Showrunner Jen Flanz said during the show’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event that it’s been a fun ride. “It’s been really cool to see so many different voices given the authority of the desk,” she said. “It’s hard to think about the next thing. There’s no time to be sad about Trevor [leaving], there’s no time to think about what’s next. We’re just living in it right now.”
Wood added that he enjoyed his recent stint as host. “The thing that I learned the most, the biggest difference from correspondent to hosting, is that as a correspondent you get the freedom to be a little bit of a chaos agent, and supportive of a greater story. But as a host, you still have to be able to find the truth or the feeling or the emotion behind something.”
He also revealed that Noah occasionally pops in to watch the show and Wood teases him that it’s like watching your ex-girlfriend.
The trio agreed that Noah had a huge impact on the franchise. Flanz said two things that Noah was adamant about was finding viewers where they are, particularly online, and building out its content on different platforms.
“I don’t think anybody saw The Daily Show desk being taken by anybody when Trevor took over from Jon Stewart,” she added. “He kind of paves the way for guest [hosts], so somebody that’s not Jon could take the desk, and he did it really well.”
David Kibuuka, a supervising producer and writer on the show, said it was sad that Noah left but added that there’s been a “rush of energy” every week with new hosts. “Trevor said it was his time to go, so all of us are thinking of it more like an opportunity. We’re having a good time — and he’s not dead.”
The last time Bacilos had a headlining U.S. tour was in in 2004. Now, 19 years later — and following the postponed “¿Dónde Nos Quedamos?” 2020 Tour — the tropipop group is hitting the road with its Back in the USA 2023 trek.
Currently composed by original band members Jorge Villamizar and André Lopes, Bacilos kicked off its highly-awaited live comeback on Thursday (April 27) in the open-venue Miami Beach Bandshell, where they performed to a sold-out crowd.
“We’re in our house, thank you for coming,” Villamizar said after opening the night with “Pasos de Gigantes” and “Por Hacerme el Bueno.”
A bohemian night accompanied by great storytelling before every song — for example, how Luis Enrique’s “Yo No Se Mañana” was co-written by Villamizar and how “Caraluna” was born on a drive on Miami’s I-95 highway — Bacilos crooned to a loyal audience with timeless pop hits “Besala Ya,” “Nada Especial,” and “Tabaco y Chanel,” to name few.
“Thank you, Live Nation, for believing in us after all these years,” Villamizar said to the tour promoters before closing off the night with their smash hit “Mi Primer Millon.”
Formed in Miami, Florida, in 1997, Bacilos gained notoriety as a group that blended pop and tropical influences into one distinctive, catchy and often danceable mix. Their album Caraluna won the 2003 Grammy Award for best Latin pop album. In 2007, the group, then made up of Villamizar, Lopes, and Jose Javier Freire, parted ways.
Now, in 2023, they’re part of the nostalgia tour trend.
“What makes these nostalgic touring concepts powerful is that it’s multigenerational,” Hans Schafer, senior vp of global touring at Live Nation, previously told Billboard. “The music has been passed down generations and continues to live on. Now we are seeing more artists interested and excited to tap into the nostalgia of fans.”
See upcoming Back in the US tour dates and venues below:
Sunday, April 30, 2023 – Atlanta @ Buckhead Theatre Thursday, May 4, 2023 – Houston @ House of Blues Saturday, May 6, 2023 – Austin @ Emo’s Sunday, May 7, 2023 – Dallas @ The Echo Lounge & Music Hall Wednesday, May 10, 2023 – Boston @ Paradise Rock Club Friday, May 12, 2023 – New York @ Irving Plaza Sunday, May 14, 2023 – Chicago @ House of Blues
The Toronto Maple Leafs finally exorcised their playoff demons — and are off to the second round of the NHL playoffs.
John Tavares scored at 4:36 of overtime and Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves as Toronto defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Saturday to win their series 4-2 and advance in the post-season for the first time in nearly two decades.
Leafs captain John Tavares threw a puck in front that went in off the Toronto defenceman, who also scored the OT winner in Game 3.
Auston Matthews had the goal in regulation for the Leafs, who lost to Tampa in seven games last spring and were under intense pressure to finally break through in the playoffs after a string of failures.
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates with the bench after his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) checks Tampa Bay Lightning center Michael Eyssimont (23) into the boards during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Tampa, Fla.
When the union representing Hollywood writers laid out its list of objectives for contract negotiations with studios this spring, it included familiar language on compensation, which the writers say has either stagnated or dropped amid an explosion of new shows.
But far down, the document added a distinctly 2023 twist. Under a section titled “Professional Standards and Protection in the Employment of Writers,” the union wrote that it aimed to “regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies.”
“It is not out of the realm of possibility that before 2026, which is the next time we will negotiate with these companies, they might just go, ‘you know what, we’re good,’” said Mike Schur, the creator of “The Good Place” and co-creator of “Parks and Recreation.”
“We don’t need you,” he imagines hearing from the other side. “We have a bunch of A.I.s that are creating a bunch of entertainment that people are kind of OK with.”
In their attempts to push back, the writers have what a lot of other white-collar workers don’t: a labor union.
Mr. Schur, who serves on the bargaining committee of the Writers Guild of America as it seeks to avert a strike before its contract expires on Monday, said the union hopes to “draw a line in the sand right now and say, ‘Writers are human beings.’”
But unions, historians say, have generally failed to rein in new technologies that enable automation or the replacement of skilled labor with less-skilled labor. “I’m at a loss to think of a union that managed to be plucky and make a go of it,” said Jason Resnikoff, an assistant professor of history at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, who studies labor and automation.
The fortunes of the writers, actors and directors negotiating new contracts this year may say a lot about whether the pattern will continue into the era of artificial intelligence.
In December, Apple introduced a service allowing book publishers to use human-sounding A.I. narrators, an innovation that could displace hundreds of voice actors who make a living performing audiobooks. The company’s website says the service will benefit independent authors and small publishers.
“I know someone always has to get there first, some company,” said Chris Ciulla, who estimates that he has made $100,000 to $130,000 annually over the past five years narrating books under union contracts. “But for individuals not to understand how that can affect the pail-carrying narrator out there eventually is disappointing.”
Other actors fear that studios will use A.I. to replicate their voices while cutting them out of the process. “We’ve seen this happening — there are websites that have popped up with databases of characters’ voices from video games and animation,” said Linsay Rousseau, an actress who makes her living doing voice work.
On-camera actors point out that studios already use motion capture or performance capture to replicate artists’ movements or facial expressions. The 2018 blockbuster “Black Panther” relied on this technology for scenes that depicted hundreds of tribespeople on cliffs, mimicking the movements of dancers hired to perform for the film.
Some actors worry that newer versions of the technology will allow studios to effectively steal their movements, “creating new performance in the style of a wushu master or karate master and using that person’s style without consent,” said Zeke Alton, a voice and screen actor who sits on the board of his union local, SAG-AFTRA, in Los Angeles.
And Hollywood writers have grown increasingly anxious as ChatGPT has become adept at mimicking the style of prolific authors.
“Early on in the conversations with the guild, we talked about what I call the Nora Ephron problem,” said John August, who is on the Writers Guild negotiating committee.“Which is basically: What happens if you feed all of Nora Ephron’s scripts into a system and generate an A.I. that can create a Nora Ephron-sounding script?”
Mr. August, a screenwriter for movies like “Charlie’s Angels” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” said that while artificial intelligence had taken a back seat to compensation in the Writers Guild negotiation, the union was making two key demands on the subject of automation.
It wants to ensure that no literary material — scripts, treatments, outlines or even discrete scenes — can be written or rewritten by chatbots. “A terrible case of like, ‘Oh, I read through your scripts, I didn’t like the scene, so I had ChatGPT rewrite the scene’ — that’s the nightmare scenario,” Mr. August said.
The guild also wants to ensure that studios can’t use chatbots to generate source material that is adapted to the screen by humans, the way they might adapt a novel or a magazine story.
SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, says more of its members are flagging contracts for individual jobs in which studios appear to claim the right to use their voices to generate new performances.
A recent Netflix contract sought to grant the company free use of a simulation of an actor’s voice “by all technologies and processes now known or hereafter developed, throughout the universe and in perpetuity.”
Netflix said the language had been in place for several years and allowed the company to make the voice of one actor sound more like the voice of another in case of a casting change between seasons of an animated production.
The union has said that its members are not bound by contract provisions that would allow a producer to simulate new performances without compensating actors, though it has sometimes intervened to strike them from contracts nonetheless.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director, said such contracts posed a much bigger risk to nonunion actors, who can become unwitting accomplices in their own obsolescence. “It only takes one or a few instances of signing away your rights on a lifetime basis to really potentially have a negative impact on your career prospects,” Mr. Crabtree-Ireland said.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains with the various unions that represent writers, actors and directors on behalf of the major Hollywood studios, declined to comment.
When professionals have fended off obsolescence at the hands of technology, the outcome has often reflected their occupation’s status and prestige.
That appears to have been the case to some extent with airplane pilots, whose crew sizes had dropped to two on most domestic commercial flights by the late 1990s, but have largely been level since then, even as automated technology has become far more sophisticated and the industry has explored further reductions.
“The safety net you have when you’re high off the ground — the one that keeps you from hitting the ground — is two highly trained, experienced, rested pilots,” said Capt. Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents pilots for American Airlines. To this day, flight times longer than nine hours require at least three pilots.
The replacement of certain doctors by artificial intelligence, which some experts predicted was imminent in fields like radiology, has also failed to materialize. That’s partly because of the limits of the technology, and because of the stature of the doctors, who have inserted themselves into high-stakes conversations about the safety and deployment of A.I. The American College of Radiology created a Data Science Institute partly for this purpose several years ago.
Whether screenwriters find similar success will depend at least in part on if there are inherent limits to the machines that purport to do their jobs. Some writers and actors speak of a so-called uncanny valley that algorithms may never entirely escape.
“Artists look at everything ever created and find a flash of newness,” said Javier Grillo-Marxuach, a writer and producer for “Lost” and “Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” “What the machine is doing is recombining.”
However sophisticated the algorithms, the fate of writers and actors will also depend on how well they protect their status. How good are they at convincing audiences that they should care whether a human is involved?
The unions are pressing their case. Mr. August says that it falls to the Writers Guild and not the studio to determine who receives a writer’s credit on a project, and that the union will guard this rite jealously. “We want to make sure that an A.I. is never one of those writers in the chain of title for a project,” he said.
The unions also have legal cards to play, Mr. Crabtree-Ireland of SAG-AFTRA said, like the U.S. Copyright Office’s pronouncement in March that content created entirely by algorithm is not eligible for copyright protection. It is harder to monetize a production if there is no legal obstacle to copying it.
Perhaps more important, he said, is what you might call the Us Weekly factor — the tendency of audiences to be as interested in the human behind the role as in the performance. Fans want to hear Hollywood celebrities discuss their method in interviews. They want to gawk at actors’ fashion sensibilities and keep up with whom they’re dating.
“If you look at culture in general, the audience is generally interested in the real lives of our members,” Mr. Crabtree-Ireland said. “A.I. is not in a position to substitute for key elements of that.”
Elon Musk announced on Saturday that an upcoming Twitter feature will allow creators to monetize their content by allowing media publishers to charge on a per-article basis.
“Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click,” Musk said. “This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article. Should be a major win-win for both media orgs & the public.”
Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click.
This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.…
This is one of many changes that Musk has made to the social media app. Earlier in the week, he announced the subscription feature which gives content creators the opportunity to make money off their content by charging a monthly fee. Musk vowed all monies made will go to the creators, and Twitter will not take a portion of the profits.
Support content creators around the world in near & far away places!
For many this represents a vital source of income & enables them to put more time into creating great content for you. https://t.co/XzrFMLPytB
The most controversial change the world richest man made was taking away verification checks from legacy accounts earlier this month. Musk admitted he’s paying for some notable people to keep their blue checkmarks, among them Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, though many high-profile users asked him not to.
Last week, just days after Twitter removed all blue check verification marks from accounts that are not subscribed to Twitter Blue, Musk, for unknown reasons, gifted certain users a free blue check — whether they asked for it or not.
And just yesterday, social media users started flocking to Bluesky Social, the Twitter alternative created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. The invite-only platform, which has not formally launched and is one of several rival platforms to emerge in recent months, has been picking up steam in recent days. According to Fortune, Bluesky Social has been downloaded 360,000 times from Apple’s app store worldwide, with over a million more users on the waitlist.
With the 2023 NFL Draft mere days away, it’s time to pay tribute to the greatest NFL prospect of all-time: Bobby Boucher, linebacker of the South-Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs. Sure, Bobby’s diet consists mainly of fried gator and H2O, and sure, as a 31-year-old, he’d be older on his first day than 90% of the other foosball players…
(From left) Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth are among the recipients of prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award.
Dadasaheb Phalke Birth Anniversary: Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest award for film personalities in the country to recognize valuable contribution in Indian cinema’s development
DADASAHEB PHALKE BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: Born on April 30, 1870, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke came from a small town in Bombay Presidency. Known as Dadasaheb Phalke, he was director, producer screenwriter, editor and distributor. He is regarded as the Father of Indian Cinema for giving the country its first full-length feature film. The indigenous silent film was titled, Raja Harishchandra (1913).
Dadasaheb Phalke Birth Anniversary: In 1971, India post released a stamp bearing Dadasaheb’s character in his reverence. (Image: Shutterstock)
In a 19-year-career span, he worked on 95 feature films and 27 short films. His last film, Gangavataran (1937) was the only film made by Dadasaheb with sound and dialogues.
After his death in 1944, the Government of India initiated an award on his name titled The Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1969. It is the highest award for film personalities in the country to recognize valuable contribution in Indian cinema’s development. In 1971, India post released a stamp bearing Dadasaheb’s character in his reverence.
Here are the winners of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award since its inception in 1969. Devika Rani was the first recipient of the prestigious award.
