Entertainment

Today the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the showbiz union representing tens of thousands of behind-the-scenes workers, has voted to authorize a nationwide strike — the first time in IATSE’s 128-year history that members have done so.

The vote was nearly unanimous: with 90% of the eligible union voters casting ballots, 98% voted in support of a strike authorization.

Union members say they’re seeking adequate compensation and safe working conditions in an industry that pushes work days far longer than most realize. The boon in production from streaming services has compounded the overwork problem, union members say. 

“The members have spoken loud and clear,” said IATSE International President Matthew Loeb in a statement. “This vote is about the quality of life as well as the health and safety of those who work in the film and television industry. Our people have basic human needs like time for meal breaks, adequate sleep, and a weekend. For those at the bottom of the pay scale, they deserve nothing less than a living wage.” 

Loeb continued, “I hope that the studios will see and understand the resolve of our members. The ball is in their court. If they want to avoid a strike, they will return to the bargaining table and make us a reasonable offer.”

For its part, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the entertainment industry’s official collective bargaining representatives, responded by saying in part, “We deeply value our IATSE crew members and are committed to working with them to avoid shutting down the industry…particularly since the industry is still recovering from the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

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Space. The final frontier.

Sure, it’s old hat for the starship Enterprise‘s Captain James Tiberius Kirk, but it will be a whole new experience for his alter-ego, 90-year-old William Shatner. 

The actor will be among the next group of passengers on Amazon honcho Jeff Bezos‘ New Shepard spacecraft from his Blue Origin company. The trip is slated for October 12.

“So now I can say something. Yes, it’s true; I’m going to be a “rocket man!” Shatner confirmed via Twitter on Monday, perhaps referring to his infamous cover of the Elton John hit. 

Shatner’s news was met with tons of support from fans and celebs, including Vincent D’Onofrio, who replied “Wow! That’s amazing dude,” and English actor and writer Stephen Fry, who said the news is “EVERYTHING.” 

Cheekily, Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter, replied to Shatner, “Congrats, @WilliamShatner! If you really [get] to go to space, I hope I can really figure out how to get an invisible plane.”

Similarly, Jason Alexander referenced his own famous alter-ego, Seinfeld‘s George Costanza, by saying, “@WilliamShatner is going to space? My man! I guess this means I have to become a marine biologist.”

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Sterling K. Brown is headed to Hulu for his next major TV project.

The This Is Us actor will executive-produce and star in Washington Black, a new series based on Esi Edugyan’s best-selling novel of the same name. The story follows the adventures of 11-year-old George Washington “Wash” Black, a young boy living on a Barbados sugar plantation during the 19th century. After learning of a shocking death, Black “flees the plantation and travels the world.” Brown will play Medwin Harris, a “Black refugee who traveled the world after a traumatic childhood” and has Washington Black as his young protégé.

In other news, Regal theaters is offering moviegoers an immersive experience to see some of this year’s most highly-anticipated films. In select theaters, Regal offers fans the option of ScreenX and 4DX auditoriums. On ScreenX, which is the world’s first multi-projection cinema with an immersive 270 degree field of view, movie fans can now watch Venom, No Time to Die and Spider-Man: No Way Home on a  panoramic screen. 4DX allows audiences to connect with movies through motion, vibration, water, wind, snow, lightning, scents, and other special effects, fans can watch Dune, Eternals, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, among others. For more information on how to get tickets, go to Regal’s website.

Finally, SIX, the Broadway musical that centers on the six wives of Henry VIII, had a new opening night on Sunday after the pandemic put the show on hiatus for over a year. The original diverse cast of Adrianna Hicks as Catherine of Aragon, Andrea Macasaet as Anne Boleyn, Abby Mueller as Jane Seymour, Brittney Mack as Anna of Cleves, Samantha Pauly as Katherine Howard, and Anna Uzele as Catherine Parr, all returned for a performance. Tickets are now on sale.

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Ben Affleck has reason to smile lately, even if Batman rarely does. 

Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know that he’s dating Jennifer Lopez again. He’s also got The Last Duel coming out next week, which he co-wrote with his co-star and childhood friend Matt Damon. 

But Ben tells Variety that he recently also had a happy new experience as the Caped Crusader that was worlds away from his time on the controversial Justice League. 

Affleck plays the Dark Knight again in the upcoming Flash film with Ezra Miller — which, because it follows the Flashpoint comics, also runs through several timelines, meaning we’ll also see Michael Keaton reprising his Batman role.

