Entertainment

Blumhouse, the studio behind the horror hits like The Purge franchise, M3GAN and the Insidious movies, has partnered with Peacock for Overnightmare — a real-life horrifying, interactive weekend experience. 

The companies are opening the doors to the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, the haunted spot that inspired Stephen King‘s Overlook Hotel in his classic The Shining and the 1980 Stanley Kubrick fright fest of the same name.

Taking place Oct. 18 to Oct. 20, Overnightmare is available to book now. The spine-tingling two-night stay will put guests up in a Stanley Hotel room themed to one of four Blumhouse shockers — Insidious, The Purge, Happy Death Day and Freaky. 

Also promised are “spooky spaces throughout the hotel,” as well as “nightly immersive experiences.”

The announcement says, “Come sundown, things will quite literally go bump in the night. Each evening will feature an after-dark experience as guests are pulled from their rooms for one of four personalized, fully immersive activations, inspired by each of the Blumhouse films and featuring interactive characters, narratives, and scares.”

The ad copy continues, “Experiences will be geared toward different horror levels to allow guests to face their fears no matter their terror threshold – from Freaky and Happy Death Day for those who want just a taste of the terrifying, to Insidious and The Purge for a full nightmare experience.”

There will also be two nights of exclusive screenings, including episodes of Peacock’s upcoming original thriller series Teacup, from James Wan‘s Atomic Monster studio, which hits the streamer Oct. 10.

If you’d rather be scared at home, Atomic Monster, Blumhouse and Peacock also collaborated on the screamer’s — er, streamer’s — Face Your Fears lineup of scary movies, just in time for the spooky season.

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Ian Somerhalder is opening up about his reasons for stepping away from acting.

After starring in high-profile shows like Lost and The Vampire Diaries — shows that celebrate their 20th and 15th anniversaries this year, respectively — the actor opened up in a new interview with People about why he left show business to focus on his passion projects and to raise his family.

“August 19th makes five years since I was professionally on camera as an actor/producer,” Somerhalder told the outlet. “I stepped away from that after V Wars to build these companies, launch films like Kiss the Ground, Common Ground and Ground Swell and raise my kids.”

The actor has focused on environmental activism-themed documentaries in the years since leaving Hollywood behind and shares two children with wife Nikki Reed, from the Twilight franchise.

Somerhalder said he recalled telling his management he was walking away from acting “at this sort of peak” where he “could have gone and done anything,” but that the things he’s pursuing today “mean way more to me.”

“I say this in all humility, in all respect, but I would much rather do this than go spend two months in some city, shooting a TV show away from my family or transporting my family back and forth,” he said. “I don’t need to chase awards and anything that would make me feel better about myself.”

All that said, Somerhalder said he looks back fondly on shows like Lost and The Vampire Diaries, which have garnered even bigger audiences in recent years thanks to streaming, and said he has “enormous gratitude” for them.

“That path has gotten me to where I feel most authentic anyway, which is in a pair of cowboy boots, feeding the cows and running horses.”

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Everything is not what it seems — unless it’s the official trailer for Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.

The trailer for the Wizards of Waverly Place spin-off series debuted Tuesday, and it reunites Selena Gomez with her onscreen brother, David Henrie.

Henrie takes center stage, reprising his role as Justin Russo alongside Janice LeAnn Brown‘s Billie. The series follows an adult Justin, who is married with two sons and has chosen to live a mortal life without magic. That is until his sister, Alex, shows up with the powerful young wizard Billie and asks for his help in her wizard training.

“You’re a powerful wizard. Some people see that as a threat. But I promise, I’m not gonna let anything happen to you,” Henrie’s Justin tells Brown’s Billie in the trailer.

Alkaio Thiele, Max Matenko, Taylor Cora and Mimi Gianopulos also star in the brand-new sitcom. Along with serving as an executive producer, Gomez guest stars in the series’ pilot episode.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place debuts with a two-episode premiere on Oct. 29, only on Disney Channel. The first nine episodes of the season will be available to stream on Disney+ and Disney Channel On Demand the following day, Oct. 30.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Johnny Depp was speaking about his latest directorial effort, Modi – Three Days On The Wing Of Madness, at the San Sebastian Film Festival and alluded to his messy court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard. 

When asked if he saw parallels to his life and the life of the movie’s subject, artist Amedeo “Modi” Modigliani, Depp said he did, but claims it’s not about him.

“Sure, we can say that I’ve been through a number of things here and there, but I’m alright,” he said, according to Variety.

Depp continued, “I think we’ve all been through a number of things, ultimately. … Maybe yours didn’t turn into a soap opera, televised in fact, but we all experience and go through what we go through.”

Al Pacino also stars in the film, which Depp said was “infinitely more positive” than his last directing experience with The Brave 27 years ago — and so far, critics have been more positive about this one, as well.

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Michael B. Jordan has once again teamed up with director Ryan Coogler, with whom he worked on Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther and Wakanda Forever, for a new supernatural horror film called Sinners. 

The very creepy trailer to the Prohibition-era Warner Bros. film has just dropped and shows Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers facing an unseen evil force.

The plot details are being kept under wraps, but the studio teases, “Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.”

The trailer starts with Jordan so shaken he can’t even roll a cigarette, sitting atop a crate. He’s wearing World War I dog tags and is seen opening the box, which contains an automatic rifle and other gear he would have carried overseas.

Using a Southern accent, Jordan says, “I’ve been all over this world. I’ve seen men die in ways I ain’t even know was possible. Of all the things that I’ve seen, I ain’t ever seen no demons, no ghosts, no magic — till now.”

