Entertainment

Barbara Bosson, the actress best known for her role as Fay Furillo, wife of Daniel J. Travanti‘s Frank Furillo on Hill Street Blues from 1981-86, died Saturday in Los Angeles, her son, Jesse Bochco, confirmed Monday on Instagram. She was 83 years old. Bosson’s other acting credits include Cop Rock and The Last Starfighter, as well as guest appearances in Mannix, L.A. Law and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In 1970, Bosson was married to Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law writer-producer Steven Bochco from 1970-1997. Bochco died in 2018…

Ahead of Outer Banks‘ season 3 premiere, Netflix has renewed the drama series for a fourth season, according to Deadline. Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Austin North, Drew Starkey and Charles Esten are returning for season 3, along with Carlacia Grant, who has been promoted to series regular. Outer Banks, which follows a group of teens dubbed the Pogues as they embark on the treasure hunt of a lifetime, has been huge a hit for Netflix since its debut. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available to stream on Netflix…

Variety reports Big Shot and The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers have been canceled at Disney+. Big Shot starred John Stamos as Marvyn Korn, a men’s basketball coach whose temperamental nature has him ousted from the NCAA and ends up coaching girls at an elite private high school. The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers — a sequel to 1992 film The Mighty Ducks, followed Lauren Graham as Alex, the mother of 12-year-old Evan, played by Brady Noon, who’s cut from the titular youth hockey team and becomes a competitive powerhouse. Together, Alex and Evan recruit a new group of misfits to take on the “cutthroat, win-at-all-costs culture of competitive youth sports”…

Stella Stevens, the actress best known for her roles in The Nutty Professor and The Poseidon Adventure, died Friday in Los Angeles after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, her son, actor-producer Andrew Stevens, and her longtime friend John O’Brien confirmed to Deadline. She was 84. A former Playboy centerfold, Stevens also starred opposite Elvis Presley in Girls! Girls! Girls! and Dean Martin in How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life, among others. Her TV credits include Bonanza, Ben Casey, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, Police Story, Hart to Hart, Newhart, Magnum, P.I. and Night Court…

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Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania overcame uneven reviews to score the biggest opening weekend in the Ant-Man trilogy, delivering an estimated $120 million over the long Presidents Day weekend and $105 million between Friday and Sunday at the domestic box office, beating expectations.

The film — starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonathan Majors and Kathryn Newton — added an estimated $121 million at the international box office, bringing its global total to $225 million.

Avatar: The Way of Water held on to second place, earning $6.4 million over the weekend and an estimated $7.88 million through Monday. James Cameron‘s sequel to 2009’s Avatar has generated $658 million in North America, passing 2015’s Jurassic World as the ninth-highest-grossing movie in domestic box office history. After 10 weeks, The Way of Water eclipsed $2.2433 billion globally, overtaking Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster Titanic as the third-highest-grossing movie of all time.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish took third place with $5.3 million over the traditional weekend and an estimated $7 million over the four-day weekend.

Last week’s box office champ, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, fell to fourth place, collecting $5.46 million between Monday and Friday and an estimated $6.2 million through Monday, bringing its North American haul to $18.85 million.

The psychological thriller Knock at the Cabin rounded out the top five with $3.9 million over the three-day weekend and $4.59 million through Monday.

The weekend’s only other new major release, Marlowe — the crime thriller starring Liam Neeson — finished in ninth place, only managing to earn $1.9 million over the three-day and an estimated $3 million through Monday.

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Zach and the remaining ladies arrived in London for what promised to be another romantic adventure on Monday’s episode of The Bachelor — but COVID-19 had other plans, leading to a never-before-seen scenario that could drastically alter the journey ahead.

A one-on-one date saw Gabi getting the royal treatment, beginning with a trip to the perfumery that creates scents for the royal family, where she and Zach got to create their own fragrance they called “Zabi.” Next they met King Charles‘ former butler who introduced them to the royals’ famous Corgis, followed by a trip to a designer dress shop and topped off with a romantic dinner where Gabi received the date rose.

Nine of the ladies then received an invitation to “double up on love,” which turned into a tour of London — minus Zach, who was feeling “a little under the weather” and couldn’t join them.

Everyone’s worst fears were confirmed when host Jesse Palmer delivered the news that Zach tested positive for COVID, forcing him to isolate himself from the others.

The news was particularly devastating for Charity, whose first chance at one-on-one date with Zach was dashed.

Determined to push forward with the competition, regardless, Zach arranged the first-ever virtual cocktail party and rose ceremony that saw Kylee and Mercedes sent home.

