Entertainment

Dwayne Johnson has thrown down the gauntlet, telling Variety on Wednesday night that he’s banning the use of real firearms on the sets of films and TV shows he produces, in light of the fatal Rust set shooting. 

The incident on October 21 saw Alec Baldwin firing a live round at the camera from a gun he was told was empty, fatally wounding cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. 

While an investigation into the incident is ongoing, Johnson, who was in Los Angeles promoting his new Netflix movie Red Notice, said he wasn’t wasting any time. 

He told the trade he was on the phone to his company within hours of hearing the news to discuss changes. 

“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can tell you…that any movie that we have moving forward with Seven Bucks Productions — any movie, any television show…we won’t use real guns at all,” Johnson told Variety.

Among others, Johnson’s company has produced movies including Red Notice, but also his hit Jumanji films the recent Jungle Cruise, NBC’s Young Rock, and HBO’s Ballers.

“We’re going to switch over to rubber guns, and we’re going to take care of it in post,” he said, meaning visual effects added in post productions to simulate muzzle flashes.

“We’re not going to worry about the dollars; we won’t worry about what it costs.”

Johnson added, “There are safety protocols and measures that we have always taken in the movie business and we take very seriously, and these sets are safe sets, and we’re proud of that. But accidents do happen. And when something like this happens of this magnitude, [that is] this heartbreaking.”

Red Notice, also starring Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, debuts on Netflix on November 15.

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Jada Pinkett Smith has opened up about her complicated relationship with setting boundaries and how it’s negatively impacted her relationships.

On the newest episode of Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk, the actress explained that she struggles with setting limits because she worries how it will make the other person feel.

“I have a difficult time setting boundaries with it all, whether it’s work, family, kids, friends,” Smith admitted. “With me, I get angry if you make me set a boundary. I get angry at you. Isn’t that crazy? So, now you’re putting me in a position that I gotta tell you to, ‘Give me 50 feet.'”

While not touching upon her marriage to husband Will Smith or her professional relationships, the Girls Trip star revealed that her issue with setting boundaries affected her on a personal level, saying, “I definitely realized that it is a huge weakness of mine and has definitely played into a lot of relationship issues.”

She declined to elaborate why and, instead, opened a conversation about why asserting yourself is necessary part of life — even it if is one of her least-favorite moments because she likes to make others “feel better.”

Pinkett Smith, 50, elaborated by explaining that, when she sets boundaries, “You really start to see who’s a real friend and who’s not.”

“People feel really entitled, you know?,” she continued. “People that are close to you. I’ve done the same, where you feel entitled to people, their things. I’ve had to check myself on both sides of that coin.”

Pinkett Smith also shared how she’s embraced the boundaries set by her daughter, Willow.

“She’ll call me disrupted, and be like, ‘I don’t need you to fix anything, Mom. I just want you to listen,'” Jada remarked, and praised her daughter’s straightforwardness. 

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It’ll be at least another month before Wendy Williams returns to her purple chair.

The Wendy Williams Show announced Wednesday that their host’s expected return date had to be pushed back yet again. In the meantime, a new slate of guest hosts has been announced who will hold down the fort through November 19.

Starting November 8 it’ll be actor Michael Rapaport, who will host through November 12 and then pass the mic to comedian Bill Bellamy. Bellamy will entertain the audience on November 16 and 17 before Jerry Springer and Steve Wilkos take over on November 18 through the end of the week.

The show also announced an “all-new hot talk panel” will kick off on Monday, November 15.

Williams has been absent from her show since it was originally expected to return on September 20 for the start of the 13th season. Her return was delayed due to ongoing health issues, which included testing positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19.

The show returned to the air on October 18 with Leah Remini as its first guest host. It was also announced that Williams was “making progress but experiencing serious complications as a direct result of Graves’ Disease and her thyroid condition. It has been determined that more time is needed before she is able to return to her live hosting duties.”

