Tyler at the 2008 premiere of “The Incredible Hulk” — Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Liv Tyler is reportedly stepping back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, some 16 years after appearing in one of the first movies made by then-fledgling Marvel Studios.
The Hollywood Reportersays Tyler will reprise her role of Betty Ross from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk — the film that opened after that same year’s Iron Man, the launching point of the MCU — for Captain America: New World Order.
Ross was the love interest of Edward Norton‘s Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk, with the latter role recast by Mark Ruffalo starting with 2012’s The Avengers. Ross is also the daughter of Gen. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who was played several times in the franchise by actor William Hurt before his death in 2022.
In 2024’s fourth Captain America film, Anthony Mackie reprises as Sam Wilson, who traded in his title of The Falcon for the stars and stripes at the conclusion of the Disney+ series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Harrison Ford has been cast in Hurt’s role.
However, Ross, who in the MCU has gone from a general to secretary of state, is the president of the United States in New World Order.
While clips from Norton as his green-skinned alter ego are seen in the background during a shot in The Avengers, he never returned as Banner; the switcheroo was mentioned for the first time only coyly in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, with Ruffalo explaining he was “a whole different person” when he first became The Hulk.
Captain America: New World Order hits theaters May 3, 2024.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Imagesfor Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 presented by Prime Video
Damson Idris got his green card with some help from his idol Jay-Z. In his cover story for Complex, the actor confirmed that Hov was one of the many references for his permanent residence card.
“Hov didn’t offer that up. I had to ask him. But he’s done many things for me over the years. He’s always supported me. He supports everyone. He supports so many people that you don’t even know,” Damson said. “Like, genuinely I should tell everyone this right now: If you ever run into Jay-Z, just say thank you and keep it moving because he is definitely a pioneer of the culture, but of everything.”
He then thanked Jay, who he called “a huge idol of mine,” noting Rich Paul, Thomas Schlamme and Eric Schryer were also references who believed in him and his journey.
Damson’s acting journey started later than some, as he played soccer until he was about 20 years old and even took a stab at comedy.
“It was horrible. It was so bad,” he recalled of his standup experience. Despite compliments from his brothers, he decided, “I’m never gonna do this ever again. I’m gonna be a serious actor.”
Damson went to drama school and got a degree, then landed his first play. He’s now completing his final season in his breakout role as Franklin Saint on FX’s Snowfall.
Asked whether he’s annoyed by fans referring to him as Franklin, Damson says, “I actually like it … It proves to me that I have a lot of work to do. It proves to me that I have a legacy to build. It proves to me that there’s so much longer on this journey that I need to go. And that’s exciting to me.”
Def Leppard is back with the fourth installment in their tour diary, sharing behind-the-scenes footage of their shows in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Hollywood, Florida.
“This is the last South American show, Buenos Aires, Argentina,” frontman Joe Elliott says in the clip. “It’s been a blast. Absolute blast.”
Before the Buenos Aires concert, guitarist Vivian Campbell predicts it will be the “best audience yet.”
“Not that the previous audiences have been anything but spectacular, but Buenos Aires, I have a strong suspicion,” Campbell says. “It doesn’t change how we play. We always try our best, regardless. We always give at least 11%, sometimes 12.”
And it’s good they like Buenos Aires, because they got stuck there. After taking off in their joint Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe jet, they had to return because of mechanical problems. They wound up stuck in the airport lounge for about seven hours before they finally left the airport.
The clip also features footage from off and on the stage during their show in Hollywood, Florida, including Rick Savage warming up backstage, and a drum duet between Rick Allen and Mötley’s Tommy Lee.
“It was a really good way to finish off a month away from home doing this whole South American kinda expedition as it were,” Elliott says of the show. “Absolutely very exciting, especially at this stage in our career to be able to do something like this is absolutely astonishing.”
Next up the tour hits the U.K., with the first show May 22 in Sheffield, England. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.
David Lee Roth made his return to performing last week, taking the stage at a private corporate event in Las Vegas.
According to Consequence, the former Van Halen frontman joined the all-star cover band Royal Machines at a party for Home Depot at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, where he performed the Van Halen classic “Panama.”
