Naismith womens basketball player of the year

TMZSports.com LeBron James ' childhood basketball coach says he's "honored" to be a part of the superstar's journey to becoming the top scorer in NBA history ... telling TMZ Sports he couldn't be happier for the King. Dru Joyce -- who first noticed LeBron's potential at just 10 years old -- played a huge part in shaping the 4-time NBA champ's career ... coaching James and the "Fab Five" to a state championship at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary in 2003. We spoke with Coach Dru about LeBron passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list ... and he couldn't help but reminisce about their earliest memories together. Getty LeBron James Becomes NBA's All-Time Leading Scorer, Passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar "It was an honor to know the little kid who used to be at my house, days on end, and young man I watched him grow into in high school, to now reach this historic moment in professional basketball ... I don't have the words to describe it." … [Read more...] about LeBron James’ H.S. Coach ‘So Proud’ After Breaking Scoring Record

Editor’s note : Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films factoring in this year’s movie awards races. For her debut feature, filmmaker Georgia Oakley returns to 1980s Britain as Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government has introduced Section 28, a clause of the Local Government Act that seeks to prohibit “the promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities across the United Kingdom. At the time, protests were rife, but many gay women and men felt compelled to keep their sexuality a secret. Blue Jean , written and directed by Oakley, follows Jean, a school gym teacher who keeps her sexuality a secret from her colleagues. The threat is immediate and real: if exposed, her love life could cost her her job. However, Jean finds little sympathy from her girlfriend, Viv. Out and proud, Viv is part of a cooperative of similarly assertive lesbian women. Viv regards secrecy as a capitulation to an increasingly oppressive system. As … [Read more...] about ‘Blue Jean’: Read The Screenplay For Georgia Oakley’s BAFTA Nominated Debut

EXCLUSIVE : Cohen Media Group has acquired all North American distribution rights to filmmaker Mark Cousins ’ Alfred Hitchcock doc My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock . The film premiered at Telluride and examines the Psycho and Vertigo director’s vast body of work, exploring his techniques, themes and obsessions. The plan is for a theatrical release later this year. Cousins, who utilizes actor and impressionist Alistair McGowan to portray Hitch in voiceover, connects the stylistic dots running through the director’s 50-plus films, from revered classics like North by Northwest, Psycho and Rear Window to less frequently discussed but intriguing works such as The Paradine Case, Sabotage and more, stretching all the way back to his silent films. The deal, announced by Cohen Media Group Chairman and CEO Charles S. Cohen, was negotiated by CMG Senior Vice President Robert Aaronson and Cleo Veger, Head Sales at London-based film sales company Dogwoof. Among … [Read more...] about Mark Cousins’ Alfred Hitchcock Documentary Gets North American Deal

Getty/IMAGN UPDATE 2:30 PM PT -- 1/3 -- Tom Brady is also pitching in to help Damar Hamlin -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB just gave $10k to the GoFundMe account, making it the top 3 donations. UPDATE 2:20 PM PT -- 1/3 -- Currently, the Chasing M's Foundation Community Toy Drive has $4,856,300 and still counting. UPDATE 9:04 AM PT -- 1/3 -- The donations continue to flow in ... with another MILLION dollars going to Damar's fundraiser since this morning -- resulting in $4,486,340 so far!! UPDATE New Orleans Saints quarterback Andy Dalton is contributing to the fundraiser ... giving $3,000 to the cause -- a nod to Damar's jersey number. UPDATE Remember, Bills fans donated more than $400k to the QB's foundation back in 2018 ... after Dalton's Bengals helped Buffalo make the playoffs. UPDATE Dalton and his wife were super appreciative at the time ... and eventually donated the money back to a local Buffalo … [Read more...] about Damar Hamlin’s Toy Drive Fundraiser Almost At $5 Mil, Tom Brady Donates $10K!

