Entertainment

West Side Story dances into theaters this Friday and director Steven Spielberg credits the “invaluable” Rita Moreno for making the movie what it is.

“She was an invaluable asset to our entire production and she kept a kind of moral compass for us and continued to give us purpose,” the esteemed director told ABC News. 

“Why are we telling the story again? Because the power of the story needs to be told to a generation who perhaps have never heard of West Side Story. That was another reason I wanted to bring this movie out now,” the 74-year-old director added.

The musical, inspired by William Shakespeare‘s Romeo and Juliet, is set in New York City and follows the story of Tony and Maria — two star-crossed lovers with ties to rival gangs that are fighting for control over their Upper West Side neighborhood.  The musical tackles themes of violence, racism and sexual assault.

Ansel Elgort, who stars as Tony in West Side Story, says the groundbreaking film earned a seal of approval from the late, legendary composer Stephen Sondheim.

“Sondheim was able to see it before he passed and he loved it,” the 27-year-old actor revealed. “It’s so sad that he’s gone, but what a legend and how great to be able to celebrate him at this time with this great piece of work.”

Rachel Zegler stars as Maria and some critics predict her performance could score an Oscar nod for Best Actress.  She credits her “old soul” for helping her dive into character and, when discussing her “technique,” she says her talent was born from being “raised on classic films” such as “All About Eve and George Cukor‘s The Women.” 

West Side Story bows in theaters Friday, December 10.

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Common and Tiffany Haddish ended their relationship in November, and the rapper/actor explains why they broke up.

“I don’t think the love really dispersed,” he says. “I think it was just like we weren’t feeding the relationship.” 

Common made the comment during Fox Soul’s Hollywood Unlocked Uncensored in a clip obtained by Page Six. The couple went public with their romance in August 2020, and he says their busy careers led to their breakup, preventing them from spending “as much time” or putting “as much energy” into their relationship.

The John Wick: Chapter 2 star added that it became hard “to balance” personal life and career, “and keep the relationship fair.”

In other news, And Just Like That… A New Chapter of Sex and the City, debuts Thursday night on HBO Max with Nicole Ari Parker joining the cast as Lisa Todd Wexley. Nicole tells Essence she is proud to bring a woman of color to the show and says the series will not shy away from racial issues.

“They are not going to magically resolve the massive conflict that we are continuing to struggle with in this country; but without giving away too much, they did try to have those issues trickle down into conversations between two women that might become friends,” she says. “How does the absence of Black people in your life manifest when you’re invited to a dinner party, have a cup of coffee or pick up your kids from the same school?”

Finally, Porsha Williams from Real Housewives of Atlanta is planning more than one wedding ceremony with her fiancé, Simon Guobadia. She tells Us Weekly that in addition to the A-T-L,” “we’ll be doing one in Nigeria as well, and we’re thinking about doing one at our home in Costa Rica.

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Alec Baldwin posted to Instagram a statement from some of the crew of the movie Rust, on which the actor and producer fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October.

Some crew members have described the fatal incident as a result of unsafe work conditions, long workdays, and unqualified hires — notably neophyte armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

However, in the message Baldwin passed along to his 2.4 million followers, these other crew members denied claims that the film set was, “a representation of the kind of conditions our unions are fighting against.”

These conditions reportedly led some to walk off the set — even among Hutchins’ own department.

Baldwin, who was an actor and producer on the project, previously told ABC News he hadn’t been made aware of such allegations, nor did he believe the set to be unsafe.

“The descriptions of Rust as a chaotic, dangerous, and exploitative workplace are false and distract from what matters most: the memory of Halyna Hutchins, and the need to find modern alternatives to outdated industry firearm and safety practices,” Thursday’s statement read.

“While it is true that a few crew members quit prior to the accident, the vast majority of us remained, never feeling the need to protest or quit. We were enjoying our workplace. Those disgruntled few do not represent the views of all of us.”

Baldwin denied to ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he pulled the trigger on a pistol loaded with a live round, insisting the gun just “went off.”

