Entertainment

With the premiere of Black Widow just days away, the dating app Plenty of Fish conducted a survey to see what its users thought of the super spy and other comic characters when it comes to dating. 

No pressure, ladies, but Wonder Woman remains the ideal “girlfriend or wife” for the guys on the app, according to the non-scientific poll of more than 2,000 users. 

In fact, 55% of the guys polled say they’d prefer the DC Comics heroine over Scarlett Johansson‘s Black Widow from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with 26% saying they’d prefer the former Russian super-spy over the Amazonian princess.

The poll also revealed that 28% of comic movie fans would most like to see Black Widow and Hawkeye as a couple. The Incredible Hulk shipped with Black Widow was sought after by 24%, and 23% want to see Black Widow dating Black Panther. 

However, if Widow could date outside the Marvel Universe, 17% said they’d like her to date Batman. 

And while 59% said they’ve all but hidden their Marvel fandom on their dating profile, the survey surprisingly revealed maybe they shouldn’t: More than half of men on the app and 37% of women say it’s a turn-on if someone says they’re a Marvel fan. What’s more, 20% say they’ve used Marvel references as a pick-up line, and 30% say they’ve bonded with a date over Marvel. 

Black Widow opens July 9 in theaters and on Disney+ Premiere Access.

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

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Lucy Hale, who recently celebrated Pretty Little Liars‘ 11th anniversary, wishes nothing but the best for the show’s upcoming reboot.  

Speaking with ABC Audio, the actress weighed in on Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin — a reboot that comes not even four years after PLL aired its final episode on Freeform.

“I personally don’t have a problem with it. This is the honest truth,” said Hale, who starred as Aria Montgomery in the original series. “I’m very curious to see what it is even going to be [about]… I don’t know if it’s the same characters or the same storyline or what’s even happening!”

“I love Pretty Little Liars, so I think I’ll like the reboot,” Hale continued.  “I wish them well. I truly do. I hope it’s a major success.”

Hale, 32, noted that reboots allow new actors to get their start in Hollywood and, as a reminder to PLL fans, referenced her own big break.

“I’ve been a part of reboots, I did the Bionic Woman reboot,” she explained, referring to the 2007 re-do of the series that originally ran between 1976 and 1978.  Hale played Becca Somers, the teenage sister of the titular character.

“I know some friends that have been a part of reboots and got trashed for even being a part of it, but I think as an artist, you always have to be supportive of other people,” Lucy continued.

Hale, who recently partnered with the sustainable dog food brand KARMA, said the reboot will allow more people falling in love with Pretty Little Liars.

“I think a lot of people will be discovering it for the first time, too, like they won’t even know the original people, which is really funny,” she smiled. “I only have well wishes for everyone involved.”

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Sure, Fast 9 proudly wears its ridiculousness on its sleeve, but social media took it to the next level over the weekend, with endless memes inserting Vin Diesel‘s character, Dom Toretto, into scenes from what seemed to be every film. 

While members of Dom Toretto’s “family” launched themselves into space this time around, is it any stretch to think Dom could have taken on Thanos in Avengers: Endgame? Or perhaps tackled dinosaurs in Jurassic Park? Or helped young Kevin McCallister in Home Alone?

The running gag usually shows Dom in a t-shirt, wielding a shotgun, against which any foe is no match.  It begins with a character from the film declaring, “Dom, no! That’s suicide!”

“Thanos is strong,” one picture touted. “But family is stronger.”  

“A T-Rex is strong…” another picture showed. “But not as strong as family.”

An early example poked fun at F9‘s space scene, picturing Dom in his muscle car, flying wingman to Anakin Skywalker during the epic opening battle in Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith. “How are you in space?” Anakin asks. “You don’t need logic when you have family,” is Dom’s captioned response.

You get the idea.

As of Monday, “Fast 9 family memes” calls up some 43,400,000 Google search results. But who needs search engines when you’ve got family?

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Paul Rudd has been known for playing pranks — for example, his years-long habit of playing the same clip from the 1988 movie Mac and Me whenever he appears on Conan to promote a new film — but he gets kudos for what comics call “commitment to a bit” for a gag he pulled on his pal Seth Rogen. 

On Twitter, Rogen admitted that his 40-Year-Old Virgin co-star clowned him big time, but honestly, it’s not really obvious who got the last laugh.

“Once I was in the spa in a hotel in Vegas getting a massage,” Rogen recalled. “When I finished I turned over and to my shock Paul Rudd was massaging me. He saw me go in and convinced the masseuse to let him take over, thinking I’d notice immediately.”

It’s not known when the prank happened, but the story Seth posted immediately went viral. 

“Suddenly Paul Rudd turning out to be my masseuse is the thing I want most in the whole world,” one person  responded. Another wrote, “Seriously how do I get in on this prank?!”

