Entertainment

Justin Lin on Tuesday announced that he was stepping down as director of the latest Fast & Furious film, Fast X. A reason for the sudden departure was not given. “With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of Fast X, while remaining with the project as a producer,” Lin said in a statement posted to the franchise’s official Twitter account. “Over 10 years and five films, we have been able to shoot the best actors, the best stunts, and the best damn car chases. On a personal note, as the child of Asian immigrants, I am proud of helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history.” Lin, who returned to the franchise with 2021’s F9: The Fast Saga, was set to direct both the franchise’s 10th and 11th installments, the latter of which is set to be its last…

(NOTE LANGUAGE) HBO Max’s critically acclaimed series Hacks returns for its second season May 12, and the streaming service dropped the first full trailer on Tuesday. The clip, which opens to Elton John‘s “the B**** Is Back,” finds Deborah Vance and writer Ava, played respectively by Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, taking the legendary comedian’s standup routine on the road for a cross-country tour. Smart and Einbinder are joined by new season-two additions Laurie Metcalf, Ming-Na Wen and Euphoria‘s Martha Kelly, along with returning cast members Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Paul W. Downs, Christopher McDonald, Kaitlin Olson, Poppy Liu, Mark Indelicato, Meg Stalter, Angela E. Gibbs, Johnny Sibilly and Lorenza Izzo…

BravoCon, the fan event launched in 2019, returns to New York City’s Javits Center October 14-16 after getting sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. “BravoCon emerged as a first-of-its-kind interactive event where ten thousand fans got to experience the massive Bravosphere come to life,” Ellen Stone, EVP, Consumer Engagement & Brand Strategy, NBCUniversal, said in a statement on Tuesday. “After the last few years, we are especially excited to bring our biggest BravoCon ever to our loyal fans for an even more memorable year.” BravoCon’s debut outing attracted close to 10,000 fans…

The Harder They Fall and Station 11 actress Danielle Deadwyler has been tapped to star in HBO’s upcoming sci-fi drama series Demimonde, written, executive-produced and directed by J.J. Abrams, according to Deadline. Demimonde follows Olive Reed — played by Deadwyler — “torn away from her husband and daughter in a brutal scientific accident [and] forced to unravel a conspiracy to reunite with her family, now lost to a dark, distant other world.” Deadwyler will next be seen starring as Mamie Till in the MGM/Orion Pictures feature Till, and starring opposite Zoe Saldana in the Netflix limited series From Scratch…

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Peacock’s original comedy, Killing It, stars Craig Robinson as an underdog pursuing the American Dream, facing relatable — yet absurd — obstacles in order to make it big.

This hilarious new series highlights the insanity of today’s get-rich-or-die-trying culture, and is brought to you by the duo who produced The Office and Brooklyn Nine Nine. Of course, chasing after a dream often times comes with a few “no’s,” something Robinson tells ABC Audio he can relate to. 

“That’s the beautiful part about being told “no” as an actor,” he says. “Like there are some projects where if I had gotten a yes, I wouldn’t have been on The Office. You know what I mean? So it’s like, no’s aren’t always bad. You just gotta be able to keep going.”

In Killing It, Robinson says his character is “relentless in his quest to achieve that American dream.”

“He’s figured out what he wants, he’s trying different things, and now there’s one thing separating him and that Saw Palmetto farm he wants to get. Well there’s a lot of things, a lot of snakes,” he explains. 

Speaking of snakes, a lot of people fear the reptiles, including Robinson, that is up until six years ago.

“I got over my fear of snakes because I was in Australia and I went to an animal sanctuary and I ended up holding a snake,” he shares. “Snake felt amazing. I held another one. That one felt amazing. I realized snakes mean me no harm.”

“We’ve been lied to by the Bible and Indiana Jones. So once I got this offer, I was like, yeah, I’m down! I ain’t worried about it. Let’s do it,” he adds. 

Killing It is streaming now on Peacock. 

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Chris Evans‘ re-team with Avengers series directors Joe and Anthony Russo, The Grey Man, has gotten a pair of release dates.

The action film, which pits Evans against Ryan Gosling, will hit theaters July 15, and Netflix on July 22, the streamer has announced.

Written by fellow Marvel movie vets Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the movie will have Gosling playing inmate-turned-CIA operative Court Gentry, aka The Grey Man, who finds himself in the sights of Evans’ rival secret agent, “who will stop at nothing to take him out.”

