Entertainment

Between 2009’s Avatar and its new sequel, The Way of Water, Zoe Saldaña became a mom — and not coincidentally, so did her Navi character Neytiri.

The Marvel movie veteran, now a mother of three, explains that brought a whole new meaning to the character for her, as now Neytiri and her husband, Sully, played by Sam Worthington, are fighting to keep their family alive amid a new threat to their planet, Pandora.

“In my personal life, when I became a parent, fear entered my realm,” Zoe said at a recent press event. “The fear of losing something that you love so much … and you just spend a great deal of your time creating these hypothetical scenarios that are just unimaginable.”

She adds, “When I read … the second script, that was her, that was Neytiri. I didn’t see it then. I see it now because my job wasn’t to see it. My job was to be it.”

Writer-director James Cameron, a father of four himself, agreed. “I hadn’t really thought of it in those terms, but that’s it. Exactly.”

Cameron expressed, “You may be fearless when you don’t have kids. You learn fear when you have kids, when you have something greater than yourself that you could lose. And that’s what both of your characters are dealing with.”

He continues, “You know, Sam plays a character that would go flying through the air with no parachute to land on the biggest, meanest predator on the planet to solve his problem; would he do that as a father of four?”

Cameron added with a laugh, “I’m thinking probably not.”

Avatar: The Way of Water is now in theaters, after an impressive $17 million sneak peek performance Thursday. It currently has a 94% Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Audiences who raced to see Avatar: The Way of Water in theaters got the first real peek of another anticipated film, Christopher Nolan‘s star-studded Oppenheimer.

As reported, frequent Nolan player Cillian Murphy plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, in the drama based on the Pulitzer-winning 2005 book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

The trailer shows Matt Damon as Leslie Richard Groves Jr., a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who directed the Manhattan Project, which gave birth to The Bomb. “You’re a dilettante, a womanizer, unstable, theatrical, neurotic,” he tells Oppenheimer.

“Brilliance makes up for a lot,” the scientist quips back.

The trailer shows the bomb’s construction, which is cited as the “one hope” to stop World War II. It also delves into the danger of theoretical physics becoming real: Some of the scientists thought testing the bomb would incinerate the Earth’s atmosphere.

“Are we saying there’s a chance when we push that button, we destroy the world?” Damon’s character asks, incredulous.

Oppenheimer answers flatly, “Chances are near zero.”

As military men and scientists brace for the test, the tension amps up, until detonation.

“Well, we all know what happened later,” Robert Downey Jr. understates as eventual U.S. Atomic Energy Commission head Lewis Strauss in a Capitol Hill meeting.

“What happened later” was two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, one on Hiroshima and another on Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of people and leading to Japan’s surrender.

Oppenheimer also stars Oscar winner Gary Oldman as President Harry Truman and Emily Blunt, playing Oppenheimer’s botanist wife, Kitty, as well as Oscar winner Rami Malek, Jack Quaid, Florence Pugh, Matthew Modine, Kenneth Branagh and James Remar, among others.

The trailer has yet to be posted online.

Oppenheimer debuts in theaters July 21, 2023.

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The song goes “The Times They Are A-Changing” — and you could say that theme looms large in the next chapter of the Dutton family saga, which started with Paramount’s monster-hit Yellowstone and continued with 1883 on Paramount+.

Now, the needle moves to 1923, set against the backdrop of one of the most volatile times in American history: drought, pandemics, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression looming.

“People were of huge courage and fortitude and had the ability to survive,” says Helen Mirren, who plays family matriarch Cara Dutton, an Irish immigrant dedicated to protecting her land and family at all costs.

At her side is Jacob Dutton, head of the Yellowstone Ranch, played by Harrison Ford.

Mirren tells ABC Audio shooting Taylor Sheridan’s ambitious series had its challenges, but working with Ford put things at ease: “It was a bit like he was a member of family. Not so much my husband. I’ve got one of those! But like a brother … someone that I felt I utterly trusted.”

It’s the first time they’ve been paired onscreen since 1986’s The Mosquito Coast, and Mirren says 36 years later, all is well between the two. “I can’t believe that Harrison has had the life and the experience on the level that he had and stayed the really warm, kind, generous human being that he is,” she says.

As for what viewers can expect from 1923, Ford says simply trust in Sheridan: “I always am ambitious for pretty much the same thing, and that is an emotional storytelling connection. Taylor’s writing is so tight and so well developed that it’s a great pleasure to just be part of the project.”

The first episode of 1923 arrives on Paramount+ Sunday, December 18.

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The teaser trailer for the highly anticipated Barbie movie is here.

