Michael Mann’s latest film, Ferrari, raced its way into theaters on Christmas Day.
It stars Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari and follows a brief period of the founder of the Italian car company’s complicated life. The film also shows the glamour and danger in the company’s racing history. Driver told ABC Audio that he loves cars, but that his racing days are a thing of the past.
“I don’t drive fast anymore, but I used to drive fast all the time,” Driver said. “Now I have kids, so I just, I poke around. But I like cars.”
Even in those racing days, Driver said he never had a dream car.
“I have a couple cars that I love driving and a couple of motorcycles. But there was never a dream car that I always wanted to get,” Driver said. “And most of them, I can’t fit in them. So, it kind of limits me to newer cars. You know, it’s a problem with being 6’3″.”
This isn’t Driver’s first time pulling out an Italian accent for a role. He previously portrayed fashion mogul Maurizio Gucci in Ridley Scott’s 2021 film House of Gucci. So, are there any other famous Italians Driver wants to take a crack at?
“Michelangelo?” Driver answered, before quickly following up with, “Uh, and every Ninja Turtle. They were all Italian.”
Kevin Hart is following in the footsteps of Cardi B and suing YouTuber Latasha Kebe aka Tasha K, claiming a former assistant of his conducted a “false and defamatory” interview with her.
People reports his former personal assistant Miesha Shakes is also named in the lawsuit for an interview posted on December 22 on Kebe’s Instagram account and YouTube channel Unwine, in which Shakes accuses Hart of cheating on his wife, Eniko.
The interview also alleges the 44-year-old star has a gambling problem.
Hart’s suit claims someone affiliated with Kebe contacted a rep for the comic and actor demanding a “ransom of $250,000” to stop her from posting the interview, which “would be damaging to Hart’s reputation.”
Hart reportedly contacted the cops and issued a cease and desist order, which also cited Shakes, who worked for Kevin from August 2017 to October 2020. Hart alleges she violated her nondisclosure agreement.
In 2022, Cardi B won a libel cast against the YouTube host, who was found to have made malicious claims against the star. Jada Pinkett Smith has intimated she would be taking legal action against her, as well, People reports, stemming from an interview concerning Will Smith and Duane Martin.
Eric Stonestreet and Gabriel Iglesias can be seen, respectively, as the Mad Santa and Kris Kringle in the second season of Disney+’s hit The Santa Clauses, but the pair previously collaborated on Stonestreet’s former show Modern Family.
In one season 9 episode, Iglesias pretended to be Manny’s biological father in an elaborate April Fools’ Day prank on Rico Rodriguez‘s character staged by his mom, played by Sofia Vergara.
“Yeah, it took a long time, but we made it happen,” Iglesias told ABC Audio.
“I think I willed that into the world, when I told people that, you know, the little kid on Modern Family looked like me, or that people thought that was my son,” he says with a laugh.
Stonestreet giggled recalling the installment, called “Daddy Issues,” noting, “like, that episode wrote itself … when we saw that casting. That was … such a visual, funny thing of of Rico and Gabriel together. It was brilliant.”
With an Emmy for Euphoria already under his belt, and likely on the Oscar track thanks to his Golden Globe-nominated lead role in Rustin, Colman Domingo is on top of the world.
But to The New York Times, the celebrated actor said it wasn’t always that way — in fact, he nearly quit acting when he was rejected from a plum role in HBO’s gangster drama Boardwalk Empire because of his skin color.
Domingo nailed an audition for the role of a maître d’ at a Black-owned nightclub in the series and recalled thinking, “This is the one that’s going to finally be my big break.”
Alas, he was rejected when a researcher on the show pointed out that in the 1920s, when Boardwalk Empire was set, front of house staff were usually light-skinned Black people — and Domingo is not.
“That’s when I lost my mind,” Domingo said. He remembers telling his agent at the time, “I think this is going to kill me.” And that’s when he was fixed on quitting the business for good.
Instead, he fired his agent, got new representation and scored the role of Strand in an eight-season gig on Fear The Walking Dead, in addition to earning big-screen acclaim in supporting roles in If Beale Street Could Talk and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. And now, he’s not only riding high with Rustin, but starring in The Color Purple.
Domingo expressed, “I will try not to cry, but I know for sure that I’m living … not even my dreams — my mother’s dreams and my grandparents’ dreams and my ancestors’ dreams.”
