Entertainment

Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart was feted in Washington, D.C. Sunday night by a host of celebrities, there to pay tribute as he accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

It was the first presentation of the award since 2019, when Dave Chappelle received it. The comic was among those who showed up to honor Stewart, saying of his stewardship of The Daily Show after 9/11, “The news was off the chain and Jon was the only voice that helped people decipher that madness.”

In accepting the prize, Stewart noted, “There’s a lot of talk about what’s going to happen to comedy — you know, ‘the Slap’ — and will comedy survive in this new moment? Comedy survives in every moment.”

Referencing his bust of Twain, Stewart added, “This man’s decapitated visage is a reminder that what we have is fragile and precious.”

Stewart also said of using comedy to speak truth to power, “The real threat is not the fragility of audiences” or “the pronoun police,” but rather, “the fragility of leaders.”

Others who took part in the ceremony included Jimmy Kimmel and former Daily Show correspondent Olivia Munn, there with her partner, comedian John Mulaney. Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson were also there, with Pete also serving as one of the night’s guest speakers.

Other Daily Show vets, including Samantha Bee and Stephen Colbert also spoke; the latter appeared remotely thanks to his recent COVID-19 diagnosis.

Gary Clark Jr. acted as the award ceremony’s house band, and Stewart’s fellow Garden Stater Bruce Springsteen joined the blues musician for “Come Together.” Springsteen also played an acoustic version of “Born to Run,” according to accounts.

An edited version of the awards ceremony will air June 21 at 9 p.m. on PBS.

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Emily in Paris co-star William Abadie reveals the show will start filming its third season in June. “We’re fully in pre-production and I think we’re supposed to head to Paris early in June, so I’m foreseeing a little bit of that soon to come,” he told Us Weekly at the New York Academy of Arts Tribeca Ball on Wednesday. Season two ended with a major cliffhanger, with Lily Collins‘ Emily torn between staying in Paris or moving home to Chicago…

Jim Hartz, who hosted NBC’s Today show with Barbara Walters in the mid-1970s, died April 17 in Fairfax County, Virginia of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his wife, Alexandra Dickson Hartz, announced in a statement obtained by Deadline. He was 82. Hartz joined Today and covered President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation, the end of the Vietnam War, and the American Bicentennial during his two years as a part of the morning show…

Ahead of Sunday’s season one finale, Epix has renewed the sci-fi horror series From, starring Lost alum Harold Perrineau, for a 10-episode second season, the premium cable channel announced on Sunday. The series centers on a town in middle America that “traps all those who enter.” Perrineau plays Boyd Stevens, a sheriff who helps keep the town together while he also searches for “a way to escape this seemingly inescapable nightmare.” Production kicks off this summer…

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The animated family film The Bad Guys scored an estimated $24 million to top the North American box office over the weekend The film — featuring the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Zazie Beetz, Craig Robinson and Awkwafina — also grabbed an estimated $63.1 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $87.1 million.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 held on to second place with an estimated $15.2 million in its third week of release. Internationally, where it opened a week earlier, the live action-CGI animated sequel to 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog has earned $142 million so far, bringing its current global tally to $287.8 million.

That left last week’s box office champ, Fantastic Beats: The Secrets of Dumbledore, in third place.It delivered an estimated $14 million to bring its two-week North American total to $67.1 million. Overseas, Fantastic Beasts 3 has grossed $213.2 million, bringing its worldwide tally to $280.3 million.

The Northman — starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe — and the Nicolas Cage meta comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, took fourth and fifth place, respectively, earning an estimated $12 million and $7.2 million.

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After a year of virtual celebration, the Bounce Trumpet Awards returned in-person Saturday, for a night of recognizing the outstanding achievements of leaders in the Black community. The 30th anniversary show airs on Juneteenth this year, so here’s a preview of what to expect from the monumental ceremony.

Musical performers PJ Morton, Tank, Mary Mary and more, all took the stage to help celebrate this year’s six nominees, whose work in entertainment, politics and community service helps to push the Black community forward.

The Excellence in Entertainment Award went to Courtney B. Vance, whose decades-long acting career earned him numerous entertainment accolades. Upon accepting the award, he said, “I have never done this work for honors and a trophy but I feel deeply blessed.”

