Brandon Sklenar gets grilled by Ryan, Hugh and Ryan’s mom for being “Blake Lively’s love interest”

Brandon Sklenar gets grilled by Ryan, Hugh and Ryan’s mom for being “Blake Lively’s love interest”
Brandon Sklenar gets grilled by Ryan, Hugh and Ryan’s mom for being “Blake Lively’s love interest”
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Ryan Reynolds just posted to social media a hilarious sketch in which he, his mom, Tammy, and Hugh Jackman grill Brandon Sklenar for playing Blake Lively‘s love interest in the upcoming film It Ends with Us.

Ryan is shown surprising Sklenar during a junket interview and at first acts suspicious toward him, making sure he referred to Blake as “Mrs. Reynolds” on set, before flagging a “very suggestive picture” of the co-stars together.

However, it becomes apparent Ryan is focused mainly on Sklenar’s backside in the picture, wondering if the hunky 1923 star is “smuggling pumpkins.”

Having lost his objectivity, Ryan is then shown hugging Sklenar for a prolonged period before deploying “Blake’s mother-in-law” Tammy to quiz Sklenar, “the man trying to replace my sweet little Gummi Bear, Ryan.”

The Deadpool star then reappears and reads one of the questions he wrote for her, asking Sklenar to replace his father, who passed away in 2015. A swooning Tammy’s all for it. “God, you’re gorgeous. It creeps up on you,” she admits.

In a third attempt to grill the actor, Ryan deploys Jackman, who starts out tough, asking why he thinks it’s OK “to be messing with my best buddy’s wife.”

Hugh menacingly explains that in Australia “you can’t even get into preschool unless you take a person’s life with your own bare hands. Twice.”

Sklenar diffuses the situation by praising Jackman and enthusing about his “triumph” in Les Misérables.

In the end, the attempt to confront Sklenar backfires completely, with all three singing his praises backstage and Jackman gushing, “I think we found the next Wolverine!”

It Ends with Us is in theaters Aug. 9.

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‘Yellowstone’ creator Taylor Sheridan popping up Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse at Vegas’ Wynn Casino

‘Yellowstone’ creator Taylor Sheridan popping up Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse at Vegas’ Wynn Casino
‘Yellowstone’ creator Taylor Sheridan popping up Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse at Vegas’ Wynn Casino
Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Taylor Sheridan has spun his Yellowstone universe into a library of shows — and also a cottage industry with his Four Sixes Ranch brand, which is about to spawn a pop-up restaurant.

The Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse will set up shop at Wynn Las Vegas beginning in September.

Brian Gullbrants, Wynn Resorts COO, touts a “one-of-a-kind experience,” adding, “This distinctive, limited-time pop-up puts an emphasis on Western authenticity paired with an unforgettable dinner and cocktail menu.”

Chef David Middleton “will focus on prime steaks and cuts from Four Sixes Ranch and American classic cocktails and decadent desserts,” according to the ad copy. “The curated menu mirrors that of a boutique steakhouse and places emphasis on ingredients local to Texas.”

Menu highlights will include “a showstopping Caviar Tower, served with potato tots, kettle chips, brioche toast, country fried chicken tenders, chive crema, deviled quail eggs, lemon zest, parsley and bacon bits,” as well as dishes showcasing the beef from Sheridan’s 260,000-acre Northern Texas ranch.

The restaurant’s beverage program will boast signature cocktails, including the Campfire Old Fashioned, “smoked tableside on a whiskey barrel stove,” among others.

Sheridan enthuses, “The passions in my life are telling stories and food and with each plate served at Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse, Chef David and I get to do both.”

Reservations will be open to the public beginning Aug. 26; first seatings will be Sept. 16.

 

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Jennifer Garner shows how she got back to “Marvel fit”

Jennifer Garner shows how she got back to “Marvel fit”
Jennifer Garner shows how she got back to “Marvel fit”
CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images

(SPOILERS FOR “DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE”) Jennifer Garner recently gave fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse at her intense training regimen for her surprise role in Deadpool & Wolverine.

The actress shared the workout video to Instagram on Monday, praising the movie’s director and co-writer Shawn Levy and writer and star Ryan Reynolds for their “crazy artistic kismet” in having her reprise her role as Elektra, a Marvel role she last played in 2005.

