The Patrick Stewart death, announced after the actor died at 86 at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday evening, has drawn tributes from across theatre, film and politics, with Dame Judi Dench among the first of his contemporaries to speak publicly about the loss.

Speaking to the Press Association at an event marking 50 years of the National Theatre building, Dame Judi, 91, said she was “very, very shocked” and “very surprised” by the news. She described a colleague who never coasted. “He’s never been one of those actors who never felt like it that night, he was always very, very committed,” she said. “He’ll be much missed and he was much admired.”

A shared stage and a shared classroom

Dench and Stewart both belonged to the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stewart joined in 1966 and went on to appear in dozens of its productions, building a stage reputation long before television made him a household name. The two also appeared together in Playing Shakespeare, a 1982 television masterclass series.

That grounding in classical theatre was the thread running through many of the tributes. Sir David Suchet, Dame Harriet Walter, James McAvoy and Sir Ian McKellen were among those who paid their respects. Downing Street said Stewart “never forgot his working-class Yorkshire roots” and brought “joy to millions”. On Friday’s edition of BBC’s The One Show, presenters Roman Kemp and Clara Amfo closed the programme with a 2023 clip in which Stewart recalled his first time on a stage. “I felt safer than I’d ever felt in my life,” he said.

What the family statement said

A statement on Stewart’s Instagram page said he died after a “brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia”. The Mirror reported that his wife, Sunny, confirmed the news. The statement said he was surrounded by family and friends, live music, prayers and laughter, and it remembered him for “the dignity, compassion and humanity he brought to every role – in his art and life.”

It also highlighted his philanthropy and activism, including work for survivors of domestic violence, refugees, veterans’ mental health services and animal welfare. It described him as a Knight, Chancellor, motor sport enthusiast and lifelong Huddersfield fan. Rather than flowers, the family asked for contributions to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre Fund and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s caregiver resources.

A career from Shakespeare to the Starship Enterprise

Born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, in 1940, Stewart had a career of six decades. He won two Olivier Awards for supporting roles in Shakespeare, for Antony and Cleopatra in 1979 and Hamlet in 2009. He also earned four Emmy nominations and a Grammy for a children’s recording of Peter and the Wolf. Global fame came as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987, and later as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, beginning in 2000. Fans will see him once more as Xavier in Avengers: Doomsday, due in mid-December.

Understanding the conditions behind his death

Coverage of the Patrick Stewart death has also prompted questions about the two conditions named. Lewy body dementia, also called dementia with Lewy bodies, is caused by clumps of protein in the brain’s nerve cells. The Independent reports that it is thought to affect around 100,000 people in the UK. Around 5 per cent of diagnosed dementia cases are recorded as this type, but specialists argue it is under-diagnosed and the true share could be as high as 20 per cent.

Symptoms can include hallucinations, confusion, slow movement, tremors, disturbed sleep and fainting spells. Many of these overlap with Alzheimer’s, which makes diagnosis difficult. A US physician told HuffPost there is no single definitive test. There is no cure, though medication and therapies can ease symptoms. Survival after diagnosis is estimated at five to seven years on average, though it can be far longer.

Public awareness of the condition rose after Robin Williams was diagnosed with it posthumously following his 2014 death. For Stewart’s admirers, the Patrick Stewart death is a reminder of how little warning these illnesses can give, and of the dedication Dench says he brought to every performance.

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The Selma Blair apology arrived about three weeks after the October 11 flight that led to criminal charges. In an Instagram video, the actor said she was “so sorry” to anyone she hurt, frightened or alarmed. She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault, and her next court date is in January.

What the Selma Blair apology did and did not say

Blair, 54, kept the video tightly scoped. She acknowledged she had been quiet since the incident and said her fans deserved to hear from her directly. She also said her lawyers had asked her not to discuss that day, and that she was following their advice. She did not address the allegations, the medical explanation offered on her behalf, or the people named in the charging documents.

What she offered was a statement of character. “Not one day ever have I intended to hurt or frighten anyone,” she said, adding that she took the matter “very seriously.” She thanked people who had sent support and said her service dog, Scout, who travelled with her, was doing well. She has lived with multiple sclerosis since her 2018 diagnosis. She closed by saying she would now focus on her health and her son.

