BELOVED actor Dick Van Dyke has issued a concerning health update as he shares his secrets to a long and happy life ahead of his 100th birthday.
The award-winning star revealed on Sunday that he feels “diminished” and is becoming increasingly housebound as a result of his frailty.
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Dick Van Dyke has issued an update on his health as he prepared to turn 100 in a few weeksCredit: GettyThe iconic actor and entertainer has shared some of his rules to live by for a long and joyful lifeCredit: Getty
The father-of-four is set to celebrate his 100th birthday on December 13.
Ahead of the celebrations, he penned an essay for The Times, issuing an update on his health and opening up about the secrets to a long and happy life.
Reflecting on some of his most iconic roles as aged men, the TV icon accepted, “I’m not playing a super-old any more. I am a super-old”.
“I am now a stooper, a shuffler and a teeterer. I have feet problems and I go supine as often as is politely possible,” he wrote.
“I have trouble following group conversations and complain frequently about my hearing aids.
“At mealtime I spill stuff, and when my wife, Arlene, asks me to put on an unstained shirt before we go out, I get impatient.”
The TV icon revealed that he is becoming increasingly housebound as a result of “physical decay”.
“It’s frustrating to feel diminished in the world, physically and socially,” he said.
“I get invites to events or offers for gigs in New York or Chicago, but that kind of travel takes so much out of me that I have to say no.
“Almost all of my visiting with folks has to happen at my house.”
Despite his physical ailments, the Mary Poppins star is relentlessly positive about life, praising his wife for keeping him young as well as seeing the world and his experiences of it like a “giant playground”.
“Boiled down, the things that have kept my life joyful and fulfilling are pretty simple: romance, doing what I love and a whole lot of laughing,” he wrote.
As well as still going to the gym three times a week, being part of a singing group, and always dancing, Dick has a number of rules to staying young at heart while making it to 100.
Trying not to let negativity take over is one of the key tenants of his life.
He has praised his wife Arlene for keeping him young and movingCredit: Getty
While he admitted that he can “spiral into anguish over the mayhem and cruelty” of the world, and turn into a stereotypical grumpy old man, “that’s not the essence of me,” he says.
Instead, he recommends embracing all life throws at you – the good, the bad, and the ugly – without giving into it.
Dance, sing, and be able to laugh at yourself, he said, if you can’t do the latter, “you’ve got big problems”.
Two other rules he lives by are to always be playful and to refuse to live in the past.
Last year he even joked that he “hopes he makes it to 99th birthday” as he was seen running errands in Malibu.
Now, as he prepares to reach a century, he is showing no signs of slowing down with his new book ‘100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life’ being released on November 18.
Dick says he always tries to stay playful, refuses to let negativity get him down, and that music and dance are key to longevityCredit: GettyThe actor will turn 100 on December 13Credit: Getty
Clad in close-fitting black outfits, two performers get into stance for a fight scene. The cameras surrounding the massive stage in Playa Vista start rolling.
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One turns around slowly, pantomimes being shot, and carefully, deliberately, arches himself backward, clawing at the air before a stunt coordinator helps ease him toward a black mattress.
That movement is translated into dots and lines on a nearby computer, transmitted by the round, white sensors embedded in the suits’ colorful almond-shaped patches. Later, those will be fleshed out into characters and scenes in the new “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7” game, which debuts Friday.
It’s all part of the blockbuster production effort that goes into making one of the most popular video game franchises ever. “Call of Duty,” from Santa Monica publisher Activision, has ranked as the top-selling video game series in the U.S. for 16 straight years and has sold more than 500 million copies globally since the first installment was released in 2003.
And as one of the few franchises with an annual release schedule, hitting that deadline takes an army. About 3,000 people worked on “Black Ops 7” over the course of four years.
Activision executives declined to discuss the game’s budget but called it a “significant investment.” Top video game franchises can have production costs of $250 million or more — higher than most big-budget Hollywood films.
“It’s like, every year we have to launch a new ‘Star Wars.’ Every year we have to launch a new ‘Avatar,’ ” said Tyler Bahl, chief marketing officer at Activision. “So we have to think about, how do we do this in an unexpected way?”
“Ultimately, we want to treat our games like an absolute blockbuster,” said Matt Cox, general manager of “Call of Duty” at Activision, who has worked on the franchise for more than 10 years. “The investment is there for them.”
Activision’s Treyarch game production studio is where Call of Duty video game is produced.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The franchise has become a key driver of Activision’s success, analysts said.
The base game consistently sells more than 20 million units annually, not including the live services components that update after a game’s launch and keep players engaged, monthly battle passes that unlock rewards or even the mobile game, all of which add up to an estimated annual sales of about $3.5 billion to $4 billion, said Eric Handler, media and entertainment analyst at Roth Capital.
“It revolutionized the first-person shooter and has done a great job, year in and year out, of being the best of breed, building the largest community and evolving, pivoting to where video game players are all over the world,” Handler said. “There are other [shooter] franchises that are trying to replicate its success … but nobody’s been able to match the consistency of ‘Call of Duty.’”
To maintain its annual cadence, Activision rotates game development among several of its studios, including Playa Vista-based Treyarch, which co-developed “Black Ops 6” and “Black Ops 7” in parallel — the first time that two “Call of Duty: Black Ops” games came out in subsequent years.
The previous game is set in the ‘90s, while the newest installment jumps ahead to 2035, meaning designers and animators had to envision what gear and gadgets might look like in the future (“Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” was eerily accurate in its predictions for the year 2025).
“It was a huge opportunity for us to tell two unique but also connected stories at the same time,” said Yale Miller, senior director of production at Treyarch.
Unlike the linear nature of film production, many things happen in tandem when producing a game like “Call of Duty.” The game has a campaign mode that follows a story, a multiplayer option to play with friends and the ever-popular zombies portion, meaning each designated team is thinking in parallel about things like tone, features and playable moments that they want fans to experience, Miller said.
While an actor is recording lines, another team may be building the weapon they mention and making it interactive, while another group builds the explosion that the lines and weapon will be part of.
“It’s not just, ‘Oh, we got the shot. We’re done for the day,’ ” Miller said. The acting performance is “an anchor for a lot of the things that we build, but then it’s the whole world in parallel, and that’s how we get to such big teams working on stuff, and everything has to get thought about.”
The franchise has become known for its intense, cinematic quality, a reputation enhanced by the live-action film and television backgrounds of many who work on the games, including some stunt performers and Treyarch performance capture director Mikal Vega, who worked on the 2017 NBC drama “The Brave” after a long career in the military.
“It’s theater-in-the-round,” he said during a Zoom call from the stage. “A lot more like theater-in-the-round than film in some cases, and very much like film in other phases of it.”
And there is a bit of a learning curve, particularly because of the motion-capture technology used, which can make movements awkward.
In the new game, “This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia plays Lt. Cmdr. David Mason, a character who first appeared in 2012’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” and is now on the hunt for a former arms dealer who caused the death of his father and was previously believed dead.
Acting in “Black Ops 7” was “more technical” than his previous film and TV roles since it required getting used to a boom mic or camera that jutted out in front of him, he said. In one early instance, Ventimiglia went to scratch an itch on his cheek and was told by the crew not to put anything between his face and the camera, and to pantomime scratching outside of the camera, not realizing it wasn’t acting.
Then there were four-hour sessions in the sound booth, saying lines dozens of times in dozens of ways with any number of weapons.
“It’s super, super taxing, hard work, but fun at the same time,” Ventimiglia said. “When are you going to talk about calling out grenades and flash bangs and using different weapons? Very rarely.”
Adding to the cinematic quality are the hyper-realistic portrayals of actors, gear and costumes, which are the result of scans on a light stage that can re-create items in 3-D. Principal and background characters sit on a chair inside the sphere and do poses, surrounded by 16 DSLR cameras and dozens of hexagonal lights that emit a hazy glow. In 1.3 seconds, more than 256 images will be shot. Principal characters like Ventimiglia will typically do up to 120 poses — all to make sure the nuances of someone’s face are captured.
Evan Buttons, Activision director of technical projects, is photographed inside the face scanning studio.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
In a nearby room with a 22-foot ceiling and black, soundproof walls, an even larger sphere with more than 140 cameras and several video cameras are used to capture full body scans, gear and costumes. Everything captured then goes to the character art team, which will tweak it to their specifications and put it in the game.
Even in the days leading up to the game’s release, the team was still busy. In an era when internet speeds are faster, work doesn’t end with a game’s initial release. Content will be released regularly in the months after “Black Ops 7” debuts, all to keep it fresh for players, who can put more than 1,000 hours into the game.
