For several years, I was an apologist for the rebooted, vintage-flavor X-Men, starring Michael Fassbender as Magneto and James McAvoy as Professor X. I still say that X-Men: First Class was a really good film, and an outstanding way to reboot the franchise with new people and a new energy. Unfortunately, they ruined it all. And now the stand-alone X-Men franchise is a thing of the past – it will be folded into the current Marvel Comics Universe at Disney, and the last movie from 20th Century Fox, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, bombed in its opening weekend.

Dark Phoenix failed to rise at the North American box office over the weekend, where the superhero installment was beaten out by the animated offering The Secret Life of Pets 2. Overall, it wasn’t a high-earning frame at the nationwide box office, although the specialty box office proved lucrative for Mindy Kaling’s Late Night.

Dark Phoenix bombed with $33 million in stateside ticket sales on 3,721 screens, becoming the lowest-earning debut for an X-Men film ever. Previously, 2013?s The Wolverine was the lowest-opening X-Men title, with a bow of $53.1 million. The last X-Men movie, 2016?s Apocalypse, opened to $65 million. Dark Phoenix, which is the supposed end of a 19-year-long X-men franchise, currently sits at a 22 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a B- CinemaScore. The audience was largely male (57 percent), with 56 percent of moviegoers falling between 18 to 34 years old.

Elsewhere, box office holdover Godzilla: King of Monsters sits at $78.6 million after its second weekend domestically, where it dropped 67 percent to gross $15.5 million over the three days. The latest installment in Warner Bros. and Legendary’s kaiju franchise is heavily underperforming at the North American box office, with Warner Bros. picture group chairman Toby Emmerich saying that it is likely that the series’ next film, Godzilla vs. Kong, will be pushed back off of its March 2020 release date.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Honestly, I was surprised that Godzilla even made that much, it looked like an utter trainwreck. So did Dark Phoenix, to be fair, and now I feel sorry for Sophie Turner a little bit. She has always been an underwhelming choice for Jean Grey, and now her legacy in the franchise is this utter turd. Oh well. As for the future of the X-Men franchise, I still say that within five years, Marvel Studios will have probably greenlighted a massive reboot AGAIN and they’ll pretend all of the previous films didn’t exist.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox/Dark Phoenix.

Keanu Reeves was trending again this weekend. Keanu is on a run – it’s been several weekends in a row, starting with John Wick 3 and then Always Be My Maybe, which more and more people are watching after everyone freaked out about his performance last week. And now, he’s in a video game. Cyberpunk 2…

Keanu Reeves was trending again this weekend. Keanu is on a run – it’s been several weekends in a row, starting with John Wick 3 and then Always Be My Maybe, which more and more people are watching after everyone freaked out about his performance last week. And now, he’s in a video game. Cyberpunk 2…

Today is Prince Philip’s 98th birthday. Perhaps he’ll celebrate with some cake and a nice seatbelt-less drive, who knows. That’s the point of this story – no one really knows what Philip is up to these days. He skipped Trooping the Colour for the second year in a row, he completely ghosted the Trump sh-tshow and he’s been spending less time with the Queen in general over the past year. Philip retired from public life two years ago, and despite whatever else you could say about him, he actually DID work. He worked in the military and he worked in public service for decades. He earned his retirement. But upon his 98th birthday, of course people wonder if he even spends much time with the Queen anymore.

Prince Philip celebrates his birthday on Monday amid claims by royal experts that the Duke of Edinburgh is leading a separate life to the Queen and living “miles apart”.The Duke of Edinburgh turns 98, two years after announcing his retirement from royal life. But although he may mark the big day with his wife, royal watchers claim the pair are “leading separate lives” and don’t see each other “for weeks”. It had previously been claimed the couple have settled into this “new rhythm” of married life and are spending more time apart in their later years.

A royal source explained that “the Queen feels the Duke has earned a proper retirement. She knows him too well, if he was still at the centre of royal life he’d feel he had to be involved. Being at Wood Farm means that he’s not too far away, but far enough to be able to relax.”

Joe Little, editor of Majesty Magazine, said: “As reasonably well-documented, the Duke divides his time between Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate and Windsor Castle, more Norfolk than Berkshire because things are more relaxed there. Consequently he is away from the Queen for weeks sometimes, but they speak every day on the phone.”

Philip has reportedly set up a retirement base at Wood Farm cottage on his and the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in leafy Norfolk. Charlie Proctor, editor of Royal Central, told Daily Star Online that Philip spends little time at Buckingham Palace. He said: “Unlike most married couples, The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh often live miles apart, with Prince Philip spending hardly any time at Buckingham Palace these days. This is down to the fact that he is now retired and would rather live in one of his other homes. Buckingham Palace has always been viewed as a workplace by the Duke. It is in the middle of noisy Central London, and perhaps doesn’t offer the same peaceful tranquility as Windsor Castle or Sandringham House. Buckingham Palace is the monarch’s official working residence. As our 93-year-old Queen is still working, this is where she will spend the majority of her time in her workplace.”

