Entertainment

Jake Gyllenhaal admitted that it was “torture” filming the 2002 romantic drama The Good Girl with Jennifer Aniston — because he had a big, fat crush on her.

“Oh, it was torture. Yes it was,” the 40-year-old actor confessed on The Howard Stern Show. “But it was also not torture. I mean, come on, it was like a mix of both.”

Gyllenhaal also described what it’s really like to act out an intimate scene, saying they are not all that enjoyable to film. “Weirdly, love scenes are awkward, because there are maybe 30, 50 people watching it?  You know, maybe if you have a closed set, it’s less…That doesn’t turn me on,” he explained.

Gyllenhaal also noted that the scenes feel “oddly mechanical” and not natural.

“And also, it’s a dance, right?  It’s a dance…You’re choreographing for a camera,” he said, likening it to filming a “fight scene” because those, too, require a strict set of instructions.

The Spider-Man: Far From Home star added that Aniston called the shots when filming their love scene and, in order to make herself feel more comfortable when they were lying in the horizontal position, he recalls her stating beforehand, “I’m putting a pillow here.”

The Good Girl drew in a modest $16.9 million during its box office run when it premiered in August 2002.  It also starred Zooey Deschanel, John C. Reilly, John Carroll Lynch and Tim Blake Nelson.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Making a surprise appearance opposite fellow comic Dave Chappelle Sunday night in New York City, Chris Rock joked about his recent battle with COVID-19. 

The pair popped up at musician Robert Glasper‘s “Robtober” residency at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club, according to Page Six. 

“I’m back from the dead!” Rock told the audience. “I had motherf***ing COVID. God****it.”  

Rock tweeted last month that he’d tested positive for the virus, urging fans to get vaccinated. Onstage, he joked, “It wasn’t quite as hard as being black, but it was close….That’s why everyone’s trying to avoid it…”

Rock and Chappelle, who has also recovered from COVID-19, mentioned where the vaccinated Rock may have been infected. “I think I got it on this Civil Rights movie,” Rock noted, to which Chappelle riffed, “That’s a noble way to get COVID.”

The movie in question could be director David O. Russell‘s as-yet-untitled film in which Rock will appear with a number of A-List stars, including Robert De Niro, Christian Bale and John David Washington.

Page Six says the famous comics were also joined at the Blue Note by actors Jeffrey Wright and Hill Harper. Recording artist Talib Kweli, who was celebrating his birthday, also joined Rock and Chappelle on stage. 

Later, the stars decamped to The Stand Comedy Club, to keep the birthday festivities going, along with SNL‘s Michael Che, Busta Rhymes and Kanye West, the latter of whom the publication noted showed up without any security. 

Kweli posted a snap with West, Chappelle and Glasper, noting, “Birthday party was magical… legendary night… thank you.”

 

 

 

 

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Kristen Bell is getting real about parenting — especially about the battles she loses with her two young daughters: Lincoln, 8, and Delta, 6.

In her Wednesday episode of her video series Momsplaining with Kristen Bell, the actress confessed that her little ones sometimes outsmart even her.

“Parenting is a lot like sports…You’re either winning or losing every minute of the day,” Bell said, according to an advanced snippet obtained by E! Online. “Mostly losing, but that’s what makes the winning so sweet, and fleeting.”

The Good Place alum also noted, “And it helps to know you’re not alone. I suggest talking to someone — even if no one is there.”

Bell then shared her hilarious story about the time her six-year-old made a fool out of her. Speaking to Evan Kyle Berger and Kevin Laferriere of The Dumb Dads podcast, Bell, 41, admitted, “We have one [child] that is pretty funny. She feels like the perfect hybrid between Chris Farley and Shirley Temple, and so she gets away with everything.”

She explained that, one night, Delta was adamant about not putting away a certain toy before bedtime. After a brief back and forth, Bell’s husband, Dax Shepard, took a crack at it.

“He’s like, ‘Mommy, I got this,'” she recalled, adding that his resolution was to give their daughter 30 more seconds with the toy.

Delta agreed to the terms, which led to Shepard telling her “Don’t make a fool out of me!”

Bell admits she wasn’t expecting her little one to shoot back in a serious tone, “Daddy, I won’t make a fool out of you. I’m gonna make you a star!'”

The actress said she and Shepard first laughed but later became baffled that, maybe, their six-year-old might be “wittier than us.”

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A judge has granted Charlie Sheen‘s request to stop paying his ex-wife Denise Richards child support for their two daughters, Sami, 17, and Lola, 16, according to court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight.

A source tells the entertainment website that Richards did not file any opposing paperwork and “didn’t have a falling out with her daughters and she cares about them deeply.” While Sami lives with Sheen, Lola “goes back and forth.”

“Lola lives with Denise,” says the insider, unless Denise is filming, in which case “Lola stays with her dad and sister.”

“Denise wasn’t at court because she is working out of state, which Charlie was well aware of,” adds the source, explaining that Sheen filed the paperwork two years ago and “kept pushing the court date. Denise was never served this court date.”

The source alleges Sheen hasn’t paid Richards child support for at least four years.

Sami claimed in a TikTok video that she moved out of Richards’ “abusive household.” A source previously told ET that Richards’ “heart is broken” over the allegations.

Sheen and Richards were married from 2002 until 2006. The Anger Management star also shares twin sons, Bob and Max, 12, with ex-wife Brooke Mueller, and daughter Cassandra Estevez, 36, with Paula Profit.

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We’ve all gotten to know Dr. Anthony Fauci pretty well over the past year and a half. Brad Pitt even played him on Saturday Night Live! But a new documentary aims to take us deeper into Dr. Fauci’s life and why he emerged on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

NatGeo’s Fauci, out now on Disney+, explores the immunologist’s storied career and takes us all the way back to when he was appointed director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease in 1984.