The first look, which debuted Friday on YouTube, features Margot Robbie as the titular Barbie in a hilarious spoof of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

“Since the beginning of time, since the first little girl ever existed, there have been … dolls. But the dolls were always and forever baby dolls until …” a voiceover says.

At this point, the camera slowly reveals Robbie in a retro black-and-white swimsuit: the first Barbie doll’s iconic look. As Strauss‘ “Also sprach Zarathustra” plays, as it did in 2001, Robbie lowers her glasses and winks for the camera as the little girls then throw and smash their baby dolls.

The teaser trailer also reveals first glimpses of Ryan Gosling as Ken, as well as other cast members, including Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu and Insecure star Issa Rae.

In April, Warner Bros. shared a first look of the live-action movie, which showed Robbie dressed as the iconic doll, sitting in the driver’s seat of a pink convertible. In June, the studio released an image of a tanned Gosling in an all-denim look as Ken.

The film is directed by Greta Gerwig and is slated to hit theaters on July 21, 2023.

Gerwig is wrote the screenplay alongside fellow filmmaker and partner Noah Baumbach. Plot details have been kept under wraps.

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In a post on her official website, Oscar winner Jane Fonda revealed her cancer is in remission. The star, who turns 85 on December 21, titled the entry “BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!”.

She explained, “Last week I was told by my oncologist that my cancer is in remission and I can discontinue chemo. I am feeling so blessed, so fortunate. I thank all of you who prayed and sent good thoughts my way. I am confident that it played a role in the good news.”

The Grace and Frankie star said, “I’m especially happy because while my first 4 chemo treatments were rather easy for me, only a few days of being tired, the last chemo session was rough and lasted 2 weeks making it hard to accomplish much of anything.”

The actress and activist went on to say that the effects “effects wore off” just in time for her to attend a political rally, meet with lawmakers, and speak at climate change events.

As reported back in September, Fonda revealed she had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and told fans she had begun undergoing chemotherapy treatments. “This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky,” she expressed at the time.

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma begins in the cells of the lymph system, which is part of the immune system and helps the body fight infection and disease, according to the National Cancer Institute. It can occur almost anywhere, as lymph tissue is found throughout the body.

Fonda previously underwent a lumpectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. In 2018, she revealed she had a cancerous growth removed from her lip.

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Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher will play best friends who swap lives in the rom-com Your Place or Mine, coming to Netflix February 10. Per the streamer, Witherspoon — who co-produced the feature with Jason Bateman — plays Debbie, who “runs on routine as an LA mom,” while Peter — portrayed by Kutcher — “thrives on excitement in NYC.” Everything changes though when they swap homes and lives for a week. The star-studded cast also includes Jesse Williams, Zoë Chao, Wesley Kimmel, Griffin Matthews, Rachel Bloom, Shiri Appleby, Vella Lovell, Tig Notaro and Steve Zahn…

Fresh off his performance as Emmett Till in the movie Till, Jalyn Hall is set to play the young Martin Luther King Jr. in Genius: MLK/X, the upcoming fourth installment in the Disney+/National Geographic anthology series, according to Deadline. The Trial of the Chicago 7‘s Kelvin Harrison Jr. will play the adult Martin Luther King Jr. in the film that focus on the relationship between Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, played by Aaron Pierre. Weruche Opia, Jayme Lawson and Ron Cephas Jones also star in the anthology, the first installment to stream as a Disney+ original…

Hulu has picked up Standing By from executive producer Dan Levy; the Schitt’s Creek Emmy winner will also star in the series. The show is described as “a satirical look into the lives of a group of eternally bound, disgruntled guardian angels and the lessons they’ll eventually learn from not only the dysfunctional humans they’re in charge of protecting, but also each other…

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When Tom Cruise set a personal record for holding his breath underwater for six minutes while filming Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, most thought besting that feat would an impossible mission of its own. 

Enter Kate Winslet. The multiple Oscar winner not only beat Cruise, but bested her own record while filming Avatar: The Way of Water, for which she held her breath for a dizzying 7 minutes, 15 seconds.

The cast had to undergo specialized training to film underwater for the movie, which opens Friday — and the Titanic star knocked it out of the pool.

At a recent press event, Winslet and company had a laugh about the notion that none of the cast thought the breath-holding was a competition, because of course they did. 

“When I surfaced — I actually have a video of when I surface from that breath hold. And the only reason I have it is because my husband snuck in,” she said of Edward “Ned” Smith.

“And I knew that day that [the trainer] Kirk had said to me, ‘We’re going to go for another one today, Kate.’ And I said to Ned, ‘No, look, please don’t come because I just don’t want you, like, videoing, and I’ll just feel pressure. Just please don’t be there.’ He snuck in, and I have the video of me surfacing saying, ‘Am I dead? Am I dead? Have I died?’ And then going, ‘What was it?’ Straight away, I wanted to know my time.”