Here are the nine women remaining after Monday night’s episode:

Aly, 26, a healthcare strategist from Atlanta, Ga.
Ariel, 28, a marketing executive from New York City, N.Y.
Brooklyn, 25, a rodeo racer from Stillwater, Okla.
Charity, 26, a child and family therapist from Columbus, Ga.
Gabriella “Gabi,” 25, an account executive from Pittsford, Vt.
Greer, 24, a medical sales rep from Houston, Texas. — First Impression Rose
Jessica “Jess,” 23, an e-commerce coordinator from Winter Springs, Fla.
Kaitlyn “Kaity,” 27, an ER nurse from Austin, Texas.
Katherine, 26, a registered nurse from Tampa, Fla.

The Bachelor returns Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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American Idol is back!

The whole gang — judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and host Ryan Seacrest — have returned to search for the next singing sensation. 

Here’s a look at the night’s talent:

Haven Madison, 16: Accompanied by her dad on the piano, Haven sang her original song, titled “15,” for the judges and immediately blew them away with her talent, earning herself a ticket to Hollywood. 

Lucy Love, 28: Second time was the charm for Lucy, who was given another chance to impress the judges after her audition of Marvin Gaye‘s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” fell flat. She redeemed herself and earned a golden ticket with Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You.” 

Lyric Medeiros, 21: The daughter of singer Glenn Medeiros had to prove she could bring some grit after playing it safe with Kelsea Ballerini‘s “Love Me Like You Mean It.” After some coaching from Katy and Luke, she was able to bring out the fierceness with Carrie Underwood‘s “Before He Cheats” and secure a ticket to Hollywood. 

Michael Williams, 21: This Ohio native had the judges mesmerized with his audition of “Talking to the Moon” by Bruno Mars, so much so, that Katy even deemed him “Top 10” worthy and sent him through to Hollywood. 

Megan Danielle: Megan got the surprise of a lifetime when, while singing Lauren Daigle‘s “You Say,” the Grammy winner and former Idol contestant appeared and joined her for a duet. After singing together, Megan was given a ticket to the next round of competition. 

Tyson Venegas, 17: Tyson showed off his piano and vocal skills on Billy Joel‘s “New York State of Mind,” leaving the judges so impressed that they handed him the first platinum ticker of the season, which allows him to skip the first day of Hollywood week.

Kya Monee: A returning contestant, Kya was inspired to return to the competition by runner-up Willie Spence, who she was paired up with during duets week in season 4. She delivered an emotional performance of “I’m Here” from The Color Purple as a tribute to Spence, who died in a tragic car accident last year. She received a unanimous vote to go to Hollywood. 

Other contestants who made it through to Hollywood include Zachariah Smith, William Guy Tongi, and Colin Stough.

It wouldn’t fully be American Idol if there wasn’t a bit of comedic relief, which viewers got in the form of a montage of singing hopefuls that bore the same first and last names as Katy, Luke, Lionel, and even Ryan. There was also a contestant who brought his bird with him to the audition. 

American Idol airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Richard Belzer, stand-up comedian, best-selling author, and Law & Order veteran, has died, his literary agent David Vigliano confirms to ABC News. A cause of death is not yet known.

Belzer was one of the few actors to play the same character across several television shows: His cynical, conspiracy theory-loving Detective John Munch began on the NBC cop drama Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1999 before being spun off to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, in which he appeared from 1999 to 2013. 

The character, however, popped up in shows ranging from The X-Files to Arrested Development.

Belzer got his start in comedy, working alongside Saturday Night Live legends like John Belushi, Gilda Radner  and Bill Murray in the National Lampoon Radio Hour in from 1973 to 1975, and appeared on camera in shows from Sesame Street to Saturday Night Live, for which he served as a warm-up comedian in the show’s early days.

Belzer also appeared in movies including Fame, Scarface, and Night Shift, as well as music videos for Mike + The Mechanics and Pat Benatar, and over the years often returned to the radio mic, at one point hosting a show for the liberal network Air America.

The actor also wrote four books regarding conspiracies, from the JFK Assassination to the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and the novels I Am Not a Cop! and I Am Not a Psychic!.

Belzer was memorialized on Twitter by original Saturday Night Live cast member Laraine Newman, who noted, “…I loved this guy so much. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL. We used to go out to dinner every week at Sheepshead Bay for lobster. One of the funniest people ever. A master at crowd work. RIP dearest.”

His SVU co-star Mariska Hargitay wrote on Instagram, “Goodbye my dear, dear friend. I will miss you, your unique light, and your singular take on this strange world. I feel blessed to have known you and adored you and worked with you, side by side, for so many years.”

