It’s time for your daily dose of Quordle hints. And you might need them – because this popular online game takes the Wordle format and quadruples the difficulty. So if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you’ll probably need some for Quordle too.
I’m a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who’s been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #455 and bookmark this page so you can easily return.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
Your Quordle expert
Your Quordle expert
Marc McLaren
Marc is TechRadar’s UK Editor in Chief and has been playing Wordle and Quordle for more than a year. He’s authored dozens of articles on the game for TechRadar and its sister site Tom’s Guide, including a detailed analysis of the most common letters in every position. His Wordle streak recently reached the 450 mark and he’ll be inconsolable if he loses it. Yes, he takes it all too seriously.
Quordle today (game #455) – hint #1 – Vowels
How many different vowels are in Quordle today?
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #455) – hint #2 – total vowels
What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?
• The total number of vowels across today’s Quordle answers is 9.
Quordle today (game #455) – hint #3 – repeated letters
Do any of today’s Quordle answers contain repeated letters?
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.
Quordle today (game #455) – hint #4 – total letters
How many different letters are used in Quordle today?
• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 13.
Quordle today (game #455) – hint #5 – uncommon letters
Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?
• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today’s Quordle answers.
What letters do today’s Quordle answers start with?
• D
• B
• N
• Y
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #455) – the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today’s Quordle, game #455, are…
Today’s Quordle is not one of the more difficult games in recent memory. I solved all four in short order, with two guesses remaining and with no real hiccups. DEUCE contains a repeated E, but the other three words are all standard CONSONANT-VOWEL-VOWEL-CONSONANT-CONSONANT answers and use common letters throughout.
I had slightly more trouble with Quordle’s new Daily Sequence game, which challenges you to solve each of four Quordles in turn, but using the letters you’ve already played. You get one extra guess to complete them all, but it can prove quite difficult. If you’ve not tried it yet, I recommend you give it a go!
Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar.
As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you’re competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.
The website also includes a practice mode – which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! – and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements – specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.
Oh, and it’s difficult. Really difficult.
What are the Quordle rules?
The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…
4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two.
5. Answers are never plural.
6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle’s dictionary. You can’t guess ABCDE, for instance.
8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle’s Hard mode.
9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.
10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.
What is a good Quordle strategy?
Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can’t blindly throw letters at it and expect to win – you’ll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.
That’s the case in Wordle too, of course, but it’s even more important in Quordle.
There are two key things to remember.
1. Use several starting words
Firstly, you won’t want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words.
The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.
For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options – you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe – but something like that should do the trick.
If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!
2. Narrow things down
Secondly, if you’re faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options – for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH – you’ll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options.
In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It’s risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it’s the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure – you simply don’t have enough guesses.
In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.
She’s a pusher! The Mean Girls the Musical movie is officially a go — and creator Tina Fey is ready to bring even more pink to the big screen.
“I’m very excited to bring Mean Girls back to the big screen,” Fey said in a statement to Playbill in January 2020. “It’s been incredibly gratifying to see how much the movie and the musical have meant to audiences. I’ve spent 16 years with these characters now. They are my Marvel Universe, and I love them dearly.”
Jonathan Bennett (Aaron Samuels), Lizzy Caplan (Janice Ian) and Daniel Franzese (Damian) were also featured in the original film, which follows new girl Cady as she navigates the jungle that is high school after being home schooled for years. While she initially clicks with the popular crowd, The Plastics, she quickly learns that some friendships aren’t made to last.
In 2018, Fey brought the hit film to Broadway with the Mean Girls musical. Now, she is taking the musical production back to the movies with an all new film — and a few familiar faces.
Reneé Rapp will be playing queen B, Regina George, in the upcoming Paramount Pictures film after previously playing the role on Broadway.
“I was on the treadmill. I was at home and I was walking and I just finished a day of the College Girls filming and my agent called me,” theSex Lives of College Girls actress told Entertainment Tonight in December 2022 of how she learned she got the part. “My mom rushed into the house … She was like, ‘Renee!’ ’cause she obviously knew because everybody in my family and on my team is in cahoots.”
Rapp explained that “Mean Girls was such a big part of my childhood” noting it had “a huge impact” on her and her generation. “It’s gonna be a very exciting, authentic take on what Mean Girls is and what Mean Girls means to us as kids,” she added.
Original star Seyfried, meanwhile, hinted that she and the other Plastics would happily come back if Fey wanted them.
“All four of us are 100 percent into it,” the Mank actress told ET in February 2023. “Maybe the mothers of our characters? That’s what I was thinking, but listen, I have not even seen the script.”
While the comedian didn’t confirm or deny Seyfried’s possible cameo, she did tease the “incredible cast” while appearing on the Late Night With Seth Meyers show in February 2023. “We have an amazing cast,” Fey said. “I’m super excited about the cast.”
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Suniel Shetty opens up about KL Rahul’s controversial Koffee With Karan episode.
Suniel Shetty recently talked about the controversial Koffee With Karan episode that featured his son-in-law KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya.
Cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul appeared as guests on the famous talk show Koffee with Karan in 2019. Their appearance caused a massive controversy due to their remarks on the show, which led to a public outcry and a temporary on the duo from cricket. Recently, actor Suniel Shetty, who is KL Rahul’s father-in-law, shared his opinions on the matter.
In a conversation with YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, Suniel Shetty showed his support for the cricketers and talked about the controversy surrounding them. The actor attributed the issue to the format of the show and mentioned that Hardik may have become overly enthusiastic. He stated that when an anchor repeatedly asks questions in a certain way, it can influence the guest’s responses. “You know when that interview of him (KL Rahul) and Hardik (Pandya) came… Hardik probably got carried away. But when you have an anchor shoving it down your throat what do you do? So, it is the format of the show, you get kids excited and they say stuff and then Bollywood is being banned,” Suniel Shetty revealed.
The actor also emphasized the importance of guests on the show being careful with their words and taking responsibility. He said that everyone, including the anchor and the guest, must be responsible. Shetty further added that just because he is unable to answer a question, it doesn’t mean that he is inferior to anyone. “You should have the guts to say things as they are and as they should be,” he concluded.
On Koffee With Karan, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul discussed their personal lives, preferences, and favourite movies, actors, and actresses. However, some of their comments ended up causing controversy for being misogynistic and racist. Following the up uproar, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended both players, prohibiting them from participating in international cricket temporarily BCCI later lifted the suspension on both players, and they were included in the 2019 World Cup squad. The episode was also removed by Disney+ Hotstar.
Meanwhile, Suniel was recently seen in the tv series Hunter alongside Rahul Sahu, Esha Deol, Barkha Bisht and Karanvir Sharma in crucial roles. The actor is currently shooting for Farhad Samji’s directorial film Hera Pheri 3 alongside Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal in lead roles.
Yatamanyu is a multi-disciplinary Journalist & Photographer who dabbles in Films, Poetry, Music, Politics, Pop-Culture and everything in between. …Read More
Here is my favorite thing about Suzie Miller’s Olivier Award-winning one-woman play “Prima Facie,” opening at Broadway’s Golden Theater tonight: About halfway through, it begins to rain, hard, from one end of the stage to the other—real water pouring from overhead—and continues raining long enough for audience members to begin to worry that Jodie Comer, the beloved co-star of “Killing Eve” who commands the stage for 100 minutes in “Prima Facie,” will catch a cold.
Comer plays a young barrister who, out of blissful ignorance, used to feel fine about defending sexual predators, and now is the miserable, powerless victim of rape herself. The rain is not a baptism—it’s a device used to further humiliate her in her time of greatest humiliation. So here is my least favorite thing about the play: that I have to recommend it, even though I don’t love it—it’s not fun or entertaining or inspiringly good in the way theater can be. But this show, starring a popular television actress, will do its part in chipping away at the injustice that is women remaining voiceless and powerless after they’ve been sexually assaulted. And for that, “Prima Facie” deserves high praise—even adulation.
The basic arc of the story is simple: Tess Ensler comes from a poor family and rises to the top of her law school class, empowering her to go on to be one of two young star barristers in the London legal system. She’s good at it, and she knows it. She loves the law. She believes in the law. She thinks the legal system works. All she has to do, she says, is win her cases, whether her clients are guilty or not. After all, the jury decides, not her. She’s blameless.
Until, that is, Tess is the victim of a shockingly brutal date rape by another brilliant young colleague—this one the son of a rich and powerful London lawyer. At that point, Tess’s blissful ignorance washes away with her vomit and his semen in the shower.
What’s good about this play is also what’s not so good about it: Tess, while she’s still looking at the world from a position of power, explains how the law works when it comes to sexual assault, and it’s enlightening. And yet it’s also dull and somewhat artless. The writing is good in the way that eating your vegetables is good, but there’s no poetry. We’re strictly talking about law and the way lawyers think.
As for Comer, she’s playing an overwrought ass who drinks too much and talks too much (she’s telling the story from a lot of people’s points of view, so there’s a lot to say), and that gets tiresome. She’s pushing in the first half of the show, playing for laughs to an audience who already loves her. (The applause when she arrived on stage for the first time was deafening.) There are a lot of distracting sound effects as well—disco music blaring, or a heart beating so loudly you can hardly hear Comer speak—and one longs for quiet, and for just one moment of stillness.
The play becomes more interesting, though, during and after the rape, when the glee is gone and Tess comes down to earth to suffer with the rest of us. Comer slows down, and instead of speeding through the story—manically changing costumes on stage, moving furniture around from scene to scene—she stands onstage in her own body, with her bare feet on the ground.
At that point, Comer embodies every woman who has ever felt alone in the world, and it’s moving when she sees her mother in the courtroom and feels suddenly supported by someone she previously looked down on. It’s moving when she thinks of her best friend, an actress with a job on a cruise ship, and feels proud. It’s moving when she sees the one woman working in the court that day—a female cop—put her hand on her mother’s hand to comfort her. That’s the one still moment of the entire production: When Comer says one word—“Sister”—there isn’t a dry eye in the house.
Cinema Con is about to start up, and with it, fans should get excited for new announcements and footage for the sequel to an animated movie many claim to be one of the best ever.
At the very least, the world should brace itself for at least one final trailer for Into the Spider-Verse 2. Hopefully, if the hypothetical teaser does materialize, it’ll show more of the movie’s big bad, The Spot.
While it isn’t new footage, fans have spotted some new posters before Sony Picture’s big panel for the event.
New Posters For Across the Spider-Verse
As first reported by Collider, Sony revealed six new character posters at CinemaCon for its upcoming animated sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
None other than Shameik Moore’s Miles Morales gets a brand-new outfit for his next adventure.
Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Titans season 4, episode 9, “Dude, Where’s My Gar?”Beast Boy’s trip through the DC Multiverse in Titans season 4 was more depressing than exciting, due to the inclusion of multiple canceled shows from the Arrowverse, including Stargirl and Swamp Thing. The Titans season 4 episode “Dude, Where’s My Gar?” was a fantastic character study of Gar “Beast Boy” Logan, which redefined the character by showcasing how powerful he truly was. Unfortunately, this was undercut by an unintentional reminder that Titans‘ days are numbered, and that the promise of a DC Multiverse spanning multiple movies and shows following the Crisis on Infinite Earths event was broken.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
The climax of Titans season 4, episode 9, “Dude, Where’s My Gar?” had Beast Boy enter The Red, which is the cosmic force linking all animal life in the DC Multiverse. This set up an extended sequence full of DC Comics movie and TV show cameos, as Beast Boy encountered the heroes of other Earths and echos of other realities. While this scene was impressively filmed and well acted, it was also unintentionally depressing.
Titans’ Multiverse Scene Proves How Many Shows Have Been Canceled
Most of the franchises prominently featured during Beast Boy’s journey into The Red in Titans season 4 have either already been canceled or are coming to a close soon. Chief among these was the cameo appearance of Brec Bassinger as Courtney “Stargirl” Whitmore, who confronted and comforted Beast Boy after he accidentally traveled to Earth-2. The idea of a crossover between Stargirl and Titans prompted excitement when a photo of Brec Bassinger in costume with Beast Boy actor Ryan Potter was posted online. Unfortunately, that excitement was muted when Stargirl was canceled shortly after the photo’s release.
The rest of Beast Boy’s trip to The Red was similarly overshadowed by ennui. The appearance of the Barry Allen Flash of Earth-Prime might have had more impact if The Flash were not ending and reportedly bringing the Arrowverse to a close with it. The cameo of Swamp Thing, which was canceled after one episode in 2019, was similarly sad. Even the one nod to the DCEU was unintentionally depressing, given that it involved an appearance by Zachary Levi’s Shazam, whose latest film, Fury of the Gods, flopped at the box office and is shaping up to be one of the biggest bombs of 2023.
Beast Boy’s Multiverse Trip Is The End Of A DC Era
Whether the post-Crisis Arrowverse forms the base for James Gunn’s new DC Multiverse or not, Titans use of the multiverse in “Dude, Where’s My Gar?” is bittersweet. Even if the new DC Universe honors what came before, it is still sad that so many of the series showcased during Beast Boy’s trip through The Red were ended before their time,particularly Swamp Thing and Stargirl. Beast Boy’s journey was meant to showcase the scope of the DC Universe, but all it did was highlight how many great franchises deserved a longer run and will never get the chance to crossover.
Titans season 4 continues on Thursdays on HBO Max.
Gary Bowser, a man sentenced in 2021 to 40 months in prison and a $14.5 million fine for his role in Nintendo hacking group Team Xecuter, has just been released from jail. But it’s possible the massive amount of money he now owes in restitution may impact the entire rest of his life and livelihood.
Bowser was indicted back in 2020 alongside Max Louarn and Yuanning Chen for their activities as part of Team Xecuter, a hacking ring that sold chips allowing users to play pirated games. Despite seemingly having a smaller role in the operation as its marketing and PR manager, Bowser was the only one of the three ultimately tried and convicted in the US – Chen, a Chinese national, was never arrested, and Louarn was never able to be extradited to the US.
Bowser was initially charged with 11 felonies, including wire fraud, conspiracy to circumvent technological measures, trafficking in circumvention devices, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Bowser pled guilty to two of the charges, and was sentenced to first a $4.5 million fine and later a $10 million additional fine as well as up to 40 months in prison.
In a recent interview with podcaster Nick Moses, Bowser calls in not from Federal Detention Center SeaTac in Seattle, where he was incarcerated, but from the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington. He says he’s awaiting processing before being sent home to Canada, having gotten out of prison early on good behavior.
Bowser claims that of the $14.5 million he owes, he has only been able to pay off $175 thus far, taken out in $25 monthly installments from his income from a job in the prison library. Should Bowser find a job at home in Canada, he says his pay will continue to be docked until the full amount is paid off, though his agreement with Nintendo only allows between 25% – 30% of his paid to be docked at a time. Previously, Bowser stated that while Team Xecuter earned “at least tens of millions of dollars of proceeds,” he himself only received a small fraction of that.
Touchscreen controls and a high-torque motor makes this a splashy upgrade to an already popular lens control system.
While the industry narratives coming out of NAB early continue to be about AI features and automation, one brand which has already been doing a great deal of work in workflow simplification just dropped a much-anticipated follow-up to one of their flagship products.
The TiltaNucleus-Nano wireless lens control system has been one of the best options for highly-attuned cinematographers and run-and-gun content creators alike as one of the better camera-slash-gimbal control devices on the market.
Unveiled at their booth this year at NAB, Tilta launched their upgraded version with the Nucleus Nano II which features touchscreen controls, a high-torque motor, better battery life, and plenty of new features worth exploring.
Introducing the Tilta Nucleus Nano II
Off the bat, the coolest feature of this new Nucleus Nano II has to be this interactive touchscreen which gives you control of everything about your setup and is way easier to navigate and customize. The touchscreen promises to be highly responsive and it looks quite intuitively designed to dive into.
The biggest bullets for this new wireless lens control system all have to do with taking the parts of the original Nucleus-Nano and making them even better for both amateurs and pros alike. The new motor design is set to provide five times more torque than the original and features an auto-adjustable torque design and a high-efficiency cooling system for added durability and reliability.
Add that together with added battery life (including an internal rechargeable battery that provides up to seven hours of high power output) and multi-channel communication for controlling up to four motors (which can include focus, iris, zoom, and more). This promises to be one of the most versatile lens control systems on the market.
Credit: Tilta
Compatible with Other Control Systems and Gimbals
The best part though for many filmmakers and video professionals though might simply be the Nucleus Nano II’s compatibility with so many other wireless control systems and gimbal setups like DJI.
