Give him some air

Before Ben Affleck directed “Air” — the story of the creation of the Air Jordan shoe line — Michael Jordan had a list of demands. “I had a chance to sit down with Michael Jordan, because I just wasn’t going to make this movie without asking him, ‘What matters to you?’ Interestingly, and tellingly, he had a few things that mattered,” Ben said while introducing the film at SXSW. “One of them was that [Nike executive] Howard White needed to be in the movie.” Howard was not in the original script, but he is now. Per Variety, “His Airness” also spoke reverently of his parents. “He told me about his father. And then he talked about his mother. It was the first time I saw this look cross his face. It was a look of reverence, of awe, of love, and gratitude, and innocence. He said, ‘None of this would have ever happened without my mother.’ I said, ‘Who would you like to play your mom?’ He said, ‘Well, it has to be Viola Davis,” Ben recalled. That was music to Ben’s ears. “Viola Davis is the best actor I’ve ever seen,” the father of three noted. “This is a hard business. It’s hard to know if you’re successful. It’s hard to know if you’ve accomplished something. But honest to God, I always felt that if I was a director one day, and I had Viola Davis in a movie, that would really be something. That would mean the world to me. And it does.” Spoiler alert: Viola plays Deloris Jordan.

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Sadness and grief

Bruce Willis’s family is filled with “grief” on his 68th birthday. Emma Heming Willis had “swollen eyes” and a “snotty” nose in an Instagram video posted on Sunday, March 19. She also noted that despite the birthday celebration she “started the morning by crying.” “I just think it’s important that you see all sides of this. I always get this message, or people always tell me, ‘Oh, you’re so strong. I don’t know how you do it.’ I’m not given a choice,” she said, noting that she and Bruce have two young kids, Mabel, 10, and Evelyn, 8. “Sometimes we’ve gotta put our big girl panties on and get to it… I do have times of sadness, every day, grief every day, and I’m really feeling it today on his birthday.” Last March, Bruce’s family announced that the “Pulp Fiction” star was retiring due to Aphasia, a condition that affects a person’s ability to communicate — to speak, write and understand language. Then, in February 2023, the family announced that he had also been diagnosed with dementia.

MORE: Stars who suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia

Behind the scenes baby reveal

When Paris Hilton told her mom about a “surprise,” Kathy Hilton assumed it was of the four-legged variety — she never fathomed that another grandchild was joining the family. “We didn’t have our Christmas together ’cause she was working out of the country, so she said, ‘I have a surprise for you,’ and it was my Christmas present. And then she waited a few minutes, and she goes, ‘I have one more surprise for you,'” Kathy told “Extra.” “And I thought, ‘Maybe it’s gonna be a puppy or something’ because my husband [Rick Hilton] and I lost our dog.” Kathy was stunned and “completely in shock” when Paris entered the room with a baby boy, whom she named Phoenix. “She walks in, and the blanket falls down, and I just go, ‘What? Who is this? What is this?'” Kathy said. “It was beautiful.”

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On the mend

After being forced to cancel a concert due to a “viral infection,” Rod Stewart is back to full strength. The rocker said he had strep throat but is “fine now” and looking forward to being back on tour. Rod saddened his fans after pulling out of a concert with Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens in Australia. “Hello my friends,” the British rock star said in a statement on Instagram on Saturday, March 18. “I’m absolutely downhearted that I’m disappointing my fans who bought tickets to A Day On The Green. Late this morning I was advised that I have a viral infection and my throat was too irritated to sing.” Rod added that he’s a mere mortal. “I’m only human and sometimes get sick just like you do,” he said.

Hostess with the mostess

You can take the woman out of the ballroom, but you can’t take the ballroom out of the woman. On the heels of Tyra Banks’ “Dancing With the Stars” exit comes news that Julianne Hough will take over co-hosting duties alongside Alfonso Ribeiro. “It is such an honor to be rejoining ‘Dancing With the Stars’ as co-host. The show holds such a special place in my heart from the many years and different roles I have had the privilege of being a part of,” she told Variety. “The incredible team that brings the ballroom to life every night has been my family for the past 17 years.” She added that “the energy is magnetic every time you step foot in to the ballroom and I can’t wait to feel it again — and of course to share it all with the absolute best and most loyal fans — for another exciting season.” Julianne first appeared on the show as a pro dancer in 2007, but she departed in 2009. She then came back as a judge in 2014 but left again in 2017. She appeared as a guest judge on the show in 2021.

Health issue

Delilah Belle Hamlin had a seizure while filming a music video for her debut single. The eldest daughter of Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna detailed her scary health situation in a chat with “Entertainment Tonight.” “On the second day of filming the music video, it was, like, nine hours into the day and I suffered from seizures,” she said. “We don’t really know too much about them yet. Even though it’s been years, we’re still trying to figure it out. I ended up having a seizure on set.” Although the seizure was “scary painful,” the 24-year-old found a silver lining, indicating she “was able to bring the emotion of that into filming the next day.” Delilah even claimed that her famous mom instilled a work ethic in her to always report for duty unless you absolutely cannot. “Lisa’s always taught me [that] if you are, like dying, if you are vomiting, if you are throwing up, do the day. Go and do it. Show up for work,” Delilah said. “So I try. I always try my best. There are some days when I really can’t, but I try my best.”

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