Entertainment

Amber Heard is seeking a new defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp, claiming the Virginia trial last spring stacked the deck against her. Depp was awarded a $10.35 million verdict after arguing Heard’s Washington Post op-ed, in which she claimed she’d experienced domestic abuse, was defamatory.

“The trial court improperly prevented the jury from considering several separate instances in which Heard reported Depp’s abuse to a medical professional,” the Aquaman actress’s lawyers argue in a 68-page document, filed November 23 and obtained by the New York Post.

“If not reversed, the trial court’s exclusion of contemporaneous reports of domestic abuse to medical professionals will make it more difficult for other abuse victims to prove allegations of abuse, and likely deter them from coming forward,” they insist.

Attorneys for Heard also argued the trial should have taken place in California, where the couple once lived together, and not in Virginia, where the Washington Post houses its servers.

Virginia was an “entirely inconvenient forum with no connection to Depp or any meaningful connection to his claims,” the filing states.

The case “should never have gone to trial because another court had already concluded that Depp abused Heard on multiple occasions,” her lawyers added, referencing the 2020 English ruling in favor of Britain’s The Sun, which Depp had sued for calling him a wife-beater.

Depp, 59, filed his own appeal in the case, claiming, “The jury’s emphatic favorable verdict on all three defamatory statements alleged in his complaint fully vindicated Mr. Depp and restored his reputation.”

A group of judges will issue a ruling on both claims, and each party will then have a chance to appeal once more, according to the newspaper.

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Prince Harry and Meghan‘s upcoming Netflix docuseries now has a release date and a new trailer, which draws comparisons between the couple’s experiences and the fate of Harry’s mother, the late Princess Diana.

Harry & Meghan will air in two parts, with the first three episodes dropping Dec. 8 and the final three episodes dropping one week later, on Dec. 15, according to Netflix.

The docuseries is described by the streaming giant as sharing “the other side” of Harry and Meghan’s “high-profile love story.”

In the new trailer released Monday, Harry and Meghan appear to open up about tensions within the royal family and their decision to step down from their senior, working royal roles in 2020.

“It’s really hard to look back on it now and go, ‘What on earth happened?'” Harry says in the trailer.

As clips are shown of Harry’s family and Buckingham Palace, the prince is heard saying, “There’s a hierarchy of the family. You know, there’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories.”

“It’s a dirty game,” Harry adds.

Also in the trailer, clips are shown of Harry’s mother, Diana, who died in a 1997 Paris car crash as their driver attempted to escape the paparazzi.

“I was terrified,” Harry says. “I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”

The one-minute trailer ends with Harry saying, “No one knows the full truth. We know the full truth.”

Last week, Netflix released the first trailer for Harry & Meghan, which showed never-before-seen personal moments from the Sussexes, from falling in love to leaving their royal roles and charting their own future in California.

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Four months after renewing Moonhaven for a second season, AMC+, in a somewhat surprising move, has decided to pull the plug on the sci-fi series due to cost-cutting measures, according to Deadline. Moonhaven — starring Dominic Monaghan, Emma McDonald, Amara Karan, Ayelet Zurer, Joe Manganiello, Kadeem Hardison and Yazzmin Newell — focused on a utopian colony on the Moon that may hold the keys to preserving life on Earth…

The Witcher‘s Joey Batey is set to reprise his role as Jaskier in the upcoming prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin. The arrival is teased in the first full trailer, released on Saturday. Blood Origin, per Netflix, is “set in an elven world 1200 years before the world of The Witcher. It will tell a story lost to time – the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal conjunction of the spheres, when the world of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one.” The four-part prequel series, also starring Sophia Brown, Laurence O’Fuarain, Michelle Yeoh, Mirren Mack, Lenny Henry, Minnie Driver, Francesca Mills, Zach Wyatt, Lizzie Annis and Huw Novelli, premieres on Netflix on December 25…

NBC has ordered an additional nine episodes of Lopez vs Lopez, bringing the first season total to 22 episodes. The sitcom, starring George Lopez and his real-life daughter, Mayan, follows “a working-class old-school Latino who moves in with his modern Gen Z daughter as they rebuild their dysfunctional relationship one argument at a time,” according to the network. Selenis Leyva, Brice Gonzalez, Matt Shively and Al Madrigal also star…

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Bob McGrath, an original Sesame Street cast member, has died, his family announced Sunday. He was 90 years old.

