SHOW BIZ

HE has been linked to Rihanna, J-Lo and Kylie Jenner, but I can reveal that Drake secretly wooed OnlyFans star Lily Phillips.

The Canadian rapper slid into the adult entertainer’s DMs and invited her out for dinner when he performed in Birmingham in July last year.

Lily, who owns a sprawling £1.1million mansion in Cheshire, was bowled over by the star hiring a whole Italian restaurant for the pair of them to dine alone.

A US source close to the rapper said: “Drake first met Lily at a party, when they were introduced by mutual friends, and he was completely struck by her.

“He was asking her lots of questions about herself and really showed an interest in her. He’s a global megastar, so Lily was quite taken aback and she couldn’t believe how nice he was.

“He really wanted to make sure she had a great time.

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“Then he slid into her Instagram DMs to invite her to his gig at the Utilita Arena in his special VIP area.

“After the gig, he surprised her by hiring out an entire Italian restaurant so he could wine and dine her. He went all out to impress her and it was really romantic.

“They went back to his hotel to continue the party, and have continued texting each other since.”

Lily, who appears in Olivia Attwood’s latest series of Getting Filthy Rich on ITV2, revealed she made £800,000 in a month after filming herself sleeping with 100 men in a single day.

She has usually dated other adult performers since starting her OnlyFans career.

Talk about Hotline Bling . . . 

Will J-Law scoop a Bafta or end up pig sick just like her mum?

JENNIFER LAWRENCE is set to bump into ex Nicholas Hoult at next month’s Baftas.

And they could reminisce about the time Jen’s mum got a nasty infection after kissing a pig in the company of her British X-Men co-star.

Jen told the SmartLess podcast: “I brought a British boyfriend home and, in celebration, they roasted a pig on a spit.

“My boyfriend was very fancy and didn’t want to eat it but was being polite. My mum was like, ‘When I saw that naked pig, I couldn’t help myself so I leaned right in and gave it a kiss, and won’t you know it, two weeks later I got ringworm’.”

Jen is being tipped for Best Actress for Die My Love ­– but recently said she now sees herself as a “stay-at-home mum” rather than an actress after having two kids.

Hopefully she swerves smooching bacon.

DENISE VAN OUTEN has revealed she saw Jessie Buckley’s promise straight away when the Oscar favourite appeared on I’d Do Anything in 2008.

Denise was a judge on the BBC talent show alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber.

She said: “We always knew she’d be a big star – we spotted it in her immediately. She’s one of the best actresses in the world.”

Jessie came second and has said she was “brutalised” by the intensity of the series.

Denise who was one of Jessie’s mentors, said of the contestants: “I felt a sense of responsibility for them all at the time.

“I was older than them and they were just kids.”

ACTING’S IN THE JEANS, BELLA

SUPERMODEL Bella Hadid looks dandy in denim for a Miss Sixty fashion shoot.

The fashionista revealed last week that she would like to do more acting after appearing in Ryan Murphy’s new TV series The Beauty.

Bella said: “I would love to keep continuing acting after this. This is a dream of mine.

“I’ve brought my art side and my creativity to modelling but, at the end of the day, I love being able to move, and I love film and acting in general.

“I love actors because they can be different characters for so many different people.”

Bella’s definitely got enough contacts in the industry – her sister Gigi is dating Bradley Cooper.

I’m sure he would put a good word in for her.

Heidi: I don’t see my ’babes

HEIDI RANGE has revealed she doesn’t keep in touch with her ex-Sugababes bandmates – and has no idea where they live.

The singer performed in three of the girl band’s four line-ups, alongside Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen.

Heidi said: “We don’t keep in touch but if we see each other we will chat and catch up. I don’t know where they all live now. I don’t miss those days.”

Speaking at the premiere of Cirque du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall, she added: “I was in the band for 11 years and it was incredible, but I love this stage of my life.

“I miss singing but I don’t want to be on the road. I want to be home with my kids. I want to pick them up from school and put them to bed.”

CIRQUE du Soleil had the audience buzzing on Wednesday night as their annual London residency returned bigger, bolder and brighter.

The joyous opening night at the Royal Albert Hall had an insect theme, with performers transforming into bees, dragonflies, grasshoppers and spiders.

From acrobats to contortionists, fans were whisked off to a magical world of nature – a welcome escape from the January rain and gloom.

Celeb guests including Queen legend Brian May, supermodel Jodie Kidd singer Becky Hill and Strictly’s Janette Manrara and Nadiya Bychkova posed on the red carpet before sipping bubbles in the VIP area.

Olivia Dean was seen in the crowd ahead of her upcoming Brit Awards performance.

Such star power shows this return was truly the bee’s knees.

ROB APPY TO CHAT TO TOM

HE may have refused to perform in the Strictly Come Dancing finale amid rumours he planned to sue the BBC over being voted off, but Thomas Skinner is still in the 2025 contestant WhatsApp group.

Former rugby ace Chris Robshaw who took part in the show alongside The Apprentice star Tom revealed: “Thomas hasn’t left – he is still there. We all keep in touch. Thomas is a nice guy. We shared a dressing room. From what I’ve met of him, he was decent. We got on fine.

“I don’t think he feels too hard done by with Strictly.

“The great thing about the show is that you are put in touch with people you would never normally meet.”

Chris shed the pounds during the show, which saw him partnered with pro dancer Nadiya Bychkova.

He said: “I lost 4kg and it was the best I have felt in a long time.

“It’s the most energised I have felt in a really long time. I really miss the training.”

Chris also hinted that he could be launching his own podcast later this year, adding: “I’ve got a project in the podcast space, but it’s too early to say any more.”

I fear the cat is already out of the bag . . . 

KYLIE LOOKS SEW RETRO

KYLIE MINOGUE will have fans hooked as she oozes subtle sex appeal in this white crocheted dress.

The singer posed for Northern Irish designer JW Anderson’s new fashion campaign, while actors Daryl McCormack and Ruth Wilson were also models.

Kylie’s look matches her liking for retro styles. She has said previously: “I miss almost everything about the 1990s.

“There were no phones, dance music was going nuts and I was in it and among it, going to the clubs, going to fashion shows, pounding the pavement, going to markets.

“I wasn’t wasting time scrolling on socials or dealing with, like, adulting.

“So there’s a lot I miss. Overall, just freedom.”

What a Step Back In Time . . . 

SYDNIE’S HARRY NEW YEAR

SYDNIE CHRISTMAS has gone Instagram official with her new man.

The 2024 Britain’s Got Talent winner quietly split from fellow singer Max Rizzo last year, but has now posted a series of photos with her new bloke, Harry Woods.

The couple have visited New York and Thailand since meeting last autumn.

A source said: “Sydnie is having the time of her life. Her career is going from strength to strength and she’s in a whirlwind romance.

“Harry is really supportive of her career and loves that she is so talented.

“They’ve really enjoyed getting to know each other and making new memories. She couldn’t be happier.”

I look forward to seeing if she pens any songs about her new beau.

DAN AND CRAIG GET IN STUDIO

THEY were both titans of the UK garage scene and now Craig David and Daniel Beddingfield are going to release music together.

Gotta Get Thru This hitmaker Daniel says he’s been getting creative with Craig because most of today’s artists are rubbish. Meow.

Daniel said: “I don’t think music moves many people these days. It’s really boring.

“At the moment, you have to befriend someone that is incredible at what you do. Whatever you’re good at, they have to be as good and that’s extremely hard to find.

“Most music I’ve heard this year is mush, but Oppidan, Flava D and DJ Zinc . . .  they are making garage that sounds really fresh.”

He added: “Craig David –  we’re working on some stuff together at the moment.”

Watch this space.

What makes a perfect L.A. movie? Some kind of alchemy of curdled glamour, palm trees, ocean spray, conspiracies big and small — and more than a pinch of vanity. From hard-bitten ’40s noirs and vertiginous Hollywood rises (and falls) to the real-life poetry of neighborhood dreamers and nighttime drivers, Los Angeles is always ready for its close-up. The city has long occupied a cinematic place, straddling its gauzy past and a dark, rainy future. Go west, they said, and we came here, a site of fantasy, industry, possibility and obsession.

We asked 17 film writers — staffers, freelancers, critics and reporters — to rank their top 20 movies set in L.A. (not as easy as you think) using a balloting process that blended their painstaking choices to develop this list. Angelenos live among the actual locations in these films; we’ve noted those specific details in each write-up, so you can go out exploring. Of course we didn’t have room for every title. Let us know your favorites, the ones you carry with you. — Joshua Rothkopf, film editor

In 1911, a Broadway playwright wrote a snarky letter about a teenage actor who had recently train-tripped from New York to Los Angeles.

“The poor kid is actually thinking of taking up moving pictures seriously,” William C. deMille scribbled to his theater colleague, David Belasco. “So I suppose we’ll have to say goodbye to little Mary Pickford. She’ll never be heard of again.”

That gossip set the tone for the story of Hollywood: adventure, pathos, arrogance, comedy and a dramatic twist ending. Mary Pickford became the most famous face in the world and William and his family quickly followed her west where, in 1914, his little brother Cecil directed the town’s first full-length movie, “The Squaw Man.”

Since then, Los Angeles has produced who knows how many films. No one seems to have counted them. The most reasonable guesses I can find estimate the tally to be around 30,000 features, a number that sounds small for the psychological real estate that Hollywood occupies in the mind of its global audience. Back-of-the-envelope math calculates you could watch all of them in a little over five years — assuming you never slept.

From their ranks, we’ve chosen the 101 L.A.-set movies that best represent this city and its inhabitants: actors, scamps, cops, crooks, singers, strivers, slackers and even cyborgs.

In a fitting irony, “The Squaw Man” itself doesn’t count because Cecil imagined it took place on the plains. But the barn he used as a studio still stands on Highland Avenue — it’s now the Hollywood Heritage Museum. If you’ve been here at all, you’ve certainly driven past it on your way from Mulholland Drive to Sunset Boulevard and Chinatown, a tour that references three titles that stand tall on our list, even if the plots themselves don’t make us look pretty.

Part of what defines a Los Angeles movie is our city’s willingness to turn the camera on itself, to prioritize a riveting tale over our own reputation. We’re eager to share our saga with the world. Our glamorous and gruesome history is all there in a close-up of “Chinatown’s” Jack Nicholson: a movie star with a mutilated nose.

Intriguingly for a town that popularized the Hollywood happy ending, many of the movies we most identify with end on a downbeat note, roughly half of them. Sunshine aside, this isn’t an easy place to live and it’s getting harder. My friends and I joke that Hollywood makes movies like “Falling Down” and “Death Becomes Her,” in which traffic jams and narcissism lead directly to death, to keep more New Yorkers from flooding the place, like a Chihuahua owner posting a sign on their door that says: Beware of dog.

