National Buzz

The Walking Dead isn’t generally known for practical stunts, but with Season 8 gearing up for “All Out War,” it stands to reason physical action would increase. As such, the unfortunate hospitalization of stuntman John Bernecker has necessitated Season 8 production take a temporary hiatus.

Did any new releases come out this weekend? I honestly can’t remember. Someone mentioned that there was a new Marvel movie in theaters - one featuring some sort of Spider-Person - but that can’t be right. I feel like I would’ve seen that, perhaps promoted on an unprecedented level for any superhero movie? Hmm. Well, anyways, here’s the weekend box office estimates as of Sunday afternoon:

Difficult news today for True Blood fans and beyond, as beloved star Nelsan Ellis has tragically passed away at a young age. The Julliard-trained actor had appeared in everything from The Help to CBS’ Elementary.

The famed comedian will return to court to face charges of felony indecent assault for a second time.

Joan Lee, the wife of Marvel creator Stan Lee, has died at the age of 93. The couple were married for 69 years and had two children.

Ice cream in Milwaukee. Is there anything better?

American Idol moving to ABC is bound to leave FOX a little green, and they might even spend a little in retaliation. FOX is apparently working on a brand-new singing competition to rival Idol and The Voice with a unique format.

Garth Brooks closed his concert run in Lafayette, La., on Saturday (July 1) with a concert that one 89-year-old fan will surely never forget.

Already I’m hearing rumblings that people want Andy Serkis to get an Oscar nomination for his performance in War for the Planet of the Apes. I am very skeptical about any performance assisted so heavily by special effects getting nominated for an Academy Awards, and I’m super very skeptical about any awards talk in late June.an

Ron Howard is a very capable director who knows how to position a camera and capture a powerful image. But I also have a sneaking suspicion that maybe Ron Howard isn’t great at social media or taking casual phone pics. He seems like the type of dad who accidentally snaps a selfie when attempting to take a shot of a sunset, or butt-Facetimes his family. Just look at his latest Twitter photo.