Entertainment – Page 1019

Vudu survey lists ‘A Quiet Place’ and ‘The Twilight Zone’ as favorite horror movie and TV series

October 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

With Halloween creeping up, the streaming service Vudu polled more than 2,500 fans to see what their favorite scary movies and TV shows are — and the A Quiet Place films and The Twilight Zone series topped the lists.

When it comes to movies, 1978’s Halloween took the second spot, followed by 2017’s It and 1984’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street. 1980’s Friday the 13th round out the top five.

When it comes to television shows, after the original Twilight Zone, which ran from 1959-1963, Vudu users ranked The X-Files as their second-favorite spooky series, followed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, American Horror Story, and The Walking Dead.

Meanwhile, Fandango’s streaming service has opened up their Horror Store, offering some cheap thrills — literally. Movies like The Purge films, the Resident Evil movies and more at available a discount, and thousands of other titles are free.

Vudu Fan Picks for Top 10 Horror TV Series:

1. The Twilight Zone (1959-1963)
2. The X-Files
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. American Horror Story
5. The Walking Dead
6. What We Do in the Shadows
7. Hannibal
8. Penny Dreadful
9. Bates Motel
10. Lovecraft Country

Vudu Fan Picks for Top 10 Horror Movie Franchises:

1.  A Quiet Place
2.  Halloween
3.  It
4.  A Nightmare on Elm Street
5.  Friday the 13th
6.  The Conjuring
7.  Saw
8.  The Purge
9.  Child’s Play
10. Scream

Ellen Pompeo recalls ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ fight with Denzel Washington

October 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Ellen Pompeo sat down with her former Grey’s Anatomy co-star Patrick Dempsey recently and discussed, among other things, a fight she had with Denzel Washington on the set of the show.

The 51-year-old actress told Dempsey during a recent episode of her Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo podcast that she considered leaving the long-running ABC medical drama after Dempsey’s exit in 2015, but opted to stay, in part, because Washington — whose wife was a fan of the show — stepped in to direct an episode called “The Sounds of Silence” the following year.

Unfortunately, Pompeo ended up getting into a fight with the 66-year-old two-time Oscar-winner after she went off script during a particularly intense scene, which Washington didn’t like.

“He was like, ‘I’m the director. Don’t you tell [the other actor] what to do.’ And I was like, ‘Listen, mother*****, this is my show, this is my set. Who are you telling?'” Pompeo recalled. “Like, ‘You barely know where the bathroom is.'”

“I have the utmost respect for him as an actor, as a director, as everything, but like, yo, we went at it one day,” said Pompeo.

The two ultimately made up, says Pompeo, adding, “Working with Denzel was amazing. He went nuts on me,” but said she still “love[s] the guy.”

Grey’s Anatomy, which just kicked off its 18th season, airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

NeNe Leakes shares the final conversation she had with her late husband Gregg

October 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

It’s been a month since Gregg Leakes lost his battle with cancer. Ahead of the somber anniversary, NeNe Leakes opened up about what his final days were like.

Speaking with People, the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum shared the last conversation the two had before he passed away from colon cancer on September 1.

“The last five days before his passing was really beautiful,” Leakes explained. “All of his children were there. His best friends were there. Our closest friends were there. We all sat with him around the clock.”

One of the final things Gregg did, says Leakes, was make a file of all the things he handled so family would not be in the dark about paying bills or who to contact for important financial matters.

“That took a lot of strength,” NeNe said.

The 53-year-old continued, “We talked a lot, and we made peace with what was happening” before revealing that her husband’s final words weren’t a goodbye but, rather, a promise and a request.

“I’m not going to leave you. God is going to bless you,” she recalls him saying. “He said he wanted me to move on with my life.”

“I told him I wouldn’t have chosen another husband other than him. I said, ‘I married you twice, crazy man,'” said Leakes. The couple wed in 1997 and filed for divorce in 2011. Two years later, they remarried.

“He took a deep breath, and then he stopped… I thought I would be scared, but I just held him and kissed him,” Leakes described before admitting she’s still having difficulty processing that Gregg is gone.

“I keep thinking to myself he’s away on a trip and he’ll be right back,” she confessed. “I’m still waiting for him to come home.”

In theaters now: ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’

October 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

After multiple pandemic delays, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is now in theaters.

The sequel to the critically-panned but $856 million-plus-grossing 2018 movie Venom again stars Tom Hardy as journalist Eddie Brock, who shares a body with the shape-shifting, trash-talking alien symbiote, Venom.

This time around, the Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man universe spin-off sees the unlikely pair having to face off with another of their kind: Woody Harrelson‘s serial killer Cletus Kasady, who infects himself with Eddie’s blood to get his own symbiote, Carnage.

