ABC Entertainment

Producer says it was Ryan Gosling's idea to use Taylor Swift song for 'The Fall Guy'

Posted today at 4:00pm

If you only know one thing about The Fall Guy, it's probably that in one scene Ryan Gosling's character sits in a car and cries while listening to Taylor Swift's song "All Too Well." It turns out the filmmakers were going to use a different song, until Gosling stepped in.

Producer Kelly McCormick tells Vanity Fair that The Fall Guy's director, David Leitch, who's also her husband, initially had a tune by late singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson playing in that scene. "But it felt a little melodramatic to me in a bad way," she says. McCormick says around the same time Gosling asked if they should try a Taylor song in the scene.

Accord to McCormick, her husband was against the idea until they went to see the Eras Tour. McCormick says David was blown away by Taylor's performance of the 10-minute version of the song.

"The first time we dropped it in, we knew there was no going back, and we were going to be really upset if we couldn’t get it," McCormick says.

Luckily, according to McCormick, "Taylor is actually really open to sharing her music with film. We showed her what we had cut, and there were no notes. Thankfully, she ... didn’t price herself so far out of our budget that we weren’t able to include her.”

According to Vanity Fair, Taylor hasn't seen the movie yet, but she did praise the comedic version of "All Too Well" that Gosling and co-star Emily Blunt did on Saturday Night Live on April 13. On her Instagram Story at the time, she wrote, "Watch me accidentally catch myself singing this version on tour."

'Ahsoka' baddie Ivanna Sakhno downloading role in 'M3GAN 2.0'

Posted today at 2:47pm

Star Wars: Ahsoka star Ivanna Sakhno has a "major part" in the upcoming sequel to the killer toy movie M3GAN, Deadline is reporting.

Sakhno, who played baddie Shin Hati in the Disney+ Star Wars show, will join returning stars Allison Williams and Violet McGraw for M3GAN 2.0, which was announced shortly after the modestly budgeted thriller became a box office hit in 2023.

The movie, made for a reported $12 million, went on to score more than $180 million worldwide.

James Wan, the mind behind horror movies like The Conjuring series, produced the film with Jason Blum's Blumhouse, the production company behind creepy hits including 2016's Hush and the 2017 Oscar winner Get Out.

The trade reports the original hit's screenwriter, Akela Cooper, is returning for the 2025 follow-up, joined behind the keyboard by M3GAN director Gerard Johnstone.

TNT's 'Rich & Shameless' to follow NBA Western Conference Finals with a focus on sports scandals

Posted today at 2:00pm

TNT has announced that its hit true-crime anthology series Rich & Shameless will return during the NBA Western Conference Finals with a most appropriate focus: sports scandals.

The series will highlight "the true stories of the successes, failures, thrills, and miseries behind the biggest sports stars to reveal the dangers of making it in the big leagues," according to the network.

The upcoming season's installments include NFL champ Brett Favre's alleged involvement in a welfare scheme; the New Orleans Saints' Bountygate scandal, which saw players being accused of deliberately targeting key opponents to injure them; and the murderous aftermath of an attempted rigged boxing match between fighter Tim Anderson and former NFL star Mark Gastineau.

Note: The dates of the first two NBA Finals are not yet locked in; the first game could either air on May 20 or May 22, and the second either May 22 or 24. Check local listings.

Rich & Shameless - "Brett Favre: Out of Bounds" will air after the NBA Western Conference Finals Game One; "Saints, Sinners and an NFL Scandal" will follow Game 2; "Murder, Fixed Fights and the Wannabe Don King" follows Game 3 on May 26; and "Dirty Moneyball: Cuba's Ransomed Stars" airs after Game 4 on May 28.

The new Rich & Shameless episodes will also be available for streaming on the TNT app.

Baskin-Robbins is turning imagination into ice cream with 'IF' promotion

Posted today at 1:35pm

As a tie-in to the Ryan Reynolds/John Krasinski family film IF, Baskin-Robbins is helping turn fans' imaginations into real ice cream.

Starting May 1, the company is launching two new flavors named after the movie's imaginary friends who come to life onscreen.

There's Blue’s Boardwalk Bash, inspired by the Steve Carell-voiced Blue from the movie, featuring blue raspberry-flavored ice cream with cotton candy swirls and Oreo cookie pieces.

Blossom's Berry Twirl is a strawberry and sweet cream concoction; and BR's What IF Sundae "starts with a piece of confetti cake with two scoops of Blossom’s Berry Twirl, sweet strawberry topping, a dash of rainbow sprinkles, whipped cream, and a cherry on top."

