Entertainment

Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters Friday! 

Ahead of the release, stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon remained tight-lipped about the film’s plot as they’re sworn to secrecy, which is something they’re used to by now. 

Recalling the first film — No Way Home is the third — Zendaya tells ABC News, “We were talking about when we did the first movie. Like, the biggest thing that…the biggest spoil was like, my name was MJ. And now if you only knew.”

Batalon doubled down on that statement, before Zendaya adds, “The things I can’t say now. So …we got some good practice. I think the stakes are just a little bit higher.”

Even though the cast can’t give any major spoilers away, the trio did tease what fans can expect. 

“Villains. Friendship. Fighting. Fun. Emotion. Scariness,” Holland reveals.

“New sides to the characters we’ve never seen before,” Zendaya chimes, which Holland co-signs, “That’s very true. Jacob becomes a hero.”

Batalon confirms, “Yup, all of those things, plus more.”

While the frenzy surrounding Marvel’s Spider-Man is something that has been a “very overwhelming experience” for Holland, he says being able to experience the mania with his cast mates has made all the difference.

“There’s no one I would rather do this with,” he shares. “And you know, this has been a very overwhelming experience. The last six years of our life has felt like we’ve been on a roller coaster, so to be on that roller coaster together makes it that much easier.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters Friday.

Stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon remained tight-lipped about the film’s plot ahead of the release, as they’re sworn to secrecy — which is something they’re used to by now. 

Recalling the first Spider-Man film — No Way Home is the third — Zendaya says, “Like, the biggest thing that…the biggest spoil was like, my name was MJ. And now if you only knew,” referring to the classic comic book character she plays, though her role was unknown at the time.

Batalon doubled down on that statement, before Zendaya adds, “The things I can’t say now. So…we got some good practice. I think the stakes are just a little bit higher.”

Even though the cast can’t give any major spoilers away, the trio did tease what fans can expect. 

“Villains. Friendship. Fighting. Fun. Emotion. Scariness,” Holland reveals.

“New sides to the characters we’ve never seen before,” Zendaya chimes in, to which Holland responds, “That’s very true. Jacob becomes a hero.”

Batalon confirms, “Yup, all of those things, plus more.”

While the frenzy surrounding Spider-Man is something that has been a “very overwhelming experience” for Holland, he says being able to experience the mania with his cast mates has made all the difference.

“There’s no one I would rather do this with,” he shares. “And you know, this has been a very overwhelming experience. The last six years of our life has felt like we’ve been on a roller coaster, so to be on that roller coaster together makes it that much easier.”

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a co-production of Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, the latter of which is owned by ABC News’ parent company, Disney.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A new series executive produced by Will Smith, BEL-AIR, will premiere on Super Bowl Sunday, February 13.

Set in modern-day America, BEL-AIR is a serialized one-hour dramatic analogue of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that leans into the original premise: Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. BEL-AIR will stream weekly shows on Peacock.

In other news, Meagan Good, star of the Amazon Prime TV series Harlem, is partnering with the World Vision charity to help reduce hunger around the world. She has designed the Tie that Binds wrap bracelet for the World Vision gift catalog. The sale of the bracelet “helps meet critical needs both today and tomorrow, equipping people to rebuild in the wake of disasters and helping empower communities to lift themselves out of poverty.”

“It’s about making change that continues to stretch out and pay it forward,” the 40-year-old actress tells Essence. “Help change someone’s life. Help save someone’s life. Help kids get an education, get food, make money and have a job. Help them have a whole other shot at life just by giving a gift to somebody you love.”

Finally, Diddy‘s Revolt TV is partnering with Target for a show promoting Black businesses. T-Pain will be among the judges on Bet on Black, a new multiscreen series where Black entrepreneurs pitch their businesses in the hopes of securing funding.

Bet on Black will premiere on Revolt’s digital platforms on January 10 at 9 p.m. ET and extend to all platforms starting January 11 at 9 p.m. ET.

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(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR HAWKEYE EPISODES 4 AND 5) The directing team of Amber Templemore-Finlayson and Katie Ellwood — known professionally as Bert and Bertie — called the shots on two major MCU crossovers in their Disney+ series Hawkeye.

