The daily gossip: Alec Baldwin may be charged in the Rust shooting, Armie Hammer's estranged wife allegedly leaked stories about him, and more
Today's top entertainment and celebrity news
- 1. Alec Baldwin may be charged in the 'Rust' shooting, district attorney indicates
- 2. Elizabeth Chambers allegedly posed as a friend to leak stories about Armie Hammer
- 3. HBO's bleak 'Last of Us' trailer reveals the Clickers — and Melanie Lynskey
- 4. KiKi Layne is 'thriving' after being cut from 'most' of 'Don't Worry Darling'
- 5. Simu Liu wins shock comeback victory on 'Celebrity Jeopardy!'
1. Alec Baldwin may be charged in the 'Rust' shooting, district attorney indicates
Alec Baldwin is confident he won't face charges in the Rust shooting, but Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies is sending a different message. In a letter to the New Mexico finance board, Carmack-Altwies says up to four people could be criminally charged in connection to the fatal shooting on the set of Rust, including Baldwin himself, the Los Angeles Times reports. "One of the possible defendants is well-known movie actor Alec Baldwin," the district attorney wrote. "If charges are warranted," she reportedly adds, the first judicial district attorney "anticipates prosecuting up to four individuals," noting, "The state is ready to make charging decisions." Carmack-Altwies requested over $600,000 in funds, anticipating the possibility of four jury trials. Baldwin, who has repeatedly denied pulling the trigger of the gun that went off on set and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, previously said that based on information he received from a private investigator, he doesn't expect to be charged.
2. Elizabeth Chambers allegedly posed as a friend to leak stories about Armie Hammer
Here to comment on Armie Hammer's split from Elizabeth Chambers, we have … Blizabeth Shambers. Chambers, Hammer's estranged wife, posed as a friend to leak stories about him amid their 2020 separation, CNN and Page Six report. According to CNN, she allegedly used a friend's email to contact the media, telling one outlet Hammer abandoned her and their kids to spend time with Lily James. A text shows Chambers telling the friend they "need to get back to commenting and sending tips," three months after she filed for divorce, per Page Six. That month, the Daily Mail reported Chambers found "passionate messages" from a "mystery woman," implied to be James. Chambers also reportedly leaked screenshots from Hammer's private Instagram. CNN's report was based on emails and texts shared by the "now former" friend, who claims she would even speak to reporters over the phone with Chambers telling her what to say — making this a rare leak about a leak.
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3. HBO's bleak 'Last of Us' trailer reveals the Clickers — and Melanie Lynskey
Paging all you non-gamers out there: It's time to discover what all this Last of Us hubbub is about. HBO has dropped the first trailer for The Last of Us, its new series based on the acclaimed video game. Pedro Pascal stars as Joel, who travels across the post-apocalyptic United States with 14-year-old Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey — making this the latest entry in the "Pedro Pascal takes care of a kid" subgenre. The trailer gives us a sense of the series' bleak tone, and we get our first look at the live-action Clickers, which in the game are infected humans. One surprise reveal comes when Melanie Lynskey shows up, even though she wasn't announced as part of the cast; according to Entertainment Weekly, she's playing a "ruthless" revolutionary leader. The Last of Us premieres on HBO next year, though if it's anything like the game, we expect it to be remade and remastered about eight different times after that.
4. KiKi Layne is 'thriving' after being cut from 'most' of 'Don't Worry Darling'
Don't Worry Darling's release weekend has come and gone, and we were this close to never having to talk about this accursed movie ever again. But alas, even more drama has emerged via KiKi Layne on Instagram, where the actress revealed she and Ari'el Stachel were cut "from most of the movie." Layne plays Margaret, a woman who realizes something weird is going on in the town of Victory before Florence Pugh's character, while Stachel plays Margaret's husband. It was a relatively small role, mostly intended to kick Pugh's arc into motion — or at least it's a small role in the final cut. But Layne, who was absent from the movie's infamous Venice Film Festival premiere, wrote that despite being cut, she and Stachel are "thriving in real life," adding, "#GotMyCheck #GotMyMan #EverythingHappensforaReason." In this case, perhaps that reason was getting to stay away from that disastrous press tour — and avoid sitting in Venice within spitting distance of Harry Styles.
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5. Simu Liu wins shock comeback victory on 'Celebrity Jeopardy!'
What is a plot twist? Celebrity Jeopardy! returned Sunday on ABC, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu scored a shock, come-from-behind victory. His opponents were SNL star Ego Nwodim and Conan O'Brien sidekick Andy Richter, the latter of whom was dominating for virtually the entire game. It seemed like such a trouncing, in fact, that Liu at one point jokingly declared he's "really mad" at Richter. "I'm realizing now that I'm not the main character in this episode," Liu concluded. "It's definitely Andy." Liu was trailing Richter by nearly $10,000 going into Final Jeopardy! — but then Richter got the question wrong while Liu got it right, and since he bet everything, Liu won the game. The studio audience gasped, and Liu was visibly stunned … and also quickly realized he "could no longer make my dinner plans later that day because I had to compete" in the semifinals, as he later tweeted. Jeopardy! champions ... assemble!
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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