20 NEW CAST MEMBERS ANNOUNCED FOR LORD OF THE RINGS: Amazon‘s Lord of the Rings series is welcoming 20 new cast members. No character names were revealed, and little is known about the story. They include: Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Power), Maxim Baldry (Years and Years), 18-year-old newcomer Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman (Top of the Lake), stand-up comedian Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe (Power Rangers Megaforce), Trystan Gravelle (The Terror), comic actor Sir Lenny Henry (Broadchurch), Thusitha Jayasundera (Midsomer Murders), Fabian McCallum (You, Me & the Apocalypse), Simon Merrells(Knightfall), and Geoff Morrell (also from Top of the Lake). Plus: Peter Mullan (Ozark), Lloyd Owen (Apollo 18), Augustus Prew (Pure Genius), Peter Tait (who had a small role in Peter Jackson‘s Return of the King), Alex Tarrant (Filthy Rich), Leon Wadham (Under the Mountain), Benjamin Walker (Jessica Jones), and Sara Zwangobani (Disgrace).
GEORGE CLOONEY’S KIDS SPEAK FLUENT ITALIAN: Unfortunately, George Clooney and wife Amal Clooney do not. He told Jimmy Kimmel Live! that the 3-year-old twins team up against their English-only dad. The Oscar winner added, “I’ll say, ‘Go back in and clean your room,’ and they’ll be like, ‘Eh, papa stranzo.’ I’m from Kentucky, English is a second language to me.”
ASHLEY TISDALE PLANS TO RETURN TO WORK SOON AFTER DAUGHTER’S BIRTH: Pregnant Ashley Tisdale tells Us Weekly that she plans to return to work soon after she welcomes her daughter. The 35-year-old says: “I’m sure I’ll take a month off, but I’m the type of person that’s a multi-tasker. I love to work.” She announced that she and husband Christopher French were expecting their first child in September.
CAROLE BASKIN’S BIG CAT RESCUE INCIDENT: Candy Couser, a volunteer at Carole Baskin‘s Big Cat Rescue near Tampa, nearly had her arm torn off by a male tiger named Kimba during a feeding. “Kimba had been locked away from that section for several days as cameras were being installed there. She opened a guillotine tunnel door at one end of the tunnel, and when she went to raise the second door, she saw it was clipped shut,” the press release states. “This is our universal signal NOT to open a gate without the coordinator coming to assist, but Candy said she just wasn't thinking when she reached in to un-clip it. It is against our protocols for anyone to stick any part of their body into a cage with a cat in it. Kimba grabbed her arm and nearly tore it off at the shoulder.” The statement continued: “This happened on the day our federal bill to ban cub handling and private possession comes to the House floor for a vote. The fact that, despite our intense safety protocols and excellent record of safety, an injury like this can occur just confirms the inherent danger in dealing with these animals and why we need the Big Cat Public Safety Act to eliminate having them untracked in backyards around the country and ending up in sanctuaries where wonderful people like Candy Couser have committed themselves to providing care for those discarded by the pay to play industry.”
