Month: August 2021

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

‘Game of Thrones’ star Jacob Anderson cast as lead in ‘Interview with the Vampire’

shutterstock_739634020

Game of Thrones actor Jacob Anderson — who played Grey Worm — has been cast in a leading role in AMC’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s Gothic vampire novel Interview With the Vampire. Anderson will play Louis, a young man who is seduced into the world of the undead by the amoral vampire Lestat (played by Sam Reid). The casting will reunite Anderson with GoT director Alan Taylor, who is helming the show’s first two episodes.

Anderson has previously appeared in Showtime’s Episodes, The Mimic and Broadchurch, plus was recently announced for a recurring role in the upcoming season of Doctor Who.

Interview With the Vampire is expected to air on AMC in 2022, and will launch a franchise universe based on Rice’s novels.

Editorial credit: Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

‘Downton Abbey’ sequel film gets official title and March 2022 release date

shutterstock_126181781

Focus Features announced on Twitter that the second ‘Downton Abbey’ movie will be called ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era.’  The film, set for theatrical release on March 18, 2022, will continue the saga of the wealthy Crawley family and those who serve them at their English country estate. Downton creator Julian Fellowes wrote the screenplay and My Week with Marilyn director Simon Curtis is helmed it.

The Downton Abbey franchise began as an ITV/PBS drama series in 2010, and ended its six-season run in 2015. The show’s original stars Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle and Joanne Froggatt returned for a big-screen follow-up in 2019, and will return for the sequel. In addition, Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West have been added to the cast.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

House committee investigating Jan. 6 attack seeks records from Trump White House, other federal agencies

shutterstock_1913474197

On Wednesday, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol requested documents from Trump administration officials and other federal agencies. Wednesday’s request is the panel’s “first round of demands” as part of its task to determine the cause of the attack and prevent such an event from happening again. The committee issued letters to the National Archives and Records Administration and other executive branch agencies for information related to the riots.

In addition to the records administration, the Jan. 6 committee sought records from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Interior and Justice, the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The panel said it’s looking for records that include remarks made during the rally at the Ellipse, calendars, schedules, communications and call logs for Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, and photographs and other media from the rally, march to the Capitol or violence at the Capitol.

The letters also requested documents from Jan. 6 related to a number of people close to Trump, including first lady Melania Trump; his children Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and their spouses,Jared Kushner, Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle; and current and former advisers including Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Hope Hicks, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and Roger Stone.

Editorial credit: Thomas Hengge / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

President Biden calls cybersecurity a ‘core national security challenge’ as he meets with tech leaders to discuss forming national strategies to improve security

shutterstock_71114719

President Joe Biden described cybersecurity as a “core national security challenge” as he met with leaders on Wednesday from the private sector to discuss national cyber defenses and form a strategy for how to improve security. The White House summit included chief executives from various industries including technology, financial services, insurance, energy and education and addressed critical infrastructure resilience, building enduring cybersecurity and the cybersecurity workforce.

Biden met with Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, IBM and ADP, and CEOs from JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, TIAA and U.S. Bancorp.  The White House said that Coalition, Vantage Group, Resilience and Travelers insurance companies also attended the summit, along with creative education leaders from Code.org, the University of Texas system, Tougaloo College, Girls Who Code and Whatcom Community College.

Following the meeting, the White House announced the National Institute of Standards and Technology will work with members of the industry to develop a framework to improve the security and integrity of the technology supply chain. The Biden administration also said it will expand the Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Initiative to include natural gas pipelines.

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon reunite in the trailer for Season 2 of ‘The Morning Show’

shutterstock_1549227578

The Emmy-award winning drama ‘The Morning Show,’ starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Billy Crudup, is back for a second season on Apple TV+ this September.  Ahead of its return, the streaming service shared a new trailer for what’s to come in Season 2 for Alex Levy (Aniston), Bradley Jackson (Witherspoon) and Cory Ellison (Crudup).

The trailer also previews new cast members coming to the series this season, including Greta Lee, Ruairi O’Connor; Hasan Minhaj; Holland Taylor; Tara Karsian; Valeria Golino; Julianna Margulies; and Will Arnett. They will be joining returning cast members including Steve Carell, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Bel Powley, Desean Terry, Janina Gavankar, Tom Irwin and Marcia Gay Harden.

The Morning Show season 2 will premiere on Friday, Sept. 17 on Apple TV+.

Editorial credit: Ron Adar / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Netflix announces virtual fan event titled ‘Tudum’

shutterstock_729647704

Netflix has announced it is planning an online global fan event called ‘Tudum’ on Sept. 25.  The streaming service said in a press release Wednesday that “the title refers to the first beat you hear when you watch a show or movie on Netflix.”

