Page 269 - Entertainment Culture
Zoe Saldana 'happy' to have James Gunn back as 'Guardians... Vol 3' director
Zoe Saldana is "happy" that Disney has reinstated James Gunn as the director of the "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3". The 40-year-old actor, who plays Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, says she is "so proud" of Disney for backtracking on their previous decision to axe the filmmaker from the franchise and believes the company has set a great example. Gunn was fired by Marvel Studios' parent company Disney after his old, offensive tweets resurfaced on social media. In the tweets, Gunn, 52, had cracked crude jokes dealing with paedophilia and rape. "I'm proud of him. I'm happy that he's coming back. I'm so proud of Disney, actually, that all the leaders right now behind that big corporation decided to lead by example, and spreading the word and the message of redemption is important," Saldana told Entertainment Tonight. Gunn, who had also directed the first two parts of the franchise starring Chris Pratt, Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Dave Bautista, will start working on .
'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' confirms season 6 premiere date
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." will be back with its sixth installment on May 10, the makers announced Sunday. The ABC show shared the news on its official Twitter handle. "MAY we share some big news?! Marvel's #AgentsofSHIELD will premiere MAY 10 on ABC!" the tweet read. The new season will see the return of major players, except Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who was killed-off in the season five finale. The show will star airing shortly after the Marvel tentpole "Avengers: Endgame" releases on April 26. Asked how it would affect the timeline of the series, Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb indicated that the one year time jump between the previous season and the current one was part of the series' tie-in to the film.
Anna Kendrick to headline comedy 'Dummy'
Anna Kendrick has been roped in to feature in a comedy, titled "Dummy". The "Pitch Perfect" star will also executive produce the project, which comes from "Deadbeat" co-creator Cody Heller and independent studio wiip. According to Deadline, "The Walking Dead" fame Tricia Brock is attached to direct. "Dummy" is a buddy comedy that follows an aspiring writer (Kendrick) and her boyfriend's sex doll. It will be a serialised movie-length story told in chapters of under 10 minutes in length and premiere on Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman's short-form video platform Quibi. "Dummy" was originally developed as a TV pilot. The script was subsequently rewritten as a film and then divided into 10-minute segments to fit into the concept of Quibi (quick bites). Heller and Brock will also executive produce.
'Us': A jerky, messy cinematic statement (Review)
Film: "Us"; Director: Jordan Peele; Cast: Lupita Nyongo, Winston Duke, Evan Alex, Shahadi Wright-Joseph, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Madison Curry, Cali Sheldon; Rating: **
James Gunn returns to Twitter with 'Brightburn' trailer
Days after he was reinstated by Disney for the third installment of the "Guardians of the Galaxy", director James Gunn has resumed regular social media life. The filmmaker, who disappeared from Twitter last year amid the controversy over his past tweets, has made a comeback on the microblogging site, sharing the "extended" trailer of his new directorial "Brightburn". "And here's an extended version of the trailer!" Gunn captioned the 3.11 minute-long video which he shared Friday. The director officially resurfaced on Twitter on March 15 after Disney rehired him for "Guardians 3" by posting a thank-you note. "Brightburn" is a superhero sci-fi story with a twist that offers a subversive take on the genre and is slated to be released on May 24.
The Rolling Stones postpone North American tour
Legendary English rock band The Rolling Stones have postponed their North American tour to give frontman Mick Jagger time to undergo medical treatment and recover. "Mick Jagger has been advised by doctors that he cannot go on tour at this time as he needs medical treatment. "The doctors have advised Mick that he is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible," the band's publicist said in a statement issued to Rolling Stone magazine. Jagger, 75, apologised to fans on his various social media accounts. "I really hate letting you down like this. I'm devastated for having to postpone the tour but I will be working very hard to be back on stage as soon as I can," he said. The 17 postponed concerts span from an April 20 gig in Miami to the band's July 29 show at Canada's Burl's Creek Event Grounds. The postponed shows include two concerts at New Jersey's Metlife Stadium, two concerts at Chicago's Soldier Field and football stadium gigs in ...
