Entertainment

To help excite and encourage children about getting the COVID-19 vaccine, Sesame Street‘s Big Bird announced that he just got the shot and is feeling great about it.

“I got the COVID-19 vaccine today!,” Big Bird tweeted over the weekend, breaking a months-long hiatus on the social media site. “My wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy.”

The beloved character also revealed something he recently found out, which is “I’ve been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea!”

Big Bird’s vaccination announcement received an unexpected shout-out from President Joe Biden, who responded, “Good on ya, @BigBird. Getting vaccinated is the best way to keep your whole neighborhood safe.”

Several happy parents also commended Big Bird, saying his words eased their children’s worries about their upcoming vaccination appointments.

While the character has been entertaining kids for decades, Big Bird is technically six years old, which makes him eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.  The vaccine was authorized last week to be given to kids ages five to 11 by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For those who may be puzzled why the Sesame Street character has joined the ongoing conversation about pediatric vaccinations, Big Bird has, historically, been the go-to Muppet on vaccine PSAs. In 1972, he spoke about the importance of getting the measles vaccine, according to a resurfaced video shared by Muppet Wiki. 

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(SPOILERS AHEAD) Marvel Studios’ Eternals is now in theaters, and there’s both a mid-credit scene and an after-credits stinger — but the latter left many fans scratching their heads. 

Until now. 

While it had previously been spoiled that Harry Styles officially entered the MCU as Eros in the mid-credits scene, exactly who was in the last clip was less clear.

The scene shows Kit Harington‘s Dane Whitman admiring a powerful family heirloom, the Ebony Blade, signaling his MCU future as the Avenger Black Knight. But he’s startled by an off-camera voice that warns, “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?”

The scene is reminiscent of Samuel L. Jackson‘s surprise appearance as Nick Fury at the end of 2008’s Iron Man, but sharp-eared fans knew the voice wasn’t Sam’s. 

As it turns out, it belongs to two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali.

Director Chloé Zhao revealed to the website Fandom, “That was the voice of one of my favorite superheroes, Mr. Blade himself. Blade, Blade, Blade, yeah!”

It had been previously been revealed that Ali would be playing the Daywalker in a reboot of the franchise, picking up the stake from Wesley Snipes, who starred in three Blade films in 1998, 2002, and 2004.

According to Fandom, the “really cool” secret was even kept from Harington himself, who was fed the line on set by someone else.

“Chloé texted me about that a couple of weeks ago and it sort of blew my mind,” the Game of Thrones vet admitted. “I didn’t know that that would be the case, so it’s pretty exciting for me.”

Black Knight and Blade had worked together in a 2008-9 team-up in the pages of Marvel Comics.

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Vin Diesel extended an olive branch to Dwayne Johnson on Sunday, explaining why the latter needs to star in the final Fast and Furious movie.

Taking to Instagram, the actor wrote an impassioned post declaring that the best way to give the beloved franchise a satisfactory conclusion is for Johnson to return as Luke Hobbs. Sharing a photo of the two dressed as their franchise characters, Diesel urged, “My little brother Dwayne… the time has come. The world awaits the finale of Fast 10.”

Noting that his children call the former WWE star ‘Uncle Dwayne,” the actor continued, “The time has come. Legacy awaits. I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10!”

Diesel affectionately referred to the late Paul Walker as “Pablo.” Walker played Brian O’Connor before his untimely death in 2013.

“I say this out of love… but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play,” Vin pressed. “Hobbs can’t be played by no other. I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfill your destiny.”

Johnson starred as Hobbs since 2011’s Fast Five through 2017’s The Fate of the Furious.  He also starred in the 2019 cinematic spinoff Hobbs & Shaw.

While The Rock has yet to respond to Diesel’s invitation, he did previously state in a July interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he has no interest in revisiting the role.

“I wish them well on Fast 9. And I wish them the best of luck on Fast 10 and Fast 11 and the rest of the Fast & Furious movies they do that will be without me,” he said at the time.

 

 

 

 

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Marvel’s Eternals topped the weekend box office, debuting with an estimated $71 million in the U.S., despite tepid reviews.

Director Chloé Zhao‘s film, which boasts a large ensemble cast including Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel and Kit Harington, hauled in $161.7 million globally over the weekend — the second-largest worldwide debut of 2021, behind F9: The Fast Saga’s $163 million.

