Kevin Smith is paying tribute to his mother, Grace, who died on Monday night after a sudden decline in her health. 

The Clerks director shared the heartbreaking news on Dec. 2 and opened up about the loss of the woman he called his greatest supporter.

Just days before her passing, Smith flew to Florida for what he described as an “unplanned, emergency trip to see Mom, who was suddenly on death’s doorstep.” 

In that earlier update, he said she had “bounced back, returning from the brink” over Thanksgiving weekend. Grace was set to celebrate her 80th birthday later this month.

Smith announced her death in a touching Instagram post, sharing memories and photos from their time together. 

“The bill for 55 years of unconditional love came due on December 1st, and the costly price was having to watch the strongest person I’ve ever known, my absolute favorite person in the world, exit the stage after a lifetime of setting it for her children. My Mom is gone,” he wrote.

He described Grace as “the first person I ever loved” and someone with a “stronger heart that had a tendency to put everyone else first.” 

She raised Smith alongside siblings Donald Jr. and Virginia with their father Don, who died in 2003.

Calling her a “lioness, fiercely protective of her pride,” Smith said his mother made him feel valued and loved every single day. 

“My Mom made me feel like I mattered – to our family, to the world, and especially to her,” he shared.

The filmmaker credited his mom for believing in him before anyone else. He told fans that she was his “biggest fan,” adding, “If you like me or anything I’ve ever made, she was the blueprint.”

Smith also revealed he’s stepping back from several scheduled appearances to mourn. 

“I will miss her for the rest of my days but I also know how lucky I was to have had as much time as I got with my Mom,” he wrote, explaining that he intends to “grieve Grace for awhile.”

Smith, who has daughter Harley Quinn Smith with his wife Jennifer Schwalbach, ended his tribute with a personal message to his mom: “Thank you for making me and taking me on the journey of a lifetime. I love you so much, Mom. You’ve always been, and will forever be, my hero. Love, Tiger.”

Sean Penn’s strong comments about the Academy came back into the news when its chief, Bill Kramar, finally spoke about them at the Marrakech Film Festival. 

Penn said the Academy showed “cowardice,” which created a lot of noise in Hollywood.

Bill did not get emotional or defensive when the question came up, as he said that he would not share exactly how he felt at that moment because he did not want his reaction to become a headline. 

Instead, the 59-year-old CEO talked about how he tried to handle any kind of feedback.

He explained that the Academy had eleven thousand members who all got different views about films, awards and the organisation itself. 

However, Bill further said that he always tried to listen with an open heart, even when the comments were harsh or public. 

He believed that serving the film world meant taking every opinion seriously.

The current CEO of the Academy also highlighted the fact that not every issue could be fixed quickly, but every voice still mattered. 

According to him, even comments that felt upsetting could guide the Academy to improve or think in a new way, saying these tough moments could turn into lessons.

Earlier, Penn claimed the Academy limited imagination and cultural expression, as his answer showed that he respected the criticism and wanted to learn from it rather than argue back. 

The exchange added to the ongoing discussion about how the Academy should grow and respond to the changing film world.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Royal Lodge agreement has been made public for the first time amid his and Sarah Ferguson’s preparation to leave the Windsor property.

Andrew submitted the minimum required 12 months’ notice to vacate the property on October 30.

The 25-page document on the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee goes into depth on the details of Andrew’s lease. The file, dated August 8, 2003, includes who the agreement is with, how long it lasts, and to whom the lease would have been passed.

The document was signed “between The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty (1), The Crown Estate Commission’s (2) [and] HRH the Duke of York (Andrew’s former title before he was officially stripped of it in October)”.

The 75-year agreement began on June 16, 2003 and was due to expire on June 15, 2078, until King Charles’s interjection.

If the lease had been passed over, an “acceptable assignee” would have been passed onto: “the widow of HRH the Duke of York, or Princess Beatrice, or Princess Eugenie, or the trustees of a trust which has no beneficiaries other than Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie or either of them.”

The lease notes details about the “tenant’s right to surrender”, stating: “If at any time during the term the tenant shall wish to surrender this lease, the tenant shall serve the tenant’s notice upon the landlord.”

The lengthy document comes as Ferguson is on the hunt for a new house while Andrew is preparing to depart Royal Lodge without receiving any financial settlement.

The Crown Estate informed MPs that necessary repairs to the 30-room property will almost certainly cancel out any money owed to the former tenant.

Without the need for end-of-tenancy work, Andrew would have been due £488,342.21 upon vacating the residence on October 30, 2026.

However, the estate body’s preliminary view indicates that the cost of rectifying dilapidations will effectively cancel out this potential payout when he surrenders the lease early.

“Our initial assessment is that while the extent of end of tenancy dilapidations and repairs required are not out of keeping with a tenancy of this duration, they will mean in all likelihood that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will not be owed any compensation for early surrender of the lease once dilapidations are taken into account,” the Crown Estate stated in its briefing to parliamentarians.

Andrew submitted the minimum required 12 months’ notice to vacate the property on October 30. It follows the confirmation that King Charles had ordered the removal of two prestigious honours previously bestowed on his brother.

Details about the former prince’s living arrangements have been scrutinised as controversy continues over his connections to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The scandal which has been reignited by new sexual abuse allegations contained in Virginia Giuffre’s posthumously published memoir. While Andrew has always denied allegations.