Entertainment

A new biopic called The Smashing Machine enters the ring this weekend, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt.

Johnson plays Mark Kerr, a real-life mixed martial arts fighter who battles an opioid addiction while rising through the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Director Benny Safdie tells ABC Audio he has a long history with the sport and remembers watching professional fighting on TV as a kid.

“We would watch the pay-per-views and get the tapes, because it was, like, exciting.”

Safdie would later take up fighting himself, which he says was intimidating at first.

“When you start showing up a lot, people are like, ‘OK, this guy really wants to learn.’ And then they bring you in with open arms. And it’s the most loving, supportive environment,” Safdie said. “Like when you look at it from the outside you would never expect that.”

He says those experiences helped inform The Smashing Machine.

“All these experiences were just in my head and in my body, and I never had a vessel to explore them. And so when Dwayne approached me about this movie, suddenly I saw it. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is where all of this work, and research, and everything I’ve done — it’s this world.’”

Safdie adds that The Smashing Machine is a story that centers on real-life characters, instead of simply dramatizing specific fights.

“Specifically what I wanted to do with the movie, is I wanted to connect you on a personal level to the person, so that when you do eventually see them in the ring, you have a completely different point of view of who that person is.”

The Smashing Machine marks Safdie’s first solo directing effort. He previously helmed two films, 2017’s Good Time and 2019’s Uncut Gems, alongside his brother Josh Safdie.

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Even more actors have joined Netflix’s upcoming The Age of Innocence limited series adaptation.

The streaming platform has rounded out the cast of the upcoming series based on Edith Wharton‘s classic novel. Fiona Glascott, Belinda Bromilow and Emma Shipp have joined the series as regulars. They add to the previously announced main cast of Camila Morrone, Kristine Frøseth, Ben Radcliffe and Margo Martindale.

Also joining the series are Hayley Mills, Will Tudor, John Light, Steven Pacey, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Anna Madeley and Michael Cochrane. All of these actors are being billed with supporting roles.

The Age of Innocence is set in 19th century New York City and follows a passionate will-they, won’t-they love triangle. It explores themes of freedom, duty, identity and love in all of its different forms. Wharton first published the classic novel in 1920. The following year she became the first woman to earn the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Age of Innocence.

The new limited series adaptation comes from showrunner Emma Frost. Shannon Murphy will direct the first three episodes of the show.

This limited series “promises to be true to Wharton’s novel but will speak to a new generation,” according to Netflix. The novel was previously adapted by Martin Scorsese in his 1993 film, which earned five Oscar nominations and scored one win.

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Dwayne Johnson is opening up about his transformation in the upcoming A24 film The Smashing Machine.

Johnson portrays mixed martial artist and UFC fighter Mark Kerr in the movie, and he wore a wig and put on 30 pounds for the lead role.

“For me, the transformation was 22 prosthetics, over 30 pounds that I had to put on, which is a lot of weight,” Johnson said in an interview on Good Morning America Thursday.

Alongside his physical transformation, Johnson had to flex his acting chops and said he spent a significant amount of time getting to know the real-life Kerr.

“No one can really relate to what it’s like to be the greatest fighter on the planet. At one time, Mark Kerr was the greatest fighter on the planet and undefeated, dominant, and feared. But we can all relate to pressure, what that’s like, and having to deliver day in and day out in relationships and jobs,” said Johnson. “And a lot of us, some don’t deal with pressure that well, and some deal with it decently. But Mark, again, is that reflection of all of us.”

Johnson’s co-star Emily Blunt, who plays Kerr’s ex-wife Dawn Staples in the movie, called Johnson’s work in the film “astonishing.”

“I just felt he had this reservoir of incredible life experience that could be funneled into a role that demanded all of him,” Blunt said of cheering on her co-star. “And I just thought he was astonishing.”

When The Smashing Machine premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, Johnson teared up while receiving a standing ovation from the audience.

“It’s just incredibly surreal to get this kind of feedback,” Johnson said. “That ovation in Venice, as you see, I’m very emotional. That was special. And this film, The Smashing Machine, and this role and what it represents, it changed my life.”

