Entertainment

Like Band of Brothers and The Pacific before it, Masters of the Air helps tell the story of U.S. soldiers during World War II who faced incredible odds while fighting the Axis powers. The latest miniseries from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks debuts Friday on Apple TV+, focusing on the pilots and crew of the 100th Bomb Group.

Callum Turner, who stars as Major John “Bucky” Egan, thinks it’s an incredible story of bravery. He tells ABC Audio, “Seventy-seven percent of these guys who went up didn’t come back. They either got shot down, killed or end up in a P.O.W. camp. So you had a 23% chance of survival and, you know, to keep going up and fighting in the face of adversity and stand up for evil, and then achieving what they did and winning the war.”

“These guys helped shift the momentum,” he adds. “And it’s so important that we tell this story and shine the light on their legacy because they’re heroes, man. And like, I’m just so grateful to them because we wouldn’t be living the lives that we’re living if it wasn’t for them.”

Austin Butler plays Major Gale “Buck” Cleven in the film. He tells ABC Audio playing this role changed him.

“You’re seeing your best friends leave you and, constantly, day after day, and the psychological and physical toll of that is just unfathomable,” he says. “So, I think, you know, it just has filled me with nothing but admiration and respect and gratitude.”

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Bob the Builder is set to hit the big screen with a Latin twist.

Mattel Films, ShadowMachine and Jennifer Lopez‘s Nuyorican Productions announced plans for a feature-length film starring the animated handyman whose tact and positivity captivated child audiences for over a decade, Mattel announced on Thursday.

This comes following Mattel’s first theatrical release, the box office blockbuster Barbie, which so far has earned over $1.4 billion worldwide.

Actor and recording artist Anthony Ramos, best known for his roles in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton and the film version of In the Heights, is slated to star as Roberto (or “Bob”).

When Roberto visits Puerto Rico on a construction job, he’s confronted with “issues affecting the island and digs deeper into what it means to build,” according to Mattel’s announcement.

“Bob’s journey will celebrate the vibrant and colorful textures of the Caribbean Latin nations and their people,” it continues.

Lopez will co-produce the project with her production company partners Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina. Felipe Vargas is set to write the project.

“Pairing Anthony and Felipe’s genius vision for the story with ShadowMachine and Nuyorican’s artisan approach will capture this beloved character in a manner that audiences who grew up with Bob will recognize, and all-new audiences will enjoy,” said Robbie Brenner, president of Mattel Films, in a statement.

“A movie about friends working together … and how love can help to conquer any obstacle in your way. Can we fix it? Yes, we can!” Ramos noted, evoking the builder’s popular catchphrase.

Bob the Builder ran from 1999 to 2011 in the U.K., but was a hit import to the States. A rebooted version also aired across the pond for three years, beginning in 2015.

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Ben Affleck will direct his friend and Air co-star and co-producer Matt Damon in a new project for Netflix.

The streaming service says the movie is a kidnapping thriller the pair are backing through their profit-sharing production company Artists Equity, also behind the Golden Globe-nominated Air, which was directed by Affleck.

The biopic about how Michael Jordan‘s revolutionary deal with Nike for the Air Jordan sneaker came to be was nominated for Best Picture in the musical or comedy category at the Golden Globes, but was shut out during Tuesday’s Oscar noms.

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AMC has released the final trailer to The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, the spinoff series that will finally reunite Andrew Lincoln‘s Rick Grimes with his sword-wielding love Michonne, played by Danai Gurira.

Grimes has been missing from the original Walking Dead series since season 9, when he was presumed dead but in reality was whisked away in a helicopter to parts unknown by Pollyanna McIntosh‘s mysterious Anne.

The trailer shows Rick pining for his lost love, even as he toils for the ones who rescued him — the Civic Republic Military, under the leadership of the ruthless Major General Beale, played by Lost veteran Terry O’Quinn.

