Entertainment

On Tuesday, Nickelodeon revealed the nominees for the 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards.

Digital superstar Charli D’Amelio, and co-host of CBS Mornings and CBS sports analyst Nate Burleson will host the show airing live on Saturday, March 4, at 7 p.m. ET/PT from the Microsoft Theater. The program will simulcast across Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nicktoons, the Nick Jr. channel, TVLand, CMT and MTV2.

Stranger Things leads the pack with six nominations, followed by Nick’s show That Girl Lay Lay; Disney+‘s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series; and Paramount+’s animated The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder with four nominations each.

First-time nominees included Wednesday‘s Jenna Ortega and Letitia Wright from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever; both Wednesday and the Black Panther sequel were also nominated in the respective TV and Movie categories.

As always, fans have their say, and voting begins Tuesday at KidsChoiceAwards.com.

Here are the nominees in the TV and Movie categories.

FAVORITE KIDS TV SHOW
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Ghost Island
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
Ms. Marvel
Raven’s Home
That Girl Lay Lay
The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers
The Really Loud House

FAVORITE FAMILY TV SHOW
Cobra Kai
iCarly
Obi-Wan Kenobi
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Stranger Things
Wednesday
Young Rock
Young Sheldon

FAVORITE REALITY SHOW
America’s Funniest Home Videos
America’s Got Talent
American Ninja Warrior
Floor Is Lava
MasterChef Junior
The Masked Singer

FAVORITE ANIMATED SHOW
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous
Rugrats
SpongeBob SquarePants
Teen Titans Go!
The Loud House
The Smurfs

FAVORITE FEMALE TV STAR (KIDS)
Audrey Grace Marshall (Vivian Turner – The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder)
Imogen Cohen (Zina – The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder)
Olivia Rodrigo (Nini – High School Musical: The Musical: The Series)
Raven-Symoné (Raven Baxter – Raven’s Home)
Sofia Wylie (Gina – High School Musical: The Musical: The Series)
That Girl Lay Lay (Lay Lay – That Girl Lay Lay)

FAVORITE MALE TV STAR (KIDS)
Brady Noon (Evan Morrow – The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers)
Israel Johnson (Noah Lambert – Bunk’d)
Joshua Bassett (Ricky – High School Musical: The Musical: The Series)
Tyler Wladis (Roy – The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder)
Wolfgang Schaeffer (Lincoln Loud – The Really Loud House)
Young Dylan (Young Dylan – Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan)

FAVORITE FEMALE TV STAR (FAMILY)
Hilary Duff (Sophie – How I Met Your Father)
Jenna Ortega (Wednesday Addams – Wednesday)
Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven – Stranger Things)
Miranda Cosgrove (Carly Shay – iCarly)
Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield – Stranger Things)
Tracee Ellis Ross (Bow Johnson – Black-ish)

FAVORITE MALE TV STAR (FAMILY)
Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair – Stranger Things)
Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi – Obi-Wan-Kenobi)
Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler – Stranger Things)
Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson – Stranger Things)
Jerry Trainor (Spencer Shay – iCarly)
Ralph Macchio (Daniel La Russo – Cobra Kai)

FAVORITE MOVIE
Avatar: The Way of Water
Black Adam
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hocus Pocus 2
Jurassic World Dominion
Monster High The Movie
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Top Gun: Maverick

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR
Chris Hemsworth (Thor – Thor: Love and Thunder)
Chris Pratt (Owen Grady – Jurassic World: Dominion)
Dwayne Johnson (Black Adam – Teth-Adam, Black Adam)
Jim Carrey (Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
Ryan Reynolds (Big Adam – The Adam Project)
Tom Cruise (Capt. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell – Top Gun: Maverick)

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
Letitia Wright (Shuri – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes – Enola Holmes 2)
Natalie Portman (Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor – Thor: Love and Thunder)
Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah Sanderson – Hocus Pocus 2)

FAVORITE ANIMATED MOVIE
DC League of Super-Pets
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
Lightyear
Minions: The Rise of Gru
The Bad Guys
Turning Red

FAVORITE VOICE FROM AN ANIMATED MOVIE (MALE)
Andy Samberg (Dale – ChipN‘ Dale: Rescue Rangers)
Andy Samberg (Jonathan – Hotel Transylvania: Transformania)
Chris Evans (Buzz Lightyear – Lightyear)
Dwayne Johnson (Krypto – DC League of Super-Pets)
Kevin Hart (Ace – DC League of Super-Pets)
Steve Carell (Gru – Minions: The Rise of Gru)

FAVORITE VOICE FROM AN ANIMATED MOVIE (FEMALE)
Awkwafina (Tarantula – The Bad Guys)
Keke Palmer (Izzy Hawthorne – Lightyear)
Salma Hayek (Kitty Softpaws – Puss in Boots: The Last Wish)
Sandra Oh (Ming – Turning Red)
Selena Gomez (Mavis – Hotel Transylvania: Transformania)
Taraji P. Henson (Belle Bottom – Minions: The Rise of Gru)

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On Tuesday, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise writer-director turned co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn shared his and partner Peter Safran‘s anticipated blueprint to streamline the DC Universe.

