Entertainment

Deadline reports Book Club: The Next Chapter will make its debut on Peacock June 30, the streamer announced on Monday. Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen star in the sequel to the 2018 film, which takes the four best friends to Italy on a girls trip that turns into a cross country adventure. Andy Garcia, Don Johnson and Craig T. Nelson also star…

The first season of HBO’s drama The Idol, originally believed to consist of six episodes, will conclude with its fifth installment, airing Saturday, July 2, according to Deadline. The series stars Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye as cult leader Tedros, who worms his way into the life of troubled pop star Jocelyn, played by Lily-Rose Depp. Troye Sivan also stars along with Dan Levy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Jennie Ruby Jane, Mike Dean, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Suzanna Son and Hank Azaria. The series has yet to be renewed for a second season…

Lew Palter, the veteran character actor best known for playing department store magnate Isidor Straus in Titanic, died May 21 of lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his daughter, Catherine Palter, told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 94. Palter also played one of the Supreme Court justices in 1981’s First Monday in October and appeared on the small screen in The Flying Nun, Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law. Palter also served as an acting teacher and director at the Santa Clarita school and later conducted private workshops. His many students included Ed Harris, Don Cheadle and Cecily Strong, the last of whom he encouraged to try out for the improv group The Groundlings, leading to her breakout gig on Saturday Night Live…

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Season 20 of ABC’s The Bachelorette kicked off Monday with 27-year-old family therapist Charity Lawson ready to find her soulmate. The audience was first introduced to the star on Zach Shallcross‘ season of The Bachelor, where her combination of confidence, compassion and charisma immediately won over Bachelor Nation.

Lawson is the fourth Black woman on the long-running dating series, following season 13’s Rachel Lindsay, season 16’s Tayshia Adams and season 18’s Michelle Young.

“I can’t wait to show little girls who look like me [that they can] be in a position like this,” she said in a confessional at the top of the show.

Lawson’s first surprise of the season came when her brother Nehemiah unexpectedly showed up, seemingly to lend his support, but it turns out he had an ulterior motive. Unbeknownst to both Charity and her suitors, Nehemiah, disguised in a fake mustache, hat and wig, pretended to be a bartender and chatted up the men in an effort to spot “a bad apple or two.”

Most of the men passed muster, but Brayden, a 24-year-old travel nurse from San Diego, rubbed big brother the wrong way when, after sharing a long kiss with Charity, he displayed what Nehemiah and some of the other men described as overconfidence bordering on arrogance regarding his chances of snagging the first impression rose.

Brayden’s cockiness turned to concern when Nehemiah revealed his identity and said that he was going to report his findings to his sister.

During a followup conversation with Brayden, he told Charity that he was “giddy” over the kiss, and didn’t mean to come off as arrogant. After thinking it over, Charity followed her heart and gave Braydon the first impression rose.

At the rose ceremony, Chris, Joe, Khalid, Nic, Peter and Taylor were sent home.

Here are the men remaining after the first rose ceremony:

Aaron B., 29, a software salesman from San Diego, Calif.
Aaron S., 33, a firefighter from San Diego, Calif.
Adrian, 33, a realtor from Northridge, Calif.
Brayden, 24, a travel nurse from San Diego, Calif.
Caleb A., 29, a resident physician from Ann Arbor, Mich.
Caleb B., 24, a pro wrestler from Orlando, Fla.
Dotun, 30, an integrative medicine specialist from Brooklyn, N.Y.
James, 28, an attorney from Chicago, Ill.
Joseph “Joey,” 27, a tennis pro from Lawai, Hawaii.
John., 27, a data scientist from New York, N.Y.
John Henry, 30, an underwater welder from Virginia Beach, Va.
Josh, 28, a Harvard grad student from Bethlehem, Pa.
Kaleb K., 26, construction salesman from Norcross, Ga.
Michael, 28, a yacht captain from Chicago, Ill.
Sean, 25, a software sales representative from Tampa, Fla.
Spencer, 32, a medical sales director from Moorpark, Calif.
Tanner, 30, a mortgage lender from Pittsburgh, Pa.
Warwick, 27, a construction manager from Nashville, Tenn.
Xavier, 27, a biomedical scientist from Carrboro, N.C.

