Entertainment

Former Everybody Loves Raymond star Patricia Heaton chose an Independence Day-themed greeting to fans to celebrate her three years of independence from booze. 

“It’s July when we celebrate our nation’s freedom,” the Emmy winner posted Sunday to Instagram while on a 3.5 mile hike. “Also celebrating three years of freedom from alcohol for me.”

The former star of The Middle pledged support to fans who might need a boost, too. “Message me if any of you are thinking about doing that, any of you are doing that now and need some encouragement or anything at all,” she said before closing with, “Have a great day.”

Heaton told Parade magazine last year that she decided to give up booze because she found herself partaking a bit too much. “I noticed that I was looking forward every night to cocktails. And if I happened to go to lunch, I might have a glass of wine or Prosecco,” she explained.

The 63-year-old actress told the publication, “I miss it terribly, but at the end of the day, I feel better.”

She also added, “There’s an actual statistic that women who were moderate drinkers in their 30s and 40s often become alcoholics in their 50s and 60s. I think it’s something about your children leaving the house and the things that used to anchor you are no longer there. You’re a little bit at sea, and so you reach for the bottle to dull the uncertainty. I sensed that a bit with myself.”

Heaton said then, “I’ve stopped, and my life has improved significantly. My kids are in their mid-20s and I’ll probably be in my 70s by the time I have grandchildren. I want to be healthy for them.”

 

 

 

 

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Marvel’s long-delayed Black Widow had an explosive debut, making more than $215 million worldwide, Disney has announced.

The film had an $80 million domestic haul that crushed the $70 million pandemic-era record set by F9: The Fast Saga just three weeks ago. Additionally, the prequel adventure of star and executive producer Scarlett Johansson‘s titular Avenger also raked in more than $60 million via Disney+ Premier Access, where it could be streamed for around $30.

Black Widow, also starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O.T. Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt, Ray Winstone and Rachel Weisz, cleaned up overseas as well, bringing in an estimated $78 million.

The aforementioned F9: The Fast Saga dipped to second place with an estimated $10.9 million, bringing its stateside totals to $141.3 million after three weeks.  Overseas — where the film debuted before it did in the U.S. — F9 has earned $400.5 million, bringing its worldwide gross to $541.8 million.

Grabbing third place is The Boss Baby: Family Business, a follow-up to the 2017 smash, The Boss Baby, delivered an estimated $8.7 million in its second week of release, raising its domestic total to $34.7 million.

Fourth place belongs to the latest chapter in The Purge franchise, The Forever Purge, earning an estimated $6.7 million, for a two-week total of $27.4 million.

Rounding out the top five is A Quiet Place Part II, earning $3 million in its seventh week. Its domestic total now stands at upwards of $150 million. Overseas, the movie has added an estimated $128.3 million so far, bringing its current worldwide earnings to $279 million.

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.

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After his 2018 conviction on sexual assault charges was overturned by Pennsylvania’s highest court, Bill Cosby is reportedly thinking about suing the state of Pennsylvania.

Cosby was sentenced in September 2018 for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004. 

The comedian’s publicist Andrew Wyatt says the state violated Cosby’s due process rights.

Speaking to the Domenick Nati Show Friday, Wyatt explained, “We are looking at what recourse, what legal recourse we can take against the state of Pennsylvania” and added that he believes the state has “an axe to grind against black men.”

Wyatt stated Cosby is hoping to obtain “a couple of hundred grand” in compensation.

On Sunday, Montgomery County PA District Attorney Kevin Steele issued a statement regarding misinformation stemming from the overturned sentence.  The statement was made after state Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer called Cosby’s trial a “reprehensible bait and switch” by the prosecution, in reference to a claim made by Cosby’s legal team that Montgomery County prosecutor Bruce Castor promised not to criminally prosecute Cosby in the Constand case.

The statement, obtained by ABC News, said, “To be very clear, prosecutors in this case did not believe there was an agreement not to prosecute or immunity for the defendant at the time we moved forward on the case, and we do not believe it now. If we had believed there was an agreement or immunity, we would not have moved forward in our attempt to bring Cosby to justice.”