Gunn began, “It’s one of our jobs … to make sure DC was connected in film, television, gaming and animation. That the characters are consistent, played by the same actors, and it works as one story.”

An early caveat was that films “like Matt Reeves‘ Batman, or Todd Philips‘ Joker” are clearly labeled as “DC Elseworlds,” outside the key DC continuity.

Gunn explained four projects coming out over the next year remain on the slate: Shazam: Fury of the Gods; The Flash, which Gunn called a “fantastic movie … that resets the entire DC Universe”; Blue Beetle; then Aquaman 2, which will lead into the first chapter of Gunn and Safran’s “eight- to 10-year plan.”

The projects range from animation to TV to film, including a toon called Creature Commandos that Gunn wrote and Waller, a live-action show starring Oscar winner Viola Davis reprising her Amanda Waller character.

The “true beginning of the DCU” will be called Superman: Legacy, written by Gunn and coming to theaters July 11, 2025.

Gunn also teased the TV series Lanterns, “almost like True Detective” but with Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

The filmmaker gushed about a “passion project” film adaptation of the comic The Authority; teased a TV series called Paradise Lost — “almost like Game of Thrones” but set on Wonder Woman’s home of Themiscyra; and the “introduction of the DCU’s Batman,” called The Brave and the Bold.

Gunn also mentioned an HBO Max show based on the Booster Gold hero, a revival of Swamp Thing and a “big science-fiction epic film” based on the comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

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In a video posted to Instagram Tuesday, Will Smith made it official: Bad Boys 4 is on.

The Oscar winner recorded himself jumping into the car, teasing followers, “Yo, I got an announcement.” He added “a hint,” blasting “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” the track that became the theme to the buddy cop series.

“I wish I was you, not knowing what I’m about to show me,” Will said before pulling up to a house and knocking on the door.

Martin Lawrence answers the door, asking, “It’s about that time?”

“It’s official, baby!” Will shouts, hugging Martin. “Bad Boys 4 Life, baby!”

However, Martin explained the third movie was already called Bad Boys for Life, which led to some back and forth about what the fourth movie should actually be called.

“We shouldn’t have called it that, though,” Will says of the blockbuster third movie. “But this is Bad Boys 4, it’s official.”

Bad Boys for Life debuted in January 2020 and became the highest grossing movie of that year, which saw the movie industry crippled by the pandemic. It went on to make $424.6 million worldwide, against a moderate budget of $90 million — the highest grossing installment of the franchise.

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Hollywood stars have always tried to beat back the hands of time, but a new partnership could mean your favorite celebrities will stay as you remembered them forever.

Specifically, the company Metaphysic has inked a deal with CAA, the talent agency that represents a who’s who of A-listers, including George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston, “to develop generative AI tools and services for global talent.”

In the announcement, it was noted, “Through this partnership, Metaphysic and CAA will work together to unlock creative possibilities for artists using AI across film, television, and entertainment.”

Metaphysic’s deepfake tool Metaphysic Live came to Hollywood’s attention thanks to America’s Got Talent, when the tech company resurrected Elvis Presley for a “live” performance in 2022.

The possibilities with linking up with an agency full of living stars are virtually limitless, from digital de-aging to, basically, true immortality.

In a statement, CAA’s chief metaverse officer Joanna Popper said the partnership could “unlock an incredible opportunity for the entertainment industry and beyond.”

For now, however, Metaphysic will partner with Oscar-winning Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis and that film’s stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright for a Miramax movie called Here. The adaptation of Richard McGuire‘s graphic novel will utilize Metaphysic Live to de-age the actors, as the story takes place in one setting over a number of years.

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Since they were married in 2012, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have gone viral lovingly poking fun at each other over social media, and Blake has gotten the last laugh, thanks to Ryan’s ownership of the Welsh football club Wrexham FC.

