Entertainment

On Wednesday, August 2, former King of Queens star Leah Remini filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court against those behind her former religion, the Church of Scientology.

According to an announcement, Remini is alleging “mob-style operations and attacks on her and other alleged victims and survivors of the Church of Scientology and their advocates.”

The lawsuit reportedly “seeks to require Scientology, and any entity it controls … to cease and desist its alleged practice of harassment, defamation, and other unlawful conduct against anyone who Scientology has labeled as an ‘enemy.'”

The actress and producer behind the Emmy-winning A&E docuseries Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath is seeking punitive and compensatory damages for what she claims was damage done to her career by speaking out about the church founded by novelist L. Ron Hubbard.

“For 17 years, Scientology and [leader] David Miscavige have subjected me to what I believe to be psychological torture, defamation, surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, significantly impacting my life and career,” Remini commented. “I believe I am not the first person targeted by Scientology and its operations, but I intend to be the last.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Horror legend George A. Romero may have died in 2017, but most appropriately, the father of the zombie movie genre’s final project will breathe again.

Deadline reports the project from the director of the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead wrote Twilight of the Dead to cap his long and celebrated zombie series. However, he passed away at 77 before it was shot.

Armed with a treatment for his “final zombie movie,” Deadline says Romero’s estate and a production company called Roundtable Entertainment are moving forward with the film. Shooting on the seventh and final Dead film is planned for later this year in Puerto Rico.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On Wednesday, August 2, actor Courtney B. Vance, president of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, announced the organization has raised more than $15 million in the past three weeks for its Emergency Financial Assistance Program.

Among the biggest donors were the program’s patrons, who donated $1 million or more — including George and Amal Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dwayne Johnson, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness, and Matt Damon and wife Luciana Barroso.

In the announcement, Lovecraft Country star Vance added, “Thanks to the support of some of Hollywood’s top-earning stars, the Foundation is preparing to bring aid and hope to thousands of journeymen actors facing tremendous economic hardship.”

The work stoppages from both the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes have all but shuttered production in Hollywood, leaving thousands of set workers, and working actors whose names one wouldn’t recognize, like a Damon or a Clooney, without paychecks.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Special Ops: Lioness, the military spy thriller from Yellowstone hitmaker Taylor Sheridan, debuted with a bang.

The series starring executive producers Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman delivered nearly 6 million total viewers across Paramount+ globally when it launched with two episodes on July 23.

Lioness also became the biggest 24-hour series debut in the history of the streaming service, besting the previous record set by Halo in March 2022.

The first episode also ran on Paramount Network on the same day, adding to the viewership total. The second installment aired on Sunday, July 30, on the sister linear channel.

The total numbers on streaming and linear made Lioness cable’s #1 new scripted premiere of 2023, beating out hits like The Last of Us and The Lazarus Project, the streaming service touts.

Based on a real-life CIA program, the show follows Laysla De Oliveira‘s Cruz Manuelos, a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited by Saldaña’s steely Joe to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team and help bring down an international terrorist by going undercover.

Oscar winner Morgan Freeman also stars in the show; new episodes drop Sundays on Paramount+.

In response, David C. Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios, one of the show’s producers, noted, “We are thrilled audiences have discovered the power of Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman & LayslaDe Oliveira. These three incredible actors delivered and make Lioness an action packed, dramatic, joy-ride week after week.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Robert Downey Jr. is taking an already worthwhile effort and doubling down.

The Marvel movie and Oppenheimer star recently launched Downey’s Dream Cars on Max, in which he re-engineers some classic vehicles in his collection to be emissions-free.

Per his Instagram Story on Wednesday, August 2, he’s now giving away six of them — Downey’s eco-retrofitted 1965 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SE, a 1972 Chevrolet K10 Pickup, a 1972 VW Bus, a 1966 Buick Riviera, and a 1985 Chevrolet El Camino — as the prizes in a charity-sponsored sweepstakes.

The giveaway benefits the Edward Charles Foundation, a nonprofit which claims to disburse a million bucks a week to various charities dedicated to fighting poverty, saving endangered animals, providing health care and more.

Donating to the charity at various levels — from $10 bucks to $5,000 — gives one a corresponding number of entries. However, the rules state, “Your donation will not increase your chances of winning but will help the charitable work of the Edward Charles Foundation fba FootPrint Coalition,” the latter being Downey and wife Susan Downey‘s organization seeking a greener world through technology.

The rules stipulate there’s no purchase necessary to win, and entry dates for each vehicle will begin on January 24, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET, running through July 16, 2024.

All information on the giveaway can be found here.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Step into the future, but hold onto High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

The Disney+ series comes to an end with its fourth season, which drops August 9. Ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike, its cast and creator chatted with ABC Audio to commemorate the show’s run.

“I have not began to process that this is ending,” Joshua Bassett, who plays Ricky, said. “It’s so rare that a show gets a pilot, let alone gets picked up, let alone gets put out, let alone gets loved by people. And then gets multiple seasons. We’re just so fortunate.”

Sofia Wylie, who plays fan-favorite Gina, agrees.

