Entertainment

Julia Quinn, the creator and author of the beloved Bridgerton series, is weighing in on fans who are upset over a detail in the show, which strays from the book.

On Tuesday, Quinn shared a lengthy message on Instagram addressing the change, which involves the character, Francesca Bridgerton, portrayed by Hannah Dodd in season three, suggesting that she will fall in love with a woman, Michaela Stirling, in the seasons to come on the show.

Francesca’s story is told in Quinn’s sixth Bridgerton novel, When He Was Wicked.

“Dear Readers,” Quinn began and prefaced in the caption that the post contains spoilers. “Many Bridgerton fans have expressed their surprise, and for some, disappointment in the twist at the end of Bridgerton Season 3 — that Michael Stirling, with whom Francesca eventually falls in love in When He Was Wicked, would instead be Michaela.”

“Anyone who has seen an interview with me from the past four years knows that I am deeply committed to the Bridgerton world becoming more diverse and inclusive as the stories move from book to screen,” she continued. “But switching the gender of a major character is a huge change, and so when Jess Brownell first approached me with the idea of turning Michael into Michaela for the show, I needed more information before conferring my agreement.”

The author went on to say that she and Brownell, who is the Bridgerton showrunner, discussed at length over the proposed change and in the end, trusts Shonadaland’s “vision for Bridgerton.”

“I’m confident now that when Francesca has her Bridgerton season, it will be the most emotional and heart-wrenching story of the show, just like When He Was Wicked has always been the true tear-jerker of the Bridgerton book series,” she said.

“I ask that you grant me and the Shondaland team some faith as we move forward,” she added.

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s romance isn’t the only “Love Story” to come from Chiefs Kingdom.

Perhaps taking inspiration from the famous couple, Hallmark Channel has teamed up with the NFL for a new Christmas film, titled Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.

While the movie is not about Taylor and Travis, it will be filmed entirely in Kansas City, Missouri, and include scenes shot at Arrowhead Stadium.

The film follows Kansas City Chiefs superfan Alana Higman, played by Hunter King, and her family as they are the frontrunners to win the team’s Fan of the Year contest. The Chiefs’ director of Fan Engagement, Derrick, played by Tyler Hynes, is tasked to see how well Alana’s family stacks up against the other finalists, and “Sparks Fly” between the two of them. However, things take a turn when Alana’s grandfather’s vintage Chiefs good luck hat goes missing.

According to a press release, “Alana begins to doubt everything she believed about fate, destiny and even questions her future with Derrick – unless, that is, a little Christmas magic can throw a Hail Mary.”

The film is slated to release as part of Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas programming later in 2024.  

“With Hallmark and the Kansas City Chiefs both homegrown, rooted in values, tradition and community, there is a special alchemy between these two iconic organizations,” Darren Abbott, Hallmark’s chief brand officer, said. “By blending the warmth of Hallmark storytelling with the excitement of professional football, we are thrilled to give audiences a front-row seat to this community’s spirit, rich traditions, and passionate fans that define Kansas City, all wrapped up in the comforting and uplifting Hallmark way.”
 

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed the list of the hundreds of artists it has invited to join its ranks.

Among the 497 invited to join the academy on Tuesday are 29 actors, including Jessica Alba, Catherine O’Hara, Stephanie Beatriz, Kate Mara, Jason Clarke and Erika Alexander.

Additionally, recent Oscar nominees Lily Gladstone, Danielle Brooks and Sandra Hüller also received invites. Past Lives stars Greta Lee and Teo Yoo and Best Supporting Actress winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph were also invited to join the academy’s ranks.

Other notable invitees include directors Justine Triet and Celine Song, who helmed Anatomy of a Fall and Past Lives, respectively.

But I’m a Cheerleader director Jamie Babbit also received an invitation, along with Sorry to Bother You director Boots Riley and High School Musical helmer Kenny Ortega, who was invited to join under the Production and Technology sector of the academy.

According to the academy, 44 percent of its newly invited members are women and 41 percent of those who were invited belong to underrepresented communities. If everyone accepts their invites, the academy’s membership will grow to 10,910 non-voting members, with 9,934 eligible to vote on the Oscars.  

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Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are teaming up in a new action-packed adventure.

On Tuesday the trailer for Red One was released, which features the two actors on a quest to save Santa Claus.

According to a synopsis for the film, Johnson portrays the North Pole’s head of security. When Santa is kidnapped, Johnson’s character “must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter,” played by Evans, “in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.”

The trailer shows the two stars battling vicious snowmen on a beach and watching Krampus playing “Krampusschlap.”

