Entertainment

Hugh Jackman and his wife of 27 years, Deborra-lee Furness, are separating, ABC News has confirmed.

The two issued a joint statement saying they have agreed to part ways amicably.

“We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage,” the statement reads. “Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.”

“Our family has been and always will be our highest priority,” they continue. “We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness. We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives.”

They conclude by saying this will be the only statement they’ll be making on the matter.

Hugh, 54, and Deborra-lee, 67, share two children together, 23-year-old Oscar and 18-year-old Ava.

The two met on the set of the Australian TV series Corelli in 1995 and married the next year. Jackman posted a tribute to their marriage on Instagram last April for their 27th wedding anniversary.

“Together we have created a beautiful family. And life,” he wrote. “Your laughter, your spirit, generosity, humor, cheekiness, courage and loyalty is an incredible gift to me. I love you with all my heart.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Comedian Hasan Minhaj has admitted to making up some of the stories told in his past stand-up specials.

In a New Yorker profile, the former Daily Show contributor says, “Every story in my style is built around a seed of truth. My comedy Arnold Palmer is 70% emotional truth — this happened — and then 30% hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction.”

One such fabrication was a story he told in 2022’s The King’s Jester special, where he said his daughter had been exposed to a white powder thought to be anthrax and was hospitalized. In another fictionalized anecdote, he talked about an FBI informant that was undercover at his family’s mosque.

Minhaj tells the New Yorker those stories were rooted in “emotional truth” and that “the punch line is worth the fictionalized premise.”

“No, I don’t think I’m manipulating [the audience],” he adds. “I think they are coming for the emotional roller-coaster ride…To the people that are, like, ‘Yo, that is way too crazy to happen,’ I don’t care because yes, f*** yes — that’s the point.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Just in time for the start of spooky season, Nickelodeon and Paramount+ have released the new trailer and premiere date for Monster High 2.

The sequel to the live-action movie musical based on the Monster High doll franchise will begin streaming on Paramount+ on Thursday, October 5, and will premiere on Nickelodeon the same day at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Nickelodeon will also show encores every weekend in October.

The story follows the children of famous monsters and creatures as they enter their sophomore year at Monster High. It stars Miia Harris, Nayah Damasen and Ceci Balagot.

The first Monster High movie came out in 2022 and became the #1 kids and family movie on Paramount+ during its debut week.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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

Summer House (Bravo)
Lindsay Hubbard has shared a heartfelt Instagram post addressing her sudden breakup with fiancé Carl Radke. In her emotional statement on Instagram, Hubbard expressed gratitude to her followers for their support during this challenging time. She described the past two weeks as the most heart-wrenching of her life, feeling bewildered by the abrupt end of an 8-year friendship and engagement. Hubbard admitted to feeling humiliated and heartbroken, struggling to find closure. Radke apologized for the lack of communication and confusion surrounding their split.

The Surreal Life (MTV)
MTV has unveiled an exciting lineup for the upcoming season of The Surreal Life, set to begin production this month. The star-studded cast includes well-known personalities such as Macy Gray, Chet Hanks, Ally Brooke, O.T. Genasis, Kim Zolciak, Johnny Weir, and Josie Canseco, per the press release. The iconic series is known for its unique blend of “celeb-reality,” promising a wild and over-the-top adventure that encourages these celebrities to reveal unexpected facets of themselves.

Real Housewives of New York (Bravo)
RHONY star and UBAH HOT founder Ubah Hassan has teamed up with renowned restaurateurs Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato of Serafina Restaurant Group to introduce UBAH HOT Pizza. This collaboration features a spicy twist on the classic margherita, featuring habanero-infused San Marzano tomato sauce, creamy fior di latte mozzarella, thinly sliced habanero, and delicate basil julienne, per the press release. The pie is available exclusively at all 13 Serafina locations across New York City.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The new romance film Love at First Sight drops on Netflix Friday, and for Jennifer E. Smith, the author of the book the movie is based on, watching her words come to life couldn’t be more surreal.

The film centers around two people who fall in love while on a flight to London. There was one moment Smith really hoped would feel just like her book, and she is happy to report that stars Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy pulled it off.

“When they almost kiss outside the bathrooms on the plane,” Smith said. “The first time I saw it in the movie, I cried. I had chills. It’s just, it’s even better than I imagined it, honestly, when I was writing it.”

This isn’t the first time one of her books has been adapted for the screen — Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between was released in 2022 — but Smith says it’s always nerve-racking.

“You’re always thinking about the readers who love the source material and wanting them to be happy with an adaptation,” Smith said. “I’ve just been very, very fortunate with both of these in having teams who really cared about the book.”

In fact, Smith had such a great time watching her book come to life that it messed up her cameo in the film. She was supposed to play a disgruntled person in line at a ticket counter, but she was having too good of a time to pretend to be angry.