Affleck told the trade it was much more fun than last time, noting, “I had a great time.” He then joked, “I’m probably under some gag order that I’m not even aware that I probably just violated, and I’m now going to be sued.”

Ben added, “I love Ezra and I had a chance to see Jason [Momoa], who’s over there making [the] Aquaman [sequel].”

Affleck noted that the Flash film “was a really nice way to revisit [Batman], as the prior experience had been difficult. This was really lovely. Really fun.”

The Flash debuts November 4, 2022.

2017’s Justice League underwent a series of poorly received reshoots from Joss Whedon, after director Zack Snyder dropped out following his daughter’s tragic death by suicide. It also weathered controversy from co-star Ray Fisher, who blamed racism for his on-set treatment — and his scenes mostly being left on the cutting room floor.

The film was later re-edited and released to fan acclaim as Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Affleck will also be seen in The Tender Bar, directed by George Clooney, which debuts December 17. 

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Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton is following up his hit Marvel Studios film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with another comics-inspired project.

However, the director is not staying within the pages of Marvel Comics for the new project, which is an animated Disney+ series featuring an adaptation of the graphic novel American Born Chinese.

The “genre-hopping action-comedy” comic from Gene Luen Yang centers on Jin Wang, “an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life” who, after meeting a new foreign student, “is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.”

Like Shang-Chi before it, the upcoming series represents Asian culture both in front of and behind the scenes. Emmy-winning Bob’s Burgers veteran Kelvin Yu and his Westworld alum vet brother Charles are writing the American Born Chinese series, with Kelvin acting as showrunner. Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan, two producers on the Asian-centric series Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. on Disney+ and ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat, are executive producing with Gene Luen Yang.

In a statement, Cretton comments, “Reading Kelvin’s riveting adaptation of Gene’s incredible novel had me laughing and crying and jumping out of my chair on every page. I feel deeply connected to the characters in this story and the brilliant team bringing it to life.”

Cretton added, “This show is going to be unlike anything we’ve experienced on TV, and I can’t wait for the world to see what we’re cooking up.”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Schumer, Raven Symoné, Alyssa Milano, Rachel Lindsay, Debbie Allen and others participated in the fifth annual Women’s March over the weekend, which took place from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles to support women’s reproductive rights. Many say those rights are threatened not only by the Conservative-leaning Supreme Court scheduled to rule on an anti-abortion case this term, which begins today, but also by the recent Texas law that bans nearly all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Lawrence, who is pregnant with her first child, and Schumer attended the march in New York City. “I don’t have a uterus and she is pregnant but we out here @womensmarch @plannedparenthood #rallyforabortionjustice,” wrote Schumer, who shared a photo of the signs they brought to the rally. The actress and comic underwent a hysterectomy to treat endometriosis.

Milano shared to Instagram the speech she made at Washington D.C., where she lamented, “I am tired as a woman. I am so tired of having to continually prove that my body is my own.” She also called out the male politicians supporting anti-abortion legislation.

Symoné was photographed at the march in Los Angeles and told Hollywood Life that change only happens when enough people come together to fight for a common cause.

“Gay marriage wasn’t acceptable until everyone came together, and made noise, and made a stink about it and things changed, And now, I can get married. So, I believe that this form of activism can work and that’s why I’m here,” she said.

 

 

 

 

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Jerry Seinfeld is sharing some of the comedians he’d love to have on his personal all-star comedy team.

When asked to name the top five “dead or alive” comedians that he’d put on his list of greats, Seinfeld begins with four legendary artists from the past.

“I would pick Harpo Marx. I would pick George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield…and Flip Wilson,” Seinfeld tells ABC Audio, before noting that all those comedians have passed on.

Taking a moment to think about other comedians he’d love to add to his list that are still alive, Seinfeld decides to adjust his top five.

“I would pick Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Sebastian Maniscalco and Jim Gaffigan,” he says.

Noticeably missing from his group of comedic talent is what Seinfeld calls “a funny lady.”

“That’s a great idea,” he says of adding a female comedian to his list. He then chooses Saturday Night Live cast member and comic actress Kate McKinnon. “I love Kate McKinnon,” he declares.

Now, thanks to Netflix, all nine seasons of Seinfeld can be streamed online.

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Fans of the movie Mean Girls know October 3 is a very important day — the day when Aaron Samuels, played by Jonathan Bennett, asks Lindsay Lohan’s Cady Heron what day it is and she replies, “It’s October 3rd.”

