Archives December 2024

With multiple Oscar wins under his belt and tons of love from the Academy over the years, it’s hard to dispute that Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors of all time. He’s stepped into more than his fair share of iconic roles, including playing Malcolm X in the biopic of the same name from Spike Lee, as well as starring as Alonzo Harris in Training Day with Ethan Hawke, and most recently playing Macrinus in Gladiator 2 opposite Paul Mescal. Now in the later stages of his career, Washington is taking on a new role. A Facebook post from Christopher Bryant announced that Washington had been baptized and had also received his license as an ordained minister, which comes not long after Washington told Esquire that he’s unafraid to display his religion proudly and publicly, even if it means he won’t win another Oscar.

Before his recent role as Macrinus in Gladiator 2, the historical epic/legacy squeal from Ridley Scott, Washington reprised his role as Robert McCall for the third and final time in The Equalizer 3, the action thriller that grossed $191 million at the worldwide box office. This was two years after his role as Macbeth in The Tragedy of Macbeth, which netted him yet another Oscar nomination for his performance in an already impressive resume. The Tragedy of Macbeth is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. Earlier in 2021, before starring as Macbeth, Washington teamed up with Rami Malek and Jared Leto for The Little Things, the police procedural that’s currently lacking a streaming home and is only available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.

What Are Denzel Washington’s Highest-Grossing Movies?

Gladiator 2 passed American Gangster not long ago to become the highest-grossing movie of Denzel Washington’s career; the 2007 crime thriller finished its theatrical run with $267 million globally, $150 million behind the current total of Gladiator 2. The third-highest-grossing movie of Denzel Washington’s career is Safe House, the action epic in which Washington stars alongside Ryan Reynolds, which grossed $207 million at the worldwide box office. Philadelphia and The Equalizer occupy the #4 and #5 spots on the list, with $201 million and $192 million, respectively.

Simone Biles isn’t just wearing her heart on her sleeve ― she’s doing it across her entire outfit.

The Olympic gymnast stole the spotlight at Thursday’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears, where she wore a sweatshirt and matching trousers splashed with images of her husband, Bears safety Jonathan Owens.

The NFL shared photos and video on Instagram of Biles entering Chicago’s Soldier Field in the eye-catching ensemble, which was custom designed by Kelly Daley, prior to kickoff. 

After waving to fans, she and Owens shared a quick smooch. 

Biles, who last year became the most decorated gymnast in history, has shown her support for Owens through her fashion choices on numerous occasions. 

She told Olympics.com this week that Thursday’s outfit was her “favorite one so far,” and acknowledged that she typically gave designers free rein with regard to their creativity. 

“Honestly, I reach out to some of the creators that make the apparel, and I have no ideas,” she said. “I let them kind of freeball it, and I say, ‘Surprise me.’ And then that’s how I piece them together.” 

Unfortunately for Owens, his wife’s stylish support did little to boost his team’s luck, as the Seahawks went on to defeat the Bears 6-3. 

Biles and Owens went public with their romance in 2020 and were married in April 2023. 

Tributes are being paid to Canadian model and actress Dayle Haddon, who has died at the age of 76 from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Haddon, renowned for her long career promoting L’Oréal and acting in films such as Cyborg and Bullets Over Broadway, passed away on Friday while staying with family at her daughter’s home in Pennsylvania over Christmas.

Her daughter is married to actor Marc Blucas, best known for his role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Australian news outlets reported that Haddon was found in a second-floor bedroom at the scene.

Haddon’s career spanned decades, and she was celebrated for breaking barriers in modeling and acting, leaving behind a lasting legacy.

Detective sergeant Jonathan Koretzky told CBS News: “Preliminary investigation is showing that a heating unit malfunctioned exposing a large amount of carbon monoxide within the carriage house.”

As well as modelling in Playboy and Vogue, Haddon represented Revlon, Estée Lauder, Clairol, and Max Factor.

In addition, she wrote Ageless Beauty: A Woman’s Guide to Lifelong Beauty and wellbeing, while her 25 acting credits began with Disney film The World’s Greatest Athlete in 1973.