What's more, at its online Imagination Station, fans can draw their own Imaginary Friend and have it rendered to life — and doing so nets them 50% off a scoop of ice cream with the purchase of one at participating locations.

The company is also sponsoring a pop-up at Santa Monica Pier in California on May 18 that features Insta-ready picture opportunities and will give someone the chance to win free ice cream for a year.

IF hits theaters May 17 from Paramount Pictures.

Keke Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Brothers Osbourne and more to judge 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'

Posted today at 12:25pm

Paramount+ dropped the trailer to the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Tuesday and with it, revealed some of its celebrity judges.

Actress, recording artist and author Keke Palmer will be a witness to the onstage slaying, as will Everything Everywhere Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu, country superstars Brothers Osbourne, Nashville alumna Connie Britton and Teen Wolf veteran Colton Haynes.

The streaming service teases of the forthcoming installment, "eight fan-favorite queens return to use their drag superpowers for good, competing to win a supersized donation of $200,000, provided by The Palette Fund, for a charity of their choosing."

It will be "the first time in franchise herstory" where the queens are competing for charity.

In the trailer, Ru informs the hopefuls, "I want you to use your talent for good" — before adding with a laugh, "for a change."

The series returns on May 17, when new episodes of the behind-the-scenes show RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked will also drop on Paramount+.

New Line snaps up Josh Gad-directed Chris Farley biopic starring Emmy winner Paul Walter Hauser

Posted today at 10:36am

Paul Walter Hauser -- Steven Simione/FilmMagic

Variety reports that New Line Cinema is backing a Chris Farley biopic that will star Black Bird actor Paul Walter Hauser as the Saturday Night Live superstar.

Farley died on December 18, 1997, at just 33 years old.

As reported, Frozen's Josh Gad will be making his directorial debut on the film that will be produced by SNL icon Lorne Michaels and based on the 2009 bestseller The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, written by Farley's brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby.

The trade says studios were "highly competitive" trying to snag the project, but Warner Bros. Discovery-owned New Line came out on top.

Before snagging an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award for Black Bird, Hauser logged memorable comedic and dramatic performances in movies including I, Tonya, Queenpins and Cruella.

He'll next be heard in theaters on June 14 as the voice of Embarrassment in Disney/Pixar's forthcoming Inside Out 2.

"Hey, buddy!" Reclusive 'Seinfeld' star Michael Richards supports Jerry at 'Unfrosted' premiere

Posted today at 9:58am

Michael Richards, the Emmy winner who played Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld, has mostly stayed out of the spotlight after an infamous 2006 onstage racist meltdown, but he was back in Los Angeles alongside Jerry Seinfeld Tuesday evening, April 30.

Richards walked the red carpet in support of Jerry's directorial debut, the Netflix film Unfrosted: The Pop Tart Story. The pair warmly embraced for the cameras, posed for photographers and waved to fans assembled at the Egyptian Theatre for the event.

The last time Richards stepped out for such a public event was for a 2015 charity benefit in LA that saw him reunited with Jerry and their former Seinfeld co-star Jason Alexander.

On June 4, Richards' book, Entrances and Exits, hits stores. The offering from Permuted Press will see the performer examine his life, comedy and the "spiritual journey" he's been on since that onstage tirade derailed his career.

"Upset and turmoil is with us all the time," he writes in an excerpt. "It's at the basis of comedy. It's the pratfall we all take. It's the unavoidable mistake we didn't expect. It's everywhere I go. It's in the way that I am, both light and dark, good and not-so-good. It's my life."

Seinfeld wrote the foreword to the book.

Ryan Gosling and 'SNL''s Mikey Day return as Beavis and Butt-Head at 'Fall Guy' premiere

Posted today at 8:12am

The Los Angeles premiere of Ryan Gosling’s latest movie, The Fall Guy on Tuesday, April 30, featured a couple of surprise guests: Beavis and Butt-Head -- aka Gosling and Mikey Day, reprising their live-action depictions of the classic cartoon characters they debuted in April on Saturday Night Live.

The original sketch featured Heidi Gardner playing a journalist interviewing an artificial intelligence expert, played by Kenan Thompson. Thompson's character was distracted by two men -- played by Gosling and Day -- who bore a striking resemblance to the 1990s cartoon characters. Gardner broke character, unable to contain her laughter at the sight of Day.

As previously reported, the sketch went viral immediately, hitting 10 million views on YouTube just days after it was posted. It now stands at 13 million and counting just on that platform, and the reaction the pair got on Tuesday on the red carpet shows folks still can't get enough.

