Entertainment

Emily Blunt is looking back on some of the biggest roles of her career.

The actress, who was nominated earlier this year for her first Academy Award for her performance in the 2023 blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer, sat down with Good Morning America to chat about the beloved The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and the scary A Quiet Place (2018).

Reflecting on her first day of shooting The Devil Wears Prada, Blunt called it a “nerve-racking” experience because “it was my first big movie and I didn’t know what to expect.”

“I remember how kind Annie Hathaway was to me,” she recalled of her co-star, Anne Hathaway.

“And David Frankel, the director, created such a fun environment,” she added. “You could improv, you could chuck in a thing you wanted in there, and there were no mistakes.”

One thing she said stuck out to her about her first day on set was how she “fell practically on Meryl Streep” during a scene that required her to run down a corridor in high heels, which she admitted she is “not very good at walking in.”

“I just fell over, clipboard and all, just clattering to the floor,” she said, recalling how her co-star didn’t break character.

Fast-forward 12 years later and Blunt found herself diving into a new genre — horror — by starring alongside husband John Krasinski in A Quiet Place, which Krasinski also directed.

She quickly learned “how tiring it is to be constantly hyperventilating and terrified.” But Blunt said watching Krasinski direct his first film showed her a new side of him.

“You kind of see that your partner kind of has a superpower you didn’t know they had,” she gushed. “It was really extraordinary to build that together.”

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Saoirse Ronan stars in the trailer for Steve McQueen‘s upcoming historical drama, Blitz.

Set in England during World War II, the trailer follows 9-year-old George, played by Elliott Heffernan, who embarks on a journey to return home to his mother, Rita, played by Ronan. Rita searches tirelessly for her missing son, who finds himself in great danger as he makes his way back to East London.

“You’re responsible for his safety,” Ronan’s Rita says in the trailer. “Why can’t you tell me, where’s my boy?”

Later on in the trailer, while standing in front of a crowd, Rita says, “This is for all the parents whose children have been evacuated, and for my boy, George.”

The Oscar-winning McQueen wrote and directed the Apple Original Film, which also stars Paul Weller as George’s grandfather Gerald, as well as Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine and Kathy Burke.

Blitz arrives in theaters on Nov. 1, before it streams on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22.

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It’s time to delve deeper into the psyche of The Batman villain The Penguin. The new series The Penguin debuts Thursday on HBO.

It takes place in the universe of Robert Pattinson‘s The Batman, and show creator Lauren LeFranc tells ABC Audio that its themes go way beyond the criminal in the comic books.

She says, “There’s a lot of themes about, you know, family and trauma and masculinity, and really a deeper examination overall as to what makes a monster and why do we engage with people who might be charming, but also really problematic and have darker sides to themselves.”

LeFranc says the series picks up a week after the events of The Batman, with a damaged Gotham City flooded as a result of The Riddler blowing up the seawall.

“Carmine Falcone, you know, very large, larger-than-life crime boss in The Batman, is dead,” she continues. “And that has sort of created a power vacuum. And Oz Cobb, played by Colin Farrell, seeks to fill it.”

What you won’t see in The Penguin is Pattinson’s Batman, which LeFranc hopes won’t be that big of a deal.

“I totally understand why people would want to see Batman or think that they would want to see Batman. You know, to me, I hope by the end of our show people don’t feel that way. They feel like we’ve serviced really interesting, engaging characters and that this show can stand on its own in that regard,” she shares.

Adds LeFranc, “I mean, of course we’re taking place in the same universe where Batman exists. The thing Matt (Reeves) and I would always say is that Batman is just a man, you know, and he can’t be everywhere. He doesn’t have Spidey sense, you know?”

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So what’s Ellen DeGeneres been up to lately? “I decided to take up gardening. I got chickens. Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business,” the comedian jokes in the new trailer for what’s being billed as her final stand-up special, Ellen DeGeneres: For You Approval, coming to Netflix Sept. 24. “The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind, that was the headline,” she added. Here’s the problem: I am comedian who got a talk show and I ended the show every day by saying, ‘Be kind to one another.’ Had I ended my show by saying ‘go f*** yourselves,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind.” After a bombshell 2020 expose of a “toxic” work environment behind the scenes at her eponymous talk show, where “be kind” was the mantra” …

