The cause of death for Michelle Trachtenberg, who died suddenly in February at the age of 39, has been revealed.
The “Gossip Girl” star’s death was ruled as natural and was a result of complications of diabetes mellitus, according to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. 
A spokesperson for the medical examiner told <a href="https://people.com/michelle-trachtenberg-official-cause-of-death-revealed-11688954">People</a> that &#8220;the amended determination was made following review of toxicology testing results” and noted that &#8220;toxicology testing can be done without autopsy.&#8221;
Trachtenberg, who was best known for her roles in “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” was discovered unresponsive and unconscious in a New York City apartment after her mother placed a call to 911. 
Sources told the outlet that Trachtenberg had undergone a liver transplant, but that was never confirmed. The “Buffy” star made headlines last year after leaving comments on fan posts saying she looked unhealthy, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
“Explain to me how I look sick,” the actress replied to one commenter. “Did you lose a calendar and not realize I’m not 14. I’m 38. How sad for you to leave such a comment.”
“I’ve received several comments recently about my appearance. I have never had plastic surgery I am happy and healthy,” she added in another post. “Check yourself haters.”
The former child star first got her big break when she landed the role of Harriet in the 1996 children’s movie “Harriet the Spy” alongside Rosie O’Donnell, who played her nanny.
Trachtenberg is also known for her work in films such as the 2005 children’s movie “Ice Princess” and the 2009 romantic comedy “17 Again,” which starred Zac Efron and Matthew Perry.
“Harriet the Spy” director Bronwen Hughes shared a tribute to the late actress after news of her death in February. 
“Michelle was like a lightning bolt of a casting discovery. She had fire, she had spark, she had truth, and she had Harriet’s conviction, like her sense of self,” she <a href="https://x.com/THR/status/1894854106566762568">told</a> The Hollywood Reporter. 
“No one else came in the room like that,” she added. “So she had that acting gene that you can’t really teach. It’s innate, which is not something you find very often.”

Michelle Trachtenberg

Actress Michelle Trachtenberg’s Cause Of Death Revealed

Actress Michelle Trachtenberg's Cause Of Death Revealed

Celebrities

Death

Entertainment

Hollywood

New York City

Television

U.S.

Legendary game show host and radio personality Wink Martindale passed away on Tuesday, April 15, at the age of 91. He died at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, California, after a year-long battle with lymphoma, per the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wink-martindale-dead-d2f333da86b6efb3b99b36bb7a71a7a4">Associated Press</a>. 
Born Winston Conrad Martindale on December 4, 1933, in Jackson, Tennessee, he began his broadcasting career at 17 as a radio DJ. Wink said he received his nickname from a childhood friend.
&#8220;When I was a kid in Jackson, Tennessee, one of my playmates, Jimmy McCord, couldn’t say ‘Winston,’ which is my given name. He had a speech impediment, and it came out sounding like ‘Winky.&#8217; So Winston turned into Winky, and then I got into the business and Wink it was! It served me well,&#8221; he <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wink-martindale-explains/story?id=27034447">told</a> ABC in 2014.
His early career included a television interview in 1956 with a young Elvis Presley. This was a defining moment as the two celebrities became lifelong friends.
&#8220;Very few people knew that he gave away literally millions and millions of dollars to charitable organizations not only in this country but all over the world,&#8221; Martindale <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/wink-martindale-iconic-game-show-host-dead-91">told</a> Fox News Digital in 2019. 
&#8220;He was a great giver. If he was your friend, he was your friend until the day you died. I mean, he would always be your friend and do anything for you that you needed him to do. He was that kind of a person.&#8221;
Martindale’s wife Sandra said Presley is the reason she and Wink married. She dated The King on and off before he married Priscilla in 1967.  
&#8220;When [Martindale] said [Presley] was from Tennessee, I said, ‘He must be a nice guy,’ because I loved the state. I loved all the guys. I loved everything in the state of Tennessee because Elvis was such a wonderful part of my life,&#8221; Sandra said, per <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/wink-martindale-dead-tic-tac-dough-game-show-host-1236191994/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. 
Martindale&#8217;s television career took off in the 1960s, leading to his role as host of NBC&#8217;s &#8220;What&#8217;s This Song?&#8221; He gained national prominence with game shows like &#8220;Gambit&#8221; and &#8220;Tic-Tac-Dough.&#8221; Martindale hosted more than 20 game shows over the course of his career, including &#8220;High Rollers,&#8221; &#8220;Debt,&#8221; and &#8220;Headline Chasers.&#8221;
Beyond television, Martindale achieved musical success with his 1959 spoken-word hit &#8220;Deck of Cards,&#8221; which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The game show host was also a frequent contributor to charitable causes, including St. Jude Children&#8217;s Hospital.
Martindale is survived by his wife of 49 years, Sandra; his daughters Lisa, Lyn, and Laura; his sister Geraldine; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, Wink Jr. 
His enduring charm and warmth made him a beloved figure in American entertainment.