The allegations behind the case

According to charging documents, Blair was detained when the Delta flight from Los Angeles landed in New York and was taken to hospital for evaluation. A police officer accompanying her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center alleged that, while being secured to a stretcher, Blair freed one leg from the straps and repeatedly kicked the officer in the face, neck and chest. The officer reported serious pain and substantial swelling. A nurse later said Blair kicked her in the chest while moving her.

Blair was arraigned in Queens on the two second-degree assault counts. A judge set bail at $20,000 cash or a $60,000 bond. These are allegations only, and Blair has entered a not guilty plea.

The defence: a medical emergency

The explanation from Blair’s side has stayed consistent. Her representatives said from the start that her alleged behaviour stemmed from a severe medical emergency. In court, her lawyer, Shawn Barnes, said her actions were not intentional. He told the judge she had missed several doses of a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms, according to reports in the New York Daily News and New York Post. He added that she boarded the flight amid a heavy workload and hit her head in the air. Together with the effects of altitude, he said, this produced “a state of severe confusion and disorientation.”

A later statement from her representatives went further, criticising coverage as “built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline.” It said Blair still has bad days and lives with daily pain. It also said she has pseudobulbar affect, a neurological condition secondary to her MS, which the statement said bears on how a medical episode looks to people who do not know her.

What happens next

The Selma Blair apology does not change the legal picture. The charges stand, the medical defence has so far been presented only through her lawyer and representatives, and the court has yet to test any of it. The January hearing will be the next point at which the case moves forward. For now, the video reads as a personal gesture, an attempt to acknowledge those affected without saying anything that could complicate her defence.

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The latest Jack Nicholson update comes from one of his oldest collaborators, and it is reassuring: the three-time Oscar winner is fine, just largely out of sight. Michael Douglas, who produced Nicholson’s breakthrough-to-legend vehicle “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” said the actor has “disappeared” from public life but remains “well.”

Douglas, 82, made the remarks at an event in Swansea, Wales, while promoting his memoir “One Helluva Ride.” Asked about Nicholson, he said: “I would have liked to have acted with Jack. He’s not working any more. He’s well. He has disappeared. I know that.” He added: “I still see him, but he is fine. He is up there by his house and walking around in his slippers. It happens. He deserves it. I understand. He is a few years older than me, but I understand.”

A Friendship Built Behind the Camera

The two men have never appeared on screen together, a fact Douglas openly regrets. Their connection dates to the mid-1970s, when Douglas produced “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the 1975 film in which Nicholson played Randle McMurphy. According to The Independent, Douglas acquired the rights to Ken Kesey’s novel from his father, Kirk Douglas, who had previously held them. The film won five of its nine Oscar nominations, including best picture and best actor for Nicholson, and earned Douglas an Academy Award as producer.

Why Nicholson’s Silence Has Drawn So Much Attention

Nicholson, 89, has never formally announced his retirement. His last film role was in 2010’s “How Do You Know,” some 16 years ago. For an actor once seen at nightclubs, premieres, talk shows and courtside at basketball games, the withdrawal has been conspicuous. The Independent noted that music producer Lou Adler once said on the “WTF” podcast that Nicholson prefers “sitting under a tree and reading a book.” Actor Carol Kane, who worked with him in the early 1970s, told the paper in 2024 that she still checks in on him, and that he is “still answering my calls.”

Douglas’s portrait of an elder statesman enjoying a quiet life fits a pattern of glimpses over the past couple of years. Nicholson has made only occasional appearances at Los Angeles Lakers games. In February 2025, he turned up on the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary special on NBC, attending with his daughter Lorraine and introducing Adam Sandler, as he had done a decade earlier at the show’s 40th. That remains his last known public appearance.

This April, Lorraine posted a rare photo to her Instagram story marking his 89th birthday. It showed him smiling and clapping beside singer Joni Mitchell. She did not say when it was taken.

What the Latest Jack Nicholson Update Does and Doesn’t Tell Us

Douglas offered no medical details and no hint of a comeback, and his comments should be read as a friend’s reassurance rather than an official statement. But the tone is notable. Rather than lament Nicholson’s absence, Douglas framed it as earned. With Nicholson due to turn 90 next April, the message from a man who has known him for half a century is that the star has chosen a private life and appears content with it.

Douglas’s memoir, meanwhile, has been drawing attention for its candid recollections of his marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones and of past relationships. It is his own legacy project, he has said, but as this Jack Nicholson update shows, it is also prompting questions about the old friends and collaborators who shaped his career.

