Oscars hosts? The Rock is game, John Oliver decidedly not

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While it’s quite possible Jimmy Kimmel would be asked back to host the Oscars next year, since ratings for Sunday’s telecast were at a three-year-high, it’s still way too early to predict.

However, one big star is game. And another, definitely not.

On the champagne-colored carpet before Sunday night’s telecast, Variety asked Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson if he’d ever take the stage as host. “Sure,” the star said. “We’ve talked about it in the past, and maybe when the time is right … maybe if there was a co-host situation happening.” He added, “Yeah, I would love it.”

However, comedian and Last Week Tonight host John Oliver is a no, if he’s ever asked. Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers Monday night, Oliver snarked he couldn’t hide his “low-lying contempt” for the event like Kimmel apparently can, in his opinion.

“The great thing about Kimmel … you’re confident that there is this low-lying contempt for the whole event there … but he somehow doesn’t manage to poison the room with that visible contempt,” Oliver said. “And that is a kind of magic trick that I couldn’t do.”

Oliver added, “I could not, at any point, say, ‘It’s gonna be a magical night.’ These are some of the most over-praised people on Earth, and we’re gonna give them shiny trophies like they’re dogs.”

Incidentally, according to Johnson, he was the Motion Picture Academy’s “first choice” to host back in 2019, but shooting on his Jumanji reboot left him out. “Maybe one day,” he noted.

The telecast went host-free that year, after Kevin Hart was disinvited from hosting thanks to old tweets some called homophobic. Even though he apologized, he refused to return after the rebuke.

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‘The Bear’ teaser getting fans hungry for season 2

FX/Matt Dinerstein

On Sunday night during the 95th Academy Awards, the first teaser trailer for season 2 of the hit FX series The Bear dropped ahead of the show’s highly anticipated return.

The 30-second spot picks up where season 1 ended, when the show’s newly minted Golden Globe winner Jeremy Allen White, who stars as chef and restaurateur Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, closes The Original Beef of Chicagoland.

The characters, including Carmy’s family and kitchen staff, are seen packing up the old kitchen space before panning to a handwritten sign that reads “The Beef is Closed – Thank You for your Patronage.”

The first season ended with Carmy deciding to shutter the beleaguered family-run eatery and fulfill his goal of opening a new dining establishment in its place that bears his nickname — and shares the title of the show.

The caption for the video reads, “It’s not a reopening, it’s a rebirth. FX’s The Bear returns this June. Only on Hulu.”

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‘The Little Mermaid’ soundtrack will come out May 19

Walt Disney Pictures

Before fans can experience life under the sea when The Little Mermaid debuts in theaters, they can catch up on the movie’s songs the week before.

The movie’s Twitter announced the soundtrack arrives May 19 and will be packed with additional goodies, such as “new performances by the cast,” and music by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, who scored the original 1989 animated movie.

Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also worked on the music for Disney’s Encanto and Moana, contributed new lyrics to the upcoming movie. The songwriter was behind the many earworms featured in Encanto, including the viral hits “We Don’t Talk about Bruno” and “Surface Pressure.”

In addition, Encanto’s “Dos Oruguitas” was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2022 Academy Awards.

He revealed on the 2020 Oscars red carpet that he “wrote four new songs” with Menken for the upcoming flick.

The Little Mermaid album is now available to presave and preorder, but further details about the new offering are limited.

The announcement comes shortly after the film’s official trailer debuted during Sunday night’s Academy Awards, which gave fans their first full look of Halle Bailey’s Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King’s Prince Eric, Javier Bardem‘s King Triton and more.

The live action retelling of The Little Mermaid swims into theaters May 26.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

 

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Ashley Graham opens up about awkward Hugh Grant interview at Oscars

ABC

Ashley Graham is speaking out about her now viral interview with Hugh Grant at the Oscars on Sunday.

The model, 35, interviewed the movie star during ABC’s Countdown to the Oscars and was met with very short, blunt answers to her questions. The brief exchange prompted some to deem the interview as awkward and cringeworthy because of Grant’s responses.

So what’s Graham’s response to it all?

“You know what? My mama told me to kill people with kindness, so there you go,” she told TMZ on Monday.

Despite the social media debate, the former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl had a great time at the star-studded event.

