‘Malcolm in the Middle’ alum Frankie Muniz announces major racing career update

The bombshell Prince Andrew interview about Jeffrey Epstein that caused Andrew to step back from his royal duties is the subject of the limited series A Very Royal Scandal, which started streaming Thursday on Prime Video.

Michael Sheen plays the prince, opposite Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis, the former BBC Newsnight anchor whose hard-hitting questions sent shock waves through the U.K. and beyond. Wilson remembers that interview vividly and tells ABC Audio that like the rest of the nation, she was left “gobsmacked.”

“My takeaway from that was, ‘How on earth did this happen? … Why did he put himself in that scenario?’ And now, you know, having done this drama, we’ve interrogated that and we’ve got all the answers on that. Or not,” she laughs.

The fallout came as no surprise to Sheen, who tells ABC Audio that the interview checked a lot of boxes when it comes to the kinds of things that fascinate the British people.

“There’s both the kind of media frenzy, the tabloid fodder kind of nature of it. … And then also, of course, underlying it all was this much darker, more serious, more disturbing issue that it was dealing with about, you know, the exploitation of young women and the relationship with Epstein and all that kind of stuff.”

Sheen had to gain a bit of weight for the role and tried to portray Andrew as this former military stud who was far removed from his glory days.

“The aging process, losing your looks, putting on a bit of weight, all of that stuff, the media no longer being interested in you as being kind of, you know, tabloid fodder. … It’s getting, moving further and further away from the center of power and all that kind of stuff. … It was that sort of trajectory.”

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The collectible movie concessions war rolls on. 

The recent trend that started with Dune Part 2‘s popcorn bucket, which was spoofed by Saturday Night Live and Deadpool & Wolverine‘s cheeky AMC offerings, continues with the forthcoming releases of Wicked and Gladiator II. 

Regal Cinemas has revealed it is offering a soda conveyance shaped like a pointy witch hat and a glowing lantern to hold your popcorn. The latter shows Ariana Grande‘s Glinda and Cynthia Erivo‘s Elphaba walking the Yellow Brick Road hand in hand. There are also other pieces in the collection, like change purses and clutches.

Incidentally, Regal will also offer themed merch for Gladiator II, with a popcorn bucket shaped like the helmet first worn by Russell Crowe‘s Maximus in the original. In the sequel, Paul Mescal plays his son Lucius, who eventually dons his father’s armor.

Are you not entertained?

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to Tim Burton‘s 1988 horror comedy Beetlejuice, delivered an estimated $110 million at domestic box office in its opening weekend. That’s the second-biggest October debut in history debut behind It‘s $123 million in 2017, according to Variety.

Starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe, the film’s debut was also 2024’s year’s third-biggest open, behind Deadpool & Wolverine with $211.4 million and Inside Out 2 with $154.2 million.

The spooky sequel added an estimated $35.4 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $145.4 million.

Deadpool & Wolverine took second place with an estimated $7.2 million. Its seven-week domestic tally now stands at $614 million — and $1.287 billion globally.

Third place went to Reagan, the biopic starring Dennis Quaid, which earned an estimated $5.2 million, bringing its North American total to $18.5 million.

Alien: Romulus, the seventh installment in the Alien franchise, came in fourth, collecting an estimated $3.9 million. Its four-week domestic tally now stands at $97.1 million and $314.3 million worldwide.

Rounding out the top ten was It Ends with Us, grabbing an estimated $3.7 million at the North American box office, for a five-week total of $141 million. The movie has eclipsed $300 million globally.

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