Box office news… R. Kelly’s music sales skyrocket… Dave Chappelle controversy… Dog the Bounty Hunter update… and ‘SNL’ ratings rise with host Kim Kardashian West

Listen to “Showbiz – Oct 11, 2021” on Spreaker.

Eight actors got as far as the screen test for the role of James Bond in the 2006 movie “Casino Royale.” It was Daniel Craig who landed the role and went on to become the longest-running actor to play James Bond. Roger Moore previously held that record. And now it’s the end of the road for Daniel. His fifth and final turn as 007 debuted in the US this weekend, but didn’t do quite as well as predicted. “No Time to Die” opened in first with $56M, a little short of the $60M expectation. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” came in second with $32M followed by “The Addams Family 2” with $10M. “Shang-Chi” is still hanging in there at number 4 with $4.2M. “The Many Saints of Newark” was fifth with $1.5M.

Box Office: ‘No Time to Die’ Opens to $56M Domestically, Crosses $300M Globally https://t.co/fB2X2iCyAK— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 10, 2021

R. Kelly may be trapped in prison, but “Trapped in the Closet” and a ton of his other hit songs are blowing up. His streaming numbers are up 22% but his album sales have jumped a whopping 517% since a New York jury found him guilty on sex trafficking charges a couple weeks ago. He’s facing life behind bars. While many people thought his conviction would cause his music sales to plummet, it’s been the exact opposite.

REPORT: R. Kelly’s music sales skyrocket 500 percent after guilty sex crimes verdicthttps://t.co/LsMrDDAEbp— XXL Magazine (@XXL) October 10, 2021

When Dave Chappell’s new standup special “The Closer” was released on Netflix last week, the #CancelDaveChappell began almost immediately. In his special, Dave calls out the LGBTQ community and specifically said he was anti-trans. He also said he sides with JK Rowling, who had her own cancellation to deal with after she expressed controversial opinions about the trans community. One of the more mile things Dave said during his special was, “In our country, you can shoot and kill a [black person], but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings.” But despite the calls for his cancellation, Dave’s famous friends and his fans are showing up for him. At his sold out show at the Hollywood Bowl last week, Brad Pitt, Tiffany Haddish, Lizzo, Jon Hamm, and Snoop Dogg were among the celebrity faces in the crowd. While Dave didn’t repeat any of his material from his Netflix special, he did address the controversy surrounding it saying, “If this is what being canceled is like, I love it.”

In his new Netflix special, Dave Chappelle tries — and often fails — to justify button-pushing jokes about gay people, trans people, and feminists, writes NPR critic Eric Deggans.https://t.co/gG1zFMv2eM— NPR (@NPR) October 6, 2021

Even though he was on his honeymoon, Dog the Bounty Hunter traveled to Florida to join the manhunt for Brian Laundrie a couple weeks ago. Brian is the only person of interest in the murder of his girlfriend Gabby Petito. But Dog is heading back home to Colorado after injuring his ankle during the search. According to WFLA’s Josh Benson, Dog has “put together a talented network of local team members he calls the ‘Florida Team’ that will continue the search while he’s gone.” He added that Dog “will continue to process leads in Colorado while he’s there.”

Dog the Bounty Hunter Injured, Leaves Florida Amid Brian Laundrie Search: https://t.co/xkVKcBbIVw pic.twitter.com/quLPpdLXm4— PopCulture.com (@PopCulture) October 11, 2021

Kim Kardashian West pleasantly surprised a lot of people when she hosted “Saturday Night Live” this weekend. Thanks to some great comedy writers and Kim’s willingness to go there, there were some real laugh out loud moments, which is becoming more and more rare on SNL. No one was off limits. Kim made jokes about Kanye, her sisters, her mom’s boyfriend Corey Gamble, her mom’s ex-husband Kaitlyn Jenner, and herself. And Kanye was right there for all of it. Page Six said he was sitting front and center for Kim’s opening monologue. And he knew what was coming because he’d heard the entire thing during dress rehearsals. Sources say the two of them “kept waving and making eyes at each other” and he went backstage right after her opening segment. Kim had a lot of support in the audience, including her BFF LaLa Anthony and mom’s boyfriend Corey. Kanye didn’t go to the afterparty, but Kris, Khloe, Scott Disick, Jonathan “Foodgod” Cheban, Amy Schumer, Lorne Michael and Gayle King did!