Entertainment

Booksmart actress Beanie Feldstein has been tapped to star in the first Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

The show features some iconic songs in theater history, including “People” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” Performances are set to begin in spring 2022, marking the first time the musical has been back on Broadway in 58 years.

“The first time I played Fanny Brice was at my third birthday party, in a head-to-toe leopard print outfit my mom made for me,” Feldstein says in a statement. “So, it’s safe to say that stepping into this iconic role, on Broadway and not in my family’s backyard, is truly my lifelong dream come true.”

She adds, “I am immensely grateful to be able to do so alongside such a remarkable creative team, and cannot wait for audiences to get back in theaters again!”

Funny Girl was also a 1968 film starring Barbra Streisand.

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High School Musical celebrated its 15th anniversary in January, but star Ashley Tisdale, who played the boisterous Sharpay Evans, said she’s moved on from her early career-defining role.

“I just feel like I wouldn’t be able to really do that again and give it justice… You know what I’m saying?,” she told Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday.

Ashley explained that she’s a different person than she was during her High School Musical days and would have a hard time channeling the same thoughts and emotions that brought Sharpay to life. 

“I think at that moment in time, I was very unaware of myself and my surroundings, and I feel like that’s a big part of Sharpay,” the actress noted. “She is just not really aware, and so as I grew up and became more aware, I think that it’s just something that it wouldn’t be the same.” 

Because of that, Ashley says she wouldn’t want to play the character in a reboot or revival. “I would hate to ruin something that is perfect for that moment,” she confessed. “I don’t think I could go back to it.”

The 36-year-old actress also reflected on her Disney Channel days when shouting out her The Suite Life of Zack & Cody costar Brenda Song, who, like her, is a new mom.

“She is obviously killing it as a new mom,” Ashley said. “She is the sweetest and so great, and I’m just so happy for her.”

Ashley welcomed a daughter named Jupiter on March 23 alongside husband Christopher French.  The following month, Brenda and partner Macaulay Culkin welcomed their baby boy, Dakota, who was named after Culkin’s big sister, who died in 2008 after being struck by a car.

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Mike Richards and former The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik have been confirmed as the new hosts of Jeopardy!

Richards will take over as he full-time host of Jeopardy!’s daily syndicated program, replacing the late Alex Trebek. Bialik is set to host Jeopardy!’s primetime and spinoff series, including the upcoming Jeopardy! National College Championship, which will air on ABC next year.

Richards, who’s been serving as executive producer on the show since last year, will continue his producing role. Jeopardy!’s all-time champ Ken Jennings will return as consulting producer.

“I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to host the syndicated version of Jeopardy!,” Richards says in a statement, in part. “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined being chosen to step into a role of this magnitude.”

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the Jeopardy! family,” Bialik adds. “What started out with my 15-year-old repeating a rumor from Instagram that I should guest host the show has turned into one of the most exciting and surreal opportunities of my life!”

Trebek died in November at age 80, after hosting Jeopardy! for 37 years. A series of guest hosts took over this past season, including Katie Couric, LeVar Burton, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts and others.

Jeopardy! is set to begin production on season 38 last this month, with new episodes debuting on September 13, 2021.

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Halle Berry makes her directorial debut with Bruised this fall, and the actress recently revealed just how far she was willing to go to ensure her labor of love crossed the finish line.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Berry explained she broke two ribs on the first day of filming.  She quickly added they weren’t the same ribs she fractured when filming 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum.

“When you break something, it calcifies and it’s stronger. You don’t usually break the same bones twice,” Berry said. She explained that she chose to work through the pain because, during Parabellum, her injury caused production to come to a standstill.

“I told the director about it, they told the insurance. We had to shut down for months and it was a big ordeal,” the 54-year-old actress recalled. “On this, because it was an independent movie, we didn’t have a big budget. The director in me said, ‘I didn’t come this far and work this hard to go home.'”

