Entertainment

The search for the next American Idol continued Monday night, with a surprising twist.

For the first time ever, the show had a judge’s song contest, which meant that Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie each chose one song for each individual contestant to sing. The contestant then performed one of the songs and guessed which judge picked it. The judge whose song got chosen the most would be declared the winner. Later in the show, it was revealed that this judge would also have the ability to save one contestant from elimination.

After everyone took the stage, the tally revealed that Luke and Katy tied as the winners of the judge’s song contest. When America’s votes left Lady K and Tristen Gressett in the bottom two, Katy and Luke used their powers to advance Lady K into the Top 10.

Here’s the official American Idol season 20 Top 10.

Nicolina: “Since U Been Gone” Kelly Clarkson 
Mike Parker: “Chasin’ You” Morgan Wallen
Fritz Hager: “Wonderwall” Oasis
Christian Guardino: “I’m Not The Only One” Sam Smith
Noah Thompson: “Heartbreak Warfare” John Mayer 
Lady K: “traitor” Olivia Rodrigo 
Huntergirl: “9 to 5” Dolly Parton
Leah Marlene: “Make You Feel My Love” Bob Dylan
Emyrson Flora: “lovely” Billie Eilish ft. Khalid 
Jay: “Lilac Wine” Jeff Buckley

Eliminated:
Tristen Gressett: “You Can’t Always Get What you Want” The Rolling Stones

American Idol returns Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. 

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A big-screen adventure of the Hot Wheels you may have played with as a kid is coming to the big screen, and Star Wars sequel director J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot company are behind the wheel.

Teasing, “the iconic and timeless toy racing car” in a “high-throttle action film,” Warner Bros. Pictures and Mattel announced the collaboration that promises to, “bring to life this beloved, multi-generational franchise and showcase some of the world’s hottest and sleekest cars, monster trucks and motorcycles.”

In a press release, Hannah Minghella, Bad Robot’s President of Motion Pictures, said, “Before Hot Wheels became the global household name it is today, it was the dream of Elliot Handler, who was inventing and building toy cars at home in his Southern California garage. It’s that imagination, passion, and risk-taking spirit that we want to capture in this film.”

And if you think it might be a stretch to make a movie out of Hot Wheels, Mattel Films, the iconic toy brand’s big screen off-shoot, already has Barbie in the pipeline with Warner Bros., starring producer Margot Robbie.

Mattel Films is also developing films based on its other toys including Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, and, somehow, Magic 8 Ball, the card game UNO, and the View Master goggles.

Hey, people thought a LEGO movie was far-fetched at one point, and the series made over a billion bucks worldwide.

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Long Slow Exhale aired its cliffhanger season finale on Monday and star Ian Harding, who plays disgraced assistant coach Eddie Hagan, revealed how Pretty Little Liars prepared him for the sinister role.

Fans are made to question whether Eddie actually groomed and sexually abused the star player of the women’s college basketball team — but the dark truth comes out in the final episodes.

While Harding admitted to ABC Audio it was “painful” playing Eddie, he was given an edge thanks to the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars, where he played a similar role.  

“The abuse of power is abuse of power,” Harding said of playing Ezra Fitz, who dated a student in the series.  Harding noted the show, which ran from 2010 to 2017, didn’t explore “what actually happens when certain desires are acted upon” and that made starring in Long Slow Exhale “cathartic in a way.”

“I don’t think Pretty Little Liars can necessarily be made today,” he added, noting how characters like Ezra should have been accused of abuse and held accountable, just like Eddie.

The truth about Eddie wasn’t the only surprise Long Slow Exhale had in store.  Josh Lucas stars as the university’s athletic director, Hillman Ford, who is murdered amid the university’s sexual abuse scandal.  

Lucas found playing the character “thrilling” because of the many “bad, complicated” decisions he made to control the scandal that result in him “falling so badly from grace.” It’s revealed in the final episodes that Rose Rollins‘ character J.C. Abernathy, the basketball team’s head coach, killed him in self defense.

Lyric Bent, who plays J.C.’s husband, Garrett, and helps her cover up the murder, noted, “It was scary playing [him]… [but] that scare factor was also interesting and intriguing.”   

Long Slow Exhale is streaming now on SpectrumTV.

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Cary Elwes, veteran of the comedy classic The Princess Bride and the grisly Saw films, is recovering after reportedly suffering a rattlesnake bite in the yard of his Malibu, California home on Saturday.

TMZ reports the actor’s reaction to the venomous bite on his left ring finger was serious enough that he was airlifted from the location to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after the incident.

The actor showed off the gnarly looking, swollen, discolored digit, apparently from his hospital room, in an Instagram photo, and was in good enough spirits to make a Princess Bride joke about it.