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With Ian Gillan hospitalized after what the band calls a “medical emergency,” Deep Purple have scrubbed two German concerts, leaving fans in Leipzig and Hamburg waiting on word about both the singer and the rescheduled dates. The 81-year-old frontman’s condition has not been disclosed.

The band said on Saturday, October 31, that it could not play that night at Leipzig’s QI Arena or the following evening at Hamburg’s Sporthalle. Outlets described the notice as arriving only hours before showtime. In the statement, Deep Purple acknowledged the short notice and said they shared fans’ disappointment. They said the band and its team are “focused on finding a suitable time to reschedule both these shows,” and that tickets already bought will be honored at the new dates.

What We Know About the Medical Emergency

The answer is very little. None of the coverage identifies the cause of the emergency, how serious it is, or when Gillan might be discharged. A band spokesperson confirmed to The Independent that he remained in hospital on Saturday. Rolling Stone reported he was being treated in Germany. It also noted that the band’s early talk of rescheduling suggests the situation may not be dire, though that is an inference, not a confirmed assessment.

Is the Rest of the Tour at Risk?

As of Rolling Stone’s reporting, Deep Purple were still booked to resume their European run on November 3 in Dortmund. The trek is set to end on November 25 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, followed by a December tour of Latin America. Deadline reports that the “Splat!” world tour is slated to continue through the rest of the year, with a final concert in Poland in June 2027. Whether Gillan can make the Dortmund date has not been addressed publicly, so that schedule could change.

The tour supports Splat!, the band’s 2026 album and its 24th studio release. The current lineup is Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice, keyboardist Don Airey and guitarist Simon McBride.

Gillan’s Recent Comments on His Health and Future

The news lands after a year in which Gillan’s stamina and eyesight drew attention. In a November 2025 interview with Uncut, he said he has only about 30 percent vision and that it “won’t get better.” Retirement speculation followed, but he pushed back. In June he told the same magazine he would stop only “when I haven’t got the strength to do it, or when it becomes embarrassing.” In August, he told The Independent at the Montreux Jazz Festival that he “never said” he was retiring and that the band was still “cranking.”

Nothing in the reports links this week’s emergency to his eyesight or any other known condition. Any such connection would be speculation.

A Long Career, and a Notable Year for the Band

Gillan joined Deep Purple in 1969 as part of the band’s celebrated Mark II lineup, which turned the group toward a heavier hard rock sound. He left in 1973, later fronted his own band Gillan and spent a short stint with Black Sabbath. He rejoined Deep Purple in 1984, left again in 1989, and has been back since 1992. He co-wrote “Smoke on the Water,” the band’s best-known song.

It has been an emotional year for the group’s extended family. Ritchie Blackmore, 81, joined them onstage this summer in Wantagh, New York, for “Smoke on the Water,” his first appearance with the band since leaving in 1993. Rolling Stone also noted that former Deep Purple singer and bassist Glenn Hughes recently revealed he was recovering from a 10-hour open-heart operation.

For now, the priority is Gillan’s recovery. Fans holding tickets for Leipzig and Hamburg should watch the band’s official channels for new dates, since the existing tickets remain valid.

File photo: 2022 Lieder am See – Deep Purple – Ian Gillan – by 2eight – 9SC6765.jpg by Stefan Brending (2eight), CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons.

HBO Max has shadow-dropped a surprise Derry Halloween episode, a 30-minute special titled “A Story of Derry” that is now streaming alongside the first season of It: Welcome to Derry. The streamer announced it on social media on October 31 with a short teaser and the tagline “IT’s a surprise Halloween treat.”

The official logline reads: “Hundreds of years before Pennywise, three youngsters venture into the Western Wood… where they encounter a terrifying ancient spirit.” The Instagram clip shows a Native American girl running through the woods with a bow and arrow at the ready. According to IGN, an on-screen text introduction refers to the “Kollu,” a presence that “first preyed on our people.” The text describes a warning hidden inside a gentler tale meant for children, “the story we do not teach.”

Who made the Derry Halloween episode

The special was directed by Tazbah Chavez, whose credits include Reservation Dogs and The Paper. It was written by Cherie Dimaline, a producer on the series, and Jasmyne Flournoy, the show’s writer and editor. The credits, along with the Indigenous perspective in the setup, suggest a story told from the point of view of the people who lived in the area long before Derry existed. That is a corner of the town’s history the series had not previously explored.

