(NOTE LANGUAGE)While admitting the COVID pandemic has been “devastating” for the hospitality industry, outspoken Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares star Gordon Ramsay says there was a silver lining: Restaurants are getting better post-lockdowns.
“Well, just s***holes in a prime position” were wiped out, he tells the Radio Times, and new and better restaurants are “taking advantage because they’re in a great location and they’ve got the [foot traffic now].”
He says, “the crap’s gone,” and “now we’ve wiped the slate clean, which is good.”
With many restaurants shuttered, would-be patrons got savvier in their own kitchens, he explains, which will make for a more enjoyable dining experience now that we’re able to go back to fancy dinners out.
Ramsay explains, “Customers have got so much smarter in the last two years. They know a lot more about food than they ever have done, and have been making their own sourdough, so it’s taught everyone [in the restaurant industry] to raise their game.”
“It’s wiped the arrogance from the industry,” he declares.
A new poll of everyday movie fans gave them a shot to cast their own Oscars votes ahead of Hollywood’s biggest night, and they say Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune should take home Best Picture.
Fandango’s streaming service Vudu quizzed everyday folks as to whom they think should go home with Sunday night’s biggest prizes, and the sci-fi epic came out on top, with 27% of the votes — far outpacing the 11% who thought the leading contender The Power of the Dog should win.
Thirteen percent preferred Steven Spielberg‘s reimagining of West Side Story.
Dune was also the fans’ pick for Best Adapted Screenplay, as it was adapted from Frank Herbert‘s seminal sci-fi epic.
On the acting side it was closer: 24% said Andrew Garfield should win Best Actor for tick…tick…BOOM!, but 23% tapped Will Smith for King Richard, tying with Benedict Cumberbatch for Power of the Dog.
As for Best Actress, 28% of viewers voted Kristen Stewart be crowned for playing Princess Diana in Spencer. By comparison, 24% wanted to see Nicole Kidman win for Being the Ricardos, and 22% preferred Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
Voters in this poll tapped J.K. Simmons in Being the Ricardos and Kirsten Dunst in The Power of the Dog, respectively, in the Best Supporting Actor and Actress category.
While they didn’t choose West Side Story for Best Picture, voters in Vudu’s poll wanted to see Steven Spielberg hoist the Best Director trophy for the musical; Encanto was their choice for Best Animated Feature, and it’s tune “Dos Oruguitas” by Lin-Manuel Miranda outranked Billie Eilish‘s title track from No Time To Die as Best Song.
See how close the viewers’ votes came to the officials ones, when the 94th Annual Academy Awards airs Sunday, March 27 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Ahead of the Oscars on March 27, here’s a look at the leading contenders for Best Actor and Best Actress.
Will Smith is nominated for Best Actor for his role in King Richard as the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. This is Smith’s third Oscar nomination, and so far, he’s won quite a few of the awards that are key indicators of Oscar glory, including the Screen Actors Guild and the BAFTA Awards for Best Actor.
Benedict Cumberbatch earned his second Oscar nod this year for his role as an abusive cowboy in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. He’s won a few awards so far this season, but not as many as Smith.
In the Best Actress category, Jessica Chastain may be the one to beat. She’s earned her third Oscar nod for her starring role as the late televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye — and she’s won the most awards of any other female acting nominee leading up to the Oscars.
But don’t count out Nicole Kidman. A previous Oscar-winner, she received her fifth career nomination for her portrayal of TV icon Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos.
The rest of the Best Actor field includes Andrew Garfield for tick, tick…Boom!, two-time Oscar-winner Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth, and previous winner Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos.
The rest of the Best Actress nominees include Bardem’s wife Penélope Cruz — also a past Oscar winner — for Parallel Mothers. Olivia Colman, nominated for The Lost Daughter, has an Oscar at home as well. The only first-time nominee in the category is Kristen Stewart, for Spencer.
Tune into the 94th annual Academy Awards March 27 on ABC to see who takes home the prizes.
