Entertainment

Fans of Prime Video’s Emmy-nominated hit The Boys got the news they have been waiting for: the show will return with a three-episode event on June 13.

New episodes will roll out weekly until the “epic” season finale on Thursday, July 18, the streamer explained.

Prime Video was evidently holding the news until Thursday, which canonically is Homelander’s birthday.

At least that’s according to shady multinational corporation Voight Industries, which created the megalomaniacal leader of The Seven: The “patriotic” supe played by Antony Starr intentionally shares a birthday with George Washington.

Prime Video says that in season 4 “the world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power.”

The streamer continues by saying Karl Urban‘s Billy Butcher has “only months to live,” likely thanks to his dabbling with the super drug Compound V last season. To boot, he has lost the super-powered son his late love Becca birthed, and he’s lost his job as the leader of his supe-fighting Boys.

“The rest of the team are fed up with his lies,” Prime Video states. “With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.”

Based on The New York Times bestselling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys also stars Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara and Colby Minifie.

Season 4 added Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry and The Walking Dead‘s Jeffrey Dean Morgan to the cast.

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Director Gareth Edwards‘ sci-fi film The Creator led the pack for live-action films at Wednesday night’s Visual Effects Awards, with the Oscar-nominated movie snagging five trophies.

The Visual Effects Society’s 22nd annual event honored the movie starring John David Washington with the night’s top prize for a live-action film, Outstanding VFX in a Photoreal Feature.

Other winners included the team that brings Rocket Raccoon to life in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; in addition to winning Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature, the James Gunn hit was awarded with the Outstanding Virtual Cinematography trophy.

Director Christopher Nolan was adamant that his Oppenheimer shy away from digital effects, and the heralded historical drama earned a trophy instead for Outstanding Practical Effects.

Other Academy Award nominees that were represented at the Jay Pharoah-hosted show included Nyad, which won the trophy for Best Supporting VFX in a Photoreal Feature, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which took home four awards, including the night’s top prize for visual effects for an animated feature.

On the TV side, HBO’s The Last of Us earned four technical awards, as well.

Additionally, actor-producer-director and real-life space traveler William Shatner was honored with the VES Award for Creative Excellence for his work both in front of and behind the camera, as well as his philanthropic endeavors. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane presented the award to the Star Trek icon.

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Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, according to a press release from the former talk show host and her medical team.

Williams, who hosted The Wendy Williams Show for more than a decade, has been open in the past about her health conditions, which included Graves’ disease and a thyroid condition.

She was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in 2023, and those diagnoses have “enabled Wendy to receive the medical care she requires,” according to the press release.

“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances,” the press release noted.

“Wendy is still able to do many things for herself,” the press release continued. “Most importantly she maintains her trademark sense of humor and is receiving the care she requires to make sure she is protected and that her needs are addressed. She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and good wishes being sent her way.”

Primary progressive aphasia is a neurological syndrome that slowly impacts language capabilities, according to the National Aphasia Association. Primary progressive aphasia it is caused by the “deterioration of brain tissue important for speech and language,” not a stroke or brain injury.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dementia is an umbrella term used to describe an impairment of a person’s ability to “remember, think or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities. Though dementia mostly affects older adults, the CDC notes it’s “not a part of normal aging” and projects there will be as many as 14 million people with dementia by 2060.

Frontotemporal dementia is the most common form of dementia and is caused by degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain, according to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. There is currently no known cure.

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A sale of Hollywood props and other memorabilia recently fetched a fortune after Studio Auctions put the treasures under the hammer.

The numbers are now in from the company’s The Force is Strong with Studio Auctions event, and the top-selling item was an R2-D2 seen in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. It sold for $587,500, five times its estimated price.

Aside from being a screen-used prop, the droid was autographed by the show’s producer-star Ewan McGregor, as well as co-stars including Hayden Christensen and Liam Neeson.

Another Star Wars piece, Yoda’s Gimer Stick from 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, sold for $125,000.

