The daily gossip: Bruce Willis steps away from acting due to aphasia diagnosis, HBO reveals House of the Dragon premiere date, and more

1. Bruce Willis steps away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia

The folks behind the Razzies probably feel pretty bad about roasting Bruce Willis so hard right now. The Die Hard star's daughter Rumer shared a heartbreaking statement Wednesday on behalf of his family revealing he "has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities." As a result, they said, Willis will be "stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him." Recently, Willis has remained active starring in lots of direct-to-video movies, and the Razzies introduced a whole category making fun of his recent work. But filmmaker Ted Geoghegan tweeted that the actor's health issues have "been an open secret for a few years, and why I've never joined the chorus of folks mocking him for making dozens of direct-to-video films. Dude had bills to pay." Willis received an outpouring of support Wednesday, including from Kevin Smith, who previously said Willis was difficult to work with on the film Cop Out. "I feel like an a--hole for my petty complaints from 2010," Smith tweeted.

The Week

2. 'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon' to premiere in August

Winter is coming … this summer. HBO has finally revealed when the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon will debut: August 21. That's less than two weeks before Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which premieres on Sept. 2 — meaning the competing fantasy shows will be debuting new episodes at the same time. Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is centered around House Targaryen, and it's based on George R.R. Martin's book about the history of the Targaryens, Fire & Blood. Martin is involved in the show, and earlier this month, he said that "what I have seen" from the series, "I have loved." Any bets on how many more pages of The Winds of Winter he'll have written between now and House of the Dragon's premiere? We'll be optimistic and guess … 20.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Week Variety

3. Ezra Miller allegedly threatened couple in their bedroom after bar incident

Things just went from disturbing to even more disturbing in the world of Ezra Miller. The Flash actor this week was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment over an incident at a bar in Hawaii after allegedly "yelling obscenities" and grabbing a microphone from a woman singing karaoke and lunging at a man playing darts. Now, a couple has requested a restraining order against the actor, claiming that after being released on bail, the Fantastic Beasts star burst into their bedroom and said, "I will burn you and your slut wife." Police reportedly escorted Miller, who allegedly also stole a passport and wallet, off the property. As if that wasn't enough, The Associated Press reports Miller "has been the source of police calls in Hilo 10 times since March 7." In case you were wondering, the song the woman was singing that apparently set off Miller was … "Shallow" from A Star Is Born. Maybe Miller just got really mad after remembering Bradley Cooper was snubbed at the Oscars that year, in which case, same.

Variety Rolling Stone

4. Elliot Page's character to come out as transgender on 'The Umbrella Academy'

Umbrella Academy fans, say hello to Viktor Hargreeves. Elliot Page's character is set to come out as transgender on the next season of The Umbrella Academy after the actor did so in real life, Netflix has announced. In previous seasons, Page played a cisgender woman named Vanya Hargreeves. But for the upcoming season, Page's character will use he/him/his pronouns and go by the name Viktor Hargreeves. "Welcome to the family, Viktor — we're so happy you're here," Netflix said. Page came out as transgender in December 2020, and he recently reunited with his Juno co-stars Jennifer Garner and J.K. Simmons to present at the Academy Awards. "I feel the best I've ever felt," Page said on Instagram Live, adding that being able to wear a tuxedo to the Oscars was "trans joy."

Variety Page Six

5. Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes says Will Smith should have been kicked out

Two out of three 2022 Oscars hosts have now shared their Slap takes. Amy Schumer said Wednesday she's "still triggered and traumatized" over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars over a joke about his wife. "The whole thing was so disturbing," Schumer said, adding, "Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed." Co-host Wanda Sykes used similar language on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "I just felt so awful for my friend Chris," Sykes said. "It was sickening. I physically felt ill, and I'm still a little traumatized by it." Sykes went further by slamming the Academy for not immediately removing Smith. "For them to let him stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award, I was like, 'How gross is this?'" Sykes said. "'This is just the wrong message.' You assault somebody, you get escorted out the building, and that's it." Sykes also revealed what she would have done in that scenario: got up on stage after Smith won Best Actor and joked, "Unfortunately, Will couldn't be here tonight."

The Week Page Six