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Dune dropped to second place after spending two weeks at number one. The futuristic adventure, also available to stream on HBO Max, delivered an estimated $7.6 million, bringing its domestic total gross to $83.9 million. Dune added an estimated $246.5 million overseas, bringing its combined worldwide tally to $330.4 million.

Third place went to No Time to Die, which grabbed an estimated $6.2 million in its fifth week of release. The latest James Bond film has now earned $143.2 million domestically and $524.3 million abroad for a combined worldwide total of $667.5 million.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage pulled up at number four, delivering an estimated $4.5 million in its sixth week of release. Its domestic tally now stands at $197 million and $227.6 million overseas, bringing its global box-office total to $424.6 million.

Rounding out the top five is the animated feature Ron’s Gone Wrong, earning an estimated $3.6 million in its third week in theaters.

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Kieran Culkin, star of HBO’s Succession, made his Saturday Night Live hosting debut over the weekend in an episode that featured surprise guest appearances from music legend Dionne Warwick and SNL alum Tracy Morgan.

While it was Culkin’s first hosting gig, the 39-year-old actor explained in his opening monologue that he actually made his SNL debut 30 years ago, when his older brother, Macaulay Culkin, hosted the show.

Kieran showed a clip of his younger self being hoisted into the air by then-cast member Kevin Nealon during the goodnights, and recreated that moment when current cast members Chris Redd and Kenan Thompson lifted him onto their shoulders at the end of Saturday’s show.

In the show’s cold open, Aaron Rodgers, played by Pete Davidson, was interviewed by Fox News’ Judge Jeanine Pirro — played by Cecily Strong — about his COVID-19 diagnosis.

The sketch also saw the return of former President Donald Trump, played by new cast member James Austin Johnson, whose impression drew praise on social media.

Later, Ego Nwodim reprised her “Dionne Warwick Talk Show,” sketch, in which she portrays the legendary singer-turned-social media personality — who is confused by today’s music. The bit ended with an appearance from the Grammy-winning singer herself, who joined Nwodim for a snippet of her 1966 hit, “What the World Needs Now.”

Another popular sketch was about the awkward conversations guys have in the men’s room. Alex Moffat‘s character admitted that he “killed a man in 2012” and the bit ended with Tracy Morgan popping out of one of the stalls and warning them “not to go in there,” because “I dropped a bomb… and that man [pointing to Moffat] killed my brother.”

Musical guest Ed Sheeran performed “Shivers” and “Overpass Graffiti” from his new album = (Equals). 

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Movie tough guy Frank Grillo has fired his share of weapons on screen over the years, as he did as Frank Rumlow/Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the recent COPSHOP. 

Like many of his colleagues, he’s speaking out about the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was fatally wounded last month on the set of the Western Rust, when Alec Baldwin fired a pistol he was reportedly told was empty. 

“This shouldn’t have happened. It was easily avoidable,” Grillo says flatly. 

“I don’t blame one person, I blame a lot of people.”

Safety issues on the Rust set reportedly caused some on Hutchins’ camera crew to walk off the project before the accident that left Hutchins dead and director Joel Souza injured.

The October 21 incident has led to an industry-wide discussion about gun safety on movie sets, and pushed stars like Dwayne Johnson and the producers of ABC’s The Rookie to ban real firearms on their sets. 

“It should be happening a lot,” Grillo says of the conversations.

“And now it’s time to make sure that this is something that we talk about and we never see again. I mean, this is a beautiful woman who lost her life!” he says. (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

Incidentally, Grillo’s new movie Ida Red made extensive use of the safer alternative to real firearms that many are now advocating: Airsoft replica guns, to which digital muzzle flashes were added in post-production. The replicas only shoot out compressed air, but operate convincingly onscreen.

The film contains a climactic, outdoor shootout sequence, for which no real firearms were used.

Ida Red, which also stars Oscar winner Melissa Leo and Josh Hartnett, is out today in limited release, and available On Demand.

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Wakanda may be forever, but it will have to wait. 

The Hollywood Reporter notes Black Panther star Letitia Wright is still recovering in London from the on-set injury she suffered shooting the film in Boston in August, and the cast and crew of its sequel Wakanda Forever will soon run out of scenes to shoot without her. 

The star, who plays Princess Shuri, the sister of the late Chadwick Boseman‘s King T’Challa, will be taking more of a lead role in the sequel since Boseman’s death in 2020.