The first one — the appearance of Florence Pugh‘s Yelena — was revealed in the series’ fourth episode, and was somewhat expected if you watched the after-credits of Black Widow. 

However, Wednesday’s episode ended with a bombshell. Not only did was it revealed the “Big Guy” alluded to by Jeremy Renner‘s Clint Barton was Marvel villain Kingpin, aka Wilson Fisk, but he was portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio.  D’Onofrio played Fisk to great acclaim in the Netflix series Daredevil, which wasn’t technically isn’t part of the MCU.

“I mean, it’s such a privilege, isn’t it?” Bert enthuses to ABC Audio. “Because you listen to…the fans and you listen to the theories and then to know that you are actually bringing it to them and satisfying, kind of, things that they want so desperately!”

She called it “incredible” to bring the characters to the show and said working with Pugh a “dream.” She added, “Knowing that we were going to introduce Kingpin and finding out what he meant to the fans was extraordinary for us.”

Bertie said of D’Onofrio, “He’s such a renowned actor…and just to have him on set and kind of knowing the Fisk character…He’s so brilliantly intense. As you’ve seen in Daredevil, he’s an actor who commits 150% to every choice he makes.”

Bert comments, “It’s such a pleasure as a director because you’re a guest in this universe, and then you’re given these gifts along the way.”  

Hawkeye, which also stars Hailee Steinfeld, wraps up on Wednesday on Disney+. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

And just like that, Chris Noth‘s much-hyped Peloton ad has been pulled. 

The fitness company has dropped its brand-new spot starring the Sex and the City star — and scrubbed it from YouTube — after Wednesday’s Hollywood Reporter article in which two women accused the actor of sexual assault. 

“Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously. We were unaware of these allegations when we featured Chris Noth in our response to HBO’s reboot,” a Peloton spokesperson said in a statement provided to ABC News. “As we seek to learn more, we have stopped promoting this video and archived related social posts.”

The two women — one now 40, and another, now 31 — claimed Noth forced himself on them in two separate incidents: one in Los Angeles in 2004 and the other in New York in 2015.

Noth flatly denied the claims. “The encounters were consensual,” he said in a statement. “The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago, are categorically false.”

The Peloton ad poked fun at Noth’s character’s death on last Sunday’s episode of HBO Max’s …And Just Like That: his character Mr. Big, who suffered from heart problems, collapsed and later died after working out on a Peloton bike. The ad showed he’s alive and well. 

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ABC Audio has confirmed that fan favorite Sam Waterston will be back as Jack McCoy on NBC’s revival of the original Law & Order. 

The actor, who earned six Emmy nominations for playing the dogged district attorney on Dick Wolf’s series, will be back in action when the series returns for its 21st season on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. ET. The revival will be part of a crossover event with spin-offs Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Waterston joined the long-running legal drama in its fifth season and stayed on until season 20, when NBC pulled the plug.

NBC has previously announced that black-ish star Anthony Anderson will also return, reprising as NYPD Det. Kevin Bernard. The series has also cast Burn Notice‘s Jeffrey Donovan and Camryn Manheim, late of ABC’s The Practice.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sandra Bullock plays Loretta Sage, a famous but reclusive romance novel writer, and Channing Tatum appears as her Fabio-like book cover model in the trailer for the upcoming action comedy The Lost City. 

The movie sees Sage kidnapped by Daniel Radcliffe‘s villain, an eccentric billionaire who is searching for a real-life treasure that he’s convinced the author can find, based on a map in her book The Lost City.

Tatum’s Alan, who is a hero only in the pages of the books, steps in to prove his mettle and come to Sage’s rescue, but he quickly shows why his abilities are better left to make-believe. 

Based on outtakes posted of the pair trying to introduce the trailer, it’s pretty clear Bullock and Tatum had a blast on the set of the movie, which also features a kooky cameo by one of Sandra’s other pals, Brad Pitt. 

The Lost City opens in March from Paramount Pictures.

