The “no” book: Rachel McAdams on turning down ‘Iron Man’, ‘Mission: Impossible III’ and more “to stay sane”

The “no” book: Rachel McAdams on turning down ‘Iron Man’, ‘Mission: Impossible III’ and more “to stay sane”
The “no” book: Rachel McAdams on turning down ‘Iron Man’, ‘Mission: Impossible III’ and more “to stay sane”
Lionsgate

While she’s since become a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her role as Dr. Christine Palmer in the Doctor Strange films, there was a time Rachel McAdams could have been Iron Man‘s Pepper Potts.

But saying no to the role that eventually went to Gwyneth Paltrow was important to preserve “normalcy” after hits like Mean Girls and The Notebook, she tells Bustle.

Ditto declining roles in Mission: Impossible III, The Devil Wears Prada, the James Bond film Casino Royale and Get Smart, also starring Prada‘s Anne Hathaway.

McAdams, who is about to star in the adaptation of the beloved Judy Blume book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., explains she took a two-year break from acting after walking out on what turned out to be a nude 2006 Vanity Fair cover shoot opposite stars Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley.

She explained of her hiatus from the spotlight, “I felt guilty for not capitalizing on the opportunity that I was being given, because I knew I was in such a lucky spot. But I also knew it wasn’t quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane.”

As for those parts she turned down, the actress admits, “There’s certainly things like ‘I wish I’d done that,'” but adds, “I step back and go, ‘That was the right person for that.'”

McAdams added, “There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that? It’s taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing.”

Her role in Margaret, about the titular late bloomer’s mother, Barb, allowed McAdams to hire her sister, Kayleen, to do her makeup, so that the siblings and their children — Rachel has a son and daughter with longtime partner Jamie Linden — could spend time together.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Winning? Charlie Sheen reportedly reteaming with former foil Chuck Lorre for Max’s comedy ‘How to Be a Bookie’

Winning? Charlie Sheen reportedly reteaming with former foil Chuck Lorre for Max’s comedy ‘How to Be a Bookie’
Winning? Charlie Sheen reportedly reteaming with former foil Chuck Lorre for Max’s comedy ‘How to Be a Bookie’
L-R: Lorre and Sheen in 2009 – MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images

Nearly 12 years after his infamous tiger blood-spilling, Violent Torpedo of Truth-launching flameout, Charlie Sheen has apparently made up with his former Two and a Half Men producer Chuck Lorre.

While HBO refused to comment to ABC Audio, there are reports that Lorre, the target of many of Sheen’s tirades at the time, has tapped Sheen to join How to Be a Bookie in a recurring role.

The comedy series stars comedian/actor Sebastian Maniscalco and will run on HBO’s newly rebranded screening service Max.

Sheen, once the highest paid actor on TV thanks to Two and a Half Men, was fired in 2011 over his behavior at the time, and the show continued with Ashton Kutcher joining the cast until the show ended in 2015.

Back in 2021, a now-sober Sheen looked back with “regret” at his behavior, and the media circus it became. He called it “desperately juvenile” and the result of “drugs or the residual effects of drugs,” adding, “it was also an ocean of stress and a volcano of disdain.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh boldly going back to the ‘Star Trek’ universe with ‘Section 31’ movie

Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh boldly going back to the ‘Star Trek’ universe with ‘Section 31’ movie
Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh boldly going back to the ‘Star Trek’ universe with ‘Section 31’ movie
CBS/Michael Gibson

Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once star Michelle Yeoh is boldly going back to Gene Roddenberry‘s universe with a Paramount+ movie called Star Trek: Section 31.

Section 31 refers to Starfleet’s black ops agents, who were to be at the center of a long-gestating TV project.

On the TV series Star Trek: Discovery, Yeoh played both Philippa Georgiou, the captain of the Federation’s USS Shenzhou, and also Emperor Philippa Georgiou, the ruler of the militaristic Terran Empire, which controlled Earth and the surrounding space.

The dual role came courtesy of a Trek conceit known as the mirror universe, a parallel dimension to our own. While the former died in battle, Star Trek: Section 31 will center on the latter.

Paramount+ teases of the film, “Emperor Philippa Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past.”

“I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long,” Yeoh said in the announcement. “Section 31 has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of Star Trek launched.”

She enthused, “To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise)!”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ debuts on digital Tuesday

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ debuts on digital Tuesday
‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ debuts on digital Tuesday
Marvel Studios

The third Ant-Man movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, comes out on HD digital Tuesday.

The latest movie has Paul Rudd‘s size-shifting hero Scott Lang enjoying a bit of notoriety following the defeat of Thanos as seen in Avengers: Endgame, only to face a tiny-yet-massive new threat: Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror, who rules over the microscopic Quantum Realm with his sights set on the world above.

