Entertainment News

Sony Pictures Television reportedly looking at kids versions of 'Bewitched', 'Wheel of Fortune' and 'Shark Tank'

ABC/Christopher Willard

Sony Pictures Television is reportedly raiding its catalog for kid-skewing versions of some of its famous properties.

On the horizon, The Hollywood Reporter notes, could be an animated update of the classic sitcom Bewitched, as well as versions of the reality competition show Shark Tank and the classic game show Wheel of Fortune.

"There's such a vast history at Sony Pictures Television with properties that we could play around with and reinvent, introducing a whole new generation of kids to them," said Joe D'Ambrosia, executive vice president and general manager of the company, to the trade.

Also discussed was a version of The Partridge Family centering on a Black family from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, with the musical family's hippie bus from the original show swapped out for a traveling food truck touring New York's five boroughs.

The Bewitched project would center on a 13-year-old Tabitha Stevens, a show D'Ambrosia describes as Hannah Montana meets Harry Potter, with the character juggling both middle school and a magical academy run by her witch grandma Endora.

The Wheel version could have "physical and comedic challenges" for kid contestants that the traditional show lacks, winning them letters and vowels for the puzzles, the executive explains.

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Tribeca announces upcoming De Niro Con to celebrate icon's 80th birthday

Tribeca Enterprises

Robert De Niro turns 80 on August 17, and to celebrate, New York City will be hosting De Niro Con.

"It's hard to know what to get Bob for his 80th birthday," admitted Jane Rosenthal, CEO of Tribeca Enterprises and co-founder of Tribeca Festival.

"He's already got a gold watch, so we decided to celebrate him and his enduring legacy with a fun filled fan event as well as pay tribute to his unwavering dedication to his films, art, and the city he loves," she continued.

To be held at Spring Studios in New York City from September 29 to October 1, the organizers explain, "The multi-day fan experience will feature special appearances by De Niro himself, along with recreations of iconic film sets, immersive installations, classic film screenings, musical performances, and panel conversations. It will also include special appearances from co-stars and frequent collaborators," who will be announced later this summer.

De Niro and Rosenthal's Tribeca Festival opened Wednesday and runs until Sunday, June 18. Right before the event's kickoff, De Niro received a key to the city from Mayor Eric Adams.

The former New York City Police Department officer noted, "From Mean Streets and Taxi Driver to Raging Bull and Goodfellas, Robert De Niro's work remains an iconic part of New York City, as much as he is himself," and his contributions to cinema "will stand the test of time."

The mayor added, "Despite his success, Robert has never forgotten his roots as a lifelong New Yorker, co-founding the Tribeca Festival and helping revitalize and re-energize our city after 9/11."

Director Martin Scorsese was also on hand to honor his friend, calling him a "visionary," and added, "It's amazing he did all of this without having the keys until now."

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'Star Wars' stars — and fans — Hayden Christensen and Diego Luna geek out in 'Variety' Actors on Actors chat

'Obi-Wan Kenobi', 'Andor' - Lucasfilm

As part of Variety's continuing "Actors on Actors" chats, Rogue One veteran and Andor lead — and massive Star Wars fan — Diego Luna flew from the Disney+ show's London set to Los Angeles just to talk shop with a fellow fan, Star Wars prequel series actor Hayden Christensen.

Apart from their shared love for George Lucas' galaxy far, far away, the pair also shared the surprise of being called back in: In Luna's case, to lead and co-produce Andor after his character, Cassian Andor, perished at the end of Rogue One, and for Christensen, returning to the Star Wars fold after 2005's Episode III - Revenge of the Sith with 2022's Disney+ show Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Luna revealed that they'd "joke" on the Rogue One set that his doomed team, which successfully stole the Death Star plans before dying, could return. "But ... we had to wait for the film to come out to understand that there was room for something like this," he says of Andor, which is set before Rogue.

Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, expresses, "Star Wars holds a very special place in my heart. I enjoyed getting to go back to being a fan again and just watching these stories like everyone else. But there was a part of me that missed it, too."

He adds, "So when I got the call, it was a very easy decision. And the fact that it was the Obi-Wan show with Ewan McGregor, who is a good friend of mine, and that I'd get to swing a lightsaber with him again, it was a thrilling invitation."