Eric Brown, who worked as the stunt coordinator for Bruised, was impressed by Berry’s determination.

“[It was] kind of a crazy injury. But that was just her intensity,” said Brown. “Halle’s a special case. I’ve worked with tons of actors, and almost none of them have that kind of work ethic.”

Bruised, a sports drama in which Berry plays a disgraced MMA fighter on a path to redemption, premieres November 24 on Netflix.

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In Free Guy, comic and Get Out scene stealer Lil’ Rel Howery plays Buddy, the best friend of Ryan Reynolds‘ Guy — two pals who don’t know they’re actually background characters in a video game. 

Rel explains being Reynolds’ friend onscreen was easy: “…Ryan Reynolds has been my friend in my head for a very long time,” he laughed at a recent virtual press conference. “And to this day I still don’t think he believes me. Like no, I’m a legit fan.”

Rel said to Reynolds, “When you started winning everything for Deadpool, I was calling people, like, ‘I told y’all! I told you Ryan Reynolds was a superstar!'” The admission cracked up the rest of the cast, including an embarrassed Ryan. 

Superfan Rel admitted he doesn’t get nervous meeting famous people, but he was for Ryan. “I watch Definitely Maybe maybe twice a month. I still do,” the comic admits. “[It’s] one of my favorite movies.”

He adds, “…[O]ne of those fun things I…love about this business is when you just get the chance to work with people you look up to and not just as an actor, but just as a fan…So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna take this moment. I don’t know if Ryan’s going to be my friend after this [movie], but doing this, I’m ’bout to be best friends.”

For his part, Reynolds deadpanned, “As soon as this camera’s off, it’s over, Rel.”

Ryan added on a more serious note that he was “lucky” to work with Rel and the rest of the cast, and hoped to work with them again, “either in another Free Guy movie…or in another form.”

Free Guy opens Friday from 20th Century Studios, which is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.

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Marlon Wayans says he wanted to give Aretha Franklin‘s first husband and manager Ted White a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T when he channeled him in the new biographical drama, Respect. Unfortunately for the actor, that wasn’t an easy task.

“It was funny because I couldn’t really get anything out of anybody about Ted,” Wayans tells ABC Audio. “They said he was a really nice dresser. They said he was stroppy. They said he was charming, but…that there was a bad guy in there.”

Wayans says before he decided to take his own “creative license” to portray the accomplished songwriter, he first tried to “reach out to Ted” to get his perspective — “but Ted didn’t want to talk.” 

“So, I…based [Ted] on a minute-and-a-half interview I saw with him and Aretha,” Wayans says. “And from there, I started thinking about the psychology of a guy like Ted, because as much of a devil [that] he was, there was something angelic about him. And so I focused in on not him being all good or all bad, but sometimes he couldn’t keep his bad under control.”

To that end, Wayans says he formed a back story for White that helped explain his harsh behavior.

“And I focused on him maybe having… mommy issues and a lack of appreciation for women,” he shares. “And…even pimps and guys like that, they’re not bad people. They’re hurt people.”

Wayans continues, “Damaged people damage people. And so I wanted to protect that little nugget of innocence in him, because I think in order to make a great bad guy — you’ve got to love him and you got to hate them.”

Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson as the Queen of Soul, hits theaters Friday.

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If you were hoping for a real-life Ross and Rachel situation between David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, sorry to burst your bubble.

After the British tabloid Closer claimed the two Friends co-stars were dating in real life, Schwimmer’s rep reportedly told another U.K. tabloid — The Sun — that there was “no truth” to the rumors.

Closer had claimed the Friends reunion had “stirred up feelings” between the two. “They began texting immediately after filming and, just last month, David flew from his home in New York to see Jen in LA,” a source supposedly told the mag.

While a romantic relationship between the two appears to be the wishful thinking of Friends fans, Schwimmer and Aniston did previously reveal during the Friends reunion that they had crushes on each other back in the day.

