Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker! Empire Magazine releases 2 different Covers!
He’s one of the most iconic characters in movies, in comics, in pop culture full-stop. He’s been portrayed by some of the most beloved and renowned actors of all time. And yet you’ve never seen the Joker like you will in Todd Phillips’ Joker__. The new August 2019 issue of Empire takes a world-exclusive first look at DC’s dark and dangerous drama: a psychological crime-thriller that brings a brand new take on one of the greatest villains of all time, gives him an origin story and places Joaquin Phoenix under the clown make-up. We head into the editing suite with Phillips, and talk to Phoenix and producer Bradley Cooper about the radical comic-book movie that breaks all the rules.
On this month’s covers you’ll find exclusive portrayals of Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck – and his notorious clown-prince counterpart. Above is the newsstand version, while subscribers receive the following beauty, shot especially for Empire by Niko Tavernise
The August 2019 issue of _Empire_ – on sale from Thursday 11 July – takes a world-exclusive look inside the low-budget, hyper-intense comic book movie – and according to Phillips, it’s going to be its own unique beast. “We didn’t follow anything from the comic-books, which people are gonna be mad about,” the writer-director tells Empire. “We just wrote our own version of where a guy like Joker might come from. That’s what was interesting to me. We’re not even doing Joker, but the story of becoming Joker. It’s about this man.”
That man is Arthur Fleck – a vulnerable, damaged man who will eventually, inevitably, become the card-carrying psychopathic criminal who strikes out at Gotham City. And for the filmmakers, Phoenix was always the man for the role. “I think he’s the greatest actor,” says Phillips. “We had a photo of him above our computer while we were writing. We constantly thought, ‘God, imagine if Joaquin actually does this.’” We won't have to imagine – we'll see the finished film in all its glory in cinemas 4 October.
#RHOA: Kenya VS Marlo! They two had a confrontation while filming the new season of RHOA!
Kenya Moore and Marlo Hampton reportedly spat venom at each other recently during Hampton’s wig line launch.
According to reports and video Hampton was celebrating the unveiling of her “I Am Her” wig collection with most of her fellow cast members and friends in Atlanta when the tension ratcheted up several notches. According to the two publications, Porsha Williams, Nene Leakes, Kandi Burruss, Cynthia Bailey, Tanya Sam, Shamea Morton and Yovanna Love were all in attendance at an undisclosed location.
Hampton, 43, reportedly took umbrage with Moore, 48, who appeared at Hampton’s event with gift bags promoting her own hair care products and handing them out while Hampton was speaking about her wigs.
Moore, who is returning as a full-time cast member after being fired before last season, has a well-deserved reputation as a walking cattle-prodder who frequently jolts her fellow castmates and then retreats into the cut like a victim.
#Empire: Fox Announces Empire Season 6 Premiere Date, Show Moves To New Day + Time Slot
There’s no more need to rush home by 8 PM Wednesday nights this fall. TV network Fox has announced its popular “Empire” series is set to return in the coming months to its original time slot.
Fox has revealed the Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard-starring series will premiere Tuesday, September 24 at 9 Pm.
Fox has officially set its fall premiere dates for the 2019-2020 season. As was previously announced, the 71st Emmy Awards will air live on Fox on Sunday, Sept. 22. “9-1-1” returns for its third season on Monday, Sept. 23, leading in to the series premiere of the new Fox drama series “Prodigal Son.” Tuesday, Sept. 24 will see the Season 3 premiere of medical drama “The Resident,” followed by the sixth and final season premiere of the hit music drama “Empire.”
#NewMusicVideo from Sam Smith – “How Do You Sleep?”
Sam Smith is back with a brand new single called “How Do You Sleep?” as well as a new video for the track.
The moody, synth-heavy track credits Smith alongside a songwriting and production team including Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, and ILYA. “What have I become / looking through your phone / love to you is just a game,” Smith sings on the track. In a press release, Smith said that the song and video channel his “inner dancing queen.” “This year, both personally and musically, I feel so free. More than ever I have had so much fun making this record and this video. Time to dance darlings x.”