Royal Machines is made up of musicians Billy Morrison, Mark McGrath, Donovan Leitch Jr., Chris Chaney and Josh Freese, and they were joined by Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens. The event also featured special appearances by Idol, Run DMC’s Darryl McDaniels and Linda Perry.
It’s been a while since we saw Roth onstage. In 2022 he was supposed to headline a residency in Las Vegas, which were to be his last shows before retiring from performing. He wound up canceling them.
(NEW YORK) — CVS Health Corp announced Monday it would be closing its acquisition of home health care services company Signify Health.
The deal, which was originally agreed upon in September 2022, allows retail pharmacy chain to acquire Signify for $30.50 per share for a total value of approximately $8 billion.
“We have nothing additional to share at this time; we’ll of course have more to say upon expected closure of the deal,” a spokesperson for CVS told ABC News.
By buying Signify, CVS will be among the first pharmacy chains in the U.S. to enter the at-home health care space after building its successful Minute Clinics.
Signify Health has thousands of employees including physicians, nurse practitioners and other clinicians which provide a “holistic suite of clinical, social, and behavioral services to address an individual’s healthcare needs and prevent adverse events that drive excess cost, all while shifting services towards the home,” the company said in a press release.
Here’s how the deal may affect services including COVID testing and abortion care.
COVID tests performed at home
While every American has been able to either buy at rapid at-home antigen tests at their local store or get them delivered to their doors, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests have been reserved for doctors’ offices, clinics and pharmacies.
PCR tests, which look for genetic material from the virus, are considered the “gold standard” when it comes to COVID-19 testing.
While less accurate than PCR tests, antigen tests are still considered quite accurate when used in people with symptoms of infection. The tests look for proteins on the surface of the virus and can deliver results in 15 minutes or less.
CVS has been offering PCR testing at its stores but, with Signify already having a system in place providing on-site COVID screening, clinicians may be able to perform such testing in people’s homes.
Abortion services
It’s not clear how the CVS acquisition will affect abortion pills, but at-home care could be provided.
In January, after a change in rules from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, both CVS and Walgreens announced plans to seek certification to distribute abortion pills where legally allowed.
Despite Walgreens saying it would not distribute mifepristone in 21 states after conservative attorneys general threatened legal action, CVS has not said it will be doing the same.
Even if CVS does follow in Walgreens’ footsteps, licensed physicians may be able to prescribe pills directly in a woman’s home in states where procedure is legal,.
Signify Health declined to comment to ABC News.
Expanding health care into rural areas
According to the American Hospital Association, there are just 1,805 rural hospitals in the U.S., the latest date for which data is available. It also represents a 59% decrease since 2019.
What’s more, a January report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform found that 631 rural hospitals — or roughly 30% — are at immediate risk or high risk of closing due to low financial reserves or being too dependent on certain forms of revenue such as state subsidies.
By comparison, CVS has more than 9,000 stores across the country.
The acquisition may allow the company to be able to reach traditionally underserved communities that live far away from metropolitan areas.
Disney’s 1970 movie The Aristocats is getting the remake treatment. Deadline reports the new version will be a mix of live action and CGI, with Questlove directing, executive producing and overseeing music for the film.
The Aristocats follows the story of a family of pampered felines who have inherited a massive fortune from their owner, and are fighting to reclaim their riches from a jealous butler who attempts to get rid of them and inherit the fortune himself.
Pixar’s Onward writer Keith Bunin is adapting the screenplay alongside Peter Rabbit filmmaker Will Gluck. Gluck’s production company, Olive Bridge, and Questlove’s Two One Five Entertainment are producing the film, according to Deadline.
Tariq Trotter, Shawn Gee and Zarah Zohlman are tapped as executive producers, Deadline reports.
The live-action remake of The Aristocats will mark Questlove’s feature film directing debut. He previously directed Summer of Soul, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary last year.
One might not think Cocaine Bear could turn its powdered nose up at an Oscar-winning drama, but that happened on the streaming charts.
Elizabeth Banks‘ pulpy stoned bear movie stayed at #1 on the top 10 from Vudu, Fandango’s streaming service, for the second week in a row, where it managed to best Brendan Fraser‘s Oscar-winning performance in The Whale.
