Wendy Williams working on “several projects,” rep says

Wendy Williams working on “several projects,” rep says
Wendy Williams working on “several projects,” rep says
Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Don’t count Wendy Williams out just yet.

The TV and radio personality’s rep, Shawn Zanotti, says Williams has several projects in the works.

“We are still working behind the scenes on several projects,” Zanotti told Entertainment Tonight.

It’s those projects that he says the former talk show host was celebrating when she was recently spotted at The Townhouse in New York City.

“She is happy and wanted to celebrate, as she has a new lease on life. There are several projects coming down the pipeline and she was celebrating those things,” said Zanotti. “Wendy loves her fans and fully supports the LGBTQ+ community, which is a big part of her fan base, which is why she chose the places she did to celebrate.”

Zanotti also addressed rumors that the 58-year-old’s new podcast, The Wendy Experience, had been canceled, stating, “There has been no official cancellation of the podcast.”

And when it comes to a return to television, Zanotti shared, “Wendy does desire to return to TV.” His statement echoes the same one Wendy made when paparazzi caught up with her last month.

“I want to be on TV, stuff like Seth Meyers, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, The View, stuff like that,” she said at the time, before adding, “I am formerly retired.”

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Terry Sanderson, the man suing Gwyneth Paltrow for 2016 ski crash, testifies in civil trial

Terry Sanderson, the man suing Gwyneth Paltrow for 2016 ski crash, testifies in civil trial
Terry Sanderson, the man suing Gwyneth Paltrow for 2016 ski crash, testifies in civil trial
ABC/Christopher Willard

Terry Sanderson, the man who accused Gwyneth Paltrow of crashing into him while skiing more than seven years ago and leaving him seriously injured, took to the stand Monday to testify in the civil trial over the 2016 accident.

This is the first time Sanderson, a retired optometrist, has testified in the trial. He first filed a complaint against Paltrow in January 2019.

Sanderson recounted his recollection of the incident, insisting that he was downhill while Paltrow was uphill, saying, “There was nothing in front of me.”

Sanderson said he recalled hearing a “blood-curdling scream” before he “got hit in my back so hard.” The next thing he remembered, he said, was that “everything is black.”

“I tried to move, and I could not move a limb. I couldn’t move my head. I couldn’t move my body,” he said. “Nothing was responding.” He claims to have suffered a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries in the crash.

Paltrow insists it was Sanderson who “skied directly into my back,” in what she testified Friday was a “full body blow.”

Her attorneys had claimed Sanderson’s suit was an effort to exploit her celebrity and wealth. That came up in the trial Monday, when he was pressed by the Oscar winner’s attorney about an email he sent to his daughters after the crash, in which he said, “I’m famous.”

“I really was trying to add a little levity to a serious situation, and it backfired,” he testified.

In an amended complaint filed in February 2019, Sanderson changed the value of damages he is seeking in the lawsuit from $3.1 million to $300,000.

Paltrow filed a countersuit, stating she is seeking “symbolic damages” of $1 plus costs for lawyers fees from Sanderson for defending herself against “this meritless claim.”

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Rachel McAdams reveals if she’ll make a cameo in the ‘Mean Girls’ musical movie

Rachel McAdams reveals if she’ll make a cameo in the ‘Mean Girls’ musical movie
Rachel McAdams reveals if she’ll make a cameo in the ‘Mean Girls’ musical movie
McAdams (right) in “Mean Girls” — Photo by CBS via Getty Images

With the Mean Girls musical movie officially in production, will any of the original stars make an appearance in it?

Rachel McAdams, who starred in the original 2004 teen comedy as Regina George, told Entertainment Tonight that while she’s not “in the works” for the project, she could “never” say no to Tina Fey, who wrote the film.

“She’s the greatest. So, we’ll see how it all shakes out,” she shared.

Although McAdams currently doesn’t have plans to appear, she did share her thoughts on Reneé Rapp, who was cast as Regina George in the musical version.

“I don’t think she can do any wrong. She is amazing,” said McAdams. “She’s already got me beat with that voice. So, I’m just excited to see her incarnation. It’s such a great character. It’s so much fun to play, so, I hope she has a great time with it. And I can’t wait to see it.”

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In Brief: ‘The White Lotus’ moving to Thailand, and more

In Brief: ‘The White Lotus’ moving to Thailand, and more
In Brief: ‘The White Lotus’ moving to Thailand, and more

Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon has been given an October release date, Variety reports. The film, described as “a historical drama about the serial targeting and murder of members of the oil-rich Osage tribe,” will receive a limited release beginning Oct. 6, with a wide release starting Oct. 20. The Apple TV+-produced film — the cast of which includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Brendan Fraser, Jesse Plemons and Lily Gladstone — will also stream on the platform. A streaming debut date has not been specified…

Saturday Night Live‘s April hosts include former cast member Molly Shannon and Oscar nominee Ana de Armas. Shannon, who appeared on the comedy show between 1995 and 2001, will host for her second time on April 8, with the Jonas Brothers as the musical guest. Blonde star de Armas will make her debut as host the following week, April 15, with musical guest Karol G

