Category: Entertainment

Fans and celebrities alike are supporting James Van Der Beek’s family following his death at age 48.

A GoFundMe page set up to support the late Dawson’s Creek actor’s family shows Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, donated $25,000 to the fundraiser, adding to the more than $1.8 million raised so far.

Along with Spielberg, Wicked director Jon M. Chu donated $10,000 to the fund.

GoFundMe lists a total of more than 35,000 donations tallied so far.

The fund was created by a user account titled “Friends of the Van Der Beek family” and lists Kimberly Van Der Beek, James Van Der Beek’s wife, as the beneficiary.

James Van Der Beek was best known for playing the titular character, Dawson Leery, on Dawson’s Creek, and later took on a number of roles in films, including Varsity Blues, as well as TV shows such as Mercy, One Tree Hill and Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23.

James Van Der Beek died Wednesday morning following a battle with colorectal cancer.

His family shared the news on his official Instagram page. He is survived by his wife and their six children.

The GoFundMe page describes the financial strain that the family experienced throughout James an Der Beek’s illness, which he revealed to People in 2024.

“Throughout his illness, the family faced not only emotional challenges but also significant financial strain as they did everything possible to support James and provide for his care,” the page says.

“Kimberly and the children are facing an uncertain future,” it continues. “The costs of James’s medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds. They are working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time.”

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Ready, set, binge! Here’s a look at some of the new movies and TV shows coming to theaters and streaming services this weekend:

Prime Video
Cross: Alex Cross is back and ready for justice in season 2 of the thriller series. 

FX, Hulu
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette: Watch the first installment in Ryan Murphy’s new anthology series. 

AMC
Dark Winds: The premiere of season 4 of the drama series makes its debut.  

Movie theaters
Wuthering Heights: Emerald Fennell directs her take on the classic love story, which stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. 

Crime 101: Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry and Mark Ruffalo star in the new crime thriller film.

GOAT: From producer Stephen Curry comes an animated film about a goat who plays basketball. 

That’s all for this week’s Weekend Watchlist – happy streaming!

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Prime Video is betting on Off Campus. The upcoming romance series has been renewed for season 2 ahead of its season 1 premiere. The first season of the new series will debut in May. Off Campus is based on the bestselling book series from Elle Kennedy, and focuses on a college romance between a songwriter and an all-star hockey athlete …

Ed Helms and Nat Wolff are joining the cast of She Gets It From Me. Deadline reports that the actors are joining Rachel Zegler and Marisa Tomei in the upcoming film. The movie follows a young woman who refuses to get married before she meets her birth mother …

The official trailer for Taylor Tomlinson’s upcoming comedy special Prodigal Daughter has arrived. Netflix released the trailer for Tomlinson’s fourth comedy special, which arrives to the platform on Feb. 24. She returns to her roots in this special by deconstructing her faith, processing her religious trauma and confronting her fear of death …

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Chris Hemsworth plays a game of cat and mouse with Mark Ruffalo in Crime 101.

The Bart Layton-directed film, which premieres exclusively in theaters globally on Friday, follows a jewel thief (Hemsworth) whose heists along the 101 freeway in Southern California capture the attention of a relentless detective (Ruffalo).

The actors have lost count of the number of times they’ve worked together, Hemsworth told ABC Audio, as both are OG members of The Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But this film was completely different than any of their other acting collaborations, Hemsworth said.

“It’s super refreshing. We’ve talked about doing other stuff together for a long time. And I sent him the script, and he immediately flipped for it and said, ‘This is brilliant,'” Hemsworth said. “And off we went.”

While the tone of Crime 101 is much different than that of an MCU joint, Hemsworth says their iconic superhero personas weren’t far away from this film’s set.

“We brought some of our Thor and Hulk energy initially of just the excitement,” Hemsworth said. “And then Bart [Layton] was like, ‘Whoa, different energy, different film.'”

