Entertainment

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Tom Cruise is famous for risk-taking both onscreen and in real life so that his characters can save the world, but according to movie legend Steven Spielberg, Cruise’s biggest gamble saved Hollywood itself.

The admission was revealed in a moment between the director and Mission: Impossible franchise star and producer that was uploaded to Instagram by fellow nominee Kartiki Gonsalves in a now-deleted video from Tuesday’s annual Oscar nominees luncheon.

It showed the War of the Worlds collaborators embracing warmly, before Spielberg congratulates Cruise on the “great honor” of Tom receiving the Milestone Award at the upcoming Producers Guild Awards. “You saved Hollywood’s a**!” Spielberg said referring to Top Gun: Maverick.

Cruise laughed and shook his head humbly.

Still embracing him, Spielberg can be overheard saying, “And you might have saved theatrical distribution. Seriously!”

Cruise, as the star and producer of Top Gun: Maverick, insisted the movie not be released to streaming during the pandemic, delaying it instead for theatrical release.

The gamble paid off: The film coaxed COVID-shy audiences back to theaters, resulting in a $1.48 billion take in theaters worldwide. Maverick nabbed six Oscar nominations to boot, including one for Best Picture.

The friends will meet again on March 12, when Jimmy Kimmel hosts the 95th Annual Academy Awards, which will air on ABC: Spielberg’s autobiographical The Fabelmans is up for seven trophies.

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If you’ve found yourself watching streaming content rather than flipping channels on the TV, you’re not alone. According to the market research company Insider Intelligence, streaming material — whether it’s a drama on Netflix, sports on ESPN+ or cat videos on TikTok — will overtake traditional TV’s viewership for the first time ever in 2023.

Scheduled content on broadcast and cable television — or, as it’s known in industry circles, ‘linear TV’ — has been losing audience to on-demand digital content for years, but Insider Intelligence predicts this is the year linear TV loses its decades-long dominance.

American adults’ daily TV time is predicted to drop to two hours and 55 minutes, versus three hours and 11 minutes watching streaming entertainment, the analysts report. According to the company’s analysis, 2022 saw streaming neck-and-neck with TV time: Adults in this country spent an average of three hours and two minutes a day watching digital video content, versus three hours and seven minutes watching TV.

The company’s report further shows YouTube and Netflix are “neck and neck,” each grabbing an average of about 33 viewing minutes per day among U.S. adults. Hulu ranked second with 24 minutes, followed by Amazon Prime Video with 11 and Disney+, with eight. Streaming sports was a big driver in digital viewership, the report says.

Insider Intelligence’s principal analyst Paul Verna explains that as recently as four years ago, digital video’s audience was half of TV’s audience. Also, because the new analysis centers solely on adults and younger audiences spend even more time consuming digital content, the gap between linear and streaming will likely widen further.

Aside from an uptick in 2020 — likely from watching TV news during the pandemic — TV time has dropped every year since 2013.

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Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are making their love a little more permanent — with a pair of tattoos.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the actress and singer revealed the tattoos that they got to honor their love. Jen’s new ink is the infinity symbol with both of the love birds names on it with an arrow going through the middle. Ben’s is a pair of criss-cross arrows, bearing both their initials.

“Commitment,” the 53-year-old pop star captioned a carousel of snapshots. “Happy Valentine’s Day my love.” She added the hashtags #CommitmentIsSexy #ThisIsUsThen#ThisIsUsNow #ThisIsMeNow and said she’ll soon be sharing more Valentine’s Day details on her website On the JLo.

Jen and Ben, 50, tied the knot in July 2022 after rekindling their romance in 2021 following their engagement and breakup in the early aughts.

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Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart danced their way to a fifth-place finish on season 31 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, and on Tuesday, the CODA star and the DWTS pro confirmed they’re dating with a pair of Valentine’s Day Instagram posts.

“My Valentine. Happy Valentine’s Day!,” the 33-year-old actor wrote alongside a picture of him and Stewart taken by the water.

