Entertainment

Marvel Studios just debuted a video to commemorate the 85th birthday of Marvel Comics, honoring the creatives and their characters upon which the Marvel Cinematic Universe was built.

The video features interview snippets with the late Stan Lee, long the public face of the company, as well as Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, Angela Bassett — the first performer to be nominated for an Academy Award for a Marvel movie — and more.

There are also clips of now-classic Marvel movies like 2008’s Iron Man, 2012’s The Avengers and 2016’s Black Panther, plus sneak peeks of forthcoming films like Captain America: Brave New World, the team-up Thunderbolts, and Disney+ shows Daredevil: Reborn and the Wakanda Forever spin-off series Ironheart.

The comics label began in 1939 as Timely Comics, but was rebranded Marvel Comics in June 1961. Shortly thereafter, it created characters that became classics.

“I often look back at the 1960s and the famous Marvel Bullpen with Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko creating Spider-Man, The Avengers, The X-Men and The Fantastic Four,” Feige says. “‘The House of Ideas’ — it’s called that for a reason.”

The end of the clip features Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell and Hannah John-Kamen suited up in a scene from 2025’s Thunderbolts, plus the longest peek yet of Harrison Ford‘s President Thaddeus Ross transforming into his alter ego Red Hulk from Anthony Mackie‘s first movie as Captain America, which debuts in February 2025.

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

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If you think you’ve seen lot of stars getting into the liquor business, you’re not wrong. According to the food and wine streaming network SOMM TV, there were less than 40 such celeb-backed booze brands in 2018. But by 2022, that number had ballooned to 350 — a nearly 800% increase.

The reason? Well, money, of course: Unite Hospitality revealed that customers pay an average of 73% more for a celebrity-backed brand — and it seems Kendall Jenner‘s decision to start a tequila brand in 2021 is paying off. 

The marketing experts QR Code Generator looked into 150 star-backed brands’ Instagram followers and Google searches from American consumers, and Jenner’s 818 Tequila topped the list. The analysts found it generates more than 76,000 Google searches a month and has more than 1.2 million Instagram followers.

If you follow Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on Instagram, you’ve certainly seen him swigging his fast-selling Teremana Tequila, which placed second. There’s an average of more than 107,000 monthly searches for the stuff, and Teremana has 780,000 Instagram followers. 

Third might be a surprise: Former Vampire Diaries siblings Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder‘s Brother’s Bond Bourbon ranked third — it has the highest Insta follower count of its competition with 1.9 million and is searched for more than 25,000 times a month. 

George Clooney and Rande Gerber‘s Casamigos Tequila was fourth with 272,000 Instagram followers and an average of 133,975 searches per month in the U.S., while Ryan Reynolds‘ Aviation American Gin placed fifth. 

The Deadpool star’s catchy ads — and copious product placement in his and wife Blake Lively‘s films — led to 345,000 Insta followers and more than 26,000 monthly searches nationwide.

Methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.

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Barry Keoghan has joined the growing cast of Netflix’s forthcoming Peaky Blinders movie. 

The streaming service just confirmed that the Saltburn and Banshees of Inisherin star will appear alongside Cillian Murphy, who is reprising as his gangster Tommy Shelby.

As previously confirmed by ABC Audio, Dune franchise veteran Rebecca Ferguson will also appear in the movie, which gets underway later this year. 

Netflix teases the film will be the “epic continuation of the multi-award-winning, six-season gangster saga.” 

Show creator — and the movie’s writer — Steven Knight previously called it “an explosive chapter in the Peaky Blinders story,” adding, “No holds barred. Full on Peaky Blinders at war.”

The series initially ran from 2013 to 2022 and was set in Birmingham, England, between 1919 and 1934. It centered on Tommy and his family making a name for themselves on the mean streets of England.

Series veteran director Tom Harper will be back behind the camera for the Murphy co-produced film.

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If you don’t have Paramount+, Paramount Network is offering folks the chance to catch up on Yellowstone before the show’s fifth season returns on Nov. 10. Its Labor Day marathon will replay the entire series so far, starting Friday at 10 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the producers of the Taylor Sheridan series gave USA Today a peek of the second half of season 5 — which at one point was thought to be its last, considering Kevin Costner announced in June he wouldn’t return as Dutton family patriarch John.

