Entertainment

Netflix has just released its anticipated documentary Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed, about the rise of late, legendary soft-spoken painter Bob Ross.

The streaming service calls the film a “shockingly untold story,” and for those who’ve seen Ross’ iconic The Joy of Painting series, it is eye-opening. Behind the canvas and those “happy little trees” the painter created was a seething battle over the rights to his image and his name that continued even after his untimely cancer death in 1995.

Director Joshua Rofé tells ABC Audio that he was intrigued at the very beginning of the project, noting, “As soon as we were met with resistance from people who were expressing fear of even speaking about Bob publicly due to concerns with being retaliated against from a legal standpoint, we knew that there really is something here.”

The filmmaker adds, “Bob is amazing, Bob is an icon, Bob is obviously magical and transcendent in all of these ways. But if you then introduce this other element that seems to be a part of the story, then you really have something.”

Ross’ usual on-air comments about his canvas being the “only place I have control” take on a different meaning when viewed in the context of his off-screen life, and what he saw as the loss of control of his destiny, and his legacy, both personally and financially.

Rofé says, “[Y]ou can see how angry he is, actually…But if you don’t know the context, you would never guess that Bob Ross is angry….It’s fascinating to see, because you can see how it is really just bubbling up inside of him and he has to get it out.”  

Melissa McCarthy and her husband and producing partner Ben Falcone co-produced the film.

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Letitia Wright was injured Wednesday during an overnight shoot in Boston for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

She “sustained minor injuries today while filming a stunt,” a Marvel spokesperson tells Deadline. “She is currently receiving care in a local hospital and is expected to be released soon.”

The NAACP Image Award and SAG Award winner is reprising her role as Shuri from Black Panther, a science and technology wizard who’s the sister of T’Challa, also known as Black Panther, who was played by the late Chadwick Boseman.

While Wright shot her scene in Boston, primary production for the sequel is taking place in Atlanta.

Incidentally, Wright was spotted yesterday at MIT, along with co-star Danai Gurira. The location is important to Marvel Comics fans: not only is it Tony Stark’s alma mater, but the school is also attended by Riri Williams, who in the comics creates her own Iron Man-like suit and becomes Iron Heart. Actress Dominique Thorne has already been confirmed to be playing Williams in Wakanda: Forever, before the character is spun off into her own show on Disney+.

Gurira, Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o, and director Ryan Coogler are also returning from the 2018 film, which has grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to open July 8, 2020.

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

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On FXX tonight at 10 p.m. ET, the four-time Emmy-winning animated spy series Archer kicks off its twelfth season with two back-to-back episodes. 

Amber Nash, who plays hard-drinking, hedonistic H.R. rep Pam Poovey on the show, tells ABC Audio of the show’s longevity, “God, it doesn’t seem real!”

She continues, “When we first started, we were like, ‘Is this show going to fly? Like, are we going to get away with all this stuff?’ And then once, like, season two hit and people were kind of all about it, it was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is so crazy.’ I still can’t believe it’s been going on for 12 years.”

Lucky Yates, who plays the spy show’s morally flexible mad scientist Algernop Krieger, agrees. “It’s nuts.” 

He says of his dark alter-ego, “Getting to play the wild card type character in anything is the dream for me.”

Nash credits the show’s cast — which also includes the voices of H. Jon Benjamin as Sterling Archer, SNL vet Chris Parnell as Cyril, Aisha Tyler as Lana, Judy Greer as Cheryl/Carol, and the late Jessica Walter as Archer’s boozy mom, Malory — with its long life. 

“The casting was so great that even though we’ve never, I mean…Lucky and I didn’t meet everybody until a few seasons in, like it still felt like everybody was in the same room together.”

She added, “It was really kind of magical how it all worked out.”

Yates teases tonight’s installments, saying, “The first episode, I laughed all the way through it…The action is amazing. There’s so much packed into the first episode, it feels like an hour-long thing. And then the second episode is almost brilliant slapstick.”

