Entertainment

Wonderwell, a fantasy film that was the last project Carrie Fisher worked on before her death in 2016, will finally get an audience. 

Director Vlad Marsavin tells Deadline, “The journey we have taken as filmmakers with this movie, has been as perilous as that of the movie itself.”

The movie, which also stars singer and actress Rita Ora, is described on IMDB as, “A coming-of-age fairy tale set between modern-day Italy and an imaginary realm just beyond,” and “follows Violet (Kiera Milward), a naive and inquisitive 12 year-old-girl, on a thrilling journey that transforms her world forever.”

The filmmaker explains delays with the movie’s visual effects, and disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, led to the nearly seven-year delay. And then there was the death of Fisher, which he called a “huge shock.” 

“Carrie was full of energy during filming and even celebrated her 60th birthday with us in Italy where we shot the movie,” Marsavin recalled. “After a night shoot, which went on until 2am, she invited the whole team to celebrate with her and the party ended up being shut down by the police because it was deemed a little too loud. Her passing was very emotional for the whole team.”

He adds, “Now is the perfect time to share her magical on screen moments as Hazel.”

The trade says the film will bow in AMC theaters in the U.S. starting on June 23 and will be available on streaming, as well.

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As Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford once said, “It’s not the years, honey. It’s the mileage.”

Considering a new interview, it’s not surprising that that was an ad-lib. In short, Ford isn’t letting age get in the way.

The actor, 80, who will return as the legendary hero archaeologist in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, said in an interview with People that he enjoys “making movies more now than I ever did.”

“I saw a lot of great actors having fun, so I thought, ‘Hey, I want some of this!'” he said.

Along with Dial of Destiny, Ford has starred in several shows recently, including Shrinking and 1923.

When it comes to his age, Ford says he embraces the idea of getting older.

“I don’t want to be young again,” he said. “I was young, and now I enjoy being old.”

“You are certainly physically diminished by age, but there are wonderful things about age — richness of experience, the full weight of all the time you’ve been spending getting to being old — and there’s a certain ease in it for me,” he added.

With Dial of Destiny out in theaters soon, Ford also reflected on why he wanted to return as Indiana Jones for the franchise’s fifth installment.

“I just wanted to see him rally for one last adventure,” he said.

A synopsis for the film says the movie will follow Indiana Jones as he races against time to retrieve a legendary artifact that can change the course of destiny.

Ford stars alongside Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen and Shaunette Renée Wilson in the film.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be released in theaters on June 30 from Lucasfilm, which is a subsidiary of ABC News’ parent company, Disney.

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In a social media post featuring Anna Cathcart and some of her castmates, Netflix announced that XO, Kitty, the spinoff series from the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before film franchise, is coming back for a sophomore season.

The message started with Peter Thurnwald (Prof. Finnerty) jumping onto a couch and into frame, and scribbling a note, before saying, “Pass this to Anna.” Choi Min-young (Dae) is handed it, reads it and has the same message for Gia Kim (Yuri), who slips it off camera to Anthony Keyvan (Quincy). “No. Way,” he says, before adding, “Anna: You’re gonna wanna see this one.”

For her part, Cathcart is ecstatic and reveals the note to the camera: It reads, “XO, KITTY SEASON 2 IS COMING.” She tells their followers she’s “so, so excited,” and thanked fans for making the first series a hit.

XO, Kitty premiered on May 18, debuting on the #2 slot of Netflix’s English TV list, with 72.1 million hours watched. The show also appeared on the streaming show’s Top 10 in 90 countries in its first week.

While details aren’t known about the next go-round, Cathcart tells ABC Audio she doesn’t think her character won’t have an easy go in the love department. “I don’t expect things to settle down,” Anna says.

“I think Kitty is–that’s kind of part of her greatness, is part of her joy, is that she’s a little all over the place and she has so much passion and so much love and that can be spread in a lot of different ways. So I assume it would still be a very bumpy ride, but that’s kind of what makes it fun,” she enthuses.

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With news of Disney’s theatrical release schedule being announced June 13, there was a particular note of interest to movie fans: The fifth and last Avatar adventure will reportedly hit theaters on December 19 … 2031.

The original Avatar movie came out in 2009, for some perspective.

The news — and the passage of time — wasn’t lost on the franchise’s Zoe Saldaña. The 44-year-old Marvel movie veteran had a laugh about it on Instagram.