WATCH HERE
#HipHopNews: Meek Mill Has been Granted a New Trial
Rapper Meek Mill's 2008 gun conviction has been overturned...According to reports the Superior Court of Pennsylvania agreed to throw out the verdict from Meek's 2008 gun case, paving the way for a new trial.
The prosecutor has the option of re-trying the case or throwing it out altogether.
Idris Elba Reacts to His Visuals in the 'Cats' Trailer
Idris Elba plays the role of Macavity in the upcoming Tom Hooper Cats movie, and the trailer for the movie-musical was just recently released.
The trailer quickly went viral for how the cats look in the film.
Well, Idris Elba was asked about his feline appearance in the film during an interview!
“When you saw yourself as a CGI cat…clean shaven…what is your reaction to that?” ET Canada asked Idris.
“Rawwrrrr, that was my reaction,” Idris responded. “Movie making is incredible at the moment…The magic we can do.”
“I’m excited for people to see it!” he added.
The New Harriet Tubman Biopic Is Here…WATCH!
In 2018, Focus Features announced that it would release a biopic about Harriet Tubman, directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Tony-winning actor Cynthia Erivo. And now we have our first look: The first official trailer for Harriet dropped on Tuesday, July 23, and it's fantastic.
Harriet, which will be out November 1, follows Tubman's journey escaping slavery in Maryland and becoming an integral part of the Underground Railroad to free other enslaved people. The trailer was met with a large wave of excitement online, with Twitter users already campaigning for Erivo's Oscar. If Erivo wins an Academy Award, she would be the youngest person ever to achieve an EGOT designation.
WATCH HERE
"Cynthia Erivo is this close to becoming an EGOT winner, and I am SO ready to watch it happen," one person wrote on Twitter. Actress Susan Heyward tweeted, "Whhheeeee!!! This imagery, this message, this team, this @CynthiaEriVo! This @leslieodomjr!!"
Nicole Murphy Issues an Apology To Lela Rochon For Kissing With Her Husband
Nicole Murphy now reportedly “feels terrible” and has issued an apology through TMZ for the entire incident saying it wasn’t her “intention to be in that situation.”
Nicole Murphy claims she thought Antoine and Lela had divorced. Without going into the entire situation, I want to apologize to my family, and to Lela and the Fuqua family for what transpired.
It was not my intention to be in this situation. I do not condone women kissing or interacting in anyway inappropriately with a married man. I too was once married and I would never intentionally undermine another woman, despite what has been written.
First, he was a family friend, now she was hoodwinked because she thought Antoine Fuqua and Lela Rochon were divorced?
Do you believe Nicole Murphy’s apology is sincere?
South Carolina Murder Victim Becomes The 12th Transgender Woman To Die This Year In The U.S.
North Charleston Police Department discovered the body of a 29-year-old transgender woman who had been fatally shot, on the side of the road on Saturday.
Authorities were responding to reports of someone possibly being hit by a car when they found Denali Berries Stuckey suffering from a gunshot wound, CNN reports.
On Monday, family and friends gathered for a candlelight vigil sponsored by the Alliance for Full Acceptance and other LGBTQ groups in remembrance of Stuckey. According to a post from the Alliance for Full Acceptance on Instagram, Stuckey’s death marks the 12th this year for African American transgender women in the United States.
“While the greater community may be either unaware or disinterested in this news, it is important to understand the epidemic of violence against trans women of color and the crisis point at which we are now and have been for years,” Executive Director of the Alliance for Full Acceptance Chris Glenn wrote in a statement. “We refuse to become numb. We will continue to say the names of these women and remember them how they would have wanted to be remembered.”
At this time, police have not identified a suspect and are investigating a motive. But, authorities aren’t ruling out the possibility of a hate crime, despite the fact that South Carolina is currently one of five states without a hate crimes law in place.
Hate crimes are almost universally crimes of violence,” North Charleston Police Chief Deputy Chief Scott Deckard said in a statement. “We hope that through this tragic act, greater awareness is gained of the continuing discrimination and harassment of the LGBTQ community,” he added. “Our thoughts are with Denali’s family and friends.”
Meet Rihanna’s Mini Me Little Miss Ala’a!