“The No. 1 reason why they play ‘Call of Duty’ is actually because their friends are there,” said Bahl of Activision. “Those bonds and those social connections, I think, is really what makes this game different and stronger, and it’s made it last for so long.”
Alan Carr has shared a huge update on replacing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as the presenter of Strictly Come Dancing following his victory on Celebrity Traitors
Is Alan Carr about go to from the Traitors turret to the dancefloor?(Image: ITV)
While he’s back with a new series of his hit comedy Changing Ends, the 49-year-old admits he’s unsure whether he could handle the challenge of stepping into Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s sparkly shoes.
“My name is in the hat,” he says. “What an honour. It’s a bit like when my name got bandied about for Britain’s Got Talent and The Great British Bake Off – I’m always on the periphery.
“I don’t know how serious it is. No one has approached me. People are so passionate about it and you saw me sweating in the castle when I was a Traitor, imagine me doing live telly with how many million people watching!”
Although after a star turn on The Celebrity Traitors, he knows how to convincingly lie – and that could come in handy on Strictly. If someone’s cha-cha-cha is a bit s**t, I’ve got the poker face!” he jokes.
“So many things have come from The Celebrity Traitors – so many job offers coming in – I’d be flattered, but I don’t know if I could do it [Strictly] justice. I just don’t want to ruin it for people.”
Alan is back on more familiar ground with Changing Ends – the semi-autobiographical sitcom about his childhood in 1980s Northampton.
Series three follows teenage Alan (played by Bafta nominee Oliver Savell) as he navigates obstacles such as stressful swimming lessons, and, more importantly, his first big crush – young Alan is smitten with Jake, the Saturday boy at the charity shop.
“I really got into charity shopping,” Alan smiles. “I used to go in there every Saturday and flick through the posters to catch his eye. I must have stunk like an old woman because I would get flares, I wore my dad’s sheepskin and we didn’t have dry cleaning like we do these days.
“I just wanted to be in love really. It still hasn’t happened!” With Alan now single after divorcing ex-husband Paul Drayton back in 2022, is he hoping his teenage crush will reach the real-life inspiration behind Jake?
“The boy knew then because I was just as unsubtle as I am now,” he laughs. “When I went back to Northampton, I saw him queuing up at a cash point. My knees went to jelly and I thought, ‘Oh my God, there he is.’ But I didn’t want to say hi.
“There’s still something there, but I don’t want a Surprise Surprise moment. He had his chance and he missed it! He could be dating a national treasure now.”
Fans will already know that Alan’s father Graham was famous himself – having been a professional footballer in the 1960s who went on to manage Northampton Town among other clubs. However, the new series also sees Alan’s mother Christine embracing life as a local WAG.
“We would drop my brother [Gary] off at Beavers and me and mum would sit in the Tesco café for an hour with a cup of tea and a Chelsea bun,” he says. “I remember this woman coming over in the canteen to ask for an autograph – I mean, it was funny.
“It sounds weird, but in Northampton, my dad was famous – people would stop him. My mum didn’t get the same standard as my dad, but it was funny. She was stopped a few times and people whispered, ‘That’s Graham Carr’s wife.’ Now she gets, ‘That’s Alan Carr’s mum – that’s the Traitor’s mum!’”
Christine isn’t always pleased with how Alan portrays his childhood, with Nancy Sullivan and Shaun Dooley playing his long-suffering parents.
“My mum goes, ‘Oh Alan, it wasn’t that obvious you were gay when you were a child.’ My mum, bless her – she’s still that she-wolf who goes up the school. ‘Don’t you pick on my Alan, he does fancy girls!’ I don’t think she realises how camp I am, she just loves me.”
Both his parents visited the show’s “surreal” set in Enfield, north London, which completely recreates his childhood home. “My poor dad walked up the stairs and nearly fell to his death because he thought the bedroom was upstairs,” he says. “How weird is that? It’s identical to the house. To have it decompartmentalised in a warehouse is so strange.”
As for whether we can expect more episodes of Changing Ends in the future, Alan says that it’s up to the fans.
“I like the stage it’s at – that weird puberty stage,” he says. “If people are watching and they want it to come back, I’ll think about writing some more.
“But when it gets to the call centre years at 18 and when I started packing shampoo and dog food, I think I’m going to run out of stories because that was a really bleak time. It could be like The Office and be called The Warehouse!”
Although, after managing to make it all the way to the very end of The Celebrity Traitors without being found out as a Traitor, Alan is concerned that viewers won’t trust him any more.
“I want it to be really authentic, but I worry now after doing The Celebrity Traitors people aren’t going to believe a word of Changing Ends!” he laughs.
Changing Ends, Sunday 23 November, 10.05pm, ITV1 and ITVX
Millie was left fuming by a snapper’s commentCredit: GettyShe clapped back before walking off the carpetCredit: PAThe photographer had told her to smileCredit: Getty
Posing for snappers at the Odeon Luxe in London’s Leicester Square, one shutterbug was seemingly left unimpressed.
Flashes fired in her direction, with the pack of media apparently wanting more as one shouted at her to smile.
Video footage shows the moment Millie pulls a face at the photographer in question before saying, “Smile? You smile”
After making her comment, she walks away from the carpet and stops posing altogether.
The clip has gone viral on both TikTok and on X, formally known as Twitter.
It has divided followers, with some saying she had every right to leave, but others hitting back at the actress.
In Millie’s defence, one penned on X, “Celebrities are not legally obliged to smile when photographers request it.”
A second said, “Millie Bobby Brown serving major clapback energy.”
While a third responded, “Not exactly promoting them acting like d***s, but they seriously have the right to call out paparazzi Since Chappell Roan.
“We need these celebrities to show those unhuman paparazzi their place.”
Another added, “I feel for Millie Bobby Brown in this case.
“People used to say that I didn’t smile enough… My high school track coach used to say, ‘smile’, I even got disciplined at a JOB for NOT SMILING ENOUGH.”
A fifth said, “I feel bad for her. Probably the last kind of person that should be famous. I hope she get peace in her life.”
Others weren’t so sure, with another user writing on X, “Okay so I’m confused by this.
“How is a professional photographer asking you to smile offensive?”
A second said, “You’re on the Red Carpet to provide pictures for media outlets.
“Don’t be surprised when one of the photographers asks you to smile.”
While a third wrote, “Gurlll you’re on a red carpet.. posing for pictures… in front of a photographer. There is zero sexism involved here.”
They added, “She has a talent, that Holmes piece she did was very well done, but her attitude I think will not enable her to continue towards further success.”
Her outburst seemed to divide fans onlineCredit: SplashSome said she had every right to walk awayCredit: GettyWhile others branded the ordeal a diva momentCredit: Getty
Remember the brave, talented theater students at Eliot Arts magnet school who lost their school, homes and theater to January’s Eaton fire and went on to perform their spring musical, “Shrek Jr.,” to a sold-out crowd at the Ahmanson Theatre?
Those kids are still displaced from their school, but not from the tenacious community spirit that guided them through the aftermath of that trauma. Their next chapter: a four-day, three-night class trip to New York City to see the sights and attend Broadway shows and workshops.
“After ‘Shrek’ last spring, I sat down with a group of my advanced theater students, and I said, ‘Dream big. What else would you want in your fantasy world?’ Big things have happened for us this semester after the fires,” their drama teacher, Mollie Lief, said in a phone interview. “And they said, ‘We want to go to New York City.’ And I just thought, ‘OK, we’re gonna make this happen.’”
The class has now met its initial $75,000 fundraising goal toward “Broadway Bound: A drama and dance trip to NYC,” which Lief will lead along with dance teacher Billy Rugh, who choreographed “Shrek Jr.” The funds, which will help cover the partial or full cost of taking 61 seventh and eighth graders to the Big Apple from April 7-10, were raised in about 28 days through a school fundraising campaign app called SnapRaise.
Lief credited actor Gillian Jacobs — who Lief calls “our fairy godmother” — with spreading the word to friends in film and TV, which is why the initial goal was met so quickly. Fundraising remains ongoing for the trip, as well as the school’s spring musical, but the class can now rest easy that everyone will be able to go.
“I think everybody was skeptical that we were going to be able to raise that much money and make it happen. But if Eliot’s good at anything, we are good at making big things happen,” said Lief.
Speaking of which: The other really big thing that Lief wants for the kids is a meeting with Broadway superstar and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda sent a personal message of support to the students via video when they performed at the Ahmanson, so he’s aware of them and their extraordinary story.