This is huge for any content creation team that has already invested in – and content – with their current camera and gear setups, yet could utilize some of the better controls and features that this new Nucleus Nano II offers.
Not only is it compatible with these different devices, but the Nucleus Nano II also promises to support as much efficient control and communication as any other on or off-brand product in this space. This means you can rest assured this can be a purchase that will be utilized for many years (and new setups) to come.
Credit: Tilta
Pricing and Availability
The Tilta Nucleus Nano II is set to hit the market at $299 and ship as early as June 2023.
You can find out more about the Nucleus Nano II at Tilta’s website.
Let us know your thoughts on this wireless lens control system in the comments.
Anime sensation The First Slam Dunk dominated the competition at China’s theatrical box office over the weekend, racking up a four-day opening win worth $56 million. Jackie Chan’s holdover action comedy Ride On came in second with just $3.5 million, while Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie brought in $2 million for a distant fourth place.
The First Slam Dunk, which is produced by Japan’s Toei Animation but jointly distributed in China by China Film Co. and Road Pictures, made the unconventional choice of launching on Thursday, but the gambit payed off as the film generated rave word of mouth and made a strong early splash of $13 million on the weekday. The film has received wild acclaim across China’s major movie rating platforms, including a stellar 9.2 from fan community Douban and 9.4 on ticketing apps Maoyan and Taopiaopiao. It’s expected to clear $100 million before its China run is complete.
The First Slam Dunk is an adaptation of a classic Japanese manga series by Inoue Takehiko, who also wrote and directed the new film. An earlier animated TV series adaptation released in the 1990s became a major hit in China. The new film appears to be trading on the nostalgia of the generation of viewers who fell in love with that show, as well as the continued, widespread popularity of basketball across China. The movie artfully blends thrilling basketball gameplay with a heartfelt story of growing up and giving the game all you’ve got.
The First Slam Dunk continues a trend of strong performances by Japanese anime at China’s multiplexes. Mokoto Shinkai’s anime fantasy Suzume has earned about $110 million in the country since its release in late March.
The First Slam Dunk has been a smash hit virtually everywhere it’s been released, so far. The film earned about $100 million at home in Japan and $35.5 million in South Korea. In Japan, it’s the biggest film of 2023, and in Korea it currently ranks number two for the year. Toei is said to be eying U.K. and North American releases, but dates are still to be set.
Hollywood studio films recently have failed to match the earnings of anime in the Middle Kingdom. Universal’s Super Mario Bros has earned nearly $20 million of its $872 million global total in China, while Disney/Marvel’s Ant-Man 3 took in only $39 million (compared to more than $100 million for each of its franchise predecessors).
China’s upcoming Labor Day holiday period, running April 29 to May 3, will be dominated by local Chinese tentpoles, including the much anticipated Top Gun-like action epic Born to Fly, family road movie Godspeed and disaster flick Flash Over.
Hollywood will be back in the market on May 5 with Guardians of the Galaxy 3, followed by local franchise favorite Fast X on May 17 and Warner Bros.’ long-coming DC superhero entry, The Flash, on June 16.
EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video has been quietly ramping up its Nordic originals slate, and it’s now found its first documentary.
We can reveal the streamer’s Nordic arm has ordered Take a Chance, which will launch globally on May 19. You can watch a trailer for the program below.
The doc has “unique, unfiltered” access to Gert van der Graaf, an infamous stalker who reveals how a childhood crush on ABBA superstar Agnetha Fältskog turned into an obsession that shaped the rest of his life. Experts, psychologists, friends and van der Graaf himself explore how compulsive fandom can become criminal obsession.
The 95-minute doc comes from Kreativ Inc., Sweden’s A Rabbit Hole and Banjiay Americas-owned U.S. producer Bunim-Murray Productions. Maria Thulin is the director and Banijay Rights has international distribution rights outside Europe.
The EPs are Swedish-born former Zodiak USA CEO Joel Karlsberg, who was an exec producer on Lifetime’s crime doc series ratings hit Surviving R. Kelly through his Kreativ Inc. imprint, and A Rabbit Hole CEO John Mork (Rörelsen, Balkongfallet).
Kreativ Inc. has a production deal with Bunim-Murray, the unscripted producer known for the likes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Real World and Born This Way. Bunim-Murray was also part of the Surviving R. Kelly squad.
“Obsessive fandom and stalkers can feel far removed from our daily lives, but they are a reality for some,” said director Thulin. “According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, hundreds of thousands of Swedish women have been harassed or persecuted by stalkers, and we believe it is important to shed light on this. The documentary gives the audience inside access into a hair-raising story about stalking.”
Take a Chance marks the first Prime Video Nordics original since Deadline revealed Martin Backlund had been promoted to Managing Director os Amazon’s streaming business in the region. Previously, he was Head of Content for the UK and the Nordics, with Tushar Jindal upped from a movie-focused role to replace him in the UK.
Last year, Prime Video Nordics ordered a slew of unscripted originals, including LOL: Last One Laughing, The Bridge, Pranked, and Good Luck Guys. It was also behind scripted comedy Topped.
“Our local content slate is growing, and with Take a Chance, we add a genre-bending documentary that spans crime, music, mystery, and fandom,” said Backlund. “We aim to offer our Nordic customers relevant content, with local storytelling and filmmaking behind it, and we believe this local story will be of interest to many.”
Let us know your thoughts as the season progresses in the comments below and vote in the poll.
NOTE: Obviously people will be posting their thoughts/reactions to the season as a whole, so there will be spoilers in the comments. We advise you not to read the comments until you have watched the latest available episode.
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Zach Hyman scored 10:39 into overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings Sunday night.
The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2.
The Kings took the lead halfway through the first when Gabriel Vilardi chopped a rebound past Stuart Skinner. Less than a minute later, Evander Kane had a glorious chance in front off a Kings giveaway, but Joonas Korpisalo came up with a massive save.
Late in the first, Viktor Arvidsson spun around Vincent Desharnais, stormed in, and fired shot through Skinner to make it 2-0. Only 1:23 later, Anze Kopitar scored on the power play.
Jack Campbell replaced Skinner to start the second period, making his first appearance since April 5.
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The Oilers finally broke through when Evan Bouchard pounded home a power play goal five minutes into the second. Leon Draisaitl pulled the Oilers within one halfway through the period, popping in a pass from Connor McDavid for his fourth of the post-season. Draisaitl tied it on the power play with 10.5 ticks to go in the session.
Matt Roy got in behind the defence and beat Campbell to make it 4-3 Kings 4:28 into the third. Campbell kept the Oilers alive by stopping Arvidsson on a breakaway with 5:46 remaining. Evander Kane sniped his second of the series to even it 4-4 with 3:02 left.
The Oilers had a power play in overtime after Adrian Kempe was called for cross-checking Evan Bouchard, but they couldn’t cash in.
Hyman took a long pass from Bouchard and cut in down the right wing. His wrister eluded Korpisalo to end the game.
Campbell stopped 27 shots. Korpisalo made 35 stops.
Game five is Tuesday at Rogers Place (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m., game at 7:30 p.m.)
American Idol is back in Hollywood! Host Ryan Seacrest shows off the show’s new digs at the start of the April 23 episode. He reveals that 33 million votes have been cast for the top 20.
The first singer to make it to season 21’s top 20 is Zachariah Smith. Ahead of his performance, he reveals that his Mississippi hometown was hit badly by a tornado and much of the town has been destroyed. He kicks off the night with a powerful performance of Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is.” Lionel Richie tells Zachariah that it was a “perfect song, perfect presentation.” Katy Perry thinks he’s “top 10 material.”
The ‘American Idol’ judges: Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. (ABC)
The next contestant to make the top 20 is Matt Wilson. He performs a dreamy rendition of “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur. Luke Bryan says it was a “great song choice” for him. Lionel loves that Matt gave some “attitude” in his performance and how his family and kids are in his vision for his future.
Nailyah Serenity has also made the top 20. She slays her performance of “Baby Love” by Mother’s Finest. “I’m not an astrologer, but I can spot a star when I see one,” Luke declares. Katy makes a point to note that now is the time for the contestants to show who they are as artists. “You are an artist through and through and that’s what’s going to separate you,” she tells Nailyah.
Warren Peay is safe and in the top 20. He opens up about his past battle with alcoholism before crooning out to “Up There Down Here” by Zach Williams. “I love that you’re authentic,” Katy says. She also thanks him for being vulnerable with the world. Luke raves that this was a “world-class song choice” for Warren.
Kaerya stuns with her performance of Lewis Capaldi’s “Bruises” on the piano. Katy admits that Kaerya’s arrangement “smacked me across the face.” Luke believes this was a “breakout moment in the making” for Kaeyra. Lionel wants to make one thing clear to Kaeyra: “You have a career.”
Iam Tongi makes the top 20. (ABC)
Mariah Faith is headed to the next round of the competition. She rocks out on stage and sings Solomon Burke’s “Cry To Me.” Luke loves that Mariah is this season’s “soulful country singer.” Lionel calls the performance “old song, new school presentation.”
Iam Tongi has officially made the top 20! He dazzles with his unique and fresh spin on ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All.” His performance earns rapturous applause from the audience. “I guess this is called The Iam Tongi Show now.” She adds that what Iam is giving is “transcending everything.” Luke tells the young singer, “God gave you the magic.”
There are only 3 spots left in the top 20 for this first group of singers. Haven Madison is next to make the top 20. The high school junior shines with her performance of Leanna Crawford’s “Mean Girls.” Katy appreciates that Haven is choosing songs that she could have written. She’s noticing that “refined sparkle” coming through with Haven. Luke tells Haven, “One of your best performances I’ve seen you do.”
Oliver Steele’s name is called next. Turns out, his beloved father has been in the hospital for the past several weeks and now he’s on dialysis. Oliver truly has a moment with his original song “Too Soon.” Luke says the performance was a “10 out of 10.” Lionel raves that Oliver’s “talent is on fire.” Katy is shocked this is the first time that Oliver’s performed an original song and says it was “really great.”
Haven Madison is one of the top 20 singers. (ABC)
The final contestant to make it to the top 20 out of this first group is Lucy Love! This means Elise Kristine, Emma Busse, and PJAE have been eliminated. Lucy decides to sing her stellar original song “Boulders.” Lionel is nearly speechless and on his feet. “I just love the way you attack it,” Luke says. He tells Lucy that she “captured” his heart with her story. “Way to show up tonight. That was tremendous,” he continues.
The next group of finalists take a seat on the couches and await their fates. The first contestant out of this group to make the top 20 is Hannah Nicolaisen. Her rendition of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” is definitely her best performance yet. Luke commends her for branching out with this song choice. Katy thinks she’s on a “rocket ride” to stardom.
Olivia Soli makes the top 20 and keeps the Celine Dion vibes going with her incredible performance of “I Surrender.” Lionel recognizes that Olivia doesn’t need a “confidence boost” because she’s got it in spades. Katy thinks Olivia should just keep on singing Celine songs and “always play the power card.”
Marybeth Byrd takes on the top 20 with her original song “People Pleaser.” Lionel declares that was “superstar material” from the country singer. Luke admits that he did not see that performance coming and thinks the name Marybeth Byrd “sounds like a star.” Michael Williams debuts a new look as he makes the top 20. He makes the crowd swoon with his performance of Selena Gomez’s “Lose You To Love Me.” Luke points out that Michael “looks like a million dollars” and “crushed” his performance.
Paige Anne has gone from being eliminated from the competition to making the top 20. She doesn’t hold back with her jaw-dropping rendition of “Say Something” by A Great Big World. She’s in tears by the end of her performance. Katy admits again that they were wrong to eliminate her. She tells Paige Anne that she thinks the teen singer is the “best vocalist” in her age range “hands down.”
Nutsa wows with her performance of “Un-break My Heart” by Toni Braxton. “You are the hardest working person I have ever met on this show,” Lionel says. “You are a force to be reckoned with.” Tyson Venegas makes the top 20 and performs his original song “180.” Luke tells Tyson that he’s “far beyond your years talented.” Lionel is impressed with Tyson’s songwriting skills. “That was a damn good song,” he says.
Megan Danielle takes the top 20 by storm with her terrific performance of “Holy Water” by We The Kingdom. Luke is stunned by the performance. “That was the best performance I’ve seen you do this season,” he says. “Nobody sounds anything like you.” Lionel says it was a “sold-out performance.”
Nutsa is rocking all the way to the top 20. (ABC)
Colin Stough is one of the final contestants to make the top 20. He performs “Pretty Heart” by Parker McCollum. Katy admits that she wants to push him vocally the next time. “I know you have them in you,” she says. Luke tells Colin to “give it to us.” He adds, “I believe you’re a big star, but you gotta understand you are.”
It’s down to Dawson Wayne, Malik Heard, Wé Ani, and Elijah McCormick. The final singer to make the top 20 is… Wé Ani! She brings down the house with her performance of “Skyfall” by Adele. Katy is nearly speechless. “I’m just so shook right now,” Katy says. Lionel tells Wé, “The amount of talent you have is undeniable.”
Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant and Anthony Bourdain are the latest celebrities to be verified under Twitter Blue, the social media platform’s paid-subscription service that allows anyone to get a blue check mark by their display name if they pay $8 a month and confirm their phone number.
Except the actor, athlete and celebrity chef died years ago, before Twitter Blue even existed.
Their accounts — and those of at least a dozen other dead celebrities — now feature a blue check, which, if hovered over, displays the message: “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.”
It was just the latest in a series of changes under new owner Elon Musk, who purchased the company for $44 billion in October. Since then, Musk has terminated more than 75 percent of the company’s employees, changed the way users’ timelines worked and, on Thursday, removed check marks from thousands of legacy verified accounts belonging to celebrities, journalists, politicians and others.
But it quickly became clear over the weekend that some high-profile individuals still had the check mark, which is now available as part of an $8 a month subscription, even if they said they weren’t paying for it.
Musk said he personally paid for the subscriptions of at least three celebrities; one of them, the author Stephen King, later tweeted that Musk “should give my blue check to charity.”
Regarding the accounts of those who had died, it wasn’t immediately clear whether someone paid for Twitter Blue or whether Twitter had decided to grant them free. Many of the profiles haven’t been active since these people died, while others are being actively managed.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment early Sunday.
The controversy over the check marks follows a rough week for Musk, who is also CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. A SpaceX Starship and its rocket blew up Thursday minutes after launch, and disappointing Tesla earnings on Wednesday sent the stock price plummeting.
People in Musk’s orbit have noted that the world’s second richest man has been distracted by Twitter and making changes there, The Washington Post has previously reported. In an interview earlier this month, Musk said he’s sleeping on a couch at Twitter headquarters and has put his dog Floki in charge.
Musk has said the removal of most legacy check marks is a way to resolve what he described as a “lords & peasants system.” The check marks were previously given free to certain public figures and were meant to signal that Twitter had verified the authenticity of the account.
Now, the blue check marks are available to anyone for purchase. Twitter’s Help Center specifies that accounts that get the check mark as part of their Twitter Blue subscription “will not undergo review to confirm that they meet the active, notable and authentic criteria that was used in the previous process.” Experts have warned that this could increase the risk of impersonation and accelerate the spread of misinformation on Twitter.
When Musk initially rolled the program out in November, there was a surge of accounts impersonating famous people and brands, prompting him to quickly roll it back for improvements.
Several high-profile people who said they had automatically gotten Twitter Blue complained that the check mark, previously a status symbol, now felt like a reprimand.
Model and television personality Chrissy Teigen tweeted, “wait I’m crying they’re giving them for punishment now !!?!!” When Jon Favreau, co-host of the left-wing political podcast “Pod Save America,” bemoaned getting one, Teigen advised him that changing his account handle would make the check mark disappear.
Among the deceased public figures listed Sunday as Twitter Blue subscribers were two performers — Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, and Malcolm James McCormick, known professionally as Mac Miller, who died in 2018 — as well as John McCain, the Republican senator from Arizona who also died in 2018. The accounts of actress Kirstie Alley, TV host Barbara Walters and Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, all of whom have died, also had blue check marks.
Twitter users reacted with shock and anger, with some arguing that the platform bestowing the symbol on the accounts — if that is what happened — looked desperate and could be perceived as a tacit endorsement of the company from someone maintaining the account of a deceased celebrity.
Some questioned whether giving check marks to deceased public figures or celebrities who have not paid for the emoji could violate federal and state laws prohibiting defamation, false insinuations that someone has endorsed a product or service, or use of a person’s likeness for publicity without their consent.