The release came with no advance notice, though not without speculation. IGN reports that rumors of a secretly shot bonus episode had circulated for weeks. Many fans dismissed them, partly because of a recent high-profile case of fan theories about a surprise finale that came to nothing. Polygon reports the episode appeared on HBO Max at midnight.

What it means for the Derry timeline

Season 1 premiered on October 26, 2025, as a prequel to the 2017 and 2019 It films. It was set in 1962. Season 2, renewed by HBO in August, jumps back to 1935 and the Great Depression. It centers on the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers who stop in Derry to buy ammunition and meet unimaginable horror. That episode of town history comes from Stephen King’s 1986 novel. IGN also notes that a planned third season was previously said to be set in 1908.

The new special reaches back much further than any of those. Polygon calls it “a satisfying amuse-bouche” while fans wait, and it reinforces the sense that the series is an anthology exploring different eras of the same cursed town.

Showrunner Brad Caleb Kane told Deadline this month that the writers are about halfway through the Season 2 scripts and that co-creator Andy Muschietti is casting. Kane said Season 2, expected in late 2027 or 2028, will show Pennywise, played by Bill Skarsgård, in a “way you’ve never seen that character before.” Muschietti told Variety the new season will feel bleaker, with Derry as “a graveyard almost” and a young cast that includes orphans and runaways, though “the aspect of hope” is always there.

For now, viewers have a short, unexpected Halloween gift. With the two films and Season 1 also on HBO Max, the platform has effectively assembled a full Derry marathon for the night, with the oldest story in the town’s history added at the start.

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File photo: It Welcome to Derry at 53rd Saturn Awards 2026.jpg by Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The FBI profilers of Criminal Minds are headed for their final case file. Criminal Minds Season 20 will be the last for Criminal Minds: Evolution on Paramount+, closing a franchise that began on CBS in 2005 and survived one cancellation already. The season is due to premiere in 2027, and no date has been announced.

A Sudden Decision Under New Management

According to Deadline, the decision was made recently. It would be the first official cancellation by Paramount+’s new leadership team under Casey Bloys, co-chair and chief content officer for Skydance Direct to Consumer. Deadline’s sources say the call followed a recommendation from the previous Paramount+ regime. That regime had given the show an early renewal for Season 20 in March, before Season 19 even debuted.

The timing is part of what makes the news striking. Season 19 aired between May and July, according to Variety, and Deadline reports the show is currently in Paramount+’s Top 10. Deadline suggests the decision may come down to how that performance stacks up against cost, or to the show’s nature as a broadcast-style series on a streaming platform.

No Chance for a Proper Ending

Because production on Criminal Minds Season 20 wrapped earlier this fall, the writers could not shape it as a series finale. Showrunner and executive producer Erica Messer’s statement hints at the shock. She spoke of “suddenly navigating the end of this chapter,” while saying she is grateful to the cast, crew and fans and looks forward to “celebrating the legacy” of the show.

The End of Paramount+’s Broadcast Revivals

Deadline notes that Evolution is the last of its kind on the service, following earlier Paramount+ continuations of network-style shows such as SEAL Team, Frasier and NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Jane Wiseman, the streamer’s former head of originals, left last week after the merger. In August she said she and her team were “big fans” of the show and open to more series in that mold. Paramount+ will still carry a full slate of CBS broadcast series, which arrive on the service the next day. Deadline also points to sibling service HBO Max, where a show like The Pitt uses longer episode orders, procedural elements and a yearly schedule while keeping a premium feel.

The streaming version of the show was never a carbon copy of the original. The Hollywood Reporter notes that since moving to Paramount+ in 2022, Criminal Minds became more serialized, with story arcs running across a whole season. Seasons were 10 episodes each, compared with 22 or more for most of the CBS run. The original series ran for more than 300 episodes from 2005 to 2020 and spawned two shorter-lived spinoffs, Suspect Behavior and Beyond Borders.

Where the Franchise Stands

Even at 20 combined seasons, the show is tied for fifth among the longest-running drama series, per Deadline. Only Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order, NCIS and Grey’s Anatomy have lasted longer, and all four are still on the air. Deadline’s headline framing, “for now,” leaves the door slightly open, but nothing in the sources points to a revival plan.