Devika Rani (1969)
Birendranath Sircar
Prithviraj Kapoor
Pankaj Mullick
Ruby Myers (Sulochana)
B. N. Reddy
Dhirendra Nath Ganguly
Kanan Devi
Nitin Bose
Raichand Boral
Sohrab Modi
Paidi Jairaj
Naushad
L. V. Prasad
Durga Khote
Satyajit Ray
V. Shantaram
B. Nagi Reddy
Raj Kapoor
Ashok Kumar
Lata Mangeshkar
Akkineni Nageswara Rao
Bhalji Pendharkar
Bhupen Hazarika
Majrooh Sultanpuri
Dilip Kumar
Rajkumar
Sivaji Ganesan
Kavi Pradeep
B. R. Chopra
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Asha Bhosle
Yash Chopra
Dev Anand
Mrinal Sen
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Shyam Benegal
Tapan Sinha
Manna Dey
V. K. Murthy
D. Ramanaidu
K. Balachander
Soumitra Chatterjee
Pran
Gulzar
Shashi Kapoor
Manoj Kumar
K. Viswanath
Vinod Khanna
Amitabh Bachchan
Rajinikanth
Asha Parekh
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was not awarded in the years 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If anyone can successfully close out a packed desert show on Stagecoach Festival’s opening day, it’s Luke Bryan, who’s been playing at the festival for more than a dozen years and previously headlined in 2014, 2016 and 2019.
On Friday night, he opened with a song that might as well have been written for the occasion, “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” and played a set that consisted of nearly all his hits, and a few surprise covers. In addition to his many party anthems — “Drink a Beer,” “Roller Coaster,” “Crash My Party” and “Play it Again” came all in a row — he also sprinkled in covers of Tim McGraw’s “Where the Green Grass Grows” and Brooks and Dunn’s “Neon Moon.”
As festival-goers danced the night away, many were clearly wondering if maybe a guest or two would pop out — especially since Brooks and Dunn are set to pay their own set on Sunday evening. But no such luck. Bryan paused momentarily before closing out the set with a cover of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and there appeared to be a touch of disappointment among the crowd that had gotten excited about possibly seeing a Jon Bon Jovi cameo, a la Axl Rose’s appearance during Carrie Underwood’s headlining show last year.
Jody Domingue
Jody Domingue
Still, the show went out on top, with Bryan grabbing a Marines jersey from one audience member and proudly wearing it for his last song, which closed out the festival just minutes before midnight — the grounds’ curfew.
While Bryan was a model headliner to close out the night, the day was an eventful one leading up to his set.
Jon Pardi played the “Mane” (Main) Stage directly before Bryan and was joined by chef Guy Fieri, who has his own cooking stage at the festival for demos, to bring a special surprise to the “Dirt on My Boots” singer. Fieri threw it to the monitors to introduce a virtual Alan Jackson, who invited Pardi to become the latest member of the Grand Ole Opry. Opry VP and executive producer Dan Rogers then joined Pardi on stage with the official offer. “Not only are you the first person ever invited to become an Opry member here at Stagecoach, this guy is the first native Californian ever to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry,” he stated.
In true Stagecoach fashion, Pardi celebrated the success with a shot of tequila before thanking everyone for the opportunity.
Other highlights of Friday include Melissa Etheridge, who performed her hits “Come to My Window” and “I’m the Only One” to thousands of fans screaming every word. The two-time Grammy winner’s stellar vocals weren’t the only thing reminding the crowd why she is still such an icon; she also performed the harmonica at one point and completely rocked out in multiple guitar solos.
Julian Bajsel
Julian Bajsel
Overall, day 1 had a positive, uplifting vibe — minus the Bud Light controversy. While the Bud Light Backyard stage served the cold beer, most other bars are not offering it whatsoever following the company having given a celebratory, commemorative beer can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In other recent concerts, Riley Green had changed the lyrics of his hit song, “I Wish Grandpas Never Died,” from “And coolers never run out of cold Bud Light” to “And coolers never run out of cold Coors Light.” But some kind of detente appeared to have been reached, as he kept the “Bud Light” line in during Friday night’s performance.
“I don’t really agree with their terms,” said one festival-goer who was chanting “Coors Light” around the grounds. “Their recent ad campaign, I didn’t like how they appealed to the LGBTQ agenda. I’m not saying I don’t support the LGBTQ community, but don’t force that into my life.”
Still, the guest stated — as did numerous others Variety spoke with on the grounds — that if it came down to it and Bud Light was the only choice, “I’ll probably buy a 30 rack.”
Reaching the front of the line at one of the bars closest to the stage, guests happily ordered Michelob Ultra — another Anheuser-Busch branded beer that was offered at every tent — with the majority having no idea they were supporting the same company that some were loudly protesting.
The Direct has six predictions for MCU movies that could feature Tom Hiddleston’sLoki in the rest of the Multiverse Saga.
Loki is one of few Phase 1 characters still standing in the MCU, and he remains just as important as ever after his Disney+solo series was instrumental in introducing Jonathan Majors’Kang and birthing the Multiverse.
How Tom Hiddleston’s Loki Could Fit Into 6 Upcoming MCU Movies
Deadpool 3 (November 8, 2024)
Marvel
Going back several years, nobody could imagine Loki having any chance of appearing in Deadpool 3. But with the Ryan Reynolds threequel confirmed to be a Multiversal affair that will involve Loki‘s TVA, it’s easy to see him coming into play.
Reports indicate at least two characters from Loki will appear in Deadpool 3, those being Owen Wilson’s Mobius and Tara Strong’s Miss Minutes. With the TVA seemingly on the hunt for the Merc with the Mouth, perhaps Loki could at least make a cameo with his time-policing companion Mobius.
Or alternatively, after the TVA plays an important role in Deadpool 3, a post-credits scene could feature the God of Mischief, continuing to set up more antics with Kang in a potential Loki Season 3 or Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Fantastic Four (February 14, 2025)
Marvel
After years of waiting for the MCU’s Fantastic Four, the tale is expected to be an important piece of the Multiverse Saga, with the reboot arriving in February 2025, just months ahead of May 2025’s The Kang Dynasty.
Just as the movies leading up to Infinity War and Endgame laid the groundwork for the blockbusters, Fantastic Four will likely do the same. Perhaps this could involve a post-credits scene to hint at Reed Richards’ relation to Kang as a distant ancestor of the time-traveling conqueror.
A scene of this nature could easily involve Loki, with Tom Hiddleston’s Asgardian continuing his investigation into Kang by uncovering his modern-day ancestors, setting up the Fantastic Four to assist the Avengers in The Kang Dynasty – although there has been a suggestion they may not appear.
Jonathan Majors’ Kang may not have had a place in Doctor Strange 2, but if the threequel is to involve the Multiverse and come before Avengers 5, he may well be involved this time around, and Loki is the MCU’s expert in him after all.
Although Loki was key to the first three Thor movies, he sat out Love and Thunder given he is still dead in the current Earth-616 MCU timeline, but perhaps there may be a way to incorporate him into a fifth installment.
For one, Thor 4 revealed other dead Asgardians who fell in battle now reside in Valhalla, with Heimdall and Jane Foster among them, perhaps a return to the Norse afterlife could feature Loki living there with them.
Given Thor 5 will likely come after the next Avengers movies, maybe the redeemed TVA Loki could find himself sticking around in the main timeline once Kang is defeated. This could set up more adventures between the Asgardian brothers, which would certainly be rather different with Loki now more on the heroic side.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 2, 2025)
Marvel
Only a select few characters have had interactions with Kang Variants in the MCU so far, those being Loki, Sylvie, and the Ant-Man family. Going into Avengers 5, all of them ought to be key players in the conflict against Kang, just as how Gamora was so important in Infinity War because she was Thanos’ daughter.
Many have theorized Loki could have a key role in Avengers 5, perhaps he could even lead Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against Kang. This would create a perfect full-circle moment after being the villain of The Avengers, something which is still fresh for this Loki given he was pulled from the timeline in 2012.
Marvel actually did recently make Loki an Avenger in the comics, and with the current MCU Variant now being more heroic and less villainous after his Disney+ series, it’s easy to imagine him taking a similar trajectory.
Avengers: Secret Wars (May 1, 2026)
Marvel
The Kang Dynasty and Secret Warsare expected to tell something of a two-part story of the conflict against Kang. If Loki were to appear in 2025’s Avengers 5, he would likely also return for 2026’s Avengers 6 to continue his crusade against the time-traveling conqueror.
Marvel Studios does love to kill off Lokis, so fans can only hope Tom Hiddleston’s Asgardian survives The Kang Dynasty and can continue his journey into Secret Wars, possibly even teaming up with some legacy Marvel characters.
Is Loki’s MCU Story About to End?
Clearly, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki has plenty of opportunities to appear in the coming years across the next few years on both the big screen and Disney+. The God of Mischief seems placed to be a key player in the Multiverse Saga, but what comes beyond that – does Loki have a future in the MCU?
With the original Loki seemingly firmly deceased after his face-off with Thanos in Infinity War, this may be the end of Tom Hiddleston’s MCU tenure. The British actor has been around in the superhero franchise since 2011, so it would be hard to blame him for looking to bring it to an end in the next few years.
The very concept of Disney+’s Loki means the series works best as a chapter of the Multiverse Saga, making it unlikely any future seasons will be made past Secret Wars. So, unless this Loki finds a place to stick around on Earth-616, possibly with Thor on New Asgard, his journey may well close out soon.
Alternatively, since He Who Remains death left the Multiverse unmanaged and plunged into chaos, perhaps the Avengers will need to place someone new in that role to end their Kang conundrum. After his time with the TVA, Loki may be the one for the job, which He Who Remains actually already tried to pass off to him.
Few things bring up childhood nostalgia for summers gone by more than the memory of the ice cream truck. Most of us remember those hot days playing outside with our neighborhood friends and immediately going into a frenzy upon hearing the jingle signifying approaching frozen treats. Well, this summer, PepsiCo is bringing some of that retro ice cream truck energy back. All thanks to a new flavor of MTN Dew, called MTN Dew Summer Freeze. The taste of Summer Freeze will mimic that of the striped ice cream popsicle of your youth. You can read the official description right here:
Nothing screams summer like everyone’s favorite iced cold treat: a classic red, white, and blue ice pop. To tap into this nostalgia, MTN DEW is combining its iconic citrus flavor with bold notes of cherry, lemon, and raspberry ice pop flavor to roll out the ultimate taste of summer: introducing the first-ever MTN DEW Summer Freeze! With a blast of summer in every sip, this taste will take you back to fond memories of running to the ice cream truck and is even more refreshing than a summer ice pop itself. DEW Nation can get their hands on this all-new flavor on shelves nationwide beginning this month and through the summer while supplies last. This new flavor will be available in both original and zero-sugar offerings, and can be purchased in 20 oz. Bottles, 12 oz. 12-pack cans, and 16.9 oz. 6-pack bottles (regular only).
PepsiCo
MTN Dew Summer Freeze is a limited-time-only beverage. So you might want to get your hands on them as soon as you see them at the grocery store. Unfortunately, these do not come with the whimsical (and also super creepy?) sounds of the ice cream truck. You are just going to have to provide that on your own. Luckily, you can find such things easily online easily these days. We live in an age of wonders.
In an interview with GQ, Leguizamo revealed that he was so sick of auditioning to play drug dealers early in his career that he considered passing on his now-iconic role as Benny Blanco in Brian De Palma’s “Carlito’s Way.”
“I’m a Latin guy and I didn’t wanna play another drug dealer. I was just kind of sick of that kind of routine,” Leguizamo said. “So I turned it down three times.”
He continued to resist the role, only to learn that one of Hollywood’s other rising Hispanic stars, Benicio Del Toro, was also in the mix for it. Once he learned Del Toro was interested, Leguizamo said that he opted to do the film after realizing it was a good career move.
Related
Related
“The producers said, ‘Look, this is the last time I’m coming to you. We’re gonna go to Benicio,’” he said. “Okay, I’ll take it!”
Leguizamo’s thoughts about not wanting to play drug dealers echo similar comments he made in a recent interview with IndieWire. The actor explained that the limited range of roles he was considered for as a young actor shaped his view about the importance of representation in films.
“Even when I was a kid going to college, I was like, ‘Wait a minute. How come we’re all paying the same tuition, I’m getting A’s, they’re not, and I’m getting five calls a day to play a drug dealer because I’m Latin?’ It was like Jim Crow,” he said. “The casting breakdown every day with the roles that were available were like, ‘White romantic lead, white doctor,’ and so on. They wouldn’t see you. When I started seeing the data, it blew my mind. I was like, ‘Wait a minute — we’re the largest ethnic group in America, the oldest ethnic group in America, and we’ve got no representation?’ More recently, I found that we’re 30 percent of the U.S. box office and four percent of streaming, and we’re still less than two percent of the faces in front of the camera.”
Michael J. Fox continues to share candid details about his decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
The actor, who is the subject of the forthcoming documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, spoke to Jane Pauley for a CBS Sunday Morning interview set to air Sunday. Preview clips from the sit-down show the 61-year-old Back to the Future star describing the challenges that he has faced as a result of the disease.
“I’m not gonna lie, it’s getting harder,” Fox said of living with Parkinson’s. “It’s getting tougher. Every day gets tougher. But that’s the way it is. I mean, who do I see about that?”
The actor, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 29, discussed having undergone spinal surgery on a benign tumor and explained that the procedure impacted his walking. He said that this has led him to fall and suffer numerous injuries, including breaking both arms, a hand and facial bones.
Fox said that falling “is a big killer with Parkinson’s. Falling and aspirating food and getting pneumonia — all these subtle ways that get you. You don’t die from Parkinson’s; you die with Parkinson’s. So I’ve been thinking of the mortality of it. I’m not going to be 80. I’m not going to 80.”
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim directed Still, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and celebrates Fox’s life through interviews, photos and archival footage. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg praised the feature’s “tight focus and distinctive style” and wrote that it “delivers an essence of Fox’s energy and generation-spanning appeal.”
