Entertainment

Believe it or not, the main cast of Friends at one point didn’t include Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green or the late Matthew Perry as fan-favorite Chandler Bing.

In an article written for The Hollywood Reporter, former Warner Bros. TV executive David Janollari explained, “The chemistry had to be believable. You just had to love them. And no one was more elusive than Chandler.”

In the article, Janollari gave flowers to Perry, who died on October 28.

He recalled, “I remember going to a run-through of a CBS pilot that was struggling. I was standing next to Barbara Miller, our head of casting, during this run-through, and there was one bright spot in the show, a guest star who would not be a series regular: Matthew Perry. He literally stole the show.”

The veteran of The Drew Carey Show and Living Single added, “At the time we were also casting another pilot for NBC, and we couldn’t find the best friend co-star.”

“Like that a-ha moment in a movie that you really don’t believe happens in real life, we both turned to each other with eyes wide open and said at the same time, ‘Chandler!'” Janollari recalled.

He said of Perry’s audition, “We called him in immediately to read for Chandler, and the rest is history. It was magic.”

Janollari also got to know Perry personally and highlighted how his “dedication to his Sober Living house, his recent autobiography and his determination to help others in need inspired many struggling with addictions.”

“A truly hilarious man. A beautiful kind soul. A real friend,” a heartbroken Janollari said of Matthew.

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The late River Phoenix‘s mother and sister are paying tribute to the Stand by Me actor, who died of a drug overdose at 23 years old on October 31, 1993.

The actor and musician died outside of Los Angeles’ Viper Room nightclub, which at the time was co-owned by his friend Johnny Depp.

Arlyn “Heart” Phoenix posted a photo of her son to social media Tuesday, noting in part, “He was a voice for the voiceless and had the courage to use his celebrity to make a difference.”

Heart included the lyrics to a song River penned when he was 5; she says he wrote it after witnessing a child being bullied.

“Whether it was for human rights, animal rights, women’s rights, racial justice, environmentalism or any wrong that needed to be righted, he was there,” she continued.

Quoting River’s sister Rain, Heart continued, “‘River was not about telling people how to live their lives, he was about doing his part and encouraging others through his example, through his art. It’s just who he was as a person, his generosity, his spirit, his compassion.'”

Rain posted her own video message, showing photos of the star along with artwork people have made of him over the years. In a voice-over, the 50-year-old introduced herself and noted, “He cared so deeply about the planet, the animals and all people.”

She continued, “He really believed that one person could make a difference,” before showing a video clip of River saying, “It’s the smaller things that make the bigger things all the more rewarding. We’re all in this together.”

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Christopher Nolan‘s star-studded, acclaimed biopic Oppenheimer is returning to IMAX, following a record-setting run in the large format theaters over the summer.

The movie, which stars Cillian Murphy as the father of the atomic bomb — with a supporting cast of Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr., among others — made $183 million to date from IMAX theaters alone; it has made more than $946 million worldwide.

ABC Audio has learned the IMAX return will be for one week only, kicking off Friday, November 3.

Six exclusive locations — AMC Irvine Spectrum in Irvine, California; AMC Lincoln Square IMAX in New York City; AMC Metreon 16 IMAX in San Francisco, California; BFI IMAX in London; and Melbourne Museum IMAX in Australia — will screen the film in the super premium IMAX 70mm format.

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While much has been made of so-called “superhero fatigue” at the box office, moviegoers have indicated to online ticket service Fandango that they’re not tired of seeing people in tights.

At least that’s the takeaway from Fandango’s Most Anticipated Holiday Movie Survey for 2023.

Nearly 2,000 users picked Marvel Studios’ The Marvels and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the last DC movie before Warner Bros. Discovery’s comic book universe is rebooted, as the first and second movies they’re most looking forward to seeing, respectively.

The Marvels, starring Brie Larson, Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris, opens November 10; Jason Momoa will be seen as the King of Atlantis on December 20.

Taking third place was the December 15 release Wonka, the Timothée Chalamet movie in which he plays the candy kingpin to-be.

The prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Joaquin Phoenix‘s biopic Napoleon round out the top five; those films hit theaters November 17 and November 22, respectively.

Survey questions, methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.

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Bridgerton veteran Ruby Barker, who played Marina on the hit show, claims Netflix and Shonda Rhimes‘ Shondaland production company gave her no support when she suffered a pair of psychotic breaks.

In a discussion with Oxford University’s LOAF Podcast, the English actress explained her first break occurred in 2019 after she wrapped production on the show’s first season; the second occurred in 2022.

“Not a single person from Netflix, not a single person from Shondaland … have even contacted me or even emailed me to ask me if I’m okay or if I would benefit from any sort of aftercare or support,” she expressed. “Nobody.”

Barker’s character was “alienated, very ostracized” for getting pregnant out of wedlock, which the actress claimed was “tormenting” and led to her “deteriorating.”

“When I went into hospital a week after shooting Bridgerton Season 1, it was really covered up and kept on the down-low because the show was going to be coming out,” she said.

At the time, “I was just coming out from hospital … I had all these engagements to do.” Barker explained, “My life was changing drastically overnight and yet there was still no support and there still hasn’t been any support … So I was trying really, really hard to act like it was ok and that I could work and that it wasn’t a problem.”

She added, “It’s almost like I had this metaphorical invisible gun to my head to sell this show because this show is bubbly and fun..,” noting she feared her fledgling career would end if she spoke up.

