The man in the hat is back: Harrison Ford in first photo from fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ movie

The man in the hat is back: Harrison Ford in first photo from fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ movie
The man in the hat is back: Harrison Ford in first photo from fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ movie
ABC

While a teaser of the forthcoming movie is, so far, nowhere in sight, Lucasfilm has granted Empire magazine the first official pictures of Harrison Ford in the fifth Indiana Jones film.

Ford-as-Indy graces the cover of the magazine. The adventurer is pictured on the deck of a boat, staring intensely off camera.

Nothing is yet known about the plot, but Ford, now 80, promises, “It’s full of adventure, full of laughs, full of real emotion. And it’s complex and it’s sneaky.”

He adds, “The shooting of it was tough and long and arduous, but I’m very happy with the film that we have.”

As for why he tackled one final adventure as Dr. Henry Jones Jr., the legendary actor said, “I just thought it would be nice to see one where Indiana Jones was at the end of his journey.”

The as-yet-untitled fifth Indy adventure also stars Mads Mikkelsen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Shaunette Renée Wilson and Boyd Holbrook. The film is set for release on June 30, 2023.

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

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HBO renews ‘The White Lotus’ for a third season

HBO renews ‘The White Lotus’ for a third season
HBO renews ‘The White Lotus’ for a third season
HBO/Fabio Lovino

With just three episodes of its second season under its belt, HBO has renewed The White Lotus for a third.

The series, which received 20 Emmy nominations and 10 wins for its freshman season, just saw its second season rank as the number one show on HBO Max, making the decision something of a no-brainer.

HBO’s head of drama and films, Francesca Orsi, praised one of the show’s Emmy winners, creator Mike White, in the announcement. “Reflecting on The White Lotus‘ humble, run-and-gun origin as a contained pandemic production, it’s impossible not to be awestruck by how Mike orchestrated one of the buzziest and most critically acclaimed shows. And yet, he’s only continued to reach new heights in season 2, which is the ultimate testament to Mike’s raw, unparalleled vision.”

She added, “His courage to explore the uncharted waters of the human psyche, paired with his signature irreverent humor and buoyant directing style, have us all dreaming of more vacation days at the resort we’ve come to adore. We couldn’t be more thrilled to get the chance to collaborate on a third season together.”

The second season of the acclaimed show stars Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge, as well as Aubrey Plaza, Sydney Sweeney, Jake Lacy and Theo James. It wraps up on December 11.

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‘Tulsa King’ star Sylvester Stallone explains his secret for making younger actors forget he’s Rocky

‘Tulsa King’ star Sylvester Stallone explains his secret for making younger actors forget he’s Rocky
‘Tulsa King’ star Sylvester Stallone explains his secret for making younger actors forget he’s Rocky
Paramount+/Brian Douglas

At 76, there are arguably no actors around who haven’t seen Sylvester Stallone as a bruising brawler in the Rocky films, or taking on commies as John Rambo.

This was certainly the case on the set of Sly’s first foray into TV, the Paramount+ series Tulsa King, which has the movie icon playing a fresh-out-of-jail gangster turned fish out of water after a mob boss exiles him to Oklahoma.

However, Stallone tells ABC Audio he has a secret for putting his co-stars at ease. “Actually, I joke around with them a lot between [takes]. … I don’t go off and mood up, you know … If anything, I’m constantly joking with them. So I talk to everybody … I’m not standoffish at all, and right away they start joking with me and I go, ‘OK, we’re ready to move.'” 

Incidentally, his co-star Andrea Savage admitted she also tried that trick — because she was so nervous working with him for the first time.

The Step Brothers actress recalled, “We’d never met. I don’t know what I’m walking into, and we sort of talk through the scene a little bit. And he does something where … He’s sort of coming up to me like, ‘I don’t know, what do you think?'” she says, imitating Stallone.

Savage continues, “And then I was like, ‘I dunno, what, do you think with your hands? Is that what you do?'” she laughs, aping the actor again. “I kind of made fun of him, and he laughed — thank God! And then we were kind of off to the races, and we hit it off. And so, you know, I … just kind of gave him … a little sass.” 

Tulsa King is now streaming on Paramount+. 

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Chris Rock explains why he didn’t fight back after Oscars slap

Chris Rock explains why he didn’t fight back after Oscars slap
Chris Rock explains why he didn’t fight back after Oscars slap
Walt Disney Television/Yolanda Perez

(Note Language) Just days after it was announced Chris Rock would take the stage for Netflix’s first-ever livestream, the comedian returned to Dolby Theatre, the site of his infamous Oscars slap.