“They just love him,” Lief said of Miranda. “We had a Lin-Manuel Miranda day for Hispanic Heritage Month, and everybody dressed up as him or a character from one of his shows. They are all obviously obsessed with ‘Hamilton,’ which is a show we’re trying to see when we’re in New York.”
Three Broadway shows are part of the trip’s itinerary, as well as a theater and dance workshop or two. Also on the agenda: plenty of New York pizza, a jaunt through Central Park, a sightseeing cruise and a Big Bus tour.
“They’re super pumped,” Lief said of the kids who are currently rehearsing for their newest show, “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood.”
On our radar
Grant Gershon will conduct the Los Angeles Master Chorale in David Lang’s “before and after nature” Sunday at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
(Jamie Phan / Los Angeles Master Chorale)
before and after nature The fall’s third and largest major environment-themed work is David Lang’s “before and after nature,” an evening-length score that was commissioned by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and had its premiere in the spring at Stanford University in conjunction with the Doerr School of Sustainability. Here, Lang explores, in his almost Hildegard-like glowing vocal writing, the human relationship with a nature that doesn’t need us, or want us, yet we insist on being the center of everything and making an inevitable mess of it. The instrumental ensemble is Bang on a Can All-Stars (Lang having been a founder of the New York music institution). The performance includes a video component by Tal Rosner, and Grant Gershon conducts. — Mark Swed 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org
A 1989 billboard poster about museum representation by the Guerrilla Girls.
(Getty Research Institute)
How to Be a Guerrilla Girl The Guerrilla Girls famously shield their identity by wearing gorilla masks in public, but this show will unveil “how-to” information on their effective techniques of data research, distribution and culture jamming. Drawing on the witty protest group’s early archives, acquired in 2008 by the Getty Research Institute, their 40th anniversary will be celebrated by an exhibition of materials outlining the collaborative process that goes into their ongoing demands for art world equity for women and artists of color. A selection from their dozens of posters and ads will be displayed. — Christopher Knight Tuesday through April 12, 2026. Getty Center, Research Institute Galleries, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. getty.edu
The Broadway production of the musical “Suffs.”
(Joan Marcus)
Suffs This musical by Shaina Taub, which won Tony Awards for book and original score, turns the history of the 20th century American women’s suffrage movement into a show that rallies the spirit of democracy. The plot follows Alice Paul and a new generation of radical activists who are testing new tactics in the fight to secure women the right to vote. During the Broadway run, Hillary Clinton, one of the show’s high-profile producers, went on the stump for “Suffs,” endorsing its much-needed lesson that progress is possible, if never guaranteed. — Charles McNulty Wednesday through Dec. 7. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. broadwayinhollywood.com
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
Olga de Amaral, “Gran Muro, Panel 7B,” 1976. Cotton, wool, horsehair, sisal and/or jute, rayon, nylon, raffia. 130 x 175 in.
(Mark Waldhauser / Photo from Lisson Gallery)
Olga de Amaral This solo exhibition of work from the Colombian artist’s six-decade career emphasizes her use of weaving, painting and sculpture, with variable scale, form and materials, including linen, wool, horsehair, Japanese paper, acrylic and precious metals. Opening, 6-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Lisson Gallery, 1037 N. Sycamore Ave. Los Angeles. lissongallery.com
60 Miles East: Riverside’s Underground Punk Rock, Hardcore & Ska Scene, from the late 1980s to early 2000s An exhibit of photography devoted to a distinctive music scene that made the most of its outsider existence in exploding exurbia. Riverside Museum of Art, Art Alliance Gallery, 3425 Mission Inn Ave. riversideartmuseum.org
SATURDAY
Yaphet Kotto, Sigourney Weaver and Ian Holm in the 1979 film “Alien.”
(Robert Penn / 20th Century Fox)
Alien Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi classic screens in 35 mm to capture all of its oozing, Xenomorphic chest-bursting glory. Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto and Tom Skerritt star. 7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Creative Continuities: Family, Pride and Community in Native Art Three contemporary Plains Indian artists, John Pepion (Blackfeet), Brocade Stops Black Eagle (Crow) and Jessa Rae Growing Thunder (Dakota/Nakoda), each curated a section of this exhibition exploring aspects of Native culture through the lens of works created by their ancestors. Saturday-June 2027. Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. theautry.org
Jlin A 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist, the electronic music composer a.k.a. Jerrilynn Patton’s latest album featured collaborations with Philip Glass, Björk and Kronos Quartet. 8 p.m. Saturday. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu
Baratunde Thurston will perform Saturday at Carpenter Center.
(Roy Rochlin / Getty Images for Unfinished Live)
An Evening with Baratunde Thurston The comedian and futurist ponders interrelationships between people, nature and technologies through stories. 8 p.m. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org
SUNDAY Radical Histories: Chicano Prints from the Smithsonian American Art Museum Six decades of art featuring 60 works by 40 or so artists and collectives that reflects an era of rebellion and cultural solidarity. Through March 2, 2026. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. huntington.org
Something’s Gotta Give The American Cinematheque’s tribute to Diane Keaton continues with director Nancy Meyers’ 2003 romantic comedy co-starring Jack Nicholson, Amanda Peet and Keanu Reeves. Meyers joins film critic Katie Walsh for a Q&A. 7 p.m. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. americancinematheque.com
Takács Quartet The chamber music ensemble performs a program featuring works by Joseph Haydn, Clarice Assad and Claude Debussy. 4 p.m. Broad Stage at Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. broadstage.org
TUESDAY Brahms Strings Members of the L.A. Phil perform contemporary American composer Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum” as well as19th century masterworks by Johannes Brahms. 8 p.m. Tuesday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
THURSDAY Lonnie Holley and Moor Mother The two artists collaborate for an evening of free jazz and spoken word rooted in Afrofuturism. 7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org
Prieto The L.A. premiere of poet and performance artist Yosimar Reyes dives into his experience growing up queer in East San Jose. 8 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Nov. 21-22; 2 p.m. Nov. 23. The Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts, 720 Kohler St., Los Angeles. brownpapertickets.com
New Original Works (NOW) The third weekend of REDCAT’s annual festival of experimental performance features a program of works by Lu Coy, jeremy de’jon guyton and Luna Izpisua Rodriguez. 8 p.m Thursday-Saturday. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A.redcat.org
Shelley Conducts Carmen and Daphnis and Chloe Artistic and music director designate Alexander Shelley conducts the Pacific Symphony in a program of Bizet and Ravel, as well composer/pianist Gabriel Montero’s “Latin Concerto.” 8 p.m Thursday; 8 p.m. Nov. 21-22. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. pacificsymphony.org
Culture news and the SoCal scene
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has officially set its opening date for Sept. 22, 2026. The Times got an exclusive peek at a few interiors, including the research library and the entrance lobby. We also took some great photos of the building as it currently looks and made a short video. Take a peek.
Times classical music critic Mark Swed weighs in on opera’s “long and curious fetish for the convent” in his review of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “sincere and compelling ‘Hildegard.’” L.A. Opera’s collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects is based on “a real-life 12th century abbess and present-day cult figure, St. Hildegard von Bingen.” The show, which premiered at the Wallis last week, “operates as much as a passion play as an opera,” Swed writes.
Swed also took in a show featuring Zubin Mehta, the 89-year-old Los Angeles Philharmonic’s conductor emeritus, as he led the orchestra in Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony. Swed calls Mehta “a living L.A. icon.”
Times theater critic Charles McNulty touched down in New York City to review “The Queen of Versailles,” an adaptation of Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary about a family building a supersized American home. McNulty found the musical unwieldy despite Michael Arden’s superb direction, but he reserved special praise for its star, Kristin Chenoweth, “who is bearing the weight of a McMansion musical on her diminutive frame and making it seem like she’s hoisting nothing heavier than a few overstuffed Hermes, Prada and Chanel shopping bags.”
Sculptures by the entrance of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.
(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)
I enjoyed writing about the $15-million renovation of the Norton Simon Museum, which has been unveiled in tandem with the organization’s 50th anniversary. In addition to new signage, improved curb appeal and a more accessible pedestrian entryway, the museum restored the 115,000 Heath tiles that clad the building’s exterior.
Times art critic Christopher Knight has the scoop on trouble at the Palm Springs Art Museum, which is facing a trustee revolt after hiring its new director, Christine Vendredi — the fourth such leader in just seven years. A week after the hire, “the chair of the search committee tasked with filling that position, trustee Patsy Marino, resigned from the museum’s board citing ‘inappropriate interference and attempts to influence the process’ on the part of the museum’s executive committee, individual trustees and other unidentified museum staff and donors,” Knight writes. To date, 22 trustees have exited, and it has been revealed that no other candidates were interviewed for the role.
