Entertainment

Rian Johnson has revealed the title of his sequel to the 2019 film Knives Out. “Benoit Blanc’s next case, the follow up to Knives Out, is called GLASS ONION,” Johnson tweeted on Monday, along with a short video announcing the followup should arrive in time for the holiday season. Joining Daniel Craig, who returns as Detective Blanc, are Kate Hudson, Ethan Hawke, Leslie Odom Jr., Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn and Dave Bautista. Glass Onion will be the first of two sequels, both of which Johnson will direct. Plot details are being kept under wraps. The first film earned $311.6 million in theaters worldwide…

(NOTE LANGUAGE) To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before star Lana Condor is taking care of some unfinished business in the trailer to her new Netflix series, Boo, B****. “Over the course of one night,” the eight-episode series follows “a high school senior, who’s lived her life safely under the radar, seizes the opportunity to change her narrative and start living an epic life, only to find out the next morning… she’s a motherf****** ghost,” according to the show’s official logline. Boo, B**** launches July 8 on Netflix… (Trailer contains uncensored profanity.)

Disney/Pixar’s Lightyear is ready to fly to infinity and beyond, but it will skip theaters in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, as well as Malaysia or Indonesia, according to Deadline. The reason is reportedly due to a same-sex kiss between Alisha, a character voiced by Uzo Aduba, and another woman included in the Toy Story sequel. Lightyear joins other Disney movies that have faced restrictions in the Gulf region, allegedly for reasons ranging from depictions of or references to homosexuality to depictions of gods and prophets, include West Side Story, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Eternals…

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Lady Gaga is in early talks to play Harley Quinn in director Todd Phillips’ followup to the 2019 blockbuster, Joker, according to The Hollywood Reporter; and get this — the sequel is said to be a musical.

Last week Phillips posted a pair a pair of photos, one of which was of the apparent cover of the script, with the title, Joker: Folie à Deux — a reference to the medical term for an identical or similar mental disorder that affects two or more individuals, usually members of the same family. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the title seems to imply that Gaga is being considered for the part of the Joker’s partner-in-madness.

A second photo in Phillip’s social media post showed Joker star Joaquin Phoenix reading the screenplay, although sources tell THR that Warner Bros. has yet to close a deal with the actor.

Gaga’s Harley Quinn would exist in a different DC universe than Margot Robbie‘s Quinn, which appeared in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, as well as several other films.

Phillips previously produced A Star Is Born, the 2018 remake that starred Joker producer Bradley Cooper and Gaga.

The first Joker movie was a box office smash, grossing over $1 billion worldwide. It also picked up a pair of Oscars, including a best actor nod for Phoenix.

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On June 19, 1865, the news of the Emancipation Proclamation — a document issued by President Abraham Lincoln that freed enslaved Black Americans — first reached Galveston, Texas, two years after its signing. In honor of Juneteenth this Sunday, musicians and entertainment professionals share what the holiday means to them.

Emmy-winning actor Courtney B. Vance reflected on the resiliency of Black people in the United States.

“Our people are great, and we started with nothing and came into something,” he said. “And so any opportunity I have just to teach, starting with our children, about how great we are and how great our ancestors are and were– Yes, things may be difficult now, but when you go past the first Google page and just look and see what our people had to deal with and still they rose. Everywhere they looked was a no.”

Vance noted the creation of Juneteenth — a celebration born out of the struggle facing Black people — but also expressed hope.

“It’s a message for us all that sometimes life is difficult and it’s going to be trial. But if we just press on, there will be a victory.”

President Joe Biden signed Juneteenth into law June 17, 2021, making it a federal holiday. But it has been celebrated in the Black community for more than a century. Essence Magazine CEO Caroline Wanga shared her thoughts by asking, “If you think about how long it took for Juneteenth to happen, then what are the things that you currently aren’t celebrating that you should be that are already yours, that you don’t know about?”

In addition to the usual festivals and gatherings, Wanga suggests a different way to celebrate.

“That’s what I would love people to spend Juneteenth doing is recognizing that that holiday was about the last of us finding out that we were freer than we thought,” she said. “What I want us to do is never have to do Juneteenth again and celebrate all the things that are true about us that are already here right now that we just don’t know about. Go Google something and celebrate that on Juneteenth.” 