He adds, “All the lights, all the accolades, all the beautiful critical responses — I want to bathe in all of that right now.”
Colman Domingo in ‘Rustin’ – Netflix/Parrish Lewis
With the year winding down, many critics are dropping their lists for the year’s best films, and former president-turned-movie producer Barack Obama has now done the same.
Obama did include some of his own movies in the list, so he admits it’s not exactly an impartial ranking, explaining, “I’m biased.”
“Earlier this year, writers and actors went on strike to advocate for better working conditions and protections. It led to important changes that will transform the industry for the better,” he began a post on social media.
“Here are some films that reflect their hard work over the last year — including some like Rustin, American Symphony, and Leave the World Behind that we were proud to release,” he explained, referring to Higher Ground Media, the company he founded with former first lady Michelle Obama.
The former president’s “other favorite movies” included:
Alexander Payne‘s dramedy The Holdovers; the tech biopic Blackberry starring Always Sunny‘s Glenn Howerton; Christopher Nolan‘s star-packed nuclear drama Oppenheimer; the satirical comedy American Fiction; the family murder drama Anatomy of a Fall; the Japanese drama Monster; director Celine Song‘s romantic drama Past Lives; Ben Affleck‘s Michael Jordan-based movie Air; the romantic drama Polite Society; and the family drama A Thousand and One.
To his post, which has some 6 million views on X, formerly Twitter, Obama added, “What films did I miss?”
Former That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson was admitted to state prison on Wednesday after being convicted of raping two women.
Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in September after a jury found him guilty of two counts of forcible rape during a retrial of a case involving three women. The women accused him of raping them between 2001 and 2003.
Masterson will serve two 15-year sentences consecutively, one for each charge. He must also register as a sex offender.
The third count against Jane Doe No. 3 was declared a mistrial and has since been dismissed after prosecutors said they would not retry Masterson on the rape charge.
The 47-year-old actor was admitted to North Kern State Prison in Delano, “where he is going through the classification and reception process,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
The agency released the booking photo of Masterson, who was wearing an orange jumpsuit and had a full beard.
Masterson was deemed a potential flight risk and was remanded into custody following the verdict. He previously had been detained at the Los Angeles County jail.
His attorney, Shawn Holley, previously said she believes the convictions will be overturned.
Masterson’s wife of 12 years, Bijou Phillips, filed for divorce eight days after he was sentenced. Phillips asked for custody and spousal support for their 9-year-old daughter Fianna, but will allow visitation rights, per court documents.
The heart wants what it wants, as the saying goes, and the same goes for Hollywood: Here’s a timeline of the stars who won’t be kissing their former significant others on New Year’s Eve:
March
After 12 years of marriage, Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth announced in a now-deleted Instagram post that “with a great deal of care and consideration” they made the “difficult” decision to divorce. The Morning Show producer and Hollywood agent share one child together, 10-year-old son Tennessee. Reese was previously married to Ryan Phillippe from 1999 to 2008, sharing daughter Ava, 23, and son Deacon, 19.
April Taylor Swift and her longtime actor and songwriter boyfriend Joe Alwyn split after six years of dating. According to sources to Cosmo, the parting was “amicable.” Famously, Taylor has moved on with NFL star Travis Kelce.
May The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills‘ Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky reportedly also had an “amicable” separation after 27 years of marriage, according to People. The pair share daughters Alexia, Sophia and Portia, respectively 27, 23 and 15. Richards also has a 34-year-old daughter, Farrah,from a previous marriage.
The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White and his actress wife, Addison Timlin,called it quits four months after he gave her a sweet shout-out when accepting his Golden Globe for the hit FX show. They have two daughters, 4-year-old Ezer and 2-year-old Dolores.
Kevin Costner‘s wife, Christine Baumgartner,filed for divorce from him. Their divorce continued to make headlines for months afterward, with Baumgartner asking for nearly $250,000 a month in child support and her attorneys saying their children, Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13, have an expectation of “luxury” in “their DNA,” according to People. They reportedly settled in September, and Costner has seemingly moved on with singer-songwriter Jewel.
July Sofia Vergara‘s hot girl summer began with the announcement she and Joe Manganiello were divorcing after seven years of marriage. A source told Page Six they were “growing apart for a while” and “living separate lives.”
Pose Emmy winner Billy Porter and Adam Smith announced their “sad decision” to split after six years of marriage. Recently,Porter’s lawyers claimed Smith has refused him access to their mini cockapoo, Lola, since the summer.
