Entertainment

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are joining a Neil Diamond tribute band … onscreen

Disney/Lorenzo Bevilaqua

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are both singers, as well as actors, and they’ll be able to show off both talents in an upcoming movie inspired by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Neil Diamond.

The two are co-starring in a new film called Song Sung Blue, after Diamond’s 1972 hit of the same name. They will play struggling musicians who form a Neil Diamond tribute band, proving that, according to a press release, “it’s never too late to find love and follow your dreams.”  

The movie is based on the 2008 documentary of the same name, about a real-life Neil Diamond impersonator who married a Patsy Cline impersonator.

This won’t be the first time that a Neil Diamond tribute band has been the subject of a film. The 2001 movie Saving Silverman was about childhood best friends, played by Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn and Jack Black, who honor the singer with a tribute band called Diamonds in the Rough. Diamond has a cameo in that film.

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Entertainment

‘Yellowstone’ spin-off star Amiah Miller says fans are “gonna like” ‘The Madison’

Paramount Network/MTV Entertainment Studios/101 Studios

In a chat with Movieline to promote her new Hulu thriller Hold Your Breath, Amiah Miller says she knows fans are holding their breath for The Madison, the forthcoming spin-off to Yellowstone

As reported, the project stars Michelle PfeifferSuits alum Patrick J. Adams and Lost vet Matthew Fox, and is being described as “a heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana.”

Miller plays Bridgette, the eldest daughter of Adams’ and Elle Chapman‘s characters. 

She tells Movieline, “It’s a really special project, and I’m so grateful. It was such a dream come true.”

The young actress says she’s “always” wanted to work with Yellowstone franchise creator Taylor Sheridan. “I met him at the screen test. And you know, I fought for the role, and I booked it, and yeah, it’s going really well. And we’re filming right now in Montana, and I had never been there before. It’s so beautiful, and everyone is so lovely.”

She tells the fans, “You’re really gonna like the show.”

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Entertainment

Art the Clown speaks after ‘Terrifier 3’ beats ‘Joker 2’ in the “battle of the clowns”

Cineverse/Screambox – ABC Audio

In a matchup some called the “battle of the clowns” at the box office, Terrifier‘s Art the Clown knocked out Joker. 

The threequel and the flop sequel to the Oscar-winning original went head-to-head in theaters over the weekend: Terrifier 3 took the top slot at the box office, with an $18.3 million debut to Joker: Folie à Deux‘s $7.1 million second weekend.

What’s more, according to ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Terrifier 3 has a 76% from critics and is “Verified Hot” with an overall score of 89%. 

The Joker sequel earned a “splat” from the site: It has a 33% from critics and a 32% from moviegoers. 

For his part, David Howard Thornton, who plays Art the Clown, tells ABC Audio “it’s been quite the ride” watching the character take off from its micro-budgeted beginnings.

He says it’s “surreal” to find out his alter-ego has such famous fans. “Someone showed me a picture when Jeff Bezos … dressed up as Art the Clown. I was like, ‘Are you kidding? One of the richest men in the world? Can you fund us? Send me free Amazon stuff, please, man,'” he added with a laugh.

Jason Patric, his co-star in the new movie, also dressed up as Art, and Joey Fatone is also a fan, Thornton says, which left him “stunned.” 

Of the Christmas-set third film, Thornton teases, “It’s gonna give everyone a silent night but violent night,” laughing that it’s a “fun … family picture — just bad things happen to these families.”  

Of Art, he insists “he’s a jolly guy. He certainly enjoys slaying.”

 

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Entertainment

Director Alex Proyas dings Elon Musk for swiping his futuristic designs from ‘I, Robot’

Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

On Thursday Elon Musk debuted the latest advancements from his company Tesla, including its bipedal and apparently AI-enhanced Optimus Robot, along with a Robovan and a Robotaxi, both of which are self-driving.

However, some noted the sleek tech bore more than a passing resemblance to stuff seen in the 2004 Will Smith hit I, Robot — and one of those was its director, Alex Proyas

Next to pictures of Tesla’s bipedal bot and the vehicles, Proyas posted stills from the film, including its slender humanoid robots.

He wrote, “Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?”

While the robots aren’t exact copies, the Robovan looks strikingly similar to a robot transport in the movie.

Chances are Elon was well aware of the designs in the film — the event was called “We Robot.”

Let’s just hope Elon’s bots don’t go into revolution mode as they did in the film.

