Fugees rapper's case that crossed Hollywood, DC goes to jury
The case against a Fugees rapper accused in multimillion-dollar political conspiracies across two presidencies wound down with closing arguments Thursday that capped off a trial with testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Blanchett, del Toro on the femme fatale of 'Nightmare Alley'
With a touch of Barbara Stanwyck, a sumptuous Art Deco office and a deadly shade of crimson lipstick, Cate Blanchett plays a femme fatale in Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” with cunning embrace and subversion of the film noir archetype.
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New this week: Foo Fighters, 'Malcolm & Marie' and Snoopy
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. Directed by Goro Miyazaki (Hayao Miyazaki’s son), “Earwig” follows a 10-year-old orphan girl who gets some unconventional adoptive parents. — AP Film Writer Lindsey BahrMUSIC— Foo Fighters’ 10th album was originally supposed to be released last year but was one of many projects delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fela’s son and grandson, Femi Kuti and Made Kuti, will release a double album called “Legacy +” on Friday. Ad— “Peanuts” puppy Snoopy gets top billing in “The Snoopy Show,” an Apple TV+ animated series debuting Friday on the streaming service.
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SAG Awards moves air date to avoid conflict with Grammys
The SAG Awards announced Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, that the 27th annual ceremony has been moved to April 4. The awards had been originally scheduled to air March 14, but shifted to a different date to avoid conflict with the Grammys. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)LOS ANGELES – The Screen Actors Guild Awards will not share the same air date as the Grammys after all. Both awards events were scheduled to air March 14, but the SAG Awards shifted to a different date to avoid conflict with the Grammys. The SAG Awards will air on TNT and TBS at 9 p.m. EST.
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Despite bleak 2020, celebrities make effort to brighten year
(AP Photo)LOS ANGELES – Yes, 2020 may seem like a complete fail with all the constant bad news and tragic moments. It’s been filled with gloom and doom(scrolling), but some celebrities and those inspired by them have tried to brighten a bleak year. He reassigned his 10 seamstresses in New York to produce thousands daily for health care workers on the frontlines. The singer and husband Emilio Estefan's restaurant Estefan Kitchen served up homemade meals for health care workers in Miami. The challenge coordinated offers by celebrities and athletes to raise funds to feed those in need during the pandemic.
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Tarantino has deal for 2 books on films, including 1 his own
The Oscar-winning director has a two-book deal with Harper, beginning with a novelization of “Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood” was released in 2019 and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as an actor and Brad Pitt as his stunt double. “In the ‘70s movie novelizations were the first adult books I grew up reading," Tarantino said in a statement Tuesday. “I see myself writing film books and starting to write theater, so I’ll still be creative. I just think I’ve given all I have to give to movies.”_____AP Film Writer Jake Coyle contributed to this report.
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Celebs join Instagram 'freeze' to protest Facebook inaction
FILE - This Friday, Aug. 23, 2019 file photo shows the Instagram app icon on the screen of a mobile device in New York. Celebrities including Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio are taking part in a 24-hour freeze Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020 on Instagram to protest against the failure of the social media platform's parent company, Facebook, to tackle misinformation and hateful content. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
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Celebs join Instagram 'freeze' to protest Facebook inaction
FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 file photo, Kim Kardashian West speaks at the "Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project" panel during the Oxygen TCA 2020 Winter Press Tour at the Langham Huntington, in Pasadena, Calif. Celebrities including Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio are taking part in a 24-hour freeze Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020 on Instagram to protest against the failure of the social media platform's parent company, Facebook, to tackle misinformation and hateful content. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)LONDON – Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio are among celebrities taking part in a 24-hour Instagram “freeze” on Wednesday to protest against what they say is parent company Facebook's failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation. The movement asks people to put up a message highlighting what they called the damage Facebook does but otherwise refrain from posting on Instagram for a day. With 188 million followers, Kardashian West is one of the most influential people on Instagram and support from her and other big names for the boycott saw Facebook shares slide in aftermarket trading late Tuesday.
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Israeli top model Bar Refaeli convicted of tax evasion
Israeli top model Bar Refaeli wears a face mask as she arrives to a court, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, July 20, 2020. Refaeli signed a plea bargain agreement with authorities to settle a long-standing tax evasion case against her and her family. The deal will require Refaeli to serve nine months of community service while her mother, Zipi, will be sent to prison for 16 months. The two are also ordered to pay a $1.5 million fine on top of millions of back taxes owed to the state. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, Pool)

