adding, “True!”

“The show still has its voice, but it’s just going in a slightly different direction”, he told reporters at the Television Critics Association Press Tour.

Then, after “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer booked appearances on CNBC sister networks NBC and MSNBC to rail against Stewart, the “Daily Show” host “responded” with make-believe appearances on other Viacom series, inserting himself into MTV’s “The Hills” and Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer”.

The Daily Show was based on an emerging 24-hour news cycle…

“It’s no longer predicated around 24 hour news”, Noah said of today’s news environment, notes Entertainment Weekly. Half of it is online now. “The way people are drawing their news is sound bites and headlines and click-bait links”.

“That’s how I started and that’s â€" I’m sure that’s how I will end”, he said.

The show won’t change, but he says the perspective can’t help but change. The set will undergo some “tiny” alterations, Noah said, but the entire team of executive producers will remain in place.

Even though Noah has already addressed the tweet controversy that came up shortly after he was named Stewart’s successor, he was still asked about it Thursday. “But you can never control what people find is offensive or not. When people get to know you, and when you know a person, you know the context of a joke”, Noah explained. “Luckily, Comedy Central hasn’t limited me to 140 characters on the show”. According to Stewart, his private discussions with Obama were essentially the same as his public interviews with the president, except that at the White House he was fed “truly the best salmon you’ve ever had”.

Read more → Jon Stewart signing off 'Daily Show' fake newscast for real - Junior College

Tom Cruise battles evil Syndicate in latest 'Mission' - Boston Herald

Tom Cruise battles evil Syndicate in latest 'Mission' - Boston Herald

With the franchise in its fifth chapter, Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible â€" Rogue Nation” rates as a James Bond wannabe.

Interspersed with spectacular action sequences and exotic locations are a beautiful if deadly female agent, a semi-comprehensible plot and soaring riffs on Lalo Schifrin’s theme music â€" its only connection at this point with the TV series that was its original inspiration.

“Rogue Nation” opens as Ethan Hunt (Cruise) must destroy a military cargo plane in Belarus by jumping on a wing and holding tight. As movie star stuntwork goes, it’s almost ho-hum.

“Rogue” instantly jumps to a London vinyl record shop where Cruise meets a comely clerk in a scene with distinct echoes of Humphrey Bogart’s bookstore quickie with Dorothy Malone in “The Big Sleep.”

Romance is not in the cards here, only a diabolical d eath as Hunt is gassed and captured by the nefarious Syndicate kingpin Solomon Lane (Sean Harris).

Hunt awakes, bound and stripped to the waist, to be tortured as he meets his nemesis â€" or is she his savior? â€" Sweden’s Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, who may or may not be a double agent.

Meanwhile back in D.C., the Impossible Mission Force, represented by Jeremy Renner’s Brandt, is being grilled by CIA chief Alan Hunley (a portentously jowly Alec Baldwin), who mocks the IMF for its pursuit of the phantom Syndicate. He doesn’t believe Lane’s evil global enterprise actually exists and gets the IMF shut down.

The action switches to Vienna’s Opera House for a live performance, with Hunt’s comic relief tech whiz Benji (Simon Pegg) present.

Again co-writer/­director Christopher McQuarrie (whose “The Usual Suspects” screenplay won him an Oscar) echoes a classic Hollywood thriller: The Albert Hall sequence in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 “ The Man Who Knew Too Much,” in which an assassin’s kill shot will be disguised as cymbals clash.

Only Hunt finds himself backstage tracking not one but three killers. As he scrambles to stop them all with Benji’s help, Ilsa turns up again.

From there the now reassembled IMF team â€" including Ving Rhames’ Luther Stickell â€" goes to Casablanca for a fantastically intricate, literally breath­taking, underwater sequence set in a turbine with a deadly countdown.

Cruise, very fit at 53, gently nods to time’s passing with an all too mortal Hunt. While no match for its brilliant predecessor, the 2011 “Ghost Protocol,” and marred by the occasional dead-air speech about the Syndicate as a global threat, “Rogue Nation” gets its job done with style.