The Fall Guy -- also starring Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu and Winston Duke -- opens in theaters May 3.

In Brief: Prime Video gives 'Cross' an early second season renewal, and more

Posted today at 7:30am

Ahead of its series debut, Prime Video has already ordered a second season of its detective series Cross, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series, based on James Patterson’s bestselling books, follows the titular detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross — played by Aldis Hodge — who uses his unique skills to catch killers. A premiere date for Cross has yet to be announced ...

Emily in Paris, the hit Netflix series starring Lily Collins, is headed to Rome to shoot a portion of its upcoming season, the actress shared on Instagram. "When you’re the first ones on the dance floor at the Paris wrap party. Next stop: Rome!…," Collins wrote, alongside a photo of her and co-star Ashley Park. Lily followed that up with another image of her posing in front of the Colosseum. Emily in Paris season 4 does not yet have a release date ...

NBC's streaming service, Peacock, will complement the network's coverage of the 2024 Olympics with a humorous take on the games, hosted by comedian Kevin Hart and longtime Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson. The eight-episode series, Olympic Highlights, will air two to three episodes per week, coinciding with the launch of the Paris Olympic Games on July 26. Hart and Thompson act as "one-of-a-kind guides through the Paris Olympics, covering a mix of Olympic-themed in-studio competitions, conversations, and interviews," per the streaming service. The 2024 Olympics run through August 11 ...

"Miracles happen": Robert Downey Jr. on Jeremy Renner's recovery from snowplow accident

Posted today at 5:00am

By now, fans know how Jeremy Renner bounced back from a 2023 snowplow accident that nearly killed him. However, a new Vanity Fair piece on Chris Hemsworth gives a peek at what Renner's friends — his Marvel movie co-stars — were thinking.

Back in September 2023, the Avengers reassembled for Chris Evans' wedding to actress Alba Baptista, and Renner — then just eight months out from his nearly fatal accident on New Year's Day — was there.

Hemsworth recalled the last time he'd seen Renner prior to that: "He sent us all a sort of a doped out, hospital, beat-up image and said, 'All good, guys.' And then I didn't hear from him for a while as he was in the thick of it."

At the wedding, however, Hemsworth said, "There was an astounding sense of gratitude from him around just being alive."

Robert Downey Jr. explained of their superhero troupe, "If there's one characteristic we'd all agree is paramount, it's resilience."

He adds, "To see Renner embody that literally, and in the context of what was basically a Portuguese American wedding, was mind-blowing. Fully recovered and ready to celebrate. So, yes — miracles happen."

Barbra Streisand explains Ozempic comment: "I forgot the world is reading!"

Posted yesterday at 5:00pm

Melissa McCarthy and Barbra Streisand in 2016; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for BSB

While she was around when it was invented, Barbra Streisand still doesn't seem to understand how social media works. After being dragged online for a seemingly insensitive comment she made on a friend's post, she's now apologizing.

On April 29, actress Melissa McCarthy posted a couple of photos on Instagram of herself at an event with director Adam Shankman. Streisand responded by commenting, "Give him my regards did you take Ozempic?" She later deleted the comment, but not before it was captured by the Comments by Celebs account and captioned, "Babs!!"

One user responded, "Omg Babs, you can’t just ask people if they’re on Ozempic." Another addressed the legendary singer directly: "you’re such a boomer. I cringed reading your question."

Another user wrote, "Maybe STFU and keep these thoughts in your own head? It’s none of your business unless someone wants to share. My god. And as a woman in the industry completely judged for her looks, you think Babs would have some empathy."

On April 30, Streisand posted an explanation of what many saw as a brutal comment.

"OMG - I went on Instagram to see the photos we'd posted of the beautiful flowers I'd received for my birthday! Below them was a photo of my friend Melissa McCarthy who I sang with on my Encore album."

"She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment," she continued. "I forgot the world is reading!"

But McCarthy doesn't seem to bothered. Asked by a TMZ photographer what she thought of Babs' Ozempic comment, the Bridesmaids star said, "I think Barbra is a treasure and I love her."

Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni appear in 'It Ends With Us' first-look images

Posted yesterday at 3:55pm

First-look images for the highly anticipated film It Ends With Us have arrived.

Images from the movie featuring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni were released Tuesday, and show the two stars in a passionate moment in one image and singing karaoke in another.

The photo stack from Sony Pictures and the film also includes behind-the-scenes moments of Baldoni in the director's seat and another with author Colleen Hoover, who penned the novel of the same name in 2016.

