Entertainment

To celebrate the September 22 debut of The Continental: From The World Of John Wick, Peacock is backing an interactive experience in New York City that will let fans step into the prequel series’ shadowy world.

The Continental: The Hotel Bar Experience will be located at 82 Beaver St. in Lower Manhattan and will be open from September 21 to 24. It will also open its doors from September 27 to October 1, and October 4 to October 8.

The “immersive cocktail experience inspired by Peacock’s new three-part event” will let patrons go “back in time to the 1970s to the world’s most chic, sophisticated, and dangerously elite hotel in NYC.”

The tease continues, “Venture into the hotel’s cryptic underworld for an unforgettable evening of decadent cocktails and live, interactive storylines – all with a killer twist.”

As one might expect, gold coins are the currency of choice at The Continental, though patrons won’t have to supply their own.

Ten dollars will buy you one gold coin, exchangeable for “Beer, Mocktails, and Light Bites,” while $20 will snag you a pair of the coins, good for “Wine, Cocktails, and Elevated Bites,” according to the event’s producers, Fever.

Visitors do get to hang onto a keepsake version of the key coins to remember their experience at the hitman hotel, however.

Tickets start at $15 for a two-hour experience. Check out the booking website for more details.

Oh, and don’t forget: No business can be conducted on Continental grounds — even if that guy in the line behind you really deserves it.

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Ruby Franke, a YouTuber who gained online notoriety with her tough and often controversial parenting advice, has been formally charged with six counts of felony child abuse in Washington County, Utah.

The mother of six was arrested last week after her 12-year-old son escaped through a window and ran to a neighbor’s home pleading for food and water, according to authorities.

The boy was severely malnourished and had “deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and from his malnourishment,” according to court documents filed by law enforcement. Authorities said they also found Franke’s 10-year-old malnourished daughter inside the home and allege Franke “had knowledge” of their conditions.

Franke’s business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, was also arrested and charged with six counts of felony child abuse. Authorities allege the 12-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl were under Hildebrandt’s “direct care” at her home when the incidents occurred last week.

In an interview with Good Morning America, Randy Kester, the attorney for Ruby’s husband, Kevin Franke, said that Kevin had been separated from his wife for more than a year and denies any knowledge of the alleged abuse.

“He is a good person,” Kester said. “And no one’s ever made any allegations that he’s ever physically abused those kids, or anyone else.”

The Frankes share six children and rose to fame on YouTube, amassing more than 2 million followers before the channel was taken down.

In one video that has since been deleted, Ruby is heard saying of her children: “Up until now, I was really hoping that keeping them home from school and wiping the floor boards would, like, really bring pain.”

In another since-deleted video, Ruby’s sister, Bonnie Hoellein, says family members “did as much as we could legally” to intervene.

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Former That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Thursday after he was convicted of raping two women.

A Los Angeles jury found Masterson, 47, guilty of two counts of forcible rape in May during a retrial of a case involving three women.

Masterson will serve two 15-year sentences consecutively, one for each charge. He must also register as a sex offender.

At the start of the probation and sentencing hearing, Judge Charlaine Olmedo denied the defense’s motion for a new trial.

Olmedo allowed the three Jane Does in the case to give victim impact statements at the sentencing — the two he was convicted of raping, as well as Jane Doe No. 3, whose count was dismissed.

Masterson pleaded not guilty to three counts of felony rape following accusations by three different women, including a former girlfriend. The alleged attacks took place between 2001 and 2003.

Masterson was deemed a potential flight risk and was remanded into custody following the verdict.

His defense attorney Shawn Holley asked the court to sentence him to 15 years to be served concurrently, as opposed to consecutively, saying that 15 years to life would be fair. She noted that Masterson had no criminal record prior to these incidents and has a young daughter.

The first trial ended in a mistrial in November 2022, with the jury deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict. The three alleged victims were members of the Church of Scientology, as is Masterson. All three women said they were initially hesitant to speak to law enforcement because church teachings discouraged reporting to police. The women eventually left the church.

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Paramount+ just dropped a teaser trailer to the latest show from Yellowstone creator and TV writing-producing mogul Taylor Sheridan, called Lawman: Bass Reeves.

Emmy-nominated Selma star David Oyelowo stars as the titular real-life figure as the show tracks “his rise from enslavement to law enforcement as the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi.”