(“Mission: Impossible â€" Rogue Nation” contains sadistic violence and partial nudity.)

Read more → Tom Cruise battles evil Syndicate in latest 'Mission' - Boston Herald

Review: 'The End of the Tour' Offers a Tale of Two Davids - New York Times

Review: 'The End of the Tour' Offers a Tale of Two Davids - New York Times

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Jason Segel portrays the novelist David Foster Wallace in James Ponsoldt’s new movie. Credit A24

“There’s an unhappy paradox about literary biographies,” David Foster Wallace observed in The New York Times Book Review in 2004, in reference to “Borges: A Life.” Readers who pick up such books, drawn by their admiration for a writer’s work, are likely to find themselves distracted and disappointed by a welter of iffy theories and picayune data. In the case of Borges, Wallace argued, “the stories so completely transcend their motive cause that the biographical facts become, in the deepest and most literal way, irrelevant.”

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The same can be said of Wallace himself, and, for that matter, of just about any author worth reading. The work is everything; the life is trivia. And since I’m about to praise a movie about David Foster Wallace that claims fidelity to at least some of the facts of his life, I should perhaps identify myself as a devoted nonconsumer of literary biographies, an avowed biopic skeptic and, unless someone offers me a lot of money to write one, a habitual avoider of celebrity profiles. So by all rights I should hate “The End of the Tour,” James Ponsoldt’s new film, a portrait of the writer that has its origins in a (never-published) magazine profile. In fact, I love it.

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Anatomy of a Scene | ‘End of the Tour’

The director James Ponsoldt discusses a sequence from his film “The End of the Tour,” featuring Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel and opening July 31.

By Mekado Murphy on Publish Date July 23, 2015. Photo by A24. Watch in Times Video »

Some of the people closest to Wallace, who committed suicide in 2008, have condemned the movie sight unseen, and friends of his who did see it (one of them also a friend of mine) have found fault with both its details and its overall design. As an ardent, ambivalent reader of Wallace’s prose and a complete stranger to him personally, I can only respect such objections. But the movie, in my view, disarms them â€" not because it offers an especially loving or lifelike picture of its subject but rather because David Foster Wallace is not really its subject at all. “The End of the Tour” is at once an exercise in post-postmodern literary mythmaking and an unsparing demolition of the contemporary mythology of the writer. It’s ultimately a movie â€" one of the most rigorous and thoughtful I’ve seen â€" about the ethical and existential traps our fame-crazed culture sets for the talent ed and the mediocre alike.

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There are two Davids in the movie, which takes place in 1996. Both of them are writers. One is Wallace (Jason Segel), whose third book of fiction, the 1,079-page dystopian tennis-rehab epic “Infinite Jest,” has just been published to hyperbolic acclaim. The other is David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg), whose own recently released novel, “The Art Fair,” has met with polite indifference. An early scene finds him on his couch reading “Infinite Jest” while his girlfriend, Sarah (Anna Chlumsky), is curled up with the season’s other fictional blockbuster, the anonymously published political roman à clef “Primary Colors.” (Oh, the ’90s. Sorry you missed all the fun, kids. Kind of sorry I didn’t.)

David L., a new, probationary hire at Rolling Stone magazine, convinces his skeptical editor (Ron Livingston) that David F.W. is worthy of a feature article, and so finds himself in Bloomington, Ill., in the middle of winter. (Wallace taught for many years at Illinois State University.) The plan is that the reporter will accompany the novelist to Minneapolis, the last stop on his book tour. He does, and that’s pretty much the plot of the movie.

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Mr. Ponsoldt, whose earlier features include “The Spectacular Now” and “Smashed,” would much rather observe two people in aimless conversation than usher them through the tollbooths of narrative convention. And conversation, including the uncomfortable silences that punctuate it, is pretty much the entire substance of “The End of the Tour.” Yes, there’s a fair amount of smoking and junk-food eating, an excursion to the Mall of America and a multiplex showing of “Broken Arrow” (with John Travolta taking a missile to the gut), but Mr. Ponsoldt and the screenwriter, the playwright Donald Margulies, allow words to speak louder than actions.