Page Six reports he opened up his comedy show with a few jokes about last year’s Capitol riot before addressing what perhaps was the elephant in the room.

As some may recall, Chris ruffled feathers at the 2022 Academy Awards when he made a G.I. Jane joke referencing Jada Pinkett Smith‘s buzz cut. The joke was offensive to the actress, as she lives with alopecia, as well husband Will Smith, who took the stage to slap Rock before returning to his seat and declaring, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth.”

“People were like, ‘Did it hurt?’ You’re goddamn right it hurt,” Chris said when discussing the slap in his show. “Will Smith is significantly bigger than me. I am not the same size, OK? This mother f***** played [MuhammadAli! I played Pookie from ‘New Jack City!’”

As for why he didn’t retaliate, he explained, “Because I got parents.” He continued, “Because I was raised, you know? You know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of white people! No, I’m not a victim!”

Will, who later won the Best Actor award for his role in King Richard, apologized numerous times after the incident; he’s banned from attending the awards ceremony for the next 10 years.

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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson congratulates ‘Black Panther’ for unseating ‘Black Adam’ at the box office

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson congratulates ‘Black Panther’ for unseating ‘Black Adam’ at the box office
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson congratulates ‘Black Panther’ for unseating ‘Black Adam’ at the box office
ABC/Paula Lobo

On his Instagram, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson once again thanked fans for keeping Black Adam near the top of the box office. But ever the good sport, the Rock explained he had to “give flowers” to the movie that dropped his movie down to #2, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Rock gushed, “I wanna congratulate my friends at Disney…Congratulations to everybody at Marvel. Congratulations to all the actors. Director Ryan Coogler what an incredible job.”

Noting that both Black Adam and Black Panther were Black heroes, Johnson mused, “It’s pretty cool that [in] the …superhero genre, to have the Number 1 and Number 2 movies in the world be Black Panther and Black Adam.”

Johnson continued of Wakanda Forever, “The biggest November opening in the history of the movie business. I was so happy to hear that news…I’m very happy for you guys, and at the end of the day, what that success means … is that there’s a lot of happy moviegoers around the world…”

One interesting thing to note in all that good will is that Rock seemingly threw a little shade at the Fast and Furious franchise, which he famously left after reported bad blood with star Vin Diesel.

Rock noted that Black Adam is currently outpacing his own 2019 Fast spin-off Hobbs and Shaw and “could possibly beat Fast and Furious 9‘s… domestic run in the U.S.” — significant “because those were two very successful movies.”

Black Adam has currently made more than $152 million Stateside after about a month in theaters; Hobbs & Shaw ended its domestic run with more than $173 million; 2021’s Fast 9 made around the same on these shores.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jennifer Hudson to perform for annual Ed Asner charity reading of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

Jennifer Hudson to perform for annual Ed Asner charity reading of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
Jennifer Hudson to perform for annual Ed Asner charity reading of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
ABC/Paula Lobo

The Ed Asner Family Center‘s annual charity reading of It’s A Wonderful Life has added an EGOT winner to this year’s line-up.

Jennifer Hudson will contribute a musical performance at this year’s reading on Sunday, December 11, which has already attracted stars Brendan Fraser, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, JK Simmons and Jean Smart.

The event, which kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET, benefits The Ed Asner Family Center (TEAFC), a charity the late Emmy winner started, which is dedicated to helping people with special needs and their families. Former Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron will once again serve as emcee.

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FTX crypto scandal already getting the Hollywood treatment

FTX crypto scandal already getting the Hollywood treatment
FTX crypto scandal already getting the Hollywood treatment
Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The smoke hasn’t even cleared on the billion dollar FTX cryptocurrency scandal, yet Hollywood is looking to tell the story.

Deadline is reporting Michael Lewis, who spent a year documenting now-disgraced one-time crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried, was working on a book about the figure. Now, there’s already a bidding war afoot to bring it to the big screen.

While cryptocurrency is a dense topic for your average movie audience, Lewis’ book about the dry matter of baseball statistics was shaped into the Oscar-nominated movie Moneyball; his financial scandal book The Big Short inspired the Oscar-winning script for the movie of the same name, and Lewis’ work The Blind Side ended up netting Sandra Bullock a Best Actress Academy Award for its big screen adaptation.

Bankman-Fried’s story stretches from Washington, D.C. to Hollywood to Ukraine; the supposed wunderkind graced the covers of magazines like Forbes, and he became one of the largest Democratic party donors in the world.