Depending on the specific law, a legal claim could involve questions about whether a blue check mark implies endorsement of Twitter, whether those check marks affect other people’s decisions to pay for Twitter Blue, and whether consumers have been misled, said Alexandra Roberts, a law and media professor at Northeastern University. The outcomes of any lawsuits, she said, would be difficult to predict because “there’s not a lot of precedent” for such cases.
Many Twitter users pointed to the blue check mark on the account of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributing columnist who was assassinated in 2018, in what U.S. intelligence agencies say was a hit ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“This is obscene,” said Mohamad Bazzi, an associate professor of journalism at New York University.
“Jamal Khashoggi deserves better,” said Manisha Ganguly, an investigations correspondent for the Guardian.
For over 30 years, Disney fans have flocked to Disneyland to see “Fantasmic!,” a nighttime show that celebrates the power of imagination. But no one could have imagined seeing the dragon used during the show’s climax to burn down to the ground in a tower of flames.
On Saturday night, Anaheim firefighters were dispatched to the Happiest Place on Earth when the show’s 45-foot fire-breathing animatronic dragon burst into flames during the nightly performance of “Fantasmic!” on Tom Sawyer Island. No one was injured in the incident, and fire officials are investigating the accident with Disneyland’s cooperation.
In the finale of “Fantasmic!,” the famous villain Maleficent transforms into a black and green dragon, just as she does in the classic Disney film “Sleeping Beauty,” to destroy Mickey Mouse within the world he’s created in his imagination. The dragon shoots out a blast of fire onto the water surrounding Tom Sawyer Island, creating a ring of flames. But Mickey, taking control of his dream world, quenches the fire with water fountains and blasts Maleficent with a shot of magic to defeat her.
But during Saturday’s show, as Mickey began to extinguish the flames, the head of the dragon — called Murphy by hardcore Disneyland fans — suddenly ignited. Within a minute or so, the fire had spread to the rest of Murphy’s body, consuming the amusement park marvel that had been introduced to “Fantasmic!” in 2009 as part of a modernization of the show’s special effects.
Videos and photos of the accident and its aftermath have gone viral among Disney fans, including one taken by a parkgoer who was recording his ride on the soon-to-be-closed Splash Mountain and could catch a glimpse of Murphy on fire in the distance.
On Sunday, further pictures were posted online of Murphy’s burning demise and its charred remains, which were removed from Tom Sawyer Island by Sunday morning. Some Disneyland fans mourned the loss of the awe-inspiring animatronic, while others made some tongue-in-cheek jokes.
As for where Murphy got his name, it originated from the repeated delays that Disneyland had to make in debuting the dragon in summer 2009 due to various difficulties in getting the giant thing to work. As weeks of waiting turned into months, fans called the dragon Murphy after Murphy’s Law, which states that “anything that can go wrong, will.”
With that in mind, Murphy’s final fate was quite fitting.
A tribute drawing I spent all night making to one of the best Disneyland animatronics. You will be missed, Murphy the Fantasmic Dragon.
@RobertIger I wanna commend all the great cast members last nite at the Fantasmic inferno! They did a fantasmic job at keeping everyone safe! Sadly Murphy the dragon ? took a bad ?! pic.twitter.com/taADEyrHon
About 60 civilians were killed in a village in northern Burkina Faso by men wearing military uniforms, a local prosecutor has said, announcing an investigation into the latest bloodshed.
Attacks blamed on suspected jihadists are on the rise in the west African country, which is battling an insurgency that spilled over from neighbouring Mali.
“About 60 people were killed by people wearing the uniforms of our national armed forces” on Thursday in the village of Karma in northern Yatenga province, the Ouahigouya high court prosecutor, Lamine Kabore, said late on Sunday, citing the police.
“The wounded have been evacuated and are currently being taken care of within our health facilities,” he said in a statement, adding that the perpetrators had “taken various goods”.
The village of Karma is near the Malian border and attracts many illegal goldminers.
According to residents contacted by AFP, survivors said more than 100 people on motorbikes and pickup trucks raided the village.
Dozens of people were killed by the men, who were dressed in military uniforms, they said.
The latest bloodshed occurred a week after 34 defence volunteers and six soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected jihadists near the village of Aorema, about 15km from the provincial capital, Ouahigouya, and 40km from Karma.
Following that attack, Burkina Faso’s military junta declared a “general mobilisation” to give the state “all necessary means” to combat a string of bloody attacks blamed on jihadists affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.
The decree states that anyone aged over 18 and physically fit who is not in the armed forces will be “called to enlist according to the needs expressed by the competent authorities”.
The government had already announced a plan to recruit 5,000 more soldiers to battle the insurgency that has gripped Burkina Faso since 2015. The country, landlocked and in the heart of West Africa’s Sahel, is one of the world’s most volatile and impoverished.
Ibrahim Traore, Burkina’s transitional president, has declared a goal of recapturing the 40% of the country’s territory which is controlled by jihadists.
The violence has left more than 10,000 people dead, according to non-governmental aid groups, and displaced 2 million people from their homes.
Anger within the military at the mounting toll sparked two coups in 2022, the most recent of which was in September, when Traore seized power. He is standing by a pledge made by the preceding junta to stage elections for a civilian government by 2024.
Diesel has voiced the anthropomorphic tree since the character’s cinematic debut in Guardians of the Galaxy, and has voiced all the differently aged Groots in each of the character’s appearances since — including the character’s brief cameo in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Though only saying the words “I am Groot,” (or “we are Groot,” on one memorable occasion), Diesel received scripts with each utterance translated into English — scripts also given to those playing characters meant to understand his speech.
While not necessarily as action-packed as some of his Guardians co-stars roles are, Deisel’s role as Groot is still important to the MCU as a whole.
Vin Diesel’s MCU Payday Rumor Debunked
Marvel
A claim posted to Twitter stated that Vin Diesel made a total of $54 million for playing Groot in the MCU was debunked by Guardians franchise director, James Gunn.
Simply responding, “? not true,” Gunn shut down the claim of roughly $13 million per movie going to the actor, who only has said five separate words thus far in his various appearances.
After playing the character from the start, Diesel has voiced various versions of Groot, from Baby Groot to the coming “Alpha Groot” in Guardians 3.
But, with the team likely disbanding as it currently stands — especially given the seemingly ominous fate of Groot’s best friend Rocket — it is very possible that Alpha Groot will be Groot’s goodbye.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on Friday, May 5.
Malik is back on his feet and ready to rumble, as TethAdam confronts his former slaver in this month’s Black Adam #10.
Last issue, Oni Grace promised to bring Ibac to Adam, and in this chapter, she delivers on that promise. She presents Black Adam with a child who bears the curse of crows and is the vessel for Ibac. Meanwhile, the Assyrian gods continue to plot against Adam. Ishtar, the Assyrian goddess of love, possesses Jasmine, Malik’s “not-girlfriend”. Ishtar then attempts to seduce the newly depowered Teth Adam, making Malik jealous.
Positives
Priest does a great job exploring Black Adam’s character in this issue. There’s a fascinating exchange between Malik and Teth, where he asks Adam, “Why do you take the subway”? Teth’s response is fascinating, as he flashes back to a time when he was driving in Washington DC and two racist cops stop him. They pull him out of his car, cuff him, and tell him that “Arabs aren’t welcome in this part of town.” Teth confesses to Malik was scared. Puzzled by this response, Malik presses him to explain. Teth says that immortality is a burden and that sometimes he craves normal human experiences – even negative ones.
Since the 2000s there has been a concerted effort to make Black Adam a more complex character. Once upon a time, he was simply “anti-Captain Marvel”. The classic arch-nemesis who’s simply an evil version of the hero in a color-shifted costume. However, starting with Geoff Johns’s work on the character in JSA, DC has reworked the character into something far more complicated and nuanced. Priest really leans into this complexity of character, as highlighted in this issue.
Negatives
Priest has way too many balls in the air. Between Malik, Oni Grace, Ibac, the protestors, and the Assyrian gods, this title is all over the place. There are two more issues left in the series, and I cannot fathom how Priest is going to resolve all of these storylines. Seriously, reading this title is like drinking from a fire hydrant, it’s simply too much. Had Priest rearranged his narrative structure to focus on each of these storylines in isolation, then maybe he could have made the story flow. However, reading this month-to-month has been a taxing experience. It’s too easy to lose the main plot threads.
Conclusion
As Black Adam enters into its last phase, I can’t help but feel a certain level of anxiety around the last few issues. There’s a lot to love about this series. It’s chock-full of cool ideas and interesting character moments. I’m simply afraid that Priest won’t be able to deliver a satisfying, cohesive ending with only two issues left. Black Adam #10, in many ways, is emblematic of the series: there’s a lot going on, and none of it feels very cohesive as a narrative.
You can now dance dance away with your fingers using some tech wizardry plus crochet. TikTok creator kims_threads (Via Polygon) posted a tutorial explained how they made a functional DDR pad by crocheting yarn, weaving conductive thread in-between the crocheted pattern, and plugging the creation into the open-source software project Arduino. They then shows footage of them playing DDR with their fingers.
As Polygon points out, you could enlarge the project in theory by crocheting granny squares, making a cozy and customizable full-size DDR mat. Such a mat would need some extra work or a base mat to place under it so that it wouldn’t slip around while you are trying to dance.
Kims_threads has yet to upload a pattern for the creation, though they might, as they sell several other patterns on her Etsy shop. However, they used a tutorial from Popular Science as a baseline for their own creation. With some trial, error, and ingenuity, you could make your very own crochet DDR pad.
Fun fact: crochet, unlike knitting, cannot be done by machines (yet). I’ll believe the robot overlords are coming for us when they can crochet a DDR pad of their very own.
Video credit: kims_threads via Tiktok
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
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Welcome back to Middle-Earth at your local theater.
The Lord of the Ringshas been a hot commodity since American animator Ralph Bakshi created the first adaptation of the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien books.
Although Bakshi wasn’t the first filmmaker to want to adapt the novels, with John Boorman and The Beatles (teaming up with Stanely Kubrick) pitching their unmade scripts to adapt the project, LOTR has seen a lot and been through even more.
Back in February 2023, Variety reported that Warner Bros. announced that they are revamping The Lord of the Rings film franchise. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announce that Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, the newly installed studio heads, have made a deal to make multiple films based on the J.R.R. Tolkien books.
While many of us cringe at the thought of a remake of a franchise that came out 20 years ago, this move from Warner Bros. makes sense. We are living in an era of remakes and legacy sequels.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’Credit: New Line Cinema
With the help of Fathom Events and 1,100 theaters across the U.S., I’m sure that Warner Bros. is giddy with excitement at the possible blockbuster on their hands as Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King grosses $1.1 million Thursday night (according to Box Office Mojo). This places the 20-year-old film, which is showing in theaters in its four-and-a-half hour-long director’s cut with an introduction by Elijah Wood, in the #2 spot right behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
For comparison, Thursday night viewings of Airreported $982,598 for the day in over 3,000 locations, and the horror-comedy Renfieldgrossed $9,000 in previews. This might look frightening for filmmakers who want to create new and original stories, but you have to remember the legacy of LOTR.
It will be hard for anything to outperform a film franchise that is deeply ingrained in film culture and pop culture.
The fascination with the franchise cannot be underscored, which makes us wonder whether or not Warner Bros. cares about the new LOTR films they are creating or if they are just trying to milk the cash cow. We are not alone in our worries.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’Credit: New Line Cinema
Elijah Wood on the Future of the New LOTR Films
In a recent interview with GQ magazine, Elijah Wood talked about the new films, saying, “I’m surprised—I don’t know why I’m surprised because of course there would be more movies. Obviously, at the core of that, is a desire to make a lot of money. It’s not that a bunch of executives are like, ‘Let’s make really awesome art.’ And again, not begrudging anybody because, of course, it is commerce. But great art can come from commerce. So those two things are not mutually exclusive.”
Unlike some projects that are blatantly made for profit, Wood stressed that Jackson’s trilogy “didn’t come out of that place.”
“It came out of a passion for these books and wanting to see them realized,” Wood said about Jackson’s motivation for creating the trilogy. “And I hope that that is ultimately what will drive everything forward with whatever these subsequent movies are. I just hope that it’s the same motivating factor at its core, whenever they hire a screenwriter and a filmmaker—that it is with reverence for Tolkien’s material and enthusiasm to explore it.”
Everyone who is attached to LOTR projects seems to come from a place of pure passion and enthusiasm to continue the worldbuilding and lore that made these stories so fun to explore. We just hope to see this trend continue and for more great stories from a franchise that we all hold dear to our hearts.
Opera is a sport. Its singers are athletes, and for those of us who love this sport, we often breathe for the singers when they miraculously deliver long stretches of music without taking a breath. I do it all the time in the opera house. I have never done it in the theater while watching a play – until I saw Jodie Comer in Suzie Miller’s solo play “Prima Facie,” which opened Sunday on Broadway at the Golden Theatre after its world premiere in the U.K. in 2019 and a production on the West End last year.
Comer is a superb athlete. “Prima Facie” runs 90 minutes, and in its first 15 minutes, it appears that this actor never takes a breath as she races at breakneck speed through her character’s background as a defense barrister for persons accused of sexual abuse. The extreme alacrity and force of Comer’s delivery is part aggression; she plays a very truculent defense lawyer named Tessa Ensler. It is also part compensation for the character being a woman born in the working-class. At Cambridge University, she had been surrounded by students, most of them male, to the manor born. She defends her fierce grilling of the plaintiff because that is her role as a defense lawyer. Tessa is a real professional.
“There’s blood in the water and I let the witness swim on,” she tells us. “My role is defen[s]e, the prosecutor prosecutes; we each tell a story and the jury decide[s] which story is the one they believe. They take the responsibility.”
Then, one night in her own apartment, Tessa is raped by a man she has been dating and already had sex with at least a couple of times, one of those encounters being a real quickie in the office of that guy, who happens to be a fellow barrister.
Tessa had been in court with cases like this before, and one of the real eye-rolling moments in “Prima Facie” (or, “on first impression”) is the fairly casual way in which this character reports on how much some Brits consume in a single night, mixing hard and soft liquor. The fact that both parties are confused in retelling their story on the witness stand is only part of the problem. With so much booze consumed, it’s a wonder they were ever able to perform the illegal act that put them in court in the first place.
Alcohol is only part of this victim’s dilemma. As Miller’s play lays out in both graphic and legal detail, Tessa’s confusion on the witness stand has nothing to do with how much vodka, gin, scotch, beer and/or wine she put into her body. (She is violently ill before the attack occurs.) Her confusion is the result of trauma, and unlike booze, the after effects of rape don’t dissipate over time.
Tessa tells us that one out of every three women will or has been the victim of sexual abuse. She asks us to look to our left and to our right to see those women. I didn’t have to look. Women all around me in the audience were sobbing audibly.
In other words, “Prima Facie” is the “Waiting for Lefty” of this century. It’s great agit-prop theater, and only time will tell if it has a longer shelf life than Clifford Odets’s play about taxi drivers on strike, first produced in 1935 to great acclaim. Miller falters only when she has Tessa go into a long dissertation into the bias against female defendants in these trials without ever mentioning the words “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
One can’t argue with Justin Martin’s direction of Comer, who recently won the Olivier Award for her performance. In addition to delivering a most logorrheic performance, Comer does it while pushing around two large tables and climbing up and down them to reconfigure Miriam Buether’s conference room set. Comer tackles the obstacle-course assignment with real gusto, although, again, you may find yourself stealing a breath for her.
Martin’s direction of Miller’s play is more questionable. He loads it up with a lot of effects that only distract from Comer. Immediately after the rape, Tessa endures a rain storm with real water falling on stage. Her first police interrogation is put on camera (video by Willie Williams), complete with a close-up of Comer’s face. Occasionally, when the actor impersonates another character, usually male, the amplification takes on an ominous echo (sound design by Ben and Max Ringham). And even in Tessa’s early scenes of ebullient success in the courtroom, a percussive score by Rebecca Lucy Taylor gives emphasis to a performance that needs no extraneous accents. Worst effect is Buether’s blue neon sculpture of Lady Justice with a red blindfold over her eyes. It hangs from the proscenium before the play begins, and would be kitschy looking for a musical version of “Perry Mason.” Here, it is downright gross.
When you have a star athlete performing at the top of her game, production values can sometimes get in the way.
Robert Hofler, TheWrap’s lead theater critic, has worked as an editor at Life, Us Weekly and Variety. His books include “The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson,” “Party Animals,” and “Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange, How a Generation of Pop Rebels Broke All the Taboos.” His latest book, “Money, Murder, and Dominick Dunne,” is now in paperback.