Many of the words are Wallace’s own, uttered into Mr. Lipsky’s tape recorder in 1996 and transcribed, 14 years later, for publication in a book called “Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself.” Fun ny, intriguing and revealing as this talk may be, it does not have anything like the status of Wallace’s writing. The film not only acknowledges this distinction, but it also insists on it. In his would-be profiler’s company, occasionally glancing at the menacing red light of the predigital tape recorder, Wallace is by turns cagey and candid, witty and earnest, but he is always aware, at times painfully, that he is playing the role of a writer in someone else’s fantasy. Actually writing is something he does when no one else is around.

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Movie Review: ‘The End of the Tour’

The Times critic A.O. Scott reviews “The End of Tour.”

By SOFIA PERPETUA and ROBIN LINDSAY on Publish Date July 30, 2015. Photo by A24 Films, via Associated Press. Watch in Times Video »

Mr. Segel’s performance, whether it captures the true Wallace or not, is sharp and sensitive, in no small part because it’s modest and appropriately evasive. The essential David Wallace is precisely what the film reminds us we can’t see, even as David Lipsky wants desperately to track him down and display him to the readers of Rolling Stone. Wallace is caught in a familiar set of contradictions. He wants attention but craves solitude. He’s willing to collaborate with the machinery of publicity even as he worries about the phoniness of it all. He’s ambitious and eager to protect himself from the consequences of his ambition. In short, he’s a famous writer.

As such he is, for his short-term companion, both alpha dog and prey, an object of envy as well as admiration, a meal ticket and an imaginary friend. The fil m poses the question “Who is the real David Foster Wallace?” as a feint. He is its premise, its axiom, its great white whale. The more relevant question, the moral problem on which the movie turns, is “who is David Lipsky?”

In real life, David Lipsky might be a great guy, but on screen he is played by Mr. Eisenberg, which means that his genetic material is at least 25 percent weasel. Wallace at one point playfully describes himself as “pleasantly unpleasant.” Lipsky is unpleasantly pleasant, which is much worse. Twitchy and ingratiating, he wants to be a tough journalist and a pal. He desperately wants Wallace to regard him as a peer and can hardly contain his jealousy. He berates Sarah after she chats with Wallace on the phone and falls into a defensive snit after Wallace accuses him of flirting with Betsy (Mickey Sumner), a poet who had known Wallace in graduate school.

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His awfulness is, to some degree, structural. A profile writer, especially in the company of another writer, is a false friend who dreams of being a secret sharer. Lipsky’s assignment is to pry, distort and betray, to use Wallace’s words and the details of his existence as material for his own dubious project. Wallace knows this and acquiesces to it â€" “you agreed to the interview” is Lipsky’s fallback when his subject gets prickly â€" and generally handles himself with grace and forbearance.

You may find yourself wishing that he didn’t have to, which is to say wishing that “The End of the Tour” didn’t exist even as you hang on its every word and revel in its rough, vernacular beauty. In an ideal world, we would all sit at home reading “Infinite Jest” and then go out to eat hamburgers, argue about philosophy and watch cheesy action blockbust ers. There would be no pseudo-authoritative biographies or prying, preening magazine profiles to complicate our pleasures, and ambitious actors would not dare to impersonate beloved novelists. But the world we live in is plagued by all of those things. There will always be films about writers and writing, and this one is just about as good as it gets.

“The End of the Tour” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Language. So much language.

Read more → Review: 'The End of the Tour' Offers a Tale of Two Davids - New York Times

A Hater Converted! Learn What Made Lena Dunham Love to Run - Rapid News Network

A Hater Converted! Learn What Made Lena Dunham Love to Run - Rapid News Network

However, in an Instagram post published on Wednesday, the 29-year-old shared a paparazzi pic of the actress getting her sweat on, and she has not an ounce of shame about it! And while she’s no fan of unsolicited photos, the actress wanted to share the pride she felt on seeing the snap, not least because running used to be something she could hardly bear to do.