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Peacock announced on Friday that M3GAN, the robot doll-gone-wrong thriller, will stream exclusively on the platform starting February 24.

The streaming service will make both the theatrical and unrated version of the Universal Pictures film available to subscribers.

Released late in 2022, the movie that stars Allison Williams, Violet McGraw and Ronny Chieng had a budget of just $12 million, but went on to gross more than $167 million worldwide — and a sequel, M3GAN 2.0, was greenlighted weeks after its $30 million opening weekend in the States.

The sequel is set for a January 17, 2025, theatrical debut.

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Simu Liu, the star of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the upcoming Barbie movie, will host one of the Motion Picture Academy’s pre-Oscars award shows.

Simu will take to the podium for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Scientific and Technical Awards presentation on February 24 at a ceremony held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The annual event celebrates tech breakthroughs that contribute “significant value to the scientific and technical processes of making motion pictures.”

Nine awards, including an Oscar statuette, will be presented to 20 individual award recipients, the Academy explains.

The 95th annual Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 12.

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Mark Hamill, who in October of last year was named an ambassador for Ukraine’s war fundraising efforts by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is raffling off specially designed Star Wars-themed posters to raise money.

The poster features one X-wing Starfighter painted in the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine’s flag, facing off with the Imperial fleet painted up in the colors of the Russian flag. The image reads, “Resist. Stand with Ukraine.” The imagery was the brainchild of an artist named Justin Aram, who posted it to social media last year. Hamill made it viral after he retweeted it, writing “May the Force be with you” in Polish and Ukrainian.

Hamill, who hasn’t signed memorabilia since 2017, first announced the autograph initiative earlier this month. However, UNITED24 just announced that from Friday, February 17, through March 24, anyone who donates $100 will be entered for a chance to win one of five of the posters; another five pieces will be guaranteed to fans who donate $10,000 to the effort.

Proceeds from the raffle will fund the purchase of RQ-35 Heidrun reconnaissance drones, according to the organization.

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Legendary actress Judi Dench has been living with age-related macular degeneration for years now, but in a new appearance on The Graham Norton Show, she explains her conditioned has worsened to the point that reading new roles “has become impossible.”

According to People, Dench said she has a photographic memory and noted, “I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them. I could do the whole of Twelfth Night right now.”

Dench explained in a 2021 Guardian interview that she’s had to come up with other strategies to compensate for her eyesight, including having others read her lines to her. “I have to learn through repetition, and I just hope that people won’t notice too much if all the lines are completely hopeless,” she said.

On Friday’s installment of Norton’s chat show, she joked, “I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page.”

In spite of her issues, the stage and screen star and former James Bond series lead continues working, recently appearing in a cameo as herself in Ryan Reynolds‘ holiday musical Spirited. In 2022 she was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in longtime friend and collaborator Kenneth Branagh‘s drama Belfast.

Her latest film, the play-adapted dramedy Allelujah, is about to be released in the United Kingdom.

Friday evening’s The Graham Norton Show with Dench also features Tony winner Hugh Jackman, Creed III star and director Michael B. Jordan, Schitt’s Creek star Eugene Levy, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas.

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Based on the comics following the same unlikely superhero duo, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comes to Disney+ Friday.

In the animated series, she’s a 13-year-old super genius named Lunella Lafayette and he’s a red T. rex named Devil Dinosaur that Lunella accidentally teleported into our time, who team up to fight evil in New York’s Lower East Side.

Diamond White plays the motor-mouthed teen, and the actress explained to ABC Audio that took a little getting used to. “In my everyday life, I speak very slowly because I have to get the words — I’m not as smart as Lunella. Lunella’s superpower is her brain, OK? My superpower is not my brain, but it’s my voice,” she laughs.

The actress adds, “I came to getting the vibe from this role through kind of looking at my 9-year-old self. Lunella’s 13, but I had to go a bit younger to get the whole, like, spazzy kind of like Moon Girl magic vibe.

Veteran voiceover actor Fred Tatasciore [TAHta-SHORE] has voiced everything from the evil Transformer Megatron to Yosemite Sam, but here he has to communicate only as a cartoon dinosaur can.

“Pretty soon you start to develop a lexicon, you know, and I mean a little language going on, you know?” the actor says. He demonstrates Devil’s speaking voice, which is a series of snarls, snorts and growls.

“It’s a wonderful vocal challenge,” he noted. “Peter Cullen, he actually invented the Predator voice, right? From an actor’s point of view and a vocal artist point of view, it’s the most fun to be able to try to paint colors and nontraditional colors with that texture.”

He adds with a laugh, “I call it a broken saxophone.”

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