The Grey Man also stars Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton, Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard, No Time to Die‘s Ana de Armas, Matrix Resurrections‘ Jessica Henwick and — if Gosling and Evans aren’t enough good-looking dudes in a film for you — former Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page.

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On Wednesday, theater owners will reportedly get an eyeful of the long-anticipated sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time: Avatar.

The Hollywood Reporter says Oscar-winning director James Cameron will show peeks of Avatar 2 at the annual CinemaCon expo, currently underway in Las Vegas. Disney, which purchased the Avatar property with its purchase of 20th Century Fox in 2019, does have an exhibition Wednesday morning, but the studio is officially being tight-lipped on what projects will be teased.

Also in the works, according to THR, is some technical collaboration between Cameron’s Lightstorm production house and nationwide exhibitors: Cameron’s original Avatar in 2009 represented the bleeding-edge in 3D filmmaking, and the movie’s record-breaking success helped get theaters in line with what’s possible when it comes to presenting movies to audiences.

Like George Lucas was with his Star Wars movies, Cameron is very involved in making sure theater tech can keep up with his own: He’s promised Avatar 2 and its three follow-ups are making similar “crazy” advancements.

Avatar 2 is set to launch on December 16 of this year. The third film, which recently finished shooting, will arrive in 2024; the fourth and fifth are respectively scheduled for 2026 and 2028.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Ahead of its 12th season finale of Blue Bloods on May 6, CBS has announced it has re-upped its hit cop drama for a 13th season.

“America’s favorite first family of law enforcement is back for season 13,” says CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl in a statement.

The Friday night series, which Tom Selleck stars as New York City’s Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, the head of a family of cops, remains one of the network’s most popular shows.

Adds Kahl, “The Reagans possess an incredible bond with audiences literally everywhere and on every platform. And in its 12th season, with over 250 episodes, Blue Bloods not only continues to dominate in the ratings but excels at an exceptionally high creative level.”

The series also stars Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Marisa Ramirez, Vanessa Ray, and Tony winner Len Cariou.

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The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Monday released a trove of information related to the investigation into the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Alec Baldwin‘s Western, Rust.

The Colt-style revolver Baldwin brandished on the set contained a live round, which discharged when the actor and producer of the film pointed it at Hutchins on October 21 of last year.

Included in the information release are not only hundreds of pages of documents, but also police interviews with Baldwin; the movie’s armorer, Hanna Gutierrez Reed; injured director Joel Souza from his hospital bed; and even footage of the ultimately futile efforts to save Hutchins’ life.

Hauntingly, also included is some of the last footage the cinematographer shot — including a rehearsal of Baldwin in costume, finger on the trigger as he whips out the pistol and points it toward Hutchins, who was behind the camera. The move he was practicing was the same he performed before the fatal round discharged.

Footage also shows a frantic Gutierrez Reed tearfully trying to explain how a live round could have ended up in the firearm, and her insisting to cops that she checked the firearm ahead of time.

Baldwin insists he was assured the firearm he was handed was “cold,” or safe to handle.

Last Wednesday, The New Mexico Environment Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau issued a “maximum fine” of more than $136,000 to the Rust production, citing numerous gun safety violations.

A criminal investigation into the matter is ongoing, with its findings reportedly months away.

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A new offer from the Travel + Leisure Club will soon let Star Wars fans step foot on two of the planets made famous by the movie series. Well, sort of.

To help fans celebrate Star Wars Day on May 4th, the club has cooked up two itineraries that will let fans visit Tozeur, Tunisia and Abu Dhabi, the two real-world locations that stood in for, respectively, Luke Skywalker’s desert planet Tatooine in Star Wars: A New Hope, and Jakuu, the planet on which Rey scavenged in The Force Awakens.

The Tunisia trip for two will set you back $1,120, excluding flights, and you can get to visit the still-preserved desert domiciles as seen in A New Hope and The Phantom Menace.

Seven days in Abu Dhabi will be just under $1,800 for two people. However, in both cases, “Prices will vary depending on occupancy, length of stay, itinerary options selected and date availability.”

