DWAYNE JOHNSON THANKS FIRST RESPONDERS: Dwayne Johnson is feeling thankful. The Hobbs & Shaw star shared a video on Instagram revealing a gift he sent to the Ridgefield Fire Department in New Jersey. “Glad you (bad a***s) got my note – Ridgefield Fire Department … ✍🏽 😉 A very small way of us saying, THANK YOU to you guys and all our first responders across our country,” he wrote. “I see you and we’re grateful to you for always taking care of our families and communities.” Last week, Johnson shared the news that he and his wife Lauren Hashian and their daughters Jasmine, 4, and Tiana, 2, tested positive for COVID.
LUPITA NYONG’O PAYS TRIBUTE TO CHADWICK BOSEMAN: Lupita Nyong’o is sharing her grief after her friend and Black Panther colleague Chadwick Boseman died following a private battle with colon cancer at age 43. She wrote on social media: “I write these words from a place of hopelessness, to honor a man who had great hope. I am struggling to think and speak about my friend, Chadwick Boseman, in the past tense. It doesn't make sense.” Nyong’o said that the news of his death is a “punch to my gut every morning.” She went on to note that Chadwick was a man “who made the most of his time, and somehow also managed to take his time.” Though she said they didn't know each other for long, Boseman “had a profound effect on me” in that time that they had together.
QUEEN ELIZABETH’S UNUSUAL MOVE: Queen Elizabeth is making an unexpected stop as she returns to Windsor Castle. She and her husband Prince Philip are planning to leave Balmoral Castle in Scotland to “spend time privately on the Sandringham Estate,” a palace spokesperson confirmed to People Tuesday. She usually heads back to Buckingham following her break at Balmoral; Sandringham is 100 miles north of London, and is where she typically spends Christmas.
TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL GOES MASK OPTIONAL: While the Venice Film Festival mandate face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Toronto International Film Festival is making masks optional at in-person screenings, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Festival organizers say they’re following protocol and implementing social distancing, but others are concerned. Canadian actress Ramona Pringle, a TIFF regular who is also director of Ryerson University‘s Transmedia Zone, told THR that the mixed messaging on face masks is a cause for concern. “Unfortunately, I fear we’ve tumbled into this situation where you could have one of those superspreader events,” says Pringle, “because people are in a confined space, which very likely could be a movie theater.”
