Entertainment

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally hits theaters Friday, but there were a few bumps in the road getting there.

One of those bumps involved Letitia Wright, who portrays Princess Shuri, the on-screen little sister of the late Chadwick Boseman‘s character T’Challa. Back in August 2021, she was hospitalized with a fractured shoulder, a concussion, as well as other injuries, Variety notes.

Now, over a year later, Wright tells the outlet of the accident, “I’m still processing it.”

“I’m still working through it in therapy,” she continued. “It was really traumatic.”

Even while healing and in the hospital, Wright said, “I just remember wanting to finish my film, man. I think that was one of the first things I said to [director Ryan Coogler]. And he was like, ‘Tish, you need to recover.”

After four and half months the actress returned to set.

“I had great, great, great medical support, great patience on set,” she shared. “I’m just extremely proud of myself. I’m extremely proud of Ryan, of the team, for just the resilience — overcoming adversities every step of the way.” She adds, “When I finished filming, I cried like a little baby.”

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On Thursday, Lionsgate dropped the trailer to the fourth chapter of its hit John Wick franchise. Once again, Keanu Reeves is back as the man in black; he’s still on the run after the events of Chapter 3, when his ally Winston, played by Ian McShane, shot him off a roof to regain control of The Continental hotel.

Evidently all is forgiven, as Winston offers Wick a chance to get the High Table’s target off his back: “The Marquis de Gramont: Challenge him to single combat. Win or lose, it’s a way out.”

It’s Bill Skarsgård as the Marquis who later tells Wick, “If you win, The Table will honor its word: You will have your freedom.”

While Wick awaits his sunrise pistol duel to the death, he dispatches all manner of baddies all over the world — this as the widower apparently gets ready to be remarried. “A man has to look his best when it’s time to get married. Or buried,” Laurence Fishburne‘s Bowery King instructs him, offering a sharp — and likely bulletproof — new suit.

The movie also stars Avengers: Endgame‘s Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama, and martial arts legend and Rogue One star Donnie Yen.

Sanada‘s Shimazu tells Wick, “I want you to have peace. But a good death only comes after a good life,” to which Baba Yaga replies, “You and I left ‘a good life’ behind a long time ago, my friend.”

John Wick: Chapter 4 debuts in theaters and IMAX March 24, 2023.

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The 2020 death of Chadwick Boseman from cancer at age 43 was a surprise to his millions of fans, as well as his Black Panther family.

When Marvel Studios decided not to recast his role, director and co-writer Ryan Coogler wove grief into the script of the anticipated sequel Wakanda Forever: Boseman’s T’Challa loses his life off-screen at the movie’s open. The loss leaves Wakanda without its protector; his mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), without her son; and his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), without her big brother.

Wright said at a recent press conference, “She was the person her brother went to for his protection … his armor. And he encouraged that, her family encouraged her to be a genius, and to be fearfully and wonderfully made. So we follow on from that [in the sequel]. What does that look like when your heart is broken?”

Wright adds, “I think the way it was written and the delicacy … of how we approached it, we … were able to bring something that felt real, that felt truthful. And I was able to really give my heart to it.” She hopes viewers can “really resonate with that and find some healing” alongside the cast and characters.

Danai Gurira reprises as Wakanda’s fiercely loyal Dora Milaje General Okoye, whose character is also changed by the events in the movie — as the actress was by Boseman’s death. The Walking Dead veteran says anchoring her was the goal of honoring Boseman. “He loved to see us shine and loved to see us do our thing … And he would always give us so much encouragement about doing great things, and he had such great taste. So, you know, I think that was really an anchoring aspect throughout the process.”

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

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Lily Collins is locking down another TV series. The Emily in Paris actress is attached to star in a series adaptation of the novel The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz, according to Variety. As per the logline, the series “tells the story of Luna Grey and Owen Mann, best friends in college, bonded together forever by an unexplained death in their social circle, whose lives are once again rocked years later when Owen’s wife is brutally murdered.” The show is currently in development at Amazon…

Brendan Fraser, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, JK Simmons and Jean Smart are among the cast taking part in the third annual virtual reading of the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life, benefiting The Ed Asner Family Center (TEAFC), a charity dedicated to helping people with special needs and their families. The table read, once again hosted by Tom Bergeron, takes place Sunday, December 11, 2022, 5:00 p.m. PT…

The Bold Type star Katie Stevens is expecting her first child. The 29-year-old actress revealed her baby bump on the red carpet of the 2022 Country Music Association Awards Wednesday night, which she attended with her music producer husband Paul DiGiovanni…

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Months after Abby De La Rosa shared she’s expecting her third child, she seemed to confirm the father is indeed Nick Cannon. 

In an Instagram Story shared Tuesday night, captured by Page Six, De La Rosa shared a funny meme that read, “1 night with a Libra can turn into 3-4 years be careful.”

Writing alongside the post, she added, ” damn! lol 1 night turned into 4 years and 3 kids real quick…I see no lies here smh. y’all be safe out there.”

For reference, Cannon, whose birthday is October 8, is a Libra.

This will be the third child for De La Rosa, who already shares one-and-a-half-year-old twins Zion and Zillion with the Wild’n Out star. 

It will be the 12th child for Cannon who is also a father to 11-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wife Mariah Carey; 5-year-old son Golden, 22-month-old daughter, Powerful, and 1-month old, Rise, with Brittany Bell; daughter Legendary with Bre Tiesi; and 1-month-old daughter Onyx with LaNisha Cole. 

He is also expecting his second child with Alyssa Scott. Their first child, Zen, died of brain cancer at five-months-old in July 2021. 