Abu Dhabi’s trip will not only offer sightseeing opportunities from the film, but also the chance to ride a camel, go sandboarding, or jumping dunes in a 4×4. Or, you can always beat the heat at the United Arab Emirates capital’s man-made oasis, and its luxe St. Regis Saadiyat Island.

Members of the club can also opt for its concierges to set up an al fresco feast, or musicians “who will play music reminiscent of their favorite movie scores” during their stays.

Sure beats watching Star Wars on your couch for the umpteenth time.

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Fans of the The Wire, buckle up. The new series We Own This City, which premiered Monday night on HBO, is almost a sequel. It comes from The Wire creator David Simon, and it’s set back in Baltimore, this time focusing on the true story of the Baltimore Police Department’s elite Gun Trace Task Force, and the corruption scandal that grew out of it.

The story wasn’t a complete surprise to Simon, who tells ABC Audio, “The idea that it would get to this dystopian point where you literally have a heralded police unit that was…robbing regular people of money and robbing drug dealers of drugs and then selling the drugs back on the street…was a generation removed from where we were in The Wire, but it was in some respects where we were headed.”

We Own This City comes at a time where stories about police are being looked at a lot closer, but Simon says this series is about truth, not slogans.

“This is a bad, systemic dynamic. [It’s] a mission that can’t possibly succeed. It can only destroy anything it touches. That’s not covered by all cops are bastards,” he explains. “Nor do you get at it in any way if you decide that police have to be defended…that failure to do so makes you soft on crime.”

Jon Bernthal plays the unit’s ringleader Wayne Jenkins, who is currently in prison. He was able to do ride-alongs with the Baltimore PD and talk to a lot of officers while preparing for the role because of what he calls “the respect and reverence [The Wire] creators have for telling the truth…not to make it just one side or the other, but to tell the truth…That what they’re after.”  

(Trailer contains uncensored profanity.)

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) James Gunn is a “ride or die” guy with Chris Pratt.

On Monday, a Twitter user called @themeghanlodon_ posted a photo of Pratt next to Moonfall actor Patrick Wilson, snarking “Marvel. Hear me out. Just… replace him.”

Pratt has become a lighting rod for some online, mostly thanks to his openly Christian beliefs, and this Twitter user apparently thought they’d join the pile on. The initial comment even caught the attention of Newsweek.

However, Gunn, the writer-director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, wasn’t having it, and shut the “replacing” comment right down.

“For what?” the filmmaker replied. “Because of your made-up, utterly-false beliefs about him? For something that someone else told you about him that’s not true?”

He added, “Chris Pratt would never be replaced as Star-Lord but, if he ever was, we would all be going with him.”

Gunn’s defense immediately drew support from fans, who turned up the heat on the troll. “Pratt is great at the role, not sure what’s wrong with you,” one offered.

Evidently, @themeghanlodon_ subsequently backpedaled, saying, “I just want to apologize because there is a looot of harmful and potentially triggering stuff being said in the comments of a joke I made…”

In response, another user replied, “…I don’t think you deserve to be harassed. But let’s not act like you weren’t also spreading hate in that same thread.” They also brought receipts to show she also called Pratt a “piece of s***.”

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At Monday night’s Cinemacon event in Las Vegas, the annual confab for movie theater owners, Sony Pictures announced there will be a fifth Ghostbusters movie, as well as a third Venom film, and — reaction to Mobius be damned — another Spider-Man adjacent spin-off film.

The Ghostbusters movie would be a follow-up to the hit Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which emerged from a pandemic delay to become a beloved addition to the franchise, with a 94% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.

A third Venom film is a bit of a no-brainer, considering its predecessor, 2021’s Venom: There Will Be Carnage made a half-billion dollars worldwide.

However, the flip side of the coin was Sony Pictures’ announcement of another obscure Spider-Man spin-off following the stumble with Jared Leto‘s Morbius. El Muerto, about the Marvel Comics luchador superhero, will star Puerto Rican rapper Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio aka Bad Bunny. The star was also there to unveil some footage of Bullet Train, an action pic in which he appears with Brad Pitt.

Bullet Train will also star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who, as reported, landed the title role of a better-known Spidey foil, Kraven the Hunter. Footage of that movie was shown in a Sony sizzle reel that also included peeks of the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, the animated sequel Spider-Man: Across the Multiverse, Denzel Washington‘s third Equalizer movie, and Tom Hanks‘ A Man Called Otto.

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