“The first season, I had a major crush on Jen,” Schwimmer admitted. “At some point we were both crushing hard on each other — but it was like two ships passing [in the night], because one of us was always in a relationship.”

“So we just channeled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel,” Aniston said.

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Christina Ricci announced Tuesday that she has a bundle of joy on the way.

This will be the second child for the Addams Family star, who shares seven-year-old son Frederick “Freddie” Heerdegen with her estranged husband, cinematographer James Heerdegen.

Ricci, 41, hinted that Heerdegen may not be the father of her second child when sharing a photo of a recent sonogram.  She captioned the snap, “Life keeps getting better” and tagged celebrity hairstylist Mark Hampton. 

Hampton shared the announcement on his respective Instagram on Tuesday by posting more sonogram photos and repeating Ricci’s words in the caption.

Several of Ricci’s famous friends sent their well wishes to the happy couple, including Ruby Rose, WandaVision star Kat Dennings and singer Lana Del Rey.

This announcement brings new meaning to the birthday wishes Ricci previously sent to Hampton on July 14, when she wrote, “This next year is going to be the best one yet.”

Ricci filed for divorce from Heerdegen in July 2020, citing irreconcilable differences.  They wed in 2013.

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Sophia Bush is engaged to her boyfriend Grant Hughes!

The One Tree Hill alum revealed the exciting news on Tuesday, sharing a stunning photo of couple together on a boat in Lake Como, Italy, with Hughes down on one knee as she stands. 

“So it turns out that being your favorite person’s favorite person is the actual best feeling on planet Earth,” Bush, 39, captioned the Instagram post, adding #YES.

Bush followed up with two more Instagram posts: One of the pair cuddled up on the vessel, with the caption “Fovever Favorite,” and another of them driving the boat.

Hughes also took to Instagram to make the joyous announcement, choosing to display a snapshot of the newly engaged couple smooching. 

“She is my forever Favorite. This is my favorite,” he penned. “And our life is that we’re building because she said “Yes” is already my favorite. I am SO EXCITED to do life with you, my love.”

Bush and Grant first sparked romance rumors when they were spotted holding hands in Malibu in May 2020. However, they were friends for eight years before they pursued a romantic relationship with each other amid the pandemic. 

In a post from January, Grant, who’s a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, expressed, “[Sophia] was in my life as a friend for 8 years and the pandemic forced us to slow down and stay in one place long enough to realize what I’d been looking for all along was closer than I could have known.”

Prior to Hughes, Bush was married to her One Tree Hill co-star Chad Michael Murray for five months in 2005. 

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They’re engaged!  The Bachelorette star Katie Thurston found her love Monday night with Blake Moynes.  He proposed, she said yes, and all was right with the world. 

So what’s next?  Katie told ABC Audio they have time to figure it all out — even when it comes to deciding where to live.

“This week we’re actually headed to Canada.  We’re really going to probably just spend time together, weeks on end in Canada and I’m moving to San Diego.  So he’ll come with me for probably a month,” said the 30-year-old Washington native.  “And I think we’re just going to, you know, kind of hop around place to place because we have that freedom to do so before we figure out where we want to officially plant some roots.”

So now that the cat’s out of the bag, the relationship is staying in the spotlight, right? Not according to Katie, who thinks that, with Bachelor in Paradise starting up on Monday and Michelle Young’s season of The Bachelorette to follow, people won’t care about her and Blake for too much longer.

“That’s, I think, what we look forward to the most is kind of being out of the spotlight.  We haven’t experienced walking out in public together,” she explained.  “So maybe we’re going to experience something different… and show people really what our relationship is like outside of the show.”

As for a post-Bachelorette vacation, Thurston said, “It’s like a little backwards because our vacation is just being in the normal world, that’s what we haven’t been able to do… Go get coffee, go on a road trip together, meet the family, meet the friends [and] the pets.”

“So, it sounds weird, but that is our version of our vacation coming up,” she grinned.

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