Alex Trebek's fans want 'Jeopardy!' stage renamed in his honor, more news

‘Jeopardy!’ fans petition Sony to dedicate studio stage to Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek’s final “Jeopardy!” episodes finished airing earlier this month in the wake of the iconic show host’s death in November. Now, fans are urging Sony Pictures Studios to honor Alex’s decades-long career with one final tribute. In a new petition on Change.org, superfan Sammy Maggio asks the studio, “… to dedicate Stage 10 at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, in loving memory of Alex Trebek.” The petition, which had nearly 1,000 signatures as of Friday, Jan. 15, credits Alex with having “inspired millions of his fans” over the course of his long hosting tenure, before he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at age 80 late last year. Addressing Alex’s memory, the petition ends with: “We love you, then, now and forever. Having Stage 10 dedicated to him would be the ultimate posthumous honor.”

Keep reading for the latest on Cardi B’s first starring role in a film and more …

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Cardi B confirms first leading role in a movie with a ‘WAP’ joke

Cardi B’s mega-hit “WAP” just took on a whole new meaning. On Thursday, Jan. 14, the New York City native confirmed she’s landed her first leading role in a movie. “WAP = working at Paramount,” Cardi shared, retweeting a post from @hosthetics. According to Variety, Cardi’s set to star as “a small-time crook who finds herself in over her head when a heist goes wrong,” in “Assisted Living.” Her character ends up hiding out in her estranged grandma’s nursing home — disguised as an elderly woman. The Paramount Pictures film is based on a screenplay by Kay Oyegun, a writer for “This Is Us.” “Work & life is about to become 10x harder but I’m overwhelmed with happiness,” the rapper tweeted later on Thursday. “When you have opportunities in your hands TAKE THEM ALL !” Cardi previously appeared in 2019’s “Hustlers” and is slated for a cameo in the next edition of the “Fast & Furious” franchise.

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Kate Winslet reveals she felt ‘bullied’ after the success of ‘Titanic’

Last year, Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan’s period drama/love story, “Ammonite,” was among the first films of the year to generate 2021 Oscar buzz, with Kate predicted to be a Best Actress contender by multiple outlets. And while that’s good news for the seven-time nominee at age 45, the first movie that snagged her a Best Actress nomination, 1997’s “Titanic,” left Kate with some dark feelings about fame and success in Hollywood. “It was like night and day from one day to the next,” Kate told Marc Maron on the latest edition of his podcast. “Also, I was subject to quite a lot of also personal physical scrutiny and criticized quite a lot — the British press were actually quite unkind to me.” In fact, Kate said she ultimately “felt quite bullied” when she first arrived in the limelight. “I remember just thinking, ‘OK, well, this is horrible, and I hope it passes.’ And it did definitely pass but it also made me realize that if that’s what being famous was, I was not ready to be famous, thank you. No, definitely not,” Kate recalled. Going forward, she said, she intentionally looked for “smaller things” to work on, “… just so I could understand the craft a bit better and understand myself a bit better and maintain some degree of privacy and dignity.”

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Kelly Clarkson thanks Jennifer Love Hewitt for supporting her nearly 20 years ago

Kate Winslet’s not the only celeb who opened up this week about her not-so-positive first brush with fame. When Kelly Clarkson welcomed Jennifer Love Hewitt onto her eponymous show, she took the opportunity to thank the actress for her encouragement way back when Kelly first appeared on “American Idol” in 2002. After admitting Jennifer likely wouldn’t remember their run-in at an awards show that year, Kelly reminded Jennifer that “ran up to” her with some kind words she’s never forgotten. “It was right when, like, the final three I think of ‘Idol,’ and we were just so slammed and everything was happening like in a whirlwind and people like were really mean to us because we’re from a talent show and it was the first season,” Kelly recalled (via Page Six). “Everyone was so rude to us, like, on the carpet, like at the show … it was so bad. It was a horrible experience and you came up to me … and were like, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m really rooting for you!'” Kelly continued. “You told me, ‘Please keep the ones you love so close and it’ll end up being about a few people in your life unfortunately, but this business can be really hard. And just remember to keep those people who really love you.’ And you just gave me this advice that was really, really kind in such an … unkind rather time for me personally.” As Jennifer smiled, Kelly wrapped up her moment of gratitude, telling her guest, “So, thank you so much, it meant the world to me. You were so nice.”

