Entertainment

In the past year-plus, William Shatner has recorded a couple of albums, released a movie, served as host on a couple of new shows — including History’s The UneXplained and RT America’s I Don’t Understand — and has taken up a new hobby: slaying trolls. 

The iconic Star Trek star admits to ABC Audio that, of course, he doesn’t have to spend time answering back snarkers online, but he genuinely gets a kick out of it. 

There are countless examples, but his most recent comeback was reserved for Love It or List It co-host David Visentin, who posted to him, “Red rover red rover this tweet about life as theater calls @WilliamShatner over.”

To this, Shatner responded, “David, dear boy — a couple rules of Twitter: One doesn’t post a tweet of questions, then answer their own tweet and tag me in it so I can point out how pitifully sad they are,” complete with a shrugging emoji.

Visentin’s tweet was rather benign, but Shatner often gets sharper ones — and answers in kind. He recently took a Twitter user to task for calling Shatner’s singing Elton John‘s “Rocket Man” the “worst footage I had on my hard drive.”

To him, Shatner retorted, “I looked on my timeline for the dumbest person and found him! A blue checked troll who tagged me in silly tweet and then liked his own tweet! So I blocked him!”

Shatner tells ABC Audio with a giggle, “I find it amusing.”

He adds, “And of course, you know, the stupid people…who try to do stupid things behind an anonymous shield, you have to ignore. But if you take responsibility for your thought, and argue your thought, it could be great fun!”

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Game of Thrones alums Kit Harington and Rose Leslie are notoriously private about their lives, but in a recent interview, the actors provided a rare glimpse of how their lives have changed since becoming first-time parents.

When revealing what was the most surprising thing he’s learned about being a dad, Harington, 34, told Access Hollywood, “Everyone goes, ‘Look, it’s big what you’re about to go through.’ You have no way of knowing that until it happens.”

“What surprises you is: You go, ‘Oh, this goes on forever.’ Like, you don’t get a break from it,” he continued. 

Harington said he was surprised by how his marriage improved in the months since. “Every day, I wake up and I look after this little human and now we’re part of a unit together,” he said. “I think the thing that surprises me most about fatherhood is… you are now a unit, the three of you. And that’s a whole new dynamic you need to find.”

While not revealing too much about his newborn, the upcoming Eternals star gushed, “I pretty much find every day as he grows and changes, how does that change you. It’s a beautiful thing, it really is!”

Meanwhile, Harrington appears to be in a sharing mood; he also told XM’s The Jess Cagle Show about going to rehab for stress and alcohol after his HBO hit ended.

I went through some mental health difficulties after Thrones‘ — and during the end of Thrones, to be honest — and I think it was directly to do with the nature of the show and what I’ve been doing for years,” the 34-year-old actor told the chat show host. 

“I think I took a sort of break after Thrones where I said, ‘I don’t want to work for a year. I want to really kind of concentrate on myself. I’m really happy I did that.”

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Courteney Cox just posted to her 11.6 million Instagram followers a tease of a new line of Friends merchandise, and proceeds are going to a good cause.

“[G]uys some pieces from the first ever @friends merch collection,” the actress posted, noting, “Half of my proceeds from this limited drop will benefit @ebmrf [The Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation], an LA based non-profit that’s near and dear to my heart.”

The charity is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare and debilitating genetic skin disorder.

Among the shirts, sweatshirts and other items include stylized designs of scenes from the show, including the cast at the fountain from the sitcom’s open, Phoebe playing “Smelly Cat,” Rachel, holding her first paycheck and asking “Who’s FICA?” and other Friends moments from the show’s first three seasons. 

Incidentally, among those who were first to post their support were Two Broke Girls star Beth Behrs, 90210‘s Sara Foster, and Trudie Styler, the producer wife of Sting — and a one-time Friends guest star — who noted she “will support for sure.”

The limited run of merchandise will be available for four weeks only.

 

 

 

 

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After much speculation as to whom the buyer would be, Reese Witherspoon has reportedly sold her production company, Hello Sunshine, for $900 million.

The Wall Street Journal reports a new media company led by former Walt Disney Company executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer have scooped up Hello Sunshine, with plans to purchase other high-profile content providers.