“I had so much fun,” she added. “My feet hurt though.”

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‘The Bachelor’ recap: Hometowns ends with a devastating departure

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It was time for Zach to meet the families of the four remaining women on Monday’s episode of The Bachelor, which led to an emotional departure.

Zach’s cross-country adventure to meet the families kicked off in Vermont, where he met Gabbi‘s family, most of whom were a little skeptical about the possibilities of Gabbi finding her Mr. Right in the space of just a few weeks — except for her father, an “enthusiastic romantic” who believed it was possible to fall in love in just a few months — even in a day — if it’s the right person. After getting her family’s full support, Gabbi told Zach she could “definitely see a future” with him.

Zach’s next stop was New York City to meet Ariel‘s family, where he faced some tough questions, particularly from her overprotective brother, who grilled Zach on how well he really knew his sister. What’s my sister’s birthday,” he asked, followed by, “Do you know my sister’s middle name?” As expected, Zach couldn’t answer either question. 

Ariel’s dad wasn’t pleased with Zach’s admission that while he had a strong connection with his daughter, he couldn’t guarantee how he’d feel in the coming weeks. “Why am I expected to be a 100 percent while the other answer couldn’t be 25 percent,” he shared in a confessional, while telling his daughter that he would support her anyway.

Afterwards, Ariel told Zach that she was “falling” for him.

Stop number three was Charity‘s hometown of Columbus, Georgia, where some of the family’s toughest questions were for her — whether she was ready for an engagement and how she would react to not being Zach’s final pick. Charity was comforted by her mother, who said that in Zach she saw “nothing but good things.” Later, Charity told Zach that she was “falling in love” with him.

Zach’s final stop was Austin, Texas — Kaity‘s hometown — where the stakes were high following a confessional where she said her decision on whether to move forward with Zach depended solely on how her mother felt about him. After speaking with Zach, Kaity’s mother told her that he “checks all the boxes,” and that she would “one hundred percent support this moving forward.” Kaity also told Zach that she was falling in love with him.

At a highly emotional rose ceremony, Zach made what he called “the hardest decision I’m gonna have to make” and sent Charity home.

Here are the women going to fantasy suites:

Ariel, 28, a marketing executive from New York City, N.Y.
Gabriella “Gabi,” 25, an account executive from Pittsford, Vt.
Kaitlyn “Kaity,” 27, an ER nurse from Austin, Texas.

The Bachelor returns Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET when your favorite ladies from season 27 will confront Zach one last time on The Bachelor: The Women Tell All, followed by a new episode on Monday, also at 8 p.m ET on ABC.

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‘The Last of Us’ ends on another high

HBO/Liane Hentscher

Sunday night’s first season finale of The Last of Us went out on a high note in the ratings.

According to HBO Max, the show’s ninth chapter attracted a series-topping 8.2 million viewers across the streaming service and linear telecasts — that’s a 75% jump from its already strong January 15 debut.

Based on the hit PlayStation game of the same name, the series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey averaged 30.4 million viewers across its first six episodes, with the first episode approaching 40 million viewers in the U.S.

Outside of the States, the show became the most-watched series in the history of HBO Max in Europe and Latin America, the streaming service trumpeted Monday.

The Last of Us will return for a second season.

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“Last dance”: Mark Ballas announces he’s leaving ‘Dancing with the Stars’

D’Amelio and Ballas — ABC/Andrew Eccles

“I’m coming to a close tonight, this is gonna be my last dance.”

That was the word from Dancing with the Stars hoofer Mark Ballas during Sunday night’s final performance of the DWTS tour.

The 20-season veteran’s words were captured by a fan at the Pearl Concert Theater at Las Vegas’ Palms Casino Resort when he took the crowd by surprise with the announcement.

“So, I just wanna finish by saying this will be the last time you see me dance in this capacity,” Ballas said.

“I’m coming to a close tonight. This is gonna be my last dance,” he noted before introducing his dance, a freestyle with his former TV partner, Charli D’Amelio.

“I’m not saying this will be the end, but this will be the last time I will be dancing with a partner, and I wanted to finish this with Charli,” the three-time Mirror Ball Trophy winner said.