Wink Martindale

Beloved Game Show Host Wink Martindale Dies at 91

Longtime actress Cate Blanchett, a two-time Academy Award winner, said she’s “serious” about quitting Hollywood.
The 55-year-old Australian-born star made the revelation during an interview with Radio Times in an episode slated to debut in full on Sunday.
“My family roll their eyes every time I say it, but I mean it,” the “Black Bag” star said, per U.K.-based outlet <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cate-blanchett-bbc-radio-elizabeth-i-radio-times-oscars-b1222359.html">The Standard</a>. “I am serious about giving up acting. [There are] a lot of things I want to do with my life.”
The actress also mentioned some aspects of being famous that she doesn’t care for. 
“When you go on a talk show, or even here now, and then you see soundbites of things you’ve said, pulled out and italicized, they sound really loud,” Blanchett said. “I’m not that person.”
“I make more sense in motion,” the actress continued. “It’s been a long time to remotely get comfortable with the idea of being photographed. I’ve always felt like I’m on the periphery of things, so I’m always surprised when I belong anywhere. I go with curiosity into whatever environment that I’m in, not expecting to be accepted or welcomed.”
“I’ve spent a lifetime getting comfortable with the feeling of being uncomfortable,” Blanchett added.
The Aussie native won Best Supporting Actress for &#8220;The Aviator&#8221; (2004) and Best Actress for &#8220;Blue Jasmine&#8221; (2013). Blanchett gained international fame for her role as Galadriel in &#8220;The Lord of the Rings&#8221; and &#8220;The Hobbit&#8221; trilogies and has starred in a wide range of critically acclaimed films, including &#8220;Elizabeth,&#8221; &#8220;Carol,&#8221; and &#8220;TÁR.&#8221; 
This is not the first time that the actress talked about walking away. “I always thought, if the acting thing didn’t work out, which it still might not, I would love to be a Foley artist,” she <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/09/everything-is-so-fragile-cate-blanchett-on-marriage-metoo-and-the-state-of-the-world">told</a> The Guardian in March. “One day, I’m going to grow up and get a proper job.”
In December, Blanchett fretted over artificial intelligence impacting Hollywood and the world.
The actress said she’s “deeply concerned” about the technology and worried that it’s poised to significantly impact “the average person.”
“I’m looking at these robots and driverless cars … and I don’t really know what that’s bringing anybody,” Blanchett said. “I’m worried about us as a species, it’s a much bigger problem.”
“You can totally replace … any person,” she added. “Forget whether they’re an actor or not, if you’ve recorded yourself … for three or four seconds your voice can be replicated.”
&nbsp;

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett Says She’s ‘Serious’ About Quitting Hollywood: ‘I Mean It’

Actress Cate Blanchett Says She's 'Serious' About Quitting Hollywood: 'I Mean It'

Acting

The stars of one of the next films in Disney&#8217;s Marvel Cinematic Universe — &#8220;The Fantastic Four: First Steps&#8221; — made it clear in a recent interview that their plan is to effectively &#8220;Snow White&#8221; the franchise.
Despite Disney&#8217;s spectacular crash-and-burn with the Rachel Zegler-led live-action &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/snow-white-bombs-with-one-of-disneys-lowest-opening-weekends-for-a-remake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Snow White</a>&#8221; — which struggled under the weight of Zegler&#8217;s woke commentary and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/snow-white-producers-son-destroys-rachel-zegler-amid-films-box-office-struggles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-Semitic social media posts</a> in addition to the widely-panned decision to use CGI rather than live <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/total-travesty-dwarfs-to-protest-snow-white-after-cgi-used-instead-of-actors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dwarf actors</a> — the cast of &#8220;First Steps&#8221; appears ready to deliver a similar offering when the film is released in late July.
In a recent interview for <a href="https://ew.com/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-mcu-plot-character-details-cover-story-11712063?taid=67f7ebcc645bb3000131484d&amp;utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+New+Content+%28Feed%29&amp;utm_medium=trueAnthem&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entertainment Weekly</a>, Jessica Kirby (who plays Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman) explained how she planned to reinterpret her character despite the fact that the film is set in the 1960s in a parallel world within Marvel&#8217;s multiverse.
&#8220;If you played an exact &#8217;60s Sue today, everyone would think she was a bit of a doormat. So figuring out how to capture the essence of what she represented to each generation, where the gender politics were different, and embody that today, was one of the greatest joys of this,&#8221; Kirby began. &#8220;Matt and I were really aware that there hasn&#8217;t really been a mother with a baby in these superhero archetypes women have been getting. One of the things I love most from Sue&#8217;s history is when she becomes Malice, and all her dark stuff comes out. I was obsessed with that chapter of her life. So I wanted to make sure that there were tones of Malice in there with her, that she wasn&#8217;t just the stereotype of a goody, sweet mother.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve always been really interested in the mess of femininity, and how can you be both? How can you be all the things? Not just the tough, invincible, powerful woman, but also a mother who gives birth, which is itself a superhero act. I love that these characters are real humans in a messy family who argue and try to work it out and get things wrong,&#8221; Kirby continued.
Joseph Quinn took on the role of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, and he described how cultural changes had led them to move away from previous portrayals that cast Johnny as an immature hothead and a bit of a player.
&#8220;He&#8217;s a man that leads with a lot of bravado, which can be an affront sometimes. But also he&#8217;s funny,&#8221; Quinn explained. &#8220;Myself and [Marvel Studios boss] Kevin [Feige] were speaking about previous iterations of him and where we are culturally. He was branded as this womanizing, devil-may-care guy, but is that sexy these days? I don&#8217;t think so. This version of Johnny is less callous with other people&#8217;s feelings, and hopefully there&#8217;s a self-awareness about what&#8217;s driving that attention-seeking behavior.&#8221;
The foursome — which also includes Pedro Pascal&#8217;s Mr. Fantastic and Ebon Moss-Bacharach&#8217;s Thing — are expected to reprise their roles in 2026&#8217;s &#8220;Avengers: Doomsday.&#8221;