Reportedly, he won’t be appearing in any of the new episodes.

His character, who went from ranch owner to the governor of Montana, was facing impeachment as the first half of season 5 ended, a political move orchestrated by his scheming adoptive son Jamie, played by Wes Bentley. 

With news the fan-favorite couple may be carrying on the show into a sixth season, it’s no surprise Kelly Reilly‘s Beth Dutton is shown in a snap, with her husband, Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), standing behind her. 

Another photo shows Beth’s brother, Kayce (Luke Grimes), along with his wife, Monica Long (Kelsey Asbille), and their son, Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill), who grew up before the eyes of Yellowstone fans.

The second half of Yellowstone‘s fifth season starts Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.

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Paramount+ has announced that season 2 of Lioness will launch Oct. 27 with two episodes. Based on a real-life CIA program, Taylor Sheridan‘s espionage thriller follows Laysla De Oliveira as a new Lioness operative to help bring down a terrorist organization from within, according to the streaming service. Genesis Rodriguez and Morgan Freeman have been added to the season 2 cast, joining returning stars Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman and Michael Kelly …

Rebecca Ferguson has been tapped to star alongside Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy in the film adaptation of Enid Blyton‘s The Magic Faraway Tree, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film follows Polly and Tim Thompson — played respectively by Foy and Garfield — and their three children, who are forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. “There, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric occupants,” per the film’s synopsis. Ferguson will play Dame Snap, the villainous headmistress in the beloved children’s story …

Jason Biggs, best known for playing Jim in the American Pie movies, is making his directorial debut in the action comedy Getaway, according to Deadline. Biggs also stars in the movie, alongside Meaghan Rath, Arturo Castro, Justin H. Min and Anna Konkle. Getaway stars Biggs as Kevin Stanwell, an actor who is recruiting one of his friends to stage a home invasion in an attempt to save his marriage. When the plan goes awry, the couple find themselves caught up in a murder investigation. The film is currently filming in Ontario, Canada …

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Sigourney Weaver has confirmed that she’s been tapped for a role in the upcoming Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu, and she was particularly excited to meet one of the film’s big stars.

“I got to meet Grogu for the first time the other day,” she tells Deadline in an interview published on Aug. 28.

The actress didn’t spill any of the details about her character, except that she has a “very” fun part in the movie.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Weaver, who is also a veteran of the Avatar movies, tells the outlet. “I can’t say much about it right now, but it’s fun to bounce between all these different universes.”

Weaver also confirmed that she’ll be returning to the Avatar franchise for the fourth and fifth installments, telling Deadline, “Yeah, I think I’m allowed to say that.”

Looking back on the first Avatar movie, Weaver says, “I remember reading the script … and reading about these blue people with pointed ears and tails riding on these creatures through floating mountains … I couldn’t imagine any of it being shot. I honestly couldn’t imagine how he would ever make a film that looked like this and had these elements.”

She adds, “But I’m so glad for Jim [Henson], and for the success of these films, which has meant we’re able to keep making them. I just finished working on Avatar 3 earlier this month, actually, and I think the series will continue to grow and be more and more hard-hitting.”

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

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Adam Sandler joined Travis and Jason Kelce on the sibling athletes’ New Heights podcast on Wednesday to discuss the new follow-up movie to the cult classic Happy Gilmore.

Sandler revealed that at one point Travis nearly played the son of his alter ego, a hockey player who becomes an unlikely golf pro. “I was thinking, we were talking about you playing my son while we were writing it literally like six months ago,” said Sandler. “We were like, imagine if Travis was my first baby, how funny that would be.”

But Sandler has something else in mind for the NFL star in the Netflix-bound sequel. Sandler hinted, “Travis, we’re gonna have fun because the scene you’re doing is with so many great golfers, it’s going to be amazing.”

The former SNL star and stand-up comic vowed, “You’re going to be funny as hell.”

As reported, Travis made no secret of his desire to be in the film, expressing back in May on his podcast that he’d do “anything” to show up on screen.

He’s such a fan that he confessed to Sandler he’s been perfecting Happy’s trademark run-up golf drive. “I think I got the swing down,” he said. In fact, a video of him doing just that went viral.

Sandler admitted that while performing the famous swing he’s not always accurate. “I got to say when I’m doing the Happy Gilmore swing, I’m maybe one for four with that,” said Sandler.