Hemsworth said striking a different tone with Ruffalo this time around was wonderful, but it was also intimidating.

“It was quite lovely to step into completely different shoes, but quite uncomfortable, too, because it’s like acting in front of a family member, you know?” Hemsworth said. “They know your tricks, and now you’re doing something very different. And so it was quite unsettling, but as it should have been for the characters, too.”

The Thor actor said he and Ruffalo “just had a fantastic time” making this film together.

“He’s one of my favorite people,” Hemsworth said.

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Ryan Gosling is set to host Saturday Night Live for the fourth time.

NBC has announced that Gosling will return to Studio 8H to host the March 7 episode of the show. The Oscar nominee is promoting his upcoming film, Project Hail Mary, which he produced and stars in. He will be joined by Gorillaz, who will serve as the show’s musical guest for the first time. The Grammy-winning band’s new album, The Mountain, is set to release on Feb. 27.

Also scheduled to host SNL is Connor Storrie, one of the breakout stars from the hit series Heated Rivalry. NBC initially made the announcement of Storrie’s hosting gig during the Jan. 31 episode, which was hosted by Alexander Skarsgård. Mumford & Sons will serve as the musical guest on the episode, marking their fourth appearance performing on the show. They’re promoting their new album, Prizefighter, which releases on Feb. 20.

Another episode of SNL is scheduled to air on March 14, although a host and musical guest have yet to be announced.

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Emmy Award-winning Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning has been cast to play The Mamas & The Papas singer Cass Elliot in the upcoming movie My Mama Cass.

The biopic will be based on the bestselling memoir My Mama, Cass, written by Elliot’s daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, with the book being adapted by novelist and screenwriter Emma Forrest.

A press release notes that the film is “not a traditional Mamas & the Papas biopic,” rather a “definitive Cass Elliot film, centered on her life, legacy, and the mother-daughter bond that shaped them both.”

In addition to focusing on Elliot’s life and career, the film will highlight Owen’s journey to uncover the truth about her mother’s death at age 32 in order to put to rest the urban legend that she died choking on a ham sandwich. Cass died of heart failure in 1974 when Owen was 7.

The film is currently in production.

As a member of The Mamas & The Papas, Cass scored six top-10 hits, including “Monday Monday,” “California Dreamin'” and “Dedicated to the One I Love.” The group sold over 40 million records and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Cass went on to a solo career, scoring hits like “Make Your Own Kind of Music” and “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”

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The NAACP announced Thursday that Viola Davis will be the recipient of the prestigious Chairman’s Award. 

She’ll receive the honor at the upcoming 57th NAACP Image Awards, which air live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Feb. 28. 

“The Chairman’s Award honors individuals who excel in public service and leverage their unique platforms to ignite and drive meaningful change,” according to the announcement.

“Viola Davis is a generational talent who has commanded audiences with her powerful and transcending performances,” Leon W. Russell, chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, said. “Through a career defined by excellence and courage, she has used her platform to work towards opportunity and equity, crafting an undeniable legacy for generations to come. We look forward to celebrating her and the trailblazing path she has created for herself, and others to follow.”

Past award recipients include Kamala Harris, Amanda Gorman, Samuel L. Jackson, the late civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis, Ruby Dee, Danny Glover, Rev. James Lawson, Tyler Perry and then-Sen. Barack Obama.

Davis, who holds EGOT status, is also nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her role in the action-thriller G20.

The public can vote to determine winners in select categories. Voting ends Friday. 

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Nicolas Cage returns to the Spider-Verse in the official teaser trailers for Spider-Noir.

Prime Video released two versions of the new trailer for its upcoming live-action series, which is produced by Sony Pictures Television, on Thursday. The streaming service also announced that the show will make its global premiere on May 27.

The series finds Cage starring in his first leading TV role, as he reprises the character he originally voiced in the 2018 Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

This live-action take on the character is based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir, which tells the story of Ben Reilly (Cage), “a seasoned, down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life, following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero,” according to its official synopsis.