SPOILER ALERT: This recap contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 5 of “Succession,” now streaming on HBO Max.
It’s a new era at Waystar Royco, as newly branded co-CEOs Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) convene in their late father’s office to strategize for a meeting with Norwegian tech billionaire Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård).
Wary of their positions post-GoJo merger — and perhaps genuinely concerned about the Roy kids’ ability to execute the deal — Gerri (J. Smith Cameron), Karl (David Rasche) and Frank (Peter Friedman) make their unwanted advice extra available, while Shiv (Sarah Snook) is conspicuously missing from the war room.
Throughout the episode it becomes increasingly clear that Shiv, who agreed to vote in favor of her brothers taking the company reins after they promised to give her equal say, is finding herself on the outside of the inner circle, despite Ken and Rome’s (initially) honest intentions.
But the siblings are never really honest with each other. Even at the start of the season, with the Roy kids teamed against Logan (Brian Cox), Kendall withheld information that Matsson might back out of the deal as Roman privately drifted back into his father’s orbit. Now, Kendall has made a private arrangement with Hugo (Fisher Stevens) to plant negative stories about Logan in the press to bolster his and Roman’s credibility as co-CEOs — a PR strategy that previously made Roman bristle. It seemed like Logan’s shocking death in Episode 3 paved the way for a promising alliance between Kendall, Roman and Shiv, but the wheels of this tricycle are starting to fall off.
When the Roy kids and Waystar senior leadership land in Norway to renegotiate the terms of the GoJo merger, they come face to face with their Nordic counterparts at an ambushed brunch buffet. Sure, they’re younger and fitter, but, as Gerri points out, they’re European and therefore don’t hold a candle to the American capitalism-hardened, raised-by-wolves Waystar warriors. Still, the tension is high when the top brass discusses the low employee retention rate of Matsson’s last acquisition. Blood is in the water.
Matsson arrives and sequesters Kendall and Roman in a conference room overlooking a stunning vista. They get right into it: Ken and Rome think Waystar is worth more than Matsson’s previous offer of $144 per share, but pointing out the stock drop post-Logan’s death, the GoJo CEO contests he went to the checkout lane during a sale but ended up with a higher price. Plus, he wants to rope ATN (Waystar’s Fox News-like TV channel) back into the deal after Logan declared it not for sale. For the whole operation, Matsson is willing to pay $187 per share, a number that the Waystar executive team is quite pleased with. While Roman is uneasy to sell their dad’s prized possession, Shiv suggests that an old sweater would be a “less racist” keepsake.
Everything seems to be OK in Waystarland until Kendall has a wild idea: What if they blew up the deal entirely? Kendall, who has dreamed of leading his dad’s company since Episode 1 of “Succession,” clearly wants his turn to steer the ship — and disagrees with Matsson’s vision for Waystar, which he calls a “parts shop” in an awkward earlier conversation. Roman, on the other hand, can’t let go of the fact that the GoJo chief made him and his siblings fly halfway across the world just two days after their dad’s death.
So Kendall and Roman decide to sabotagethe GoJo deal without consulting Shiv, who is off on a solo mission with Matsson, who lets her in on a creepy little secret. He was sleeping with GoJo’s head of communications, a young woman named Ebba, but he gave her the ick after sending her half a liter of his blood, weekly — first as a joke, then not as a joke, then again as a joke. Shiv advises him to multiply whatever he’s paying her by 10, as once the merger goes through, the American press will be all over him. Matsson says he likes Shiv — she can take a joke, and she’s just like her dad. It’s Buttering Up a Roy Child 101.
But the next day, things go awry between the boys, who are talking shop on a mountaintop. When Matsson realizes Kendall and Roman are “trying to Scooby-Doo” him by screwing the deal, Roman lets his emotions get the best of him and admits the truth: they hate Matsson and they’ll do whatever it takes to prevent him from taking over Waystar, even if it costs them both hundreds of millions of dollars. Realizing he may have just committed an SEC violation, Roman backpedals, calling his disclosure a “negotiating tactic.” But now it’s officially a battle of egos.
On the plane ride home, Matsson calls Frank and ups the offer to $192 per share. Everyone is elated except for Kendall and Roman, of whom Matsson asks Shiv to send him a photo. He wants to see their reactions.
While Shiv thinks her maneuvering helped spike the offer, it’s more likely a result of Matsson’s spite for her brothers. Only now that Kendall and Roman refuse to sell to him, the GoJo CEO is interested in paying a premium price for this “parts shop.” With a hostile takeover looming above, Matsson is flirting with the same move Kendall tried in Season 1 to acquire Waystar.
Drunk on misplaced power, Shiv seems more attracted to Tom than ever, giving him permission to fire ATN boss Cyd (Jeannie Berlin). Full of sexual tension, their interaction comes after a strange fight in Norway in which Tom calls Shiv’s earlobes “thick” and “chewy like barnacle meat,” and Shiv tells Tom he’s narrow-framed like a “spelunker.”
As Waystar’s senior leadership celebrate the offer, the vibe harshens when Gerri obtains a leaked “kill list” of top executives Matsson plans to fire. Gerri, Tom and Karolina (Dagmara Domińczyk) are safe, but Ray (Patch Darragh), Mark (Zack Robidas), Hugo, Frank and Karl are on the chopping block.
Raymond’s plan came into focus when he implemented it on The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 9, wiping his foe from the map and any evidence of his involvement with the Task Force.
It was expected that he had been working on a plan to deal with Wujing, but never in the wildest of dreams could anyone have guessed something like that.
Playing two sides off each other like that? That’s so Raymond.
He is always a couple of steps ahead of everyone else, and even if you know he is ahead of you, you can’t tell what he’s planning unless he lets you in.
When we met him on The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 1, he was looking for a building, and I thought it was a living space, but the size was odd.
The first half of the hour appeared ridiculous to a keen viewer.
Never has there been such a deliberate focus on following the steps, including doing the same thing twice. Usually, the perp arrives at the Post Office blindfolded and is marched into the nearest interrogation room before they can breathe the war room’s air.
The next hint was that Ressler left the file on the table. He has never been that careless, knowing Chang could open it and read the contents.
There was no way Chang would not be suspicious about how things just seemed to be working out for him. The only saving grace was learning later that he was in on it.
No dice. He’s still talking tough. Seems like he knows something that we don’t.
Ressler
He must have had the most fun of all the characters.
A lot came as a surprise, including that Raymond had reached out to Chang and recruited him into his crew.
Sometimes a good dose of humbleness is necessary, and I was much humbled by how the events unfolded.
I had doubted how long Raymond would keep pulling off the same trick, but the trick only needed to work long enough, and work it did.
I was skeptical of Raymond’s decision to minimize Wujing, but he wasn’t. He just didn’t truly consider Wujing a threat worth losing sleep over.
His death almost felt anti-climatic, but too much good stuff was happening; it was not worth thinking about.
You, of all people, know that what you think you see is rarely the full picture. I hope you’re hearing me, Chang.
Raymond
Ultimately, his hate for Reddington was his undoing as he failed to see what was right before him. It should have raised at least a slight suspicion in his mind that a guy escaped an FBI secret site without so much as a broken finger.
As much as pulling off the plan was exhilarating, the fallout will be even bigger.
With Wujing dead, the focus shifts onto other issues and chief among them Raymond.
The Task Force was not just amazed by Raymond’s actions; they were flabbergasted. It was shocking how they could be played off like common criminals by a criminal.
One could see Cooper and Malik grin ear to ear as they set up Chang to escape thinking they knew the game, but they were being played.
What must hurt the most was the embarrassment after learning Raymond had played them. Cooper tried to mask it well, but everyone else did not do a great job.
Despite spending over a decade at Raymond’s side, Dembe was amazed but not surprised.
Raymond: You know this, Dembe. What wins wars. Dembe: Anticipation.
The Task Force had looked over a lot during their time working together all these years. However, after Wujing’s death, it begs the question, did Raymond cross a line?
The Post Office was the one place that was supposed to be safe, and thanks to Raymond, it would never feel like it anymore. Two murders were committed in the middle of the room.
A valuable government system was stolen and used to destroy confidential documents.
For those reasons only, Raymond had done something terrible. The nail in the coffin is the betrayal, which the task force won’t overcome.
These acts triggered a series of events that gave the Task Force no option but to go after Raymond.
This might be the next big thing.
Raymond is a career criminal, and the FBI had been way over their heads thinking he was anything but.
With Liz gone, he had no reason to stick to the original agreement, which the government cannot prove there ever was. Where are the documents?
The only thing that ties Raymond to this world is Agnes.
Like it was a decade ago, the FBI will have no option but to declare Raymond a wanted fugitive again.
Harold: You went too far this time, Raymond. Raymond: Perhaps. Harold: Not, perhaps. We are not just the Reddington Task Force. We are the FBI!
He had become unpredictable, and his unpredictability put influential people in the line of fire in case anything went wrong.
And by influential people, I mean Senator Panabaker. She has the full force of the US government behind her, and it will be in her best interest to preserve that.
We’re about to experience a war between the Task Force and Raymond.
Harold: You’ve finally done it. Turned it all down. Raymond: You’re angry, Harold. Take some time to figure out if we can continue. I’ll do the same.
“The Troll Farmer Part 3” was everything we loved about this show. It was wild.
The writing was genius, with double-edged statements used right front and center. They previewed what was coming.
By this point, we are all used to James Spader knocking it out of the park as Raymond, but there are certain scenes where he outdoes himself; it feels like the first time you saw him as Raymond. The scene at The Post Office with Sven was one.
The series will feel rejuvenated as we enter the final season’s second act.
What did you think of it?
Will the Task Force agree to hunt Raymond when the FBI demands it?
Is Raymond going to leave Agnes behind voluntarily?
Have we seen the last of Wujing loyalists? Hit the comments section and let us know your thoughts.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.
Comedian and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Richard Lewis revealed in a social media post video Sunday that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease two years ago.
He began the minute-and-a-half video by sharing that he was just wrapped Season 12 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” a couple of weeks ago and expressed his gratitude for being a part of that great show. “But,” he said, “the last three and a half years I’ve had sort of a rocky time.”
People have been asking him for the last few years when he’s going to be touring with his standup comedy show again. “Well, here’s really what happened…” he said.
He went on to say that three and a half years ago he was in the middle of his tour when he decided he didn’t want to be on the road anymore. “I said, ‘You know, I’m at the top of my game. After 50 years almost, I’m just going to call it quits.’ And I felt great about that. And then out of the blue, the s—t hit the fan.”
Lewis said that he had back surgery, shoulder surgery, shoulder replacement surgery and hip replacement surgery “back to back to back to back,” adding, “Bad luck, but that’s life.”
“On top of all of that,” he continued, two years ago he started “walking a little stiffly” and “shuffling” his feet. After a trip to a neurologist, who gave him a brain scan, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“I got it late in life, and they say you progress very slowly if at all,” Lewis said. “I just wanted you to know that that’s where it’s been at. I’m finished with standup, I’m just focusing on writing and acting. I have Parkinson’s disease but I’m under a doctor’s care and everything is cool.
Per the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, “Parkinson’s disease (PD) is movement disorder of the nervous system that gets worse over time. As nerve cells (neurons) in parts of the brain weaken, are damaged, or die, people may begin to notice problems with movement, tremor, stiffness in the limbs or the trunk of the body, or impaired balance.”
Agust D aka Suga‘s D-Day has topped this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (April 21) on Billboard, choosing the BTS member’s latest project as their favorite new music release of the past week.
D-Day brought in more than 49% of the vote, beating out new music from Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny, The Weeknd and Future and more.
Upon dropping the lead single earlier this month, Sugar told Billboard he was “actually a little bit worried” about the return to his solo moniker. “‘People Pt.2’ was made thinking about how people will receive Agust D’s music, which is why we also featured [his former collaborator] IU. It’s kind of a trial to release this music under the name Agust D,” he said.
Trailing behind D-Day on the poll is Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s “un x100to,” with 21% of the vote, and The Weeknd and Future’s “Double Fantasy,” with 17%.
Booked and busy. Reneé Rapp is currently filming the movie adaptation of Broadway’s Mean Girls musical and recording her debut album amid the success of her debut EP, Everything to Everyone.
“It is very hectic,” the Sex Lives of College Girls star, 23, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of her performance at Cap’n Crunch’s 60th birthday party in Palm Springs earlier this month. “I’m trying to find a work/life balance. I don’t [have one] at present, and I probably won’t for a while. But I’m trying to be an EGOT, so I’m tired — but it’s all good.”
Rapp played Regina George in the Broadway musical at age 19, and she’s reprising the role four years later. She told Us that she immediately lost her script — accidentally — but she knows exactly how she wants to play the part. “It’s just in my body. I know how it feels. I know how to do it in the way that I like to do it,” the North Carolina native said. “I mean, it’s obviously different now cause I’m, I’m 23 as opposed to being 19 and 20, and I think I’m better at my job now than I was when I was a kid. I also have, like, a much a stronger sense of self at the moment than I did when I was 19.”
She’s not the only one that evolved. The “Too Well” songstress said that much like how the 2018 Broadway musical adapted to include the prevalence of social media, which was in its infancy when the movie was released in 2004, the movie musical will also make some updates.
MOVI Inc.
“A lot of it is different. Tina [Fey] is such a creative genius and such a creative freak, and her partner, Jeff Richmond, who does all of the music, is as well. So there’s definitely different things,” Rapp hinted. “There might be different songs. Some songs that are in the musical version might be in the movie or might not be.”
She continued: “But [Fey and Richmond] are so creative, and I really appreciate that they really try to work with young people and people that are of the current culture and what’s happening as opposed to being like, ‘We are going to do exactly what we think we’re gonna do.’ They’re very collaborative and really amazing. So some things are different, some things are the same.”
When she isn’t on set, she’s working on her music. She lists “In the Kitchen” as her favorite song from her February EP. The track is an emotional song about a breakup, and many of her songs pull at the heartstrings. However, she hasn’t heard from anyone who inspired the heartbreak hits — for good reason.
MOVI Inc.
“I have a very amazing mother and father who really, really, really just raised me to, like, be a very strong individual when it comes to, like, if someone doesn’t treat me with respect,” she explained. “It’s no bad blood, but I’m always gonna look out for myself. So I actually don’t really talk to people that hurt my feelings. Not in a mean way. Just in a way of, like, I really like the people in my life and I like the people that respect me and love me and take the time to talk to me and be there for me. And if they do hurt me, then they fix it. So I don’t think anybody who I’ve written songs about really falls under that category, not that they’ve shown me.”
Rapp played a couple of her songs at Cap’n Crunch’s 60th birthday at the Margaritaville Resort in Palm Springs on Saturday, April 15. Attendees also enjoyed an all-vinyl DJ set from DJ Pee .Wee (a.k.a. Anderson .Paak) and scored exclusive merch celebrating the breakfast icon’s milestone.
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The “Colorado” singer described herself as a “ginormous” fan of the cereal and the Cap’n himself. “He raised me and I feel like — being that I’m a boat person — I feel like we really are on the same wave with that. Like, if he pulled up on the ocean and was like, ‘Hey, by the way, would you like to hop on and ride?’ I’d be down. Put me in,” Rapp joked. “[The performance is] really fun because I just feel like it’s very campy, and it’s me and Anderson .Paak and the Cap’n.”
Crossmint, a start-up that provides infrastructure for building blockchain applications, has partnered with Tintinimaginatio, the company which has been set up to protect and promote the work of Hergé, to release the iconic Tintin comic series’ first NFT collection.
In partnership with artèQ, the collection comprises the illustration “The Blue Lotus,” which was created by Hergé in 1936 and auctioned for €2.6 million ($2.8 million) in early 2021. The NFT collection includes two variants of “The Blue Lotus” NFTs, a limited edition print work of which only 777 copies were created and a purely digital NFT that is available in a similarly limited version of 1,777 pieces.
Each NFT has unique features, including geographic coordinates of Tintin’s travel locations and unlocks utilities including early access to new versions of “The Blue Lotus” book prior to publishing and exclusive passes to the Hergé museum. Buyers of “The Blue Lotus” Tintin NFTs will also receive a digital brochure on Hergé’s work, created exclusively by renowned Hergéologist Philippe Goddin. The brochure provides an in-depth look at the creation of the Tintin series and the artistic vision of Hergé.
