Entertainment

With just weeks to go until the opening of the Marvel Studios co-production Spider-Man: No Way Home, studio head Kevin Feige may have confirmed a long-held rumor about the return of a hero.

“If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil,” Feige told Cinemablend.

He added a slight disclaimer: “Where we see that…when we see that, remains to be seen.”

Daredevil was on Netflix for three seasons, ending in 2018. The show turned Cox into a fan favorite as blind lawyer Matt Murdock by day, and New York City vigilante Daredevil by night. 

With Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker unmasked as Spider-Man and on the run in No Way Home, fans have been speculating he’s going to need a good lawyer, and who better than the Man Without Fear? Analyzing the trailer like the JFK Zapruder film, some feel they’ve even spotted him.

Cox has denied those mysterious forearms in the shot in question are his. However, he allowed, “I love the idea of…Matt as a lawyer advising Peter Parker. That’d be really, really cool.”

Whether Feige’s revelation is trying to get ahead of persistent leaks, or just red meat for fans of the red-suited hero remains to be seen. 

Another persistent rumor states the Multiverse-shredding No Way Home will see previous Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield joining Tom Holland onscreen, to help him best the baddies from previous films who appear in No Way Home. In fact, a recent press screening was only 40 minutes long, reportedly to keep spoilers at bay.

Spider-Man: No Way Home debuts December 17 from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.

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

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Netflix is boasting a line-up of more than 130 comedians — including John Mulaney, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer and Dave Chappelle — as part of this spring’s Netflix Is a Joke: The Festival event. 

The festival will take place from April 28th to May 8th, across more than 25 Los Angeles venues including Dodger Stadium, the Hollywood Bowl, The Greek Theatre, The Forum, Crypto.com Arena (formerly STAPLES Center), Hollywood Palladium, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, The Improv, and more.

The headliner line-up also includes stand-up performances and/or comedy events from names including Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Ali Wong, Pete Davidson, Ray Romano, Ken Jeong, Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari, Bert Kreischer, Bill Burr, Chelsea Handler, Conan O’Brien, Cristela Alonzo, David Letterman, Deon Cole, Eddie Izzard, Ellen DeGeneres, Felipe Esparza, Fortune Feimster, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Hasan Minhaj and Ronny Chieng, Iliza Shlesinger, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, Jonathan Van Ness, Kevin Smith, Margaret Cho, Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum, Michael McIntyre, Mike Birbiglia, Mike Myers and David O. Russell, Nick Kroll, Nicole Byer, Patton Oswalt, Sandra Bernhard, Seth Rogen, Theo Von, Tig Notaro, Tim Robinson, Tina Fey, and Wanda Sykes

The stand-up content from various performers will also make up future specials for the streaming service.

Robbie Praw, the director of Netflix’s comedy content, said in a statement, “It’s absolutely thrilling for Netflix to be hosting a comedy festival of this magnitude in Los Angeles. We were so disappointed to postpone the event last spring and our line-up of comedians can’t wait to bring much needed laughs to audiences in LA and around the world on Netflix.”

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Items from Sylvester Stallone‘s personal collection went on the auction block online and at Julien’s in Beverly Hills on Sunday, and his original, handwritten script for the 1976 Oscar-winner Rocky knocked them out with a winning $437,500 bid. 

But that’s not all: The Italian Stallion’s American Flag boxing trunks as seen in Rocky III went for $200,000 — twenty times its original estimate.

Other items from Sly’s time on the big screen also had fans spending: The #1 knife from 1982’s First Blood — one of only 13 made for the film — sold for $128,000, while a Stallone-signed piece of original Rocky artwork flew out the door for $112,500, some 56 times its original estimate. 

However, treasures from the iconic boxing series weren’t the only big winner at the event. A stunt lightsaber made for Liam Neeson‘s Qui-Gon Jinn for 1999’s Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace sold for $38,400; Arnold Schwarzengger‘s Terminator 2 biker outfit sold for $38,400; and John Travolta‘s Perry Ellis suit from Pulp Fiction fetched $25,600. 

