Hollywood actors have joined writers on strike. SAG-AFTRA announced Thursday that the strike against the film and TV companies begins at midnight on Friday and picketing will start on Friday morning. This is only the second time that actors have joined writers on the picket lines.
- At a press conference, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said, “We are being victimized by a very greedy enterprise. At some point you have to say, ‘No, we’re not going to take this anymore. You people are crazy. What are you doing? Why are you doing this?’”
- According to Variety, the former Nannystar said that streaming and artificial intelligence have upended the entertainment industry’s business model, but the SAG-AFTRA contracts haven’t been updated to reflect those advancements.
- https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sag-aftra-double-strike-wga-amptp-1235669492/
Lisa Marie Presley died from “adhesions that developed during bariatric surgery years ago. This is a known long-term complication of this type of surgery.” according to an autopsy report obtained Thursday from the Los Angeles County medical examiner. The toxicology report findings showed that there were therapeutic levels of Oxycodone in her blood. A second opioid was found — Buprenorphine — which is to treat opioid overuse. Opioids can cause constipation, which can lead to bowel obstruction, which was the cause of her death. There were also traces of an antipsychotic drug in her system.
- Lisa Marie was the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, who died Jan. 12 at the age of 54.
- https://etcanada.com/news/1006084/lisa-marie-presleys-cause-of-death-revealed/
A woman has been arrested in connection with the overdose death of Robert De Niro‘s grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, TMZ reports. Law enforcement sources say the 20-year-old Sofia Haley Marks, known as the “Percocet Princess,” was taken into custody on Thursday in New York City by a joint NYPD and federal task force.
- Investigators reportedly believe she sold drugs to the 19-year-old Leandro before his death, which his mother claims was due to a fentanyl overdose. Marks has been charged with the distribution of narcotics.
- Leandro,who had appeared in the 2018’s A Star Is Born, was found dead inside an apartment on July 2nd. His mother, Drena De Niro, said, “Someone sold him fentanyl laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him.”
Metallica’s hit “Fuel” is the soundtrack for NASA’s latest promotional video for its Artemis lunar shuttle launch. NASA hopes to have its astronauts back on the moon by 2024 and has released a series of videos detailing the mission its hope for the mission.
Eddie Van Halen has been gone for almost three years, and, according to Sammy Hagar, there’s still no word on either a tribute concert or the talked about tour featuring the surviving members of Van Halen.
- Appearing on the That Rockspodcast, Hagar says, “I think Eddie deserves, definitely, a tribute… And the whole world would show up and the whole world would do it… “But Alex has got a stick up his ass about something with me still, and he’s gonna take it to his grave, I guess. [I made peace with Eddie before he died but] I don’t think I made peace with Al. And I don’t think I’m going to unless he reaches back out to me. I’ve done it about five times now… “I’m not trying to start a feud between the two of us. I love the guy, and I love Van Halen, what we did together… Al is the most stubborn Taurus…hard-headed guy you’ll ever meet in your life… Maybe he still doesn’t like my book, which was the most honest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Some people just don’t think that that should have been done.”
- Eddie Van Halen died on October 6th, 2020 from cancer. He was 65.
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One“ (PG-13) (Opened Wednesday)
- Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in the seventh installment in the “Mission: Impossible” He and his IMF team must track down a new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands.
- It stars Hayley Atwell as Ethan’s new ally (she’s Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and Esai Moralesfrom “NCIS: Los Angeles” as a powerful terrorist.
“Theater Camp“ (PG-13)
- When the founder of a youth theater camp in upstate New York falls into a coma, her “crypto-bro” son must work with the camp’s eccentric staff to not only keep it running through the summer, but also save it from financial ruin.
- Ben Platt from “Dear Evan Hansen”and Molly Gordon from “The Bear” are part of the theater staff. The founder is Amy Sedaris, and YouTuber Jimmy Tatro is her son. Will Ferrell is a producer.