The “Blue Lotus” NFT collection is available now for purchase through the Digital Tintin website. Payments can be made by credit card. The integration of Crossmint’s credit card checkout solution is aimed at driving the adoption of web3 by non-crypto native users and propelling the technology’s mass adoption.
“We are honored to be able to fuel such a celebrated and historic art series alongside Tintinimaginatio and arteQ, helping bridge the gap from the traditional art world into the Web3 era through an easy-to-use checkout solution,” said Rodri Fernandez Touza, co-founder of Crossmint. “At Crossmint, we are committed to removing the complexities of crypto for both companies and users. We believe that NFTs are the future of art and are very excited to partner with such an iconic brand as TIntin to bring their web3 vision to life and enable NFT ownership to a new consumer.”
artèQ is specialized in the field of blockchain technology, through consultation, tech support and strategic marketing. It has launched several NFT projects including “The Kiss NFT Collection” by Gustav Klimt – Official Museum Edition of the Belvedere.
Farbod Sadeghian, CEO at arteQ, said: “With the help of Crossmint’s cutting-edge technology, we are able to usher in the Web2 consumers and enable them to own a digital asset without the tumultuous onboarding of the traditional Web3 space. This partnership allows fans a unique opportunity to own a rare piece of Tintin history in the form of an NFT. Each NFT comes with its own utilities and is a truly one-of-a-kind collectible.”
After last week’s claustrophobic events in the late Logan Roy’s sepulchral New York apartment, Episode 5 of the final season of “Succession” sends his surviving kids and assorted Waystar executives out to play in the Norwegian wilderness.
A very posh section of it at least, with luxury cabin views of lush forests, fast-flowing streams and snow-capped mountains in all directions. But a feral place nonetheless for Kendall, Roman, Shiv and company to fight tooth-and-nail with Lukas Matsson and his GoJo team over how much the Swedish tech baron will pay to buy Waystar Royco. The episode is called “Kill List” for a reason, and not just because there’s an actual list.
CEBros Gonna Get It Done?
On his first day as co-CEO, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) enters Waystar’s Manhattan HQ and is greeted by P.R. guy Hugo (Fisher Stevens), who introduces him to “additional manpower for the new role.” Ken welcomes them, then says they can f—k off until he needs them, Loganing already. He just wants to check in with the grays and get to the plane.
“Get in early and slip a mickey in Matsson’s meatballs,” Ken says, as the writers room strains to make Swedish stereotyping a thing. Hugo suggests a photoshoot with Roman. “CEBros is the bad version,” he says of the inevitable caption. Ken says let’s not, but sorry; we’re using that term to describe you two for the rest of this recap.
Ken’s greeted by applause on the executive floor. He stares briefly into Logan’s unoccupied office, enters a conference room, hugs Roman (Kieran Culkin), meets a few new faces who liaise with Waystar’s Hollywood studio. Their big, dumb robot movie needs reshoots, its second producer is on leave citing “mental collapse/overload.” The CEBros agree to keep spending on it.
Peter Friedman, J. Smith-Cameron and David Rasche in a still from “Succession” Episode 5.
Rome tells the movie messengers to f—k off, then says “Here we go, march of the emperor penguins” as Karl(David Rasche) and Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) come in. Karl offers anything they can do to be helpful with the looming GoJo negotiations. Ken tells them he wants to squeeze an extra $3-$4 per share out of Matsson as Shiv (Sarah Snook) walks in. As if on cue, Matsson messages everyone. Frank (Peter Friedman) walks in. The whole executive team is requested in Norway. Matsson sent a list of names. Sinister as f—k. Cultural compatibility check? Early, but smart.
“Or invite everyone so he doesn’t have to just deal with the B-roll Brothers.” Shiv suggests. OK, using that one for Ken and Rome, too.
After Gerri gently shoots down his don’t play ball suggestion, Ken says “Yeah, great. Let’s go get the deal. Let’s bleed the Swede.”
Compression Socks
Greg (Nicholas Braun) and Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) at the airfield. “Why Norway, not Sweden?” Greg asks.
“Annual retreat,” Tom answers. “Anyway, Norway, Sweden, what’s the difference? They’re all descended from the same rapists.”
Greg tells Hugo and his boys he wants to get a feel for Scandinavia. And some hotties, arctic foxes, bit of Norwegian wood. He’s told to calm down. It’s business.
“Musical electric chairs,” Hugo explains. “Find out who they like. Everyone else, welcome to the lime pit. You’re on the other plane, by the way.”
Tom tells Greg he feels safe with the ATN carve-out, but he’s worried about getting whacked by the cast of “Bugsy Malone.” That would be Shiv plus the B-roll CEBros. Tom boards the plane to find Karl and Frank putting on compression socks. They don’t want to contract Flying Logan Syndrome.
In the air, Shiv’s concerned about bad Dad reports all over the internet. Ken, who secretly ordered Hugo to launch the smears, claims he’s more worried about the $225 million already sunk into their movie. “It’s a f—n’ sleeping robot in a cave, how the hell is that a quarter bil?”
Shiv’s eyes widen in horror as she doomscrolls on her phone. “I’m just struck by the number of pieces that knife Dad and imply that his children – particularly his younger sons – have been covering for him for quite some time.”
A shocked Ken orders Hugo to crucify whomever’s doing those briefings. Shiv indicates she knows at least one of the CEBros is behind it. Both B-rollers claim they’re busy now prepping to wrestle with Matsson and his ogres. Her brothers do offer to cut Tom’s throat if she’d like. Noncommittal, Shiv walks into the other cabin, where she sees her estranged husband wearing compression socks.
Karolina (Dagmara Domińczyk) tells Hugo GoJo’s deputy of coms is an ex-Olympic ski jumper. “I mean, Fulbrights coming out of their ass,” she says of the opposing team. “NASDAQ master race.”
Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin in a still from “Succession.”
Let’s Yodel
The contingent takes a scenic Fjordside drive to the retreat, past impressive waterfalls and up winding mountain roads. Waystarers switch to golf carts at the entrance to the retreat grounds, get carted past beautiful woods and streams. The floor-to-ceiling windows of Ken’s cabin look out on God’s bounty. “I’ve already got f—kin’ mud on my sneaks,” he bitches to Roman.
Matsson invites the negotiating team up top while division heads are sent to brunch. In the gondola lift up to the mountain summit, Frank asks the “Malone” cast if they want to go over angles, etc. Roman says they’re good on the plan. Karl starts babbling about hardball and their dad and … Ken writes 144 on a clipboard. An offer below that per share = unhappiness, above = happiness.
Brother Connor (Alan Ruck) calls Roman from the funeral home in New York. He’s upset Marcia wants to bury Logan in a kilt. Ken tells him to work it out. Connor notes that he has a pretty full plate, and had to cancel on a roomful of working class whites in Cleveland for his one-percent-in-the-polls presidential campaign to do this. Ken writes “moron” on the clipboard, holds it up for the rest of the gondola to see, then gives Connor carte blanche to solve the funeral couture situation. Roman says “Don’t send photos! Bye.”
At the brunch, Hugo meets his GoJo counterpart, Andreas, “congratulates” him for nearly getting a Bronze at Sochi.
“That’s almost huge,” the American digs.
What’s really huge is the blonde wood and steel beam chalet where a hoodie-wearing Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) greets the Waystar delegation atop the mountain. He hugs Roman, soul handshakes Ken, tells Shiv “Am I gonna get a lawsuit if I hug you?”
“Maybe. Wanna find out?” she responds, and they do a perfunctory, single-arm embrace. Claiming he’s been out-maneuvered (even though he asked for them all to attend), Matsson joshes “You got scared to come and talk without the village elders?”
The CEBros say no. Matsson says he was just kidding and leads the B-roll away. In another smorgasbord-lined room, Matsson thanks Ken and Rome for coming out to Norway.
“Yeah, well, it’s not like our dad died yesterday. It was a couple of days ago, so …” Roman notes.
“At least you didn’t find him yourself, BMW still running. That s—t can be trau-ma-tic.” Matsson says while pulling off his hoodie. “No sorries for Lukas?” Ken offers sorries as Matsson smiles. “It’s not a competition.”
Rome basically tells him his offer’s too low.
“OK. And your stock dropped 20% on Friday?” Matsson ripostes.
“And regained 10 Monday,” Ken lobs back. He and Roman explain that Waystar’s real assets don’t depend on Logan.
“I still feel like I’m going to the checkout during a sale and getting asked to pay more,” Matsson shrugs, then offers to buy their entire operation for one dollar.
”I’m kidding. Sorry. Your faces!” he cackles, pointing. Then Matsson says he wants ATN, like in the original deal. He’ll pay $187 per share. 50/50 cash/stock for the whole of Waystar, then pokes the younger, less-experienced at this level Roys, “Maybe you want to check in with the boiled eggs out there?”
Ooh, a new group name for the old Waystar execs!
“You like it a little bit, dontcha?” Matsson wants to know, almost squeezing a thumb and forefinger together, from the clearly shocked CEBros.
They decline his offer of bubbles, walk out and tell the eggs what happened.
“Excellent news, Gents.” Big stockholder Karl enthuses. Roman tells him to hide his boner.
“You effectively achieved a bump,” Gerri says, nodding approvingly.
Walking down a path to see Shiv, the Bros discuss the new offer. Roman asserts they want to keep ATN, it’s what Dad would have wanted. Shiv tells them ATN has an open line during editorial meetings to right wing presidential candidate Jeryd Mencken’s campaign team. That’ll blow the network’s credibility if news gets out. Told by her brothers about folding ATN back into the deal, she quickly says, “Sure, get rid of it. It’s a toxic asset.”
“It’s also Dad’s pride and joy he died trying to keep,” Roman says, getting more sentimental about the issue by the minute.
“Well, let’s just keep one of his old sweaters. Less racist,” Shiv retorts.
“We can’t navigate by Dad maps,” Ken points out. “He’s not here.”
“I know he’s not here,” Shiv says. “I have a giant hole in my heart and a 24-hour migraine.”
They’re not the Murdochs. They’re the Hapsburgs!
There’s axe-throwing, archery and drone-flying on the resort lawn. Greg informs Tom he has it on good authority there is a kill list, then moseys over to the “Bugsy” cast and suggests he join them to make a Quad Squad. OK, this is a nickname bridge too far, even for me. Fortunately, Shiv tells him the extent of that should be Greg getting her coffee.
Tom perches over a table of Swedes that includes Lukas and his lieutenant Oskar. France’s future is being discussed. Greg comes over and chimes in that The Economist says don’t bet against “Old Lady France.” “The baguette might be mightier than the bagel.”
“Who are you?” Matsson asks. “I don’t remember you from the list.”
Informed Greg’s a cousin, Lukas and his crew start chuckling and commenting in Swedish about the metastasizing number of Roys there. Words such as “incest” and “Hapsburgs” can be understood.
All others leave when the sibs come over to parley with Matsson. They say they’re running the numbers, but want to explore ATN-keeping options. With half the buyout in stock, Roys are concerned about Matsson’s fit and vision for the network, don’t want to lose their value if he screws it up.
Eili Harboe in a still from “Succession.”
“I’ve seen it,” Matsson says of ATN. “It’s a lot of yellin’. Small men, big veins.”
“Fat wallets,” Rome adds.
“Sure,” Matsson acknowledges, “But long-term, I don’t think news for angry old people works.”
And there, miraculously, you have the week of Fox News-inspired shootings and massive defamation payouts encapsulated in one metaphorical dialog exchange that was written last year. Anyway, he wants to make ATN more Bloombergy, simple, cheap, “IKEA’d to f—k.”
Ken calls Waystar a trusted brand. Matsson tells him it’s a parts shop. “Good parts, yes. Bad brand.”
Ken: “Gotta say, I think fundamentally you’re wrong.”
Matsson: “I don’t care what you think. You’re a tribute band.”
Oskar marches across the lawn shouting “Time for sauna!” Funny visual of uncomfortably sweating Waystar peons follows.
At a reception that evening, Matsson introduces Shiv to his coms director, Ebba (Eili Harboe), then with urgency asks her if they’ve got a deal or not.
“Yeah, potentially,” Shiv Mona Lisa smiles.
On a hill overlooking the disco tent, Ken tells Roman he wants to tank the deal, but in a way that makes Matsson think it was his idea and the old guard won’t know what they’re up to.
“It’s a f—n’ tightrope walk on a straight razor, 500-foot reputational drop,” Ken says with relish.
“Why does that make you smile?” Rome asks, reluctant but nonetheless acquiescent.
Alexander Skarsgård and Sarah Snook in a still from “Succession.”
Shiv and Matsson talk in his cabin. She suggests a meaningful bump if he wants the deal. He thanks her for her top mind advice to just keep offering more money. He wants to know what she thinks of Ebba, asks about her husband situation.
“Oh, well, we’re f—d,” Shiv states. “It’s a disaster. I broke his heart and he broke mine. We lost our footing.”
Matsson admits sending an ex some of his blood after a breakup. Half a liter frozen blood brick. As a joke.
Shiv: “Half a liter? Wow. Well, obviously, first of all, good one!”
“She got a bit weirded when I did that,” Matsson reports. But he kept doing it. Then it became not a joke, but then a joke again. Now it’s apparently not a joke. Oh, and it’s Ebba. He plans to deny it, lawyer it out.
“Well, deniability is difficult given she has so much of your blood,” Shiv advises. “If this deal goes through, U.S. media are going to be all over you. So, if you’re the creepy stalker guy who sits in the dark writing code, dripping into an IV bag and harassing his direct reports, it’s going to have an economic impact.”
She advises him to stop sending people blood and don’t fire Ebba.
Like a little boy, Matsson says “I like you. You’re cool. You’re not judgy. You can take a joke. I like that. Like your dad.”
She sips her drink, half-winks, smiles.
On the hill, Ken hands Greg a burner phone; he’s to tell a journalist the deal vibes are bad.
“It’s Quad Squad type s—t!” Greg spouts, deliriously happy.
Ken tells his assistant to set up a full, three-hour screening of the bad movie for the GoJos in the morning.
Negotiating Tactics
Sun rises. Lots of bored Swedes watching.
Shiv approaches Ken and Greg about a “bad vibes” report on her phone.
“Hear you were getting pretty “close to Lukas last night,” Roman says.
“Yeah,” Shiv confirms. You jealous?”
Waystar elders approach. Ken tells them the pitch is they retain ATN and Matsson buys the rest foe $146, or he takes ATN at a crazy premium.
All good. The Bros “take it to the ridge.” When the rest have gone, Tom talks to Shiv. She tells him his white sneakers are bad fashion, then kicks gravel on them.
“I’m helping you, Tom. This is why people don’t take you seriously.”
He snaps her left ear with a finger. Hard. “Your earlobes are thick. And chewy. Like barnacle meat.”
He steps toward her and she rearfoots warily. He asks about her chat with Lukas. She calls Lukas very conventionally attractive. Broad, unlike Tom. “Compared to him, you’re wiry. You’re like a f—g spelunker.” She walks away.
On the gondola to the ridge, Connor sends Roman the picture of Logan’s corpse he was asked not to.
Outside on the ridge, with surrounding peaks semi-covered in clouds, it’s just the Bros and Matsson. He wants to know if they’re for real; the movie, these f—g press stories. “Are you Scooby-Dooing me here?” Wait. Has someone been nicknamed Scooby-Doo? No, Matsson’s referring to an act. Let’s check the Urban Dictionary to see what he might mean … Oh my.
“I preferred doing this with your dad,” Matsson says. “He was a prick, but at least he knew what he wanted.”
Roman: “Our dad was not a prick, OK?”
Matsson: “Ah, sure. But he was.”
Ken: “This is a long distance run, it’s not a sprint.”
Matsson: “I think he’d be embarrassed if he saw you two now. His two big boys, playing Scooby-Doos.”
He threatens to go around them to the board and the old ones. Silence. He walks between them. After a moment, Rome pulls a face and goes after Matsson, who’s pissing on a rock ledge.
“You really couldn’t push this a week, could you?” Roman, seething, sputters, then details how devastated the siblings are about Logan’s death. “You just drag us out here, you inhuman f—g dogman you. Crazy! You f—g killed him, too. You did. You drained the life out of him, dragged this thing out for six f—g months, and then you bring us out here now.”
Roman declares they’re not selling to him. “I f—g hate you. And if you tell the board any of this I’m just going to say it was a negotiating tactic. And you know what? Maybe it is. But it’s not, so f—k you.”
Matsson whispers to him, “You just f—d yourself. Good.” He grins and chuckles.
