Eddie Murphy‘s forthcoming Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley has secured four of the original movie series’ stars.
Judge Reinhold and John Ashton, who played, respectively, detective partners William “Billy” Rosewood and John Taggart, will walk the beat once again with Murphy’s Axel Foley.
Brosnan Pinchot, who stole whole scenes as flamboyant gallery worker Serge, and Paul Reiser, who played Murphy’s detective partner in Detroit, Jeffrey, have also come aboard.
As previously reported, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige are also in the cast.
The film is currently in production, but the plot details are still under wraps.
For fans who can’t get enough Ted Lasso, the AFC Richmond, the fictitious footie team from the Emmy-winning show, is getting the video game treatment.
FIFA 23, the forthcoming installment of EA’s insanely popular FIFA series, will feature the affable coach played by Jason Sudeikis, as well as playable versions of Roy effing Kent and other players from the scrappy soccer team.
EA made the announcement in a trailer that shows the hit show’s world being digitized into the world of the realistic sports game.
As fans have come to expect from the FIFA series, the likenesses of Sudeikis’ character — and that of his Emmy-winning co-star Brett Goldstein, who plays foul-mouthed footballer Roy Kent — and all the other players are on point.
The “AFC Richmond squad including Jamie Tartt, Dani Rojas, Sam Obisanya … and Isaac McAdoo will all be authentically integrated into FIFA 23, along with Nelson Road–the club’s home ground,” the video game company explains.
“One of the game’s great motivators, you’ll be able to select Ted Lasso as your playable manager in Career Mode, or you can manage AFC Richmond by swapping them into the Premier League or any other playable Career Mode league,” EA’s website continues.
The FIFA games are a global phenomenon: more than 325 million copies have been sold as of 2021.
The six-city tour will kick off in Washington, D.C., at Warner Theatre on November 15. The former first lady will also make stops in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco before wrapping up the tour December 13 at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.
The follow-up to her 2018 #1 bestselling memoir, Becoming, Obama’s The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, will be published on November 15.
“I am so excited to share that I will be heading across the country soon to talk with you all about my new book, The Light We Carry. I’m looking forward to making some new connections—and of course, seeing some familiar faces from the last tour,” Obama said in a statement.
“This book means so much to me—it’s a collection of perspectives and practices I’ve used to keep me afloat amid uncertainty,” she added. “On this tour, I’ll be sharing some personal stories and lessons that have helped me along my path, and I can’t wait to tell you more.”
Fans can register nowthrough Monday, September 26, for the Ticketmaster Verified Fan presale. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, September 30, at 10 a.m. local time on Ticketmaster.
One would think the chance to play cinema’s most famous superspy would be a no-brainer for any actor. However, series co-producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson say that’s not the case.
The half-sibling guardians of the 007 property explained to Variety that their search to fill Daniel Craig‘s tux continues — and, yes, Idris Elba‘s name has come up.
“He’s great,” Wilson said. “We love Idris,” Broccoli agreed.
However, 50-year-old Elba recently told The Wall Street Journal, “When I look in the mirror, I don’t see James Bond.”
Broccoli tells Variety she can understand the hesitation Idris — or any actor — might have about the role.
“The thing is, it’s going to be a couple of years off. And when we cast Bond, it’s a 10-, 12-year commitment. So [Idris] is probably thinking, ‘Do I really want that thing?’ Not everybody wants to do that. It was hard enough getting [Craig to agree],” to which Wilson added, “And he was in his early 30s at the time!”
“A lot of people think, ‘Oh yeah, it’d be fun to do one,” Broccoli says with a laugh. “Well. That ain’t gonna work … [I]t’s a big commitment. It’s not just showing up for a couple of months of filming.”
Meanwhile, even gambling oddsmakers have gotten in on the casting situation, placing odds on who will be the next spy with the license to kill.
Vegas Insider says The Witcher‘s Henry Cavill is far and away the odds-on favorite, followed by a close scrum of other heartthrobs: Bridgerton‘s Regé-Jean Page ranked second, slightly ahead of Idris, while Tom Hardy placed fourth and McMafia‘s James Norton was a distant fifth.
