Soviet Union Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Russia and Ukraine dating back to the collapse of the Soviet Union has become a full-out war with global — and commercial — reverberations. Russia’s booming film and TV industry, with its deep, government-backed coffers, lost its grip on the world stage virtually overnight amid growing fallout from Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.Disney, Warner Bros., Sony and Paramount all paused distribution of new movies in Russia, and “SNL” opened last weekend’s show with a Ukrainian chorus in solidarity with the country under attack.

Ashton Kutcher called out Russian media for "lying" as the country continues to invade Ukraine. Kutcher has continued to show his support for Ukraine on social media. His wife, Mila Kunis, was born in the country and lived there right until the fall of the Soviet Union.

As Russian president Valdamir Putin declared war on Ukraine last week, Ukraine has been on the fore-front of everyone's minds.The Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv has been bombarded with strikes as Russia has continued its offensive on its Eastern European neighbours. With the harrowing news coming from the ongoing war, Ukraine and its capital city has been the forefront of everyone's minds. And the spelling and pronunciation of its capital city has also been called into question as people continue to share support for Ukraine.

Sean Penn is making his way to the border on foot. On Monday, the Oscar winner took to social media, revealing he and two colleagues walked «miles» to the Polish border after abandoning their car on the side of a road in Ukraine. «Almost all the cars in this photo carry women and children only,» Penn tweeted, «most without any sign of luggage, and a car their only possession of value.»Less than a week ago, the actor was photographed at a news conference held at the Presidential Office in Kyiv amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, where he was confirmed to be working on a documentary. «All we can add at this time is that the doc is a Vice Studios production in association with VICE World News and Endeavor Content,» a spokesperson for Vice told ET. Speaking out on Russia's invasion, Penn said in a statement, “Already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and If he doesn’t relent, I believe Mr. Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind.

Zack Sharf Howard Stern launched into a tirade against Vladimir Putin during Monday’s episode of his SiriusXM radio show (via Yahoo). The host condemned members of the Republican Party for supporting Putin amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, most notably Donald Trump. While Trump said at CPAC over the weekend that Russia’s attack on Ukraine is “appalling,” he was quoted last week calling Putin a “genius” for how he started the invasion.“I hate the Soviet Union,” Stern said.

At home in Studio City, California, filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky carefully unfolds a blue and white Ukrainian flag. The once bright hues are darkened with soot, the fabric frayed at the edges.

Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t escape the Saturday Night Live treatment this week. The 69-year-old was spoofed by Colin Jost on the Saturday, Feb. 27 episode, where the ‘Weekend Update’ host got in multiple shots as he spoke about Putin’s current spearheading of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Simpsons just released a commissioned image of the animated cartoon family in support of Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

A simple way to look at it? While foreign affairs can be difficult for many individuals to comprehend, Bill Maher broke down the current Russian invasion using a Kim Kardashian and Kanye West metaphor.

Ashton Kutcher — whose wife, Mila Kunis, grew up in Ukraine — has issued a statement amid the recent unrest.

Model Elizabeth Pipko wants Ukrainians to know she is among the Americans rooting for their refuge amid the crisis of the Russia invasion. Pipko, 26, who has long been outspoken about her patriotism, says the Russia-Ukraine crisis is a reminder that the people of the United States are "rooting and praying" for Ukrainians. "We know that they don't deserve what is happening to them and hope, and pray, that they can be courageous, but also remain safe during this time," Pipko told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Ashton Kutcher is showing support for wife Mila Kunis’ home country of Ukraine.

Ashton Kutcher is speaking out in support of Ukraine.

Bethenny Frankel has been in communication with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who is currently stuck in Ukraine while the nation is under attack by Russia, and she shared with ET what those conversations consisted of and how her BStrong initiative is making an impact with those fleeing the war-torn country.The 51-year-old mogul talked to ET's Kevin Frazier and they discussed the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and how it has affected families throughout the world. More specifically, Frankel shared in great detail about what she and the pro recently talked about and the advice she's shared with him. «I was saying, I don't think that he should get overly political because we're dealing with an unknown factor,» Frankel tells ET.

Wladimir Klitschko, 45, is determined to protect his native country Ukraine from the wrath of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The former professional boxer, who was previously engaged to actress Hayden Panettiere, 32, condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine in a passionate statement that he shared online February 24. “We will defend ourselves with all our might and fight for freedom and democracy. You can also act. Let not fear seize us; let’s not remain frozen,” he said. “Putin shoots at Ukrainian cities, but he aims at our hearts and, more importantly, at our minds. He wants to create doubt and confusion and thus inaction.”

As the world reels at the Russian invasion of Ukraine, former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko says he and his brother, Hall of Fame boxer Wladimir Klitschko, will take up arms to defend their homeland.

The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean has discussed an episode which viewers have claimed predicted the Russia-Ukraine conflict.The episode, titled ‘Simpson Tide’ which aired in March 1998, saw Homer Simpson join the US Navy and accidentally fire his captain into Russian waters.This is followed by a sequence where Russia reveals the Soviet Union never actually dissolved: as troops descend on the streets, the Berlin Wall is resurrected and Lenin is brought back to life from his glass coffin.After the clip was shared widely on social media following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s orders to attack Ukraine on Thursday (February 24), Al Jean responded to The Hollywood Reporter, describing the prediction as “sadly more the norm”.Simpsons called it… #Russia #SovietUnion #Putin pic.twitter.com/9OQ9nSpiGF— Matthew Walton (@Waltonamo) February 22, 2022“In terms of predictions, there are two kinds we have: The trivial, like Don Mattingly getting in trouble for his hair in ‘Homer At The Bat’,” Jean said. “And then there are predictions like this.

