Will Smith appeared on late-night television Monday for the first time since he infamously slapped Chris Rockat the Academy Awards in March.
Speaking on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah about the on-stage altercation, which overshadowed his first Oscars win, Smith said he was in a daze upon returning to his seat. He said a frank conversation with his 9-year-old nephew brought a moment of clarity.
“He had stayed up late to see his Uncle Will, you know, and we are sitting in my kitchen and he is on my lap and he is holding the Oscar and he is just like, ‘Why did you hit that man, Uncle Will?'” Smith recalled to Noah.
Smith jokingly said it was as if his nephew was trying to “Oprah me” in that moment.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air veteran said he blew up that night because “a rage that had been bottled up for a really long time” finally came out, but he said he understands the pain he caused by letting it out.
After immense backlash, Smith resigned from the Academy, which later banned him from all events for the next decade. He has apologized to Rock, the Academy, his family and his fans numerous times as well.
As for what he learned from all of this, Smith said it’s “that we just got to be nice to each other, man.”
Smith is promoting his new film, the slave drama Emancipation, ahead of its release in early December.
As reported, in a chat with Entertainment Weekly, Smith feared that his actions could hurt the reaction to the Antoine Fuqua-directed film — which ironically was once seen as an Oscar vehicle for the star.
Hugh Jackman auctioned off his signed Harold Hill hat for charity during The Music Man on Saturday night, but was stunned to see longtime friend Nicole Kidman standing tall as the highest bidder.
The audience at the Winter Garden Theatre erupted in shock and delight as Kidman announced a $100,000 bid to support Broadway Cares.
“I just want to be clear, this is not Australian dollars,” Jackman joked.
The $100,000 bid translates to nearly $150K Australian dollars at current conversion rates.
After she strolled down the aisle to hug Jackman at the edge of the stage, he placed the straw hat on her head and she borrowed the auctioneer’s microphone to share a message.
“I love you. I love Broadway. And I love what they do at Broadway Cares,” she said, blowing kisses to the rest of the company on stage.
Jackman also took to Twitter after the performance to share a video of the big moment that left him “speechless.”
Kidman’s bid kicked off the final week of Red Bucket Fall fundraising for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a nonprofit that raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the country.
“Broadway Cares is blessed with friends across Broadway. We have no greater champion than Hugh Jackman. This extraordinary gift from his pal Nicole is by far the largest donation for any one auction item ever,” the organization wrote in an Instagram post with a video of the special moment.
According to the organization, Kidman’s donation will cover 20,000 meals and 2,000 doctor visits this holiday season for those living with HIV/AIDS, struggling with COVID-19 or facing other life-threatening challenges.
In a tweeted replay to a follower, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise writer-director James Gunn confirmed he’s “most definitely” going to be unifying the DC Comics bench, along with his Peacemaker producer Peter Safran, in their new jobs as caretakers of Warner Bros. Discovery’s superhero properties. He even dropped an apparently official new name for the unified effort, the DCU — as opposed to Marvel Studios’ Cinematic Universe known as the MCU. “[T]he DCU will be connected across film and TV (and animation),” according to the filmmaker.
Peacock has announced that Billy Eichner‘s gay rom-com Bros will begin streaming exclusively on the platform starting December 2, 2022. The comedy features an entirely LGBTQ+ principal cast, including LukeMacfarlane, Ts Madison, and Monica Raymund…
The Wrap has added Lena Dunham, Claire Foy, Nina Dobrev and Julianne Hough to its annual WrapWomen’s 2022 Power Women Summit. The event on December 14 in Santa Monica, California, is billed as “the largest annual gathering of women in media and entertainment.” It will feature Doctor Strange sequel star Xochitl Gomez and The Edge of Seventeen‘s Haley Lu Richardson among other “changemakers” in the industry…
A very Grinch-like green creature is here to scare Christmas like never before in the new trailer to The Mean One. The horror spoof movie stars David Howard Thornton as the titular character, who haunts the town of Newville with a murder spree 20 years prior. However, when Krystle Martin‘s Cindy You-Know-Who returns to find closure for the killing of her parents when she was just a child, she finds the green one hasn’t put his hatred for Christmas — or his murderous ways – behind him. The movie opens December 9…
Clarence Gilyard Jr., the character actor who played the tech-talented terrorist Theo in Die Hard, and rode alongside Chuck Norris as Jimmy Trivette in Walker, Texas Ranger, has died. Variety reports the actor, who was an associate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was 66. Gilyard made numerous appearances as a regular on Matlock, and also rode behind Tom Cruise as Sundowner in the original Top Gun…
Brittany and Patrick Mahomes have welcomed their second child!