“[Heart emoji] @danielndurant,” the dancer, also 33, captioned a video of Durant dancing up to her from behind, then pressing his face against hers, while Montell Fish‘s “Fall in Love with You” plays underneath.

The couple’s DWTS family expressed their excitement at reading the news, including Witney Carson, who wrote, “Is this a soft launch???…love you both!!”

Emma Slater shared, “Ahhhhh there it is!!!! I love this SO MUCH!!!”

Fellow DWTS pro Pasha Pashkov commented, “Happy Valentine’s Day you lovebirds!!!” while fellow season 31 competitor Wayne Brady added, “I knew it!!!!! Congrats!”

Selma Blair, who also competed alongside the couple during season 31, added, “I love this so so much.”

Jenna Johnson, Sharna Burgess, Cheryl Burke, Daniella Karagach and other DWTS cast members were also among the well-wishers.

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The Crown star Emma Corrin has been tapped to star alongside Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in the third Deadpool movie. Reynolds revealed the news on Twitter, writing, “New addition to the family! The Deadpool family, for clarity. Which is just like a real family except with less swearing… Welcome, Emma Corrin!” Specific details on Corrin’s role have yet to be announced, but the actress is expected to play the villain to Reynolds’ titular mercenary and Jackman’s Wolverine, according to Deadline. Deadpool 3 is set to hit theaters September 6, 2024…

Jimmy Kimmel channeled Top Gun: Maverick in the first promo for his upcoming gig hosting the 95th Academy Awards. The spot even features the film’s stars, Jon Hamm and Charles Parnell, reprising their roles as Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson and RADM Solomon “Warlock” Bates, respectively. “ABC has tasked us with finding a host who is unflappable…and unslappable,” Parnell says at one point, to which the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host — referencing last year’s infamous Will Smith Oscars slap — replies, “That’s good, ’cause I can’t get slapped. I cry a lot.” Nine-time Oscars host Billy Crystal also makes an appearance. The 95th Academy Awards airs live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 12…

National Hockey League games can get a little rough, but Disney is trying to make the sport more family-friendly. Variety reports that on March 14 at 7 p.m. ET, ESPN will make available a live telecast of that night’s Washington Capitals-New York Rangers game on the Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+ — with a slight twist. The Disney version, titled NHL Big City Greens Classic, will be animated and feature characters from the popular cartoon series Big City Greens, skating alongside animated versions of the actual NHL players, with the action following that of the actual game — with the help of NHL technology that maps the movements of players and the game puck. The goal is to expand ESPN’s live sports coverage beyond its traditional audience to include kids and families as well. Disney is the parent company of ABC News…

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Lady Gaga fans got a Valentine’s Day gift on Tuesday, courtesy of Joker: Folie à Deux director Todd Phillips.

“Happy Valentines Day,” Phillips shared, alongside a photo of Gaga embracing Joker 2 star Joaquin Phoenix.

Gaga also posted the same image on her Instagram.

The Grammy winner is reportedly playing Harley Quinn — the psychiatrist who becomes the Joker’s sidekick/love interest — in the upcoming Joker sequel — and while the post seemingly confirms the rumor, she has yet to explicitly name the character she’s playing in the movie.

The first Joker movie grossed over $1 billion worldwide and picked up a pair of Oscars, including Phoenix’s Best Actor win.

Joker: Folie à Deux makes its way into theaters on October 4, 2024.

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Netflix has revealed that its Bridgerton prequel series centering on the early days of Golda Rosheuvel‘s Queen Charlotte will debut May 4.

A teaser for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story shows India Amarteifio as the young royal, Corey Mylchreest as young King George and Arsema Thomas as young Lady Danbury.

For Charlotte, the pressure is on. “Your marriage is the business of this country,” she’s told. “This cannot go wrong!”

According to the streamer, the six-episode series centers “on Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and power,” which “tells the story of how the young Queen’s marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton.”

Netflix also announced the launch of an interactive attraction called The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience opening this spring in New York City. The waitlist is now open, and guests can register here.