Mark Hamill will be voice of Chucky in remake
Hollywood star Mark Hamill is going to voice the iconic killer doll Chucky in the upcoming "Child's Play" franchise.
Emily Bett Rickards leaving 'Arrow' ahead of final season
Emily Bett Rickards will not be returning for the eighth and final season of superhero TV series "Arrow". The actor, who plays tech-genius Felicity Smoak on The CW show, announced her exit on Instagram Saturday. "Felicity and I are a very tight two/But after one through seven/we will be saying goodbye to you. I thank you all for the time we've shared/The elevators we have climbed/The monsters we have faced and scared/And The burgers we have dined/ I will keep her in my heart for always/And I hope that you can too/ Because she would not be alive if it weren't for all of you," Rickards captioned the photo in stills from the show. The show's frontman Stephen Amell, who plays the Green Arrow, tweeted a season one photo of Rickards as Felicity shortly after she made her announcement. Executive producers Greg Berlanti and Beth Schwartz confirmed the actor's departure. "We've had the pleasure of working with Emily since season one and in those past seven years she has brought one of TV's ...
Priyanka attends first Jonas Brothers concert
Amidst divorce rumours, Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas attended her first Jonas Brothers concert in Atlanta and called it "incredible".
Mark Hamill to voice Chucky Doll in 'Child's Play' reboot
Veteran actor Mark Hamill is set to lend his voice to the creepy killer Chucky Doll in the "Child's Play" reboot. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the "Star Wars" legend joins the already announced cast of Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman and Brian Tyree Henry in the upcoming re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic. "We feel incredibly lucky to have an icon creating a new take on an iconic character. Mark is a gifted actor and celebrated vocal performer, and he's approached this challenge with incredible energy and commitment," said producer David Katzenberg. The new movie will follow the same plot of the original, centering on Karen (Plaza), a single mother who gifts her son Andy (Bateman) a toy doll, unaware that it possesses the soul of a serial killer. "Polaroid" helmer Lars Klevberg is directing the film from Tyler Burton Smith's script. Seth Grahame-Smith, Katzenberg and Aaron Schmidt are attached as producers. The film is slated to be released on June 21.
Don't think anything could have saved Kurt Cobain: Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg
Legendary rock band Nirvana's manager Danny Goldberg believes it would not have been possible to save frontman Kurt Cobain. The iconic singer committed suicide on April 5, 1994 at his home in Seattle, Washington. Goldberg, who has penned a memoir titled, "Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain", said, "There is a mystery to why some people do it (suicide) and some don't." The memoir spans the three-and-a-half years Goldberg worked with Cobain. "I think a lot of people loved him. Nobody will ever know you can't go back and test out hundreds of hypotheticals. I think anybody who knows somebody who killed themselves would give the same answer. There is a mystery to why some people do it and some don't," he told Rolling Stone magazine. Goldberg said it is hard to understand why people take their own lives. "I absolutely believe nobody knows why people kill themselves and there's no glib, easy answer why he or anyone else does so. For all the psychiatrists and priests and rabbis and
Alison Brie, Bo Burnham join 'Promising Young Woman' cast
Actor Alison Brie, Connie Britton and director Bo Burnham have joined the cast of thriller "Promising Young Woman". According to Variety, Carey Mulligan will play the lead role of a young woman in the film, who is haunted by a past tragedy and how she takes revenge on the predatory men unlucky enough to cross her path. The movie also features Adam Brody, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, Max Greenfield, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Sam Richardson, and Molly Shannon. The project is currently under production. The thriller marks the feature directorial debut of Emerald Fennell, who will both helm and write the movie.
Drew Barrymore wants to make more movies with Adam Sandler
Hollywood star Drew Barrymore says she wants to reteam for a movie with her frequent collaborator and good friend Adam Sandler. The duo have already co-starred in three films -- "The Wedding Singer", "50 First Dates", and "Blended". "Adam Sandler, obviously, just because I want to make movies with him forever. We just talked on the phone the other day. We talk on the phone often, and we were like, it feels like something, I don't know. "We always get like a time and an instinct thing. We've done it three times now, so we know we have more to go," Barrymore told People magazine when asked if she would like to work with any of her previous co-stars again. The actor had also credited Sandler for her success in her 2015 book "Wildflower". "He was hot s*** and he believed in me. It's a little bit of a love letter to him because I have grown with this person," she had written in the book in a chapter dedicated to Sandler, titled 'Adam'.
