Entertainment

The legendary actor James Earl Jones will be honored by BET in a prime-time special on Thursday evening, just three days after he passed away at 93 years old.

BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy, a collaboration between the network and Entertainment Tonight, will air Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and will rerun Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.

The special will stream on BET+ starting Friday.

“The tribute special will feature archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with the award-winning actor James Earl Jones at various stages of his illustrious and pioneering career,” the producers say.

They continue, “Highlighting his profound impact on both Broadway and Hollywood, [the tribute] will reflect on some of the defining moments of his life and include new interviews with colleagues and friends who have been part of his remarkable career.”

“ET was on the set of many of [Jones’] most significant projects and captured moments of the star’s extraordinary journey. The BET News & ET news special will also highlight his memorable performances, including his powerful voice work as Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King,” they add.

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The collectible company Funko is adding more toys to its Home Alone collection. 

The new toys are now available for preorder.

Of course, there are brand-new toy versions of lovable scamp Kevin McCallister, who was played by Macaulay Culkin in the 1990 movie. 

There are also alternate plastic likenesses of his enemies, the two bumbling burglars Harry and Marv, played respectively by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern in the family comedy.

Kevin gets two versions: One comes with a miniature of his famously booby-trapped home and another one shows him taking a knee, mimicking Culkin’s “Yes!” fist pump.

For their part, Marv has one version posed with his crowbar and Kevin’s iron “brand” on his forehead, and another depicts him bound by holiday ribbon. Harry is depicted captured and tied up by Christmas lights. 

Funko is also selling one of its diorama “scenes,” reenacting Kevin’s braining the bad guys with swinging paint cans as they ascend a staircase.

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Michael B. Jordan will not only star in and produce a remake of the stylish thriller The Thomas Crown Affair, Deadline says he’ll be directing it, as well.

Jordan was already attached to star in and produce the film through his Outlier Society production company, but the trade says he’ll be following his blockbuster directorial debut Creed III with the project — which, despite Amazon’s ownership of MGM Studios and MBJ’s deal with the company, won’t be released on Prime Video, but in theaters worldwide.   

The Thomas Crown Affair was initially a 1968 film starring Steve McQueen and centered on a millionaire who steals rare paintings not for money, but for a hobby. He soon gets into a cat-and-mouse game with a beautiful and smart insurance adjuster, played by Faye Dunaway in the original. 

A 1999 remake saw Pierce Brosnan as the charming thief and Rene Russo in Dunaway’s role.

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Entertainment Tonight asked legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola about the “fake review” controversy that surrounded the trailer to his forthcoming epic, Megalopolis.

As reported, a now-deleted trailer seemed to spin the lukewarm reception the film got from critics at the Cannes Film Festival by trying to claim other critics years ago hated his classics like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.

However, the apparently AI-generated quotes from real-life reviewers were fake, and the marketing company behind the campaign was dismissed by Lionsgate, which apologized.

For his part, Coppola alleges he had nothing to do with it. “You know, it was a mistake, an accident,” he said. “I’m not sure what happened.”

It’s also open to interpretation what the filmmaker meant when he said, “I know there were bad reviews, I’m the one who said they were bad reviews.” It’s not clear if he meant he’s his toughest critic, or if he’s the one who flagged the phony blurbs.

Coppola also mentioned that the pet project — for which he gathered a who’s who of stars, like Academy Award nominees Adam Driver, Shia LaBeouf and Laurence Fishburne, and Oscar winners Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman — was finally a chance for him to make a film that was truly his.

Coppola sunk a fortune of his own money into the movie.

He expressed, “When I made John Grisham‘s The Rainmaker, I took off, and I quit. And I just said, ‘I wanted to study, and … to learn what my kind of film is, whatever that might be.’ And after 14 years of that type of experimentation, I then came out and made a film that was my kind of film. So it’s not like anything you’ve ever seen.”

Megalopolis hits theaters Sept. 27.

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Prime Video just dropped an action-packed trailer to Citadel: Diana, the Italian-language spin-off of Joe and Anthony Russo‘s spy series. 

While the original series stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden — and its second season will also star What We Do in the Shadows’ Matt Berry — Diana stars Matilda De Angelis.

Citadel: Diana, like the Indian spin-off Citadel: Honey Bunny and the flagship show, centers on the titular spy agency, which was scattered by a rival one, Manticore. 

In Diana, De Angelis’ title character, a former Citadel agent, “is alone trapped behind enemy lines as a mole in Manticore” and “finally sees a way out and the chance to disappear forever” — but she has to trust “an unlikely ally … the heir of Manticore Italy and son of the head of the Italian organization.”

Along the way, she’ll hunt the people who murdered her family and tackle a multinational cabal of arms dealers developing bleeding-edge weapons of war. 

The actress goes full-on John Wick in the trailer, which features car chases, gunplay and a show-stopping chase using zip lines over European locations.

The show debuts on Prime Video on October 10.

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Bridgerton has found its newest leading lady in actress Yerin Ha.

Ha has been cast as Sophie Baek, the love interest of season 4 lead Benedict Bridgerton, played by Luke Thompson, Netflix announced Wednesday.

Ha is an Australian-born actress of Korean descent. She played Kwan Ha in Halo, the series based on the video game franchise of the same name, and can also be seen in the forthcoming Dune: Prophecy, a prequel series to the Dune films.

The streamer says Sophie Baek “has been forced to spend much of her life working as a maid for the most demanding employer in the ton. But the resourceful Sophie always finds a way to persevere through her circumstances — which will drastically change after she disguises herself to attend Violet Bridgerton’s masquerade ball and meets Benedict Bridgerton.”