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announced a major departure: Robert van Leer is stepping down as executive director and chief executive of the Wallis to take on the role of the new performing arts program director of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Van Leer has been at the Wallis since April 2023, and was instrumental in inviting a host of prominent performing arts organizations to make the Wallis their home, including Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, L.A. Dance Project, Los Angeles Ballet, BODYTRAFFIC, and Tonality.
“Specter,” a sculptural installation for Desert X by L.A. artist Sterling Ruby, just outside Palm Springs in 2019.
(Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)
Big changes are coming to Desert X as it plans its sixth exhibition in the Coachella Valley, and its 10th worldwide. Over the past decade, the organization has commissioned more than 100 artists to create site-specific work in the desert. For its 10th anniversary exhibition, Desert X has announced new dates and an extended timeline. The next show is scheduled to open on Oct. 30, 2027, and will run through May 7, 2028, to coincide with other important area cultural events including the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Modernism Week, Frieze Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Carol Burnett has endowed a new scholarship at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. The annual award will support undergraduate students in the school’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program. The inaugural scholarship has been awarded to first-year theater major Alexa Cruz.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Looking for a decadent holiday gift for an art lover? How about a $295 chocolate bar made by andSons Chocolatiers in collaboration with Ed Ruscha? The 73% Peruvian dark chocolate bar is an edition of 300 and comes in a cloth-bound box, which, according to the Beverly Hills-based chocolate company’s website, features “a reproduction of Ruscha’s 1971 lithograph ‘Made in California’” and “bears the relief of the West Coast’s rugged topography from the Pacific Ocean eastward to the Santa Lucia Mountains.”
Last year, the 78-year-old rocker experienced a minor stroke that left him unable to use one of his arms, an ordeal he described as ‘scary’.
Acknowledging that this “little health hiccup’ came out of the blue, Brian has since told his fans that he’s now regained movement in his arm.
Alan commented: “We were concerned, you had a bit of a stroke. But, you seem to be fully recovered, that was last year.”
Brian responded: “I’ve had a number of things, Alan, yeah, the stroke was one of them.
“I’ve been lucky, I get these things, but I seem to be able to get out of them. They give you a wake-up call.”
The iconic guitarist told Alan that experiences like these teach you that it’s time to make changes in your life, reports Devon Live.
When asked how he’s made adjustments, Brian revealed he’s ramped up his exercise routine and started paying more attention to his diet.
He added: “I keep moving, I do my biking a lot of times a week. I do a hundred lengths in the pool once a week. To me, that’s what’s keeping me going. That’s what’s keeping me alive.
“I have proof! I have all the bloods that they do and all the evidence that we get and they go, ‘you’re doing the right things Brian’. So, for now, I’m still here.”
Alan remarked: “We’re delighted you’re still here. We’re glad to have you with us here.”
Brian’s wife and actress Anita Dobson has also spoken out about the stroke, revealing to the Sunday Telegraph that he had been ‘diligently following medical advice’
She remarked: “He takes his tablets, does his exercises. He’s a good boy.”
When questioned if she needs to nudge him, the actress added: “Sometimes with the tablets. I’m not often dictatorial but it’s important, because it’s his life.”
Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh is available to watch on ITVX.
LEGENDARY The Simpsons writer Dan McGrath has died at the age of 61, his family announced.
The award-winning comedy writer, who also worked on Saturday Night Live, died following a stroke, his sister said.
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Dan McGrath wrote some of the most famous episodes of The SimpsonsDan McGrath has died at the age of 61 following a strokeCredit: Collect
Gail Garabadian wrote on Facebook: “We lost my incredible brother Danny yesterday. He was a special man, one of a kind.
“An incredible son, brother, uncle and friend. Our hearts are broken.”
She told Hollywood Reporter that he passed away at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn.
Dan kicked off his career at SNL, when he often collaborated with Adam Sandler.
He then had two stints as a writer for The Simpsons, followed by eight years on King of the Hill.
He went on to win an Emmy for writing the iconic 1997 Simpsons episode Homer’s Phobia.
The episode sees Homer befriending an antiques dealer, and later discovering he is gay.
It was also honoured by GLAAD – which promotes fairness in media – for its anti-homophobia message.
Dan is survived by his wife Caroline, his mother, Eleanor and siblings as well as nieces and nephews.
The writer cut his teeth on Harvard University’s student comedy publication, The Harvard Lampoon.
He landed a job for Saturday Night Live in 1991, and stayed there for two seasons.
During that time, he shared an Emmy nomination.
He began working on The Simpsons in 1992, and wrote 50 episodes across two years.
Dan later received producing credits on 24 episodes from 1996-98.
His most memorable episodes include The Devil and Homer Simpson, Time and Punishment, Bart of Darkness, instalments of the Treehouse of Horror series, Boy-Scoutz ’n the Hood and Homer’s Phobia.
Dan said that both his runs with the show ended with him being fired.
Richard Linklater’s love letter to Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 debut “Breathless,” shot by cinematographer David Chambille, pulsates with the rhythm, rebellion and romance of the French New Wave, crafting an artistic interpretation of the classic film’s production and the transformation of its director. In its closing chapter, Godard’s signature sunglasses catch a reflection of his own iconic film — an amateur is now the auteur. “There’s a similar shot at the beginning of the movie where he’s looking at ‘The 400 Blows’ at Cannes and Godard is nothing at that moment. Then at the end, you see him in sunglasses looking at what he has achieved,” says Chambille, who shot “Nouvelle Vague” in black and white as an homage to the original. The visually magnetic image — created in-camera without visual effects — was one of the first ideas Linklater had in creating his Godard character, played by Guillaume Marbeck. The sunglasses are not only an accessory, but a barrier to keep the world, and perhaps himself, at a distance. “Richard wanted to say something deeper. That he’s living movies, he’s living cinema and he has moving images instead of eyes,” says the cinematographer. “We often say that we can read the sound of somebody through their eyes. And in this case, you can see the sound of Godard through movies.”
Netflix and K-Pop star Nana is said to have bravely fought off an armed home intruder who knocked her mum out during a physical struggle
Netflix and K-Pop star Nana is said to have bravely fought off an armed home intruder(Image: ImaZins via Getty Images)
A Netflix star is reportedly in hospital after she and her mum fought off an armed man who broke into their home.
Nana – who shot to fame as part of K-pop group After School in the Noughties – bravely confronted the robber who is said to have threatened them with a weapon and demanded money.
The 34-year-old singer’s mother was knocked out during the altercation, and both required medical attention after they sustained ‘serious injuries’ following the physical struggle, local police said.
It happened at their home in Seoul, South Korea, in the early hours of the morning. The pair were able to detain the man until police arrived.
A local detective told AFP news agency that the intruder, who is in his 30s, was attempting to steal cash and valuables and has now been detained on charges of aggravated robbery.
Giving an update on the condition of Nana and her mother, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said: “Nana also sustained physical injuries while trying to escape the dangerous situation.”
“The mother has regained consciousness, and both of them are currently in need of treatment and complete rest,” the agency added.
Nana – whose real name is Im Jin-ah – first rose to fame back in 2009 with the popular K-pop girl group After School. This spawned sub groups Orange Caramel and After School Red.
The group is no longer active, but she has gained popularity over the past decade as an actor starring in several TV series, including Kill It and Justice, both crime dramas which first aired in 2019.
Then in 2021 she was cast in the Netflix series Glitch, a South Korean science fiction series about a young woman who teams up with a UFO enthusiast to search for her boyfriend who has mysteriously disappeared.
The K-pop icon is also said to be starring in the upcoming drama Climax and the Netflix series Scandals (tentative title), where she plays the role of Hui-yeon, a widow who vows to remain chaste after losing her husband.
Based on the 2003 Korean film Untold Scandal, it reimagines the story of the French novel Dangerous Liaisons and features a ‘dangerous love game’ between the characters. The drama is set to be released next year.
But music is still a passion as Nana released her first ever solo album in September.
Titled Seventh Heaven 16, it means ‘the highest happiness’ and she paid tribute to her mother as she she unveiled a new tattoo of the year 1968 – a tribute to her mother’s birth year.
WHEN her best friend and co-star Ariana Grande was ambushed on the red carpet, quick-thinking Cynthia Erivo rushed to the rescue.
A prankster grabbed Ariana at the Singapore premiere of their new film Wicked: For Good on Thursday, but Cynthia, 38, stepped in and strong-armed the invader away.
