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Dennis Waterman: Minder and New Tricks star dies aged 74

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Dennis Waterman, who starred in shows like Minder, The Sweeney, and New Tricks, has died, according to his family. His age was 74.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved Dennis passed away very peacefully in hospital in Spain,” according to a statement. They said he died on Sunday afternoon with his wife Pam by his side. “At this very difficult time, the family respectfully requests that our privacy be respected,” they added.

Waterman, who was born in London and attended the Corona Theatre School, began his career working for the Children’s Film Foundation before being invited to join Stratford’s Royal Shakespeare Company at the age of 12.

In his teens, he rose to fame as William, the BBC’s adaptation of Just William.

When he played Det Sgt George Carter opposite John Thaw in ITV’s police drama The Sweeney in the 1970s, he became one of the most well-known faces on British television.

Waterman went on to star in the comedies On the Up and Stay Lucky before returning to New Tricks, where he played another Cockney detective from 2003 to 2015.

He co-starred with fellow actors James Bolam and Alun Armstrong in the role of Gerry Standing.

Waterman became famous for singing the theme songs to many of his shows, and as a result, he was caricatured by David Walliams in Little Britain.

He continued to pursue his interest in music throughout his acting career, and had number one hits in Australia and New Zealand, as well as reaching number three in the UK charts with I Could Be So Good For You, the Minder theme song.Tributes have poured in for the actor, who has been described as a “brilliant actor who was a staple on our screens throughout the 1970s and 1980s” by broadcaster Kay Burley.

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Britain’s Got Talent star Jonathan Goodwin paralysed

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Jonathan Goodwin, an escapologist, has been paralysed following an accident, according to his fiancee Amanda Abbington.

After an accident during rehearsals for America’s Got Talent: Extreme last year, the Sherlock actress said he nearly died twice.
 She revealed that the stunt performer, who competed on Britain’s Got Talent in 2019, now uses a wheelchair.

He was supposed to break free from a straight jacket while suspended 30 feet in the air between two cars.

Instead, as they caught fire, Mr Goodwin was crushed between them. “He fell 30 feet and lost a kidney, broke both shoulder blades, shattered both legs,” Ms Abbington, 48, said on Jay Rayner’s Out To Lunch podcast.

“He had third-degree burns, which broke his spine and severed his spinal cord, and he was on the verge of death.” Then he nearly died again on the operating table.”

“He’ll be like that forever unless there’s some kind of stem cell surgery or that thing Elon Musk is designing with the little chip,” she said. Mr. Goodwin, a Pembrokeshire native, has remained “positive and upbeat, and so strong,” she said.

“I just aspire to be like him in terms of courage and strength.” “He’s just incredible, honestly, like a very happy, positive human being, just liquid sunshine,” she says. He’s incredible.”

The stuntman, according to the actress, left a voice message before his surgery saying there was a 50% chance he wouldn’t make it.

He expressed his love for her and thanked her for sharing the last few months of his life with him.

For about ten years, the couple had been friends on social media. Joe, Abbington’s son, thought his act was “amazing,” so Abbington followed him. She claimed they met after she divorced Martin Freeman, a fellow Sherlock actor, and he divorced his wife.

They spent hours on the phone each day at first, Ms Abbington said, before he flew to Vienna to meet her for the first time. Mr. Goodwin proposed within 30 minutes. The couple plan to marry this summer.

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Meghan Markle’s animated series Pearl has been cancelled by Netflix

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In an effort to save money, Netflix has cancelled the development of Pearl, an animated series created by Meghan Markle.

The show, which was announced last year, is one of several projects that the streaming behemoth has cancelled. Netflix announced a sharp drop in subscribers last month, warning that millions more are on the verge of abandoning the service.

The company’s market value plummeted by more than $50 billion, and experts warned it would be difficult to get back on track. Meghan will serve as an executive producer on Pearl, according to Archewell Productions, the company founded by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The series was supposed to follow the exploits of a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by historical figures.

Netflix did confirm, however, that it will continue to collaborate with Archewell Productions on a number of projects, including a documentary series called Heart of Invictus. The series will focus on athletes competing in the Invictus Games for injured veterans, which will be held in The Hague in 2022 and was founded by Prince Harry.

A BBC request for comment was not immediately returned by Archewell Productions.

Netflix also announced that two animated children’s series, Dino Daycare and Boons and Curses, would be cancelled.

Netflix announced in April that its total number of subscribers had fallen by 200,000 in the first three months of this year, far short of its goal. It also predicted that two million more users would abandon the service in the three months leading up to July.

Some analysts warned that the company had run out of easy ways to grow the business after a period of rapid expansion during the pandemic. Consumers who are strapped for cash are cutting back on streaming services to save money, while others believe there is too much content to choose from in the face of fierce competition from companies like Disney and Amazon.