I arrived right after college, an Oklahoma transplant whose expectations of L.A. were, naturally, shaped by the movies. The Sunset Strip hair metal bands immortalized by Penelope Spheeris in “The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years” were long since extinct and the “Swingers” bros who ascended afterward were themselves aging out of the scene. To put an exact time stamp on it, I signed the lease of my first apartment in Little Armenia because the bowling alley from “The Big Lebowski” was only two blocks away. A month later, it closed. (Luckily, I did get to go once.)

Driving west, I’d steeled myself for two classic L.A. clichés: seismic earthquakes and shallow people. Instead, I was thrilled to discover a city full of fascinating characters and so many yet-to-be-explored corners that it will never run out of material.

Fifteen directors made our list at least twice, an eclectic group whose ranks include Amy Heckerling, David Lynch, Charles Burnett, Kathryn Bigelow, Michael Mann and Billy Wilder — the latter of whom has two films in the top 10. Each filmmaker revealed fresh layers in this soil and, upon it, built their own legacies. (Three other directors you may be able to guess earned even more than two spots.)

Storytellers — the best ones, at least — are curious by nature and in this town, no matter where they point a camera, there’s something worth seeing, from the hangout vibes of “Friday” to the erotic humidity of “Spa Night.” Sean Baker’s hyperactive “Tangerine,” shot on an iPhone at a doughnut shop on Santa Monica Boulevard, not only makes that point with gusto, it encourages you to get out and roam.

These movies are a permanent reminder that Los Angeles is a place where fiction and reality are fused. Right now, you could go get a cold soda at Bob’s Market in Angelino Heights — an ordinary joint with laundry detergent and fresh lemons on the shelves — and toast it for cameoing in three movies on our list: “L.A. Confidential,” “Nightcrawler” and, most iconically, Vin Diesel’s gasoline-powered 2001 crowdpleaser “The Fast and the Furious.”

To quote a needle drop from a title on this list, I love L.A. That Randy Newman anthem blares at the end of “Volcano” after Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche successfully divert a lava flow into the Pacific Ocean and the newly formed Mt. Wilshire exhales a sigh of relief. (Mick Jackson, who directed that disasterpiece, also helmed the aptly named Steve Martin rom-com “L.A. Story.”)

One summer shortly after I planted my own stake here, a science club hosted an outdoor screening of “Volcano” on site at the La Brea Tar Pits, nestled among the palm trees it took such pleasure in destroying. One local geologist wore a black bed sheet with orange and red foam noodles sticking out of her head — yes, she was costumed as a volcano. As the credits rolled next to the park’s mastodon sculptures, I couldn’t have agreed with Randy more.

Streaming services have been getting more expensive, and Spotify is next in line.

Starting in February, the price of ad-free individual plans will rise by $1 to $12.99 per month, the company said Thursday. The last time the price was raised was in June 2024, when premium plans were bumped from $10.99 to $11.99.

“Occasional updates to pricing across our markets reflect the value that Spotify delivers, enabling us to continue offering the best possible experience and benefit artists,” wrote the company in a release.

The higher price will take effect in the U.S., Estonia and Latvia.

This new rate comes after a hallmark week for the streaming service. Leading up to the Golden Globes, Spotify announced an expansion of its podcasting efforts. The company unveiled a new “video first” podcasting studio in Hollywood and is growing its creator program by making it easier for podcasters to make money on the platform.

The night of the awards show, the Spotify-produced podcast, Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang,” brought home the inaugural podcast award. After the ceremony, the company also premiered its first-ever video podcast, available for streaming on Netflix. Last fall, the streamers first announced the partnership between the Ringer and Netflix, which makes Spotify’s video podcasts just as accessible as Netflix’s TV shows and movies.

At the top of the year, founder Daniel Ek also moved from his CEO position to executive chairman. Spotify named two co-CEOs, Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström.

Founded in 2006, Spotify has become the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service with more than 713 million users. The streamer, based in Sweden, is available in more than 180 markets and has a library of over 100 million tracks, podcasts and audiobooks. Spotify shares were down roughly 21% early Thursday at about $508.

Spotify’s main competitor, Apple Music, currently offers a similar ad-free individual plan at $10.99 a month.

Red Panda had been axed from the first episode of The Masked Singer UK a couple of weeks ago by ITV, but following their return on Saturday night their identity may be revealed

During their debut performance on The Masked Singer on Saturday night, Red Panda may have let slip their true identity.

The character had been axed from the first episode of the ITV series earlier this month, due to “potential insensitivities”. Red Panda was edited out by producers after the New Year‘s Eve bar fire tragedy in Switzerland

After 40 people sadly lost their lives in the blaze, ITV decided to cut the performance believing the theme and lyrics may be deemed insensitive. On Saturday Red Panda took to the stage, and fans immediately shared their theories of who it could be.

Many fans were all in agreement that the character could be none other than TV star Simon Farnaby. Clues included being “up to date”, a picture of James Bond’s Roger Moore and bonbon sweets, in four bowls.

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There were also hints at working in TV, and going solo, and some hearts. As the performance came to an end, fans guessed Harry Hill was under the mask, before many changed their guess to Simon instead.

One fan said: “I can hear simon farnaby in red panda.” Another said: “Doesn’t Red Panda sound slike the voice Simon Farnaby does in Horrible Histories stuff, like in Stupid Deaths.”

A third fan posted: “Just me hearing Simon Farnaby for Red Panda?” A further fan added: “the singing voice sound like Simon Farnby”

It comes after Yak was revealed as Sex Pistols star John Lyndon in the latest unmasking last weekend. The show’s latest star took fans by surprise – with many failing to guess that it was the rock legend underneath that crooning cow.

“Nope didn’t get that lol #themaskedsinger,” one wrote on X. Another tweeted: “Would never have guessed him…” A third wrote: “Never in my life did I think I’d see Johnny Rotten singing an Olivia Newton-John song.”

The Sex Pistol singer didn’t hold back in his exit interview for the show, saying that it was “hardly” the highlight of his career. When asked whether being on the show would be a career highlight for him, he laughed: “I hardly think so. For me, I hope the fun comes across.

“Rather than going up there and doing sing along and guessing who I am straight away, I thought, show the other side of me. An absolute funstar. I’m the court jester by nature. It’s just the way it is.” As for whether he was sad to go, he said: “Certainly not. I think it’s been a privilege for you to have me.”

The Masked Singer UK airs Saturdays at 7PM on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Actor Todd Bridges and Bettijo B. Hirschi are headed separate ways after three years of marriage.

“After much prayer and reflection, my spouse and I have made the difficult decision to separate,” Bridges told The Times in a statement Thursday. “This was not an easy choice, and it comes with a heavy heart, but also with love and gratitude for the life we shared.”

Bridges, 60, and Hirschi met in January 2022 and married nine months later, after a brief engagement. It was a second marriage for both. Hirschi told Tamron Hall last year that a friend who wrote a new dating profile for her showed it to Bridges as “market research.” The friend then told Hirschi that he wanted to get in touch.

“She’s a lot like my mom,” Bridges told Hall.

“I thank God for the time we’ve had together, the lessons we’ve learned, and the family we’ve built,” Bridges continued. “Even in this season of change, I trust He is guiding us both toward healing, peace, and new beginnings. I ask for privacy as we navigate this transition and continue to lift my former partner up in prayer, wishing them joy and fulfillment in the chapters ahead.”

The couple’s September 2022 wedding ceremony at Greystone Mansion & Gardens in Beverly Hills was attended by about 70 friends and family, according to People. Bridges was previously married to Dori Smith from 1998 to 2012.

The marriage brought together both spouses’ children from their previous marriages. Hirschi has four younger children with her first husband while Bridges has two adult offspring: daughter Bo is from a previous relationship with Amanda Rushing and he shares son Spencir, 27, with his first wife. Spencir Bridges was, like his dad, a child actor, with roles in the 2007 movie “Daddy Day Camp” and, in 2005, the TV series “ER.” His most recent acting credits were in 2009, when he had roles on the series “iCarly” and the TV movie “The Three Gifts.”

Todd Bridges is the last surviving original cast member of the hit sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” which ran for eight seasons from 1978 to 1986. Conrad Bain played Phillip Drummond, the wealthy father of Kimberly (Dana Plato) who adopted sons Arnold (Gary Coleman) and Willis (Bridges). Housekeeper Edna Garrett, played by Charlotte Rae, spun off into the series “Facts of Life.”

Dana Plato, who played Bain’s daughter Kimberly, died in 1999 from an overdose when she was 34. Bain died of natural causes in January 2013, at age 89, while Rae died in August 2018 at 92.

Gary Coleman died in May 2010 at age 42 after suffering a brain hemorrhage in an accidental fall at his home in Utah.

TMZ first reported the divorce news Wednesday afternoon.

Dave Grohl had a solution in mind for anyone who didn’t know the words to the song he and the other Foo Fighters were about to play Wednesday night at Inglewood’s Kia Forum.

“Look at the old guy next to you and just f—ing sing that,” he told the crowd, stringy black hair matted to his sweaty, reddened forehead. “Odds are he’s been listening to KROQ since the f—ing early ’80s.”

Wednesday’s show was billed as both a celebration of Grohl’s 57th birthday — at one point two stagehands wheeled out an enormous cake — and a fundraiser for a couple of organizations fighting homelessness in the band’s hometown of Los Angeles.

But nearly four years after the shocking death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, the concert was also a showcase of Foo Fighters’ essential durability: the group’s dogged yet cheerful determination to keep going no matter what.

Wednesday’s show was a fundraiser for two organizations fighting homelessness in L.A.

(Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)

Last year, the band fired Hawkins’ replacement, Josh Freese, without much explanation, then replaced him with Ilan Rubin of Nine Inch Nails. (In a very KROQ twist, Freese went on to take Rubin’s spot in Nine Inch Nails.)

The drama with the drummers followed Grohl’s revelation in late 2024 that he’d fathered a child outside his marriage — a threatening reputational blow to a guy long regarded as a kind of benevolent rock ’n’ roll uncle.

And just last week, the Foos announced that guitarist Pat Smear would miss the band’s upcoming gigs after accidentally “smashing the s— out of his left foot.” Jason Falkner, a former member of the great ’90s psych-pop band Jellyfish who’s played for years with Beck, filled in for Smear at the Forum, where Rubin’s kick drum bore a picture of Smear’s face.

Despite all that, Foo Fighters came on like they always have: heavy, crunching, speedy, tuneful.

“You know, I haven’t gone to the bathroom once this whole show,” Grohl said as he approached the two-hour mark.

After coming up through the punk scene in Washington, D.C., Grohl became a star as the drummer of Nirvana; he started Foo Fighters in 1994 as a way of grappling with the death that year of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. Over the decades the band’s music has moved steadily toward the kind of classic rock that punks once professed to hate — think of Led Zeppelin, think of Aerosmith, go ahead and think of Boston — while Grohl has taken up the role of jocular frontman with a gusto approaching that of David Lee Roth.