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Cynthia Erivo stuns in green at the LA premiere of first Wicked movie last yearCredit: SplashCynthia and Ariana at the first European screening of Wicked: For Good in LondonCredit: Getty
The British actress admits she feels protective over Ariana, saying: “I love her, she’s a bright spark but you just want to take care of her. And we really took care of each other.”
Luckily loyal pal Cynthia was already fighting fit thanks to the gruelling stunts she had to perform for the eagerly anticipated sequel.
“The flying in harnesses, chafing, we had it. Chafing was like a funny word to me until I realised what chafing actually looked like when you had it, repetitively.
“It took months for my hips to heal, scratched palms bleeding, bloody nose, like it was bad.
“We were willing to do whatever it took to do this, but this one was a big one for us.”
Meanwhile, Cynthia says she and Ariana prefer to go to bed early — like a pair of “grandmothers”.
The star revealed that because of the time difference and their schedules, they often struggle to catch up when she is in London and Ariana is at home in LA.
SHUNNED BY DAD
But while gearing up for the long-awaited sequel of the big-screen musical, 32-year-old Ariana, who plays Glinda, broke routine to make sure they could chat.
Cynthia, who plays Elphaba in the films, said of one recent late-night text exchange with Ariana: “She’s a sweetheart. I was like, ‘Why are you up so late?’ Because we’re like grandmothers, the two of us.
“We like to sleep early. For some reason I was up at 11 here, which meant she was up at two wherever she was. I said, ‘Why are you up so late?’ She was like, ‘I know, it’s new, isn’t it? I’m never up this late’.
“I said, ‘No you’re not, what’s going on?’. And she said, ‘I’m taking every second I can get right now because you’re usually asleep by now’.”
The first Wicked movie became the highest-grossing UK release of 2024, taking £59.6million at the box office.
It led to Cynthia being nominated for an Oscar, Bafta, Critics’ Choice, Golden Globe and SAG Award for Best Actress.
The sequel, Wicked: For Good, is expected to be just as big and hits UK cinemas on Friday, continuing the tale of the witches of Oz.
Adapted from the hit musical, Wicked follows Elphaba, a student sorceress shunned by her own father for her green skin, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, while her spoiled roommate Glinda ends up as the Good Witch of the North.
Cynthia tells how she endured similar heartache when her own dad walked out of her life for good when she was a teenager.
She and her sister Stephanie were very young when their Nigerian father left their mother Edith, a nurse, to bring up the girls alone.
Edith remarried when Cynthia was five and she continued to see her dad “two or three times a week”.
I think he just was not set up to be a dad. I don’t think it was his bag
Cynhtia
She told The Armchair Expert podcast: “My mum was really, I think, kind and gave him the space to come and visit if he wanted to.
“We would go over to him from time to time as well. She really made the space for us if he wanted to build a relationship.
“And he just didn’t. I think he was just not set up to be a dad. I don’t think it was his bag.”
Recalling how she became estranged from her father, Cynthia added: “I was 16 when my dad decided not to be a part of my life.”
The actress pictured at a 2021 awards bash alongside her mum EdithCredit: Getty
By then, she had already joined a local youth theatre group and was singing hymns at a Catholic church near her home in Stockwell, South West London.
She went on to start a degree in musical psychology at the University of East London, but quit after securing a place at top acting school Rada.
Her early bid to break into UK telly flopped with an appearance on Channel 4 reality show Trust Me, I’m A Teenager and a small part in ITV period drama Mr Selfridge. Hopes of a breakthrough in Simon Cowell and
Harry Hill’s £6million X Factor musical, I Can’t Sing, were dashed as the run closed after seven weeks.
But her singing voice impressed casting directors.
She made her West End debut in the stage musical The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg and, in 2013, won a place in a British stage adaptation of The Color Purple, the 1985 movie that starred Whoopi Goldberg.
Since then, her roles have included Harriet Tubman in the film Harriet and a part in Netflix thriller Luther: The Fallen Sun.
But the one person she always wanted to impress was her father.
She secretly hoped with her becoming famous, he would change his mind about being in her life. Cynthia said: “I think I was using, for a small amount of time, my career as a conduit to find a way to get him back.
‘Look what you gave up, you’re going to regret leaving this’. Yeah, that kind of thing.”
Cynthia has turned to therapy to help her deal with the trauma.
‘MAKE MISTAKES’
She said: “Until you get your head around it and get some control on what it is that you’re actually looking for, what you’re trying to fix in that, it will keep going.
“Thank goodness for a good therapist — that s**t really helped.”
Now, she has finally let go and learned to forgive. She told The Cruz Show podcast: “It took me ages to let go of parents. It’s like my father, I had to let that go and it’s taken me a long time to get there . . . to realise that it’s a human being who is also fallible and who will make mistakes.”
The co-stars attending the Critics’ Choice awards in California earlier this yearCredit: Getty
Cynthia admits that clinging on to that pain for such a long time held her back.
She said: “When you let go, you have to start living. What I keep doing is trying to find the things that challenge me the most, that force me to learn more, that keep me honest in my craft, that don’t let me get complacent and lazy.”
Wicked was a challenge. The movies were filmed in the UK in chronological order, back-to-back, between Dec- ember 2022 and January 2024, with a break in 2023 due to an actors’ strike.
Cynthia, who is dating Lena Waithe, an American actress, producer, and screenwriter, admits that even today she still gets crippled by anxiety.
She explained: “I think if I lose the nervousness, then I know something’s wrong. Because my nervousness tells me I care. The second that disappears, we’ve got a problem.
“So I relish the moments when my heart’s beating fast and I’m nervous. I always forget the first line. Whenever I’m about to go on, the first line will go out my head. That’s nerves.
“But when I stand in front of people, it always comes back. It means I care about being here, I care about the people watching.”
Thank goodness for a good therapist, that s**t really helped
Cynthia
When those jitters hit, she relies on strict pre-performance rituals. She said: “Breathing for me is always key.
“And I always say a prayer before I go on stage. Also, nervousness can sometimes be the mirror looking at yourself.
If you’ve seen some of Glen Powell’s movies, including “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Hit Man,” “Anyone But You” or “Twisters,” you probably already know that a large part of the actor’s appeal is that he goes down smooth and easy.
With good looks and lots of charm, he’s certainly leading man material. But there’s also a streak, particularly in his Richard Linklater film “Hit Man,” of a goofball comedy nerd dying to break out from that handsome shell (see also: Jon Hamm), even if he was there to promote a new action film, “The Running Man.”
It sure feels like that sensibility is what helped make for a remarkable episode of “Saturday Night Live” with Powell hosting for the first time. It was the silliest episode so far this season, and by some miracle, just about every sketch in the episode worked, at least on a basic comedic level.
It was a week where even the return of former cast member Will Forte, who appeared in three new MacGruber sketches where the character finds out he’s in the Epstein files (explosions follow), didn’t fully overshadow a lot of other very good pieces.
Two quick notes about this week’s episode: Padilla continues to help anchor the show with excellent sketch performances, this time as the hair styling victim, a shocked grandmother in a nursing home and as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in the cold open. As each episode goes by with Padilla billed as a featured player instead of a full cast member, it feels like a mistake that’s growing.
Second, this was the first time in years that “Weekend Update” had no guest segments. We’ll get to that in a bit.
President Trump (James Austin Johnson) cold opens are getting to be a mixed blessing; the impression is still solid, and the president is certainly in the news enough to warrant addressing every week. But the format of the sketch, beginning with the premise of the news of the week and then being interrupted by a meta Trump monologue, feels reflexive at this point, the easy answer for wrapping up increasingly disjointed and weird news cycles. At the White House, Leavitt downplays news of the release of Jeffery Epstein’s emails, defending the president as, “loving too much and possibly too young.” When a reporter asks about millions of dollars being sent to Argentina, she tries to turn attention back to the files, which leads to Trump appearing and asking questions such as, “If there were something incriminating in the files, why would I cover them up?” and “If I were innocent, wouldn’t I just release the files?” The president offers to sell framed copies of the Epstein emails at $800 a pop. The rambling defense leads to a Trump Multiverse Theory, which posits that Trump exists across many timelines and we happen to live in the worst one.
In Powell’s monologue, the actor admits he’s been so publicized that even he’s tired of seeing his own face. “You know who is not tired of seeing my face?” he asked. “Your mom.” Powell pushed back against the narrative that he was an overnight success; he’s been acting since he was 10, starting with commercials and safety videos, while growing up in Austin, Texas. Powell revealed that he was supposed to host “SNL” four years ago as part of the publicity tour for “Top Gun: Maverick.” But when the movie was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the offer was put on hold. A UPS driver who showed up when Powell was celebrating the initial news about hosting “SNL” ended up in a selfie with the actor and his family. Powell said his sisters tracked down the driver and Powell invited him to come see the show. Thus, Mitch the UPS Driver appeared in the monologue and again at the end of the show for the goodnights. Glen ended the monologue saying, “The best things in life don’t happen overnight. No one knows that better than UPS.”