But before Eddie and Venom can fight Carnage, they need to stop fighting each other.

“In this movie, it’s like the ‘seven-year-itch’ cycle of the relationship,” director Andy Serkis says. “You’ve got two characters who are literally stuck with each other — that Odd Couple relationship was what this movie was always going to be about.”

“They have had enough of each other,” Serkis says with a smile. “Watching Tom as Venom and Eddie and was so much fun,” the Marvel movie and Lord of the Rings series veteran says.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage also stars returning player Michelle Williams, Spidey series star J.K. Simmons, and 007 movie alumna Naomi Harris.

The film’s off to a good start: it earned $11.6 million in Thursday night previews in the U.S., putting it ahead of preview numbers for F9 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and only a few million behind Black Widow.

Jerry Seinfeld explains why he’s not interested in a ‘Seinfeld’ reunion or revival

October 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Jerry Seinfeld says it’s important to know when to gracefully bow out. Twenty-three years after his iconic sitcom, Seinfeld, aired its last show on May 14, 1998, Seinfeld says he’s still convinced that there’s no need for a revival.

“Has it happened, could it happen, is it happening, or is it in motion — what kind of motion? When will we see something?,” Seinfeld tells ABC Audio of the questions he’s often asked about a potential revival. “There’s absolutely nothing going on.”

Although the award-winning actor considers himself a “nostalgi[c] person” since he still visits his childhood home in Long Island and supports the New York Mets, Seinfeld believes it’s important not to live in the past.

“I believe in going forward,” he says, before sharing that even if he did do some sort of Seinfeld reboot, he’s not sure what it would be about or if it would even “be as good.”

“I think we did a good job,” he says of the original series.

In fact, Seinfeld believes a reboot could even possibly tarnish his legacy.

“I remember I was in a cab one time and the cab driver said to me, ‘Why did you stop doing that show? It was very successful,” he recalls. “And I said to him, ‘Well… we had done it for nine years and I realized I could go off the air right now. And… I could be a legend in the sitcom world, or I could risk that to make some more money.'”

He continues, “[And] I said, ‘What would you do?’ to the cab driver. He said, ‘I’d go for legend.’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s what I thought.’ So we went for a legend. That’s why we’re not coming back.”

The entire Seinfeld catalogue is now available to stream on Netflix.

Haunting Disney+ today, the animated musical show ‘The Ghost and Molly McGee’

October 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Launching on Disney+ today is the animated series The Ghost and Molly McGee.

Featuring the voice of Emmy-winning writer and Mythic Quest co-star Ashly Burch, the series has her starring as Molly, an ever-optimistic tween girl whose family moves into a new home, only to find her attic room haunted by a curmudgeonly ghost named Scratch.

“He curses her and says, ‘Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be there haunting you.’ But Molly, being unflappable, kind of goes, ‘Well that just sounds like you’re my best friend now!’ Burch tells ABC Audio with a laugh.

“So it’s basically like an Odd Couple kind of thing of these two people that are forced to be together…But… over the course of several episodes, form this really cute, funny friendship.”

Burch explains she was first just called in to consult on the show, by creators Bill Motz and Bob Roth, but soon hooked into the character. “They were sort of like, ‘We’re we’ve never been a tween girl. Do you want to take a look at this…?’ And…I might have just flat out said, like, ‘Can I audition for this character?'”

For Burch, the show, which has already been renewed for a second season, is a dream gig.

“It’s so surreal,” the actress and writer admits. “I loved Disney when I was a kid, I mean, I had Little Mermaid bed sheets, I wanted to be Ariel…So it’s really, really cool to be part of not only part of a Disney show, but to be the lead of a Disney show and [not] only the lead…but it’s a musical!”

“10-year-old Ashly would be losing her mind if she knew,” she laughs.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Jon Bernthal says ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ is “its own thing” and not another episode of ‘The Sopranos’

October 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

It’s the weekend Sopranos fans have been desperately waiting for — the prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark is out today.

Instead of picking up where The Sopranos ended nearly 15 years ago, the movie delves into the past and explores the life of a young Tony Soprano and the circumstances that led him to become the DiMeo crime family’s boss.

Jon Bernthal plays Tony Soprano’s father, known as Johnny Boy, in the film. He tells ABC Audio that fans of the original series shouldn’t treat the movie like two extra episodes of the award-winning HBO series.

“It’s absolutely its own thing. And I think that’s very smart. Those are shoes that are impossible to fill,” Bernthal explained, while keeping details about why that is to himself. “That’s something that exists on its own.”

There are whispers the movie does address what really happened to Tony Soprano in that controversial cut to black series ending, but don’t ask Bernthal to reveal what really happened to James Gandolfini‘s character.

“I think there’s a there’s a myriad of potential answers. And, yeah, I got no interest in answering it,” he teased.