August
Two years after sexual assault accusations rocked his career, The Equalizer star Chris Noth split from Canadian model and actress Tara Wilson. The pair, who have two sons, tied the knot in 2012. A short time before the split, Noth admitted to having strayed in his marriage.
A cheating scandal also reportedly led to the divorce of Oscar winner Natalie Portman and her French dancer husband, Benjamin Millepied, after 11 years of marriage. The pair share son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 6.
August:
It only took 13 months of marriage for Sophia Bush and Grant Hughes to head for the door. “Sophia and Grant were friends for 10 years and bonded during COVID through their love of community service,” a source told People at the time. “They continue to run their nonprofit together and remain good friends.”
September Game of Thrones veteran Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas called it quits in September. The pair, who married in Las Vegas in 2019, share daughters Willa, 3, and Delphine, who is nearly 2. Turner has reportedly started a new relationship with media heir Peregrine Pearson.
After 27 years of marriage, Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-lee Furness, told People jointly that their “journey” is “now shifting” and they “have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.” The pair share 23-year-old son Oscar and 18-year-old daughter Ava.
October Queen & Slim‘s Jodie Turner-Smith filed for divorce from Fatal Attraction reboot star Joshua Jackson after three years of marriage; they reportedly agreed to share custody of their 2-year-old daughter, Juno Rose Diana Jackson.
While his onscreen character Jack Reacher certainly can’t stand bullies, the actor who plays him, Alan Ritchson, says he “obliged” a former high school bully who wanted a picture.
In a chat with TheWall Street Journal, Ritchson talked about his “strict” childhood, his first brush with fame as an American Idol hopeful — he was cut in the second round — and his life on the road with his high school sweetheart wife, Cat, and their three boys.
Ritchson says he experienced his share of bullying growing up in Niceville, Florida. “Early on, I wasn’t physically built the way I am now, and I loved expressing myself through music, singing and in-line skating,” he revealed. “Not ideal for a guy in an area where all the dudes wore mullets and pulled up to school in four wheelers.”
During a recent visit to his hometown, he was recognized by a former classmate who once left him “mortified” for calling attention to the self-described late bloomer’s then-hairless legs. “He wanted a selfie,” Ritchson recalled.
“I was happy to oblige, but it felt strange,” he said. “He forgot what he did, but I didn’t. I still don’t like wearing shorts.”
The bully wasn’t an outlier: Ritchson says he gets recognized all the time as the Reacher hero. “We were just at a Waffle House in a small Georgia town. They couldn’t process why I was there,” he said.
The first episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians debuted on Disney+ on December 19, and by Christmas Day it had drawn an audience of some 13.3 million viewers across Disney+ and Hulu.
The numbers put the adaptation of author/producer Rick Riordan‘s bestselling books in the top five season premieres of the year for both the streaming service and Hulu, of which ABC News’ parent company Disney is a majority shareholder.
Ahsoka had 14 million viewers on Disney+ in five days, but Percy Jackson, which stars The Adam Project‘s Walker Scobell as the titular young hero, was aimed at a smaller, younger-skewing audience. By comparison, Goosebumps had a similar demographic, and its premiere earlier this year attracted 4.2 million people over its first three days on Disney+.
Additionally, #percyjackson on TikTok received 212 million views within the last seven days in the U.S., Disney said.
Tom Smothers, of The Smothers Brothers comedy duo and co-star of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, has passed away at 86 years old, his comedy partner and younger brother DickSmothers has confirmed.
In a statement, Dick announced that his fellow Television Academy Hall of Famer was at home with his family in Sonoma County, California, at the time of his death.
He continued, “Tom was not only the loving older brother that everyone would want in their life, he was a one-of-a-kind creative partner. I am forever grateful to have spent a lifetime together with him, on and off stage, for over 60 years.”
Dick continued, “Our relationship was like a good marriage – the longer we were together, the more we loved and respected one another. We were truly blessed.”
A private memorial service for family and friends will take place in 2024, the statement continued.
Dick and his wife, Marie Smothers, requested donations be made to the National Comedy Center in the Emmy winner’s honor.
Journey Gunderson, the organization’s executive director, called Tom an “extraordinary comedic talent” and a “true pioneer who changed the face of television and transformed our culture with The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which satirized politics, combated racism, protested the Vietnam War, and led the way for Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, today’s network late night shows, and so much more.”