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Leslie Odom Jr. is thrilled to be part of Knives Out 2, the sequel to the 2019 hit movie, especially since he’ll be working alongside some familiar faces.

Odom, 39, raved to ABC Audio about the A-list cast, which includes his Central Park co-star Kathryn Hahn, as well as Janelle Monáe and Kate Hudson, with whom he starred in Harriet and Music, respectively.

Despite that, the Hamilton star finds it “funny” he’s nervous about the opportunity.

“There comes a time in the business where you just feel like you don’t know anybody,” said Odom. “There is a part of me that still feels like that 23- or 24-year-old kid that just got to LA and nobody knows me and I’m still trying to make it.”

Nerves aside, Leslie disclosed he’s most looking forward to working Knives Out 2 director RianJohnson.

“To work with Rian on his new film is what I’m most excited about” the Oscar nominee declared, noting Johnson is primed to “deliver something that is exciting and surprising to the fans, just like the first one!” 

Asked if he could tease anything about the sequel, Leslie grinned, “I’m not giving away a thing. No way!” However, he did note some of his Knives Out 2 co-stars are talented singers.

“I feel like there could be a musical number. I’ve got to get to work on that,” he joked, and urged fans to “write a fake fan letter” demanding one be included. (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

Knives Out 2, also starring Daniel Craig, Dave Bautista and Ethan Hawke, is slated to premiere next year.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Florence Pugh doesn’t care if you don’t like her or her relationship with Zach Braff. 

Speaking with the U.K. newspaper The Times in a piece published Sunday, the Black Widow star opened up about the criticism and bullying she receives from people who apparently don’t understand her relationship with Braff, who’s 21 years older than the 25-year-old actress.

“It’s my life,” Pugh said, according to BuzzFeed News. “And I’m not doing anything to please people or to make it a better headline or story.”

She added, “I want to also be a person!”

The Black Widow star also addressed the bullying she’s dealt with on Instagram as a result of her romance with the Scrubs actor. 

“It’s so weird to me to go on to someone’s page and s*** on it,” she shared. “That’s so not my nature — to go and bully for the sake of bullying. It’s such an odd thing that we’ve become OK with in the past 10 years of social media.”

“The thing is, people want Instagram to be a nicer place,” she continued. “They want to see nice things. They want to be inspired and they want to be happy.”

“I don’t mind you not liking me,” she concluded. “That’s absolutely fine. In which case, don’t follow me.”

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Matthew McConaughey issued an inspiring and encouraging speech marking the Fourth of July.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday, the Oscar-winning actor celebrated America’s birthday in a heartfelt message about the state of the country.

“Let’s admit that this last year — this trip around the sun — was also another head-scratcher,” said McConaughey, 51. “But let’s also remember that we are babies, you know, as a country.”

“We’re basically going through puberty in comparison to other countries’ timeline, and we’re going to go through growing pains.  We are going through growing pains,” McConaughey continued. “This is not an excuse, to say, this is just the reality.”

McConaughey looked on the bright side of the country’s relatively young age and explained that he views it as an opportunity to grow and learn from the past.

“This is good,” he said. “We gotta keep learning, we gotta keep maturing, we gotta keep striving, we gotta keep climbing, we gotta keep building.” The only way to do that, said McConaughey, is to “maintain hope along the way, as we continue to evolve… Because the alternative sucks.”

“I believe in America,” McConaughey declared. “We’re constantly in motion, we’re on the way trying to get wiser, trying to get braver, trying to dream more, trying to do more, trying to be more fair — take the right kind of responsibilities to gain the right kind of freedoms.”

McConaughey noted people need to be “appreciative and supportive” of the nation’s collective triumphs and evolution, stressing, “We are all in this together.”

“[We’re] on the way to being the best we can be,” he closed. “Why?  Because that’s who we are.”

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It’s official: F9 is the biggest movie to come out of the pandemic.  The latest installment in the Fast & Furious franchise raced past the $500 million mark during the holiday weekend, leaving its competition in the dust.

F9, which opened in the U.S. June 25, grossed an additional $30 million across 4,203 American theaters over the long July 4th weekend, boosting its global numbers past the half-billion-dollar mark.  The movie is currently the only American film to earn more than $500 million globally since 2019.

Coming in second is the animated newcomer The Boss Baby: Family Business, which earned $20 million in its opening weekend.  The movie stars Alec Baldwin, Jimmy Kimmel, Amy Sedaris and James Marsden.

Universal Studios cleaned house this weekend, claiming the top three spots in the holiday box office roundup, with its other newcomer, The Forever Purge, coming in third, with $15.6 million.  The movie is the fifth and, reportedly, final film of The Purge franchise.

Dropping to fourth with $5 million in its sixth week of release is Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II.  The thriller is only another five million away from crossing the $150 million mark in domestic ticket sales.

