Diddy Gets Into Verbal Altercation With Power Actor Michael J. Ferguson - XXLMAG.COM

Diddy came close to getting into a physical altercation with Power actor Michael J. Ferguson while out celebrating Halloween.

Diddy dressed up as Heath Ledger’s Joker character from The Dark Knight movie and went out for what was supposed to be good times on Sunday night (Oct. 30). However, the celebration was briefly halted when the Bad Boy founder got into a heated argument with Michael J. Ferguson. In video of the incident, the two can been seen in each other's face while Ferguson, who played 2-Bit on Power and Power Book II: Ghost, calls Puff a pussy multiple times. Puff then begins to laugh maniacally, leaning into the character he is portraying.

"You're a clown," Diddy responds. "What's up, baby. You don't like me? You muthafuckin frontin', get to it, bitch. Don't fucking play with me on Halloween. I'm out here with love, nigga...What's up. Come over here and I'll bust your shit. Next time, you don't never talk to me like that, nigga. I'm Love."

Ferguson doesn't back down and smirks while the billionaire rap-mogul rants.

"Why you coming at me like that, God?" Diddy continues. "Me and you got a problem? You really taking over my energy, right now?"

Luckily, cooler heads quickly prevail. Diddy lets Ferguson know who he is and they eventually dap each other up and hug.

"You lucky, though, nigga. I'm really ’bout that," Diddy tells Ferguson while they embrace.

Diddy commented on the incident in the comment section of TheShadeRoom's video of the near fight.

"Had a fun night. It's all love. Hugged like Black kings should do when it comes to some bullshit.

In a follow-up comment he added, "Love love love."

Ferguson also commented on the incident on his Instagram Story.

"Ran into Diddy last night. All love," he captioned a clip of the altercation.

See Video of Diddy Getting Into a Verbal Altercation With Michael J. Ferguson Below

Diddy reacts to altercation video.

diddy/Instagdram

Michael J Ferguson comments on Diddy fight.

michaeljferguson/Instagram

See 10 of the Shortest Beefs in Hip-Hop

Beefs within rap that ended quickly.

Adblock test (Why?)

Diddy Gets Into Verbal Altercation With Power Actor Michael J. Ferguson - XXLMAG.COM
Read More

Cormac Roth, Musician and Son of Tim Roth, Dies at 25 - Variety

Cormac Roth, a musician and son of actor Tim Roth, died on Oct. 16 after a battle with cancer, the family announced Monday. He was 25.

“He was a wild and electric ball of energy and his spirit was filled with light and goodness,” his family said in a statement. “As wild as he was, Cormac was also the embodiment of kindness. A gentle soul who brought so much happiness and hope to those around him. The grief comes in waves, as do the tears and laughter, when we think of that beautiful boy across the 25 years and 10 months that we knew him. An irrepressible and joyful and wild and wonderful child. Only recently a man. We love him. We will carry him with us wherever we go.”

A graduate of Bennington College, Roth was a talented guitarist, composer and producer. He announced on his Instagram that he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 germ cell cancer in November 2021.

“It has taken away half of my hearing, 60 pounds of weight, my confidence, and will continue its murderous path until I can manage to stop it some how, and kill it,” he wrote. “But it hasn’t taken away my will to survive, or my love of making music. It hasn’t taken me down yet. If you or someone you love is effected by cancer, please feel free to reach out for it is an emotional rollercoaster unlike anything else. Love to you all please make sure to do the things that you love. Life is short. It is chaos. And you never know when it’s going to be you. Be well and go to the doctor. Fuck cancer.”

He is survived by his parents, Tim and Nikki Roth, and his brother, Hunter Roth.

Adblock test (Why?)

Cormac Roth, Musician and Son of Tim Roth, Dies at 25 - Variety
Read More

Liam Hemsworth To Replace Henry Cavill In ‘The Witcher’ Season 4 After Early Netflix Renewal - Deadline

Netflix has renewed The Witcher for a fourth season with a twist.

Liam Hemsworth will replace Henry Cavill in the epic drama series, taking the reins as Geralt of Rivia.

The move comes ahead of the third season of the series, which will return in summer 2023. A four-part prequel series, The Witcher: Blood Origin launches December 25, 2022.

