Entertainment

It’s the inside story of the spectacular rise and flaming failure of WeWork -– the series WeCrashed is out today on Apple TV+.

The miniseries stars Jared Leto as WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann and the actor tells ABC Audio he was fascinated by the story of Adam, his wife/co-founder Rebekah, and the journey of this business.

“This is a guy, an immigrant, who came to this country and built something out of nothing — into a $47 billion empire,” the Morbius actor says. 

“They did build a very real business. The business is incredible. It’s actually doing great from what I hear. But I’m also not Adam’s defender,” he adds. “He’s an imperfect person, just like we all are, but a very fascinating one.”

Although fascinated, Leto doesn’t excuse anything Neumann did, but understands how things could go sideways when an investor cuts a $4 billion check, as SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son did for WeWork.

“You’re going to find out who people are once they have that kind of money floating around and it changes everything,” Leto says. “You start seeing stars…it’s easy to see how you could get carried away.”

WeCrashed isn’t an action movie, however, Leto states that playing the Israeli immigrant was “one of the most challenging roles” of his career.

“The way that this character spoke, the way that he got in front of an audience and stood on stage and gave speeches. He was incredibly verbose and really physical,” he explains. “Every day I was at home just beat up and my back is killing me.”

But, Leto “loved every single second of it.”

“I’m in a bit of a masochist…I love to dive deep and I love a good challenge. And this was all of that,” he shares.

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It was previously reported that Top Gun: Maverick will finally land at the Cannes Film Festival, but now Deadline is reporting the star himself, Tom Cruise, will be the focus of a retrospective about his career before the movie screens.

The event will take place May 18.

The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival runs from May 17 to May 28 in France. Incidentally, Cruise’s honor comes 30 years after his first trip to the event, the trade points out, when he was promoting the Ron Howard-directed film Far and Away.

Top Gun: Maverick has been delayed multiple times: The movie, which was initially scheduled to premiere back in 2019, will now fly into theaters on May 27.

The follow-up to the 1986 blockbuster also stars Top Gun veteran Val Kilmer, Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Jon Hamm, Monica Barbero and Miles Teller. 

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Celebrities often gripe that promoting their new movie means answering the same questions over and over, but Ryan Reynolds can’t say that after a young fan stumped him during a Netflix Q&A panel for The Adam Project. 

In referencing a love scene between Reynolds, who plays Adam, and Laura, played by Zoe Saldaña, the young man asked Ryan, “In the scene where you were kissing the girl, was that real?”

“How do I explain this?” squirmed Reynolds, the dad to daughters James, 7, Inez, 5, and 2-year-old Betty with wife Blake Lively. While he tried to compose an answer, his Adam Project co-star Jennifer Garner enthused, “This is the best Q&A ever!”, to which Reynolds agreed. 

The panel moderator suggested Lively was somewhere throwing her voice behind the query, making Ryan squint and scan the crowd in mock confusion: “Honey? What the…?” he asked.

To the youngster, Reynolds did his best. “I guess it was kind of real. How do I answer this? I didn’t mean it?” he offered, to applause.

Incidentally, his own kids have asked the same question when seeing their dad onscreen, Reynolds explained: “‘Daddy, what are you doing?'” 

“It’s like exactly the tactic I would use on them,” said Reynolds.  “Not anger, but just disappointment.”

Reynolds then thanked the fan, adding, jokingly. “The exit’s that way.”

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Despite the pandemic, The Batman has so far made $258.3 million dollars domestically, exclusively from theatrical screenings.  But if you’ve been unable, or unwilling, to venture to your local multiplex to see it, you won’t have very long to wait.

A glitch on the HBO website has revealed that The Batman will debut on HBO Max on Tuesday, April 19.  Deadline and other outlets report the information was quickly taken down, but Deadline says it has since confirmed that the date is legit.  The Batman will also bow on the regular pay HBO on Saturday, April 23, according to the info.

As the pandemic continues, Warner Bros. has typically streamed its theatrical releases on HBO Max 45 days after their cinematic opening.  The Batman opened on March 4, making April 19 46 days after its domestic debut.

An HBO Max spinoff series starring Colin Farrell as the Penguin was recently given the green light.

