Entertainment

The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has received an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA, giving stars Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage and Hunter Schafer the go-ahead to promote the film ahead of its November 17 theatrical release, according to Variety.

The agreement could provide a much needed boost to the film that cost $100 million to make. It’s also the first installment in the billion-dollar franchise in eight years and the first without Jennifer Lawrence. 

Films that haven’t gotten interim agreements — such as Sony’s comedy Dumb Money, with Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson and America Ferrera — have struggled at the box office due to the stars’ inability to talk up the films on late-night talk shows and walk the red carpet. Other big budget movies, like Dune: Part Two, have moved their release dates to 2024.

So far, more than 100 films, including Priscilla and Ferrari, have obtained interim agreements amid the SAG-AFTRA strike, per Variety. To get an interim agreement, producers must operate independently from companies belonging to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and agree to terms proposed by the guild in its negotiations.

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The Friends cast has released a joint statement in the wake of Matthew Perry‘s death.

In the statement shared with ABC News, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc paid tribute to their late co-star and friend, who died Saturday at the age of 54, according to law enforcement sources.

Perry was known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom, which ran from 1994 to 2004.

“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” their statement reads. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

“In time we will say more, as and when we are able,” the statement continues. “For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

The Friends cast remained close following the show’s series finale and reunited onscreen in the 2021 special, Friends: The Reunion.

In a statement Sunday, the LAPD said Perry “was discovered by a witness unresponsive in his jacuzzi” on Saturday at around 4 p.m. PT. “The Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to the scene and pronounced Perry deceased,” the LAPD statement said.

The LA County coroner confirmed Sunday to ABC News that an autopsy was performed. Perry’s cause of death is pending while they wait for toxicology results, which could take weeks.

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As fans await a joint statement from his former Friends cast mates, Salma Hayek Pinault has posted a tribute to Instagram for her Fools Rush In co-star Matthew Perry.

Perry played a strait-laced executive who falls for Hayek’s free-spirited photographer in the 1997 rom-com.

“Two days ago, I woke up to the shocking news that Matthew Perry is no longer with us,” her caption to a series of throwback photos of the pair began. “It’s taken me a couple of days to process this profound sadness.”

She continued, “There is a special bond that happens when you share dreams with someone, and together you work towards them. I was very moved last year when Matthew shared on his Instagram stories how much he loved ‘Fools Rush In,’ and how he thought that that film we did together was probably his best movie.”

Salma added, “Throughout the years, he and I found ourselves reminiscing about that meaningful time in our lives with a deep sense of nostalgia and gratitude.”

Hayek Pinault concluded, “My friend, you are gone much too soon, but I will continue to cherish your silliness, your perseverance, and your lovely heart. Farewell, sweet Matthew, we will never forget you.”

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Mary Lou Retton is speaking out for the first time about a life-threatening health scare that required a nearly two-week stay in the intensive care unit.

Retton, 55, Instagrammed a thank you to her fans and followers for their support as she battled what her daughters previously described as a very rare form of pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection that causes the air sacs of the lungs to fill with fluid, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“I am overwhelmed with all the love and support form [sic] the world as I fight,” Retton wrote in an Instagram post Monday. “I am forever grateful to you all!”

Retton, a mom of four daughters, was discharged from the hospital last week, two of her daughters shared on social media at the time. They noted she was unable to breathe on her own when she was first hospitalized.

In her post, Retton said she has made a tremendous recovery over the past several weeks, writing, “I’m beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make this statement.”

She plans to share more details of her health battle in the future to help others, but for now, she’s focusing on her recovery.

“I’m with family continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive as I know this recovery is a long and slow process,” she wrote. “I appreciate everyone’s respect of my privacy at this time.”

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Since the news broke that Matthew Perry had passed away on October 28 at age 54, social media has been flooded with tributes to him.

Ranker, the website that lets people up- or down-vote pretty much everything, has devoted a lot of space to Friends‘ fandom, and Perry and his Chandler Bing were already well represented in its findings.

With 1.2 million votes, Friends was declared the #1 sitcom in TV history, and Chandler himself ranked #1 on the listing of The Best Characters on Friends.

Chandler ranked just below The Office‘s Michael Scott in the ranking of the Funniest TV Characters of All Time, placing second — and he placed eighth on the Greatest TV Characters of All Time list, beating competition like The Walking Dead‘s Daryl Dixon (#13) and Game of Thrones‘ Jon Snow (#25).

Further, Chandler ranked in the top spot for Best TV Characters of the 1990s. And back when quarantining was a thing, more than 3,000 people said they’d like to spend their time with Chandler Bing, hoarding toilet paper or washing their groceries, or doing whatever else they did in the lockdown times.

Matthew Perry also ranked #32, ahead of Jesse Plemons (#40) and Danny McBride (#56), as the Greatest Actors Who Have Never Won An Emmy (For Acting).

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In an upcoming interview on The Graham Norton Show, Arnold Schwarzenegger recalls saying no to the naysayers about his dreams of being a world-famous bodybuilder, and then an actor.

“You can imagine when you have big dreams, people say, ‘This guy is crazy.’ Even my parents thought that I was kind of out of my mind, right?” the Terminator icon says.

He continues, “When I said I wanted to be a bodybuilding champion, they said, ‘Well, we understand if you want to be a ski champion, we’re in Austria. … bodybuilding is an American sport,'” Arnold said, cracking up the studio audience and his fellow guests, including Judi Dench.

