Entertainment

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Once again, James Gunn has clapped back against a troll who took issue with one of his Instagram posts.

On Monday, Gunn happily touted his Peacemaker star Chukwudi Iwuji‘s role as the High Evolutionary in Gunn’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

However, somebody snarked of the character, “Damnit…another white guy they made into a black guy. Why couldn’t they just leave him white or i dont know…pick a different minority? How about Asian or gasp! A Latino? (how many Latinos and Asians in MCU? Like total of 5??) Or make him an Indian or something…because they don’t and won’t, that makes them ‘woke.'”

The social media user’s rant continued, “They’re picking based on race and what’s PC and not on acting and what’s established.”

Gunn didn’t let it stand, however, shooting back, “I chose the best actor, period, and the best person for the role. I don’t give a s*** what ethnicity @chukwudi_iwuji is, so stop with your racist presumptions on WHY he was chosen.”

For good measure, lifelong comic fan Gunn noted, “And, by the way, he’s playing a guy who’s almost always purple in the color [books].”

For the record, plenty of other folks piled onto that person, too.

Recently, Gunn replied to snarkers who took issue with some of his choices as the new co-CEO of DC Films.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters May 5.

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While the Academy Awards sometime gets poo-pooed for featuring movies most people haven’t seen — even during Chris Rock‘s first hosting stint at the 77th annual awards — this year’s event features some bona fide blockbuster Best Picture nominations.

However, for every Avatar: The Weight of Water — which made more than $2.2 billion and counting — there’s a TÁR or Women Talking, so-called “prestige pictures” that weren’t made to compare in the bottom-line department.

Just for fun, seeing as they’re all nominated for the biggest award of Sunday night, here’s a peek at each of the nominated movies, their reported production budgets from available reporting and their worldwide theatrical performances, according to Box Office Mojo.

Avatar: The Way of Water
Reported production budget: $350 million to $400 million
Box office: $2,283,196,259

Top Gun: Maverick
Reported production budget: $170 million
Box office: $1.49 billion

Elvis
Reported production budget: $85 million
Box office: $287,340,048

Everything Everywhere All At Once
Reported production budget: $25 million
Box office: $104,872,026

TÁR
Reported production budget: $35 million
Box office: $20,067,659

Women Talking
Reported production budget: N/A
Box office: $7,303,166

All Quiet on the Western Front
Reported production budget: $20 million
Box office (limited release for Oscar consideration): $3 million

The Fabelmans
Reported production budget: est. $40 million
Box office (limited release): $37,962,769

The Banshees of Inisherin
Reported production budget: $20 million
Box office: $46,597,386

Triangle of Sadness
Reported production budget: $15.6 million
Box office: $24,510,342

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Pedro Pascal can currently be seen shepherding two special kiddos on two hit shows, The Last of Us and The Mandalorian.

However, not too long ago he was famous for being the guy who got his skull crushed in a fight between his Oberyn Martell and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson‘s hulking Ser Gregor Clegane, best known as The Mountain, on Game of Thrones.

But despite the grisly scene, Pedro revealed on the hot wings-eating show Hot Ones he actually fell asleep while The Mountain gouged out his eyes.

“It was the best part of the day,” he enthused. “It was so hot when we were shooting that scene. He’s over me and he puts his thumbs into my eyes and they’ve got piping — or tubing — through his body into his forearms to his thumbs pumping this cool blood.”

He calls the actor “the gentlest guy ever. I felt no pressure at all, he was so hyperaware of it.”

He explains, “There were all of these fleshy bits that they were placing all over my face and pumping blood so that it would pool and spread through the amphitheater … And I was dead asleep. It was so hot and this stuff was so cooling to the touch and you had to be really, really still. That was the most relaxing and knowing also that we had gotten to the end of this four-day fight … it was very cathartic and I went into the deepest sleep I’ve been in.”

A poor sleeper normally, Pascal laughed, “I realize now that I need to be [masked with] pieces of flesh, gelatinous pieces of meat, cool to the touch, face meat and cooling blood, and maybe I’ll finally get a f***ing good night’s sleep.”

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Need to catch up on all the films nominated for the 95th annual Academy Awards before the ceremony on Sunday night? Here’s where you can stream several of the contenders.

Over on HBO Max, watch a friendship fall apart in The Banshees of Inisherin, which picked up an impressive nine nominations this year. Also on HBO Max, stream Elvis, the biographical musical that tells the story of the legendary rock ‘n’ roll icon. It’s nominated for eight Oscars, including best actor for Austin Butler.

Make your best actress prediction by watching the front-runners: there’s Cate Blanchett’s performance in TÁR, streaming on Peacock, and Michelle Yeoh’s multiverse-spanning turn in Everything Everywhere All at Once, available on Showtime Anytime.

On Netflix, catch the new adaptation of the classic war story All Quiet on the Western Front, and then over on Hulu, witness power dynamics turn upside down in the bitingly funny drama Triangle of Sadness.

