Entertainment

Even though Dickinson‘s third and final season takes place during the Civil War, series creator Alena Smith and her cast found some eerie parallels from that time to our pandemic times. 

Like many shows, the cast and crew of Dickinson eventually returned to work following the industry-wide COVID-19 production shutdown, but like it did for everyone, the world they’d left behind was forever changed.

Shooting this season in 2020 amid the pandemic, racial tensions and a contentious election called to mind the strife going on in America during the time the show’s final season is set, Jane Krakowski tells ABC Audio. “I can certainly say I never saw any of that coming,” laughs the Emmy nominated 30 Rock vet, who plays Emily Dickinson‘s mother, Emily Norcross. “Nor did I ever think that Alena’s trajectory could be so timely to flow alongside of what’s happening in the world today.”

Krakowski explains that going through the pandemic, and the strict COVID-19 protocols when they returned to work, really turned up the volume for her performance. “I think it was interesting for me as an actor, I felt like the emotions felt almost stronger inside of me because we didn’t get to film anything for 18 months,” she says. “And so when you had a scene of sorrow, the sorrow felt quite real and quite deep, obviously reflecting the times that we had just gone through.”

She continues, “And when there was joy, the joy felt a higher sense of relief and joy because we were able to feel joy for a little bit of time. And so it was very interesting to film something at this time in the world.”  

Executive-produced by and starring Hailee Steinfeld as the titular rebel poet, Dickinson returns to Apple TV+ Friday.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Fans may still be mourning that their beloved Duke of Hastings will no longer appear in Bridgerton, but one person is applauding Regé-Jean Page for exiting the show.

Speaking to Variety, showrunner Shonda Rhimes explained why she bares no ill-will toward Page, and instead is fully supportive of his decision to star in just one season.

Rhjimes recalled, “Rightfully, he said, ‘I signed up to do this one lovely story, this closed-ended storyline. I’m good!’ And I don’t blame him for that.”

“I think that he was really smart to leave the perfection as the perfection,” Rhimes continued, noting his exit sets his character’s happily-ever-after in stone.

Season one ended with Simon choosing wife Daphne, played by Phoebe Dynevor, over revenge and starting a family of their own, thus continuing the family line.

“What I loved was we were going to create this powerful, exciting, amazing romance,” Rhimes said of the first season before comparing it to other long-running shows. “For once in television, they were going to get to have their happily ever after versus — well, you know!”

In a possible gentle reference to Grey’s Anatomy, where the show’s protagonist has lost several lovers across the years, Rhimes elaborated, “In network television, you have to come up with 15 years of why a couple has to be apart.”

And while she is thrilled that a beloved character gets to enjoy a happy ending, Rhimes is also delighted by how the internet burned over Page’s departure.

“People’s attachment to couples is real — I mean, I know that better than anybody,” she laughed. “And I think that means success. But I do understand their despair.”

Rhimes hinted the door will always be left open for Page, since Netflix has renewed Brigerton for multiple seasons.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Paula Patton says her role as successful entertainment lawyer Daniella Hernandez on the BET+ drama series Sacrifice was a rare opportunity to boss up.

“[I’ve] never had a character like Daniella come into my life, because she’s just a boss,” Patton tells ABC Audio. “She’s this fierce, ferocious human that just sets her sights on her goals and accomplishes them and manipulates to make things happen. When…there’s a knot that seems impossible to undo, and she figures out how to undo it.”

Aside from the character’s strong personality, Patton says she was also drawn to Daniella’s complexity and her unbelievable resilience when defending her not-so-honest clients.

“Daniella is [also] that…scared little girl, who has suffered a lot. Who feels abandoned [after]…her parents have died,” Patton explains. “She has just recently gotten sober. She had an addiction to alcohol. And now that she’s sober, she’s looking at her life going, ‘Am I willing to sacrifice my soul to do the things I’m doing?'”

While the dangers of the music business often present a moral dilemma for her character, Patton says it’s Daniella’s desire to rise above her fractured past that she finds most admirable.

“She’s on a journey of healing and self-discovery,” Patton shares. “And that I found so compelling and interesting to play.”

“So that was one of the big reasons. That, and the clothes,” she adds.