“I was, like, biting my lip to keep from smiling,” Smith said. “And then [director Vanessa Caswill] called me back and she was like, ‘You’re too happy.’ And I was like, ‘I am happy, though. My book is being made into a movie right now. I can’t not be happy.’”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Just two weeks after its launch, the pirate adventure One Piece has been renewed for season 2 at Netflix. Based on Japan’s highest-selling manga series in history by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece stars Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, a young adventurer who sets off with his crew ZZ — Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji — to find the titular article of treasure. The series is the No. 1 title globally on Netflix with 37.8 Million views amassed since its release, according to the streamer…

Disney+ released the official trailer for Goosebumps on Thursday, September 14. The live-action series based on R.L. Stine’s bestselling books “follows a group of five high schoolers as they embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle — while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents’ past,” per the streamer. The series, set to premiere on both Disney+ and Hulu on Friday, October 13, stars Justin Long and Rachael Harris, alongside Eastenders‘ Zack Morris, Star Trek: Picard‘s Isa Briones, Gossip Girl‘s Ana Yi Puig, The Equalizer‘s Will Price and newcomer Miles McKenna…

Ellen DeGeneres will make her TV return in the two-hour Discovery Channel special Saving the Gorillas: Ellen’s Next Adventure, according to People. The documentary follows the comedienne and former talk show show host, “as she travels to Rwanda to learn more about gorilla conservation efforts” and her Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund,” per the outlet. Saving the Gorillas: Ellen’s Next Adventure premieres on September 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the Discovery Channel and on September 24 on Animal Planet, Max, and Discovery+…

The writers and the studios are set to get back around the negotiating table. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), in a statement obtained by ABC Audio on Thursday, revealed, “On Wednesday, September 13, the [Writers Guild of America] reached out to the AMPTP and asked for a meeting to move negotiations forward. We have agreed and are working to schedule a meeting next week. Every member company of the AMPTP is committed and eager to reach a fair deal, and to working together with the WGA to end the strike.” The Writers Guild later confirmed the meeting in a separate statement, writing, “The WGA and AMPTP are in the process of scheduling a time to get back in the room”…

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The new film A Million Miles Away tells the remarkable true story of José Hernández, a migrant worker, who picked produce in the fields of central California, before succeeding in his dream to become a NASA astronaut.

Hernández tells ABC Audio that he hopes the film, which debuts Friday, September 15 on Prime Video, will show people that he didn’t, and couldn’t, achieve his dream on his own.

“It was a communal effort, family effort that got me there,” he explains. “That’s why it’s going to resonate so much, because they’re going to see so much of themselves in this picture. And hopefully we change the perception of what an Hispanic family is like growing up here in America.”

Hernández says a key factor in accomplishing his dreams, was putting into action his father’s five step recipe for success: “Determine your purpose in life. Recognize how far you are. And then draw yourself a plan, a roadmap so you know how to get there. Prepare yourself according to the challenge. Develop a work ethic second to none.”

“And my ingredient, the sixth one, is perseverance,” he adds. “Never, ever give up on yourself.”

Crucial to the film’s authenticity was the direction of Mexican filmmaker Alejandra Marquez Abella, who did a great job of highlighting the pride of migrant farmworking, “a[n] honorable job … a noble job,” according to Hernández. “[A]s my father said … you’re bringing food to the tables of everybody in the world. And you should never be afraid of that or ashamed of that.”

Appropriately, the film debuts at the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, ” … a celebration of the accomplishments of a lot of people that come before us [and a] reminder … for our younger kids that anything is possible if you really put the work in.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

It looks like Donald Glover’s new Star Wars project about Lando Calrissian will no longer be a TV series for Disney+, but a theatrical film instead.

Deadline confirmed the news on Thursday, September 14, after Donald’s brother and co-creative on the project, Stephen Glover, broke the story on an episode of the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast that was released the same morning.

“It’s not even a show,” Stephen said. “The idea right now is to do a movie … Right now because of the strike it’s like [a game of] telephone.”

The brother duo took over writing duties for Lando back in July, replacing Justin Simien.

This new Lando project was first announced at a Disney investor day in December 2020, where it was described as a series made for Disney+.

Donald first appeared as Lando Calrissian in the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story, taking over the iconic character that Billy Dee Williams originated in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Lucasfilm.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Get ready to dive back in because the official trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is finally here.

The film, a sequel to 2018’s Aquaman, features the return of Jason Momoa as the titular DC superhero (aka Arthur Curry) and new king of Atlantis, as well as James Wan in the director’s chair.

In the trailer, Nicole Kidman‘s character Atlanna, Aquaman’s mother, warns him that returning villain Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) “must be stopped or a global meltdown is imminent.”

To best take on his nemesis, Aquaman reluctantly teams up with his brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), who explains that Black Manta has the Black Trident, a weapon he says was a “curse” to the Seven Kingdoms during King Atlan’s time upon the throne of Atlantis.

“The trident’s dark magic is spreading,” Atlanna says, with Orm explaining that Black Manta wants to “end the bloodline.”

“I don’t know what lies ahead, but we can’t leave our children in a world without hope,” says Aquaman, a new dad to a son he shares with Mera (Amber Heard), the queen of Atlantis.

Seemingly coming around to seeing his brother on the throne, Orm tells Aquaman, “You’re not as bad at this as you think. If you lead, the Seven Kingdoms will follow.”

Also returning from the first film are Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus and Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom swims into theaters worldwide on December 20.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dr. Crane is back like he never left in the first trailer for Paramount+’s reboot of Frasier.

Kelsey Grammer returns to his iconic role in this new iteration of the sitcom, which is once again filmed in front of a live studio audience.

This new series finds Frasier Crane leaving Seattle for Boston, where he’ll start a brand-new chapter and attempt to have a relationship with his son, Freddy, played by Jack Cutmore-Scott.

The first two episodes will premiere on October 12, with new episodes dropping every Thursday after that. Frasier (2023) also stars Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jess Salgueiro and Toks Olagundoye.

Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier will host a behind-the-scenes special covering the making of the new reboot called Frasier: Inside the Series. It will feature interviews with the cast that were conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike and drops on Paramount+ on October 6, before it airs on select CBS stations the next day.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.