The streaming service notes, “Despite arresting over 3,000 outlaws during the course of his career, the weight of the badge was heavy, and he wrestled with its moral and spiritual cost to his beloved family.”

The project also stars Barry Pepper, Donald Sutherland and Dennis Quaid, who ride with the lawman in the teaser.

Future iterations of Sheridan’s program will follow “other iconic lawmen and outlaws who have impacted history,” the streamer says.

Bass Reeves kicks off with two episodes on Sunday, November 5, on Paramount+, when it will join other Sheridan series, like his Yellowstone prequels 1883 and 1923; Mayor of Kingstown with Jeremy Renner; Tulsa King starring Sylvester Stallone; and Oscar winner Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña in Special Ops: Lioness.

2024 will see Sheridan’s Land Man, starring Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton, also join the streaming service.

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On Thursday, September 7, Ryan Reynolds‘ Maximum Effort company revealed its upcoming slate of shows bound for the streaming service Fubo.

The lineup includes syndicated shows like Alf, Kids in the Hall, Ryan’s early sitcom Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place as well as newer shows including Betty White‘s Off Their Rockers, starring Ryan’s late friend and former The Proposal costar.

However, the slate also includes a host of original series, including Bedtime Stories with Ryan, Podcats: The Pawdcast and the animated Biker Mice from Mars from producer Brian Volk-Weiss‘ Nacelle Company, which is also co-producing Discontinued.

Discontinued has veteran character actor Bruce Campbell hosting viewers “on a journey through the past using defunct products, subjects, and phrases.” The description continues, “Weaving humanity’s story with once great brands like Blackberry and Blockbuster, Bruce and a team of comedians snarkily comment on the human condition, just before AI destroys it.”

There’s also The Syd + TP Show, an unscripted comedy starring WNBA’s Sydney “Syd” Colson and Theresa “TP” Plaisance, set to premiere on September 18 at 9 p.m. ET. as well as a series called Flip a Coin.

That one is described as, get this, “A human flips a coin.”

“This season has it all – from sports stories to nostalgia to game shows – further fulfilling our programming promise to deliver maximum comfort,” says Fubo head Pamela Duckworth.

The Maximum Effort channel is available to watch on Fubo as well as Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, Plex, Sling Freestream, Tubi, VIDAA, VIZIO Watchfree+ and Xumo Play.

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On Thursday, September 7, Netflix dropped the drama-filled trailer for the fifth season of its reality relationship show Love Is Blind.

The Houston-based couples will be facing “the most shocking season yet,” according to the streaming service, with “new challenges, unexpected twists, and surprising turns that will test their personal resolve, and the strength of their connections, more than ever before.”

The trailer shows some of the singles’ rocky starts in the pods, with one dude making a first impression with a huge burp, another guy calling his “bald-a** head” his biggest insecurity and a woman explaining her past “sounds like 8,000 walking red flags.”

Netflix continues, “Even if the couples can forge a strong enough bond to get engaged sight unseen, can their love survive the challenges waiting for them in the outside world — including protective families, skeptical friends, and the exes they thought they’d left behind?”

One of the females question a potential mate on his financials: “everything: The savings, checking, salary,” while what looks like her dad explains, “Love may be blind, but sometimes love wants to fly first class.”

The streaming giant also released the following schedule for the show, hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey:

Week 1 drops on September 22 with episodes 1-4; September 29 sees episodes 5-7 drop. On October 6, episodes 8-9 air, and on week 4, dropping on October 13, is the 10th episode, focusing on the contestants’ weddings.

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On Thursday, September 7, Netflix debuted the trailer to Robert Rodriguez‘s forthcoming reboot of his hit franchise Spy Kids: Armageddon.

The movie stars Everly Carganilla and Connor Esterson as, respectively, Patty and Tony, who discover their parents are secret agents.

Zachary Levi and Gina Rodriguez play their parental spies in disguise.

According to the trailer, a computer virus is bringing bad guys from a video game into our world, and in true Spy Kids fashion, the more experienced agents get snatched, and it’s up to their kids to “become kid spies-in-training to save their parents, beat the bad guys, and save the world.”