The producers of the sequel had rearranged the shooting schedule to keep production going while the actress recovered from her injuries, which were reportedly caused by a stunt rig.

At the time, the injuries were said to be “minor.”

The trade explains the break in production will happen around Thanksgiving week.

A rep for Wright told the trade, “Letitia has been recovering in London since September…and is looking forward to returning to work early 2022.” The rep added, “Letitia kindly asks that you keep her in your prayers.”

The release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, was bumped from July 8, 2022 to Nov. 11, 2022.

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Pose director and screenwriter Janet Mock has found her next major project.

Deadline has learned that Mock will direct and rewrite The International Sweethearts of Rhythm for Sony Pictures. Amy Pascal, Susan Tarr, Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman are all on board to produce the project. Plot details on The International Sweethearts of Rhythm have yet to be revealed.

In other news, TriStar Pictures has set a September 16, 2022 release date for the Gina Prince-Bythewood– directed feature The Woman King, Variety reports. The film, which stars Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu and John Boyega, is inspired by real events that took place in the powerful African state of Dahomey in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Meanwhile, Comedy Central is bring in some holiday cheer with their new film Clüsterfünke Christmas. Described as a “celebratory parody of the traditional TV holiday romance” the film that follows Vella Lovell as Holly, an ambitious real estate exec who visits a small town in hopes of turning the quaint Clüsterfünke Inn into a popular a mega-resort. There, she meets a quirky woodsman who makes her rethink her big- city life. Cheyenne Jackson, Ryan McPartlin, Nils Hognestad, Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer also star. Clüsterfünke Christmas premieres December 4 on Comedy Central.

Finally, ICYMI, All Rise star Philemon Chambers is leading the cast for Netflix’s LGBTQ+ holiday rom-com Single All the Way. Directed by Tony-Winning Michael Mayer, the film follows Michael Urie as Peter, a bachelor who convinces his best friend Nick, played by Chambers, to join him for the holidays as his pretend boyfriend. Peter’s plan goes awry when his mother sets him with a handsome trainer who has real potential. Single All the Way hits Netflix on December 2.

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Gal Gadot is psyched to go from Wonder Woman to a witchy woman in an upcoming live-action big-screen retelling of Disney’s Snow White: Gadot will be playing the Evil Queen opposite West Side Story stand-out Rachel Zegler in the title role. 

Speaking with Variety at this week’s premiere of her upcoming Netflix action movie Red Notice in Los Angeles, Gadot says she’s “very, very excited” to play the poison apple-wielding baddie. 

But while her iconic apple may be spoiled, don’t expect the future Evil Queen to dish out any spoilers of her own.

When she was asked to give her best reading of “Mirror, Mirror on the wall…” the Israeli import balked. “Now!? No! Are you crazy?” she said, laughing. “I want you to come to the movies to see…the real thing.”

As for why she wanted to play the baddie, Gal kept it safe there, too. “There is so much that I cannot share with you that will actually answer this question,” she said, allowing, “the take on this story is so different and delightful and full of joy.” 

The as-yet-untitled movie will be directed by The Amazing Spider-Man‘s Mark Webb, with La La Land‘s Marc Platt producing. The trade points out La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen, and The Greatest Showman‘s songwriting team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will be writing new music for the film, which is expected to get underway in November of next year. 

Red Notice hits Netflix on November 12.

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The 9 to 5 gang is finally getting back together. Dolly Parton just announced that she’s a guest star on the seventh and final season of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, which stars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.

The reunion is a long time coming: The trio of stars have held dreams of working on a project together again ever since their successful 1980 film. Early in 2021, Dolly revealed on U.K. talk show Lorraine that she’s been trying to find a time to guest star on Grace and Frankie “for years.”

We worked so well on 9 to 5, [and] it’s a crazy, wonderful show,” the singer says. “We’ve been trying to write me in somehow. When it’s safe for us to actually do a production…I’ll probably get around to doing that.”

No further details about Dolly’s character on the show are available at this time. The first four episodes of Season 7 are available to watch on Netflix now, and the remainder of the season — including Dolly’s appearance — will air in 2022.

Grace and Frankie centers around the unlikely friendship that develops between two women after their respective husbands leave them to marry each other. When it wraps at the end of this season, it’ll make history as the longest-running ever Netflix original series, with a total of 94 episodes.

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