Best sketch of the night: AI has not advanced enough to get crotches right
A family is visiting their grandmother for Thanksgiving at an assisted-living facility and as a treat, they’ve used an app to animate some of her old black-and-white photos using artificial intelligence. But the AI can only imagine so much; it brings to life a dog with tails on both ends instead of a head, an old family friend who takes off his pants to reveal a Ken doll-like crotch (Mikey Day) and a horrifying baby that folds like an accordion as an atom bomb goes off in the background. Padilla’s reactions and the silent comedy from Day and Powell take this sketch over the top.
Also good: Of course MacGruber is in the Epstein files, how could he not be?
It’s always nice to see Will Forte back on “SNL,” and this time he brought back his most popular character for three short video segments continuing the story of MacGruber, the tech wiz who always ends up failing to disarm a ticking time bomb. This time, the clock is ticking as MacGruber’s companions (Powell and Chloe Fineman) figure out that MacGruber is in the Epstein files. Their first clue? Just after thumbing through a copy, he immediately tries to shred the entire document. Over three sketches, MacGruber stalls, deflects, then eventually decides to testify against those who actually engaged in behavior worse than his on Epstein’s island — until he finds out he could get paid lots of money to keep quiet. Cut to the sketch-ending explosion.
‘Weekend Update’ winner: No guest segment, but two very funny bits
Usually on “Weekend Update,” cast members such as Bowen Yang or guests come on to do a few minutes as a character or as themselves. This week, there apparently wasn’t time for that, so “Update” was nothing but Colin Jost and Michael Che jokes. There were two that stood out, however. One was about a salacious rumor involving Trump and former President Bill Clinton that’s very difficult to discuss in detail in this space. A video that ended up with a very obviously spliced piece of audio as a punchline went over so well Jost had to stop to collect himself from laughing so hard. The other was a great, simple joke about the U.S. Mint ending production of pennies. “Makes no cents!” Che exclaimed. Nice one, Che.
Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left fuming as the spoiler revealed that a fan favourite has been sent home from the competition before Blackpool Week
SHE sang about the Hollywood icon on her new album – and now it seems Taylor Swift could pay homage to Elizabeth Taylor’s British roots by filming the music video here.
Hitmaker Tay is flying to the UK next week for a top-secret shoot.
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Taylor Swift is heading to the UK for a top secret music video shootCredit: GettyThe music video is for her track Elizabeth Taylor, which features on The Life Of A ShowgirlCredit: Getty – Contributor
Sixties acting legend Elizabeth — famous for her roles in Cleopatra and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — was born in 1932 in Hampstead, North London, where there is a plaque, right, on her childhood home. She moved to LA with her family when she was seven.
A source said: “Taylor is super excited to be back in London filming for her new music video.
‘Luxurious and feminine’
“Elizabeth Taylor is a British icon and Taylor wants to pay homage by shooting scenes in the capital.
“Taylor has always written about her love for London, and the video will capture different locations around the city.”
Actress Elizabeth, who died aged 79 in 2011, was married eight times, including twice to British acting legend Richard Burton, and was often portrayed as searching for lasting love.
Speaking about the track for the official release party of her latest album, Taylor said: “It has got to do with fame, attention, love, notoriety, anxiety that this isn’t going to be forever — and how heartbroken would you be then?
“I wanted to tell a story that referenced some of the cool things about her life, but that are also parallel to mine.
“I used details from her life, but the feelings of what it kind of conveys are things I’ve absolutely experienced time and time again.
“The production of this is something that I’m so proud of because it’s luxurious and feminine and then goes really hard and tough in the chorus.
“It’s just one of my favourite songs.”
The track has gone viral on TikTok thanks to a remix with Backstreet Boys’ 1997 banger Everybody (Backstreet’s (Back).
Sounds like Taylor’s fans will be in for a treat.
IT’S ALL GREEK TO JACK
HE plays a sinister nanny in the new Prime Video series, Malice – but comic Jack Whitehall has revealed that he also needed to brush up on his cooking skills for the role in the thriller.
He said of his character Adam Healey: “This guy was meant to be quite slick and intelligent. He was meant to be able to make cocktails and be able to cook, so all of these things I had to do so much prep for.”
Speaking on Waitrose’s Dish podcast, Jack added: “I had to train to make a couple of different dishes.
“And one of the things, because a lot of it was shot in Greece, I had to learn how to prepare an octopus.
“They arranged for me to go and meet this chef in this restaurant in Greece who unfortunately didn’t speak any English.
“So when I arrived, he’d got the wrong end of the stick and thought I needed to learn how to bash the octopus – I wanted to learn how to fillet the octopus.
“He kept grabbing these octopuses and whacking them down.
“I was, like, ‘No, no, no, no. I need to learn how to prepare an octopus’.”
Sounds like poor old Jack was really thrown in at the deep end.
RED-HOT MILLIE’S IN GOOD NICK
Millie Bobby Brown stunned in tiny hot pants and Santa hat in a shoot for Florence By MillsCredit: instagram/milliebobbybrown
MILLIE BOBBY BROWN gave fans her Christmas presence by draping herself across a fireplace.
The Stranger Things star dazzled in tiny hot pants, a crop top, fur-trimmed boots and an oversized Santa hat in the shoot for fashion and beauty label Florence By Mills.
Sharing a snap of Millie on Instagram, the brand wrote: “Elf on the shelf? Try Mill on the sill.”
It will be Millie’s first Christmas as a mum after she and hubby Jake Bongiovi adopted a daughter this year. Looks like she’ll sleigh it.
AN AMAISING STAGE TALENT
HAVING risen to fame as Tiffany Butcher on BBC soap EastEnders, Maisie Smith has now proved she is a stage star following her dazzling turn as Marge Sherwood in a theatre adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley.
The Crown star Ed McVey plays con artist Tom Ripley who becomes infatuated by the wealthy Dickie Greenleaf (Bruce Herbelin-Earle) and steals his identity.
Maisie swaps her native Essex accent for a cool New York twang in the role of Marge, who is Dickie’s on-off girlfriend.
For more than two hours, Ed has the audience under his spell as he flips between his bumbling self and the cool and handsome Dickie.
Now Mr Ripley must convince bosses that this play deserves a spot on London’s West End.
The wannabe pop star and son of David and Victoria Beckham said he would love to collab with Macca, who he was introduced to when he was a kid.
Cruz Beckham has hinted that he wants to work on music with Sir Paul McCartneyCredit: GettyCruz was introduced to the Beatles legend as a childCredit: AP
Chatting to me at London’s Winter Wonderland, Cruz revealed: “There are so many people I would love to collaborate with.
“Paul McCartney – he’s such a legend. I’ve always been a huge fan – I met Paul when I was little.
“John Lennon is also a hero of mine.”
He added: “There’s more music coming out next year. Hopefully an album when the record label will let me.”
Cruz officially launched his music career last month by releasing singles Lick The Toad and Optics – the latter an explicit pop track about drugs and sex.
It includes the lyrics: “Take a thousand selfies in your bed while I trip in mine. I love me some mushrooms and good head.”
Cruz has also teamed up with The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard to work on some songs.
Earlier this year, Luke said: “He’s naturally going to come under criticism because of who his parents are. He’s aware of that.
“It was great when he said, ‘Jesus was a nepo baby too’. I thought that was quite a funny response.”
Meanwhile, Cruz was spotted kissing his girlfriend, songwriter Jackie Apostel at Winter Wonderland on Thursday.
They went Instagram official last year after they were first seen hanging out at Glastonbury in Somerset.
Cruz is clearly going to be a busy boy in the coming months, but hopefully baby Becks and Macca can Come Together at some point.
FAYE: MY WORK IS MY LOVE
STEPS singer Faye Tozer is now dedicating her life to her career after splitting from her husband of 16 years.
The Tragedy hitmaker is thought to have parted from IT specialist Mick Smith in May.
Asked if she has time for romance, Faye said: “I don’t know . . . my work is my love.”
Faye, who turned 50 this week, said she was pleased to still be working.
Speaking on the red carpet for Elf: The Musical in London, she added: “I feel really privileged that I’m here and strong.”
TELLY etiquette guru William Hanson said he declined to appear on BBC’s Celebrity Traitors after show bosses approached him earlier this year.
The final was watched by 12 million fans earlier this month, with comic ALAN CARR crowned the winner.