Mayo Clinic defines Graves’ disease as a disorder of the immune system that is a common cause of hyperthyroidism, or an overproduction of thyroid hormones. Side effects attributed to the illness are anxiety, hand tremors, palpitations, fatigue and other disruptive symptoms.

 

 

 

 

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Tiger King star Joe Exotic has revealed that he has “aggressive cancer.”

The unfortunate news was shared on Joe’s Instagram and featured a picture of the handwritten note he wrote to fans, dated October 27.  

The note reads, “Everyone, It is with a sad face that I have to tell you the doctors called me in today to break the news that my prostate biopsy came back with an aggressive cancer, I am still waiting on the results from other test as well.”

Exotic goes on to say that he doesn’t want “pity,” though he says he’s sure his nemesis, Carole Baskin, will “have her own party over this.” What Joe does want is to be released from prison, where he is currently serving a 22-year sentence for violating wildlife laws, and also for the failed murder-for-hire plots against Baskin.

“What I need is the world to be my voice to be released, they have the proof I DID NOT DO THIS!” he wrote. “And there is no reason for the district attorney to drag this out, So I can go home and get treatment on my own or enjoy what life I have left with my loved ones! Say a prayer everyone & be my voice.”

 

 

 

 

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Dakota Johnson is commenting on the allegations against some of her former co-stars. 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress, who has worked alongside Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer and Shia LaBeouf — all of whom have had allegations of misconduct lodged against them — said she never had a problem with them.

“I never experienced that firsthand from any of those people,” Johnson said. “I had an incredible time working with them.” 

Making note of cancel culture and how her former co-stars may not have the opportunity to return to their acting careers, Johnson added, “I feel sad for the loss of great artists. I feel sad for people needing help and perhaps not getting it in time. I feel sad for anyone who was harmed or hurt. It’s just really sad.”

“I do believe that people can change. I want to believe in the power of a human being to change and evolve and get help and help other people,” she continued. “I think there’s definitely a major overcorrection happening. But I do believe that there’s a way for the pendulum to find the middle.”

“The way that studios have been run up until now, and still now, is behind,” Johnson went on. “It is such an antiquated mindset of what movies should be made, who should be in them, how much people should get paid, what equality and diversity look like. Sometimes the old school needs to be moved out for the new school to come in.”

“But, yeah, cancel culture is such a f****** downer. I hate that term,” Johnson concluded.  

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The massive Marvel movie Eternals is just hours away from flying onto the big screen.

The film introduces a handful of the most powerful beings in the universe, all with unique powers. One of them is Sprite, played by 14-year-old Lia McHugh, who she described to ABC Audio as “an illusionist [who] can make you see things that aren’t there and that spans in really cool ways.”

Adds McHugh, “You know, when I figured out her powers and then once I read the script, I thought it was really cool — the creative things that they had her do with her powers that I would have probably never thought of.”

If you think a a 14-year-old superhero sounds a little unusual, Lia says you’re not alone.

“My entire family was just absolutely shocked,” The Lodge actress recalls. “And one of the biggest questions that people ask me when I say that I’m in a Marvel movie, they’re like, ‘Do you speak?’ Which I think is pretty funny. I mean, no one expects a kid to be a superhero [and] have a bigger part in a Marvel movie.”

The Eternals features an ensemble cast that also includes Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel and Kit Harington, and with so many new characters, Lia thinks “everyone has someone that they can relate to, whether it be the diversity [or] the age.”

“I think it’s really incredible how Marvel was able to introduce 10 new characters, but really have the audience thoroughly understand them,” she adds.

The Eternals opens nationwide on Friday.

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On December 1 at 10 p.m. Eastern time, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns on FXX after a two-year hiatus, and with it comes a trip into the history books. 

The episode will make the bawdy, beloved comedy series the longest-running live-action comedy series in television history, bypassing — most ironically — the genteel sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.

According to the network, the debut will see the gang from Paddy’s Pub “at a crossroads in this strange, new world.”