In a joint Instagram post shared Monday evening, the pair announced that they’ve welcomed a baby boy into their family, sharing a snapshot of their newborn from the chest down, in a brown and white onesie atop a blanket branded with “mahomes” all over it.
“Patrick ‘Bronze’ Lavon Mahomes III,” they captioned the post. “11/28/22 7lbs 8 oz.”
Brittany and Patrick, both 27, began dating in 2011 and wed in March 2022. They are also parents to 21-month-old daughter Sterling.
Bonham Carter and Depp in 2005 — John Shearer/WireImage
Helena Bonham Carter is famous for speaking her mind and did so in a new interview with The Sunday Times. The former star of The Crown, who also starred in movies including Sweeney Todd with frequent collaborator Johnny Depp, vented to the publication about cancel culture.
“You can’t ban people,” the English actress stated. “I hate cancel culture. It has become quite hysterical and there’s a kind of witch-hunt and a lack of understanding.”
She mentioned Depp has “been through it,” adding that the godfather to her three children has been “completely vindicated” by his defamation victory against Amber Heard, who a jury decided falsely accused him of physical and sexual abuse in a Washington Post op-ed.
A U.K. court decreed Heard’s accusations had merit in a previous case. That said, Bonham Carter noted of the Aquaman actress, “My view is that she got on that [#MeToo] pendulum. That’s the problem with these things — that people will jump on the bandwagon because it’s the trend and to be the poster girl for it.”
The cancel culture situation also involved J.K. Rowling; Bonham Carter played Bellatrix Lestrange in the filmed adaptations of the author’s Harry Potter books. While the actress’ Potter co-stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson joined the online fray against Rowling over comments that some saw as “transphobic,” Bonham Carter says the accusations against Rowling were “horrendous, a load of bollocks.”
Carter says of Rowling, “I think she has been hounded. It’s been taken to the extreme, the judgmentalism of people. She’s allowed her opinion, particularly if she’s suffered abuse…”
She expressed of her younger co-stars’ comments, “I feel they should let her have her opinions, but I think they’re very aware of protecting their own fan base and their generation…”
(SPOILERS) Wrapped in the all the holiday cheer that was The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was a big detail about the team and the family of Chris Pratt‘s Peter Quill/Star-Lord.
Early on in the special, which is now streaming on Disney+, Pom Klementieff‘s Mantis and Dave Bautista‘s Drax mention she’s been holding onto a big secret since the team first met her in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: She and Peter share the same father: Ego (Kurt Russell).
The alien empath Mantis finally reveals that to Quill at the special’s end, with the hero declaring the news he had a sister “the greatest Christmas gift I could ever get”; that includes being serenaded by his big-screen hero, an abducted Kevin Bacon.
It’s particularly moving for Quill because he was taken from Earth just after the death of his mom, and he had to kill his maniacal god-like dad at the end of Vol 2.
However, Pom tells ABC Audio she was also holding onto that same secret — in real life — for years, thanks to writer-director James Gunn.
“Actually, for the big reveal, it’s something that I was told when I was cast for…Guardians of the Galaxy, the second one,” she said. “So he told me that, so I knew it was like the bond that we had, and the connection we had…So I had to keep the secret for a long time!”
Klementieff joked she’s getting used to keeping secrets, seeing as she’s appearing in the next Mission: Impossible film, too.
Since it was spotlighted, it’s likely that the Quill/Mantis connection will play a part in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, hitting theaters on May 5, 2023.
(SPOILERS) Wrapped in the all the holiday cheer that was The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was a big detail about the team and the family of Chris Pratt‘s Peter Quill/Star-Lord.
Early on in the special, which is now streaming on Disney+, Pom Klementieff‘s Mantis and Dave Bautista‘s Drax mention she’s been holding onto a big secret since the team first met her in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: She and Peter share the same father: Ego (Kurt Russell).
The alien empath Mantis finally reveals that to Quill at the special’s end, with the hero declaring the news he had a sister “the greatest Christmas gift I could ever get”; that includes being serenaded by his big-screen hero, an abducted Kevin Bacon.
It’s particularly moving for Quill because he was taken from Earth just after the death of his mom, and he had to kill his maniacal god-like dad at the end of Vol 2.
However, Pom tells ABC Audio she was also holding onto that same secret — in real life — for years, thanks to writer-director James Gunn.
“Actually, for the big reveal, it’s something that I was told when I was cast for…Guardians of the Galaxy, the second one,” she said. “So he told me that, so I knew it was like the bond that we had, and the connection we had…So I had to keep the secret for a long time!”
Klementieff joked she’s getting used to keeping secrets, seeing as she’s appearing in the next Mission: Impossible film, too.
Since it was spotlighted, it’s likely that the Quill/Mantis connection will play a part in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, hitting theaters on May 5, 2023.
