Entertainment

TIME has released its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and amid world leaders and other newsmakers are top Hollywood names.

Michael B. Jordan made the 2023 TIME100, with roles in front of, and behind the camera with, respectively, the blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and his hit directorial debut Creed III. Angela Bassett, Oscar nominated for Wakanda, also made the cut.

The White Lotus Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge‘s big year was also heralded, as was Banshees of Inisherin Oscar nominee Colin Farrell, and Zoe Saldaña, star of Avatar: The Way of Water and the first woman to front four movies that have grossed more than two billion bucks.

As always, other big names contribute to fete this year’s picks: Amy Poehler praises her former Parks and Rec co-star-turned White Lotus season 2 lead Aubrey Plaza; Tina Turner sings her cinematic alter-ego Bassett’s praises, and Jimmy Fallon hails Drew Barrymore.

Other contributors include Oscar winners Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, and Taika Waititi, as well as tennis legend Venus Williams.

You can check out the full TIME100 list here.

For the fourth year in a row, TIME Studios and ABC will present the TIME100: The World’s Most Influential People primetime television special, which will once again bring viewers inside the 17^thannual TIME100 Gala, which will he held in New York City on April 26. The event will be hosted by Coolidge and feature performances by Doja Cat and Lea Michele.

TIME100: The World’s Most Influential People airs Sunday, April 30 at 7 p.m. on ABC, and will stream on Hulu and Disney+.

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The Big Bang Theory universe may be about to expand.

Series creator Chuck Lorre is developing a new comedy set in TBBT universe, which is set to hit Max, the newly combined HBO Max-Discovery+ streaming service, according to Entertainment Tonight.

Lorre would serve as an executive producer should the series get the green light. Further details are being kept under wraps — includes any possible involvement from the original cast members, either in front of or behind the camera.

The new project would be the second Big Bang Theory spinoff, following Young Sheldon, currently in its sixth season. It stars Iain Armitage as Sheldon Cooper — a socially impaired child genius introduced as an adult played by Jim Parsons in the original series. Young Sheldon is currently the No. 1 comedy on TV among total viewers.

The Big Bang Theory which ran for 12 seasons on CBS from 2007-2019 and won 12 Emmys, is also the longest-running multicamera comedy in TV history.

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Deadline reports that Morena Baccarin and Stefan Kapicic are headed to Deadpool 3 with Ryan Reynolds, as the star and producer reunite most of the first two films’ main casts for his first DP adventure as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Baccarin played Vanessa, the love of Deadpool/Wade Wilson’s life, and Kapicic voiced Wade’s often reluctant ride-or-die, the iron-skinned mutant Colossus. As previously reported, Karan Soni, who played ‘Pool’s pal Dopinder, and Leslie Uggams, who played Blind Al, have already signed onto the film. Deadpool 3 will also star Ryan’s pal Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, The Crown Golden Globe winner Emma Corrin, and Succession Emmy winner Matthew Macfayden. It opens November 8, 2024…

HBO on Wednesday released the first trailer for True Detective‘s fourth installment, True Detective: Night Country, starring Oscar winner Jodie Foster. Per the cabler, “When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro — played respectively by Foster and Kali Reis — will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.” The new season will launch sometime this year…(Trailer contains uncensored profanity.)

Variety reports X and Pearl actress Mia Goth has been tapped to star alongside Mahershala Ali in Marvel’s Blade. Ali will play the titular half-human, half-vampire vampire hunter, taking over the role Wesley Snipes brought to the big screen in 1998. Goth’s role in the movie has not been revealed. Blade is currently set to hit theaters on September 6, 2024 as the final film in Phase Five of the MCU. Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News…

Amazon’s reimagining of Penny Marshall‘s A League of Their Own will officially end its run with a four-episode season 2, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series, co-created by star Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham, “takes a deeper look at race and sexuality, following the journey of a whole new ensemble of characters as they carve their own paths towards the field, both in the League and outside of it,” per the streamer. Season two also stars Chanté Adams, D’Arcy Carden, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Roberta Colindrez, Kelly McCormack, Priscilla Delgado, Molly Ephraim, Kate Berlant, Melanie Field, Nick Offerman, Rosie O’Donnell, Patrick J. Adams, Patrice Covington, Saidah Ekulona, Lea Robinson, Andia Winslow, Rae Gray and Lil Frex…

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Jamie Foxx is recovering after suffering an undisclosed “medical complication” Tuesday, according to a social media post by the movie star’s daughter, Corinne Foxx.

“We wanted to share that, my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday,” the 29-year-old actress shared in an Instagram post on Wednesday night.

While the post did not elaborate on the exact medical concern, Corinne added that the Day Shift star is “already on his way to recovery.”

“We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy at this time,” the post concluded. 

It is unclear what kind of symptoms the Oscar winner was suffering during the incident, or whether he was hospitalized.

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Jamie Foxx is recovering after suffering an undisclosed “medical complication” Tuesday, according to a social media post by the movie star’s daughter, Corinne Foxx.