Fresh off of its Emmy wins for show creator, writer and co-star Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary returns for its sophomore season Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
Tyler James Williams, who plays newbie teacher Gregory Eddie, tells ABC Audio that watching the show take off has been a trip.
“Third episode aired…third or fourth. It had trended on Twitter from the week prior directly into the next episode for a full week later. And that’s when I understood it was like, ‘I think we have something big here, you guys,'” he said. “[W]hen people talked about it for a week straight, that’s when you know.”
Janelle James, who plays sarcastic principal Ava Coleman opines, “[I]t feels so good. Like, the most feedback that I get from people is that this is their, like, feel good show and they watch it with their families.”
She says, “I really think that’s amazing to me and it’s just good in a time where, you know, a lot of things are happening, to be part of something that makes people feel good and is happy.”
Ironically, considering her Emmy win, Ralph once thought her kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard wouldn’t be a stand-out character. “[H]onest to God, I didn’t think that anybody was going to see my performance. I thought that I was just going to be there,” she said. “And I had no idea that people would react to Mrs. Howard the way they have.”
She wanted to play the principal, but Brunson talked her out of it. “[S]he said, ‘Oh, Ms. Ralph, no, we need a queen for Mrs. Howard, and you are that queen,'” Ralph recalled. “So I was like, ‘Okay, thank you very much. I’ll be the Queen.'”
Will Hart/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
It was a joyous meeting of Dreamgirls as Sheryl Lee Ralph appeared Tuesday on The Jennifer Hudson Show.
Ralph, who recently won her first Emmy for her role in Abbott Elementary, starred in the original Dreamgirls Broadway production from 1981-1985. She portrayed Deena Jones, lead singer of The Dreams. Hudson starred as singer Effie White in the 2006 Dreamgirls film, for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Sheryl recalled following several outstanding vocalists when she auditioned for the Tony award-winning musical.
“The building was literally levitating off of the concrete, that’s how wonderful they were,” Ralph remembered. “And then there was me.”
When the producers announced two names they choose for the play, Sheryl was ready to leave, assuming she was rejected. Then, they called her name.
“I’m really having a moment, because I wish I’d have been able to see that [version of the musical],” Hudson said. “I was born the year that came out.”
The duo decided to have “some Dreamgirls fun” and wore pink feather boas, with Ralph commenting, “Girl, now this is not any cheap boa so you know I’m keeping it.”
“I can’t believe I get to do this,” Hudson said. She then followed Ralph’s choreography as they danced and sang along to the Dreamgirls’ title song.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe I just got to ha that moment with you,” Jennifer told the 65-year-old actress. “That was a dream, she’s a dream.”
Ralph returns as kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard for the second season of Abbott Elementary, which debuts Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
For Diego Luna, exploring the backstory of his Rogue One: A Star Wars Story‘s character in the new Disney+ series Andor was an “immediate yes.”
Six years after Cassian Andor was first introduced in Rogue One, the series, which dropped its first three episodes Wednesday, sees Luna back to fill in the blanks about who his character is at his core.
Luna, 42, told Good Morning America the Star Wars universe is unique in that “there is a chance to answer every question — and there was no answer to who this guy was.”
“To me, Rogue One is a film about an event,” he said. “You get very little hints of who the characters are.”
In that film, Cassian joins with a band of rebels, led by Felicity Jones‘ Jyn Erso, to steal the Galactic Empire’s Death Star plans. The events lead directly into 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope. While the crew is ultimately successful, they all perish in the mission — including Cassian.
Luna called it “fascinating” having the chance to go back and explore what needs to happen in someone’s life for them to make “that ultimate sacrifice.”
In Andor, “it’s about the nuances. It’s about the little details, the different layers,” he explains.
In Rogue One, Cassian states that he’s been “in this fight since I was 6 years old.” According to Luna, the new series asks, “What needs to happen in the life of someone to believe he’s capable of something like this, to connect with a cause in this way?”
While Andor mostly focuses on Cassian, it also sees a few returning players from Rogue One — like Genevieve O’Reilly‘s Mon Mothma and Forest Whitaker‘s Saw Gerrera, as well as a cast of newcomers, including Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough and Kyle Soller.
