Category: Entertainment

The Veil star Josh Charles has been tapped for a role in the sixth and final season of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, according to Deadline. It marks a reunion with his Veil co-star Elisabeth Moss, who also stars in the series. Details on the upcoming season, as well as Charles’ role, are being kept under wraps. The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, which begins filming later the year, is set to premiere in 2025 …

Focus Pictures has set March 14 as the premiere date for Steven Soderbergh’s thriller Black Bag, according to Variety. The film stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, along with Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke and Pierce Brosnan. Plot details are being kept under wraps …

Jon Hamm is set to executive produce and star in the scripted podcast series Dungeon Masters, according to Deadline. Wil Wheaton, Supernatural‘s Felicia Day, Game of Thrones‘ Kristian Nairn, Adam Ruins Everything‘s Emily Axford, Ms. Marvel‘s Anjali Bhimani and Captain Marvel‘s Mark Daugherty also star in the series, launching Aug. 12 …

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First reactions to the highly anticipated Marvel movie Deadpool & Wolverine are out, and they’re glowing. The film had its world premiere Monday in New York, and it’s getting high praise — a lot of it having to do with the fact that even though Deadpool is now under the Disney umbrella, the jokes are just as cutting and raunchy, and the fight scenes are just as bloody as ever.

Deadpool director Shawn Levy (LEE-vee) tells ABC Audio that no one at Disney ever told him no, and that surprised him.

“Every time we turned in a draft of our script or a cut of a scene I expected the pushback, and it never came,” he says. “As [Disney CEO] Bob Iger said after he screened the movie … ‘I knew what I was getting into — in for a penny, in for a pound.'”

“Everyone at Disney and Marvel seemed to know that no one wants a sanitized Deadpool,” he continues. “They want a Deadpool that is as audacious as we all expect and love, and we were able to make a movie that way with their full support.”

Ahead of the movie’s release Friday, Levy shared that he’s most excited for fans “to see these two iconic antiheroes on screen costarring in a movie for the first time ever,” along with some “surprise characters that the internet has not entirely predicted. And the unexpected delight of seeing certain actors/characters appear that might not be anticipated.”

Of course, Levy isn’t giving much away about the film, but he did tell ABC Audio his favorite rumor that the internet sleuths got wrong.

“I think it would be that King Charles is in the movie. I think that the sleuths got it wrong on that front,” he reveals.

Disney is the parent company of Marvel and ABC News.

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It seems fans were ready for the return of Cobra Kai: The debut of the first half of the show’s sixth and final season debuted at #1 on the streamer’s ranking of English language TV shows for the week ending July 21.

According to Netflix, the show starring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka attracted 14.8 million viewers. 

On the movie side, while the romantic comedy Find Me Falling starring Harry Connick Jr. debuted at #1 on the English language movies chart with 14.4 million views, the drama Hillbilly Elegy popped onto the top 10 list. 

The 2020 Ron Howard movie stars Glenn Close and Amy Adams and was based on the bestseller from U.S. Marine-turned-author-turned lawyer-turned-Ohio senator, JD Vance.

The movie’s jump onto the Top 10 with 4.8 million views coincided with Vance’s jump into the 2024 presidential race, as former President Donald Trump‘s vice-presidential pick.

The jump was even more pronounced Monday, July 15, when Trump chose Vance: Variety reports the movie surged in views by 1,179% — from 1.5 million minutes viewed on July 14 to 19.2 million minutes July 15.

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While he seems to be indestructible in his John Wick movies, it seems Keanu Reeves let his guard down while working on a comedy, and it took a knee. Literally. 

Keanu was chatting with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert about the bad luck he had making Good Fortune, Aziz Ansari‘s forthcoming comedy.

“I was filming a scene with Aziz Ansari and Seth Rogen and we were in a cold plunge,” Reeves began, adding he “was loving it.” 

After they finished the scene, he was doing the “cold shuffle” and his foot found a gap in a protective carpet. “My foot got caught in the pocket in the shuffle, and then I went [down],” he continued, miming the action. “And then, in slow motion, I went falling … and my patella, kneecap, cracked like a potato chip.”

Keanu joked, “Comedy’s hard, man.”

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FX has announced its vampire mockumentary series What We Do in the Shadows will return for its sixth and final season on Oct. 21.

The first three installments of the 11-episode swan song (or bat song) will premiere on that date; all episodes will stream the next day on Hulu, where fans can also stream all five previous seasons.

Newly minted Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy nominee Matt Berry, along with costars Kayvan Novak, Mark Proksch and Kristen Schaal, as well as executive producer/writer Paul Simms and executive producer/director Kyle Newacheck, will kick off a Farewell Tour at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday.

The Hall H panel will also showcase a new episode from the forthcoming season.

Based on the cult hit film of the same name from executive producers Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, the show was recently nominated for eight Primetime Emmys and centers on a group of vampire roommates “as they navigate the modern world of Staten Island” in Niewww Yawwk Citay, as Berry’s Laszlo would pronounce it.

FX teases of the new season, “Nandor (Novak), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Laszlo, Colin (Proksch) and Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) will enter the workforce, visit New Hampshire, go to a human dinner party, fête The Baron and conjure a demon — all while trying to find their place and their purpose in this crazy, mixed-up world.”

Disney is the parent company of FX, Hulu and ABC News.

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Peacock has released the trailer for the star-studded Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, starring and produced by Kevin Hart, and featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Taraji P. Henson and her former Empire co-star Terrence Howard, and Don Cheadle, among others. 

