Category: Entertainment

The Broadway League has announced it will dim its lights the night of Sept. 23 in honor of the late James Earl Jones. 

The EGOT-winning actor, who passed away at 93 years on Sept. 9, was a force on the Great White Way, in addition to his big-screen work. Now the national trade association for the Broadway industry says it will pay tribute to him on Thursday at 6:45 p.m. ET.

“James Earl Jones was a true pillar of the Broadway industry, providing unforgettable experiences to multiple generations of theatregoers — all while accumulating many well-deserved honors, awards, and achievements for his iconic performances in other entertainment fields,” said Jason Laks, interim president of The Broadway League.

“While we acknowledge and celebrate Mr. Jones’ significant legacy across multiple mediums, we are particularly proud of his legacy on Broadway, and are grateful for the many memorable performances with which he graced our stages.” 

Jones made his Broadway debut in 1957 as an understudy in The Egghead. A decade later, he won his first Tony Award for his performance in The Great White Hope.

Throughout his career, he was nominated for four Tonys and won two. In 2017 he was honored with a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. Jones last appeared on the stage in 2016’s The Gin Game.

Additionally, on Sept. 12, 2022, New York City’s Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ahead of the release of its creepy new serial killer series Grotesquerie, FX is conducting a symphony — of screams — and it wants you to participate. 

The network had already popped up booths in New York, Nashville and Los Angeles, which let horror fans have their screams recorded, and now it’s opening up the creepy collection process to social media.

The network’s “call-to-scream” campaign can be found on Instagram and TikTok with #SymphonyOfScreams and #GrotesquerieFX, where you can get the chance to join in.

The harvested howls will be compiled into “a horrific work of art” composed by producer Blake Slatkin.

Starring Niecy Nash-Betts and Courtney B. Vance, Ryan Murphy‘s 10-episode Grotesquerie premieres Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. ET on FX and streams next day on Hulu.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

James Cameron is shedding a little more light on his upgrade to the Terminator franchise, which he launched as an upstart director with his smash 1984 original. 

To Empire magazine, Cameron says you shouldn’t expect to see a retread of the same characters and canon. 

“This is the moment when you jettison everything that is specific to the last 40 years of Terminator,” he says, “but you live by those principles.” So it seems like we’re not going to be seeing a now-77-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger as the old reliable cyborg, the T-800; Linda Hamilton has said the underperforming Terminator: Dark Fate would be her last go as humanity’s savior Sarah Connor.

Cameron continues of the old canon, “You get too inside it, and then you lose a new audience because the new audience care much less about that stuff than you think they do. That’s the danger … but I think we’ve proven that we have something for new audiences.”

That said, as real-life technology has grown exponentially since the 1984 original — and indeed its “far future,” 2029, is now just a few of years away — Cameron says an update is in order, though certain themes persist. 

“You’ve got powerless main characters, essentially, fighting for their lives, who get no support from existing power structures, and have to circumvent them but somehow maintain a moral compass. And then you throw AI into the mix. Those principles are sound principles for storytelling today, right?”

He enthuses, “So I have no doubt that subsequent Terminator films will not only be possible, but they’ll kick a**. But this is the moment where you jettison all the specific iconography.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Max has canceled its Pretty Little Liars reboot after two seasons, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin starred Good Witch‘s Bailee Madison as Imogen, described as “a true survivor” and the “final girl” to uncover the mystery of “A.” Chandler Kinney and Maia Reficco also starred …

Kathryn Crosby, the actress and singer best known for her roles in films like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Anatomy of a Murder, died Sept. 20 of natural causes at her home in Hillsborough, California, a representative for the Crosby family announced, according to Variety.  Crosby, the widow of singer/actor Bing Crosby, was 90. Kathryn was also a frequent guest on her husband’s Merrie Olde Christmas specials. Bing Crosby died in 1977 at the age of 74 …

When Hope Calls has gotten a season 2 pickup at Great American Country, according to Parade. Season 2 launched with a two-part Christmas special called When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas back in 2021, but since then its fate had been up in the air. The When Calls the Heart spinoff follows the lives of two sisters, Lillian and Grace –played respectively by Morgan Kohan and Jocelyn Hudon –separated as children following the death of their parents and reunited as adults.  When Hope Calls originally aired on the Hallmark Channel before moving to GAC …

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice topped the domestic box office for the third straight week, earning an estimated $26 million and bringing its total up to $226 million. The sequel added an estimated $17.2 million overseas for a global tally of $300 million.

Right behind Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was Transformers One, opening in second place with an estimated $25 million — below its targeted $30-$40 million. Internationally, the animated film, with a voice cast that includes Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm and Keegan-Michael Key, collected an estimated $14 million, for a $39 million global haul.

Speak No Evil took third place with an estimated $5.9 million second week haul, bringing its North American total to $21.4 million. The black comedy grabbed an estimated $7.3 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $42 million.

The Halle Berry-led horror film Never Let Go debuted with an estimated $4.5 million at the domestic box office for a fourth place finish.

Deadpool & Wolverine rounded out the top five, adding an estimated $3.9 million to bring its domestic haul to $627 million. Globally, the film has collected $1.3 billion.

Elsewhere, The Substance, starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, opened just outside the top five with an estimated $3.1 million.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Olivia Munn and John Mulaney are welcoming their second child.

Munn posted a collection of photos on Sunday including a shot alongside Mulaney holding their newborn, Méi June Mulaney. The couple welcomed their daughter earlier this month via a surrogate.

“Méi June Mulaney came into the world September 14, 2024, the year of the dragon,” Munn wrote.

“I had so many profound emotions about not being able to carry my daughter,” she added.

