Entertainment

Paramount+ on Sunday dropped the official trailer for the new Yellowstone prequel 1923, starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford. The new original drama series, per the streamer, “will introduce a new generation of Duttons led by patriarch Jacob and matriarch Cara — played respectively by Ford and Mirren. The series will explore the early twentieth century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west, and the Duttons who call it home.” 1923 debuts December 18 on Paramount+…

Freddie Roman, a Borscht Belt comedian and former dean of the Friars Club, died of a heart attack Sunday morning in Boynton Beach, Florida, his daughter tells Deadline. He was 85. Most recently, he appeared on the Amazon Prime series Red Oaks. His other TV appearances included guest spots on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and The Tonight Show, among others…

Wherever you spent Thanksgiving, there’s a good chance you were tuned into the National League Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants. The contest, which Dallas won 28-20, set a new regular season record, according to Fox Sports, drawing 42 million viewers tuning in to the network and its streaming platform. The Giants were also involved in the previous record-setting game, held on December 3, 1990 against the San Francisco 49ers…

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Kim Kardashian is breaking her silence on Balenciaga’s recent ad scandal.

“I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened,” she wrote on social media Sunday, November 27.

Kim, who is mom to North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, Psalm, 3, continued, “As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images. The safety of children must be held with the highest regard, and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period.”

“I appreciate Balenciaga’s removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again,” she concluded.

Shortly after, the SKIMS founder added that she’s “currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand.”

The posts come about a week after Balenciaga came under fire for their advertisements featuring children posing with the company’s plush bear bags, which wear BDSM-inspired harnesses.

One photo featured a child standing on a bed with one of the plush bear bags, surrounded by other purses and accessories that include what appears to be a chain leash as well as a Balenciaga branded dog collar choker.

The Spanish luxury brand issued an apology on their Instagram on November 22, writing, “We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.”

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The Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever gobbled up the most money over the long Thanksgiving weekend, delivering an estimated $64 million in North America and $45.9 million between Friday and Monday, while spending a third weekend at number one. Wakanda Forever currently stands as the sixth-highest grossing movie of the year worldwide with $676 million.

Overall it was one of the slowest Thanksgiving weekends in decades, with the weekend’s new entries proving to be turkeys.

They include the weekend’s runner up film, the Disney animated adventure Strange World, which only managed an estimated $11.9 million for the three-day and $18.6 million for the five-day. The movie, featuring the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union and Lucy Liu, had one of the worst animated openings in modern day Disney history.

The Knives Out sequel Glass Onion finished in third place, ahead of its move from theaters to Netflix next week. The film, featuring Daniel Craig reprising his role as detective Benoit Blanc, delivered an estimated $9.4 million from 696 theaters between Friday and Sunday and $13.4 million since Thursday.

The Korean War film Devotion, starring Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, failed to thrill, opening in fourth place with an estimated $5.96 million for the three-day weekend and $9 million for the five-day.

Rounding out the top five was The Menu, earning an estimated $5.2 million from Friday through Sunday and $7.3 million over the long weekend. The Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult and Ralph Fiennes-led dark comedy has collected $18.7 million domestically and $33.5 million globally.

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Singer and actress Irene Cara, best known for starring in and singing the title song of the movie Fame, and topping the charts with “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” from the movie Flashdance, has died, her publicist announced on social media. She was 63.

“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara,” Judith A. Moose posted on Cara’s official Twitter account. Moose wrote that Cara passed away in her Florida home, and that her cause of death is “currently unknown.”

“She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films,” Moose continued, adding that her family has “requested privacy as they process their grief.”  A memorial will be planned for a future date.

Cara began singing, acting and dancing professionally as a child, appearing on TV and musicals both on and off Broadway. Her early roles included the soap opera Love of Life, the mini-series Roots: The Next Generations and the 1976 cult film Sparkle, in which she portrayed the title character.

She shot to fame as Coco Hernandez in the movie Fame, and also sang both singles released from the movie’s hit soundtrack: the title theme and “Out Here on My Own.”  Both those songs were nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, marking the first time in history that two songs from the same movie, performed by the same artist, had been nominated in that category. “Fame” won the Oscar.