“Not usually one to post a paparazzi shot but this fills me with pride”, she began in her lengthy caption. In her caption, she explained that she has always hated running, saying it was an “embarrassing” activity and she did not trust herself to “even move briskly towards a buffet”.

Admitting she felt self-conscious at the New Jersey Swift gig, Lena told Billboard: ‘I was so thrilled to support my friend and so displeased to learn about the truth of my own height. She added that she had no plans to embrace “that triathlon life” but that it is “a true joy” to become more connected to her body and “its powers”.

Dunham has been outspoken recently about her efforts to “move for your mind” â€" an initiative to raise awareness of the importance of exercise in regards to her mental health. “(Extra motivation provided by @manrepeller for @outdoorvoices) #moveforyourmind”.

We absolutely love Lena’s message and we hope girls and boys will adopt healthy exercise into their daily routine!

And the picture shows exactly that: Dunham looks incredibly strong, swift and proud as she pounds the crowded NYC pavement.

And this isn’t the first time Dunham’s been open about how exercising has had a positive influence on her life.

‘I’ve been feeling pretty tall, feeling pretty sturdy, and it was incredible to me, like, “Oh, I’m not tall, I’m chubby”. “But I mean, on most days, I feel really great and fine about my body, but I don’t think standing next to, like, three supermodels or so is anything even the most confident woman needs to do”, she admitted. “But the minute I caught sight of myself in the Jumobtron, I knew something was very wrong”.

Lena Dunham has learned to embrace running Credit Rob Kim Getty Images

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Read more → A Hater Converted! Learn What Made Lena Dunham Love to Run - Rapid News Network

Beyonce Might Star in the 'Wiz' Reboot - The Hullabaloo Online

Beyonce Might Star in the 'Wiz' Reboot - The Hullabaloo Online

NBC’s upcoming presentation of The Wiz Live! added a couple of big names to their cast this week and they may be looking to add another superstar to the mix if these rumors are true.

According to reports, Beyonce is in talk to star as Glinda The Good Witch in the live television production, but she’s not the only one up for the part.

Sources say Orange Is The New Black star, Uzo Adubo is also gunning for the role.

Whoever nabs the spot will star alongside Mary J. Blige and Queen Latiifah who have signed on to play The Wicked Witch of The West and The Wiz, respectively.

Read more → Beyonce Might Star in the 'Wiz' Reboot - The Hullabaloo Online

Lupita Nyong'o to Star in Danai Gurira's Play Eclipsed Off-Broadway - E! Online

Lupita Nyong'o to Star in Danai Gurira's Play Eclipsed Off-Broadway - E! Online

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Now that Lupita Nyong'o can cross "star in a blockbuster franchise" off the list with her role in the upcoming  Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Oscar winner is opting for something more low-key. 

The 32-year-old beauty will star in Public Theater's Off-Broadway production of Eclipsed. The play is written by Danai Gurira, who TV fans know as samurai sword-wielding Michonne on The Walking Dead. 

Nyong'o will make her New York stage debut in the production, which is also the play's NYC premiere.

Eclipsed is set during the Liberian Civil War and follows the captive wives of a rebel officer.

PHOTOS: Stars on stageâ€"Broadway and beyond

Gene Page/AMC, JB Lacroix/WireImage

"Danai Gurira has written a brilliant play, ripped from the headlines, that looks at the terrible conflicts in post-colonial Africa with an eye that is both incisive and deeply compassionate," Public Theater artistic director Oskar Eustis said in a statement. "A feminist reading of the Liberian Civil War, a war that was ended by women, Eclipsed is both heart-breaking and profoundly life-affirming. We are delighted to welcome the extraordinary Lupita Nyong'o to The Public in this vitally important play."

Eclipsed will begin previews Sept. 29, and opening night is Oct. 14.

See what Lupita has to say about Star Wars in clip below.