Here the Foos performed on a rotating stage that the singer happily said made him feel like “I’m in the showroom at the Mercedes dealership in Van Nuys.” (He also pointed out that the setup ensured that everyone would eventually “get a nice look at my ass.”)

Key to the band’s longevity, of course, is a deep store of hits that now themselves count as staples of any classic rock playlist. “Learn to Fly” and “Times Like These” were crisply melodic; “My Hero,” which Grohl dedicated to Smear and his broken foot, was somehow bludgeoning and propulsive. “Monkey Wrench” sounded like an atomic-powered version of “Johnny B. Goode.” And “Best of You” had a soulful tug that reminded you that Prince famously covered the song in the rain at the Super Bowl in 2007.

The Wednesday show also celebrated Dave Grohl’s 57th birthday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)

Around the halfway mark, Grohl threw a bit of Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades” into the Foos’ “No Son of Mine” — “That was for Lemmy,” he said of the late Motörhead frontman — then had his bandmates take a break as he sang a solo rendition of “Under You,” about his struggle to accept Hawkins’ passing.

The last time Foo Fighters played the Forum, he noted, was in 2022 at an all-star tribute to the drummer. After “Under You,” the rest of the group returned for a long, searching take on “Aurora,” which Grohl has said was the first song he and Hawkins wrote together.

“Sorry we’re getting so emotional,” he said, though few in the intergenerational crowd seemed to mind. (Less enthusiastically received was the band’s aimless jamming in “Run.”)

Foo Fighters closed, as they typically do, with “Everlong,” the sturdy mid-’90s alt-rock anthem that never seems to go out of fashion even — or especially — among kids who hadn’t been born when it came out.

“Hello,” Grohl sang coolly over a bed of thrumming electric guitars, “I’ve waited here for you.”

Forget reporter Ted. Call him Pastor Ted now.

Ted Chen, a familiar face on NBC4 News in Los Angeles since 1995, signed off for the last time Wednesday evening before setting off on a new path as a Christian minister.

“Many of you know I’ve been in seminary for the last several years,” he said, sitting with co-anchors Colleen Williams and Michael Brownlee after watching a video tribute to his time in front of the camera. “I got my master’s in Christian studies, and right now I’m pursuing my doctorate, my doctorate of ministry. And so, yeah, I’ll be graduating to full-time ministry beginning tomorrow.”

Even so, after 30-plus years in high gear, he might need a minute. But Chen said he’s looking forward to “a little slower pace and a chance to dig deeper” moving forward — that and not having to tell his wife he has to rush off on short notice for work.

“I’m gonna miss it, definitely,” he said. “I tell people, there’s an adrenaline shot to this, to being part of this business. There’s a serious, heavy responsibility that I took over the years.”

Chen’s career took him from Reno to Fresno to San Diego over those years and finally to L.A., where his favorite assignment wound up being the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

“It was China’s first Olympics and I remember how proud my parents were. … They were just so excited,” he said. “And it was just so meaningful to see that moment for China, and to go into the countryside and cover the plight of farmers.”

Chen also enjoyed all the awards shows he worked — hey, who says a reporter has to have gravitas all the time? — and said that “as a Trekkie,” his favorite celebrity interview was with the actor Leonard Nimoy.

“I normally don’t get starstruck,” Chen said, “but — him. Mr. Spock.” Whoo-ee.

In the goodbye video, Hetty Chang, NBC4’s Orange County reporter, remembered the moment she realized Chen was something special to the people of Los Angeles.

“When I first rode in the Golden Dragon Chinese New Year parade with him, I looked at him and thought, ‘Are you moonlighting as a movie star?’ ” she said. “Because people were stopping our car, our little float, and [they were saying things] like, ‘Stop the car! I want to take a picture with Ted Chen!’ ”

Chen’s wife, Ariell, wrote “I’M SO PROUD OF YOU” in an Instagram story on Thursday urging followers to watch his on-air send-off. The two met each other cross-country through a matchmaker after she, then Ariell Kirylo, had moved away from the L.A. area. They found they shared a “spiritual home” — Vintage Church in Santa Monica.

“That was certainly an interesting twist,” she told California Wedding Day, “to know we were in each other’s vicinity all along, but it took me moving to D.C. to call a matchmaker based out of Florida to meet a man at my church in L.A.! And they say dating in L.A. is hard.”

The veteran reporter elicited major respect from the people he worked with, all the way up to Marina Perelman, vice president of news for NBC4. “Ted’s career path has always been grounded in service and purpose. Over his 30 years with NBC4, he has covered remarkable stories and contributed to what he has often called the best newsroom in town. He is one of the people who truly make it that way,” she said Thursday in a statement.

“From his annual tradition of bringing cookies to the assignment desk to the kindness, compassion, and grace he shows every colleague and every person he meets, Ted embodies the very best of our newsroom culture.”

Chen put things in perspective himself on his final day in the newsroom, borrowing a page from all those athletes he’d seen over the years and telling Brownlee and Williams after all their kind words, “I’ll take the encouragement — and give God all the glory.”

These five true crime programmes are guaranteed to make your jaw drop

The cold January nights continue to drag on and many people may be looking for the perfect TV show to binge watch this weekend.

Whether you are looking for a cosy rom com or a trustworthy period drama, there are many options out there to choose from, which can at times be overwhelming. We’ve all at some point continued to scroll before giving up and watching nothing, right?

Many TV fans are turning their attention to true crime shows, which are arguably perfect for curling up on the couch with during these colder evenings. As a TV writer, here are five true crime series that you do not want to miss, all guaranteed to make you squirm.

24 Hours in Police Custody

Dubbed the “best show ever”, 24 Hours in Police Custody is available to stream online on Channel 4. The jaw-dropping documentary follows a local police force as they are plunged into serious crimes that rock the community.

Channel 4 teases: “The landmark documentary series that captures real life drama at its most intense, following police detectives around the clock as they investigate major crimes.”

Just this week (January 13), a brand new episode dropped, with another instalment set to land on January 20 at 9pm, which will examine the probe into Zombie Knives. It follows from December’s “haunting” episodes which left fans “horrified” as police investigated a harrowing case involving a double murder of a father and son.

Police Suspect No.1

There are five series currently available on Channel 5, with the broadcaster having released its fifth instalment just this month. Police Suspect No.1 follows police officers and detectives in a race against the clock as they investigate crimes in their local areas.

The first episode of the brand new season returned on January 12, with another on the way next week, but all episodes are available to stream on Channel 5 online.

The brand new season has already plunged viewers into the deep end as they were left feeling “disgusted” following the brutal watch – which saw chilling bodycam footage of a savage attack on a police officer.

Catching a Killer

Catching a Killer on Channel 4 has been dubbed a “gripping” watch as it gives viewers an extraordinary insight into the inner workings of a police force. With episodes released sporadically, the latest instalment was released this month titled ‘Buried Truths’.

Delving into the chilling case of Cumali Turhan who was reported missing after being lured into a bar by his “love rival”, the brutal watch is guaranteed to make your jaw drop with the chilling revelations made by detectives.

One fan who watched the latest episode said: “Was that the one where they put him in the bin, not to mention cutting off his privates? Honestly it sickened me to the core, that poor man.”

All five episodes are available to stream on Channel 4 online as viewers eagerly await news of a new release.

The Beauty Queen and the Catfish

Just this month, the BBC has dropped a brand new documentary that has been branded an “absolutely crazy” watch by fans. It delves into the twisted world of an online catfish who betrayed several women.

The Beauty Queen and the Catfish follows the real-life story of beauty queen Abbie Draper when she received a Facebook friend request that would change her entire life.

She was contacted by someone claiming to be her grandad’s doctor, and despite seeming to have it all, Abbie soon uncovered a web of lies and deceit. The three episode series aired on the BBC earlier this month, but all episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

One fan said: “On Ep2 wow that’s wild! For one how does someone have the time to do all this! Absolutely madness and scary!”

Twisted Sisters

Twisted Sisters: Madness and Manslaughter is a true crime documentary exploring the horrific story of twin sisters who repeatedly ran into traffic on a busy motorway.

Released last month on Channel 5, viewers at the time admitted the harrowing watch gave them “chills” as one person said on social media: “What you see in the first five minutes of this show, it’s absolutely brutal. You won’t believe your eyes.”

Channel 5’s synopsis teases: “The strange story of twins who repeatedly ran into M6 traffic in an apparent suicide pact.”

The mini series is available to stream on 5 online.

There’s something refreshingly 19th century about Patrick Page’s traveling Shakespeare seminar, “All the Devils Are Here,” which opened Thursday at BroadStage in Santa Monica.

The show, a touring tutorial he created and performs solo, allows Page the opportunity to animate with barnstorming crackle a rogue’s gallery of Shakespearean scoundrels. Villains come quite naturally to this stage veteran, who might not smack his lips when impersonating evil, but he certainly doesn’t stint on the flamboyant color. An American Shakespearean who can hold his own with the Brits, he combines mellifluous diction with muscular imagination.

Page received a Tony nomination for his performance in the musical “Hadestown,” in which he played Hades, ruler of the underworld, with a sexy, tyrannical malevolence and a voice so deep it resonated as darkly as Leonard Cohen’s. And he’s had prior success creating outlandish villains on Broadway with the Grinch and, from “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” Norman Osborn/Green Goblin.

But Shakespeare has long been a touchstone. He’s dedicated himself to the work, as was evident in his triumphant turn in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 2023 production of “King Lear” in Washington, D.C., directed by Simon Godwin. The producers of which had the good sense to stream worldwide for all of us outside the nation’s capital who wanted to experience the thunderclap of Page’s Lear.

Godwin, the artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company and an associate director of the National Theatre in London, leaves little distance between Page and the audience in his staging of “All the Devils Are Here.” The direct-address simplicity of the production serves the fluidity of Page’s performance. The actor transitions from talking about the characters to becoming them with just a shift in his posture and vocal tone.

Proximity is the point. Shakespeare’s bad guys, with a few notable exceptions, are quite like you and me, which is to say they are human. Their worst deeds are the product of desires and fears that aren’t foreign to any of us. We might not be capable of atrocities, but in our dreams we’re all occasionally raving lunatics, giving vent to feelings we keep buried away in the light of day.

Page makes the tendentious claim that Shakespeare invented the villain, then walks it back to explain exactly what he means. His thesis is that Shakespeare early in his playwriting career followed the prevailing models of villainy. These vicious and vindictive antagonists tended to be outsiders, Jews (in the case of Christopher Marlowe’s “The Jew of Malta”), Moors (such as Aaron the Moor in Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus”) or the physically deformed (most notably, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who first appeared in Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” and proved to be such a hit that he was given his own play, “Richard III”).