The Cast of Fantastic Four Trailer Launch at the US Space & Rocket Center

‘Fantastic Four’ Stars Are Gearing Up To Pull A ‘Snow White’ On Disney’s MCU

'Fantastic Four' Stars Are Gearing Up To Pull A 'Snow White' On Disney's MCU

Comic Books

Marvel

Politics

Superheroes

Video games pose a very real threat to Hollywood’s box office hopes.
Modern games are more interactive and snazzier than their predecessors, digitally enslaving Gen Z in the process. “Netflix and Chill” doesn’t come close.
Studios surveyed the landscape and said, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Or, in this case, leverage their IPs for serious coin.
“A Minecraft Movie” earned a <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/box-office/minecraft-movie-box-office-success-blockbuster-1236361148/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whopping $313 million</a> across the globe in its opening weekend, pumping life into 2025’s sad theatrical start.
<div id="attachment_906797" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906797" class="size-large wp-image-906797" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585-864x576.jpg" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 30: (L to R) Sebastian Hansen, Jennifer Coolidge, Jack Black and Jason Momoa attend the World Premiere of &quot;A Minecraft Movie&quot; at Cineworld Leicester Square on March 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/WireImage)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/WireImage</div>
The smash comes on the heels of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, the burgeoning “Five Nights at Freddy’s” franchise, 2023’s “Super Mario Bros.” animated reboot and 2022’s “Uncharted” with Tom Holland. Let’s not forget 2021’s “Free Guy” with Ryan Reynolds as a lovable NPC (non-player character). The latter wasn’t based on any one video game but sprang from a sensibility gamers understood.
We’ve come a long way from wobbly video game adaptations like “Super Mario Bros.” (1993), “Max Payne” (2008) and “Alone in the Dark” (2005).
What changed? Studios started taking the source material seriously, expending big budgets to recreate the look and feel of the games in question. It helps that CGI advancements make it all possible, visually speaking. The sight of John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins fleeing rubbery dinosaurs in 1993’s “Super Mario Bros.” still makes us wince.
Studios have hired A-listers like Jack Black, Jim Carrey, Mark Wahlberg and Chris Pratt to bring video games to stunning life.
They also didn’t make them woke or forget the core audience in question – boys and young men. Disney spent years transforming the “Star Wars” saga into a feminist-friendly franchise with shows like “The Acolyte.”
How did that work out again?
<div id="attachment_906779" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906779" class="size-large wp-image-906779" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-1024x576.jpg" alt="Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Sebastian Hansen in ‘A Minecraft Movie’. Photo by Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. IMDB." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-2048x1153.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. IMDB.</div>
It’s notable that “A Minecraft Movie” features two key female characters and gives them little to do. The film’s creative team checked those Identity Politics boxes but neglected to give the stars any sense of agency.
Still, the film’s cast and crew didn’t leave longtime fans behind. The new video game movies efficiently work elements of the games into the on-screen adventures. Those blocky swords in “A Minecraft Movie” are just one of many familiar sights for hardcore fans.
That, plus a wave of “easter eggs” make gamers feel seen. And they’re telling their friends all about it.
Black’s performance in “Minecraft” shouldn’t be overlooked. He’s like the Energizer Bunny on screen, but with even more energy. He also promoted the film without going full or even the semi-Zegler. He praised the feature as a fun, upbeat adventure that could heal a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jason-momoa-jack-black-minecraft-movie-jennifer-coolidge-1236175713/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fractured nation</a>.
<blockquote>We’ve got to work together, my God. There’s so much violence and war and hatred. And that’s what I love about this movie — there’s a lot of love in it and there’s a lot of creativity. There is some anger and violence too, but in the end it’s about friendship and working together to make [the world] a better place.</blockquote>
Black has been a vocal Obama supporter in the past, even shooting a video to support the Democrat’s Iran policies – which haven’t aged well, to say the least.
He hasn’t been as loud about the political scene in recent years. He even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blindsided-jack-black-axes-tour-after-bandmate-cheers-trump-assassination-attempt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">temporarily shelved his Tenacious D band</a> when fellow rocker Kyle Gass wished for President Donald Trump’s assassination on stage.
<div id="attachment_906787" style="width: 859px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906787" class="size-large wp-image-906787" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384-849x576.jpg" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 30: Jack Black attends the World Premiere of &quot;A Minecraft Movie&quot; at the Cineworld Leicester Square on March 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures)" width="849" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384-849x576.jpg 849w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384-300x204.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384-768x521.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 849px) 100vw, 849px" />Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures</div>
Carrey similarly <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-industry-news-february-23-2021-1945969" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stopped his barrage of hard-Left, anti-GOP paintings</a> in recent years. Meanwhile, Reynolds and Pratt are known for their upbeat, mostly apolitical personas.
Not every recent video game movie snagged “Minecraft”-sized numbers. Last year’s “Borderlands” debacle got ignored by gamers and torched by film critics.
The smart 2023 drama “Grand Turismo” offered a novel way to bring the driving game to the big screen, but audiences didn’t bite in “Minecraft”-sized numbers ($44 million US).
Still, the recent hits have given Hollywood exactly what it needs – young movie goers eager to share their thoughts on social media. “A Minecraft Movie” became a meme sensation in real time, with users producing “Chicken Jockey” gags on TikTok and elsewhere.
If you have to ask, you either never played the game or don’t have children under the age of 16.
Those memes made “Minecraft” an “event,” much like the 2023 “Barbie” movie. Women gathered their friends together to see the film wearing their best, “Barbie”-like outfits.
Now, teens are devouring “Minecraft” movie memes and celebrating them in theaters en masse. That’s exactly what studios love to see, even if some young fans are getting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teen-boys-trashing-theaters-causing-mayhem-at-a-minecraft-movie-showings?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=Entertainment&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Teen+Boys+Trashing+Theaters%2C+Causing+Mayhem+At+%E2%80%98A+Minecraft+Movie%E2%80%99+Showings">carried away with their exuberance</a>. Those viral clips, ironically, will only build on the film’s popularity.
<div id="attachment_906791" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906791" class="size-large wp-image-906791" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332-864x576.jpg" alt="THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON -- Episode 2117 -- Pictured: (l-r) Actor Jack Black and host Jimmy Fallon during the &quot;Minecraft Claw Machine Challenge&quot; on Monday, March 31, 2025 -- (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images</div>
There’s another factor here, one that plugs in seamlessly to the “Minecraft” ethos. Many modern video games offer a canvas for inspired young minds. “Fortnite,” for example, allows gamers to choose from any number of “skins” and weapons. Players can team with friends across the street – or the globe – to create their own adventures.
They’re not just part of the action, they’re making the games up as they go. “Minecraft” might be the ultimate example of that ethos. The pixel-friendly game demands creativity from start to finish.
Movies aren’t interactive, at least for now. Films like “A Minecraft Movie” tap into that sense of self-directed adventure, the kind that makes video game adaptations into blockbuster hits.
The only downside for Hollywood? Studios will learn the wrong lessons from “A Minecraft Movie” and we’ll suffer through a few more “Borderlands” in the coming years.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-09-PM-2616