The 157th anniversary of Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Black Independence Day, is this Sunday, June 19.

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(NOTE CONTENT) Prosecutors in England have formally charged Oscar winner Kevin Spacey with four counts of sexual assault against three men and an additional charge regarding nonconsensual sexual activity.

The star of House of Cards, until his ouster in 2017 amid a collection of sexual misconduct allegations against him, is scheduled to “voluntarily appear” in a British court Thursday to defend himself.

The alleged assaults happened years ago, when Spacey was the head of London’s famed Old Vic Theatre.

According to the formal charges, the alleged victims include a man who is now in his 40s; another man who is now in his 30s; and a third person, who is now in his 30s. The alleged incidents occurred in 2005, 2008 and 2013, respectively.

Spacey was also charged with “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent” related to the alleged 2008 victim.

Last week, Spacey gave an exclusive statement to ABC’s Good Morning America in which he said he is confident he can prove his innocence.

Through a spokesperson, Spacey told GMA: “I very much appreciate the Crown Prosecution Service’s statement in which they carefully reminded the media and the public that I am entitled to a fair trial, and innocent until proven otherwise. While I am disappointed with their decision to move forward, I will voluntarily appear in the U.K. as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges, which I am confident will prove my innocence.”

Unrelated sexual misconduct allegations first surfaced against Spacey in 2017 when Rent veteran and Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making a sexual advance against him when he was 14. On Twitter, Spacey said he did not recall the incident, but apologized. A civil suit by Rapp against Spacey was filed in 2020 and is still ongoing.

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The Emmy-winning drama The Handmaid’s Tale will return to Hulu on September 14 with a pair of new episodes.

The streaming service on Monday teased a pair of first-look shots from the forthcoming season, featuring Yvonne Strahovski‘s Serena smiling smugly under a mourning veil and Elisabeth Moss‘ June Osborne staring into camera, looking stern.

Hulu sets up the next chapter: “June faces consequences for killing Commander Waterford while struggling to redefine her identity and purpose” as “the widowed Serena attempts to raise her profile in Toronto as Gilead’s influence creeps into Canada.”

Meanwhile, according to the streamer, “Commander Lawrence … tries to reform Gilead and rise in power” as “June, Luke and Moira fight Gilead from a distance as they continue their mission to save and reunite with Hannah.”

In a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, star and producer Moss teased of season 5, “June’s dealing with, ‘What does freedom actually mean?’ And can she really be free? And what does that mean? And, ‘Where do I place my anger?'”

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When Chris Evans was pictured aside his Lightyear alter-ego Buzz Lightyear and other Pixar pals at Disney California Adventure Park, plenty of people on Twitter suspected it was Photoshop at play.

Evans was snapped with his hands in his pockets, and his stiff pose led the Internet to speculate the smiling star wasn’t there at all.

The buzz surrounding the pic led the actor to post to social media, expressing, “I promise I’m not photoshopped into these! I just have a very disciplined pose. (And I don’t know what to do with my hands).”

But in an ironic twist, Evans’ “disciplined pose,” made it easy for Buzzfeed to snip him out of the shot — using Photoshop — allowing Internet users to go nuts and show Evans posing in a growing list of places, like visiting Edinburgh Castle, mugging onstage at Sunday night’s Tony Awards and on the cover of Weezer’s Blue Album.

One user responded to the new viral meme with Evans’ own words as Captain America: “Internet, so helpful.”

Lightyear opens June 17.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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In an Instagram story, Matthew McConaughey says he’s happy “something” was done in Congress “in the effort to stop some of the deranged individuals that, with every horrific act, abuse and hijack the Second Amendment.”

The Oscar winner was referencing last week’s framework of gun legislation that was reached in principle meant to address gun violence in the country. It happened on the same week the actor had bipartisan meetings with politicians on Capitol Hill.

In his new message, McConaughey says he asked a senator what was the “best” outcome they could imagine regarding Congressional action on the subject. “Something,” the politician reportedly replied.

Well, “‘Something’ has happened,'” explained the actor, who is from Uvalde, Texas, the site of a recent deadly school shooting.

“Something’ has moved that we hope can help deliver on our shared effort to make the loss of so many lives matter.”

