Entertainment

Voicemails for Isabelle is calling, and Leah McKendrick wants you to answer.

McKendrick wrote and directed the new Netflix rom-com, which became the #1 film in the U.S. during its first weekend on the streaming service. She spoke to ABC Audio just ahead of the film’s release, where she said romantic comedies raised her.

“Longing has been a big theme in my life. Longing for my career, longing for love. And I think for a longing girl, a rom-com is her genre,” McKendrick said. “I believe that rom-coms are for everybody, but I think the girls really own that. And are unabashed about it.”

The rom-com follows a young chef named Jill (Zoey Deutch), who copes with the loss of her sister and best friend, Isabelle (Ciara Bravo), by leaving her voicemails describing her chaotic life.

McKendrick says the idea for this story came from her relationship with her own sister.

“My little sister is my first love and true love, and I feel like she’s the one that taught me what that even looks like,” McKendrick said. “When she was in college in New York and I was struggling for my dreams in LA, I would call her and leave these rambling voicemails.”

The voicemails featured McKendrick “crying about the job I didn’t get, the guy that I went on a bad date with or boy problems” — the list goes on and on.

“It’s really hard to curate a voicemail. I think it’s a stream of consciousness, especially if you’re talking to your sister,” McKendrick said. “I just thought, ‘I want a love story where a man falls in love with her for her heart and not for the way that she looks or the boxes that she checks or the chemistry that they have when they meet.’ It’s just really just him witnessing her.”

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A second ransom note received by a Tucson, Arizona, television station following the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie said she died shortly after her abduction, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, was kidnapped from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of Feb. 1.

In the days after Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, various ransom notes were sent to the media.

The Guthrie family received two notes that were sent to Tucson media outlets that investigators deemed potentially credible and the FBI had tried to trace their origin.

The first note demanded cryptocurrency for Nancy Guthrie’s return. The second note, according to sources, said she had died shortly after she was taken and was buried in nature.

The notes were received within days of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, but ABC News has not previously disclosed the contents of the second note.

Shortly after receiving the second note, Savannah Guthrie posted a statement in a Feb. 7 Instagram post.

“We received your message and we understand,” Savannah Guthrie said at the time. “We beg you now to return our mother to us. … This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

Images from Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera showing a masked man at her house were released early on in the investigation, but the 84-year-old’s whereabouts remain unknown and the suspect remains unidentified.

In March, Savannah Guthrie spoke out in her first interview, telling her friend and former co-host Hoda Kotb, “Honestly, we don’t know anything.”

Savannah Guthrie said her family “cannot be at peace” without answers and she pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.

“Someone can do the right thing, and it is never too late to do the right thing,” she said.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.

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Keanu Reeves is looking to enter the world of Lego.

The actor is in negotiations to star in a live-action and animation hybrid Lego film, ABC Audio has learned. His Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley will direct him in this new film for Universal Pictures based on the popular toy franchise.

Universal Pictures had no comment when reached by ABC Audio.

While plot details are being kept under blocks, the film is said to combine animation and live-action. Jill Wilfert and Ryan Christians are set to produce it through The Lego Group.

Universal landed the rights to Lego in 2020. Several Lego films, including 2014’s The Lego Movie and 2017’s The Lego Batman Movie, were released through Warner Bros. Pictures and remain part of that studio’s library.

Reeves voices the Toy Story character Duke Caboom, who first appeared in Cooley’s 2019 sequel Toy Story 4. The actor reprised the role in the franchise’s fifth film, which is currently in theaters after its June 19 debut.

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Selena Gomez and Timothée Chalamet are teaming up with Illumination, the people who brought you the Minions films, for a new animated feature.

The movie, called Not Alone, was announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. According to  studio information distributed to multiple media outlets, Chalamet will play Joe, an introverted rocket mechanic. Gomez will play Fran, an astro-botanist who’s created the first rocket powered by plant-based fuel. Things get complicated when three aliens on the run from the law hide out in Joe’s house, where they plot to return home using Fran’s rocket. 

The voice cast also includes Allison Janney, Lamorne Morris and Brett Goldstein. The movie hits theaters in April 2027.