Sacrifice, also starring Erica Ash, Willie Taylor and Veronika Bozeman, is now available to stream on BET+.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dwayne Johnson has thrown down the gauntlet, telling Variety on Wednesday night that he’s banning the use of real firearms on the sets of films and TV shows he produces, in light of the fatal Rust set shooting. 

The incident on October 21 saw Alec Baldwin firing a live round at the camera from a gun he was told was empty, fatally wounding cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. 

While an investigation into the incident is ongoing, Johnson, who was in Los Angeles promoting his new Netflix movie Red Notice, said he wasn’t wasting any time. 

He told the trade he was on the phone to his company within hours of hearing the news to discuss changes. 

“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can tell you…that any movie that we have moving forward with Seven Bucks Productions — any movie, any television show…we won’t use real guns at all,” Johnson told Variety.

Among others, Johnson’s company has produced movies including Red Notice, but also his hit Jumanji films the recent Jungle Cruise, NBC’s Young Rock, and HBO’s Ballers.

“We’re going to switch over to rubber guns, and we’re going to take care of it in post,” he said, meaning visual effects added in post productions to simulate muzzle flashes.

“We’re not going to worry about the dollars; we won’t worry about what it costs.”

Johnson added, “There are safety protocols and measures that we have always taken in the movie business and we take very seriously, and these sets are safe sets, and we’re proud of that. But accidents do happen. And when something like this happens of this magnitude, [that is] this heartbreaking.”

Red Notice, also starring Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, debuts on Netflix on November 15.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jada Pinkett Smith has opened up about her complicated relationship with setting boundaries and how it’s negatively impacted her relationships.

On the newest episode of Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk, the actress explained that she struggles with setting limits because she worries how it will make the other person feel.

“I have a difficult time setting boundaries with it all, whether it’s work, family, kids, friends,” Smith admitted. “With me, I get angry if you make me set a boundary. I get angry at you. Isn’t that crazy? So, now you’re putting me in a position that I gotta tell you to, ‘Give me 50 feet.'”

While not touching upon her marriage to husband Will Smith or her professional relationships, the Girls Trip star revealed that her issue with setting boundaries affected her on a personal level, saying, “I definitely realized that it is a huge weakness of mine and has definitely played into a lot of relationship issues.”

She declined to elaborate why and, instead, opened a conversation about why asserting yourself is necessary part of life — even it if is one of her least-favorite moments because she likes to make others “feel better.”

Pinkett Smith, 50, elaborated by explaining that, when she sets boundaries, “You really start to see who’s a real friend and who’s not.”

“People feel really entitled, you know?,” she continued. “People that are close to you. I’ve done the same, where you feel entitled to people, their things. I’ve had to check myself on both sides of that coin.”

Pinkett Smith also shared how she’s embraced the boundaries set by her daughter, Willow.

“She’ll call me disrupted, and be like, ‘I don’t need you to fix anything, Mom. I just want you to listen,'” Jada remarked, and praised her daughter’s straightforwardness. 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

It’ll be at least another month before Wendy Williams returns to her purple chair.

The Wendy Williams Show announced Wednesday that their host’s expected return date had to be pushed back yet again. In the meantime, a new slate of guest hosts has been announced who will hold down the fort through November 19.

Starting November 8 it’ll be actor Michael Rapaport, who will host through November 12 and then pass the mic to comedian Bill Bellamy. Bellamy will entertain the audience on November 16 and 17 before Jerry Springer and Steve Wilkos take over on November 18 through the end of the week.

The show also announced an “all-new hot talk panel” will kick off on Monday, November 15.

Williams has been absent from her show since it was originally expected to return on September 20 for the start of the 13th season. Her return was delayed due to ongoing health issues, which included testing positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19.

The show returned to the air on October 18 with Leah Remini as its first guest host. It was also announced that Williams was “making progress but experiencing serious complications as a direct result of Graves’ Disease and her thyroid condition. It has been determined that more time is needed before she is able to return to her live hosting duties.”

Mayo Clinic defines Graves’ disease as a disorder of the immune system that is a common cause of hyperthyroidism, or an overproduction of thyroid hormones. Side effects attributed to the illness are anxiety, hand tremors, palpitations, fatigue and other disruptive symptoms.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Wendy Williams (@wendyshow)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tiger King star Joe Exotic has revealed that he has “aggressive cancer.”