Rihanna has an adorable mini-me!
The 31-year-old superstar took to her Instagram to share a photo of a young girl who bares a striking resemblance to her.
“almost drop my phone. how?” Rihanna captioned the photo.
The little girl is a seven-year-old named Ala’a, who hopes to one day a model.
It seems like her dreams may come true soon, as Tyra Banks reposted the photo hoping to get in contact with Ala’a and her family!
The post lead to an influx of comments from other celeb who couldn’t get over their similar appearance.
Wendy Williams Says She’s Keeping her Married Last Name and wants NO RECONCILIATION!
Wendy Williams became visibly emotional while speaking candidly about her estranged husband Kevin Hunter. The 55-year-old talk show host and her now 46-year-old ex were married for 21 years.
During her appearance on “The Karen Hunter Show”, she stated that she was “going through a situation” with her family and began to break down in tears. When asked about the “chance” of reconciliation between the former couple. However, Williams quickly replied
“No, don’t ask! No! Girl, no. Don’t ask. I know what you’re saying, but my family is good, and we’ll always be family.”
Wendy asked whether Wendy has “changed out the credit cards and the back accounts.” She also questioned Williams about whether she intended to change her last name.
“No, my name is Wendy Hunter. That’s my son’s name and you can’t take away 20 [years] … Don’t make me cry.
She then responded, “Next,” to move onto the next question.
Wendy filed for divorce from Kevin in April after following speculation that Williams’ estranged spouse fathered a child with his alleged mistress, Sharina Hudson.
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen Celebrate Son Taking His First Steps!
John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen celebrated their son's latest "Miles-stone" as he took his first-ever steps on Tuesday. Chrissy previously denied her adorable son, Miles, is autistic.
The "All Of Me" singer retweeted a video shared by his wife of the momentous occasion on her Twitter page, writing: "I think I just caught his first real steps! Does this count?"
In the 15-second clip, Miles, who celebrated his 1st birthday in May, is seen holding onto a table while playing with a toy car, before stepping to hold onto the couch. His mom Chrissy is heard excitedly telling him: "Good job, you took a step!"
John added the clever caption: "Miles-stone!"
Rutger Hauer Legendary Actor of ‘Blade Runner’ Bad Guy, Genre Star Dead at 75
Rutger Hauer, the actor who played the villainous Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic Blade Runner in a career in which he became a staple in genre films, died July 19 in his native the Netherlands after a long illness. He was 75.
Hauer was born January 23, 1944 in Breukelen in the Netherlands. He attended the Academy for Theater and Dance in Amsterdam before being drafted into the Royal Netherlands Army. He was part of an experimental theater troupe before being cast by Paul Verhoeven in the 1969 Dutch TV action drama Floris.
His first role stateside was in 1981 in the film Nighthawks opposite Sylvester Stallone, but it was his role as Roy Batty in the 1982 cult classic Blade Runner that put him in the spotlight and made him a formidable name amongst the cult fan community of the Ridley Scott film. The role led him to many other genre-driven characters in TV and film.
Throughout the ’80s he appeared in many films. He reteamed with Verhoeven for the epic Flesh & Blood (1985) and in the same year he starred in the fantasy pic Ladyhawke. In 1986, he starred as a murderous hitchhiker in The Hitcher and went on to star in the reboot of the TV Western Wanted: Dead or Alive where he took on the role originated by Steve McQueen. In 1989 he starred in the action pic, Blind Fury.
Hauer took a dramatic turn in Ermanno Olmi’s The Legend of the Holy Drinker (1988) as a homeless drunk and criminal looking for redemption in Paris. He received critical acclaim and earned a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In the same year, he starred in the war drama Escape from Sobibor opposite Alan Arkin and received a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.
Hauer’s TV and film credits continued through the ’90s and ’00s. He appeared in many horror and vampire-centric TV and film projects including Dario Argento’s Dracula 3D where he played Van Helsing. He was also in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie in 1992 as well as the 2004 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot where he appeared as the vampire Barlow. His affection for roles in vampire series continued with the sixth season of HBO’s True Blood where he starred as Niall Brigant. He also played the titular role in the 2005 feature Dracula III: Legacy.