“Among a litany of reasons, a promise never to prosecute was not mentioned by Bruce Castor when he issued his press release saying he was declining prosecution,” Steele continued. “Despite the extensive investigation we conducted, we found no credible evidence that Castor had given Cosby immunity.”

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And just like that, they’re back.

With a pic on Instagram from star and co-executive producer Sarah Jessica Parker, it’s official: production has begun on the new Sex and the City sequel, Just Like That…

The photo shows Carrie Bradshaw herself with her co-producer co-stars Cynthia Nixon, who;s back as Miranda Hobbes, and Kristin Davis, reprising her role as Charlotte York Goldenblatt, all looking fierce in New York City.

Kim Cattrall, who played Samantha Jones in the beloved HBO series and its two subsequent feature films, will not return for this new chapter.

The 10-episode series will focus on Bradshaw, Hobbes and York Goldenblatt as they “navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s,” according to a summary of the show.

And Just Like That… will also feature Sara Ramírez, as well as returning SATC stars Chris Noth, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Willie Garson and Evan Handler.

A premiere date for the series, which will stream on HBO Max, has not yet been announced.

 

 

 

 

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 Damon Dash says he’s pushing back at previous reality TV portrayals with his own personal docuseries, In Love for a Living.

In a statement to Deadline, Dash says that his new series, which will “focus on his life and that of his fiancée Raquel Horn and their 8-month-old son Dusko” was an opportunity to hit back at previous shows like We Tv’s Growing Up Hip Hop that had negatively portrayed him. “I wanted to just showcase the reality of what it just looks like to be in a great relationship, as opposed to just showcasing the trauma and the dysfunction of our culture,” he noted. In Love for a Living will be available via Damon Dash Studios, Dash’s forthcoming streaming service and production studio.

In other news, Devon Terrell has been tapped to star opposite Aida Osman and Kamillion in Issa Rae‘s HBO Max comedy series Rap Sh*t, Deadline has learned. As previously reported, the series follows two estranged high school friends from Miami who reunite to form a rap group. Terrell will play Cliff, Shawna’s “supportive but long-distance boyfriend who currently attends law school in New York.” A release date for Rap Sh*t has yet to be announced.

Finally, BET has announced the launch of a new original weekly show titled Celebrity Stash. Now available on BET Her’s YouTube Channel, the eight-episode series will feature a new celebrity guest every week that “will invite fans into their home to… help decide which treasures to keep and which to donate.” Featured celebrities include LeToya Luckett, Amara La Negra, Bow Wow and Eva Marcille, among others.

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HGTV star Christina Haack may not have kissed a frog to find a prince, but she came pretty close.

On Instagram, Haack discusses her new relationship with Joshua Hall, but her story about how she found love the same year her short-lived marriage to second husband Ant Anstead ended is turning some heads.

That’s where the amphibian comes in.

“I met Josh when I wasn’t in a state of fear or fight-or-flight,” Haack says, explaining, “I had taken time off social [media], hired a spiritual coach and smoked a Bufo toad (which basically reset my brain and kicked out years of anxiety in 15 mins).”

The venom of the Bufo toad, a substance scientifically known as substance 5-MeO-DMT, can produce psychedelic effects, but a recent European study noted that it also produced “sustained enhancement of satisfaction with life, and easing of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”

Haack doesn’t elaborate on the substance’s effects, but she’s apparently more comfortable in her skin, so she’s shaking off headlines about her new man.

“I didn’t ever want to see him stress over the media stalking him and his family,” she writes, adding that it’s “already begun to a uncomfortable degree.”

Haack adds of the media, “That’s partly why there is so many failed celeb relationships, they turn new relationships into a circus.”

She concludes, “[Y]es ‘another relationship’ and guess what. I’m 38 — I’ll do what I want.”

Haack, who formerly co-starred with first ex-husband Tarek El Moussa in Flip or Flop, currently stars in her own design show called Christina on the Coast. 

Apparently, the home decor celeb is setting another trend: The question “How do you smoke a bufo toad?” currently is a leading search on Google, producing some 328,000 results.

 

 

 

 

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Screen legend Robert Redford and Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin have teamed up to bring the work of one of their favorite authors to the small screen, in the AMC drama Dark Winds.