At Richmond Theatre, William told me: “They didn’t sell it brilliantly to me.
“They were, like, ‘There is no hair and make-up, if you are in it, you have to film for 12 days, you need 406 different outfits, you are in the Travelodge by Inverness Airport and it is a 40-minute drive and the fee is rubbish.
“I thought, I don’t know if I really want to do this.” William was a bit of a traitor after all.
This week who I would…
SNOG: ABBA Voyage launches its festive winter bar at the arena in Newham, East London.
MARRY: I LOVE Jamaica concert at Koko in north London on Thursday, raising funds for hurricane recovery.
AVOID: PALS sharing snaps taken during sunny November holidays. We’re not at all jealous.
I can’t name a single song by the Jonas Brothers, but I can tell you their names — Joe, Kevin and Nick — and that they made a sitcom, “Jonas” (second season titled “Jonas L.A.”), back in 2009 that I liked a lot. The memory of that show was enough to get me kind of excited for “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie,” premiering Friday on Disney+ — which, as it happens, I also like. The humor is self-deprecating, the setting international, the weather wintry, the company good.
The plot, which is basically “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” minus Steve Martin, John Candy and Thanksgiving, plus the Jonas Brothers, Christmas and magic, finds the boys — are they boys or are they men, it’s a point of discussion — in London, a few days before Christmas on the last night of a six-month tour. While they are good at being the capital-B Jonas Brothers onstage facing screaming thousands, they are less adept at being the small-b brothers after the curtain comes down. Their relationship seems pretty normal to me, but to each his own necessity.
Here they delineate their characters.
Joe (to Nick): You’re the uptight responsible one.
Kevin (to Joe): You’re the relatable tramp. I’m the relatable —
Nick: — human cardboard.
Joe: — forgettable Curly.
Nick: — the world’s most unlikely rock star.
Joe: Not Nick or Joe.
Kevin: I was going to say “handsome, relatable everyman,” but fine.
Anyway! The tour is over and the relatable tramp wants to go out and party, suggesting it could be epic. “We are three extremely exhausted dads in our 30s,” replies the uptight one, “how epic could it be?” And so, while his siblings FaceTime with their IRL families, Joe finds himself on a British barstool — a pubstool — beside a bearded stranger in a red leather jacket. You will recognize the actor as Jesse Tyler Ferguson and the character as St. Nick, barely disguised. Touched by Joe’s story of sibling alienation — “Our Christmas plans are to get the hell away from each other” — Santa works his wonders to keep them together until they get their brotherly magic back. For a start, he sends lightning to blow up the plane they’re scheduled to fly home on. (No one was aboard, we assume.)
“We should be able to function in the real world,” says Nick to Joe, who is about to phone their manager (Randall Park) to fix things.
“That would be ideal,” replies Joe, “but we’ve been famous since we were little kids, so it is what it is.”
Further supernatural complications ensue, allowing Joe to have a “Before Sunrise” episode with childhood friend Lucy (Chloe Bennet), cute-met on a train that should be going to Paris but is headed to Amsterdam, and Nick to hate-duet with frenemy Ethan (Andrew Barth Feldman), whose father he played in a fictional version of “Home Alone: The Musical” (“Being home alone / It’s like being with no / With no people”). Other talents swelling the ranks: Laverne Cox as their agent; Billie Lourd as travel agent Cassidy; Will Ferrell as Will Ferrell, No.1 Jonas fan; and Andrea Martin as a rideshare driver.
The songs feel mechanical — easy on the auto-tune, fellas, I’ve seen your Tiny Desk concert and you don’t need it — though the accompanying production numbers are fun. (You knew there would be production numbers.) But like the Beatles and Monkees before them, the brothers are natural, genuine actors; it’s my own Christmas wish that they find more to do in this line. A little breeze would blow the plot away, but keep the windows shut and you’ll be fine.
Tourists can visit the Surrey village where parts of The Holiday, starring Cameron Diaz and Jude Law, were filmed
Scenes of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason were also filmed in the village(Image: Weekend Roamer/Getty Images)
The Holiday is a beloved Christmas classic that’s easy to enjoy year after year during the festive season. The 2006 film follows two women who exchange homes for two weeks over winter, giving them the chance to heal from heartbreak and find new love.
While Iris, played by Kate Winslet, escapes her life in England to spend time in a luxurious California home, Cameron Diaz’s character swaps Hollywood for a quiet, quintessentially British cottage. Some fans may already know ‘Rosehill Cottage’ was actually purpose-built for production and doesn’t truly exist in real life, but its idyllic countryside setting is still worth visiting before Christmas.
In fact, you can even visit the very pub where Cameron Diaz’s character has her first real date with Graham, played by the charming Jude Law.
The picturesque village setting is Shere in Surrey, which is nestled midway between Guildford and Dorking. With its duck-filled river and old-world atmosphere, it draws in both tourists and filmmakers alike, with scenes of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason filmed there, too.
However, it’s at the corner of Shere Lane that you’ll find the historic 15th-century, Grade II-listed pub where parts of the Christmas movie were shot. The White Horse serves a range of traditional dishes, including hearty British steak and ale pies and Sunday roasts, all enjoyed by customers next to cosy fireplaces.
A description from the Chef & Brewer Collection reads: “Built in 1475, this stunning pub displays traditional features of solid wooden beams and natural stone fireplaces, creating the quintessential cosy pub atmosphere.
“Settle down and enjoy some hearty comfort food. From soul-warming Sunday roasts to perfectly seasoned steaks cooked just the way you like; each dish is crafted with the utmost care and passion. Connect to the free Wi-Fi and browse the well-stocked bar for your favourite local cask ale or quality wine, and don’t forget – we’re dog-friendly, so bring your four-legged pals.”
After enjoying The White Horse, tourists may also be tempted to enjoy the village’s endearing tearooms or visit the 12th-century St James’ Church. It’s believed this is where Bridget Jones’ parents, played by Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones, renew their wedding vows in The Edge of Reason.
According to Surrey Live, the wedding party then spills out of the building and into the snowy churchyard. Bridget and Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth, follow the parents out through the church’s Lych Gate.
Information from Visit Surrey also adds: “The Church of St James appeared in the Domesday Book. It contains a tiny enclosed cell in which Christine Carpenter, an anchoress (religious recluse) lived. Her only contact with the outside world was through a grid and an aperture through which food was passed.”
For those interested in visiting Shere, the closest station is Gomshall, located approximately a five-minute drive away. Walking from here to Shere usually takes around 20 minutes, though buses are also available in the area.
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HOLLY Ramsay breaks cover for the first time since her future mother-in-law pleaded to be invited to her wedding with swimming star Adam Peaty.
The bride-to-be, 25, stepped out of a black Land Rover yesterday wearing activewear outside the London mansion owned by her dad Gordon.
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Holly Ramsay breaks cover for the first time since her future mother-in-law pleaded to be invited to her wedding with swimming star Adam PeatyCredit: Ray CollinsHolly with fiance AdamCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Caroline risked deepening the rift between the two families by accusing the Ramsays of “pulling him away from me”, adding: “He’s in Gordon’s clutches.”
The Sun revealed how the escalating feud saw Adam, 30, given a police escort over fears he could be assaulted when he returned from his stag do in Budapest.
Caroline, 59, admitted the bitter rift has left her “broken” but told her Olympic gold medallist son Adam: “I hope your marriage is a good one.
“I don’t wish any ill on you and I want you and Holly to have a long and happy marriage, like your dad and me.
“The reason I’m speaking out is I want all this to end.”
Holly stepped out of a black Land Rover wearing activewear outside the London mansion owned by her dad GordonCredit: Ray CollinsAdam with his parents Caroline and MarkCredit: Unknown
If you’ve watched the Screen Actors Guild Awards over the years, you’ve heard the name of the prize countless times, even if it hasn’t quite registered.
Now, in an effort to lean into the name of the statuette and streamline the show’s title, the Screen Actors Guild Awards announced Friday that it is renaming the ceremony to the Actor Awards. Or, if you want to get precise (and a bit verbose): the Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA.
“Now that our global audience is really growing, people don’t always understand what the union name is,” says awards committee chair JoBeth Williams. “But ‘the Actor Awards’ they recognize and they know they’re going to see their favorite actors when they tune in.”
The SAG Awards have long been a reliable precursor to the Oscars on the awards season calendar, with last year being an exception. (Chalamet, Moore and “Conclave,” winner of the guild’s best picture equivalent, the ensemble honor, did not repeat their SAG successes.)