“It’s a negotiating tactic,” Roman tells Matsson as he walks away, then hurls a string of expletives. Waiting for the gondola, Ken says to Roman “It wasn’t the plan but maybe it plays.”
“If a deal collapses in the woods and no one hears it, is it an SEC violation?” Roman ponders.
Roys 1, Vikings 0
On the plane heading home, Frank gets a call from Matsson, who doesn’t want to speak to either brother. Frank hangs up and tells them, “Revised offer. 192.”
“Five dollar bump. OK!” Karl, rubbing his palms together. “Hey, it’s a home run, Boys! Hail the conquering heroes.” In the other cabin, Karl tells the troops “We came, we saw, we pillaged, we raided the Vikings!” High fives.
In a quieter part of the plane, Shiv tells Tom about the deal, Matsson taking ATN (where Tom works) and the whole kaboodle. His face is half-shadowed in stark, noirish sidelighting.
“We’re looking at some moves at ATN. I’m not happy, so …” she adds.
“You’re really gonna do this?” a worried Tom says.
“Yeah. Cyd’s getting too close to Menckin. She’s gotta go.”
She then asks Tom if he wants to let Cyd know; it’s her father’s favorite loyalty test. He says sure. “Don’t get an erection, Tom, that’s weird,” Shiv says, then asks her husband, “You want to have dinner when we get back?”
Matsson calls her. Requests she send him a photo of her brothers’ faces. Shiv surreptitiously takes a shot of the B-rollers looking pensive.
A preliminary draft of Gojo’s kill list is sent to Gerri. Hugo and his boys are on it.
Hugo: “That slalom mother—r.”
So are Frank and Karl, who lifts his champagne flute to his expected golden parachute, “Let the good times roll.”
Karolina, Gerri and Tom are not on list. Karl can’t believe that last one.
In their cabin, the “Malone” cast toast themselves. Looks like Roman and Ken really are Logan’s Big Boys. Unless they’re the ones getting Scooby-Dooed.
Kieran Culkin in a still from “Succession.”
Best One-Liner:
As some Waystar junior execs panic on the plane to Norway, Gerri gives them a pep talk that could also double as a list of ATN’s patriotic capitalist talking points.
“Sure, they’re young and they’re fit. But they’re European!” She says of the GoJo team they’re about to face down. “They’re soft, hammocked in their social security safety net. Sick on vacation mania and free health care. They may think they’re Vikings, but we’ve been raised by wolves, exposed to a pathogen that goes by the name Logan Roy. And they have no idea what’s coming to them.”
Stray Observations:
It could be grape juice and we never see the powder going up her nose, but it looks like Shiv is drinking and snorting coke with Matsson in his cabin. Is she not that pregnant, or perhaps not that happy to be carrying Tom’s child? Hard to say, since she hasn’t expressed her feelings on the subject yet.
Roman’s prediction in the last episode that the delayed impact of Logan’s death would hit him hard appears to be coming true. He has the most emotional reactions to every stage of strategizing and negotiations for the Waystar sale, all informed by his feelings for his dad. They’re finally blown out of control by the picture Connor sends of Logan in the funeral home.
Not the best business tactic, but it seemed to work. Throughout the episode, Ken and Roman are out of their depth and often petty when it comes to responding to the more masterful Matsson’s moves. Yet they get more than they expected from him in the end. He clearly has some great need to buy Waystar with ATN, so no matter what the brothers did they probably would have come out on top. But this success should encourage them to go with their feelings and sometimes harebrained strategies. Can’t wait to see how that bites them in the end.
Andrew Jeffrey joined Realscreen in 2021 as its news editor. Here, he helps to oversee assignment, reporting and editing for Realscreen’s daily newsletter. Prior to his work covering documentary and non-fiction film and TV, he worked as a reporter and associate producer for CBC Edmonton, and as a reporter for The Star Calgary, where he covered daily news on beats such as local and provincial politics, health care and harm reduction, sports and education. His work has appeared in other Canadian news outlets such as TVO, the Edmonton Journal and Avenue Magazine.
Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani featured in Rangi Saari song from the movie JugJugg Jeeyo. (Image: Instagram)
Happy Birthday Varun Dhawan: In addition to his acting skills, Dhawan is also renowned for his groovy dance moves, with several of his dance numbers becoming chartbusters
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VARUN DHAWAN: Varun Dhawan has established himself as a versatile and dynamic actor in Bollywood. He is known for his powerful performances in movies such as Bhediya, Badlapur, Sui Dhaga, and ABCD-2 among others. His films are often a perfect blend of drama, comedy, action, and catchy Bollywood numbers, making him a popular figure among audiences.
Varun Dhawan with his Citadel co-star Samantha Ruth Prabhu in London. (Image: Instagram)
In addition to his impressive acting skills, Dhawan is also renowned for his groovy dance moves, with several of his dance numbers becoming chartbusters and remaining popular among fans long after their release. As the actor celebrates his birthday, let’s take a look at some of his latest and most popular dance numbers that have kept audiences entertained and enthralled.
Thumkeshwari The song from the movie Bhediya features Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon grooving to the upbeat rhythm. The song also includes a special appearance by Shraddha Kapoor, who dances in sync with Dhawan. The lyrics are given by Amitabh Bhattacharya and the music is composed by Sachin Jigar. Dhawan and Kriti Sanon’s energetic performance in the music video is definitely worth watching and adds to the overall charm of the song.
Rangi Saari JugJugg Jeeyo, a 2022 film, features this popular romantic dance number starring Kiara Advani and Varun Dhawan. The song is a cover of the classic thumri Rangi Saari, originally performed by the late classical singer Shobha Gurtu. Kanishk Seth and Kavita Seth lend their voices to the rendition, which has become a refreshing addition to party playlists. The music video showcases Advani and Dhawan grooving to the electrifying beats of the song, making it a favourite among fans.
Nach Punjaban Another hit from the JugJugg Jeeyo album, features Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani, Anil Kapoor, and Neetu Kapoor performing Bhangra to dhol beats. Gippy Grewal, Zahrah S. Khan, Tanishk Bagchi, and Romy all contribute vocals to the song, which also has music and lyrics by Tanishk Bagchi and Abrar Ul Haq.
Chunar The song’s resonant music, heartfelt lyrics, and Arijit Singh’s consistently melodic voice make for a powerful listening experience that can move you to your very core. Varun Dhawan’s performance in the song is impressive, as he incorporates modern dance techniques and floor swirls that enhance the emotional impact of the song. Overall, Chunar is a standout track from ABCD2 that showcases both Varun’s dancing skills and Arijit’s vocal prowess.
Lagdi Lahore Di This dance sequence is from the 2020 dance-musical movie Street Dancer 3D. The music is given by Guru Randhawa and Tulsi Kumar. Varun Dhawan shows off his exemplary dance moves along with Nora Fatehi.
It was bad b— o’clock Friday night in Tennessee when Lizzo protested the state’s anti-drag-show legislation by inviting more than a dozen drag queens to participate in her concert there.
During her Knoxville show at Thompson-Boling Arena, the “Special” artist danced onstage with a number of drag queens dressed in colorful, glittery costumes. Among the featured performers — some of whom were local and several of whom are affiliated with the hit competition program “RuPaul’s Drag Race” — were Aquaria, Kandy Muse, Asia O’Hara and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.
Lizzo also took a moment during her set to address “current events” unfolding in the state. In February, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation banning “adult cabaret” artists (widely interpreted as code for drag performers) from performing in public and/or in the presence of children.
The law — which opponents have deemed discriminatory and oppressive to the LGBTQ+ community — was temporarily blocked in March by a federal judge who ruled that Tennessee failed to present a compelling case for restricting “adult cabaret” performances in the state.
“In light of recent and tragic events … I was told by people on the internet, ‘Cancel your shows in Tennessee. Don’t go to Tennessee,’” Lizzo told the crowd on Friday.
“We don’t have to boo that person — their reason was valid. But why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most, the people who need to feel this release the most?”
On Instagram, multiple drag queens who joined Lizzo onstage Friday thanked the Grammy winner for including them and “uplifting the queens [in] Tennessee.” The “About Damn Time” hitmaker traveled to Knoxville this weekend as part of her Special concert tour, which is coming to Napa, Sacramento and Palm Desert later this year.
“Why would I not create a safe space in Tennessee where we can celebrate Pride entertainers and celebrate our differences and celebrate fat, Black women?” Lizzo continued Friday.
“What people are doing in Tennessee is giving hope, so thank you so much for standing up for your rights, protecting each other and holding the people accountable who should be protecting us.”
But while a blast to the past is great, the big question remains – where will Spider-Man swing into the action in future projects?
Every Confirmed & Rumored Upcoming Spider-Man Appearance
1.) Spider-Man: Freshman Year (Disney+ series)
Marvel Studios
Spider-Man: Freshman Year will give the web-slinger his own animated show produced by Marvel Studios, setting him in his early high school days as he learns how to use his newfound superpowers. The series is also set to bring in a number of iconic Spidey villains like the Green Goblin, Chameleon, Scorpion, and more, although there are plenty of questions surrounding the series.
Due to a number of behind-the-scenes issues in Marvel Studios’ animation department, the series is facing a major delay and won’t release on Disney+ until sometime in 2024. And with reports noting that Season 1’s team was let go before the show moves into Season 2, there are concerns about what the final results will be when the show makes its full arrival.
2.) Spider-Man 4 (Movie)
Sony Pictures
Shortly before Spider-Man: No Way Home hit theaters, Sony and Marvel confirmed that Spider-Man 4 is already in the early stages of development, bringing Tom Holland’s hero back for his fourth solo movie. And after seeing the young hero team up with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s web-slingers against a handful of past villains, he has plenty of opportunity to shine in a world that doesn’t know he exists.
Theories are already being formed for what should be included in the fourth MCU Spidey movie, with multiple big names also hoping to find their MCU characters as part of the next web-slinger story. And while there are only small indications pointing to when it may release, Holland’s friendly neighborhood Spidey still has a long journey ahead of him as the MCU continues to expand.
3.) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Movie)
Sony Pictures
Miles Morales will make his long-awaited return to the big screen in this summer’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to 2018’s blockbuster animated hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Shameik Moore’s young hero will jump headfirst into the deep end of the Multiverse alongside Hailee Steinfeld’sGwen Stacy, with the film’s trailers teasing a vast expansion of other worlds.
Footage released for this movie thus far teased an incredible number of Spidey Variants, including Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099, as they all prepare for an imminent battle against Jason Schwartzman’s Spot. And with potential drama brewing with Miles’ family as well, Sony hopes to bring an even bigger story in the sequel than what was delivered in the original when it releases on June 2.
Thus far, there isn’t a lot that’s known about Beyond the Spider-Verse‘s story other than the fact that The Spot will be back causing even more mayhem for Miles, Gwen, and their team of heroes. And with this movie originally using the title Across the Spider-Verse Part 2, expect this new entry to tie heavily back to the events laid out in its predecessor when it hits theaters on March 29, 2024.
5.) What If…? Season 2 (Disney+ series)
Marvel Studios
After Spider-Man played a key role in Episode 5 of What If…?, donning Doctor Strange’s Cloak of Levitation and helping to fight a zombie invasion, it’s expected that Peter Parker will be back for more in the series’ second season. Voiceover actor Hudson Thames spoke exclusively with The Direct about the experience being “really special,” and considering Spider-Man’s popularity, an appearance in Season 2 is something many are expecting.
Screen Rant spoke with director/executive producer Bryan Andrews about Spidey’s possible return, with Andrews saying how much they “love Spider-Man” and hoping that he’ll be back in the future. And although he wasn’t confirmed as part of the huge group of characters coming back for the animated series, which had its release date delayed from early 2023, the web-slinger could come in handy for any number of alternate universe storylines.
One rumor goes so far as to note that Tom Holland’s hero will actually lead the Avengers in the next movie, playing a bigger role than ever before as he works his way back into a world that doesn’t know who Peter Parker is. And while plot details are only just being formulated right now, it would be shocking to see Avengers 5 leave the web-slinger out of the action when it premieres on May 2, 2025.
Warner Bros. Discovery will be showcasing their upcoming movie slate at Cinemacon this week, and that includes Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the long-awaited sequel to the 2018 film that will see the return of Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry.
It has not yet been confirmed if a first teaser trailer for the film will be released during the presentation, something that has already been confirmed for other productions such as The Flash. However, fans remain hopeful that they will get their first look at the sequel to the King of the Seven Seas story this next week, as it is still a long way from its December release.
While the expectation of being able to see a teaser for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is out there, Twitter user @Alfiemoviehub shared a look at the official poster that has already been displayed in the place where the convention will take place:
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
The poster doesn’t reveal much about the plot, which has in fact been kept under wraps so far, but it’s icy appearance does tie into some concept art director James Wan previously shared featuring a huge monster trapped within the ice. Reportedly, the story will see Curry forging an unlikely alliance, most likely with Patrick Wilson’s Orm, in order to save Atlantis and the whole planet from a dangerous threat.
Another important detail is the return of Yahya Abdul-Mateen’s Black Manta, who was introduced in the first movie and had his own fight against the titular hero, but it’ll be in this film that he will actually become the main villain.
Amber Heard is also set to return as Mera, even with so many rumors about her being cut off the film. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom could also include a Ben Affleck cameo as Batman, since the actor was on set as Momoa showed on his social media.
The Last Days of the DCEU Will be One of the Big Stars at Cinemacon
Warner Bros. Pictures
As most fans already know, The Flash will be screened for CinemaCon attendees, besides releasing a new full trailer. Expectations are off the charts for Andy Muschietti’s film, especially since rumors describing it as one of the most incredible superhero movies of all time have been around for a while now.
Besides Ezra Miller solo adventure as Barry Allen and the Aquaman sequel, the other character that will definitely show up at DC’s presentation is Jaime Reyes. Xolo Mariduena will debut as the titular hero in Blue Beetle, which will hit theaters in August. The Angel Manuel Soto film released its first trailer earlier this month, so fans are definitely hoping to get to see more of the upcoming project this week too.
As for James Gunn’s vision of the DCU, which will start in 2024, there’s been no confirmation of any of those movies in development showing anything at CinemaCon, but there might be some announcement related to it during the event to surprise the fans. Warner Bros. Discovery will make their presentation at CinemaCon on Tuesday April 25.
It just wouldn’t be a Hoyoverse game if it didn’t come with its fair share of leaks. Yup, Honkai: Star Rail has already come out with its first few leaks about the game complete with the story thus far and the types of characters we’ll come to see in the future.
Will Dan Heng be a Five-Star Character later in Honkai: Star Rail?
For now, we’ll only be focusing on the major concern of the next arc; will Dan Heng be receiving an upgrade? Already it looks like in the midst of the story, Dan Heng takes on a different form. His clothing appears completely different as well as his overall appearance just takes on a more ethereal form with longer hair and horns projecting from his head.
According to speculation amongst the leak crowd, he may even have different typings in comparison to what he usually is. In his four-star form, Dan Heng uses the Wind Element and a lance whereas we don’t know the weapon of his Five-Star form but he will be using the Imaginary Element and instead be a Destruction Pathfinder rather than the Hunt.
This can be really confusing for people coming from Genshin Impact since there aren’t many characters that have repeats, but if you are coming from Honkai Impact 3rd, then this may seem so unfamiliar. It is common in Honkai Impact for characters to have repeats or otherwise different forms that will have different abilities and type roles than what is previously handed out.
Normally these come in the form of Herrscher’s, where select characters from Honkai Impact thus transcend humanity to become envoys or omniscient beings that have superior powers and capabilities, unlike their former forms. Many of which have different roles such as Origin, Finality, Reason, etc.
This would be a rather odd occurrence to appear in Honkai: Star Rail, but a fascinating turn of events given Dan Heng’s elusive past. Time will only tell what Hoyoverse plans to do with this character in the future.
Let’s look at one of the oldest characters in horror cinema, Renfield.
When you think of Dracula, your mind doesn’t often wander to the strange and fanatically devoted servant and familiar that helps Dracula execute his plans. No, in fact, most people forget about Renfield and his continuous supply of insects that he consumes in practice for the possibilities of immortality. Renfield is a violent joker amongst the terrors of Dracula and his vampiresses, and his history in film is complicated.
Since the earliest Dracula films, the character has changed and deepened, becoming more and less integral to the story depending on the focus of the filmmakers.
With the release of Chris McKay‘s Renfield, which reimagines Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) as a co-dependent looking to break free of his toxic relationship with Dracula (Nicolas Cage), we should take a look back at the history of Renfields in film, and how Renfield screenwriter Ryan Ridley and McKay transform this misunderstood man into someone worthy of saving the day.