Garner said she and her “bestie,” stuntwoman Shauna Duggin, got to work as the 52-year-old actress “amped up” her training.

“Other than trying to convince my kids’ preschool buddies that I was secretly a ninja, I hadn’t picked up Elektra’s sais since 2004; I was fit, but not @marvel fit,” Garner joked in her caption.

“We had #SuperHeroSummer over here, twirling sais in the backyard and laughing at our sore old bodies,” she wrote, referring to her character’s signature weapon.

The video included shots of Garner lifting weights, box jumping, doing aquatic workouts and practicing with her sai.

Garner also praised Levy’s and Reynolds’ work with other actors and creatives.

“I didn’t know that Elektra and I needed an ending, but Shawn and Ryan did,” she wrote. “They are gifted in many ways, but seeing and elevating people around them is at the top of the list.”

She also shouted out her co-stars Hugh Jackman, Dafne Keen, Channing Tatum and Wesley Snipes, saying their heroic team-up was “truly like a dream,” adding “I’m proud of my friends and grateful to be up there with them.”

She concluded of being included in the box office smash, “Thank you doesn’t cut it, guys, but it’s a good placeholder until I figure out what does.”

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

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Jenna Ortega and Glen Powell could team up for JJ Abrams, and more

Jenna Ortega and Glen Powell could team up for JJ Abrams, and more
Jenna Ortega and Glen Powell could team up for JJ Abrams, and more

Deadline reports Wednesday star Jenna Ortega and TwistersGlen Powell are finalizing deals to co-star in an upcoming yet-to-be-titled JJ Abrams movie. Details of the project are being kept under wraps. Twisters, currently in theaters, stars Powell opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones. Ortega will next be seen in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to Tim Burton‘s 1988 horror comedy Beetlejuice, set to hit theaters Sept. 6 …

Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson and her production company Fifth Chance production are teaming up with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg‘s Point Grey for the upcoming comedy Par for the Course, according to Variety. Brunson co-wrote the film with Abbott Elementary writer Justin Tan and stars alongside Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s Stephanie Hsu. Plot details have not been revealed …

Actor, comedian and The Masked Singer panelist Ken Jeong has been tapped to star in an episode of Fox’s Accused for the show’s upcoming second season, according to Variety. Jeong will play a “kind-hearted jewelry store owner who confronts his wife’s secret past” in the episode titled “Eugene’s Story.” Other season 2 guest stars include Nick Cannon, Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy. Accused returns Oct. 1 …

 

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‘John Wick’ TV series follow-up in the works, Keanu Reeves attached as executive producer

‘John Wick’ TV series follow-up in the works, Keanu Reeves attached as executive producer
‘John Wick’ TV series follow-up in the works, Keanu Reeves attached as executive producer
Lionsgate

Lionsgate Television is working on a series follow-up to the John Wick films titled John Wick: Under the High Table, according to Deadline.

Franchise star Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski are attached to executive produce. Stahelski is also is set to helm the pilot episode.

The series would pick up immediately after the events of John Wick: Chapter 4, with the world of the High Table “in a tenuous position and a collection of new characters will look to make a name for themselves while some of the franchise stalwart characters remain committed to the old-world order,” thrusting the Wick universe “into a new age,” per the studio.

Lionsgate is currently shopping the series to networks and streaming services.

The billion-dollar franchise began with the release of John Wick in 2014 and spawned three sequels — Chapter 2 in 2017, Chapter 3 – Parabellum in 2019 and Chapter 4 in 2023 — as well as the 2023 spin-off show The Continental.

A fifth John Wick film is currently in development, but John Wick: The High Table won’t interfere with plans for a potential new feature installment, sources tell the outlet.

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‘Alien: Romulus’ guerilla marketing campaign sees New Yorkers struck down by facehuggers

‘Alien: Romulus’ guerilla marketing campaign sees New Yorkers struck down by facehuggers
‘Alien: Romulus’ guerilla marketing campaign sees New Yorkers struck down by facehuggers
20th Century Studios

New Yorkers are used to ignoring most stuff they see on the street, but a new guerilla marketing campaign for Alien: Romulus made even some New Yorkers pause.

Spotted by outlets including Screen Thrill, the campaign features people collapsed on the subway, hanging out of a cab window and even in the middle of Times Square, convulsing with “breathing” replicas of the alien parasites known as facehuggers covering their faces.