Cavill, who revealed earlier this week he will return in the role of Superman, played the grim Geralt of Rivia, the bane of supernatural beasties in the first three seasons of the drama series.

The Witcher is a story of the intertwined destinies of three individuals in the vast world of The Continent, where humans, elves, witchers, gnomes, and monsters battle to survive and thrive, and where good and evil is not easily identified.

It also stars Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan.

Hemsworth, who is best known for starring in the Hunger Games franchise, recently starred in Quibi drama Most Dangerous Game. He will take over as Geralt of Rivia in what is believed to be a rich deal.

According to sources, Cavill had made a short-term deal for The Witcher and felt it was time to move on after three seasons on the show, which films overseas and has a demanding production schedule. He already has film and TV projects lined up, including the just announced The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare, in addition to the Superman return. Cavill’s Witcher co-stars renegotiated their contracts heading into Season 4, sources said.

Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is showrunner and exec producer. Tomek Baginski, Jason F. Brown, Sean Daniel, Mike Ostrowski, Steve Gaub and Jarosław Sawko also executive produce.

Cavill said, “My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for season 4. In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”

Hemsworth added, “As a Witcher fan I’m over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia. Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I’m honoured that he’s handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf’s blades for the next chapter of his adventure. Henry, I’ve been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I’m truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world.”

Nellie Andreeva contributed to this report.

Adblock test (Why?)

Liam Hemsworth To Replace Henry Cavill In ‘The Witcher’ Season 4 After Early Netflix Renewal - Deadline
Read More

‘Black Adam’ Flies To $108M+ During Sluggish Halloween Weekend – Saturday Box Office - Deadline

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Halloween adjacent weekends have rarely been good ones at the box office, and even less so during the pandemic, when there aren’t a lot of solid movies in cinemas. Saturday night is largely party night, not movie night. All titles this weekend are expected to gross $66.2M, not that far off from last year’s $64.3M, but at a great drop from last weekend, when New Line/DC’s Black Adam propelled industry ticket sales, -43%. Pre-pandemic, the last weekend of October rang up $107.6M in 2019 and $105.7M in 2018, per Box Office Mojo.

The annual spooky effect on moviegoing is forcing Black Adam to be -63% in weekend 2 with $25M, a hold that’s steeper than a number of Dwayne Johnson movies in weekend 2, i.e. Hobbs & Shaw (-58%), Rampage (-44%), Skyscraper (-54%), and San Andreas (-53%), and some DC films (i.e. The Batman, -50%; Justice League, -56%), yet better than others such as Green Lantern (-66%) and 2016’s Suicide Squad (-67%). Despite this, Black Adams is flying past $100M by Sunday with $108.4M, Johnson’s 18th movie to fly past the century mark at the domestic box office.

Also not overindexing, no thanks to Halloween syndrome, is Lionsgate’s PG-13 horror film Prey for the Devil at 2,980 theaters, which made $2.8M yesterday (including Thursday previews) for what looks to be a $7M start third place. That’s where Lionsgate was projecting the film. It arrives in an already horror-laden marketplace, with Halloween Ends set to finish its third weekend with $60M-plus, and Paramount’s slasher sleeper Smile going to $92M-plus by tomorrow. Prey for the Devil, despite being a slightly different kind of exorcism film in its female-driven conceit, isn’t spreading the spirit all over this land, with a C+ CinemaScore, 68% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, and 64%/2 1/2 stars on Comscore/Screen Engine’s Posttrak.

Those who decided to buy tickets to date were 62% between 18-34, and evenly split between 51% females, 49% males. Demographic breakdowns were 33% Men over 25, 30% women over 25, 21% women under 25, and 16% under 25. Diverse audiences were 38% Hispanic and Latino, 33% Caucasian, 12% Black and 11% Asian. Top ten theaters came from West and Southwest.

RelishMix measured the social media universe for Prey for the Devil at 62.1M across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok spurred by 29.4M for the latter on Lionsgate’s official channel. That outpaced the pic’s 20.8M YouTube views on eight studio-owned videos before opening.