Stan Lathan, the prolific director responsible for launching the groundbreaking series, Def Comedy Jam, said he hopes to continue to “make a difference” while accepting his Living Legend Award. And Zaila Avant-garde, 15,, the first-ever Black person to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, thanked her mother, Scripps and Bounce TV for her Rising Star Award.

Trumpet Awards founder and creator Xernona Clayton delivered a heartfelt speech in the presentation of her namesake award, before honoring Georgia Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Osoff for their political advancements. In their acceptance speeches, which were shown virtually, the senators thanked Clayton for her work as a civil rights leader.

Sierra Leone Princess Sarah Culberson was the recipient of the Impact Award, for her philanthropic efforts distributing aid during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and the COVID-19 crisis. “To be recognized in this way is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed when I set out to do this work,” she said in her speech.

The 30th Anniversary Trumpet Awards airs Sunday, June 19, at 7 p.m. ET, on Bounce TV.

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And then there were 11.

The search for the next American Idol continued Sunday night as the Top 14 dwindled down to the Top 11.

Before it was revealed who unfortunately hadn’t secured enough of America’s votes, the talented singers took the stage to perform a song fitting of the night’s theme: Breakout Hits. Keeping with the theme it only made sense to have former contestant and Idol icon Gabby Barrett return to mentor the current contestants. After all, her breakout hit “I Hope” went five times platinum and was the best-selling country song of 2020.

After the remaining contestants left it all on the stage, America’s votes were revealed. Here’s who made the Top 11 and who was eliminated.

Top 11:
Jay: “Just The Way You Are” Bruno Mars
Huntergirl: “Baby Girl” Sugarland
Christian Guardino: “Take Me To Church” Hozier
Leah Marlene: “Happy Together” The Turtles
Fritz Hager: “Let It Go”James Bay
Tristen Gressett: “Whataya Want From Me” Adam Lambert
Lady K: “I Believe” Fantasia
Mike Parker: “Hurricane” Luke Combs
Emyrson Flora” “drivers license” Olivia Rodrigo
Noah Thompson: “Stand By Me” Ben E. King 
Nicolina: “Hallelujah” Jeff Buckley

Eliminated:
Ava Maybee: “Sign of the Times” Harry Styles
Allegra Miles: “ocean eyes” Billie Eilish
Dan Marshall: “She’s Got It All” Kenny Chesney

The Top 11 will take the stage again for America’s votes when American Idol returns Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Academy Award winners Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons play an elderly couple with a huge secret in the Amazon’s upcoming series Night Sky. 

As the new trailer reveals, the pair have for decades kept hidden that there’s a portal through space and time hidden in their basement, leading to a deserted alien planet. 

“You can’t beat the view,” Simmons’ Franklin York quips to his onscreen wife, Irene, during one of their many visits.

As they’re reaching the end of their lives, the couple debate whether to let anybody else in on their home’s most interesting feature.

However, as Amazon teases, “when an enigmatic young man enters their lives, the Yorks’ quiet existence is quickly upended…and the mystifying chamber they thought they knew so well turns out to be much more than they could ever have imagined.”

The series, which also stars Shadowhunters vet Chai Hansen and Mare of Easttown‘s Kiah McKirnan, debuts May 20 on Prime Video.

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It’s not just humans who love to have fun. Thanks to the Disneynature team, Disney+’s new film Polar Bear gives viewers a closer look at the fascinating arctic creatures.

So, what makes polar bears so perfect for the big screen? Alastair Fothergill, who co-directed the film with Jeff Wilson, tells ABC Audio, “They had the amazingly adapted to the habitat that they live in, which is in itself is a very, very beautiful place.”

“And we also knew because we tried many, many, many times, there was a lot of behaviors, a lot of aspects of their story which had never, ever been filmed before,” he continued.

It took a decade of pitching the idea to executives to make Polar Bear happen and Wilson says they wanted to make the film so badly because, “We’re both fascinated by them, we think because of their intelligence, their complete adaptability to the environment, the beauty of the where they live.”