The actress was diagnosed with Luminal B breast cancer in both breasts in April 2023. Munn revealed in March that she underwent a double mastectomy among other surgeries in the months following her breast cancer diagnosis. She also opened up about undergoing a hysterectomy in the wake of her cancer treatment.

“When I first met our gestational surrogate we spoke mother to mother. She showed me so much grace and understanding, I knew I had found a real-life angel,” wrote Munn.

She continued to express gratitude for the gestational surrogate who carried Munn and Mulaney’s child.

“Words cannot express my gratitude that she kept our baby safe for 9 months and made our dreams come true,” she wrote. “I am so proud of my little plum, my little dragon for making the journey to be with us. My heart has exploded.”

She ended the post with a note clarifying the pronunciation of her newborn. “Méi (pronounced may) means plum in Chinese,” she finished.

Mulaney also took to Instagram to celebrate the news writing, “We stole so much stuff from the hospital. I love my little girl so much.”

Mulaney and Munn, who wed this year, also share a son, Malcolm, who they welcomed on Nov. 24, 2021.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Gladiator II, the sequel to Ridley Scott‘s 2000 Oscar winner, doesn’t hit theaters until Nov. 22, but the filmmaker says he’s already looking ahead to a third installment. 

As reported, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington star in the upcoming sequel, which centers on Mescal’s Lucius, who returns to Rome against his will, but with vengeance on his mind.

While promoting the picture to the French-language publication Premiere, Scott revealed, “I’m already playing with the idea of Gladiator III,” before adding, “No, seriously! I lit the fuse.”

Scott, who will be turning 87 just after the second film debuts, reveals another famous sequel inspired him to push the story further. “The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of The Godfather, with Michael Corleone ending up with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘And now, Father, what do I do?’ So, the next [one] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”

It’s likely in this case he’s referring to Mescal’s character as the stand-in for Al Pacino‘s Michael. However, Mescal isn’t putting the chariot before the horse: he said Scott only recently clued him in to a third film.

“I’m waiting to see what will happen, but I’m interested, of course,” the actor said. “But we must not hurry anything,” stressing it’s all up to whether a third film would serve the story.  

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The organizers of the upcoming Rome Film Fest will honor Johnny Depp with a lifetime achievement award, Deadline is reporting.

The 19th edition of the festival will be held from Oct. 16 to Oct. 27 and will also screen Depp’s directorial effort Modi – Three Days on the Wing of Madness, which co-stars Al Pacino. 

The film is a World War I-era project centering on the life of Italian artist Amedeo “Modi” Modigliani. Riccardo Scamarcio, who played the heavy in John Wick: Chapter 2, portrays the titular artist.

Pacino, for his part, plays art collector Maurice Gangnat in the film. The legendary actor, at least according to Depp, was the inspiration for him to get behind the camera. 

When he wrapped principal photography back in January, Depp said on an Instagram Story, “To Al, who requested that I make this film — how could I refuse Pacino? A sincere acknowledgement for generously contributing his talent and dedication to this project.”

Johnny also called Modi “an incredibly fulfilling and transformative experience.”

Incidentally, actor/director Viggo Mortensen will also be given a lifetime achievement honor from the festival, and his recent film, The Dead Don’t Hurt, will also screen there. 

The Rome Film Fest will host a “pre-opening” screening of Francis Ford Coppola‘s Megalopolis on Oct. 14, and the city itself will fete the Oscar-winning Italian American filmmaker later in the week.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ahead of its official opening September 20, the animated prequel film Transformers One revved up $3.3 million in sneak previews on Wednesday and Thursday, according to Deadline. 

The Paramount Pictures release, which stars the voices of Chris Hemsworth as the voice of Orion Pax, the robot who will become Autobot leader Optimus Prime, and Brian Tyree Henry as D-16, who will become Optimus’ nemesis, Megatron, could be on its way to a $40 million opening weekend, the trade speculates. 

So far, the film has fans excited: As reported, a preview of footage at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France ended with a standing ovation, and it’s Certified Fresh by the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, at 88%. 

Deadline also cites exit polling from Screen Engine/PostTrak from those who saw the movie early, and Transformers One earned 5 out of 5 stars and a 75% “definite” recommend.

Transformers One also stars the voices of Hemsworth’s fellow Avenger Scarlett Johansson as the bot Elita-1, Steve Buscemi as the classic baddie Starscream, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime and Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion. 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tori Spelling has fans all around the world cheering for her on Dancing with the Stars season 33 — but her kids are her biggest supporters.

The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 51, took to Instagram on Thursday to share a photo of her five children — Liam, Stella, Hattie, Finn and Beau — showing up to support her for the DWTS premiere on Tuesday.

“Here’s my WHY… my 5 babies coming to see me perform LIVE on DWTS!” she wrote in the caption. “Showing my kids that at any point or age you can push past your fears and believe in yourself!”

Spelling called her time so far on DWTS the “hardest, yet one of the most rewarding experiences of my life” and shouted out her “amazing” pro partner Pasha Pashkov.

“I’ve never had any dance experience, training, or lessons. I do not workout (except hustling and taking care of 5 kiddos), and I have a huge fear of performing in front of an audience,” she explained. “But, I’m doing it! I’m putting my heart and soul into this journey. I’m finding ME!”

Spelling called her time in the ballroom “my therapy” and said she’s “having the time of my life.”

“So proud of that young version of myself who was shy, fearful, insecure, and didn’t feel worthy,” she reflected. “Finding your worth is POWERFUL! Thank you @dancingwiththestars for this opportunity to do this for myself, my kids, and everyone out there who has ever felt this way about themselves.”

During the DWTS season premiere, Spelling and Pashkov performed a foxtrot to “Trustfall” by Pink and earned a score of 17 out of a possible 30.

Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+; episodes streaming on Hulu the next day.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News. 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.