EXCLUSIVE : Jennette McCurdy , fresh from promoting her memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died , has signed with CAA . It comes as I’m Glad My Mom Died , which was published by Simon & Schuster last year, has spent the last 25 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. McCurdy, who was one of the stars of Nickelodeon’s iCarly and Sam and Cat ostensibly retired from acting in 2017, having starred in Netflix series Between . She has focused on writing and directing including short films Kenny, The Grave, The McCurdys and Strong Independent Women. While she was promoting her book, she admitted that she would consider returning to acting if she wrote something for herself, her focus is on writing and directing. I’m Glad My Mom Died told the story of her career as a child actress and her difficult relationship with her abusive mother. It has sold nearly 2M copies. McCurdy is also repped by Mainstay Entertainment, Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, … [Read more...] about Jennette McCurdy Signs With CAA

Getty Ron Jeremy isn't going before a jury to face rape charges, because he's being shipped off to a mental hospital ... where he could spend the rest of his days. The former porn star -- who'd been hit with a 30-count indictment alleging rape, sexual assault and other related crimes -- was committed to a state-run mental hospital in California ... this after being deemed unfit to stand trial. Backgrid A judge signed off on Jeremy's fate last month -- ruling that his cognitive ability was in a state of such decline that he couldn't facilitate his own defense. He can be held for up to two years at the facility ... and there will be periodic checkups to see if his condition improves. The first hearing on his progress is scheduled for early May. As we reported ... during a hearing last month the judge was informed, after a battery of tests Jeremy was diagnosed with dementia. They left the door open to continue … [Read more...] about Ron Jeremy Committed to Mental Hospital, Rape Trial Derailed

In both a noble gesture toward exhibition after the studio’s Project Popcorn, and in a means to monetize downstream revenues, Warner Bros is taking what was a HBO Max movie, Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike’s Last Dance , and putting into 1,500 theatrical locations this weekend. That’s with a thrifty marketing spend. It’s the second movie after New Line’s House Party ($8.8M) for which Warners has reverse-engineered a streaming release for the big screen. Meanwhile, Paramount is building off the heat of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water with a 25th anniversary 3D reissue of the filmmaker’s Oscar-winning 1997 smash Titanic . There are arguments to be made that either could notch No. 1: Titanic apparently is tracking better than the fall re-issue of Avatar ($10.5M opening) with a shot at double-digit millions in 2,400 theaters and the Channing Tatum-Salma Hayek Pinault threequel also having a potential $10M debut with the chance for more heading into … [Read more...] about ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ & ‘Titanic’ Reissue Having Super Bowl Dance-Off At Box Office – Preview

Recent Grammy winner Bad Bunny , Christina Aguilera and Jeremy Pope will be honored at the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards next month for advancing and supporting the LGBTQ community. Bad Bunny — Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the world last year — will receive the Vanguard Award for having made “a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.” Five-time Grammy winner Aguilera will receive the Advocate for Change Award for having “changed the game for LGBTQ people around the world.” And Pose alum and two-time Tony nominee Pope will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award for having made “a significant difference in raising visibility and promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.” Read bios for all three below. The awards show will be handed during the March 30 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton. RELATED: 2023 Awards Season Calendar – Dates For The Oscars, Guilds & More Bad Bunny’s advocacy and outspoken allyship for the … [Read more...] about GLAAD Media Awards: Bad Bunny, Christina Aguilera & Jeremy Pope Set For Honors

Gallery Launch Gallery Ex-NFL star Vontae Davis seemed to be sound asleep on the side of a highway near two wrecked vehicles after he was accused of drunkenly crashing his Tesla during an accident on Saturday morning ... new photos, obtained by TMZ Sports , show. In the pictures -- snapped just minutes after Davis allegedly rammed his ride into the back of a Toyota truck in Broward County, Fla. -- you can see Davis appeared to be unconscious on the pavement. Wearing a mint-green corduroy set with his shoes still on, the 34-year-old former Indianapolis Colts defensive back was balled up with his head laying in his hands and his eyes closed. A witness tells us that even as people moved around him -- including first responders, a clean-up crew and police -- Davis remained fast asleep ... until cops woke him up and put him in a squad car. In Florida Highway Patrol dash cam footage we obtained, you can see Davis appeared to be having … [Read more...] about Vontae Davis Crash Scene Photos Show Ex-NFL Star Asleep Near Wrecked Cars