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In a chat with WSJ. Magazine‘s digital issue available Friday, June 30, Wednesday and Scream VI star Jenna Ortega lets fans in on her style secrets and how she’s learned to not be influenced by social media.

When it comes to her own style, don’t expect to see much of it when she’s due on set, says Jenna, who admits she “awful” at putting a daily look together.

“[When I’m] going to work … I wear my personal clothes for five seconds. So it’s just sweats, and I get cold really easily too, so I always go for a cardigan. I have these red thrifted boots from the ’70s that I’m obsessed with. So any time that I can find a way to get those in, I will.”

That said, Jenna’s favorite looks pair pretty well with her titular character, Wednesday Addams. “The problem is that since doing that show, if I do wear something black, it seems like I’m leaning into character, but it’s my genuine style,” the 20-year-old says.

“I genuinely resonate with Wednesday and the color black. It’s easy, and I feel the most like myself when I’m wearing all black, which is also why doing that job is really exciting.”

When asked for the advice she lives by, Jenna comments, “Whatever it is that other people are saying or doing should not be a concern to you.”

“It’s really easy nowadays with online to be influenced by everything else and everyone else,” she continues. “I try to only listen to people who are genuinely in my life and care for me and are supportive of me.”

Jenna adds, “It’s really important just to remember that all that stuff isn’t real as soon as you turn your phone off. Follow your own voice and decisions.”

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On Monday, June 26, The Hollywood Walk of Fame announced its “Class of 2024” for stars who will be honored with the landmark. 

Among the honorees in the film category will be the late Chadwick Boseman; Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige; Wonder Woman lead Gal Gadot; actress and director Maggie Gyllenhaal; Dungeons & Dragons and Star Trek star Chris Pine; Wednesday‘s Christina Ricci; Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh; and Chris Meledandri, the CEO of Illumination Entertainment, the blockbuster-minting animation studio behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the Minions franchise.

In the TV category, honorees include Emmy winners Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek), Scandal‘s Kerry Washington and Abbott Elementary‘s Sheryl Lee Ralph. Extra and Saved by the Bell‘s Mario Lopez and The Office producer Michael Schur will also be honored, as well as sportscaster Jim Nantz, and Raúl De Molina and Lili Estefan, the co-hosts of the Spanish language television show El Gordo y La Flaca.

Additionally, Jane Krakowski will be given a star in the Live Theaters/Live Performance category, while The Mandalorian star and director Carl Weathers will be honored with a star in the Sports Entertainment category, along with tennis legend Billie Jean King.

Information on when the respective stars’ ceremonies will be — including honored recording artists — is forthcoming.

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Hikers made a grim discovery in the Mount Baldy Wilderness Area in California on Saturday, June 24, in an area where British actor Julian Sands disappeared in January.

The San Bernardino County sheriff said human remains were found around 10 a.m. Saturday, and the hikers contacted the authorities. “The decedent was transported to the Coroner’s Office, pending positive identification,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.

Identification should be completed within a week, the release said.

Sands, 65, went missing after embarking on a hike; his car was located in a parking area a short time after his family reported him missing on January 13.

Fellow adventurers reported increasingly treacherous conditions on Mount Baldy at the time.

Snow and wind hampered the search for the actor, known for his work in Warlock and Leaving Las Vegas, after he went missing. Authorities say they spent more than 500 hours scouring the area for signs of the actor, and “eight unrelated search and rescue operations have been conducted in the Mount Baldy area” looking for him.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office search resumed last week with helicopters, drones and volunteers on the ground.

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On Monday, June 26, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced that Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial editor Carol Littleton and the Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter will be honored with The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

The so-called “honorary Oscar” is bestowed for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”

In the announcement, Academy President Janet Yang noted, “The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans.”

Bassett was heralded for her “decades-long career,” in which she “has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting,” said Yang.

The Producers Oscar winner Brooks “lights up our hearts with his humor, and his legacy has made a lasting impact on every facet of entertainment” on the big screen, TV and Broadway. Yang’s announcement continued, “Carol Littleton’s career in film editing serves as a model for those who come after her.”

Satter was honored as “a pillar of the independent film community [who] played a vital role in the careers of countless filmmakers around the world” as the founding senior director of Robert Redford‘s Sundance Institute.

