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The nominees for the 2020 MTV VMAs were unveiled Thursday, with Lady Gaga and defending artist of the year Ariana Grande topping the list with nine VMA noms apiece. Following the two singers are The Weeknd and Billy Eilish, bringing in six nominations each. All four are up for the show’s marquee video of the …

EXCLUSIVE: Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix have teamed up with “Cowspiracy” filmmaker Keegan Kuhn and BAFTA Award-winning director Alex Lockwood, to executive produce, “The End of Medicine,” a new feature-length documentary about zoonotic diseases, which threaten the health and lives of the entire human population. The doc began production in October 2019, months before Covid-19 was making …

EXCLUSIVE: What did Universal Pictures execs require to commit to liftoff of the first-ever narrative feature film to shoot in outer space? According to sources, all it took was an exuberant Zoom call with Tom Cruise, director Doug Liman and Christopher McQuarrie. They pitched the picture with no script (Liman is writing it) and came …

Johnson & Johnson kicked off human trials of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, after the shots already proved successful in protecting monkeys, the drugmaker announced. Company honchos pointed to a new study which found that five out of six primates who got the single-dose shot were protected from infection when exposed to the coronavirus, as …

Garth Brooks has removed himself from the running for Entertainer of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards this year and it’s all because of a tweet. The country music superstar announced via a virtual press conference Wednesday that a tweet made him come to the magnanimous decision. “There’s one tweet in there that …

EXCLUSIVE: Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Sanaa Lathan, Rebecca Hall, Chris Cooper, Alessandro Nivola, Emily Mortimer, Rosie Perez and Debra Winger are among the all-star cast of innovative feature “With/In,” a made-at-home anthology film revolving around themes of confinement and isolation. Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray’s newly rebranded Maven Screen Media (“American Honey”) is in production …

The Phillies might not have escaped the Marlins’ COVID-19 web after all. A Phillies coach and a member of their home clubhouse staff have both tested positive for the virus, the club announced Thursday. No players were found to be positive in Wednesday’s latest round of testing, but the two cases forced the team to …

The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” have always spoken their own language, but now they’re letting fans in on it. Kyle Richards, Erika Girardi, Teddi Mellencamp, Sutton Stracke and Dorit Kemsley discussed the origins of the phrase “Bravo, Bravo, Bravo” on the “RHOBH” after-show after Denise Richards used it to try to get producers to …

The Royal Caribbean cruise conglomerate has dropped the word “cruises” from its name as the industry takes a beating from the coronavirus pandemic. The Miami-based travel company announced Thursday that it changed its name from Royal Caribbean Cruises to Royal Caribbean Group. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain called it a “simpler, fresher and more modern” …

Satellite broadcaster SiriusXM said it’s in talks to retain its biggest star Howard Stern as the business weathers the fallout from the coronavirus. SiriusXM Chief Executive Jim Meyer said Thursday on a second-quarter earnings call that the company has reengaged Stern in talks to re-up his contract, following a lull caused by the pandemic. Stern’s …