“We are the last light of the world, you have to know that,” Anne tells Rick, who is hesitant to join their ranks. “Why do you even think I’ll go along with all of this?” he asks Beale. “Because everything will change,” Beale replies.

Meanwhile, Michonne has upgraded her trademark katana to full samurai armor. She too hasn’t lost hope for one day being reunited with Rick. The trailer shows her and Rick carry long-dead iPhones — each with a photo of the other scrawled onto the glass.

Michonne’s has an inscription in Japanese that means, “Believe a little bit longer.”

Fans will only have to wait a little bit longer for the show to debut on AMC and AMC+: February 25.

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Days after Alec Baldwin was indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge by a New Mexico grand jury for the deadly shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust, SAG-AFTRA has spoken out in Baldwin’s defense.

Hutchins was mortally wounded and director Joel Souza injured when the Colt-style Western revolver Baldwin was pointing at Hutchins and the camera discharged.

To ABC News, Baldwin insisted he didn’t pull the trigger, but dropped the gun’s hammer on what he didn’t realize was a live round, not an inert “dummy” bullet.

“To the extent that the charges filed on January 19 are based on an accusation of negligent use of a firearm predicated on this or any actor having a duty to inspect a firearm as part of its use, that is an incorrect assessment of the actual duties of an actor on set,” SAG-AFTRA’s statement begins.

“An actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert. Firearms are provided for use on set under the guidance of multiple expert professionals,” it continues.

SAG-AFTRA notes, “The guidelines require an experienced, qualified armorer to be put in charge of all handling, use, and safekeeping of firearms on set.” These duties include “inspecting the firearm and barrel before and after every firing sequence” and “checking all firearms before each use.”

Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Investigators found a mix of blanks, dummy bullets and live rounds among her equipment.

Further, SAG continues, “The guidelines do not make it the performer’s responsibility to check any firearm. Performers train to perform, and they are not required or expected to be experts on guns.”

Regarding the new charges, Baldwin’s attorneys said they “look forward to our day in court.”

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As they say in Christopher Nolan‘s time-bending film Tenet, “what’s happened happened.” The film, which saw its 2020 theatrical release limited by the pandemic, is returning to IMAX theaters.

ABC Audio has confirmed that the reissue of Tenet will include exclusive footage from Oscar winner Denis Villeneuve‘s forthcoming sequel Dune: Part Two in a weeklong engagement starting Friday, February 23.

The IMAX rerelease dovetails into the debut of Villeneuve’s sequel starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, which hits theaters and IMAX on Friday, March 1.

The Tenet rerelease also comes after the record-breaking IMAX run of Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

In the announcement, Nolan said, “Seeing the way audiences responded to our large format presentations of Oppenheimer, I’m thrilled that Warner Bros. is giving audiences a chance to see Tenet the way it was intended to be seen, on the largest IMAX and large format film screens, and I’m honored to have our movie warm up the film projectors for Denis’ jaw-dropping Dune: Part Two.”

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Prime Video released the trailer to Road House, the “adrenaline-fueled reimagining” of the 1989 Patrick Swayze cult classic.

In the film premiering March 21, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Elwood Dalton, a down on his luck former MMA fighter who takes a job trying to keep the peace as a bouncer at a rowdy Florida Keys roadhouse.

As in the Swayze original, it’s not as easy as punching a clock — or the occasional rummy: A developer has his eyes on the bar and is willing to do anything to shut it down.

In the trailer, “anything” comes in the form of a hired gunman, played by MMA icon Conor Mcgregor. “Once Knox is on the job, it’s over, baby,” he says to his boss, speaking in the third person.

Knox calls out Dalton, and the two ripped fighters are soon seen tangling mano a mano.

On Wednesday, the movie’s director Doug Liman wrote in Deadline that he felt betrayed by the streaming service for not releasing Road House in theaters, so he’s boycotting its SXSW opening night premiere.

“The movie is fantastic, maybe my best, and I’m sure it will bring the house down … ” Liman says. “But I will not be there.”

