Entertainment

It was a record year for Oscar nominations when it came to actors and filmmakers of Asian descent being recognized. Domee Shi is one of those people, her Pixar film Turning Red, about a tween Chinese-Canadian girl who turns into a giant red panda when she gets emotional, is nominated for Best Animated Feature.

Shi thinks the representation we’re seeing is amazing, telling ABC Audio, “It’s huge that movies like Turning Red, like [Everything Everywhere All at Once] are being seen and celebrated because I think it really gives these…future filmmakers from these communities hope and…evidence to [tell] their parents, ‘Look like if they can do it, so can I. So please believe in me.'”

But while it’s “a really exciting time” in the industry right now, she constantly has to remind herself of the reality that “this is continuous hard work that we have to keep doing every single day and keep championing these new voices because it could so easily go backwards as well.”

Likewise, the lack of nominations for female directors is a matter of concern for Shi, who says “We have to continuously bring up the people that are coming after us as well. And that change doesn’t happen immediately…if you don’t constantly fight for it.”

As for her Academy Award nomination for Turning Red, Shi, who already has an Oscar for the 2018 animated short Bao, admits, “This was so far away from anything I could have imagined because you just didn’t see people that looked like me getting Oscars or being nominated or making movies or animated films.”

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On the Emmy-winning animated show Rick and Morty, scientist Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty always manage to escape close calls, but now the guy who voices them, Justin Roiland, has hit a dead end with Adult Swim.

The Cartoon Network Studios-owned property said in a tweet it has “ended its association” with the 42-year-old veteran voice actor, who is also the show’s co-creator.

Variety reports Roiland was charged with “one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit” in an incident that reportedly took place on January 19, 2020, with an unnamed woman he was dating at the time.

Roiland pleaded not guilty in 2020 and recently appeared at a pretrial hearing; he has another one on April 27, according to the trade.

Adult Swim’s brief message, to which replies were not allowed, added, “Rick and Morty will continue. The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on Season 7.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On the Emmy-winning animated show Rick and Morty, scientist Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty always manage to escape close calls, but now the guy who voices them, Justin Roiland, has hit a dead end with Adult Swim.

The Cartoon Network Studios-owned property said in a tweet it has “ended its association” with the 42-year-old veteran voice actor, who is also the show’s co-creator.

Variety reports Roiland was charged with “one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit” in an incident that reportedly took place on January 19, 2020, with an unnamed woman he was dating at the time.

Roiland pleaded not guilty in 2020 and recently appeared at a pretrial hearing; he has another one on April 27, according to the trade.

Adult Swim’s brief message, to which replies were not allowed, added, “Rick and Morty will continue. The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on Season 7.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Austin Butler says receiving an Oscar nomination for his role as Elvis Presley in the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic “feels like a dream.”

“It’s very surreal,” he told Good Morning America.

Butler, 31, who recently won a Golden Globe for his role in Elvis, recalled how he landed the film’s lead role, and how actor Denzel Washington and Butler’s ex-girlfriend played a part.

“Denzel was very kind, and we’ve done a play together and, I mean, he’s my hero,” Butler said. “So I am very grateful to him because he sort of called Baz and vouched for me after we worked together.”

Although it wasn’t a childhood dream to play Elvis, Butler said, “It was kind of this moment of all the stars aligning when I heard that Baz was making a movie. Now we’re here. It’s so surreal.”

Butler’s nomination comes almost two weeks after the death of Lisa Marie Presley — the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley — with whom Butler became close during the movie’s production. Lisa Marie came out to support Butler and the film earlier this month at the Golden Globes.

When asked about what he thought Lisa Marie would say about his nomination in particular and the film’s seven other Oscar nominations, Butler said, “I know she’s smiling down right now.”

“You know, life is full of so many ups and downs, and while this is such a positive moment, the grief is just so deep with the loss of Lisa Marie,” he continued. “I know she’d be really happy right now.”

He called his relationship with her “the most meaningful thing to me.”

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Ramón Rodríguez stars in the title role of ABC’s new crime drama Will Trent. Based on the bestselling book series from Karin Slaughter, Trent is an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

The actor tells ABC Audio, “He’s been able to sort of look at the world and look at a crime scene very uniquely, you know, his own perspective of how he can sort of put his story together on a crime scene that other people might not pick up.”

Rodríguez explains, “He’s a really resilient soul, someone that you know is an underdog, which I love. You know, [he] went through a really tough childhood in the foster care system in Atlanta, dealt with some really traumatic childhood experiences.” Despite that, Rodríguez says, Trent uses what he’s been through to try to do the right thing.

In the pilot, Trent adopts a Chihuahua, which Rodríguez says is “a great sign of, you know, he wasn’t going to let another underdog, another someone else be abandoned because he knows that feeling.”

Now, W.C. Fields famously said, “Never work with children or animals.” Rodríguez has done both, saying it can be a challenge, but not with his canine co-star, Belle, who plays little Betty.

“Belle’s a diva,” the actor says with a laugh. “I’ve been saying, you know, she’s got a trailer for herself and a trailer for her Chihuahua entourage.”

He adds, “You know, I’m having fun with it because … she’s adorable. She’s the cutest thing. And she’s been awesome. I mean, honestly, she hits her marks, all the commands that she needs to do. It’s impressive.”  

Will Trent airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern on ABC.

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Another Bachelor baby is on the way! Alums Raven Gates and Adam Gottschalk are expecting their second child together.

Taking to Instagram Monday, the couple shared a carousel of family photos with the sonogram in hand and announced, “Baby #2 due in July!”

“Any tips on two under 2? Pray for us!… especially Adam,” they caption continued.