A unique feature of this brand-new show is that it will be available to watch in two different ways — what Prime Video is calling the Authentic Black & White option or the True-Hue Full Color option. Because of this, two different teaser trailers have released for the series; one entirely in black-and-white and one in color.

Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston and Brendan Gleeson also star in the new series.

Harry Bradbeer, the Emmy Award-winning director of Fleabag and Killing Eve, helmed and executive produced the show’s first two episodes. Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot are the co-showrunners of the project. They developed the series with the team behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal, who all also executive produce.

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The cast for Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles films just got bigger.

Sony has announced the latest additions to The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, including The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actress Morfydd [MOR-vith] Clark as John Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia Lennon, and Bohemian Rhapsody’s Lucy Boynton as Paul McCartney’s former girlfriend Jane Asher.

Also joining the cast is actor Farhan Akhtar, star of the Hindi-language film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, as musician Ravi Shankar, and Industry’s Harry Lawtey as the band’s original bass player, Stuart Sutcliffe.

The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, opening in April 2028, will consist of four films, each told from the perspective of one of band members. It stars Paul Mescal as McCartney, Harris Dickinson as Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.

The cast also includes Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Mia McKenna-Bruce as Ringo’s wife Maureen Starkey, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono and Aimee Lou Wood as Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd.

The Sony films will mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of band members and their legendary catalog of music.

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Stars of Dawson’s Creek are paying tribute to James Van Der Beek following his death.

The 48-year-old actor, who is known for playing the show’s titular character, Dawson Leery, died Wednesday morning following a battle with colorectal cancer.

His family shared the news on his official Instagram page. He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children.

Upon the news of his death, actors who starred alongside Van Der Beek in the hit WB teen drama, including Katie Holmes, Mary-Margaret Humes and Busy Philipps, took to social media to remember the actor.

Holmes shared a photo of a handwritten letter to Van Der Beek on Instagram, captioning the photo, “I formed some words with a heavy heart. This is a lot to process. I am so grateful to have shared in a piece of James’ journey. He is beloved. Kimberly, we love you and will be here always for you and your beautiful children.”

Philipps, who portrayed Audrey Liddell, wrote in her social media tribute: “My heart is deeply hurting for all of us today…every person who knew James and loved him, anyone who loved his work or had the pleasure of meeting him, all of his dear friends and community that surrounded him as he battled this illness, especially his parents and brother and sister.”

She went on to say she is “heartbroken” for Van Der Beek’s wife and children, and urged others to help them out via their GoFundMe.

“James Van Der Beek was one in a billion and he will be forever missed and i don’t know what else to say,” she added. “i am just so so sad. He was my friend and i loved him and i’m so grateful for our friendship all these years.”

Humes, who played Van Der Beek’s TV mom in the show, shared photos of herself with Van Der Beek and wrote she is at a “loss for words.”

“James, my gracious warrior, you fought a hard battle against all odds with such quiet strength and dignity,” she captioned the post on Instagram. “I will always love and admire you for that. Our last conversations … merely a few days ago … are forever sitting softly in my heart for safe keeping. To our extended Dawson’s Creek family of friends … please be respectful of our silences at the moment as Beautiful Kimberly and family have asked for peaceful privacy for now.”

The official Instagram page for Dawson’s Creek via Sony Pictures also addressed Van Der Beek’s death and remembered the actor for his iconic role as Leery.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of James Van Der Beek,” the show said. “His iconic portrayal of Dawson Leery helped define a generation of television for fans and continues to resonate with audiences today. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”

Additionally, stars across Hollywood began paying tribute to Van Der Beek and took to the comments section of his Instagram post to remember him, including Sarah Michelle Gellar.

“I’m so sad for your beautiful family,” Gellar commented on Van Der Beek’s Instagram post. “While James legacy will always live on, this is a huge loss to not just your family but the world. F*** cancer.”

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