Entertainment

As Leonard Bernstein‘s children did last week, the Anti-Defamation League says there’s nothing offensive about Bradley Cooper‘s prosthetic nose as seen in the upcoming Bernstein movie Maestro.

Cooper, who directed and stars in the film as the famed composer, chose a realistic-looking prosthetic nose to more closely approximate the profile of the famed composer — something critics said smacked of “Jewface.”

However, in a statement to Variety, the organization dedicated to fighting bigotry against the Jewish people contended, “Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses. This film … is not that.”

As reported, Bernstein’s three children, Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein, issued a statement of support of both Cooper and his look in the film, saying, “It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts. It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose.”

They continued, “Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we’re perfectly fine with that. We’re also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well.”

They further expressed the “love” and “respect” Cooper showed for their father and mother, Felicia, played by Carey Mulligan in the film, about their decadeslong relationship. “We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can’t wait for the world to see his creation,” they concluded.

Maestro, which premieres September 2 at the Venice Film Festival, opens in select theaters in November before debuting December 20 on Netflix.

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Ángel Manuel Soto, who called the shots on Warner Bros.’ last superhero film to be finished prior to its DC Films restructuring, Blue Beetle, has signed on to direct two superhero movie veterans for his next project.

The Hollywood Reporter says Soto will be behind the camera for The Wrecking Crew, the MGM buddy comedy starring Aquaman veteran Jason Momoa and Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Dave Bautista.

Incidentally, while the plot is still under wraps, the project is a bit of manifesting from Bautista, who tweeted in August 2021, “Just going to throw this out into the atmosphere and see what happens. Here we go… Me and Momoa in a Lethal Weapon‘ type buddy cop movie directed by David Leitch. Ok! There it is. Now we wait.”

Leitch is the stuntman-turned-director behind Bullet Train and the first John Wick film, among others.

Soto’s Blue Beetle enjoyed a decent Critics Score of 77% and an impressive Audience Score of 92% on the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, though it didn’t have a stellar opening weekend at the box office. Its $24.5 million take was enough to knock Barbie from the number one position after a month at the top — but not by much.

While DC Films co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran have said its star, Xolo Maridueña, will live on in their newly organized cinematic universe, Blue Beetle was the third superhero misfire in a row for Warner Bros. this year, following Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash.

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ABC’s latest entry in the Bachelor franchise, The Golden Bachelor, is coming sooner than previously thought.

The network announced Monday that Gerry [GAIR-ee] Turner‘s search for love will begin on Thursday, September 28, at 8 p.m. ET. The show will be followed by Bachelor in Paradise, premiering at 9 p.m. ET.

A new video announcement features Turner and his daughters, Angie Warner and Jenny Young, and granddaughter Charlee Young sitting around and talking about his foray into romantic reality TV, with him saying this is going to be “a whole new experience.”

He added, “What I hope is that I can look at one of these women, and know that I found the right person.”

Turner also asked the ladies in his life how dating has changed since he’s been on the market. For her part, Charlee suggested he needs to “upgrade” when it comes to his texting skills and not start each message “Dear, and then her name.”

Turner said to the women, “I want to find that person who is the right one. I know you guys have always wanted me to be happy … and that one person is out there somewhere that will do that.”

Angie says, “I hope you get that, I really do.”

Turner married his high school sweetheart, Toni, in 1974, and lived a full and happy life with their two daughters, and later two granddaughters, until Toni’s sudden death in 2017.

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On Monday, August 21, Atlantic Records dropped a video of Ryan Gosling performing his show-stopping ode to “blonde fragility” from the soundtrack to the blockbuster Barbie movie, “I’m Just Ken.”

The video shows the song being recorded, along with snippets from director Greta Gerwig and her cast and crew on set, as well as the finished product as it appeared in theaters. 

There’s also an interlude with rehearsal footage of Gosling preparing for his and Simu Liu‘s infamous Beach Off, and as you might imagine, Ryan and the gang cracking up laughing before, during and after he performs “I’m Just Ken” on set.

It was a pretty smart move on Atlantic’s part to post it: The song produced by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt has been streamed more than 41 million times, managing to land on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

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The Cinema Foundation’s National Cinema Day will return Sunday, August 27, which means moviegoers will be able to snag a ticket for likely way less than their popcorn: $4.

And every studio is taking part, so you’ll be able to see any release in more than 3,000 participating theaters — and in the case of smashes like Barbie and Oppenheimer, likely watch it for the second or third time.

Last year’s annual initiative saw $3 movie tickets up for grabs, and the promotion was a smash: According to the National Association of Theater Owners, it set attendance records on September 3, with some 8.1 million people going to a movie on that day alone.

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Stranger Things and Gran Tourismo star David Harbour is married to singer Lily Allen, which makes him stepdad to her two kids. Thanks to his star power, he managed to give his stepdaughter an unforgettable experience at a Taylor Swift Eras Tour show.

