Chris Stapleton has little girl starstruck with impromptu Walmart meeting

K.J. Yossman Amazon boss Jeff Bezos (pictured above, left) thanked “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” showrunners Patrick McKay and John D. Payne at the U.K. premiere of the Amazon Prime Video series on Tuesday night – for ignoring his notes on the show. “Every showrunner’s dream – and I mean every showrunner – their dream is to get notes on scripts and early cuts from the founder and executive chairman,” Bezos quipped while introducing the first two episodes of the series at the Odeon Luxe cinema in Leicester Square. “They loved that. I need to thank you both for listening whenever it helped but mostly I need to thank you for ignoring me at exactly the right times.”

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The composer (“Once Upon a Mattress”), young adult author (“Freaky Friday”) and philanthropist Mary Rodgers wanted to write a memoir that was candid, cutting, dishy and vanity-free — the exact opposite of the books penned by her father, the legendary Broadway composer Richard Rodgers, and her mother Dorothy Rodgers. “Mary didn’t want it to be fake like her parents’ memoirs had been,” said Jesse Green, the co-author of Mary Rodgers’ recently released memoir “Shy.” Speaking on the new episode of Stagecraft, Variety‘s theater podcast, Green explained, “She wanted it to spark with the actual sound of people enjoying thinking about their lives.”

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Comedy Store filed a lawsuit on Tuesday claiming that it lost out on $8.5 million in COVID relief funds because its accountant didn’t know about a government deadline. The comedy club sued Moss Adams LLP, alleging that the firm failed to warn that the application period for the grants was about to close. In late 2020, Congress approved $16 billion in relief funding to theaters and live performance venues that had been forced to close due to the pandemic. In the suit, the Comedy Store says that its business plummeted by nearly 90% in the latter half of 2020. The iconic club — which helped launch the careers of Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, David Letterman and many others — was not allowed to reopen at full capacity until last fall.

EJ Panaligan editor Mikhail Gorbachev, the Russian politician who served as the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91, according to the Associated Press. The Central Clinical Hospital in Russia provided a statement to Russian news organizations that Gorbachev died after suffering from an undisclosed, long-term illness. Gorbachev served as the leader of the Soviet Union during its demise in 1991. He resigned on Christmas of that year after spending the last few months in office watching different republics declare independence. His initiatives and reforms led to the end of the Cold War but resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Carson Burton Tucker Wiard, who served as editor for TV series including “Murphy Brown,” “The Carol Burnett Show” and “The Scarlet Letter,” died on Aug 28 in Los Angeles after complications from heart failure. He was 80. Throughout Wiard’s decades-long career, he won five primetime Emmys for editing. Wiard won for his work in editing the final episode of “The Carol Burnett Show” at CBS in 1978, the four-episode WGBH series “The Scarlet Letter” in 1979 and the television special “American Bandstand’s 30th Anniversary Special” in 1982. Two episodes of “Murphy Brown” — “Respect” and “On Another Plane” — also won Wiard primetime Emmys. He was nominated a total of 11 times.

Demi Lovato wishes she hadn't put out three documentaries. In an interview with Alternative Press, the 30-year-old singer reveals why she regrets putting out in 2012, in 2017, and in 2021.«I wish I would have waited until I had my s**t figured out more because now it's cemented,» Lovato, who's been open about her struggles with addiction, explains.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Amazon Studios’ hotly anticipated “Lord of the Rings” series is one of the streamer’s most ambitious (and reportedly most expensive) projects to date.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The upcoming “Spiderwick Chronicles” TV series at Disney+ has cast Joy Bryant, Variety has learned exclusively. Bryant joins previously announced cast members Lyon Daniels and Noah Cottrell as well as Christian Slater. The show is based on the popular book series of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. In the show, upon leaving New York and moving to Michigan and into their run-down ancestral home—The Spiderwick Estate—with their mother, twin brothers Jared (Daniels) and Simon Grace (Cottrell), along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate, fantastical world.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Snap is reportedly getting ready to make a major round of layoffs, as Snapchat advertising sales have hit turbulence. The social messaging and media company is set to cut 20% of its workforce, with layoffs set to begin Wednesday, the Verge reported, citing anonymous sources. A Snap spokesperson declined to comment. As of the end of June 2022, Snap had 6,446 full-time employees, up 38% year over year. As part of the layoffs, Snap’s advertising group will be restructured, per the Verge report. That comes as Netflix just hired Snap’s two top ad execs — chief business officer Jeremi Gorman and VP of sales Peter Naylor — to lead advertising efforts as Netflix gears up to launch a cheaper, as-supported plan in 2023.

Chris Rock to be opening up about the infamous Oscars slap anytime soon. ET spoke with January Harrison, founder of January Designs and Creations, who was in attendance at Rock's show in Phoenix on Sunday, where she said he not only discussed the incident between him and Will Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards, but was adamant about not speaking publicly about the slap.As many will remember, it was at the Academy Awards that Smith slapped Rock in the face after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith before presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature. Harrison said that Rock told the audience that Oprah Winfrey asked him to do a sit-down interview with her to discuss the incident, but he declined.«During the evening, he did describe that he declined an offer to go onto Oprah to do to a sit-down interview and even a Super Bowl commercial with Will Smith himself,» Harrison shared.