When his daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), builds a machine to explore the Quantum Realm from afar, things go awry. Cassie, Scott, Evangeline Lilly‘s Hope Van Dyne and her parents, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne (Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer, respectively), get sucked into the mysterious subatomic universe. Once there, Janet must face the past she left when she was stranded there for decades.

The digital release comes with supplemental material, including a gag reel, deleted scenes and commentary from director Peyton Reed.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania comes out on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD May 16. While a Disney+ release date hasn’t been announced, it will likely be available for streaming for subscribers around that time.

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

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Aftermath of Jeremy Renner’s snowplow accident revealed in body camera footage

Aftermath of Jeremy Renner’s snowplow accident revealed in body camera footage
Aftermath of Jeremy Renner’s snowplow accident revealed in body camera footage
Marvel Studios

First responders are seen racing to rescue Jeremy Renner after the Avengers star’s snowplow accident in dramatic body camera footage obtained by ABC News.

In the video, medics are seen working on Renner after he was crushed by a 7-ton snowplow on his Nevada property on New Year’s Day, an accident that resulted in him breaking more than 30 bones.

“Right where his blood is at, that’s right where it all happened,” Renner’s nephew Alex Fries is overheard telling the first responders.

Fries tells the first responders how his uncle intervened to save him from the snowplow as they were trying to get a pickup truck out of the snow, saying the snowplow was “coming at me full force.”

“He tried to jump on it?!” one first responder asked, with Fries affirming the series of events.

“He tried to jump on it and it took him under,” Fries explained.

Elsewhere in the body camera footage, one of the first responders finds Renner’s hat underneath the snowplow, saying, “Oh, wow. Get a picture of that. That’s a hat.”

Renner underwent surgery and rehabilitation as a result of the accident, and is still recovering.

However, he was able to attend the red carpet premiere of his Disney+ series Rennervations last week with his 10-year-old daughter, Ava, by his side.

In a recent exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer, Renner said he considers himself a “lucky man” for having survived and largely recovered from the horrific accident.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Brooke Shields says filming for ‘Mother of the Bride’ is underway

Brooke Shields says filming for ‘Mother of the Bride’ is underway
Brooke Shields says filming for ‘Mother of the Bride’ is underway
MEGA/GC Images

Brooke Shields can’t wait for her upcoming film, Mother of the Bride.

The actress shared a photo on Monday with her co-stars, saying that filming is underway.

“Let the adventure begin!!” Shields captioned the post. “Filming is officially underway for our new @netflix movie #MotherOfTheBride,” she said, adding a heart emoji. “So excited to spend time with my amazing co-stars!”

The photo shows Shields with stars Rachael HarrisSean James Steele, Benjamin Bratt and Miranda Cosgrove.

She added that she couldn’t wait for her other co-stars to arrive on set, too, and tagged Chad Michael MurrayWilson Cruz and Michael McDonald in the post.

According to a press release from Netflix’s Tudum, the upcoming rom-com follows a woman named Lana (played by Shields), whose daughter Emma (Cosgrove) returns home from a year abroad in London and tells her that she’s getting married.

“Things only get worse when Lana discovers that the mystery man who stole her daughter’s heart just so happens to be the son of the man who broke her heart years ago,” the logline for the film reads.

He’s All That director Mark Waters is calling the shots on the comedy.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

F. Murray Abraham reportedly dismissed from ‘Mythic Quest’ over sexual misconduct

F. Murray Abraham reportedly dismissed from ‘Mythic Quest’ over sexual misconduct
F. Murray Abraham reportedly dismissed from ‘Mythic Quest’ over sexual misconduct
L-R McElhenney, Abraham – Apple TV+

Fans of Apple TV+’s Mythic Quest were a little confused when Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham‘s character, one-time superstar sci-fi novelist C.W. Longbottom, was abruptly written off the show last season, but Rolling Stone got to the bottom of why it happened.

The magazine reports there were “at least” two complaints of sexual misconduct against the actor, who ironically played a character described as “a walking cry for sensitivity training,” by his much younger co-workers.

According to the publication, Abraham was given a warning and told to stay away from some of the actresses on the show after the first complaint, but when a second reached co-creator and star Rob McElhenney, Abraham was dismissed.

Lionsgate, which produces the comedy, wouldn’t comment about the Amadeus veteran specifically, citing “corporate policy” on personnel matters, but told Rolling Stone, “We take allegations of misconduct seriously and investigate them thoroughly.”

ABC Audio has reached out to the actor and his attorney, but have yet to hear back.