In a now-vanished Instagram Story captured by the Mirror, Lively showed snaps of Ryan losing his mind watching the team he co-owns with Always Sunny‘s Rob McElhenney taking the fight to a much higher-ranked squad, Sheffield United, on Sunday night.

“I bought ESPN+ today. Just to watch my husband experience crippling anxiety live,” Lively commented, as Ryan both celebrated and lamented as his Red Dragons led, but ultimately tied, the other squad. “Worth it,” she snarked.

For his part, Ryan ‘grammed a photo of himself celebrating on the sidelines, “When @robmcelhenney and I got into this it all felt so impossible. But impossible is @wrexham_afc‘s favourite colour. That was one of the most exciting things I’ve EVER seen. Thank you each and every Wrexham supporter who came out and aimed your heart at that pitch tonight.”

And speaking of Internet snark, Hugh Jackman, another of Ryan’s troll targets, took the time to say congratulations to the underdogs for their performance — but only to McElhenney.

Ryan and Rob’s trials and tribulations getting the team back on its feet can be seen in the FX series Welcome to Wrexham.

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The premiere of Three Women, starring Shailene Woodley, DeWanda Wise, Betty Gilpin and Blair Underwood, has been scrapped at Showtime, despite having completed production, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The drama series is one of three to get the axe, along with Let the Right One In and American Gigolo, as a result of the premium cable channel’s consolidation with Paramount+. The move follows the announcement that Showtime’s linear network will be rebranded later this year as Paramount+ on Showtime. Three Women sparked a bidding war back in 2019 and is expected to be picked up by another outlet…

Apple TV+ on Monday renewed the comedy series Acapulco for a third season. The series, inspired by the feature film How to Be A Latin Lover, follows a young Mexican man who lands the job of a lifetime at the hottest resort in Acapulco, but learns the job harder than he imagined. In season three, “it’s a time of reconciling past mistakes and exciting new beginnings,” per the streamer. “In the present story, older Maximo — played by Eugenio Derbez — finds himself returning to a Las Colinas he no longer recognizes. While in 1985, younger Maximo continues his climb up the ladder of success while potentially jeopardizing all the relationships he’s worked so hard to build.” Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming globally on Apple TV+…

Reboot, the comedy series from Modern Family co-creator Steve Levitan, has been canceled at Hulu after one season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Reboot followed the cast of a fictional sitcom who reunite in an effort to reboot the series for Hulu. Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville and Judy Greer starred alongside Paul Reiser and Rachel Bloom…

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Monday’s The Bachelor saw one of Bachelor nation’s legendary bad girls try and force her way into the competition.

Zach changed things up on Monday’s episode, deciding that all 20 remaining women would get to go on a date with him, and offering all of them a chance to either have their first conversation with him, or build on the ones they already had.

The first group date, hosted by “Big Energy” hitmaker Latto, challenged nine of the ladies to channel their “bad b**** energy,” with the help of three of Bachelor Nation’s baddies: Tahzjuan Hawkins, Victoria Fuller, and Courtney Robertson.

The date took an unexpected turn when Tahzjuan crashed the afterparty to ask him if she could add herself to the mix. Zach, caught totally off guard, told her he needed to think about it.

Needless to say, the other women were not pleased when Tahzjuan broke the news to them. Following another private conversation between Zach and the Bachelor season 23 alumna, the ladies were relieved to hear Zach say that he turned down her request. Katherine, the registered nurse from Tampa, Florida got the date rose.

Elsewhere, a one-on-one with Christina Mandrell, a content creator and the niece of country legend Barbara Mandrell, featured a helicopter ride to Zach’s hometown to meet his family, followed by a romantic candlelit dinner where Christina revealed that she had a five-year-old daughter. He admitted that the whole thought of having an instant family was “scary,” she shouldn’t stress over it and offered her the date rose.

Zach kept the second group date simple, with a cocktail party to ensure that he got to talk to all the ladies ahead of the rose ceremony. Jess, a 23-year-old Winter Springs, Florida native, snagged the date rose.

Following the rose ceremony, New York City dancer Cat, Kimberly, a hospitality manager from Los Angeles, and Victoria J., a makeup artist from Fort Worth were sent home.

