Entertainment

Inga Swenson, best known for her role as Gretchen the Cook the ABC Soap spinoff Benson, died of natural causes after months of declining health at a Los Angeles board and care facility, the actress’ son Mark tells TMZ. She was 90. In addition to Benson, Inga also starred on Broadway and had supporting supporting roles in the films Advise and Consent and The Miracle Worker, where she played Helen Keller‘s mother…

Production on the long-running daytime drama Days Of Our Lives, which streams on NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform, has been temporarily suspended amid the misconduct investigation against longtime co-executive producer/director Albert Alarr, according to Deadline. About 30-40 people — primarily women — were interviewed in the investigation, which probed accusations of inappropriate comments and physical contact, including groping and forceful kissing, and revealed a toxic environment on the show that allegedly had been fostered by Alarr for years, per the outlet…

Hulu has canceled its musical rom-com Up Here after just one season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series starred Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes as a couple working through their anxieties in late ‘90s New York City. In addition to Whitman and Valdes, the show’s cast included Katie Finneran, John Hodgman, Andréa Burns, Emilia Suárez, Sophia Hammons and Scott Porter…

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The combination of Barbie and Oppenheimer continued to lift the previously lackluster summer box office.

Barbie topped the North American box office for the second straight week with an estimated $93 million, bringing its two-week total to $351.4 million. The film added an estimated $122.2 million overseas, for a worldwide tally of $774.5 million. It’s already the third highest-grossing film of the year behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer also had another big week, racking up an estimated $46 million, for a two-week domestic haul of $174 million. Its global tally now stands at $400.4 million. It’s already eclipsed the lifetime grosses of Nolan’s previous two films, Tenet and Batman Begins, which earned $365 million and $373 million, respectively.

Disney’s supernatural horror comedy Haunted Mansion opened in third place with an estimated $24.6 million. The movie, based on the theme park ride and starring Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, LaKeith Stanfield, Jamie Lee Curtis, Rosario Dawson and Danny DeVito, collected $33.3 million worldwide.

Sound of Freedom took fourth place with $12.4 million, lifting its domestic total to $148.9 million.

Rounding out the top five was Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, earning an estimated $10.7 million domestically in its third weekend in theaters. So far, the latest Mission: Impossible has grabbed $139.23 million in North America and $448.5 million worldwide.

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Suits may have only recently become available to watch on Netflix, but it’s already made quite an impression.

The former USA Network series, which starred Meghan Markle for eight seasons, then ran for a ninth and final season after her character was written out, set a viewing time record for an acquired series in the week of June 26-July 2.

According to Nielsen, Suits had 3.14 billion minutes of watch time. This easily passes the former record of 2.49 billion minutes that was held by Manifest, back before the show became a Netflix original and still belonged to NBC.

Suits finished airing almost four years ago in September 2019. It became available on Netflix on June 23. The series is also available to watch on Peacock, and streams from that service contribute to its total viewing time record.

This huge number of streams for Suits beats out newer titles, like the debut of season 3 of The Witcher on Netflix, which came in second with 1.31 billion minutes of viewing, and The Bear on Hulu, which came in third with 1.01 billion minutes of viewing.

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Ever wanted to hang out with Woody Harrelson? Well, here’s your chance.

The Union Solidarity Coalition is hosting an auction to support film crew members who are at risk of losing their health care benefits due to the ongoing Writer’s Guild of America strike.

The announcement came on Friday, July 28, almost three months into the WGA strike that began on May 2.

Available auction items range from props and collectables — such as a Spaceballs poster signed by Mel Brooks and Abbi Jacobson’s blue bodycon dress from Broad City — to experiences with famous actors, like a curated New York dining experience with Succession’s very own cousin Greg, Nicholas Braun, and, yes, that aforementioned private hang with Harrelson in Los Angeles.

Also available are Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse posters signed by producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, as well as a variety of handmade crafts by Seth Rogen, Lena Dunham and Justine Bateman.

Bidding ends on August 5. TUSC says more items and experiences will be auctioned off later that month.

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Love Actually star Thomas Brodie-Sangster recently shared news of his engagement to actress Talulah Riley with a reference to the iconic romantic comedy.

The actor, who played Sam, the stepson of Liam Neeson‘s character Daniel in the 2003 hit, shared a photo with Riley on Thursday, July 27, which he captioned, “Happy to announce that Talulah and I are engaged. Love is all around X”.

Many felt the last line of his post was a subtle reference to Hugh Grant‘s monologue in the film, in which his character famously says, “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”

Riley also shared their engagement news on her social media. “Very happy to share that after two years of dating, Thomas Brodie Sangster and I are engaged!” she tweeted.

This will be Brodie-Sangster’s first marriage; Riley was previously married twice to Elon Musk.

Musk, the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, replied to Riley’s engagement announcement shared on the platform, writing, “Congratulations!”

Brodie-Sangster and Riley reportedly met in 2021 while they worked as costars on FX’s Pistol.

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Michelle Yeoh is now a married woman.

The actress married ex-Ferrari CEO Jean Todt on Thursday, July 27, in Geneva, Switzerland, after a 19-year engagement. 

Former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa shared the wedding’s program on Instagram, noting Todt proposed after knowing Yeoh for less than two months.

“We met in Shanghai on 4th June 2004,” the program reads. “On 26th July 2004, J.T. proposed to marry M.Y. and she said YES!”

“Today after 6992 days on 27th July 2023 in Geneva, surrounded by loving family and friends, we are so happy to celebrate this special moment together,” the program continues.

Massa also shared other images from the ceremony, including a selfie where Yeoh smiles while holding her Academy Award for Best Actress, which she won in March for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

“Happy marriage #JeanTodt & #michelleyeoh,” Massa captioned his Instagram carousel. “Love you so much.”