Tyler Perry has inked a multi-movie deal with Amazon Studios, Variety reports.
According to the new deal, Perry will write, direct and produce four new movies to be released on Prime Video. A bunch of his titles are already available on the service, including Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas, Daddy’s Little Girls, For Colored Girls and more.
“I’m excited and grateful to start working with Amazon Studios to bring movies to Prime Video,” Perry says in a statement to Variety. “[Head of Amazon Studios] Jennifer Salke and the entire team have welcomed me with open arms. I’m looking forward to continuing telling unique stories and bringing my next projects to the global audiences that they reach.”
Perry’s previous three films were released on Netflix: A Jazzman’s Blues, A Madea Homecoming and A Fall from Grace.
In the wake of a legal victory against actor Anthony Rapp, who accused him of sexual battery but is still facing multiple sexual assault charges in the U.K., Kevin Spacey has booked a movie gig.
Variety reports Spacey has been cast in a voiceover role in a thriller called Control, which will be shot in and around London early next year. The plot centers on an English politician who is kidnapped by a hijacked self-driving car and “taken on a rampage” throughout the city.
Spacey is reportedly playing the role of the voice of the person behind the plot, who speaks with his victim throughout her ordeal.
The trade asked director Gene Fallaize if he had any reservations about casting the disgraced, Oscar-winning actor, and he replied in the negative. The filmmaker said he “grew up” watching the American Beauty and Se7en star, calling Spacey, “one of the greatest actors of our generation.”
Fallaize adds, “His personal life aside — it’s something I can’t comment on and have no knowledge of — it’s an opportunity to work with one of the acting greats.”
Rapp sued Spacey for $40 million over the alleged 1986 encounter in which he claimed the actor picked him up, grabbed his buttocks and laid down on top of him at Spacey’s Manhattan home.
Variety points out that in addition to the English charges against Spacey, he and his companies are on the hook for $31 million in damages an arbitrator awarded producers of House of Cards, stemming from the loss of him as the lead.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) At a 7-Eleven in Hawaii over the weekend, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnsontook to Instagram to exorcise a “chocolate demon” he has wrestled with “for decades.”
The Black Adam superstar explained that in 1987, he and his mother were evicted from their home in the 50th State, which led him to a life of crime.
Sort of.
“I was broke as hell, so I used to steal a king sized @snickers EVERY DAY from 7-11 for almost a year when I was 14yrs old, on my way to the gym,” Johnson captioned the video, which showed him entering the same store.
“The same clerk was there every day and always just turned her head and never busted me,” Rock’s caption continued.
As a way to make good, Johnson returned to the store to “clean out every Snickers bar they had – the right way.” To that end, DJ grabbed an armful of the candy bars and had a shocked staff member ring up dozens. Johnson also comped the purchases of every shopper at the store “as a bonus” bit of goodwill.
He commented about the latter, “Least I could do considering all the s*** I used to steal from here.”
In the end, Johnson explained he wanted the staffers to leave the candy out in case someone walked into the store, like he did many years ago, and intended to walk out without paying for one.
While Johnson posed for shocked fans in the video, he noted philosophically in his captions, “We can’t change…some of the dumb stuff we may have done, but every once in a while we can add a little redeeming grace note to that situation — and maybe put a big smile on some stranger’s faces.”
On Sunday night, the comedian went ahead with a scheduled show for the first time since suffering “serious” burns to his face and hands earlier this month.
Leno, 72, performed at the Southern California comedy club Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach for a sold-out crowd. The former Tonight Show host is currently on a stand-up tour that runs into 2023.
Leno, an avid car collector, was reportedly working on one of his cars when a gasoline accident occurred in his garage on November 12. Leno was released from the Grossman Burn Center about a week and a half later, after undergoing skin graft surgery.
Dr. Peter Grossman, the medical director of Grossman Burn Center, told reporters that Leno remained in “good spirits” and was still able to crack jokes. He said that they’ll continue to monitor the comedian’s condition even after his release.
“Our hope is that when everything is all said and done, he will do well,” Grossman said. “But burn injuries are progressive and dynamic and it’s hard to predict ultimately what the final outcome will be at this stage in the game.”
Grossman said “currently there’s no evidence of nerve damage” and he anticipates Leno will make a “full recovery,” but there’s no way to know if “remnants of this injury” could persist.
Leno was the host of NBC’s Tonight Show from 1992 to 2009 and later made a comeback from 2010 to 2014. In 2015, the car enthusiast began hosting the CNBC series Jay Leno’s Garage, which highlights avid car collectors and vintage and unique vehicles — including, incidentally, the antique, steam-powered car at the center of his garage mishap.
