The daily gossip: Britney Spears' dad agrees to step down as her conservator, Dave Grohl's doting fails to impress his kids, and more

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1. Britney Spears' dad agrees to step down as her conservator
2. Dave Grohl is a doting dad but his kids are uninterested
3. Don Cheadle didn't like Kevin Hart's reaction to his age
4. Ryan Murphy is doing another 'American' story
5. Ethan Hawke had a very formal audition process for Moon Knight

published 13 August 2021

1. Britney Spears' dad agrees to step down as her conservator

It's a big week for the #FreeBritney movement. Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, said in new legal documents that he's agreed to step down as conservator of her estate. His lawyer claimed it's "highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms. Spears' best interests" but added that Jamie doesn't "believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests." Before fans get too excited, he didn't clarify when he'll step down and hasn't done so yet. Still, it was a huge victory for the pop star, who on Thursday shared a video of herself dancing that included the caption, "letting go is freedom!!!"

One might think the rockstar life and dad life don't mesh well, but Dave Grohl makes it work. He was in touring in Australia at the time of a daddy-daughter dance in Los Angeles, and not going "was not an option," he said on the After School Radio show. "And I told everybody, 'I'm sorry, we're going to have to cancel that Perth stadium [show] because I have to do this thing,'" he said. Grohl attended the dance, then immediately hopped back on a plane to get to his show in Australia. In the end, his kids weren't even that thrilled, he said. "Going to this dance, the kids didn't even care I was there. They were like, 'OK, dad, bye.'" Humbling, no doubt.

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Don Cheadle and Kevin Hart sat down for a heart-to-heart on Hart's show, Hart to Heart, and things got tense. Cheadle mentioned he is 56, and Hart immediately let out a "Damn!" causing Cheadle's face to fall. Then came a debate on the intonation of Hart's comment and what it was implying, but of course, it was all improv for laughs. A Twitter user asked Cheadle what was going through his head during that moment. "That [Hart] and i need to do a movie together asap! i think this is my favorite interview ever. 'Damn!'," he replied. Judging by the clip going viral, it seems the film would be a success.

Ryan Murphy and FX appear to be playing a years-long game of Mad Libs, dropping random words into the title American ___ Story every so often. On Friday, the network announced two additional American Horror Story-esque shows are in the works. The first is American Love Story, which is set to center around John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. But wait, there's more: American Sports Story, which will revolve around Aaron Hernandez, the former NFL player convicted of murder. It's yet another expansion of Murphy's growing TV world after American Horror Story, American Horror Stories, and American Crime Story, the latter of which is getting a fourth installment, Studio 54. Have no fears, he's got American stories for years!

If you're looking to get cast in the Marvel universe, here's a tip: try living near Oscar Isaac. Ethan Hawke will star in the Marvel show Moon Knight opposite Isaac, and he revealed to Seth Meyers he got the role after Isaac just walked up to him in a coffee shop and asked him to do it. "He came up to me and was like, 'Hey, I really liked The Good Lord Bird … wanna be in the Moon Knight with me?' And I was like, 'Yeah!'" Hawke noted that taking the part required signing about "10,000 NDAs" — which, he joked, "I don't respect and I don't honor, so I'm happy to talk to you about it completely!"

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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.