In brief: Leighton Meester joins ‘The Buccaneers’ and more

October 2, 2024

Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester has joined the season 2 cast of Apple TV’s The Buccaneers in an as-yet undisclosed role. The period drama follows “a group of fun-loving young American girls [who] explode into the tightly corseted London season of the 1870s, kicking off an Anglo-American culture clash as the land of the stiff upper lip is infiltrated by a refreshing disregard for centuries of tradition,” per the streaming service. Season 2 finds the Buccaneers settling in quite nicely to their news lives, with Kristine Frøseth‘s Nan now a duchess, while Alisha Boe‘s Conchita has become Lady Brightlingsea and Imogen Waterhouse‘s Jinny, wanted for kidnapping her unborn child, now a celebrity …

“No matter what words they use, the question beneath the question remains the same. … ‘Which one of you will hurt me?’” That’s the input offered to Anna Kendrick in the official trailer to her directorial debut, Woman of the Hour. The “stranger-than-fiction story,” based on real events, also stars Kendrick as “an aspiring actress who crosses paths with a serial killer (Daniel Zovatto) on the set of the popular show, The Dating Game,” according to a synopsis in the trailer’s description. Woman of the Hour premieres Oct. 18 on Netflix …

MGM+ has renewed Billy the Kid for a third and final season. The epic romantic adventure, inspired by the life of the famous American outlaw, played by Tom Blyth, follows him from his early days as a cowboy and gunslinger to his pivotal role in the Lincoln County War and beyond. The season 3 synopsis reads, “The Lincoln County War may be officially over, but both Billy the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett (Alex Roe) have important issues to resolve — there is a reckoning to come. Billy is still at large, and Garrett is out to capture him, dead or alive. And with a bounty on his head, Billy has the opportunity to quit New Mexico altogether and pursue a future with Dulcinea, the love of his life,” portrayed by Nuria Vega …

Jane Fonda to be honored with the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award

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Jane Fonda is set to receive the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring the two-time Oscar winner for both her career and humanitarian work.

Fonda will be the 60th recipient of the award, considered SAG-AFTRA’s highest tribute, which is given to an actor who represents the “finest ideals of the acting profession.”

“Jane Fonda is a trailblazer and an extraordinary talent; a dynamic force who has shaped the landscape of entertainment, advocacy and culture with unwavering passion,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher says. “We honor Jane not only for her artistic brilliance but for the profound legacy of activism and empowerment she has created. Her fearless honesty has been an inspiration to me and many others in our industry.”

Fonda shared in a statement that she is “deeply honored and humbled” to be recognized with the award, noting, “I have been working in this industry for almost the entirety of my life and there’s no honor like the one bestowed on you by your peers.”

She adds, “SAG-AFTRA works tirelessly to protect the working actor and to ensure that union members are being treated equitably in all areas, and I am proud to be a member as we continue to work to protect generations of performers to come.”

Fonda will receive her honor at the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, streaming live on Netflix Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET.

Elle MacPherson goes public with “holistic” strategy for secret cancer battle

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Supermodel Elle MacPherson has revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago and underwent nontraditional treatment on her journey to remission.

Australia’s Women’s Weekly magazine excerpted the 60-year-old’s new memoir, Elle, in which she explained she underwent a lumpectomy, calling it a “shock” when she found out the growth doctors removed was cancerous.

However, while she was advised to have a mastectomy and chemotherapy, she instead took “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” to her health.

“I realised I was going to need my own truth, my belief system to support me through it,” MacPherson writes. “And that’s what I did. So, it was a wonderful exercise in being true to myself, trusting myself and trusting the nature of my body and the course of action that I had chosen.”

Incidentally, the model, entrepreneur and self-described accidental actress said she reached out to fellow Australian entertainer Olivia Newton-John, who died of cancer in 2022 after decades battling the disease. “[We] spoke a few times when I was diagnosed and also through both of our healing journeys. We did things differently, but we did share experiences with each other and how we feel and how we approach things.”

Seven years after she was diagnosed, Elle tells the magazine, “In traditional terms, they’d say I’m in clinical remission, but I would say I’m in utter wellness. And I am!”

More specifically, MacPherson says, “Truly, from every perspective, every blood test, every scan, every imaging test … but also emotionally, spiritually and mentally – not only physically. It’s not only what your blood tests say, it’s how and why you are living your life on all levels.”

In brief: Tom Cruise eyeing ‘Days of Thunder’ sequel

Tom Cruise is in early talks to star in a sequel to his 1990 film Days of Thunder, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s talking [to Paramount] about Top Gun and Days of Thunder,” a source tells the outlet. “It’s going to be what comes together first in terms of a script. It depends on the idea and, ultimately, the script.” The NASCAR drama starred Cruise as Cole Trickle, a young hot-shot stock car driver who gets his chance to compete at the top level. Details of the sequel have not been revealed …

Netflix has dropped the official trailer for season 4, part 2 of Outer Banks. The drama series follows a group of teens dubbed the Pogues on the treasure hunt of a lifetime. “Buried secrets surface as the Pogues race to find a legendary artifact — with a dangerous gang of rival treasure hunters hot on their trail, reads the logline that accompanies the trailer. Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Austin North, Drew Starkey, Charles Esten and Carlacia Grant star. Outer Banks season four, part two, hits Netflix on Nov. 7 …

Alan Rachins, best known for playing Douglas Brackman Jr. on L.A. Law, the EV series co-created by his late younger brother Steven Bochco, and the father of Jenna Elfman’s character on Dharma & Greg, died died in his sleep of heart failure Saturday, Nov. 2 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Cente in Los Angeles, his wife, actress Joanna Frank, tells The Hollywood Reporter. He was 82. Rachins’ other credits include the 1995 film Showgirls …