Gina Rodriguez on game show ‘Lucky 13’: “It’s about how much you know about yourself”
courtesy of ABC
Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez co-hosts the new ABC trivia-based game show Lucky 13 with Shaquille O’Neal, and there’s a lot she loves about being part of the show.
In addition to just being a trivia fan in general, Gina tells ABC Audio that she loves “being a part of something that brings people joy” and also gives contestants a chance at “life changing amounts of money.”
“I feel so blessed I could be a part of something that can, quite literally, within 30 minutes, change somebody’s life for the better,” she shares.
While Lucky 13 contestants need to answer 13 true or false questions when they compete, it’s not really important they get the answers right. Instead, the key is knowing how many of those questions they got right.
“It’s not really about how much you know, it’s about how much you know about yourself,” Gina says. “It’s like an exercise in self-awareness meets confidence meets instinct. It’s different in that way.”
Thursday’s episode features a guest appearance by one of the show’s producers, Kevin Bacon, which was a surprise for more than just the contestants.
“Oh my God, it’s absolutely hilarious,” Gina says. “And me and Shaq both, like, fall to the ground. I think our reactions are quite literally in astonishment.”
The play from the creators of the Netflix phenomenon, the Duffer Brothers, as well as writers Jack Thorne and Kate Trefy, first opened to acclaim — and awards — in the U.K., but Netflix just announced it will open at New York City’s Marquis Theater in previews on March 28, 2025.
The play’s official opening will be April 22, 2025.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow opened to rave reviews on Dec. 14, 2023, on the West End, and recently won Oliver Awards in the Best Entertainment and Best Set Design categories. The production is directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin.
The show is set in the series’ Hawkins, Indiana, in 1959 and centers on the younger version of some of the show’s main characters. The West End cast featured Oscar Lloyd as the younger version of David Harbour‘s Jim Hopper; Isabella Pappas played Winona Ryder‘s character, Joyce; and Patrick Vaill portrayed the younger version of Matthew Modine‘s TV character, Dr. Brenner.
Louis McCartney playedHenry Creel, whose telekinesis lands him at the Hawkins National Laboratory — where he’s eventually transformed into the supernatural villain Vecna.
Fans can sign up for first access to presale tickets at www.StrangerThingsBroadway.com. For those who do, presale tickets go on sale Sept. 13. Tickets for the general public will go on sale Sept. 17.
The lawyer for one of the two doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry‘s ketamine death said his client feels “incredibly remorseful” for the role the medical professional played in the actor’s death as he appeared in court Friday.
Dr. Mark Chavez has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and has signed a plea agreement, according to federal prosecutors. He appeared in Los Angeles federal court Friday afternoon for his arraignment in the case. Chavez answered the judge’s questions, saying he understood the case against him.
“He is trying to do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here,” Matthew Binninger, Chavez’s attorney, told reporters following the arraignment. “He is doing everything in his power to cooperate, to help in this situation, and he’s incredibly remorseful.”
Binninger told reporters before the court appearance Friday that Chavez fully accepts responsibility for his role in the death of Perry.
Chavez also agreed, as part of the deal, to immediately give up his medical license. He formally pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Friday, though a change of plea proceeding will be scheduled for a later date, at which point he will plead guilty, according to Binninger. The lawyer said he expects the hearing to occur sometime in October.
Chavez faces up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said. Chavez is one of five people facing federal charges in the wake of Perry’s death from a ketamine overdose at his home on Oct. 28, 2024, at the age of 54.
Gena Rowlands, the award-winning actress known for her acclaimed roles in A Woman Under the Influence,Gloria and The Notebook, has died. She was 94.
Rowlands’ son, film director Nick Cassavetes, revealed in June 2024 that his mother had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for five years.
Her death was confirmed by The Associated Press.
A four-time Emmy winner and two-time GoldenGlobe winner, as well as the recipient of an Honorary Academy Award, Rowlands’ career in theater, film and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was perhaps best known for her film collaborations with her husband, the late actor and director John Cassavetes, and received two Oscar nominations for her starring roles in his films A Woman Under the Influence and Gloria.
Born Virginia Cathryn Rowlands in Cambria, Wisconsin, she made her Broadway debut in The Seven Year Itch in 1953. Rowlands met John Cassavetes when they were both students at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts and they were married in 1954. She spent the next six years working in TV, including opposite Cassavetes in the detective series Johnny Staccato, in which he starred. She also appeared in hit series like Bonanza, The Virginian, 77 Sunset Strip and Peyton Place.
Rowlands made her film debut in 1958 in The High Cost of Living. In 1963, she starred in her first movie directed by John Cassavetes: A Child Is Waiting. The couple would make nine more films over the next 10 years, including the Oscar-nominated 1968 drama Faces.
One of Rowlands’ most acclaimed roles was in the 1974 drama A Woman Under the Influence, which Cassavetes both wrote and directed as a showcase for her. The film, about the mental and emotional unraveling of a middle-aged, blue-collar housewife, earned Rowlands a best actress Golden Globe win and Academy Award nomination.
She received a second best actress Oscar nod for her 1980 title role in the crime thriller Gloria, also written and directed by Cassavetes, playing a woman who protects the young son of a mob bookkeeper by going on the run with him and an incriminating ledger of mob accounts.
Rowlands continued to work steadily in TV and movies, but arguably, her best-known, and most beloved, later big-screen role was in the 2004 romantic drama The Notebook, directed by Nick Cassavetes. Rowlands portrayed the elderly version of Rachel McAdams‘ character, opposite James Garner as her husband, who was played as a younger man by Ryan Gosling.
Nick Cassavetes directed his mother in three other films – Unhook the Stars, She’s So Lovely and Yellow – while Rowlands’ daughter, Zoe, directed her in 2007’s Broken English.
Later in her career, Rowlands appeared on hit TV shows including Monk and NCIS. Her last credited acting role was in 2014’s Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks.
In addition to Nick and Zoe, Rowlands is survived by her and Cassavetes’ other daughter, Alexandra. Both daughters are actor/directors.