A title card teases “A new vision of fear” from Coogler, as we see Jordan’s character take shelter in a building surrounded by slowly shambling zombie-like people. One civilian is caught outside and begs to be let in. 

Meanwhile, Jordan and the townsfolk inside arm up and get ready.

A preacher’s voice is heard saying, “You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Coogler’s Oscar-winning Black Panther composer Ludwig Göransson returns to score Sinners, which hits theaters March 7.

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Freddie Prinze Jr. is on board to appear in the follow-up film to the 1997 horror flick I Know What You Did Last Summer, ABC News has learned.

The She’s All That actor starred in the original film as Ray Bronson, a teen desperately trying to cover up a tragic accident he and his friends caused.

Prinze joins the cast of the new Sony Pictures film alongside Bodies Bodies Bodies actress Chase Sui Wonders, Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline, Tiny Beautiful Things alum Sarah Pidgeon, Atlanta and Tell Me Lies actor Tyriq Withers and The Little Mermaid star Jonah Hauer-King. The film will arrive in theaters July 18.

Jennifer Love Hewitt, who starred in the original I Know What You Did Last Summer as Julie James, is also in talks to return in the new film.

Thor: Love and Thunder co-writer and Someone Great director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is slated to direct the upcoming movie. Robinson and Sam Lansky joined forces to write the follow-up movie off of Leah McKendrick‘s draft. Neal Moritz, who has produced each installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise, as well as the original I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, is slated to produce.

I Know What You Did Last Summer which starred Hewitt, Prinze, Prinze’s now-wife Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe, followed a group of friends stalked by a hook-handed maniac after hoping to hide a tragic accident.

The film earned over $125 million worldwide and spawned the 1998 sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

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Lin-Manuel Miranda has been added to the rotating cast of Broadway’s All In: Comedy About Love, according to Broadway.com. Comedian John Mulaney will lead the first round of cast members, which includes Saturday Night Live stars Fred Armisen and Chloe Fineman, Girls5Eva‘s Renée Elise Goldsberry and Richard Kind, appearing Dec. 11-Jan. 12. The play, running at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre, features “a series of vignettes about dating, heartbreak and marriage,” adapted from short stories by Simon Rich, per the outlet …

Tamara Smart, who recently starred in Netflix’s Resident Evil, has been tapped to play Thalia Grace in the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Season 2 is based on The Sea of Monsters, the second installment in Rick Riordan‘s acclaimed book series. Thalia is described as “the Demigod daughter of Zeus who made her last stand to protect her friends at the edge of Camp Half-Blood,” per the streaming service. Smart joins series regulars Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Charlie Bushnell, Dior Goodjohn and Daniel Diemer. Disney is the parent company of ABC News …

The Tony Awards will return to New York’s Radio City Music Hall for the first time in two years when the 2025 ceremony takes place June 8, according to Deadline. The 78th celebration, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, “will recognize all of the awards categories and honor the incredible artistry of the 2024-2025 season,” per CBS. The Tony Awards will air live to both coasts on CBS and stream on Paramount+ …

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The TV sitcom Friends is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and Max is marking the occasion with a four-part competition series, titled Fast Friends.

“From racing through Rachel and Monica’s apartment to darting across Joey and Chandler’s bachelor pad and grabbing a coffee at Central Perk, fans will relive their favorite moments while being put to the test with trivia, puzzles and games that will keep even the most die-hard Friends fans on their toes,” according to the streaming service. “The winning team will be crowned the ultimate Friends fans.”

The game show will be shot at The Friends Experience: The One in New York City beginning in October.

Fast Friends will stream on Max, which is also celebrating Friends‘ 30th anniversary with bonus content, a TikTok filter, in-app surprises and more.

Friends, starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and the late Matthew Perry, premiered in 1994 and ran for 10 seasons on NBC, becoming one of the network’s biggest shows.

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Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are on a mission to save Christmas.

In Amazon MGM Studios’ new action-packed trailer for Red One, a bounty hunter, played by Chris Evans, is kidnapped and brought to the North Pole, where he is informed Santa has been abducted.

Also starring in the Jake Kasdan-directed film are J.K. Simmons as Santa and Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt and Lucy Liu, among others.

Evans and Johnson, the latter of whom plays the North Pole’s head of security, team up in the trailer for the action-comedy, which follows the duo on the search for the missing jolly man.

“Are you saying Santa Claus has been kidnapped?” asks Evans after being informed that “Red One” had been abducted.

The trailer explains Evans will be working with Johnson, whom he vocally expresses distaste for, to track down everyone’s favorite Christmas icon.

The magic of the North Pole is in full effect throughout clip as a polar bear with human qualities dominates the screen for several shots, supply closets double as portal systems and several fantasy creatures appear throughout the quest to “save Christmas.”

According to a synopsis for the film, 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.”

Red One is set to hit theaters on Nov. 15.

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Margot Robbie is teaming up with Jacob Elordi and director Emerald Fennell for an adaptation of Emily Brontë‘s classic Wuthering Heights, Variety is reporting. 

Robbie’s LuckyChap production company produced Fennell’s Saltburn, which starred Elordi, and Promising Young Woman, which netted the writer-director an Academy Award, as well as four other nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Carey Mulligan.

Fennell, incidentally, also appeared in Robbie’s blockbuster Barbie, which was also produced by the Australian actress’s company. 

Wuthering Heights is the classic story of class, love and revenge; Robbie will play the book’s Catherine Earnshaw and Elordi, Heathcliff.

According to the trade, Saltburn producer MRC is backing the project, which is in preproduction and will shoot in the U.K. in 2025.

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