Also starring in the Jake Kasdan-directed film are J.K. Simmons as Santa Claus, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel and Lucy Liu.

In one clip in the trailer, Liu tells Johnson, “We need to prepare for the possibility of no Christmas.”

Johnson and Evans shared the trailer of the film in a joint Instagram post on Tuesday and wrote in the caption, “We both LOVE Christmas, and took Christmas lore and Christmas legend, shook it up and flipped it on its head.”

“Just like we wanted to do to each other,” they added. “Ladies and gents, enjoy our new trailer for RED ONE and experience Christmas like never before.”

Red One arrives in theaters just in time for the holidays on Nov. 15.

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Scarlett Johansson can’t wait to headline the next Jurassic World film.

In an interview with ComicBook.com released on Monday, Johansson confirmed she is starring in Jurassic World 4.

“I am an enormous Jurassic Park fan,” Johansson said. “It is one of the first movies I remember seeing in theaters. I remember it so vividly. It was life-changing and mind blowing. I cannot express how excited I am.”

This new Jurassic World movie will be directed by Gareth Edwards from a script by David Koepp, who wrote Steven Spielberg‘s original Jurassic Park film, as well as The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Johansson says this new script, which will follow an entirely different story from the Jurassic World trilogy starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, “is so incredible.”

“David Koepp wrote it and returned after 30 years to write it and he’s so passionate about it,” Johannson said. “I’ve been trying to get into this franchise in any possible way for over 10 years. I’m like, ‘I’ll die in the first five minutes! I can get eaten by whatever! I’ll do the craft service!’ I’ll do anything for it. The fact that it’s happened in this way at this time just is actually unbelievable.”

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Jeremy Renner is showing off his scars.

A year and a half after surviving a snowplow accident that caused multiple injuries and had him on life support, Renner poses shirtless on the most recent cover of Men’s Health.

On the magazine’s cover, Renner’s scars from the accident are visible on his back, shoulders and stomach. In other photos from the cover shoot, a scar on his leg is also visible.

“I never really had scars before, they were probably more emotional, spiritual scars, you know?” Renner said in a video accompanying the photoshoot. “And now there are some physical ones. But the physical ones aren’t even from the accident, they’re just because of the accident. All those are just reminders of the beautiful, beautiful day that could have been a really bad day.”

Renner has also taken time to reflect on the accident, during which he says he momentarily died, and how he kept moving forward after the fact.

“I’m glad I’m here, and I’m going to keep feeding what you take with you: those shared experiences with those you love. It’s eternal, and you take it with you,” Renner said. “It’s connected. There’s no time, place, or space. It’s magnificent. It’s the mind’s eye. Not your vision. You don’t need vision — you’re dead. Vision is part of the stupid body thing. But the mind’s eye you take with you. You see in your mind — that’s being dead. That’s what it’s like being dead.”

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The stars of the hit comedy-drama series The Bear sat down with Good Morning America ahead of the show’s highly anticipated third season, in which the characters build closer toward chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto’s goal of earning their revamped restaurant its first Michelin star.

Last season, Carmy, played by Jeremy Allen White, transformed his family’s failing Italian beef shop into a fine dining restaurant with the help of an ambitious sous chef, a sarcastic yet dogged manager and, of course, their friends and family.

“I think that feeling of belonging and, like, loneliness, met by the need for belonging — feeling like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself — that’s such a human and universal thing,” White said of what makes this unique storyline so special.

The show has become a love letter to restaurant culture with its powerful through line rising from tragedy, tackling an array of unforeseen setbacks and transforming a group of misfits into a hardworking, cohesive culinary team led by Carmy.

“He’s so avoidant. And I think when he’s going through an experience that’s particularly traumatic, like the death of his brother — or feeling like he’s let down his new sort of found family, he’s gonna bury himself in the work,” White said.

Ayo Edebiri plays Sydney, the passionate younger sous chef who has stuck by Carmy’s side despite heated tension in the kitchen.

“I think the root of their relationship is … passion, and it’s respect, and it’s seeing that same fire,” Edebiri said. “Maybe at different levels of ignition, but they see that fire in each other, and, you know, they wanna push themselves. They wanna push each other.”

White agrees. “Carmy believes in Sydney, probably more than he believes in himself sometimes,” he said.

