The daily gossip: February 4, 2020
Lady Gaga's new boyfriend is "Instagram official," the Oscars' streaming website crashes one day before votes are due, and more
1. Lady Gaga's new boyfriend is 'Instagram official'
Following several weeks of speculation about her mysterious new beau, Lady Gaga finally confirmed her new relationship via the most 21st century-approved method: Becoming "Instagram official." On her Instagram account — where she boasts a massive 39.2 million followers — Gaga posted a picture cuddling with new boyfriend Michael Polansky, telling fans they had "so much fun in Miami" over Super Bowl weekend. The picture seems to show Gaga and Polansky nestled together on a boat — but unfortunately, it's impossible to tell whether they're in the deep end or the shallow now.
2. The Oscars' streaming website crashes one day before votes are due
If you've ever indulged in a desperate, last-minute cram session for a final, you have something in common with this year's Academy Award voting members. With fewer than 24 hours left to get their votes logged before the Oscars on Sunday, the last-minute voters managed to crash the Academy's official website, which hosts essential services like streamable copies of this years nominated films. After roughly three hours of downtime, the website was finally restored — which means potential voters lost a whole chunk of time where they could almost have finished The Irishman.
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3. Hamilton reportedly cost Disney a whopping $75 million
Whatever individual audience members have paid for tickets to see Hamilton on Broadway, they've got nothing on Disney's deep pockets. The company reportedly threw down a whopping $75 million for the rights to the film version of the smash-hit stage musical (outbidding several other studios in the process). And if that sounds like a ridiculous amount of money to you, remember: Universal dropped $95 million to bring Cats to the big screen.
4. Vanessa Lachey insists they didn't send Jessica Simpson a baby gift
They say you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth — but what if you never rode that horse in the first place? That's the awkward situation that greeted Nick and Vanessa Lachey, who were lavishly praised on the Today show for sending "something beautiful" when Nick's ex Jessica Simpson had children with second husband Eric Johnson — only for Vanessa Lachey to admit, on air, that she and Nick hadn't actually sent Simpson anything. "I don't know her address. But thank you whoever sent it from us," said Vanessa Lachey, whose assistant is likely to get either a big raise or a very, very serious lecture today.
5. Yes, Harrison Ford will be playing Indiana Jones one last time
After being forced to square off against bug-eyed CGI aliens in 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, you could hardly blame Harrison Ford for wanting to hang up the whip and fedora. But never fear, says producer Kathleen Kennedy: Ford will be the "one actor playing Indiana Jones" in an upcoming Steven Spielberg movie, which puts to rest any fears about a prequel or a reboot instead. Kennedy added that the eternally grumpy Ford "can't wait" to star in the movie, which presumably means he smirked for a half-second longer than usual.