According to a synopsis for the film, the story follows Lily Bloom, played by Lively, "a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business."

"A chance meeting with charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) sparks an intense connection, but as the two fall deeply in love, Lily begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents' relationship," the synopsis continues.

"When Lily's first love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with Ryle is upended, and Lily realizes she must learn to rely on her own strength to make an impossible choice for her future," it concludes.

Baldoni is the director and an executive producer for the film, while Alex Saks, Jamey Heath and Christy Hall are co-producers. Hall also wrote the screenplay for the film.

Lively and Hoover serve as co-executive producers; the cast also includes Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj and Amy Morton.

It Ends With Us will arrive in theaters on August 9.

Margot Robbie could go from Barbie to an angel in comic book adaptation 'Avengelyne'

Posted yesterday at 3:26pm

Don't Worry Darling director Olivia Wilde and X-Men movie producer Simon Kinberg are teaming up with Barbie star and producer Margot Robbie for a big-screen bow of the comic book Avengelyne.

According to Variety, the project will have Robbie appearing as the heroic avenging angel who was brought to life by Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld and Cathy Christian in 1995; Warner Bros. is reportedly eyeing a seven-figure deal to bring it to theaters.

Avengelyne will have even more star power behind the scenes: The trade says Oscar-nominated Poor Things screenwriter Tony McNamara will be behind the keyboard.

In an exclusive statement to the trade, Liefeld revealed Kinberg "told me he had a perfect fit for the material and asked me to trust him."

The artist continues, "Next thing I'm meeting with Margot Robbie and Olivia Wilde and the connection was electric! They told me that they wanted Tony McNamara to write it, and after a pair of meetings Tony is onboard and things could not be more exciting."

"It's all a result of Margot, Olivia and Simon working their magic to assemble this incredible team of creatives, all intent on creating a cinematic experience like no other," Liefeld concluded.

The heavenly heroine from the pages of Image Comics often tangled with supernatural forces of evil, and was tasked with maintaining a balance between Heaven and Hell.

Chris Hemsworth talks health, the disappointment of 'Thor 4' and more in 'Vanity Fair'

Posted yesterday at 2:23pm

'Furiosa' stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth -- Disney/Greg Williams)

In an extensive cover piece, Chris Hemsworth goes deep with Vanity Fair about leaving Hollywood for his native Australia, his disappointment over Thor: Love and Thunder and how — for the last time — he does not have Alzheimer's.

On the latter point, Hemsworth found out through his 2022 Disney+ show Limitless that his DNA showed a risk for the disease. But that revelation, plus a planned break from making movies — partly to nurse an injured back — had the rumor mill spinning.

"It really kind of p***** me off because it felt like I had been vulnerable with something personal and shared this," the Marvel movie star admits.

"No matter how much I said, 'This is not a death sentence,' the story became that I have dementia and I'm reconsidering life and retiring and so on."

However, he did allow, "I did read a really funny comment at the bottom of one article: 'I hope Chris forgets he's retiring and comes back.'"

The star also looked back at his final film as Thor: 2023's Love and Thunder, in which the acclaimed humor from director Taika Waititi's blockbuster predecessor Thor: Ragnarok went off the rails for both critics and audiences.

"I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself," Hemsworth says. "I didn't stick the landing."

The actor will next be seen in the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa for one of his filmmaking idols, fellow Aussie George Miller.

The filmmaker explains Hemsworth became unrecognizable as the warlord Dementus. "When I saw Chris many months later, my first instinct was, 'Wait a minute, this is not Chris Hemsworth. This is a fraud!" Miller says.

Prime Video's 'Fallout' attracts 65 million viewers

Posted yesterday at 12:20pm

Fallout's April 10 debut was so big that Prime Video renewed the sci-fi series for a second season days later, but now, the post-apocalyptic video game adaptation has become the streamer's most-watched title ever in the 18-34 demographic.

Across all age groups, the series starring Walton Goggins and Ella Purnell is the second-biggest title in the history of the platform, after The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

According to the streaming service, the show from Westworld producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy has had 65 million viewers since it first dropped its eight-episode season, and is now the #1 most-watched title on Prime Video in 170 countries.

In fact, 60% of that massive audience comes from overseas, Prime Video mentions, with an "outsized" performance in the U.K., France and Brazil.

Amazon explains some 15 licensing partners have jumped into the Fallout frenzy, offering everything from in-universe themed beverages to apparel via a dedicated storefront.