United Artists Releasing’s third weekend expansion of Till at 2,058 locations notched an A+ CinemaScore and 91% positive on PostTrak, mostly women at 61%; with $1.03M yesterday and $2.8M for the weekend, and a running total of $3.6M for the Eon Production. Black moviegoers gave Till 94% on PostTrak. Much older audience here at 84% over 25, 63% over 35 and close to have over 45 with 27% over 55. Diversity demos were 38% Caucasian, 42% Black, 11% Latino and Hispanic and 9% Asian/other. Till saw most of its box office coming from the Southeast, Northeast and Midwest. 

Trafalgar Releasing has the concert movie, Coldplay Music of Spheres Live, booked at 833 runs in 179 markets. It posted solid core runs in NYC, Los Angeles, Philly, San Francisco, DC, Seattle, Miami, Orlando, Baltimore, Salt Lake City and Toronto, with $673K on Friday for a $1.38M weekend. Clearly, older-skewing movie here, as Trafalgar’s younger skewing BTS Permission to Dance on Stage saw a $6.8M opening back in March at 803 theaters.

Focus Features’ fourth weekend wide expansion of Todd Field’s TAR at 1,087 made $340K on Friday, in what looks to be a $1M 3-day and running total of $2.46M. James Gray’s Armageddon Time, also from Focus, was booked in six NYC and LA theaters at Lincoln Square, Union Square, Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn, Century City, The Grove and Burbank AMC for $35K on Friday, $78K opening weekend in a light $13K per theater. We heard Lincoln Square and Grove were the strongest of the bunch.  

Saturday estimates:

1.) Black Adam (NL) 4,402 theaters, Fri $7.5M (-72%) 3-day $25M (-63%)/Total $108.4M/Wk 2

2.) Ticket to Paradise (Uni) 3,692 (+149) theaters, Fri $3.1M (-51%), 3-day $10.36M (-37%)/Total $34M/Wk 2
Great hold here for this older female skewing title.

3.) Prey for the Devil (LG) 2,980 theaters, Fri $2.8M, 3-day $7M, Wk 1

4.) Smile (Par) 3,221 (-75) theaters, Fri $1.58M (-39%), 3-day $5.02M (-41%),total  $92.3M/Wk 5

5.) Halloween Ends (Uni) 3,419 (-482) theaters, Fri $1.14M (-55%), 3-day $3.77M (-53%)/Total: $60.2M/ Wk 3

6.) Till (UAR) 2,058 (+1,954) theaters, Fri $1.037M (+712%), 3-day $2.8M (+670%)/Total $3.6M/Wk 3

7.) Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (Sony) 3,135 (-401) theaters, Fri $715k (-38%), 3-day $2.65M (-38%)/Total: $32.3M/Wk 4

8.) Terrifier 2 (Iconic) 1,550 (+795) theaters, Fri $575,5K (+5%), 3-day $1.87M (+6%), Total $7.7M/Wk 4

9.) Coldplay Music of Spheres Live (TRAF) 833 theaters, Fri $673K, 3-day $1.38M/Wk 1

10.) The Woman King (Sony) 1,446 (-412) theaters Fri $300K (-42%), 3-day $1.05M (-44%) /Total $64.5M/Wk 7

Notable:

Tar (Focus) 1,087 theaters (+946), Fri $340K (+113%), 3-day $1M (+100%), Total $2.46M/Wk 4

Banshees of Inisherin (Sea) 59 (+55) theaters, Fri $210K (+211%), 3-day $400K (+117%)/Total
$650.76K/Wk 2

FRIDAY AM UPDATE: New Line/DC’s Black Adam ends its first week at the domestic box office with $83.4 million, which is slightly ahead of what Dwayne Johnson’s Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw did in its first week at $83.1M. That’s impressive considering Black Adam is a deeper-universe DC character, while the other was connected to a long-established franchise — not to mention Hobbs & Shaw debuted in the summer.

Hobbs & Shaw ended its domestic run at $173.9M. The pic’s second weekend was $36.5M, and currently Black Adam is expected to come in lighter at $27M-$30M for it second frame. The anti-hero’s Thursday gross was $3.1M, off 8% from Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Lionsgate has the sole new wide release this weekend in the PG-13 horror film Prey for the Devil, which isn’t expected to do much in the high-single-digits at 2,980 locations. Lionsgate typically launches a genre title around Halloween; its Boo! A Madea Halloween debuted to $28.5M in the penultimate weekend of October 2016 and went on to have a -40% hold in weekend 2 with $17.2M. Last night, Prey for the Devil did $660,000 at 2,450 theaters.