During a visit to the THR Studio at Sundance in January, Fox explained that he didn’t want to place any limits on the footage that Guggenheim felt compelled to include. Fox said at the time, “It’s a movie about my life, and if we’re going to be real about it, let the filmmakers have access to that.”
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is available May 12 on Apple TV+.
Stranger Things is returning to Netflix for a fifth and final season, not expected to release until at least late 2024 or even 2025. Here’s our massive preview of Stranger Things season 5, where we’ll cover everything you need to know about the fifth and final season of the show on Netflix.
Since its introduction in July 2016, Stranger Things has been and continues to be one of Netflix’s flagship shows. Each season has gone from strength to strength, increasing in popularity with every new outing.
If three years was too long of a wait for some subscribers, the figures greatly disagree with them. Within the first week of volume 1 of season 4 landing on Netflix, a Nielsen streaming record was broken as 7.2 billion minutes of the series were watched between May 30th and June 5th, 2022. The demand for the show was so high on the release of volume 2 that some Netflix users briefly experienced crashes as subscribers raced to consume the epic conclusion of season 4.
Official Netflix Renewal Status: Renewed (Last Updated: 02/07/2022)
We learned that Netflix had already renewed Stranger Things for a fifth and final season ahead of the fourth season release.
Before the production of season 4, the Duffer Brothers were unsure about the number of seasons it would take to tell the full story of Stranger Things.
Speaking about the length of the show ahead of time, Ross Duffer said:
“We don’t actually know. I think, you know, four to five seasons is likely where we’ll end up, but who knows? I mean, none of this is official, and we know where we want to go. We’re trying to figure out still how long it’ll take to get there, so we’ll see.”
Matt seemed to know well ahead of time that the series would conclude with a fifth season:
“It’s hard like four seems short, five seems long. So I don’t know what to do.”
Ross (left) and Matt Duffer (right) – Alberto E. Rodriguez | Getty Images
Welcome to Hell, Hawkins
Despite their best efforts, Vecna aka Henry aka 001, successfully carried out his plan to tear open a giant gate between the Upside Down and the real world. Dozens of people died in the ensuing chaos, and residents are leaving en masse to escape any further danger.
Thanks to the giant smoke plumes emitted from the giant gates, the particles falling all around Hawkins will result in any and all plant life decaying rapidly. Soon the real-world Hawkins will emulate the look of Hawkins from the Upside Down as Vecna’s vision for his “beautiful” new world begins to take shape.
As Hawkins falls deeper and deeper into chaos, expect to see a large military presence surrounding the town, with only very few residents and our heroes staying behind to keep fighting Vecna.
Vecna’s Return / 001 vs 011
Vecna came extremely close to being killed by Nancy, Steve, and Robin, but he could escape before anyone could deal a killing blow. It’s unclear how injured he is, and how long it takes to recover from multiple shotgun blasts and Molotov cocktails. Once fully recovered, we expect to see Vecna unleash his true powers on Hawkins and unleash the hordes of monsters from the Upside Down.
Eleven is the only person capable of fighting Vecna one-on-one, and she barely survived her second encounter with him. There’s no denying Eleven’s strength is vast, but it’s more than likely we’ve barely scratched the surface of what her true potential is. If Eleven wants to defeat Vecna, she must practice and hone her powers.
Picture: Netflix
Hawkins to be Quarantined?
Given the danger that the gates pose to Hawkins and the rest of the world, the military may declare martial law and potentially quarantine Hawkins. We can expect a robust military presence, especially if Demogorgons and other monstrosities begin to surf from the gates.
Sadly, for the people of Hawkins, those unable to get out of the town before a quarantine starts may have to fend for themselves while the military wage war against the forces of the Upside Down.
What will happen to the gates?
If Eleven successfully defeats Vecna, this doesn’t guarantee the gates to the Upside Down will be closed. It may require Eleven to replicate what she did with the gate under Hawkin’s Lab in the second season and forcibly close it herself. That first gate was large but pales compared to what Vecna has done to Hawkins. Not only will it take every ounce of Eleven’s power, but closing the gates may require Eleven to sacrifice herself.
Max’s death resulted in Vecna’s plan coming to fruition, but Eleven unexpectedly brought Max back to life. Between dying, having her limbs snapped, and potentially becoming blind, it’s no wonder Max is in a coma. We fully expect Max to wake up, but what condition she will be in remains to be seen.
If Max wakes up and is fully healed, Eleven can bring back people from the dead. The consequences of such power haven’t been explored yet, but with some potential deaths headed our way in season 5, Eleven will be needed more than ever.
Speaking on the TODAY program, Sadie said, “We know that it’s happening and that it’s the last season, so it’s going to be emotional, I’m sure,” adding, “Spoiler-free, just with the way my character ended in season 4, I have no idea what is going to happen. But I’ll be there.”
Time Skip
The Duffer Brothers have already announced that another time skip will happen in the story and will potentially pick back up around 1988 or 1989. This coincides with the real-life ages of the actors, who are already outgrowing their 15-year-old counterparts, such as Gaten Matarazzo, who turns 20 in September 2022, and during the production of season 5, will turn 21.
Official Production Status: Pre-production / Writing
Collider first reported that writing for the fifth season would begin in August 2022, which was subsequently confirmed with a tweet from the Stranger Things writers’ account on August 2nd, 2022.
Production listings state the series will continue filming in Atlanta, Georgia, as per prior seasons. It’s expected to return to EUE/Screen Gems Studios Atlanta Studio, which has been home to Stranger Things since season 1. The 33-acre Atlanta studio complex boasts 11 stages and was the first full-service production studio campus to open in Atlanta.
The season 5 working title/codename is reported to be “JERICHO.”
New casting grids and production listings on various sources currently state that season 5 will begin filming in early June 2023 and not wrap up until late June 2024.
Yes, that means season 5 is scheduled to be in production for an entire year, as current reports stand. Each episode will reportedly cost north of $20 million.
Stranger Things Season 4 Behind-the-Scenes
As part of Stranger Things Day 2022 (which took place on November 7th, 2022), the season 5 episode 1 chapter name was revealed.
Stranger Things – Episode 501 Script
Episode 501 – Chapter One: The Crawl – Written by The Duffer Brothers
Episode 502 – ???
Episode 503 – ???
Episode 504 – ???
Episode 505 – ???
Episode 506 – ???
Episode 507 – ???
Episode 508 – ???
The cast for Stranger Things has swelled in recent years, and expect a big ensemble cast for the final season.
We expect all of the following actors to return in Stranger Things season 5:
Eleven – Millie Bobby-Brown
Peter / 001 / Henry / Vecna – Jamie Campbell Bower
Mike Wheeler – Finn Wolfhard
Dustin Henderson – Gaten Matarazzo
Lucas Sinclair – Caleb McLaughlin
Will Byers – Noach Schnapp
Joyce Byers – Winona Ryder
Jonathan Byers – Charlie Heaton
Jim Hopper – David Harbour
Max Mayfield – Sadie Sink
Nancy Wheeler – Natalia Dyer
Steve Harington – Joe Keery
Robin Buckley – Maya Hawke
Murray – Brett Gelman
Erica Sinclair – Pirah Ferguson
Argyle – Eduardo Franco
Karen Wheeler – Cara Buono
Ted Wheeler – Joe Chrest
Vickie – Amybeth McNulty
There’s no news on any new cast members for season 5, although The Duffer Brothers are on the record saying they’ll “stay away” from introducing new characters.
Per Puck News, the cast negotiated a pay rise going into season 5. Winona Ryder and David Harbour are expected to net $9.5 million for the season. Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, and Sadie Sink at just over $7 million for the season. Series regulars such as Natalia Dyer, Maya Hawke, Charlie Heaton, and Joe Keery will net over $6 million for the final season.
In April 2023, we got word that Netflix was currently casting the following minor roles, including multiple army/military guys plus two kids aged between 8 and 10.
Another job listing is looking for an actor for the role of DEREK:
“[DEREK] Character is portrayed as 8-10yo, male, any ethnicity, overweight. An outsider with no friends, he is rude to adults — and a bully to those his age.”
Alongside the announcement of The Duffer Brothers re-upping their Netflix deal, we also got word they’re working on multiple spin-offs – some of which we’ve got more information on.
In December 2022, we got word about one of the new spin-offs, described as an anime series set in Tokyo during the 1980s. The logline we have for the new anime series, which hasn’t been officially confirmed, is as follows:
“An encounter with the Upside Down evolves into a grand adventure for video game-loving twin brothers living on the outskirts of 1980s Tokyo.”
In April 2023, we also got word of a new animated series described as a Saturday morning cartoon. What’s on Netflix can exclusively reveal the logline for that new series:
“About a young girl Janet who has moved in with her uncle Brody after being in social services for years. Follows their dynamic as she learns to navigate having a real family and he learns to care for someone other than himself.”
Stranger Things VR game
To recap, here are all the various spin-offs and other Stranger Things projects coming in the near future:
Untitled Stranger Things Animated Series – Described as a Saturday morning cartoon.
Stranger Things: Tokyo – Yet-to-be-confirmed anime series spinoff.
Untitled Stranger Things Live-Action Series – Spin-off series based on an original idea by The Duffer Brothers, with Upside Down and 21 Laps producing.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow – Live performance play due to begin in London in late 2023.
Stranger Things VR – Video game VR project from Tender Claws due out in late 2023.
Stranger Things Comics – Currently announced projects include Tales from Hawkins and The Many Ghosts of Dr. Brenner.
This is in addition to some of the other projects The Duffer Brothers and 21 Laps is working on for Netflix.
Are you looking forward to the fifth and final season of Stranger Things on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
The 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner kicks off Saturday, April 29 and there are multiple ways to watch the event from the comfort of your own home. “The Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr. will headline the event, and President Biden is expected to attend and make remarks.
Other attendees include First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
The White House Correspondents Dinner begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, and you’ll be able to watch it live on C-SPAN and in the livestream embed below. Coverage is also planned for CNN and MSNBC, so you can tune into those channels as well.
Live C-SPAN coverage begins online and on the C-SPAN app at 6 p.m. ET with guest arrivals.
As for the tone of the event, Roy Wood Jr. told TheWrap he takes seriously the contribution of the media.
“To me, that’s more important than the jokes, to take the opportunity to recognize the contribution of the media,” he said in an interview. “So I think in that regard, it’s a real honor. You don’t want to be the person that messes it up. You know, these are the people who decide what the news is and what it isn’t. That isn’t easy, and I have nothing but high praise for journalists in general.”
That said, Wood Jr. told TheWrap that no jokes or subjects are “off limits,” summing up his outlook thusly: “I don’t really think of this whole thing as some sort of big roast. I think it’s an accountability session.”
Watch the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner in the livestream below.
So the first waft of intrigue in auteur Antero Alli’s new experimental video, The Celebrants, occurs immediately with an untouched romp through seeming mundaneness. What’s with all this natural lighting and round-the-house footage? What’s Antero up to? We seem to have walked in on a magician’s morning, with Alli in this badass flowing dragon robe, writing in a book while Sylvi Alli plays the piano. Douglas Allen listens to her playing while wrapped in a blanket on a couch.
The decor is pure old-school Bay Area star child. Antero and Sylvi retire upstairs while Douglas does some stretches and movement exercises. No one has spoken a word, and when they run into one another, communicate with hand gestures or abstract noises. Sylvi makes some tea for everybody, the good stuff. At this point, it feels like anything could happen because behavior this normal in an experimental video is really strange. What’s Antero up to?
Antero gathers everyone around the table and starts discussing the concept behind the experiment being filmed in The Celebrants. Antero first announces he is not going for a pre-determined look for the video, nor is he trying to produce a pre-imagined product. Instead, he is interested in how a person gets into that state of mind where things get created out of nowhere. This is where I was swallowed by the giant clam of the project, as that is a subject that fascinates me. Douglas confesses he can access that self-hypnotic state of creativity with ease at the drop of a hat. I am envious, as it takes me three bongers and one and a half Allman Brothers Band albums before I really start to cook. It seems Antero wants to get all three of them to start improvising a discipline together to see what happens when everyone’s energy is built up intertwined, like electric boogie serpents. He will film the results as he wants to capture the spontaneity of creation, not necessarily what is created. Everyone drinks their tea and gets down to it.
“…he is interested in how a person gets into that state of mind where things get created out of nowhere.”
We switch from orangish kitchen table lighting to a splendid, slightly polarized black and white. Now things are starting to look like an Antero Alli flick. Sylvi does some abstract vocalizing, similar to Diamanda Galas. Douglas does some modern dance-style contortions with some outlandish expressions and gestures. All the while, Antero saws away on a tripping drone guitar. Antero uses good old-fashioned super-imposition to overlay images to simulate the energies churning together. With the bodywork Douglas unfurls as the anchor, the images attain a sinister expressionistic sheen when powered by the fountain of sound produced by Antero and Sylvi.
Once again, as the stated intent was to capture creating something instead of trying to create a specific artistic work, the experiment is a success. What is a real pleasure about this is how deliberate the three stages of the video are in guiding the viewer. By showing artists not in the throws of arting in the first stage, we definitely can tell the difference when the art is on full blast in the third stage. Plus also Arturo goes ahead and lays it all out plain in the second stage, inviting everyone in on what is about to happen.
This is an underground film made for the people, which is probably why Antero Alli makes The Celebrants available to watch online for free. I wasn’t sure where The Celebrants was going, but I sure did know when I got there and why. Antero Alli is one of the last great practitioners of American experimental cinema magic, and this is another great spell.
Elon Musk is not only on a mission to make Twitter profitable but to also give creators the opportunity to monetize their content. The platform’s CEO announced a new feature that will allow media publishers to charge on a per-article basis.
“Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per-article basis with one click,” Musk tweeted. “This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per-article price for when they want to read an occasional article. Should be a major win-win for both media orgs & the public.”
This feature would give readers access to articles for a fee that would otherwise need a subscription to be accessible.
Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click.