The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, not only is the highest-grossing domestic release of 2020, but it just crossed the half-a-billion dollars earnings mark globally, grossing $505.8 million as of Wednesday.

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The season-one finale of Single Drunk Female airs tonight. The cast caught up with ABC Audio ahead of the episode’s premiere to tell fans what to expect. 

Sasha Compére, who plays Brit — main character Sam’s former best friend — predicted that the finale will have fans “tweeting about where Sam and Brit will go from here.”

Brit is set to wed the ex-boyfriend of Sam, played by Sofia Black-D’Elia, but a teaser of the episode shows she has cold feet.  

“I think people will be really interested to see how Sam is evolved and they’ll maybe talk about her choices in this finale and how she has an opportunity to step up,” Compére teased.  

Lily Mae Harrington, who plays Sam’s friend Felicia, added, “A lot of things come to a head in this finale… There are a couple of things that definitely end up coming full circle.” 

Struggling to avoid revealing too much, Harrington said this episode will attack the “underbelly” of the series, which she says is “[f]emale friendship and female relationships, whether that’s mother-daughter or best friends or former friends.”

Garrick Bernard, who plays Sam’s potential love interest James, praised how the show handles those elements, as well as the the themes of addiction and recovery. 

“I do love [series creator] Jenni Konner‘s writing,” he said. “The direction that it has is really beautiful in a weird way, where these are funny people doing comedic things at times, but there’s no quirky music behind it. It’s a silent, realistic take on what happens… [with] alcoholism and sobriety.”

Bernard added that the show is a must-watch for those “who are afraid of taking that first step,” noting, “It is just nice to watch someone’s journey through getting better.”  

Single Drunk Female airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET on Freeform.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) On her Instagram, The Boys‘ Karen Fukuhara reveals that she was hit in the head in what’s become a disturbing trend of anti-Asian attacks in this country. 

“Today I was struck in the head by a man,” the 30-year-old American actress began a series of messages, explaining that although she’s “physically fine,” after the “hate crime,” she’s fed up.

She added, “This s*** needs to stop. Us women, Asians and the elderly need your help.”

The actress, who plays the super-powered Kimiko on the Amazon series, said she was walking to a cafe when a male came up behind her and hit her in the head so hard her hat flew off.

“I thought about confronting him at first, but he started coming towards me and I didn’t think it was worth the risk,” she revealed.

After he yelled at her, the man walked away, Fukuhara noted, adding, “This is the first time I’ve been harmed physically, although racial slurs and hurtful actions have been directed to me in the past.”

She added that “multi-racial friends of mine…had no idea these hate crimes happen to [us] everyday, regular people…I felt it was important to raise awareness.”

She also vented, “Why is this something we as ‘victims’ have to think about? What satisfaction are these perpetrators getting from hitting women, Asians, the elderly? They need to be held accountable [for]…these horrible crimes.”

The actress’ post comes days after the arrest of a suspect caught on tape punching an elderly Asian woman more than 100 times in the lobby of her Yonkers, New York, building. According to WABC-TV, Tammel Esco, 42, was charged with attempted murder as a hate crime and assault as a hate crime — both violent felonies.

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The show must go on. With Broadway attendance picking up, and with more theater-goers expected to come as COVID-19 vaccine mandates for patrons are relaxed at the end of April, The Broadway League is resuming its reporting of shows’ ticket sales. 

Charlotte St. Martin, president The Broadway League, announced the change Thursday. She said in a statement, “With the optimism that comes as spring approaches and as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, 16 new Broadway productions are preparing to open in March and April and audiences from across the country and around the world are returning to New York.”

Martin continued, “As we move forward into this more ‘normal’ time, Broadway sales figures will be reported on a weekly basis beginning March 22, 2022.”

Even as recently as January of this year, with the surge of omicron cases, Broadway’s bottom line had been devastated because of the pandemic. Nine shows closed — some temporarily, like To Kill a Mockingbird, others permanently, like Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations  — as attendance plummeted.

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Wendy Williams is addressing months of reports and rumors about her mental and physical well-being after health struggles kept her from returning to her show for a 13th season. In an exclusive interview with Good Morning America, Williams said she is “comfortable” and “ready” to work again.