The latter film has been in the top 10 in various positions since Fraser won his Best Actor trophy, but streaming audiences are apparently hooked on Cocaine Bear.
In the movie’s second week atop the charts, Guy Ritchie‘s action comedy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre took second place, and The Whale took third.
John Wick: Chapter 4 killed it at the box office the world over this weekend, with an estimated $137.5 million debut.
To Good Morning America, franchise director Chad Stahelski looked back at his earliest days with the dude in the bulletproof suit, Keanu Reeves.
The former stuntman turned filmmaker was Keanu’s stunt double – Brad Pitt‘s, too, hence his cameo in Deadpool 2 and his leading role in Brad’s recent hit Bullet Train. He and Keanu first met around 1999, Stahelski recalled. “I got the job thinking it was this little sci-fi action movie — and it was not. It’s The Matrix.'”
The now-54-year-old director went on to work with Keanu for Constantine, and they stayed close; Chad even helped Reeves with his directorial debut, 2013’s Man of Tai Chi.
“There was a massive mentorship going on there, like learning and growing and becoming a better performer, a better stunt person, better stunt coordinator, better choreographer,” Stahelski said, seeing Keanu, now 58, as an “older brother” figure.
It was Reeves who brought Stahelski the first John Wick script.
“It was a bit of an odd script. Puppy dies and this guy goes on a rampage,” Stahelski recalled. “And he’s like, ‘Do you have a take on this? We can’t quite crack it.'”
Chad said, “I had this take on Greek mythology and how to blow it out and be this surreal love letter to action movies, embracing the idea, ‘don’t worry about making a movie, but make a myth and make a legend.'”
The rest, as they say, is history: By comparison to Chapter 4‘s $75.3 domestic opening, 2014’s original John Wick opened to just $14 million.
Ariana Grande updated her social media bio to say she’s “currently somewhere over the rainbow” and shared a collage of photos showing just how much fun she’s having filming the Wicked movies.
Ariana has been cast to play Glinda the Good Witch to Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo‘sElphaba, the eventual Wicked Witch of the West. Taking to Instagram Sunday, Ari shared a new carousel of snaps and titled them, “up to (no) good.”
Photos include Ari showing off her blond hair and hanging out with Erivo. Images show them walking arm-in-arm and riding in a car together. A few snaps also appear to show how they’re honoring their characters, such as a close-up shot of Erivo’s Elphaba-inspired manicure.
Ariana also shared a few extra photos to her Instagram Story, such as her and Erivo bonding with Michelle Yeoh, who has been cast as Madame Morrible. The photos were originally shared by director Jon Chu, who revealed he, Erivo and Ariana attended a party thrown in the new Oscar winner’s honor.
When sharing snaps of the party to her Instagram Story, Ariana wrote, “We love you so much it hurts.”
The first Wicked movie is slated to premiere in theaters on November 27, 2024.
Elle King stopped by Chouteau High School in Oklahoma on Friday, March 24, to surprise two special people: Cathy Welker-Graham, one of Elle’s biggest fans and the school’s teacher of the year, and Emma Hughes, a senior student who wrote to Elle about her remarkable teacher.
During her visit, Elle and her guitarist gifted Cathy, Emma and the school’s faculty, staff and student body with an acoustic performance of her song “America’s Sweetheart.”
“I didn’t always have the greatest experience in school,” Elle admits with a laugh to the press. “But every few schools I would find a teacher who believed in me, and it gave me confidence and they told me that I could do something great with my life even if I was different. So I think that great teachers should be celebrated. It was important to me that we show this deserving teacher some well-earned gratitude.”
“As educators, this is why we do what we do,” adds Chouteau High School Principal Clint Hall, who assisted with organizing the event. “We are here to make positive impacts on our students. It took a lot for me to keep a lid on this. Mrs. Welker-Graham is a rockstar teacher and Emma is a great kid! It could not have come together for two better people. This was priceless! Tears of joy from a lot of people today!”
Watch a clip of Elle’s surprise visit on Instagram.