This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.…
This week, Twitter rolled out globally the Subscription feature that allows creators to monetize their content by charging a monthly fee.
“Support content creators around the world in near and far away places!” Musk touted. “For many this represents a vital source of income and enables them to put more time into creating great content for you.”
Musk assured that “all proceeds go to content creators, we keep nothing.”
All proceeds go to content creators, we keep nothing
Earlier in April, Musk said that “for the next 12 months, Twitter will keep none of the money.” Musk clarified that the only fees they would take away are the ones charged by the platform were users subscribed one.
“You will receive whatever money we receive, so that’s 70% for subscriptions on iOS & Android (they charge 30%) and ~92% on web (could be better, depending on payment processor),” Musk tweeted.
Musk continued, “After first year, iOS & Android fees drop to 15% and we will add a small amount on top of that, depending on volume. We will also help promote your work. Our goal is to maximize creator prosperity. At any point, you can leave our platform and take your work with you. Easy in, easy out.”
For the next 12 months, Twitter will keep none of the money.
You will receive whatever money we receive, so that’s 70% for subscriptions on iOS & Android (they charge 30%) and ~92% on web (could be better, depending on payment processor).
Two gay hookup websites have been breached with sensitive and personal user data stolen and sold online, new reports have claimed.
The databases, which are now being sold on dark web forums, were taken from platforms called TruckerSucker, and CityJerks.
They contain enough personally identifiable information to engage in identity theft (opens in new tab), such as usernames and passwords, email addresses, profile pictures, sexual preferences, birth dates, postal addresses, IP addresses, and bios. The passwords are encrypted, but according to TechCrunch, the algorithm is “weak” and could be broken by a more persistent hacker.
The silent treatment
HaveIBeenPwned founder Troy Hunt, who was tipped off on the leak, described the incident as a “typical forum breach, albeit with super sensitive content.”
However the content includes more than just identity data, as there are also messages users exchanged, including arranging meetings and describing their sexual preferences.
In total, more than 80,000 people have been affected by this incident, the publication states. Roughly 8,000 TruckerSucker users were compromised, together with 77,000 people from CityJerks.
At the moment, the owners and maintainers of these two websites are silent on the matter.
The two websites share an almost identical visual design, which might mean they’re operated by the same company and could be using the same content management system (CMS), which might be why the attackers managed to breach just these two. Unfortunately, until the owners share any updates, it’s impossible to know exactly how they were compromised, if the threat actors discovered a zero-day, used any known malware, or any unique social engineering tactics.
If the passwords are as weak as it’s being claimed, a hacker might decrypt them and run them against other, more potent platforms, such as financial services. As consumers often use the same username/password combinations across a wide array of services, this breach might end up being a lot more destructive.
Mila Kunis denied rumors that she’ll be starring in Marvel Studios’ upcoming “Fantastic Four” reboot, but she did let slip that she knows who will be starring in the project.
During her appearance on CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Cordon” on Thursday, Kunis said flat-out she will not be appearing in “Fantastic Four,” and that the rumors stemmed from a lunch she had with director Matt Shakman.
“We went out to a deli and had lunch together,” Kunis said of her and Shakman’s meeting, “and the next day I was somehow in Fantastic Four.”
Kunis, who would presumably play Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, in the reboot (though some rumors are claiming she was also in talks to play a female version of The Thing), said the meeting was just a lunch, and that she will not be playing any of the four titular roles. However, she says she knows who will be.
“I am not in Fantastic Four,” she said, “but I know who is.”
Go on…
“But I don’t want to get in trouble with The Mouse, so none of you will find out,” she laughed, much to the studio audience’s disappointment.
“The Mouse” she is referring to is the Disney executives/legal teams/overlords that be. “Fantastic Four” is a revamp of the property for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox that brought the “Fantastic Four” property under Marvel Studios’ purview.
Shakman was tapped to direct the film, set to be released Valentine’s Day 2025, shortly after “Spider-Man” director Jon Watts exited the project last year.
The other three actors who will portray Marvel’s First Family also remain mysteries. While John Krasinski played Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, in 2022’s “Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness,” his version of the character was from the 838 strand of the MCU’s multiverse, not the 616 strand in which all of the MCU films have taken place so far. This doesn’t mean Krasinski couldn’t play the 616 version of the character as well, or that his real-life wife Emily Blunt couldn’t play Sue Storm (she too has denied the rumors of her casting), although Krasinski previously told TheWrap the cameo was a one-off.
With the film set to release in less than two years, even Marvel’s tightly sealed lips won’t be able to keep the secret for much longer. Expect casting announcements at San Diego Comic-Con this July, if not sooner.
The most unlikely film franchise this side of Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy, the decade-long “Trip” series began as a feature film recut from a six-part BBC2 television series, with the British comic actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon taking a road trip to review restaurants in northern England. As subsequent installments spread across the continent, ambitions expanded as well; what began as, essentially, a foodie tourism show became a meditation on celebrity, aging and friendship. This most recent (and reportedly final) installment finds the duo retracing the steps of Odysseus, but this time around, it’s not just about pretty scenery and funny imitations. We’ve grown attached to these slightly fictionalized versions of the actors, and the pathos of the closing sections are both unexpected and genuine.
Rupert Grint has kept a fairly low profile since the “Harry Potter” series came to its conclusion, but his starring turn in this ’60s-set, what-if comedy-thriller indicates his capacity for a strong second act. As a small-time rock promoter who gets pulled into a scheme to hire Stanley Kubrick to help fake the moon landing, Grint conveys a hilariously sweaty desperation and up-for-anything spirit, while Ron Perlman is nicely matched as the hard-nosed C.I.A. man coordinating the operation.
A question for the good liberals: What would you do if you found yourself invited to your employers’ dinner table, and, by pure accident, seated across from Donald Trump? That’s the provocative hypothetical for this comedy of manners directed by Miguel Arteta and written by Mike White, who would follow up this feature with similarly pointed questions of class as the creator of “The White Lotus.” Salma Hayek plays the title character, a massage therapist whose last-minute invite to dinner with regular clients puts her in proximity to a Trump-esque real estate developer (John Lithgow), and seething at his every affable insult. Running a trim 82 minutes, this is a compact hypothetical whose plot twists are genuinely eyebrow-raising.
Films about filmmakers, especially in recent years, tend to lean into self-congratulation — misty-eyed valentines to the magic of moviemaking, and to the noble if flawed souls who strive to put their art onscreen. This wildly funny and unapologetically cynical satire from the Argentine duo Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn is a welcome antidote to all of that. Penélope Cruz (in perhaps her loosest and looniest performance to date) is an eccentric filmmaker hired by a multimillionaire to helm a film adaptation of his favorite book; her reputedly uncompromising artistic integrity proves flexible for the right price. She uses that financial leverage to bring in Spain’s biggest movie star (Antonio Banderas, of course) and its most respected actor (Oscar Martínez), setting up a heady battle of celebrity vs. talent. All three actors clearly have a ball biting the hand that feeds them, and their fun is infectious.
The character actor Dax Shepard stars, writes, and co-directs (with David Palmer) this cheekily silly and undeniably entertaining throwback to the car-chase comedies of his youth. (Who’d have thought blockbusters would become so dire that we’d one day long for the pleasures of “Smokey and the Bandit”?) Shepard is all charm as a one-time criminal whose stint in witness protection comes to an abrupt end, sending him gunning for the hills with his current girlfriend (Kristen Bell) in tow. Shepard stages his chases and crashes with élan, fills his supporting cast with colorful characters and generates genuine stakes and chemistry with Bell — unsurprising, since they’re longtime, offscreen partners.
The (comparative) box office indifference to Arnold Schwarzenegger over the past decade or so has been a real bummer, since he’s doing some of his most challenging and surprising work to date. In this energetic and entertaining barnburner from the director Kim Jee-woon (“The Good, The Bad, The Weird”), Schwarzenegger stars as an aging sheriff whose small border town is the last line of defense against a drug lord on the run; Luis Guzmán, Johnny Knoxville, Peter Stormare and Forest Whitaker are among the stellar supporting cast. Kim cooks up a flavorful stew of influences, blending the “Rio Bravo”-style neo-Western narrative with the action pyrotechnics of vintage Schwarzenegger and Kim’s batty, comic, postmodern style.
Ralph Fiennes stars in and (for the first time) directs this muscular take on one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known tragedies, adapted with wit and grace by the screenwriter John Logan. Fiennes reunites with his “Hurt Locker” cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, and the choice makes sense; Fiennes and Logan update Shakespeare’s tale to the contemporary military theater, and the parallels between this bloody tale of civil unrest and endless war (shot in Serbia and Montenegro) and U.S. actions in Afghanistan and Iraq are impossible to ignore. Fiennes is ferocious in the title role, making a meal of every rich soliloquy, while marshaling an impressive supporting cast, including Gerard Butler, Jessica Chastain, Vanessa Redgrave and a pre-“Succession” Brian Cox.
The writer and director S. Craig Zahler is carving out something of a niche as an old-school exploitation filmmaker, with unapologetically grim and blood-soaked riffs on the western (“Bone Tomahawk”), prison picture (“Brawl in Cell Block 99”) and, here, the cop-and-criminal flick. Vince Vaughn and Mel Gibson star as police detective partners suspended in a high-profile brutality scandal whose need for income makes them step to the other side of the law. Zahler’s skill at staging a bang-up set piece is undeniable, and he displays a welcomely nuanced interest in the blurry, gray lines that separate good and evil.
Remember when movies used to tell stories and maybe try to sell you something on the side?
A 007 action flick came with to-die-for views of James Bond’s sleek Aston Martin sports cars. The elusive Twinkie snacks of post-apocalypse comedy “Zombieland,” the Domino’s Pizza chowdowns of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and the Reese’s Pieces offerings of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” whetted our appetites. These not-so-covert ads, called product placements, were inserted in films for lucrative licensing fees paid to studios.
In 2023, the side hustle has become the main show. Traditional product placements continue, but increasingly consumer goods and brand names are the story, so much so they’re right in the titles of current and upcoming motion pictures: the toys and games of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (currently the world’s No. 1 film), “Barbie,” “Tetris” and “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” the Air Jordan shoes of “Air,” the smartphones of “BlackBerry” and the Cheetos snacks of “Flamin’ Hot.”
Moviegoers are expected to be users of or at least know of the products featured in the films, unlike the old days when lesser-known goods might seek to prompt greater interest and demand. This famously happened in 1982 with Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.” The Mars candy company declined to have M&Ms in the film — it feared the gnarly title alien would scare children — and rival candy maker Hershey stepped up with its then-new Reese’s Pieces, rocketing sales of what had been a slow-selling treat.
What’s more, the sellers of products now often take an active role in the making of movies. Gamemaker Nintendo partnered with animation powerhouse Illumination to create “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” based on the long-running video amusement of platform-jumping plumbers, and toymaker Mattel partnered with Warner Bros. for “Barbie,” a live-action comic adventure based on the decades-old doll, starring Margot Robbie and Canadian actors Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu.
Does this sudden explosion of products-as-movies represent the complete bankruptcy of creativity in Hollywood? Is it just a fad or is profound change happening?
“I think it’s a reflection both of the alchemy of Hollywood and Madison Avenue, and the desperation to hit box office gold out of the gate and mitigate the enormous production costs, not to mention the dearth of good screenplays getting greenlit,” said Barry Avrich, an award-winning Toronto filmmaker and advertising executive.
He has a unique perspective on the subject. He’s a documentarian (“Oscar Peterson: Black + White”) and partner in BT/A Advertising, with a client list that includes American Express, Scotiabank, Cirque de Soleil and the Canadian Opera Company. Avrich has made more than 60 films (he’s been nominated for 12 Canadian Screen Awards, winning four) and his ad agency has worked on thousands of film marketing campaigns.
Avrich described a scene he can envision all too well: “Simply cut to a group of suited, focus-group Hollywood executives studying a list of brands with $100-million-plus brand power and saying, ‘If this (product) can be a film, we have them at hello.’
“I don’t see this as a phase,” Avrich said via email. “We have seen this for years, with no end in sight.”
He’s right about that. Product placements in movies go back to at least 1920, when the comic short “The Garage,” starring Buster Keaton and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, prominently featured signs for a gasoline brand called Red Crown.
Oscar-winning films are also no stranger to hucksterism. The 1927 aerial war drama “Wings,” the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture (then called Outstanding Picture), had several scenes of Hershey’s chocolate bars, including shots of actors nibbling the candy. Hershey had marketing designs on movies long before “E.T.”
The product-as-film phenomenon isn’t entirely new, either. “The Lego Movie” of 2014 launched a successful animated franchise fashioned on the children’s construction toy. The Johnny Depp-starring “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” turned a popular Disney theme park ride into a blockbuster live-action movie franchise.
Barbie made her screen debut long before this summer’s much-anticipated movie. She’s in three of Pixar’s acclaimed “Toy Story” animated features but notably not in the groundbreaking 1995 original. Mattel executives of the day feared the film might not work and they didn’t want their doll associated with a flop.
What’s different about the current products-as-movies boom is how much care is taken in the writing of the screenplays. There’s evident effort to make the product part of a compelling saga.
The Ben Affleck-directed “Air,” starring Matt Damon as the Nike shoe salesman who convinced his company and basketball great Michael Jordan to create and sponsor a unique basketball shoe, delivers fist-pumping drama. The recently released film has already sparked buzz of Oscar nominations for Damon and co-star Viola Davis, who plays Jordan’s wheeler-dealer mom.
Matt Johnson’s “BlackBerry,” due in theatres May 12, stars the Toronto actor/writer/director alongside fellow Canuck Jay Baruchel and U.S. actor Glenn Howerton in the fact-based satire of the rise and fall of the Canadian-made BlackBerry smartphone, a game-changing device ultimately done in by Apple’s iPhone. There’s also much drama in the telling of the tale, which “BlackBerry” fully dials into.