“Our father Bob McGrath passed away today. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family,” they wrote on Facebook. A cause of death was not given.

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization that produces educational children’s programs, wrote on Twitter that it “mourns the passing of Bob McGrath, a beloved member of the Sesame Street family for over 50 years.”

“A founding cast member, Bob embodied the melodies of Sesame Street like no one else, and his performances brought joy and wonder to generations of children around the world,” the statement continued. “… whether teaching them the ABCs, the people in their neighborhood or the simple joy of feeling music in their hearts.”

McGrath’s entertainment career began in 1962 as a singer on Mitch Miller’s hit TV series Sing Along with Mitch, before stepping into his signature role on Sesame Street as the friendly music teacher Bob Johnson in 1969. McGrath was a mainstay on the popular PBS kids series for over five decades and 47 seasons, and was featured in several of the show’s most iconic sequences, including musical performances of “People in Your Neighborhood.”. His final series appearance came in 2017, though he continued to make public appearances at various events tied to Sesame Street.

Beyond the TV series, McGrath was one of the most prominent human faces of the property across various film, video game and sing-a-long productions.

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever once again ruled the box office, delivering an estimated $17.6 million in North America in its fourth week of release. The Black Panther sequel, which is expected to hit $400 million dollars domestically this week, stands at upwards of $730 million worldwide.

The weekend’s only new major release, the R-rated Christmas action movie Violent Night — starring David Harbour as a not-so-saintly Saint Nick, had a solid debut, opening in second place with an estimated $13.3 million.

Taking third place was the Disney animated adventure Strange World, grabbing an estimated $4.9 million, for a two-week total of $25.5 million in North America. Globally, the film has earned $42.3 million.

The Menu pulled up in fourth place with an estimated $3.6 million, for a three-week total of $24.7 domestically and $42.2 million worldwide.

The Korean War film Devotion rounded out the top five, earning an estimated $2.8 million in its fifth weekend. Its North American box office tally currently stands at just $13.8 million.

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25 years ago today Good Will Hunting hit theaters, making Matt Damon and Ben Affleck stars and Oscar winners. Minnie Driver also got an Oscar nomination for her role in the film, and she tells ABC Audio it was an extraordinary experience to be a part of it.

“It is a classic film,” the English actress states. “It’s beautiful — and only those of us who made it know what a tiny chamber movie it was and how it was never meant to be, it was never designed to be this gigantic movie which speaks to its heart, which is beautiful and strong.”

Driver adds that being a part of the psychological drama is something she cherishes. 

“Listen, whenever I see any of those hundred greatest movies of all time, Good Will Hunting is on that list,” she says. “What an extraordinary thing to be part of a film that has survived the test of the last 25 years and maybe will continue.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

Good Will Hunting, released in 1997, also starred Robin Williams and Stellan Skarsgård. It chronicles the story of Will Hunting, a gifted young janitor at MIT with a habit of self-sabotaging, who eventually gets help from a psychologist to help sort out his life. 

The film grossed over $225 million and earned several accolades, including nine nominations at the 70th Academy Awards, where Williams won Best Supporting Actor for his role and Best Original Screenplay went to Affleck and Damon. 

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Balenciaga’s creative director, Denma Gvasalia, has broken his silence regarding the brand’s recent controversial ad campaign.

“I want to personally apologize for the wrong artistic choice of concept for the gifting campaign with the kids and I take my responsibility,” Gvasalia wrote in a statement on Instagram Friday. “It was inappropriate to have kids promote objects that had nothing to do with them.”

“As much as I would sometimes like to provoke a thought through my work, I would NEVER have an intention to do that with such an awful subject as child abuse that I condemn,” he added.

The famed creative said he needed to “learn from this, listen and engage with child protection organizations to know how I can contribute and help on this terrible subject.”

The apology comes after the luxury brand faced backlash for featuring children with sexualized teddy bears in a recent ad campaign.

Balenciaga’s president and CEO, Cédric Charbit, also issued a statement on Friday, sharing that the company has reorganized its image department to ensure full alignment with corporate guidelines.

