Entertainment

As the search continues to find the next James Bond going forward, Avatar lead Sam Worthington is looking back at the time he blew his audition to play the suave secret agent.

In a chat with Variety, Worthington recalls he was a finalist for the role, which eventually went to Daniel Craig. Now-former Superman Henry Cavill, and E.R. veteran and recent Hellraiser star Goran Visnjic were also in the running, the trade notes.

Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson put the actors through their paces, and into a tux, to perform one of Sean Connery‘s scenes from 1963’s From Russia with Love.

It seems Broccoli was pulling for Worthington, even personally cutting his hair before the audition, which the actor admits he biffed.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” he expressed.

“I could play Bond as a killer, but I couldn’t get the debonair down for the life of me,” the Aussie recalled, adding, “The suit did not fit.”

Speaking of ill-fitting suits, Worthington also revealed he lost out on playing Green Lantern in an eventually drubbed 2011 film.

“It didn’t make much sense to me — the suit comes out of his skin?” Worthington says. “And I was like, ‘He’s got this powerful ring that can create anything. Well, what can beat the ring?’ The answer was nothing. I was like, ‘Well, something needs to beat it, or it won’t be very interesting.'”

A “very bizarre” attempt to psyche him up by putting on the actual ring prop didn’t help, either.

While Craig went on to play Bond in five films, losing Green Lantern helped Worthington dodge a bullet: Ryan Reynolds took the job and hasn’t stopped making fun of himself for it since.

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One of the more headline-grabbing moments of the Netflix series Meghan and Harry was Meghan Markle claiming to be nervous before meeting Queen Elizabeth II for the first time.

At issue was Meghan’s claim nobody taught her how to properly curtsy, as royal etiquette requires. As Prince Harry watched, the former Suits actress pantomimed an extremely exaggerated, and many said, disrespectful bow she said she did before the Queen Mother.

Markle also compared the pomp and circumstance of meeting the longest-serving monarch in modern history — and Harry’s beloved grandmother — to “Medieval Times, dinner and tournament.”

Critics of the so-called “runaway royal” cried foul on the curtsy claim, among them right-wing former British Parliament member-turned journalist Nigel Farage. And this week, he brought receipts: a clip from Markle’s former show Suits, in which she performed a perfect curtsy.

“So there you are, in her professional life, she had to curtsy, but somehow when she married Prince Harry, she forgot what a curtsy was and had to make a huge, huge deal of it.” Farage recently sniped on his GBN show. “How awkward, and difficult the whole thing was, no doubt she felt oppressed by all of it.”

The Internet also caught that same clip, and with one Instagram user commenting it “only proves she knew well how to curtsey [sic] long before she met Harry,” calling, “her whole BS on Netflix about curtsying to the [Queen Elizabeth II] was just a mockery.”

On his show, Farage said some criticism of Markle is over the top, but admits, “Meghan does tend to just drive people absolutely, totally, and utterly barmy.”

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Daredevil is getting a new life on Disney+ and a whole new vibe, according to star Charlie Cox.

Cox starred in Netflix’s hit Daredevil series for three seasons and he’ll reprise role as blind attorney/costumed vigilante Matt Murdock in the upcoming Disney+ revival Daredevil: Born Again in 2024. In an interview with NME, he teased what viewers can expect form the new show.

“This has to be a reincarnation, it has to be different, otherwise why are we doing it?” the English actor said. “My opinion is this character works best when he’s geared towards a slightly more mature audience. My instinct is that on Disney+ it will be dark but it probably won’t be as gory.”

And to fans who may be expecting the new series to be a continuation of the previous one, Cox said, “I would say to those people, we’ve done that.”

He added, “Let’s take the things that really worked, but can we broaden? Can we appeal to a slightly younger audience without losing what we’ve learned about what works?”