The trailer has all the hallmarks of the previous entries in the series, from cool gadgets to spy training montages, to some pretty dodgy CG, but it’s all in good fun for writer-director-producer Rodriguez.

“I’ve heard from so many families telling me how much they’ve enjoyed these films over the course of their lives,” he explains to Netflix. “And now a lot of kids who enjoyed the first films as children are parents themselves and enjoy sharing them with their kids.”

He adds, “The Spy Kids franchise was based on my growing up in a family of ten kids with an FBI special agent Uncle. It’s been very exciting for me and my kids to work on this film together as a family, for other families to enjoy.”

Spy Kids: Armageddon debuts September 22.

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Noor Alfallah, the 29-year-old mom to three-month-old Roman Alfallah Pacino, has reportedly filed paperwork for full custody of the son she shares with 83-year-old Al Pacino.

Page Six reports the paperwork also lays out “reasonable visitation” for the Oscar-winning actor and stipulates he will take part in decisions including schooling, doctor’s visits and the like.

The documentation obtained by the publication also stipulates Pacino will pay for her legal fees and court costs related to their new bundle of joy.

Pacino made headlines in May when ABC Audio confirmed he and Alfallah were expecting; the mom-to-be was reportedly around eight months along when the news broke.

Little Roman is the fourth child for The Godfather series star and the first for Alfallah.

Pacino also has a 33-year-old daughter named Julie Pacino from his relationship with acting coach Jan Tarrant and 22-year-old twins Anton and Olivia Pacino from his time with Vacation actress Beverly D’Angelo.

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As reported back in June, Pete Davidson apparently gave PETA an earful via voicemail, after the animal rights group dogged the SNL star for buying a purebred puppy, and not adopting.

But now the group has apparently dragged the controversy back up for Halloween, by selling a costume for $85 that roughly — very roughly — approximates Davidson’s face.

According to a voicemail that was made public, Davidson blasted Daphna Nachminovitch, senior VP of cruelty investigations, who had apparently called him out for the purchase.

Davidson explained, “My mom’s f****** dog who is 2 years old died a week before, so we’re all so sad,” explaining he’s extremely allergic to dogs, and the only breeds he could tolerate are cavapoos.

“So why don’t you do your research before you f****** create news stories for people because you’re boring…” he added.

PETA’s paper mask kinda sorta looks like Davidson wearing a blue baseball cap with “#$@!%” printed on it. The get-up also includes an “I Should’ve Adopted” hoodie, and a plush dog that looks similar to the controversial cavapoo, festooned with a “Shelter Dogs Rule” bandana.

On the site, PETA expressed that while the former SNL star apologized for the message, “now there’s a chance for Halloween revelers to ensure that the message is still being sent loud and clear that there’s no f****** excuse for promoting the breeding industry by buying a dog from a pet store when millions of wonderful dogs await loving homes in animal shelters.”

So if you were in the market for an obscure Halloween costume that was based on a short-lived tabloid story, look no further.

All the proceeds will go towards spaying and neutering animals, PETA says.

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Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel is ending its HBO run after 29 seasons, according to Deadline. The show, which features episodes consisting of multiple sports-related stories, and also several prominent correspondents, has won 37 Sports Emmys throughout its run as well as 3 Peabody Awards. “Since day one at Real Sports we’ve consistently tried to look beyond the scoreboard, and focus instead on the many societal issues inherent in the world of sports,” host Bryant Gumbel said in a statement. “I’m proud of the imprint we’ve made, so I’m ready to turn the page. Although goodbyes are never easy, I’ve decided that now’s the time to move on”…

The Avengers and The Marvels star Samuel L. Jackson is in talks to play a U.S. president in the thriller The Beast, alongside Suicide Squad actor Joel Kinnaman, according to Deadline. The film revolves around the titular presidential limousine, stocked with grenades, shotguns, armor plating and bullet-and-bomb-proofing. Facing a coup attempt, Jackson’s character must learn to control The Beast in order to save his life and that of Secret Service agent Taft — played by Kinnaman. The project, which is in pre-production and has an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA, was packaged before the strikes kicked off, per the outlet…

On Wednesday, September 6, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced it has moved its planned Governors Awards celebration from November 18, 2023, to Tuesday, January 9, 2024. The event, held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, will see Honorary Awards presented to Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and editor Carol Littleton, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to the Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter…

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