“Bit not by a ROUS but a rattlesnake,” he said, referencing the Rodents of Unusual Size from the film.

“Grateful to the staff of Malibu Urgent Care, LA County Fire Dept. and the staff and medical professionals at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for their great care,” Elwes continued, adding, “Am recovering well thanks to all these wonderful folks.”

Among those who wished the actor well were actress Joely Fisher, who commented, “OMG” adding prayer-hand emoji, and Sean Ono Lennon, who added, “Wow that is ugly man. Hope you recover soon.”

More than a few fans cheekily pointed out that his Princess Bride character boasted of a resistance to poison, but the movie’s iocane powder unfortunately isn’t the same as snake venom.

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Johnny Depp took the stand again Monday in his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

His testimony began with Heard’s attorney J. Benjamin Rottenborn continuing to grill him, before Depp’s own lawyer, Camille Vasquez, let him tell his side of the story on redirect.

Last week, Rottenborn tried to contrast Depp’s living up to the “standards of a Southern gentleman” with his texts to actor Paul Bettany, in which Depp said, “Let’s burn Amber,” and another that followed, “Let’s drown her before we burn her.” Those resurfaced again in court Monday.

Rottenborn also read a slew of headlines about the state of Depp’s career, essentially trying to debunk Depp’s claims that Heard’s Washington Post op-ed, in which she obliquely accused him of domestic violence, hurt his career.

Rotttenborn even intimated Depp cut his own finger off, not the vodka bottle Heard allegedly threw at him, based on an apparently sarcastic text he made to his doctor.

Later in the morning, Depp told his own lawyer reading the op-ed, was, “A blinding hurt. It was like somebody hit me on the back of the head with a two-by four.”

The actor later admitted his texts to Bettany were “…never intended to be real,” though said he was “ashamed” the messages were made public. He explained the texts were references to Monty Python and the Holy Grail‘s “burn the witch” scene, as he and Bettany shared the same “dry, obtuse, abstract” humor.

Depp called Heard’s relationship with WandaVision star Bettany “abominable,” saying, “Ms. Heard despised Mr. Bettany, mainly because we had become such close friends…he had become a threat, and would take me away from her.”

Depp also testified he learned he was dropped from Disney’s Pirates franchise days after the op-ed was published.

“I put a lot of myself into the character. And also having worked on these films with these people,” Depp said, “…I didn’t understand after that long relationship, that successful relationship, all of a sudden I was guilty until proven innocent.”

Asked to explain other texts Heard’s lawyers had previously quizzed him on, regarding his state of mind at the time, Depp said Heard used the same psychological “abuse” his mother did when he was a child.

“When you’re being demeaned, berated, judged, and treated like a lesser animal….’I’m a bad father.’ These things were endless,” he said. “There was no call for them. It’s hard to understand how someone who’s supposed to love you could be that cruel.”

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Holy identity theft, Batman! The visual effects YouTubers known as the Corridor Crew have struck again, this time using their digital know-how to insert the late Adam West and the Rogues Gallery from the kitchy 1966 movie Batman into the trailer for Matt Reeves‘ hit The Batman.

The gang grabbed clips of West, his Penguin, Burgess Meredeth, and Frank Gorshin‘s classic Riddler, and digitally inserted them into the coming attraction. For good measure, Burt Ward‘s Robin also makes an appearance, as does the Batcopter, and the classic Batmobile, which has been swapped for the muscle car driven by Robert Pattinson in the hit reboot.

The results are both impressive and hysterical: A clip of West dancing in the old film, for example, was recycled to appear as if he’s taking down a hallway full of gunmen. Meanwhile, Colin Farrell‘s impressive turn as Penguin was swapped with footage of Burgess Meredith’s constant quacking as the same character.

The Corridor gang’s video went viral over the weekend, with nearly 775,000 views and counting as of late Monday morning. And Reeves himself weighed in Monday, saying, “HA! This is amazing!”

The Corridor Crew’s YouTube channel specializes in analyzing — and sometimes improving — visual effects as seen in classic, and sometimes not so classic, films.

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Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart was feted in Washington, D.C. Sunday night by a host of celebrities, there to pay tribute as he accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

It was the first presentation of the award since 2019, when Dave Chappelle received it. The comic was among those who showed up to honor Stewart, saying of his stewardship of The Daily Show after 9/11, “The news was off the chain and Jon was the only voice that helped people decipher that madness.”

In accepting the prize, Stewart noted, “There’s a lot of talk about what’s going to happen to comedy — you know, ‘the Slap’ — and will comedy survive in this new moment? Comedy survives in every moment.”