Let’s get into it!
‘Renfield’Credit: Universal Pictures
The Classic Universal Monsters
Cinema’s first introduction to Renfield came in the 1931 Universal classic movie monster, Dracula. In the film, Renfield is morphed from Mary Shelly’s original character, who was a man committed to a mental asylum and ate vermin to absorb their life force, into a Johnathan Harker-like character. Renfield, played by Dwight Frye, is a solicitor traveling to Count Dracula’s (Bela Lugosi) castle in Transylvania, hoping to sell the property. Feeding on his hopes and ambition, Dracula captures Renfield and turns him into a crazed slave.
In this film, Renfield is already reluctant to do Dracula’s bidding, often breaking free of Dracula’s curse to warn the others that he is not a safe person to be around. While he never directly betrays Dracula, Dracula is overcontrolling and manipulative, often pulling the strings of Renfield’s desires and punishing him when things do work out exactly as planned.
Dwight Frye played Renfield with a customary intensity that the actor was known for, and often blurted out iconic improvised lines and comical hysteria (according to Dwight Frye’s Last Laugh). The portrayal of a miserably abused minion established the trope of what a villain’s minion was supposed to look like: cruel, unhinged, and mistreated by the world and the monster men of horror films.
“He was always, to me, by fart he pst psychotic of any character in all those old horror movies,” Alice Cooper writes in Welcome to My Nightmare: The Alice Cooper Story. “He was this little shaky guy… I mean everything he said sent shivers down your spine.”
‘Dracula’Credit: Universal Pictures
Other Renditions of Renfield
In almost every iteration of Dracula, there will always be a Renfield. Whether Renfield has a purpose or not in the main story, it seems that Dracula cannot succeed without Renfield. However, the relationship is not one-sided.
In Francis Ford Coppola’s Braum Stoker’s Dracula, Young Dracula, and Dracula 3D, Renfield is often depicted as a co-dependent who is getting something from his relationship with Dracula. Whether it is the chance to become immortal or to find a connection with another vampire who gives him time and attention, Renfield is confined to being in partnership with someone cruel and deeply selfish.
After 1992, Dracula stories attempted to modernize, as with Dracula 2000 Stephen Somers’ Van Helsing, and The Invitation. These films strayed further and further from the original characters, and Renfield was nowhere to be found. Why was a character so vital to Dracula’s story dominate? What does that say about Renfield in the way we view stories about monsters?
‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’Credit: Columbia Pictures
How is 2023’s Renfield Different
For the first time, Renfield is not a side character on Dracula’s journey. Instead, his problems and wants are put on full display.
The story of how Renfield and Dracula come to be partners is the same, but we get to see why Renfield is devoted to this vampire. Dracula is the last person that Renfield has left in a world that has moved around him for 200 years. Maybe part of Renfiled feels like he owes Dracula something for giving him immortality.
After decades of serving Dracula, Renfield finds himself suddenly struck by his conscience and the sneaking suspicion that his boss might be something of a narcissist.
Renfield gives a character that is meant to be a horrifying cruel human monster a more humane touch as they dress him in pastels from Macy’s and hint at the possibility of falling in love with a human woman.
The film doesn’t let you forget that Renfield’s morality is skewed through Dracula’s reminders of Renfield’s abandonment of his former family, his greed, and his inability to do most tasks correctly and without death. Through all of this, we see that Renfield is trying to be a better person (or at least a less murderous one). Whether Renfield is a good person or not is not the point of the story. Rather, finding the freedom to be independent is the heart of the story.
Renfield is like a coming-of-age story for adults. He is just a guy looking to rent a studio apartment, wear fun sweaters, and bake sugar cookies while finding his independence from his problematic boss.
For a character that has died on screen almost every time he has appeared, it is nice to see that Renfield gets some type of happy ending. How long will that happy ending last? Who knows, but at least we get a funny redemption story for a character that has been sidelined for far too long.
Hoult caught the need for speed from Fassbender during their time shooting “X-Men” movies together.
Nicholas Hoult and Michael Fassbender
Getty Images
When Michael Fassbenderdrove for Porsche at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022, he carried on a long tradition of movie stars moonlighting as race car drivers that goes back to Paul Newman. Now, it appears that Fassbender is doing his part to mentor the next generation of actors with a need for speed.
Nicholas Hoult has been a semi-regular presence on the auto racing circuit for the past several years, rising through the ranks as a celebrity driver for Ferrari. In a new interview with GQ Spain, the “Succession” star credited Fassbender with inspiring his interest in the sport and helping him get his foot in the door.
“It was through Michael Fassbender,” Hoult said when asked about the origins of his racing career. “We used to go karting while we filmed the ‘X-Men’ movies and then he did the Ferrari Challenge. Afterwards, Ferrari very kindly offered me the opportunity to do its Corso Pilota program. And so I progressed through that program, which prepares you to pilot the 488 Challenge. I already did my first race weekend last year and I hope to do a couple more this year.”
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Hoult explained that he sees acting and racing as natural compliments to each other, as racing offers him the kind of clearly defined rules and success metrics that he can’t find on a movie set.
“It is an adrenaline rush, but it is also very specific and quite meditative in its flow, the state of inflow and outflow. But there are also very clear parameters of when you have done well and when you have not done it and what you need to work on,” he said. “When you act it is quite difficult to get clear parameters because there are many elements involved in doing something great or doing something simply good or doing something bad. There are so many elements that can change… While with the races it is very clear.”
Hail to the king, baby! The Evil Dead franchise is back in theaters with Evil Dead Rise, but the “king” in this case is not Ash Williams (he’s not in this one), but Super Mario. Now in its third week, The Super Mario Bros. Movieis still on top, adding another $58 million to its domestic total (which is now at $434 million). That’s a ways ahead of Evil Dead Rise, which opened with $23 million, and even more of a ways ahead of third place’s Covenant, with the Guy Ritchie war movie opening with $6 million. Finishing out the top five are John Wick: Chapter 4and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, both of which made over $5 million.
Luca’s director on sea monsters, cliques, and gelato vs. ice cream
The bottom half of the top 10 features Air($4.9 million, $41 million after three weeks), The Pope’s Exorcist($3.3 million, $14 million after two weeks), and Renfield($3 million and $13 million after two weeks), with the supremely divisive Beau Is Afraid climbing up to ninth with a gradually expanding rollout and Makoto Shinkai’s delightful Suzumelanding in 10th. Outside of the top 10, Chevalier and Somewhere In Queens make their debuts, and Avatar: The Way Of Water makes an Earth Day return to theaters and soaks up another $600,000. Hey, why are we celebrating Earth Day with an Avatar movie that explicitly does not take place on Earth? Sure it has environmentalist and conservationist themes, but Jake Sully isn’t out there killing whalers on Earth, he’s doing it on Pandora. How To Blow Up A Pipeline is right there, playing on 530 screens, make that the Earth Day movie! Put Jake Sully in it if you need to, just hanging around in the background.
Based on a Cheryl Strayed book of the same name, Tiny Beautiful Things follows Clare, a struggling writer who begins writing an anonymous advice column despite the fact that her own life is falling apart. Through the column, Clare explores her own experiences and memories, showing her readers (and herself) that they are worthy of all the tiny beautiful things in the world. Starring Kathryn Hahn, this eight-episode series is simple, yet breathtaking, and it explores in great depth the intricacies of humanity and relationships. Written by Strayed herself, and Liz Tigelaar (Little Fires Everywhere), Tiny Beautiful Things is a fascinating drama packed with multidimensional and engaging characters.
It’s always fun watching movies that take us to the glitz and glam of a casino. Whether it’s martinis at the roulette wheel, glamorous night clubs, or high-stakes card games we love peeking into this world for a few hours. This list includes some of our favorite Casino themed movies from 2000 onwards all with different stories behind them.
From dark tales of addiction to comedies about winning huge fortunes overnight you can’t go wrong if you decide to watch any one of these fantastic films! So grab your popcorn and jump into this list full of exciting scenes and plots – you won’t regret it!
Ocean’s Eleven (2001): A star-studded cast of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon team up for one of the most iconic heists in movie history.
Ocean’s Eleven (2001) is a thrilling rollercoaster ride of a heist movie, with a star-studded cast that includes the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. These iconic actors effortlessly bring their game-changing character personalities to life, weaving a tale that is as entertaining as it is captivating.
The plot revolves around a daring heist of 150 million dollars from three of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. With high octane action, witty dialogue, and intense suspense, this movie continues to capture the imagination of audiences around the world. Whether you’re a fan of heist movies or just popular culture, Ocean’s Eleven is definitely one for the books.
21 (2008): Based on the true story of six MIT students who took Las Vegas for millions.
“21” is not just another gambling movie; it’s a thrilling true story of six MIT students who use their intellect and strategic skills to win big in Las Vegas. The plot follows the group, led by their charismatic professor, as they devise a plan to beat the system in high-stakes blackjack games. The audience is drawn into the excitement as the team’s wins and losses mount, and the risks become greater. With excellent performances and an intriguing storyline, “21” gives viewers a rare glimpse into the world of professional gambling and the human drive to beat the odds.
The Hangover (2009): A wild night out in Las Vegas leads to a series of misadventures and crazy antics that will leave you laughing out loud.
Have you ever had a wild night out with friends that you just can’t remember? That’s exactly what happens to the characters in the hit movie “The Hangover” (2009). Set in Las Vegas, the group of friends embark on an epic adventure that involves everything from stolen police cars to a tiger in their hotel room.
The movie’s outrageous scenarios are enough to make anyone laugh out loud. And as the group retraces their steps to figure out what happened the night before, the audience is taken on a wild ride that will have them hooked from beginning to end. If you’re in need of a good laugh, “The Hangover” is definitely worth a watch.
Casino Royale (2006): Daniel Craig takes on his first role as James Bond and enters a high-stakes poker game with Le Chiffre, the terrorist financier.
In 2006, cinema-goers were introduced to the newest and grittiest incarnation of James Bond yet. Daniel Craig famously stepped into the iconic 007 role for the first time in “Casino Royale,” taking on terrorist financier Le Chiffre in a high-stakes poker game. This film breathed new life into the franchise, delivering pulse-pounding action sequences and a thrilling plot that had audiences on the edge of their seats.
Craig’s performance as Bond was met with critical acclaim, and his portrayal of the secret agent helped cement his status in Hollywood as one of the best action stars of his generation. “Casino Royale” remains as entertaining and engaging today as it was upon its initial release, a testament to the enduring appeal of the Bond franchise.
Rounders (1998): Matt Damon stars as a former poker prodigy trying to make a comeback in this story of friendship and loyalty set in New York’s underground world.
In the gritty underground world of New York City, a former poker prodigy named Matt Damon is trying to make a comeback in Rounders (1998). The movie follows Damon’s character as he navigates the high-stakes world of underground gambling while trying to stay true to his sense of friendship and loyalty.
Rounders is a thrilling tale of second chances and the power of perseverance. With a cast that includes John Malkovich and Edward Norton, this classic movie continues to captivate audiences with its suspenseful story and unforgettable characters. Whether you consider yourself a poker aficionado or just love a good underdog story, Rounders is a must-watch film that is sure to leave you on the edge of your seat.
The next movie is also from the nineties, but despite its age a welcome addition to this list, similar to what´s an online casino bonus is to a player.
Croupier (1998): Clive Owen plays a casino dealer caught up in the criminal underworld of London’s gambling scene.
The 1998 film “Croupier” is a thrilling exploration of the dark underbelly of London’s gambling scene. Clive Owen delivers a captivating performance as Jack Manfred, a struggling writer who takes a job as a croupier to make ends meet. But Jack soon finds himself drawn into the dangerous world of high-stakes gambling and the seedy characters who inhabit it.
As he becomes increasingly involved in their schemes, Jack is forced to confront his own morality and the cost of his actions. With its slick visuals and gripping storyline, “Croupier” is a must-watch for anyone who loves a good thriller.
Las Vegas has been the backdrop for some of the most exciting and thrilling films ever, from the classic Ocean’s Eleven to more recent offerings like Croupier.
However, no matter what, these films all have one thing in common – the captivating excitement and tension created by high stakes gambling. To capture that feeling, it is important to remember that it starts with having respect for the game and its players.
Whether you’re watching a movie or embarking on your own journey at a online casino table, remember to stay focused and play responsibly. Afterall, while a lucky streak can bring amazing rewards – nothing beats walking away from the table knowing that you took part in an incredible experience!
A cache of leaked emails has revealed the luxury lifestyle of Russia’s deputy defence minister and his glamorous ex-wife who set in place a ‘pre-emptive’ divorce ‘to dodge sanctions’.
Investigators from the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), established in 2011 by Alexei Navalny, the imprisoned opposition leader, acquired 8,000 messages sent over 12 years revealing a life of St Tropez villas, yachts and Rolls-Royces enjoyed by Timur Ivanov, 47, and Svetlana Maniovich, 50.
It said her ‘pre-emptive’ divorce from Ivanov last summer allowed her to bypass the EU sanctions that were later put in place for her husband. The emails suggest that there was no actual separation.
The couple got married in 2009, following the socialite’s divorce from the successful businessman Mikhail Maniovich.
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich sunbathing. The Anti-Corruption Foundation is pushing for Maniovich to be banned from travel in the European Union over Ivanov’s role in the conflict in Ukraine
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich paddling in the sea. The Anti-Corruption Foundation said the socialite’s ‘pre-emptive’ divorce from Ivanov last summer allowed her to bypass the EU sanctions that were later put in place for her husband. Leaked emails suggest that there was no actual separation
Ivanov was appointed deputy defence minister in 2016 after working for a defence contractor. He is responsible for military construction projects, including the rebuilding of the Ukrainian port of Mariupol.
Maniovich’s family spent €850,000 on villa rentals in St Tropez and €250,000 on yachts between 2013 and 2018, according to her emails.
She also took shopping trips to Geneva and Paris, splashing out €104,000 on a diamond ring and spending €150,000 on earrings.
Her birthday party in Istanbul in 2018 cost €178,000.
Maniovich’s list of purchases also include a Dolce & Gabbana dress for €59,500 and a set of 19th-century furniture for €85,000, bought in Belgium.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, and his wife, the former ice skater Tatiana Navka, attended her 2021 birthday party near Moscow.
Ivanov and Maniovich have also allegedly kept a Rolls-Royce Corniche for their trips to the French Riviera.
The FBK said that Maniovich’s bills were covered by other people and corporations. Olimpsitistroy, a contractor for the defence ministry which is involved in building new apartment blocks in Mariupol, was one of these.
On March 17 last year, as Russia sustained its assault on Mariupol, Maniovich picked up diamonds from a jewellery store in Paris.
Maria Pevchikh, head of investigations for FBK, urged the French authorities to ban Maniovich from visiting France, posting a video of her ‘partying in Courchevel,’ a ski resort in France, three weeks ago.
Pevchikh also announced a demonstration on April 23 close to Maniovich’s flat in Paris ‘demanding to sanction their family, freeze their assets and kick them out of Europe’.
According to the FBK, in 2012, Ivanov bought a manor in the center of Moscow for €6.7 million.
The foundation said he also spent about the same amount on the construction of a luxurious country house on the Rublyovskoye Highway.
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich enjoying a drink on holiday. The couple got married in 2009, following Maniovich’s divorce from the successful businessman Mikhail Maniovich
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich aboard a boat. Maniovich’s family spent €850,000 on villa rentals in St Tropez and €250,000 on yachts between 2013 and 2018, according to her emails
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich enjoying a drink. The FBK said in December: ‘Right now, Ivanov’s wife is spending her blood money in Parisian boutiques. Europe imposed sanctions on Ivanov only on October 6, 2022. But a month before that, he and Maniovich had divorced’
Pictured: Timur Ivanov and Svetlana Maniovich drinking on a boat. According to the FBK, in 2012, Ivanov bought a manor in the center of Moscow for €6.7 million
Pictured: Timur Ivanov, 47, and Svetlana Maniovich, 50, on a boat. Ivanov and Maniovich have also allegedly kept a Rolls-Royce Corniche for their trips to the French Riviera
Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin accompanied by Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church (file photo)
The FBK said in a post on its website in December: ‘The family’s assets are registered to “Russian Federation,” their nannies and chauffeur, as well as contractors of the Ministry of Defense.
‘These contractor companies receive billions in construction contracts from the ministry, and they also paid Maniovich and Ivanov’s bills. The official income of the family is about 25 million rubles a year. There is no way that would allow them to lead such a luxurious lifestyle. All this was bought with money stolen from the Russians.’