The veteran actor went on to appear in many critically acclaimed films and prominent pop culture franchises including Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2003), Sin City (2005), Batman Begins (2005) as well as On the TV side he appeared in popular series such as Smallville, Alias and the 2015 BBC series The Last Kingdom.
He also voiced characters in video games such as Observer and can be heard in Kingdom Hearts III as Master Xehanort.
'Girls Cruise' Star Lil Kim’s Bankruptcy Case Over, Back On Her Feet
Rapper Lil Kim’s finances are back in order and her bankruptcy case has been officially dismissed by the court.
According to court documents a New Jersey federal judge has granted Lil Kim’s motion to end the case. Last month, the rapper asked for the case to be closed saying she no longer needed it.
Lil Kim said she had been able to get her finances into good shape and no longer needed the court's protection her from creditors. She explained all was good after sitting down with a lawyer and obtaining a loan modification.
Kim said the whole purpose of the bankruptcy was to save her New Jersey mansion from foreclosure.
The judge sided with her and has officially closed the case. Lil Kim will now be on her own to deal with creditors and debt.
Last year, Kim filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy due to $4 million owed to creditors.
Anne Hathaway Is Pregnant With Baby #2!
Anne Hathaway just announced she's put on a little weight ... in her womb ... because she's pregnant with her second child.
"It's not for a movie..." the star of "The Hustle" remake announced on Wednesday alongside a photo of a growing baby bump.
She followed up confirming that "#2" is on the way. Hathaway and her husband, Adam Shulman, welcomed their first son, Jonathan Rosebanks Shulman, back in March of 2016.
After announcing the pregnancy, Hathaway got serious about not only the complications she faced with getting pregnant, but that many women deal with.
"All kidding aside, for everyone going through infertility and conception hell, please know it was not a straight line to either of my pregnancies," she wrote.
Hathaway added that she's sending everyone dealing with struggles some "extra love."
Robert Mueller dismisses Trump’s claims of Russia probe exoneration
WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Mueller on Wednesday bluntly dismissed President Donald Trump’s claims of total exoneration in the federal probe of Russia’s 2016 election interference, telling Congress he explicitly did not clear the president of obstructing his investigation. The former special counsel also rejected Trump’s assertions that the probe was a “witch hunt” and hoax.
In hours of sometimes halting and stilted testimony, unfolding at a moment of deep division in the country, Mueller also condemned Trump’s praise of WikiLeaks, which released Democratic emails stolen by Russia. He declared Russian election interference one of the greatest challenges to democracy that he had encountered in his career.
Russia, he said, was “doing it as we sit here.”
Mueller’s reluctance at the televised Capitol Hill hearings to stray beyond his lengthy written report, and his reliance on terse, one-word answers, produced few if any new revelations to move Americans who may be hardened in their opinions about the success of Donald Trump’s presidency and whether impeachment proceedings are necessary. But that didn’t stop Republicans and Democrats from their own divergent paths to question Mueller.
Trump’s GOP allies tried to cast the former special counsel and his prosecutors as politically motivated. They referred repeatedly to what they consider the improper opening of the investigation.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is dismissing President Donald Trump's claim of "total exoneration." Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee that investigators did not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice. (July 24)
Democrats, meanwhile, sought to emphasize the most incendiary findings of Mueller’s 448-page report and weaken Trump’s reelection prospects in ways that Mueller’s book-length report did not. They hoped that even if his testimony did not inspire impeachment demands — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made clear she will not pursue impeachment, for now — Mueller could nonetheless unambiguously spell out questionable, norm-shattering actions by the president.
Yet Mueller appeared unwilling or unable to offer crisp sound bites that could reshape public opinions.
Democrats were hoping for vintage Robert Mueller III, circa 2001 when he was leading the FBI after 9/11. Instead, they saw a less forceful public presence but one still skilled enough in the ways of Washington to not fall for Republicans’ leading questions or read his report aloud in a way that Democrats could exploit.
He frequently gave single-word answers to questions, even when given opportunities to crystallize allegations of obstruction of justice against the president. He referred time again to the wording in his report.