Tyler Perry to be honored for his humanitarian work at the 2021 Oscars

As the U.S. battled the coronavirus pandemic while grappling with race relations and police brutality over the past year, Tyler Perry stepped up repeatedly. He surprised elderly grocery store shoppers by covering their bills. He offered to pay for the funeral of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man who was killed by white police officers. And he gave police in Atlanta gift cards to distribute in the neighborhoods where they work in an effort to foster a sense of community. For those and other reasons, the “Madea” filmmaker will be honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at this year’s Oscars ceremony. Praising his efforts to support a “wide spectrum of charitable and social justice causes,” the Academy said in a press release (via ET) it wanted to recognize Tyler for, “quietly and steadily” focusing “on humanitarian and social justice causes from the beginning of his career, caring for people who are most often ignored.” Tyler also received the prestigious Governors Award at the 2020 Emmys.

Mossimo Giannulli wants to serve the rest of his prison sentence at home

Eight weeks into his five-month prison sentence, Lori Loughlin’s husband, Mossimo Giannulli, has asked to serve his remaining time at home. Lawyers for the designer, 57, filed the request as an emergency motion on Thursday, Jan. 14, citing the allegedly “extreme” conditions he’s endured in the Lompoc, Calif. federal prison where he’s serving a sentence for his role in the college admissions scandal. “Mr. Giannulli was immediately placed in solitary confinement in a small cell at the adjacent medium security penitentiary, 24 hours per day with only three short 20 minute breaks per week, where he remained for 56 days before finally being transferred to the camp yesterday …,” the court filing read, according to Page Six. Mossimo was reportedly placed in solitary due to the extensive spread of COVID-19 in the prison, which has had nearly 60 positive cases and five deaths from the illness. The filing notes Mossimo has repeatedly tested negative for the coronavirus, his lawyers said. “After each negative test, without further explanation, Mr. Giannulli was returned to his cell, purportedly for another two-week period of solitary quarantine,” they wrote. “He has a stable home environment — to which he will directly and immediately travel upon release — with resources that will allow him to quarantine safely and remain at home for the remainder of his sentence,” they added. Lori and Mossimo admitted they paid $500,000 in bribe money to get their daughters into USC under the false pretense that the girls were rowing recruits.Lori completed her two-month sentence last month.

Gwen Stefani teases new solo album

Between working on “The Voice,” recording her new single, “Let Me Reintroduce Myself,” and getting engaged to Blake Shelton — not to mention, managing mom duties for her three boys — Gwen Stefani’s had her hands full in recent months. But as she teased during her appearance on “Today” this week, the singer also has one more project in the works — her fifth studio album, which she said is close to seeing the light of day. Asked when the much anticipated full-length might be released, Gwen said “probably soon,” then elaborated a bit on where she’s at with the new music. “I have all the songs,” Gwen said. “I wrote a song yesterday. I’m still writing. I’m going to write a song tomorrow and I’m just going to edit, you know, and get the best of the best. As soon as they say I can put it out. Soon.”The recording will be Gwen’s first solo album since her 2017 holiday release, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.”

Anne Hathaway’s wax figure gets a name change

Anne Hathaway’s dream of getting a new first name is finally being realized … sort of. Earlier this week, the actress admitted to Jimmy Fallon that she can’t stand being called Anne (“the only person who ever calls me Anne is my mother, and she only does it when she’s really mad at me,” she explained, saying everyone else calls her Annie). Apparently, Madame Tussauds in New York City took note of Anne/Annie’s gripe and has already updated the placard on her wax figure to reflect her preferred moniker. “We hope the new name plate will keep us on Annie’s A-list,” a rep for the museum tells ET. According to Anne, she’s been stuck with her more formalized first name instead of her nickname since age 14, when she got her SAG card for a commercial shoot and simply gave the union her full given name without thinking about the consequences.

Suzanne Somers pays tribute to her former ‘Three’s Company’ costar Peter Mark Richman

Peter Mark Richman, who earned more than 100 major acting credits over the course of his long career, playing memorable characters like Reverend Snow on “Three’s Company,” passed away Thursday, Jan. 14, at his home in California, the AP reported Friday. Speaking to the Daily Mail, his former “Three’s Company” costar Suzanne Somers praised the actor’s “musical” sense of comedy. “Peter Mark Richman and I understood the music from the very first time we appeared together on ‘Three’s Company.’ He knew his ‘stuff,'” she said, adding, “We lost a good one.”

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