Barker’s second hospitalization was more public, as she told her Instagram followers she had been “really unwell” and “struggling since Bridgerton.”

That said, at the time, she thanked the streaming service for “saving” her when she was cast.

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Although representatives for SAG-AFTRA and The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the organization representing the major Hollywood studios, are meeting again Tuesday, the performers’ union says the two parties are still at an impasse.

On Monday, the union’s negotiating committee sent a message to its members noting that “talks over the past week have been productive,” but the two opposing groups “remain far apart on key issues.”

The message from the negotiators urged SAG-AFTRA members to “help us keep up the pressure on the AMPTP by showing up on the picket lines, raising your voices at rallies across the country, and by posting messages of support and strength on social media.”

The union also requested social media support, urging different actions on successive days between Halloween and Friday, November 3.

Its #SAGAftraStrongChallenge is looking for members to show off their SAG-AFTRA shirts, send messages of encouragement to its negotiators, and showcase their creativity with signs supporting the strike, which has been underway since July 14.

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Milo Ventimiglia and his girlfriend, model Jarah Mariano, tied the knot in a private ceremony attended by family and close friends earlier this year, Us Weekly first reported and People confirmed through a rep on Monday, October 30.

Neither Ventimiglia, 46, nor Mariano, 38, has publicly confirmed their relationship, though the couple has been spotted in California together in recent months after the This Is Us alum bought a ranch house in Malibu last year, per Us Weekly.

Fans first got wind of Ventimiglia and Mariano’s romance in 2022 after the pop culture Instagram account Deuxmoi reported they were an item, according to People. When a follower asked who he was dating, Deuxmoi posted the question on their Instagram Story with a photo of Ventimiglia and Mariano in their bathing suits together, each with their hands on a bottle of champagne as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Welcome to the hood @jaharm + mi,” read the caption.

Deuxmoi shared another post about the couple back in June, prompting one follower to ask if they were married after Mariano was spotted wearing a “big ole diamond ring and band.”

Ventimiglia has kept his love life private over the years, telling People in 2017 that he prefers to keep his personal life out of the spotlight due to his respect for his craft.

“I try to minimize myself so people can see the character and can really dive into the work,” he explained. “I try and remain as anonymous and invisible as I can so it doesn’t take away from the experience of the men that I play. I don’t know how interesting my life is any more than anyone else’s.”

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The tributes continue to pour in for Matthew Perry, who was found dead in his Los Angeles home on October 28 at the age of 54.

Molly Hurwitz, who was in a relationship with the former Friends star from 2018 until their split in 2021 after a six-month engagement, posted to Instagram Monday her thoughts on his passing.

“He would love that the world is talking about how talented he was. And he really was very talented,” the literary agent captioned a picture of Perry from behind, taking in a beautiful snow-covered cityscape.

“As the Friends reunion was approaching, we rewatched the show together,” she continued. “‘F***, I was so good!!!…See what I did there???'” she recalled Perry saying.

“We rewound and studied scenes. Our respect and appreciation of humor is something that connected us. Being with him as he rediscovered his brilliance was magical,” Hurwitz expressed.

She added, “But, I obviously knew that man in a very different way, too. While I loved him deeper than I could comprehend, he was complicated, and he caused pain like I’d never known. No one in my adult life has had a more profound impact on me than Matthew Langford Perry. I have tremendous gratitude for that, for everything I learned from our relationship.”

In addition to mentioning the addiction support organization Al-Anon, Hurwitz concluded with, “Matty, I feel relief that you are at peace,” before signing off with an obvious pet name between the pair, “Sincerely, Moll-o-Rama(…fication).”

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It Follows writer-director David Robert Mitchell and Maika Monroe, who starred in the 2014 cult horror classic, are set to return for the sequel, They Follow, according to Variety. The original, which followed Monroe’s Jay Height, a young woman who is pursued by a supernatural entity after a sexual encounter, grossed an impressive $15 million at the domestic box office, despite its shoestring budget…

The long-running children’s series Sesame Street is getting a makeover for its 56th season set to launch in 2025, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The program will switch its usual “magazine”-style format in favor of two longer, more narrative-driven segments, the trade reports. The segments will be coupled with a new animated series, Tales From 123. Other tweaks will include having a signature song in every episode — and having the Muppet characters address the camera to talk to the kids watching the show…

Variety reports a Fourth Wing TV show based on the best-selling fantasy book series by Rebecca Yarrosis — who will also executive produce the series — is currently in the works at Amazon MGM Studios. According to the studios’ official logline, the series will follow “the brutal world of Basgiath War College where there is only one rule: Graduate or Die.” It continues, “Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail expected to live a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general― her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. If the fire-breathing beasts don’t kill her, one of her fellow riders just might”…

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After more than two years of evading the prying eyes of the paparazzi, Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum are engaged, according to People, with multiple sources confirming the news.

The couple had been the subject of swirling rumors since the summer of 2021, but the engagement news comes after Kravitz was spotted sporting an engagement ring while attending Kendall Jenner‘s Halloween bash alongside Tatum.

The pair’s love story began on the set of Kravitz’s directorial debut, P**** Island, where Kravitz said Tatum’s nurturing and protective nature brought them closer.

Before this engagement, Kravitz was married to actor Karl Glusman from 2019-2021, while Tatum had a prior marriage to Jenna Dewan, with whom he shares a 10-year-old daughter named Everly.

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