The cast includes Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler and RJ Hatanaka, with Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster. Messer executive produces alongside Breen Frazier, Chris Barbour, Glenn Kershaw, Stacey Hardt and Mark Gordon. The series is produced by 20th Television and CBS Studios. For fans, Criminal Minds Season 20 will be the last chance to see the team in action, though not necessarily a planned goodbye.

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The Lauren Bennett inquest has heard that the British singer, who featured on LMFAO’s global hit Party Rock Anthem, was in the care of specialist mental health services and had been in “substantial psychological suffering” for months before her death. Kent and Medway Coroners’ Court in Maidstone concluded on Friday that the 36-year-old took her own life.

Bennett, also a member of the girl group G.R.L, was found dead in Kent on 29 May. Her death was announced publicly in July by her former bandmates, who said their “hearts are broken” and remembered her as a “beautiful spirit” who would be “deeply missed”.

What the Lauren Bennett inquest heard about her final months

Assistant coroner Jyoti Gill told the court that Bennett’s difficulties intensified in January 2026. After going several days without sleep, she was admitted to hospital under a mental health section. Gill said she had experienced “substantial psychological suffering” from that point on, describing it as an “ongoing struggle”.

The court heard Bennett was receiving care from “special mental health services” at the time of her death and had met with them in the days beforehand. She had continued to report distress over the effects of her prescribed medication, and the court was told she reacted poorly to it and did not believe she would get better. Toxicology found no alcohol or illicit drugs in her system.

Statements read to the hearing also indicated that Bennett had been diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that can cause anxiety, mood instability and depression.

The morning of her death

Her husband, the professional dancer and choreographer Kenny Wormald, gave a statement saying she had been struggling with severe mental health issues. He told police he was still half asleep when she left their home in Meopham at around 9am, saying she was going for a walk. When she had not returned after a few hours, and neither he nor several other relatives could reach her by phone or text, he and her father went to look for her.

Using a phone-tracking feature, Wormald located her in a rural, wooded area near the family home. Reports differ slightly on the detail, but one account put the spot about a 15-minute walk from the house. Wormald said the couple talked about everything and that there had been no sign she intended to end her life. The court heard that pages of farewell notes were later found at her home.

A career that began at 17

Her father, Richard Bennett, described in a statement a daughter who lived an “amazing life”. She signed a record deal at 17 and moved to the United States alone. Her first success came with the girl group Paradiso Girls, whose 2009 single Patron Tequila, featuring Lil Jon, charted in the US and Canada.

Party Rock Anthem followed in 2011. It topped charts in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland and Australia, spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and has since been ranked by Billboard as the fifth most successful song of all time. Its video, in which Bennett appeared, has more than 2.5 billion YouTube views.

She joined G.R.L in 2013, the group formed by producer Robin Antin. It disbanded after the death of bandmate Simone Battle, but Bennett returned when it reunited with new line-ups in 2016 and again in 2020. She toured the US twice, met Wormald there, and the couple opened a dance studio in Los Angeles before returning to the UK.

Her brother, step-brother and sister-in-law attended the hearing. Taken together, the Lauren Bennett inquest paints a picture of a sudden and severe decline in her mental health that persisted despite specialist care, and of a family who say they saw no warning on the day.

If you are struggling to cope, the Samaritans offer confidential support free on 116 123 (UK and ROI) or at samaritans.org. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Elsewhere, befrienders.org lists helplines worldwide.

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My Chemical Romance have added a new chapter to their Black Parade anniversary celebrations with “Prelude To The End,” a nine-minute short film made with visual artist Lauren Tsai and voiced by Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, game designer Hideo Kojima and actor John C. McGinley. It was released on October 30, 2026.

What happens in Prelude To The End

The film is built around “The End.,” the opening track of the band’s 2006 album The Black Parade. It follows Astrid, a student at a mysterious New England boarding school buried in rubbish. After school authorities throw away her cherished sketchbook, she chases it down a rubbish chute and lands in a surreal realm populated by forgotten ideas.

Polygon’s description fills in some of the early scenes. The Dean of the Paper Academy scolds Astrid for repeatedly drawing “that thing” and for falling behind her classmates. Astrid then listens to voicemails from worried friends and family as the song begins. Those messages are where several of the famous voices appear: Eilish plays Astrid’s friend and Bridgers her sister. Kojima, as “The Teacher,” scolds her over late Japanese homework. McGinley, best known for Scrubs, voices the Dean, and Tsai voices Astrid herself.

