In brief: Anya Taylor-Joy returns to Netflix, Tim Curry’s big screen return, and more

In brief: Anya Taylor-Joy returns to Netflix, Tim Curry’s big screen return, and more
In brief: Anya Taylor-Joy returns to Netflix, Tim Curry’s big screen return, and more

Tim Curry, the actor possibly best known for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, will return to the big screen for the first time in nearly two decades in the upcoming horror film Stream, according to Variety. Curry has appeared in the films Legend, Clue and Home Alone 2, as well as playing Pennywise in the TV miniseries IT. However, following a stroke in 2012, Curry has focused more on voice acting …

Katey Sagal and Mark Harelik have been tapped to play Dr. Kureha and Dr. Hiriluk, respectively, in season 2 of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda‘s manga series One Piece, according to Deadline. The series follows the adventures of a young pirate captain — played by Iñaki Godoy — and his crew, as he tries to become the next pirate king while searching for the mythical treasure that shares the show’s title …

Anya Taylor-Joy, star of the 2020 Netflix thriller The Queen’s Gambit, is set to play the lead role in the streaming service’s upcoming adaptation of Bella Mackie’s novel How to Kill Your Family, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The book follows the story of Grace, the illegitimate daughter of a millionaire who abandoned her and her mother. She seeks revenge by killing every member of his family, saving him for last …

Netflix has announced Oct. 17 as the premiere date for season 3 of The Lincoln Lawyer, according to Deadline. The 10-episode season is based on the fifth book in Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer series, The Gods of Guilt. The series follows Manuel Garcia-Rulfo‘s Mick Haller, a defense attorney who conducts his business out of the back seat of his chauffeur-driven Lincoln. Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole and Angus Sampson also return for season 3, along with Neve Campbell and Elliott Gould

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Mark Wahlberg once encouraged his mom to “have a baby” with George Clooney

Mark Wahlberg once encouraged his mom to “have a baby” with George Clooney
Mark Wahlberg once encouraged his mom to “have a baby” with George Clooney
Fiona Hanson – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

Would you let your mother date George Clooney?

Mark Wahlberg recalls being all for the idea, even encouraging his mom to “have a baby” with the actor, in a funny story he recently shared about the time she visited him on the set of the 2000 disaster film The Perfect Storm.

Mark’s mom, Alma Elaine, who passed away in 2021, “came to the set and met George and got a picture and she had it on her wall,” Wahlberg tells Variety.

“I think she liked that picture more than she liked the picture of her own kids,” he jokes.

Wahlberg, mimicking his mom’s voice, continues, “‘Oh, [Clooney] likes me a lot. He loves me. He told me he wants to go out with me. I told him I couldn’t.'”

“She was convinced that he was hitting on her,” he says. “I said, ‘I don’t know about that, mom.'”

When his mom continued to insist Clooney was hitting on her, Mark quipped, ‘Well, f*** it, have a baby with him!'” He teased. “I want a little brother! George can be my stepfather. It’s all good!'”

Alas, the two never did actually date, and George married Amal Clooney in 2014.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“We screwed up”: Lionsgate pulls new ‘Megalopolis’ trailer after using fake “bad” Coppola reviews

“We screwed up”: Lionsgate pulls new ‘Megalopolis’ trailer after using fake “bad” Coppola reviews
“We screwed up”: Lionsgate pulls new ‘Megalopolis’ trailer after using fake “bad” Coppola reviews
L-R: Coppola and Adam Driver on the ‘Megalopolis’ set – Lionsgate/Phil Caruso

Lionsgate has pulled its brand-new trailer to Francis Ford Coppola‘s Megalopolis after it was revealed it used fabricated reviews from real critics regarding the filmmaker’s former films.

“We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and [his studio] American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process,” the studio stated. “We screwed up. We are sorry.”

The trailer began with a voice-over from co-star Laurence Fishburne who intoned, “True genius is often misunderstood.”

It then shows bad reviews allegedly earned from Coppola’s Oscar-winning epic The Godfather, claiming The Village Voice‘s Andrew Sarris called it “A sloppy, self-indulgent movie.”

Coppola’s 1979 classic Apocalypse Now was also trashed by name, as was 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the latter purportedly panned by both the late Roger Ebert and veteran reviewer Owen Gleiberman.

Variety discovered that Ebert’s alleged diss of that film — “a triumph of style over substance” — was lifted from his review of Tim Burton‘s 1989 blockbuster Batman.

Unlike Ebert, Gleiberman is still alive, and he’s none too happy, he tells the trade for which he works. “Even if you’re one of those people who don’t like critics, we hardly deserve to have words put in our mouths,” he said, noting “the whole Megalopolis trailer is built on a false narrative.”

He continues, “Critics loved The Godfather. And though Apocalypse Now was divisive, it received a lot of crucial critical support.”