He added, “Then when I wanted to go into acting, it was the same thing. They said, ‘It will never happen.'” He recalled being told no one with a German accent had ever become an international leading man in movies.

Schwarzenegger said he was told, “‘Plus, your body: look at you. You weigh 250 pounds.’ I mean, this is now the ’70s … now it’s Dustin Hofffman, and Al Pacino and Woody Allen: Those are the sex symbols of the ’70s.”

He added, “‘And the name: Shwarzenschnitzel,’ whatever they said to me, ‘that’s too long of a name, no one will be able to pronounce that.'”

“I didn’t listen to the naysayers,” Arnold said, adding he saw himself becoming an action star like Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson. He was told, “‘You will never be able to climb that ladder.'” So, Arnold said, he told them he’d make his own ladder.

The interview airs on BBC America on Thursday, November 2, at 11 p.m. ET; The Graham Norton Show also streams Fridays on AMC+ and Acorn TV.

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AMC is going deep with Natuilus, a live-action series inspired by Jules Verne’s beloved book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

The 10-episode series, which was produced by ABC’s parent company Disney, “tells the origin story of the iconic Captain Nemo: an Indian Prince robbed of his birthright and family, a prisoner of the East India Mercantile Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces that have taken everything from him.”

The show stars Shazad Latif as the captain, as well as Georgia Flood, Thierry Fremont and Céline Menville, with guest appearances from Richard E. Grant, Anna Torv and Noah Taylor.

In a statement, Ben Davis, executive vice president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, called the project “a big, sweeping drama that is sure to appeal to fans of our Anne Rice Immortal Universe and other buzzy and fan-forward series like Orphan Black: Echoes.” He adds that the “special television event” will set sail next year.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Retired tennis pro Pete Sampras has gone public with news that his wife, former Mortal Kombat star Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, has been battling ovarian cancer.

Noting he’s normally “a pretty quiet and private person,” he explained he wanted to inspire others to reach out if they need support.

Calling the past year an “exceptionally challenging time for my family,” Sampras recalled that his wife, 50, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last December. “Since then, she has had major surgery, pushed through chemotherapy and continues with targeted maintenance therapy,” the tennis legend said.

“It is hard to watch someone you love go through a challenge like this,” he continued. “However, seeing our boys step up and be such strong supporters of Bridgette, myself and each other has been amazing.”

He added, “Watching Bridgette continue to be an incredible mom and wife through it all has been inspiring.”

The couple have two sons, Christian, nearly 21, and Ryan, 18.

Sampras noted that through this experience, “I have also learned that it is very hard to reach out for support when something is simply too hard to talk about.”

He concluded, “I will end this by humbly asking for good thoughts and prayers for our family as Bridgette continues to thrive on her healing journey.”

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Greta Gerwig has revealed that another one-name icon, Rocky, inspired her hit Barbie.

At a special screening of her blockbuster at the DGA Theater Complex in West Hollywood, Gerwig spilled that Ryan Gosling took the fashion inspo for his Ken — specifically his famous shirt-free faux fur look — from Sylvester Stallone.

“Ryan Gosling also loves Sylvester Stallone,” Gerwig said, according to People. “We had so long to think about it and talk about it, and he and I really did. His faux mink came from Sylvester Stallone’s amazing outfits.”

Stallone rocked white fur coats in the 1970s and 1980s during the height of his Rocky heyday.

Gerwig continued, “When I think of adorned men, I think he’s probably the best one. And I feel like Ken was nothing if not a man in search of adornment. “

She added of collaborating with Gosling, “So that was a really key moment where we were like … it’s Sly. And we talked about specific moments we really loved in his films.”

Apparently, Stallone got in touch with the filmmaker after the movie premiered. “He was into it, which I was very honored,” Gerwig beamed.

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Co-stars, admirers, colleagues and friends of Matthew Perry began sharing their tributes on social media platforms shortly after news of the 54-year-old’s death broke over the weekend.

A lengthy statement came from “shocked and deeply, deeply saddened” Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane and executive producer Kevin Bright.

Calling Perry “brilliant” and “always the funniest person in the room,” they tipped a hat to the episode titles of every Friends show with, “This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.”

Actor and longtime friend Hank Azaria, reflected on his friendship with Perry, via video posted on his Instagram, sharing, Perry was “the first friend I made in Los Angeles,” when he moved there at the age of 21.

Praising Perry as “the funniest man ever,” the Simpsons actor said they were “more like brothers for a long time.”

Maggie Wheeler, who played Janice on Friends, wrote on Instagram, “What a loss,” expressing, “I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”

Morgan Fairchild, who played Chandler’s mom on Friends, wrote, “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my ‘son’, Matthew Perry. The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock.”

Alongside a photo from her appearance on Friends, Brooke Shields wrote on Instagram, “Really struggling to find the words. You were so loved, Matthew. I loved you dearly. Thank you for the belly laughs. You brought joy to so many. We already miss you.”

Perry’s former co-star in The Odd Couple, Yvette Nicole Brown, posted a throwback picture of herself with Perry and the cast members while on set, writing in part, “I am too sad about the news to say more than this: @mattyperry4 was a sweetheart who deserved more peace in this life. 54 is too young to go.”

On Instagram, Gwyneth Paltrow noted she first met Perry in 1993, adding, “[h]e was so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with. I am super sad today, as so many of us are. I hope Matthew is at peace at long last. I really do.”

Selma Blair called Perry “My oldest boy friend,” adding, “I loved him unconditionally. And he me. And I’m broken. Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty. Sweet dreams.”

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