Entertainment

Halle Bailey is reflecting on the past year and a half since filming wrapped on the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

In an interview with The Face, the 22-year-old actress and singer, who makes up one-half of the sister duo Chloe x Halle, and who stars as Ariel in the remake of the 1989 Disney animated film, talked about the support she’s received since taking on the movie’s lead role.

“I was crying all night for two days, just staring at them in disbelief,” she said, referring to the videos of young Black girls reacting to the first teaser trailer showing Bailey as Ariel for the first time. “It just makes me feel more grateful for where I am.”

While the responses to the trailer — which dropped in 2022 at the D23 Expo — were overwhelmingly positive, it also became the target of backlash, similar to the criticism that came in 2019, when casting for the film was first announced.

Online, the hashtag #NotMyAriel was used in both instances to respond to the news.

Bailey, who recognizes the weight behind her turn as Ariel, shared how she’s handled the negativity.

“As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore,” she said. “When [my sister and I] first signed to Parkwood [Entertainment, Beyoncé‘s record label,] she was always like, ‘I never read my comments. Don’t ever read the comments.’ Honestly, when the tease came out, I was at the D23 Expo and I was so happy. I didn’t see any of the negativity.”

“I know people are like: ‘It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m her…. People don’t understand that when you’re Black, there’s this whole other community,” Bailey added. “It’s so important for us to see ourselves.”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News. 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty and waived his first court appearance after being charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting on the set of his film Rust, court officials announced Thursday.

Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were both charged last month with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.

First assistant director David Halls has already agreed to plead no contest for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. The plea agreement is pending a judge’s approval, prosecutors have said.

All three were scheduled to make their first court appearances remotely on Friday, though Baldwin and Halls filed a waiver of first appearance this week and no hearing will be held for them. Both pleaded not guilty to their charges in their waivers.

District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer also issued an order setting conditions of Baldwin’s release, including that he must not possess any firearms, not consume alcohol and have no contact with any potential witnesses unless it’s related to filming the movie.

Gutierrez-Reed’s hearing is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. MST Friday.

The charges followed a lengthy investigation into the on-set shooting, which has also spawned multiple lawsuits, including from Hutchins’ family.

In the statement of probable cause, investigator Robert Shilling said that evidence showed that Baldwin had his finger inside the trigger, and that the trigger was pulled — contradicting Baldwin’s statements. 

In Gutierrez-Reed’s charging document, Shilling claimed that the armorer’s “deviation from known standards…directly caused the fatal death of Hutchins,” including not insisting Baldwin have proper firearm training, or correcting him on “dangerous” safety violations such as pointing the weapon at people and having his finger on the trigger.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Stephen King‘s It universe is coming back to the small screen in a prequel series for HBO Max. The cable network noted that Andy Muschietti — the director behind a pair of blockbuster recent It movies — will shepherd the show tentatively titled Welcome to Derry along with his sister Barbara, who co-produced the films centering on the terrifying Pennywise the Clown.

As its working title suggests, the show will be set in Derry, the spooky town in which King’s original book and the films were set.

In an announcement, Sarah Aubrey, HBO Max’s head of original content noted, “We are thrilled to continue this iconic franchise,” calling the Muschettis “brilliant.” The show will “expand the It storytelling canvas and bring fans deeper into the terrifying, mesmerizing town of Derry,” she promised.

For their part, the Muschiettis exclaimed, “As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King’s It until the thick paperback fell to pieces. It is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our It movies. We can’t wait to share the depths of Steve’s novel, in all its heart, humor, humanity and horror.”

King noted, “I’m excited that the story of Derry, Maine’s most haunted city, is continuing.”

It was first made into a two-part miniseries for ABC in 1990, with Tim Curry playing the kid-snatching clown.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was handed another legal defeat on Thursday, when he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for a rape in Los Angeles that reportedly took place in 2013.

The sentence will be served consecutively to a 23-year prison sentence he is currently serving in New York for criminal sexual assault and third-degree rape.

The judge denied Weinstein a new trial during Thursday’s hearing, following a motion from his defense that argued his conviction was based on the improper exclusion of evidence and flawed jury instructions.

A Los Angeles jury found Weinstein guilty of three of seven counts, including one count of rape of a woman identified as Jane Doe 1, late last year. Weinstein faces up to 18 years in prison.

Weinstein was accused by four women of assaulting them in hotels between 2004 and 2013 in Los Angeles. He faced two counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault.

The 70-year-old former movie executive pleaded not guilty and has said all the encounters were consensual.

Following his conviction for rape, Jane Doe 1 said in part, “Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013, and I will never get that back. The criminal trial was brutal and Weinstein’s lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand, but I knew I had to see this through to the end, and I did.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As reported, the second season of HBO’s buzzy, Emmy-winning show The White Lotus has booted tourism to Sicily, but it has also apparently spritzed sales for a spirits company.