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Entertainment

A “grateful” Dwayne Johnson posts cute moment with emotional fan while working on live-action ‘Moana’

Disney/Frank Micelotta

If you follow Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on Insta — and with 395 million followers, chances are you might — you know he loves surprising fans.

He did it again, apparently on the Disney lot in Burbank, California. A new video shows The Rock stopping a tour vehicle to greet the folks — and that’s when he met an 11-year-old boy named Marco, who was in tears at meeting his favorite star.

Johnson shook the young fan’s hand and explained he’s shooting the sequel to Moana on the lot, even showing off the makeup used to cover his tattoos to play Maui in the live-action version. 

Johnson wrote on Instagram, “They say ‘Never meet your heroes’ … But that saying always bugged the heck outta me – because I’ve always felt if you’re a ‘celebrity’ of any caliber and you’re LUCKY enough to have some fame and influence – then be grateful … and be KIND and GOOD to people — ESPECIALLY OUR KIDS.”

He continued, “Sure I’ve met some a#%holes as an adult, who I was so excited to finally meet and wound up being super disappointed- but that further cemented how I feel about fame.”

Johnson recalled, “When I was a little boy, I finally met one of my heroes – Muhammad Ali,” who, despite being “one of the most famous and influential men on earth … was so sweet and kind to me. Put me on his lap, and talked to me as if I was the only kid in the world.”

Johnson continued, “That made a MASSIVE POSITIVE impression on me that I never forgot.”

To Marco, he said, “Keep up the great work in school and THANK YOU big man for being my biggest fan!!!” He also added, “us big boys cry too.”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Entertainment

Ryan Reynolds wishes Hugh Jackman a happy 56th birthday

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Ryan Reynolds wished his friend Hugh Jackman a happy 56th birthday in a sweet way on social media.

Jackman’s friend and Deadpool & Wolverine co-star Reynolds took to Instagram on Saturday to share a wide-spanning collection of photos and pen a note to Jackman.

“I hope we get to do this til we’re 90. Happy Birthday, @thehughjackman,” Reynolds wrote. “A lot of years. A lot of adventures.”

Reynolds overlaid the slideshow of photos with “A Million Dreams,” a song Jackman sang along with Ziv Zaifman and Michelle Williams in his hit musical movie The Greatest Showman.

Reynolds also posted a tribute to Jackman on his Instagram Story, sharing a smiling photo of his friend. He quoted Indiana Jones in the post, writing “‘It’s not the years, honey. It’s the mileage,'” along with another birthday greeting: “Happy Birthday to the one and only, Greatest Showman.”

The post included pictures of Jackman and Reynolds smiling together and photos of the pair in their Deadpool & Wolverine outfits in the film.

Jackman posted his own message on Instagram on Sunday, thanking friends and followers for the birthday wishes. “Thank you all for the incredible birthday love! I am grateful. #thisis56,” Jackman wrote.

The pair teamed up last week to announce Jackman’s new show, From New York, With Love, where he will play 12 performances at Radio City Music Hall.

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Entertainment

In brief: ‘Unstable’ canceled at Netflix and more

Netflix has canceled Unstable, the comedy series starring Rob Lowe and his son John Owen Lowe, after two seasons, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series stars Lowe as Ellis Dragon, a “universally admired, eccentric, narcissist-adjacent biotech entrepreneur” whose son goes to work for him to help save his company. The show’s second season failed to make it into Netflix’s top 10 …

A sequel to the horror film Ready or Not is in the works starring Samara Weaving in the lead role, according to Variety. The first movie, released in 2019, starred Weaving, along with Adam Brody and Andie MacDowell, and centered on a bride whose wedding night takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws force her to take part in a terrifying game …

The Wild Robot filmmaker Chris Sanders tells Deadline that a sequel to the animated adventure is already in the works. The movie “follows the journey of a robot—ROZZUM unit 7134, ‘Roz’ for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings,” according to the official logline. The Wild Robot — featuring the voices of Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Kit Connor and Stephanie Hsu — has grossed more than $100 million worldwide … 

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Entertainment

Not clowning around: ‘Terrifier 3’ tops box office with $18.3 million debut

Photo of Lauren LaVera courtesy of Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

Terrifier 3 took the top spot at the domestic box office, delivering an estimated $18.3 million in its opening weekend.

The slasher film franchise — which kicked off in 2016 and centers on Lauren LaVera‘s Sienna Shaw, a young woman determined to defeat the mysterious Art the Clown, played by David Howard Thornton — grabbed an estimated $4.8 million overseas, bringing its global tally to $23.1 million.

