July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

L-R – Laverne Cox, Taylor Schilling in “Orange is the New Black” – Jojo Whilden/Netflix(LOS ANGELES) — In what was one of the more awkward moments of Tuesday’s Emmy nominations announcements, Leslie Jones fumbled the news that her fellow presenter, Laverne Cox, had been nominated.

Watching the livestream, Cox clearly doesn’t know how to take the news, and insisted on-air that Jones misspoke — despite the fact that Jones screamed “You’ve been nominated!” multiple times.

Cox, who in 2014 became the first openly trans performer to be nominated for an Emmy in an acting category, did in fact earn a nod Tuesday in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series category for her work on the final season of Orange Is the New Black.

“It was so weird,” Cox tells E! “I thought like, ‘Leslie, what are you doing? I was nominated last year! What are you talking about?…I’ve never been that awkward on live TV, I don’t think, in my life.” The actress adds, “Like, why? I’m in one scene! It still feels like somebody made a mistake!”

That being said, Cox says she’s “really grateful” for the recognition. “I know that other actors vote for this, and for my colleagues to value the work is just incredible. It’s amazing,” she says.  “I love actors so much and I love what I do, so I’m honored, but it’s just shocking.”

The trailblazing actress and activist added, “It’s a dream that I’ve had for a very long time, and I just think about the little kid growing up in Alabama that I was, dreaming of moments like this, and so in honor of that little kid who still lives inside of me, I’m just humbled and insanely excited that I even get to present and that I get to be a nominee again. The little kid is very, very, very happy.”

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Cindy Ord/Getty Images(VANCOUVER) — Ryan Reynolds is celebrating the safe return of a very special teddy bear. 

The bear belonged to 28-year-old Canadian Mara Soriano and contained a special recording of her late mother’s voice.  But it went missing after it was stolen in a bag that also contained her iPad, a Nintendo Switch and other personal items.  

Soriano’s search for the bear went viral and got the attention of fellow Canuck Reynolds, who posted a $5,000 reward for the teddy’s safe return, “zero questions asked.” He added, “I think we all need this bear to come home.”

Apparently, it worked. Soriano just tweeted a photo of her hugging the precious item. She credited the Deadpool star and spirits entrepreneur for the teddy’s safe return. “Break out the Aviation Gin,” she tweeted. “MAMABEAR is home!”

Reynolds re-tweeted the reunion photo, adding, “In happier news… thank you everyone who searched high and low. To the person who took the bear, thanks for keeping it safe. Vancouver is awesome.”

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Eric McCandless(LOS ANGELES) — Tiffany Haddish tearfully revealed on Monday the reason why she doesn’t have any children, and it’s due to her fears about racism.

The Like a Boss star spoke about her decision when talking with Carmelo Anthony on his podcast What’s in Your Glass. 

When remarking how she, a woman in her 40s, is frequently dodging questions about when she’ll have a baby, Haddish became emotional.

“There’s a part of me that would like to do that, and I always make up these excuses like, ‘Oh, I need a million dollars in the bank before I do that, I need this, I need that.’ But really, it’s like, I would hate to give birth to someone that looks like me and then knowing that they’re gonna be hunted or killed,” She tearfully explained, revealing she watched her friends “be slaughtered by the police” when she was 13 and 14-years-old.

She adds that’s why she has a deep understanding of what George Floyd’s family is going through because she, too, felt powerless to save her friends that were in police custody.

That’s why she’s calling for change.

“White people don’t have to think about that,” Haddish explained. “It’s time to talk about that, and how we have to come together as a community and work as a unit.  Maybe we don’t all agree on the same things, but we need to find some common ground.”

The Emmy winner also noted that such conversations won’t be easy, but they need to happen in order to “move forward as human beings.”

“We have to figure out how to change people’s hearts,” She passionately declared. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do my whole career.  Not necessarily change their hearts but inspire their hearts to laugh” because “everyone wants to be happy.”

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

July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Jeopardy! Productions, Inc.(LOS ANGELES) — Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are heading back to the studio.

According to Deadline, the long-running television shows will begin production in Los Angeles as early as this week after being shutdown due to COVID-19.

Both shows are planning to implement a few changes keep both staff and contestants safe. In addition to regular testing and PPE, to adhere to social distancing guidelines, Wheel of Fortune will have a redesigned wheel while Jeopardy will place more space between the contestant podiums.

Recently, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek gave fans an optimistic update in his battle against Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, assuring them he’d be back to work as soon as he could. 

Meanwhile, Jeopardy! Productions just announced it will open the vault for a four-week retrospective series starting July 20. The throwback series will, “highlight memorable contestants, exciting moments, and unique tournaments from the show’s 36-year history, including the series premiere, which aired September 10, 1984.”

By George Costantino and Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Steve Granitz/WireImage(AUSTRALIA) — Chris Hemsworth’s latest hit is the Netflix film Extraction — and the title has an ironic twist after his wife, Elsa Pataky, needed to extract herself from a real-life emergency that could have been part of an action movie.

The Fast and Furious actress, who resides in Bryon Park, Australia with Hemsworth and their children, recently documented herself climbing out the window of a van after it got stuck in a flooded area. In a series of Instagram stories, she explained that she was “a bit too optimistic” in thinking that she would make it across without any issues. 

In one of the clips, the 41-year-old can be heard saying,”Oh god, oh god, what am I doing?” before she pokes fun at herself by writing, “Great job, Elsa.”

Pataky pans the camera around to show that the flowing water, which is the result of two days of rain, is almost up to the door handles of the vehicle. Eventually, she realizes that the only way out is through the window, so she climbs out and wades across the murky water to meet two of her children who are waiting on the other side. 

Luckily, no one was hurt.

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