Expressing that there’s a lot of “hard work” ahead, McConaughey said, “I do offer a firm handshake and a sincere ‘thank you’ to the members on both sides who came together and laid out this framework that can advance gun responsibility and save lives.”

He continued, “Let’s recognize that [the] announcement doesn’t mean we have a solution, but it does support more responsible gun ownership,” urging, “let’s continue to encourage everyone at the table to act in good faith and give them our support to get this job done.”

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In a tease of an interview airing Tuesday and Wednesday morning on NBC’s Today, Amber Heard tells Savannah Guthrie that Johnny Depp‘s defamation verdict against her wasn’t “fair.”

The actress blamed social media for turning the tide against her, despite the fact the jury was instructed not to use it, where they would have seen the viral popularity of hashtags like #JusticeForJohnny and, well, #AmberTurd.

A Virginia jury agreed with the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s legal team that there was “clear and convincing evidence” Heard had defamed him in a Washington Post op-ed in which she obliquely accused him of domestic and sexual abuse, without naming him.

“Even somebody who is sure I’m deserving of all this hate and vitriol, even if you think that I’m lying, you still couldn’t tell me — look me in the eye and tell me … that you think that this has been fair,” said Hurd.

For their part, Depp’s attorneys, Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, told Good Morning America‘s George Stephanopoulos last week that social media “played no role” in jury’s verdict, which resulted in Depp being awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.

“This was a decision made by the jury on the evidence presented by both sides, and…it was overwhelmingly in Mr. Depp’s favor,” Chew maintained.

Depp was awarded a total of $10.35 million due to Virginia state law capping punitive damages at $350,000. Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages for statements made by Depp’s former attorney, but was awarded no punitive damages.

Heard said she “actually understand[s],” the jury’s decision, saying of Depp, “He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”

Her legal team plans to appeal the verdict.

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Sony is marking 60 years of the Spider-Man comic book character and 20 years of Spidey films with a “fan cut” of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The new version, titled Spider-Man: No Way Home — The More Fun Stuff Version, containing added and extended scenes, hits theaters in the U.S. and Canada September 2. Other countries will be added soon, according to a post on the film’s official Twitter page.

The post features a snippet of the film’s three Spider-Men, Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield, all getting a kick out of introducing themselves as Ol’ Web Head, and is capped with their recreation of the famous “pointing Spidey” meme, along with the legend, “Who’s going?”

Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, August 9 with screenings starting Friday, September 2. Domestically, Spider-Man: No Way Home, starring Holland,  Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Foxx, and Alfred Molina, is the third-highest-grossing movie of all time, and the sixth-highest-grossing title worldwide, with over $1.8 billion to date. 

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Netflix on Sunday released a quick teaser for season two of Squid Game, along with a message from creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk announcing the return of the hit drama series. “Red light… GREENLIGHT! Squid Game is officially coming back for Season 2!” reads the message on the streamer’s official Twitter page, alongside an animation of the gigantic animatronic doll that features heavily in the Squid Game pilot. “It took 12 years to bring the first season of Squid Game to life last year. But it took 12 days for Squid Game to become the most popular Netflix series ever,” Hwang wrote in a separate tweet. “As the writer, director and producer of ‘Squid Game,’ a huge shout out to fans around the world. Thank you for watching and loving our show.” He also revealed that protagonist actor Seong Gi-hun and the masked antagonist the Front Man — played respectively by Lee Jung-jaeLee and Byung-hun — will both return…

HBO has canceled its dark romantic comedy Made for Love after two seasons. “We are tremendously grateful for the truly spectacular journey of these past two seasons, courtesy of Alissa Nutting, Christina Lee, Cristin [Milioti], Billy [Magnussen], Ray [Romano] and the entire Made for Love cast and creative team – especially Zelda the talking dolphin and everyone’s favorite synthetic love interest, Diane,” reps for HBO Max said in a statement obtained by Variety. “Like a Gogol chip, the series will always be on our minds.” Made For Love, HBO Max’s first original series. described as “a poignantly humorous story of modern love and divorce”…

Ben Affleck has added Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker and Marlon Wayans to the cast of his untitled docudrama for Amazon Studios, documenting for the true-life story of former Nike executive Sonny Vaccarro, according to Deadline. Affleck is also starring in the film, along with his Good Will Hunting partner Matt Damon. Production started production Monday in Los Angeles…

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