Month: December 2022

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Scarlett Johansson to lead Amazon limited series ‘Just Cause’

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Scarlett Johansson is taking on her first lead role in a TV series, starring and serving as executive producer on Amazon’s Prime Video’s limited series ‘Just Cause’, based on a 1992 novel by John Katzenbach.

The novel was previously adapted for a 1995 feature film starring Sean Connery, and Johansson, in one of her first movie roles, played the daughter of Connery’s character.The series version of Just Cause will center on Madison “Madi” Cowart (Johansson), a reporter for a Florida newspaper who’s assigned to cover the final days of a death row inmate and comes to believe the prisoner’s claims of innocence.

Johansson is currently filming Project Artemis for Apple TV+ and also has Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City and Kristin Scott Thomas’ My Mother’s Wedding coming soon.

Scarlett Johansson To Headline & EP ‘Just Cause’ In TV Debut; Amazon Orders Limited Series Penned By Christy Hall

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Supreme Court set to review legality of Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan

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According to a SCOTUSblog report, the U.S. Supreme Court will review the legality of the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan during an oral argument in February. Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan would cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for eligible student borrowers, however, the plan has since been brought to a standstill due to several lower court rulings. The Supreme Court report comes almost two weeks after the Department of Education extended the student loan payment moratorium from its Dec. 31 expiration date to June 2023.

The Biden administration unveiled the federal student loan debt program in August, stating it would cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt for anyone making less than $125,000 or for households making less than $250,000 a year. Pell Grant recipients, who receive aid based on financial need, would get an additional $10,000 in debt relief. It expected around $32 billion in federal student debt to be canceled for more than 1.6 million Americans during through administration’s student loan forgiveness actions.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement: “We’re extending the payment pause because it would be deeply unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt that they wouldn’t have to pay, were it not for the baseless lawsuits brought by Republican officials and special interests.”  The Department of Education wrote in a statement that the pause will extend 60 days after the Biden administration is allowed to implement its student loan forgiveness plan or legal challenges are resolved. Officials said the 60-day period will give the Supreme Court an opportunity to resolve the case during its current term. If the Department of Education can’t proceed with its policy and the legal challenges are still in play by June 30, 2023, student loan payments will resume 60 days after that date.

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Trump special master overturned by appeals court in Mar-a-Lago document review

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A panel of judges on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday to overturn the appointment of a special master tasked with reviewing thousands of documents seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate this summer. The ruling by the three-judge panel goes into effect in seven days, absent intervention by the full circuit court or the Supreme Court.

The judges found: “The law is clear. We cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of the warrant. Nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so.”  The order eliminates a major obstacle in federal authorities ongoing criminal investigation into whether Trump illegally retained highly classified records after leaving the presidency and obstructed efforts by the government to recover them. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The appellate judges repeatedly expressed concern that the appointment of third-party judge Raymond Dearie by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida lacked any clear precedent. Cannon had empowered Dearie, as special master, to evaluate the approximately 13,000 materials taken from Trump’s club, including roughly 100 documents with classification markings. Dearie was supposed to analyze if any of the documents that were taken raised privilege concerns, either executive privilege or attorney-client privilege.

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Richard Lewis confirms return to Season 12 of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

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Richard Lewis is returning to the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm for Season 12.  The 75-year-old actor confirmed the news on Twitter, sharing a photo with series creator Larry David on set along with the caption: “I’m back shooting Curb! I’m a lucky cat to be with my oldest pal who just so happens to be a genius. Don’t tell him I called him that or he’ll mock me to my grave. A 22 year ride so far!”

Curb Your Enthusiasm originally had an eight-season run on HBO from 2000 to 2011. The show then returned for a ninth season in 2017, and was revived again for Seasons 10 and 11 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Lewis has a recurring role as a fictionalized version of himself and last appeared in Season 11, Episode 7.

Curb Your Enthusiasm has yet to receive a premiere date for the new season.

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Netflix shares trailer for ‘That ’70s Show’ sequel series ‘That 90s Show’

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Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp return to their roles as Kitty and Red Forman in the new trailer for Netflix’s ‘That ’90s Show’, the sequel series to ‘That ’70s Show.’  The trailer sees the Forman’s granddaughter and friends showing up to the Forman house and hanging out in That 70s Show’s iconic basement.

The premise of That ’90s Show reads: “It’s 1995 and Leia Forman (Callie Haverda) is desperate for some adventure in her life or at least a best friend who isn’t her dad. When she arrives in Point Place to visit her grandparents, Red (Smith) and Kitty (Rupp), Leia finds what she’s looking for right next door when she meets the dynamic and rebellious Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide). With the help of Gwen’s friends, including her lovable brother Nate (Maxwell Donovan), his smart, laser-focused girlfriend Nikki (Sam Morelos), the sarcastic and insightful Ozzie (Reyn Doi), and the charming Jay (Mace Coronel), Leia realizes adventure could happen there just like it did for her parents all those years ago. Excited to reinvent herself, she convinces her parents to let her stay for the summer. With a basement full of teens again, Kitty is happy the Forman house is now a home for a new generation and Red is, well… Red.”

That ’70s Show creators Bonnie and Terry Turner have returned, along with producer Gregg Mettler. Original cast members Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, and Wilmer Valderrama will be making guest appearances, with Tommy Chong reprising his That’ 70s Show character Leo.

‘That ’90s Show’ will premiere on Jan. 19. Take a look at the trailer – here.

