Hawaii native Jason Momoa has offered his reaction to the devastating wildfires in Maui.
“We are devastated and heartbroken for our friends and ‘ohana on Maui who [have] been impacted by the recent wildfires,” Mamoa shared Wednesday, August 9 on Instagram, along with videos and audio from the nonprofit ‘Āina Momona, describing the devastation to the Hawaiian island.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Thursday, August 10 that 53 people were killed in the devastating Maui wildfires, and the death toll would likely continue to rise, according to ABC News. More than 1,000 structures were destroyed by fires and the town of Lahaina was all but wiped out.
SAG-AFTRA has reportedly cleared Penelope Cruz, Adam Driver, Patrick Dempsey and the rest of the cast to promote their upcoming Michael Mann biopic Ferrari when it premieres at the Venice Film Festival, according to The Wrap.
But will they show up?
The trade reports the filmmakers have been given a waiver from the union to promote the movie at the event later in August, as Ferrari was produced independently of the Hollywood studio system. However, it remains to be seen if the stars will actually show up on the red carpet, or stay home in solidarity with their striking colleagues.
Incidentally, the film that has Driver playing visionary automotive icon Enzo Ferrari will have its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival on October 13, but again, there’s a chance its stars will steer clear.
Such was the case recently with Viola Davis: Even though the Oscar winner’s independently produced upcoming thriller G20 had a waiver from SAG-AFTRA to commence filming, Davis chose to put off working on it until the strike is resolved.
Ferrari, which also stars Shailene Woodley and Noomi Rapace, debuts in theaters December 25.
Hardwick (back row, right) with ‘King’ cast in 2005 – Ray Mickshaw/WireImage
Johnny Hardwick, the actor best known for voicing conspiracy theory-loving country boy Dale Gribble on King of the Hill, has died, 20th Television Animation and Hulu confirmed in a statement to ABC Audio Thursday. The stand-up comic turned voice actor was 64.
Hardwick’s voice was heard on all but one of the hundreds of episodes in the show’s 13-season run. He eventually became a story editor on King, winning an Emmy for the animated show in 1999.
He reprised the role of Dale opposite show co-creator and the voice of Hank Hill, Mike Judge, and other returning cast members, including Stephen Root, Pamela Adlon, Lauren Tom and Kathy Najimy, in new episodes bound for Hulu, but Hardwick wasn’t finished working on them.
In a statement from 20th Television Animation and Hulu, they called Hardwick “an incredibly beloved member of the King of the Hill family, whose tremendous talent, brilliant humor and friendship will be deeply missed by all who were fortunate enough to work with him over the past 25 years.”
The statement also referred to him as “one of the animation greats” whose voice “gave life to one of our most iconic characters, and he will be truly missed.”
An art gallery in Margate, England, is currently displaying an exhibition called “ADHD Hyper Fixation and why it looks like I love Pedro Pascal,” a tribute to the star of TheMandalorian and The Last of Us.
But being made in his honor didn’t mean the actor was allowed in, according to The Independent.
The paper reports Pascal, his Being Human co-star pal Russell Tovey and musician Robert Diament tried to visit Margate’s Rhodes Gallery on Sunday — only to find the facility closed.
There was an even an Instagram post from Tovey to commemorate the almost visit.
That’s when the artist behind the exhibit, Heidi Gentle Burrell, found out about the near-miss. “It was absolutely nuts,” she tells the paper. “So many lovely people have messaged me in the last couple of days.”
Apparently, Diament had visited the exhibit in June, where he met Burrell and joked about sending his Instagrammed photos to Pedro.
That said, Burrell explains, “I’m a bit gutted I missed them! It’s fantastic for me, though, hopefully it’ll elevate the conversation around neurodivergence. I feel like I’m helping to create a positive change.”
Apparently, the 45-year-old artist is “self-diagnosed” as having ADHD, and that lends itself to her fixating on pop culture touchstones she likes.
Pascal first came to her attention when he was on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, she tells the paper. “I just found he had a really interesting face, from an artistic point-of-view. He’s got two little bald patches in his beard and creases in his eyebrows and bridge of his nose.” She adds, “I wouldn’t call myself an obsessed fan, but I do hyper-fixate on capturing him in my art.”
Stephanie Beatriz and Mackey in ‘Twisted Metal’/Peacock
Society has collapsed in the post-apocalyptic world of Peacock’s video game adaptation Twisted Metal, so who can blame Anthony Mackie‘s John Doe for needing some laughs between fending off vehicles equipped with machine guns and murderous marauders on the open road?
Before popping in a CD of some more appropriate chase music in the series’ first episode, there was a blink-and-you-miss it Easter egg: He’s been listening to The Jerky Boys.
The Jerky Boys have sold more than 8 million albums, and even before they were signed in 1990, their bootleg tape of prank calls had become a global phenomenon.