He adds, “This season is hilarious.”   

Archer also streams next day via FX on Hulu.

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Sony’s release of the teaser trailer to Spider-Man: No Way Home topped a high-water mark set by collaborator Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame back in 2019. 

The peek of Tom Holland‘s next adventure as the web-slinger broke the all-time 24-hour record for most global trailer views with 355.5 million, compared to Avengers: Endgame’s, 289 million views.

No Way Home‘s trailer scored double the viewership for its previous entry, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and also shattered Endgame‘s record for the largest 24-hour “social media conversation,” with 4.5 million mentions around the world.

Stateside, Far from Home generated 2.91 million mentions in 24 hours, while in just 12 hours, the new Spider-Man adventure was mentioned 1.96 million times in the U.S. alone. 

Starring Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei and Jon Favreau — and a host of still-secret co-stars — Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters December 17, 2021 from Columbia Pictures and co-producer Marvel Studios.

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

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On Tuesday, Kathy Hochul was sworn in as governor of New York, replacing a disgraced Andrew Cuomo, who resigned over his sexual harassment scandal. But on that day, he received some more bad news: his Emmy was rescinded. 

The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honored the former governor with the 2020 International Emmy Founders Award, for his “exceptional use of television for Public service during the COVID-19 pandemic.” That drew fire from his critics, especially considering that Cuomo and his administration were accused of under-counting the number of elderly New Yorkers who died of COVID-19 in nursing homes.

“[I]n light of the New York attorney general’s report, and Andrew Cuomo’s subsequent resignation as governor, [The Academy is] rescinding his special 2020 International Emmy Award,” IATAS said in a statement. “His name and any reference to his receiving the award will be eliminated from International Academy materials going forward.”

And while celebrities like Robert De Niro and Billy Joel shouted out Cuomo in recorded messages when he received his trophy last year, one star just took to Twitter after the Emmy was taken away: his one-time gubernatorial rival, Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon.

“The difference between me and Andrew Cuomo? Neither of us is governor, but I still have my Emmy(s),” she snarked.

The difference between me and Andrew Cuomo? Neither of us is governor, but I still have my Emmy(s).

— Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) August 24, 2021

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Kofi Siriboe and Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing say they both found a deep connection to their Really Love characters in the Angel Kristi Williams-directed film.

Wong-Loi-Sing tells ABC Audio that playing the ambitious law student Stevie, a young woman who’s trying to find herself amid falling in love with an up-and-coming painter, was something that excited her as an actor.

“One of the reasons why I was attracted to Stevie’s character was the very clear dilemmas that she’s dealing with,” she says. “It’s thinking you’re ready to love, but maybe not always having the right emotional skills.”

Those dilemmas, although not hers, were things that Wong-Loi-Sing says were “very real” to her as a woman who’s also navigated the real emotions of love.

“Sometimes, I can be a little pretentious,” she reveals. “And a little arrogant in thinking like I’m the best communicator, when the whole point is that it’s not about how you communicate, but to what extent you’re able to resonate, or say certain things, or act a certain way that resonates with the other person — regardless of how you feel would be ideal.”

The same can be said for Wong-Loi-Sing’s co-star Siriboe, who plays Isaiah, a talented painter also struggling to find himself. Siriboe says he found his role “very self reflective.”

“Because it makes you wonder, ‘Why are you trying to keep up or trying to create something that’s not sustainable?'” he says of the couple’s strained relationship. “It’s nice to…want to…evolve or expand…to another level. But at the same time, you gotta be real with the process, and where you are.”

Really Love is now available to stream on Netflix.

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If you’re looking for any scoop about Levar Burton and his possible future as the host of Jeopardy! following Mike Richards‘ short stint, don’t ask the man himself. 

The affable Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow star was tracked by a TMZ reporter to a Staples store in Los Angeles, where he asked Burton about the gig.

“No comment,” a masked Burton replied, adding, “I’ve got nothing to say.”