Nearly 20 years since Lohan uttered that now-famous line, fans of the 2004 comedy will wear pink on October 3 to honor the occasion.

Lohan took to Instagram on Sunday to remind her followers what day it was, sharing a screenshot of her and Bennett’s on-screen exchange.

Amanda Seyfried, who played the vapid Karen Smith, celebrated in the comment section by declaring, “YES IT IS.”

Bennett, 40, also joined in on the fun by inviting Lohan to recreate the scene by asking, “What day is it?” The actress happily obliged and shot back, “It’s October 3rd,” along with a crying laughing emoji.

Lacey Chabert, who played Gretchen Weiners, took to her Instagram story on Sunday to remind her fans “You can sit with us” — a reference to another of the movie’s famous lines, when her character yells “You can’t sit with us” to queen bee Regina George, played by Rachel McAdams.

Daniel Franzese, who played Damian in the Tina Fey-penned movie, also saluted the day by sharing several artistic recreations of his famous scene, in which he shouts during an all-girls’ assembly, “She doesn’t even go here!”

“I want to thank all of the fans of this movie that brings so much joy and adventure into my life,” the comedian wrote. “I’m grateful for each of your gasps or screams when you meet me or the tears we shed hearing your stories. Movies are healing. Comedies can especially be.”

Mean Girls opened in theaters in April 2004. It grossed $130 million worldwide and subsequently developed a cult following and even spawned a hit Broadway musical.

 

 

 

 

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Model Emily Ratajkowski claims that Robin Thicke crossed the line when she starred in his 2013 music video, “Blurred Lines.”

The Sunday Times obtained an advanced snippet of the Gone Girl actress’ memoir My Body, where she alleges that during the video shoot, Thicke approached her “from behind” and allegedly grabbed her chest.

“Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt the coolness and foreignness of a stranger’s hands cupping my bare breasts from behind,” the snippet reads. “I instinctively moved away, looking back at Robin Thicke.  He smiled a goofy grin and stumbled backward, his eyes concealed behind his sunglasses.”

Ratajkowski, 30, claims the video’s director, Diane Martel, “yelled out” to ask if she was okay.

Martel corroborated Ratajkowski’s claims when speaking to the Times and said, “I remember the moment that he grabbed her breasts. One in each hand. He was standing behind her.”

Both Martel and Ratajkowski believe Thicke was under the influence, with the director noting, “I don’t think he would have done this had he been sober.”

Martel said Thicke “sheepishly apologized” after she gave him a tongue lashing and she threatened to stop the shoot. 

As for Emily, she wanted to continue filming and, in her book, wrote, “I pushed my chin forward and shrugged, avoiding eye contact, feeling the heat of humiliation pump through my body.”

Ratajkowski said Thicke later blocked her on Instagram. “I was nothing more than the hired mannequin [to him],” she said of The Masked Singer judge.

Thicke has not yet commented on the matter.

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Saturday Night Live paid tribute to one of its own during its season 47 premiere. The sketch show honored Norm Macdonald during its “Weekend Update” segment, which the comedian used to host.

Macdonald, 61, died September 14 after a private years-long battle with cancer.

Colin Jost and Michael Che called the season 47 debut “a bittersweet night for us” and shared their memories of the late actor.

“Norm is the reason that I ever wanted to do ‘Weekend Update,'” said Jost. “…So tonight, we thought we’d turn the last few jokes of ‘Update’ over to Norm.”

The segment ended by revisiting some of Macdonald’s memorable moments on “Weekend Update,” featuring his scathing commentary about former President Bill Clinton and O.J. Simpson as well as his unique takes on the bizarre news headlines during his tenure — such as the so-called “snake man” climbing a Manhattan high rise.

The tribute ended with his famous sign off, “And that’s the way it is, folks. Good night and good luck.”

Macdonald starred on SNL between 1993 and 1998, hosting “Weekend Update” for three seasons.

Other memorable moments of the season 47 premiere included SNL‘s cold open, which teased the fractured Democratic party over President Joe Biden‘s $3.5 trillion dollar infrastructure bill. New cast member James Austin Johnson took on President Biden, while Cecily Strong and Aidy Bryant played Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, respectively. Playing Democratic Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were Ego Nwodim and Melissa Villaseñor.

The two sides warred over what they wanted in the bill and always objected to the others’ desires.

Strong’s Sinema was portrayed as the villain and, at one point, she declared, “What do I want from this bill? I’ll never tell, ’cause I didn’t come to Congress to make friends — and so far, mission accomplished.”

Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays on NBC.

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