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Have no fear, your reality roundup is here! Here’s a look at what’s happened in the world of reality television this week.

The Kardashians (Hulu)

Kylie Jenner confirmed plastic surgery rumors in The Kardashians‘ season finale, admitting to undergoing breast enhancement at 19, before having daughter Stormi. Reflecting on the decision the makeup mogul expressed, “I just wish, obviously, I never got them done to begin with. I would recommend anyone who is thinking about it to wait until after children.” Thinking of her daughter she added, “I would be heartbroken if she wanted to get her body done at 19. And she’s the most beautiful thing ever. I want to be the best mom and best example for her. And I just wish I could, like, be her and do it all differently, because I wouldn’t touch anything.”

Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star and Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross is pregnant with her second child with husband Aaron Ross, she confirmed to People. However, it’s not the pregnancy teased in the season 15 trailer. Cameras for RHOA captured her emotional journey to conceive baby No. 2, including the joyous moment of discovering her pregnancy, but she revealed that she suffered a miscarriage nearly two months later. Richards-Ross, who also shares son Aaron Jermaine, 6, with her husband, was able to get pregnant again a month later and is now expecting her rainbow baby on December 25.  

Vanderpump Rules (Bravo)

Ariana Madix is reportedly refusing to film scenes with her ex Tom Sandoval, who had an affair with castmate Raquel Leviss (now Rachel). According to an Entertainment Tonight source, “She’s made it clear she doesn’t want to film with Tom, saying she is in a good place mentally, and filming with him will only cause disruption.”

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(SPOILERS AHEAD) Marvel’s Secret Invasion wrapped up Wednesday, July 26, and executive producer and director Ali Selim is ready to spill some secrets. 

The show saw some fan favorites die, like Cobie Smulders‘ Maria Hill, and others whose apparent heel turns were due to being impersonated by shape-shifting aliens in disguise. 

For Selim, however, the “boots on the ground” show also gave the veteran of grounded shows like Jack Ryan and The Path to 9/11 a chance to capture some stunning acting, thanks to Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Oscar and Emmy winner Olivia Colman and Kingsley Ben-Adir. 

“I was really thrilled to step in and be able to dive down into Nick Fury’s inner life, Nick Fury’s fears and doubts and vulnerability. And I think for Sam Jackson, that was an interesting place to be because he is a bada** in the MCU. He’s a bada** everywhere he goes. But I think playing vulnerability and exposing your inner self is really difficult and rewarding work for an actor.”

Selim also praises the “brilliant” Colman for her portrayal of British spy Sonia Falsworth. “She likes to sort of get a feel for it and go,” he enthuses.

In the finale, Ben-Adir’s Skrull extremist Gravik and Emilia Clarke‘s heroic Skrull Giah are infused with the DNA of dozens of Marvel Cinematic Universe heroes and villains, giving them all their powers for their final faceoff.

Selim called it a fun battle to map out. “Like what superpower would Giah have that would trump Gravik in the moment? And then what superpower would Gravik use that would dominate Giah in the moment?”

He called it “a little bit of ‘paper, scissors, rock.'”

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

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Vendors for the 75th Primetime Emmys have been informed that the ceremony, originally slated to take place on September 18, has been postponed due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, according to Variety. While the move was expected, the TV Academy and Fox had been holding off on making an official announcement. However, with the ceremony just two months away, vendors involved with the event needed to be informed now that their services will have to be put on hold. Same for the Creative Arts Emmys originally set for September 9 and 10. A new date has yet to be announced. The last time the Emmys were postponed was in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks…

Donald Glover and his brother Stephen Glover have stepped in to develop the Lando Calrissian series Lando for Lucasfilm and Disney+, replacing Justin Simien, who recently parted ways with the series, according to Deadline. Glover and his brother will reportedly write the series with an eye towards Donald reprising his role from Ron Howard’s 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story…

Drag Race fans wanted more, and they’re finally getting it. Full 90-minute episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 are headed to Paramount+, according to Variety. Drag Race moved from VH1 to MTV for its 15th season and went from a 90-minute format to 60 minutes. In addition to the extended episodes, Drag Race Mexico is also headed to Paramount+ later this Fall…

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Jamie Lynn Spears is reflecting on the public outcry that happened after getting pregnant at 16 while filming her Disney Channel series Zoey 101

“[T]hat was something that I took responsibility for the way that made sense for me,” Spears recalled during the Wednesday, July 26, episode of the Better Tomorrow With Hannah Brown podcast. “That doesn’t make sense for everyone else, but it made sense for me, and the whole world came down and told me I was the worst human alive for doing so, and that every young girl who ever watched my show was going to be ruined because of me and my personal decision.”

“[People were] having the conversation of young girls my age were having sex. And I think people didn’t want that … Of like, this is going on, but a lot of them aren’t getting pregnant,” she added, explaining, “If I would’ve had an abortion, no one would have known about it, but it wouldn’t have changed the fact that I had sex. So I think that was really the bigger conversation, like, ‘Now, young girls are going to want to have sex, or they are.’”

Spears calls returning for her new film, Zoey 102 — which premiered Thursday, July 27 on Paramount+ — a “full-circle moment,” sharing that when her daughter Maddie, now 15, visited set, she said, “‘Wow, Mom, I can’t believe all of these people are here because of your show, and you did that, I’m so proud of you.’”

“And I swear to you that was like the moment that I said, ‘Thank you, God. Thank you so much, that moment makes it all worth it,’” adds Jaimie Lynn.

Spears also shares daughter Ivey, 5, with husband Jamie Watson, whom she married in 2014.

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