To a headline about the 2031 date, Zoe said, “Great! I’m gonna be 53 when the last avatar movie comes out!” along with a “shocked” emoji.

The actress also noted, “I was 27 when I shot the very first avatar movie.”

No doubt in an industry that obsesses about youth James Cameron‘s franchise must be a pretty sweet gig: The same computer wizardry that turns the 5-foot-7-inch actress into her 9-foot-8-inch blue alien character, Neytiri, will ensure Zoe and her castmates don’t look radically different than when their Na’vi alter egos were first seen on Pandora in 2009.

Egos and Hollywood’s stigmas about “actresses of a certain age” aside, it makes sense canonically, as the alien race can live as long as 180 human years.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Vanna White has responded to Pat Sajak‘s announcement that he’s retiring from hosting Wheel of Fortune.

“When we started @WheelofFortune who could have imagined we’d still be at it 41 seasons later?” she tweeted on June 13. “I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come.”

White, 66, ended her tweet with a toast to her longtime friend and co-worker, writing, “Cheers to you, @patsajak!”

Sajak, 76, shared a statement the day prior in which he told fans “the time has come” for him to step away from his hosting duties at the end of the upcoming 41st season, which begins in September.

“It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months,” he said. “Many thanks to you all.”

The show’s official Instagram account reposted Sajak’s statement, captioning it, “Thank you, Pat!”

Sajak has hosted Wheel of Fortune since 1981, with White joining the game show the following year.

White, the show’s resident letter-flipper, previously filled in for Sajak as host when he underwent emergency surgery in November 2019 for a blocked intestine.

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In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, The Crowded Room star Tom Holland talked about his superhero success, and pondered hanging up his web-shooters once and for all.

The actor explained that before the writers strike, he, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Spider-Man movie producer Amy Pascal batted around ideas for a fourth stand-alone adventure as Peter Parker, following the blockbuster success of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

“The first few meetings were about, ‘Why would we do this again?'” Holland explains. “And I think we found the reason why. I’m really, really happy with where we’re at.”

However, the 27-year-old admits, “But I’m also a little apprehensive about it. There’s a bit of a stigma about the fourth one in all franchises. I feel like we hit a home run with our first franchise and there’s a part of me that wants to walk away with my head held high and pass the baton to the next lucky kid that gets to bring this character to life.”

Holland reiterated how close he got with his fellow Spider-Men and No Way Home co-stars Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. “Myself, Andrew, Tobey — we have this amazing bond as three people who have been through something that is so unique that we really are like brothers. We have a great group chat and we catch up … It’s called the Spider-Boys.”

What do they talk about? “Spider-Man stuff,” he says.

What he wouldn’t expound upon was his relationship with Zendaya. “Our relationship is something that we are incredibly protective of and we want to keep as sacred as possible,” he explains. “We don’t think that we owe it to anyone, it’s our thing, and it has nothing to do with our careers.”

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Netflix pretty much brought the term “bingeing” into public consciousness, so it’s almost natural it will be letting fans binge in the traditional way: at a restaurant.

The streamer just announced plans for a pop-up restaurant experience called Netflix Bites, “an elevated dining experience” from several of the platform’s well-known chefs.

In the announcement, the company asks, “Have you ever watched Chef’s Table…Is It Cake? or Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend and wished you could dive into your TV to sample the delectable dishes on screen? Now, for the first time, you can get a taste of the shows you know and love through this limited-time pop-up restaurant.”

The eatery is opening June 30 in Los Angeles and will spotlight acclaimed chefs from popular Netflix series such as chef Curtis Stone (Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend), Dominique Crenn (Chef’s Table, Iron Chef…), Rodney Scott (Chef’s Table: BBQ), Ming Tsai (Iron Chef…), Ann Kim (Chef’s Table: Pizza), Nadiya Hussain (Nadiya Bakes), Jacques Torres (Nailed It!) and Andrew Zimmern (Iron Chef…).

“These culinary legends will team up to create a special tasting menu that features flavorful bites showing off their unique specialties and giving fans and foodies alike a one-of-a-kind restaurant experience,” Netflix teases.

“To top it all off, fan-favorite mixologists from Netflix’s Drink Masters — including Frankie Solarik, Julie Reiner, LP O’Brien and Kate Gerwin — will craft custom cocktails for the drink menu,” they add.