Luna says he felt "shock ... in a good way" about "the love around this project and this universe," praising the "connection" fans have with the material.

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Lindsay Lohan opens up on preparing for motherhood: 'I can't wait to see what the feeling is'

Allure/Ben Hassett

Lindsay Lohan is opening up about her life as she prepares for motherhood.

In her cover story for Allure's June issue, the actress, who is expecting her first child with husband Bader Shammas, discussed her feelings during her pregnancy, her career aspirations, how she met her now-husband and more.

"I can't wait to see what the feeling is and what it's like to just be a mom," the actress, who announced her pregnancy in March, told the outlet. She added that her life as of late has been filled with "happy tears."

"That's just who I am," she said. "Though now, it's probably baby emotion. It's overwhelming in a good way."

Lohan has remained tight-lipped on her relationship with Shammas and only subtly revealed the two had married when she referred to him as her husband in a social media post last year. She told Allure they shared an instant connection when they first met.

"I said, 'You look like someone I know.' He was like, 'No, I don't, who?' ... and then I said to him, 'I feel like you're the person I'm going to be with forever,'" she told Allure. "I'd never been able to talk to someone like this."

Lohan hopes to venture into producing romantic comedies, she told Allure, as it's a realm she feels she knows "so well."

She also previously said in an interview with The New York Times that she and Jamie Lee Curtis "are both open" to returning for the Freaky Friday sequel that's in development from Disney.

She told Allure Curtis has also given her motherhood advice.

LiLo notes, "She was like, 'You just bring the baby with you and everything will be fine.'"

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Paramount+ drops trailer to Taylor Sheridan spy series 'Special Ops: Lioness'

Paramount+

On Thursday, Paramount+ revealed the trailer of Special Ops: Lioness, the spy series from Yellowstone franchise and Tulsa King creator Taylor Sheridan.

As previously reported, Oscar winner Nicole Kidman stars and serves as an executive producer on the series, with Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar franchise lead Zoe Saldaña and Laysla De Oliveira.

Oscar winner Morgan Freeman also stars.

Based on a real-life CIA program, the show follows De Oliveira's Cruz Manuelos, "a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within," according to the streaming service.

For her part, Kidman plays the program's supervisor, Kaitlyn Meade, and Saldaña plays Joe, "the station chief of the Lioness program tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives."

In the trailer, Joe instructs Cruz, "We locate the wives and daughters of these high value targets, and we place an operative close to them, and we kill the target."

Kidman's character says in voice-over about the operation, "If we play this right, it's over before it's begun."

Apparently, however, things go sideways. "So we're just going to pretend that a CIA Quick Reaction Force didn't just execute a kill mission in front of CBS News?" Freeman asks, incredulous.

The series also centers on the political maneuvering behind the scenes, with Kidman's character icily questioning her operatives as to what went wrong.

The series, which also stars Sam Asghari, actor and Britney Spears' husband, as well as Jack Ryan's Michael Kelly, starts streaming July 23.

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Anna Cathcart on the “beautiful” queer storylines in 'XO, Kitty'

Netflix © 2023/Park Young-Sol

To all the boys – and girls – Kitty Song-Covey has loved before.

When Anna Cathcart found out that her To All the Boys fan-favorite character would be exploring her sexuality as part of Netflix's spinoff XO, Kitty, she “was just so excited,” she told ABC Audio. In celebration of Pride Month, Cathcart spoke about what it was like to develop Kitty as a queer character on the new series.

“I think our show does it in a way that is really special,” Cathcart said. “We have a lot of different queer characters on our series, as well, and it shows that queer stories are not always the same and everybody’s journey is not always the same. And I hope viewers find comfort in that.”

XO, Kitty offers up multiple love interests for Kitty, including Yuri, a classmate who goes from a romantic rival to a friend she develops feelings for.

“I love that Kitty is just giving herself the space to figure it out. And she doesn’t have to have all the answers,” Cathcart said. “By the end of the season she still doesn’t, and that’s what she’s learning. It’s OK, and it’s part of the process, and what makes it so beautiful.”

One of the best parts of developing Kitty’s character in this way, Cathcart says, is now having this kind of meaningful representation out in the world.