“I couldn’t believe it was 7:15,” Winslet continues, as the cast and director James Cameron cheered. “But having been told … do you know the first thing I say is? ‘We need to radio set.’ I wanted Jim to know,” to which Cameron laughed, “Not competitive at all!”

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Its sophomore season won’t kick off until Friday, March 24, on streaming and on demand, but Showtime has granted its acclaimed, time-spanning drama Yellowjackets a junior year.

In a statement, Chris McCarthy, president/CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media Networks, enthused, “With Yellowjackets‘ runaway success in season one and the pent-up anticipation for season two, we wanted to maximize the momentum by fast tracking season three now.”

The series follows a high school soccer team after a plane crash, then decades later as the survivors are adults.

Yellowjackets was nominated for seven Emmys for its first season, including Outstanding Lead Actress and Supporting Actress in a drama for Melanie Lynskey and Christina Ricci, respectively, as well as Best Drama Series.

What’s more, its first season, which has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, averaged over 5 million weekly viewers across platforms and became the second-most streamed series in Showtime’s history.

Yellowjackets‘ second season will debut on the network — in nonstreaming form — on March 26.

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Writer-director James Cameron recently said that Avatar: The Way of Water would have to end up among the top-grossing movies of all time just to “break even.” However, between presales and ticket sales in overseas markets where it’s already opened, the movie could be well on its way. 

Prognosticators are saying the long-awaited sequel could have a more than $500 million opening weekend globally, in fact, according to Deadline.

The trade reports the film, which stars Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, Edie Falco, Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington, banked $16 million in its first day in theaters overseas. 

Helping matters greatly is that the film, from Disney-owned 20th Century Studios, is screening in movie-hungry China, where the government has refused to show other recent Stateside blockbusters like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. One caveat in the Middle Kingdom remains COVID: the government has reenacted strong restrictions in some places.

Further, online retailer Fandango is reporting The Way of Water has been its #1 ticket seller every day since Monday, December 5. The movie, which was shot with a slew of bleeding edge cinema technology, also ranked as the biggest 3D ticket seller in the States since Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens in 2015. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News. 

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With awards season ramping up, nominations are coming fast and furious from several organizations, and on Thursday, the grown-ups had their say.

AARP The Magazine has released its picks for its annual Movies for Grownups Awards: the autobiographical Steven Spielberg film, The Fabelmans, led the pack with six nominations. Recognized were Spielberg in the Best Director category and the movie itself for a Best Film trophy.

Tying for fifth place was another movie that will likely make an Oscars appearance, the madcap, multiverse adventure Everything Everywhere All at Once, which picked up five nominations, tying with Viola Davis‘ The Woman King.

Stage and screen vet Alan Cumming will return as host of AARP The Magazine‘s Movies for Grownups Awards, broadcast nationwide by Great Performances on Friday, February 17, at 9 p.m. ET on PBS.

Here’s a list of the main nominees. The full list can be found on the award show’s website.

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups:
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
The Woman King
Women Talking

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett – Tár
Viola Davis – The Woman King
Lesley Manville – Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Emma Thompson – Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Actor:
Tom Cruise – Top Gun: Maverick
Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Tom Hanks – A Man Called Otto
Bill Nighy – Living
Adam Sandler – Hustle

Best Supporting Actress:
Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Patricia Clarkson – She Said
Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Judith Ivey – Women Talking
Gabrielle Union – The Inspection

Best Supporting Actor:
Andre Braugher – She Said
Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin
Woody Harrelson – Triangle of Sadness
Judd Hirsch – The Fabelmans
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Director:
James Cameron – Avatar: The Way of Water
Todd Field – Tár
Baz Luhrmann – Elvis
Gina Prince-Bythewood – The Woman King
Steven Spielberg – The Fabelmans

Best Screenwriter:
Todd Field – Tár
Kazuo Ishiguro – Living
Tony Kushner and Steven Spielberg – The Fabelmans
Rebecca Lenkiewicz – She Said
Dana Stevens – The Woman King

Best Ensemble:
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Nope
She Said
The Woman King
Women Talking

Best Intergenerational Movie:
Armageddon Time
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
A Man Called Otto
Till

Best Time Capsule:
Armageddon Time
Babylon
Elvis
The Fabelmans
Till

Best Grownup Love Story:
Empire of Light
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
A Love Song
Ticket to Paradise

Best Foreign Film:
Argentina, 1985 – (Argentina)
Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths – (Mexico)
Broker – (South Korea)
One Fine Morning – (France)
The Quiet Girl – (Ireland)

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