“We wanted to share that, my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday,” the 29-year-old actress shared in an Instagram post on Wednesday night.

While the post did not elaborate on the exact medical concern, Corinne added that the Day Shift star is “already on his way to recovery.”

“We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy at this time,” the post concluded. 

It is unclear what kind of symptoms Foxx was suffering during the incident or whether he was hospitalized.

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Call it the Amazon Technicolor Dreamcoat: Deadline reports Jon M. Chu, veteran of Crazy Rich Asians and the musical In The Heights, has inked a deal with Amazon Studios to bring Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to theaters. 

Chu is currently in London, calling the shots on the big-screen bow of another Broadway smash, Wicked, which will star Grammy winners Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, as well as newly minted Oscar winner and his former Crazy Rich Asians co-star Michelle Yeoh. 

The filmmaker said he’s been dreaming of directing a Joseph movie, according to the trade, which notes his In The Heights producer Scott Sanders will help bring the Old Testament musical to the big screen.

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On Wednesday, James Gunn revealed the lineup for Creature Commandos, the first animated series for his and Peter Safran‘s new DC Studios timeline.

Based on the comic series of the same name about a WWII-era super team, the show will star the voices of Stranger Things‘ David Harbour, Lamborghini‘s Frank Grillo, The Suicide Squad‘s Sean Gunn and Steve Agee, Rogue One‘s Alan Tudyk, Indira Varma, Zoe Chao and Maria Bakalova.

Interestingly, Harbour will be bouncing from Marvel’s MCU to the DC Universe: He played The Red Guardian in Black Widow, which he will be reprising in Thunderbolts. Similarly, Grillo has starred in several Marvel movies as the villain Brock Rumlow/Crossbones; James’ brother Sean played Kraglin and performed Rocket Raccoon on set in James’ Guardians of the Galaxy movies and in Thor: Love and Thunder; and Bakalova’s voice will be heard as Cosmo the Spacedog in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Agee will be reprising as his Suicide Squad/Peacemaker character John Economos; Harbour will play Frankenstein; Varma will play The Bride; Sean will voice GI Robot and his The Suicide Squad character The Weasel; Tudyk will voice Dr. Phosphorus; Chao will voice Nina Mazursky; and Bakalova will voice Princess Ilana.

Grillo, Gunn noted, will be playing Rick Flagg Sr. “across all media,” meaning he could play the role in live-action, as well. Canonically, he’s the dad of Joel Kinnaman‘s Suicide Squad character Rick Flagg.

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On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced a merging of HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single streamer dubbed Max — and that on it will be a decade-long TV series retelling of JK Rowling‘s beloved Harry Potter books.

Rowling’s Wizarding World has already been spun into a billions-grossing movie franchise, but the announcement amounts to the longest instant commitment a network has ever made to a property: Each of the 10 seasons will focus on a single Potter book.

“The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will [be] produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for,” Max touted.

New actors will be playing Harry, Hermoine, Ron and their Hogwarts friends, frenemies and foes.

“The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years,” the announcement explained.

“Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”

For her part, the bestselling author said of the announcement, “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.”

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On the heels of the smash debut of John Wick: Chapter 4, Lionsgate TV and Peacock on Wednesday dropped a teaser to The Continental, a spinoff centering on the franchise’s fan-favorite assassin hangout and the early career of Ian McShane‘s Winston.

The teaser is short on words — actually, there’s no dialogue — but it doesn’t skimp on action: It shows various hit people arming up, shots of a bound person getting tortured and a gaggle of gunmen firing down into the shadows. The soundtrack also sets the scene for the ’70s-set show: “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer.

Colin Woodell plays the younger version of McShane’s character for the series, which will also star Mel Gibson, Peter Greene, Ben Robson, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jessica Allain, Mishel Prada and Nhung Kate.

Ayomide Adegun will star as a younger version of Charon, the character played in the films by Lance Reddick, who passed away unexpectedly in March.

Peacock teases, “The three-part event will explore the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the John Wick universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape [sic] of 1970’s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind.”

The streamer continues, “Winston charts a deadly course through … mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his future throne.”

The series debuts in September.

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Academy Award winner and Tony nominee Ariana DeBose will reprise her role as host of the Tony Awards.

The 76th annual event will be live from the United Palace in New York City on Sunday, June 11. It will air on CBS, and stream both live and on-demand on Paramount+.

In the announcement, the West Side Story veteran noted, “I was honored to serve as host last year and even more so to be asked back! So looking forward to celebrating this incredible season and the people who make the work happen.”

Referencing the Washington Heights location of the venue, she enthused, “Here’s to adding some uptown flavor to the magic of the Tony Awards!”

Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, and Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, called DuBose “a force both on and off the stage,” adding, “We are thrilled to welcome back one of Broadway’s brightest lights to dazzle, inspire and illuminate this year’s Tony Awards!”

Referencing DeBose’s infamous BAFTA-night rap, the show’s executive producers Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner said, “Ariana will host and dance and sing, we’re so thrilled she’s back to do the thing.”

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