Prey for the Devil stars Roadies’ Jacqueline Byers and 13 Reasons Why’s Christian Navarro, and is directed by The Last Exorcism’s Daniel Stamm. Byers plays Sister Ann in the film, and she believes she’s answering a calling to be the first female exorcist… but who, or what, called her? She seeks out a place at an exorcism school reopened by the Catholic Church. Until now these schools have only trained priests in the Rite of Exorcism – but a professor (Colin Salmon) recognizes Sister Ann’s gifts and agrees to train her. Thrust onto the spiritual frontline with fellow student Father Dante (Navarro), Sister Ann finds herself in a battle for the soul of a young girl, who Sister Ann believes is possessed by the same demon that tormented her own mother years ago.

Elsewhere Thursday, Universal’s George Clooney and Julia Roberts romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise ended its week one with $23.7M. Yesterday was $1.5M, -8% from Wednesday at 3,543. It’s going to be fun to watch how much this older-skewing female comedy can leg out. A stateside haul of $60M is a solid projection, but can it do more? Pic came in ahead of forecasts last weekend with $16.5M.

Third place Thursday belonged to Paramount’s horror title Smile with $640,000, -7% from Wednesday for a fourth week of $11.3M and running total of $87.3M.

Halloween Ends from Universal/Blumhouse/Miramax ends week 2 with $10.3M, a 14-day total of $56.5M, and a second Thursday of $497K, -8% from Wednesday. The pic is also available to watch on Peacock.

Fifth goes to Sony’s Lyle, Lyle Crocodile with a third week of $5.2M, running total of $29.7M, and a Thursday of $210K, +4% from Wednesday.

A few films, particularly those that were on the arthouse sector, are going wide today. United Artists Releasing’s Till from Chinonye Chukwu will expand into 2,000 theaters. Standing at 98% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the pic is expected to bring in around $4M.

Searchlight’s Martin McDonagh pic The Banshees of Inisherin is expanding into 59 theaters across 11 additional markets after its beefy theater average last weekend of $45,200 (the highest so far this fall). The Colin Farrell-Brendan Gleeson movie’s first week clocked $251K.  

Focus Features has the James Gray autobiopic Armageddon Time booked at six locations in New York City and Los Angeles. The movie, which stars Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong and Anthony Hopkins, follows Gray’s life growing up in Reagan-era Queens. Since its launch at the Cannes Film Festival, the pic has garnered 80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Adblock test (Why?)

‘Black Adam’ Flies To $108M+ During Sluggish Halloween Weekend – Saturday Box Office - Deadline
Read More

CNN Cuts Back on Original Series and Films - The New York Times

Acquired and commissioned documentary movies and TV shows like ‘Navalny’ and ‘Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy’ are going away.

Chris Licht, the chairman of CNN, told employees Friday that the network would stop buying documentary films and original TV series as part of its cost-cutting efforts.

In an email to employees, Mr. Licht said that the network would be moving away from those movies and shows, which include “Navalny,” “RBG” and “The Burning of Black Wall Street,” and original TV series such as “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.”

Instead, Amy Entelis, CNN’s executive vice president for talent and content development, will explore creating a studio focused on long-form content.

“This was a very difficult decision to make, and it was based, in large part, on the ever-increasing cost of commissioning third-party premium content,” Mr. Licht wrote.

Mr. Licht told employees earlier this week that CNN would cut its budget before the end of the year, resulting in “noticeable change” for the network. The worsening economy and pressure from CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery has led to more severe cost-cutting than was initially expected from a monthlong business review.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock has taken a beating since the company began trading on the Nasdaq in April, part of a broader slump in the media sector.

The cuts will result in some layoffs at CNN, according to a person with knowledge of the decision, but employees required to air shows and movies already planned for 2023 will remain.

CNN has six original series and six films planned for next year, including “American Pain,” a documentary about opioid kingpins; and “See It Loud: The History of Black Television,” from LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Company.

CNN’s films and original series have won critical acclaim over the last decade, with films like “RBG” and shows including “United Shades of America” with comedian W. Kamau Bell winning Emmy Awards. CNN is currently airing “The Murdochs: Empire of Influence,” an original series based on reporting published in The New York Times Magazine.

