The daily gossip: Tributes pour in for Tony Bennett, Lana Del Rey spotted working at a Waffle House, and more

1. Elton John, Carole King and more pay tribute to Tony Bennett

Tributes are pouring in for legendary singer Tony Bennett, who died on Friday at age 96, as confirmed by his publicist to The Associated Press. Elton John remembered Bennett as "without doubt the classiest singer, man and performer you will ever see," adding, "He's irreplaceable." Carole King wrote that his death is "such a big loss," while Billy Joel remembered Bennett not only for his "outstanding contribution to the art of contemporary music," but for being "one of the nicest human beings I've ever known." Former President Barack Obama also honored Bennett, who performed at his inauguration, as an "iconic songwriter" and a "good man," while director Martin Scorsese told Rolling Stone: "At a certain point, we started to imagine that Tony would live forever. Of course he didn't. Nobody does. But the music? That's another story." According to his Twitter account, Bennett "was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was, 'Because of You,' his first #1 hit."

The Week

2. Lana Del Rey spotted working at a Waffle House

Lana Del Rey is ready to serve … literally. The "Video Games" singer has been spotted working at a Waffle House in Alabama for no apparent reason. Photos surfaced on social media showing Del Rey posing with customers and working behind the counter while wearing an employee uniform and a "Lana" name tag. "She was there, wearing a uniform and everything," Karina Cisneros Juarez, who met the singer and took a picture with her, told AL.com. "It was a bit surreal. I just told her how much I loved her music and her work in general. She was super lovely, and incredibly nice." As of now, there has been no explanation from Del Rey as to why she did this or whether this is her new day job. Might a shift at (Lana) Del Taco be next?

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AL.com

3. Lady Gaga wanted to be called Lee on the "Joker 2" set

Strap in, folks: Lady Gaga's Oscar campaign is getting an early start. On "The Trenches Talk," cinematographer Lawrence Sher shared his experience working on the upcoming "Joker" sequel starring Gaga as Harley Quinn, and said he feels like he "never really even met" the popstar because she was so immersed in her character. According to Sher, the singer insisted on not being called by her real name on set, though he wasn't made aware of that at first. So for about a week, he felt like there was a disconnect, and he wondered if Gaga "hates me" or if there was something "weird" between them. But all that changed when he was told that Gaga wanted to be referred to as Lee, presumably short for Harley. "The next thing I said was 'something Lee,' and it was like everything changed," he said. "From that point on, our whole connection changed." Let's just hope Gaga refrained from any Jared Leto-style gift-giving.

The Trenches Talk

4. "Barbie" has massive opening night at the box office

It's Greta Gerwig's world now. "Barbie" is headed for a massive opening weekend at the domestic box office on par with that of a tentpole superhero film. The movie earned an eye-popping $22.3 million in Thursday previews, the best opening preview night of the year. For comparison, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" made $17.5 million in previews before grossing $118 million by the end of the weekend, while "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" had a preview gross of $17.4 million before opening to $120 million. So expect "Barbie" to have a debut north of $100 million, and potentially winding up as the biggest film of the entire summer. Meanwhile, "Oppenheimer" took in $10.5 million in Thursday previews. That's also a very strong start, though it's safe to say Christopher Nolan's epic will come in second place this weekend behind "Barbie." If the age of superheroes is truly ending, the future of Hollywood looks very pink.

Variety Deadline

5. Zendaya movie "Challengers" delayed to 2024 amid actors strike

On this holy Barbenheimer weekend, savor the experience of seeing movies while you still can. "Challengers," the tennis dramedy starring Zendaya that was expected to be a possible 2024 Oscar contender, has become the first major film to get a significant delay due to the Hollywood actors strike. The project was expected to premiere at next month's Venice Film Festival before opening theatrically on Sept. 15, but has now been delayed to April 26, 2024. This seems to be because the strike will prevent any of the stars from promoting the movie or attending festivals; one source told The Hollywood Reporter, "How do you go to Venice without Zendaya supporting?" Meanwhile, Variety reports Warner Bros. is "strongly considering" pushing "Dune: Part Two," which also stars Zendaya, to 2024, while "The Color Purple" and "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" might also be postponed. Barbenheimer just took on even greater significance: the season finale of movies. It's been real, Nicole.

The Hollywood Reporter Variety