According to Business Insider, sales of Aperol, the main ingredient in the orange-colored bevvy quaffed by most of its characters, the Aperol Spritz, have been goosed by the acclaimed show.

The Campari Group, the company that sells the spirit, says sales of Aperol jumped 50% last year; the second season of the Jennifer Coolidge-starring show debuted in October.

The drink is so ubiquitous that the very first episode led to searches for what it was on Reddit.

For the record, an Aperol Spritz is 1 1/4 ounce of the orange bitter, two ounces of prosecco and a splash of soda water.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On Thursday, Prime Video dropped the trailer to its series The Power, based on English author Naomi Alderman‘s award-winning novel.

The streaming service teases, “Suddenly, and without warning, teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people at will. The series features a cast of remarkable characters from London to Seattle, Nigeria to Eastern Europe, as the Power evolves from a tingle in teenagers’ collarbones to a complete reversal of the power balance of the world.”

Tony winner John Leguizamo stars as a concerned dad whose daughter, played by Moana‘s Auli’i Cravalho begins to demonstrate this shocking ability; Oscar-nominated Sixth Sense star Toni Collette plays her mom, who is the mayor of Seattle.

The cast also includes Josh Charles as a military man looking to harness the power and veteran character actor Eddie Marsan (Deadpool 2, The Gentlemen).

​​The first three episodes of The Power premiere Friday, March 31, on Prime Video. New episodes will roll out every subsequent Friday until the series wraps up on May 12.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After welcoming a baby boy with husband Carter Reum, Paris Hilton is revealing his name.

“My beautiful baby boy’s name is Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum,” the former reality star revealed in an Instagram post of her reading an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, Paris, on Wednesday. “And Carter and I are so proud to welcome him into the world.”

“Phoenix has a few good pop culture reference points, but more importantly it’s the bird that flames out and then rises from the ashes to fly again,” she shared. “I want my son to grow up knowing that disaster and triumph go around and come around throughout our lives. And that this should give us great hope for the future.”

The excerpt also revealed the name Hilton has on deck for her future daughter — London.

In the caption of the post, Hilton directed fans to her podcast This Is Paris, where she shared additional details about the name, including how Pheonix’s middle name was in honor of her late grandfather, Barron Hilton.

“He was always my mentor, and I looked up to my grandfather so much, and we were so close, and I miss him every day, so I really wanted to honor him by having his name in my first son’s name,” she said.

It was announced that Hilton and Reum, who wed in November 2021, welcomed a child about a month ago.

“You are already loved beyond words,” the new mom captioned the Jan. 24 snapshot of her holding the newborn’s hand.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Plastics want that cash.

The main cast members of Mean Girls were supposed to return for a Paramount+-bound adaptation of the Broadway musical version of the hit, but Page Six reports the reunion has hit a snag over money.

While Tina Fey, the writer-co-star of the 2004 classic reportedly scored a seven-figure payday to return for the production, according to the publication, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lindsay Lohan, and Lacey Chabert were reportedly offered a “fraction” of that — an amount a source says the actresses found “disrespectful.”

Fey, it should be noted, is also writing and producing the project — in addition to reprising as Math teacher Ms. Norbury — which would naturally boost her bottom line.

That said, a source says the actresses, who have stayed friends in the years since the film became a hit, refuse to play ball unless the producers can fetch more dough. “As of now, the negotiations are stalled,” the source explains.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dancing with the Stars‘ Emma Slater and Saha Farber are ending their four-year marriage.

Slater filed for divorce from Farber on Tuesday, citing “irreconcilable differences,” according to court documents obtained by Us magazine.

The outlet reported the DWTS pros had separated back in August, though a source stated at the time that Emma and Sasha had already been apart for “many months.”

“They both have not been wearing their wedding rings and are each leading a single life,” said the insider, adding that it was a “tough decision” for the pair to make.

“It’s been a difficult time since they really care about each other and have been together for so long,” the source continued.

Slater, 34, and Farber, 38, were first linked in 2011 and initially called it quits after three years of dating in 2014. They subsequently got back together and tied the knot in 2018.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dancing with the Stars‘ Emma Slater and Saha Farber are ending their four-year marriage.

Slater filed for divorce from Farber on Tuesday, citing “irreconcilable differences,” according to court documents obtained by Us magazine.

The outlet reported the DWTS pros had separated back in August, though a source stated at the time that Emma and Sasha had already been apart for “many months.”

“They both have not been wearing their wedding rings and are each leading a single life,” said the insider, adding that it was a “tough decision” for the pair to make.

“It’s been a difficult time since they really care about each other and have been together for so long,” the source continued.

Slater, 34, and Farber, 38, were first linked in 2011 and initially called it quits after three years of dating in 2014. They subsequently got back together and tied the knot in 2018.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.