Entertainment

During an investor call on Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said he’s hoping the studio will make more magic with Harry Potter author JK Rowling. 

The Potter films and their Fantastic Beasts spin-offs have grossed more than $7.7 billion for the studio, so it appears Zaslav is looking past the bestselling author’s recent controversial comments, which some saw as transphobic. 

In fact, her Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson — the big screen’s Harry, Ron and Hermoine — all made statements distancing themselves from words from the author, who wasn’t a part of the recent Potter reunion special on HBO.

Radcliffe recently reiterated why he felt so strongly about doing so.

That said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Zaslav explained, “We’re going to focus on franchises. We haven’t had a Superman movie in 13 years. We haven’t done a Harry Potter in 15 years. The DC movies and the Harry Potter movies provided a lot of the profits for Warner Bros…over the past 25 years.”

The exec insisted that “If [Warner Bros] could do something with JK Rowling” in the future, they would.

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Although Johnny Depp scored a major win in his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard back in June, his legal team isn’t resting on its laurels.

According to a legal filing obtained by Deadline, Depp’s attorneys have filed an appeal with Virginia’s Court of Appeals to contest the $2 million awarded to Heard in her $100 million defamation countersuit. Her team claimed she was defamed by statements made in the press by Depp’s friend and former lawyer Adam Waldman.

The filing opened, “This Court should reverse the judgment on Ms. Heard’s Counterclaim as to the April 27 Waldman Statement, but should otherwise affirm the judgment in Mr. Depp’s favor.”

It continued, “Even if the Court were to conclude that Mr. Depp could be held liable for Mr. Waldman’s allegedly tortious conduct, the trial court nonetheless erred…because Ms. Heard failed to present evidence…that Mr. Waldman acted with actual malice.”

As reported in June, a jury had decided Heard “maliciously” defamed the Pirates of the Caribbean star in a Washington Post op-ed in which she claimed to have been a victim of domestic and sexual violence.

While she did not name her ex-husband, Depp, in the article, the jury decided that the implication was clear and awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The latter amount was capped to $350,000 by Virginia law.

Though Heard was awarded $2 million in her countersuit, she was not awarded any punitive damages.

Heard is expected to appeal the verdict.

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The Celebration of Black Cinema & Television typically honors achievements in Black filmmaking, and this year is no different. On Monday, December 5, many will gather at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles to celebrate a group of talented individuals and their accomplishments in 2022.

Included in this year’s class of honorees are Angela Bassett, who will receive the Career Achievement Award, and Michael B. Jordan, who’ll be honored with the Melvin Van Peebles Trailblazer Award. The event’s Groundbreaker Award will go to Kid Cudi for his Netflix series, Entergalactic, and the Icon Award to Motown founder Berry Gordy. 

Quinta Brunson, P-Valley‘s Nicco Annan, Creed III‘s Jonathan Majors, Atlanta‘s Brian Tyree Henry and more will also be recognized at this year’s event.

“The Celebration of Black Cinema & Television has grown tremendously over the last five years,” CCA CEO Joey Berlin said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be able to recognize such outstanding projects across both film and television, and to honor these incredible actors and filmmakers for their work.”

The 2022 Celebration of Black Cinema & Television, sponsored by the Critics Choice Association, will air on KTLA in January and on Nexstar stations during Black History Month. Comedian Bill Bellamy will host the event.

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Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts will host 20/20 Presents Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda on Friday, in advance of the highly anticipated premiere of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever, on November 11. The one-hour program will explore the evolution of Black Panther from the comics to the big screen, and Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler will discuss the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster, and how it honors the legacy of its late star, Chadwick Boseman. Boseman’s widow, Simone, will also sit down for an exclusive interview with The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg. Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News…

The Time Traveler’s Wife‘s Theo James has been tapped to lead the Netflix series The Gentlemen, based on Guy Ritchie‘s film of the same name, according to Deadline. The series centers on James’ character Eddie Halstead, “who has inherited his father’s sizeable estate only to discover that it’s sitting on top of a weed empire owned by the legendary Mickey Pearson,” per the entertainment website. Mickey was played by Matthew McConaughey in the 2019 movie. Halstead, a “straight-up soldier,” must navigate the British criminal underworld and take control of the operation. Ritchie co-wrote the pilot script, will direct the first two episodes and serve as an executive producer on the series…

The Wall Street Journal reports HBO Max has scrapped its new Degrassi series, according to Variety. The series, originally picked up for 10 episodes, would have been the sixth TV show in the franchise to date following The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, Degrassi: The Next Generation and Degrassi: Next Class…

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The People’s Choice Awards will bestow “The People’s Icon” award to Ryan Reynolds at this year’s ceremony, coming up on December 6 on NBC.

The actor/writer/producer/businessman will be recognized for his contributions to film and television, in addition to being nominated in the “Male Movie Star” and “Comedy Movie Star” categories for his role in his newest film The Adam Project.

“In any endeavor — whether it’s acting, producing, marketing or business — Ryan Reynolds has the unique ability to create joy and authentically connect with his audience. He’s received many accolades over the years, but it’s these innate qualities that makes him so beloved,” Cassandra Tryon, SVP, Entertainment Live Events, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming said in a statement on Thursday. “We cannot wait to present Ryan with ‘The People’s Icon’ award at this year’s show.”