We get a taste of these Machiavels, who have none of the misgivings about vengeance that will plague Hamlet. Page portrays them without much introspection. They tell you what they’re going to do and then they bloody well do it. They can be scathingly ironic, alert to every hypocrisy that corroborates their cynical worldview, and even seductive in a perverse, power-mad way.

For these reasons, they are, like the arch-villains of “Batman,” the most entertaining characters in their stories. This lawless crew shares dramaturgical DNA with the vice figures from medieval morality plays, personifications of sinfulness who would confide their schemes to the audience and make theatergoers their co-conspirators in a riveting game that obviously left its mark on a young Shakespeare.

Iago, one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains, is an updated version of this stock character. Page consults Martha Stout’s book “The Sociopath Next Door” to understand the character’s lack of empathy and remorse. But then he enacts the scene in which Iago subtly poisons Othello’s mind into believing that his wife is having an affair with a handsome lieutenant. Sociopaths like Iago may be an empty shell of evil, but they can also be ingenious manipulators. Shakespeare put all his understanding of human nature into Iago’s brainwashing master class.

But before Page reaches Iago, he spends time with Shylock from the “The Merchant of Venice.” Shakespeare humanizes the Elizabethan stage stereotype of the villainous Jew by giving Shylock ample reason for wanting to get back at his Christian persecutors. Marlowe treats Barabas in “The Jew of Malta” as a farcical demon, but Shakespeare has Shylock ask, “Has a Jew not eyes? … If you prick us, do we not bleed?”

Yes, Shakespeare is having his cake and eating it too. But Page’s portrayal, perhaps the most complete in his gallery, makes a convincing case of the playwriting leap forward.

From “Hamlet,” Page gives us Claudius on his knees praying for pardon he knows he doesn’t deserve. (“May one be pardoned and retain the offense?” he asks himself, already knowing the answer.) Here we see that even the most sealed-off conscience can be invaded by second thoughts.

Lady Macbeth has no such qualms when she’s summoning evil spirits to unsex her in “Macbeth.” She knows conventional morality is a liability and begs these forces “to stop up the access and passage to remorse” so that nothing will impede the murderous plot that’s brewing within her.

To establish the right note of terror on a fog-strewn set by Arnulfo Maldonado that resembles the private chamber of a writer or madman, Page begins with Lady Macbeth’s chilling incantation. He returns to the tragedy later in his survey after guilt has alienated the Macbeths from each other and they find themselves trapped in a nightmare of their own making.

King Lear mournfully wonders, “Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts?” Shakespeare can’t explain evil, but he can look at it directly. And what he sees, Page argues, is our own reflection — humanity, in all its fractured and flailing self-destructive foolishness.

The case Page smoothly makes is a convincing one. He is a pliant enough actor to daub each portrait with just enough psychological color. It’s not easy to do justice to such complex roles in quick succession. The genius of these troubling characters is embedded in their full dramatic contexts, requiring more than rhetorical flourishes and vocal modulations to bring them to life.

But by collectively presenting them in such a vivid and intelligent manner, Page urges us to see these devils for what they are — an inextricable part of our collective story, as any perusal of the day’s political headlines will disturbingly attest.

A Coronation Street star made a return to the world of acting after stepping away from showbiz to become a pub landlord

Coronation Street’s Rupert Hill is barely recognisable as he announces his comeback to acting. The 47-year-old soap star is best known for his role as Jamie Baldwin on Corrie from 2004 to 2008.

The star left the limelight to manage Manchester pubs such as Castle Hotel, Gulliver’s and the Eagle Inn, which he co-owns with his wife Jenny Platt.

However, he has recently been making a return to the acting scene, with his short film Operation Magpie now available on YouTube.

Rupert collaborated with fellow Corrie veteran Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper, for the film in which he starred and co-directed.

Earlier this month, Rupert also graced the stage in the Christmas show Tinsel at The Edge theatre in Manchester. His recent theatrical work includes The Fire Raisers at the Hope Mill Theatre in September, and he also directed the tour of Mike Bartlett’s play COCK.

This comes after he took a step back from acting to focus on his career as a pub landlord. Last year, he announced the opening of his Manchester bar on Instagram, writing: “Taking over #lloyds in Chorlton with @jbfotografick.

“Opening this Thursday with a big refurb scheduled for September. Going to create a beautiful drinking venue with an incredible live music and events space! More details coming soon.”

Rupert is no stranger to the bar industry, having previously taken on and renovated The Parlour in Manchester. He once told the Manchester Evening News: “From day one, we’ve found this shared passion for taking weary and underperforming pubs with bags of potential.

“And breathing new life into them, bringing them back into the community, creating places that people love to be in. It’s always felt like a worthwhile endeavour.”

After his stint on Coronation Street, Rupert fell so in love with Manchester, the city where the soap is filmed, that he decided to make it his home.

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website**

He set up residence in the city’s trendy Northern Quarter, an area renowned for its vibrant street art, bustling eateries, bohemian bars, and independent record shops.

Rupert is married to his former Corrie co-star Jenny, who portrayed his on-screen love interest Violet Wilson. His character Jamie, son of Bradley Walsh’s Danny Baldwin, was known as a heartbreaker and was embroiled in a controversial storyline involving an affair with his step-mother Frankie, played by Deborah Stephenson.

Last month, he shared a throwback photo of his character on social media, captioning it: “This young whippersnapper just made his first appearance (again) on the cobbles in #classiccorrie. I think he might get up to some mischief!!#jamiebaldwin.”

In 2008, Rupert featured in a four-part special series of The Bill titled Gun Runner, playing the role of Kieran Wallace, a small-time criminal. He has also made appearances in Hollyoaks and Midsomer Murders.

Coronation Street is on ITV1 weeknights at 8.30pm and on on ITVX

SYDNEY SWEENEY is becoming one of the most in-demand faces in Hollywood, having starred in some big projects over the last few years.

As well as being known for her talent, the 28-year-old is not afraid to push the boundaries on-screen and has been involved in some risqué scenes of a sexual nature.

 She previously said: “People forget that I’m playing a character, they think, ‘Oh, she gets naked on screen, she’s a sex symbol.’

“I have no problems with those scenes, and I won’t stop doing them, but I wish there was an easier way to have an open conversation about what we’re assuming about actors in the industry.”

Here we take a look at her most steamiest on-screen scenes from shaking her bum as an OnlyFans puppy to her raunchy sex scene in The Housemaid and her shower romp in Anyone But You…

Chokin’ hell

Sydney’s career took off with her role as Cassie Howard in the HBO series Euphoria which saw her involved in many sex scenes.

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The first sex scene shown in the series was in the very first episode, and featured Cassie and McKay, played by Algee Smith, having sex for the first time at a house party after he calls her the “most beautiful girl” he’s ever seen.

However, things turn up a notch when McKay tries to choke Cassie during foreplay but she immediately stops him and he apologises.

Main character Rue- played by Zendaya – does the voiceover, saying: “Now, I know this looks disturbing, but I promise you, this does not end in rape,” before flashing to graphic porn clips.

Steamy shower session

In the 2023 romantic comedy Anyone But You, her character Bea strips off in the shower for a racy scene with Glen Powell’s Ben.

The pair begin snogging as he kisses her neck before undressing one another as the temperature heats up.

As they stand under the running shower head, she rests her chest against his six-pack abs as they look into one another’s eyes.

They then move to the bedroom where the kissing continues before they’re seen cuddling one another in bed.

‘Sexual’ carousel ride

In another scene from Euphoria in season 2, Cassie is high on ecstasy and ends up losing herself in the moment while on a carousel ride.

The character swings her body back and forth suggestively while closing her eyes.

Daniel Dimarco, who is played by Keean Johnson, tells her: “Damn, you’re so f*****g hot.”

The two begin kissing before she starts moaning and using the pole suggestively and really losing all of her inhibitions.

Housemaid Hotel Hook-up

Sydney’s newest on-screen sex-scene is from her most recent film, The Housemaid, which released in December.

Her character Millie Calloway pushes all boundaries when she sleeps with her boss’ husband Andrew Winchester, played by Brandon Sklener.

The pair undress one another and passionately embrace as her chest is on display.

Before you know it, they’re completely naked and going all the way, with this leading to other sex scenes between them both in the film.

Affair romp

The Voyeurs is a 2021 American erotic thriller, starring Sydney and Justice Smith as a young couple Pippa and Thomas who spy on and become obsessed by the lives of their neighbours.

And it featured some very steamy sex scenes, with Sydney’s character becoming embroiled in a love affair with said neighbour.

Speaking about filming racy scenes, Sydney told Cosmopolitan: “I’m so disconnected from it.

“When I get tagged in Cassie’s or Pippa from The Voyeurs’s nudes, it feels like me looking at their nudes, not Sydney’s nudes.

“When you film one of these scenes, it is so technical and so not romantic… When I saw The Voyeurs for the first time, I wondered if I’d done too much.”

Bathroom betrayal

In another Euphoria scene, Cassie and Nate have a more than memorable first hook-up, at a New Year’s party in the bathroom after Cassie took her underwear off in Nate’s car.

Nate is known for his playboy antics on the show and was dating Maddy, Cassie’s best friend, who suddenly interrupts the pair’s intimate moment and starts banging on the door.

Cassie starts to panic while trying to escape as Nate tries to help her calm down.

OnlyFans bum shake

Euphoria season 3 is all set to release in April and if the trailer is anything to go by, fans will be left dropping their jaws at Cassie’s wildest look yet.

In the clip, she’s seen shaking her butt in a barely-there thong and skimpy puppy costume while straddling a piece of furniture.

The clip reveals Cassie posing for a sexy photoshoot after show creator Sam Levinson confirmed the character would be an OnlyFans model following the time jump between seasons 2 and 3.

The sultry clip shows Cassie strutting around her Los Angeles mansion as she appears to be a “bored housewife” while her husband, Nate, played by Jacob Elordi, is often away at work.

“I work all day and my bride-to-be is spread-eagled on the internet,” the character, Nate, says in disgust as he walks into the OnlyFans bedroom photoshoot.

Girl on girl

In the 2025 sports drama film Christy, she plays the titular character who is a professional boxer.

As the film navigates her sexuality and her hiding her feelings for women, one scene shows her character kissing Rosie, played by Jess Gabor.

The two women lie down on the bed and embrace one another while fully clothed.

However, in a stark difference to other sexual scenes Sydney has depicted, this particular one focuses on the emotional connection between the two rather than the sexual attraction.

Former X Factor star Chris Leonard has opened up about his experience on the show and the double-edged sword after finding himself in the live finals with his bandmates

A former X Factor finalist has revealed the heartbreaking reality of his time on the programme. Chris Leonard, who found himself thrust into the live shows as one eighth of the manufactured band Stereo Kicks, had initially auditioned as a solo artist.