PHOTOS: Actors who've written screenplays

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Read more → Lupita Nyong'o to Star in Danai Gurira's Play Eclipsed Off-Broadway - E! Online

'Out of a biplane and into a spaceship' - former Top Gear hosts get new show - TVNZ

'Out of a biplane and into a spaceship' - former Top Gear hosts get new show - TVNZ

The former hosts of the BBC's popular Top Gear programme, who left amid scandal over an off-set dustup, have signed up to present a new car show.

Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond

Source: Getty

Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have committed to three series of the show with broadcaster Amazon Prime.

The first will be broadcast in 2016, Amazon said.

Clarkson said moving to Amazon's streaming service felt "like I've climbed out of a biplane and into a spaceship".

Clarkson was fired in March after he punched a producer during an off-set altercation.

The show's two other hosts also left.

Top Gear has won a huge global following with its mix of car tips, driving stunts and jokey banter.

The BBC says the show will continue with new hosts.

Read more → 'Out of a biplane and into a spaceship' - former Top Gear hosts get new show - TVNZ

Judge: Sale of convent to Katy Perry likely invalid - Fox News

Judge: Sale of convent to Katy Perry likely invalid - Fox News

A judge said Thursday he believes a group of elderly nuns improperly sold their hilltop convent to a businesswoman but delayed any efforts by church officials to finalize a competing sale to pop singer Katy Perry.

Thursday's mixed ruling by Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant will tie up the once-lavish estate in months of litigation. While the judge preliminarily ruled that entrepreneur Dana Hollister's purchase of the convent is invalid, he ordered her to pay $25,000 a month to support the nuns and denied representatives for Los Angeles' Catholic archbishop or Perry access to the convent during the dispute.

"There is no doubt in my mind sale to defendant Hollister was improper and invalid," Chalfant said.

Hollister has plans to turn the convent into a boutique hotel and restaurant, while Perry would transform it into a private home.

The Roman villa-style convent sits on eight acres atop a hill in the Los Feliz neighborhood near Hollywood. The order of nuns that has owned the property for more than 40 years hastily sold it to Hollister in June, bypassing approval from Los Angeles' archbishop.

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez wants to sell the convent to Perry, but the sale cannot go forward because Hollister has already registered a deed for the property. Chalfant said it will take months, if not years, to resolve the dispute between the Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the archbishop.

"You're not selling to Katy Perry anytime soon," Chalfant told the archbishop's lawyers.

The archdiocese and nuns agree the property, which was bestowed to the sisters by a devout Catholic who wanted them to keep him in their prayers, should be sold. The two sides are fighting over the control of the sale's proceeds and whether Perry or Hollister are suitable buyers.

The "Roar" singer, whose parents are protestant ministers, has agreed to pay $14.5 million for the convent and to relocate an adjoining house of prayer used by priests. Hollister has agreed to pay $15.5 million, with $5.5 million dedicated to relocating the prayer house.

In May, at the archbishop's request, the nuns met with Perry to see if a compromise could be worked out. At least two of the five surviving nuns â€" who had already searched for Perry's music videos and weren't pleased with what they saw â€" continue to oppose the singer purchasing the convent.

Chalfant ruled that church law governs the sale of the convent, not civil law. He ordered Hollister to remove any armed guards from the property and set a hearing for Sept. 15 on whether she will be able to retain possession of the convent.

Archdiocese lawyers want Hollister removed and said Thursday that Perry has agreed to pay rent on the convent while the case is litigated.

A lawyer for the sisters argued it was unfair to use canon law to decide the issue because civil laws should govern the sale.

Chalfant noted that the nuns did not properly follow their own procedures when they agreed to sell the convent to Hollister in June.

"This is a problem for the sisters because they don't trust the archdiocese," Chalfant said.

Hollister attended the hearing, sitting in the second row next to a pair of the nuns, one of whom listened to Chalfant describe his ruling with her hand over her mouth.

Perry did not attend the hearing, but her lawyer watched the proceedings.

Hollister was already cleaning and restoring the convent, but stopped the project after she was sued by the archbishop.