This isn’t the first time Gomez and Chalamet have worked together: They both appeared in the movie A Rainy Day in New York, which was released in 2020.

While Chalamet will be making his animated film debut, Gomez has voiced multiple characters in animated films, including the Hotel Transylvania series. Her most recent film role was the Oscar-winning movie Emilia Pérez. 

Chalamet, last seen in 2025’s Oscar-nominated Marty Supreme, will appear in Dune: Part Three later this year.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Selena Gomez and Timothée Chalamet are teaming up with Illumination, the people who brought you the Minions films, for a new animated feature.

The movie, called Not Alone, was announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. According to  studio information distributed to multiple media outlets, Chalamet will play Joe, an introverted rocket mechanic. Gomez will play Fran, an astro-botanist who’s created the first rocket powered by plant-based fuel. Things get complicated when three aliens on the run from the law hide out in Joe’s house, where they plot to return home using Fran’s rocket. 

The voice cast also includes Allison Janney, Lamorne Morris and Brett Goldstein. The movie hits theaters in April 2027.

This isn’t the first time Gomez and Chalamet have worked together: They both appeared in the movie A Rainy Day in New York, which was released in 2020.

While Chalamet will be making his animated film debut, Gomez has voiced multiple characters in animated films, including the Hotel Transylvania series. Her most recent film role was the Oscar-winning movie Emilia Pérez. 

Chalamet, last seen in 2025’s Oscar-nominated Marty Supreme, will appear in Dune: Part Three later this year.

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Curry Barker’s next film has landed at Universal Film Group. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Obsession director’s next film will be released by the studio along with Blumhouse Atomic Monster. The outlet describes it as an eight-figure deal for Barker to write, produce and direct his third film …

An animated Pippi Longstocking series is in the works. Variety reports that Studiocanal is teaming up with its Paddington production partner Heyday Films to develop a new animated show based on the book character. The series will focus on Pippi, who arrives in a small town and changes it forever …

We now know the celebrities who will fill in for Jimmy Kimmel and host Jimmy Kimmel Live! during his traditional summer break. Tiffany Haddish, Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo, Jelly Roll and Rosie O’Donnell are set to host the show over the summer months. The announcement was made during Kimmel’s monologue on Thursday, which was interrupted by Matt Damon, who used a Trojan horse to sneak onstage …

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The U.S. box office had a friend in the new Toy Story film.

As per Variety, Toy Story 5 debuted with $160 million, which makes it the biggest domestic opening of the year. The previous record was $131.7 million, set by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. It was also the biggest debut for any of the Toy Story films — previously, Toy Story 4 held the record with $120 million.

Toy Story 5 — which boasts a new end-credits song by Taylor Swift — scored the second-biggest opening weekend in history for an animated film. Only The Incredibles 2, which debuted with just under $183 million in 2018, earned more.

According to Box Office Mojo, last week’s #1, the new Steven Spielberg alien extravaganza Disclosure Day, slipped to #2 with earnings of $17 million — a drop-off of more than 60% from its debut. 

The horror film Obsession fell from #2 to #3. The only other new entries in the top 10 were the supernatural horror film Leviticus, at #8, and Hugh Jackman’s A24 drama The Death of Robin Hood, in ninth place.

Here are the top 10 films at the box office:

1. Toy Story 5 — $160 million
2. Disclosure Day — $17 million
3. Obsession — $14.2 million
4. Backrooms— $7.3 million
5. Scary Movie — $6.7 million
6. Masters of the Universe — $5.6 million
7. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu — $3.9 million
8. Leviticus — $2.7 million
9. The Death of Robin Hood — $2.6 million
10. Michael — $2.2 million

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Legendary director James Burrows has died, his agent confirmed to ABC News on Friday. He was 85.

Burrows is known for directing some of the most iconic shows on television, from Cheers and Taxi to Will & Grace and Frasier.

Throughout his illustrious career, Burrows won 11 Emmys and five Directors Guild of America Awards. The Directors Guild of America also honored Burrows in 2015 with a lifetime achievement award. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2006.