Saturday Night Live vets Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett have landed recurring roles in season 2 of the Apple TV+ comedy series Platonic, according to Deadline. Platonic stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as “a platonic pair of former best friends approaching midlife who reconnect after a long rift,” per the streaming service. “The duo’s friendship becomes all consuming — and destabilizes their lives in a hilarious way.” A premiere date for season 2 has yet to be announced …

The trailer for Small Things Like These, Cillian Murphy‘s first film since winning an Oscar for Oppenheimer, has just been released. The movie, based on Claire Keegan‘s bestselling novel, stars Cillian as a devoted father who, while working as a coal merchant to support his family, “discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent — and uncovers truths of his own — forcing him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church,” according to the film’s official synopsis. Cillian also serves as a producer, along with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck …

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Joan Vassos‘ season of The Golden Bachelorette kicked off on Wednesday night in a special way.

The 61-year-old school administrator, mother and grandmother, who is the first ever Golden Bachelorette, met her suitors vying for her heart and bonded with them over shared interests, experiences and a love for pickleball.

Prior to meeting the men, Vassos opened up about her first love, her late husband John Vassos, who died from pancreatic cancer. Vassos said she first met him in 1983 when she was 20 and called him a “special guy” who “made me feel special and safe every single day of my life.”

“No one’s gonna replace John,” she said. “He lives in a place in my heart and in my mind that is just his. But I have a big heart and there is room for somebody else.”

“I don’t know if you could have two great loves in one lifetime, but I’m hoping,” Vassos added.

At the mansion, Vassos was introduced to the men as they each stepped out of the limos. The first gentleman she was introduced to was Pascal, 69, a salon owner from Chicago, Illinois, whose French accent she found charming.

Others who impressed Vassos during their first meeting included Chock, 60, an insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas, who arrived with a mason jar of his chicken noodle soup, Jack, 68, a caterer from Chicago, Illinois, who sang Frank Sinatra‘s “My Way” for Vassos, and David, 68, a rancher from Austin, Texas, who arrived like prince charming on a horse.

After getting to know the men more inside of the mansion during sweet one-on-one moments and a chaotic impromptu pickleball tournament with some of the men, Vassos found a connection with Keith, 62, a girl dad from San Jose, California, who arrived at the mansion in a station wagon. She gave him the first impression rose.

During the rose ceremony, Vassos stepped away when she felt overwhelmed and told host Jesse Palmer that it’s “not easy” sending some of the men home. But at the end of the night, Vassos said goodbye to five men.

See whose journey on the show continues below:

Dan, 64, a private investor from Naples, Florida
Jonathan, 61, a shipping consultant from Oakland, Iowa
Mark, 67, an army veteran from Leesville, Louisiana
Guy, 66, an ER doctor from Reno, Nevada
Charles K., 62, a portfolio manager from Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Gil, 60, an educator from Mission Viejo, California
Gary, 65, a retired finance executive from Palm Desert, California
Pascal, 69, a salon owner from Chicago, Illinois
Chock, 60, an insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas
Kim, 69, a retired navy captain from Seattle, Washington
Christopher, 64, a contractor from West Babylon, New York
Gregg, 64, a retired university VP from Longboat Key, Florida
Charles L., 66, a retired financial analyst from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jordan, 61, a sales manager from Chicago, Illinois
Bob, 66, a chiropractor from Marina Del Rey, California
Michael, 65, a retired banking CEO from Denver, North Carolina
Jack, 68, a caterer from Chicago, Illinois

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Mel Gibson is apparently scouting locations for The Resurrection, the follow-up to his 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ.

This piece of news came from the Italian-language publication ItalPress, which reported the actor, producer and director has met with Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and checked out locations on the island he governs, Malta. 

The publication says Gibson is heading up an 11-member team in conjunction with the Malta Film Commission for the sequel, which will reportedly have Jim Caviezel reprising his role as Jesus Christ. According to ItalPress, also are on the docket for Gibson and company are locations in Morocco, Italy and Israel. 

Co-written and produced by Gibson, The Passion of the Christ was for a time the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time — that is, before Ryan Reynolds put on his Deadpool suit back in 2016, a fact Reynolds in character specifically mentions in 2018’s Deadpool 2.

Gibson’s film earned more than $612 million against a budget of around $30 million.

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Saturday Night Live has revealed that Jean Smart will be the first guest host of the show’s 50th season on Sept. 28. It will mark her debut on the stage of Studio 8H.