Disney is the parent company of Lucasfilm as well as ABC News.
Whitney Houston’s movie debut, The Bodyguard, is heading back to theaters for its 30th anniversary.
The special screenings — scheduled for Sunday, November 6 and Wednesday, November 9 — will also include Whitney’s videos for two songs from the soundtrack — “Queen of the Night” and “I Will Always Love You” — immediately following the film.
Tickets for the screenings go on sale September 28 at 10 a.m. ET via TheBodyguard30.com.
The Bodyguard stars Whitney as Rachel Marron, a superstar actress and singer who hires a bodyguard, played by Kevin Costner, after being threatened by a stalker. The two eventually fall in love, but their romance is ill-fated. The film grossed over $400 million worldwide.
To go along with the 30th anniversary of the film, a vinyl version of The Bodyguard soundtrack will arrive November 18, with a “smoky lavender” colored vinyl available exclusively at Target. You can pre-order it now.
The Bodyguard soundtrack, featuring Whitney’s megahit version of Dolly Parton’s song “I Will Always Love You,” has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, making it the top-selling soundtrack album of all time. It also won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
As previously reported, the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody hits theaters December 21.
Tom Hardy proved he’s been keeping up with his training from his days in the 2011 martial arts movie Warrior: He reportedly took gold after competing in the 2022 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship in Milton Keyes, England on Saturday.
According to the local paper Teeside Gazette, the blue belt quietly entered the Oakgrove School and competed under his birth name Edward Hardy —but that didn’t stop fans and fellow competitors from spotting the Mad Max: Fury Road star.
“I recognized him straight away. Everyone knows who Tom Hardy is, don’t they?” said one of Hardy’s competitors, local martial artist Danny Appleby. “I was shell-shocked. He said ‘just forget it’s me and do what you would normally do.'”
After submitting to the actor’s arm bar, Appleby admitted Hardy was the real deal, saying, “He’s a really strong guy. You wouldn’t think it with him being a celebrity.”
The amateur fighter was no slouch, for the record, explaining he fought his way to the medaling podium six times prior to facing Hardy; Appleby took bronze to Hardy’s gold. “[H]e’s probably the toughest competitor I’ve had – he certainly lived up to his Bane character, that’s for sure,” Appleby said.
Hardy played the brutal, muscled Batman villain in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight Rises.
Incidentally, this isn’t the first time this year Hardy has been spotted testing his skills. Last month, he also took gold at a charity BJJ event in Wolverhampton, England. As he did on Saturday, the scruffy Venom series actor took time to pose for pictures with fans.
ABC announced Tuesday that Jimmy Kimmel has signed a three-year contract extension to continue to host his late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! The news ends speculation that Kimmel would end his show sometime in the near future. “After two decades at ABC, I am now looking forward to three years of what they call ‘quiet quitting,’” joked Kimmel. Kimmel has the longest-running late-night talk show in ABC history and now becomes the longest-tenured host currently in late night, after Conan O’Brien ended his show last year…
(NOTE LANGUAGE) After a six-year hiatus, Amy Schumer‘s sketch comedy series, Inside Amy Schumer, is returning for a fifth season. “I wanted to bring back Inside Amy Schumer to burn any remaining bridges,” the comedienne joked in a Wednesday tweet, adding it will move from Comedy Central to Paramount+ — which Schumer called, “the hottest piece of a**.” She added, “So, sit down and open your pants (so you’re comfortable, not in a sexual way) because we’re not holding anything back.” She concluded, “You won’t want to miss the show that will finally get me forever cancelled.” Season five will consist of five episodes, with two debuting on the premiere date and the remaining three set to drop weekly on Thursdays…
Beetlejuice will end its Broadway run in January, according to Variety. Its final show at the Marquis Theater will be on January 8, 2023. However, it won’t be curtains for the stage version of Tim Burton‘s 1988 film, which will launch a 26-city national tour kicking off December 6 in San Francisco. Beetlejuice opened in 2019 to mixed reviews and weak ticket sales, before turning into a viral hit among younger audiences on social media…
