The daily gossip: Chris Evans to play Gene Kelly, Nicolas Cage regretfully retired from karaoke, and more

1. Chris Evans will reportedly play Gene Kelly in a movie

He can do this all day — and by this, we mean tap dance. Captain America star Chris Evans is reportedly in talks to play Gene Kelly in an upcoming film. The project is reportedly based on Evans' original idea, following a 12-year-old boy who develops an imagined friendship with the classic film star while working on the MGM lot in the 1950s. Knives Out director Rian Johnson is reuniting with Evans to produce the film, while Skyfall co-writer John Logan will write it. Weirdly enough, this will make Evans the second Avenger to line up a movie in recent weeks about a famous actor and dancer, as Spider-Man star Tom Holland is set to play Fred Astaire in a separate movie at Sony. Could a Tap Dancing Avengers spin-off be far behind?

Variety Deadline

2. Nicolas Cage regretfully retired from karaoke

Someone out there ruined Nicolas Cage performing karaoke for the rest of us. The National Treasure star said he used to love karaoke, but he gave it up after a video of him singing "Purple Rain" went viral a few years ago. "For me, karaoke was like therapy until someone videotaped my punk-rock version of Prince's 'Purple Rain' and it went everywhere and I said, 'I'm not going to karaoke anymore,'" Cage said. The video can be seen on YouTube under the brutal title of "Nicolas Cage Ruins Prince's 'Purple Rain' During Bizarre Karaoke Session," and when it went viral in 2019, TMZ suggested "the performance was fueled by his desire to annul his recent marriage of four days." Cage reflected that "singing is therapy," adding, "Karaoke's supposed to be private. It's like a prayer." But Andrew Garfield tried to convince Cage to come out of karaoke retirement, telling him, "Don't steal the gift from the world. You need to keep giving."

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The Hollywood Reporter People

3. Golden Globes unveil plans for celebrity-free event

Here's a fun fact: the Golden Globes are technically happening this weekend, despite it not being clear if we'll even be able to watch them. The awards ceremony everyone loves to hate got canceled by NBC this year after controversy over its lack of Black members and alleged corruption, but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will hand out awards on Sunday anyway. Even though most people enjoy the Globes as an opportunity to see celebrities goof off and get wasted, there will be "no celebrity presenters, nominees or even winners at the event" on Sunday, Deadline reports. The HFPA has also still failed to explain how anyone will be able to see the show, e.g. whether there will be a live stream or if we're supposed to just take their word for it that it was a good time. But the HFPA does say it will be a "small event" with "limited guests," which is totally because of the pandemic and not at all because nobody would show up anyway.

Variety The Hollywood Reporter

4. Jessica Chastain's grandmother sat on Bradley Cooper's lap

Really, can you blame her? On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jessica Chastain described her efforts to set up her grandmother on dates, which include putting pictures of her up on Match.com. But it sounds like she might not need that much help, as Chastain recalled having a party at her house where her grandmother, who is "at the age where she just really doesn't care," just straight up walked over to Bradley Cooper and "sat on his lap." They had never even met prior to this, and Cooper, who didn't know who she was, was "horrified," Chastain explained. "I saw it kind of happening in slow motion, where it was like, 'No!'" she said. "And I just started going, 'It's my grandma, it's my grandma, it's my grandma, it's my grandma!' And then he was like, 'Okay, okay, hi grandma!'"

E! Online

5. David Arquette is in a 'clown period' of his life

David Arquette is in his clown era. The Scream star told Live with Kelly and Ryan he's currently studying to be a clown, noting, "I love clowns. I've sort of been in a clown period of my life." Arquette explained he's been working with an organization called Healthy Humor, which travels to hospitals to "bring some joy and love and laughter" to patients. Kelly Ripa praised Arquette for his efforts, suggesting that even though "a lot of people have very strong opinions about clowns," it's "one of those unsung art forms that's a lot more work than people realize." After the interview aired, though, Arquette took to Twitter to offer a correction, saying he accidentally plugged the wrong website for Healthy Humor. "Sorry," he tweeted, "I'm a clown."

People