Based on the 2021 Fight Night podcast, the series tells “the infamous story of how an armed robbery during the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man’s life, but an entire city’s destiny.”

Jackson plays notorious real-life gangster Frank “The Black Godfather” Moten, and Hart portrays a local hustler known as Chicken Man. 

Set to James Brown‘s “The Payback,” the stylish trailer sets the scene: Looking for a chance to make a name for himself, Chicken Man hosted an after-party following the Atlanta fight between Ali and Jerry Quarry.

The event drew hundreds of the city’s most influential people — and a team of crooks who ripped them off.

The hourslong, audacious heist saw as many as 200 would-be partiers methodically robbed at gunpoint, with the victims including normally untouchable members of the so-called Black mafia, including Jackson’s Moten.

“I don’t think you boys got any godd*** idea who you stealing from,” Hart tries to warn the robbers. 

According to the streamer, “Suspected of masterminding the crime, Chicken Man is hellbent on clearing his name but must convince his old adversary, J.D. Hudson (Don Cheadle), one of the first Black detectives in the city’s desegregated police force, who is tasked with bringing those responsible to justice.”

On his Instagram back in January, Hart enthused he’s “crazy excited about this series” and teased of an “epic” cast team-up. Chloe Bailey and Lori Harvey also star in the limited series, which streams Sept. 5 on Peacock.

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Ryan Reynolds shared a sweet message for his family at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere in New York City on Monday night — and revealed the name of his fourth child.

While standing onstage with his fellow cast members and director Shawn Levy at the David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the actor delivered a speech in which he shouted out wife Blake Lively and their four children by name.

“I want to start by saying thank you to my wife, Blake, who is here. Her outfit is amazing — spoiler alert!” he shared from the stage.

“I want to thank my kids — James, Inez, Betty, Olin — who are here,” he continued. “I hope that, if I’m lucky, this moment will be the most traumatic thing — that is, the contents of this movie — that happens in your wondrous life.”

The speech came after Reynolds and Lively celebrated a date night on the red carpet for the premiere, with the Gossip Girl actress wearing a Deadpool-inspired jumpsuit.

Lively’s bestie Gigi Hadid also showed up on theme in a yellow ensemble inspired by Hugh Jackman‘s character, Wolverine.

Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on Friday.

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Netflix has revealed that Luke Thompson‘s Benedict Bridgerton will be the focus of the Regency-era phenomenon’s upcoming eight-episode fourth season. 

In the post on Instagram, the show’s official account noted, “Welcome to the marriage mart mr. bridgerton.”

The streaming service’s official blog, Tudum, teases “an unforgettable masquerade ball” coming to Mayfair, and “the man who once mooed from the corner of the ballroom is about to be the focal point of the marriage mart as he searches for a mysterious woman called the Lady in Silver.”

The video accompanying the announcement sees Thompson, dressed casually, being handed his wardrobe specifically for the special occasion. “In that case, come on in,” he tells the camera.

The man who plays the “bohemian” character tells the blog, “Benedict has always been a little lost — or free depending on the way you want to look at it. But now he’s trying to find something a bit more solid in himself.”

Indeed, in the video Benedict teases, “It feels now that the next thing may change me entirely.” 

Executive producer Shonda Rhimes adds, “He’s a charming man who’s trying to find his way. He’s very delightful and funny. I’m excited for everybody to watch him.”

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait: no release date has been announced.

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Warner Bros. just dropped the trailer to the anticipated sequel Joker: Folie À Deux. Joaquin Phoenix‘s Arthur Fleck/Joker is about to take center stage in the “trial of the century” for his crimes from Todd Phillips‘ Oscar-winning original.

“Two years ago, the name Arthur Fleck hit Gotham like a hurricane,” a voice says at the beginning of the trailer. Another adds, “They believe Arthur Fleck to be some kind of martyr. Well, he’s not. He’s a monster.”

We then see a meet-cute between Fleck and Lady Gaga‘s Harley Quinn, with the latter telling him, “When I first saw Joker, when I saw you, for once in my life I didn’t feel so alone anymore.”

Toward the end of the trailer, we see the duo onstage at what looks to be a talk show studio set with “Joker & Harley” in bright lights.

“I got this sneaking suspicion that we’re not giving the people what they want,” Fleck says. Harley Quinn comforts him, saying, “It’s OK, baby. Let’s give the people what they want.”

The trailer also gives us hints as to what songs we’ll hear in the film, including “When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You),” “For Once in My Life” and “Get Happy.” The latter is sung quietly between Harley and Joker, with Phoenix in chains as he’s literally getting ready for the judgement day, as the song says.

The official synopsis reads: “Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that’s always been inside him.”

Joker: Folie À Deux opens in theaters Oct. 4.

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Tim Burton‘s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will open the Venice International Film Festival on August 28 as reported, but the event’s organizers have just revealed a massive amount of star power to follow.

Joker: Folie à Deux, Todd Phillips‘ anticipated sequel to his blockbuster Oscar winner, will also screen at the 81st annual event, as will Wolfs, the two-hander comedy thriller starring Academy Award winners George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

Maria, the drama about opera singer Maria Callas starring another Oscar winner — and famously, Pitt’s ex — Angelina Jolie, will also screen at the festival, as will Nicole Kidman and Antonio Banderas‘ erotic thriller Babygirl, from director Pablo Larraín, the filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated Spencer.

Among the other films that are screening are The Brutalist, starring Oscar winner Adrien Brody, as well as Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones, and Queer, starring Daniel Craig and Jason Schwartzman and directed by Challengers‘ Luca Guadagnino.

The festival runs from August 28 through September 7.

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