Appearing on the podcast Happy Sad Confused, Harbour, who plays Sheriff Jim Hopper on the hit Netflix show, revealed that he had to “call in a lot of favors” in order to secure a ticket to Taylor’s Minneapolis show. He then attempted to get a meet and greet with the superstar.

“I did say…’If there an opportunity to say hello…,'” Harbour said, adding, “They said, ‘She’s leaving on a plane right after this concert.’ We sat there for about 30 minutes…and then a woman came out with a letter and it was addressed to me and my stepdaughter and it was a handwritten letter — I’ve never seen my stepdaughter speechless.”

“She did say in the letter at one point, ‘I’ll give you a wave from the stage'” — and she did, Harbor revealed, adding, “She’s a force of nature. I didn’t really have any idea.”

“Seeing her perform for three-and-a-half hours, that’s like 45 songs!” he raved. “She barely leaves the stage! I don’t know when she pees! It’s ridiculous!”

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Charles Martinet, the guy who provided the voice for that lovable plumber Mario since 1991, and for the first time on a game in 1996’s Super Mario 64, is stepping back from the mic.

Martinet, 67, voiced Mario’s dad, Giuseppe, for Chris Pratt‘s Mario in the blockbuster The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but Nintendo of America now says the former is “moving into the brand-new role as our Mario Ambassador.”

The video game giant’s message to “fans of the Mushroom Kingdom” continues, “With this transition, he’ll be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but he’ll continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!”

The company called it an “honor” to have worked with Martinet all these years and told fans to keep an eye out for a special message from him and Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary creator of Donkey Kong, Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, among others.

Despite early online grumbling that Pratt was wrong for the Super Mario Bros. Movie role, fans certainly showed up to cheer him on, to the tune of more than $1.35 billion at the global box office.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now streaming on Peacock.

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Los Angeles is suffering from rains and flooding from its first tropical storm in 84 years, Hilary, which Deadline is reporting has led the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA unions to shut down their planned picket lines for Monday, August 21.

This is the first time Los Angeles weather has paused picketing activity; as reported in July, record heat in New York City caused the unions to tell their members to suspend their demonstrations temporarily over extreme heat.

While Los Angelinos deal with the rare storm, it apparently hasn’t dampened their senses of humor — in fact, it led to a snark attack centering on a Universal Studios Hollywood theme park attraction.

One user posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, what seemed to be video of water gushing onto a subway platform and noted, “The LA Metro Station on Wilshire/Vermont is flooding from the storm.” The poster later laughed that he was actually asked by journalists if they could use his “footage.”

The video garnered enough attention online to merit a debunking from LA Metro, which runs the subway system there.

“This is a ride at Universal Studios. Duh,” the official account noted. In fact, it was indeed from the park’s Earthquake! ride, which sees a subway flooded in real time, mimicking a movie special effect.

One poster recognized the footage as fake, too, joking, “Show them the one of the giant gorilla,” referencing the park’s King Kong attraction.

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Bachelor alum Krystal Nielson and Miles Bowles have taken their relationship to the next level, sealing their love with a wedding ceremony in La Jolla, California, People reports.

The couple, who’ve been together for almost three years, exchanged vows in an intimate event on Saturday, August 19, with their 2-year-old daughter, Andara, charmingly playing the role of the flower girl.

“Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Bowles,” the newlyweds wrote on social media alongside snapshots from the momentous day.

Nielson, 35, and Bowles, 28, announced their engagement nearly 10 months prior through a joint Instagram post in October 2022. The proposal photos showcased Bowles on bended knee, presenting Nielson with a dazzling diamond ring, captioned, “For all the right reasons.”

Their love story began in May 2020, thanks to Nielson’s coach, Kerry Smith, who played matchmaker after Nielson attended a wellness retreat with Bowles’ mother. Despite initial hesitation due to their friendship, Nielson eventually embraced Smith’s encouragement, leading to a strong connection between the two.

Nielson gained recognition on Arie Luyendyk Jr.‘s Bachelor season in 2018, followed by an appearance on Bachelor in Paradise in 2018, where she met and got engaged to Chris Randone. They wed in June 2019 before splitting in February 2020.

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Actress Margaret Qualley and musician Jack Antonoff have tied the knot in an intimate, yet star-studded ceremony on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

The 28-year-old Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood star and the 39-year-old recording artist exchanged vows on Saturday, August 19, more than a year since their engagement was revealed.

Photos obtained by People show the newlyweds holding hands and later gracing a post-wedding celebration. Qualley opted for a simple white halter dress paired with matching Mary Jane flats, while Antonoff looked dapper in a classic black suit and tie.

In addition to family, the nuptials were attended by a number of celebrity friends from the entertainment industry including Taylor Swift, Channing Tatum, Zoë Kravitz, Cara Delevingne, and Lana Del Rey. 

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