Industry experts have publicly doubted his claims, including veteran movie armorer Steve Wolf. When asked by The Wrap to assess how likely the odds are that Baldwin was telling the truth, Wolf replied, “On a scale of one to 10? Zero.”

The investigation into the shooting that left Hutchins dead, and director Joel Souza injured, continues. 

 

 

 

 

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(SPOILERS AHEAD FOR EPISODE 4 OF “HAWKEYE”)

Florence Pugh might have thought her Marvel Cinematic Universe code of silence expired when Black Widow hit theaters, but she’s just been proven wrong.

The Oscar-nominated actress says she was blocked by Instagram Wednesday for posting a blow-by-blow of her character Yelena’s first appearance on the Disney+ show Hawkeye — accompanied by her own cartoony sound effects.

However, her enthusiastic live stream of the fourth episode’s climactic rooftop fight — apparently being cheered on off camera by boyfriend Zach Braff — didn’t sit too well with some people who hadn’t seen it yet. 

An hour later, Pugh added a text message to her Stories reading, “I never thought me posting love about a show in which I appear on would get taken down but here we are.”

She explained, “Someone complained on here so I’ve been blocked from posting my own appearance on a show that I’m very much in.” 

“Beyond ridiculous,” she added. 

Pugh’s message concluded with, “being in Hawkeye is a privilege and thank you to all who welcome me on set and off and all who are watching.”

The kerfuffle was apparently short-lived, however. She posted a shot of Yelena in the scene shortly after, with the caption: “She’s here.”

An after-credits scene in Black Widow saw a mourning Yelena being lied to by Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ mysterious Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. She told Yelena that Jeremy Renner‘s Hawkeye killed her adoptive sister, Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow, setting up a showdown between Yelena and Renner’s Clint Barton that began on Wednesday night’s episode.

 

 

 

 

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Netlfix has dropped a brand-new trailer to its forthcoming fourth season of the Emmy-nominated Cobra Kai, and the old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” comes to mind. 

The snippet shows the members of both the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang dojos joining forces to take down Martin Kove‘s Sensei Kreese and his Cobra Kai at the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament. 

“If Johnny and I can actually work together, and we win,” Ralph Macchio‘s Danny LaRusso says in the trailer, “Cobra Kai will be out of business.”

For his part, William Zabka’s Johnny tells their united students, “Eagles do not respond. They swoop down and they take what they want!”

To that end, he prepares a lesson in flying, courtesy of a rooftop and a few hastily stacked mattresses. 

“We’re gonna get sued!” Danny protests.

“Sue me for what?” Johnny replies. 

Also in the mix this season is Karate Kid III villain Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver — and he’s still up to no good.

“You missed this, don’t you?” Creese tells a suited-up Silver in the dojo, as they exchange mean smiles.

Will Johnny stay with Danny, or will he get drawn back to the dark side? See for yourself when Cobra Kai returns on December 31.

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After announcing during his Tuesday TV show that his five-month-old son, Zen, died Sunday from brain cancer, Nick Cannon explained on his show Wednesday why he decided to return so quickly after Zen’s passing.

“A lot of people keep asking me like, ‘Man why are you even at work?’ Especially my family members, ‘Boy, you need to go sit down somewhere, you got too many jobs already. Allow yourself to just be yourself,’ ” Cannon said.

“I appreciate that, all of that advice and I know it comes from a place of care. But to me, this isn’t work, this is love.”

As Nick thanked everyone for their support, Zen’s mother, Alyssa Scott, posted an emotional Instagram video montage tribute.

Paired with Jhené Aiko‘s song “Promises,” Scott wrote, “Oh my sweet Zen. The soreness I felt in my arm from holding you is slowly fading away. It’s a painful reminder that you are no longer here. I caught myself looking in the backseat as I was driving only to see the mirror no longer reflecting your perfect face back at me. When I close a door too loudly I hold my breath and wince knowing a soft cry will shortly follow. It doesn’t come. The silence is deafening.”

“We were a team,” Alyssa continued. “It feels unbearable running without you now.”

The video showed Zen playing with a toy piano, taking a bath, and Scott rocking her baby in her arms as he looked up at her.