Ashton Kutcher, 44, was one of many stars who showed their support for Ukraine in wake of Russia’s attacks on its neighboring country. The actor tweeted his support late on Thursday February 24. Besides sympathizing with the people of Ukraine during this tumultuous time, the message comes from a little closer to home for Ashton, as his wife Mila Kunis, 38, lived in the European country when she was a child. Ashton’s tweet simply said, “I stand with Ukraine.”

Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine yesterday, sending shockwaves around the world.

Piers Morgan has made a sarcastic dig at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after the couple released a statement about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Peta Murgatroyd‘s asking fans to pray for her husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who is currently stuck in Ukraine while the nation is under attack by Russia.

Superbowl outcomes among other light-hearted events, “The Simpsons” has most recently been credited on social media for anticipating something not so humorous: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Following to the tragic event, astute Twitter users analogized the conflict to a 1998 episode in the prophetic series called “Simpson Tide.” In it, Homer accidentally fires a submarine captain into Russian waters during a military exercise, prompting a newly resuscitated Soviet Union to deploy troops and tanks to the streets and instantly resurrect the Berlin Wall.

Joe Biden said that the U.S. and its allies are unleashing a new set of sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, insisting that the economic punishment “exceed anything that’s ever been done.”

Maksim Chmerkovskiy says he will «never be the same» amid Russia's attack on Ukraine. In social media posts shared on Thursday, the former  pro, who grew up in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union, spoke out from the capital of Kyiv amid Russia's invasion of the country. The ballroom dancer has been filming as a judge for the upcoming season of Ukraine's . «This is definitely not the time where I would normally would be posting anything on social media,» he told viewers in a video filmed from a balcony as sirens sounded and military vehicles drove by below him.«I trust my sources and no one saw this coming,» he said before clarifying, «Not that no one saw this coming, but everyone was hoping that the finality of the situation would be averted.»The 42-year-old performer fought back tears as he told viewers, «I want to go back home and I realize that I have the way to, I realize that I have a different passport and my family is far away.» The dancer is married to fellow  pro Peta Murgatroyd and the couple share 5-year-old son Shai, both of whom appear to currently be in the United States. Meanwhile, Chmerkovskiy acknowledged, his friends' relatives in Ukraine «can't just escape.» While addressing any Russians watching, Chmerkovskiy said, «I am not at this point someone who is pleading for someone else's safety from a far distance, from a safe distance.

A retired army general has warned that Britain could soon be at war with Russia.

Stranger Things, a signature show for Netflix since its premiere in 2016, has been renewed for a fifth and final season.

The gathering of Russian troops at the border with Ukraine in recent weeks has given rise to fears that an invasion could be imminent.

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Maksim Goldenshteyn recounts a story his grandmother once told him about how, as a 4-year-old child, she snuck out of a Jewish ghetto during World War II to retrieve her favorite dolls that had been left behind when her family was forcibly evicted from their home in occupied Soviet Ukraine.“She knew, even at that age, that because she had lighter hair and blue eyes, she could pass for a local Ukrainian girl,” said Goldenshteyn. “She put on a kerchief and slipped out of the ghetto.”It's one of the stories that Seattle native Goldenshteyn tells in his book, “ So They Remember,” which recounts — with a blend of intimate family memoir and historical research — the Holocaust in Transnistria, a territory in occupied southern Ukraine that was controlled by Romania, a close ally to Nazi Germany for most of the war.In that territory, where around 150 camps and ghettos operated, there played out a lesser-known but equally sinister chapter of the Holocaust, where hundreds of thousands of Jews were brutalized, exploited, and murdered.

Former Mumford & Sons band member Winston Marshall released a lengthy essay comparing calls for action against Joe Rogan’s podcast on Spotify to Soviet-era censorship.  On Thursday, Marshall released an essay on Substack with the title "When Artists Become the Censors" in which he criticizes artists like Neil Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren and India Arie, all of whom have pulled their music off Spotify until it addresses misinformation on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.  In his essay, Marshall begins by discussing the state of music censorship in the Soviet Union in 1984 before comparing it to the conditions that Spotify is facing today as calls for it to pull Rogan’s work mount. He even called out Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who previously voiced their "concerns" about misinformation on Spotify.  "Of course, Spotify is a private company; they’re under no obligation to platform anybody.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterA judge on Thursday refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Russian chess master who alleged that she was defamed in an episode of the Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit.”Nona Gaprindashvili, who rose to prominence as a chess player in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, sued Netflix in federal court in September. She took issue with a line in the series in which a character stated — falsely — that Gaprindashvili had “never faced men.” Gaprindashvili argued that the line was “grossly sexist and belittling,” noting that she had in fact faced 59 male competitors by 1968, the year in which the series was set.Netflix sought to have the suit dismissed, arguing that the show is a work of fiction, and that the First Amendment gives show creators broad artistic license.