Game of Thrones star Lena Headey‘s next TV series will be The Abandons, a western from Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, per The Hollywood Reporter. The show, which received a straight-to-series order in October 2022, is set in 1850s Oregon and follows a group of outlier families who “pursue their Manifest Destiny [while] a corrupt force of wealth and power, coveting their land, tries to force them out,” per the show’s description…

Chanel West Coast is leaving MTV’s Ridiculousness after 12 years as co-host alongside creator Rob Dyrdek and fellow co-host Sterling “Steelo” Brim, Variety reports. The TV personality has signed an overall deal with MTVE/Paramount where she will executive-produce, create and star in her own unscripted series. She will also develop scripted and unscripted projects under MTV Entertainment Studios. “My passion has always been to create, whether it is music, clothing, or film and tv,” Chanel said in a statement, in part. “I plan to bring some of my wildest ideas and dreams to life through amazing film & television projects, build my teams, and work with other creatives paving the way on the screen. I’m also very excited for the world to see me beyond ‘the laugh’ and for once, see the real me…”

Season 3 of HBO’s The White Lotus is heading to Thailand, sources close to production tell Variety. HBO declined to comment. The first two seasons of the Emmy-winning show were filmed at Four Seasons resorts in Hawaii and Italy, respectfully. Producer Mike White previously hinted that the third season may take place in Asia in a clip following the second-season finale. “I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus,” he said…

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‘The Bachelor’ recap: Zach’s journey ends with an engagement to Kaity

‘The Bachelor’ recap: Zach’s journey ends with an engagement to Kaity
‘The Bachelor’ recap: Zach’s journey ends with an engagement to Kaity
ABC/Craig Sjodin

Zach Shallcross‘ journey as The Bachelor concluded on Monday night with an engagement to Kaitlyn “Kaity” Biggar, a 27-year-old ER nurse from Austin, Texas.

“I can no longer say I’m falling in love with you, because, Kaity Lane, I am so in love with you. You are my world,” Zach, 26, declared. “The love I feel for you is something I could’ve never imagined and something I thought a lot of my life I would never be able to deserve. I love you so much. I love you with all my heart. You’re the face I want to wake up to every morning. I want to go through life with you and only you. Kaity, I want to be with you forever…You’re the only one I want in my life… Kaity, will you marry me?”

“Absolutely,” she replied.

Zach is the first Bachelor lead to get down on one knee since Peter Weber proposed to Hannah Ann Sluss during the show’s 25th season in 2020.

The episode also featured one of the most gut-wrenching breakups in Bachelor history, when Zach confessed to Gabi that “knowing you and falling in love with you has made me a better man, but…”

“I don’t want to hear it,” a tearful Gabi said repeatedly as Zach tried to finish his thought, adding, “You’ve known,” in response to his denials that he was “stringing her along.”

“That was so humiliating. I was strung along,” she added in an emotional confessional. “I put myself out there, yet again, and I’m not good enough.”

As for the happy couple, they plan on moving in together in Kaity’s hometown of Austin this summer and they revealed that they plan to tie the knot in 2025.

The Bachelorette season 20, featuring Charity Lawson, premieres Monday, June 26 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Be kind, rewind: Blockbuster Video’s website returns, sparking speculation and nostalgia

Be kind, rewind: Blockbuster Video’s website returns, sparking speculation and nostalgia
Be kind, rewind: Blockbuster Video’s website returns, sparking speculation and nostalgia
Getty Images

By now, most have heard of the downfall of once-giant Blockbuster Video, even if you’re not old enough to have ever rented a movie at one of their locations.

However, something interesting happened online: Blockbuster’s website is now back up and running. It’s just a splash page right now, with the company’s logo and the clever legend, “We are working on rewinding your movie.”

Blockbuster also recently tweeted a cheeky message, “New business idea: We’re going to come back as a bank and use VHS and DVDs as currency. Time to go visit your mom.”

While the splash page didn’t have much to offer, the fact that it’s back online sparked some major nostalgia for social media users.

“Some of my favourite childhood memories were going to Blockbuster on a Friday night,” reminisced one Twitter user.

“If you released the blockbuster smell when you walked in….in a candle that would be all you need for a comeback,” another posted to the brand’s Twitter.

Another saw the company’s tweet as a chance to get something off their chest: “Now is as good a time as any for this confession of a lifetime…I have not (yet) returned Love and Basketball to my local @blockbuster. Rented it 23 years ago. I’m sorry. Also, I don’t have a rewind machine and so I will not be rewinding it.”

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Report: Liv Tyler to reprise her ‘Hulk’ role in ‘Captain America: New World Order’

Report: Liv Tyler to reprise her ‘Hulk’ role in ‘Captain America: New World Order’
Report: Liv Tyler to reprise her ‘Hulk’ role in ‘Captain America: New World Order’
Tyler at the 2008 premiere of “The Incredible Hulk” — Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Liv Tyler is reportedly stepping back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, some 16 years after appearing in one of the first movies made by then-fledgling Marvel Studios.