“A little TV magic on the back end,” Travis joked.

Happy Gilmore 2 comes out next year on Netflix.

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After a scorching performance during Netflix’s roast of Tom Brady, and a hit HBO stand-up comedy special in Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die, Nikki has been tapped to host the next Golden Globes. 

The ceremony will air live on Jan. 5 on CBS. 

In a statement, Nikki declared she’s “absolutely thrilled” to be hosting the awards show, which she called “one of my favorite nights of television.”

She added, “The Golden Globes is not only a huge night for TV and film, but also for comedy. It’s one of the few times that show business not only allows, but encourages itself to be lovingly mocked (at least I hope so). (God I hope so).”

Glaser called it “an exciting, yet challenging gig because it’s live, unpredictable, and in front of Hollywood’s biggest stars (who also might be getting wasted while seated next to their recent exes).”

The show hasn’t had a host willing to really go after the stars since Ricky Gervais famously did; he last hosted in 2020.

On that note, Nikki’s statement includes, “Some of my favorite jokes of all time have come from past Golden Globes opening monologues when Tina [Fey], Amy [Poehler], or Ricky have said exactly what we all didn’t know we desperately needed to hear.”

She said, “I just hope to continue in that time honored tradition (that might also get me canceled).”

George Cheeks, the CEO of Paramount Global, said, “The Golden Globes has a rich history as a night for entertaining, provocative humor.” 

He called Glaser “a comedic force whose funny, bold and irreverent comedy will continue that legacy and further establish this special as a can’t miss event.” 

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Deadline is reporting that the estate of author Michael Crichton, the late bestselling author and one of the co-creators of ER, is suing one of the show’s stars, Noah Wyle, along with producers of an upcoming Max medical series called The Pitt.

According to the suit obtained by the trade, Crichton’s widow, Sherri, claims after a yearlong negotiation to reboot ER, Warner Bros. Television, ER‘s producer John Wells and other producers, including Wyle, walked away and “transplanted” the idea to a Pittsburgh-set medical series called The Pitt.

Warner Bros. Discovery-owned Max has already given the forthcoming series a 15-episode order.

The lawsuit states, “After negotiating unsuccessfully with Crichton’s estate for nearly a year for the right to reboot ER, Warner Bros. simply moved the show from Chicago to Pittsburgh, rebranded it The Pitt, and has plowed ahead without any attribution or compensation for Crichton and his heirs.”

It added, “The Pitt is ER. It’s not like ER, it’s not kind of ER, it’s not sort of ER. It is ER complete with the same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ER reboot.”

The lawsuit charges the producers with “breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations.”

Critchton’s camp seeks to “redress that grievous wrong and to ensure that studios are held accountable to the creators upon whose imaginations and ingenuity their successes depend.”

It also says Wells’ actions were “a personal betrayal of a 30-year friendship” with the late author, who died at 66 in 2008.

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When Demi Moore appeared in 2003’s hit Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, a lot was made of a scene that saw the actress, then 40, wearing a red two-piece — but not much else, she felt.

In a chat with Michelle Yeoh in Interview magazine, Moore expressed, “There was a lot of conversation around this scene in a bikini, and it was all very heightened, a lot of talk about how I looked. And then I found that there didn’t seem to be a place for me [in Hollywood].”

“I didn’t feel like I didn’t belong. It’s more like I felt that feeling of, I’m not 20, I’m not 30, but I wasn’t yet what they perceived as a mother,” said Moore, now 61.

She added of her career, “It was a time that felt, not dead, but flat.”

For her part, Yeoh, who is 62, replied, “Hollywood is cruel to women of that age, where you don’t find the … the characters that resonate with you anymore. It’s either, you are the mother or you’re old enough not to be sexy in their eyes.”

She added, “It’s like, why can’t a 45-year-old, a 50-year-old, or 60-year-old, be sexy? But that whole perception is undergoing a lot of change because people like you and me won’t sit back and just take it.”

This is central to Moore’s new horror movie, The Substance: She plays an aging star who goes to extremes to recapture her youth.

“That at its core is the addiction,” she says. “For Elisabeth, the drug of experiencing being loved, adored, accepted, wanted — stopping that would have equated to a death, because her value to herself as she was had bottomed out.”

The Substance hits theaters Sept. 20.

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