The daily gossip: World unites against assailant who randomly punched Rick Moranis, SNL teases Jim Carrey morphing into Joe Biden, and more

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1. The man who sucker punched Rick Moranis just made thousands of sworn enemies
2. Saturday Night Lives teases Jim Carrey's transformation into Joe Biden
3. Shia LaBeouf allegedly stole a man's hat
4. Anne Hathaway is afraid of closets
5. Some band called Fleetwood Mac could be the next big thing

published 2 October 2020

1. The man who sucker punched Rick Moranis just made thousands of sworn enemies

Rick Moranis, the beloved actor known for playing dweeby characters like the accountant in Ghostbusters and the dad in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, was randomly punched in an unprovoked attack in New York City on Thursday. The entire world has already turned against the unknown assailant: "My blood is boiling. Find this man. You don't touch Rick Moranis," tweeted Chris Evans. Comedian Michelle Collins calmly stated, "I will kill the man that hurt Rick Moranis. KILLLLLL." Writer Alex Blagg added, "The Liam Neeson speech from Taken, but for whoever punched Rick Moranis." Moranis, 67, reportedly "hurt his head, back, and hip in the attack" but is now doing "fine."

Saturday Night Live returns this weekend for its 46th season, and the new trailer teases Jim Carrey's transformation into Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The comedian gets some help from "SNL's incredible make-up department," Slashfilm writes, "but a big part of the gag also comes from how he's composed his face, squinting as if looking into the sun and jutting his chin out just a little to make him look more like Joe Biden." Carrey will star alongside his "running mate," Kamala Harris, with Maya Rudolph returning for the role. SNL's premiere will have plenty of material to work with; the show's executive producer, Lorne Michaels, has already suggested Kate McKinnon could return as Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And a coronavirus cold open? Don't rule it out.

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Shia LaBeouf is back in trouble with the law after allegedly stealing a man's hat. The incident took place in June in Los Angeles, when the 34-year-old actor supposedly got into a verbal and physical altercation with a man named Tyler Murphy. "Our sources say after the dust-up was over, Shia took off the man's cap and left the scene with it," TMZ reports. The Holes actor has since been charged with misdemeanor battery and petty left. Separately, D'Marge reports that LeBeouf was "spotted committing the ultimate men's activewear crime" this week, going out for a jog in Pasadena while wearing "Nike compression tights — sans shorts." This man must be stopped.

Anne Hathaway, who stars in HBO Max's forthcoming remake of The Witches, has worn lots of nice clothes over the course of her career, whether it was the gown in The Princess Diaries or her pink Valentino dress in Ocean's 8. But no amount of fine clothes has apparently helped her get over her childhood fear of portals appearing behind closet doors: "I accidentally saw Poltergeist when I was really, really young," Hathaway explained to People. "I'm still afraid of closets." Thankfully, her new movie looks a little more kid-friendly; her character, the Grand High Witch, is "such a weirdo," she assured. The Witches is headed straight to streaming on Oct. 22, and will also star Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci. Watch the trailer here.

Want to feel old? A song called "Dreams" by some band called "Fleetwood Mac" gained massive popularity this week after it was used in a viral video of a man skateboarding while drinking Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice and lip syncing. The song reportedly dates back to the Proterozoic Era, a.k.a. 1977, but nevertheless tripled in sales and doubled its streams since the video went up. "I was coming to work and … my car, it just shuts off sometimes," the video's creator, Nathan Apodaca, told TMZ, adding: "I always have my longboard in there, in case I run out of gas or something … So then I decided this would be perfect for a video." Since the video went up, "Dreams" has averaged 49,000 streams a day, Rolling Stone reports.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.