Los Angeles Chargers not moving to London, owner tells LA Times
This season the Los Angeles Chargers play at Dignity Health Sports Park, as a new dual-team stadium to be shared with the Los Angeles Rams is under construction. LOS ANGELES - The Chargers moved to Los Angeles from San Diego before the 2017 NFL season. Dean Spanos told a Los Angeles Times reporter the report is "a lot of crap." (expletive) (expletive) that story. The report included a quote from Spanos, who says the team is committed to Los Angeles.

Leonardo DiCaprio praises Greta Thunberg as a 'leader of our time'
Leonardo DiCaprio attends the L.A. premiere of HBO's "Ice On Fire" at LACMA on June 5, 2019, in Los Angeles. (CNN) - Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has a lot of fans -- and Leonardo DiCaprio is one of them. Like Thunberg, DiCaprio is also an environmental activist. His Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation " supports projects around the world that build climate resiliency, protect vulnerable wildlife and restore balance to threatened ecosystems and communities." "I hope that Greta's message is a wake-up call to world leaders everywhere that the time for inaction is over," DiCaprio said.

Leonardo DiCaprio's fund pledges $5 million in aid amid Amazon fires
Leonardo DiCaprio attends the L.A. premiere of HBO's "Ice On Fire" at LACMA on June 5, 2019, in Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES - Earth Alliance, a new environmental organization created by Leonardo DiCaprio and his philanthropic friends, Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth, has pledged $5 million to help preserve the Amazon rainforest. Fires have surged in the Amazon this year -- the world's largest rainforest is burning at its highest rate since 2013 -- and Brazil's National Institute for Space Research says more than one-and-a-half soccer fields of Amazon rainforest are being destroyed every minute of every day. They are: Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida (Kayapo), Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Instituto Kabu (Kayapo), Instituto Raoni (Kayapo) and Instituto Socioambiental (ISA). The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) merged with Earth Alliance last month to "help address the urgent threats to our planet's life support systems."

Madonna, Leo DiCaprio among celebs speaking out about Amazon fires
CNN Video(CNN) - Huge fires have been blazing through the Brazilian rainforest this week, with more than half in the Amazon region. A growing number of high-profile celebrities are among those speaking out about the potential global catastrophe. "President Bolsonaro please change your policies and help not only your country but the entire planet," said American singer Madonna in an Instagram post. "The Amazon Rainforest produces more than 20% of the world's oxygen and its been burning for the past 3 weeks. Brazil's space research center (INPE) said this week that the number of fires in Brazil are 80% higher than last year.

Tarantino, cast capture 1960s Hollywood in 'Once Upon a Time'
Now, after a nearly four year absence, Tarantino is back with a movie that looks at a particularly colorful time in Hollywood -- the late 1960s. He has one particularly wonderful scene opposite 12-year-old Julia Butters (from "American Housewife") as a no-nonsense child actress who takes her craft very seriously. Co-starring as Dalton's best friend, driver and confidant is another Tarantino alumnus -- Brad Pitt from "Inglourious Basterds." Andrew Cooper/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Quentin Tarantino directs Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." Tarantino and his cast have delivered with a movie that really captures the look and feel of the late 1960s and, although at 160 minutes the film is a bit long, it's still a very entertaining and worthwhile experience.

On this day: November 11
1974: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, an Oscar-winner for his performance in "The Revenant," is born in Los Angeles. DiCaprio has also been nominated for Oscars for "The Wolf of Wall Steet," "Blood Diamond," "The Aviator" and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," and is also known for movies such as "Romeo + Juliet," "Titanic," "Gangs of New York," "Catch Me If You Can," "The Departed," "Inception" and "The Great Gatsby." Hide Caption