Cox most recently appeared as Daredevil in the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and had a cameo as the character in the global smash Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Charlbi Dean‘s cause of death has been revealed. The Triangle of Sadness actress, who died at age 32 in August, died of bacterial sepsis, a spokesperson for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. The spokesperson added that the sepsis was “complicating asplenia,” which is the absence of a spleen, due to “remote blunt force trauma to [her] torso.” Dean’s death was ruled an accident…

Fans of Showtime’s Yellowjackets got a first glimpse at adult Van, portrayed by Lauren Ambrose. Photos from the upcoming sophomore season, obtained by Entertainment Weekly, show Van working at what looks like an art shop and bearing the scars from a vicious wolf attack. Season 2 of Yellowjackets, which also stars Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Tawny Cypress, is set to premiere in March 2023…

Glee alums Lea Michele and Darren Criss are reuniting for an episode of Apple TV+’s Carpool Karaoke: The Series. In a sneak peek of the episode, the two take turns singing Christmas tunes from their respective holiday albums, including Michele’s “Christmas in New York” and Criss’ “Christmas Dance.” Carpool Karaoke: The Series  is streaming now on Apple TV+…

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Some say it’s the most wonderful time of the year, and Real Housewives of Potomac star Candiace Dillard Bassett would agree.

While promoting her new show HUSH on ALLBLK, the reality star and actress dished on her plans for the holiday season. 

“[The holidays are] actually my absolute favorite time of the year,” she tells ABC Audio, adding that her birthday on December 14 helps add to the cheerfulness.

“I always have a big, ugly sweater Christmas birthday party around this time of year,” she shares. “My family gets together, we cook. I’m just excited to put my hair in a bun, make cookies, eat all of them and drink wine, some champagne, some bourbon, one or all of those, and just enjoy, you know, celebrating the success of this year.”

That success includes Candiace’s new single “Insecure” featuring Trina and the music video, which are out now. Also, her new show HUSH is out on ALLBLK and RHOP season 7 is currently airing. 

“So there’s just so much to celebrate. That’s how I want to spend the remainder of the year really,” she says.  

Even with so much to celebrate, Candiace is already planning ahead. When asked if she’d ever do a Christmas album, she replied, “Funny you should ask. We are working on a holiday album for December 2023, so I’m going to start working on that next year.”

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It’s been nearly 30 years since we were introduced to Tim Allen‘s Scott Calvin in 1994’s The Santa Clause, and the actor says he’s reminded every year how loved the franchise is.

Speaking with ABC Audio, Allen noted his character, Scott aka Santa, has become as iconic and recognizable as his other character, Toy Story‘s Buzz Lightyear.

“People will see me out and they’ll point to their children, ‘This is Santa Claus!'” he said. Allen also noted that his life’s goal “is to make people laugh,” which he says he accomplishes every Christmas.

“This whole thing becoming a part of every season, to be Santa Claus, is formidable and gratifying and humbling. There is no word for it that, all of a sudden, this [has become] one of those movies like A Christmas Story and Miracle [on 34th Street]. It’s in that group,” he said. 

As for why The Santa Clause is such a beloved franchise, Allen credits its success to the writing. “The script was so well written,” he praised.

He also reflected on his ’90s sitcom, Home Improvement, and how the two are similar in comedy and writing.

Said Allen, “We were talking about Home Improvement that … [it] became iconic for families and they said it was because it was written well. I said it’s a shout out to people that write, the literary people that put words on paper. All we do is bring that to you.”

Allen reprises his role as Scott Calvin in the new Disney+ series The Santa Clauses, which also stars Elizabeth Mitchell, Kal Penn, Elizabeth Allen-Dick, Austin Kane and David Krumholtz.

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Jeff Garlin, who parted ways with ABC’s The Goldbergs following an investigation into on-set bullying and other bad behavior, is headed to Mindy Kaling‘s Never Have I Ever.

Deadline reports Garlin will be playing a character named Len, who could be a love interest for Nirmala, Devi’s widowed grandmother on the series, for its fourth and final season.

