Entertainment

The final season of black-ish has added a real-life icon to its lineup.

On Thursday, the show announced via social media that former First Lady Michelle Obama will be making a guest appearance on the eighth and final season of the ABC comedy. “#blackish is going all out for the final season! We are honored to have trailblazer @michelleobama join us as an upcoming guest star,” reads the Instagram caption of a photo of Mrs. Obama with the black-ish cast. While details on Mrs. Obama’s appearance are few, this isn’t the first time she’s appeared on a popular sitcom. The former First Lady also guest starred on the sixth-season finale of Parks and Recreation. The final season of black-ish is set for sometime in 2022.

In other news, The CW has tapped Taye Diggs and recording artists Ne-Yo and Eric Bellinger to headline two upcoming variety specials. The three will star in The Black Pack: We Three Kings and The Black Pack: Excellence, which will highlight Black performers. We Three Kings will premiere on November 29 and feature classic Christmas music, comedy and dance. It will also have appearances by Bre-Z, Tank, Sevyn Streeter and Jordin Sparks.  The Black Pack: Excellence will air sometime in 2022 and will commemorate the Juneteenth holiday with music, dance and guest stars. It will also include a tribute to original Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr.

Finally, Deadline has learned that Isaiah Mustafa has been added to the cast of Boy Kills World, a forthcoming action film set in a “dystopian fever dream reality.” The film follows Bill Skarsgard as Boy, a deaf mute who’s trained by a mysterious shaman and becomes “an instrument of death.” A release date for Boy Kills World has yet to be announced.

 

 

 

 

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As Kristen Stewart committed to transforming into the late Princess Diana for the movie Spencer, the actress recalled one fleeting scene that gave her goosebumps.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, the 31-year-old admitted it felt “so spooky” to wear a replica of the late royal’s wedding dress, even if it was for a brief moment.

“When we put that dress on, it is embedded in a montage that kind of flashed her life before you. Even though the movie takes place over a three-day period… We still wanted to give a taste of the scope of her life,” Stewart explained.  “Kind of touch on every part, even if it was in kind of lyrical dance. And the wedding dress is embedded in that montage and putting that on was a spooky day.”

As for what Stewart star had to do while wearing a replica of the wedding gown, she revealed, “We didn’t have to do the wedding scene but I still had one walk, walking outside of this castle.”

Stewart says director Pablo Larraín encouraged her to turn that brief scene into a standout, as it was a pivotal moment in Diana’s life.

“[He] was like, ‘Take everything you learned about that day, all of your emotional responses that you have accumulated, put them all right here. What does it feel like to believe in an ideal that then becomes very, very apparently farcical?'” she recalled him saying, adding that he wanted her to “let your heart break in a moment.”

When asked what she hopes the Royal Family will say, should they watch Spencer, said Stewart, “I would say is that we led with love and curiosity. And professed to know nothing. We’re literally just sort of admirers.”

Spencer arrives in theaters on November 5.

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If you’re still trying to figure out what to do for Halloween and you really want to commit — and you live in New York or LA — you’re in luck. 

Netflix is taking over mobile barber trucks in both cities on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to give patrons free Tiger King custom haircuts “based on signature looks from the show.” 

So if you’re looking for that perfect Joe Exotic mullet, or an 80s-era feathered ‘do to match your Carole Baskin get-up, you’re in luck.

Appointments can be made in advance at TigerKingExoticCuts.com — but be warned, the site seems slammed already. 

Walk-up appointments will also be taken if there’s availability on-site. 

Patrons can opt for The Joe, described as “the quintessential mullet”; “The Tease,” the Baskin-inspired “long hair tease with flowered crown,” or “The Tiger Tail,” which is tiger-striped colored hair spray.

Tiger King 2 will drop on Netflix on November 17. If you need some style inspiration, the trailer was just released.

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Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic? Why call professional paranormal investigators and eliminators when you’ll soon be able to DIY, thanks to an upcoming offering from Hasbro Pulse.

The company that produces high-quality replicas of movie props in addition to hyper-detailed toys, has announced its looking to arm you with your own proton pack, the gear the Ghostbusters have strapped to their backs in the original two Ghostbusters films, and in the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Calling it the “ultimate ghost bustin’ adult collectible roleplay item,” the Plasma Series Spengler’s Proton Pack is an exacting replica of the beloved prop from the classic films, laser-scanned from the screen-used prop, scaled to adult size, and featuring movie-accurate lights and other details. 

The item is being made available through Hasbro’s HasLab project, a development outlet that, rather shrewdly, lets fans crowd-fund the item. 

You can pre-order and back the Ghostbusters Plasma Series Spengler’s Proton Pack HasLab project for $399.99 on the HasLabs site. The crowdfunding campaign needs 7,000 backers by December 12 — and it’s already halfway there, less than a day after it was announced.

Needless to say, the piece will make a fine cosplay companion to Hasbro Pulse’s previously-released Spengler Neutrona Wand, the ‘busters’ “gun” that lets them lasso slimers and and other ectoplasmic entities. 

The proton pack has become one of cinema’s most iconic props, and until now, cosplayers and other movie fans had to go about building them themselves, some spending thousands in the process.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits theaters November 19.

 

 

 

 

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Costumes emulating both the players and the guards from Netflix’s smash Squid Game are flying off shelves for this Halloween season, but one New York school district has given them the red light.

According to local news site CNY Central News, principals at several upstate New York elementary schools have banned the costumes. 