They’re now taking reservations for this “screen to table” experience.

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In a tale that could have given us one of the most iconic rom-com pairings, Tom Hanks‘ wife, Rita Wilson, has revealed the reason behind Hanks turning down the opportunity to star opposite Meg Ryan in the beloved 1989 film, When Harry Met Sally.

During an appearance on the Tuesday, June 13 episode of the Table for Two With Bruce Bozzi podcast, Wilson spilled the beans.

“People, probably don’t know this, but Tom was offered When Harry Met Sally and he turned it down because he was going through a divorce and he was very happy to be not married,” she shared. “And so he could not understand that a person going through a divorce would have anything other than just like, ‘I’m so happy.'”

In the classic romantic comedy, both Billy Crystal‘s Harry and Meg Ryan’s Sally are devastated by their respective marriages ending.

Hanks and his first wife, Samantha Lewes, had ended their nine-year marriage in 1987, and shortly after, he tied the knot with Wilson in 1988. The couple has been happily together ever since, raising a blended family that includes their own children, Chet, 32, and Truman, 27, as well as Hanks’ children from his previous marriage, Colin, 45, and Elizabeth, 41.

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The big question is who will host Wheel of Fortune after Pat Sajak leaves the long-running game show, and Whoopi Goldberg appears interested in taking over the reins.

On the Tuesday, June 13 episode of ABC’s The View, Ken Jennings — who has been sharing Jeopardy! hosting duties with Mayim Bialik following longtime host Alex Trebek‘s death in 2020 — was asked by View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin if he had any ideas on a possible replacement.

When Jennings suggested that “Hopefully, Wheel‘s got an envelope somewhere that says ‘What to do when Pat packs it in,'” Joy Behar revealed that Whoopi wanted the job.

And, Goldberg confirmed, stating, “I want the job. I think it’d be lots of fun.”

Behar then joked that she and fellow View panelist Sara Haines “could be Vanna White,” taking “turns walking back and forth, pointing to the letters.”

Sakak, 76, tweeted on Monday, June 12, “Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all.”

Sajak has been the host of the game show since 1981. White, 66, who operates the board and reveals letters as they are guessed by contestants on the game show, has co-hosted Wheel of Fortune since 1982.

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Stephen Colbert has extended his contract as host of CBS’ The Late Show through 2026, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The extension will take Colbert into his 11th year as host of the The Late Show, which he took over from David Letterman back in 2015. It has been the most watched late night talk show for the past several seasons. Prior to the writers strike, it was averaging 2.14 million same-day viewers per week, excluding repeats, per the outlet…

Netflix has acquired the rights to writer David Gauvey Herbert’s 2021 Esquire magazine article “Daddy Ball,” which will be adapted into an eight-episode dark comedy series directed by and starring Jason Bateman, according to Deadline. The series, which will have a different title, will follow two fathers of the Long Island Inferno youth baseball team who became embroiled in an epic battle…

Hotel Transylvania and Samurai Jack director Genndy Tartakovsky on Tuesday announced the voice cast for his first R-rated animated comedy feature Fixed, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Pitch Perfect star Adam Devine will play Bull, a pooch who learns his owners are about to get him snipped. His already-fixed buddies, Rocco, Fetch and Lucky — voiced respectively by Idris Elba, Fred Armisen and Bobby Moynihan — decide to take him out for a night on the town as a last hurrah before the dreaded act takes place, per THR. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse actor Kathryn Hahn plays Bull’s neighbor and love interest, “the glamorous show dog Honey who has an appealingly raunchy side.” A release date has not been set…

Comic book artist John Romita Sr., legendary for his work on characters like Spider-Man and Wolverine, has died at age 93. His son, John Romita Jr. confirmed the news on Twitter with “a heavy heart.” The artist “passed away peacefully in his sleep,” according to his son, who followed in his dad’s artistic footsteps. Tributes sprung up immediately on social media, with Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy writer-director and now DC Films co-CEO James Gunn posting a frame of one of Romita’s depictions of Spidey. “My brother & I wrote Mr. Romita when we were young kids & sent him drawings of superheroes we were working on,” Gunn said. “He wrote us back, telling us what he liked about the drawings! A truly memorable experience in my life, making me feel like the magic of comic books, which seemed so otherworldly, wasn’t actually that far away.”…

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