“All of those make for fantastic, fantastic character movie elements,” he adds.

One of their favorite moments from the film is when the lead female character meets a male bear for the first time after being alone. Something Wilson describes as “extraordinary” because “it’s two bears coming together who have no other intent than to enjoy each other’s company.”

Although Polar Bear focuses on the lives of its lovable and charismatic characters, it’s also a reminder of the bleak future the Arctic has if climate change continues.

“What our mission is really with the end of the film is to empower people with information, but also to inspire them to go out and take the actions that we all can take as individuals to affect a change in the direction that we’re going,” says Fothergill. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Can you forgive a hitman? What about a mobster? Or worse, someone who takes an adult acting class?

Anthony Carrigan, who plays NoHo Hank on the HBO dark comedy Barry, tells ABC Audio all about the overarching themes of season three, which premieres Sunday.

“Forgiveness is certainly a huge theme in this season,” he reveals. “I also think that this idea of, you know, not just getting what you want, but to what lengths will you go to hold on to what you have once you get it, is a big thing as well.”

So, what’s on tap for America’s favorite mobster this season? Carrigan says Hank is “focused less on kind of prioritizing and pleasing others.”

“He’s instead actually focusing on, you know, looking after himself. And I think that’s a totally new thing for Hank,” he continues. “And I say, you know, bless his heart, like he deserves it.”

Barry returns after a longer than expected hiatus due to the pandemic, and Carrigan credits the show for giving him a silver lining throughout the shutdown.

“We were just chomping at the bit to get into at the beginning of the pandemic,” he explains. “And in a way, it kind of carried all of us through because we were all just looking forward to doing it.”

That’s not to say he wasn’t a little nervous returning after a three-year hiatus.

“I was like, “Can I still act? Like, is Hank still…was Hank…could I ever play Hank?”…How do I do this? I’m not sure how to do this anymore,” he shares. “But then once we kind of got back into it, it all just kind of came back. And fortunately, the scripts were all so good and we were all just so ready to dive back in.”

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Emmy nominee Kerry Washington‘s character will have her hands full on The Simpsons. The Scandal vet will be playing troublemaker Bart’s teacher starting on Sunday. 

Washington’s Rayshelle Peyton will replace Springfield educator Edna Krabappel as Bart’s minder; the character was retired after the 2013 death of the actress who voiced her, Marcia Wallace.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Washington says of her Springfield alter-ego, “She’s a great teacher, but like all the best teachers, she knows that her students have just as much to teach her as she has to teach them. And teaching Bart is a job filled with growth opportunities.”

Bart is apparently dealing with “complicated” feelings for his new teacher.

Co-executive producer Carolyn Omine, who wrote Washington’s debut episode “My Octopus and a Teacher,” notes of Ms. Peyton, “She’s really good at figuring out what the kids need, but she can’t really figure out what [Bart’s] problem is until he finally comes clean.”

Incidentally, Washington helped manifest the recurring role for herself. In 2020, when longtime Simpsons voice of Apu, Hank Azaria vowed to no longer lend his voice to characters of color, the actress tweeted, “Dear animators looking for black voices… I’m avail.”

One of the people who saw that tweet was Omine, who tells EW, “That just got it into my head. I began thinking, ‘Maybe she could be the new teacher. We’ve had this spot.” 

Omine and co-producer Matt Selman started writing the teacher with Kerry in mind from that point, Omine explains.

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Will Smith‘s Oscar night slap continues to reverberate through his career.

Bloomberg reports Netflix has “abandoned” a sequel to the 2017 fantasy film Bright, in which Smith starred an LAPD officer dealing with a literal troll partner, in a world in which mythical creatures are real.

The film was a hit for the streaming service, and at the time sent a shockwave through the movie industry, as it was one of Netflix’s first “gets” of a big-screen star to its original productions.

Also, National Geographic has reportedly bumped the start of Pole to Pole, which was to be Smith’s third Nat Geo series, following 2018’s One Strange Rock, and the more recent Welcome to Earth. Pole to Pole, which would have Smith visiting the top and the bottom of the planet, was supposed to get underway in three weeks. Production is now slated to start in the fall.

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