Chris and his bandmates instantly became a hit with fans but finished the programme in fifth place during series 11, which Ben Haenow went on to win.

But Chris, 30, admits that while he loved the experience the show gave him and helped further his career, he admits his time on the show was a “mixture” of feelings. 11 years on from Stereo Kicks splitting in 2015, the County Meath-born singer is now touring across the world with his traditional Irish band, Shillelagh Law. Speaking about his time on the show, which saw Louis Walsh act as their mentor, Chris told the Mirror: “The show was a real mixture.

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“One thing that many people don’t realise is, I developed an eating disorder after the show. I got so sucked into the image side of things, I think my image was always in question within the band.

“It was between shaving my head and not being allowed to be myself. People always questioned my image, which was because what was being put out there wasn’t who I was. There was none of my personality. I think that affected me because I had a feeling or an expectation of people expecting me to live up to it.

“There were difficult parts on the show as a result, but there were also the normal sides. If it wasn’t for X Factor, I wouldn’t get to do the things I’m doing today, get to play with the people that I’ve played with, or have the experiences I’ve had. I’m very grateful.” But if he could turn back time, would he do it again? Absolutely, he would just be a braver 19-year-old from Ireland and stand up for himself more.

However, one of his all-time highlights in his music career happened on X Factor, sharing the stage with Queen legend, Sir Brian May. “As a musician and a guitar player, to see Brian May was just insane. It was absolutely wild,” Chris gushed.

One fond memory he has, sitting in Louis Walsh’s dressing room with JLS members, Marvin, Aston and JB. He revealed: “We were having a couple of drinks and they turned around and said ‘Chris, just be prepared, when this is over, when the X Factor bubble pops, it’s done, the phone stops ringing – it’s down to your management to keep that buzz after.’

“If it wasn’t for them saying that to me, I wouldn’t have been as prepared. I’m so grateful for that.” While Chris was young at 19, his bandmate Reece was just 16, and Charlie was 15. Now, he hopes that TV shows have measures in place to help contestants with their mental health and navigate their newfound profile. He said: “I haven’t been on that side of everything in a long time, but I’d like to think these networks and companies that do talent shows have now put the correct measures in place and do look after contestants’ mental health.”

And following the rise of December 10, created by Simon Cowell on his new Netflix show, Chris encouraged the band to “stay humble” and realise that, despite being on a TV show or in a band, they’re still young men trying to make music. “You have to work harder,” he said, adding: “Keep your ego in check and be kind to people, don’t think you’re above anybody.”

While he may have been on arguably the biggest show on TV, Chris never for a second thought of himself as famous. Instead, he was just a young lad from Ireland chasing his dream. “Egos can kick in, and work ethic can slip,” he said of people who get above themselves.

He said of December 10: “My advice would be keep your feet on the ground, focus on the music that you’re doing, make sure you’ve got two or three good people around you that you can confide in that actually have your best interests at heart and just be a good person.”

If you’re worried about your health or the health of somebody else, you can contact SEED eating disorder support service on 01482 718130 or on their website, here.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

A FORMER Nickelodeon star has been killed in a horror hit-and-run in New York City.

Kianna Underwood, 33, was dragged under a car after it struck her in Brooklyn early on Friday morning.

She was crossing Pitkin Avenue in the Brownsville neighbourhood when a black Ford SUV hit her.

Kianna – who appeared in comedy sketch show All That in 2005 – was pulled under the car for around a block.

The driver fled as she lay motionless in the road, the New York Post reports.

Kianna was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with “severe trauma” at the intersection of Osborn Street and Pitkin Avenue.

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No arrests have been made.

As well as starring in several episodes of Nickelodeon’s All That, Kianna also lent her voice to animated series Little Bill.

The child star also appeared in indie film The 24-Hour Woman in 1999, and provided voiceovers for animated TV movie Santa, Baby in 2001.

Off screen, Kianna spent time on the stage – playing little Inez during the first national tour of Hairspray.

One of Kianna’s relatives, Anthony Underwood, shared the tragic news of her death on Facebook.

He wrote: “Please give me and my family time to process this. Thank you.”

It comes after another child star was killed after he was hit by a car while stepping off a school bus.

Nikodem Marecki, 11, was run over moments after exiting the vehicle near Kraków, Poland.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and an air ambulance helicopter transferred him to hospital on November 26.

Nikodem starred in the multi-award winning Polish war drama White Courage, released last year.

Director Marcin Koszałka called it a “terrible, great loss”, adding: “He was very talented and the world was opening up to him.”

Cersei chose violence. Rhaenyra commandeered dragons. But the protagonist of HBO’s new “Game of Thrones” spinoff, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”? Don’t expect vengeful wildfire or shouts of “Dracarys!” Wanna-be knight Dunk is earnest, gentle and enjoys sleeping under the stars.

There are no magic spells, dragons or major wars in Dunk’s (Peter Claffey) timeline, which is set about 100 years before the events of “Game of Thrones,” and roughly seven decades after 2022’s spinoff, “House of the Dragon.” But there’s still mud. Lots of mud, mixed with blood and guts, because what’s Westeros if not a queasy swill of muck and bodily fluids? Here’s to consistency between series.

But there’s a problem. It turns out that sitting through scenes replete with diarrhea, snot, vomit and bashed brains isn’t all that tolerable without the payoff of royal feuds, sociopathic personalities, supernatural phenomenon and above all, a story that promises to go somewhere bigger.

Based on the “Tales of Dunk and Egg,” novellas by author George R.R. Martin (he wrote “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the novel series that inspired “Game of Thrones”), “Knight,” premiering Sunday, takes a humble road into the realm, basing its story around a simple, low-born wanderer who dreams of becoming a knight.

His story unfolds over six episodes that take place over the course of a few days, which is quite a switch from the vast timelines of “Game of Thrones ” and “House of the Dragon’s” debut seasons. The tighter scope and folksy approach — from a score with more spare acoustic guitar than sweeping orchestral numbers and an abundance of drab peasant rags over plush regal garb — is refreshing, at first.

Dunk, a.k.a. Ser Duncan the Tall, is a strapping but awkward young man with little confidence and few skills. We meet him upon the natural death of his mentor and adoptive parent, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). The old man was a hedge knight, meaning he wandered about Westeros renting out his protective services to monied houses and, occasionally, those in need. One such charity case was young Dunk, whom the older knight saved from a thief’s knife before taking on the boy as his squire.

Now on his own, Dunk aspires to become a hedge knight too. On his way to prove himself at a jousting tournament, he meets a clever, bald-headed boy who calls himself Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). The child is as smart and cunning as Dunk is thick and guileless. They repeat history when the child becomes the wanna-be knight’s squire, and together they prepare for a match that Dunk is wholly unsuited to win.

Created by Ira Parker, in conjunction with Martin (“Game of Thrones” co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had no involvement), “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is a David and Goliath story, with a somewhat predictable outcome.

Granted, nothing will ever be as grandiose, addictive and surprising as the fantasy universe that brought us White Walkers, the Red Queen and the Faceless Man, but to pull out the magical realism, then fill the gaps with Dunk’s sincerity and honor-above-skill ethos is not a winning strategy.

One of the more successful aspects of the series is the performance of Ansell as Egg. The boy squire shines bright in the otherwise drab surrounds of the tourney campgrounds. His wits and ingenuity versus the knights’ brutality and violence is a worthy match.

Nevertheless, the bloodiest forms of combat decide the day at the tourney, be it by mace, battle ax or bludgeon. The gore throughout this drama is on par with some of the more violent and ferocious scenes from previous HBO series set in Martin’s world. But without the possibility of a story that rises above Dunk’s slog on the ground, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” stays stuck in the mud.

Harry Blitzstein, the tireless L.A. painter who ran the Blitzstein Museum of Art on Fairfax Avenue, has died. He was 87. His death was confirmed on Instagram by his daughter, Andrea Blitzstein, who wrote, “He was an artist who truly loved what he did and continued creating until the very end.”

Blitzstein was a true Los Angeles character and a beloved member of the neighborhood, having opened his storefront museum across from Canter’s Deli three decades ago to exclusively show his own art. The space quickly gained a reputation for being a welcoming, colorful venue that held a particular fascination for young artists inspired by Blitzstein’s pure joy for the act of creation, critics and sales be damned.

In interviews, Blitzstein often noted that the difficulties of getting gallery shows, and the disappointments that often followed, led him to open the space, which he stocked with an ever-growing hodge-podge of his surreal, imaginative, sometimes dark, often playful, paintings.

“Cuteness exaggerated to the point that it becomes savagely funny and horror so overwhelming it explodes with hysterical laughter are the order of the day here,” reads an 1986 L.A. Times review of a 25-year retrospective of Blitzstein’s work. “Blitzstein blends the unbridled dementia of Ralph L. Steadman, the evil fleshiness of Hieronymous Bosch and the anarchistic intelligence of Bunuel in his sendups of art history classics and the American way.”

Harry Blitzstein was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital and raised in Boyle Heights, where his father operated a shoe store called Fair Shoes. In the mid-1950s, Bitzstein’s dad moved the shop to the same Fairfax storefront that Blitztein later used for his museum. After graduating from Los Angeles High School, Blitzstein attended UCLA for a year, before transferring to Pomona College. He later earned an MFA at Claremont Graduate School.

He soon began painting in earnest.

“I had 9 wonderful one-man shows in Los Angeles and finally opened up my own gallery on Fairfax Avenue 32 years ago,” Blitzstein said in a 2023 interview in Voyage L.A. magazine. “I have been painting for approximately 70 years and would like to go for another year or two.”

Blitzstein did just that.

“There’s LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and this is my little museum,” Blitzstein said in a short film made in August by Josh Polon and Philip Hodges, for the “Life in a Day” documentary. “I’ve been painting for over 50 years, still trying to receive a recognition that I have not achieved … all I have to do is put on Bob Dylan and get the rhythm going, and the paint going, and the tears are rolling. You’re feeling and you just start painting.”

Andrea Blitzstein announced that she will be at the Blitzstein Museum of Art (428 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A., at 4 p.m. Saturday to share memories, laughter and tears with friends and fans.

I’m arts editor Jessica Gelt reminding myself that creating art is a lifelong pursuit and should never be inhibited by a lack of traditional success. The true measure of success is the work itself — and your love for it. Blitzstein’s life and work prove that.

On our radar

Debbie Allen will participate in “Dancing in the Light: Healing With the Arts” on Sunday.

(Debbie Allen Dance Academy)

“Dancing in the Light: Healing With the Arts”
In support of those affected by last year’s fires and other members of the community, Debbie Allen, DADA Master teachers and world-class choreographers offer this free, daylong dance class in a variety of genres. Register online in advance; all abilities and levels of experience, ages 9 and up, are welcome.
1-5 p.m. Sunday. Debbie Allen Dance Academy, 1850 S. Manhattan Place, Los Angeles. debbieallendanceacademy.wufoo.com

“North Wall” by Norman Zammitt, 1976. Acrylic on canvas. 96 1/4 by 168 1/8 inches.