“Seeing this kind of storyline on screen, especially two Asian girls, is really special. To see that dynamic and that specific type of representation is really not super common,” Cathcart said. “Those are the moments that are the most special, when you can tell that it actually impacted somebody in the real world, real life. And it’s always very, very touching to get to be a part of that.”  

XO, Kitty is streaming now on Netflix.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Bradley Cooper, Rita Ora, Benedict Cumberbatch and more go 'Running Wild with Bear Grylls'

L-R: Cooper, Grylls - National Geographic for Disney/Jeff Ellingson

Survival expert Bear Grylls is putting a whole new group of celebrities to the test.

National Geographic has just dropped a new trailer to a new season of Running Wild with Bear Grylls: THE CHALLENGE, in which he'll put Oscar nominees Bradley Cooper and Benedict Cumberbatch, comic and actor Russell Brand, Oscar winner Troy Kotsur, Tony and Grammy winner Daveed Diggs, Rita Ora, Tony and Oscar winner Cynthia Erivo and Emmy Award winner Tatiana Maslany through their paces in harsh environments all over the world.

The clips show the stars rappelling off of cliffs, dunking themselves off of moving motorboats and — always a classic from former Special Forces soldier-turned-survival show host Grylls — eating gross stuff.

Stars who have survived previous run-ins with Bear include Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Brie Larson, Florence Pugh, Simu Liu, Gina Carano, and Marvel movie stars Anthony Mackie and Dave Bautista.

The new season of Running with Bear Grylls: THE CHALLENGE kicks off with Bradley Cooper surviving an ordeal in the unforgiving canyons of the Wyoming Basin on July 9 at 9 p.m. ET on the National Geographic channel.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'Wednesday' star Jenna Ortega ditching romance for "horror" in season 2

Netflix

Hold onto your spooky hats, because Wednesday Addams is about to take a chilling turn in the upcoming season of Wednesday. Star Jenna Ortega spilled the black beans, revealing that a romance between Wednesday and her Nevermore Academy pals is just not in the cards for its second season.

During a recent Actors on Actors interview with Elle Fanning for Variety, Ortega teased the shift in tone for the second season. "We want to lean into the horror aspect of the show a little bit more because it is so lighthearted," she explained. "I think we're kind of ditching any romantic love interest for Wednesday, which is really great."

As a producer on the show, Ortega is making sure Wednesday's journey delves into the depths of darkness. That means saying goodbye to season one's love triangle between Wednesday, Tyler, and Xavier, played by Hunter Doohan and Percy Hynes White, respectively. However, she does see more of a friendship growing between the characters.

"I think there's an opportunity there for a really sweet platonic relationship, almost sibling-like, between her and Xavier," she shared.

Romance aside, there are still intriguing storylines to savor. Ortega gushed about working with the "incredible female leads" and her desire to bring back the talented Gwendoline Christie, who portrayed Principal Weems. "I'm doing everything in my power to throw the most insane plots that would possibly bring this woman back from the dead. I'm trying!" she exclaimed.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


In Brief: 'Star Wars: Ahsoka' gets a premiere date; Pat Cooper dead, and more

Disney+ on Wednesday announced August 23 as the premiere date for Star Wars: Ahsoka, starring Rosario Dawson as the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, who, after the fall of the Empire, investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy. Star Wars: Ahsoka also stars Natasha Liu BordizzoMary Elizabeth WinsteadIvanna SakhnoDiana Lee InosantoDavid TennantLars MikkelsenEman Esfandi and the late Ray Stevenson...

Showtime's I Love That for You, the comedy series based on Saturday Night Live alum Vanessa Bayer’s own story of overcoming childhood leukemia, has been canceled after one season, according to Variety. Bayer co-created, executive produced and starred in the series as Joanna Gold, "a woman looking to shed her past cancer identity and dreaming of becoming a host at a home-shopping channel." After moving away from her parents, Joanna "falls in love and befriends Jackie -- played by fellow SNL alum Molly Shannon -- the star of the home shopping channel run by an eccentric billionaire"...