Heeeere’s Benji! Deadline reports A new London stage adaptation of Stephen King‘s horror classic The Shining is in the works with Ben Stiller in talks to play the role of crazed, haunted dad Jack Torrance, portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the 1980 film. Rehearsals are set to begin in the fall, in anticipation of a January 2023 opening. The play is expected to eventually move to Broadway…
Betty Gilpin will reunite with Damon Lindelof, co-writer of the 2020 film The Hunt, for the Peacock drama series Mrs. Davis. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the streamer confirms it’s “an exploration of faith versus technology -— an epic battle of biblical and binary proportions.” Lindelof’s previous credits include HBO’s Watchmen and The Leftovers, as well as ABC’s Lost, all of which he co-created and directed. Gilpin will next be seen starring alongside Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in the Starz anthology series Gaslit, premiering April 24…
American Housewife‘s Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger have been cast as the leads in a pilot for The Winchesters, the CW’s prequel to the hit series Supernatural, according to Variety. Donnelly and Rodger will play Mary Campbell and John Winchester, respectively, the parents of Supernatural protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester, played respectively by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Per Variety, Ackles will narrate Dean’s parents’ love story, detailing how they put it all on the line to not only save their relationship, but the entire world…
The Suicide Squad‘s Daniela Melchior has joined the cast of Fast and Furious 10, according to Deadline. She joins Jason Momoa and franchise stars Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez and Sung Kang, who all are expected to return. Diesel will co-produce with Justin Lin, who’s also on board to direct…
This season’s breakout hit network comedy is back tonight with new episodes.
Quinta Brunson created and stars in ABC’s Abbott Elementary, which is basically a workplace comedy set in a Philadelphia public school, and when they say write what you know? She tells ABC Audio that’s exactly what she did.
“My mom was a teacher for 40 years in the Philadelphia school district. I was a Philadelphia public school student for most of my, you know, years,” she explains. “I rode to school with her in the morning. I stayed with her after school…I heard about every student and every decision the school district was making or a principal…that was going to make her job a little bit harder that year.”
Despite that, Brunson had to beg her mother to retire when it was time, recalling, “She was driving me nuts because she wouldn’t.”
“This job that she had so many feelings on, she still didn’t want to leave,” she continues, “and I think that’s where the love of the field for me and the love of the show came from.”
So what does mom think of Abbott Elementary? “I think she enjoying the show. My mom’s a sitcom watcher. You know, her my dad they’re TV watchers…And I think it’s really cool because they’re watching Abbot almost as if I’m not their daughter. They’re just, it’s another show for them to enjoy.”
An added bonus — Quinta’s family now understands what she does for a living.
“At point I was making like, really good money working at BuzzFeed. And my mom just didn’t know what BuzzFeed was. So she was like, are you stripping? How are you paying for everything?” she recalls. “So this is a very concrete thing that is understandable to the whole family.”
The talent just keeps on rolling in on American Idol.
Monday’s episode of the singing competition saw a lot of talent come through the doors, with one lucky contestant securing the final Platinum ticket of the season.
Here’s a look at the night’s talent.
Tobias Hill, 26: This self-proclaimed jack of all trades sang “Knocks Me Off My Feet” by Donell Jones, and while it didn’t exactly knock the judges off their feet, Katy Perry admitted he had “stardust,” and the judges gave him a shot to prove himself with a ticket to Hollywood.
Morgan Gruber, 17: After a beautiful rendition of Elle King‘s “Can’t Be Loved,” Gruber was declared a “diamond in the rough” by the judges, with Luke Bryan and Katy even marking her down as Top 20 talent. She earned a standing ovation and a trip to the next round of competition.
Kaylin Roberson, 23 and Matt Gorman, 23: This couple came in together and sang their original song “Fast Forever.” While they hoped to stay together throughout the competition, only Kaylin made it through to Hollywood week. The judges even drew comparisons to Huntergirl who snagged the seasons first Platinum ticket.
Saylor Woodmansee, 18: Drawing from the emotion of her father leaving her and her mother for another woman, Saylor gave a passionate audition of Kodaline‘s “All I Want.” Although her voice cracked several times during the performance, the judges saw past it and pushed her through to the next round.
Cameron Whitcomb, 18: Hailing from Canada with a strong accent, Cameron surprised the judges when he began singing and a smoky, deep voice emerged as he sang “Rock, Salt and Nails” by Waylon Jennings. Lionel Richie thought needed more time to develop, but Katy and Luke sent him through to Hollywood.
