Month: February 2025

Police in Santa Fe, New Mexico say that an investigation is underway after Oscar award-winning actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found dead alongside one of their dogs in their Santa Fe residence.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office said in a statement when news first broke of their death: “On 26 February, 2025, at approximately 1:45pm, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and a dog were found deceased.”

Later on Thursday, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the couple were found Wednesday afternoon during a welfare check after their neighbor called and was concerned about their well-being. According to the search warrant affidavit, their deaths were considered “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation, due to all of the circumstances surrounding the scene.”

According to the search warrant: Hackman was found on the floor in the mud room, appearing that he fell suddenly. Arakawa was found lying on her side on the floor in a bathroom, with a space heater near her body Her body showed signs of decomposition with mummification to her hands and feet. On the counter near Arakawa was an opened prescription bottle, with pills scattered. A German shepherd was found dead about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa, with two other dogs were found alive – one was near Arakawa, and the other was located outside.

The document further stated that the Santa Fe City Fire Department found no signs of a possible carbon monoxide leak or poisoning; if there was carbon monoxide at the scene, it could have vented out of the home through the open front door before responders arrived. Chris Ramirez, spokesperson for the New Mexico medical investigator’s office, said that the medical examiner’s reports with the final cause of death “generally take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to generate.”

Hackman is a two-time Academy Award winner who was awarded Oscars for Best Actor for his portrayal of Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s 1971 thriller The French Connection; and for Best Supporting Actor for playing Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 film, Unforgiven.

Hackman retired from acting in 2004, and moved to Sante Fe with his second wife, Arakawa.  The actor shared three children from his 30-year marriage with Faye Maltese (they divorced in 1986).

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Doja Cat, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, BLACKPINK’s LISA, Queen Latifah and Raye are all scheduled to perform at the 2025 Oscars, taking place live on Sunday, March 2 from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

Erivo and Grande are Oscar nominees for their roles in Wicked, which received a total of 10 nominations. The other women are expected to participate in “performances celebrating the filmmaking community and some of its legends.”

Erivo and Grande are rumored to be opening the telecast with one or more songs from the movie musical.  While of the songs featured in Wicked were taken from the Broadway musical, none were eligible for nomination for ‘best original song’; but the score to Wicked by John Powell and Stephen Schwartz was nominated for best original score.

The artists behind the Oscar-nominated songs from Emilia Pérez, The Six Triple Eight, Sing Sing, and Elton John: Never Too Late will not be performing their original compositions. Instead, the ceremony will devote time to “highlighting the strength, creativity, and optimism that defines Los Angeles and our industry” in light of the recent California wildfires.

Hosted by Conan O’Brien, the 2025 Oscars will air live on ABC and stream live on Hulu on Sunday, March 2, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, with the official live red carpet show airing at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

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Actress Michelle Trachtenberg has died at age 39. The New York Post first broke the news of Trachtenberg’s death.

The actress’ rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday morning: “It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”

A report from ABC News stated that Trachtenberg was found dead on Feb. 26 by her mother at around 8 a.m. Wednesday at One Columbus Place, a 51-story luxury apartment complex in Manhattan’s Central Park South neighborhood. Police stated that “her death is not being investigated as suspicious.”  According to sources, Trachtenberg recently underwent a liver transplant, which may have led to complications leading to her death.

Trachtenberg got her start in commercials before landing her roles on Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete and on All My Children. She rose to fame as a child star in the 1996 movie Harriet the Spy. She went on to join the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Sarah Michelle Gellar’s sister, Dawn Summers, and guest starred on Gossip Girl as Georgia Sparks.  Her last credited role was in 2023, when she reprised her role as Georgina Sparks on Max’s Gossip Girl reboot.

Trachtenberg had sparked concerns from fans who were worried due to a drastic change in her appearance. While she did not publicly reveal any health conditions prior to her death, she did respond to those questioning her wellbeing after she posted a selfie on Instagram in January 2024: “Fun fact. This is my face. Not malnutrition no problems. Why do you have to hate? Get a calendar.” She later shared another post, writing: “I’ve received several comments recently about my appearance. I have never had plastic surgery I am happy and healthy. Check yourself haters.”

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Saturday Night Live will return to its normal programming and has announced the hosts and musical guests for its first two episodes of March

Comedian Shane Gillis will return as host for the second time on the March 1 episode, with Tate McRae to perform as musical guest (also for the second time); and Lady Gaga will perform double duty as both host and musical guest, on the March 8 episode.  It is Lady Gaga’s second time hosting, and fifth time performing on the show.

Gillis currently stars on the Netflix series Tires, while Gaga’s album Mayhem drops March 7; Tate McRae’s third album, So Close to What, was just released.

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Marvel Studios dropped the first trailer for Fantastic Four: The First Steps, celebrating the film with an event at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

The countdown began on YouTube about an hour prior to the “launch” in Huntsville, Ala., which was hosted by Angelique Roche, who shared as the event began: “We are here live at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, home of Space Camp, preparing to launch, that’s right, the first official trailer for Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four: First Steps.”  Cast members Pedro Pascal (Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Thing) and Joseph Quinn (Human Torch) then joined Roche on the stage.

Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in a retro-futuristic version of the 1960s during the space race.  The film is the second reboot of the ‘Fantastic Four’ film series; the original 2005 adaptation starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis, while a 2015 reboot featured Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell.

Fantastic Four: The First Steps opens in theaters July 25; see the trailer – HERE.

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Rihanna makes her official debut as Smurfette in the trailer for the upcoming Smurfs film. Rihanna, 36, not only lends her voice to the new Smurfs film, she is writing music and serves a producer on the film.

Rihanna introduced the first official trailer, stating: “I can’t wait for you all to see it this summer.”  Rihanna’s track “Don’t Stop the Music” (which appeared on her 2007 Good Girl Gone Bad album), plays as she introduces Smurf Village, where “every day is a party.”

An official synopsis reads: “With the help of new friends, the Smurfs must discover what defines their destiny to save the universe.”  James Corden, Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, JP Karliak, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Xolo Mariduena, Kurt Russell and John Goodman will also voice characters in the film, which opens in theaters July 18.

See the trailer for Smurfs movie – HERE.

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