“We’ve finished this off in such a wonderful way,” Wylie said. “Anything good ending never feels good in the moment. So, of course there’s an element of me that wants to cry and scream and kick until we get a fifth season. But also, an element of me that’s just so, so grateful.”

Showrunner Tim Federle recalls the incredible talent his show produced: “I always thought they would explode in a big way. I don’t know if I expected it to happen so fast, and I’m just so proud of them.”

One of those talents is Olivia Rodrigo. Her character, Nini, was written out of the series as Rodrigo’s real-life music career soared. “She’s left such a legacy on all of us, and such a thumbprint, handprint on our heart for the series, that she of course stays with us in a lot of meaningful ways emotionally,” Federle said.

Speaking of, Federle has an idea of what he hopes the legacy of his show will be.

“That we were inclusive and safe for people, our audience, and then for future theater kids who are looking for their own club,” Federle said.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As he continues to recover from the medical complication he suffered in April, Oscar winner Jamie Foxx took some time out to shout out one of his sisters, Deidra Dixon, on her birthday, and credited her with saving his life.

While it’s not yet known what condition left Foxx hospitalized, the Oscar winner noted, “Happy birthday to my beautiful for sister @frequency11,” adding, “‘D’… you are magical you are beautiful you are the courageous lionesses … And without you I would not be here.”

Without elaborating, Jamie added, “… had you not made the decisions that you made I would’ve lost my life….”

He closed with, “I love you forever and ever happy birthday sis,” adding the hashtag “#swipeleft.”

On July 21, after months of speculation, Foxx broke his silence about his health situation, explaining he has been through “hell and back.”

He added, “I went through something that I thought I would never, ever go through” and that his road to recovery “had some potholes,” but he is on his way back to good health and able to work again.

Jamie’s message also shouted out his family, noting, “I cannot tell you how great it feels to have your family kick in, in such a way. They kept it airtight, didn’t let nothing out, they protected me and that’s what I hoped that everyone could have in moments like these.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Vermont State Police has announced it has charged a Dorset resident in the June 12 motor vehicle accident that took the life of Everwood star Treat Williams.

According to the press release from the department, the 71-year-old was riding his motorcycle when a Honda Element driven by 35-year-old Ryan Koss turned into the star’s path, and collided with Williams’ Honda VT700c just before 5 p.m.

Investigators also detailed that Williams died at Albany Medical Center in New York of “severe trauma and blood loss as a result of the crash.”

The local prosecutor’s office requested that the Vermont State Police issue a citation to Koss “on a charge of grossly negligent operation with death,” and that happened on Tuesday evening, August 1, according to the release.

Koss turned himself in at the Shaftsbury Barracks, where he was processed on the charge and released. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 25, 2023, at the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Bennington.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The first trailer for the second season of Marvel Studios’ Loki, released Monday, July 31, has become the biggest online trailer debut ever for any series on Disney+ with 80 million views, according to Deadline.

The first season of the series, which focused on Tom Hiddleston‘s titular God of Mischief, remains Marvel Studios’ most watched program on the streamer.

The new season, debuting on October 6, sees Loki slipping between time periods, and trying to stop the end of the world. Also returning for season 2 are Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku, Jonathan Majors, and Richard E. Grant.

Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan also joins the sophomore season’s cast.

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Apple TV+ has canceled Suspicion after one season, according to Deadline. The thriller series, a remake of Israeli drama series False Flag, followed five ordinary Brits accused of kidnapping the son of a prominent U.S. media mogul and embark on a desperate race against time to prove their innocence. Suspicion starred Katherine Newman, The Big Bang Theory‘s Kunal Nayyar, The Americans‘ Noah Emmerich, Black Mirror‘s Georgia Campbell, Scorpion‘s Elyes Gabel, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s Elizabeth Henstridge and Dancing on the Edge‘s Angel Coulby. Uma Thurman appeared in six of the episodes…

Netflix’s Disenchantment, the animated comedy from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has been renewed for its fifth and final season, debuting September 1. Set in the crumbling fairy tale world of Dreamland, Disenchantment features the voice of Broad City‘s Abby Jacobsen as a hard-drinking princess named Bean, The Descendants actor and screenwriter Nat Faxon as Elfo, Bean’s Elvish sidekick and Eric Andre as Bean’s “personal demon,” Luci. Netflix dropped a teaser trailer for the fifth season on Monday…

Comedian Hasan Minhaj appears to be the odds-on favorite to host Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, replacing Trevor Noah, who left the show in late 2022, sources tell Variety. However, the insiders add that a deal has not been finalized. Minaj is a former Daily Show correspondent who went on to host his own weekly Netflix program called Patriot Act…

Marc Gilpin, who played the youngest son of Roy Scheider’s Police Chief Martin Brody in Jaws 2, died Saturday in Dallas after a long battle with glioblastoma. His older sister, Frasier actress Peri Gilpin, broke the news, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Marc was 56. A year after Jaws 2, he guest starred on an episode of CHiPs, and followed that up with appearances on Fantasy Island, Silver Spoons, China Beach and the ABC telefilm Surviving. Marc also appeared in the films The Legend of the Lone Ranger, Earthbound, and She’s Out of Control, before trading acting for a career as a software engineer…

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.