Tudum, Netflix’s first ever global fan event, will feature exclusive first looks at their upcoming movies and shows. It will feature news and trailers for upcoming shows like Aggretsuko Season 4, Big Mouth, Bridgerton, The Old Guard, and The Umbrella Academy as well as appearances from stars like The Witcher’s Henry Cavill, Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo and Netflix’s upcoming live-action Cowboy Bebop star John Cho.

The live-stream event is slated to begin at 12 p.m. EST across Netflix’s YouTube channels worldwide, in addition to Twitter and Twitch.  Fans can co-stream the event by registering on the Tudum website.

Check out the trailer for “Tudum” in the video link – here.

Editorial credit: r.classen / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

House Democrats break stalemate, voting to advance $3.5 trillion budget bill and infrastructure plan

shutterstock_1276349422

House Democrats have approved a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint, which advanced two pieces of President Joe Biden’s agenda. The House voted 220-212 on Tuesday to instruct committees to write the bill, despite a disagreement between a small group of moderate Democrats and progressives in the House that lasted into the early morning of Tuesday.

Lawmakers returned during their August recess to Capitol Hill as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tied the $3.5 trillion budget spending plan and a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill together, while committing to take up a vote on the infrastructure bill by Sept. 27. The rule was passed along party lines with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against it.

Biden praised House Democrats and called Pelosi “masterful” in her leadership. Biden said: “We are a step closer to truly investing in the American people, positioning our economy for long-term growth and building an America that outcompetes the world,” adding, “There were differences, strong points of view. They’re always welcome. What is important is that we came together to advance our agenda.”

Editorial credit: Michael Candelori / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

President Biden will stick with August 31 deadline for Afghanistan evacuations

shutterstock_1960625944-2

President Joe Biden said he doesn’t plan to extend the August 31 deadline for all U.S. military personnel to be evacuated from Afghanistan. Biden made the announcement on Tuesday during remarks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, saying there are contingency plans to continue the evacuations after Aug. 31 if the Taliban allow it. Biden said: “We are determined to complete this mission. Another 19 U.S. military flights, 18 C-17s and one C-130 carrying approximately 6,400 evacuees, and 31 coalition flights carrying 5,600 people have left Kabul just in the last 12 hours — a total of 50 more flights, 12,000 more people since I’ve updated you this morning.”   Western allies have been pushing Biden to extend the deadline for all U.S. military personnel to leave the country, and Biden had previously expressed a willingness to do so. However in his remarks on Tuesday, Biden cited safety for U.S. troops as a reason for leaving by the existing Aug. 31 deadline.

Meanwhile, the Taliban announced Tuesday that it opposes the extension of the evacuation deadline, and has also banned Afghan nationals from leaving on the flights. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters: “We are not in favor of allowing Afghans to leave. The Americans “have the opportunity, they have all the resources, they can take all the people that belong to them but we are not going to allow Afghans to leave and we will not extend the deadline.”

Tuesday’s virtual summit G7 meeting came after Biden was criticized internationally at how he handled the Afghanistan withdrawal. The Taliban militant group swiftly took over control of the country this month and the U.S. government has been working to airlift the remaining citizens and Afghan aides out of Afghanistan.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_latest/~3/c5Km9Ad6Qiw/index.html

Editorial credit: RedhoodStudios / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts dies at age 80

shutterstock_1130545889

Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died at age 80. Watts’ publicist confirmed the new in a statement, saying: “It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.”  Watts was described as “a cherished husband, father and grandfather” and “one of the greatest drummers of his generation.  In closing, the statement read: “We kindly request that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends is respected at this difficult time.”  The band also posted on social media with a statement about Charlie’s passing.

The news of Watts’ death comes shortly after he dropped out of the Stones’ U.S. tour earlier this month due to a recent unspecified medical procedure. Watts said at the time, “For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while. After all the fans’ suffering caused by COVID I really do not want the many RS fans who have been holding tickets for this tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation. I have therefore asked my great friend Steve Jordan to stand in for me.” Watts previously underwent treatment for throat cancer in 2004.

Watts joined the Rolling Stones early in 1963 and remained with the band over the next 60 years, ranked just behind Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as the group’s longest member.

Editorial credit: Grand Warszawski / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Season 11 of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ coming to HBO in October

shutterstock_230834206

HBO has announced that Season 11 of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ will premiere in October. The network made the announcement on Twitter alongside a photo of star and creator Larry David looking surprised while holding a dog, and the caption: “You’re allowed to be happy, but not in front of me. #CurbYourEnthusiasm is back this October.”

‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ follows David as an exaggerated version of himself on his misadventures through Hollywood as he critiques the trivial details of everyday life. Jeff Garlin, J.B. Smoove, Susie Essman, Cheryl Hines, Richard Lewis and Ted Danson also star on the series.  Season 10 of the series debuted in January 2020 after Season 9 had premiered in 2017. The show went through a lengthy hiatus after Season 8, which was wrapped up in 2011.

An exact premiere date for Season 11 has not been announced as of press time.

‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’: HBO Teases Season 11 Return

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com