But he was unflinching on the most-critical matters.
In the opening minutes of the hearing, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, asked Mueller about Trump’s claims of vindication in the investigation.
“Did you actually totally exonerate the president?” Nadler asked.
“No,” Mueller replied.
When Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, asked, “Your investigation is not a witch hunt, is it?”
“It is not a witch hunt,” Mueller flatly replied.
He gave Democrats a flicker of hope when he told Rep. Ted Lieu of California that he did not charge Trump because of a Justice Department legal opinion that says sitting presidents cannot be indicted. That statement cheered Democrats who understood him to be suggesting that he would otherwise have recommended prosecution on the strength of the evidence.
But Mueller later walked back that statement, saying, “We did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime.” His team, he said, “never started the process” of evaluating whether to charge the president.
Though Mueller described Russian government’s efforts to interfere in American politics as among the most serious challenges to democracy he had encountered in his decades-long career - which included steering the FBI after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - Republicans focused on his conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“Those are the facts of the Mueller report. Russia meddled in the 2016 election,” said Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee. “The president did not conspire with Russians. Nothing we hear today will change those facts.”
Mueller, pressed as to why he hadn’t investigated a “dossier” of claims that the Republicans insist helped lead to the start of the probe, he said that was not his charge.
That was “outside my purview,” he said repeatedly.
Mueller mostly brushed aside Republican allegations of bias, but in a moment of apparent agitation, he said he didn’t think lawmakers had ever “reviewed a report that is as thorough, as fair, as consistent as the report that we have in front of us.”
And when he was pressed on the fact that multiple members of his team had made contributions to Democratic candidates, Mueller bristled at the implication that his prosecutors were compromised.
“I have been in this business for almost 25 years, and in those 25 years I have not had the occasion to ask somebody about their political affiliation,” Mueller said. “It is not done. What I care about is the capability of the individual to do the job and do the job quickly and seriously and with integrity.”
Mueller, known for his taciturn nature, warned that he would not stray beyond what had already been revealed in his report. And the Justice Department instructed him to stay strictly within those parameters, giving him a formal directive to point to if he faced questions he did not want to answer.
Trump lashed out ahead of and during the hearings, saying on Twitter that “Democrats and others” were trying to fabricate a crime and pin it on “a very innocent President.” That was a continuation of the past two years during which Trump has made Mueller a regular target in an attempt to undermine his credibility.
Over the past week, Trump had begun to frequently ask confidants how he thought the hearing would go, and while he expressed no worry that Mueller would reveal anything damaging, he was irritated that the former special counsel was being given the national stage, according to two Republicans close to the White House. They were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.
Long aware of the power of televised images, Trump seethed to one adviser that he was annoyed Democrats would be given a tool to ramp up their investigations - and that the cable news networks would now have new footage of Mueller to play endlessly.
Publicly, Trump this week feigned indifference to Mueller’s testimony , telling reporters, “I’m not going to be watching - probably - maybe I’ll see a little bit of it.”
Mueller is a former FBI director who spent 12 years parrying questions from lawmakers at oversight hearings, and decades before that as a prosecutor who asked questions of his own. He resisted efforts to goad him into saying anything he did not want to say. He repeatedly told lawmakers to refer to his report for answers to specific questions.
Wednesday’s first hearing before the Judiciary Committee focused on whether the president illegally obstructed justice by attempting to seize control of Mueller’s investigation.
The special counsel examined nearly a dozen episodes, including Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey and his efforts to have Mueller himself removed.
The afternoon hearing before the House intelligence committee dove into ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
On that question, Mueller’s report documented a trail of contacts between Russians and Trump associates - including a Trump Tower meeting at which the president’s eldest son expected to receive dirt on Democrat Hillary Clinton.
AND FINALLY FROM THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART FILES
‘THE COOL DOWN’
Everyone in Winter: “Im over this cold snow BS.” Everyone now in Summer: “Are these mountains every gonna turn blue?!?!”
#EGGPLANTNATION: Meet Derek
Meet Derek! So you know what to do to see them goods. GO HERE TO SEE THE PICS and remember they’re NSFW!
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