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(NOTE CONTENT) …And Just Like That star Chris Noth has responded to an interview the Hollywood Reporter did with two women who claimed the actor sexually assaulted them years ago.

The two women — one now 40, and another, now 31 — “approached The Hollywood Reporter separately” and claimed that the actor allegedly forced himself on them. The incidents allegedly took place, respectively, in Los Angeles in 2004 and in New York in 2015.

The alleged assaults reportedly happened after Noth got to know each woman personally, they said.

Noth is flatly denying the assault claims, insisting, “The encounters were consensual. The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago, are categorically false.”

His statement continued, “These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross.”

The former Law & Order star continued, “It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.”

The alleged victims claimed Noth’s re-appearance in the Sex and the City follow-up …And Just Like That triggered repressed memories of their assaults.

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Thursday’s Los Angeles premiere of Cyrano has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. “Out of an abundance of caution given the changing COVID landscape, United Artists Releasing has decided to postpone the Los Angeles premiere of CYRANO,” the studio said in a statement obtained by Variety on Wednesday. “While we will no longer be hosting a red carpet or after-party, you are welcome to still attend the screening of CYRANO on December 16th,” the statement continued, adding “All COVID protocols will be followed,” including proof of full vaccination and a negative PCR test within 48 hours of the event. A red carpet prior to the screening was to have included appearances by stars Haley Bennett, Peter Dinklage and Kelvin Harrison Jr. No new date for a red carpet premiere has been announced…

Hulu on Tuesday revealed a first look photo and premiere date for the upcoming limited series The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried. The Dropout follows the story of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, played by Seyfried, “an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong,” per the streaming service. In 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Holmes and the now-defunct health technology company’s COO, Ramesh Balwani, on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for distributing blood tests with falsified results to consumers, charges on which Holmes is currently standing trial. The Dropout premieres with three episodes on March 3rd, with new episodes stream weekly thereafter…

Good Trouble‘s Odelya Halevi has joined the cast of NBC’s Law & Order revival, according to Deadline. She’ll play Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun in what’s being billed as Law & Order‘s 21st season. Halevi joins fellow Law & Order newcomers Jeffrey Donovan, who plays an NYPD detective, Hugh Dancy, who also plays an assistant district attorney, and Camryn Manheim, who portrays Lt. Kate Dixon. Law & Order alum Anthony Anderson also reprises his role as Detective Kevin Bernard, and Sam Waterston has been in negotiations to return as DA Jack McCoy. The Law & Order revival premieres February 24…

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ABC’s long-running sitcom The Goldbergs lost cast member George Segal last year when the veteran actor passed away, and now it has lost its patriarch. 

Jeff Garlin has reportedly exited the show, following “multiple misconduct allegations and HR investigations,” according to Deadline. 

The trade noted Garlin’s exit was “effective immediately,” and was a “mutual” decision between Sony Pictures Television, which produces the show, and all other parties.

Garlin had about one more shooting day scheduled for the show’s ninth season, the trade reported, noting his schedule earlier in the season had been deliberately “reduced” during the investigation.

Garlin recently denied to Vanity Fair that he’d been fired from the show, and threw cold water on the notion of an investigation into his unspecified conduct. “We have a difference of opinion, Sony and myself,” said the actor, who plays high-strung Murray Goldberg on the sitcom and who also stars on Curb Your Enthusiasm as Larry David‘s manager.

“My opinion is, I have my process about how I’m funny, in terms of the scene and what I have to do. They feel that it makes for a quote ‘unsafe’ workspace. Now, mind you, my silliness making an unsafe workspace — I don’t understand how that is…” Garlin insisted. “I am always a kind and thoughtful person. I make mistakes, sure. But my comedy is about easing people’s pain. Why would I ever want to cause pain in anybody for a laugh? That’s bullying. That’s just uncalled for.”

Deadine reports it’s not known how Garlin’s exit will be addressed on the show. A tenth season has been in the cards, as The Goldbergs remains a strong performer for ABC. It’s also unknown whether this will affect Garlin’s tenure on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

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