‘A Minecraft Movie’ Smashes Box Office … And A Few Theaters

'A Minecraft Movie' Smashes Box Office ... And A Few Theaters

Gaming

Jack Black

Jason Momoa

Movie Theaters

Movies

Video Games

President Donald Trump made it clear on Thursday that he was unbothered by China&#8217;s threats to exclude American movies as part of the ongoing tariff and trade war between the United States and the communist nation.
Trump brushed the threat aside when a reporter posed the question, following days of back-and-forth retaliatory tariffs on both sides.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;China retaliated today by reducing the number of American films that can be shown there. What&#39;s your reaction to them now targeting cultural exports?&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;I&#39;ve heard of worse things.&quot; 🤣 <a href="https://t.co/zpseCdDXEX">pic.twitter.com/zpseCdDXEX</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1910388089610207360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;China retaliated today by reducing the number of American films that can be shown there. What&#8217;s your reaction to them now targeting cultural exports from the United States?&#8221; one reporter asked.
&#8220;I think I&#8217;ve heard of worse things,&#8221; Trump said with a smile, prompting laughter from around the room.
The China Film Administration announced the new position on Thursday in a statement, saying, &#8220;The wrong action of the U.S. government to abuse tariffs on China will inevitably further reduce the domestic audience’s favorability towards American films. We will follow the market rules, respect the audience’s choice, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported.&#8221;
Additional <a href="https://x.com/Variety/status/1910299585295065566" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> indicate that China could be considering even more drastic actions — with the possible implementation of a total ban on American films — if President Trump does not back down on the imposed tariffs.
The president did announce a 90-day hold on tariffs for a number of other nations amid negotiations for fairer trade policies across the board. China was not included in that 90-day hold — and will be subject to dramatically increased tariffs — because Chinese officials had opted for retaliation rather than negotiation when Trump unveiled his &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariff plan.
&#8220;Shark Tank&#8221; judge Kevin O&#8217;Leary has defended Trump&#8217;s position with regard to China, saying that if anything, Trump was taking it a little too easy on the communist country. O&#8217;Leary argued that Trump should slap a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shark-tank-judge-unloads-on-msnbc-host-over-chinese-tariffs-squeeze-chinese-heads-to-the-wall">400% tariff</a> on Chinese imports — and said that it was long past time that someone forced China to abide by the rules of fair trade.

Donald Trump

‘I’ve Heard Of Worse Things’: Trump Unbothered By China’s Plan To Cut Hollywood Access

'I've Heard Of Worse Things': Trump Unbothered By China's Plan To Cut Hollywood Access