Murray’s character met his end offscreen, in an episode that dropped in November called “Across the Universe.” The touching chapter had his coworkers discover in a message that he intended to take his own life after being given a terminal diagnosis.

Abraham went on to star in the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus, in which he played Bert, the grandfather of Michael Imperioli‘s character. In that series, Abraham’s character chased younger women, and blamed his inappropriate comments about women as being a product of his generation.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Gabrielle Union talks Netflix’s ‘The Perfect Find,’ shares first-look photos

Gabrielle Union talks Netflix’s ‘The Perfect Find,’ shares first-look photos
Gabrielle Union talks Netflix’s ‘The Perfect Find,’ shares first-look photos
Netflix/Alyssa Longchamp

In Netflix’s new romantic comedy The Perfect FindGabrielle Union plays Jenna Jones, a 40-year-old woman attempting to pick up the pieces after losing her fashion industry job and long-term boyfriend. A first look of the film has been shared, featuring photos of Gab as Jenna and her eventual love interest Eric, played by Keith Powers. He’s a younger co-worker at the job that marks her fashion comeback and also her boss’s son. The film will follow Jenna as she decides whether her secret romance is worth taking the risk.

Gabrielle says the idea for the film came to her as she and her I’ll Have Another production company were producing Robinne Lee’s The Idea of You, “a very specific story to an aging white woman.”

“I knew it wasn’t something I could just shove myself into, because it really wasn’t the right story for me,” Gab tells Vanity Fair. “It made me be on the lookout for a story that made me feel the same way.” After re-reading Tia Williams’s novel The Perfect Find, a lightbulb went off. The story also hit close to home.

“[It] really sparked something inside of me about older women and how we can oftentimes disappear from society, almost, in terms of people looking at us as like we are past our prime. That we carry no value, that no one sees value in a woman over 28, much less over 35, much less over 40,” says Union, who also serves as a producer on the film. “But baby, I’m thriving. So I wanted something that spoke to that I hadn’t done before. Which is tough, because I’ve done a lot of rom-coms. This one is new. I’m thrilled.”

The Perfect Find premieres on June 23.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

In Brief: ‘The Rookie’ renewed for season 6, and more

In Brief: ‘The Rookie’ renewed for season 6, and more
In Brief: ‘The Rookie’ renewed for season 6, and more

James McAvoy is re-teaming with Blumhouse, the studio behind his M. Night Shyamalan films Split and Glass, for Speak No Evil, a remake of the Danish psychological horror thriller Gaestern, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The new feature centers on a family that goes on a dream vacation, only to have it turn into a psychological nightmare. Speak No Evil is slated to open August 9, 2024…

ABC has renewed The Rookie for a sixth season, the network announced on Monday. The series stars Nathan Fillion as the LAPD’s oldest rookie officer who decides to join the force after a life-altering incident. Mekia Cox, Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Melissa O’Neil, Jenna Dewan and Shawn Ashmore co-star…

The legal drama Reasonable Doubt has been renewed for a second season at Hulu, with The Best Man‘s Morris Chestnut joining the cast. The series, from executive producers Raamla Mohamed, Kerry Washington and Larry Wilmore, follows high-powered Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Jacqueline “Jax” Stewart — played by Emayatzy Corinealdi — as she deals with past traumas, a failing marriage, motherhood and a murder case, all while trying to keep her life together. Chestnut will play Corey Cash, “a charming, media-savvy defense attorney who often represents the underdogs. When Jax brings in Corey to help on a new high-profile case, she soon realizes that he’s more shine than substance and threatening her position at the firm”…

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Report: Jonathan Majors dropped by longtime manager

Report: Jonathan Majors dropped by longtime manager
Report: Jonathan Majors dropped by longtime manager
ABC

Jonathan Majors has been dropped by his longtime management company, Entertainment 360, three weeks after the Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania actor was arrested following an alleged domestic dispute in New York City, sources tell Deadline.

The split was due to Majors’ personal behavior, according to the insiders.

Meanwhile, PR firm The Lede Company also severed ties with the 33-year-old actor in the last month, and Majors and fashion house Valentino “mutually agreed” that he would not be attending this year’s Met Gala as one of its guests.

Majors was arrested March 25 over an alleged domestic dispute with a 30-year old woman. The unnamed victim was taken to the hospital with “minor injuries to her head and neck,” police said in a statement obtained by ABC News.

“Jonathan Majors is completely innocent … We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently,” Priya Chaudhry, Majors’ attorney, said in a statement.

Chaudhry also provided text messages that she said were sent to Majors from the unnamed woman in which she said she “was the one who used physical force on him,” not the other way around.

Majors is expected to appear before a judge May 8 as he faces multiple counts of harassment and assault from the New York City D.A.

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