The Legally Blonde star’s company produces Reese’s Emmy-nominated hits The Morning Show for Apple TV+ and Little Fires Everywhere for Hulu, as well as HBO’s Emmy-winning Big Little Lies.

Reese’s company also produces a podcast, and is home to Reese’s Book Club.

Dedicated to “shining a light on female authorship and agency,” Hello Sunshine — which Witherspoon runs with her husband, former Hollywood agent Jim Toth, and venture capitalist Seth Rodsky — has developed into a lifestyle brand to boot.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Kathy Griffin revealed Monday that she has stage 1 lung cancer.

The 60-year-old comedian and actress shared a tweet announcing her diagnosis and said she will undergo surgery. She did not reveal when she received her diagnosis.

“I’ve got to tell you guys something. I have cancer,” Griffin wrote. “I’m about to go into surgery to have half of my left lung removed.”

Griffin continued: “Yes, I have lung cancer even though I’ve never smoked!”

She said her doctors are “very optimistic” because she said her cancer is “stage one and contained to my left lung.”

“Hopefully no chemo or radiation after this and I should have normal function with my breathing,” she wrote. “I should be up and running around as usual in a month or less.”

“It’s been a helluva 4 years, trying to get back to work, making you guys laugh and entertaining you, but I’m gonna be just fine,” she continued.

Griffin also told her followers she is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. “The consequences for being unvaccinated would have been even more serious,” she said. “Please stay up to date on your medical check ups. It’ll save your life.”

Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimates that “about 10% to 20% of lung cancers, or 20,000 to 40,000 lung cancers each year, happen in people who never smoked or smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.”

Griffin sat down with ABC News’ Juju Chang to discuss her reaction to her diagnosis, admitting she was “in shock.”

“Once a day, I’ll just turn to nobody next to me and go, ‘Can you believe this s***? Is this a b**** or what?” she said.

pic.twitter.com/XoqoudcIK1

— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) August 2, 2021

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As of last weekend, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have been a couple for over a decade.  To celebrate the milestone, the famous duo took a step back in time by recreating their first date.

In a series of adorable Instagram Story updates on Saturday, Lively revealed she had taken her husband to O Ya, a Boston-based sushi restaurant.

“If it weren’t for this place. We wouldn’t be together. No joke,” the Gossip Girl alum dished while sharing a photo of Reynolds posing by the location. “No restaurant means more to us.”

Lively, 33, revealed that the two have made a tradition of celebrating their first date every year, adding in a second update, “10 years later, we still go out on our ‘first date.’ But in much more comfortable shoes.”

The actress wore a gorgeous white and black polka dot button-down sundress and black sandals on her anniversary date, while Reynolds opted for a navy print polo over a white undershirt with dark jeans and tan sneakers. 

The Deadpool star also hailed his 10th anniversary on Saturday, taking to his Story to tease his spouse.

“Our favorite restaurant with her 4th favorite date,” he joked while sharing a selfie of the two standing outside the restaurant.

Unfortunately for him, he committed a sin by writing that caption over a portion of Lively’s outfit — so he had to re-post the photo. “Posting this again because I cut out my wife’s cute earrings. She trained me better than this,” Reynolds, 44, shared. “Sorry if I let anyone down.”

Lively and Reynolds wed in September 2012 after meeting the year prior on the Green Lantern set, on which they both starred.  They share three daughters.

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After 40 years, MTV’s Moon Person trophy is getting a makeover.

The reimagining of the familiar image coincides with the network’s 40th anniversary, which was on Sunday. While the original Moon Person features an astronaut on the moon to planting an MTV flag, the new version, designed by artist Kehinde Wiley, takes a botanical twist. 

In a statement, MTV explained, “Kehinde Wiley’s Moon Person sculpture represents inclusivity and diversity marked by the historical, environmental and nature relevance of the botanicals. The design features botanical vines seamlessly flowing up and around the figure’s legs, body, and arms as a commentary on the ethnic histories that surround America. Each intertwined vine or leaf has a different historical relevance, such as the seeds from African slaves, that are woven into the American tapestry.”

“The sculpture complements Wiley’s forthcoming series of portraits, in which he plans to create paintings featuring his subjects lying on their sides as vines encircle their bodies,” MTV added.