The Wild Robot landed in second place, grabbing an estimated $13.5 million in its third week of release, bringing its North American box office total to $83.7 million. The animated adventure collected an estimated $24 million internationally for a worldwide tally of $184.4 million.

It was another disappointing week for Joker: Folie à Deux, which earned just $7.1 million domestically, for a third place finish. That brings its domestic haul to $51.6 million and $165.3 million globally.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, grabbed fourth place, delivering an estimated $7 million, bringing its North American box office tally to $275 million. Worldwide, the film has grossed a total of $420 million.

Rounding out the top five was Pharrell Williams’ animated biopic Piece by Piece, which tells the legendary artist’s story in Lego form. The film, which also features Neville, Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake, opened with an estimated $3.8 million domestically.

Elsewhere, the Donald Trump biopic, The Apprentice, starring Sebastian Stan as the real estate magnate and former U.S. president, opened in 10th place with an estimated $1.6 million.

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Entertainment

As ‘SNL’ host, Ariana Grande sings, jokes, impersonates Céline Dion, Jennifer Coolidge

Will Heath/NBC

If Ariana Grande ever decides to give up singing and acting, she could always play Vegas as an impressionist. She showed off her incredible gift for mimicry on the Oct. 12 edition of Saturday Night Live, which she was hosting for the first time since 2016.

Ari kicked off the show with a monologue in which she swore to keep it “low-key,” and then busted out a song that was all about how she wasn’t going to do any number of things, which she, of course, did. One of them was doing vocal impressions, followed by her impersonating Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani in rapid succession. “Either way, this much is clear/ If you’re looking for a diva, don’t look over here,” she sang, while striking a diva pose.

She then went on to appear in nearly every sketch. Some highlights:

Ari hilariously impersonates Céline Dion’s recent promo for Sunday Night Football, except this time, she’s singing about how great (and violent) the UFC is: “It’s all coming back to me, but maybe not to them, because of the concussions, no?”

She and Chloe Fineman do dueling, spot-on Jennifer Coolidge impressions in a fake commercial for Maybelline — which causes Ari to briefly break and start laughing.

Ari plays a highly competitive mom who verbally abuses her son’s boyfriend, played by Bowen Yang, as a way of testing whether or not he’s “strong” enough to be with her “weak” son. She and Yang, her Wicked co-star, share a kiss at the end.

In a short called My Best Friend’s House, Ari plays a young girl who sings about how she loves how her bestie’s house smells — only to learn that her best friend’s dad is a serial killer.

In Renaissance Italy, Ariana plays a young boy whose parents castrated him to preserve his super-high singing voice — a real thing that was done back then. This gives Ari the chance to sing “Twist and Shout” at the very top end of her register.

Ari and the female SNL castmembers sing an “Espresso” parody as bridesmaids detailing what they got up to at the bride’s bachelorette weekend.  Spoiler alert: The marriage is over.

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Entertainment

Ella Purnell on why ‘Sweetpea’ serial killer role “scared” her

Starz

Ella Purnell stars as Rhiannon Lewis in the new six-part Starz drama Sweetpea, about a young woman who transforms from meek wallflower to emboldened serial killer. Think Dexter meets female rage.

Purnell, who can also be seen in hit shows Yellowjackets and Fallout, says taking on this role in particular scared her because of its moral ambiguity.

“That was our goal with this series, was to conflict the audience, you know, make them relate to Rhiannon’s emotions and her motivations, but obviously not her actions,” she tells ABC Audio. “And that was just really interesting to me. I didn’t know if I could do it, and it really scared me.”

She was able to tap into Rhiannon’s rage — which manifests into some pretty intense kill scenes — by shaking off any inhibitions she may have had while filming.

“[I had to] not think about the cameras, not think about all my mates who are standing around on the set and just like let it out,” she says. “And it actually became quite therapeutic. And I think with all of those scenes, I didn’t practice them, I didn’t plan them, I didn’t really know what was going to come out and that was quite exciting.”

So what’s one pet peeve that would land someone on Purnell’s metaphorical “kill list”?

“One big one for me is … when people like constantly interrupt you,” she says. “We all have that one person who every time we speak, they decide to pipe up. And it’s only when we speak and they cut you off.” 

Sweetpea debuted Thursday on Starz and will air new episodes every Friday.

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