It added: ‘Right now, Ivanov’s wife is spending her blood money in Parisian boutiques. Europe imposed sanctions on Ivanov only on October 6, 2022. But a month before that, he and Maniovich had divorced.
‘The divorce was merely a formality, and its only purpose was to allow Ivanov’s family to continue to live and spend money in Europe. This is confirmed by the fact that Svetlana took her husband’s surname shortly before the divorce.
‘Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov makes money on construction in the occupied regions of Ukraine. At the same time he spends millions of euros on vacations, luxury real estate and antiques. His wife uses the corrupt money to live a luxurious lifestyle in Europe. This follows from a new investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation.’
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich on a boat. Her birthday party in Istanbul in 2018 cost €178,000, according to the leaked emails
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich swimming in the sea on holiday. According to the FBK, in 2012, Ivanov bought a manor in the center of Moscow for €6.7 million
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich poses beside some octopuses at a coastal resort
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich on holiday. The FBK said that in 2018, Ivanov’s wife celebrated her birthday in Istanbul, with the event costing her €178,000
Pictured: Svetlana Maniovich taking a stroll beside the water on one of her city visits
Pictured: Timur Ivanov and Svetlana Maniovich on holiday. Prior to his current role, Ivanov served as deputy head of the Moscow region
Pictured: Russian Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov and Svetlana Maniovich joking with one another on holiday
Pictured: Timur Ivanov and Svetlana Maniovich on a walk. Their son Mikhail is a student at Oxford University
Ivanova’s son Mikhail is a student at Oxford Brookes University in England and her daughter lives in France.
Maniovich’s husband is among those sanctioned by Britain, the European Union and the United States due to his proximity to Putin, but she and her children are not under the same restrictions.
Prior to his current role, Ivanov served as deputy head of the Moscow region.
Both Mikhail and Ivanova’s daughter Alexandra are keen Instagram users, despite the platform being banned in Russia.
After the invasion of Ukraine, Alexandra wrote: ‘There should not be hostilities in any country in the world.’ She did not directly criticise the Kremlin.
For further proof that Elon Musk’s approach to verification on Twitter can change on a whim, some top users on the social platform with significant followings — including stars who have died — were re-verified over the weekend with no explanation from the company.
The re-verification comes after Twitter mass removed blue verification check marks from legacy users on April 20, impacting a whole slew of public figures — including Kim Kardashian and The Pope — and journalists without the badge. That same day, however, Musk claimed he was personally paying for three users — LeBron James, Stephen King and William Shatner — to retain their verification.
At the time, a source close to James told The Hollywood Reporter that the NBA star had received an email from Twitter offering a comped subscription, but James had never responded to it to accept the subscription.
By Sunday, the platform appeared to reverse course, adding the blue check badge back to the accounts of users who were previously verified, but now with a badge description denoting that they subscribe to Twitter Blue. Impacted accounts have included living celebrities like Kardashian, James Gunn and Lil Nas X, who now all have a blue check mark, as well as those who have died. That includes Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Bourdain, Norm Macdonald, Michael Jackson and Kobe Bryant, among others.
Some of Twitter’s co-founders also received their verification back but former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was notably not included. And several users who did receive their verification again weren’t exactly pleased about the change. Users like Patton Oswalt and Chrissy Teigen have recommended that those who want to purposefully remove their verification badges can change their handles on Twitter and change them back, triggering removal of the badge.
Twitter, which has no formal communications team and auto-responds to all emailed press inquiries with a poop emoji, did not respond to a request for clarification.
Michael Phelps was swimming in EDM this weekend — and even though he wasn’t in the water … the dude found a reason to lose his shirt anyway.
The all-time Olympian — who’s got 23 gold medals to his name — was on hand Saturday night at the XS Nightclub within the Wynn Las Vegas resort … and he was in partying mood, which was only facilitated further with Diplo in the DJ booth and a packed crowd.
Mike and Diplo bro’d out behind the turntables … and it looks like MP got so hyped, he ended up going bare-chested amid al the festivities. Maybe he was celebrating a bet on Gervonta Davis — who won a big boxing match against Ryan Garcia earlier in the night.
Speaking of fighters … Mr. Conor McGregor was also in attendance, and Phelps got in a battle pose with the guy. He also smiled for the camera alongside Travis Kelce!
There was even more star power in the crowd … Sabrina Carpenter, Dixie Dameli and Loren Gray — not to mention Michael B. Jordan, Chance Crawford, David Dobrik and others.
Of course, there were even more A-listers who were front and center for the fight itself … these are just a handful of celebs who decided to rage after the fact at this particular club.
Looks like Michael did a lap or two to hobnob with the giddiest of them. In record time too, we imagine.
15 Nepo Kids Who Got Their Start From Their Parents
Nepo babies undeniably have a leg up in Hollywood, whether or not they acknowledge it — and this is never more obvious than when they literally get their start in their parents’ projects.
Even if it’s just a small role, appearing in a high profile project is something many actors never even get close to — most people can’t even get in the audition room for these projects unless they have a great agent and a lot of credits (and don’t even get me started on if they belong to the SAG-AFTRA union or not).
Here are 15 Nepo babies that literally got their start from their parents…basically making them the ultimate Nepo babies.
1.
Judd Apatow cast his daughters Maude and Iris Apatow in three of his films when they were young kids: Knocked Up, Funny People, and This Is 40. Maude was then cast in three episodes of Girls (on which her father was an executive producer).
Her next role was in Other People: she was recommended for the role by casting director Allison Jones. Jones had previously done the casting for Judd Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Talladega Nights, Knocked Up, Superbad, Funny People, and This is 40…and thus had known the Apatows since Maude was two.
This all led to a role in a film by Sam Levinson, himself a nepo baby (more on that later). He then cast her in Euphoria, largely considered her breakout role.
2.
Speaking of Sam Levinson…his father is Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson. His father cast him in his 1992 film Toys (starring Robin Williams) when Levinson was a kid, then later facilitated his breaking in as a writer, asking him to co-write the 2017 drama Wizard of Lies starring Robert De Niro. The elder Levinson told Collider, “I discussed it (the project) with my son, Sam, and he put together 20 pages. I sent that over to Bob and Jane Rosenthal, and we had the meeting and they thought it looked good, so I told them that my son wrote it. Bob has known Sam since he was 10 years old, and he said, ‘All right, good.’ That’s how we proceeded.”
Levinson — who had only a single writer/director credit from an indie film before his father asked him to work on The Wizard of Lies — springboarded off the film to the 2018 dark satire Assassination Nation. Euphoria quickly followed.
3.
Gwyneth Paltrow was born to an actor mom and a director/producer dad…and her godfather is literally Steven Speilberg. Her first role was in a TV pilot (with Zach Braff, btw) called High written and directed by her father. She then made her professional stage debut in 1990 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, where her mother had starred in several productions.
After a small role in the John Travolta film Shout, she was cast in her godfather’s film Hook. She then did some smaller projects before having a larger role in Flesh and Bone, and, more memorably, Se7en — her career largely took off after that.
4.
Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, began her career as an actor, appearing in her father’s films The Godfather, The Godfather Part II,The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Godfather Part III (a performance that was critically panned). Coppola later said it was never her dream to be an actor and that she was just helping her father out.
She would go on to become a writer/director, and got a leg up here too from her father, who asked her to co-write his segment of the anthology film New York Stories — the other segments were directed by Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. After directing a short film and a few music videos, Sofia readThe Virgin Suicides and decided she had to adapt and direct a film version. The film was critically acclaimed and her career took off.
5.
Bryce Dallas Howard is a nepo baby to the extreme — her mother is a writer, and her father is director Ron Howard. She is the granddaughter of actors, her godfather is Henry Winkler. Her first roles were as extras in her dad’s films, including the Academy Award-winning Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind, plus the box office smash How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
After studying acting in college, most of her first large roles were in theater — she was noticed in As You Like It by M. Night Shyamalan, who cast her in The Village and Lady in the Water —neither of which she had to audition for. After that, her career continued to take off.
6.
Blake Lively’s father is actor Ernie Lively, and her first role was in a film he directed called Sandman. Her mother is a talent manager. Her brother was also an actor, and got his agent* to send Blake on a “couple” auditions one summer — which is when she booked The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (in which her father also appeared in). Of course, her career skyrocketed from there.
7.
Jeff Bridges is the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and actor/writer Dorothy Bridges. Growing up, he appeared on his father’s shows Sea Hunt,The Lloyd Bridges Show, and The Loner. He continued on with a handful of small roles before landing The Last Picture Show, launching his career.
8.
Jessica Capshaw — best known now for starring as Arizona in Grey’s Anatomy — is the daughter of actor/producer Kate Capshaw and the stepdaughter of Steven Spielberg.
Her first role was in a film her mother was starring in, The Locusts. She had a couple other small roles before she was cast in her stepfather’s film Minority Report, which was a hit.
9.
Will Smith’s son Jaden Smith got his start starring alongside his father in The Pursuit of Happyness. After landing a role in the panned The Day the Earth Stood Still, he was cast in The Karate Kid, which his parents produced, and starred again alongside his father in After Earth.
10.
Cooper Hoffman, the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman, had grown up making small films with his father’s collaborator and friend Paul Thomas Anderson and his son. Hoffman wasn’t even interested in acting until Anderson told him about Licorice Pizza and asked him to read the script. Once Hoffman told Anderson he wanted the role, Hoffman went through a number of camera tests with the Haim sisters (which he said he would consider auditions “to see if I could actually do it.”) He was only 17, with no prior acting experience.
11.
Scott Eastwood may have tried to avoid profiting off his surname by initially using his mother’s last name, but I’m not sure he fooled anybody (in fact, one director noted he looked exactly like “his dad 25 years ago”). His first-ever film or TV role was in his father Clint’s film Flags of Our Fathers. He later appeared in his father’s Gran Torino and Invictus, and has had a long, consistent career since then.
12.
Anjelica Huston — daughter of director John Huston and granddaughter of actor Walter Huston — didn’t even want to act, saying she was given roles in her father’s films “without really [her] consent.” Her first substantial role was in her father’s film A Walk with Love and Death, and her performance was not well regarded…but she did continue to have a long career in Hollywood, and she worked with her father again on The Dead.
13.
John David Washington, whose father is Denzel Washington, appeared in two small roles in his father’s projects (including Malcolm X), then co-produced one of his father’s films before beginning to make it on his own.
John David’s breakout role was starring in BlacKkKlansman, a Spike Lee film — Lee was a frequent collaborator with Denzel, and had already directed John David in Malcolm X.
14.
In another example, Ang Lee’s son Mason Lee is set to make his major debut (after a number of small roles, including as a baby in one of his father’s films) in an upcoming Bruce Lee biopic to be directed by his father.
15.
And finally, the three members of Please Don’t Destroy (Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy) were most famous for their comedy TikToks before joining SNL. It seemed like a Cinderella story for them — until it came out that two of them had fathers who were longtime writers and producers on SNL.
To bring this post full circle, after their work on SNL, the trio is working on a film with Judd Apatow. They will write and star in the film, as well as executive produce it.
What do you think — do these nepo babies deserve the starts they got? Let us know in the comments!
This year’s ceremony, which salutes behind-the-scenes talent, was hosted by former “Bake Off” judge Mel Giedroyc.
HBO’s “House of the Dragon” won for make-up and hair design (Amanda Knight, Barrie Gower and Rosalia Culora); sound in fiction (Alastair Sirkett, Doug Cooper, Martin Seeley, Paula Fairfield, Tim Hands, Adele Fletcher) and special, visual and graphic effects (Angus Bickerton, Nikeah Forde, Asa Shoul, Mike Dawson, MPC, Pixomodo).
Elsewhere, BBC’s “This is Going to Hurt” won in three categories, with prizes going to first-time winner Adam Kay for best writer in drama (Kay adapted his best-selling memoir for the TV show); Selina MacArthur, also a first-time winner, for editing in fiction; and Nina Gold and Martin Ware for scripted casting.
Winning two awards was the BBC’s “The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II” which won for sound in factual (Peter Bridges, Matthew Charles, Conrad Fletcher, Julian Gough, Andy James, Andy Payne) and director for multi-camera.
BAFTA’s Emerging Talent: Fiction award went to writer Pete Jackson for “Somewhere Boy,” while Emerging Talent: Factual saw producer-director Charlie Melville win for “John & Joe Bishop: Life After Deaf.”
Other first-time BAFTA winners were: Felicity Morris, Director: Factual for Netflix documentary “The Tindler Swindler”; William Stefan Smith, Director: Fiction for Netflix drama “Top Boy”; Lisa McGee, Writer: Comedy for Channel 4’s “Derry Girls”; Jane Petrie, Costume Design for Apple TV+ drama “The Essex Serpent”; Jessica Jones, Original Music: Factual for Netflix’s “Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story”; Nicôle Lecky, Bryan Senti, Kwame ‘KZ’ Kwei-Armah JR, Original Music: Fiction for the BBC’s “Mood”; Chas Appeti, Photography & Lighting: Fiction for Prime Video’s “Jungle”; and Becky Sloan and Joe Pelling, Production Design for Channel 4’s “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared.”
Editing: Factual was won by Rupert Houseman for “Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes”; Entertainment Craft Team was won by Catherine Land, David Bishop, Patrick Doherty, Richard Sillitto, David Newton and Joe Phillips for “Strictly Come Dancing”; Photography: Factual was won by Marcel Mettelsiefen and Jordan Bryon for “Children of the Taliban”; and Peter Anderson Studio won Titles and Graphic Identity for “Bad Sisters.”
The Television Craft Special Award was presented by Adrian Lester to Alison Barnett in recognition of her pioneering role as one of the first female heads of production in the U.K. television industry. Barnett is the first head of production to receive a BAFTA honorary award.
The BAFTA Television Awards will take place on May 14.
But that’ll only be the beginning of the troubles for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, as they are set to take to screens again in 2026 with Secret Wars. The blockbuster event is expected to be packed with heroes, including some legacy characters.
Avengers 6 Reveals First Big Star (Report)
Marvel
According to a recent report from Variety, not only is Jonathan Majors expected to star as Kang in 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but he is also signed on to reprise his Marvel villain role in 2026’s Avengers: Secret Wars.
Majors has already appeared as many Kang Variants in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Loki, with that trend expected to continue into the next two Avengers movies as the actor returns as countless more conquerors.
With The Kang Dynasty reportedly not set to film until spring 2024, Secret Wars may not get in front of cameras until the same time in 2025. So, story, casting, and character details for Avengers 6 remain scarce at this time.
Will Marvel Abandon Jonathan Majors’ Kang Before Avengers 5 & 6?
Jonathan Majors’ Avengers future hinges on Marvel Studios opting not to recast Kang as the actor continues to be at the center of abuse allegations, an ongoing court case, and viral controversy.
If the actor were to be recast, Marvel Studios is rumored to be eyeing a Damson Idris-type star to replace him. But only time will tell whether Majors will continue to be the MCU’s Kang or if the villain will be recast or abandoned altogether.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty hits theaters on May 2, 2025, and Secret Wars will follow hot on its tail on May 1, 2026.
Jason Mamoa’s upcoming sequel is the last DC Studios release of the year, and it now the only project in the company’s slate to have not begun marketing.
While not much information is revealed about the last DCU movie of the year, and the final one before James Gunn’s big reboot, there have been rumors that the movie isn’t a good one.
Now, it looks like Cinema Con will be bringing a fresh new poster, at the very least, to the upcoming event.
New Poster for Lost Kingdom Revealed
The first teaser poster for Jason Mamoa’s upcoming film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, has been spotted on the floor at CinemaCon ahead of the Las Vegas convention’s official start on Monday, April 24.
Thanks to Twitter user @Alfiemoviehub, fans can take a peek at the new poster—which is about as exciting as a cracked iceberg can be.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the poster isn’t very exciting—and probably wasn’t the best choice given the rumors regarding The Lost Kingdom’s quality.
As for the cracked iceberg, it’s connection to the previous concept art is likely no coincidence. It is also probably connected to a wider environmental message the movie is trying to tell.
Previously, Momoa confirmed that the film’s conflict involves something bad about to happen to this Earth, “and it’s not because of aliens.” It seems global warming, and the changing climate conditions will factor heavily into whatever Aurthur Curry will be dealing with in his sequel.
Fingers crossed that Aquaman can get his message out there to the world without pairing it alongside a terrible movie.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom releases on December 20 later this year.