What was once the third-largest crypto exchange has all the ingredients for a ripped-from-the-headlines movie: sex, scandal, celebrity, and money. Stars like Tom Brady and Larry David promoted the cryptocurrency, while Bankman-Fried and his friends reportedly lived like rock stars in the Bahamas. Fast-forward to today, and a billion dollars is gone.

The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing next month to investigate, with Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters — reportedly one of the recipients of Bankman-Fried’s donations, as were many in DC — saying, “The fall of FTX has posed tremendous harm to over one million users, many of whom were everyday people who invested their hard-earned savings into the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, only to watch it all disappear within a matter of seconds.”

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‘Mickey: The Story of a Mouse’ uncovers the story behind the beloved character

‘Mickey: The Story of a Mouse’ uncovers the story behind the beloved character
‘Mickey: The Story of a Mouse’ uncovers the story behind the beloved character
Mortimer Productions

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse has been a globally beloved figure for the past 100 years, but how did this little mouse become an icon? Find out in the new documentary Mickey: The Story of a Mouse, which debuts Friday on Disney+.

Director Jeff Malmberg describes the ins and outs of the beloved character in the project, which he tells ABC Audio would be a good explanation of what’s going on if aliens ever visit Earth.

“I always kind of shared that thing that Shanique Smith says in the film. She and I were joking about it and she says it on camera, is ‘Aliens are going to come down and they’re going to see Mickey on all this stuff and go, What is happening? What happened here?’ So this would be like the decoder ring to that for them.”

Aliens aside, Malmberg says the film is for rabid fans and non-fans alike.

“The more you are a fan of Mickey, the more you might appreciate it. But I hope that anybody can look at it and learn something new and see something new inside of it,” he shares, adding that Mickey is a “phenomenon” that we’ve all agreed represents joy.

Even so, the documentary attempts to cover multiple iterations of Mickey, not just Disney-sanctioned ones.

“I find some of the off-brand Mickey stuff, for instance, the Milton Glaser short, Mickey Mouse in Vietnam, some of those kinds of things to be on equal footing with some of the things that Disney has done,” Malmberg shares.

So why does Malmberg like Mickey?

“It’s like shorthand to joy,” he says. “It’s just so bizarre that this little mouse binds us in this weird, short, brief, almost meaningless, but still somewhat meaningful connection.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

‘Queer Eye”s Antoni Porowski is engaged

‘Queer Eye”s Antoni Porowski is engaged
‘Queer Eye”s Antoni Porowski is engaged
Netflix/Ilana Panich-Linsman

Wedding bells are in the future for Queer Eye‘s Antoni Porowski, who announced his engagement to boyfriend Kevin Harrington.

Antoni shared the news with a low-key photo of the couple to Instagram Thursday, captioning it “I really hope the wedding photos are less blurry.”

Kevin also posted to Instagram, “Officially together until we look like the last pic #engaged,” alongside a carousel of photos.

The pair, who were together for three years, were flooded with congratulatory messages in the comments, including some from Antoni’s Queer Eye costars.

Jonathan Van Ness wrote, “So Cute, love soy much. Already sourcing my flower girl looks!!!”

Tan France also chimed in writing, “I volunteer as wedding selfie-photographer.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tim Allen updates fans after “wonderful” hospital visit with recovering Jay Leno

Tim Allen updates fans after “wonderful” hospital visit with recovering Jay Leno
Tim Allen updates fans after “wonderful” hospital visit with recovering Jay Leno
CNBC/Nicole Weingart

Jay Leno got a dose of laughter-as-medicine from his longtime pal Tim Allen as Jay recovers from burns he suffered in an accident last weekend.

TMZ caught a smiling Allen as he left the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles on Thursday, where the Toy Story star gave an update about his friend and Jay Leno’s Garage host’s condition. “Jay is good,” Allen commented as he walked to his car. “It’s wonderful because he’s feeling better. He’s feeling better, I brought him some car magazines, did some jokes, because that’s what we do.”

Leno suffered serious burns to his face, chest and hand after being sprayed by gasoline as he worked on an antique vehicle. He subsequently underwent a skin graft and is getting hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help him heal.

Allen continued, “His face looks good,” before joking, “it didn’t look all that good to begin with, so he’s going with ‘the George Clooney‘ look. You’re gonna be surprised.”

Leno’s doctors gave an update on Leno’s condition earlier this week, noting he’s expected to make a full recovery but explaining “it’s still way too early to tell” if he’ll have any permanent scarring from the accident.

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