A fan project that came full circle

Tsai made animated fan videos set to MCR songs when she was younger, so the project is personal. “It was an absolute dream to work on this project for The Black Parade and The Dying World,” she said in a statement, adding that she was honoured Gerard Way had found inspiration in a world she created.

The film comes from her independent studio, UNREAL INC., and draws on The Dying World, her animated universe. Rolling Stone reports that she introduced it with a short at the Annecy Film Festival last year, then expanded it in an exhibition at Hollywood Forever Cemetery that closed last November. In that universe, Tsai has said, the Dying World is a “trash dump for discarded thoughts.” She described Astrid as someone who “might have slipped into being forgotten” while still alive.

That premise echoes The Black Parade itself. Its central character, the Patient, is carried through a realm of memories as his life fades. Polygon notes the parallel and speculates it could point to further storytelling from the band, though nothing of the kind has been announced.

Familiar collaborators, unusual cast

Several of the connections here predate the film. Tsai directed the animated video for Boygenius’s “Cool About It” in 2023, and Bridgers has long been open about her love for MCR, having covered “Welcome To The Black Parade” at SXSW in 2022. Kojima has said he saw the band live in 2006, and Tsai appeared in a small role in his game Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

The soundtrack also reaches beyond the band. According to Rolling Stone, the short includes a live recording of Pascal Dusapin’s violin concerto Flying River, performed by Utopia Orchestra at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, with Giuseppe Mengoli conducting and Daniel Lozakovich on solo violin. A press release describes the film as exploring “the relationships we all hold with our creations, youth and the unwavering determination to become and express our truth,” a theme it ties to the band’s catalogue.

Where it fits in the anniversary run

“Prelude To The End” will screen before MCR’s final Hollywood Bowl shows on October 30 and 31, which close the US leg of the “Long Live The Black Parade” tour. The band have been playing the album in full along with songs from the rest of their catalogue. An expanded 20th anniversary edition arrived October 23 with six bonus tracks, including previously unreleased recordings from a 2007 show in Hoboken, New Jersey.

The tour has not been free of controversy. NME reports that the company behind the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders has taken legal action against the band over lookalike uniforms used in a staged gunfight.

Fans hoping the film signals a new record have only a hope to hold onto. Way recently said the band have “always wanted to make another record,” adding, “I don’t know when it’ll be. But it’ll be awesome.” No plans have been confirmed, so for now “Prelude To The End” is a standalone piece, a short story about lost ideas that celebrates an album about endings.

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HBO has used Halloween eve to fill in some of the spookiest gaps in the Harry Potter cast, naming the actors who will voice the Sorting Hat and play the ghosts and portrait that haunt Hogwarts. The announcement came on Oct. 30, less than two months before the series debuts on HBO and HBO Max on Dec. 25.

David Threlfall, the BAFTA-winning actor best known as Frank Gallagher in the original UK version of “Shameless,” will voice the Sorting Hat. Leo Bill takes on Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor house ghost. Andrew Brooke is the Bloody Baron of Slytherin, Daniel Fearn plays the Hufflepuff ghost the Fat Friar, and Laura Smyth, seen in “Baby Reindeer,” plays the Fat Lady, the portrait guarding Gryffindor’s entrance.

A Note on the Sorting Hat Casting

One outlet’s report muddied the waters. IGN’s article credits “Shameless” US star William H. Macy with the Sorting Hat voice. Polygon, Variety and Deadline all name Threlfall instead, and Deadline notes that Threlfall led the British series that inspired the American version starring Macy. The weight of reporting points to Threlfall, and the Macy credit looks like a mix-up between the two versions of the show.

Big Shoes, Familiar Names

Each new actor steps into a role with film history. John Cleese played Nearly Headless Nick in the movies, and Leslie Phillips voiced the Sorting Hat. Elizabeth Spriggs was the Fat Lady. Terence Bayler and Simon Fisher-Becker, who played the Bloody Baron and the Fat Friar in the first film, have both died.

The group joins Peter Serafinowicz, cast earlier this year as Peeves the Poltergeist. Peeves appears in the books but was cut from the films, so he is one of the clearest chances for the series to show off material the movies left behind.