Adblock test (Why?)

CNN Cuts Back on Original Series and Films - The New York Times
Read More

Colossal Andy Warhol painting of a car crash could sell for over $80 million - CNN

Written by Jacqui Palumbo, CNN

Andy Warhol may be best known for his pop art iconography of Marilyn Monroe, Chairman Mao and Campbell's soup cans, but next month, a "haunting" silkscreen print of a mangled car crash will be up for sale at Sotheby's in New York. Going under the hammer on November 16 during the auction house's marquee week, It is expected to sell for upwards of $80 million, according to a press statement.

"White Disaster (White Car Crash 19 Times)" is a colossal image Warhol made in 1963 as part of his "Death and Disaster" series. At the time, Warhol had become transfixed with gruesome and morbid images — atomic bomb clouds, electric chairs — and how widely print publications reproduced them, believing that readers had become immune to their impact. Of all his work, the series most explicitly dealt with his fixation on human mortality.

A rare, large-scale Andy Warhol silkscreen is coming to auction in November. Credit: Brownie Harris/Corbis Historical/Getty Images

In "White Disaster," Warhol duplicated a single image of an automobile accident 19 times in black and white. At 12 feet tall and 6 feet wide, it is the largest of his car crash works.

"What distinguishes (the painting) is not only its immense scale, which really bewilders anybody who stands in front of it ... but also its palette," explained David Galperin, Sotheby's head of contemporary art in New York, adding that Warhol repeated his image in the series in different tonalities, including lavender and orange. "It really seems to glow, the way that the black silk screen is registered against the sharp white background."

"There is a power to feeling dwarfed within this image," said David Galperin, head of contemporary art at Sotheby's New York. Credit: Courtesy of Sotheby's

Galperin compared the piece's scale and shape to religious altarpieces, referencing Warhol's Catholic upbringing and the religious undercurrents in his work — particularly how religious icon paintings informed his celebrity portraits. Warhol worked on the "Death and Disaster" series at the same time that he was screenprinting his famed images of Monroe after her death in 1962.

"These ideas of celebrity, tragedy, fame, death — these are the themes that occupied Warhol and I think that the series he was working on simultaneously, the Marilyn paintings and the "Death and Disaster paintings, are intricately linked," Galperin said.

"Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" set a record when it cracked $100 million in 2013. Credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

In 2013, a smaller work from the series, "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" sold at Sotheby's for a record-breaking $105.4 million. It reigned as Warhol's most expensive artwork until last year, when a 40-inch silkscreen of Monroe shattered the record for any American artist, reaching $195 million.

Leading up to the sale, "White Disaster" will exhibit at Sotheby's New York from November 4-16. It has been held in a private collection for 25 years, and was previously owned by Heiner Friedrich, founder of Dia Art Foundation, and art dealer Thomas Ammann, according to Sotheby's. It has appeared in major exhibitions about Warhol and pop art more broadly at Tate Museum in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and most recently, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

Adblock test (Why?)

Colossal Andy Warhol painting of a car crash could sell for over $80 million - CNN
Read More

Comedian Chris Redd Assaulted Outside New York Comedy Venue - Hollywood Reporter

Former Saturday Night Live star Chris Redd was assaulted near a New York comedy club Wednesday night.

The 37-year-old comedian and actor was punched by an unknown assailant outside the Comedy Cellar after arriving at the venue, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

A preliminary investigation determined that the assault took place after Redd exited a vehicle outside the front of the club. That’s when the performer was approached by an unknown individual “without prior conversation or provocation,” according to the NYPD spokesperson, and punched in the face. The individual fled the location and Redd was left with a laceration to his face.

Related Stories

After EMS arrived on the scene, Redd was taken to an area hospital where he was treated and then released.

THR has reached out to reps for Redd and the Comedy Cellar.

Redd is scheduled to perform at the Comedy Cellar as part of a series of evening shows, including three Thursday, Oct. 27. He’s also currently scheduled for an Oct. 30 show at City Winery.

Earlier this fall, Redd announced his departure from Saturday Night Live ahead of the premiere of its 48th season.

He was among eight castmembers to leave in one of the biggest cast turnovers in the show’s history. Also exiting prior to the current season were Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor and featured player Aristotle Athari.