AND FINALLY:
Crappy Quick Hits:
- Snoop Dogg once had a cockroach in his apartment that he couldn’t kill, so he named it “The Gooch”. He says, quote, “We used to leave food out for him and everything.”
- People think there might be trouble between Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara, because his birthday message to her was kind of cold and impersonal. Also, she’s in Italy this week without him.
- Fans showed up at Richard Simmons’house for his 75th birthday. But he never came out.
- Kathy Griffin says male comics are pigs, and she’s seen “all their penises.”
- John Cenaplays a mermaid Ken in the “Barbie” Check out his ridiculously amazing costume.
- Randy Blythe from Lamb of God cut off his dreadlocks.
Caressa Savage
Today’s birthday girl has been in 213 fine films, including:
– The Anal Aristocrats
– Assmania 2
– Best Butt in the West 2
– The Butt Sisters Do Philadelphia
– The Butt Sisters Do The Twin Cities
– Cheerleader Strippers
– I Scream for Genie
– LesbiFriends
– Sex Raiders
– And who can forget her role in 1997’s Trespassers Will Be Punished
Caressa Savage is 57 years old.
St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday the team has signed forward Oskar Sundqvist to a one-year, one-way contract worth $775,000.
Sundqvist, who is 29, returns to the Blues after a five-year stint with the team from 2017-2022. During his tenure he collected 83 points (35 goals, 48 assists) and 90 penalty minutes in 242 regular-season games. He also appeared in 34 postseason games with the team, including 2019 when he posted 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 25 games to help the Blues capture the Stanley Cup. Last season, Sundqvist split time between the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild, tallying 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 67 regular-season games overall. Across eight career NHL seasons, he has accumulated 123 points (50 goals, 73 assists) and 141 penalty minutes in 355 regular-season games. Sundqvist also won the 2016 Stanley Cup as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
NFL fans will get an inside look at the most intriguing training camp ahead of the 2023 NFL season with the New York Jets, who have been chosen as this year’s team to be featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks.
Adam Schefter broke the news, but as of writing, it’s not yet official.
“NFL and NFL Films have selected the New York Jets to serve as this year’s team on Hard Knocks, per sources. Jets report to training camp one week from today, July 19, and the cameras will be rolling in full force,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
HBO had no comment. No premiere date or viewing schedule has been set.
The Jets have been one of the most talked about teams with their off-season trade for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The move brought the Jets from prime-time irrelevance to six games under the bright lights in 2023, with even more media exposure.
St. Louis CITY SC’s three-match winning streak was snapped on Wednesday night after falling 3-0 to LAFC. LAFC’s Carlos Vela opened it up in the 77th minute and two more followed that goal by the end of the second half. City SC is still in first place in the Western Conference, but the standings are much tighter. City SC is on top with 38 points, while LAFC closed to within two at 36 and Seattle lost to stay three points back at 35.
The U.S. Men’s National Team fell to Panama 5-4 on penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 draw in the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Semifinals. After playing 120 minutes only three days ago, the U.S. team went the distance again and faced back-to-back penalty shootouts for the first time in team history. The result ends the USMNT’s run at this year’s confederation championship as forward Jesús Ferreria netted his tournament-leading seventh goal in front of a crowd of 31,690 at Snapdragon Stadium.
It was the USA’s 12th Gold Cup meeting with Panama- its most-frequent opponent at the competition- and only the second time the Central American side has bested the USMNT in the tournament. Panama will face the winner of Wednesday’s other semifinal — Mexico — in the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Final at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 16. Panama reaches the final for the third time after losing to the U.S. in 2005 and 2013. The U.S., a seven-time winner of the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean, failed to reach the final for the first time since losing to Jamaica in a 2015 semifinal.
The 2023 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday was eventful, headlined by a transcendent talent and ending on a sweet note. Its ratings were not so sweet.
This season’s Midsummer Classic averaged a record-low 3.9 rating and 7.01 million viewers, down 7% from last year’s record-lows of 4.21 and 7.51 million. The MLB All-Star Game has now set a record-low in ratings with five of the past seven games (2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023).