China

Communist China

Economy

Tariffs

A writer for the 1990s show “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” says the casting decisions made at the time were a “mistake.”
&#8220;None of us are thinking stereotypes,&#8221; former &#8220;Power Rangers&#8221; head writer Tony Oliver said during the newly-released episode of the docuseries “Hollywood Demons,” which is titled &#8220;Dark Side of the Power Rangers.”
The writer mentioned how “the black character [was] the Black Ranger and the Asian character [was] the Yellow Ranger.&#8221;
Oliver said his &#8220;assistant pointed it out in a meeting one day.&#8221;
&#8220;It was such a mistake,&#8221; he added, per <a href="https://ew.com/power-rangers-writer-calls-black-and-yellow-ranger-casting-a-mistake-11710918">Entertainment Weekly</a>.
The popular kids series “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” debuted on Fox Kids in 1993. The head writer said the Black Ranger, Zack Taylor (Walter Emanuel Jones) &#8220;seemed to have the swagger of the group,&#8221; while the Yellow Ranger, Trini Kwan (Thuy Trang), was &#8220;the peaceful one, who tends to be the conscience of the group.&#8221; 
He also noted that Trang was not initially cast as the Yellow Ranger but was added after the pilot was shot and their first pick, Audri DuBois, quit the show.
Series co-creator Shuki Levi said in a 2013 <a href="https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/elijah-watson/mighty-morphin-power-rangers-interviews-behind-the-scenes">interview</a> with Complex that casting Jones and Trang in those particular roles &#8220;wasn&#8217;t intentional at all.”
The documentary also aired camcorder footage from the set showing Jones saying, “My name’s Walter Jones, I play Zack. I’m black, and I play the Black Ranger — go figure.”
“At that time, [executive producer and co-creator Haim Saban] and I were new to this country. We didn&#8217;t grow up in the same environment that exists in America with regard to skin color. We grew up in Israel, where being a black person is like being any kind of color. It&#8217;s not something we talked about all the time. It wasn&#8217;t a big issue,&#8221; Levi said at the time.
Amy Jo Johnson, who played the Pink Power Ranger, said, &#8220;Walter Jones used to crack good-humored jokes about that. I think it&#8217;s funny if it was done unintentionally by the big bosses. But really? Come on. It wouldn&#8217;t happen today.”
“If they didn’t do it, people would say, ‘Well, why didn’t they make the Black Ranger a black Ranger?’ You could get criticized either way,” actress Barbara Goodson, who played villain Rita Repulsa, told the outlet at the time. She also noted that the characters changed each season. 
“The girl who played the Yellow Ranger after Thuy wasn’t Asian, she was black. You could find something to scoff at everywhere,” Goodson said of the controversy.

Power Rangers

‘Power Rangers’ Writer Discusses ‘Mistake’ With Casting Black, Asian Stars In Series

'Power Rangers' Writer Discusses 'Mistake' With Casting Black, Asian Stars In Series

Race

To be true to yourself and stand firm on your values takes courage. I would argue that this is especially true if your values are more based in nature — and even more so the case in the world of Hollywood.
When actors and actresses rise through the ranks of Hollywood, they often conform to the woke social and political image that Hollywood has not only deemed worthy but also silently required of celebrity status. Typically, if an actor’s beliefs aren’t aligned with Hollywood’s, they’ll either be cast out of that world or not even get a starting chance to climb the ranks. But a new actor rising to stardom is defying that preset narrative. Gabriel Basso upleveled to celebrity status after starring in the hit Netflix show “The Night Agent,” and during the 2024 election, he proved he’s not going to be a carbon copy of every other celebrity in the industry.
<div id="attachment_905181" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-905181" class="size-large wp-image-905181" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 13: (L-R) Noah Centineo and Gabriel Basso attends The Recruit and The Night Agent Photo Call at The Plaza on January 13, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix</div>
Basso played JD Vance in the 2020 film “Hillbilly Elegy,” based on the book Vance wrote about his upbringing in rural Appalachia. The film was nominated for two Oscars, but this was before Vance ran as vice president. When Trump announced Vance as his running mate, everyone in Hollywood expected Basso to denounce having played Vance — but he didn’t. In fact, he <a href="https://ew.com/gabriel-basso-says-it-was-weird-to-play-cool-dude-jd-vance-8778261" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> him a “cool dude” in <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/gabriel-basso-night-agent-season-2-jd-vance-quitting-acting-1236277805/">an interview</a> with Variety after the second season of “The Night Agent” was released. Variety <a href="https://www.instagram.com/variety/p/DFGX53lvVzg/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Instagram that in their feature, “Basso opens up about starring in ‘The Night Agent,’ why he&#8217;s ‘not really a political person’ and playing JD Vance in 2020&#8217;s ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’”
Now, anytime someone says they are not political or don’t care to delve into politics, you can expect a large swath of people to swarm. Sure enough, the comments on Variety’s post proved as much, with some claiming privilege to be the key indicator as to why Basso doesn’t want to discuss politics. But connecting Basso to privilege is incredibly ironic because, as he makes quite clear in all his interviews, he intentionally avoids a privileged lifestyle. Variety writes of Basso:
<blockquote>There’s something fundamentally paleo about Basso, from his out-of-another-era firm handshake to his not carrying a cellphone. (His publicist and I text one another to triangulate his location as he arrives.) “I’m a medieval peasant,” he says. “I reject what I see in society. If a guy was to come into my village and peddle these black mirrors that everyone stares into all day, I’m trying to get this guy out of my village.”</blockquote>