The reporter persisted, insisting he — and “so many people” — were pulling for him, to which a giggling Burton noted, “What does ‘no comment’ mean?”

Well, at least he answered that in the form of a question. 

Officially, the search for a new host continues after Richards stepped down last week in light of past insensitive comments he made on a podcast. In the meantime, Mayim Bialik, who was recently announced as a host for Jeopardy! specials, is filling in behind the podium.

Burton is a fan favorite to host Jeopardy! and was one of the guest hosts, along with Bialik, prior to Richards’ being announced as host.

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Whoopi Goldberg is apparently fed up with cancel culture, and she spoke about it during an appearance at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Tuesday, according to Variety.

The View co-host, who was there to deliver the annual International Icon Interview, said, “I feel like the truth doesn’t seem to matter as much these days.”

“Because there is cancel culture, people will call or text and say, ‘I’m not buying your product. This is who you have talking about your product, me and my five million followers — if you keep her — we’re not going to buy your car, or we’re not going to buy your shampoo or we’re not going to buy your toothbrush or we’re not going to buy your Pampers,” Goldberg went on.

The Oscar winner, who said she was out of work for five years after she allegedly joked about President George W. Bush in 2004, was able to restart her career when Barbara Walters offered her a hosting gig on The View.

“Lucky for me, Barbara Walters offered me a job and said, ‘Hey, would you like to do this?’” the 65-year-old comedian and TV personality recalled.  “And I was like, ‘You know, I’m not in favor in the general public.’  [Barbara] said, ‘You’ll be perfect.’”

Asked whether she considered herself as having been canceled at the time because of the Bush joke, Goldberg replied, “No.  I would describe that situation as a lot of people covering their backsides, because the joke was never about him.”

“But no one ever stood up and said, ‘Hey, here’s what actually happened.’  And they put it in the newspaper,” she continued.  “They’d never seen what I exactly said, or what I said at all.  But all somebody has to do is say you said it.”

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Attorneys for 19 Kids and Counting star Josh Duggar have asked a judge to dismiss the child pornography case against him.

E! News obtained copies of the filing, in which Duggar’s attorneys requested the court to dismiss both charges against him, that of possessing and receiving child pornography.

His attorneys argue that investigators failed to preserve “exculpatory evidence” that could have helped exonerate Duggar, 33. In addition, his legal team claims that two acting secretaries of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were not properly appointed when the Duggar investigation was unfolding, which they claim merits dismissal of the charges.

In addition to seeking dismissal, the reality star’s lawyers also requested the court prevent certain evidence from being shown in court, should it head to trial — such as statements Duggar provided police before speaking to his lawyer, as well as photos of their client’s hands and feet, which they claim were not authorized.

Duggar is accused of downloading child sexual abuse material, some of which depicts children younger than 12, and having it in his possession in May of 2019, according to the indictment.  He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to 40 years in prison.

Duggar has been the focus of several controversies over the years, starting in 2006 when he was investigated for allegedly molesting five underage girls when he was a teenager. Since then, two of his sisters — Jill, 30, and Jessa, 28 — have come forward as two of his victims.

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A family in Warwickshire, England got an unexpected visit from Tom Cruise when his helicopter landed in their garden.

The 59-year-old actor, who is in the U.K. filming Mission Impossible 7, was forced to make the emergency landing while the nearby Coventry Airport was temporarily shut down, according to BBC News.

The owner of the property, Alison Webb, says her family had only been told an unnamed VIP needed somewhere to land as the nearby airport was shut.

“It turned out to be an incredible day,” she adds. “It was surreal, I still now can’t believe it happened.”

Cruise posed for pictures and even gave a free helicopter ride to Webb’s children and her partner’s kids.

“He went straight over to the children for a chat, then came over and elbow bumped us and said thank you very much,” she revealed. “Then he said if the kids would like they could go up in the helicopter.”

Mission: Impossible 7 is expected to open in theaters on May 27, 2022.

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