Garlin’s run as Murray Goldberg was already being cut back in season 9 of the hit family sitcom. The show rolled on for its 10th season, which began by mentioning Garlin’s character had died.

In September of this year, Garlin revealed he’d been diagnosed as bipolar.

After his Goldbergs exit, Garlin continued to work as Jeff Green on Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is currently shooting its 12th season.

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The highest-grossing film of 2022, and of Tom Cruise‘s career, Top Gun: Maverick, is finally available for streaming for free — provided you have Paramount+.

Incidentally, subscribers looking to fulfill their need for speed drove up viewing numbers for the 1986 original while Maverick was still in theaters; in fact, in June, the first Top Gun topped the streaming charts, beating out new offerings like Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ and Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Top Gun: Maverick has Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell back at the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School, this time to train a bunch of cocky new hotshots, including Monica Barbaro and Glenn Powell, for a seemingly impossible mission. The movie also starred Miles Teller as Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of Maverick’s buddy Goose, who perished in the original, as well as Top Gun vet Val Kilmer, Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly and Emmy winner Jon Hamm.

Delayed multiple times during the pandemic because producer Cruise insisted it only debut in theaters to take advantage of the film’s cutting-edge aerial action, the movie has grossed more than $1.48 billion worldwide since debuting in the U.S. on May 27.

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Nearly the entire cast of That ’70s Show — Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama, Kurtwood Smith, and Deborah Jo Rupp — can be seen in Netflix’s new trailer to the hit show’s spin-off, That ’90s Show.

Everything old is new-ish again: Red and Kitty Forman, played respectively by Smith and Rupp, are still living in the Wisconsin home where they raised Grace’s Eric in the original series, though the recreated set gets a dial-up days upgrade.

Set in the summer of 1995, the pair welcome their granddaughter Leia (Callie Haverda) — the daughter of high school sweethearts Eric and Donna — and welcome a whole new set of “hooligans” into the Formans’ home.

“Don’t feed them, Kitty,” the irritable Red warns. “That’s how it started the first time!”

Kitty also opens her basement to the new misfits, the same place the show’s original characters got high — and thanks to an apparently forgotten Carter-era bag of weed, so do the new kids.

In addition to Red and Kitty, the show’s original cast members will appear throughout the series, excepting Danny Masterson, who played Steven Hyde. The actor’s career was derailed in 2017, when sex assault accusations were leveled against him at the height of the #MeToo movement.

Earlier this month, a mistrial was declared when jurors deadlocked on rape charges against Masterson by three women.

The actor, who maintained his innocence on the two-decade-old accusations, faces 45 years in jail if convicted on all charges. A retrial is scheduled for March 27.

That ’70s Show ran for seven seasons on Fox, ending in 2006. The show was spun-off into the short-lived That ’80s Show, which ran for a single season from January to May 2002.

That ’90s Show debuts on January 19.

(Video contains uncensored profanity)

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James Cameron knows a thing or two about creating strong female characters. After all, he’s the guy who created waitress-turned-Terminator killer Sarah Connor; who helped turn Sigourney Weaver into a bona fide female action hero through Ellen Ripley in Aliens; and who made Kate Winslet unsinkable in Titanic.

So when the writer-director approached Winslet for Avatar: The Way of Water and its sequels, the Oscar winner couldn’t say no. “Jim has always written for women characters who are not just strong, but they are leaders,” Winslet said at a recent press event. “They lead with their heart, with integrity. They stand in their truth. They own their power.”

Considering that legacy, Kate couldn’t say no — and Cameron knew it, Winslet joked. “To be part of that and included, it was just so flattering that Jim asked me because Jim does not suffer fools. And I knew that he was asking me because he knew I was too damn foolish not to say, ‘Oh, you see that in me? But guess what? I’m going to show you that I can do exactly that thing. And maybe that thing, and maybe that thing.'”

One of those “things” included extensive underwater training that led Winslet to hold her breath for a dizzying 7 minutes, 14 seconds.

Avatar: The Way of Water is currently the number one movie in the world.

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