The daily gossip: Justin Bieber sued for copyright infringement, Betty Gilpin was accidentally left in a body bag, and more
Today's top entertainment and celebrity news
- 1. Justin Bieber and Dan + Shay sued for copyright infringement
- 2. Betty Gilpin was left in a body bag on 'Law & Order' set
- 3. Kevin Federline's lawyer slams Britney Spears over 'erroneous' pregnancy claim
- 4. Netflix reportedly cancels sequel to Will Smith film 'Bright'
- 5. John Williams finally wrote an Obi-Wan theme for new 'Star Wars' show
1. Justin Bieber and Dan + Shay sued for copyright infringement
Another week, another copyright infringement claim against a hit song. Justin Bieber and Dan + Shay have been slapped with a lawsuit claiming their song "10,000 Hours" ripped off the 1973 song "The First Time Baby Is A Holiday." The claim was brought by the companies that own the latter song, and they allege the "core portion" of "10,000 Hours" was stolen and that there are "unmistakable similarities." They're asking for damages and credit on "10,000 Hours." The lawsuit follows similar high-profile claims against major songs by Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, and Ed Sheeran. After recently winning his copyright case, Sheeran slammed "baseless" lawsuits, calling them "really damaging to the songwriting industry." Either way, Bieber and Dan + Shay may end up tied up in court for 10,000+ hours over this.
2. Betty Gilpin was left in a body bag on 'Law & Order' set
Forgetting something? On The Tonight Show, Betty Gilpin reminisced about that time she was shooting her first television job ever and ended up getting mistakenly left in a body bag. The GLOW star nabbed the prestigious role of a dead body found in an oil drum on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, so she had to shoot a scene where she was in a body bag that was zipped up. But there was one problem: The crew called cut on the scene and everyone started leaving, completely forgetting to get her out of the bag. "I hear footsteps on gravel getting farther and farther away, van doors closing," she said. "And then like 10 seconds goes by, I hear one faraway PA being like, 'Oh my god!'" Believe it or not, she kept acting after that — including by playing an unrelated living person on Criminal Intent that same season. "They were like, 'No one cares, no one remembers you,'" she joked. "Excellent!"
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3. Kevin Federline's lawyer slams Britney Spears over 'erroneous' pregnancy claim
Britney Spears just threw some serious shade at ex-husband Kevin Federline — and his lawyer is fuming. Spears is expecting her third child, and she looked back at her previous pregnancies in an Instagram post, claiming Federline once refused to see her while she was pregnant. They share two teenage children together. "My ex-husband wouldn't see me when I flew to New York with a baby inside me and Las Vegas when he was shooting a video," she wrote. So TMZ caught up with Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, who said the claim is "completely erroneous." Kaplan also warned Spears, who's currently writing a tell-all memoir, to be "very careful," promising Federline is "not going to stand by and let that story besmirch what he did and his support of her back in the day." Is that a "see you in court" we hear?
4. Netflix reportedly cancels sequel to Will Smith film 'Bright'
The Bright franchise doesn't have a bright future at Netflix. A planned sequel to the 2017 action movie starring Will Smith is reportedly not going forward at the streamer. This second installment was announced almost immediately after the first film, which takes place in a world where humans and fantasy creatures live together, racked up strong viewership numbers. But over four years later, Netflix has "abandoned" plans for the sequel, Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw reports — though Shaw notes this is apparently not a result of Smith's infamous Oscars slap incident. Why Netflix had second thoughts isn't clear, though the fact that the original film's screenwriter, Max Landis, has been accused of sexual and emotional abuse may not have helped. Besides, for roughly the budget of the original Bright, Netflix could make ... *checks notes* ... three whole episodes of Stranger Things!
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5. John Williams finally wrote an Obi-Wan theme for new 'Star Wars' show
John Williams is coming out of Star Wars retirement to make things right with Obi-Wan Kenobi. On Friday, Vanity Fair confirmed Natalie Holt will compose the new Disney+ show Obi-Wan Kenobi, making her the first woman to score a live-action Star Wars project. She previously did the score for Marvel's Loki. But Holt will also be collaborating with John Williams, the franchise's longtime composer, who has finally written an original Obi-Wan Kenobi theme for the series. "Obi-Wan is a legacy character that John hadn't written a theme for because he died quite early on in A New Hope," Holt explained, and she recalled Williams adorably proclaiming, "I just want to write Benny a theme." For those keeping track, this means Jar Jar Binks technically got his own theme before Obi-Wan Kenobi did. We see where your priorities are, Williams!
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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