Entertainment

James Cameron has responded to the news that all lives were lost in the catastrophic implosion of the OceanGate Titan submersible.

The Titanic director, who has built his own submersible and has made 33 trips to the wreckage site himself, told ABC News that the implosion is “quite surreal.”

Cameron says he is “struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night.”

This similarity, Cameron says, is significant because those in charge of this OceanGate deep exploration received letters of warning ahead of time and still chose to proceed.

Cameron was also critical of OceanGate’s use of a carbon-fiber hull, calling it “fundamentally flawed.”

Five people were aboard the submersible when it imploded, including Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who Cameron considered a friend.

“For him to have died tragically in this way is almost impossible for me to process,” Cameron said.

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Stuffed animals are greater than gold in the new trailer for The Beanie Bubble.

Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks lead the Apple TV+ film about Ty Warner and the three women who helped him make the plush animal toys known as Beanie Babies such a craze in ‘90s. Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan also star.

According to a press release, the film tells an inventive story “about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn’t appear on the heart-shaped tag.”

“Do you know what the greatest thing about America is? You can make things happen here like nowhere else,” Galifianakis says as Warner in the trailer.

The Beanie Bubble will be available in select theaters on July 21 before it drops on Apple TV+ the next week on July 28.

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The official red band trailer for the new comedy Dumb Money arrived Thursday, June 22.

From Sony Pictures, the movie follows the true events of the infamous GameStop short squeeze that took place in January 2021, and turned Wall Street and the rest of the world upside down.

Paul Dano stars as Keith Gill, the marketing professional who put all his savings into GameStop stock, posted about it on Reddit and started a movement for buying stock in the video game retailer.

Dano leads a star-studded cast that also includes Seth Rogen, Shailene Woodley, Pete Davidson, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman and Sebastian Stan.

“A lot of people feel the system is broken,” Dano says in the trailer. “The whole idea of the stock market is if you’re smart, and maybe with a little luck, you can make your fortune. Certainly not anymore.”

Dumb Money lands exclusively in theaters on September 22.

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Baby number three is on the way for Yvonne Strahovski.

The actress announced her pregnancy on Instagram on Wednesday, June 21. The photo shows The Handmaid’s Tale star posing with her baby bump as one of her sons hides behind her legs and her dog, Pizza, lays by her feet.

“Well, here we go. Baby bump #3,” she captioned the photo. “Pizza really wanted to be in the photo. So did Mr tiny feet hiding behind me.”

This is Strahovski’s third child with husband Tim Loden. They welcomed their first son, William, in October 2018 and another son in December 2021.

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The recipients of the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors were announced on Thursday, June 22.

Among those selected for their lifetime artistic achievements were Billy Crystal, Renée Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah and Dionne Warwick.

The John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts chose the honorees for its 46th ceremony for their “profound contributions to the cultural life of our nation,” Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein said.

“I am overwhelmed to be part of this fantastic group of artists. I started performing when I was five years old, making my parents and family laugh,” Crystal said. “Those laughs have carried me my entire life and career. I so wish they could be at the Kennedy Center for this glorious occasion.”

Latifah also expressed her gratitude for the honor.

“To now be recognized amongst so many multi-hyphenates feels unbelievable, not just for me and my team, but for our community,” Latifah said. “The work the Kennedy Center does is immeasurable so I’m beyond grateful for this recognition.”

2017 honoree Gloria Estefan is set to host the awards ceremony for the third time. It will air on CBS and be available to stream on Paramount+ on December 3.

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The moment has arrived as Dancing with the Stars pros Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy proudly unveil the name of their precious newborn son.

In a heartwarming Instagram announcement on Wednesday, June 21, Peta revealed that they have named their bundle of joy Rio John Chmerkovskiy.

“Born ~ 6.18.2023 8.6 oz and thriving,” she shared. “We are overjoyed to share our baby boy with all of you. @shai.aleksander is already the best big brother and we all feel very complete Life is good XO.”

This news comes just a few days after the couple joyously shared the arrival of Rio on June 18. Peta and Maksim are also parents to 6-year-old son Shai Aleksander.

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has webbed up another box office milestone, surpassing $500 million globally.

Variety reports the Sony Pictures release, which opened June 2, has grossed $290.4 million in North America and $215.9 million internationally, bringing its worldwide haul to $506.3 million. It now ranks as the third-highest-grossing domestic release of the year, behind Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, with $572 million and $345 million, respectively. It’s also the fourth-biggest global release following Mario‘s $1.3 billion, Guardians‘ $822 million and Fast X‘s $679 million.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, features the voices of Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson and Daniel Kaluuya.

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Hulu has picked up Nine Perfect Strangers for a second season at Hulu, with executive producer Nicole Kidman returning in the role of resort director Masha, according to Variety. White Lotus and The Last of Us breakout star Murray Bartlett is in talks to star in season 2, sources tell the outlet. Liv Ullmann, Dolly De Leon, Maisie Richardson Sellers and Aras Aydin will also join the cast…

Showtime announced on Wednesday that season 6 of its drama series The Chi will premiere August 4 on Paramount+ and on-demand, before making its on-air debut August 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. The season will be made up of 16 episodes that will be split into two eight-episode installments. The second half of the season will premiere at a later date. The drama, which is executive-produced by Lena Waithe, centers around four Chicago men at different points in their lives navigating school in a city so violent there’s no guarantee you’ll grow up. Jason Mitchell, Tiffany Boone, Alex Hibbert, Jacob Latimore, Yolonda Ross, Shamon Brown Jr. and Michael V. Epps star…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has approved a change in eligibility rules for Best Picture, in an effort to bolster theater attendance in the age of streaming. Beyond the current initial qualifying run of one week in one of six U.S. cities, the new requirements include an expanded theatrical run of seven days, consecutive or non-consecutive, in 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets, no later than 45 days after the initial release in 2024; and a requirement for late-in-the-year films with expansions after January 10, 2025, to submit plans to the Academy for verification. Non-U.S. territory releases can count toward two of the 10 markets; and qualifying non-U.S. markets include the top 15 international theatrical markets plus the home territory for the film…

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Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has finally addressed Kevin Costner‘s sudden exit from the series and what it means for the future of the show.

“I’m disappointed,” Sheridan says in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Wednesday. “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”

Sheridan went on to assert that the 68-year-old actor’s departure was to focus on his own four-part film series, Horizon, and not creative differences, as has been rumored.

“I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone,” Sheridan insists. “But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”

As for Costner’s character, John Dutton, Sheridan suggested that was never going to be around for the very end of the show, and the actor’s exit hasn’t altered Yellowstone‘s conclusion.

“I don’t do f***-you car crashes,” says Sheridan, — referring to a phrase that arose after Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes killed off Patrick Dempsey’s character amid behind-the-scenes tension. “Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling.”

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Christopher Nolan has a warning for anyone planning to go see his new film Oppenheimer.

Apparently, after rounds of test screenings, Nolan has noticed a trend.

“Some people leave the movie absolutely devastated,” Nolan told Wired magazine in an interview released June 20. “They can’t speak. I mean, there’s an element of fear that’s there in history and there in the underpinnings. But the love of the characters, the love of the relationships, is as strong as I’ve ever done.”

The film tells the story of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he works with the Manhattan Project to make the atomic bomb to end World War II.

Nolan further explains that the film is an intense experience “because it’s an intense story.”

“I showed it to a filmmaker recently who said it’s kind of a horror movie. I don’t disagree,” Nolan said.

Oppenheimer releases in theaters everywhere on July 21.

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