November 5, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Jill Greenberg(LOS ANGELES) — Sofia Vergara is letting fans know that some things in life are more important than Election Day.  For women, it’s going for their annual mammogram.

The Modern Family alum took to Instagram on Tuesday to hilariously share her mammogram experience.  As it turns out, she enjoyed hers as much as the next person.

“And just to make today more stressful I went and got my mammogram,” Vergara deadpanned in the caption of the candid snap, where she’s seen rolling her eyes as she waits by the machine.  Although a mask is covering half her face, her expression is abundantly clear: she was not having fun.

Thankfully, her appointment ended with good news as seen in her subsequent hashtag, which stated “#AllGood.”

The 48-year-old Emmy nominee then encouraged her female fans to book their screening appointments if they haven’t already done so, concluding with the hashtag “#DontForgetYours.”

The American Cancer Society strongly recommends all women should start having mammograms once they turn 45, but can seek them out “as early as age 40 if they want to.”

Breast Cancer, according to the ACS, is one of the most common cancers affecting American women — next to skin cancer.

Current statistics find that women in the U.S. have a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer.

In addition, 276,480 American Women were diagnosed with breast cancer last year and an additional 48,530 were diagnosed with the earliest form of breast cancer, carcinoma in situ, or CIS.

Each year, roughly 42,000 women lose their battle with breast cancer. 

To date, there are over 3.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 5, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for TIFF(LOS ANGELES) — Meryl Streep isn’t a journalist but she supports them, which is why she’s lending her voice to the present Amal Clooney with the prestigious Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award at the 2020 CPJ International Press Freedom Awards.

Clooney, a 42-year-old human rights lawyer and activist, will receive the award for her work as counsel to many endangered journalists during the online ceremony on November 19.

“In times of unprecedented uncertainty, it’s journalists who are out there, gathering the facts and trying to help us make sense of it all,” Steep said. “By asking tough questions, and pursuing the truth at any cost, they are essential workers – serving the public and protecting democracy.”

The 71-year-old Oscar Award-winning actress added, “That’s why I’m proud to take part in this year’s International Press Freedom Awards, and to continue supporting the vital work of the Committee to Protect Journalists.”

In addition to Clooney’s award, the CPJ will honor four journalists from Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria and Russia who have been arrested or prosecuted for their work. 

According to their website, the Committee to Protect Journalists is “an independent, nonprofit organization” that promotes freedom of press across the globe and defends journalists’ right to report the news safely and without fear of retaliation. 

The 2020 International Press Freedom Awards will be broadcast online on November 19 at 8 p.m. EST at www.ipfa2020.org, as well as, other major networks including ABC, NBC, and CBS.

By Danielle Long
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 5, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival(NEW YORK) — Michael J. Fox, who first announced he had Parkinson’s in 1998, opened up about his illness and the new challenges he faces.

In an intimate interview with People, the 59-year-old Back to the Future star revealed that  Parkinson’s is starting to infringe on his ability to act.

“My short-term memory is shot,” he admitted.

“I always had a real proficiency for lines and memorization. And I had some extreme situations where the last couple of jobs I did were actually really word-heavy parts.  I struggled during both of them,” confessed the Emmy Award winner, who isn’t sure if he’ll return to acting.

Despite that, the Good Wife alum refuses to slow down.  He’s focusing his creativity on writing and, already, has published three books.  His fourth, No Time Like the Future, is due out November 17.

“My guitar playing is no good. My sketching is no good anymore, my dancing never was good, and acting is getting tougher to do. So it’s down to writing,” joked Fox.  “Luckily, I really enjoy it.”

The Golden Globe winner also expressed that he is always optimistic about the future, telling People, “Optimism is sustainable when you keep coming back to gratitude, and what follows from that is acceptance.”

“Accepting that this thing has happened, and you accept it for what it is,” Fox furthered. “It doesn’t mean that you can’t endeavor to change. It doesn’t mean you have to accept it as a punishment or a penance, but just put it in its proper place. Then see how much the rest of your life you have to thrive in, and then you can move on.”

Fox, who turns 60 next summer, added that his optimism delivered him “through the darkest times.”

“Life is rich. Life is good,” he concluded.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 5, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Warner Bros./HBO Max(LOS ANGELES) — Warner Bros., who is behind the HBO Max remake of The Witches, apologized to the disability community for how the villains were depicted in the movie.

The fallout, according to Deadline, was sparked over a key difference between the 2020 remake and the Roald Dahl classic book and — by extension — the original 1990 film.

The witches in the HBO Max reimagining have three long fingers and not “claws instead of fingernails,” as stated in the original book, which upset the disability community.

Amy Marren, an English Paralympic swimmer, explained on Tuesday why she found that alteration so troubling.

While Marren is a “huge advocate of celebrating differences and especially limb differences,” she says giving those traits to villains does more harm than good.  The athlete also pointed out that doctors will fashion similar three-fingered hands for disabled children or adults to help them live a normal life.

“My fear is that children will watch this film, unaware that it massively exaggerates the Roald Dahl original and that limb differences [are] to be feared,” Marren wrote. “I am fully aware that this is a film, and these are Witches.  But Witches are essentially monsters.”

The Paralympic Games, retweeted Marren’s statement and expressed on their official Twitter, “Limb difference is not scary.  Differences should be celebrated and disability has to be normalised.”

Warner Bros. said in a statement to Deadline that they are “deeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in The Witches could upset people with disabilities, and regret any offense caused.”

“It was never the intention for viewers to feel that the fantastical, non-human creatures were meant to represent them,” the company maintained.

The Witches, starring Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer and narrated by Chris Rock, premiered on HBO Max on October 22.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.