Ryan Haddon, her daughter, paid tribute on social media, writing: “The bright light that is Dayle has dimmed in this Earthly realm.

Championship boxer Paul Bamba has died at 35, his manager Ne-Yo confirmed on Friday, Dec. 27.

In a statement shared to Instagram, the 45-year-old singer and manager, along with Bamba’s family, confirmed the boxer’s death.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of beloved son, brother, friend and boxing champion Paul Bamba, whose light and love touched countless lives,” the statement began. 

The musician, born Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr., was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital on Dec. 12 after apparently shooting himself in the head. His family shared news of his death on his social media accounts, honoring his legacy and what he provided to the world.

“With heavy hearts, we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of our beloved Ben, known to the world as OG Maco,” reads the statement. “His life was a testament to resilience, creativity, and boundless love. Through his music, passion, and unwavering spirit, he touched so many lives and left a lasting impact.”

Born in College Park, Georgia, Maco recorded music in high school before co-founding his label OGG (Originality Gains Greatness). He burst onto the music scene in 2014 with his mixtape “Live Life,” breaking through with his hit single “U Guessed It.” Its remix featuring 2 Chainz peaked at No. 90 on the Billboard Hot 100.

He subsequently inked a deal with Quality Control Music, the influential label that’s been home to Migos and Cardi B, and signed a major label partnership with Capitol Music Group/Motown the following year. He continued to release EPs and mixtapes throughout his career, though his output slowed before his death.

In 2016, he was in a near-fatal car crash that resulted in skull fractures and a cracked vertebrae. Three years later, Maco shared that he was battling the flesh-eating disease necrotising fasciitis, which subsequently led to depression. “I was improperly treated for a minor rash and ended up with a skin eating disease for the last few months,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “This is the best it’s looked. I hope it gives someone hope. I’ve been going through this alone 90% of the time, without the support of the person I love, without most of my ‘friends,’ without anything but my own strength and God.”

Eminem has given his verdict on whether he would be open to working on an album with his friend and longtime collaborator 50 Cent.

The two rappers’ careers have been closely linked since they found fame in the late Nineties and early Noughties, with Eminem releasing his acclaimed debut album The Slim Shady LP in 1999, and 50 Cent’s debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ being released four years later in 2003, with Eminem as an executive producer.

Eminem initially signed the “In Da Club” musician to his Shady Records label, and the latter contributed four songs to the 8 Mile soundtrack the same year. Eminem appeared on two tracks on Get Rich or Die Tryin’, including “Patiently Waiting” and “Don’t Push Me”

In a new interview, the “Lose Yourself” musician was asked how he’d feel about recording a full album alongside the “21 Questions” rapper, and replied: “That would be great.”

He continued: “I mean, I think that we just got to stop bull****ing and just do it.”

“I would never say it’s not possible,” he told SiriusXM’s Whoo’s House Podcast on Wednesday (25 December).

The pair recently worked together on Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg’s album, Missionary, appearing on the song “Gunz N Smoke”.

The duo have previously recorded several songs together, including “Encore”, “Hail Mary”, “Gatman and Robin”, “Crack a Bottle”, “The Re-Up” and “Is This Love (‘09)”. For live shows, the pair have often supported each other, with 50 Cent joining Eminem on several tours, including The Home & Home Tour in 2010, and at Eminem’s co-headlining Super Bowl halftime show in 2019.

They have also collaboratively appeared on other artists’ songs over the years, but never exclusively made an album together.

Six years after making headlines for working at a Trader Joe’s, “The Cosby Show” actor Geoffrey Owens is opening up once more about the reality of being a “middle-class actor.”

During an interview with Atlanta radio station V-103 earlier this month, Owens − who was promoting his new film, “Mr. Santa: A Christmas Extravaganza” − said he is still struggling to make a living. “I struggle every day to make my ends meet,” the 63-year-old Owens said. “People have a false impression of what the average, what I call ‘middle-class actor’ makes, and their ability to make a living in the industry.”

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The average salary for an actor was about $62,000 in 2023, according to the U.S. Labor of Bureau Statistics, although it’s unclear exactly what Owens makes. This included actors who participate in theatrical performances, in addition to television, radio, video and film productions.