They still have a rabid fanbase, too.
Jerky Boys creator Johnny Brennan tells ABC Audio those fans noticed the Twisted Metal shoutout. “You wouldn’t believe all the people that were excited about it,” Johnny enthused exclusively to ABC Audio via social media.
He adds, “[T]ons of people [are] sending me video clips” of the show, calling it “awesome.” He expressed, “It’s a wonderful thing in these times to see people actually looking for something that puts a smile on their face, and there’s no doubt nothing did it better than The Jerky Boys.”
According to Twisted Metal, that apparently applies to the end times, too.
Tommy Egan’s quest to become Chicago’s kingpin drug dealer continues in the new season of the hit Starz show Power Book IV: Force.
The network released the official trailer Thursday, August 10, which sees Egan, played by Joseph Sikora, vying for his spot as the city’s head honcho.
“Nothing stands in Tommy Egan’s way this season as he makes his play at becoming the sole drug distributor in Chicago,” a statement released by Starz reads. “Alliances form and competitors become targets as a turf war heats up and Tommy must race to stay one step ahead of everyone. Meanwhile, a federal task force is zeroed in on him and he has an eye on a special someone, forcing him to decide what he is willing to sacrifice to claim Chicago as his.”
Season 2 of Power Book IV: Force returns on Friday, September 1, at midnight ET on the Starz app.
On Thursday, August 10, Netflix dropped the trailer to Adam Sandler‘s upcoming family comedy You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.
Like the traditional right of passage — and truth told, many movies Sandler produces — Bat Mitzvah is filled with the SNL vet’s family and friends: His real-life actress wife, Jackie, co-stars, as do their daughters Sadie and Sunny Sandler.
Sandler’s Uncut Gems wife Idina Menzel plays his wife in this movie.
This time around, Sadie takes a starring role as Stacy, who with her bestie Lydia (Samantha Lorraine) find their lifelong dream of having an epic party for their milestone in jeopardy when “popular boy Andy Goldfarb (Dylan Hoffman) and Hebrew school drama come between them.”
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, which also stars Saturday Night Live’s Sarah Sherman, and Wednesday’s Luis Guzmán, debuts August 25.
After securing an Emmy nomination for its inaugural season, FX’s Welcome to Wrexham is headed back onto the pitch for another round.
The show, centering on Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney‘s purchase of beloved underdog Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC, just debuted its season 2 trailer.
“A lot of expectations,” Reynolds says in the trailer after noting “millions of people” are now watching the team because of them. “Oh, God,” he laments.
The trailer teases how the working class town surrounding the stadium is now thriving from sales of team merch and increased attendance. “The community is growing in a way that is authentic, and real, and powerful,” Reynolds says.
“I look at Wrexham as the most special gift I’ve ever had in my life,” an emotional Ryan admits.
McElhenney and Reynolds also stress the importance of the then-impending season and the need for the club to be promoted out of the National League into the English Football League.
While the trailer teases the Red Dragons’ initial semi-final loss with the pair at the helm — spoiler alert — in April of 2023, the soccer club clinched the National League title and a slot back into the Football League, for the first time in 15 years, with a 3-1 victory over rivals Boreham Wood.
The actors’/co-chairs’ emotional reaction to it —incidentally captured on social media by their friend Paul Rudd —went viral.
With the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes crippling Hollywood, the Television Academy and Fox jointly announced on Thursday, August 10, that the 75th Annual Emmy Awards have been bumped from September 18 to January 15, 2024.
Notably, the organization didn’t mention the strikes as the reason behind “the Martin Luther King Day telecast,” but with the ongoing union actions, a telecast on its previous date would have meant a broadcast with no writers and no SAG-affiliated stars.
The event will now air starting at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will take place at the Peacock Theater at LA Live on Saturday, January 6, and Sunday, January 7, 2024, with an edited presentation airing on FXX Saturday, January 13, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.
Big Brother‘s latest season took a dramatic twist as houseguest Luke Valentine was swiftly removed from the show for using a racial slur during a conversation with fellow cast members.
“Luke violated the Big Brother code of conduct and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur. He has been removed from the house,” CBS and the show’s producers said in a statement to ABC News. “His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.”
The incident unfolded Tuesday night, when Valentine, who is white, used the racial slur while conversing with Jared Fields, Cory Wurtenberger, and Hisam Goueli.
“We were in the f****** (inaudible) room, n****,” he said before catching himself and trying to laugh it off, adding, “I’m sorry.”
His remark was met with immediate backlash, with Jared, who is Black, addressing the incident and its impact.
Hosted by Julie Chen, Big Brother offers a voyeuristic lens into a group of contestants living together under constant surveillance. Each week a Houseguest is voted off, with the last one standing receiving the grand prize of $750,000.