Perry's bid to purchase the convent still requires the Vatican's approval.

Read more → Judge: Sale of convent to Katy Perry likely invalid - Fox News

HBO will air Paris concert and documentary on U2 world tour - Los Angeles Times

HBO will air Paris concert and documentary on U2 world tour - Los Angeles Times

The Paris stop on U2's current Innocence + Experience tour will air Nov. 14 on HBO, the premium cable network announced Thursday.

The performance at the Bercy Arena will air in the U.S. on the same day in prime time. A week earlier, on Nov. 7, HBO will premiere a behind-the-scenes documentary special that follows the band as it conceived and developed the current tour, which began in May and runs through the end of November.

The special will also chronicle U2's preparation and rehearsals for the tour, including the challenges posed by front man Bono's recovery from a fall 2014 bicycle accident in New York.

Davis Guggenheim, 2006 Oscar winner for the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," will direct the special.

Before the current tour, U2 had not played arenas since 2006. The Innocence + Experience show is designed for large venues, using multiple stages and an interactive floor-to-ceiling LED screen. Interviews in the documentary include all four members of U2, Willie Williams, who has created tour concepts for the band for more than 30 years, and designer Es Devlin, who signed on for the current tour.

Both the special and the concert will be available on streaming services HBO GO and HBO NOW, simultaneous to the programs’ world premieres on HBO.

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Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times

Read more → HBO will air Paris concert and documentary on U2 world tour - Los Angeles Times

Your WTF News of the Day: A Live Exorcism Is Coming to TV - E! Online

Your WTF News of the Day: A Live Exorcism Is Coming to TV - E! Online

Warner Bros.

Because you demanded it: A live exorcism will be performed on TV. Oh, you didn't demand that? Of course.

Well, anyway, Destination America said its making TV history with Exorcism: Live!, a new special on Friday, Oct. 30, which, according to the network, will feature the first live television exorcism in US history.

The special will revisit the story and house that inspired The Exorcist just in time for the 66th anniversary of the original events. The show will go to the suburbs of St. Louis where Roland Doe performed the ritual in 1949.

"No one has ever attempted to rid the lurking spirits and demons that inhabit this home, until now," the network said in a release. Insert your own DUN DUN DUNNNNN here.

CLICK: TV casting we're really excited about

The cast of Destination America's Ghost Asylum, the Tennessee Wraith Chasers and medium Chip Coffey will explore the home from top to bottom with state of the art technology and both daytime and nighttime investigations. Additional cameras will be set up around the house and available to view at DestinationAmerica.com.

"As we step into one of the most haunted and well-known spirit destinations in America, Exorcism: Live! will show exactly what is inside this infamous, highly dangerous and possessed home." Marc Etkind, general manager of Destination America, said in a statement. "By actually exorcising this iconic house live, Destination America will do what it does best -- bringing never before seen experiences to television."

Exorcism: Live! airs Friday, Oct. 30 at 9 p.m. on Destination America.

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Read more → Your WTF News of the Day: A Live Exorcism Is Coming to TV - E! Online

Valerie Harper hospitalized after falling ill before musical - Chicago Tribune

Valerie Harper hospitalized after falling ill before musical - Chicago Tribune

Officials at a Maine playhouse say Valerie Harper has been hospitalized after falling ill before a performance.

Officials at the Ogunquit Playhouse say the 75-year-old actress, who has battled cancer, was taken to a hospital Wednesday before the evening performance of "Nice Work If You Can Get It."

A statement Thursday says she's "resting comfortably and will remain in the hospital for observation for the time being."

Bradford Kenney, executive artistic director, says the playhouse and its audiences are encouraged that she's feeling better.

Harper has been performing in the production as Millicent Winter, along with Sally Struthers as Duchess Estonia Dulworth.

Harper has had a number of roles on Broadway, the big screen and TV. She's well known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Associated Press

Copyright © 2015, Chicago Tribune

Read more → Valerie Harper hospitalized after falling ill before musical - Chicago Tribune