Entertainment

Our first look at Transformers One is here, and it’s out of this world — literally.

The film, the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, debuted in space Thursday morning before dropping online.

“Before he was Optimus Prime, he was Orion Pax. Before he was Megatron, he was D-16,” onscreen text reads. “Every transformer has an origin.”

Transformers One is billed as “the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever,” according to a synopsis.

The film features a stacked voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm.

Transformers One lands in theaters on earth on September 20.

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Michael Douglas, who played Dr. Hank Pym in Marvel’s Ant-Man movies, asked to have his character killed off in the third installment, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

The 79-year-old actor had told The Hollywood Reporter in February of 2023 that he would return for a fourth installment “as long as I could die.”

However, while promoting his Apple TV+ series Franklin during a recent episode of ABC’s The View, Douglas clarified his statement, saying, “This actually was my request for the third one.”

“I said I’d like to have a serious [death], with all these great special effects,” he continued. “There’s got to be some fantastic way where I can shrink to an ant size and explode, whatever it is. I want to use all those effects.”

Added Douglas, “But, that was on the last one. Now, I don’t think I’m going to show up.”

Douglas made his first appearance as Pym in the 2015’s Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd as the guy who took on Pym’s mantle as the titular shrinking superhero. Douglas went on to star in 2018’s Ant-Man and The Wasp, as well as 2023’s Quantumania.

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

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves actor Justice Smith and The Holdovers breakout star Dominic Sessa have been tapped to join Barbie actress Ariana Greenblatt in Now You See Me 3, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Original cast members Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco and Morgan Freeman are expected to reprise their roles as thieving illusionists, per the outlet. Plot details are being kept under wraps …

Apple TV+ announced it has renewed the space drama For All Mankind for a fifth season, as well as a new spin-off series, Star City. For All Mankind explores what would have happened if the global space race had never ended. Star City is described as “a propulsive, paranoid thriller that takes us back to the key moment in the alt-history retelling of the space race — when the Soviet Union became the first nation to put a man on the moon,” which explores the story from “behind the Iron Curtain, showing the lives of the cosmonauts, the engineers and the intelligence officers embedded among them in the Soviet space program, and the risks they all took to propel humanity forward” …

Following the premiere of his new HBO series The Sympathizer, Park Chan-wook has revealed his next project, a series adaptation of his 2003 movie Oldboy, according to Entertainment Weekly. “The series will feature the raw emotional power, iconic fight scenes, and visceral style that made the film a classic,” Lionsgate Television executive Scott Herbst said in a statement obtained by the outlet. A previous English-language remake of Oldboy, directed by Spike Lee and starring Josh Brolin, was released in 2013 …

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Most parents have been schooled on using social media by their tech savvy children, and evidently Ewan McGregor is one of them.

The actor on Wednesday tried to promote his and his 28-year-old daughter Clara‘s new movie, Bleeding Love, however, he had some trouble synching her video to his on Instagram.

“My Name’s Ewan, and my daughter Clara and I are unable to record our conversation here to encourage you to go see our new film Bleeding Love, which is just out in the cinemas in Britain now,” began the selfie-style video message posted to Clara’s Insta.

What follows is a fast-forward, back-and-forth chat between the pair — set to a remix of that anthem of things going wrong, the theme to Curb Your Enthusiasm — as they try to get on the same page with the post, to no avail.

Instead, it cuts back to Ewan mid-message, abruptly continuing, “— and available on video on demand now. We think you might like it, and it’s a lovely film, and we hope you enjoy it.”

The Star Wars star adds, “That’s all I have to say, and I wish you all the best.”

Bleeding Love has the pair playing father and daughter, “on a road trip to New Mexico to bring them closer together and sort out their strained relationship.”

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On Wednesday, MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios and Paramount Network announced that the Dutton Ranch is coming back to the sold-out Stagecoach Festival.

The event runs from April 26-28 in Indio, California, and will feature some of the biggest names in country music, including Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen.

For the second year in a row, Taylor Sheridan‘s neo-Western Yellowstone will have a presence there, and so will the Dutton family spin-off 1923. “Stagecoach attendees will be transported to the Montana ranch to kick back and relax in the shade Dutton-style all weekend long,” the companies tease in a joint statement.

“Fans will have the opportunity to enjoy larger-than-life and brand-new photo moments from Yellowstone and 1923,” as well as exclusive merch, and meet and greets with cast members.

This year there will also be limited-edition co-branded Yellowstone x Stagecoach swag for sale. 

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Martin Scorsese is reportedly following up his Oscar-nominated epic Killers of the Flower Moon with two projects: one about Jesus and one about another deified figure, Frank Sinatra, that could star the legendary filmmaker’s frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio.

While Scorsese’s camp is mum, Variety reports the first project will be based on Shūsaku Endō‘s 1973 book Life of Jesus, and that Miles Teller and Scorsese’s Silence Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield could star. 

Scorsese is reportedly self-funding the project, which the trade says will get underway later this year in Israel, Italy and Egypt — however, unrest between Israel and Gaza could “prove too great of a logistical challenge,” the trade says.