“Give me about three months,” she said in a phone interview. “There are private things that I have to deal with and then I’ll be ready to come back and be free and ready to do my thing.”

Just last month, producers of The Wendy Williams Show announced that Williams’ talk show would come to an  end after 14 seasons and will be replaced this fall by Sherri, a new series hosted by Sherri Shepherd. Shepherd had been one of the fan favorites filling in for Williams, who was said to be sidelined because of complications from her Graves’ disease, which is a thyroid condition.

Amid her various health struggles, Williams is in a legal battle with Wells Fargo Bank, which froze her accounts for two months. She said this has prevented her from fulfilling her financial obligations, including mortgage payments and employee payroll.

“They say that I need somebody to handle my account. And I don’t want that,” Williams said. “I want all my money. I want to see all my money that I’ve worked hard for my entire life. My entire life…I am an honest, hard-working person.”

In court documents, the bank said it has requested a conservatorship for the talk show host because it believes “she is the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation” — an allegation Wendy has denied.

“I want to spend more time with my family,” Williams said. “And you know, working out and waiting for the responses to my money situation and Wells Fargo. And they don’t like that. I’ve worked hard every single day, even on days when you know, I might have a little cold.”

Wells Fargo didn’t comment about Williams’ recent statements, but in February, the bank told People magazine, “We deny any allegations of improper actions with respect to Ms. Williams’ accounts and are fully participating in a court process to reach a resolution that is in her best interest. The financial well-being of our clients is at the heart of everything we do.”

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Forget one cover — Essence magazine just released not one, not two, not three, but four digital covers in honor of the milestone anniversary for their annual Black Women in Hollywood issue. 

This year’s honorees — Nia Long, Aunjanue Ellis, Quinta Brunson, and Chanté Adams — each have their own stunning digital cover for the special issue. The women, whose talents have contributed to the creation of a vast and dynamic Black cinematic universe, will also be honored at the 15th annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards taking place in Beverly Hills on March 24. 

In the issue, the honorees talk about a variety of meaningful topics like the importance of being heard. 

“To truly make an impact and to be true to the art, an artist needs to be heard,” Long said. “Because I come to the table having really studied what I’m doing, not just showing up.”

Brunson also shed some light on the importance of being one’s truest self.

“Going on a true self-worth and introspective journey before you go out into the real world, it’s lifesaving,” the actress shared. “I really want that for more young Black women. It’s a lot of stuff that’s thrown at us. And if we kind of do the work to know the ins and outs of who we are, it can provide a protective shield.”

The Essence Black Women in Hollywood issue is out now. 

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Instagram has placed Kanye West on a 24-hour suspension for violating the platform’s harassment policy.

The Yeezy founder, 44, has been restricted from posting, commenting and sending DMs, among other actions, for 24 hours, a spokesperson for parent company Meta confirmed to ABC News. They have also deleted posts that contain content that violates their policies on hate speech, bullying and harassment.

The spokesperson adds that repeated violations will result in further action. Representatives for Kanye had no comment to ABC News on the matter.

The 24-hour ban comes after Ye made several controversial posts aimed at his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, and her boyfriend, Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson. The rapper has been very vocal on social media about his custody negotiations regarding the four children he shares with Kim, claiming he’s been prevented from seeing his them. He’s also posted about Pete and even dissed him in the “Eazy” song and video. 

A recent post about Davidson again referred to the SNL star, saying, “Im really concerned that SKETE will get my kids mom hooked on drugs He’s in rehab every 2 months.”

Ye also posted about Daily Show host Trevor Noah and comic D.L. Hughley, who have both publicly commented on the ongoing drama between Ye, Kim and Pete.

What [Kim is] going through is terrifying to watch, and it shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave,” Noah said, comparing West’s behavior to that of his abusive father, who nearly shot his mother to death. “As a society, we have to ask ourselves questions. Do we wish to stand by and watch a car crash when we thought we saw it coming?”

In response, West posted a now-deleted photo of Noah from Google that described him as a “South African comedian,” along with racist lyrics to the song “Kumbaya.”

West commented, “All in together now… K**n baya my lord k**n baya…”

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