Smart and her HBO show Hacks were honored Sunday at the 76th Emmy Awards with an upset win for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Smart picking up her sixth trophy.

Incidentally, Jelly Roll, who was featured in the Emmys in memoriam statement, will be Smart’s musical guest.

SNL also announced that stand-up comic Nate Bargatze is returning with Saturday Night Live veteran Coldplay on Oct. 5; Wicked star Ariana Grande will be Oct. 12’s guest host, with Stevie Nicks as her musical act.

The Oct. 19 show will feature Michael Keaton, with Billie Eilish returning as musical guest, while Nov. 2 show will welcome back John Mulaney, with Chappell Roan making her SNL debut.

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The trailer has dropped for Mickey 17, director Bong Joon-ho‘s follow-up to his Best Picture Oscar winner Parasite, and it stars Robert Pattinson. Or, more accurately, Pattinsons.

An adaptation of Edward Ashton‘s novel Mickey 7, the darkly comedic sci-fi film has the star playing the title role(s).

English actor Pattinson’s voice in character is unrecognizable. “Nothing was working out, and I wanted to get off Earth,” he explains in voice-over.

To that end, he signs up to be an “expendable.”

That’s a deep space exploration gig so perilous that death is common — requiring a new clone to be printed, imprinted with the previous one’s memories.

The character is shown falling into a crevasse and being attacked by aliens, all to be “born” again.

The 17 refers to how many times he’s been printed to replace the previous one, but troubles arise as Mickey starts to question his true purpose. “Even on my 17th go-round, I hate dying,” he confesses.

But he’s particularly shook when he discovers an 18th version of him, also played by the The Batman star, that emerges while Mickey 17 is still alive.

Mickey 17 also stars Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo and Naomi Ackie. It hits theaters Jan. 31.

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For a streaming movie about two bickering burglars, the upcoming Prime Video movie Brothers boasts some A-list names.

Game of Thrones Emmy winner Peter Dinklage joins Oscar nominees Josh Brolin and Glenn Close, and Oscar winners Brendan Fraser and Marisa Tomei, in the caper comedy that centers on a cache of emeralds with a large side of family dysfunction.

Oh, and there’s also an amorous orangutan named Samuel. 

The trailer opens with the diminutive Dinklage getting tossed into a bathtub and held underwater by Fraser, who asks where the stones are.

Rewinding, Dinklage explains, “Some families have a long line of dentists and lawyers. We had a long line of felons.” 

He says that since childhood, he and his “big ugly twin brother,” played by Brolin, were always stealing stuff. “I had the plans, he had the hands,” the actor narrates.

While Brolin’s character has gone straight, Dinklage proposes one last score — for the stones. 

Complicating matters is the return of their mother, played by Close. “You were gone 30 years!” Brolin says, with Close responding, “I can apologize only so much.” 

“You haven’t apologized at all,” Brolin replies.

Evidently, however, she’s needed so the trio can get their hands on the $4 million haul. 

There’s a ton of physical comedy and R-rated wordplay from director Max Barbakow — and Brolin’s character is apparently molested by the ape, requiring the embarrassed thief to slather hand sanitizer all over himself afterward. 

The movie hits Prime Video Oct. 17. 

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Broadway legend Patti LuPone is now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to a scene-stealing role as Lilia Calderu, a 450-year-old Sicilian witch in Agatha All Along. 

And while she tells Variety she still knows “nothing” about the MCU at large, she has thrown down the gauntlet with one of its newest superstars, Ryan Reynolds. 

Not Reynolds’ foul-mouthed, fourth wall-breaking character, mind you, but apparently the affable actor from Vancouver who helped save the MCU from its recent box office slump with Deadpool & Wolverine.

She hasn’t seen any Avengers movies, and confessed she didn’t want to, before adding, “Maybe I should say I want to because I want to be in the Marvel Universe.”

She explained she’d like to either play a “good witch or a villain” on the big screen, then called out Reynolds personally. “Is Deadpool, are they Marvel?” she asked. When she heard that is indeed the case, she added, “I would fight Ryan Reynolds. I have no idea what Deadpool is, but I would just fight Ryan Reynolds.”

Incidentally, LuPone told the trade she watched WandaVision three times to prepare for her role in the spin-off, which debuts Wednesday on Disney+, adding, “I finally understood a little of it.” 

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

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