Abraham Lincoln Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

fun.TheWrap has confirmed that Bateman has signed on to direct “The Pinkerton,” from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Based on a spec script by Daniel Casey (“F9”).

EXCLUSIVE: Jason Bateman is set to direct The Pinkerton, a supernatural revenge-western hybrid that Warner Bros. and JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot acquired two years ago. Pic was sold as a spec by F9’s Daniel Casey.

Finding out his family history. Edward Norton appeared on the season 9 premiere of Finding Your Roots, where he learned that historical figure Pocahontas is actually his 12th great-grandmother.

The Smithsonian last week debuted its long in the works Entertainment Nation, an entire wing at the National Museum of American History devoted, for the first time, to pop culture.

“Whipped Peter” spent 10 days traveling through the alligator- and insect-filled Louisiana swamps to join the Union Army after his escape from Lyons plantation in Louisiana. During his medical examination, onlookers marveled at the constellation of raised scars on his back from constant whippings. When war photographers took a picture of his back, and shared it with others, it reminded white people of the viciousness experienced by the enslaved. Antoine Fuqua’s Emancipation retells the story of Peter and his blood-soaked journey to freedom. Written by Bill Collage (Exodus: Gods and Kings), the film is an unforgiving portrait of a man separated from his family and risking his life to reunite with them.

American Prophet: Frederick Douglass in His Own Words (★★★☆☆), in its world-premiere production at Arena Stage, wisely draw directly from the source for their expansive, though not exhaustive, biography of the great abolitionist, author, publisher, statesman, escaped slave, and public speaker.The bulk of Douglass’ lines and lyrics in the show are words that the man either spoke or wrote, interpreted and interpolated fluidly by book writers Charles Randolph-Wright and Marcus Hummon.Randolph-Wright also directs, while Grammy-winner Hummon composed music and lyrics for the score, which floats between R&B, pop, and gospel influences, but stays too comfortably within theater conventions.The music doesn’t start down the most adventurous path. Opening with Douglass plaintively singing “What Does Freedom Look Like?” feels way too obvious.The follow-up number, “Going to the Great House,” turns out to be a sharply satirical subversion of happy-dancing-slave tropes, but then shifts into a sober — and, again, very on-the-nose — “Wade in the Water,” complete with choreography reminiscent of Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations.”Fortunately, the show goes bolder in its characterization of Frederick Douglass.

Juneteenth is just weeks away. This holiday -- named for and celebrated on June 19 -- commemorates the true ending of slavery in the United States.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorFinding LGBTQ actors to cast in the new history docuseries “The Book of Queer” wasn’t that difficult.No, producers didn’t ask the actors about their sexuality.“If you’re casting for a show called ‘Book of Queer,’ and you’re saying in the audition process, ‘Is there any particular reason you want to be on this show?,’ they’re going to tell us,” series creator Eric Cervini tells me. “Of course, we weren’t discriminating, but it was kind of self-selecting.’”The five-episode “Book of Queer,” which premieres Thursday on Discovery+, features multiple stories about queer history and queer individuals, including Greek poet Sappho, Alexander the Great, King James, Joan of Arc, Akhenaten, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Alan Turning, Josephine Baker, Stormé DeLarverie, Sylvia Rivera, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gilbert Baker, Harvey Milk, Marsha P.

Hamish Linklater (“Midnight Mass”) and Lili Taylor (“Outer Range”) have been cast as Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln in “Manhunt,” Apple’s limited series about the hunt for assassin John Wilkes Booth, the streamer announced on Tuesday. The other new cast members are Patton Oswalt as war department detective Lafayette Baker; Brandon Flynn as Eddie Stanton Jr., a war department clerk and son of Edwin Stanton; Betty Gabriel as fashion designer and friend of Mary Lincoln, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Keckley; Will Harrison as David Herold, Booth’s accomplice; and Damian O’Hare as Thomas Eckert, Stanton’s right-hand man and a telegraph expert.They join previously announced stars Tobias Menzies as Lincoln’s War Secretary Edwin Stanton, who leads the hunt; Anthony Boyle as John Wilkes Booth; Matt Walsh as Dr.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Apple limited series “Manhunt,” which details the hunt for presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth, has added seven new cast members.Brandon Flynn, Betty Gabriel, Will Harrison, Hamish Linklater, Damian O’Hare, Patton Oswalt and Lili Taylor have all joined the cast of the show. They join previously announced cast members Tobias Menzies, Anthony Boyle, Lovie Simone, and Matt Walsh.“Manhunt” is a true crime series based on the events of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the book “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer” by James Swanson.

Apple is rounding out its ensemble cast for its upcoming true-crime limited series Manhunt, about the Lincoln assassination. Brandon Flynn (13 Reasons Why), Betty Gabriel (Get Out), Will Harrison (Daisy Jones & The Six), Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass), Damian O’Hare (Perry Mason), Patton Oswalt (Gaslit) and Lili Taylor (Outer Range) join previously announced leads Tobias Menzies, Lovie Simone and Matt Walsh in the series from Friday Night Lights and Fargo writer-producer Monica Beletsky, Lionsgate and 3 Arts.

Christopher Coover, a longtime Antiques Roadshow appraiser of rare books, manuscripts and printed ephemera, died April 3 at a hospital in Livingston, New Jersey. He was 72.