Pat Cooper, the acerbic, fast-talking stand-up comedian and actor, died Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas, his wife, Emily Connor, announced, according to Deadline. He was 93. A cause of death was not given. Cooper, born Pasquale Caputo, launched his career in New York clubs, before landing a spot on The Jackie Gleason Show in 1963. He went on to work in clubs across the country with the likes of Frank Sinatra and George Burns, along with frequent appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the early 70s, and later on NBC's Late Night and Howard Stern, where he became a favorite. Cooper also released several albums during the 1960s including Our Hero … Pat Cooper and Spaghetti Sauce & Other Delights. He also appeared in dozens of TV shows, including Seinfeld... 

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Wendy Williams enters wellness facility, "Taking it day by day," manager claims

Johnny Nunez/WireImage

Wendy Williams is currently getting treatment at a wellness facility, her manager, Will Selby, has revealed to Entertainment Tonight

"Wendy is at a facility doing her best to be her best. She's taking it day by day," Selby expressed.

He also urged fans and critics to understand that Wendy is "a human being going through a lot" and claims the controversy surrounding her overshadows her health struggles, including Graves' disease. "Does anybody even ask like, 'How's she doing?' Selby asked.

"Does anyone even care? I feel like everyone just puts out negative information about her and that's the focus," he continued. "Why don't we just stop for a moment and just say, 'Hey, how is she?' ...Why is that not the focus? Why isn't that what we're talking about on a daily basis?"

Health issues aside, the former talk show host is looking forward to the future and her next endeavors, he insisted. 

"She's only thinking about things that she wants to do in her life," Selby shared. "She's only thinking about Wendy 2.0 and her new chapter of her life, and the things that she wants to accomplish, and that's our focus."

Selby's statement came after Wendy's son, Kevin Hunter Jr., expressed concern about her well-being in an interview with The Sun. Hunter accused Wendy's team of "taking advantage" of her.

Selby strongly denied the allegations.

"To get what? To do what?" he asked ET rhetorically. "...I insisted on helping her because she requested my assistance," Selby maintained, noting a court-appointed guardianship protects her assets.

"So, any type of business dealings that we do, Wendy, myself and anyone -- we have to get the guardianship to sign off on it," he insisted. "So how can anyone take advantage of her?" 

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Tom Holland taking a year off from acting after emotionally exhausting 'Crowded Room'

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Tom Holland has taken on some tough roles over the years, but nothing quite as emotionally exhausting as playing Danny Sullivan, a man mistakenly accused of being the culprit of a 1979 New York City shooting in the Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room, premiering Friday, June 9.

"We were exploring certain emotions that I have definitely never experienced before," Holland says in an interview with Extra. "And then on top of that, being a producer dealing with the day-to-day kind of problems that come with any film set added that extra level of pressure." He adds, "I really enjoyed it, but then again, the show did break me."

So much so, that the Spider-Man: No Way Home actor says he's "taking a year off," and trying to be a "regular bloke from Kingston and just relax." That includes "seeing my family" and "seeing my friends. I've been playing golf. I've been, you know, going to the garden center and buying plants and doing my best to keep them alive and all that sort of stuff."

The Crowded Room is a psychological thriller, which explores the real-life crimes of Billy Milligan, who was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder and blamed his alternate personalities for his crimes.

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Jodie Comer walks off Broadway matinée stage over breathing problems from imported Canadian smoke

Theo Wargo/Getty Images

The cloud of smoke from Canadian wildfires currently smothering New York City was too much to bear for Emmy winner Jodie Comer, who had to stop her Broadway performance of Prima Facie Wednesday afternoon because of it, ABC Audio has confirmed.

The smoke from up north is currently choking the Big Apple, and the afternoon performance of the drama — for which the Killing Eve star nominated for a Tony — was restarted with understudy Dani Arlington taking Comer's place.

In a statement obtained by ABC Audio, the play's reps said the matinée "was halted approximately 10 minutes into the performance after Jodie Comer had difficulty breathing due to the poor air quality in New York City."

The statement added, "The performance started again from the top" with the understudy "going on for Ms. Comer in the role of Tessa."

The one-woman play, centering on Comer's lawyer character, has been nominated for four Tonys.

Comer has already won an armful of awards for her performance during its West End run, including the Olivier Award for Best Actress.