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Better Call Saul‘s Bob Odenkirk his inked a deal to return for the sequel to the 2021 action thriller Nobody, set to hit theaters in August 2025, according to Deadline. Plot details have not been revealed. The original film followed Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell, a former government assassin whose rage after a home invasion propels him into a violent conflict with a Russian drug lord. Nobody opened at #1 at the box office, grossing over $57 million worldwide …

Hulu is giving fans of the FX series The Bear a special treat. All 10 episodes of the Emmy-winning series’ upcoming third season will be available on the streaming service June 26 at 9 p.m. ET — three hours sooner than originally scheduled. Season 3, per FX, will follow Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, Sydney Adamu and Richard “Richie” Jerimovich — played respectively by Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach — as they fight a losing battle to elevate The Bear while trying to stay in business …

Tamayo Perry, a professional surfer, lifeguard and actor best known for his roles in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Blue Crush, died Sunday following a shark attack in Hawaii, The Honolulu Emergency Services Department revealed in a press conference via KHON-TV. He was 49. Perry’s other credits included an episode of Hawaii Five-O and as a stunt performer in the Owen Wilson surfing movie The Big Bounce …

National Geographic has greenlit a feature documentary, tentatively titled Jaws @ 50, celebrating the upcoming 50th anniversary of Peter Benchley‘s bestselling novel and Steven Spielberg‘s film adaptation, according to Deadline. The doc “will capture our endless fascination with sharks and the changing dialogue about these awe-inspiring creatures,” according to Nat Geo. It will premiere in summer 2025, the film’s 50th anniversary, on National Geographic, and stream on Disney+ and Hulu as part of Nat Geo’s annual Sharkfest event. Disney is the parent company of National Geographic, Hulu and ABC News …

Scott Evans has been tapped for a recurring role on Mindy Kaling‘s new Neflix series Running Point, according to Deadline. The comedy follows Kate Hudson‘s Isla Gordon, who takes over as president of a professional basketball team after a scandal forces her brother’s resignation. She must convince her other skeptical brothers, played by Drew Tarver and Scott MacArthur, as well as the board and the larger sports community that she’s up to the job. Evans will play Charlie, the secret boyfriend of Tarver’s Sandy Gordon. Brenda Song, Fabrizio Guido, Toby Sandeman, Chet Hanks, Max Greenfield, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Roberto Sanchez, Uche Agada and Dane DiLiegro also star, along with Insecure‘s Jay Ellis in a recurring role as the team’s head coach …

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Get your celebratory waffles ready: Eddie Murphy is returning to the land of Far Far Away.

In an interview with Collider released Monday, the actor revealed he will voice the beloved animated character Donkey in two brand-new movies set in the Shrek universe. One will be Shrek 5, and the other is a Donkey spin-off film.

In fact, Murphy says he’s already been in the recording booth for the fifth Shrek film.

“We started doing Shrek four or five months ago, I think,” Murphy said. “I recorded the first act, and we’ll be doing it this year, we’ll finish it up.”

Murphy also expressed excitement about his character finally getting to lead his own film. “Donkey’s gonna have his own movie,” he said. “We’re gonna do Donkey [movie] as well. So we’re gonna do a Shrek, and we’re doing a Donkey.”

He made sure to clarify that the two films are not being made at the same time.

“I started recording Shrek, I think it’s coming out in 2025. And we’re doing a Donkey one next,” Murphy said.

The first Shrek film released in 2001. It was the first-ever winner of the Best Animated Feature Academy Award. Its three sequels were subsequently released in 2004, 2007 and 2010.

The Shrek franchise expanded in 2011 with the release of Puss and Boots. Its sequel, Puss and Boots: The Last Wish, hit theaters in 2022. Murphy’s Donkey and Mike Myers‘ Shrek appeared in a brief, silent cameo in the movie, causing fans to speculate about a possible fifth Shrek film — one that Murphy has now seemingly confirmed.

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Mindy Kaling‘s family has gotten a little bit bigger.

The actress revealed in an Instagram post on Monday, which also marked her 45th birthday, that she welcomed a daughter in February.

“In late February I gave birth to my daughter, Anne,” she wrote in the caption of the post. “She’s the best birthday present I could’ve ever imagined.”

“When things are hard, whenever I veer towards cynicism, my three kids are such a great reminder of the pure joy in my life,” she added. “I’m so lucky I live in a place where I could do this by myself, on my own timeline. Thanks for all the birthday wishes!”

In her post, Kaling shared a sweet photo of her other two kids, Katherine and Spencer, snuggling with Anne on a blanket in the grass.

She also shared a photo of herself in a floral dress, holding her baby bump. The third image she shared was a snapshot from her hospital room with Katherine and Spencer on her hospital bed with her, perhaps before giving birth to Anne.

The actress welcomed her daughter Katherine in 2017 and her son, Spencer, in 2020.

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