“Jimmy was the greatest comedic television director in the history of the medium,” his agent, Rick Rosen, said in a statement to ABC News. “He directed the most iconic, defining shows of generations. Always a gentleman, it was an absolute honor to represent him.”

Born on Dec. 30, 1940, Burrows made his mark across many television shows in the mid 1970s, directing episodes for several television series in 1975 including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis and The Bob Newhart Show.

He also helmed episodes of Laverne & Shirley, The Betty White Show, Rhoda and more, before a long stint as director for the TV sitcom Taxi starting in 1978. Burrows directed the first four seasons of the series, which focused on the everyday lives of New York City taxi drivers.

While speaking to the Television Academy in 2025, Burrows said his job as a director on Taxi was to “mold” the actors “into an ensemble.”

“I’m not sure how much the actors learned from me, but I learned a lot about how to deal with people because of that show,” he said.

Following Taxi, Burrows directed several other TV shows as well as the 1988 television movie The Nerd, prior to directing Cheers starting in 1982. He was also a co-creator on the show, and directed 237 episodes.

In 2003, Burrows told Conan O’Brien that it was a “wonderful experience.”

“It was so smooth, it was scary, how the process went,” Burrows said about the writing, cast and crew.

The show won a total of 28 Primetime Emmy Awards, with Burrows winning two for directing.

Burrows went on to direct more television shows after Cheers, including Frasier, Will & Grace and Friends.

When asked in an interview in 2003 by the Television Academy about how he wanted to be remembered, Burrows said, “That every night forever you can tune in somewhere and there’ll be a show I did.”

 ABC News’ Andrea Dresdale contributed to this report.

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The Netflix phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters celebrates the one-year anniversary of its release on Saturday, June 20. The animated film has gone on to dominate the streaming service’s “most-watched” list, global pop culture and the Billboard charts in equal measure.

Here’s a look at KPop Demon Hunters by the numbers, courtesy of Netflix:

– It’s the first title ever to spend 52 straight weeks on Netflix’s Global Top 10.

– It was the most-streamed movie of 2025, with 20.5 billion viewing minutes.

– KPop Demon Hunters’ lyric videos drew 32 million views worldwide.

– The soundtrack spent two weeks at #1 on Billboard 200, and racked up more than 15 billion streams worldwide, making it the most-streamed soundtrack of the decade. 

– The HUNTR/X song “Golden” was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, becoming the first-ever #1 by a female K-pop act, and the longest-running #1 by a female group in this century. It was also the fastest song to reach a billion streams on Spotify.

– In addition to “Golden,” the soundtrack also sent three other songs into the top 10 simultaneously: “Your Idol,” “Soda Pop” and “How It’s Done.”

– At the Oscars earlier this year, KPop Demon Hunters won best animated feature, while “Golden” won best original song, making it the first K-pop song to win an Oscar. “Golden” also won the Golden Globe in the same category, and the Grammy in the category of best song written for visual media.

– Since the film’s debut, Duolingo has seen a 22% jump in Korean language learners. 

On Saturday, the official Netflix TikTok account will host a nine-hour livestream featuring multiple versions of the film, plus appearances from fans, cast members and filmmakers, live commentary and more.

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Artificial, the upcoming film by director Luca Guadagnino, will no longer be released by Amazon MGM Studios.

The studio confirmed the news to ABC Audio on Friday.

“We have the utmost respect and admiration for Luca Guadagnino as an award-winning filmmaker – not to mention a longstanding relationship that we hope to continue,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “We believe that Artificial will be better served if it were released by a different studio and are working closely with the filmmaking team to find the film a new home.”

Artificial is described as a comedic drama about the world of artificial intelligence. It explores Sam Altman’s OpenAI during a period in 2023 when Altman was fired and rehired in a matter of days. It is directed by Guadagnino from a script by Saturday Night Live alum Simon Rich.

The film’s cast includes Mark Rylance, Andrew Garfield, Yura Borisov, Monica Barbaro, Billie Lourd, Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Koch, Cooper Hoffman and Ike Barinholtz.

It would have reunited Guadagnino and Amazon MGM Studios after he directed the 2024 film Challengers for the studio, as well as 2025’s After the Hunt.

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