Ballas made his debut on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars in 2007, for season 5 of the long-running reality competition show. “I started this journey when I was 21, 22,” he began his address, adding, “Honestly, being able to dance and perform for you fans, you guys are the best fans.”

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Those we lost, twice: Family, fans miffed at this year’s forgotten stars in Oscars’ In Memoriam segment

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It’s nearly inevitable that in every awards show an in memoriam segment comes up short, and this year’s Oscars was no exception.

While the Motion Picture Academy explained a special QR code was shown that included some forgotten names, it wasn’t enough to salve hurt feelings.

Paul Sorvino was one of the greatest actors in cinematic history in Hollywood. It is unconscionable that he would be left out of the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars,” said the Goodfellas star’s widow, Dee Dee, in a lengthy statement obtained by ABC Audio.

Demanding an apology, she noted, “It’s a three-hour show, they can’t give a couple more minutes to get it right? Paul Sorvino gave decades to this industry and was loved by all.” She added, “A QR code is not acceptable.”

Sorvino’s Oscar-winning daughter, Mira, tweeted, “I for one am remembering Dad on this Oscars night” with a video of her embracing her father after her win in 1996.

She later added, “It is baffling beyond belief that my beloved father and many other amazing brilliant departed actors were left out.” She commented, “The Oscars forgot about Paul Sorvino, but the rest of us never will!!”

Other stars who were left out were Sorvino’s Goodfellas co-star — and Sopranos actor — Tony Sirico, Anne Heche, and actress and model Charlbi Dean, who was in the cast of the Best Picture nominee Triangle of Sadness.

Sirico died at 79 on July 8; Sorvino passed on July 25.

Heche died on August 11 aged 53 after a car accident; Dean, 32, died weeks later, also in August, after suffering from a rare infection.

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Oscar winner Brendan Fraser talks lessons learned from his ‘The Whale’ character, Charlie

ABC

Brendan Fraser‘s career comeback reached its apex Sunday evening when he reached for his Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Darren Aronofsky‘s drama The Whale.

Backstage, an emotional Fraser explained the parallels he saw between his character’s struggles in life and his own.

His character, Charlie, is a morbidly obese man trying to make amends with his daughter. Although Fraser was asked about queer representation, he explained, “Charlie is more than just a gay man: He’s a father, he’s an educator, he’s a truth-seeker.”

With tears in his eyes, Fraser expressed, “That he fell hopelessly, inconveniently in love with whomever is immaterial. He’s someone who found love, lost it, and then found it again. I think that that’s something that we can all take a page from.”

The actor continued, “And know that with perseverance, if you put one foot in front of the other, like Charlie did — go to the light — believe me, if I can do it, you can, too.”

With a laugh, and Oscar in hand, he added, “Good things will happen.”

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Rembrandts singer says ‘Friends’ theme success “killed our cool”

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The Rembrandts seemingly struck gold by performing the iconic Friends theme song, “I’ll Be There for You,” but a singer from the band says the opposite happened.

Danny Wilde, who fronted the band with Phil Solem, told The Guardian that while the song’s popularity helped him put his kids through college, it “broke up the band.”

“It all happened wildly fast,” the singer said of being approached to make the Friends theme song, explaining that the original pilot used R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People.” Wilde said execs were torn on the song choice and asked him and Solem to come up with “something with the same tempo.”

They came up with a 43-second version of the song that played when Friends premiered September 22, 1994. “It didn’t have our name on the credits. We were a pretty hip band, so stipulated that we didn’t want anyone to know we’d sold out,” said Wilde.

“But the song stuck, the show stuck and it snowballed. The record company rushed us into the studio to cut a full version,” he continued, saying the success led to them filming a music video with the cast of Friends.

“Once people realized it was us, it killed our cool vibe. We went from doing cool clubs to matinee shows where parents would bring their kids,” he said. “The song became an albatross round our necks and broke up the band for a few years.”

Looking back at the song, said Wilde, “It put my kids through college and got me a beautiful home. I’m not rich but I’m comfortable … I might be living on the streets if it wasn’t for that song.”

He and Solem have since reformed their band and now play at Friends anniversary shows. “If people are willing to pay you to do something you’re proud of, why not?” he said.

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