Entertainment

TIME has released its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2022, and among them are Emmy winner Zendaya, multiple Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield, Simu Liu and now-former SNL star Pete Davidson.

As always, each of this year’s class was hailed by their colleagues: Emmy winner Sandra Oh praised Shang-Chi star Liu; legendary director Martin Scorsese hailed his Silence star Garfield; rapper Jack Harlow praised Davidson; and director Denis Villenueve honored his Dune star Zendaya.

Scorsese described tick…tick…BOOM!‘s Garfield as “a remarkable artist, one of the greats of his generation.”

Villenueve lauded Zendaya as “timeless, and she can do it all,” and an “an autonomous creative force herself. A cultural icon in the making. A person driven by pure inspiration, empathy, and respect for her craft, who uses authenticity as a new superpower.”

Authenticity was also a key to Davidson’s power, Harlow explained: “Pete’s appeal to the world has everything to do with his authenticity. He doesn’t try to hide the person that he is.”

Harlow added, “We don’t have another one of him. He’s daring, thoughtful, and simply hilarious. And he’s only 28. An icon with so much more left to accomplish.”

Oh said of Liu, “It’s been amazing to see how beautifully he’s balancing representing our community and staying true to himself.” She added, “Simu has been working hard to get through closed doors, and now he wants to hold those doors open for others.”

Other honorees this year were Oscar winner and Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi, The Batman‘s Zoë Kravitz, and And Just Like That… star and executive producer Sarah Jessica Parker.

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Letitia Wright dropped some hints to Variety about the upcoming sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and how all involved are honoring the original film’s star, the late Chadwick Boseman.

Wright plays Shuri, the genius sister to Boseman’s King T’Challa, and rumor has it she’ll be taking on the mantle of Black Panther, as Boseman will not be recast.

Wright suffered an injury on the set of the film that was severe enough to cause changes to production to the Marvel Studios film. She says cast and crew soldiered on, as a tribute to Boseman, who died in 2020 at age 43 after a private battle with colon cancer.

“We committed everyday to working hard, no matter what circumstances we faced,” Wright told Variety from a red carpet event at the Cannes Film Festival. “And we faced a lot of circumstances. A lot of difficult situations, but we came together as a team.”

She added, “It is an incredible honor for Chadwick Boseman, it’s jam-packed with exciting stuff.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit theaters on November 11.

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.

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Marvel movie star Chris Pratt announced over the weekend that he and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, welcomed their second baby together.

“We are so excited to announce the birth of our second daughter, Eloise Christina Schwarzenegger Pratt,” he posted to Instagram on Sunday, adding, “Mama and baby are doing well. We feel beyond blessed and grateful.”

Katherine announced back in December that she and Pratt were expecting their second child. The couple also has a 1-year-old daughter, Lyla.

Pratt has a 9-year-old son, Jack, from his first marriage to actress Anna Faris.

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Paramount Pictures has dropped the first teaser-trailer for the series’ seventh chapter, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, and to say it’s action-packed is an understatement.

The snippet teases chases on horseback in the desert, in cars on the streets of Europe, and of course, many shots of Tom Cruise‘s super spy, Ethan Hunt, running.

“Your days of fighting for the so-called ‘greater good’ are over,” Hunt is told by his one-time boss Kittridge, played again by Henry Czerny, who appeared in 1996’s very first M:I movie.

“This is our chance to control the truth,” he says, before adding, “You need to choose a side.”

By the look on Hunt’s face, he chooses to go rogue, again.

The teaser also features its share of brutal hand-to-hand fighting, with Esai Morales — apparently the heavy — as well as Guardians of the Galaxy vet Pom Klementieff, and her Marvel movie colleague Hayley Atwell getting in on the action this time around. The film also stars returning M:I players Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson and Vanessa Kirby.

The teaser is capped by the feat Cruise has called the most dangerous he’s ever done: Driving a speeding motorcycle off a cliff, launching the actor into the air for a skydiving stunt.

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One opens July 14, 2023.