Since the event moved to Netflix in 2024 from TNT and TBS, viewership numbers have increased, besting pre-pandemic levels. Last year, per Netflix, the ceremony received 4.3 million views on the platform.
That’s a far cry from just four years ago, when the pandemic forced ceremonies to postpone and shuffle dates, and the Grammys thought nothing of landing on the SAG Awards’ original date. (SAG-AFTRA voiced its “extreme disappointment,” then slunk off to Easter Sunday for a scheduled one-hour telecast.)
“[Netflix] saw the potential of the show to really grow an audience,” says Jon Brockett, longtime showrunner and executive producer. “We’re on 190-plus countries now on Netflix. So the simplification of the name, from a global perspective, should bring about even greater awareness to understand who we are and what we’re all about.”
Which is, in a word: actors. Like the Golden Globes, the Actor Awards (we’ll just start calling it that now, trying it out for size) reward lead and supporting performances in movies and television, and, in lieu of “best picture” or “best series,” prizes for acting ensembles. Unlike the Golden Globes, the ceremony has not been beset by scandal or raised questions about unethical self-dealing.
Nominations for the Actor Awards are chosen by two nominating committees, one for film and one for television, comprising 2,500 SAG-AFTRA members that are randomly selected each year. Winners are then selected by active SAG-AFTRA members, a massive voting body numbering more than 130,000.
“We are all doing what these folks up there on the screen do, so we have a strong sense of what it takes to do that and what it takes to make it really special,” Williams says of the awards’ voters. “The eyes of the voters are very tuned in to what actors do.”
The Actors Awards will stream live on Netflix on March 1. Nominations will be announced on Jan. 7.
Mystery swirls around the Strictly results show as the couple eliminated is leaked during the show’s taping, despite audience members handing in their phones
23:04, 15 Nov 2025Updated 23:13, 15 Nov 2025
Strictly Come Dancing mystery as result leaks during the show(Image: PA)
Questions are being raised about how spoilers are leaked about the Strictly Results show, as the couple eliminated was revealed while the results show was still being filmed.
Every Saturday, the Strictly main show airs live, but the Sunday results shows are filmed immediately after the live show is screened with the same audience sitting in for both. As such, the audience are aware of who has gone home almost a full day before the wider public are.
To prevent the result leaking, audience members are not allowed to have their mobile phones in the studio and those that bring phones with them are required to hand them over to security.
They can collect them from when they leave. However, the celebrities, their family and friends, pro dancers and production crew are all allowed to keep their mobile phones.
Despite the tight control on communication from the audience to the outside world, spoilers for the results show have continued to leak as it is filmed, making some wonder how this is possible.
Spoilers have long been an issue on the show, but this is the first year where they have leaked as filming is still underway. A source told the Sun that spoilers “plague” the show.
“Spoilers have plagued Strictly for years with fans struggling to avoid finding out who leaves before the Sunday results show airs. Now, results are ending up online while the cameras are still rolling.”
There are multiple ways that spoilers from the show are leaked, but those dropping during the show’s filming appear to be leaked to a TikTok user called Shirleigh Humphreys.
Shirleigh, who goes by Shirleighshirlz, consistently streams her live reaction to finding out who has been eliminated around 10:30pm on a Saturday, a time when filming sometimes has not wrapped on Strictly Come Dancing.
In one video, she revealed that she gets her information during the show’s filming: “I have my own moles and this particular mole was fantastic for giving us live coverage of the Strictly Results while it was taping.”
Last week, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey found himself in the dance off with La Voix, and the judges ultimately decided to save the Drag Race star, sending Harry home.
With Vicky and the bottom of the dance-off, there is some fear that the Geordie Shore star will be heading home. This week is an important one for celebs to make it through, as next week, they head to Blackpool for the one of the series’ biggest shows.
CRUZ Beckham is understood to have had his driving license REVOKED after speeding in 20mph zones.
The son of David and Victoria, 20, has lost his license after racking up two speeding tickets within two years of passing his driving test.
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Cruz Beckham has had his driving license revokedCredit: Andrew StyczynskiCruz will be forced to re-take both his practical and theory testsCredit: Getty
According to the Mail on Sunday, he had fallen victim to going over the limit in 20mph zones twice.
He is one of 500,000 who were caught speeding in areas with the same limit.
Cruz’s second incident is believed to have taken place on September 2 according to the publication.
He had told his Instagram followers at the time that he had been caught doing “24 in a 20” zone.
If a driver receives six or more points on their license within two years of passing their driving test, their license is immediately revoked and made void.
It means Cruz will now have to re-take both his practical and driving theory tests in order to re-obtain a license from the DVLA.
Sources close to Cruz told the Mail that he was “gutted” to have had his license taken away from him.
They added: “It’s infuriating but he seems to have taken it on the chin.”
The 20-year-old famously owned a burgundy Land Rover which he took to McDonald’s to celebrate passing his test just under two years ago.
Cruz is understood to frequently drive himself between the family’s West London home and his parents’ Cotswolds mansion.
The Sun has contacted a representative for Cruz Beckham for comment.
He used his car to travel between his family’s West London and Cotswolds homesCredit: Getty
Todd Snider, a singer and songwriter beloved in the Americana music scene for his funny yet empathetic portraits of people struggling to survive an uncaring world, died Friday. He was 59.
His death was announced in a post on his Instagram account, which didn’t state a cause or say where he died. An earlier post signed by “Todd’s Friends & Family” said that he’d been admitted to a hospital in Hendersonville, Tenn., after experiencing breathing problems and that he’d been diagnosed with pneumonia; before that, he called off a tour this month after telling fans that he’d been injured in a “violent assault” outside a hotel in Salt Lake City.
Frequently compared to the likes of John Prine and Kris Kristofferson — both of whom mentored him at various points — Snider wrote about “how poor people sometimes cope with pain and hardship,” he told the New York Times in 2009. “A little drugs here, a little sex here, a little denial there.”
In a prolific recording career that stretched three decades, Snider made albums for labels owned by Prine and by Jimmy Buffett and for his own company, Aimless Records. Yet to many he was best experienced onstage, where he’d thread his songs into a kind of running monologue about his rough-and-tumble life.
Among his best-known tunes were the rollicking “Beer Run”; “Can’t Complain,” about a guy with “nothing to lose ’cause there is nothing to gain”; and “Alright Guy,” which opens with a scene in which a friend catches him leafing through “that new book with pictures of Madonna naked.”
“Said she’d never pegged me for a scumbag before,” he sings, “She said she didn’t ever want to see me anymore / And I still don’t know why.”
In his 2014 memoir, Snider told a shaggy-dog story about the time Garth Brooks summoned him to a studio to help him record a cover of “Alright Guy” in the guise of his alter ego, Chris Gaines.
“I was already starstruck before Garth walked up and introduced himself,” Snider wrote. “He said, ‘I thought you had red hair,’ because he’d seen me on the ‘Austin City Limits’ television show, and I’d dyed my hair red for that show. It wasn’t supposed to be red. It was supposed to be dark brown. My plan was to look like John Fogerty, but instead I ended up looking like the guy from the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber.’” (Brooks didn’t release the cover, though Snider said the country superstar sent him a check for $10,000 anyway.)
Todd Daniel Snider was born Oct. 11, 1966, and grew up in Oregon before making his way to Texas and then Nashville. His debut album, “Songs for the Daily Planet,” came out in 1994 via Buffett’s Margaritaville label; it closed with a motor-mouthed acoustic ditty called “Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Rock Blues” in which he lovingly lampooned the era’s alternative rock boom:
Now, to fit in fast, we wear flannel shirts
We turn our amps up until it hurts
We got bad attitudes, and what’s more
When we play, we stare straight down at the floor
A critics’ fave from the get-go, Snider earned rave reviews with 2004’s “East Nashville Skyline,” whose highlights include a characteristically wordy depiction of the culture wars then roiling America in the wake of 9/11 — “Conservative, Christian, Right Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males,” it’s called — and “The Ballad of the Kingsmen,” in which he contemplates the meaning of the lyrics to “Louie Louie.”
Among the many other LPs he went on to release were 2009’s “The Excitement Plan,” which was produced by Don Was, and a 2012 collection of songs by Jerry Jeff Walker, the country-folk songwriter who’d served as a crucial influence on him. Snider’s most recent record, “High, Lonesome and Then Some,” came out in October.
Snider spoke openly throughout his life about his struggles with drugs and with chronic pain related to spinal stenosis. “I do a lot of things to try to help it, but I have to make peace with it, too,” he said of the condition in an interview last month with Rolling Stone. “Which hasn’t been easy.” Information about Snider’s survivors wasn’t immediately available.