Corporations and studios might also be getting better at judging how to convert a product into a film. The original “Super Mario Bros.” movie of 1993 was a legendary bomb because it tried to turn an antic animated game into a live-action drama with muddled characters — Mario’s brother Luigi didn’t even have a moustache! The new film is pure cartoon fun, restoring many elements and characters of the classic Nintendo game and others. It has been rewarded with stellar box office results, which will soon hit the lofty heights of $1 billion (U.S.) worldwide.
And judging by the “Barbie” trailers, it’s clear director/co-writer Greta Gerwig took pains to keep the story fun and almost surreal, even though humans are playing toys.
A question remains, though. Why would people want to see a movie about a consumer product?
Garry Leonard, a professor of English and cinema at the University of Toronto, posited that a phenomenon known as “commodity fetishism” is at play. He pointed to the example of the “Air” film.
“‘Air’ is a curious celebration of ‘commodity fetishism,’ where the product (sneaker, deodorant, doesn’t matter) is presented as ‘the thing we lack,’” he said via email.
“Feeling like we lack something is the cornerstone of desire, and nothing will directly satisfy it. But objects can be positioned in the ‘space’ of our felt lack … we are buying a fetish, not an object (Marx says we have to turn to religion and sacred objects to understand the commodity). A simple cup becomes a Holy Chalice, a sneaker becomes an ‘Air Jordan.’”
Filmmaker/adman Avrich described the situation in similar but starker terms.
“I don’t think people consciously plan to see movies about products. They get seduced by a brand pedigree and promise that they desperately hope lives up to their experience with the actual brand … There is no one on planet Earth who feels satiated by a movie about a product.”
A cautionary addendum: the product-to-film phenomenon doesn’t necessarily work the other way. The 1982 Atari video game for “E.T.,” released mere months after the hit movie, was one of the biggest flops in gaming history, slammed by both critics and consumers. Thousands of unsold cartridges were ultimately buried in landfill.
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The Disney+ series is one of the best-received streaming series from Marvel Studios. Its first season even ended with a big cliffhanger—one that begs further exploration. However, there are no indications of when fans will be seeing Isaac’s hero again.
There have been plenty of rumors regarding a second season, but the star himself admitted that “[they] don’t know” if there will be another batch of episodes.
When Will Moon Knight Season 2 Release?
With Moon Knight Season 2 still yet to be announced, Marvel Studios has yet to confirm a release date. However, looking at the MCU’s plans for the coming years combined with rumors and reports, a release window can be narrowed down.
Could Moon Knight Return Next Year?
Marvel
A release anytime in 2024 is by far the least likely scenario for Moon Knight Season 2. Even if production somehow began right now, it would still be near-impossible for Marvel Studios to pull off and fit into the slate.
For one, a second season has still not been confirmed by Marvel Studios. Secondly, filming doesn’t appear anywhere close to starting up yet, and it would need to be just around the corner if it hopes to make it onto Disney+ in early 2024.
Not to mention, next year’s MCU Disney+ release slate is already filled to the brim. Ironheart, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, and the 18-episode Daredevil: Born Again are all expected to release in that window, meaning more than half the year is already occupied for weekly releases.
The earliest logistically possible release date for Moon Knight Season 2 would likely be the later portion of 2024. However, that would require production to begin imminently and there is currently no evidence pointing toward that.
On top of the already announced 2024 slate, Marvel Studios also has Wonder Manon the way to Disney+, and that appears to be far closer to release than Moon Knight Season 2 given it has already begun production.
So, once again, even if a Moon Knight follow-up could get itself off the ground imminently, there simply isn’t room to fit it into the roster until at least 2025.
Release Option 2: Moon Knight Returns In Time For Avengers 5
Including Kang in the proceedings would also be a great way to build momentum for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. It could be a smooth way of bringing Moon Knight into the wider MCU storyline after Season 1 was one of the more standalone affairs of the franchise.
Therefore, from a narrative standpoint, a second season of Moon Knight could fit nicely before Avengers 5 in early 2025. This would also be far more plausible from a logistical point of view, allowing two years from now to develop the project.
Not only that, but the Disney+ slate gets significantly less crowded when 2025 and Phase 6 hit, as, while further projects have been reported to be in the works, Marvel Studios has only made the bulk of its slate official up to the end of Phase 4.
A previous rumor also claimed that Marvel Studios aims to release Season 2 before The Kang Dynasty, which is currently set to land on May 2, 2025, although many expect that date to be pushed back.
Release Option 3: Moon Knight Season 2 Fills Gap Between Avengers 5 & 6
Marvel
It’s unclear what the ramifications of The Kang Dynasty will be for the MCU. With that said, there’s no telling what the Marvel world will look like between the fifth and sixth Avengers films.
Many fans believe, and there were some rumors to suggest, the projects that come between the blockbusters will explore Battleworld – which is basically a patchwork existence made up of various alternate realities. The concept is a key driving factor of 2015’s comic version of the story, which remains a fan-favorite.
One of those worlds could be ancient Egypt themed, with Rama-Tut ruling over its denizens and Moon Knight being their great protector.
Release Option 4: No Moon Knight Season 2 Until Phase 7
Marvel
The least likely solution would be to wait until after the release of The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars when Phase 7 starts up.
For one, given the heavy rumors of Kang’s involvement, releasing Season 2 after the villain has been presumably beaten would be a strange choice.
Many also feel an additional season for the show is needed before Moon Knight gets integrated into those bigger crossover events. That development would not have the chance to take place if a continuation doesn’t happen until after
MCU Disney+ Second Season Trend?
After the Kang Variant was teased in Season 1, Rama-Tut may be a natural continuation to Moon Knight’s story and offers a seamless way to integrate Marc Spector into the larger puzzle of the MCU.
So, based on the current MCU slate, that ought to place Season 2 across 2025 and early 2026 – likely on the earlier end if rumors of it releasing before The Kang Dynasty are true. Although that window could easily shift and extend as the rest of the Multiverse Saga release plans change.
Hopefully, Marvel can announce the existence of Season 2 sooner rather than later. As it currently stands, Lokiis still the only Marvel Cinematic Universe live-action Disney+ series to get a second season.
Ms. Marvelis another series that fans are eagerly awaiting a continuation of, with her next set to appear in 2023’s The Marvels. For now, Iman Villani’s New Jersey antics also don’t even have an estimated release window.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to arrive in December 2023, and details about the upcoming DC project have started to be released. Jason Momoa made his debut as Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman, in 2017’s Justice League, before starring in the smash-hit Aquaman, his first solo film in the DCEU released only a year later. Directed by James Wan, Aquaman attained huge box office success and critical acclaim, exploring Curry’s backstory and investigating his claim to the throne of Atlantis in fascinating detail. Momoa would make a later appearance in 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but his story will continue properly in the upcoming Aquaman sequel.
The development of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has been beset by upheaval at DC Studios, release delays, and a high-profile lawsuit involving one of its stars. With future solo films for Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ben Affleck’s Batman, and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg nonexistent, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 canceled, and The Flash embroiled in controversy concerning Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman was considered the default linchpin of the DC Universe’s future. With a scheduled release date finally set for December 20, 2023, new details are beginning to surface about what story could unfold in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, particularly after The Flash’s reset of the DC Universe.
The Latest Aquaman 2 News
New footage from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomwas shown to attendees at 2023’s CinemaCon, which featured Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta wielding the Black Trident, a source of ultimate power, and explored the brotherly dynamic between Arthur Curry and Patrick Wilson’s Orm. While there were intense discussions over whether Amber Heard would continue to be involved in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom following her infamous legal battle with Johnny Depp, the new footage briefly showed Heard as Mera in the upcoming film. While the release of new footage is exciting, it might not exactly be smooth sailing for the Aquaman sequel.
According to The Direct, recent test screenings for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom have been received abysmally, with a trusted DCU source quoted as stating that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom might be “one of the worst DCEU movies.” These reports were corroborated when it was revealed that Warner Bros. had ordered reshoots and story adjustments for the Aquaman sequel. This might not be bad news for new DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, however, as it might create the opportunity for Momoa to assume a different role in the DCU’s future, as the actor has revealed he’s been eyeing Lobo as a potential future role.
When Is Aquaman 2 Coming Out? (Theaters & Streaming)
As with most movies in production around the time of 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s release date has ebbed and flowed. Arthur Curry’s second coming was initially slated for December 2022, but a wholesale DC Universe reshuffle saw Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom drift to a new position of March 17, 2023. It was then announced in August 2022 that it had been pushed back once again, with the new release date falling on December 25th 2023. However, one more change would bring the release date for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom forward to December 20, 2023.
The most recent Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom delays were reportedly due to the need for more post-production VFX processing time. It wasn’t the only DCU movie to experience major delays, as Shazam! Fury of the Gods was also pushed back from its impending Christmas 2022 release. As for whether Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and other upcoming DC movies will have a dual big and small screen release, at present Warner Bros. movies become available for streaming on HBO Max after a 45-day exclusivity window in theaters, which means the Aquaman sequel would hit HBO Max sometime in mid-January or early February 2024.
Aquaman’s Main Cast Members Are Returning For The Lost Kingdom
The majority of Aquaman’scast are returning for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will star Jason Momoa in the lead role of Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman, the half-human, half-Atlantean King of Atlantis. Patrick Wilson will return as Orm Marius, Curry’s brother and former King of Atlantis, Amber Heard is returning as Mera, the daughter of King Nereus, and Willem Dafoe is also reprising his role of Nuidis Vulko, Curry’s mentor. Yahya Abdull-Mateen II will be back as the film’s villain, David Kane, a.k.a. Black Manta, and Dolph Lundgren, Randall Park, Temuera Morrison, and Nicole Kidman are also returning as King Nereus, Dr. Stephen Shin, Thomas Curry, and Atlanna, respectively.
Vincent Regan will make his DCEU debut as Atlan, the first King of Atlantis. Regan is replacing Graham McTavish who portrayed Atlan in Aquaman, and taking over from Julian Lewis Jones who appeared as Atlan in flashback sequences for Justice League and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Ben Affleck is also expected to reprise his role of Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, supposedly for the final time in the DC Universe. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will also feature Indya Moore as Karshon, Jani Zhao as Stingray, and Pilou Asbæk of Game of Thrones fame in an undisclosed role.
Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom Story Details
James Wan’s working title for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was “Necrus” – a name fans of the hero’s DC Comics adventures will be familiar with. Essentially a darker Atlantis, Necrus is an underwater city ruled by a tyrant who seeks domination over the surface world, but the kingdom is unstable, only flickering into existence thanks to the positioning of an alien satellite. Necrus could be the “lost kingdom” of the Aquaman sequel’s title. The official synopsis for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom provided in December 2021 also mentioned an “ancient power”, which seems to be referring to a new weapon for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta: the Black Trident.
The new footage for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom not only revealed the existence of the Black Trident, but also confirmed an uneasy alliance between Arthur Curry and Orm. The upcoming film is expected to delve deeper into their familial relationship, investigating how these former rivals can work together to save Atlantis. This perhaps suggests that Black Manta will pose a much larger threat to Atlantis in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, diving into the villain’s origins and his hunt for vengeance against Curry, fit with a fresh, comic-accurate costume and a new army.
When Will Aquaman 2’s Trailer Release?
DC has already shown brief snippets of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom footage behind closed doors at CinemaCon, and given eager fans a behind-the-scenes trailer incorporating concept art and interviews, so one would imagine the first proper teaser isn’t far away. On the other hand, the subsequent delays suggest more time is required to nail the visual effects in a film that relies so heavily on convincing CGI, especially in the wake of groundbreaking underwater scenes in films such as Avatar: The Way of Water and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. DC won’t want to release a trailer with half-baked visuals, so it can be expected sometime in late 2023.
Amber Heard’s Mera May Have A Reduced Role In Aquaman 2
The legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard became a phenomenon during the summer of 2022. Heard claimed the ongoing Johnny Depp controversy had pushed Warner Bros. to reduce her role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, even admitting she was unsure that she would be included in the final cut of the film at all. DC’s Walter Hamada confirmed that Mera would not be featured as prominently in the Aquaman sequel, and also admitted that he considered recasting Mera, though this didn’t occur. The libel case has since been settled, but the true extent of Heard’s role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is yet to be seen.
Arthur Curry Has A New Costume In Aquaman 2
Jason Momoa will don two suits in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The first is Arthur Curry’s traditional, comic-inspired gold and green ensemble, variations of which have been used in Aquaman’s past DC Universe outings. The second outfit is a brand new metallic blue “stealth” suit. This latter costume is based on Aquaman’s 1986 Neal Pozner comic run and, as the name implies, is designed to offer better underwater camouflage than Arthur’s traditional bright and glittery gear. Its inclusion in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom points toward some kind of infiltration mission, but the sleeker design also exemplifies the more mature tone teased by James Wan.
Aquaman 2 Uses New Underwater Filming Technology
It would be difficult to deliver an Aquaman film without underwater scenes, since characters are required to interact, converse, and emote beneath the waves. In 2018’s Aquaman, this effect was achieved by harnessing actors to a rig that simulates floating, before adding CGI water in post-production. Momoa previously described this process as extremely uncomfortable, which is part of the reason Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom uses a different approach. According to James Wan (via Cinemablend), the sequel replaced harness rigs with performance capture, filming with multiple cameras before digitally transferring these movements onto a 3-D model – the finished effect will be fascinating to see.
After more than three years of litigation, Apple has quietly dropped its lawsuit against Gerard Williams III, the former chip executive the company accused of poaching employees. Williams working for Apple, leading development on some of its most important chips – including the , the first 64-bit processor for mobile devices.
In 2019, Williams left Apple to co-found Nuvia, a chip design firm . When the tech giant first sued Williams, it accused him of “secretly” starting Nuvia and recruiting talent for his startup while he was still an Apple employee. Williams disputed Apple’s claims and accused the company of .
As , Apple filed a request to dismiss the suit against Williams earlier this week. The document does not state the company’s reason for dropping the case. However, it does say Apple did so “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot file the same claim against Williams again. It also suggests the two sides came to a settlement. Apple did not immediately respond to Engadget’s comment request.