As for the Sinatra film, Variety says that could prove to be a challenge on its own, as Tina Sinatra, Frank’s daughter who controls the legend’s estate, hasn’t signed off on the project. That said, the film reportedly would have DiCaprio as the Chairman of the Board and another Oscar winner, Jennifer Lawrence, playing Ol’ Blue Eyes’ second wife, actress Ava Gardner.

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On Wednesday, the 2024 Tribeca Festival announced its features lineup, boasting more than 100 entries from 114 filmmakers hailing from 48 countries.

The annual event that was co-founded by Robert De Niro and his partner Jane Rosenthal runs from June 5 through June 16 in New York City. This year’s entries include Andrew McCarthy‘s anticipated documentary Brats, starring his fellow former Brat Pack members Demi Moore, Rob Lowe and more.

Other films making their debut will be Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone starring in Jazzy, centering on her character from indie drama The Unknown Country; Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson‘s drama Daddio; and the medical thriller A Mistake, starring Elizabeth Banks.

The festival will also host animated films and documentaries, including The Cranes Call, “spotlighting war crimes investigators led by Amal and George Clooney,” and a look into the life of the late musician and producer Tim Bergling, with Avicii: I’m Tim, featuring Chris Martin and David Guetta.

The full slate, as well as ticket info, can be found on the festival’s website.

Rosenthal said in a statement, “Each year, the Tribeca Festival reflects our culture, capturing the essence of the present moment. We’re thrilled to showcase our 23rd edition, delving into captivating explorations of artificial intelligence with Demis Hassabis, thought-provoking discussions on the future of democracy, and so much more.”

She added, “Storytelling possesses a remarkable ability to bring us together, offering hope in these challenging times. We eagerly anticipate engaging with audiences on difficult yet timely subjects.”

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A day after it was announced that West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler and Heartstopper lead Kit Connor will make their Broadway debuts in Romeo + Juliet — temporarily tanking the play’s website in the process — they’re apparently at it again. 

The pair posted to the production’s Instagram a brief video greeting teasing their strictly limited engagement, which is being directed by Tony winner Sam Gold. 

“We are so excited to do our new production of Romeo and Juliet on Broadway,” Connor, wearing a black tank top, says into a mirror, which Rachel is filming on her phone. 

Zegler, smiling in a low-cut white floral summer top, replies, “Sign up if you want first access to tickets!”

The production, which will feature music from Grammy winner Jack Antonoff, will be an updated version of The Bard’s famous work about the star-crossed lovers. 

It debuts this fall.

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On Wednesday, TIME revealed its 2024 TIME 100, its annual list “of the 100 most influential people in the world,” and the world of entertainment was well represented.

As is tradition, each of the heralded personalities for the year is singled out by a colleague who sings their praises.

Ryan Reynolds, for example, salutes Michael J. Fox for his dedication to fighting Parkinson’s, which Fox suffers from and which Ryan’s late father had. “It’d be kinda lazy to simply regard him as a movie star who shaped the lives of people all over the planet,” Reynolds says of the Back to the Future star and fellow Canadian. “He’s the sum of these beautiful parts. And so many more.”

Ryan’s wife, Blake Lively, touts Oscar-nominated Barbie star America Ferrera as “everything,” explaining her breakout speech in that blockbuster introduced the world to the “friend … role model … ally” and “sister” her friends already had.

Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer said American Fiction Best Actor nominee Jeffrey Wright is “influencing a new generation of actors to go further,” and Lenny Kravitz hailed Rustin‘s Oscar nominee Colman Domingo as a “brother” to him who “does everything with such grace, humility, and gratitude.”

Elsewhere, Oscar winning director Guillermo del Toro gave animation legend Hayao Miyazaki his flowers; Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya praised actor and director Dev Patel, and Amy Poehler hailed her former SNL cast member Maya Rudolph, among others.

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Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures — the division that translated movies including Beetlejuice and Elf into Broadway musicals — will be doing the same with its 2018 hit Crazy Rich Asians.

ABC Audio has confirmed that the blockbuster’s director, Jon M. Chu, is aboard for the adaptation, which would mark his Broadway debut.

That said, Chu has a fitting resume: The director called the shots on the staged musical-turned 2021 musical film In The Heights, and he’s also behind a big-screen version of the Broadway smash Wicked, which coincidentally stars his former Crazy Rich Asians leading lady Michelle Yeoh.

Based on the movie, which was adapted from Kevin Kwan‘s 2013 bestselling book trilogy, Crazy Rich Asians “takes a fun, engaging and hilarious look at what can happen when young love collides with old money.”

The film version starred Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Yeoh, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina and Ken Jeong, and went on to make more than $237 million worldwide.

The Broadway version will be written by award-winning Japanese playwright Leah Nanako Winkler and will feature music by Tony nominee Helen Park and lyrics by Tony-nominated Broadway vet Amanda Green and Los Angeles-based Singaporean record producer and songwriter Tat Tong.

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