Gal Gadot‘s gold Wonder Woman lasso of truth, made of rubber for the big screen, sold for $12,800, and a copy of Grays Sports Almanac — Complete Sports Statistics: 1950-2000 produced for Back to the Future Part II went for $28,800 — seven times its original estimate of $4,000, according to Julien’s. 

And just in time for Christmas, somebody shelled out $25,600 for the rubber replica Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun used by Bruce Willis as John McClane in the action film classic Die Hard. 

Now the buyer has a machine gun. Ho-Ho-Ho.

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If your Spidey senses were tingling on Saturday, it was for a good reason: We got us our first peek at Sony Pictures Animation’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning animated hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. 

Along with more eye-popping visuals came an official title: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — and a surprise subtitle: “Part One,” hinting at more Spider-Verse sequels on the way.

The clip shows Miles Morales — again voiced by Shameik Moore — listening to Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower,” before Hailee Steinfeld‘s Gwen Stacy, a.k.a. Spider-Gwen, drops in on him from an alternate dimension and the two swing through cities and dimensional portals. At one point, Miles is helped through the air by Spider-Man 2099, a future version of the web-slinger whose alter-ego is the Irish-Mexican hero Miguel O’Hara.

 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swoops into theaters October 7, 2022.

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HBO Max dropped a first-look teaser trailer for Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts on Sunday night, featuring appearances from Robbie Coltrane, Matthew Lewis and Mark Williams. 

The streaming service says the project “will tell an enchanting making-of story through all-new in-depth interviews and cast conversations, inviting fans on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time.”

Besides Coltrane, Lewis and Williams, the special will feature interviews with cast principal cast members Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, as well as Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton, Tom Felton and director Chris Columbus, among others. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts premieres January 1 on HBO Max.

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Disney’s Encanto topped the box office for a second weekend, earning an estimated $12.7 million at the typically slow weekend-after-Thanksgiving box office. It was enough, however, to lift Encanto‘s stateside tallies to just under $58 million, and upward of $116 million overseas.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife held onto second place with an estimated $10.4 million to push its total box office take past the 100-million-dollar mark domestically in three weeks of release. It tacked on an estimated $42.9 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $145.1 million.

House of Gucci landed in third place, delivering an estimated $6.8 million in its second week of release. The Ridley Scott-directed film about the downfall of the renowned Italian fashion dynasty pulled in $33.6 million in the U.S. and another $33.6 million abroad, putting its global box-office take at $67.2 million.

Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers, the musical based on the life of Jesus, earned an estimated $4.1 million in its debut weekend. The film, which opened on Wednesday, has racked up a total of $8.8 million stateside.

Rounding out the top five was Marvel’s Eternals, with an estimated $3.9 million in its fifth week of release. Eternals has earned a total of $156.5 million domestically and another $227.8 million overseas, bringing its current worldwide haul to $384.3 million.

Elsewhere, Paul Thomas Anderson‘s critically acclaimed film, Licorice Pizza, grabbed an estimated $223,000 from just four theaters, for a cumulative total of $761,000.

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After appearing on three seasons of Bachelor-related shows, Colton Underwood only maintains contact with one person from the series — former host Chris Harrison. 

“I don’t watch the show. I mean, the only person that I really talked to is Chris [Harrison] still,” the 29-year-old told Us Weekly. “Chris and I stay in touch.”

Colton, whose reality show Coming Out Colton — a show that chronicles his journey of self-discovery and coming out as a gay man — just premiered on Netflix, added that “Chris was about the only one from the franchise who really reached out and sort of let me know that he was there for me, [asking] if there’s anything he can do.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have really any relationships in the franchise anymore,” the former NFL player admitted.