In spite of the name of the event, there were other treasures up for grabs from a galaxy closer to home: Michael J. Fox‘s iconic hoverboard from 1989’s Back to the Future: Part II fetched $187,500.

Anthony Hopkins‘ iconic Hannibal Lecter mask from 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs sold for $204,000, while Draco Malfoy’s Nimbus 2001 Quidditch broom ridden by Tom Felton in 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets went for $75,000 when the hammer fell.

Other items that were up for grabs included the famous brass balls swung by Alec Baldwin‘s brash Glengarry Glen Ross character, which went for $13,750; a three-piece suit worn by Al Pacino as Tony Montana in 1983’s Scarface, which rang up at $12,500; and Clint Eastwood‘s sunglasses from 1971’s Dirty Harry, which sold for $10,200.

Studio Auctions’ next event is slated for October 2024 and will center on props and wardrobe pieces used and worn by Hollywood icons Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe.

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On Thursday, Apple TV+ revealed the trailer for the new 12-part natural history docuseries Earthsounds, featuring narration from Golden Globe winner and Emmy Award nominee Tom Hiddleston.

The English star lends his dulcet tones to some 3,000 hours of audio, with the series “using cutting-edge technology to record our planet in brand-new ways,” its producers tease. 

Filmed across 20 countries on all seven continents, Earthsounds is “something totally unique,” Hiddleston says in the announcement. “To see, and hear, the natural world in such extraordinary, intimate detail is utterly thrilling. It inspires wonder and awe.”

According to the streamer, the “immersive” series “reveals our planet like never before – a world buzzing with unexpected, unfamiliar and untold sonic stories that we have never been able to capture – until now.”

Earthsounds will premiere all episodes globally Friday, February 23, on Apple TV+.

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Ahead of the upcoming Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, Wendy Williams‘ niece, Alex Finnie, opened up in an interview with Good Morning America.

Williams became a household name from her daytime show The Wendy Williams Show, which she hosted for 12 seasons.

Known for her signature greeting, “How you doin’?” Williams entertained a massive audience with her famous “Hot Topics” gossip segment on the show and her celebrity interviews.

Wendy’s public appearances, as well as her show, came to a rather abrupt end after producers announced the end of the talk show in February 2022, due to Williams’ prolonged health struggles, which included Graves’ disease and a thyroid condition.

Speaking to ABC News’ Deborah Roberts, Finnie admitted that the upcoming documentary detailing the reality of Williams’ life is hard to watch.

“[W]hat people are gonna see is a broken woman who has had the world on her shoulders for so long — and just cracked,” she explained.

During the two years of filming the documentary, Finnie spent days and nights with Williams where she witnessed some of the star’s low moments, including an excessive drinking habit and moments of incoherence.

When asked about criticism that the film could be exploiting Williams, Finnie told Roberts, ” … some people will look at it and think that. But I will say this, first and foremost, my aunt is the executive producer of this documentary.”

She continued, “I said to her, ‘Aunt Wendy, why are — do you wanna do this? … Is now the right time?’ And she said, ‘Now is the perfect time because I wanna take ownership of my story.'”

Where Is Wendy Williams? will debut on February 24 and February 25 on Lifetime.

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Dune star Josh Brolin is in talks to star in Weapons, Zach Cregger‘s follow-up to his 2022 horror thriller Barbarian, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Pedro Pascal was previously set to star in the film, but the writers strike created a scheduling conflict with his commitment to Marvel’s Fantastic Four, which starts shooting this summer. Weapons is described as “an interrelated, multistory horror epic that tonally is in the vein of [Paul Thomas Anderson‘s 1999 film] Magnolia,” per the outlet. Brolin will next be seen in Dune: Part Two, opening March 1. He reprises his role of war master Gurney Halleck …