(Heather Rasmussen / © Estate of Norman Zammitt and Karma)

Norman Zammitt
The underappreciated Southland artist, who died in 2007, was known for his mural-size paintings and exacting use of color. The exhibition “A Degree of Light” focuses on two of his most important bodies of work, a series of laminated-acrylic pole sculptures and the abstract Band Paintings, which reflect his use of mathematical, formal and spiritual inquiries, then-groundbreaking industrial and computer technologies, and embrace of the poetics of experience.
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Feb. 14. Karma, 7351 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. karmakarma.org

Eddie Izzard in “The Tragedy of Hamlet.”

(Carol Rosegg)

Izzard: The Tragedy of Hamlet
As one might expect from such a singular performer, this is not your usual take on Shakespeare’s notorious Danish prince. Adapted by Mark Izzard and directed by Selina Cadell, this solo performance entails the comic Eddie Izzard playing 23 characters, ranging from gravedigger to royalty, putting her years of marathon training to a true test.
7 p.m. Thursday and Jan. 29; 8 p.m. Jan. 23-24, Jan. 30-31; 3 p.m. Jan. 25. The Montalban Theatre 1615 Vine St. eddieizzardhamlet.com

The week ahead: A curated calendar

SATURDAY
Lunar New Year at the Wallis
It’s the Year of the Horse — energetic, free-spirited and intelligent. Celebrate it with two events: the free Family Fest, featuring immersive arts and crafts, traditional foods and performances and presentations by Qing Wei Lion and Dragon Dance Cultural Troupe, Cold Tofu Improv Comedy Troupe, East Wind Foundation, Gamin Music, Beverly Hills Public Library, City of Beverly Hills Community Services Department, and DJ Moni Vargas; and Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s production of “The Great Race,” the story of the Chinese Zodiac, written and directed by Reiko Ho (two ticketed performances at the Lovelace Studio Theatre, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.)
11 a.m.-2 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

A Grand Baroque Salon
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is joined by harpsichordist Pierre Hantaï, violinists Margaret Batjer and Josefina Vergara and flutist Sandy Hughes for a program featuring J.S. Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto, No. 5,” plus works by Rameau, LeClair and C.P.O. Bach (Johann Sebastain’s son).
7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Huntington, Rothenberg Hall, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino; 4 p.m. Sunday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laco.org

Scott Dunn conducts the Scott Dunn Orchestra in rehearsal. The group performs Saturday night at the Wallis.

(Kevin Parry)

Monsters, Murders, Spies and Space
The Scott Dunn Orchestra fêtes “Those Fabulous Films of the Seventies,” performing memorable scores by Lalo Schifrin, Miklós Rósza, Ennio Morricone, Jerry Goldsmith, Michel Legrand, Marvin Hamlisch, David Shire, Richard Rodney Bennett, Johnny Mandel, Nino Rota and John Williams.
7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Busoni Piano Concerto
Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and pianist Igor Levit team up with the L.A. Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale for this mammoth piece in five movements requiring more than 100 musicians.
8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

The Peking Acrobats will perform at the Carpenter Center in Long Beach on Saturday.

(Tom Meinhold Photography)

The Peking Acrobats
The internationally renowned troupe performs daring feats of balance, strength, grace and contortion.
Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org

Goodfellas
Producer Irwin Winkler and co-screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi join the American Cinematheque for a 35th anniversary screening of Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the latter of whom won an Oscar for supporting actor for his role as gangster Tommy DeVito. 7 p.m. Saturday. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com

MONDAY

Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage in David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart,” screening Jan. 26 at the Academy Museum.

(Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Wild at Heart and Weird on Top: A Tribute to David Lynch
The Academy Museum marks the one-year anniversary of the visionary filmmaker’s death with a five-film series highlighted by appearances from actors Kyle MacLachlan (“Blue Velvet”) and Laura Dern (“Inland Empire” and “Wild at Heart”).
“Blue Velvet,” 7:30 p.m. Monday; “Lost Highway,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23; “Mulholland Drive,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24; “Inland Empire,” 6:30 p.m. Jan. 25; “Wild at Heart,” 7:30 p.m. Jan.26. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

THURSDAY
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Windy City ensemble’s director emeritus Riccardo Solti conducts the group in a repertoire that includes Brahms, Ravel, Stravinsky, Hindemith and Johann Strauss Jr. on a two-week western states tour that includes Southern California stops:
7:30 p.m. Wednesday at McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Soraya, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23. at the Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara; and 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. cso.org

More Miracles
The Actors’ Gang presents original one-act plays: “Nun Fight” by Willa Fossum; “16 Summers” by Ayindé Howell; and “In Recovery” by Mary Eileen O’Donnell.
8 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays, through Feb. 21; 8 p.m. Jan. 23; 2 p.m. Jan. 25, Feb. 8 and 15. The Actors’ Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. theactorsgang.com

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Theater seats.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Report cards for L.A. theaters’ artistic directors
Times theater critic Charles McNulty took the start of a new year as an opportunity to assess the accomplishments of the artistic leaders of three of the city’s most influential theater companies: Center Theatre Group’s Snehal Desai; Geffen Playhouse’s Tarell Alvin McCraney; and Pasadena Playhouse’s Danny Feldman. Spoiler alert: Nobody scored lower that a B, which speaks to the strength of theater in L.A., but McNulty did issue some advice and gentle criticism that could help inform the group’s decision-making moving forward. “Theaters across America are holding on for dear life, so it might not seem fair to evaluate the artistic records of these leaders when the primary goal right now is survival. But there are better and worse ways of staying alive. And a reckoning with trade-offs can help clarify the values driving decision-making,” McNulty writes.

People enjoy the newly reopened Noah’s Ark exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

(Dania Maxwell/For The Times)

Two-by-two
I had the pleasure of taking my daughter to the Skirball Cultural Center to try out its newly renovated Noah’s Ark exhibit, as well as its new Bloom Garden. The 18-year-old exhibit just reopened after closing down for three months for updates that included theatrical lighting, new interactive components such as a giant olive tree and an ancillary garden filled with edible fruit trees and herbs. “The goal is not to change the story, but to bring forward a chapter that’s always been there — that moment after the storm, when the work begins,” said Rachel Stark, vice president of education and family programs at the Skirball.

Tina Packer

(Shakespeare & Company)

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come …
Tina Packer, the founding artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, has died. She was 87. Packer was born in 1938 in Wolverhampton, England, and raised in Nottingham. She trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and later worked as an associate artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as appearing in a variety of TV shows including “David Copperfield” and “Doctor Who.” Packer moved to the Berkshires in Massachusetts, where in 1978 she co-founded Shakespeare & Company with fellow actor, director and writer Dennis Krausnick — whom she would later marry. The celebrated acting teacher Kristin Linklater, and a number of other theater artists also helped establish the company, which claimed Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, Mass., as its first venue.

Call it an art tariff
The Louvre, which has had a string of bad luck lately, including news of severely deteriorating infrastructure and a notorious broad-daylight heist, has announced that it is raising ticket prices for non-EU visitors by 45% — charging 32 euros instead of 22 euros with the goal of boosting much-needed revenue. (Hopefully, it’s still free the first Friday of the month after 6 p.m., except in July and August.)

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

The Times just released this fun, informative and engrossing list of the 101 best Los Angeles movies. Did we miss something? Please let us know!

The TV doctor wants people to try a method that can also help with weight loss

A Channel 4 documentary has revealed a simple habit that could help you lose weight and reduce your risk of diabetes. The change can be easy to make, and in fact, you may unknowingly be doing it already.

Doctor Rangan Chatterjee, a best-selling author and former NHS doctor, has recommended adopting a simple ’12-hour’ eating window. This lifestyle and diet change was suggested on the Channel 4 programme, Live Well with the Drug-Free Doctor.

On the show, the doctor explained that people wanting to improve their health should eat “all the food that you are going to consume in any given day within a 12-hour time period.” The approach not only helps curb snacking but may also boost fat burning, lower the risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes and much more.

The doctor said: “Let’s say you finish consuming your final meal of the day at 7pm. For the next four hours, you are utilising the fuel that you just ate in that last meal, especially glucose.

“After four hours, and while you are sleeping, your body runs on glycogen stored in your liver. But here’s the thing, once you get to about 10 hours or so after your last meal, those glycogen stores are pretty much depleted, and you’re likely to be burning fat.

“Being able to switch up using these different energy sources is called metabolic flexibility – a key indicator in life expectancy. Studies show that time-restricted eating can help you burn fat and lose weight, improve your sleep, improve your digestion, improve immune system function and reduce your risk of getting diseases like type 2 diabetes.”

The late Doctor Michael Mosley, in an episode of his Just One Thing podcast on BBC Radio 4, also advocated for this approach, once saying: “If you want to lose a bit of weight and improve your metabolic health, change your meal times.

“That means having breakfast a bit later and your evening meal a bit earlier. It’s also known as time-restricted eating, and I would recommend you start by trying to eat all your meals within a 12-hour window.”

In addition to these experts, a study published in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition noted that time-restricted eating (TRE) “represents a promising dietary intervention for adults with overweight and obesity.”

It further shared its findings, having noted this approach “can induce significant weight loss and improve cardiometabolic parameters (e.g., blood glucose and lipid profiles) in the short to medium term.”

Is intermittent fasting healthy?

As for the question of whether intermittent fasting is healthy, experts at Bupa explained: “The idea behind intermittent fasting is that it gives your body a break from digesting food. This can potentially lead you to have less calories than if you were eating more regularly.

“Also, eating less often can have positive effects on your blood sugar levels, which can be useful if you have prediabetes or type two diabetes.”

The report further explained that this type of fasting can initiate a process known as autophagy, where the body eliminates damaged cells. This occurs when the body isn’t preoccupied with digestion, and there’s some evidence suggesting that autophagy may lower the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, although further research is required.

Bupa also highlighted other potential benefits such as enhanced gut health, improved sleep quality, and reduced cardiovascular risk factors like decreased blood pressure and inflammation markers, which are associated with numerous chronic diseases. These findings align with Dr Chatterjee’s assertions.

Will you try this new 12-hour rule? Maybe you do it already. Let us know in the comments what you think.

The Traitors’ Fiona Hughes opens up about her time in the castle, working with Claudia Winkleman, being the first Secret Traitor, and her cunning plan to get everyone drunk

The first ever Secret Traitor, Fiona Hughes, has reflected on her experience in the castle and shared some behind the scenes secrets.

Fiona, 62, has reflected on her experience in the castle, becoming the show’s first ever Secret Traitor, collaborating with Claudia Winkleman, and earning the affectionate title of “hun”.