The Hollywood Reporter says Tyler will reprise her role of Betty Ross from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk — the film that opened after that same year’s Iron Man, the launching point of the MCU — for Captain America: New World Order.

Ross was the love interest of Edward Norton‘s Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk, with the latter role recast by Mark Ruffalo starting with 2012’s The Avengers. Ross is also the daughter of Gen. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who was played several times in the franchise by actor William Hurt before his death in 2022.

In 2024’s fourth Captain America film, Anthony Mackie reprises as Sam Wilson, who traded in his title of The Falcon for the stars and stripes at the conclusion of the Disney+ series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Harrison Ford has been cast in Hurt’s role.

However, Ross, who in the MCU has gone from a general to secretary of state, is the president of the United States in New World Order.

While clips from Norton as his green-skinned alter ego are seen in the background during a shot in The Avengers, he never returned as Banner; the switcheroo was mentioned for the first time only coyly in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, with Ruffalo explaining he was “a whole different person” when he first became The Hulk.

Captain America: New World Order hits theaters May 3, 2024.

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Questlove to direct live-action remake of Disney’s ‘The Aristocats’

Questlove to direct live-action remake of Disney’s ‘The Aristocats’
Questlove to direct live-action remake of Disney’s ‘The Aristocats’
ABC

Disney’s 1970 movie The Aristocats is getting the remake treatment. Deadline reports the new version will be a mix of live action and CGI, with Questlove directing, executive producing and overseeing music for the film.

The Aristocats follows the story of a family of pampered felines who have inherited a massive fortune from their owner, and are fighting to reclaim their riches from a jealous butler who attempts to get rid of them and inherit the fortune himself.

Pixar’s Onward writer Keith Bunin is adapting the screenplay alongside Peter Rabbit filmmaker Will Gluck. Gluck’s production company, Olive Bridge, and Questlove’s Two One Five Entertainment are producing the film, according to Deadline. 

Tariq TrotterShawn Gee and Zarah Zohlman are tapped as executive producers, Deadline reports. 

The live-action remake of The Aristocats will mark Questlove’s feature film directing debut. He previously directed Summer of Soul, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary last year.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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‘Bear’ bites ‘Whale’: ‘Cocaine Bear’ takes down Oscar-winning ‘The Whale’

‘Bear’ bites ‘Whale’: ‘Cocaine Bear’ takes down Oscar-winning ‘The Whale’
‘Bear’ bites ‘Whale’: ‘Cocaine Bear’ takes down Oscar-winning ‘The Whale’
Universal

One might not think Cocaine Bear could turn its powdered nose up at an Oscar-winning drama, but that happened on the streaming charts.

Elizabeth Banks‘ pulpy stoned bear movie stayed at #1 on the top 10 from Vudu, Fandango’s streaming service, for the second week in a row, where it managed to best Brendan Fraser‘s Oscar-winning performance in The Whale.

The latter film has been in the top 10 in various positions since Fraser won his Best Actor trophy, but streaming audiences are apparently hooked on Cocaine Bear.

In the movie’s second week atop the charts, Guy Ritchie‘s action comedy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre took second place, and The Whale took third.

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‘John Wick’ series director Chad Stahelski talks friendship with “older brother” Keanu Reeves

‘John Wick’ series director Chad Stahelski talks friendship with “older brother” Keanu Reeves
‘John Wick’ series director Chad Stahelski talks friendship with “older brother” Keanu Reeves
Lionsgate/Eric Charbonneau

John Wick: Chapter 4 killed it at the box office the world over this weekend, with an estimated $137.5 million debut.

To Good Morning America, franchise director Chad Stahelski looked back at his earliest days with the dude in the bulletproof suit, Keanu Reeves.

The former stuntman turned filmmaker was Keanu’s stunt double – Brad Pitt‘s, too, hence his cameo in Deadpool 2 and his leading role in Brad’s recent hit Bullet Train. He and Keanu first met around 1999, Stahelski recalled. “I got the job thinking it was this little sci-fi action movie — and it was not. It’s The Matrix.'”

The now-54-year-old director went on to work with Keanu for Constantine, and they stayed close; Chad even helped Reeves with his directorial debut, 2013’s Man of Tai Chi.

“There was a massive mentorship going on there, like learning and growing and becoming a better performer, a better stunt person, better stunt coordinator, better choreographer,” Stahelski said, seeing Keanu, now 58, as an “older brother” figure.

It was Reeves who brought Stahelski the first John Wick script.

“It was a bit of an odd script. Puppy dies and this guy goes on a rampage,” Stahelski recalled. “And he’s like, ‘Do you have a take on this? We can’t quite crack it.'”

Chad said, “I had this take on Greek mythology and how to blow it out and be this surreal love letter to action movies, embracing the idea, ‘don’t worry about making a movie, but make a myth and make a legend.'”

The rest, as they say, is history: By comparison to Chapter 4‘s $75.3 domestic opening, 2014’s original John Wick opened to just $14 million.

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