Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – both of whom hail from New York – will perform “Empire State of Mind” before game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, People reports. Keys will then perform the National Anthem.
The New York Yankees will face off against the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, which will air on Fox (7:30 p.m. ET).
Character actor Lou Jacobi has died at the age of 95 at his home in Manhattan, the AP reports. The Canada-born actor made his Broadway debut in 1955 in The Diary of Anne Frank and also appeared in the 1959 film. His film credits include Arthur and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex. He also appeared on TV shows including The Man From U.N.C.L.E, That Girl, and The Dean Martin Show.
Discovery is partnering with game company Crave to turn its series Man vs. Wild and Deadliest Catch into video games, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Games will be available for PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS. Man vs. Wild will also be offered for Xbox 360. The Man vs. Wild game will let players control a character that interacts with survival expert Bear Grylls and use survival skills in various environments. The Deadliest Catch game will have players captaining crab boats and collecting fishing pots while navigating the Bering Sea.
Matt Damon and Josh Brolin are in talks to join Joel and Ethan Coen’s re-imagining of the 1969 western True Grit, reports Variety. Jeff “The Dude” Bridges has already signed for the role of U.S. marshal Rooster Cogburn, which won original star John Wayne an Academy Award. Damon would play the Texas Ranger who joins Cogburn in tracking down the killer of a 14-year-old girl’s father. Brolin would play the killer.
Woody Allen’s next film will be called You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, reports Variety. The London-set film, about a complicated family, stars Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, and Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto. The film will be financed by Spanish companies Antena 3 Films and Mediapro, which also produced Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Chris Brown took to his Twitter account to announce the street date for his new album, Graffiti. “Official album date: December 15,” Brown tweeted in all caps, continuing, “now blog about this…LOL.”
Jennifer Aniston’s rep told US Weekly that reports she’s hosting a weekly talk show for Oprah Winfrey’s cable channel OWN are “absolutely false.” A network spokesperson also denied the reports.
Scarlett Johansson will star in a Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge in early 2010. The actress, who will be making her Broadway debut, will play the teenage niece of a Brooklyn longshoreman, played by theater vet Liev Schreiber. Previews are scheduled to start Dec. 28, with the production opening at the Cort Theater on Jan. 24.