Method acting has its adherents in Hollywood, ranging from Daniel Day-Lewis (who reportedly never broke character while playing Abraham Lincoln and built a canoe in preparation for “Last of the Mohicans”) to Lady Gaga, who spoke in her faux Italian accent both on- and off-camera for “House of Gucci”.

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Emmy nominee and SAG Award winner Matt Walsh has boarded the Apple Original limited series Manhunt about the Lincoln assassination and aftermath.

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s husband Patrick Johnson planted a sweet kiss on top of her head at the end of Day 3 of her confirmation hearing. Ketanji definitely may have needed some consoling after a day of being grilled by GOP senators. They pushed an agenda of claiming that she’s anti-Trump, insisted on hearing her thoughts on the Kavanaugh hearings and accused her of being too lenient in cases about child pornography. Tense words were exchanged between senators of both parties, leading to an explosive day in court. Ketanji wore her signature sapphire blue color as Patrick wrapped her up in his arms.

Rita Moreno recently received the Stanley Kramer Award during the 33rd Producers Guild of America Awards. According to the trade association representing television producers, film producers, and New Media producers in the United States, the Stanley Kramer Award “honors a production, producer, or other individuals whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues.” During Moreno’s acceptance speech, the 90-year-old EGOT winner recalled the time she witnessed live when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings kicked off on Monday with opening statements from Judiciary Committee members, as networks prepared to cover the weeklong proceedings with an eye for recognizing when they’ve become a bit of a slog.

Rita Moreno appeared at Saturday Night’s PGA Awards, accepting the Stanley Kramer Award from the Producers Guild of America.

“Destruction of the Steamboat Sultana” by Gene Eric Salecker (Naval Institute Press)Nearly 1,200 people perished when the steamship Sultana exploded and burned in the early morning hours of April 27, 1865, in the Mississippi River. It's the worst maritime disaster in United States history, yet it's not as well known as other doomed ships such as the Titanic or the Lusitania.In “Destruction of the Steamboat Sultana," Gene Eric Salecker offers a comprehensive and at times compelling account of the disaster.

Angelique Jackson Ms. Opal Lee, whose march to Washington helped make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday, has signed with CAA for representation.The 95-year-old activist is often referred to as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” after making it her life’s mission to bring national awareness to the cause.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Apple limited series “Manhunt” has added Anthony Boyle and Lovie Simone to its cast, Variety has learned.The pair join previously announced series lead Tobias Menzies. The show is based on the book “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer” by James Swanson.

This month, Jeffrey Wright collaborated on three different projects honoring the life and legacy of orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who the Westworld actor refers to as “an undercelebrated and extraordinary American.”

Brittany Aldean doubled-down on her criticism of the Biden administration in a Presidents’ Day social media post. "Happy President’s Day to such great U.S. presidents," reads a meme posted by the 33-year-old mother of two to her Instagram Story in which a portrait of Biden donning a face covering is smack dab in the middle of a grid of nine former presidents with the text "not you" affixed over his head.

EXCLUSIVE: BJ McDonnell, the director of the buzzed-about Foo Fighters horror-comedy Studio 666, set for release on February 25 via Open Road Films, has signed with UTA and 3 Arts Entertainment.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticThe new documentary series “Lincoln’s Dilemma” begins and ends outside of Abraham Lincoln’s era — opening with footage of the siege on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and concluding only weeks later, with the journalist Jelani Cobb’s observation that the military “occupied” Washington to keep Joe Biden safe at his inauguration. But the point this series makes is that, indeed, we’re hardly outside Lincoln’s moment at all — that the tenuousness and the peril of his era persist, as does the fundamentally unresolved question of race in this country.Directed by Jacqueline Olive and Barak Goodman and executive produced by, among others, former HBO chief Richard Plepler, “Lincoln’s Dilemma” uses various techniques to illustrate the life and legacy of the 16th president, and the problems he faced while in office.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWhile A+E’s History Channel sets out to tell the story of Abraham Lincoln in a documentary over three nights  it will also tell the stories of formerly enslaved people who were also an important part of that era in a mini-series backed by one of its advertisers.Ancestry is sponsoring a three-part miniseries that will accompany the Lincoln work, which debuts February 20, the latest in A+E’s efforts to craft bespoke programming segments that burnish ad messages while at the same time keeping viewers tuned to the programing for which they originally came.“To me, this is not a commercial break, this is not a ‘brought to you by,’” says David DeSocio, executive vice president of ad sales marketing and partnerships at A+E Networks, in a recent interview. “It’s a continuation of the story, but on a very personal level.” Each of the content segments accompanying the “Lincoln” project will be introduced by Christy Coleman, executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in Williamsburg, VA, and a contributor to the documentary.

While it may seem massive, La La Land is a pretty tight-knit community (figuratively and literally). In Hollywood everyone knows each other, and not just by an acquaintance, some also by family ties.

Phat Tuesdays: The Era of Hip Hop Comedy” (Feb. 4 on Prime Video)A documentary that tells the story of an all-black night, created by Guy Torry, and held at The Comedy Store in LA from 1995-2005. Interviews include Anthony Anderson, Tiffany Haddish, Steve Harvey, Regina King and Nick Cannon — who recount performing on The Comedy Store stage or who were in the audience.“Howard High” (Feb.