“It has been an honor and privilege being your mommy,” Scott ended her tribute. “I will love you for eternity.” 

When Cannon revealed on his TV talk show that Zen had died, he praised Scott, telling his listeners: “Alyssa was just the strongest woman I’ve ever seen.”

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If you can’t get enough of Paramount Network’s Yellowstone — and the ratings suggest you can’t — there’s now a new official podcast for that. 

Hosted by Jefferson White, who plays Jimmy on the hit show, the first episode has just dropped, featuring cast members Wes Bentley and Luke Grimes. 

The podcast’s producers promise its first season will boast guests including show creator Taylor Sheridan, as well as stars including Kelly Reilly, Gil Birmingham, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Ryan Bingham, Jen Landon, Mo’ Brings Plenty, and Forrie Smith.

The Yellowstone podcast, presented by Wynn Las Vegas and produced by 101 Studios, will also welcome stars from the upcoming Yellowstone prequel 1883, which stars Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sam Elliott, Isabel May, and LaMonica Garrett.

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The Hate U Give star Amandla Stenberg is in talks to join Disney+’s the live-action Star Wars series, The Acolyte, according to Variety. Details on Stenberg’s character haven’t been revealed.

Announced in 2020, with a slew of other Star Wars spin-offs including Andor, starring Rogue One‘s Diego Luna and Obi-Wan Kenobi, starring Ewan McGregor, The Acolyte will be set long before the events of the previous films.

It’s described as a, “mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.”

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

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Fans could hardly wait to see the cast of Friends reunite for the 2021 HBO Max special, but for Jennifer Aniston, filming was more emotionally complicated than she anticipated.

The actress told The Hollywood Reporter that she was “so naive” to think that revisiting that time in her life would be easy.

At times during filming, Aniston got so overwhelmed that she “had to walk out,” she said.

“It was like, ‘Hi, past, remember me? Remember how that sucked? You thought everything was in front of you and life was going to be just gorgeous and then you went through maybe the hardest time in your life?'” she recalled. “It was all very jarring.”

Aniston, 52, starred in Friends from 1994 until 2004, a time during which tabloids made much ado about her relationship with actor Brad Pitt, from whom she split in 2005. Although she did not get into specifics in the THR interview, Aniston did tell the publication that while she appeared on comedy series, her expectations for her personal life “sort of shape-shifted.”

Ultimately, her reaction to the media’s obsession with her also evolved.

“I used to take it all very personally — the pregnancy rumors and the whole ‘Oh, she chose career over kids’ assumption. It’s like, ‘You have no clue what’s going with me personally, medically, why I can’t … can I have kids?'” she said. “They don’t know anything, and it was really hurtful and just nasty.”

Now, however, Aniston is grateful to have had all of the experiences that have come her way, good and bad.

“Everything’s a blessing if you’re able to look at life’s ups and downs in that way,” she said. “If it all hadn’t happened, I would not be sitting here the woman that I am.”

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The Wendy Williams Show lives on. On Wednesday, it was announced that the show will return in January with a variety of celebrity guest hosts as Wendy Williams continues to deal with ongoing health issues. 

“‘The Wendy Williams Show’ Returns with All-New Episodes in the New Year!” the show’s official Instagram page shared in a post. 

Fat Joe and Remy Ma are scheduled to kick off the hosting duties, taking over January 3-7. Michael Rapaport will hop in the purple chair from January 10-14 before handing the reins over to Kym Whitley and Finesse Mitchell for the week of January 17. Ending the month hosting January 24-28 will be guest host  Sherri Shepherd.

Last month, Wendy gave fans a much needed update on her health and assured them that she’s working toward a return. 

“HOW YOU DOIN’? I MISS YOU ALL! As everyone knows, my health has been a hot topic,” the November 8 statement read. “I’m making progress but it’s just one of those things that’s taking longer than we expected.”

Williams continued, “I’m a woman of a certain age, and I know enough to listen to my doctors and will return to my purple chair as soon as we all agree I’m ready. I want to thank all of my staff and our guest hosts for stepping up and stepping in while I can’t be there.”

 

 

 

 

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