What the Harry Potter Cast Looks Like Now

The Harry Potter cast is large. Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout lead as Harry, Hermione and Ron. John Lithgow is Dumbledore, Janet McTeer is McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu is Snape and Nick Frost is Hagrid. The supporting list includes Paul Whitehouse, Johnny Flynn, Bertie Carvel, Katherine Parkinson, Warwick Davis and Anton Lesser. Recent additions include Jasper Talbot and Hannah Chinn as James and Lily Potter, and Harry Gilby as Charlie Weasley.

Season 2, adapting “Chamber of Secrets,” is already filming. Variety lists Kit Harington as Gilderoy Lockhart, Lenny Rush as Dobby, Billy Barratt as Tom Riddle, Rafe Spall as Arthur Weasley, Molly Hewitt-Richards as Moaning Myrtle and Jasper Ambrose as Colin Creevey.

Eight Hours Instead of Two and a Half

Producer David Heyman recently spoke about the challenge of adapting each book as a TV season rather than a film. On the official Harry Potter podcast, he said the team is telling over eight hours a story the first film covered in two and a half, and that episodes need act breaks and often end on a question rather than an answer. “Finding that structure is just different,” he said. “But boy, is it exciting.”

Francesca Gardiner writes and executive produces the first season, and Mark Mylod executive produces and directs multiple episodes. J.K. Rowling is among the executive producers. With a trailer released last month and the casting nearly complete, the remaining question is whether this version can win over viewers who know the films well.

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The Ian McKellen tribute to Patrick Stewart, who died Wednesday at 86, is short, plainspoken and affectionate, much like the friendship it describes. Posted to Instagram, it casts the late actor first and foremost as a Yorkshireman, and only after that as a Hollywood figure.

Stewart’s longtime spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, said he died at his Los Angeles home with his wife, singer Sunny Ozell, by his side. She described “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.” Bush Novak wrote that he had been surrounded by family and friends, live music, prayer, tears and laughter.

A Yorkshireman First

McKellen opened by describing Stewart as “defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire,” a county he “loved to the end.” The accent, McKellen suggested, was only part of it. The rest was a “stern honesty” in saying what he thought and felt. “Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues,” McKellen wrote. “He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.”

That sense of origin carried through the rest of the message. Although “America was his adopted home,” McKellen said, Stewart “never forsook his origins.” He named the actor’s proudest achievement as his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire. That is a striking choice for a man with an OBE (2001), a knighthood (2010) and a career that stretched from Stratford-upon-Avon to Broadway.

The Star Trek Gamble

The most revealing passage in the Ian McKellen tribute is a street-corner memory. The two had met as ambitious young actors at the Royal Shakespeare Company roughly half a century ago, though they weren’t in the same productions. A few years later, McKellen ran into Stewart in central London, where he learned of an offer to take over a leading part in Star Trek.

McKellen admitted he voiced doubts, asking whether Stewart really wanted to risk getting “lost in Hollywood for years and years” at the expense of his stage career. “Well, he took the risk,” McKellen wrote, “and thank goodness for us all that he did.” He credited that choice with giving audiences both devoted Trekkies and a run of film successes, X-Men among them. It also let Stewart use his fame to return to Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett.

Professor X, Magneto and a Famously Open Affection

Variety notes that the two men had crossed paths before but became close on the 2000 film X-Men, where they played Professor X and Magneto, allies and rivals. Stewart recalled in a 2020 Wired interview that they had adjoining trailers and passed the downtime over tea, and perhaps “something a little stronger” in the afternoon. “We found we had so much in common,” he said.

The bond lasted. McKellen officiated at Stewart’s 2013 wedding to Ozell, and the pair often showed their affection publicly, including kisses at red-carpet events. They also shared stages, notably in Waiting for Godot and No Man’s Land. In 2023, McKellen said that going around with Stewart was “like going around with the pope,” adding: “Not that people genuflect, but he’s touched so many lives.”

One Last Appearance

McKellen ended his message with a forward-looking line: “His farewell performance in Avengers: Doomsday is yet to be seen.” Both actors are set to reprise their X-Men roles in the Marvel film, due in theaters on December 18. That leaves the Ian McKellen tribute with an unusual final note, since one more Stewart performance is still waiting for audiences.

Other tributes have followed from figures including Kevin Feige, William Shatner, Hugh Jackman, Seth MacFarlane, Rebecca Romijn and Famke Janssen. McKellen’s stands out for its tone. It is less a list of credits than a portrait of a friend who spoke bluntly, took a career gamble and never lost sight of home.

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File photo: Patrick Stewart 1999.jpg by Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.