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Pro wrestler The Iron Sheik dead at 81

Bobby Bank/WireImage

The Iron Sheik, a legendary competitor from the glory days of '80s pro wrestling, has died, according to his social media accounts.

He was 81.

The WWE legend and pro wrestling Hall of Famer, a trash-talking longtime foil of Hulk Hogan, was born in Iran as Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri. He made headlines under his fighting name in the Reagan era.

During real-life rising tensions with Iran and Russia, the Iron Sheik was paired with Nikolai Volkoff in Cold War-era face-offs with American pros. In 1985, the pair took the WWF tag team title during the first Wrestlemania, defeating The U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham).

In a statement on his social media about his passing, a message noted, "Today, we gather with heavy hearts to bid farewell to a true legend, a force of nature, and an iconic figure who left an incredible mark on the world of professional wrestling."

The post said outside of the ring, The Iron Sheik was a "devoted family man" who "cherished the love and support of his wife of 47 years, Caryl, who stood by his side through thick and thin."

The message concluded, "We also take solace in knowing that he departed this world peacefully, leaving behind a legacy that will endure for generations to come."

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'Black Mirror' creator says he "toyed around" with ChatGPT for the new season, but pulled the plug

Netflix/Eric Charbonneau

The dark side of technology is Black Mirror's stock-in-trade, so it makes sense that creator Charlie Brooker is keeping up with the headline-grabbing AI technology.

He tells Empire he has "toyed around with ChatGPT quite a bit," and even tried to get it to write an episode for the Netflix show's forthcoming sixth season.

"The first thing I did was type 'generate Black Mirror episode' and it comes up with something that, at first glance, reads plausibly, but on second glance, is s***," he tells the magazine.

"All it's done is look up all the synopses of Black Mirror episodes, and sort of mush them together," he adds. "Then, if you dig a bit more deeply you go, 'Oh, there's not actually any real original thought here.'"

However, the experience wasn't a total loss. Brooker admits it made him take a hard look at what episodes had come before.

"I was aware that I had written lots of episodes where someone goes 'Oh, I was inside a computer the whole time!'" he tells the magazine with a laugh.

"So I thought, 'I'm just going to chuck out any sense of what I think a Black Mirror episode is.' There's no point in having an anthology show if you can't break your own rules. Just a sort of nice, cold glass of water in the face."

Brooker had previously told Netflix's new blog TUDUM of the new season, "I've always felt that Black Mirror should feature stories that...keep surprising people — and myself — or else what's the point?"

The series -- written by human hands -- will return in June, starring Emmy winner Aaron Paul, Salma Hayek Pinault, Ben Barnes, Danny Ramirez, Kate Mara, Zazie Beetz, and more.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Ellen Pompeo, Katherine Heigl reflect on 'Grey's Anatomy' in "Actors on Actors" chat

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Grey's Anatomy stars Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl reunited to reflect on their residency on the ABC's hit medical drama.

The actresses, who played Meredith Grey and Izzie Stevens, respectively, recently took part in Variety's "Actors on Actors" series and reminisced about working on the landmark show, having been part of the cast when it premiered in 2005.

While Heigl said she "hasn't gone there yet" and watched Grey's with her eldest daughter Naleigh, Pompeo revealed she has tried to watch it with her eldest daughter Stella.

Pompeo said Stella came up to her and said it was "embarrassing and weird" that all her friends had seen the show and she hadn't, so Pompeo decided they'd take the plunge together.

"At first I was like, 'Oh, this is so amazing, and we're going to watch it together,'" she recalled. "And then it was episode after episode after episode, and I was just like, 'I don't have the stamina for this! I filmed all these episodes. I did it. I can't now go back and watch it again.'"

Unlike Pompeo, Heigl revealed when she was on the show, she watched every episode as it aired.

Meredith left Seattle during season 19 and popped back up in the season finale -- and Pompeo said that won't be the last we see of the titular character.

"I will be making some appearances hopefully next year, if I can find some time," Pompeo teased. "It's not a complete goodbye, and I think we've got an interesting story to tell."

Pompeo explained in September, she'll start working on a Hulu series that's under the working title of The Orphan.

"I haven't played another character in 18 years," she said of the "intense" part. "That's crazy -- crazy town, crazy town," she added.

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