Ariana Grande watches ‘Wicked’ alongside her Nonna at hometown theater
Universal
Ariana Grande turned a Wicked screening into a family affair.
The star of the production took to Instagram on Monday to share that she flew to her hometown theater in Boca Raton, Florida, to see her new film with her grandmother, Marjorie “Nonna” Grande.
Ari posted a video of her grandmother taking in the movie which hit theaters on Friday, Nov. 22. The video shows her grandmother watching the film’s rendition of the song “Popular,” smiling and clapping at the song’s conclusion.
“Flew to Boca for a day to watch with Nonna,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “At the movie theater I grew up going to every weekend, Cinemark 20 in Boca,” she continued, tagging Ethan Slater and her brother Frankie Grande.
In another photo, Ariana wrote, “Thrilled to report that when the sugar glider had her drum solo nonna exclaimed loudly ‘oh i LOVE that,'” tagging director Jon M. Chu.
Ari plays Glinda alongside Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba in the new film adaption of the Broadway classic.
In March, at the age of 98, Marjorie Grande became the oldest living person to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart since the chart’s inception in August 1958, thanks to her feature on Grande’s song “ordinary things.”
A New Mexico judge has declined to reconsider criminal charges against Alec Baldwin over the fatal shooting on the set of Rust in October 2021.
“Because the State’s Amended Motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the State elected not to raise earlier, the Court does not find the Amended Motion well taken,” the decision said.
The court dismissed the state’s application to reinstate involuntary manslaughter charges that were thrown out in July after it was learned during trial that prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense, namely ammunition brought to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
Baldwin’s attorneys claimed live ammunition that came into the hands of local law enforcement related to the investigation was “concealed” from them.
The judge in the trial, Mary Marlowe Sommer, said the state’s discovery violation regarding the late disclosure of a supplemental report on the ammunition evidence “injected needless delay into the proceedings,” approached “bad faith” and was “highly prejudicial to the defendant.”
Marlowe Sommer also issued the new ruling on Friday saying the charges would not be reconsidered for Baldwin.
“State does not raise any factual or legal arguments that would justify the grant of a motion to reconsider,” she wrote in the opinion.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on Oct. 21, 2021, when she was shot by Baldwin while he was practicing using a Colt .45 revolver. The prop gun, which Baldwin believed to contain dummy rounds, actually had a live round of ammunition in it. Director Joel Souza was also struck in the shooting, but recovered from his injuries.
Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins’ death in March. Prosecutors argued during the trial she was the source of the live bullet and had failed to follow safety protocols meant to protect the crew while handling the firearms.
Gutierrez is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence, the maximum for the offense.
Last month, Marlowe Sommer denied a motion from Gutierrez’s attorneys arguing she was entitled to a new trial or dismissal of the case for “egregious prosecutorial misconduct” and “severe and ongoing discovery violations by the State,” related to the same evidence that resulted in Baldwin’s trial being dismissed.
Marlowe Sommer also denied a separate motion from the defense seeking immediate release from detention.
The judge ruled the issues raised by the defense did not justify a new trial or dismissal, and that the state did not suppress the ammunition evidence in Gutierrez’s trial that was at the heart of Baldwin’s dismissal.
Anthony Mackie proved that, above all else, he’s a true stan for his Marvel co-star Sebastian Stan.
The actors, who first appeared on-screen together in the 2014 Marvel Cinematic Universe hit Captain America: The Winter Soldier, reunited after Stan won the Golden Globe on Sunday for best performance by a male actor in A Different Man when Mackie crashed his post-award interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“We won, we won, we won,” Mackie began as he approached Stan and bounced around with a victory dance before borrowing the interviewer’s microphone.
“Captain America, Winter Soldier, we’re comin’ back,” Stan proclaimed with a laugh. “This is my dream and my nightmare all in one.”
“I do have to thank Anthony cause actually back in the day when we were starting these press tours, they said, ‘This kid can’t talk, can’t smile, can’t say anything, we gotta put him with Anthony to get some life in him,'” Stan recalled of their early bonding moments. “Maybe I learned from you — you gotta keep smiling, man.”
That moment quickly racked up over a million likes on TikTok and spurred fans to share photos from backstage of the duo hugging in celebration, flooding the comments with various reactions to the screen partners’ friendship.
Mackie proceeded to pop into several other post-win moments, further showing his unwavering support for his longtime pal.
Earlier in the evening, Mackie also gave Stan a shout-out onstage alongside his Captain America: Brave New World co-star Harrison Ford while presenting the best animated motion picture award.
“We’re still friends with Sebastian Stan, by the way,” Mackie said, looking around and holding up a heart shape with his hands.
Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
Regina Hall is taking her production skills to the next level. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress teamed with MGM Alternative of Amazon MGM Studios to develop and produce true crime shows, docuseries and game shows, starting with a Girls Trip-inspired competition called Squad Games.
Squad Games, the outlet explains, will feature “celebrities and their real-life BFFs on an exotic getaway where they compete in wild challenges.”
“I’m so excited for this new partnership with MGM. I’m positive that the relationship between Rh Negative and their team will be an incredibly supportive and productive one and I’m thrilled about what we have in the works,” Regina says in a statement.
“Ever since we saw Regina Hall co-hosting the Academy Awards two years ago, we knew she had something special that would resonate with reality fans,” adds Barry Poznick, MGM Alternative’s general manager. “Her humor, honesty, creativity and style of storytelling make her a perfect partner as we continue to expand MGM Alternative’s slate of premium unscripted programming.”
Squad Games will mark Regina’s debut in unscripted series. Previous production credits include feature film Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul and Black Monday on Showtime. Regina also served as executive producer for the psychological thriller Master.