The Smashing Machine is written, directed, co-produced and edited by Benny Safdie. It arrives in theaters Friday.

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More Peaky Blinders is on the way.

Netflix has announced that a Peaky Blinders sequel series focused on a new generation of Shelbys is headed to the platform. Two seasons of this new show are planned, having been ordered by Netflix and the BBC.

The original show’s creator, Steven Knight, is behind the reins of the new series. It will be set in the 1950s and will pick up after the events of the upcoming Peaky Blinders film, which is currently in post-production.

“I’m thrilled to be announcing this new chapter in the Peaky Blinders story,” Knight told Netflix. “Once again it will be rooted in Birmingham and will tell the story of a city rising from the ashes of the Birmingham blitz. The new generation of Shelbys have taken the wheel, and it will be a hell of a ride.”

The show will take place in 1953 after Birmingham was heavily bombed in World War II. The city “is building a better future out of concrete and steel,” according to an official description from Netflix. “The race to own Birmingham’s massive reconstruction project becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions. This is a city of unprecedented opportunity and danger, with the Shelby family right at its blood-soaked heart.”

Cillian Murphy, who starred in the original series, will executive produce this sequel show. So will Knight, Karen Wilson, Martin Haines, Jamie Glazebrook, Jo McClellan, Mona Qureshi and Toby Bentley.

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Some familiar faces are popping up on the new season of The Kardashians. A trailer for season 7 of the Hulu reality show features appearances by Rob Kardashian, Caitlyn Jenner and the cast of Kim’s upcoming Hulu series All’s Fair. Kim also reveals in the trailer that someone close to her put out a hit on her life. The new season debuts Oct. 23 …

Netflix is revealing the first look at Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson in their new Western, The Abandons. The series is set in Washington Territory in 1854 and follows the matriarchs of two very different families whose lives become intertwined. The drama premieres Dec. 4 …

Apple TV+ has extended its deal to be the exclusive streaming home of Peanuts. The partnership with Charlie Brown and Co. will now run through 2030 and includes the classic Peanuts library, as well as plans for more original Peanuts series and specials …

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Talk about a “Time Warp”: The Rocky Horror Picture Show celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a 4K restored release of the film in theaters, digital and Blu-ray Disney home viewing releases, a variety of LA events, a new vinyl release of the soundtrack and a tour featuring original cast members Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell aka Brad, Magenta and Columbia. Quite an accomplishment for a movie that was a massive flop when it was released.

“They couldn’t give it away,” says Quinn of Fox, the studio that released the bizarre and transgressive sci-fi musical. “For two years it sat doing nothing. And then a wonderful boy at Fox decided that the only way to market this film is it should go on every campus in America and play [at] midnight in cinemas.”

From there, it became an interactive extravaganza, as audiences — first at New York’s Waverly Theater and then worldwide — began talking back to and throwing things at the screen and, eventually, acting out the entire movie in full costume.

“They told us, ‘They’re talking to your film, they’re dressing up as you,'” Quinn recalls. “And they invited us and brought us over to New York. And we saw what was happening. … It was extraordinary.”

Fifty years later, Bostwick says the film still appeals to people because, as he puts it, “It’s sex and rock ‘n’ roll. And it’s every kind of sex you would want to partake in. It’s a naughty film. … Naughty but nice.”

“Also, all the songs are good,” Campbell adds. “It’s a witty script. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. And it’s a celebration of all types of sexuality.”

And that’s another reason for the film’s appeal. Over the years, its message of “don’t dream it, be it” has deeply impacted both misfits and the LGBTQ+ community alike.

“It’s absolutely wonderful that it’s helped so many people in that way and that is the magic of Rocky Horror,” Campbell notes, adding that creator Richard O’Brien “had no idea it was going to have that profound effect and it’s just a magical, wonderful thing that it has.” 

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Jane Goodall, the most prolific primatologist of a generation, has died. She was 91 years old.

“The Jane Goodall Institute has learned this morning, Wednesday, October 1, 2025, that Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute has passed away due to natural causes,” the institute said on social media. “She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.”

Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world.