The company also confirmed Friday it would be dropping a lawsuit previously filed against the North Six production company, as well as set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, over a separate Spring 2023 ad campaign, which included a photo that showed a Supreme Court ruling on child pornography laws.

Balenciaga had accused North Six and Des Jardins of “malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless” conduct in its work on that ad campaign, though a source close to North Six told Good Morning America on Monday that the production company had only handled logistics for the shoot and did not have creative control or input in the campaign.

The company first responded to the blowback on November 22, saying it “sincerely” apologized for the campaign.

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At the comic convention CCXP in Brazil, where it was revealed the show was returning on Disney+ March 1, 2023, The Mandalorian‘s creator, Jon Favreau, and producer Dave Filoni teased Thursday what’s to come.

In addition to revealing some convention-exclusive footage of the new season, Collider reports Iron Man director Filoni teased from the main stage, “I will say that the scope of it is getting bigger, we have really cool space battles, we have lots of Mandalorians, we have the planet of Mandalore, which we’ve been talking about for a long time.”

He added, “We get to see the Mandalorian culture, and many of the wonderful actors you’ve seen in previous seasons return, and you’ll see them all work together on this show.”

Among others, a recent teaser showed star-and-episode director Carl Weathers‘ return as Greef Karga, as well as Katee Sackhoff, seen in an adversarial role as fellow Mandalorian Bo-Katan Kryze.

Favreau called it a “very ambitious season” that will see the return of some of the episode directors from the critic-and-fan-lauded first two seasons. “We have a very experienced team that have been working together for a long time, and I think a lot of people are going to enjoy what we have in store,” he teased.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) While initially planned as a spin-off centering on fan favorites Daryl and Carol, Norman Reedus‘ next post-apocalyptic adventure in the Walking Dead universe will have him going solo in Europe.

As reported back in April, Melissa McBride, who played Carol, made a surprise exit from the production, reportedly over the decision to move the AMC show from Georgia to on location in Europe.

However, the show’s creators tell Entertainment Weekly that the fact Daryl is now alone is a key element of the now-retitled The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.

AMC President Dan McDermott tells EW that the show, due out next year, follows the character “as he wakes up and finds himself somewhere on the European continent … How did he get here? How’s he going to get home?”

Reedus calls the show a “reset.”

With three weeks “in the can,” the actor explains, “It’s weird as s***, but that’s the story.”

He adds, “People are speaking French around me, and part of my story is me trying to figure out, ‘Is this good or is this bad? Are we about to get into a fight or are we friends right now?’ I’m trying to read lips with the language that I don’t understand and I’m reading body language … and it’s confusing, and I’m figuring it out.”

He adds, “Yeah, it’s weird, but that’s the show we’re making. So it’s working really well.”

The actor also explains that shooting the show in Europe, as opposed to Georgia, helps sell the new vibe.

“It’s so epic in scale,” he enthuses, “There’s history in the walls around us … It’s a very different feel. It has the stuff that you want from the show, but it’s just picked up and put in a whole other dimension.”

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It’s one thing to do an impersonation of an actor, but another to do it with them in your presence. Clips of Keke Palmer imitating Angela Bassett in The Jacksons: An American Dream caught the attention of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star — and Keke was asked to perform right in front of Bassett herself.

“I’ve seen you online imitating me. You do a great job,” Bassett told Palmer, who explained that she often did the impersonation for Queen Latifah during their time on the set of 2012’s Joyful Noise. “I used to only do it for her. I just recently started doing it online and everything,” she continued.

“OK, Keke — we’re here together. You’re finally here; I don’t have to watch you online,” Bassett responded. “I can actually see it right here before me.” 

“Don’t be shy. You’re not shy at all,” she said, encouraging Palmer, who then mustered up the courage to flaunt her skills. Bassett even joined in and did the reading with Palmer.

The moment between Palmer and Bassett took place thanks to Vanity Fair, which reunited the actresses 16 years after they played daughter and mother in the 2006 movie Akeelah and the Bee.

It follows Bassett’s appearance in the Black Panther sequel and precedes Palmer’s appearance as guest host of this weekend’s SNL episode.

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