Colton first was introduced to audiences when he vied for Becca Kufrin‘s heart on season 14 of The Bachelorette.He then earned a spot on season five of Bachelor in Paradise, before going on to become the lead on season 23 of The Bachelor, where he handed his final rose to Cassie Randolph. The two dated for a year-and-a-half before breaking up in May 2020.

Almost a year later, in April, Underwood publicly came out as gay on Good Morning America, and just this past weekend introduced fans to his new boyfriend, 39-year-old Jordan C. Brown. 

Alongside photos of the couple, E! Online reports that in a series of Instagram Stories on Saturday, Colton gushed, “Happy birthday to my dog loving…family man. Corn fed…love.”

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Bruised director and star Halle Berry recruited H.E.R. for the film’s all-female soundtrack, and the Oscar- and Grammy-winning music artist delivered the powerful track “Automatic Woman,” inspired by Halle’s character, Jackie Justice, who stops at nothing until she emerges victorious.

Berry says in a new episode of the Netlifx Playlist Showcase video feature that the 24-year-old singer’s 2016 song “Focus” changed her life and helped her ask for the focus she needed in a relationship.

“If this song, ‘Automatic Woman,’ could hit others like ‘Focus’ hit me, I feel like I’ve been part of creating something that’s really magical.”

H.E.R. comments that she was inspired by Halle’s gritty performance in Bruised. “I was so moved by ‘No matter what happens, I’m going to make it through,’” she says. “The idea of perseverance and, like, pushing through, fighting through … all those things you have to tell yourself to be able to fight through.”

In other news, Meagan Good stars as a Columbia University anthropology professor who is an expert on dating cultures around the world, yet has trouble navigating her own love life, in the 10-episode Harlem TV series that debuts Friday on Amazon Prime Video.

She told Ebony she’s never related more to a character in her 30-year career. “This is the first time I was like, ‘Oh, I know her. I understand her.’ So much of that is exactly me. I am very quirky and goofy, and nerdy. And as an actress, I haven’t had a chance to show that side of myself, and I didn’t know what might come out—and I was excited to explore that. ”

Finally, a 16-time Grammy winner stars with Demetria McKinney in the original holiday film, Kirk Franklin’s A Gospel Christmas, airing Saturday, December 4 at 8 p.m / 7 p.m. Central on Lifetime.

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Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox are featured in a trio of new posters for the upcoming fifth film in the Scream series.

The faces of Campbell’s Sidney Prescott, Arquette’s Dewey Riley, and Cox’s Gale Weathers are shown posing with the creepy mask of the Ghostface killer they’ve all managed to survive through multiple films. Below them is the movie’s tagline, “It’s Always Someone You Know.” 

As previously reported, the anticipated new film also stars some new blood: The Boys‘ Jack Quaid, 13 Reason Why‘s Dylan Minnette, Mikey Madison from Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Yes Day‘s Jenna Ortega, and In The Heights‘ Melissa Barrera.

Scream debuts January 14.

 

 

 

 

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Scarlett Johansson won’t be teaming up with her longtime friend and fellow Avenger Chris Evans in Ghosted after all. 

Apple TV+ has announced that newly mined Bond girl Ana de Armas has taken ScarJo’s place in the movie, which is described as “a high-concept romantic action adventure film.”

De Armas, who’s still in theaters opposite Daniel Craig in No Time to Die, will co-executive produce with Evans as well, with Rocketman‘s Dexter Fletcher directing.

The movie was written by Deadpool and Zombieland duo Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who are also producing.

De Armas was recently considering starring in the John Wick spin-off Ballerina, but her involvement has not been confirmed. 

Ghosted is part of a slate of high-profile Apple TV+ Original films, including the recently released sci-fi flick Finch, starring Tom Hanks, and the upcoming The Tragedy of Macbeth, starring two other two-time Oscar winners, Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand.

The streaming service has more projects with Academy Award winners forthcoming, namely Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, and Green Book director Peter Farrelly‘s The Greatest Beer Run Ever with Zac Efron and Russell Crowe.

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