Police made an arrest Monday after a street vendor allegedly attempted to extort a production crew for $50,000 and threatened to shoot a gun near the Baltimore set of the Natalie Portman AppleTV+ show "Lady in the Lake." Baltimore Police Department officials confirmed to Fox News Digital that Keith L. Brown was identified as the man who made threatening remarks toward the Endeavor Content crew filming on Park Avenue on Friday. Police arrested the 43-year-old on narcotics charges.

EXCLUSIVE: After The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and the upcoming Renfield, Nicolas Cage isn’t done showing off his comedic chops as sources tell Deadline is set to star in the A24 comedy Dream Scenario. A24 is set to finance and produce the pic with Kristoffer Borgli directing. Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen will produce under their Square Peg banner with Borgli also penning the script. Other then it being described as a comedy, project details are being kept under wraps.

As Sherri Shepherd gears up for the launch of her daytime talk show, she got some advice from a bona fide professional – Oprah Winfrey! In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the “Sherri” host revealed that Winfrey reached out and offered her a wealth of wisdom.

Don’t expect to hear a retirement announcement from Sigourney Weaver anytime soon.

Rachel Bilson is making amends with old friends.

After more than four years together, Leonardo DiCaprio and Camila Morrone have split.

the third episode of “Girls Next Level” podcast that Hefner had a “black book” that he reportedly used to keep tabs on many of his live-in, bleach-haired roommates. “The black book kept track of a few different things,” Marquardt stated.

told TMZ that she died following an ‘unexpected sudden illness.’The South African actress, who was also a model, most recently starred opposite Woody Harrelson in the film Triangle of Sadness, which was acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival.She starred as model Yaya who, along with boyfriend Carl (Harris Dickinson) navigated the world of high fashion.The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded at the festival.Dean was pictured attending the film festival in May with the rest of the cast. Dean’s on-screen career began in 2010 when she appeared in the comedy film Spud, starring Troye Sivan.She reprised her role in the sequel in 2013, and went on to appear in the CBS TV series Elementary.Dean also appeared in the films Don’t Sleep and An Interview With God, before taking on one of her most well-known roles, Syonide in the CW series Black Lightning in 2018.Syonide was the surrogate daughter of Tobias Whale and a member of his criminal organisation.Dean then landed a role in Triangle of Sadness, a satirical dark comedy.Tributes from fans have poured in for the late star.

the Sun.Bell’s cause of death has not yet been confirmed by the coroner’s office.The Kentucky-born musician made his way to Wyoming as a youngster, where he briefly studied at the University of Wyoming.He eventually dropped out in a bid to pursue a career in country music in Austin, Texas.It was in there that he would put on performances at the Hole in the Wall bar with the band that he formed, Fast Luke and the Lead Heavy.Bell then headed to Nashville where he recorded his EP, Don’t Mind If I Do in 2014 – but it wasn’t until two years later that he was signed to Thirty Tigers that his star began to rise.He dropped his titled album shortly after and grew a large fan base thanks to his unique voice and charm.‘To be honest, I live in the day, and I count smiles,’ he said of his success.‘That’s it. Listen, half the time, I end up drinking beer with my neighbors.

Sylvester Stallone has denied estranged wife Jennifer Flavin’s claims of any wrongdoing with their marital assets, it has been claimed.The Rocky actor has been married to his third wife for 25 years, after they tied the knot in 1997.However, just months after celebrating their milestone anniversary, it emerged that Jennifer had filed for divorce, and submitted documents to officially end their relationship.In the initial paperwork, it was claimed that she accused the Hollywood icon of hiding marital assets, suggesting that he ‘engaged in the intentional dissipation, depletion and / or waste of marital assets which has had an adverse economic impact on the marital estate’.He is thought to have responded to the allegations in court documents submitted in Palm Beach County, seen by People Magazine.The publication reports that he denied the allegations, with his legal team responding that he has ‘not engaged’ in that behavior.He also allegedly opposed his ex’s request to keep their Palm Beach home while proceedings are ongoing, but did not resist Jennifer’s plea to restore her maiden name.Sly reportedly agreed that their marriage is ‘irretrievably broken’.The former couple walked down the aisle in 1997, and welcomed daughters Scarlet, Sistine and Sophia together.Their romance was thrown into the spotlight recently when the Samaritan star covered up a tattoo dedication to Jennifer with a portrait of his beloved dog, but later insisted that their split was nothing to do with this.Speaking out about the end of their relationship, the mom-of-three said: ‘I’m sad to announce that after 25 years of marriage I have filed for divorce from my husband Sylvester Stallone.’Actress Charlbi Dean dies aged 32 after 'sudden illness'Piers

Emily Ratajkowski looked ready for a workout when in New York City on Tuesday. The 31-year-old Versace model donned a curve hugging black unitard which showcased her toned arms and legs as she headed for a drive.The cover model's chestnut lock were styled in loose waves as she added a pair of black sunglasses. Sleek: Emily Ratajkowski looked cool and sleek in New York Tuesday.