Variety paints Basso as a very different kind of guy, honing in on what they seem to view as out-of-fashion characteristics. The interview reads as though a firm handshake is of a past time and maintaining eye contact is bizarrely uncommon. But these are just basic manners — a few of the exact ones my dad taught me growing up — yet Variety repeatedly mentions Basso’s eye contact and makes him seem like he’s some kind of anomaly.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-comments-section-with-reagan-conrad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Comments Section with Reagan Conrad</a></h3>
What is anomalous is Basso’s commentary; he’s saying what no other actor is saying. Take, for example, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubf19RcB8yw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> he did with Good Morning America earlier this year. In it, Lara Spencer praised “The Night Agent” as an amazing, addictive show, drawing in staggering numbers of viewers. 
Then, she asked Basso, “What do you think it is about your character, Peter, and the premise of the show that has caught on like this?” 
And Basso responded, “An inherent distrust for government.” 
An audible gasp ripped through the studio. That’s certainly not a statement you hear out of Hollywood, but it’s definitely a statement we all can relate to. With answers like that, he maintains a public-facing apolitical presence. While I don’t actually think he is apolitical, I do know he despises when actors talk as though they are experts in the political field, which he has made clear in other interviews. When Jamie Laing of Great Company <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/great-company-with-jamie-laing/id1735702250" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> Basso about his fame, he said:
<blockquote>I don’t believe that actors should be famous. We’re saying words that we’re told to say, we’re told how to say them, we’re told where to stand, and then we’re telling people how to vote? You should be quiet, you should do your job, you should be a jester, entertain people, then shut the f*** up. You know, we’re the court jesters. We’re there to perform a job, to entertain, and then all the sudden the jester, because he’s in the court room starts to be like, ‘I might want to go sit on the throne.’</blockquote>
He acknowledges the role of an actor and follows that up by acknowledging what evolves with celebrity status: The court jesters suddenly have the power of a king, and that shouldn’t be the case. He’s kept this same energy going on social media, like when he called out Instagram on his story for offering “overpaid actors” ways to “farm” their “audience for money” to then “morally lecture them about donating to causes that you are told to care about.” Then, he told people to buy seeds, chickens, or absolutely anything else. Last week, he deleted his Instagram entirely, a move he made in the middle of the most fame he’s ever experienced in his life.
<div id="attachment_905169" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-905169" class="size-large wp-image-905169" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-864x576.jpg" alt="THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON -- Episode 2078 -- Pictured: (l-r) Actor Gabriel Basso during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 -- (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images</div>
When he went on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@fallontonight/video/7460168448124095790?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Late Night</a>, he couldn’t have seemed less unimpressed by the fact he was sitting in the chair next to Jimmy Fallon. Fallon asked him about doing his own stunts, giving Basso a perfect opportunity to talk openly about his talents. (Let’s be real: It’s objectively cool he doesn’t have a stunt double.) Instead, Basso turned the answer to be about the audience, saying, “I enjoy acting. I don’t like lying. There’s just a difference. And for the sake of audience immersion, for the sake of believability, they like Peter, to watch him take hits, is important.” It’s a simple premise, but it caught Fallon totally off guard. That’s obviously not the kind of answer he’s used to getting from the seat reserved for actors who normally take every opportunity to boast about themselves. But that’s clearly not what Basso’s about. Much of the art of acting is being able to pretend and to deceive, and Basso likes acting, but he doesn’t want to lie if he doesn’t have to. It’s such a refreshing take.
Even though “The Night Agent” soared to number one on Netflix, Basso still thinks it’s important to have a day job. He shared with the hosts of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05XkWKJKoVw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This Morning</a> that he has his DSWA walling license (as in, drystack walls) because he thinks “actors are insulated from reality in a lot of ways” — and he is intentionally choosing to actively engage in reality when we all know he really doesn’t have to. He’s been an actor since childhood, so he’s going out of his way to get these side jobs as his fame is increasing. He told This Morning, “There is something that I think is wrong in today’s day and age where I can retire at 30 years old. I don’t think I should be able to. I think that it’s my responsibility to work, as a man. You know, you get a trade, you become self-sufficient, and it feels wrong to go through life with people getting me water. It feels wrong. I’ll do that when I’m old and can’t get up from the couch.” Again, it’s just refreshing to see an actor who believes that as an actor, his place in society is to act — nothing more. That is why he sees the value in serving his community in other ways, not the value in just being served.
Basso is one of the exceptionally few actors whose mind has broken out of the Hollywood matrix, or perhaps it was never drawn into it in the first place. He will, of course, get pushback from people who want the jesters to entertain and tell us peasants what we should believe. But plenty of people are picking up on it and <a href="https://x.com/friedman_yitz/status/1891935051761303894" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appreciating</a> what Basso is doing — me being one. Americans at large are loving his takes, and I would love to see more of this same behavior from other actors. He appreciates the art of acting, but he isn’t obsessed with the popularity that comes with success. That’s precisely why I hope he has 10 times more success in the future and can serve as a lesson to Hollywood to bring more people like him into the industry.