The unfortunate news was shared on Joe’s Instagram and featured a picture of the handwritten note he wrote to fans, dated October 27.  

The note reads, “Everyone, It is with a sad face that I have to tell you the doctors called me in today to break the news that my prostate biopsy came back with an aggressive cancer, I am still waiting on the results from other test as well.”

Exotic goes on to say that he doesn’t want “pity,” though he says he’s sure his nemesis, Carole Baskin, will “have her own party over this.” What Joe does want is to be released from prison, where he is currently serving a 22-year sentence for violating wildlife laws, and also for the failed murder-for-hire plots against Baskin.

“What I need is the world to be my voice to be released, they have the proof I DID NOT DO THIS!” he wrote. “And there is no reason for the district attorney to drag this out, So I can go home and get treatment on my own or enjoy what life I have left with my loved ones! Say a prayer everyone & be my voice.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Dakota Johnson is commenting on the allegations against some of her former co-stars. 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress, who has worked alongside Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer and Shia LaBeouf — all of whom have had allegations of misconduct lodged against them — said she never had a problem with them.

“I never experienced that firsthand from any of those people,” Johnson said. “I had an incredible time working with them.” 

Making note of cancel culture and how her former co-stars may not have the opportunity to return to their acting careers, Johnson added, “I feel sad for the loss of great artists. I feel sad for people needing help and perhaps not getting it in time. I feel sad for anyone who was harmed or hurt. It’s just really sad.”

“I do believe that people can change. I want to believe in the power of a human being to change and evolve and get help and help other people,” she continued. “I think there’s definitely a major overcorrection happening. But I do believe that there’s a way for the pendulum to find the middle.”

“The way that studios have been run up until now, and still now, is behind,” Johnson went on. “It is such an antiquated mindset of what movies should be made, who should be in them, how much people should get paid, what equality and diversity look like. Sometimes the old school needs to be moved out for the new school to come in.”

“But, yeah, cancel culture is such a f****** downer. I hate that term,” Johnson concluded.  

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The massive Marvel movie Eternals is just hours away from flying onto the big screen.

The film introduces a handful of the most powerful beings in the universe, all with unique powers. One of them is Sprite, played by 14-year-old Lia McHugh, who she described to ABC Audio as “an illusionist [who] can make you see things that aren’t there and that spans in really cool ways.”

Adds McHugh, “You know, when I figured out her powers and then once I read the script, I thought it was really cool — the creative things that they had her do with her powers that I would have probably never thought of.”

If you think a a 14-year-old superhero sounds a little unusual, Lia says you’re not alone.

“My entire family was just absolutely shocked,” The Lodge actress recalls. “And one of the biggest questions that people ask me when I say that I’m in a Marvel movie, they’re like, ‘Do you speak?’ Which I think is pretty funny. I mean, no one expects a kid to be a superhero [and] have a bigger part in a Marvel movie.”

The Eternals features an ensemble cast that also includes Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel and Kit Harington, and with so many new characters, Lia thinks “everyone has someone that they can relate to, whether it be the diversity [or] the age.”

“I think it’s really incredible how Marvel was able to introduce 10 new characters, but really have the audience thoroughly understand them,” she adds.

The Eternals opens nationwide on Friday.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On December 1 at 10 p.m. Eastern time, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns on FXX after a two-year hiatus, and with it comes a trip into the history books. 

The episode will make the bawdy, beloved comedy series the longest-running live-action comedy series in television history, bypassing — most ironically — the genteel sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.

According to the network, the debut will see the gang from Paddy’s Pub “at a crossroads in this strange, new world.”

The announcement continues, “In the seismic wake of Covid-19 and all things 2020…the rules are changing quicker than anyone can keep up with, despite herculean efforts from Mac (Rob McElhenney), Charlie (Charlie Day), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Frank (Danny DeVito) to continue business as usual.”

FXX teases, “Now, they must face the music and decide who they’ll become in the cultural upheaval that is 2021. Across the span of eight episodes — and the Atlantic Ocean — we find them answer in a way only they could think to.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.