He explains, “I signed up to make a theatrical motion picture for MGM. Amazon bought MGM. Amazon said make a great film and we will see what happens. I made a great film … Road House tested higher than my biggest box office hit, Mr. and Mrs Smith [and] Bourne Identity, which spawned four sequels.”

Despite a “career-defining” performance from Gyllenhaal that would have been “recognized come awards season,” Liman says Amazon is only streaming it.

“We tried everything to convince them to put Road House in theaters … they said no,” Liman insists.

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While auctions of Hollywood memorabilia are nothing new, some items about to hit the block have a provenance that’s really unique.

When Harrison Ford was in the U.K. shooting the original Star Wars in 1976, he answered an ad in the paper from an older English couple in the Notting Hill section of London, asking to rent a flat in a house.

His landlords had no idea who he was, referring to him only as “an excellent tenant, very tidy.”

As the shooting continued, “the owners struck up a genuine rapport with Ford,” and the actor spent “time in the garden having drinks and relaxing after filming.”

Ford even kicked in money for new plants for the backyard and attended a family birthday party.

The family noted that Mark Hamill was a frequent visitor — again, a virtual unknown at the time — as was their co-star Carrie Fisher.

When the movie wrapped, Ford left behind an incomplete shooting script of the blockbuster-to-be, personal notes and a letter from his agent — which, in part, chided Ford for not being in touch with his wife at the time, the late Mary Marquardt. They incidentally divorced in 1979.

All those items from U.K.-based Excalibur Auctions will be hitting the auction block on February 17; the script alone is expected to fetch around $10,000 to $15,000.

Excalibur Auctions’ Jonathan Torode said, “Although other copies of this script have come to market previously, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to … offer a version with such wonderful provenance … The touching backstory to these items adds even more appeal for avid Star Wars fans and we anticipate huge interest from around the globe.”

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Nearly a week after a grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the deadly shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of Rust, the actor is demanding a speedy trial.

Attorney’s for Baldwin, in a court filing obtained by ABC News, insist a speedy trial would “minimize public vilification and suspicion and to avoid the hazards of proving his innocence that often arise after lengthy delays in prosecution.”

Baldwin, 65, is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for negligent use of a firearm and without due caution or circumspection. The names of the witnesses on whose testimony this indictment is based are Alexandria Hancock, Bryan Carpenter — an armorer who did not work on Rust — Lane Luper, Ross Addegio, Michael Haag, Marissa Poppell and Connor Rice.

Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez, who was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, faces an additional charge of tampering with evidence, with state prosecutors claiming she handed off a small bag of cocaine following her interview with police the day of the shooting.

Jury selection in her trial is scheduled to begin on February 21 in Santa Fe County. The trial is expected to start on February 22 and last two weeks.

Gun enhancement charges initially filed in the case against Gutierrez and Baldwin were ultimately dropped last year.

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Jake Gyllenhaal is ripped in more ways than one in the new poster for Prime Video’s remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze movie Road House. Jake is shown seated on a bar stool, his shirt open, revealing a shredded body and some ripped-open skin, seemingly a knife wound. The new movie from Mr. and Mrs. Smith veteran Doug Liman has Gyllenhaal playing a former UFC fighter turned bouncer at a gin joint in Florida who discovers “this paradise is not all it seems.” Road House debuts March 21. In the meantime, a trailer debuts Thursday …

The Leftovers actress Margaret Qualley has been tapped to star in Focus Features’ Honey Don’t!, joining Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans, according to Deadline. Plot details are currently under wraps, but the film, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ethan Coen from a script written with his wife, Tricia Cooke, is said to be a comedy, per the outlet …

CBS announced Wednesday that special post-Super Bowl episodes of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and After Midnight will air following late local news. As previously announced, Tracker, starring Justin Hartley, will debut immediately after the network’s telecast of Super Bowl LVIII on February 11. The series stars Hartley as “a lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw, who roams the country as a ‘reward seeker,’ using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries, while contending with his own fractured family,” per CBS …

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