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Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: the Series has been picked up for a fourth season ahead of the season three premiere, the streamer announced on Friday. Disney also announced July 27 as the premiere date for season three, which will follow the students of East High to sleep-away camp for a summer of “campfires, summer romances and curfew-less nights.” Disney also shared a first-look clip with original HSM cast member Corbin Bleu, appearing as himself in a guest role. He joins series regulars Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Kate Reinders, Sofia Wylie, Matt Cornett, Dara Renee, Julia Lester, Frankie Rodriguez, Larry Saperstein and Mark St. Cyr. Disney is the parent company of ABC News…

Euphoria‘s Alanna Ubach has joined the cast of Seth MacFarlane’s Peacock comedy series Ted, based on his popular film franchise, according to Deadline. Ubach will play Susan Bennett, a “selfless and almost pathologically sweet woman” who “sees the world through naive, rose-colored glasses.” In addition to MacFarlane, who reprises his role as the voice of the titular foul-mouthed teddy bear, Ubach joins series regulars Georgia Whigham, Max Burkholder and Scott Grimes…

Colin Cantwell, the concept artist who designed the iconic Star Wars spacecraft, including the X-wing fighter, TIE fighter and Death Star, died Saturday at his Colorado home, Sierra Dall, his long-time partner, tells The Hollywood Reporter. He was 90. Cantwell’s other film credits include special photographic effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey, technical dialogue for Close Encounters of the Third Kind and computer graphics design consultant for WarGames. Stars Wars is a property of Disney, the parent company of ABC…

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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness spent a third week at #1 at the North American box office, holding off Downton Abbey: A New Era with an estimated $31.6 million haul. That pushed the Doctor Strange sequel’s worldwide gross to just over to just over $800 million.

Still, the aforementioned Downton Abbey: A New Era enjoyed a strong second-place debut, grabbing an estimated $16 million, a possible sign that older audiences are finally returning to movie theaters. The film — starring Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, and Maggie Smith — delivered an estimated $35.7 million overseas, bringing its first-week global tally to $51.7 million.

The Bad Guys took third place, adding an estimated $6.1 million in its fifth week of release. The animated feature has now collected $74 million domestically to go with $107.8 million internationally, for a total gross of $182 million.

Fourth place belongs to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which delivered an estimated $3.9 million in its seventh week in theaters. The film has earned a total of $181 million in North America and $194 million overseas, putting its current global tally at $375 million.

Rounding out the top five is another newcomer, Ex Machina director Alex Garland’s latest indie film, Men, debuting with an estimated $3.3 million.

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Saturday Night Live closed out its 47th season this weekend by saying goodbye to cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney, who each got their own sendoff.

Saturday’s show opened with McKinnon reprising her alien abductee Ms. Rafferty, leaving Earth permanently aboard her abductors’ spaceship.

“Well, Earth. I love you, thanks for letting me stay awhile,” McKinnon’s Rafferty said, fighting tears, before delivering the sketch comedy show’s familiar opening line, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

During the show’s “Weekend Update” segment, Davidson, who announced his departure ahead of the finale, delivered a heartfelt message of gratitude to the show, particularly to executive producer Lorne Michaels.

“I appreciate Saturday Night Live always having my back,” he said. “Thank you, Lorne, for never giving up on me or judging me, even when everyone else was, and for believing in me and allowing me to have a place that I could call home, with memories that will last a lifetime. So thank you, guys.”

In another “Weekend Update” skit, Bryant and Bowen Yang reprised their flamboyant ‘trend forecasters’ characters, which ended with Bryant announcing that “My best guys kissing me” is in, after which Yang and Update co-anchor Michael Che gave her a kiss and a shout-out, along with a bouquet of flowers.

Mooney’s sendoff was a bit more subtle. A 9 to 5 parody, also featuring SNL alum Fred Armisen, saw their characters jumping out of the window of an office building.

Russian Doll star Natasha Leone hosted, along with musical guest Japanese Breakfast.

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The winner of American Idol season 20 is Noah Thompson!