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In a move that some critics groused as “Hollywood at its most tone-deaf,” Sean Penn has apparently lent one of his two Oscars to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to a video posted to Instagram by Zelenskyy’s office, the head of state seemed not to know what to make of the gesture, but eventually accepted it, with the T-shirt-wearing Mystic River and Milk Academy Award winner explaining the trophy could be something of a good luck charm in his fight against Russia.

“This is for you,” Penn said after retrieving the celebrity idol from a storage case in his backpack. “It’s just a symbolic silly thing, but if I know this is here with you then I’ll feel better and stronger for the fights,” Penn said in a video shared by Zelenskyy’s office. “When you win, bring it back to Malibu.”

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A woman has filed a suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, claiming Oscar winner Warren Beatty groomed her and eventually coerced her into having sex when she was 14 or 15.

Without naming him in the lawsuit — he’s referred to as DEFENDANT DOE — Kristina Charlotte Hirsch said that in 1973, she met the man who “acted in television and several Hollywood films, including portraying Clyde in ‘Bonnie and Clyde,'” a clear reference to the Bugsy star.

“By 1973 DEFENDANT DOE had acquired wealth, stature and power as a result of his career and status as a movie star,” the suit reads, adding he “used his role, status, and power as a well-known Hollywood Star to gain access to, groom, manipulate, exploit, and coerce sexual contact from her over the course of several months in the State of California.”

Hirsch was reportedly 14 when they met, and the accused was 35.

The suit continues, “As a result of DEFENDANT DOE’S sexual abuse and assault, Plaintiff Hirsch has suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological distress, including humiliation, shame, and guilt. Plaintiff brings this action to hold DEFENDANT DOE accountable for the serious harm he has caused her.”

Hirsch claims to have met the star on a set where he “commented repeatedly on her looks, gave her his phone number, and instructed her to call him when she was near the hotel in Los Angeles County, California, where he was living at the time.”

Hirsch’s suit claims she “was thrilled by the attention and invitation from DEFENDANT DOE…”

From there, more frequent meetings led to contact “on multiple occasions, including oral sex, simulated sex and finally coerced sexual intercourse with the minor child,” she claims.

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It’s been 16 years since we last saw Tim Allen‘s Scott Calvin — aka Santa — in movie theaters. Now, the story continues in The Santa Clauses, a six-part miniseries heading to Disney+.

Allen once again dons the jolly red suit for this new adventure, which also sees the return of Elizabeth Mitchell‘s Mrs. Claus/Carol, Eric Lloyd‘s Charlie Calvin and David Krumholtz‘s Bernard, Santa’s former right-hand elf.

The series also welcomes several new stars, including Kal Penn as potential Santa replacement Simon Choksi as well as Austin Kane and Elizabeth Allen-Dick respectively as Cal and Sandra — Scott and Carol’s children. Allen-Dick is Tim Allen’s 13-year-old daughter. 

Allen spoke to ABC Audio about his daughter being cast in the franchise and attests it came “literally out of nowhere.”

“Out of nowhere — literally out of nowhere! They cast [her] — it wasn’t my idea,” he explained while gesturing proudly to Allen-Dick.  The actor noted that returning to The Santa Clause franchise “didn’t hurt” knowing that his little girl would be by his side.

Allen-Dick told ABC Audio she’s excited to to join the franchise her father started nearly three decades ago. She said “it’s truly an honor” to be bring the story to a new generation.

“How did I get lucky enough to be working on this?,” she remarked, adding she is “grateful” she is helping to continue the story.

Allen-Dick adds her hope for this new chapter is it “gives a new perspective” and that it “brings people together again” when they “feel the nostalgia” of the first three movies. “I can’t wait to see how people react to it,” she grinned.

The Santa Clauses airs its first episode next Wednesday, November 16, on the Disney+ streaming service.

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Jenny Ortega is apparently having a blast on the sixth Scream movie after making her franchise debut in the fifth installment as Tara Carpenter.

But the newly-minted Scream queen tells Entertainment Tonight that one former co-star’s absence is being felt.

As reported, Neve Campbell refused to return for Scream 6 over a salary dispute. “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise,” she said at the time.

Ortega relayed she couldn’t speak to how the franchise would handle Campbell’s Sidney Prescott “because it’s not necessarily my character.” She added, “But I will say there’s so much going on in this next one, that it’s so action-heavy and so gore-heavy that I think you’re gonna be distracted almost.”

The actress, who stars in Netflix’s upcoming Addams Family-based Wednesday, offered, “…there’s references to Sidney, of course. You know, it’s nice because there’s still a protectiveness in the script and that’s something that the actors had naturally over her because obviously we respect her and we want the best for her. She’s missed and thought of.”

Ortega also said returning Scream 4 star Hayden Panettiere is a “sweetheart” and called herself “lucky” for getting the chance to experience the “family” vibe directors Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin] and Tyler [Gillett] bring to the film.

“…[W]hen you’re on a job like that, they’re the most fun sets that I’m on,” she said. “It’s working with your friends. It’s the best possible scenario.”

Set in New York City this time around, Scream 6 hits theaters March 10, 2023.

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Rebel Wilson is opening up about the heartwarming meaning behind her daughter’s name.

In a new interview with People, the Pitch Perfect actress, who announced Monday that she welcomed a baby girl, Royce Lillian Elizabeth Wilson, via surrogate, shared the origins of her baby’s moniker.

“I wanted an original name starting with the letter R and so eventually landed on that one,” she shared.

As for Royce’s middle names, those come from other members of the Wilson clan.

“Lillian and Elizabeth are both family names carried by women in my family who I admire,” Rebel said. “Elizabeth, which is also my middle name, after the late Queen.”

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