Redd first joined the show during the 2017-2018 season as a featured player before being promoted to the main cast in 2019. During his time on the show, his work on the song “Come Back Barack” earned him an Emmy for outstanding music and lyrics in 2018. He shared that honor with fellow lyricists Kenan Thompson and Will Stephen, as well as composer Eli Brueggemann.

Outside of SNL, Redd appeared in the NBC series Kenan and the Peacock series Bust Down. His new HBO Max comedy special, Chris Redd: Why Am I Like This?, is set to debut Nov. 3.

Adblock test (Why?)

Comedian Chris Redd Assaulted Outside New York Comedy Venue - Hollywood Reporter
Read More

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ First Reactions Herald ‘Marvel’s Most Poignant and Powerful Film’ - Yahoo Entertainment

Disney and Marvel Studios finally unveiled Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” at the film’s world premiere in Hollywood on Wednesday evening. First reactions are emerging online now and they are overwhelmingly positive. It appears there wasn’t a dry eye in the theater during the film’s 160-minute runtime.

Anticipation for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has been sky high. The first entry was one of the biggest hits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, grossing $700 million at the domestic box office and $1.3 billion worldwide. “Black Panther” also became the first comic book movie nominated for best picture at the Oscars.

More from Variety

The sequel, which pits the nation of Wakanda against Namor and the undersea nation of Talokan, stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman and Angela Bassett. The film’s events follow the death of King T’Challa, who was played by the late Chadwick Boseman in prior Marvel entries. Boseman died in 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer.

“It is an incredible honor for Chadwick Boseman, it’s jam packed with exciting stuff,” Wright told Variety earlier this year about the film. “We honored him by committing ourselves to the story that he started, the legacy that he started with this franchise. We just committed every day to working hard, no matter what circumstances we faced — and we faced a lot of circumstances, a lot of difficult situations — but we came together as a team, and we poured everything into this movie.”

Coogler admitted earlier this month that he nearly quit the movie after Boseman’s passing, saying, “It hurt a lot. I was like, ‘Man, how could I open myself up to feeling like this again?’ I was poring over a lot of conversations that we had, towards what I realized was the end of his life. I decided that it made more sense to keep going.”

Variety awards editor Clayton Davis called the film “a beautiful tribute to Chadwick Boseman” and highlighted Angela Bassett as a highlight of the ensemble. “Don’t know about Oscars” though.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Brian Davids hailed the film as “Marvel’s most poignant and powerful film to date,” praising all elements from the performances to the crafts.

The Verge’s Charles Pulliam-Moore called the film “definitely a Comic Book Movie,” but had strong praise for the film’s ability to tell an “intimate and heartfelt” story within a bigger scope.

Film critic Orlando Maldonado said the film possesses a “maturity and seriousness rarely seen in the MCU.”

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff was also a fan, offering a tease of “how well the film earns that title.”

Actress Dani Fernandez shared that the film “had so many emotions!!!”

Collider editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub said it’s not unusual for people to “come out of a world premiere and say a movie is awesome” — but this one earns that.

The Wrap’s Drew Taylor said that the film “prioritizes sentiment over spectacle” and praised Ludwig Göransson’s score as “an all timer.”

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: opens in theaters nationwide Nov. 11. See more reactions below.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.

Adblock test (Why?)

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ First Reactions Herald ‘Marvel’s Most Poignant and Powerful Film’ - Yahoo Entertainment
Read More

Greg Berlanti’s ‘Green Lantern’ HBO Max Series Being Redeveloped, Loses Writer (Exclusive) - Hollywood Reporter

HBO Max’s long-gestating Green Lantern TV series is changing gears.

The drama that has been in the works since late 2019 will now focus on John Stewart, one of DC’s first Black superheroes. The series, from exec producer Greg Berlanti, was to originally have revolved around Guy Gardner and Alan Scott and had already cast Finn Wittrock (Ratched) and Jeremy Irvine (Treadstone) as the respective Green Lanterns.

As part of the creative overhaul, writer and showrunner Seth Grahame-Smith has departed the series after completing scripts for a full season of eight episodes. Sources say Grahame-Smith, who signed on as writer and showrunner a year after Green Lantern was announced, chose to leave the project after weathering a number of regime changes at HBO Max, its parent company, producers Warner Bros. Television and now DC Comics.