In case you somehow missed the year’s highest-grossing film at the domestic box office, you can stream Top Gun: Maverick over on Paramount+.

If that’s not enough, all of the best animated feature film nominees are also available to watch at home.

Make a double feature out of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and The Sea Beast over on Netflix, before meeting the lovable Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, available to watch on Showtime Anytime.

Turn on Pixar’s Turning Red, available on Disney+, before finishing your movie marathon with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which arrives Friday on Peacock.

Tune in to find out which films will come away with Oscars during the live ceremony on Sunday, March 12, only on ABC.

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With the 95th annual Academy Awards on Sunday night, Screen Junkies‘ Honest Trailers have taken on all 10 Best Pictures nominees, “since you probably only saw Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar 2.”

Epic Voice Guy opens by calling the Oscars “the show that’s only worth watching to see what goes horribly wrong,” complete with Crash‘s win, the Moonlight mix-up and that Oscars slap.

Tár features “a bunch of classical musical talk that will go over your head,” while The Fabelmans is introduced as “a stirring look at the life of great American director Steven Spielberg, that’s a little self-indulgent, but if anyone deserves it, it’s director Steven Spielberg.”

Triangle of Sadness is called “2022’s fourth high-profile attempt to hurt the 1%’s feelings,” and Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis tweaks lead Austin Butler as “the true story of one young man’s rise from obscurity and the fateful decision he was never fully able to leave behind: doing the Elvis voice.”

Top Gun: Maverick is “a sequel to an action movie that audiences actually like, so it has zero chance of winning Best Picture.”

Avatar: The Way of Water features “James Cameron … reunited with his favorite co-star, water.”

Women Talking is called “a film that truly delivers on the promise of its title,” and the “cozy sweatered conflict” of Banshees of Inishirin comes from “Martin McDonagh, a director so famously Irish he was born and raised in London … but still makes Irishness his whole thing, like if Boston was a person.”

All Quiet on the Western Front is described as an “epic prequel to World War II,” and Everything Everywhere all At Once is called “the decade’s best film about the Multiverse, and that’s saying something, ’cause [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige has been trying his best, OK?”

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This weekend, Jenna Ortega will be seen in theaters stalked by Ghostface in Scream VI, but in a promo for her upcoming stint hosting Saturday Night Live, she’s being haunted by something else: her viral dance from Wednesday. 

In the spot, Ortega says to people off-camera, “This is really well written, I just, I don’t feel like I wanna want to do the Wednesday dance for promo, because we’ve seen so much of that already, and I think it’s time to do something new, you know?”

At that point, the camera pulls back to reveal writers Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy — the guys behind the show’s Do Not Destroy videos — all wearing black dresses identical to her character’s in the dance scene.   

“Yes,” they all agree, with Herlihy offering, “We didn’t want to do the dance, either.” 

She replies, “I just didn’t know, because you’re all dressed exactly like Wednesday.” 

“Are we?” he responds. 

Marshall adds, unconvincingly, “Is this from your television program?” 

Ortega replies, “Yeah, down to the frill.”

Marshall says, “It wouldn’t be a dream come true to do the dance with you, so let’s just not do it then.”

Higgins then replies, “I barely know it,” before meekly miming all the moves. 

“OK, fine,” she relents, and the guys cheer, before the four of them perform the dance, with Ortega considerably less thrilled than the dudes are. 

Ortega takes the SNL stage again on Saturday night, with The 1975 as musical guest.

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“I didn’t come to play.”

That was the message on Instagram Wednesday from an admittedly angry Emma Heming Willis, in response to a troll who accused her of using husband Bruce Willis‘ frontotemporal dementia diagnosis for clout.

“I just saw something about me getting my ‘five minutes,’ which is great, which means that you’re listening,” she opened the video.

“So, I’m going to take my five minutes and I’m gonna turn it into 10 because I’m always going to advocate for my husband. And while I’m at it, I’m going to raise awareness about FTD and for the caregivers, who are unsung heroes out there.”

“And then, I’m going to turn my grief and my anger and my sadness into something good around something that feels less than,” she said, adding, “So, watch this space because I didn’t come to play.”

The mom of Willis’ daughters Mabel and Evelyn captioned the post, “Just over here turning my 5 mins into 10. I’ve sat around quietly for too long and I’m so ready to be embraced by this solid and loving community my family and I find ourselves in while trying to lift them up in return. Let’s go.”

Among the more than 37,000 likes on the video was a “HELL YES!” from Willis’ daughter Scout, who added to her stepmom, “I am so so proud of you!”

As reported last month, Heming Willis revealed that the Die Hard franchise star’s aphasia had progressed to the “cruel” brain disorder FTD, for which there is no cure.

Earlier this week, Heming Willis asked the paparazzi and others who might happen to see her husband to “give him his space.” She added, “The woo-hooing and the yippee-ki-yays — just don’t do it, OK?”