The Kelly Clarkson Show – Season 6

The Star Of ‘Night Agent’ Offers A Glimmer Of Hope In Hollywood

The Star Of 'Night Agent' Offers A Glimmer Of Hope In Hollywood

actors

JD Vance

Netflix

Reagan Conrad

If there’s one thing that puts me in a worse mood than politics, it’s Hollywood, which never fails to disappoint in its stupidity and its arrogance.
I watched the new preview for “Superman” from director James Gunn. As you may know, I’m not a huge James Gunn fan. His work on &#8220;Guardians of the Galaxy” is fine, when he engages in ridiculous, gonzo humor. But elsewhere?
Back in the day, Gunn’s old jokey and ugly tweets were resurfaced. Based on those old tweets, he was actually fired by Marvel. I publicly supported the idea that he should be rehired because people shouldn&#8217;t be canceled based on jokes they made back when Twitter was a jokier platform.
But now he&#8217;s directing the new “Superman” movie and the preview sucks. It&#8217;s bad. It’s terrible.
In the preview, Superman is wounded and lying on the snow, then whistles for Krypto, the Superdog, who arrives and then proceeds to beat the living hell out of him for over a minute. He&#8217;s screaming in pain as Krypto jumps on him and continues to fight him.
I don&#8217;t see the purpose of this; it’s not dramatic. It&#8217;s just silly and ridiculous.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2173-fallout-stock-market-drops-trump-pushes-on-member-exclusive?row=2&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Finally, Krypto figures out that he needs to take Superman back to the Fortress of Solitude. Every James Gunn joke is a Monty Python gag that lasts three times too long. So now Krypto is dragging Superman&#8217;s prone body through the snow back toward the Fortress of Solitude, which arises from the Arctic. And it&#8217;s a cool-looking Fortress of Solitude.
But don&#8217;t worry, it gets worse.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Superman | Sneak Peek" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xFU8U4UVUBs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Once Superman is brought inside, a team of robots, presumably of Kryptonian origin, starts to handle him and then they have one of the most nonsensical exchanges in any James Gunn movie. They say robots have no feelings, and then the female robot starts giggling like a little girl.
The entire attitude is wrong. The gold standard for a “Superman” movie remains the original “Superman” from 1978, by far the best “Superman” movie. It was significantly better than “Man of Steel” because it understood in the first half that there&#8217;s a solemnity to Superman, that he is supposed to be the embodiment of America, and then the second half of the movie shifted into a more comic-book, humorous mode. The color palette was very rich and very bright.
In “Man of Steel,” they basically desaturated the entire film so the entire color palette was grayscale and kind of ugly and dark and the entire character of Superman was much darker.
The attitude of the preview is totally wrong. It&#8217;s just “Guardians of the Galaxy” in a Superman suit, and it ticks me off, it really does. As a lifelong fan of the Superman brand, it&#8217;s not that hard to get Superman right. He&#8217;s supposed to be the embodiment of everything cool and heroic about America. And of course, he&#8217;s supposed to be charming as well. That&#8217;s the whole shtick.
So you don&#8217;t need full-scale James Gunn. He makes Superman the same as Chris Pratt&#8217;s character in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and all the jokes are the same as the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies. It&#8217;s silly and stupid and bad. Two thumbs down.
Then I discovered that for Greta Gerwig&#8217;s Netflix adaptation of “The Magician&#8217;s Nephew” — the first book in C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series — the person who they are thinking about casting as the voice for the lion Aslan — who is obviously a metaphor for Jesus — is Meryl Streep.
This makes no sense at all on a character level. On a metaphorical level, it&#8217;s one of the dumbest things you could possibly do. If you want to alienate the entire C.S. Lewis audience, this is exactly what you should do. Meanwhile, Charli XCX is apparently in talks for the role of the White Witch.
Why are they doing this??
Just adapt the story straight. It&#8217;s not that difficult. It’s a great book. Adapt it straight.
This is the same as that ridiculous suggestion a while back that Cynthia Erivo was going to be cast in “Jesus Christ Superstar” as Jesus.
Stop with this stuff. Stop it. Just stop. It&#8217;s stupid and it&#8217;s insulting and it&#8217;s gross and you would never do this with any other religion. You wouldn&#8217;t.
It&#8217;s ridiculous and annoying and demonstrative of how Hollywood spits on people who don&#8217;t believe the things they believe, and then takes classic intellectual property from those spaces and uses it against them.

CinemaCon 2025 – Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation – Inside

Superman, Jesus, And Hollywood Stupidity

DC Studios

James Gunn

Opinion

Superman

Woke Culture

There are reports that actress Meryl Streep is one of the names being floated to portray the character of Aslan in Netflix’s adaptation of the classic “Chronicles of Narnia” series.
“Barbie” director Greta Gerwig has already been announced as both writer and director for the project. The streaming service announced in 2018 that they had acquired the rights to all seven books of the series. They are reportedly beginning with the first in the C.S. Lewis series, “The Magician’s Nephew.”
In the novels, Aslan is a talking lion who serves as Narnia’s guardian and a guide for the human children. The character is a male and is considered an allegory for Jesus Christ.
Deadline <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/04/meryl-streep-aslan-greta-gerwig-netflix-narnia-movie-1236358278/">confirmed</a> with their sources that the Oscar-winning actress was a contender to take on the role in the Netflix update. This led to a lot of strong reactions online.
“They’re destroying Narnia on purpose,” one person observed.
Another agreed, <a href="https://x.com/1000HolyPlaces/status/1907863824830738826">writing</a> on X, “Aslan is a representation of Christ — he’s male. Hollywood truly despises Christians.”
“No. Aslan is what the character is,” echoed another. “Gender swapping makes the character a different character. Stop demeaning women by treating them as men.”
“Aslan is not ‘generally portrayed’ as a male,” another reaction <a href="https://x.com/arch_aer/status/1907852887432085968">noted</a>. “He is a male.”
One person reacted by saying,“Very predictable Hollywood behavior.”
Another echoed that sentiment, writing, “Hollywood&#8217;s insistence on endless narrative/cultural subversion is simple yet baffling self-destruction.”
Someone else predicted that the “Narnia” films would flop as hard as Disney’s recent disaster, “Snow White.”
“Snow White wasn&#8217;t a big enough loss. The entertainment industry wants to lose bigger by offending the only people who might have been really excited about this production,” another reaction <a href="https://x.com/NMTimMcGrew/status/1907925526091841921">said</a>.
The Daily Wire’s Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro also gave his <a href="https://x.com/benshapiro/status/1907920976735773089">take</a>, expressing his disdain with a single word, “Noooooooooope.”
Deadline previously reported that recording artist Charli XCX was in talks for the role of the white witch and Daniel Craig was also in talks to be involved. They noted that shooting for the first “Narnia” film from Netflix is slated to begin later this year.