Black actors don't get cast on potential: Mahershala Ali
Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali says he finds it "frustrating" that black artistes do not get cast on the basis of their talent. The actor, whose career breakout role came as fixer Remy Danton in "House of Cards", believes the role gave casting directors "permission" to put him in their projects. "I had many years of auditioning, booking gigs, almost booking jobs and making some real allies in the business - people who wanted to cast me in things but I just wasn't a big enough name. What 'House of Cards' did was give people permission to cast me. "It can be frustrating. Just to be frank with you, African-Americans don't really get cast on potential. I hope that now I will have a window where I can finally do a lot of the kind of work I've been wanting to do for a long time. I've spent a long time playing the man next to the man next to the man. Finally, I'm getting to play the man!" Ali told Heat magazine. Following the success of "House of Cards", the 45-year-old actor went on to .
Kate Hudson turned down '10 Things I Hate About You'
Actor Kate Hudson was supposed to star in popular teen romantic comedy "10 Thing I Hate About You" but she did not accept the offer, film's casting director Marcia Ross has revealed. Ross said Hudson turned down the film because her mother, veteran actor Goldie Hawn, did not like the script. The lead roles in the film were eventually played by Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. "We screen-tested Josh Hartnett, Eliza Dushku, Heath and Julia, but Julia and Heath just had the best chemistry together. I loved Katie Holmes. She was about to get 'Dawson's Creek' and we had to make a decision really fast. "The other person I loved was Kate Hudson. But her mom didn't like the script for her, so she passed," Ross told The New York Times. "10 Things I Hate About You", which released in 1999, was directed by Gil Junger. It turned out to be a breakout film for Stiles, Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Rajkummar Rao happy with his global reach
Actor Rajkummar Rao is happy that he is able to entertain audiences globally.
Fest showcasing Australia's indigenous culture, history culminates after 20 city India run
A performance by acclaimed Australian soprano and composer Deborah Cheetham marked the culmination of the Australia Fest here that put the spotlight on the country's indigenous culture and history and had been showcased in over 20 Indian cities since September 2018.Cheetham shared her "unique life story and the journey she has taken to discover her belonging" by presenting 'Songs of Belonging' featuring Australian and Indian performers - pianist Toni Lalich, tabla master Pandit Ashis Sengupta and the members of Rubiks Collective, one of Australia's most dynamic contemporary art music ensembles.Australian Fest was organized by the Australian High Commission in more than 20 Indian states to celebrate the ancient song-line of Australia's Indigenous people.Speaking at the concluding ceremony here on Saturday, Australia's High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu said, "Over the past six months, we have presented over 100 events across 20 Indian cities to showcase many elements of ...
Mixing patriotism for nationalism is political conspiracy: Shabana Azmi
Veteran actor Shabana Azmi has opined that it is essential for people to understand that mixing patriotism with nationalism is a political conspiracy in which they should not get involved at all.The actor said it is essential that people understand the difference between patriotism and nationalism."Nowadays there is a situation in our country when you are not allowed to say that anything is wrong with your country, you then become an anti-national and this is done as a political conspiracy because there is a difference between nationalism and patriotism," Azmi said.She was addressing questions from the audience during a session dedicated to poet Kaifi Azmi at the first edition of the Dehradun Poetry Festival here, which is marking his birth centenary year.Elaborating on patriots and nationalists, the actor said the former are "people who love their country and do not want any wrong to exist in their country so they criticise it because they want their country to be good.""A ...
Don't like to talk about Alia's personal life: Soni
Actress Alia Bhatt's mother Soni Razdan, who is a veteran actress, says she does not like to talk about her daughter's personal life in public.
Rana Daggubati comes up with Amar Chitra Katha Alive
Actor Rana Daggubati, who used to be an avid reader of Amar Chitra Katha books in childhood, has now come up with an Amar Chitra Katha learning centre called ACK Alive.