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Olivia Wilde: Actress given custody papers on stage

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Olivia Wilde, an actress and director, appeared unfazed after receiving child custody documents while performing on stage in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, she was giving a presentation when she was handed a brown envelope.

When she opened it, she discovered custody papers from her ex-boyfriend Jason Sudeikis. According to sources close to Sudeikis, he had no prior knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the letter’s delivery.

Wilde is best known for her role as Remy ‘Thirteen’ Hadley in the medical drama House and for directing the US high school teen film Booksmart.

In 2011, she met Sudeikis, who is best known for his comedy series Ted Lasso. Before divorcing in 2020, they were engaged and had two children together. At a CinemaCon conference in a theatre, Wilde was interrupted while introducing footage from her upcoming thriller Don’t Worry Darling.

“Is this for me?” Wilde inquired. An unknown woman handed her an envelope marked “private and confidential.”

She scanned the contents of the letter during her presentation before continuing on with her speech.
The letter was never mentioned again, leading to speculation that Wilde had received a new screenplay.

However, it was revealed on Wednesday that the letter actually contained custody papers for her and Sudeikis’ children. A source close to Sudeikis told Variety that “papers were drawn up to establish jurisdiction relating to Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis’ children.”

“Mr. Sudeikis had no prior knowledge of the time or location at which the envelope would have been delivered as this would have been solely up to the process service company involved, and he would never condone her being served in such an inappropriate manner,” they continued.

After questions arose about how the letter ended up being delivered to Wilde on stage, the event’s organiser, CinemaCon, said in a statement to Variety that it would “re-evaluate” its security protocols.

“Because it’s the right thing to do, we’ll act accordingly. We want to act in a responsible and safe manner.”

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Tom Grennan recovering after NYC attack

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Tom Grennan, a British singer, is recovering from a “unprovoked attack” that left him with injuries including a torn eardrum, according to his manager.

After performing in New York on Wednesday, the 26-year-old was allegedly attacked and robbed outside a Manhattan bar. As a result, he’ll have to cancel his Friday performance in Washington, DC.
At this year’s Brit Awards, Grennan’s song Little Bit of Love was nominated for song of the year.

“Tom was the victim of an unprovoked attack and robbery outside a bar in Manhattan in the early hours of this morning following his New York show,” his manager John Dawkins said in a statement posted online on Thursday evening. “Doctors are currently evaluating Tom’s injuries, which include a ruptured ear, torn eardrum, and a problem with his previously fractured jaw.” “Despite this, Tom is in good spirits,” he said, “but he will need to rest for a while while doctors assess his ability to continue touring.”

His manager went on to thank Grennan’s American fans, saying that the singer was “desperate not to let anyone down,” but that his Washington show had been postponed until further notice due to a “precautionary decision.” Mint Royale, an electronic producer, tweeted his support for the singer, writing, “Get well soon, sounds awful.”

“Sending love mate,” said presenter Rylan Clark-Neal. “Sending love to you bro,” DJ Mista Jam said.

Grennan rose to prominence as a guest vocalist on Chase & Status’s All Goes Wrong, and his solo album, 2021’s Evering Road, reached number one. The Bedford-born singer was nominated for two Brit Awards recently, including best rock/alternative act and song of the year, but lost to Adele’s Easy on Me.

As he opened up about his mental health struggles last month, he said that therapy had given him “light at the end of the tunnel.”

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Depp and Heard’s marriage ended in “mutual abuse”

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The couple engaged in “mutual abuse” during the final months of their stormy marriage, according to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s former couples therapist.

On the third day of the $50 million (£38 million) defamation trial in Virginia, jurors were shown video testimony from Dr. Laurel Anderson. Mr. Depp has filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife for a story she wrote in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence. He denies any wrongdoing. Ms. Heard counterclaimed for $100 million.

Ms Anderson said she saw the famous couple for several therapy sessions between October and December 2015, according to testimony recorded in February and played for jurors on Thursday. After only 15 months of marriage, Ms Heard filed for divorce in May 2016. Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard had a tense relationship, according to the psychotherapist, with both threatening to walk out of sessions during arguments.

Ms Heard reported physical assault at the hands of her then-husband in sessions where Mr Depp was not present, Ms Anderson said. Ms Heard testified that she once came to her office with several small bruises on her face.

Ms Heard initiated violent interactions on several occasions in an attempt to keep Mr Depp from leaving, according to Ms Anderson. “It was a point of pride for her to initiate a fight if she felt disrespected,” Ms Anderson told jurors. “She would strike him to keep him there if he was going to leave her to de-escalate the fight; she would rather be in a fight than have him leave.”