Here are the 20 women remaining after Monday night’s episode:

Aly, 26, a healthcare strategist from Atlanta, Ga.
Anastasia, 30, a content marketing manager from San Diego, Calif.
Ariel, 28, a marketing executive from New York City, N.Y.
Bailey, 27, an executive recruiter from Nashville, Tenn.
Brianna, 24, an entrepreneur from Jersey City, N.J. Audience-voted First Impression Rose
Brooklyn, 25, a rodeo racer from Stillwater, Okla.
Charity, 26, a child and family therapist from Columbus, Ga.
Christina Mandrell, 26, a content creator from Nashville, Tenn.
Davia, 25, a marketing manager from Charleston, S.C.
Gabriella “Gabi,” 25, an account executive from Pittsford, Vt.
Genevie, 26, a neonatal nurse from Baltimore City, Md.
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.
Kylee, 25, a postpartum nurse from Charlotte, N.C.
Mercedes, 24, a nonprofit owner from Bloomfield, Iowa

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

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Cindy Williams, who played the perky but straitlaced Shirley Feeney on TV’s Happy Days and its spinoff, Laverne & Shirley, has died. She was 75.

In a statement provided to ABC News, her children Emily and Zak said via a spokesperson, “The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed. Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege.”

The statement continued, “She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved…May that laughter continue in everyone, because she would want that. Thank you for loving our Mom, she loved you too.”

While Williams also starred in classic films like George Lucas‘ American Graffiti and Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Conversation, she was best known for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall‘s Laverne.  The two characters were introduced on an episode of Happy Days, and were then spun off into their own series, which ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983.

The show, which began with the women working as bottle cappers in a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and ended with the gang living in Burbank, CA in 1967, was the most-watched TV series in America during its third season. It was nominated for several Golden Globes and an Emmy, and also spun off a short-lived Saturday morning cartoon.

After Laverne & Shirley, Williams appeared in two other sitcoms — Normal Life and Getting By –– and guest-starred on numerous series, from Law & Order: SVU to 8 Simple Rules. She also appeared on Broadway and did national tours of shows like Grease and Deathtrap. 

Williams and Marshall reunited onscreen in a 2013 episode of Ariana Grande‘s Nickelodeon sitcom Sam & Cat. In 2015, Williams published her memoir Shirley, I Jest!

Williams’ death leaves Michael McKean, who played the girls’ neighbor Lenny, as the sole remaining main cast member of the beloved sitcom. Marshall died in 2018, while David Lander, who played Lenny’s best friend and roommate Squiggy, died in 2020.  Eddie Mekka, who played Shirley’s boyfriend Carmine Ragusa, died in 2021.

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AMC Theatres has announced it is dropping ticket prices to $5 to celebrate diversity on the big screen during Black History Month. From February 3 to March 2, more than 200 AMC locations will screen various films as part of the initiative.

February 3-9 will see the acclaimed historic movie Till starring Danielle Deadwyler playing at AMC theaters; the week of February 10-16 will play the Korean War film Devotion starring Jonathan Majors; February 17-23 will be Oscar winner Viola Davis in The Woman King; and the final week, February 24 to March 2, will be Oscar nominee Angela Bassett and company in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

In a press release, Elizabeth Frank, AMC’s executive vice president of worldwide programming and chief content officer, noted the $5 movie offering is part of the company’s “long-standing commitment and track record of inclusive programming and initiatives that highlight diverse, creative talent behind the camera and on the big screen.”

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Eddie Murphy currently stars in the well-reviewed comedy You People on Netflix, but if he had his druthers, he’d make another Shrek movie, too.

Murphy voiced the green ogre’s buddy Donkey in four Shrek movies, and Eddie tells eTalk it would take him “two seconds” to say yes to a fifth.

“Oh, I’d absolutely be open,” Murphy said. “If they ever came with another Shrek I’d do it in two seconds. I love Donkey.”

He also shaded his cartoon co-star’s spinoff, saying, “They’re doing Puss in Boots movies. I was like, ‘They shoulda done a Donkey movie. He’s funnier than Puss in Boots,'” he said with a laugh. “I mean I love Puss in Boots, but he ain’t funnier than a donkey.”

Murphy continued, “I’d do a Donkey movie, I’d do another Shrek in two seconds.”

He then reached out to DreamWorks Animation directly, saying, “DreamWorks, if you y’all wanna do it, just call me. I’m just sitting and ready to do Donkey.”

In the same interview, Eddie also took issue with Martin Lawrence, who recently told Jimmy Kimmel that his daughter Jasmine is dating Eddie’s son Eric and he’s going to make Eddie pay for the wedding if they get married.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Eddie insisted with a smile about his Life co-star. “That’s not how it goes. Because my daughter just got married, and I had to pay, I really had to pay. And you have to do the same, Martin. Don’t try to switch it up … You paying for the wedding. If it goes down, Martin is paying, and the wedding better be wonderful.”

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