Owens shares the screen in “Mr. Santa: A Christmas Extravaganza” with Tommy Davidson. Directed by Noel Calloway, the family-friendly Christmas movie is about a substitute teacher, known as Mr. Santa, arriving days before a high school’s Christmas show. Rapper Nicki Minaj even gifted $25,000 to Owens, who ended up donating the lump sum to the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors Fund), in honor of Earle Hyman, who played Bill Cosby’s father, Russell Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” according to USA TODAY reporting.

During his V-103 interview, Owens said he was recognized in public more often following the Trader Joe’s news than he was while actively playing in “The Cosby Show” during the 1980s and ’90s.

He also unveiled during his interview that he had quit working at Trader Joe’s right after the shopper snapped his photo and before the news broke, because he anticipated the reaction.

“It wasn’t like I quit because I knew I was going to be making a lot of money soon or anything,” Owens said. “I just felt like I wasn’t going to be able to handle that kind of scrutiny, that kind of attack on my privacy basically.”

Canadian investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary said Thursday that he wants to help broker a deal with President-elect Donald Trump that would create some sort of “economic union” between the US and Canada – declaring that at least half of his countrymen would support such a merger. 

O’Leary’s interest in unifying the US and Canada comes after Trump, 78, has repeatedly suggested in recent weeks that Canada should become “our 51st State.” 

“Canadians over the holidays – the last two days –  have been talking about this,” O’Leary said of Trump’s proposal, during an interview with Fox Business. “They want to hear more.”The Montreal-born businessman acknowledged “there’s obviously a lot of issues” that would arise if Canada attempted to join the US but said Trump’s interest in the matter “could be the beginning of an economic union.” 

“Think about the power of combining the two economies, erasing the border between Canada and the United States and putting all that resource up to the northern borders where China and Russia are knocking on the door,” O’Leary continued.  

President-elect Donald Trump refused to wish federal death-row inmates granted clemency by President Biden a merry Christmas on Wednesday – telling them to “go to Hell.” 

“[T]o the 37 most violent criminals, who killed, raped, and plundered like virtually no one before them, but were just given, incredibly, a pardon by Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

“I refuse to wish a Merry Christmas to those lucky ‘souls’ but, instead, will say, GO TO HELL!” he added.

Biden, 82, commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on federal death row Monday — a list that includes at least five child killers and several mass murderers. 

The lame-duck president issued the reprieve, which reduced the inmates’ sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole, as part of his effort at “ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” the White House said. Trump, 78, also took aim at China, Canada and “Radical Left Lunatics” in his Christmas Day message, and reupped his support for US control of the Panama Canal and Greenland. 

“Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in “repair” money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about ‘anything,’” the president-elect wrote.

Meek played the younger version of Ansel Elgort’s character in Edgar Wright’s 2017 action film, among other credits.

Hudson Meek, the 16-year-old actor who appeared in “Baby Driver,” died last week after falling from a moving vehicle in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, according to CNN affiliate WVTM.

The teen sustained blunt force trauma in the fall on December 19 and was admitted to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, where he died from his injuries on December 21, the Jefferson County Coroner’s office told CNN affiliate WVTM.

“His 16 years on this earth were far too short, but he accomplished so much and significantly impacted everyone he met,” reads a post on his Instagram account.

The teen actor had various acting and voice over credits, most notably playing a younger version of Ansel Elgort’s character Baby in 2017 movie “Baby Driver.”

Meek also voiced the lead in “Bada Namu Stories” –– a children’s show that examines themes relevant to preschoolers, according to IMDb. He also appeared in shows including NBC’s “Found” and The CW’s “Legacies,” as well as the recently released thriller “The School Duel.” Meek’s obituary described the teenager as a “reflective and thoughtful” avid traveler and fan of the outdoors.

“He loved snow-skiing and could easily navigate the hardest trails that no one else in the family would dare attempt,” the obituary read. “One of his favorite places to be at the lake, tubing and wakeboarding.”

The Vestavia Hills Police Department is still investigating the circumstances surrounding Meek’s death, WTVM reported. CNN has reached out to Vestavia Hills police for more information on the incident.