Administrators at Mott Road, Enders Road, and Fayetteville Elementary schools sent emails to parents about the restriction, which also applies to the kids “playing” Squid Game themselves during free time.  The breakout South Korean import involves unwilling participants who play kids’ games to win a massive cash prize.  But if they lose, they’re executed.

“We have observed that some students at recess have been playing a version of the squid game which is intended for mature audiences, ages 16 and older,” reads the email from Mott Road Elementary school that was apparently not proofread by the English department. 

Superintendent Dr. Craig Tice also issued a message about it, reading in part, “Due to concerns about the potential violent nature of the game, it is inappropriate for recess play or discussion at school. Additionally, a Halloween costume from this show does not meet our school costume guidelines due to the potential violent message aligned with the costume.”

Looks like the kids will have to save their money from babysitting or paper routes instead of going for that 45.6 billion won cash prize.

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On the latest installment of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the eponymous host reacted to her friend Jason Sudeikis‘ SNL sketch spoofing her, called Mellen. 

The conceit of the skit was that with more men sitting at home during the pandemic, network executives “took 10 seconds” to come up with a male-skewing alternative for DeGeneres’ long-running program. 

The result of the execs’ poor planning was dressing Sudeikis like Ellen, dubbing him Mellen, and ripping off her show. “All the fun daytime energy of Ellen with a hard, masculine edge,” according to the SNL sketch.  

The result is an admittedly poorly thought-out combination of vests, “awkward male dancing,” and fistfights in the audience. “Ellen’s lawyers called the series, ‘cease and desist,'” the sketch says.

On her show, the real Ellen explained she was surprised by the sketch, when she and wife Portia de Rossi were watching SNL “as we do every week.” She screened the SNL version for her own audience, and then admitted with a laugh, “I would actually watch that show.”

She then called out Sudeikis, saying, “Jason, when you’re ending Ted Lasso, we should do that show.”

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One soon-to-be-wed couple not only enjoyed a nice sunny day for their beachside nuptials — they also received the surprise of their life when actor Tom Hanks crashed their ceremony.

Diciembre and Tashia Farries tell KTTV they were exchanging vows on Santa Monica beach in California when the actor unexpectedly walked up to congratulate the happy couple and their one-year-old son, who was also part of the big moment.

The Farries recall Hanks telling them their nuptials were beautiful and that he had been admiring their ceremony from afar. The actor also asked to take a photo with the couple, telling them he thought they were beautiful.

Tashia, who works as a private celebrity chef, said she was shocked by Hanks’ arrival, even though her job has her working with big-name stars.

However, it was Diciembre who discovered there may have been a special reason why the 65-year-old actor felt compelled to say hello.  They told the outlet that their brother had tragically passed away, so they placed his photo on one of the chairs so he could still be part of the moment.

When talking with the actor, Diciembre learned both Hanks and their brother were born on July 9. They told the outlet, “It was like that was a message that he was there!”

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Following last Thursday’s deadly accidental shooting involving Alec Baldwin on the set of the film Rust, the actor’s daughter, Ireland Baldwin, has broken her silence.

“Amongst some of the most abhorrent and threatening comments, emails, text messages, and voicemails I’ve been getting… this beautiful comment stands alone. I know my dad, you simply don’t. I love you, Dad,” Ireland shared Wednesday on Instagram, along with a user’s memory of her dad that portrayed him as an unpretentious actor and loving father.

The comment read, “So about a million years ago I was working in the production office in Toronto of the company that was making the Thomas the Tank Engine movie that he did. I’d dealt with typing up some pretty goofy celebrity riders in my day but NOT your dads.”

“He only wanted to make sure he had milk and cereal in his hotel room for when his daughter was visiting. That was it. That was the whole rider. I’ll always remember that,” the woman concluded.

Ireland previously announced that she will be stepping away from social media while her family deals with the tragedy.

Last week, while rehearsing a scene on the set of Rust, Baldwin fired a pistol allegedly containing a live round or other projectile that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. The incident is currently under investigation.

 

 

 

 

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Supermassive Games, the mastermind behind the indie horror survival games Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology, released their newest installment, House of Ashes, which stars Ashley Tisdale.

Tisdale plays CIA officer Rachel King, who is trapped underground and must escape a hoard of bloodthirsty vampire-like creatures.  Rachel’s survival is dependent on the decisions players make during gameplay.

Tisdale, who is not a “huge horror film person,” tells ABC Audio what interested her in starring in a game meant to scare people.

“It looks like a cinematic movie. It’s beautiful,” she raved, adding she wanted to give it a shot because it was “something different and fun. And it was wild!”

Part of Supermassive’s charm is modeling the characters and their mannerisms off the voice actors, but Ashley explained she didn’t put on the motion capture suit or physically act out a scene in order to bring Rachel to life.

“It’s weirdly like a voiceover,” the High School Musical star described, saying it reminded her of working in animation. “If you were acting in a movie, you would be in the scene. You would see those things [you need to interact with,] but you don’t see those things.  You are reacting in a studio… You have this camera on your face and you have to pretend everything is around you.”

Now that Tisdale has cut her teeth on her first scary project, it begs to question if she will consider starring in future thrillers.

“I love scary movies around Halloween, but I’ve never had this feeling of like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to act in a scary movie!’ So probably not,” she laughed. “I don’t know if I’ll keep going in that area.”  

House of Ashes is available to play on Windows, PlayStation and Xbox devices.

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