[From The Daily Express]

I think it is what it is. Just as Philip has earned the right to retirement – especially given his health issues – the Queen has earned the right to have a somewhat separate life away from him. Granted, I don’t know the Queen, but I know a lot of older people and after 71 years of marriage, I totally believe that the Queen likes to have a rest from her husband too. She has her dogs and her kids and her grandchildren and a staff of hundreds. She’s not lonely. If anything, I bet Philip’s absence from Buckingham Palace has brought her even closer to her kids and grandchildren. The Queen seems especially close to both Anne and Charles these days, right? As for Philip… happy birthday to him.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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Marcia Cross, 57, best known for her work on Desperate Housewives, has been open and honest about her anal cancer diagnosis. The good news is that she announced last September that she’s healthy and in recovery after receiving treatment. She’s now working to raise awareness and reduce the stigma around anal cancer. In an interview with CBS this Morning, Marcia reveals that both her cancer and her husband’s throat cancer have been caused by HPV, a very common sexually transmitted virus for which there is now a vaccine. HPV is also the main cause of cervical cancer. Here’s what she told CBS, you can see that interview on YouTube below:

Why she wants to talk about it
I know that there are people who feel ashamed. You have cancer, do you also have to feel ashamed because it took up residence in your anus? Really there’s enough on your plate.

How would Bree would handle the diagnosis?
She wouldn’t have told a soul. Many people [are like that]. Breaks my heart.

Her annual rectal exam saved her life
Lots of things in life are not fun. You can bear it.

She has a supportive group of friends
I have a bevy of girlfriends. I call them my anal angels. I kept saying if this doesn’t kill me it’s the best thing that could have ever happened because the experience of being loved like that blew my mind.

How she feels now
I feel back to normal. I don’t think I’ll ever take it for granted. I’m the girls who goes to the bathroom now [and] I’m so grateful.

[From CBS This Morning via People]

HPV can be spread sexually and through skin to skin contact. In 2009 Marcia’s husband, stockbroker Tom Mahony, was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent treatment. I think he’s in remission now but they didn’t specify. On CBS they mentioned that the same type of HPV that gave Tom throat cancer can also cause anal cancer. They stopped short of claiming that both their cancers were caused by the same strain, but it was implied that they’re related. Marcia and Tom have twin 12-year-old daughters, Eden and Savannah, and Marcia told CNN that she was so grateful to have been alive to see them graduate. They’re scheduled to get their first HPV vaccination soon. The HPV vaccine can prevent this kind of cancer, but they mentioned on CBS that only 50% of adolescents are getting it. My son got this vaccination recently. His doctor highly recommended it after having seen two cases of men with throat cancer from HPV. F-k cancer and get vaccinated. Also get pelvic and rectal exams every year. One saved Marcia Cross’s life.

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Just trying to get people educated on things that matter!! #HPV #AnalCancer …. Repost from @dearmarciacross using @RepostRegramApp – She is our brave hero!! Good morning, hero!!!! ???? #myhero #love #analcancer #marciacross

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Dear Gossips,

Celine Dion’s Las Vegas residency came to an end this weekend. It’s been 16 years. Over 1,100 shows, 4.5 million fans, lots of lunging, so much chest-thumping, many, many bad jokes/amazing Celine-isms, and of course…

The songs.

The voice.

The FEELINGS.

As you can…

Dear Gossips,

Celine Dion’s Las Vegas residency came to an end this weekend. It’s been 16 years. Over 1,100 shows, 4.5 million fans, lots of lunging, so much chest-thumping, many, many bad jokes/amazing Celine-isms, and of course…

The songs.

The voice.

The FEELINGS.

As you can…

One of the reasons why I’m kind of meh about Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk’s split is because I’m not getting any particular vibe about them or their breakup. Like, I legitimately believe that what we see unfolding is the real story: an attractive couple with little in common got together, had a baby, and it fell apart because they don’t have much in common. At the moment, I don’t believe that there were any third parties, not even Lady Gaga (lol). I think Bradley and Irina tried and wanted to figure something out because of their daughter, but it didn’t work. That’s pretty much what people are saying in the wake of their split too:

Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk drifted apart before their split became public.

“[Irina is] not focused on the celebrity part, or on the fame — she just wants to protect her family,” a source tells PEOPLE of the supermodel. “Bradley is very into work and is trying to take advantage of every career opportunity right now.” Adds the source, “They spent a lot of time apart.”

While the two were spotted enjoying a date night in New York City in April, they were more often than not working on their own projects. A different source tells PEOPLE, “They were living totally separate lives.”

“If he was in L.A., she’s out of town, and if she was in town, he was out of town,” says the insider.

[From People]

As I said last week, given Bradley’s relationship history, he seems to prefer being the one in the relationship with all the stuff going on, and we’ve seen his previous girlfriends put their careers on hold (or just on the back-burner) while they’re with him. Irina still worked while she was pregnant and after she gave birth. I don’t blame her – she’s one of the most in-demand models out there, and she has every right to have a career too. He knew that going into the relationship as well. What else? Page Six has something about the lust wearing off…

A source tells us of the couple, who met in 2015, that “after the lust wore off, they had very little in common.”