Referencing his bust of Twain, Stewart added, “This man’s decapitated visage is a reminder that what we have is fragile and precious.”

Stewart also said of using comedy to speak truth to power, “The real threat is not the fragility of audiences” or “the pronoun police,” but rather, “the fragility of leaders.”

Others who took part in the ceremony included Jimmy Kimmel and former Daily Show correspondent Olivia Munn, there with her partner, comedian John Mulaney. Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson were also there, with Pete also serving as one of the night’s guest speakers.

Other Daily Show vets, including Samantha Bee and Stephen Colbert also spoke; the latter appeared remotely thanks to his recent COVID-19 diagnosis.

Gary Clark Jr. acted as the award ceremony’s house band, and Stewart’s fellow Garden Stater Bruce Springsteen joined the blues musician for “Come Together.” Springsteen also played an acoustic version of “Born to Run,” according to accounts.

An edited version of the awards ceremony will air June 21 at 9 p.m. on PBS.

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Emily in Paris co-star William Abadie reveals the show will start filming its third season in June. “We’re fully in pre-production and I think we’re supposed to head to Paris early in June, so I’m foreseeing a little bit of that soon to come,” he told Us Weekly at the New York Academy of Arts Tribeca Ball on Wednesday. Season two ended with a major cliffhanger, with Lily Collins‘ Emily torn between staying in Paris or moving home to Chicago…

Jim Hartz, who hosted NBC’s Today show with Barbara Walters in the mid-1970s, died April 17 in Fairfax County, Virginia of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his wife, Alexandra Dickson Hartz, announced in a statement obtained by Deadline. He was 82. Hartz joined Today and covered President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation, the end of the Vietnam War, and the American Bicentennial during his two years as a part of the morning show…

Ahead of Sunday’s season one finale, Epix has renewed the sci-fi horror series From, starring Lost alum Harold Perrineau, for a 10-episode second season, the premium cable channel announced on Sunday. The series centers on a town in middle America that “traps all those who enter.” Perrineau plays Boyd Stevens, a sheriff who helps keep the town together while he also searches for “a way to escape this seemingly inescapable nightmare.” Production kicks off this summer…

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The animated family film The Bad Guys scored an estimated $24 million to top the North American box office over the weekend The film — featuring the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Zazie Beetz, Craig Robinson and Awkwafina — also grabbed an estimated $63.1 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $87.1 million.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 held on to second place with an estimated $15.2 million in its third week of release. Internationally, where it opened a week earlier, the live action-CGI animated sequel to 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog has earned $142 million so far, bringing its current global tally to $287.8 million.

That left last week’s box office champ, Fantastic Beats: The Secrets of Dumbledore, in third place.It delivered an estimated $14 million to bring its two-week North American total to $67.1 million. Overseas, Fantastic Beasts 3 has grossed $213.2 million, bringing its worldwide tally to $280.3 million.

The Northman — starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe — and the Nicolas Cage meta comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, took fourth and fifth place, respectively, earning an estimated $12 million and $7.2 million.

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After a year of virtual celebration, the Bounce Trumpet Awards returned in-person Saturday, for a night of recognizing the outstanding achievements of leaders in the Black community. The 30th anniversary show airs on Juneteenth this year, so here’s a preview of what to expect from the monumental ceremony.

Musical performers PJ Morton, Tank, Mary Mary and more, all took the stage to help celebrate this year’s six nominees, whose work in entertainment, politics and community service helps to push the Black community forward.

The Excellence in Entertainment Award went to Courtney B. Vance, whose decades-long acting career earned him numerous entertainment accolades. Upon accepting the award, he said, “I have never done this work for honors and a trophy but I feel deeply blessed.”

Stan Lathan, the prolific director responsible for launching the groundbreaking series, Def Comedy Jam, said he hopes to continue to “make a difference” while accepting his Living Legend Award. And Zaila Avant-garde, 15,, the first-ever Black person to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, thanked her mother, Scripps and Bounce TV for her Rising Star Award.

Trumpet Awards founder and creator Xernona Clayton delivered a heartfelt speech in the presentation of her namesake award, before honoring Georgia Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Osoff for their political advancements. In their acceptance speeches, which were shown virtually, the senators thanked Clayton for her work as a civil rights leader.

Sierra Leone Princess Sarah Culberson was the recipient of the Impact Award, for her philanthropic efforts distributing aid during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and the COVID-19 crisis. “To be recognized in this way is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed when I set out to do this work,” she said in her speech.

The 30th Anniversary Trumpet Awards airs Sunday, June 19, at 7 p.m. ET, on Bounce TV.

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