| News Short | News Headline |
| Nicolas Cage, Christian Bale star in 'Madden' | Nicolas Cage will portray the late football icon John Madden in Prime Video's Madden, due Thanksgiving. A teaser released Thursday shows the actor, 61, scribbling on a whiteboard. "There's only one John Madden," says Al Davis (Christian Bale), in the clip. "They didn't make another one. He is one of a kind. Football wouldn't be football without him." Madden first rose to fame as the Oakland Raiders coach who oversaw the team's 1977 Super Bowl win. Davis was the team's owner. "Inspired by a true story, Madden follows the football legend from Super Bowl glory with the Raiders to revolutionizing the game with Madden NFL," an official synopsis reads. David O. |
| Perry Bamonte, of The Cure, is dead at 65 | Perry Bamonte, who played guitar, keyboard and six-string bass for The Cure, died over Christmas, multiple media outlets reported. He was 65. The band confirmed Bamonte's death with a post on their website Friday. "It is with enormous sadness that we confirm the death of our great friend and bandmate Perry Bamonte, who passed away after a short illness at home over Christmas," the post reads. The specific illness was not listed. "Quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative, 'Teddy' was a warm-hearted and vital part of The Cure story," the post continued." Bamonte officially joined The Cure in 1990 after serving as a personal assistant and technician for frontman Robert Smith, and he played with the band through 2005. |
| Yerin Ha, Luke Thompson dance at masquerade ball in 'Bridgerton' S4 | Netflix released a preview for Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 on Thursday ahead of its arrival on the streamer Jan. 29. The upcoming chapter of the show takes its inspiration from Julia Quinn's novel An Offer from a Gentleman, and is "a bit of a twist on Cinderella," Luke Thompson says. Thompson portrays Benedict Bridgerton, a man who, prior to a masquerade ball thrown by his mother (Ruth Gemmell), is not interested in marriage. A trailer shows him meeting and dancing with the Lady in Silver (Yerin Ha) at that party, telling her she is "perhaps the most intriguing person I've ever met." He doesn't realize she is a maid, Sophie, who was only able to attend the dance after securing "a good costume. |
| Parker McCollum, wife Hallie Ray Light are expecting another baby | Parker McCollum is going to be a dad again. The country music artist, 33, and his wife, Hallie Ray Light, announced that they are expecting their second child in an Instagram post Thursday. The first image in the photo carousel they shared features McCollum holding their son, 1-year-old Major Yancey Tyler McCollum, as Light smiles and stands close, a hand on her stomach. The family stands in front of a Christmas tree surrounded by presents. "McCollum party of four next Christmas!" Light said in the Instagram post. "Another boy joining us summer 2026! Merry Christmas, everyone! Thank you, Jesus! HBD!" McCollum married Light in 2022, and McCollum has previously described her as "the greatest mom in the world," per People. |
| 'Homestead' star Esten: 'I've never had an entrance like THAT before' | Whose Line Is it Anyway?, Nashville and Outer Banks actor Charles Esten says he jumped at the chance to play Cain in the new post-apocalyptic drama, Homestead, because he was so unlike his past characters. "I've been doing this a long time and I've never had an entrance like that where this mysterious helicopter lands on the mountain ridge and out steps a boot and it's a guy that [the main character] clearly did not want to call, but she felt she had to," Esten, 60, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. Now streaming on the subscription Angel app, the series is a follow-up to Homestead, the 2024 film adaptation of Jeff Kirkham and Jason Ross' Black Autumn series of books. |