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Actor, writer, director and The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau was honored with the 2,746th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a ceremony Monday.

Favreau, who as an actor starred in movies including Rudy, before breaking out as the writer and star of Swingers alongside his longtime friend Vince Vaughn, went on to direct films including the holiday classic Elf and helped launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man in 2008.

Favreau’s Walk of Fame monument reflects his contributions to television.

Favreau was honored at the podium by his Chef coach and Chef Show co-star chef Roy Choi, as well as Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr.

Downey celebrated Favreau’s vision, noting that Iron Man got underway 16 years ago to the day of the honor. Referencing his troubled past, Downey said, “I was beyond grateful for the power of second chances … and for no good reason, Jon and Kevin [Feige, Marvel Studios’ now-president] trusted me.”

Downey explained, “Iron Man was a second-tier superhero property [that] had no shot at affording Kevin Feige the opportunity of launching a cinematic universe, because there was no such thing as a cinematic universe.”

Channeling Tony Stark, a sunglasses-wearing Downey said, “Now I would never insinuate that it was me who made Jon a multihyphenate international sensation,” before adding Favreau’s work “continues to leave us elevated, inspired and connected.”

Favreau humbly accepted the honor in a “very brief speech,” noting he had many fond personal and professional memories of the landmark on Hollywood Boulevard. “To be part of this fabric is really the honor,” he explained, saying he hopes his star will continue to inspire “people who want to tell stories.”

To “make it official,” Downey added a wad of gum to Jon’s star.

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Jennifer Lopez is reportedly moving again, this time to a swanky Pacific Palisades mansion in Los Angeles.

ET Canada reports she and husband Ben Affleck sank $34.5 million into buying their new property, which is in escrow. The outlet also pinpointed the Zillow listing, which reveals the mansion was constructed in 2022 and offers seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms across 15,100 square feet of living space. The residence is set on an acre of land and also comes with a six-car garage.

As for the more luxurious perks, the home offers a gourmet kitchen, full-service bar, temperature-controlled wine cellar, private gym and health spa, private theater, pool, jacuzzi, outdoor kitchen and, per the listing, ample privacy.

The purchase comes a few days after Lopez listed her luxurious Bel Air mansion for $42 million. She and Affleck are also reportedly parting ways with their estate in Georgia, which offers 87 acres, for a cool $8.9 million.

With the addition of their Pacific Palisades mansion, their portfolio includes a mansion in the Hamptons and a cottage in Encino, California, as well as a penthouse in New York City.

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Producers announced cameras will roll again this spring on Rust, the Alec Baldwin film on which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in 2021, according to a press release.

Director Joel Souza, who was injured by the bullet that fatally struck Hutchins after it discharged from Baldwin’s pistol on set, will be back behind the camera, as will several key crew members.

As reported, Matthew Hutchins, the widower of the slain cinematographer, will now serve as an executive producer on the film. He joins Rust‘s original producers and a new addition, Academy Award-nominated The Thin Red Line veteran Grant Hill.

The press release noted safety officers will be added to the film and, “at Hutchins’ behest and with his blessing …, cinematographer Bianca Cline (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) will complete Halyna’s vision for the film.”

Cline is donating her salary to a charity in Halyna’s honor.

In the announcement, Souza noted, “Though bittersweet, I am grateful that a brilliant and dedicated new production team joining former cast and crew are committed to completing what Halyna and I started. My every effort on this film will be devoted to honoring Halyna’s legacy and making her proud. It is a privilege to see this through on her behalf.”

Baldwin and set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in Halyna’s death. They are scheduled to make their first court appearance virtually on February 24.

Prosecutors claim that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed failed to correct reckless safety violations in their roles as producer and armorer, respectively, and that Baldwin pulled the trigger, contradicting his statements to the contrary.

Last week, Halyna’s parents and sister filed a new lawsuit against Baldwin and the film’s producers, alleging negligence, battery, intentional affliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium.

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