Cheekily, he added, “As far as me calling Bram Stoker’s Dracula ‘A beautiful mess,’ I only wish I’d said that! Regarding that film, it now sounds kind.”

Not coincidentally, Megalopolis debuted in May at the Cannes International Film Festival to unkind reviews. Its Rotten Tomatoes score sits at 53%.

Lionsgate will release Megalopolis in theaters on Sept. 27.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Latest trailer for Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ leans into his negative reviews

Latest trailer for Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ leans into his negative reviews
Latest trailer for Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ leans into his negative reviews
Lionsgate

The saying “any press is good press” usually doesn’t extend to bad movie reviews, but in Francis Ford Coppola‘s case for his epic Megalopolis, that seems to be the strategy.

The latest trailer for the star-packed, mostly self-funded pet project from the Oscar winner begins with a voice-over from co-star Laurence Fishburne: “True genius is often misunderstood.”

It then leans into the bad reviews Coppola has gotten in the past for movies that became classics, like Apocalypse Now and even its predecessor, the Academy Award-winning epic The Godfather.

In 1972, the latter film was called “A sloppy, self-indulgent movie,” according to a review in The Village Voice.

“One filmmaker has always been ahead of its time,” Fishburne continues, presenting scenes from Megalopolis, for which Coppola assembled an impressive cast, including Oscar winners like Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight to Oscar nominees Fishburne and Adam Driver, and Emmy nominee Giancarlo Esposito.

Not coincidentally, the movie, which had its premiere in May at the Cannes International Film Festival, has already had its share of lukewarm reviews. Its Rotten Tomatoes score sits at 53%, but it remains to be seen if time — and The Motion Picture Academy, for that matter — will be kinder to it than some of those critics have been.

Lionsgate will release Megalopolis in theaters on Sept. 27.

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“Come back as what?” Robert Downey Jr. on how Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige got him back into the MCU

“Come back as what?” Robert Downey Jr. on how Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige got him back into the MCU
“Come back as what?” Robert Downey Jr. on how Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige got him back into the MCU
Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

In July, Robert Downey Jr. stunned fans by revealing at San Diego Comic-Con that he’s returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe — but as villain Dr. Doom, not Tony Stark.

Stark, of course, sacrificed himself to save the world at the climax of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and Feige has subsequently gone on the record that he didn’t want to “magically undo” that.

To The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Downey explained how that twist came to be.

He recalled that he and his producing partner — and wife — Susan Downey were chatting with the studio’s president, Kevin Feige, when he mentioned something that took the Downeys aback.

“He said, ‘It just keeps occurring to me, if you were to come back …,'” Downey said. “Susan was like, ‘Wait, wait. Come back as what?'”

“How can we not go backwards? How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we continue to beat expectations? And he brought up Victor Von Doom. I looked into this character,” the actor said.

“Later on, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right.'”

Downey said Disney CEO Bob Iger had already been made aware of Feige’s idea, reporting, “I like it.”

Four-time Marvel blockbuster directors Joe and Anthony Russo are also returning to the MCU with Downey behind Doom’s mask in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, set for 2027.

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

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ella Purnell recalls when she knew ‘Fallout’ was going to be a hit

Ella Purnell recalls when she knew ‘Fallout’ was going to be a hit
Ella Purnell recalls when she knew ‘Fallout’ was going to be a hit
Prime Video/Jojo Whilden

Ahead of the show’s 16 Emmy nominations and a renewal for season 2, Fallout star Ella Purnell found herself covered in slime and sweat — and that’s when she knew Prime Video’s video game adaptation was going to be great.

She tells Collider that the moment in question occurred when she and co-star Walton Goggins were on set, as her character Lucy and his Ghoul battled a tentacle-covered mutated aquatic creature.

“It was so tough. It was 100 degrees. Walton was sweating, because he was head-to-toe in prosthetics, and he’s wearing a shirt, a waistcoat, a jacket, and a hat. They could not have put him in more clothes if they tried,” she recalled to the website.

“It was challenging. There was slime everywhere, everyone was falling over, everyone was sweating. I was missing a shoe,” she remembers.

“And my makeup artist, Mike Harvey, he was like, ‘You know, it’s the toughest shoots that make the best shows.'”

She adds, “Even though it was so tough, and the crew was struggling, the cast was struggling, and it was very tense, we all kind of knew. And we pushed through because we knew that we were making something really cool.”

Purnell says she immersed herself in the lore of the hit video game franchise even before she zipped up Lucy’s iconic blue suit. “I’d played the games, and spent so much time researching; living, breathing, eating everything Fallout. And putting on the Vault suit for the first time, I got emotional.”