Rounding out the top five is the Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson action-comedy sequel The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which drew in another $3.9 million in its third week of release.

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A new curve ball and a new villain emerged Monday night on The Bachelorette.

Following last week’s jaw-dropping rose ceremony, Tayshia Adams announced that Blake Moynes, who starred in her season, would be joining the other 14 men in the quest to win Katie’s heart. 

Blake received a chilly reception from the other suitors, especially after it was revealed he would get the first of two one-on-one dates.

Their day of horseback riding turned personal after Blake inquired about Katie’s sex-positive outlook. That led to her retelling her story about experiencing a non-consensual sexual encounter and opening up about how the guilt she suffered eventually gave way to her openness about discussing “healthy sex.”

Blake’s declaration that he’d never do anything to make Katie feel “scared” of him “in any form” won him the date rose.

The evening was capped off with a private concert by American Idol winner Laine Hardy, who performed his new song, “Memorize You.”

Later, 13 of the men competed in an intense game of “Bash Ball” — a mash-up of basketball and rugby — emceed by Bachelor Nation favorites Wells Adams and Franco.  Katie abruptly ended the battle when Michael got hurt following a cheap shot by Hunter.

However, at the after party, Hunter wooed Katie by showing his “dad” side and broke out some pictures of his kids.  The gesture earned him the date rose.

Katie’s one-on-one date with Andrew S., who is Black, included a candid conversation about their future together, particularly her feelings about the possibility of raising mixed race children.

“One of my exes…she was worried about you know, having mixed children,” he recalled.  “And I know her heart and I know her character and she’s not racist…but she was worried about going to a grocery store and someone asking, ‘Are these your kids?’ and that was tough for me.”

After acknowledging that she felt “so naive as a white woman of the struggles you have experienced as a Black man, especially a Black man trying to date a white woman,” she added firmly, “I think our love could be so beautiful and our children would be just as beautiful as that love, and I don’t give a flying f*** when people want to look at me.”

Explaining that Andrew made her laugh and that they “shared a lot,” Katie rewarded him with the date rose.

Meanwhile, a new villain emerged on Monday.  Hunter, not satisfied with earning a rose, hogged up Katie for a good portion of the pre-rose ceremony.  His actions angered the other men, who feared their chances of impressing Katie were dwindling fast.

The rose ceremony brought Katie a step closer to finding love as Andrew M., Josh and Quartney were sent home.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, know that you are not alone. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) offers help 24/7 at 800.656.HOPE or RAINN.org.

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Filmmaker Richard Donner has died at 91 years old, ABC News has confirmed.

Donner, whose 1978 Superman: The Motion Picture starring Christopher Reeve, remains the gold standard for the Man of Steel in cinema, also directed ’80s classics like The Goonies and the ’90s holiday staple Scrooged, and produced movies including The Lost Boys and the original X-Men film for 20th Century Fox with his wife Lauren Shuler Donner. 

The 1987 buddy cop film Lethal Weapon, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, became nearly synonymous with the Bronx, New York-born director. The film spawned three sequels — and was on track for a fourth, which was in development before his death. 

Born Richard Donald Schwartzberg, Donner got his start both on and behind the stage, before transitioning to TV, where he directed series from The Twilight Zone and The Fugitive to Gilligan’s Island. 

Donner’s first big feature success was the 1976 thriller The Omen, which led to the coveted Superman directing gig. The filmmaker’s treatment of the character — and Reeves’ powerful, yet never cynical portrayal of the hero and his alter-ego Clark Kent — remains a high water mark for the genre and the character.

Donner returned for 1981’s Superman II, but parted ways with the studio before it was completed. In 2006, the “Donner Cut” of the film was released onto DVD, to critical and fan acclaim.

Donner’s death was mourned by friends and former colleagues including Steven Spielberg, Glover, and Gibson, Variety reports. 

Spielberg remembered Donner as your “favorite coach, smartest professor, fiercest motivator, most endearing friend, staunchest ally, and — of course — the greatest Goonie of all.” He added, “He was all kid. All heart. All the time. I can’t believe he’s gone, but his husky, hearty laugh will stay with me always.”

For his part, Gibson commented, “Donner! My friend, my mentor. Oh, the things I learned from him! He undercut his own talent and greatness with a huge chunk of humility, referring to himself as ‘merely a traffic cop.’ He left his ego at the door and required that of others.”

Gibson added, “If we piled up all the good deeds he did, it would stretch to some uncharted place in the firmament. I will sorely miss him, with all his mischievous wit and wisdom.”

For his part, Glover said, “My heart is broken.” 

The actor added, “Working with Dick Donner, Mel Gibson and the Lethal Weapon team was one of the proudest moments of my career. I will forever be grateful to him for that.”

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