The announcement continues, “In the seismic wake of Covid-19 and all things 2020…the rules are changing quicker than anyone can keep up with, despite herculean efforts from Mac (Rob McElhenney), Charlie (Charlie Day), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Frank (Danny DeVito) to continue business as usual.”

FXX teases, “Now, they must face the music and decide who they’ll become in the cultural upheaval that is 2021. Across the span of eight episodes — and the Atlantic Ocean — we find them answer in a way only they could think to.”

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(NOTE NATURE, CONTENT) Just when you thought the idea of Kim Kardashian traveling to Staten Island to hang out with Pete Davidson was surprising enough, comes this development. 

Looking to take advantage of the documented — albeit, some might say puzzling — hold Davidson apparently has on Hollywood’s leading ladies, the adult site CamSoda has crafted a sex toy in his…honor?

What’s more, the tattoo-decorated Bluetooth connected device can be synced to…go to work…whenever the heavily inked Saturday Night Live funnyman appears onscreen. 

The 27-year-old comedian and actor was famously, briefly engaged to Ariana Grande, but moved on in 2018.

Since then, he’s been linked to Underworld stunner Kate Beckinsale, model Kaia Gerber, actress Margaret Qualley and — prior to making headlines with the now-single Kim K — Bridgerton‘s Pheobe Dynevor.

“Pete doesn’t have to be locked down with just Kim. We can all share a piece of the SNL stud and get to know him more intimately,” said CamSoda VP Daryn Parker.

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Lauren Ridloff may play a super-speedy, Deviant-fighting immortal named Makkari in Marvel’s Eternals, but her storyline is more human than alien.

The Tony-nominated actress, who is making history as the first deaf superhero in the MCU and is deaf herself, opened up to Good Morning America about what this role means to her — especially after she saw an ad for the movie in New York City’s Times Square.

Ridloff, who signed during the interview, as her character does in the movie, said seeing the trailer on a platform that big was “really overwhelming,” and she “started to realize the impact that this film is going to have.” She wanted to tell her own story in the role and hopes people connected to it — “whether they’re deaf, hard of hearing, Black, Mexican [or] women,” she said.

“It’s such an honor to be a part of a film like this where there’s a ton of us,” she added. “We’re so diverse and I think that a lot of people will feel seen.”

Eternals, directed by Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao, features a large ensemble cast including Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel and Kit Harington, along with Ridloff.

Ridloff recounted a scene in which Zhao wanted to make a sonic boom sound on the set to depict how fast her character was moving and, when the assistant director offered her a pair of earplugs, she said she didn’t need them.

“It’s not always a challenge [being deaf] and sometimes it can be helpful,” she explained. “That’s a perfect moment of deaf gain.”

Eternals hits theaters Friday, Nov. 5.

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

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Amazon has released the first trailer for Tracy Oliver‘s upcoming series, Harlem.

Set in Harlem, New York, the comedy follows a group of “stylish and ambitious best girlfriends,” who are navigating the “next phase of their careers, relationships, and big city dreams.” The star-studded cast includes Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai, Jerrie Johnson and Tyler Lepley. Whoopi Goldberg, Jasmine Guy and Andrea Martin, among others, are scheduled to make guest appearances throughout the season. Harlem premieres Friday, December 3, on Prime Video.

In other news, the final trailer for Denzel Washington‘s upcoming romantic drama A Journal for Jordan has been released.

Directed by Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan, the film is based on Dana Canedy‘s New York Times best-selling memoir of the same name. It’s inspired by Canedy’s love affair with First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, who was killed in Iraq in 2006, when his son, Jordan, was just seven months old. The story centers on the journal King left behind for his son, filled with important life lessons. As previously reported, A Journal for Jordan will play in limited release on December 10 in New York and Los Angeles and then go to wide theatrical release on December 22.

Finally, ICYMI, HBO has renewed Issa Rae‘s Sweet Life: Los Angeles for a second season. As previously reported, the unscripted series follows a group of young adults who navigate their careers, love lives, and more in L.A. as they try to make their dreams come true. Season one, which debuted in August, is currently available to stream on HBO Max.

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