“They never shopped for their own house in California. It was just his house. There were no moves in that direction,” said the insider, adding, “Then there’s the fact that they never got married after they had a kid. She was certain that would happen. It felt like they weren’t truly making a life together outside of the child.”

There were rumors the couple had got engaged in 2016, when model Shayk began wearing an emerald ring on her left hand. We hear they’re now trying to figure out the logistics of the split and how they’re going to co-parent their 2-year-old daughter, Lea De Seine.

“He wants to part on good terms, or as good as it can be in this situation,” says the source.

We hear that Cooper will likely let Shayk keep the LA place, since “her place in the West Village is too small at this point for a child.” Cooper — who produced, directed and starred in “A Star Is Born” — owns a 3,335-square-foot mansion in the Pacific Palisades, which he bought in 2009 for $4.7 million. He reportedly purchased a $13 million townhouse in the West Village in 2018.

[From Page Six]

I have no idea what the “Bradley will likely let Shayk keep the LA place” is all about, especially considering she’s already reportedly moved out of the LA home. I do think Irina probably wanted to marry him and maybe she was let down when it didn’t happen. Maybe he didn’t prioritize her or their relationship. It’s sad, but not particularly scandalous.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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A post shared by Katherine Schwarzenegger (@katherineschwarzenegger) on Jun 9, 2019 at 11:27am PDT

Chris Pratt & Katherine Schwarzenegger got married over the weekend. The wedding went down on Saturday at the San Ysidro Ranch. Sources emphasized that it was a light summer menu and what was probably a nice summer wedding, nothing too frou-frou but also appropriate for a Kennedy-adjacent. I wasn’t surprised that they got married so quickly – their whole courtship and engagement seemed fast, but it also seemed like they both just had that instant-click. I’m actually happy for them. They’re churchy, but I feel like they’re a really good match and I hope they last. Anyway, Chris and Katherine both posted one photo from their wedding on their individual Instagram accounts. It was the same photo and the same message though:

Yesterday was the best day of our lives! We became husband and wife in front of God, our families and those we love. It was intimate, moving and emotional. We feel so blessed to begin this new chapter of our lives. We are so thankful to our families and our friends who stood with us, and grateful to Mr Giorgio Armani, who created a once in a lifetime dress for me to wear,
and for Chris, the perfect suit.

This morning we feel nothing but blessed.

[From Instagram]

Thoughts on the Armani dress? It was also what I expected – something pretty, sleeveless, with a train, nothing crazy, nothing avant-garde. That’s not their thing. And while her dress isn’t my favorite thing in the world, she looks very pretty and like she’s perfectly happy with her wedding, her dress and her groom.

Also: I saw some speculation in yesterday’s comments about whether Katherine is already knocked up and that’s why the wedding seemed to happen so quickly. I mean, she totally could be, but I also think that their wedding was always going to be this month? It’s when Chris had some time off from work, and Katherine and Maria Shriver have been planning the wedding since the engagement. Maria also threw her a bridal shower in late April, about five weeks before the wedding, so I think this was always the timeline. If Katherine is preg, congrats to them. I kind of think she’s not, but that she will be soon.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram and WENN.

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Oprah Winfrey has been a spokesperson for WW, formerly Weight Watchers, for over three years, since she bought about 10% of the company in the fall of 2015. In January, 2017 she announced in a People Magazine cover story that she’d lost 42 pounds and that she’d made peace with food. It sounded a little premature at that point, especially for people who remember her big reveal on her TV show. (And for those of us, like me, who have yo-yoed too. We can definitely relate to Oprah.) Now, over two years later, Oprah has kept it off. In a new email to WW subscribers, Oprah writes that she’s no longer pre-diabetic and that “the struggle has ended.”* I think this is the first time she’s revealed that she was affected by diabetes.

Winfrey, 65, writes in a letter to WW members, shared exclusively with PEOPLE ahead for Global Wellness Day, that she had concerning blood sugar and blood pressure numbers.

“I haven’t shared with many, but I will share with you, that I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes before WW,” she says.

Winfrey adds that her blood pressure “is now stabilized and in a healthy range,” and as for her blood sugar — “I am proud to tell you those numbers are back to normal too!”

She also says that her mother Vernita, who passed away in November, “had type 2 diabetes and was dependent on insulin.”

But for Winfrey, WW “changed my life,” she says. Along with losing 42 lbs. in the four years since she became a WW shareholder, the program also helped her regain her health.

“Beyond the weight, WW has helped me make healthier choices and understand the real numbers that matter most,” she says.

[From People]

Oprah is 65?! I hope I look half as good (and am 1/100th as rich) as Oprah when I’m 65. I was so surprised to hear that Viola Davis was also pre-diabetic and that diabetes runs in her family too. You don’t realize how many people are affected by that. As for Oprah that’s excellent that WW has worked for her. Studies show that dieters who are able to keep weight off for two years are less likely to gain it back. She has the magic touch when she endorses something, and you can tell she absolutely loves WW. I think it works best for people who are very social and can benefit from the support and community.

*The quote “the struggle has ended” is from People Magazine’s article title and was not included in the piece. We were not able to find a copy of this email and are relying on People’s report.

photos credit: WENN