Variety reports America Ferrera, who’s up for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Barbie, has found her next project. She’s been tapped to star in Paul Greengrass’ upcoming drama The Lost Bus alongside Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey. The film is based on Lizzie Johnson’s book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, about the devastating 2018 California wildfires — the deadliest in the state’s history — that resulted in over 100 deaths and destroyed most of the town of Paradise. Filming kicks off this spring …

Saturday Night Live alum Jay Pharoah has signed on to host Fox’s new game show The Quiz with Balls, according to Deadline. The quiz show, per the outlet, “pits brains against balls combining a high-stakes quiz show with a large-scale physical competition,” featuring two families competing for $100,000 in a “battle of the balls” …

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Jenna Ortega is opening up about her role in the forthcoming Beetlejuice sequel and why she’s excited to bring “weird, strange, off-putting stories” back to theaters.

The Wednesday actress stars in the Tim Burton film, titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, as Astrid, the daughter of Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder).

Ortega described her character as “weird, but in a different way and not in the same way you’d assume,” when chatting with Vanity Fair about the role.

“I wouldn’t say she’s bright and sunny at all. She doesn’t go to the opposite end of the spectrum, but any kid who becomes a teenager wants to be removed from their parents,” she said.

“I think they instantly just fight whatever it is that their parent loves. So I think it’s a little bit of that. I’m not wearing pink and a cheerleader, but I am a little bit against my mom’s history or past. We butt heads quite a bit.”

The scream queen also reflected on the impact Ryder’s character in the 1988 original film has had on her, calling her “the coolest ever.”

“So then to play her daughter and also have to be like, ‘Mom…’ and roll your eyes was definitely more challenging for me as an actor, but super fun to play,” she gushed.

Ortega added of the franchise’s comeback, “of course [studios] want people in seats and you’ve got to do reboots or sequels or things like that … but to bring Beetlejuice back — of all of the stories — is so good because people need to revisit weird, strange, off-putting stories again.”

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Christopher Nolan‘s Oscar-nominated epic Oppenheimer has another record to boast about: Variety reports the acclaimed movie’s debut on Peacock beat the streamer’s previous record holder, The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

As reported, the R-rated historical drama launched on the streaming service on February 16, and while the trade explains exact numbers were not released — a common move with streamers — the Universal film managed a bigger opening weekend viewership for Peacock than did Mario, which hit the streaming service in August.

It took nearly seven months for Oppenheimer to make what’s known as its “pay-one” streaming debut on Peacock — that is, an exclusive run on a single streaming platform — and evidently audiences were eager to watch, despite the movie making more than $957 million worldwide in theaters since it debuted on July 21, 2023.

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On Wednesday, Lionsgate dropped the snarky, shoot-’em-up trailer to Borderlands, the action-comedy movie based on the bestselling video game franchise.

For the big-screen bow, Kevin Hart and Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis team up, respectively, as the franchise’s mercenary Roland, Lilith the Siren and archeologist Dr. Patricia Tannis.

Joining their party are Ariana Greenblatt — a veteran of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Barbie and Ahsoka — as demolitions expert Tiny Tina. Creed II heavy Florian Munteanu plays her mysterious masked protector, Kreig, and Jack Black voices the game’s wise-cracking robot companion Claptrap.

Set to Electric Light Orchestra‘s “Do Ya,” the trailer shows the hunt for a mysterious vault located on the wasteland Pandora.

Blanchett’s character calls it “the weirdest, most dangerous dumpster fire of a world in the universe.” But for all of its monsters, ravaging bands of marauders and gulleys apparently filled with urine, Pandora’s vault hides real treasure: a jackpot of alien tech and other assorted priceless loot.

The problem is, pretty much everybody in the universe is willing to kill to get their hands on it.

“Well, destiny awaits,” Hart’s Roland sighs.

Horror director Eli Roth directs Borderlands, which also features Édgar Ramírez as the baddie Atlas.

The Borderlands games have sold more than 66 million units worldwide, according to Gearbox Software, which co-produced the movie. The sneak peek says the film is “coming soon” to theaters.

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