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s dismissal request, court documents show Apple sought the recusal of Judge Sunil Kulkarni. Around March 17th, 2023, the company added two lawyers from the legal firm to the team litigating its case against Williams. On March 28th, Judge Sunil Kulkarni filed a brief disclosing that he had worked at Morrison and Foerster for approximately 13 years and had kept in contact “over the years” with and , the two “MoFo” attorneys Apple hired on as counsel earlier in the month.
“I have occasional social interactions with them (e.g., bimonthly lunches, seeing them at parties of mutual friends, and so on),” Judge Kulkarni wrote. “I believe I have recused myself from past cases involving Mr. Wilson and/or Mr. Kuwayti, but solely as a prophylactic measure.” After learning of the involvement of his former colleagues, Judge Kulkarni held an “informal” meeting with the two sides where he said he was “leaning toward recusal” if Apple retained the counsel of either Wilson or Kuwayti. In that same meeting, Kulkarni says he told Apple and Williams his recusal from the case would likely mean a delay in the case going to trial. Before the meeting, the case was scheduled to go to trial on October 2nd, 2023.
In a brief filed on April 6th, Williams and his legal team came out strongly against the idea of Judge Kulkarni removing himself from the case, arguing Apple’s position on the subject “should not matter” and that the move had the potential to be “prejudicial” against the former exec.
“Given that this case has been pending for over three years – with a fast-approaching discovery deadline and trial date – and given the Court’s familiarity with the parties, the case history, and the applicable law, the Court’s recusal decision has the potential to be prejudicial and disruptive,” the brief states. It then argues it was Apple that introduced a potential conflict of interest to the case.
“Even if a conflict existed that might warrant recusal, the procedure imposed by the Court – allowing the party that introduced the ‘conflict’ and would theoretically stand to benefit from it – to decide whether to waive it is inconsistent with basic rules of fairness and due process,” the brief concludes. “Such a procedure would set a dangerous precedent for judge shopping in the middle of a case: any part, at any time, could recruit former colleagues of a sitting judge and then force his or her recusal.”
Putting together what happened after that point is more difficult. However, after the 6th, the court in Santa Clara held multiple hearings where no one from either side appeared. Apple then filed to dismiss the case on April 26th. Qualcomm, Williams’ current employer, did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment.
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The dress code for next week’s Coronation might be all about ermine-lined robes and fascinators, but the red carpet at the Prince’s Trust Gala in New York on April 27 tipped more towards high fashion than high aristocracy.
Among the highlights? Iman in a polka-dotted monochrome gown courtesy of Sergio Hudson, Sienna Miller in a sheer Fendi couture slip, and Sabrina Elba in sleek, black Alaïa with husband Idris in a coordinating look. Irina Shayk, meanwhile, used the occasion to pay tribute to the late, great Vivienne Westwood in a corseted lace LBD.
“Westwood forever,” Shayk wrote of her look for The Prince’s Trust Gala.
James Devaney/Getty
Shayk has a history of collaborating with the British design house—most recently closing out Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood’s autumn/winter 2023 runway in a ruched oxblood chiffon gown, and opening the brand’s spring/summer 2023 collection in custom crystal-embellished boots courtesy of Gina Shoes (not to mention fronting the subsequent campaign). The crocodile Vivienne Westwood platform boots she wore to The Prince’s Trust Gala are now among the supermodel’s style staples, too; she wore a similar pair with a leather Burberry bikini at Coachella earlier this month.
Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood autumn/winter 2023.
Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood spring/summer 2023.
Salvatore Dragone / Gorunway.com
It’s Shayk’s “punk princess” glam for The Prince’s Trust Gala, though, that’s destined for designer mood boards come fashion month. While make-up artist Dina Drevenak covered the model’s entire eyelid with coal-black shadow and liner, hairstylist Harry Josh pulled back Shayk’s natural hair before creating a faux hawk of corkscrew curls on top of her head.
Celebrities from Katie Holmes to Bella Hadid have been experimenting with perm-inspired looks in recent months, but no one has leaned into the ’80s style quite like Irina Shayk, who credits feeling comfortable in her own skin with her willingness to experiment when it comes to fashion and beauty. “Sexy is not just a push-up bra, red lips, high heels, and big hair,” she told Vogue’s Edward Enninful in her March 2020 British Vogue cover story. “It’s an oversized man’s suit. It’s sweatpants. I’ve never met a woman who isn’t sexy.”
This article was originally published inBritish Vogue.
Actor Matthew Lawrence opened the April 28 episode of his Brotherly Love podcast on a serious note, reflecting on the #MeToo movement and his own experience with sexual harassment in Hollywood.
On the show, co-hosted by his brothers, fellow actors Joey and Andrew Lawrence, the 43-year-old actor recounts his experience refusing to engage with a director involved with a Marvel project, who asked Lawrence to take his clothes off during a meeting.
“There’s been many times in my life where I’ve been propositioned to get a huge role,” Lawrence says on the podcast. “I lost my agency because I went to the hotel room” where, the actor alleges, a prominent director “showed up in his robe, asked me to take my clothes off, said he needed to take Polaroids of me and said if I did X, Y and Z, I would be the next Marvel character.”
Lawrence alleges that his agency (which he did not identify by name) ended up firing him because he left the hotel room. A representative for the actor was not immediately available for comment.
Lawrence began working as a child actor at the age of four. Notable credits include playing the son of Robin Williams’ character in the 1993 smash “Mrs. Doubtfire,” the long-lost Jack Hunter in the ABC sitcom “Boy Meets World” and a lead role on the family comedy “Brotherly Love,” which aired from 1995 to 1997 on the WB Network and also featured his siblings, Joey Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence.
Matthew Lawrence shared his difficult experience during a larger conversation between the brothers about the #MeToo movement, which he calls “a very good thing.” However, he argues that men have not received the same support as women when it comes to sharing their experiences with sexual harassment and abuse in the entertainment industry.
“Not a lot of guys in my opinion have come out and talked about this in the industry,” Lawrence said. “Now granted, it’s probably about a third of what women go through. Men go through this as well… I think our society is less ready to hear that situation is going on with men than they are with women.”
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In celebration of Norman Lear’s 100th birthday, executive producers Brent Miller and David Jammy were tasked with putting together the event of the century that would live on in the ABC documentary Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter.
No small feat when you’re honoring a titan of television behind so many hits including Good Times, The Jeffersons, All in the Family, One Day at a Time and The Facts of Life among others. The guest list alone features the who’s who of Hollywood including Justina Machado and Emily Hampshire, who joined Miller and Jammy at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted to share insight into how they made the dream project a reality.
“What we really didn’t want to do was make this banal, shiny special that brings a parade of celebrities onstage to read off a teleprompter,” Jammy said. “Our starting point was that we really wanted to surround Norman with talented people who carried his story, and then find a format that allowed us to get beneath the surface of what it is about Norman that makes him extraordinary and so special.”
Added Miller: “It was a love letter in a sense but we wanted it to be more meaningful than that. We wanted to really capture all bits of his life, a life that’s been well lived. How do you do that in such a short amount of time? It was taking on various themes from his life, like what is his life in politics like? What’s his life in entertainment? So ultimately, if we could go after all those various subjects and build from there, it was 100 years of music and laughter.”
Machado, who starred in the One Day at a Time revival, shared insight into what it was like to be in that room celebrating Lear with the likes of Jimmy Kimmel, Tom Hanks, Rita Moreno, Rob Reiner and many more.
“I remember my manager looking at me and she said, ‘This is why I love Hollywood.’ It was really a night to remember,” shared the Chicago native, who flexed her singing skills at the soiree. “I was sitting down with my jaw wide open while surrounded by everyone we grew up with like Tony Danza and the cast of The Facts of Life. We got to be on stage and perform for these people — that was so exciting.”
Hampshire revealed she grew up watching Facts of Life and caught up later in life with many of Lear’s early titles like Maude and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. On Lear’s 99th birthday, it was announced that Lear and Miller were developing a remake the latter for TBS, with Hampshire set to lead. After TBS was sold, the project was left in limbo.
“It’s shopping,” Miller revealed.
Added Hampshire, “If anyone’s shopping, Mary is shopping. What’s so great about the show is the pitch of exploring how the original series would be in today’s world. What’s great is that it keeps getting more and more relevant now. Mary’s obsession with her screen foreshadowed us with our screen, but now instead of Mary watching the commercials, we are the commercials.”
Actor Eva Green has won a long-brewing lawsuit this weekend, related to a science fiction film she was once on the hook to star in called A Patriot. Green has been suing the film’s production company, White Lantern Film, for a few years now, seeking a $1.04 million “pay or play” fee she stated that she was owed on the movie, which began to fall apart in 2019. White Lantern, in turn, counter-sued, accusing Green of deliberately sabotaging the production of the film.
Dwayne Johnson on why “Black Adam” was the movie he had to make
Per Variety, the basic issues on A Patriot came down to this: Shortly after Green signed on to the film—apparently a futuristic thriller about the effects of climate change—the movie’s funding mostly collapsed. Among other things, that meant the movie’s budget (already low at $10 million) was cut, leading Green to worry, in private correspondence, that she was stuck in a “B shitty movie.” The whole thing eventually devolved into a sort of legal stand-off, with no actual filming in danger of taking place; if Green walked, she’d waive her fee, and if the studio and its financiers admitted the movie was D.O.A., they’d have to pay it.
The topic of Green’s private conversations became a major aspect of the court case, as the defendants dredged through her WhatsApp history to find instances of her talking pretty extensive shit about producer Jeff Seal and his crew at Black Hangar Studios, who were brought in to handle this much cheaper version of A Patriot. These excerpts were, undeniably, embarrassing—at one point, a testifying Green pointed to her “Frenchness” as a reason for some of the nastier invective—but what they didn’t show, according to the judge in the case, was that she’d done anything to A Patriot except demand producers spend the money to make a good version of it. Justice Michael Green, in rendering his verdict in the U.K. trial, noted that, “This was not part of some unlawful conspiracy or deceit,” and that the actor “desperately wanted to make the film.” He said she was owed her pay or play fee, and dismissed the counter-suit against her.
In a statement about the case—available in full on Deadline—Green stated that, “In this legal action I was forced to stand up to a small group of men, funded by deep financial resources, who tried to use me as a scapegoat to cover up their own mistakes. I am proud that I stood up against their bully-boy tactics.” She also spoke harshly of certain members of the press, saying she “found myself misrepresented, quoted out of context and my desire to make the best possible film was made to look like female hysteria.” A statement from White Lantern and Sherborne Media Finance pushed back on these claims, saying, “The suggestion Eva Green has made today that this legal action was motivated by or represented gender-based bullying is completely unwarranted.”
In Bao Truong and Christina Connerton’s short film, The Recruit, Cristiana plays Kat, a serial people pleasure, on her way to interview for a job-recruitment company.
When she arrives at the offices of Intrinsic Recruiting, everything appears to be what she expected…but it is not. Her appointment today is with Athena, but first things first, the application. Unlike your typical application, the questions Kat is asked are, “What is the greatest gift you can give to the world?” “What are you a champion of?” and “When have you felt most powerful?” Then she notices the odd make-up choices of the office receptionist (Tryphena Wade… or was it Brittany Carel) and what’s with the crying child? All Kat wants is a job, but what she’s stumbled into is a cult.
“All Kat wants is a job, but what she’s stumbled into is a cult.”
As stated in the credits, The Recruit is inspired by actual events. I’m going to guess WeWorks here. Filmmakers Truong and Connerton create a surreal world for Kat to fall into. Truong creates an effective psychological thriller which slowly evolves into a music video for Jennifer Love Hewitt’s hit song, Barenaked.
The Recruit is weird, and it’s fun. The story is engaging because it’s constantly keeping you on your toes with what happens next. Seriously, all Kat wants is a job, but she’s slowly being indoctrinated into a higher plane of thought where the “work works for her.”
Following a week off to reflect on their season so far, the Vancouver Whitecaps take on the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening.
Vancouver (2-2-4) enters the match looking for a win after CONCACAF Champions League heartbreak to Los Angeles FC and a regular-season draw with Austin FC.
The Canadian club has struggled to find wins in the early part of the Major League Soccer season.
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“We had the possibility to rest a little,” head coach Vanni Sartini said about the bye week. “I think we’re doing well in preparing for this game. We’re working on what we’re trying to do in our principles (of how we play).”
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Midfielder Julian Gressel, who was called up to the U.S. national team squad during the break, said his team has done a good job of limiting opposition teams’ chances.
“I think the last three games have put us in a pretty good spot,” he said. “At home, we’re trying to be strong. We’re trying to be a good home team.”
Gressel leads the team with five assists in all competitions, including four in MLS play which leaves him one behind league leaders Thiago Almada and Leo Chu.
Gressel made his U.S. debut on Jan. 25 in a friendly against Serbia, earning his first international assist in his first start.
Questions raised over Toronto’s deal with MLSE to host FIFA World Cup games
The Rapids (1-3-5) sit two points back of the Whitecaps and come in after two straight draws in league play.
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Colorado’s last win was on April 8 in a match against Sporting Kansas City, where the Rapids won 1-0. But Sartini refused to downplay the abilities of Vancouver’s opponent.
“They’re actually, in my opinion, playing really well when they have the ball,” he said, adding that Vancouver needs to ensure that the squad maintains its structure when defending.
Colorado and the Seattle Sounders announced a deal on Tuesday that midfielder Danny Leyva would be loaned to the Rapids for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Vancouver also announced a transfer earlier this week, with winger Cristian Dajome heading to D.C. United in exchange for up to US$550,000 in general allocation money.
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“I think it was a deal that first of all was beneficial to every party,” said Whitecaps sporting director and Chief Executive Officer Axel Schuster.
“We have seen, last weekend, how many very good offensive options we have in our club that haven’t played that much this season.”
Schuster cited longtime Whitecaps veteran Russell Tiebert as well as off-season signings as reasons why Dajome’s departure made sense to the club.