MTV launched on August 1, 1981 with footage of NASA’s Apollo 11 expedition, the spaceflight that landed humans on the moon in 1969. To help commemorate the moment, a life-sized version of Wiley’s Moon Person is also available for public viewing at the Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex.

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Disney’s Jungle Cruise, the action comedy based on the popular Disney theme park ride, topped the box office with an estimated $34.2 million in its debut weekend.  The movie is also available on Disney+ Premier Access, where it added an additional $30 million.

Jungle Cruise — starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt — was originally set to open a year ago, but, like many other high-profile releases, it was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The adventure film had a rougher voyage overseas, where it only managed to snag an estimated $27.6 million in 47 overseas markets, bringing its worldwide theatrical total to $61.8 million.

There’s a tight battle for second place, between newcomer The Green Knight and the M. Night Shyamalan thriller, Old.  As of Sunday, The Dev Patel-led Green Knight had the edge, delivering an estimated $6.78 million.

Meanwhile, Old, in its second week of release, slipped from first to second with an estimated $6.76 million, bringing its domestic total to $30.6 million.  The film has added $17.9 million overseas, bringing its global total to $48.5 million.

Disney also nabbed fourth place with Marvel’s Black Widow, earning an estimated $6.4 million from the box office in its fourth week of release. The film’s stateside haul now stands at just shy of $167.1 million.  Its worldwide total hovers around $343.6 million.

As with Jungle Cruise, Black Widow can also be streamed on Disney+ Premier Access, where it raked in $60 million on the streamer in its opening weekend.

Disney is the parent company of Marvel and ABC News.

Rounding out the top five is another newcomer, Stillwater.  The thriller, starring Matt Damon, delivered an estimated $5.1 million in its opening weekend.

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As an actor, sometimes you may have to cuddle up with someone who isn’t your significant other — and for Ellen Pompeo‘s husband, that was something that took some getting used to.

Pompeo, who stars as Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy, recalled how her husband reacted to her on-screen affairs with love-interest-turned-husband Dr. Derek Shepherd aka McDreamy — played by Patrick Dempsey. The actress, who’s going on 14 years of marriage with Chris Ivery, said her spouse “had no idea what he was getting into.”

“I remember in the beginning it was really hard for him,” Pompeo admitted while on July 27th episode of the Ladies First with Laura Brown podcast. “He was like, ‘This is not what I signed up for. You go to work and make out with that? I like Patrick and everything, he’s a good dude, but like really?'”

Dempsey left the popular medical drama in 2015 after 11 seasons, however, he did return as a guest star during season 17.

An 18th season of Grey’s Anatomy is set to premiere in September. 

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Taika Waititi is bringing Flash Gordon back to the big screen. The Jojo Rabbit Oscar winner, who is currently working on Thor: Love and Thunder, apparently had a change of heart while working on an animated version of the Flash Gordon property, according to producer Jon Davis.

“It was a movie that was a huge influence on him growing up,” Davis tells Collider of the New Zealand filmmaker. “It is one of his favorite movies. He initially said to me, ‘Let’s do it animated.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Then we…started developing it and he said, ‘No, let’s do it live-action.’ I said, ‘Even better.'”

Flash Gordon has influenced generations of filmmakers since Alex Raymond‘s 1930s comic strip debuted, including George Lucas, who fashioned Star Wars after the episodic theatrical serials of Flash that Lucas enjoyed in his youth.

Most famously, in 1980, Flash Gordon was converted into a campy space opera that starred Sam J. Jones as the earth athlete who finds himself fighting in an intergalactic war.

That film came to a new audience thanks to Mark Wahlberg‘s character in Seth MacFarland‘s Ted films, who, along with his teddy bear buddy, idolized Jones — who appears in the comedies.

Davis, who co-produced Disney’s just-released Jungle Cruise, tells Collider this version of Flash Gordon will be very, well, Taika. “He has the most fantastically interesting vision for this movie. And you can only know it is Taika. It is what he does. It is the way he looks at the world…He is the funniest guy in the world. And he thinks on a different plane.”

Davis continues, “This movie embraces everything that’s special about Taika, and his vision,” while noting that “it harkens in a very interesting way to the original conception from the comics.”

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