Mr Depp’s therapy sessions were frequently interrupted by Ms Heard, according to Ms Anderson. “Ms Heard talked like a jackhammer,” the clinical psychologist said. “She was pumped up to the max. He struggled to speak at a similar rate. He was frequently cut off.”

Both Ms Heard and Mr Depp’s families have a history of domestic violence, according to Ms Anderson. Ms. Heard claimed that her father abused her, and Mr. Depp claimed that his mother abused him.

Mr Depp had been “well controlled” for decades before meeting Ms Heard, according to Ms Anderson, and had never harmed previous partners. “He was triggered by Ms Heard. They were abusing each other, in my opinion.”

Ms. Heard’s 2018 opinion piece in the Washington Post, in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse,” is at issue in the trial. Mr. Depp claims that the article, which does not name him, is defamatory and has harmed his career.

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Britney Spears Says She Is Pregnant After Controversial Guardianship Ends

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Britney Spears announced on Monday that she is expecting her third child, five months after a judge ended the tumultuous guardianship that the pop star claimed prevented her from having more children.
The 40-year-old wrote on Instagram, “I got a pregnancy test… and uhhhhh well… I am having a baby.”

In November, a Los Angeles judge dissolved Spears’ father’s conservatorship, which the singer claimed had prevented her from having a contraceptive IUD removed despite her desire for more children.

Spears’ representatives did not respond to an AFP request for comment right away. “I was like, ‘Geez… what happened to my stomach???'” says the narrator. Spears wrote that her 28-year-old partner Sam Asghari, whom she has begun to refer to as her “husband” online, speculated that she was “food pregnant.” “It’s getting bigger!!! If there are two of them in there, I’m going to lose it “The singer’s comments sparked speculation that she was expecting twins, prompting speculation on the internet.

After a highly public breakdown in 2007, when Spears attacked a paparazzo’s car at a gas station, she was placed under her father Jamie Spears’ conservatorship, which lasted nearly 14 years. Fans had long suspected that the “…Baby One More Time” singer was unhappy with her father as guardian, so she asked a Los Angeles judge to end the legal arrangement that had left her “traumatised” in June 2021.

Her claim that the conservatorship was preventing her from removing a contraceptive IUD, despite her desire to have control over her own birth control method in order to conceive, infuriated reproductive rights groups and her fans, many of whom were already active in the #FreeBritney movement. “I’d like to gradually move forward, and I’d like to have the real deal,” Spears said in a shocking court appearance last summer. “I want to be able to marry and start a family. I don’t get pregnant because I have a (IUD) implanted in my uterus. They don’t want me to have any more children, they say “During the engrossing 20-minute statement, she said.

After her father Jamie Spears was removed from his position as guardian of her finances and estate at a hearing in September, the guardianship was officially ended in November 2021. After documentaries that emphasised the role of the early-2000s celebrity journalism machine in triggering breakdowns and questionable behaviour, she and other turn-of-the-millennium female pop stars have drawn sympathy.

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Will Smith banned from Oscars for 10 years over slap

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Will Smith has been barred from attending the Oscars and other Academy events for the next ten years after slapping comedian Chris Rock at the ceremony.

The 94th Academy Awards were “overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behaviour we saw Mr Smith exhibit on stage,” according to a statement from the Academy. Smith has apologised for his actions and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The actor slammed Rock for making a joke about his wife’s shaved head, which is the result of alopecia, a hair-loss condition.

He won the best actor award for his role as the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams in “King Richard” less than an hour later. On Friday, the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the awards show, met virtually to discuss disciplinary action. It said in a statement that the ban was aimed at protecting performers and guests while also “restoring trust in the Academy.”

The Academy claimed it did not “adequately address the situation in the room” at the time of the slap and was “unprepared for the unprecedented.” It expressed regret for this.

It also praised Rock for “retaining his composure in the face of adversity.” Smith said in his resignation statement that he had “betrayed the Academy’s trust” and was “heartbroken” over his actions. He went on to say that he would “fully accept any and all consequences” for his actions.

As a result of his resignation, he will be unable to vote in future Oscars. After Smith resigned, the Academy’s disciplinary review of the incident was accelerated. It was originally scheduled for April 18th.

Few people have ever left the academy. Four members have been expelled for sexual misconduct allegations: producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Bill Cosby, director Roman Polanski, and cinematographer Adam Kimmel, while actor Carmine Caridi was expelled in 2004 for pirating screener videos given to him.

However, the film academy’s code of conduct included a number of disciplinary options for Smith, including barring him from future Oscar ceremonies, revoking his eligibility for awards, and returning his newly won Oscar.

Only one Oscar has ever been rescinded; in 1969, a film called “Young Americans” won best documentary but was later found to be ineligible for the award.