Dajome scored 15 goals and recorded 13 assists in his 91 regular season appearances with Vancouver.
Calgary FC’s Fraser Aird describes road back from injury
MATCH DAY: Game time is 7:30 p.m., PT, at B.C. Place.
BACK HOME: The Whitecaps will be looking to extend their six-match unbeaten run in MLS play against a Rapids side that is undefeated in five straight MLS matches. In the previous meeting at B.C. Place last August, Vancouver claimed a 2-1 victory thanks to two goals from Ryan Gauld.
KEEPING IT CLEAN: Heading into Matchday 10, the ’Caps have kept three consecutive clean sheets and have not allowed a goal in the last 320 minutes of league play, marking the fourth-longest shutout streak in the league so far this season.
SQUAD DEPTH: Head coach Vanni Sartini has had to rely on his squad’s depth through the first 12 matches of the season across all competitions, with 24 players making at least one appearance in that span.
Terry Bradshaw was diagnosed with bladder and skin cancer
After treating the bladder cancer in 2021, he was diagnosed with the rare Merkel cell skin cancer tumor a year later
His wife, Tammy, a former radiation therapist, said she was ‘scared’ following the second diagnosis
Football fans fell in love with Terry Bradshaw as the Super Bowl-winning quarterback in the 70s and as the amicable sports analyst on FOX NFL Sunday since 1994. In October 2022, during one of his televised broadcasts, the legendary athlete shocked his legion of followers when he revealed he had been battling both bladder cancer and skin cancer for over a year.
Terry Bradshaw revealed he was battling cancer in 2022. (JA/Everett Collection)
As for why he kept the fight private, Terry said he didn’t want any “pity” from the public, per his Nov. 2022Today appearance. “I didn’t talk about it because I didn’t want pity,” he explained. “I didn’t talk about it because a lot of celebrities — unfortunately, I’m one of those — when they say this, I think the perception around America with all the millions of people is, ‘Aw, look at him. Bless his heart. He has cancer. I didn’t want that.”
The Pro Football Hall of Famer didn’t even post about it to his social media at the time. Instead, a few weeks after the cancer reveal, he took to Instagram to share a photo with his pal William Shatner.
Even his wife, Tammy Bradshaw, kept the news to herself, as she said she was scared of the outcome. “The doctor calls me to tell me what it is, and then I’m shook because I was a radiation therapist for 10 years,” she told Today. “I knew where this could go. I knew what the outcomes could be. And it did scare me the second time with that diagnosis.”
With his family supporting him, including his two daughters Rachel and Erin, it appeared Terry was in good hands. Here’s everything to know about his health struggles, how he’s doing today, and more.
Terry Bradshaw Diagnosed With Cancer
During today’s show, Terry Bradshaw shared that he has been battling cancer over the past year. As of today, he is cancer free, and he discussed his fight and plan for the future: pic.twitter.com/RSwVxlXC97
On the Oct. 2, 2022 episode of Fox NFL Sunday, Terry announced his cancer diagnosis following rumors about his health after he had ran out of breath and needed assistance during the show a week prior. “Last week on this show, I ran out of breath and [co-star] Howie [Long] helped me up and a lot of people are asking what’s wrong with me,” the star of The Bradshaw Bunch said. “I just want to address it and let you know what has happened in my life.”
“In November, I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I went to the Yale University Medical Center [for] surgery, treatment. As of today, I am bladder cancer-free. Alright, that’s the good news. Then in March, feeling good. I had a bad neck, I get an MRI, now we find a tumor in my left neck and it’s a Merkel cell tumor, which is a rare form of skin cancer.”
Fortunately, doctors were also able to remove the skin cancer, this time at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
What Is Merkel Cell Skin Cancer?
Terry first had to tackle his fight with bladder cancer, which develops when cells that make up the urinary bladder start to grow out of control and form tumors, according to the American Cancer Society. Over time, the cancer might grow outside the bladder and into nearby organs and structures. There are several forms of cancer that begin in the bladder, with urothelial carcinoma, also known as transitional cell carcinoma(TCC), being the most common type, per the news source.
As for Terry’s skin cancer diagnosis, the Mayo Clinic describes Merkel cell carcinoma as “a rare type of skin cancer that usually appears as a flesh-colored or bluish-red nodule, often on your face, head or neck,” and is also known as neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. “Long-term sun exposure or a weak immune system” may increase the risk of developing it and it most often affects older people, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Both forms of cancer were treated by removing the tumors.
How Long Has Terry Bradshaw Been Sick?
When Terry shared the shocking news of his cancer in 2022, he revealed he had been diagnosed with skin cancer in November 2021. As mentioned, he beat it, but soon found out afterwards, in March 2022, that he had also developed the rare form of skin cancer.
How Is Terry Bradshaw Doing Today?
When Terry broke the news of his secret battle with cancer in Oct. 2022, he also revealed he was cancer free at the time! “Folks, I may not look like my old self, but I feel like my old self. I’m cancer-free, I’m feeling great and over time, I’m going to be back to where I normally am,” he said on Fox NFL Sunday. So I appreciate your prayers and your concern.”
He also gave a heartfelt shout out to Tammy for all the support in a follow up interview one month later. “I can’t imagine not holding her hand when we take off on a plane,” Terry said on Today. “Or when we land or when we snuggle up when we’re in bed together.”
And he said he’s ready to soak up every moment he can with his wife of 8 years. “We’re going to go to Europe, going to go to Paris, going to go to wherever we want to go. I’m going to get all this in because I feel like I don’t want to put this off anymore.” Terry quipped, “I may have 25, 30 years left, but I’m going to act like I got one.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders couldn’t help himself when CNN’s Chris Wallace pivoted from numerous questions about possible cognitive testing for aging presidential candidates to a topic much less sensitive to the 81-year-old Vermont Democrat.
“We’re off of age. I think you’re worried about getting old here,” Sanders jested with the 75-year-old host of HBO Max’s ‘Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace. “That’s what I’m hearing here, Chris. But I’ll fight to keep you on the [news] station,” Sanders added with a laugh.
Wallace, in good spirit, was quick to jab back.
“You poked the bear!” joked Wallace, who has been working in broadcast journalism since 1964 when he was an assistant to Walter Cronkite. “I’m gonna go back to age. Truth to tell. Honestly. You’re 81, I’m 75. Am I sharp? Do I think I have the mental acuity I had five or 10 years ago? No, I think I’m pretty good. And to a certain degree, I take a mental acuity test every time I sit down with somebody like you. Do you think maybe you’ve lost a step?”
“I mean, I let other people make that decision. I think you’re doing pretty well. I’ll vote to keep you on the station here, how’s that?” Sanders answered.
“I think you’re a young 81, so I’ll vote for you, too,” Wallace smiled.
Wallace initially brought up the subject in regards to President Joe Biden’s recent announcement that he would be running for re-election despite turning 80 last November. Wallace pointed to potential hesitancy from would-be Biden voters due to his advanced age. Sanders, who ran against Biden in the 2020 presidential primaries, has already endorsed the president’s re-election.
“In our country, theoretically, it is the people who make a decision,” Sanders said. “If you think that President Biden is too old and you can’t vote for him, fine, that’s your view. I would suggest you look at the totality of the person. Take a look at the job that he or she does, and make a decision.”
“Wouldn’t it be good to have more information in making that judgment?” Wallace countered.
“I don’t think you go around giving cognitive tests to all the candidates,” Sanders responded. “And just starting at people [age] 75, no, I would not agree.”
Wallace let it be known he meant no disrespect to Sanders, who has held office as a senator of Vermont since 2007.
After years of production woes, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” has officially wrapped principal photography, according to director Christopher McQuarrie.
McQuarrie posted a picture on Instagram to celebrate.
“To the greatest crew there ever was and ever will be,” McQuarrie said. “Those who weren’t there will never understand. Those who were will never forget. With sincerest thanks and unfathomable gratitude, not only to you but to your families and loved ones, safe travels and a richly deserved rest. That’s (officially) a wrap on ‘Dead Reckoning Part I.’”
Like many productions, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” was hindered by the pandemic. Filming was slated to start in February 2020, shortly after COVID-19 restrictions and mandatory quarantines sidelined the film. Filming picked up again in September of 2020 but more COVID-19-related issues created stoppages in the months that followed.
The original release date was scheduled for July 2021, however, delays caused the premiere to be pushed back three more times. It is reported that the estimated budget for the film is nearly $300 million.
Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell and Ving Rhames star in the action film. “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” will hit theaters in July 2023.
The Nintendo video game adaptation will cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office sometime on Sunday, its 26th day in release. It becomes only the 10th animated film to achieve the feat, and is easily the first title of 2023 to do so.
In North America, Super Mario’s projected weekend gross is $37.5 million from 4,204 theaters for a domestic tally of $487.5 million through Sunday. Its projected weekend overseas haul is $69 million for a foreign cume of $533 million and $1.02 billion globally.
The movie has shattered any number of records, including ranking as the highest-grossing animated film in Universal history at the domestic box office after besting Minions: The Rise of Gru ($369.7 million) and the third-highest of any Universal movie behind Jurassic World and E.T. The Extraterrestrial, not adjusted for inflation.
Super Mario continues to play more like an all-audience blockbuster than an animated tentpole thanks to its multi-generational appeal.
Elsewhere at the domestic box office, Warner Bros.’ Evil Dead Rise is impressing in its sophomore outing of $13.5 million from 3,417 locations for a domestic tally of $45 million or more.
Lionsgate’s new offering Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret looks to come in No. 3 with around $6 million from 3,334 cinemas. The film earned an A CinemaScore.
In a fun twist, the rerelease of Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi will place No. 4 with an estimated $5.6 million from only 500 theaters.
John Wick: Chapter 4, another Lionsgate movie, is expected to round out the top five with roughly $4.5 million from 2,481 sites, enough to jump the $175 million mark domestically.
Sony’s Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of The Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of The World is proving to be a disappointment. The movie will fall outside the top 10 with a projected opening of $2.6 million or thereabouts from 3,504 theaters.
Jack Nicholson attends Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Western Conference semifinal playoffs as Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant receives the NBA’s most valuable player trophy.
(Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press)
Nicholson hadn’t made a front-row appearance in nearly two years since attending last season’s opening game in 2021, per Showtime’s Rachel Nichols. The “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Chinatown” star celebrated his 86th birthday last week.
Friday night before tipoff, onlookers captured his return as he was greeted by fellow celeb booster Larry David and welcomed with a hug by LeBron James.
Even the Lakers’ Twitter account marked the moment with two words that needed no further explanation: “Jack’s back.”
“Half the time he calls me Flip, the other half of the time he calls me Skip,” then-Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders told The Times during the 2004 NBA playoffs. “But he’s a great fan. He’s trying to get the Lakers pumped up. You love to see people show the passion he does for the game.”
Nicholson’s last acting role was in the 2010 romantic comedy “How Do You Know,” directed by fellow NBA fan James L. Brooks.
As the Lakers clinched their win on Friday they celebrated Nicholson’s return, giving the legendary actor his own close-up on the Crypto.com Arena Jumbotron.
That ’70s Show star Mila Kunis discussed the rumors that she’ll play a character in the MCU’s Fantastic Four reboot.
Kunis Addresses Sue Storm and Fantastic Four Rumors
Mila Kunis
During a recent interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden (via Twitter user Wandjuul), Corden asked Mila Kunis about the rumors that have been floating around regarding the actress possibly portraying the MCU’s Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four.
Kunis then denied her involvement in the 2025 Marvel movie. “I am not in Fantastic Four,” she declared, but then added that she’s aware of the actors who will be cast: “But I know who is. But I don’t wanna get in trouble with the Mouse!”
To preface her statement, she initially explained that she met Shakman at a deli for lunch, which prompted the rumor mill to kick into gear:
“Apparently, if you go to lunch with somebody that is also in the industry, you then start working together according to the internet… We went out to a deli and had lunch together, and the next day, I’m somehow in Fantastic Four.”
It’s been more than 10 years since Stephen Amell first suited up as the Green Arrow in The CW’s original series Arrow, founder of the Arrowverse. The show ended back in 2020, after eight seasons but the actor played the character once again in the last installment of The Flash, the only survivor of the popular tv universe based on DC Comics characters. And he still hopes there’s more to come.
After the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery, with David Zaslav taking control of the company, a new beginning was announced for the DC franchise within the company. Peter Safran and James Gunn were announced last year as co-CEOs for DC Studios, a division in charge of every single project related to the comicbooks brand, including movies, tv shows and even videogames.
Gunn and Safran are actively working on the future of the franchise, with the first phase titled Gods & Monsters already in motion. And even though Green Arrow it’s not part of the heroes that will be part of the first batch of projects, it might appear in the future. And Stephen Amell wants to play him again.
While speaking with TVLine while promoting his participation on The Flash’s final season, Amell made it very clear that he still wants to play the character, especially beyond television:
“We had a good run on The CW in the Arrowverse, but the idea of 22 or 23 episodes a year…. That’s a very specific way to make television, with act breaks and all those things. I had had my fill of playing Arrow in that particular medium. But the idea of going back and doing something on a limited basis, or doing a movie it’d be interesting.”
Stephen Amell Isn’t the Only Former CW Star Interested in Playing Green Arrow
DC Comics
Way before Amell, Grant Gustin and the rest of the Arrowverse team made their debuts, another successful tv show tried to build its own Justice League. We’re talking about Smallville, the Tom Welling starred show that centered on a young Clark Kent before turning into Superman.
Smallville presented a large gallery of DC characters, including its own Green Arrow played by This is Us’ Justin Hartley. But it isn’t him who would like to play the hero again. The series also introduced an alternate version of the Scarlet Speedster, played by Kyle Gallner.
And even when Gallner was a decent Bart Allen, he’s now interested in portraying a different character. A few months ago, the actor shared a video on his social media showing his skills with the bow and arrow, letting James Gunn know he’s ready to become the next DC archer.