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Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the Oscars for the third time on Sunday, and he’s sharing how he’ll address Will Smith‘s infamous slap of Chris Rock from last year’s show.

“I have given it much thought,” Kimmel told GMA co-anchor Lara Spencer. “I know that a million jokes have been made about it, a million think pieces have been written on it… There has been a lot said about it, so whatever I say has to be I think — you know, it has to be good.”

“And I do have some good things to say about it. I think that it’s gonna be on everybody’s mind,” he added. “Everybody’s gonna be waiting for that moment. And that will be part of the show, but certainly not the focus of the show.”

Kimmel first hosted the awards show in 2017, which had its own memorable mishap during the broadcast. That year, Warren Beatty incorrectly announced La La Land as the Best Picture winner instead of the actual winner, Moonlight.

“We had a little envelope problem the first time,” Kimmel said. “That was that. And then — but I’ll tell you what, nobody got hit when I hosted the show,” he joked. “Everybody was very well-behaved at my Oscars.”

As for “the slap heard ’round the world,” as it has come to be known by some, Jimmy snarked, “…[T]here’s kind of an idea now that this is an epidemic of some kind. Like the — this year, maybe two people will come up stage — and hit. Maybe in the future, it’ll be three, four, and it’ll just be — eventually it’ll be everyone rushing the stage and slapping whoever’s on it.”

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Variety reports Julianne Moore and Euphoria‘s Sydney Sweeney have been tapped to star in Echo Valley, the dramatic feature from Apple Original Films. Written by Mare of Easttown creator Brad Inglesby, Echo Valley follows Moore as a Pennsylvania woman whose wayward daughter — played by Sweeney — shows up at her doorstep “frightened, trembling and covered with someone else’s blood,” per Apple. “From there, Echo Valley becomes a heart-pounding thriller about just how far a mother will go to save her child.” Production is expected to begin this summer…

Morgan Freeman and Bridgerton breakout star Regé-Jean Page are both on board to executive-produce an eight-part series for Peacock on boxing legend Muhammad Ali, titled Excellence: 8 Fights, according to Deadline. The series, based on Jonathan Eig‘s biography Ali: A Life, will chronicle eight definitive moments from Ali’s life, each framed by one of his fights, though the essence of the episode will be his struggles outside the ring. There’s no deal as yet for either Freeman or Page to star in the series…

Mary Tyler Moore will be the subject of an upcoming HBO Original documentary from Soul of a Nation filmmaker James Adolphus and Master of None writer Lena Waithe. Being Mary Tyler Moore chronicles the late movie and TV icon’s 60-year-long career. The film gives us a glimpse of Moore’s comedic roles as Laura Petrie in the 1960s sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, a single career woman Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the ‘70s, and her Oscar-nominated turn as a grieving mother in the 1970 film Ordinary People, as well as a peek into her personal life, in which she dealt privately with tragedy. Lending their voices to the film will be Waithe, Rob Reiner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phylicia Rashad and Norman Lear, among others. Being Mary Tyler Moore debuts in May…

Jennifer Aniston, Judd Apatow, Drew Barrymore, Steve Buscemi, Dana Carvey, Luis Guzmán, Tim Herlihy, Idina Menzel, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Ben Stiller are among the performers who will salute Adam Sandler at the 24th annual Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday, March 19. The event will be taped for worldwide broadcast on CNN, airing March 26, 2023 at 8 p.m. ET. Previous winners of the prize include Richard Pryor,  Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Jay Leno and, most recently, Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart…

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The Oscars producers are giving a glimpse into what to expect Sunday night.

The biggest question is if the show and its host Jimmy Kimmel will acknowledge last year’s Will Smith/Chris Rock slap, and at a news conference Wednesday, Executive Producer Molly McNearney — Kimmel’s wife — said they planned to “acknowledge it” and then “move on.”

“We don’t want to make this year about last year,” she continued, “but yeah, it’s certainly something that we will address in a comedic fashion.”

As for what’s keeping McNearney up at night just days away from the show? She said “just deciding which jokes are going to make it and which aren’t…we have a lot of great writers and a lot of great material, and it’s a real science and the rhythm of the monologue and figure out where to take the audience.”

Adds McNearney, “I think [me and Jimmy] fought over a joke while brushing our teeth last night. One that I wanted out, he wanted in, and you know, we’ll see how it goes.”

The presentation of the Best Actress category is usually done by the previous year’s winner for Best Actor, which would be Will Smith, but since he’s banned from the Oscars for 10 years, Executive Producer and showrunner Ricky Kirshner revealed some changes have been made.

“We’ve rethought the show, and we’ve put presenters together that makes sense for the categories and you’ll see Sunday night,” he explained.

Unlike last year’s telecast, which cut some behind-the-scenes categories from the telecast, Kirhsner says “we’re going to show what it takes [to make a movie] and honor the people that make those movies.”

“[T]here are hundreds of people that make movies and a lot of people across the country don’t know what it takes,” he adds.

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