Based on author Tony Hillerman‘s “Leaphorn and Chee” book series, the 1970s-set Dark Winds follows two Navajo police officers investigating a series of grisly murders. AMC notes, “the case forces them to challenge their own spiritual beliefs and come to terms with the trauma of their pasts.”

The show’s writers room is comprised of Native American writers, and its two leads, Westworld‘s Zahn McClarnon and The Red Road‘s Kiowa Gordon, who play the investigators, share Native American ancestry. 

In a statement, Martin said, “Down here in the Southwest, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are as iconic as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Philip Marlowe, and Travis McGee.” Martin adds he “could not agree fast enough” to help adapt Hillerman’s work.

Redford added, “I read my first Tony Hillerman novel in 1986 while filming in New Mexico and was immediately hooked,” calling the author, “a master storyteller.” The multiple Oscar winner added, “I am happy to partner with George…and AMC on this project, and am especially grateful for the collaboration with President Nez and The Navajo Nation.” 

Season one of Dark Winds will include six episodes and is expected to premiere on AMC+ and AMC in 2022.

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While it remains to be seen if the trend continues through the weekend, it seems movie audiences are eager for an opening night experience like the pre-pandemic days. Sneak previews of Marvel Studios’ Black Widow earned nearly $14 million nationwide on Thursday.

The figure bests sneaks for the first big hits of the pandemic era: A Quiet Place Part II earned $4.8 million in its preview debut back in May, and Fast 9 — the most successful movie of the year to date — made $7.1 million on its Thursday opening a month later.

Black Widow, the standalone prequel adventure of star and executive producer Scarlett Johansson‘s Avenger, has already made more than $22 million from 30 overseas markets. Stateside, it’s been buoyed by solid reviews: aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has it “Certified Fresh” with a score of 81%.

Black Widow is also available to watch via Disney+ Premier Access.

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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With the seemingly endless need for content in the age of streaming, there are reports that Reese Witherspoon is about to cash in. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Legally Blonde star and her Hello Sunshine production company — which produces Reese’s Emmy-nominated hits The Morning Show for Apple TV+ and Little Fires Everywhere for Hulu, as well as HBO’s Emmy-winning Big Little Lies — is “exploring” a sale, and that the asking price could hit a billion bucks.

Reese’s company also produces a podcast, and is home to Reese’s Book Club.

Dedicated to “shining a light on female authorship and agency,” Hello Sunshine — which Witherspoon runs with her husband, former Hollywood agent Jim Toth, and venture capitalist Seth Rodsky — has developed into a lifestyle brand to boot. Its current successes and potential for churning out new content have attracted Apple as a potential buyer, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Elle Woods would be proud.

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Fans of SpongeBob Squarepants, rejoice: The Patrick Star Show debuts today on Paramount+. 

Bill Fagerbakke [FOG-ger-bahk] reprises his voice role as the titular pink starfish. The show also features Tom Wilson voicing Patrick’s dad, Cecil Star, and Cree Summer as Patrick’s oddball mom, Bunny. There’s also Patrick’s genius grandfather, GrandPat, voiced by Dana Snyder, and Patrick’s kid sister Squidina, who’s played by Jill Talley.

Patrick and Bunny gave ABC Audio a hint about the new series, which has him becoming a TV personality.

Patrick says, “Well, I just like to do whatever my bossy little sister tells me what to do, because she gets so mad, so we do a show every night! And we have fun…And my mom gives me sandwiches, and there are these two old guys in the house that I always forget who they are.”

Bunny interjects, “That’s your dad and your grandfather, dear. But I understand they’re hard to recognize — they change their clothes.”

Fagerbakke has voiced Patrick Star since SpongeBob Squarepants launched on Nickelodeon in 1999. He tells ABC Audio it’s “beautiful” to have had the job for this long.

“To be able to have something with such continuity and to have personal relationships with people you work with for over 20 years. That’s something one never expects,” says Fagerbakke. “And man, do I appreciate it.”

Summer adds, “This SpongeBob universe is so beloved that it…just keeps going and keeps growing. And so to be a part of something that is loved this deeply is just an honor.”  

Other members of the SpongeBob Squarepants gang also appear in the new series, the second small-screen spin-off from the flagship show created by the late Stephen Hillenburg, who died of ALS at age 57 in 2018. 

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