Created by artist George Papp and writer Mort Weisinger in 1941, Green Arrow first appeared in More Fun Comics #73. With a similar background as Batman’s, Oliver is a businessman, owner of Queen Industries and comes from a wealthy family. The character is based on Edgar Wallace’s novel The Green Archer and inspired by Robin Hood.
During the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, which ended in March, the company shipped 6.3 million PS5 consoles to reach 38.3 million lifetime shipments.
The figure represents a record for any games console during the first three months of a calendar year, and it’s also double PS4’s all-time peak for the same window.
During an earnings presentation on Friday, Sony’s president, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki, said the company’s PS5 forecast was based on an analysis of the number of users it’s seeing make the jump from PS4 to its successor, combined with new PlayStation customers.
“Based on this forecast, we believe that 25 million units within this fiscal year is something that we think we can achieve,” he said (translated by VGC).
The company also announced a limited edition Final Fantasy 16-themed DualSense wireless controller and PS5 console cover this week, but these will only be available in Japan.
Following what was described as Formosa Group CEO Bob Rosenthal’s emotional last day with his team, there’s more developing at the leading audio postproduction company.
Rosenthal’s last official day at Formosa Group was Friday. A day earlier, a so-called “Formosa Group Collective” — a name being used to include employees from “all divisions, domestic and international,” including its award-winning sound talent — sent a petition to top brass at parent company Streamland Media, urging it to keep the company under Rosenthal’s “unhindered leadership,” The Hollywood Reporter has learned. THR has obtained a copy of the petition (below, in its entirety).
As THR understands it, the employees received a response from the company, but Streamland declined a request for comment.
A month ago, THR broke the story of Rosenthal’s March 31 resignation, a widely unexpected move that left many in the sound community struggling to understand what happened. The well-known industry vet had been with Formosa Group, which now operates under parent Streamland Media, since he founded the company in 2013.
“Bob Rosenthal is the heart and soul of Formosa Group. Under his leadership, Formosa Group has grown from a boutique sound house to the largest independent, sound postproduction company in the world, and one of the most distinguished and successful brands in post sound,” reads the petition from the collective that was “formed to show our support for Bob Rosenthal and the desire that our organization remain under his unhindered leadership.”
Formosa is home to a long roster of leading sound editors, designers and rerecording mixers, including winners of Oscars, BAFTAs, Emmys, MPSE Golden Reel Awards and Cinema Audio Society trophies. Among them are Ron Bartlett (Dune), Anna Behlmer (Mulan) and Mark Stoeckinger (John Wick: Chapter 4). The company also maintains divisions in broadcast work, music, interactive media and commercials.
The complete text of the petition follows.
To All Concerned:
This petition is not led by any individual but rather The Formosa Group Collective, which includes representation from all divisions, domestic and international.
During the April 13th Streamland town-hall, it was stated that Streamland Media is nothing without its people. We welcome you to show us that you believe those words to be true.
Bob Rosenthal is the heart and soul of Formosa Group. Under his leadership, Formosa Group has grown from a boutique sound house to the largest independent, sound post production company in the world, and one of the most distinguished and successful brands in post sound.
The Formosa Group Collective was formed to show our support for Bob Rosenthal and the desire that our organization remain under his unhindered leadership, so he can continue navigating our future successfully, the way he has for the past decade.
He is the leader we trust to usher our company through the times ahead.
A few weeks back, we wrote a piece on here noting that it seemed pretty likely—given the massive money-making trajectory of Nintendo, Illumination, and Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie—that the film would likely end up making a billion dollars at the global box office at some point. This Newswire was criticized, in some quarters—and rightly, we admit now! Rightly!—for being a tad alarmist, in so far as we suggested, at the time, that the peculiar chemical changes that happens in movie studio executive’s brain when they see 9 zeroes after a 1 in a movie’s overall earnings might lead to an oncoming glut of animated video game-based cinematic offerings that might be, you know, apocalyptically bad. We’d now like to formally apolo—
Luca’s director on sea monsters, cliques, and gelato vs. ice cream
Wait, hold on a second, we’re just getting some breaking news…
Jesus Christ, it’s happening: The fucking thing is breaking a billion. Grab your kids and protect your dogs, because we are now only seconds away from someone greenlighting an animated feature centered on Zero The Kamikaze Squirrel. It’s already happening, probably. These bastards have probably got Plok and Bonk on speed-dial. Blinx The Time Sweeper might be going into pre-production as we speak!
Which is to say that Variety reports today that the Mario movie is now on-track to crest that billion-dollar mark this Sunday, becoming only the 52nd movie in cinematic history to do so, and the first of 2023. (That makes it only the fourth of the COVID-19 era, after Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, and Avatar: The Way Of Water. First one not to be a sequel, too, albeit a “not a sequel” with massively famous IP powering it.) As ever, Mario is being propelled along by a blend of strong domestic showings ($458 million in the U.S. and Canada) and a powerful international response that’s seen it do big numbers in the U.K., Mexico, and Germany. It’s not clear how long the run can continue, though; the film is about to hit its first really serious blockbuster competition next week, when Marvel releases Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, which might very well bring its meteoric, Bubsy-encouraging rise to a close.
In the latest TV ratings, Fox’s SmackDown led Friday in the demo, while CBS’ Blue Bloods rerun copped the night’s largest audience.
FOX |Friday Night SmackDown (with 2.3 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating) was up week-to-week.
ABC | NFL Draft coverage averaged 2.4 million viewers and a 0.5 demo rating.
NBC | A season-ending double helping of Grand Crew drew 1.4 mil (a season high!) and a 0.2 rating, followed by not even 1 million viewers (a season low) and another 0.2 rating.
THE CW |Whose Line Is It Anyway? (490K/0.1) dropped some eyeballs week-to-week, while The Great American Joke Off [sic] (400K/0.0) added viewers but dipped in the demo.
CBS | That Blue Bloods repeat drew 3.4 million viewers.
The Live+Same Day numbers reported in our ratings column do not reflect a show’s overall performance, given the increased use of delayed playback via DVR and streaming platforms, plus out-of-home viewing. These numbers (Nielsen fast nationals, unless denoted as finals) instead aim to simply illustrate trends or superlatives. This is only an exhibition, this is not a competition. Please, no wagering.
Elon Musk joined Bill Maher on HBO’s “Real Time” Friday night and then – according to many on social media – it went downhill from there, as the comedian/host gushed over the billionaire, repeatedly calling him “a genius” and fully supporting his theory behind the “woke mind virus.”
The exchange began with Maher telling the Twitter owner saying he was “right on your page” when dealing with “big civilizational issues and problems,” Twitter being one of them.
“You have talked about this ‘woke mind virus’ in really apocalyptic terms. You should explain why you don’t think it’s hyperbole to say things like it’s ‘pushing civilization toward suicide.’ First of all, what is the woke mind virus? And if we don’t deal with this, nothing else can get done,” Maher said.
“I think we need to be very cautious about anything that is anti-meritocratic and anything that results in the suppression of free speech,” Musk explained. “So, you know, those are two other aspects of the woke mind virus that I think are very dangerous is that it’s anti-meritocratic. You can’t question things. Even the questioning is bad. So, you know, another way… [it’s almost synonymous] with cancel culture.”
Maher was clearly thrilled to have Musk in front of him – and the “Real Time” audience made note of it, saying in various ways that Maher was “kissing a–.”
“Nobody can tongue bathe a racist billionaire better than Bill Maher,” one person wrote.
Nobody can tongue bathe a racist billionaire better than Bill Maher.
— “Dr” Jim Earl, inventor of boiled water technology (@jimearl666) April 29, 2023
“I nearly puked hearing Maher’s obsequious praise of Musk as Musk pushed Maher’s head deep into his ass. Bill Maher calls Elon Musk ‘a likable guy in exclusive ‘Real Time’ interview,” another wrote.
I nearly puked hearing Maher’s obsequious praise of Musk as Musk pushed Maher’s head deep into his ass.
Bill Maher calls Elon Musk “a likable guy” in exclusive “Real Time” interview https://t.co/PddBhuDjTv
Here are a few others that hit below Maher’s belt:
I watched Bill Maher interview Elon Musk last night and all I could think was, “Damn, Bill Maher sure is good at kissing ass, and Elon Musk sure is good at spreading his bullshit, right-wing propaganda.”
I watched Bill Maher interview Elon Musk last night and all I could think was, “Damn, Bill Maher sure is good at kissing ass, and Elon Musk sure is good at spreading his bullshit, right-wing propaganda.”
— StrictlyChristo ??? (@StrictlyChristo) April 29, 2023
Woke’s bad impact on the left is bad movies and TV shows. Antiwoke on the right leads to discrimination laws banning free speech in schools and laws banning treatment to the point of harm to various groups. Bill Maher is naturally cool with this with Elon Musk as he licks boots.
Woke’s bad impact on the left is bad movies and TV shows. Antiwoke on the right leads to discrimination laws banning free speech in schools and laws banning treatment to the point of harm to various groups. Bill Maher is naturally cool with this with Elon Musk as he licks boots.
Bill Maher and Elon Musk sitting down together for a “talk” was the worst fucking choice for Maher in the history of his show. What a fucking hilariously-bad joke. The epitome of the Asleep Mind Virus.
How is this real life? How are two grown adult men having a real conversation about the biggest threat to humanity being the “woke mind virus”?
Elon Musk starts rambling about how there’s more to George Washington than slave ownership and Bill Maher goes “POC did slavery too” pic.twitter.com/GWDwX8IYJU
A filmmaker has been hit with a cease-and-desist notice from Coachella’s parent company AEG after uploading Frank Ocean’s chaotic headlining set at the festival composed of fan-shot videos.
The upload in question — which edited together 150 different YouTube videos to recreate Ocean’s entire and controversial 80-minute set — was only online a short time on Tuesday before AEG demanded it taken down due to copyrights.
However, Brian Kinnes, a Los Angeles-based editor and filmmaker, continued to make his Ocean video live via different mediums — like Dropbox and Google Drive — resulting in AEG’s cease-and-desist, Variety reports.
“I’m just combining what’s already publicly available,” Kinnes told Variety. “Essentially, [AEG’s] claims are pretty frivolous and almost completely baseless.” Kinnes added that he “did not plan on making a single penny” from his work.
AEG’s lawsuit demands that Kinnes “remove and destroy all audio and video content […] of musical performances from the Festival,” with failure to do so leading to further legal action.
Kinnes, who didn’t attend Coachella, says he downloaded roughly 450 Ocean videos that were posted online, and wilted the footage down over the course of 80 hours to the best 150 videos from which he made his edit; Kinnes also sent the best available audio clips to a sound engineer to serve as the bed for the video footage.
Ocean’s headlining set was among the few sets that were not livestreamed during Coachella’s first weekend; he later canceled his headlining slot the following weekend, citing an ankle injury.
While Kinnes has enlisted a lawyer to help him against the AEG claims, links to his Coachella film have been removed from his website, which notes its “currently unavailable to the public.” While the majority of Coachella was livestreamed, AEG and the respective rights-holders have been aggressive in taking down any unauthorized footage from the festival on YouTube and social media.
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of Americans fleeing two weeks of deadly fighting in Sudan reached the east African nation’s port Saturday in the first U.S.-run evacuation, completing a dangerous land journey under escort of armed drones.
American unmanned aircraft, which have been keeping an eye on overland evacuation routes for days, provided armed overwatch for a bus convoy carrying 200 to 300 Americans over 500 miles or 800 kilometers to Port Sudan, a place of relative safety, U.S. officials said.
The U.S., which had none of its officials on the ground for the evacuation, has been criticized by families of trapped Americans in Sudan for initially ruling out any U.S.-run evacuation for those among an estimated 16,000 Americans in Sudan who wish to leave.
U.S. special operations troops briefly flew to the capital, Khartoum, April 22 to airlift out American staffers at the embassy and other American government personnel. More than a dozen other nations have already been carrying out evacuations for their citizens, using a mix of military planes, navy vessels and on the ground personnel.
A wide-ranging group of international mediators — including African and Arab nations, the United Nations and the United States — has only managed to achieve a series of fragile temporary cease-fires that failed to stop clashes but created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea.
Since the conflict between two rival generals broke out April 15, the U.S. has warned its citizens that they needed to find their own way out of the country, though U.S. officials have tried to link up Americans with other nations’ evacuation efforts. But that changed as U.S. officials exploited a relative lull in the fighting and, from afar, organized their own convoy for Americans, officials said.
Without the evacuation flights near the capital that other countries have been offering their citizens, many U.S. citizens have been left to make the dangerous overland journey from Khartoum to the country’s main Red Sea port, Port Sudan. One Sudanese-American family that made the trip earlier described passing through numerous checkpoints manned by armed men and passing bodies lying in the street and vehicles of other fleeing families who had been killed along the way.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the convoy carried U.S. citizens, local people employed by the U.S. and citizens of allied countries. “We reiterate our warning to Americans not to travel to Sudan,” he said.
From Port Sudan, away from the fighting, the Americans in the convoy can seek spots on vessels crossing the Red Sea to the Saudi port city of Jeddah. U.S. officials also are working with Saudi Arabia to see if one of the kingdom’s naval vessels can carry a larger number of Americans to Jeddah.
U.S. consular officials will be waiting for the Americans once they reach the dock in Jeddah, but there are no U.S. personnel in Port Sudan, officials said.
Two Americans are confirmed killed in the fighting that erupted April 15. One was a U.S. civilian whom officials said was caught in crossfire. The other was an Iowa City, Iowa, doctor, who was stabbed to death in front of his house and family in Khartoum, in the lawless violence that has accompanied the fighting.
In all, the fighting in the east African country has killed more than 500 people,.
The U.S. airlifted out all its diplomats and military personnel and closed its embassy April 22. It left behind several thousand U.S. citizens still in Sudan, many of them dual-nationals.
The Biden administration had warned it had no plans to join other countries in organizing evacuation for ordinary U.S. citizens who wanted out, calling it too dangerous. There were no known U.S. gov
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