Co-director Janet Tobias spoke with ABC Audio about the new doc and reveals that it was actually in the works well before the word “coronavirus” touched headlines. 

“Tony Fauci has served now seven presidents [and] innumerable congresses. He’s testified in front of Congress more than any other living figure,” she said. “I was really interested in the idea of what it means in the 21st century to be a public servant.”

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the documentary’s original focus, of which Tobias said excited her colleagues because it meant they were handed a front row seat to watch history unfold.

“Tony was forged in the AIDS epidemic as a doctor, as a scientist, as a communicator,” the director said. “Then, of course, in COVID, he was tested in all those ways [again].”

Tobias said the documentary explores how he built “bridges between scientists and activists” during the AIDS epidemic and how, nearly 30 years later, he rebuilt those bridges “every single day” during the pandemic.

However, there was one major condition under which crew members were taken behind the scenes of Fauci’s life: “If you interfere with my work in any way, we will stop,” Tobias shared, adding, “Dr. Fauci was very clear with us from the beginning.” 

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20th Century Studios has released a nearly five-minute-long peek at Ridley Scott‘s new film The Last Duel, which stars, and was co-written by, childhood friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

The film from the Gladiator Oscar winner is based on real events: Damon plays a respected warrior named Jean de Carrouges, who faces off against Adam Driver‘s Jacques Le Gris, who is accused of assaulting de Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite, played by Killing Eve Emmy winner Jodie Comer.

The accusations set de Carrouges against his friend, the playboy Count Pierre d’Alençon, and the conflict eventually is settled by mortal combat between the warrior and Driver’s Le Gris.

The clip shows Le Gris and de Carrouges being suited up for that final showdown, which begins with jousting, and goes into hand-to-hand combat. The sneak peek cuts away without revealing any major spoilers. 

The Last Duel opens October 15.

20th Century Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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With Netflix’s Korean import series Squid Game burning up the streaming service, some fans took the “Hunger Games meets Saw” series a little too seriously, ending up in a massive brawl on the streets of Paris on Sunday. 

Videos surfaced of the fans going, well, Squid Game with each other when they realized they weren’t getting into a pop-up, interactive version of the show — despite waiting in a 700-foot-long line for hours.

The Daily Mail posted video of the melee, which left some fans fleeing for cover, and others swinging at each other with their fists and whatever else was handy.

Squid Game shows poverty-stricken characters competing in a sinister series of kids’ games, all vying for a huge prize — or, failing that, a bullet in the head. 

In real-life, the Parisian pop-up had hopefuls competing in games like those seen in the show — like trying to perfectly trace simple shapes — minus the firing squad if they fail.   

The show has also spawned countless copycats from fans on TikTok as well.

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HBO has dropped the first real peek at its Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon.

“200 Years before the fall of the throne. A dynasty reigned,” a title card reads, setting the scene for the snippets of sword-and-armor action.

“Gods. Kings. Fire. And blood,” a character says. “Dreams didn’t make us kings. Dragons did.”

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood book, set hundreds of years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is a deep dive into the history of GoT‘s House Targaryen, ancestors of Game of Thrones‘ tragic heroine, Daenerys Targaryen, who was played by Emilia Clarke.

House of the Dragon stars Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka the Sea Snake, former Doctor Who and The Crown star Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, and Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.

The series also stars Paddy Considine, Fabien Frankel, Eve Best and Sonoya Mizuno.

House of the Dragon debuts on HBO Max in 2022.

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When CBS’ drama FBI: Most Wanted ended last season, there was a tense situation in the home of Julian McMahon‘s Special Agent Jess LaCroix. His daughter Tali was inside with Jess’ new girlfriend Sarah, both at the mercy of Sarah’s gun-toting ex-husband — and then producers cut away with the sound of gunshots, and left viewers hanging as to who might have been killed.

The season premiere just revealed Jess managed to kill Sarah’s abusive ex in front of Jess’ loved ones.

“Oh, man, what a cliffhanger!” McMahon exclaimed to ABC Audio.

“You know, I was surprised because a lot of the time with these types of shows, they like to kind of end things…by end of season. …And the fact that they gave us the opportunity to create such a kind of dynamic cliffhanger at one that, you know, you can’t stop thinking about until it’s resolved, was just a real kind of cool idea, I thought — as agonizing as it is for a lot of us!”

He explains that this season deals with the “aftermath” of his loved ones witnessing the killing. “We certainly start the season with it not being all hunky dory,” McMahon hints.

His FBI duties aside, ABC Audio wanted to know if in this age of reboots, would McMahon ever return to another popular show in which he starred — Nip/Tuck — if the six-series FX show that ended in 2010 was revisited?

“I loved that character, man!” McMahon enthuses. “I’m not sure I can ever say no to Christian Troy.”

When ABC Audio noted few people ever said no to the womanizing plastic surgeon he played, McMahon said with a laugh, “Yeah! That was the problem!” 

FBI: Most Wanted returns tonight at 10 p.m. on CBS.

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Michael J. Fox is being honored with AARP’s 2022 Purpose Prize, which the organization bestows on “extraordinary Americans who tap into the power of life experience to build a better future for us all.” 

Through his work with his Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the Back to the Future series star is being heralded with a group of others aged “50-plus who are using their knowledge and life experience to solve tough social problems.”

In an interview with AARP about the honor, Fox said, “Awards are funny. You can always find 10 thousand words why you don’t deserve them.”

He added, “But I do have a purpose, and I appreciate the purpose in other people and intention to do the right thing and do well in society other than just paying taxes and going to work. To be part of something powerful and life-changing and world-changing. And I have that opportunity with the Foundation.”

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