Meryl Streep

‘Narnia’ Fans React To Rumors That Meryl Streep Might Portray Aslan: ‘Baffling Self-Destruction’

'Narnia' Fans React To Rumors That Meryl Streep Might Portray Aslan: 'Baffling Self-Destruction'

C.S. Lewis

Actor George Clooney was reportedly livid after &#8220;Morning Joe&#8221; host Mika Brzezinski suggested on live television that former President Barack Obama was pulling the &#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Eleven&#8221; star&#8217;s strings.
Biden biographer Chris Whipple revealed details of the heated conversation — between Clooney and an unnamed MSNBC producer — in his upcoming book about the 2024 presidential campaign, &#8220;Unchartered: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History.&#8221;
The exchange began with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/george-clooney-joins-chorus-of-stars-telling-biden-its-time-to-drop-out-of-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clooney&#8217;s shock op-ed</a> after he attended a Hollywood fundraiser for former President Joe Biden, who was still running for re-election at the time. Clooney led with the fact that he considered Biden a friend — but then made it clear he believed it was time for him to step aside and bow out of the race.
&#8220;The one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can,” Clooney wrote at the time. “It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal‘ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/morning-joe-biden-team-says-obama-pushed-george-clooney-to-turn-on-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brzezinski</a> was on the air the next morning and argued that it &#8220;wasn&#8217;t George Clooney&#8221; behind the op-ed.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Mika Brzezinski says &quot;there&#39;s a lot there&quot; to theory that Obama is behind Clooney op-ed.
READ: <a href="https://t.co/49gtAiKvjv">https://t.co/49gtAiKvjv</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MikaBrzezinski?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MikaBrzezinski</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Obama?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Obama</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/georgeclooney?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#georgeclooney</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JoeBiden?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JoeBiden</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Democrats?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Democrats</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Election2024?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Election2024</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/explorepage?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#explorepage</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/trending?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#trending</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/viral?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#viral</a> <a href="https://t.co/6XDdRhhAsz">pic.twitter.com/6XDdRhhAsz</a>
&mdash; Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) <a href="https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1811411372854653219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;This wasn’t George Clooney,&#8221; Brzezinski declared. &#8220;It just wasn&#8217;t &#8230; I think that Barack Obama has a lot of influence, and I think that there’s, there’s a lot there.&#8221;
Clooney, according to Whipple&#8217;s upcoming tome, was incensed. He reportedly called one of the &#8220;Morning Joe&#8221; producers and gave him an earful, asking, &#8220;How the f*** could you let her link me with Barack Obama saying he made me write the op-ed?&#8221;
&#8220;You f***ed me… You’re my friend. You should have stood up for me,&#8221; Clooney continued, even as the producer pointed out he had nothing to do with Brzezinski&#8217;s comments, according to Whipple.
&#8220;George, this is not a f***ing movie,&#8221; the producer reportedly said. &#8220;There’s no script. It’s just not a movie where you go script page to script page.&#8221;

George Clooney

George Clooney Unloads On Producer After ‘Morning Joe’ Host Claimed Obama Pulled His Strings: Report

George Clooney Unloads On MSNBC Producer After 'Morning Joe' Host Claims Obama Pulled His Strings

2024 Elections

Barack Obama

Joe Biden

Media

Mika Brzezinski

Morning Joe

MSNBC

Tom Hanks’ daughter, E.A. Hanks, short for Elizabeth Anne, has written a memoir about taking a road trip to connect with her mother’s family and learn more about her. The 42-year-old recently released an excerpt from her new book, “The 10: A Memoir of Family And The Open Road.”
The author talks about the difficult time she had growing up the daughter of Samantha Lewes, who she speculates had multiple mental disorders. Lewes (whose birth name is Susan Dillingham) and the “Forrest Gump” star were married from 1978 until 1987 after falling in love during college. E.A.&#8217;s older brother, Colin Hanks, is a Hollywood actor now.
“I am a kid from the First (non-famous) Marriage. My only memories of my parents in the same place at the same time are Colin’s high school graduation, then my high school graduation,” she said in the book excerpt shared with <a href="https://people.com/ea-hanks-childhood-book-excerpt-exclusive-11707582">People</a>. “I have one picture of me standing between my parents. In it, my mother’s best wig is slightly askew.”
The author said she was “born in Burbank” but has “few memories of the early years in Los Angeles” because her mom moved them to Sacramento after divorcing Hanks.
“Eventually a divorce agreement was settled, and I would visit my dad and stepmother (and soon enough my younger half brothers) on the weekends and during summers, but from 5 to 14, years filled with confusion, violence, deprivation, and love, I was a Sacramento girl,” she wrote of visiting with Hanks&#8217; current wife, Rita Wilson, who Hanks married in 1988.
“I lived in a white house with columns, a backyard with a pool, and a bedroom with pictures of horses plastered on every wall,” E.A. added.
The author recalled that “as the years went on,” her mother’s mental health began to decline.
“The backyard became so full of dog sh** that you couldn’t walk around it, the house stank of smoke. The fridge was bare or full of expired food more often than not, and my mother spent more and more time in her big four-poster bed, poring over the Bible,” she continued in the excerpt.
“One night, her emotional violence became physical violence, and in the aftermath, I moved to Los Angeles, right smack in the middle of the seventh grade,” E.A. wrote. She said the custody arrangement changed after that, and then, during her senior year of high school, her mom “called to say she was dying.”
Lewes died from lung cancer in 2002 at age 49 when E.A. was 19. E.A. told People she believed her mother had undiagnosed bipolar disorder with episodes of extreme paranoia and delusion.

Tom Hanks Elizabeth Hanks

Tom Hanks’ Daughter Discusses Childhood ‘Violence’ In New Memoir

Tom Hanks' Daughter Discusses Childhood 'Violence' In New Memoir

Tom Hanks

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