“I found it surreal really,” she recalled. “That I was there and on the train. I mean, that’s just magical in itself. Then when you get into the castle and it’s exactly as you see it on the television. It was wonderful. It’s awe, you just cannot speak because you’re in awe of everything.”

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During the fourth episode of the current series, viewers discovered that Fiona was concealed beneath the infamous crimson cloak. Reflecting on the twist, she confessed: “To be given the privilege of being selected as having the red cloak was wondrous, but I did feel as well that there came a lot of responsibility with it and a lot of power which went to my head,” reports Wales Online.

Explaining her strategy, she added: “But all the names I was sending up to the turret were names of people in that very brief introduction that we had. I thought they were people who came across to me as being, as looking and behaving like the most faithful people on earth that nobody would question.

“So that’s how their names ended up going on the list, and I was only hoping that when the names went up to the turret that the other traitors would be able to read my theory of why those names should be considered. I didn’t know whether or not they were, because the feedback was going up the turret, not coming down.

“Then of course, when Hugo was voted off, I lost my cloak, and so I had to go in to meet Rachel and Stephen. I was really excited about that, but I was also mindful that they’d had the opportunity to gel and so I was going in fresh and could be considered a bit of a thorn.

“You know they say twos company, threes a crowd, and I was going into an already formed relationship. I felt that I wasn’t welcome there, and that Rachel would be able to get me at some point. So because I had that feeling, hence that resulted in my firing the gun and spectacularly missing.”

Viewers were gutted when Fiona was banished following a tense roundtable, though she certainly made her exit memorable. In what ranks among the most explosive moments in The Traitors‘ history, Fiona turned against fellow traitor Rachel, accusing her of “fibbing” about information she’d supposedly heard from previously banished contestant Amanda.

Despite her exit, the Swansea woman stands by her choice to betray Rachel. She explained: “You want to do the best that you can and so I think I did.

“I fired a shot too early at Rachel, but I knew she’s such a fantastic player and that it was my only opportunity and I had to go for it then because I would have been banished and I wanted to do it on my terms and not be somebody’s pawn. So my cunning little plan did spectacularly backfire.

“I know it came out of the blue, and it was the only opportunity that I could see, well, the only one that had landed on my lap, and I thought, ‘shall I run with this or shall I not?'”

“Then I thought ‘no, I’ve got to do it now because I would have been pushed under the bus in the following episode or the episode after’. So, when I asked Rachel to come and have a little word with me, a little one-to-one, which I would do with anybody.”

She explained her approach: “Then I asked her, ‘are you fibbing?’ It’s a gentler word than lying, isn’t it? That doesn’t sound so nice, it’s much nicer to say, are you fibbing?”

Behind the scenes, she deployed a clever tactic that didn’t make the final edit. Whilst others unwound with drinks following tense roundtables, the former traitor remained sober and alert, instead devising a shrewd strategy to ply her competitors with alcohol.

She explained her strategy: “I wanted to get them drunk. Well, if they drink it they might wake up with a hangover and be a bit loose-lipped and I’d be able to manipulate them and I could glean some information from them. But I don’t think that worked. Another cunning ploy that failed.”

Fiona revealed what it was like working alongside The Traitors presenter Claudia Winkleman. She gushed: “Claudia, well, what can you say about Claudia? I mean, there’s an icon now, isn’t there? She is lovely. She is such a sweet person. I mean I love her mother, Eve Pollard. I love Eve Pollard.

“So, you know, the fact that Claudia is her daughter, Claudia’s going to be marvellous because Eve Pollard has been my heroine for so many years, since the 80s and everything she’s done since, you now? So to get to meet Claudia and know that she’s a spawn of Eve Pollard, that was great.

“But she is so lovely, and the way that she dresses is beautiful. I mean, you literally could put a black bag on that woman and she would look spectacular.”

Since appearing on the series, Fiona has been showered with praise and affectionately dubbed a “hun” by viewers – though she admits the term initially baffled her.

She chuckled: “Well, I thought hun meant honey, like, you know, in America. Where you say ‘honey, I’m home’, I thought it was that. When I spoke with my husband and said, ‘oh, on the radio today, they said I was a hun’, and I said,’ isn’t that lovely’. He said to me, ‘what’s that mean?’ and I said, ‘honey.'”

“But when I did a Google, oh my goodness, the explanation, I still don’t know what it really means, but I’ll take it.

“I just think people have been so gracious and kind and I really mean that. Swansea people are anyway, and Welsh people are, you know, we are full of heart and goodness. Even people in Ireland, Scotland and England have been really gracious and kind to me, and I think that sums up the country as a whole. You know, we are a United Kingdom and we tend to support one another, which is lovely, isn’t it.”

Follow our live blog for the latest updates by clicking here.

THE house where Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead is on the market a year on.

The Santa Fe compound where the famed actor spent his final years has been listed at $6.25 million.

The sprawling Southwestern-style mansion comes with six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and views of the Rocky Mountains, according to Realtor.com.

Despite resting on over 53 acres of land, the home is also located in a gated community.

The rustic abode was extensively remodeled in 1990 and featured in Architectural Digest the same year.

Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered dead in the house on February 26 of last year.

DEBT AFTER DEATH

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GRIM FIND

Harrowing new details in autopsy report of Gene Hackman’s wife released

The legendary actor died from heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s, while Arakawa died from hantavirus.

Hantavirus is a rare but potentially fatal pulmonary disease caused by the droppings of infected rodents.

An environmental assessment of the property found rodent feces in several outbuildings around the property, but nothing in the main house, according to a New Mexico Department of Health report.

Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, New Mexico chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said.

She determined that Hackman died on February 18 due to unusual activity on his pacemaker, while Arakawa likely died in the days prior.

FINAL SEARCHES

Records released by officials show that Arakawa was searching for information on flu-like symptoms and breathing techniques in her final days.

Between February 8 and the morning of February 12, Arakawa searched on her computer for medical conditions related to Covid-19 and flu-like symptoms.

She also looked up if dizziness and nosebleeds were caused by Covid.

Arakawa made multiple calls to a health clinic on February 12 to seek medical advice for “congestion,” said Dr. Josiah Child, who led the clinic.

“There were a couple calls back and forth to just schedule that appointment for the afternoon, but she never showed up,” Dr Child told the BBC.

“Our office called back several times and never got an answer.”

Investigators discovered the couple’s bodies two weeks later.

Arakawa’s body was found by police in the bathroom, while Hackman was discovered in the entryway of the home.

One of the couple’s dogs was also found dead in a crate next to Arakawa’s body.

UNCERTAIN WILL

Hackman did not name his three children in his will, instead leaving his $80 million in assets to Arakawa.

Since authorities determined that Arakawa died before the two-time Academy Award winner, his children may be set to inherit his fortune as long as there is no other beneficiary named in his will.

Hackman’s children – Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58, who he had with ex-wife Faye Maltese – have not commented publicly on the matter.

The legendary actor previously spoke about the difficulties he had with raising his children, whom he was estranged from for years at a time.

“You become very selfish as an actor,” he told The New York Times in 1989.

“Even though I had a family, I took jobs that would separate us for three or four months at a time. The temptations in that, the money and recognition, it was too much for the poor boy in me.”

It’s not immediately clear who stands to benefit from the sale of Hackman and Arakawa’s house.

Singer Julio Iglesias issued a statement in response to allegations this week that he sexually assaulted two former employees at his homes in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.

The Grammy winner, the father of pop singer Enrique Iglesias, on Thursday denied the allegations as “absolutely false” in an Instagram statement posted in Spanish. “I deny having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman,” he said in his missive, which has been translated to English.

“These accusations are absolutely false and cause me great sadness,” he wrote.

“I had never experienced such malice,” the singer, 82, added, according to the Associated Press, “but I still have the strength for people to know the full truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious affront.”

Prosecutors in Spain said they are studying the allegations against Iglesias this week, claims that surfaced in media reports this week. Spanish online paper elDiario.es and Spanish-language television channel Univision Noticias this week published a joint investigation into accusations that Iglesias sexually and physically assaulted the former employees — two women who say they were live-in workers at his homes in the Caribbean — between January and October 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nongovernmental organization Women’s Link Worldwide is representing the two accusers, claiming Iglesias committed “crimes against sexual freedom and indemnity such as sexual harassment” and of “human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor and servitude.”

Spanish officials said they received a formal complaint about the allegations on Jan. 5. The court’s press office said Iglesias could potentially be taken in front of the Madrid-based court, which can try alleged crimes by Spanish citizens while they are abroad, AP reported.

The Madrid-born singer rose to popularity in the late 1960s and is one of the world’s most successful music artists. He has sold more than 300 million records in more than a dozen languages and garnered numerous Grammy nominations for his work, according to AP. A seven-time nominee, Iglesias won his first Grammy award in 1998, with his “Un Hombre Solo” winning the Latin Pop Performance prize.

Iglesias concluded his social media statement by thanking followers for their support.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

This week The Times published its rankings of the 101 best Los Angeles movies. Assembled from ballots by 17 film writers, the list would make for quite a viewing guide, running from 1924’s “Sherlock Jr.” to 2025’s “One of Them Days” and proving that there are many different versions and visions of the city. Directors including Amy Heckerling, David Lynch, Charles Burnett, Kathryn Bigelow, Michael Mann, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Altman and Billy Wilder all are represented on the list at least twice.

John Singleton’s 1991 drama “Boyz n the Hood,” starring Morris Chestnut, left, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ice Cube, made our list of the 101 best Los Angeles movies.

(Columbia Pictures)

“What makes a perfect L.A. movie?” Times film editor Joshua Rothkopf asked in his introduction to the list. “Some kind of alchemy of curdled glamour, palm trees, ocean spray, conspiracies big and small — and more than a pinch of vanity. From hard-bitten ’40s noirs and vertiginous Hollywood rises (and falls) to the real-life poetry of neighborhood dreamers and nighttime drivers, Los Angeles is always ready for its close-up. The city has long occupied a cinematic place, straddling its gauzy past and a dark, rainy future. Go west, they said, and we came here, a site of fantasy, industry, possibility and obsession.”

Times critic Amy Nicholson took a crack at what makes for a definitive Los Angeles film, tying it together with her own experiences moving here as a movie-mad transplant.

“Part of what defines a Los Angeles movie is our city’s willingness to turn the camera on itself, to prioritize a riveting tale over our own reputation. We’re eager to share our saga with the world. Our glamorous and gruesome history is all there in a close-up of ‘Chinatown’s’ Jack Nicholson: a movie star with a mutilated nose.”

Let us know your own favorites — and any titles you think we may have overlooked — by clicking here.

David Lynch, one year gone

Laura Dern in director David Lynch’s 2006 movie “Inland Empire.”

