Al Roker wishes the best to his co-host, Hoda Kotb, who took an exit from the Today Show. In the previous week, Kotb made an emotional announcement of leaving the talk show to give priority to her family and kids. 

In conversation with People Magazine at the Food & Wine Classic Charleston event, the 70-year-old journalist revealed that he is thrilled for Kotb, who is entering a new, personal phase of her life. 

Al Roker, speaking to the entertainment portal, revealed that he will miss his colleague and feels bad about Kotb having to leave. He elaborated, “Will I miss her day to day? Sure. But I’m just so thrilled for her that I can’t possibly feel any sadness.”

He further added, “Here’s the thing, I would feel much worse if she was leaving, but she’s just doing something else within our NBC News family.”

On September 26, Kotb wrote a letter to NBC declaring her exit from the show. In the letter, she wrote, “As I write this, my heart is all over the map.”

She further expressed, “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”

The TV star also stated that her career in broadcast journalism has turned out exceptionally well, but it’s time for her to move on from it. She further claimed that though she is sad about leaving the show, she is also excited about what lies ahead of her.

Angelina Jolie, who’s the face of Pablo Larraín’s latest biopic based on the life story of the world’s greatest opera singer, Maria Callas, calls it the most challenging yet rewarding role. During an interview with Deadline, the Academy Award-winning actress called Maria a “once in a lifetime” character. 

 “I mean, it’s certainly the most challenging,” she added, referring to the seven months she spent learning six of the many dramatic arias most associated with the prima donna singer who died of a heart attack at her Paris in 1977.  

The screenplay, written by Steven Knight, follows Callas in her last days as she recalls her triumphs on the world’s most iconic opera stages, only to realize that she could never top those achievements. Her tragedy is coupled with her unsuccessful romance with shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. 

The one-of-a-kind script combined with the director of Jolie’s dream made the project a no-brainer for her. “This kind of work is not asked of me very often. And if it’s asked of me, it’s not often with this kind of material and this director, so these things come once in a lifetime,” she added.