She added, “It was not lost on me how important this is, and what a special and profound opportunity I’d been given. I wanted to do it justice, and it was incredibly humbling.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Fitness guru Richard Simmons’ cause of death revealed

Fitness guru Richard Simmons’ cause of death revealed
Fitness guru Richard Simmons’ cause of death revealed
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, FILE

Fitness guru Richard Simmons‘ cause of death has been revealed.

A spokesperson for Simmons’ family, Tom Estey, provided a statement to ABC News on Wednesday confirming the death was accidental.

“This morning, Richard Simmons’ brother Lenny, received a call from the LA Coroner’s office,” began the statement. “The Coroner informed Lenny that Richard’s death was accidental due to complications from recent falls and heart disease as a contributing factor.”

The statement also said, “The toxicology report was negative,” besides the medication that was prescribed to Richard.

Richard died on July 13 at 76 years old.

“The Family wishes to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support during this time of great loss,” the statement concluded.

ABC News has reached out to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“You win some, you die some”: Netflix unveils trailer to ‘Squid Game: Unleashed’ video game

“You win some, you die some”: Netflix unveils trailer to ‘Squid Game: Unleashed’ video game
“You win some, you die some”: Netflix unveils trailer to ‘Squid Game: Unleashed’ video game
Netflix Games

Netflix is continuing its TV show-to-video game offerings with Squid Game: Unleashed, a playable adventure that puts you in the action based on the South Korean import phenomenon.

A new trailer was just unveiled at Gamescon in Cologne, Germany, and it teases the playable versions of the life-or-death challenges the track suit-wearing competitors face on the show.

Included, of course, is the popular Red Light, Green Light — the tease of which shows twitchier players gunned down for moving — as well as other games that have hopefuls dodging boulders, and trying to navigate perilous mazes and other obstacles. Wealth, or death, awaits, as reflected in a tag line seen during the preview: “You win some, you die some.”

“Making games based on hit series and films is one of the most exciting opportunities we have at Netflix,” said Bill Jackson, head of creative at Boss Fight, a Netflix Game Studio. “We’re thrilled to offer fans a new way to experience the Squid Game universe — one that combines the show’s pulse-pounding action with the immersive thrill of gameplay.”

The game is coming soon, the streaming service says.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Indy’s adventures live on in new video game ‘Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’

Indy’s adventures live on in new video game ‘Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’
Indy’s adventures live on in new video game ‘Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’
MachineGames/Lucasfilm Games/Bethesda

Harrison Ford may have had his last adventure in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but a new game will soon let you step into the well-worn boots of the world’s most famous archeologist.

Bethesda’s Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a global adventure coming to Xbox Series X/S consoles and PC on Dec. 9; it comes to PlayStation 5 in the spring of 2025.

Veteran game performer and actor Troy Baker (The Last of Us) performs Ford’s alter ego in the game.

In a new trailer, he teases, “What if I told you there’s a connection between ancient cultures around the world. The Great Circle. Does it exist? Is it the key to some lost power?”

In a behind-the-scenes video, Baker called it humbling to play the whip-cracking adventurer. “As a kid, seeing Indiana Jones in the theater for the first time was a defining moment for me,” he says. “And I never would have guessed all these years later, I would be the one wearing the hat.”

He calls it a “dream come true. A dream that I cannot wait for you to live for yourself.”

The players will have Indy facing off “against sinister forces” in the game. “From the whip and Colt to his trusty journal and camera, you’ll need everything he’s got to unravel the mystery of the Great Circle.”

The game is available for preorder now; Xbox Game Pass members can play it on day one.

Read about all of the bonus content that’s up for grabs here.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Clueless: Alicia Silverstone “alive and well” after eating a “mildly poisonous” fruit she found

Clueless: Alicia Silverstone “alive and well” after eating a “mildly poisonous” fruit she found
Clueless: Alicia Silverstone “alive and well” after eating a “mildly poisonous” fruit she found
Daniel Kroll/BSR Agency/Getty Images

Alicia Silverstone is a famous actress, but it’s obvious she was never a Girl Scout. If she had been, she’d know not to eat strange fruit one comes across in the wild.

However, that’s apparently what she did, according to a video on Instagram.

On Monday, the avowed vegan star posted a video of a fruit she came across in a garden on a London street, saying, “OK, I’ve discovered something that I can’t figure out what it is and I need your help,” adding it looks like a “tomahto.”

“I just bit into this because it was on the street, and we were discussing whether it was a tomato. It’s definitely not because look at these leaves,” she said, aiming her phone camera through a fence.

Internet sleuths quickly identified the plant as a solanum pseudocapsicum, which bears the poisonous fruit known as the Jerusalem or Christmas cherry.

Silverstone later followed her post with another stating, “Alive and well! Don’t worry… I didn’t swallow.”

Apart from the potentially hazardous practice of eating strange fruit, others just thought it was rude. “[Y]ou think it’s respectful to take something out of someones [sic] garden without their consent?? Where are your manners?” one respondent griped.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.