(Studio Canal)

Today marks the first anniversary of the death of filmmaker David Lynch, and Tuesday would have been his 80th birthday. To commemorate the occasion, venues all over town are celebrating Lynch and his work. The Academy Museum will have five nights of screenings, beginning with “Blue Velvet” in 4K with star Kyle MacLachlan as a special guest. “Lost Highway” and “Mulholland Drive” will also both screen in 4K. Star Laura Dern will attend for “Inland Empire” in 4K and ”Wild at Heart” in 35mm.

In her original review of “Blue Velvet,” Sheila Benson captured much of what has made Lynch’s work so enduring, writing, “Secrets are at the heart of David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet,’ the most brilliantly disturbing film ever to have its roots in small-town American life. Shocking, visionary, rapturously controlled, its images of innocence and a dark, bruising sexuality drop straight into our unconscious where they rest like depth charges. … ‘Blue Velvet’ takes us behind the working-class American facade, beneath the Technicolor grass, literally underground to the churning turmoil of black, shiny beetles below. It’s there. It’s always there, Lynch says, if you only look and listen.”

Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini in David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet.”

(Dino De Laurentiis Communications)

The American Cinematheque has launched a revisit of the entirety of the groundbreaking television series “Twin Peaks.” This week will feature Season 1, Episode 1, directed by Lynch himself.

On Tuesday, the Philosophical Research Society will present Episode 8 of the third season of “Twin Peaks,” widely hailed as the high pointof the reinvigorated return of the show. An introduction by cast members and a post-screening symposium involving experts from a wide range of fields should make for quite a night.

‘Goodfellas’ at 35

Lorraine Bracco and Ray Liotta in “Goodfellas.”

(Warner Bros. / Kobal / Shutterstock)

The American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre will present a 35th anniversary screening of Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” with producer Irwin Winkler and co-screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi for a Q&A moderated by Scott Foundas.

With its innovative style and indelible performances by Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro, “Goodfellas” would go on to redefine the gangster story — although it’s difficult from our vantage point to remember that the movie was once new.

In her original 1990 review, Sheila Benson wrote, “To see an artist working at the peak of his power, everything extraneous stripped away, every element there for a purpose, is an extraordinary exhilaration. Martin Scorsese gave us that pure, hot, unquestioned power last in ‘Raging Bull’ and, in virtuosity alone, ‘Goodfellas’ is ‘Raging Bull’ squared. .”

Points of interest

‘The Puffy Chair’ at 20

Katie Aselton and Mark Duplass in “The Puffy Chair.”

(Ink Films)

Some anniversaries we’re not ready for — has it really been that long? Such it is with Monday’s 20th anniversary screening at Vidiots of “The Puffy Chair,” which introduced the talents of Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton. In the years since, they have had remarkable careers together and apart, as Mark currently appears as an actor on “The Morning Show,” Jay’s latest film as director “See You When I See You” is about to premiere at Sundance and Katie’s own directing effort, “Their Town,” written by (husband) Mark and starring their daughter Ora, will premiere at SXSW. Aselton and both Duplass brothers are all scheduled to appear at the Vidiots screening.

“The Puffy Chair” was made for a reported $15,000 and was a key entry in the micro-budget movement that came to be known as mumblecore. The film tells the story of a young man and his girlfriend who go on a road trip to pick up a lounge chair that resembles one his father used to own.

In a 2006 review, Kevin Crust wrote, “The Duplass’ ability to accurately depict the rough edges that define relationships — both romantic and familial — is what elevates ‘Chair’ above the prototypical indie drama absorbed in aimlessness and twentysomething angst. What feels like meandering in the moment builds to a genuine emotional attachment to the characters. … Much of the film’s dialogue feels improvised, and there’s a casualness to the pacing that recalls early Richard Linklater. ‘Chair’ is one of those rare feature debuts that come out of Sundance (class of 2005) full of buzz and doesn’t disappoint.”

‘The Killing of a Chinese Bookie’ at 50

Ben Gazzara in “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.”

(Criterion Collection)

On Sunday the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre will host a 50th anniversary screening of the original extended 1976 cut of John Cassavetes’ “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.” In the film, Ben Gazzara plays an L.A. strip club owner with gambling debts who is begrudgingly enlisted by a mobster to kill a rival. With its mix of genres and tones, the movie made for a challenging follow-up to Cassavetes’ 1974 “A Woman Under the Influence,” with Gazzara’s magnetic performance colliding with the conventions of a genre thriller.

Charles Champlin’s original review of the film captures the confusion people felt on it’s initial release. As Champlin wrote, “In the earlier films, the weaving, poking, exploratory, hand-held cameras, the gargled sound, the mingling of very professional and very amateurish acting, the interminable scenes and the improvisatory sense usually combined to give a feeling of raw and painful honesty to the material. … Watching this stumbling story of a strip-joint owner forced into murder to square a gambling debt, you get the impression the filmmaker could not decide whether to make a ‘popular’ picture in something close to the gangster tradition or another of his studies of contemporary society.”

Bill Forsyth’s ‘Comfort and Joy’

An image from the movie “Comfort and Joy.”

(Mezzanine Film)

On Wednesday, Mezzanine will present Scottish filmmaker Bill Forsyth’s 1984 film “Comfort and Joy” introduced by actor Colin Burgess and filmmaker Alec Moeller. The follow-up to Forsyth’s “Local Hero,” the movie concerns a morning radio host in Glasgow (Bill Patterson) who learns that his girlfriend is leaving him on Christmas Eve. This sends him into an emotional spiral that somehow finds him caught between rival dairy vendors.

In her original review, Sheila Benson wrote, “‘Comfort and Joy’ is personal, droll, even more an inward observation than his other films. … It works on a variety of levels — one may be despair, but the others are parody, whimsy and irony. ‘Comfort and Joy’ is not broad humor but gentle civilized comedy — deftly performed — whose aftereffect is likely to be a glow of rueful recognition.”

In other news

‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’

Ralph Fiennes, left, and Jack O’Connell in “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.”

(Sony Pictures)

Probably the most exciting new release this week is “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Alex Garland. Arriving quickly after Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later” last year, the film continues to add to the ongoing mythology of a rage-inducing virus that takes over the United Kingdom. Further following young Spike (Alfie Williams), the story finds him falling in with a psychotic gang led by the self-described Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and reencountering Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Ian Kelson.

In her review, Amy Nicholson wrote, “DaCosta shares Boyle’s tactic of attacking a theme from two flanks: a showy assault (we’re doomed!) and a subversive sneak-around (perhaps we always were). Zombie stories are either about a civilization’s collapse or its rebuilding and typically use our contemporary society as a measuring stick of success. … Having had decades to run free, the infected now resemble Neanderthals. Life has devolved to its primordial pool. This filthy and fascinating film is peering in, nose crinkled and stomach churning, to see what bubbles up.”

‘A Private Life’

Jodie Foster and Daniel Auteuil in “A Private Life.”

(Jérôme Prébois / Sony Pictures Classics)

Rebecca Zlotowski’s “A Private Life” stars Jodie Foster as an American psychiatrist who lives in Paris, a role that gives the star a chance to utilize her fluency in French. When a troubled patient dies suddenly, Foster’s Lilian begins to suspect there is more to the story than first appears, turning into an amateur sleuth. The cast also includes Virginie Efira, Mathieu Amalric, Irène Jacob, Aurore Clément, Frederick Wiseman and Daniel Auteuil as Lilian’s ex-husband Gaby.

As Robert Abele wrote in his review, “As ‘A Private Life’ moves along, with Lilian negotiating a break-in, threats and lapses in judgment, it never exactly coheres. Yet it somehow entertains, which is a testament to Zlotowski’s energy juggling her various theme-colored story balls. While the mystery plot strains to be interesting as a lesson for its protagonist about how one never can fully know another human being, Lilian’s and Gaby’s rekindled affection is a wonderfully mature strand of midlife complexity, with Auteuil and Foster giving all their scenes the kind of nuanced, lived-in humor that suggests a flinty couple who never fully believed they were done with each other.”

Mickey Rourke is doubling down on his disgust over a fundraiser that quickly raised more than $100,000 on his behalf, calling it an embarrassing “scam” and a “vicious cruel lie” and promising “severe repercussions to [the] individual who did this very bad thing” to him.

At the same time, the fundraiser — aimed at keeping Rourke in his home when he faced eviction because of almost $60,000 in unpaid rent — has been taken down, with the actor’s name being used now by others to boost their more anonymous efforts.

(A Friday morning search for “Mickey Rourke” on GoFundMe yielded more than a dozen campaigns drafting off the search value of the actor’s high-profile situation but the campaign set up for the “9½ Weeks” actor was nowhere to be found.)

The GoFundMe had been placed on pause last week after more than $100,000 was raised in two days, with Rourke’s manager Kimberly Hines writing, “Thank you so much for your generosity and for standing with Mickey during this time. Your support truly means a great deal to us, and we are grateful for every donation. We remain committed to finding a resolution and are working with Mickey to determine the next steps.”

Rejecting the donations, Rourke called the fundraiser “humiliating” and “really f— embarrassing” in a video posted last week, saying he didn’t need the money.

“I wouldn’t know what a GoFund foundation is in a million years,” said the actor, 73, who was a leading man in the 1980s with movies including “Barfly” and “Angel Heart” and was Oscar-nominated for his work in 2008’s “The Wrestler.” “My life is very simple and I don’t go to outside sources like that.”

He said later in the video that he “would never ask strangers or fans for a nickel. That’s not my style.”

Hines might disagree, as she said she’s the one who has been fronting the money to cover Rourke’s move out of the Beverly Grove house and into a hotel and subsequently into a Koreatown apartment.

Hines’ assistant’s name had been listed as the creator of the fundraiser, with Hines named as the beneficiary. The actor’s manager of nine years told the Hollywood Reporter on Jan. 6 that Rourke knew the origins of the effort, despite saying he did not: She and her assistant had run the idea past his assistant before it was launched, she said, and both teams were OK with it.

“Nobody’s trying to grift Mickey. I want him working. I don’t want him doing a GoFundMe,” Hines told THR. “The good thing about this is that he got four movie offers since yesterday. People are emailing him movie offers now, which is great because nobody’s been calling him for a long time.”

But Rourke was still fretting over it Thursday on Instagram, where he said in a couple of posts that there was still more than $90,000 to be returned to his supporters and promised that his attorney was “doing everything in his power” to make sure people got their “hard earned money” back.

He also thanked some “great” friends who he said reached out after seeing the “scam” that he needed money, including UFC boss Dana White and fighter Bill “Superfoot” Wallace.

Rourke said in his Jan. 6 video, shot while he was staying at a hotel, “I’m grateful for what I have. I’ve got a roof over my head, I’ve got food to eat. … Everything’s OK. Just get your money back, please. I don’t need anybody’s money, and I wouldn’t do it this way. I’ve got too much pride. This ain’t my style.”