In 1983, Cara co-wrote the title theme for the movie Flashdance. That song, “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 and won her the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, as well as the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. 

Cara’s other acting credits included the films City Heat, D.C. Cab and Certain Fury. She continued to act and record into the 21st century.

In 2020, Mariah Carey wrote in her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey that Cara was “everything to me,” adding, “I related to her multicultural look…her multi-textured hair and, most importantly, her ambition and accomplishments.”  Mariah also released her own version of “Out Here on My Own.”

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On Thanksgiving Day, Paramount+ drops the first two episodes of the next chapter in the long-running crime drama series Criminal Minds with Criminal Minds: Evolution.

The 10-episode series has the added freedom of being on a streaming platform. Joe Mantegna reprises as FBI profiler David Rossi, who joins other returning cast members, including Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster.

Mantegna tells ABC Audio the new title is fitting. “It looks a little different. It sounds a little different. There are moments that people are going to say, ‘Wait, did Rossi say that?'” he laughs.

Mantegna says it’s heartening to see how beloved the original show is. “I mean, I get fan mail from all over the world. … And it makes you appreciate the fact that … you’re doing something that’s translating in a way that people are responding, not just locally … but all across the world.”

Vangsness tells ABC Audio her longevity on the show always surprises her. “You book a gig as a costar with two lines, and you’re just going to be there and gone. And then they keep bringing you back, and you’re like, ‘This is nice!'”

The series gets the show’s resident tech expert and fan favorite Penelope Garcia up and out from behind a desk. “Before, I did so much exposition on the show … A lot of the time just being like, ‘OK, pretend talk to that person, pretend talk to that person.’ And now, you know, I walk with feet and have scenes, and you realize that walking with feet and scenes with other people are much more satisfying than being in a room alone and just hearing imaginary voices in your head with a fake earbud!”

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While 1978’s Star Wars Holiday Special infamously didn’t involve the saga’s creator, George Lucas — who once wished he could smash every copy with a hammer — the same can’t be said for Friday’s Disney+ release, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. 

Guardians franchise writer-director James Gunn‘s project perfectly fits into Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. The film has Chris Pratt‘s Peter Quill/Star-Lord in need of some yuletide cheer, so his Guardians pals cook up a plan to surprise the Footloose fan with the ultimate Christmas present: Kevin Bacon.

Bacon tells ABC Audio he trusted Gunn so much, he was a “yes” right away. “Listen: I didn’t need any convincing. I didn’t even need to see the script. I knew it was gonna be cool.”

Bacon, a musician himself, admires Gunn’s musical tastes, and that plays a big part in the special.

Gunn, the curator of both Guardians movies’ classic rock-filled soundtracks, employs tunes ranging from “Christmastime” by The Smashing Pumpkins to “Christmas Treat” by Julian Casablancas; “Dead By X-mas” from Hanoi Rocks to The Waitress‘ “Christmas Wrapping,” plus a new holiday tune from Old 97’s called “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here).” 

Bacon joins Old 97s for a track called “Here it is Christmastime.” The actor explains, “When he finally … sent the script, he said, ‘Oh, by the way, you’re going to sing in it.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, man, that’s amazing.’ That hadn’t even, like, occurred to me.”

He says of Gunn, “He does have a great sense of music. I love that Old 97’s song, you know. What a challenge to write a new Christmas song … It’s cool. It really is.”  

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News. 

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On Wednesday, the longest Star Wars TV series to date, Andor, wraps up on Disney+.

The show, which shows the early days of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story‘s Cassian Andor and his journey to the Rebellion, was co-produced by Diego Luna and executive produced by Tony Gilroy, the man credited with turning around the messy production on Rogue, and turning the film into one of the most-loved Star Wars movies in a generation.

The well-received 12-episode series scored a follow-up, with shooting already underway on a sophomore season. ABC Audio asked Gilroy what he could say about the new season. 

As it turns out, the show will span many years and lead right into the moment we first met Cassian, when he interrogated — and eventually kills — a contact who had secret information for him. 