The reveal came Sunday night during the three-hour finale, but not before some final challenges and star-studded performances. 

The show opened up with Flo Rida performing his hit “Good Feeling” with an assist from both current and past contestants. Then, it was time to get down to business with the first round challenging the Top 3 — HunterGirl, Noah Thompson, and Leah Marlene — to take on a song from the prolific catalog of Bruce Springsteen. Leah expertly executed “Born in the U.S.A.”, HungterGirl smashed “Dancing in the Dark,” and Noah hit home with the classic “I’m on Fire.”

Round two was the singles round, where the final three performed their own songs. Leah’s track was titled “Flowers,” Noah’s “One Day Tonight,” and HunterGirl’s “Red Bird.”

After their performances, it was time to eliminate the person with the least votes, which ended up being Leah. 

The celebrations continued as the countdown to crowning the season’s winner drew closer with acts from the Top 10 and talented legends like Earth, Wind, and Fire, Deana Carter, Ben Platt, Idol alum Gabby Barrett, Sara Bareilles, Thomas Rhett, Michael Bublé, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and more. 

For the last round of competition, the final two did an encore of a previous production they did on the show. Noah showed growth with Rihanna‘s “Stay” and HunterGirl did the same with Rascal Flatts “Riot.”

Afterwards, Noah was crowned the winner and he again performed his single “One Day Tonight.” 

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The winner of American Idol season 20 is Noah Thompson!

The reveal came Sunday night during the three-hour finale, but not before some final challenges and star-studded performances. 

The show opened with Flo Rida performing his hit “Good Feeling” with an assist from both current and past contestants. Then, it was time to get down to business with the first round challenging the Top 3 — HunterGirl, Noah Thompson, and Leah Marlene — to take on a song from the prolific catalog of Bruce Springsteen. Leah expertly executed “Born in the U.S.A.”, HungterGirl smashed “Dancing in the Dark,” and Noah hit a home run with the classic “I’m on Fire.”

Round two was the singles round, where the final three performed their own songs. Leah’s track was titled “Flowers,” Noah’s “One Day Tonight,” and HunterGirl’s was “Red Bird.”

After their performances, it was time to eliminate the person with the least votes, which ended up being Leah. 

The celebrations continued as the moment to crown the season’s winner drew near, with acts from the Top 10 and talented legends like Earth, Wind, and Fire, Deana Carter, Ben Platt, Idol alum Gabby Barrett, Sara Bareilles, Thomas Rhett, Michael Bublé, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie, and more. 

For the last round of competition, the final two contestants delivered an encore of a song they’d previously performed on the show. Noah showed growth with Rihanna‘s “Stay” and HunterGirl did the same with Rascal Flatts “Riot.”

Afterward, Noah was crowned the winner, and took a victory lap by again performing his single, “One Day Tonight.”  

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Sarah Jessica Parker celebrated 25 years of marriage with fellow actor Matthew Broderick Thursday with a sweet Instagram post.

The Sex and the City alum, 57, shared a black and white photo of the two embracing, as well as a picture of their wedding invitation, dated May 19, 1997.

“Evening Attire. Silver baby. 25 years. And counting. X, your wife,” she wrote in the caption.

The post garnered love from celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow, Molly Shannon, Amy Sedaris and Ali Wentworth, who commented, “Oh that is BIG!!! Happy Anniversary! Sending so much love!”

Parker’s best friend and Bravo host Andy Cohen commented on the image, as well.

“What a couple,” Cohen wrote.

Parker’s And Just Like That… and Sex and the City co-star Kristin Davis also chimed in, writing, “Happy Anniversary to you two unique people who have made beautiful union.”

Parker and Broderick, 60, are currently starring together on Broadway in the play Plaza Suite, which follows three couples — all played by Parker and Broderick — confronting a series of comedic obstacles inside New York City’s famed Plaza Hotel.

The couple share three children together: 19-year-old son James and 12-year-old twin daughters Marion and Tabitha.

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