And while The Many Saints of Newark will delight fans of the original series, Ray Liotta, who plays “Hollywood Dick” Moltisanti in the film, says the movie will also entertain those who haven’t tuned into the series –and that’s coming from someone who hasn’t watched The Sopranos.

“You don’t have to have been a fan of the show or even watched the series in order to appreciate what goes on in this movie,” Liotta assured. “You don’t have to be a big Sopranos fan or know everything that happened in order to appreciate and like it.”

The Many Saints of Newark is now in theaters and on HBO Max.

Scarlett Johansson and Disney have settled ‘Black Widow’ dispute

October 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Scarlett Johansson‘s Periwinkle Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company have settled their dispute regarding the release of Black Widow.

Johansson filed suit last month against Marvel Studios’ parent company, Disney, claiming that the studio’s decision to simultaneously release Black Widow on Disney+ and in theaters was a breach of her contract, which guaranteed Black Widow an exclusive theatrical window before it hit the streaming service. The suit further claims Disney’s decision to do otherwise cost Johansson millions in potential earnings.

“I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney. I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team,” the actress said in a statement on Thursday. “I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come,”

Alan Bergman, Chairman of Disney Studios Content, added, “I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow. We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and look forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects, including Disney’s Tower of Terror.”

Neither side gave any indication of how much money was involved in the settlement.

ScarJo served as an executive producer on Black Widow, and therefore had profit participation “points” tied to the film’s box-office performance. The movie grossed $367 million at the box office. However, Disney revealed in August that the movie had grossed $125 million on streaming, which some assert detracted from the film’s box-office earnings potential, and Johansson’s bottom line.

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.

‘Diana: The Musical’ stars explain why storyline makes for “fantastic drama”

October 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

If you just can’t get enough of Royal Family drama, Diana: The Musical hits Netflix today. It’s a filmed version of the stage play which opens on Broadway in November. Jeanna de Waal plays Princess Diana and she offered up her opinion on why America is so in love with these stories.

“They’re the ultimate celebrities, right?” she rhetorically tells ABC Audio.

“America loves our celebrities and these celebrities actually live in castles and actually have titles and actually used to be, you know, kings and queens who have power,” the actress continues. “And there’s something insane and thrilling about that.”

Something else that de Waal finds thrilling is the fact that the musical is heading straight to on-screen viewers., which she says “democratizes the process of experiencing theater.”

“We bypassed some of the tight bottleneck, harsh New York critics, and just say hey world, what do you think? And I think it’s a fantastic way to engage a much wider crowd in theater,” she explains.

While Princess Diana’s story has been told in various ways, including on Netflix’s The Crown, it’s the “nuances” that de Waal says are not that well known, but “make for fantastic drama.”

“There’s a lot I think people don’t know between Charles, Diana, and Camilla, to be specific, is really what our story is about,” she shares.

So, will the royals be watching? Roe Hartrampf, who plays Prince Charles, hopes so.

“We hope that they realize that we’re approaching this from a real human storytelling standpoint and we are big fans of everybody involved.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar reveals how she’s combating harmful stereotypes and misinformation about asthma

September 30, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Sarah Michelle Gellar is tired of how pop culture portrays people with asthma — and she’s aiming to change that.

In partnership with the pharmaceutical company Teva, Gellar helped launch the Inhaler Tales campaign, which aims to raise awareness on proper inhaler use and encourage those with asthma to advocate for themselves.

“I think that there’s this stereotype — like any kind of diagnosis — [asthma] is a sign of weakness. And it’s not,” the Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum told ABC Audio. “Our bodies are not machines.”

Asthma is a condition of the lungs, says the Mayo Clinic, where the airways can narrow and swell, which in turn can make breathing difficult or trigger an attack. Asthma can’t be cured but it can be controlled with medication.

Gellar took note of how pop culture makes light of asthmatic characters and that those misguided stereotypes can feed misinformation. For example, Mikey from The Goonies and Albert from Hitch used their inhaler as a prop and were portrayed as defenseless or cowardly. Gellar says those tropes should be “taken with a grain of salt” because asthma is “not something to be ashamed of.”

Gellar also noted how actors who play asthmatic people don’t correctly use an inhaler on screen.

“They just puff into it. Always wrong,” the Cruel Intentions star stressed, noting a recent Teva study that found over 50% of people with asthma or COPD use their inhaler incorrectly.

Gellar said improper inhaler use can exacerbate symptoms, and stressed, “With the right treatment program, you really should be able to live your life to the fullest.”

That’s why she says it’s “so important… to know how to properly utilize that equipment.” Gellar encourages those with asthma to be honest with their doctors when their inhaler isn’t effectively controlling their symptoms.

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