Jay Copeland, 23: After dropping out of college to go after his dream and try out for American Idol, this soulful singer got Katy out of her seat and dancing as he belted out Stevie Wonder‘s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).” The judges couldn’t help but rave about him, declaring that they’d been waiting for someone like him. Needless to say, he earned a ticket to Hollywood, but he’ll get to relax because he was given the season’s final of three Platinum tickets.
American Idol continues Sunday, March 27 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Deadline is reporting Christina Ricci is back in the family…the Addams Family that is. The actress, who played macabre moppet Wednesday Addams in Barry Sonnenfeld‘s ’90s-era Addams Family movies, will be back for Wednesday, a forthcoming Netflix series based around the character.
The trade notes that Ricci won’t be reprising the role — Scream 5 star Jenny Ortega is playing Wednesday — but Christina will be cast in a recurring role that producers want to keep secret “to protect the surprise for fans.”
Catherine Zeta-Jones will play Wednesday’s mom, Morticia Addams, in the Tim Burton-produced series, with Luis Guzmán playing family patriarch Gomez, who was portrayed by the late Raul Julia in the films.
With just days to go until Hollywood’s biggest night, Oscars producers Will Packer and Shayla Cowan have announced the latest batch of stars who will present at the 94th Annual Academy Awards.
Bill Murray, Elliot Page, Tiffany Haddish, skateboarding icon Tony Hawk and Encanto‘s Stephanie Beatriz will join DJ Khaled, Jennifer Garner, surfing legend Kelly Slater, and Olympic snowboarder Shaun White on envelope-opening duty.
As previously reported, already announced presenters include Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins, Rami Malek, Lupita Nyong’o, and Lady Gaga will also take to the stage, along with Oscar nominees Daniel Kaluuya, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta, among other famous names.
Hosted by Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall, the 94th Annual Academy Awards will air live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 8 p.m. from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
In a cover feature in the upcoming issue of Men’s Health, Oscar-winning actor and seemingly tireless 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto gets real about his motivations.
When asked about juggling the titles of both movie star and rock star, Leto tells the magazine, “I’m impatient, and I guard my time really well. And that’s probably why I’m able to do multiple things and achieve some of my goals with those things.”
He also adds the caveat, “If you want to achieve greatly, I can tell you how, but it may not be what you want. I’ve…achieved some goals in my life, and it’s been a beautiful thing. But there’s a price you pay for all of it…”
While admitting balance is important in life, Leto also comments, “Why would you ever wanna settle?”
As for staying in share, for Leto, no amount of gym time compares to being on stage. “I’d put it somewhere between amateur bowling and . . . Usain Bolt,” he comments.
“[Y]ou’re up there having a good time, but it’s full on for a couple of hours. You’re singing and running around, you have so much adrenaline, and you’re performing at your limit. Your heart is pounding outta your chest, you’re dripping sweat, and you’re exhilarated, but you’re working your body in a really intense way.”
That said, the 50-year-old star isn’t sharing any secrets about keeping his looks. “I do have a good answer for that, but I probably won’t tell you. Just to keep everybody guessing,” he quips, adding, “honestly, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.”
Leto can now be seen in the Apple TV+ series WeCrashed, and will soon be seen in theaters in Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man universe movie, Morbius.
Disney+ just dropped a TV spot for its upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and while it doesn’t show much in the way of new footage that hasn’t already been seen in its trailer, the spot closes with a shot of the man in black: Darth Vader.
The closing seconds of the spot shows Vader igniting his red lightsaber, as his iconic breathing can be heard.
As reported, Hayden Christensen is returning as the fallen student of Ewan McGregor‘s titular Jedi master, and the actor has teased the pair will cross lightsabers at some point in the show, which takes place 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.
That film closed with a defeated Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader being fitted with his fearsome black suit to save his life, following a duel to the death with his battle brother and former teacher. The film juxtaposes that
“birth” with the death of Anakin’s love, Padme Amidala, who dies giving birth to their twins, Luke and Leia. Obi-Wan vows to watch over young Luke as he grows up on Tatooine, which is apparently what the series is about — which also sees the Empire dispatching its fearsome Inquisitors to hunt down the remaining Jedi.
The only other shot of significance in the commercial is a glimpse of Anakin’s old lightsaber, which Kenobi kept safe until passing it to a 19-year-old Luke in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.
Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts May 25th, the anniversary of the original film’s release in 1977.
