Celebrity Scoop – 08/14/2019

HARRY STYLES PASSES ON PLAYING PRINCE ERIC IN ‘LITTLE MERMAID’ – (08/14/2019)

Harry Styles won’t be playing the role of Prince Eric in the live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid after all.

Styles had been in talks to play the part for about a month, but People said Tuesday he is no longer in negotiations with Disney. “While he is a fan of the project, he has respectfully declined the offer,” a rep told People.

On Tuesday, both AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas inaccurately tweeted that Styles had been cast in the role. Both theater chains later deleted the tweets.

Halle Bailey is set to play the titular heroine in the movie musical, which re-imagines the 1989 cartoon classic. Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina will co-star. ABC is also planning a separate live-action TV event of The Little Mermaid featuring Auli’i Cravalho, Queen Latifah and Shaggy.

Styles played a supporting role in the 2017 World War II picture Dunkirk.

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Full Story: People

DRAKE BECOMES THE FIRST SOLO ARTIST TO SURPASS 200 APPEARANCES ON BILLBOARD’S HOT 100: Drake has broken yet another Billboard record as he racks up his 203rd appearance on the Hot 100 chart. Drake has his new No. 1 album Care Package to thank for the milestone, as six songs off the effort debuted simultaneously on the tally. As a result, Drake is now the first solo artist to surpass 200 appearances on the Billboard Hot 100. The only act that has more is the cast of Glee, which holds the all-time record with 207 entries. Following Drake’s total of 203 entries is Lil Wayne with 163 appearances, Elvis Presley with 109, Nicki Minaj with 103 and JAY-Z with 100. The Care Package songs which upped his grand total include “Trust Issues,” “How About Now,” “The Motion,” “Dreams Money Can Buy,” “Club Paradise” and “Days in the East.” Some of the tracks date back to nearly a decade and were never officially released until now.

CAMILA CABELLO, SHAWN MENDES, LIL NAS X & MORE SET TO PERFORM AT MTV VMAS 2019: Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello will hit the stage to perform at the 2019 MTV VMAs along with Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, and Rosalia. Shawn and Camila’s recent collaboration, “Senorita”, is up for three awards at the ceremony. Shawn also picked up a nomination for Artist of the Year. Taylor Swift was announced as a performer earlier this month.

JAY-Z PARTNERS UP WITH THE NFL – (08/14/2019)

JAY-Z and the NFL have inked a new partnership. According to The Washington Post, Hov and Roc Nation will select the musical acts for the Super Bowl. The mogul will also assist in the NFL’s social justice endeavors. 

The agreement will make JAY’s Roc Nation a co-producer of the Super Bowl halftime show, however, it does not suggest if the rapper will be performing himself. 

NFL commissioner, Roger Goddell said, “He was very quick to say that he does not want this to be about him performing, that it was broader than that. It quickly went beyond that. Do I hope he’ll perform in the Super Bowl sometime in the next several years? Yes. But I think we’ll all know if that time comes. He’ll know in particular.”

Roc Nation will also choose who will perform throughout the NFL season. 

JAY-Z expressed to the ‘Post’ that he believes the NFL will allow him and Roc Nation to have the freedom to produce the type of entertainment that they want. He said on the new partnership, “I think we have autonomy. I anticipate that there will be a lot of — with any big organization, in this building right here we have internal problems. Anything that’s new is going to go through its growing pains. We put what we want to do on the table. The NFL agreed to it. So we’re gonna proceed with that as if we have a partnership.”

As for the community activism portion of JAY-Z and the NFL’s partnership, that will be intertwined with the organization’s existing “Inspire Change” program with its players, which according to The New York Times, “donates money to groups fighting for criminal justice reform, opportunities in economically challenged areas and better relations between the police and local communities.” 

It’s worth noting that JAY has been very vocal in his stance for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. He recently said in an interview with the ’Times,’ “The N.F.L. has a great big platform, and it has to be all-inclusive. They were willing to do some things, to make some changes, that we can do some good.”

Commissioner Goodell added that the new alliance with JAY-Z will allow room for changes to be implemented within the league. He said in an interview, “We don’t want people to come in and necessarily agree with us; we want people to come in and tell us what we can do better. I think that’s a core element of our relationship between the two organizations, and with Jay and I personally.”

The “long-term partnership,” according to ESPN, will officially be announced on Wednesday (Aug. 14).

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