Universal warming up for ‘Wicked’ sing-a-long screenings
Universal Pictures
If you think you won’t get enough Wicked a month after it hits theaters in November, Universal Pictures is singing your tune.
Variety reports the studio will be launching interactive versions of the musical starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande across 1,000 North American theaters starting on Christmas Day.
That means you and your fellow witches in waiting can belt out “Defying Gravity,” “Popular” and many of the musical’s other songs — without bothering other moviegoers like those Swifties did in theaters in 2023 during the Eras Tour movie.
Director Jon M. Chu‘s Wicked Part 1 debuts on Nov. 22; the second part hits theaters Nov. 21, 2025.
Angelina Jolie will be the recipient of the Palm Springs International Film Awards’ Desert Palm Achievement Award – Actress for her role in Netflix’s Maria. Jolie’s performance “captures the heart and complexity of an artist whose life was as captivating as her music,” Nachhattar Singh Chandi, festival chairman, said in a statement Monday. Other honorees include Adrien Brody, Nicole Kidman and Colman Domingo. The ceremony is set for Jan. 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center during the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which runs from Jan. 2 to Jan. 13 …
Josh O’Connor has been tapped to star in Steven Spielberg‘s latest yet-to-be-titled film, joining Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, Colin Firth and Eve Hewson, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Details are being kept under wraps, but the project is said to have “sci-fi elements,” per the outlet, and is based on a story by Spielberg with a screenplay by his collaborator David Koepp …
Bridgerton‘s Luke Newton has been cast opposite Pretty Little Liars‘ Lucy Hale in the upcoming sci-fi thriller White Mars, according to Deadline. The film, set in an isolated Aquila research facility, “follows microbiologist Sammie as she and Leo fight to save their fellow crew members from a malevolent entity whose sole intention is to extinguish them all,” per Deadline. Hale and Newton will play Sammie and Leo, respectively …
A New Mexico judge has declined to reconsider criminal charges against Alec Baldwin over the fatal shooting on the set of Rust in October 2021.
“Because the State’s Amended Motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the State elected not to raise earlier, the Court does not find the Amended Motion well taken,” the decision said.
The court dismissed the state’s application to reinstate involuntary manslaughter charges that were thrown out in July after it was learned during trial that prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense, namely ammunition brought to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
Baldwin’s attorneys claimed live ammunition that came into the hands of local law enforcement related to the investigation was “concealed” from them.
The judge in the trial, Mary Marlowe Sommer, said the state’s discovery violation regarding the late disclosure of a supplemental report on the ammunition evidence “injected needless delay into the proceedings,” approached “bad faith” and was “highly prejudicial to the defendant.”
Marlowe Sommer also issued the new ruling on Friday saying the charges would not be reconsidered for Baldwin.
“State does not raise any factual or legal arguments that would justify the grant of a motion to reconsider,” she wrote in the opinion.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on Oct. 21, 2021, when she was shot by Baldwin while he was practicing using a Colt .45 revolver. The prop gun, which Baldwin believed to contain dummy rounds, actually had a live round of ammunition in it. Director Joel Souza was also struck in the shooting, but recovered from his injuries.
Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins’ death in March. Prosecutors argued during the trial she was the source of the live bullet and had failed to follow safety protocols meant to protect the crew while handling the firearms.
Gutierrez is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence, the maximum for the offense.
Last month, Marlowe Sommer denied a motion from Gutierrez’s attorneys arguing she was entitled to a new trial or dismissal of the case for “egregious prosecutorial misconduct” and “severe and ongoing discovery violations by the State,” related to the same evidence that resulted in Baldwin’s trial being dismissed.
Marlowe Sommer also denied a separate motion from the defense seeking immediate release from detention.
The judge ruled the issues raised by the defense did not justify a new trial or dismissal, and that the state did not suppress the ammunition evidence in Gutierrez’s trial that was at the heart of Baldwin’s dismissal.
Glen Powell is the latest celebrity to have his own lookalike contest.
The event, which happened on Sunday, took place in Austin, Texas. Glen’s mother, Cyndy Powell, judged the competition, which awarded its winner $5, a cowboy hat and free queso from the restaurant Torchy’s for one year.
While Glen wasn’t there in person, he did appear via FaceTime. According to Variety, he also filmed a special video message, in which he told winner Maxwell Braunstein that his parents or any family member of his choice could appear in a cameo in his next film.
“Welcome to the Justin Hartley lookalike contest,” he joked in the video. “In all seriousness, I have assembled you here today for an important mission. I want to pull off a heist, and we don’t need masks because we all have the same face. It’s the perfect crime! They can’t get all of us because we are one: a criminal Glenterprise.”
He went on to explain the special cameo prize.
“You may know that my parents make a cameo in every movie I make, but today the winner of the Glen Powell lookalike contest wins their parents, or any family member of their choice, a cameo in my next movie,” Glen said. “I am completely serious. This is a cash-value prize of $6 billion.”