Back in April, Romulus director Fede Álvarez showed off his new “favorite toy,” an extremely creepy facehugger prop that can skitter around the floor via remote control.

The Romulus campaign is similar to another viral effort from 20th Century Studios, when replicas of the ape men from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes patrolled California’s Venice Beach on horseback.

Alien: Romulus hits theaters Aug. 16.

20th Century Studios is a division of ABC News’ parent company, Disney.

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Disney+ collab with Apple Vision Pro adds four Marvel movies in 3D, new NatGeo environment

Disney+ collab with Apple Vision Pro adds four Marvel movies in 3D, new NatGeo environment
Disney+ collab with Apple Vision Pro adds four Marvel movies in 3D, new NatGeo environment
Apple TV+

If you’ve got an Apple Vision Pro device and Disney+, you’ll now be able to transport yourself to Iceland’s Thingvellir National Park via VR. 

The National Geographic environment marks the first-ever immersive project for Apple Vision Pro, one that will transport users “to the unique rocky terrain of Thingvellir National Park on a snowy winter day, allowing them to explore their surroundings via interactive elements and sounds that make the space come to life.”

National Geographic’s David Miller noted, “Since its inception, National Geographic has been at the forefront of photography and has led the way in using groundbreaking technology to tell stories that inspire a deeper connection to the natural world.”

He continued, “Creating this immersive environment was a natural next step for us to take to build on that legacy and to continue enabling audiences to experience the beauty of our natural world and see places they may never go to otherwise.”

Disney+ has also released four new Marvel movies in 3D for the device: Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Users will now also be able to jump into Marvel-inspired environments, including Stark Tower high above New York City; the Scare Floor from Monsters, Inc.; and Disney’s El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Apple TV says ‘Shrinking’ will return for season 2 in October

Apple TV says ‘Shrinking’ will return for season 2 in October
Apple TV says ‘Shrinking’ will return for season 2 in October
Apple TV+

Apple TV+ has revealed its Jason Segel/Harrison Ford dramedy Shrinking will return for a 12-episode second season on Oct. 16.

Co-created by Segel and Ted Lasso writers Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, the show’s second season will debut with two installments, followed by one new episode every subsequent Wednesday until a Dec. 25 finale.

In addition to Segel and Ford, Shrinking stars Jessica WilliamsLuke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell and Ted McGinleyChrista Miller also appears, and Goldstein will pop in as a special guest star in season 2.

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‘House of the Dragon’ to end with season 4

‘House of the Dragon’ to end with season 4
‘House of the Dragon’ to end with season 4
HBO/Ollie Upton

During a press conference on Monday regarding the season 2 finale of its Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon, showrunner/co-creator Ryan Condal says the show will end after a fourth season. 

Condal says the forthcoming third season is being written, with a debut expected in “earlyish 2025.” 

The show was renewed for season 3 in June, ahead of the debut of its sophomore frame. 

Based on author George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood, the series is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and centers on House Targaryen. The HBO Original drama series includes Matt SmithOlivia CookeRhys IfansEmma D’ArcySteve Toussaint and Eve Best.

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“Homebound” David Lynch says emphysema may keep him from stepping on a set again

“Homebound” David Lynch says emphysema may keep him from stepping on a set again
“Homebound” David Lynch says emphysema may keep him from stepping on a set again
CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images

In a new interview with Sight & Sound magazine, acclaimed Twin Peaks director David Lynch says he has emphysema and as a result likely won’t direct on set ever again.

The Independent excerpted the chat, in which the 78-year-old filmmaker said he’s “homebound” as a result of the pulmonary condition.

“I’ve gotten emphysema from smoking for so long and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not,” Lynch says. “And now, because of COVID, it would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold.” What’s more, he says, “I can only walk a short distance before [running] out of oxygen.”

Lynch says he might be able to direct remotely, but added, “I wouldn’t like that so much.”

The filmmaker’s last project was 2017’s acclaimed Twin Peaks: The Return. He has a couple of projects he’s still trying to get off the ground, including the animated Snootworld and his screenplay called Antelope Don’t Run No More. “Well, we don’t know what the future will bring, but we remain hopeful,” Lynch said.

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