It was July 1960 when Goodall, 26 years old at the time, first entered Tanzania and began her important research on chimpanzees in the wild. Throughout her study of the species, Goodall proved that primates display an array of similar behaviors to humans, such as communicate, develop individual personalities, and make and use their own tools.

Among the most surprising discoveries Goodall made when the research began was “how like us” the chimpanzees are, she told ABC News in 2020.

“Their behavior, with their gestures, kissing, embracing, holding hands and patting on the back,” she said. “The fact that they can actually be violent and brutal and have a kind of war, but also loving and altruistic.”

That discovery is considered one of the achievements of 20th century scholarship, according to the Jane Goodall Institute.

Goodall’s research garnered both scientific honors and mainstream fame, and she was credited with paving the way for a rise in women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math over the years. The number of women in STEM has increased from 7% to 26% in the six last decades, according to The Jane Goodall Institute, which cited census information from 1970 to 2011.

The anthropologist continued to lend her voice to environmental causes well into her 80s and 90s.

She was subject of many documentaries, including 2017’s Jane, and her place in pop culture history was further cemented in 2022 when Mattel announced a special edition Barbie doll to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of her first visit to Tanzania’s Gombe National Park.

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Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña are coming back for more Lioness. The spy thriller from Yellowstone hitmaker Taylor Sheridan was given a third season renewal by Paramount+.

Kidman and Saldaña are executive producers on the series and star as two CIA operatives running a program where female undercover agents help bring down terrorist organizations.

Season 2, which debuted last year, also starred Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly, Laysla De Oliveira, Genesis Rodriguez and Dave Annable.

Kidman was nominated for a 2024 Critics Choice Award for best supporting actress in a drama series for her role as Kaitlyn Meade in the series.

Other shows in the Taylor Sheridan universe airing on Paramount+ include Tulsa King, which debuted season 3 in September; season 4 of Mayor of Kingstown out in October; and season 2 of Landman coming out in November.

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What better way to ring in the month of October than with a spooky new trailer for Guillermo del Toro‘s Frankenstein?

The trailer gives a closer look at Jacob Elordi’s monster, as well as Oscar Isaac’s Victor Von Frankenstein and Mia Goth as the scientist’s bride-to-be, Elizabeth Lavenza.

“My maker told his tale,” we hear Elordi’s Creature say. “And I will tell you mine.”

Later in the trailer we see the Creature walking through a hail of bullets and pushing over a grounded ship as we hear him tell his maker in voice-over, “If you are not to award me love, then I will indulge in rage.”

Frankenstein hits select theaters on Oct. 17 and Netflix on Nov. 7.

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A Connecticut woman became the biggest winner in Wheel of Fortune history Tuesday night after taking home more than $1 million in prizes.

Christina Derevjanik of Stamford, Connecticut, won a total of $1,035,155, becoming only the fourth contestant ever to land the show’s $1 million grand prize and the first since Ryan Seacrest took over as host, according to a press release.

Over the course of the game, Derevjanik collected $35,155 in cash and prizes, including trips to Montana and Tokyo, before advancing to the bonus round. She chose the category “Living Things” and correctly solved the puzzle, “PACK OF COYOTES.”

Seacrest then revealed the $1 million envelope, sparking confetti and cheers as Derevjanik celebrated her historic win.

Co-host Vanna White hugged her, saying, “I’m so happy for you!” Seacrest added, “Congratulations, you’re my first million-dollar winner. I have a tear in my eye.”

Following the episode, Seacrest told her she had become the biggest winner in the show’s history, to which Derevjanik responded, “I have no words!”

Derevjanik later admitted, “I was trying to manifest this. I was hoping for confetti, but I never thought it would actually happen.”

Outside the game show spotlight, Derevjanik works in marketing for a utilities company. In her free time, she enjoys solving puzzles, watching Hallmark movies and hiking with her dog, Hazel. An avid runner, she has completed 11 half marathons and one full marathon.

The $1 million grand prize wedge was first introduced in 2008 during the show’s 26th season.

To claim it, contestants must land on the wedge, solve the puzzle and make it to the bonus round without hitting bankruptcy.

The prize has only been awarded three times before, including to Michelle Lowenstein in 2008, Autumn Erhard in 2013 and Sarah Manchester in 2014.

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