Gilroy explains, “When we finish episode 12…it’ll still be four years until the events of Rogue One. And in the second half of the show [there’s] another 12 episodes.” [I]nstead of covering one year, we’ll cover four years,” he continued. “And we will — I mean, there’s no secret — we’re going to walk him in, the last scene of the show, be him walking to the ship to go to the Rings of Kafrene to go see Danny Mays [who played Tivik] at the beginning of Rogue.” 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Adam Devine returns as Pitch Perfect scene stealer Bumper Allen in the new Peacock spin-off series Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, which debuts Wednesday.

The series sees Bumper re-teaming with Flula Borg‘s Piëter Krämer when one of Bumper’s songs goes big in Germany.

Devine calls it “crazy” the “love” people still have for Pitch Perfect, which came out in 2012. “You know…my role was pretty small in the first movie and Rebel [Wilson] and I actually improvised our relationship in the first movie…,” he says. “So it’s crazy to see how popular the movies have become and how it was so popular that now we have a spin-off series…”

Devine’s Modern Family love interest Sarah Hyland plays Heidi, Bumper’s quirky assistant, who reveals she’s been hiding some skills of her own on the mic. She tells ABC Audio she “leapt with every fiber of her being” to be in the show.

She enthused, “The Pitch Perfect franchise is so iconic and such a big moment in pop culture, really. So it’s, it’s, it’s really amazing to be able to be a small part of that now. And yeah, I got to sing for the first time professionally and in a really long time, and I was really, really excited to be able to hopefully show that off in a, in a good way for me.”

She and Devine perform Ryan Tedder‘s original song “Know My Name” in the series, something Hyland told ABC Audio she was “honored” to do. “I was so lucky enough to sing that,” she said. “He’s written some of the biggest songs out there”  

The series also stars She-Hulk star Jameela Jamil as a scheming competitor, and model/actress Lera Abova as Piëter’s cool Berlin DJ sister.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Another stop on his promotional tour for his new book Cinema Speculation, another jab at Marvel movies from writer-director Quentin Tarantino.

But this time, one of the studio’s stars has clapped back: Simu Liu.

Tarantino recently sat down with comedian Tom Segura on his Two Bears, One Cave podcast and shaded not only Marvel movies, but also the actors who lead them.

He prefaced his new comments by saying, “Look, I used to collect Marvel comics like crazy when I was a kid. There’s an aspect that if these movies were coming out when I was in my twenties, I would totally be f***ing happy and totally love them…But, you know, I’m almost 60, so…I’m not quite as excited about them.”

The Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction screenwriter went on to say, “Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is…you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters. But they’re not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star.”

One of those stars, Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings’ Simu responded, also referencing Martin Scorsese‘s 2019 diss that Marvel movies were “not cinema.”

Simu tweeted Tuesday, “If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400 million plus movie. I am in awe of their filmmaking genius. They are transcendent auteurs. But they don’t get to point their nose at me or anyone.”

He added, “No movie studio is or ever will be perfect. But I’m proud to work with one that has made sustained efforts to improve diversity onscreen by creating heroes that empower and inspire people of all communities everywhere.”

Liu noted, “I loved the ‘Golden Age’ too.. but it was white as hell.”

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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Ice Cube says he lost out on a $9 million movie role for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. 

While appearing on the November 2nd episode of the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, the actor and rapper said candidly, “I turned down a movie because I didn’t want to get the m************ jab.”

“I turned down $9 million. I didn’t want to get the jab,” he continued. “F*** that jab. F**** y’all for trying to make me get it. I don’t know how Hollywood feels about me right now.”

Ice Cube later clarified that he “didn’t turn down the movie,” but that he wasn’t hired because of his refusal to get vaccinated.

“I didn’t turn it down. They just wouldn’t give [the role] to me,” he said. “The COVID shot, the jab. I didn’t need it. I didn’t catch that s*** at all. Nothing. F*** them. I didn’t need that s***.”

The admission comes a year after reports circulated that Cube exited the Sony film Oh Hell No, in which he would have starred opposite Jack Black.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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