Raven and Adam wed in 2021 and are already parents to 12-month-old son Gates, whom they welcomed via emergency C-section in January 2022.

The same photos were shared to the toddler’s Instagram along with the caption, “Did you hear?? I’m going to be a big brother!! (The best big brother, too!).”

Other members of Bachelor Nation flooded the comments section, congratulating the couple on their growing family.

Dean Unglert joked, “If you guys are open to a third, I’ll put myself up for adoption.”

Ashley Iaconetti also commented, writing, “Congratulations!! Cutest family!! So happy for you all!”

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Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis were among those reacting to their 2023 Oscar nominations on Tuesday, sharing their thoughts about the honor:

Fraser, a Best Actor favorite for The Whale, said he’s “absolutely overjoyed and deeply grateful to The Academy for this recognition and for recognizing [co-star] Hong Chau‘s beautiful performance and Adrien Morot‘s incredible makeup.” He called his character, Charlie, “A gift I certainly didn’t see coming, but it’s one that has profoundly changed my life.”

Yeoh, whose Best Actress nomination for Everything Everywhere All at Once was one of 11 earned by the film, said she’s “overwhelmed and overjoyed with happiness!” She added, “Playing Evelyn Wang has been one of the great privileges of my 40 year career … truly the role of a lifetime.”

Curtis received her first Oscar nomination Tuesday for EEAAO. She wrote that the nom was “never even in my wildest dream box.” She explained, “Being a part of this beautiful movie, which just received so many acknowledgments for our talented, motley crew of artists, is the highlight of my professional life.”

Fellow first-timer Colin Farrell said of his nomination for Best Supporting Actor for The Banshees of Inisherin, “Just so grateful to the Academy for all the love it’s shared with the Banshees cast and crew. Also, beyond honored to be lumped together with my fellow nominees. A heartfelt congratulations to all the lads!”

His nominated co-star Brendan Gleeson called Tuesday’s announcement “an amazing wake-up call,” saying he was thrilled for the cast and crew. “What a day for the Irish film industry on a world stage!” he added.

First-time Oscar nominee Jerry Bruckheimer reacted to the Best Picture nomination, saying, “On behalf of Tom [Cruise], all the filmmakers, cast, Paramount and everyone who worked on Top Gun: Maverick, we are so honored by this recognition from the Academy. This being my first ever Oscar nomination makes it that much more special.”

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Shailene Woodley is opening up about life after her split from NFL player Aaron Rodgers last year.

In an interview with Net-a-Porter, the actress reflected on the previous year of her life, telling the outlet, “It was hard to film because I was going through the darkest, hardest time in my life; it was winter in New York, and my personal life was s*****, so it felt like a big pain bubble for eight months.”

Woodley, who during that time filmed Three Women, the Showtime adaptation of Lisa Taddeo’s 2019 book which studies the sex lives of three women, added that the job helped her work through the challenging days.

“I was so grateful that at least I could go to work and cry and process my emotions through my character,” she said.

Woodley shared that the transformative time, which also included spending time in Europe, helped her to learn to live in the moment. “The way that I take care of myself now looks very different to the way I used to,” she said.

Woodley, 31, and Rodgers, 39, announced their engagement in February 2021 after they began dating in 2020. Reports that the pair split surfaced in February 2022.

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Former child star Ke Huy Quan says he’s “ecstatic” about the pack-leading 11 Oscar nominations for Everything Everywhere All at Once, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for his own performance.

The actor called into Good Morning America Tuesday to revel in the good news, explaining he and the other members of his “EEAAO family” were watching the nominations together via Zoom.

He called the movie’s showing at the nominations unexpected, explaining, “… it was just this little movie that we shot for 38 days in Simi Valley. So to get this kind of recognition with 11 nominations … is absolutely incredible. None of us could have ever imagined this would happen. And yet here we are. So it’s a wonderful feeling. And I’m so, so happy [for] our family.”

Quan starred in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and The Goonies when he was a kid, but transitioned to work behind the camera when acting opportunities dried up. He said, “When I stepped away … all the dreams that I had of, you know, imagining one day of walking down the red carpet at the Oscars, I mean, those dreams dissipated, and they were so distant that I didn’t think they would ever come back. And so for me to be here today, to be nominated, it is so surreal. It’s an incredible feeling, honestly. And it goes to show that … dreams do come true, no matter how long you take.”

One big bonus of going to the big show? Reuniting with his Fabelmans-nominated Indiana Jones director, Steven Spielberg, like he did at the Golden Globes. “I just love that man so much,” Quan says. “So it’ll be incredible to see him and to give him a big hug at the biggest award show in the world!”

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Angela Bassett‘s role as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever resulted in a Golden Globe — and now, a groundbreaking Oscar nomination. The actress received a nod in the category of Best Supporting Actress, making her the first actor from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be nominated for an Oscar. This is her second nomination and first since 1994, when her performance as Tina Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do With It received a nod for Best Actress.

“This morning is a little extra special in the Bassett Vance household with news of my Oscar nomination. What has drawn me to each of the women I’ve portrayed throughout my career is their strength, compassion, resilience, and power,” Angela said in a statement. “Wakanda Forever‘s Queen Ramonda is a character that touched my spirit because she is a mother and a leader who must care for her grieving nation as much as she cares for her family in mourning.”

“I’m thankful to the Academy for including me amongst a wonderful group of actresses,” she continued. “I look forward to March 12 as we cheer for and celebrate with one another.”

Wakanda Forever premiered in November alongside a soundtrack featuring 20 tracks, including Rihanna‘s “Lift Me Up,” which earned the singer her first Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

The film is also up for Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, but was notably left out of the Best Picture category.

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

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