Reynolds, 46, began his acting career in 1991, rising to prominence in the comedy series Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place and dozens of blockbuster films, including The Proposal, Definitely, Maybe, Mississippi Grind and Deadpool.

He’s also an owner of Aviation Gin, Mint Mobile and Wrexham Football Club, Chief Creative Officer of MNTN and a co-founder of Maximum Effort Productions.

Past recipients of “The People’s Icon” award include Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston and Melissa McCarthy.

Voting for the 2022 People’s Choice Awards runs through Wednesday, November 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Fans can view all 40 categories, as well as vote at www.votepca.com. Votes can also be cast via Twitter by sending a public tweet or retweet and including one category hashtag and one corresponding nominee hashtag.

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Aubrey Plaza is joining her Parks & Rec hubby Chris Pratt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The website The Illuminerdi first broke the news that the Emily the Criminal and White Lotus star will appear in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, the Emmy-winning WandaVision spin-off bound for Disney+.

The Hollywood Reporter added Thursday that Emma Caulfield, who played a nosy neighbor to Elizabeth Olsen‘s Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany‘s Vision in the hit, is also back for the spin-off.

The spin-off, starring Emmy nominee Kathryn Hahn in the witchy title role of Agatha Harkness, also added Heartstopper actor Joe Locke to the cast.

The actor confirmed that news himself via Instagram, noting he “screamed” when Marvel Studios emailed him to officially welcome him into the Marvel Universe. Officially, Marvel Studios remains publicly mum on most of its casting news, including for the 2023 series.

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In a chat with Daily Beast’s The Last Laugh podcast, stand-up comedian and former SNL star Chris Redd detailed the October 26 attack that left him bloodied outside New York City’s Comedy Cellar.

“A surprise party of one fist,” Redd jokingly called the incident when talking to host Matt Wilstein.

Redd said contrary to published reports, he wasn’t exiting a car when his as-yet-unidentified attacker struck him, but instead was on foot. He said he was texting his cousin who works at the Olive Tree Cafe, the eatery above the famous comedy venue.

He continued, “As I put my phone in my pocket … this man hit me in the face with something metal … I thought it was brass knuckles because it cut my nose to the bone.”

The attacker then fled.

Redd said, “I jumped back on my feet very quickly … but I did hit that ground for five seconds, though.”

Redd continued, “I’ve taken a punch to the face before, so it wasn’t terrifying, but what was worrisome was how much blood was coming out of my face.” It left him unable to chase his alleged attacker, he explained.

He said the amount of damage done to his face leads him to suspect he was hit with some kind of weapon. “I got two fractures in my nose and one in my cheek.”

Redd revealed he still wanted to go onstage that night to talk about the situation, but he couldn’t perform because he was bleeding so much.

The suspect remains at large.

The full interview with Wilstein drops November 8 on all podcasting platforms.

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Johnny Depp has booked a high-profile appearance following his legal victory in his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard in June.

ABC Audio can confirm the former Pirates of the Caribbean star will appear in Rihanna‘s Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4, which debuts on Amazon on November 9.

The fashion show also boasts appearances from other famous faces, including Black Panther‘s Winston Duke, Shang-Chi‘s Simu Liu, Abbott Elementary Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, model and actress Cara Delevingne, and upcoming Beverly Hills Cop sequel star Taylour Paige.

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There’s no bad blood between Jennifer Lawrence and Amanda Seyfried, and that’s why there will be no more Bad Blood for J Law.

In a chat with The New York Times, Lawrence said she has pulled out of producing and starring in an Apple TV+ film of that name about Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced former CEO of the medical company Theranos.

The scandal was covered by Hulu’s miniseries The Dropout, and Amanda Seyfried won an Emmy for her portrayal of Holmes. “I thought she was terrific,” the Oscar winner said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, we don’t need to redo that.’ She did it.”

The project, which would have reunited Lawrence with her Don’t Look Up director, Adam McKay, was to be based on John Carreyrou‘s book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.

Holmes took Silicon Valley and Wall Street by storm with the invention of a revolutionary blood scanner, only to be exposed as a fraud when it was discovered she knew the machines never worked.

Holmes was convicted on four counts of fraud and is currently awaiting sentencing after a hearing scheduled for last month was delayed.

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Dwyane Wade is addressing his ex-wife’s claims that he’s been exploiting their trans daughter for money.

In a lengthy Instagram post Thursday, the former NBA star began, “Since this must be the new way of parenting, I guess I have to address these allegations here, which is a damn shame.”

Wade continued, “I’ve received a social media post about me forcing our 15 year old child to be someone she’s not and to do something against her will. These are serious and harmful allegations that have hurt our children.”

Wade’s ex Siohvaughn Funches-Wade made allegations in a court filing this week that Wade is trying to “profit” off daughter Zaya’s “name and gender change.”

“While none of us are surprised by Siohvaughn’s attempt to fight Zaya’s identity and her unwavering attempt to drag my name through the mud, I’m very disappointed that she continuously find[s] ways of centering herself and HER needs, without regard to her children,” Wade said in his post.

He added that Funches-Wade has shown no interest in understanding their child’s needs, even though she’s been given many opportunities to do so.

“No one in our house would ever force Zaya or any of our children to do anything against their will, much less force an identity on them,” Wade, who’s now married to Gabrielle Union, said. “This isn’t a game for my family and definitely not for Zaya. This is her life.”

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