Bassett’s honorary Oscar comes at an interesting time: She was the first performer to be nominated for an Academy Award for a Marvel Studios film, thanks to her work in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Her loyal fanbase was quick to vent their disappointment when the Best Supporting Actress trophy went instead to Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s Jamie Lee Curtis at the 94th annual Academy Awards in March.

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John Goodman may have continued on as the patriarch of The Conners family after Roseanne Barr‘s 2018 firing over a racially insensitive tweet, but The Righteous Gemstones star is still standing by her.

Goodman previously stuck up for Barr in an interview with The Sunday Times after her firing, noting he was “surprised” at the response to the tweet, for which Barr apologized. “I know for a fact that she’s not a racist,” Goodman said, adding the comedian and actress was “going through hell.”

The interview was met with gratitude from Barr, who thanked her former onscreen husband “for speaking truth about me, despite facing certain peril from producers and network.”

Over the weekend, Variety asked Goodman if he regretted his comments, to which he flatly said, “No.”

He continued, “At the time I remember going to some kind of junket where they saw the pilot, and then the interviews, and it just turned into attack. And that made me very uncomfortable with them just attacking Roseanne.”

“I felt bad for her. I just feel terrible about the whole thing,” Goodman expressed. “We had a great time. And I love her. She’s just her own person.”

He demurred on whether he’d work with her again, adding, “I just don’t know. I miss her. I wish her well.”

Barr’s Roseanne reboot character was killed off, offscreen, after she tweeted of former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, “Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes had a baby = vj.” The show, retitled The Conners, continued without Barr.

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After Ryan Reynolds and Always Sunny‘s Rob McElhenney‘s high-profile purchase of the football team Wrexham AFC, they got the need for speed, and Michael B. Jordan is along for the ride.

The trio, along with Ryan’s Maximum Effort Investments, Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners, just bought a 24% stake in Alpine Racing Ltd., a fifth-ranked Formula One racing team.

The CEO of the racing team, Laurent Rossi, called the investors, who shelled out roughly $982 million in the play, “international players with [a] strong track record in the sports industry, [who] will bring their recognized expertise to boost our media and marketing strategy, essential to support our sporting performance over the long term.”

For his part, James Toney, co-founder of Maximum Effort Investments said in the announcement, “We believe there is tremendous untapped potential in Alpine Racing. We are eager to help shine a light on this incredible team…and look forward to diving in with them, as well as our co-investors Michael B. Jordan and Rob McElhenney.”

No doubt Alpine Racing is looking for a similar change of fortune than the one enjoyed by Wrexham after Reynolds and McElhenney bought the beloved underdog Welsh footy team in 2020. Their trials and tribulations were captured in the FX docuseries Welcome to Wrexham.

In April of 2023, the soccer club clinched the National League title and earned 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.

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Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker revealed the sex of their first baby together with a literal drum roll.

Kardashian has shared a video on her Instagram showing her and the Blink-182 drummer sitting by his drum kit. After a brief back-and-forth about the presence of a “pyro guy,” Barker started rolling on the snare, leading up to an explosion of blue confetti.

Naturally, people in the comments are suggesting the couple name the baby boy Kravis.

Kardashian revealed that she was expecting during a Blink-182 show earlier in June by holding up a sign reading “Travis I’m pregnant,” a reference to a moment from the band’s classic “All the Small Things” video.

Both Kardashian and Barker each have three children from previous relationships.

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Tom Holland is getting candid about the negative reviews of his new series The Crowded Room.

“It’s no secret that my show has been so horribly reviewed,” he says during an interview with Unilad released June 23.

Holland goes on to share that despite the negative reviews, there is something that both critics and fans can take from the series.

“I think that the message of the show which can speak to so many different issues is that asking for help should be something that we as a society celebrate,” the 27-year-old actor explains. “It’s an act of bravery, whether it is substance abuse, whether it is abuse at home, whether it is abuse at school, standing up and asking for help is not something you should be ashamed of.”

“I hope that this show can represent that in a truthful and authentic and most importantly sensitive way,” he continued. “So for me, if we can somehow make people feel empowered by saying ‘I’m not feeling good I really need some help’, then we’ve done what we set out to do.”

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