“What drew me to Sophie was that she immediately has obstacles — something that she constantly has to overcome,” Ha told Tudum, “whether it’s this battle around social status or trying to hide her feelings from Benedict.”

Fans of Julia Quinn‘s Bridgerton book series will notice the character’s last name on the show is different from the page, changing from Sophie Beckett — a nod to Ha’s background.

“A name is the first bit of identity that you share with the world, and that’s why changing a name can be so powerful. To make Sophie’s name fit someone who looks like me is really empowering,” Ha said, crediting showrunner Jess Brownell for making the change.

She adds, “It’s a really nice way for me to feel like the role is fit for me, rather than me having to fit a certain mold. … So it means a lot that Jess did that for me.”

No release date has yet been announced for the eight-episode fourth season of Bridgerton.

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Netflix has tapped a dyed-in-the-wool geek to host its annual tribute to all things nerdy, its Geeked Week live finale festivities.

Joe Manganiello, who lists playing Dungeons & Dragons and collecting comics among his pocket-protector pastimes, will headline the live event that will cap off the week, held in Atlanta on Sept. 19. 

Joining him will be Cobra Kai stars Jacob Bertrand and Xolo Maridueña, the latter of whom played the superhero Blue Beetle in 2023.

The streamer’s Geeked Week kicks off on Sept. 16, offering sneak peeks of a host of forthcoming projects, including the final season of Stranger Things and a new season of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Manganiello’s Atlanta show will boast a bevy of talent, including Rebel Moon and Twilight of the Gods director Zack Snyder; Black Mirror‘s Charlie Brooker; Dallas Liu from Airbender; Finn Wittrock from Don’t Move; Jeff Ward and Matt Owens from One Piece; and Tom Sturridge and Kirby from The Sandman.

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Max’s forthcoming small-screen spin-off of the hit Dune movie franchise will be invading New York Comic Con in October. 

The streamer has announced the interactive Dune: Prophecy Experience will be unveiled at the annual event on Oct. 17 and run through Oct. 20.

The attraction “will transport participants to the mysterious world of Wallach IX, where The Voice will command them to undergo a series of trials reflecting the Sisterhood’s rigorous training methods.” 

The ad copy teases, “Those who heed the commands of the Sisterhood and successfully complete the challenges will be rewarded with exclusive NYCC swag.”
 

On that same day, at the Empire Stage at the convention center, there will be a panel discussion and the debut of a new trailer to the anticipated series. Taking part will be cast members Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Josh Heuston, Chloe Lea and Jessica Barden, as well as showrunner and executive producer Alison Schapker, and executive producer Jordan Goldberg.  

As reported, the series takes place 10,000 years before the ascension of Timothée Chalamet‘s Paul Atreides.

The series will serve as the origin story of the powerful sect known as the Bene Gesserit “during one of the most turbulent and pivotal turning points in the Dune universe’s history.”

Dune: Prophecy debuts on Max in November.

Pia Barlow, HBO and Max’s executive vice president of originals marketing, enthused, “By offering interactive experiences, panels, and special screenings, we’re bringing the epic story of the Sisterhood to life, allowing fans to connect with the series in a whole new way before its premiere this November.”

She adds, “We can’t wait for fans to dive into the world of Dune: Prophecy.”

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The first official trailer for the upcoming Donald Trump biopic, The Apprentice, has been revealed. The film chronicles “A young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan), eager to make his name as a hungry second son of a wealthy family in 1970s New York” as he “comes under the spell of Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today,” according to the film’s official synopsis. The Apprentice opens Oct. 11 …

Saturday Night Live has added three new cast members to the NBC late night show for its 50th season: Ashley Padilla, a member of the Los Angeles sketch comedy and improvisational troupe The Groundlings; stand-up comic Emil Wakim; and Jane Wickline, part of the ensemble for the popular TikTok sketch show Stapleview. Chloe Troast, a featured player last season, is leaving, along with Punkie Johnson and Molly Kearney. Saturday Night Live returns Sept. 28 …

HBO has picked up an as-yet-untitled comedy series from Bottoms star Rachel Sennott, the premium cable channel announced Tuesday. The series follows a codependent group of friends who reunite, “navigating how the time apart, ambition, and new relationships have changed them.” Sennott will next be seen in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, hitting theaters on Oct. 11 …

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Netflix has dropped the official trailer for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the second installment in Ryan Murphy‘s Monsters series.

The series, per Netflix, “explores the complex dynamics within the Menendez family, and whether the brothers were troubled individuals acting out of fear and desperation due to years of abuse, or calculating killers driven by financial gain and greed.”

In one scene, Javier Bardem’s José Menendez uses the example of a dog leash with a spiked collar to explain to his son Lyle, played by Nicholas Chavez, how pain can be used to teach it how to obey.

“Some people think those collars are cruel. But I think it’s the other collars that are cruel, ’cause they create dogs that misbehave,” he says. “I think I didn’t hit you hard enough.”

Later, Kitty Menendez, portrayed by Chloë Sevigny, reveals, “I hate my kids.” She claims they’ve turned her and her husband into parasites, and even goes as far as expressing that hatred to their faces.

“I regret having you,” she snaps. “I could have been a movie star like Kim Novak. And you’re what I got?”

Lyle and his brother, Erik — played by Cooper Koch — were convicted in 1996 of murdering José and Kitty.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story debuts Sept. 19 on Netflix.

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