‘That ’90s Show’ Gets Netflix Premiere Date; Red & Kitty Return To Point Place In First-Look Teaser

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U.S. House Democrats elect Hakeem Jeffries to become first Black party leader

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Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York has been elected the next Democratic House leader, making history as the first black lawmaker to lead a political party’s caucus. The 52-year-old Jeffries was elected on Wednesday in a unanimous vote, as Democrats prepare to relinquish control of the House in January. Jeffries will take over for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who announced earlier this month she would not seek leadership next session. Pelosi has served as the House Democratic leader since 2003.

Jeffries was first elected to Congress in 2012; his top deputy will be Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., 59, who served under Jeffries as vice chair of the Democratic Caucus and rose to assistant speaker in this Congress. The trio represents a generational shift for Democrats, who are currently led by a trio in their 80s.  Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol: “This is a moment of transition  We stand on the shoulders of giants, but are also looking forward to being able to do what’s necessary at this moment to advance the issues.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Jeffries’ election a turning point in the history of the United States Congress: “It’s not surprising that House Democrats are turning to someone from Brooklyn to lead the way next year, because when you’re from Brooklyn, you learn quickly traits like persistence and serious mettle. It’s a crowded place and a diverse place. You learn how to work with all kinds of different people. You learn how to stand your ground. You learn to not take things personally.”

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House of Representatives passes legislation to avoid railroad strike

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The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to avoid a railroad strike; national railroad workers had vowed to strike on Dec. 9 if no agreement was reached. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 290-137, and still needs to be approved by the Senate.  If enacted the measure would require companies and railway employees to adhere to a tentative agreement that was brokered earlier this year by the Biden administration.

President Joe Biden issued a personal appeal for Congress earlier in the week, saying in an official White House press release: “I am calling on Congress to pass legislation immediately to adopt the Tentative Agreement between railroad workers and operators — without any modifications or delay — to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown.” 

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had expressed his intention to hold up the legislation unless a measure was added to guarantee seven days of paid sick leave to railroad employees, tweeting: “At a time of record profits in the rail industry, it’s unacceptable that rail workers have zero guaranteed paid sick days. It’s my intention to block consideration of the rail legislation until a roll call vote occurs on guaranteeing seven paid sick days to rail workers in America.” A separate piece of legislation, mandating paid sick leave for railroad workers, passed the House by 221-207.

The National Railway Act allows congress to intervene in labor disputes related to national railroads but the law has not been invoked since the 19

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Check out the new trailer for ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’

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Universal Pictures shared news of the release of the second trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

The trailer shows plumber Mario (voice of Chris Pratt) battling Donkey Kong, the ape whose game first introduced the character. Villain Bowser (Jack Black) interrogates Mario’s brother Luigi (Charlie Day), who was introduced in the game Mario Bros. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) join Mario on his adventure, which mimics gameplay from the original Super Mario Bros. side-scroller game for Nintendo Entertainment System. A flaming flower and flying raccoon Mario are shown. Mario also races a go-kart like the spinoff game Super Mario Kart.

The animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie opens April 7. Check out the trailer – here.

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Tyler Perry signs four-film deal with Amazon Studios

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Amazon Studios announced that 53-year-old actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry has signed a deal to write, direct and produce four films for release on Prime Video. Perry said in a statement: “I’m excited and grateful to start working with Amazon Studios to bring movies to Prime Video. Jennifer Salke and the entire team have welcomed me with open arms, and I’m looking forward to continuing telling unique stories and bringing my next projects to the global audiences that they reach.”

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke added: “Tyler Perry is undeniably one of the most prolific creators of our time. He is a true multihyphenate who has defined his own incredible brand of storytelling and inspired people all over the world with his series and films. We are excited to collaborate with Tyler and his teams to bring even more of his fantastic signature films to our global audiences.”

Perry is known for creating the ‘Madea’ film franchise, along with such series as House of Payne, The Haves and the Have Nots and Sistas. His most recent film, A Jazzman’s Blues, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and was also released on Netflix.

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Fleetwood Mac singer and keyboardist Christine McVie dies at age 79

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Fleetwood Mac singer and keyboardist Christine McVie died on Wednesday at age 79 after a short illness.  McVie’s family released a statement announcing her passing: “On behalf of Christine McVie’s family, it is with a heavy heart we are informing you of Christine’s death. She passed away peacefully at hospital this morning, Wednesday, November 30th 2022, following a short illness. She was in the company of her family. We kindly ask that you respect the family’s privacy at this extremely painful time, and we would like everyone to keep Christine in their hearts and remember the life of an incredible human being, and revered musician who was loved universally. RIP Christine McVie.”‘

Fleetwood Mac posted in their social media statement: “She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure  She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. We were so lucky to have a life with her. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed.

McVie joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970, playing alongside her ex-husband John McVie as well as Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood. Over the course of her career with the band, she sang on some of the band’s biggest hits including “Don’t Stop,” “Over My Head,” “Say You Love Me” and “Songbird.”  Despite John and Christine McVie divorcing in 1976 they remained with the band, with Christine eventually leaving over her fear of flying. However, after an 18-year hiatus Christine returned to Fleetwood Mac’s recording and touring lineup in 2014.

McVie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 as part of Fleetwood Mac, and was also later honored by the Recording Academy as the band received the MusiCares Person of the Year honor in 2018. In addition to Fleetwood Mac, McVie issued three solo albums as well as a collaborative album with fellow Fleetwood Mac musician Lindsey Buckingham. Her biggest solo hits included “Got a Hold on Me” and “Love Will Show Us How.”

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