Smith would face “big consequences,” according to actor Whoopi Goldberg, a member of the academy’s board of governors, but “we’re not going to take that Oscar away from him.”

In addition to the Academy’s actions, at least two studios, Sony and Netflix, have put Smith’s projects on hold.

Rock, who started his latest stand-up comedy tour shortly after the Oscars, has remained silent on the incident.

At a recent show, he told fans that he is “still kind of processing what happened” and that he will speak about the incident “at some point.”

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Asghar Farhadi, a well-known Iranian filmmaker, accused of plagiarism

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Asghar Farhadi, an Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker, has been summoned to appear in court in Iran on plagiarism charges.

Azadeh Masihzadeh, a former Farhadi student, claims that he stole the idea for his new film, A Hero, from her documentary, All Winners All Losers. He denies this, claiming that he independently researched the story.

Farhadi won Academy Awards for A Separation in 2012 and The Salesman in 2017 for Best International Feature Film.

Last year’s Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Prize winner, A Hero, was overlooked for an Oscar nomination.

Rahim, played by Amir Jadidi, is a divorced father of a young boy who is imprisoned in Iran because he was unable to repay a debt. During a two-day temporary release, he is applauded by authorities and the media for returning a handbag containing gold coins to its rightful owner. He, on the other hand, quickly becomes a target of suspicion.

“It’s really hard for me to go back and remember what the genesis was, what triggered this story,” he told the BBC’s Talking Movies programme in January. Many of these stories develop subconsciously in your mind, gradually taking shape, and a desire to write a script grows.

“I used to collect local newspapers and work with my students to investigate these kinds of stories about 12, 15 years ago.” Masihzadeh, on the other hand, accused Farhadi of stealing the story from All Winners, All Losers, a documentary workshop she attended in 2014 and which was screened at an Iranian film festival in 2018.

Farhadi denied the plagiarism charge and countersued Masihzadeh, accusing him of defamation. The defamation suit was dismissed by a media court in Tehran on Monday, according to Masihzadeh, who told the Hollywood Reporter that there was insufficient evidence to support Farhadi’s claim.

She expressed relief at the decision, but added that she was “not happy” because “I respected Mr Farhadi a lot as my master.” “Sometimes I wonder if I should have [speak out] in the first place,” she continued. The court also determined that there was sufficient evidence to issue Farhadi a summons to appear in court to answer allegations of copyright infringement.

On Instagram, Kaveh Rad, the director’s lawyer, stated that the case would now be re-examined by a criminal court and, potentially, an appeals court. “This summons is not the court’s final decision,” he clarified, “but it is part of the process.”

Mr Rad also stated that the court had dismissed Masihzadeh’s claim for a cut of the film’s profits, as well as a defamation suit filed by a former prisoner who claimed the story was based on their own life.

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Olivia Rodrigo, Silk Sonic, and Jon Batiste have all received Grammy nominations

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At the 64th Grammy Awards, Olivia Rodrigo, Silk Sonic, and jazz musician Jon Batiste shared the top prize.

We Are, by Batiste, was named album of the year, while Rodrigo was named best new artist and best pop album. Silk Leave The Door Open, Sonic’s soul throwback anthem, won both the record and song of the year awards. A tribute to Foo Fighters frontman Taylor Hawkins was paid during the ceremony, as was a video plea from Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

He urged musicians to “fill the silence” left by Russian bombs “with your music” in a pre-recorded message. “Please tell our story. Tell the truth about the war on social media and on television. However, there will be no silence.”
Following his speech, John Legend performed with Ukrainian musicians Siuzanna Iglidan and Mika Newton, as well as poet Lyuba Yakimchuk. Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and BTS all gave energetic performances at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and folk icon Joni Mitchell made a rare on-stage appearance to introduce Brandi Carlile.

The “big four” categories were expanded to include ten nominees each, making this year’s Grammys one of the most open in years. However, the Recording Academy prefers artists who acknowledge their musical roots, which helped Silk Sonic and Jon Batiste win their respective categories.

We Are, Batiste’s album, is steeped in black music tradition, from the New Orleans jazz he grew up with to Al Green’s classic soul to modern R&B.

In 2020, the title track was written in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the album’s themes of positivity and intergenerational wisdom made it a favourite with voters, who gave Batiste 11 Grammy nominations. Bruno Mars and rapper/drummer Anderson collaborated on Silk Sonic.

Plough a similar furrow, Paak. Leave The Door Open, their sumptuous ballad, is steeped in the 70s soul sounds of acts like The Chi-Lites and Earth, Wind & Fire, delivered with a knowing wink to modern sensibilities.

The duo were clearly ecstatic with their song of the year and record of the year victories.

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