Related Stories

The decision to refocus Green Lantern arrives at a pivotal time for DC. Sources say the character of John Stewart was off the table to producers who envisioned the show as focusing on the first Green Lantern, the openly gay Alan Scott, and Guy Gardner as well as a “multitude of other Lanterns — from comic book favorites to never-before-seen heroes.” With DC Comics topper Walter Hamada’s recent exit, a decision was made to start over and build the show around John Stewart, the character who first appeared in the early 1970s and was modeled after Sidney Poitier. It’s worth noting that the Green Lantern creative overhaul has nothing to do with news this week that James Gunn and Peter Safran have been tapped to lead film, TV and animation at DC Studios in a role similar to what Kevin Feige is doing at Marvel. (Gunn and Safran don’t start their new jobs until Nov. 1.)

Of the previous incarnation, only Berlanti and his Warner Bros. TV-based Berlanti Productions remain attached to Green Lantern. (Fellow exec producer Marc Guggenheim, who originally was poised to co-write the pilot alongside Grahame-Smith, was not recently involved with the show ahead of its retooling.)

When HBO Max announced plans for Green Lantern in October 2019, Berlanti described it as the “biggest DC show ever made,” with plans for the series to go to space. Insiders at the time said it was poised to be the most expensive show DC ever made and easily the largest for HBO Max with a budget estimated in the $120 million range. (House of the Dragon, by comparison, cost less than $200 million.)

The show’s budget going forward is expected to be significantly less as HBO Max, under David Zaslav’s combined Warner Bros. Discovery, is focusing on right-sizing its various assets. As part of the move to find an estimated $3 billion in cost savings, Zaslav and his division leaders have dropped a number of projects including Berlanti’s planned Strange Adventures anthology for HBO Max, J.J. Abrams’ HBO original series Demimonde and the already completed Batgirl feature film. (For Demimonde, HBO is said to have balked at Abrams’ request for a budget north of $200 million.)

WBD said in an SEC filing this week that it expects to take $2 billion to $2.5 billion in tax write-downs related to content. The eight previously completed Green Lantern scripts are expected to be included in those tax write-downs as sources maintain it wasn’t Grahame-Smith’s creative that ultimately doomed the first incarnation of the show but rather its price tag.

As for Wittrock and Irvine, neither remains signed on to Green Lantern. Sources indicate that Berlanti Productions is eager to work with both actors when and if the project, which currently has a script-to-series commitment, moves forward. In spring 2021, when Wittrock and Irvine were cast, the show was still being fast-tracked and was to begin shooting that same year. The project is now on a slower, more HBO-like, development track under Bloys and Warner Bros. TV topper Channing Dungey. A new logline for the series has not yet been determined as the project is back to being in early development.

Reps for HBO Max, Warners, Berlanti Productions and Grahame-Smith declined to comment.

The HBO Max take is Berlanti’s second stab at the world of Green Lantern. He previously penned the screenplay (alongside Michael Green, Guggenheim and Michael Goldenberg) for the 2011 DC-produced Ryan Reynolds starrer. That movie was met with negative reviews and was considered a flop. It grossed $219 million vs. a budget of $200 million.

Adblock test (Why?)

Greg Berlanti’s ‘Green Lantern’ HBO Max Series Being Redeveloped, Loses Writer (Exclusive) - Hollywood Reporter
Read More

Angelina Jolie visits daughter Zahara at Spelman College for homecoming - Page Six

Proud mom Angelina Jolie made Spelman College’s 2022 homecoming weekend unforgettable as she surprised students on campus.

The Hollywood actress, 47, couldn’t pass up a chance to visit her daughter Zahara Jolie-Pitt’s first homecoming weekend after enrolling earlier this year.

The “Maleficent” star, who shares six children with ex-husband Brad Pitt, made sure to snap pics with eager fans who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her on campus.

“Angelina Jolie just casually walking around with her daughter at Spelman during Homecoming,” tweeted one fan alongside a snap with the actress.

Another student shared a selfie with Jolie, before revealing how the picture came about.

“‘Look I know you’re tryna be inconspicuous, so when we take this selfie just look down instead of me holding the camera up. Cool?'”

“Angelina Jolie: ‘Great plan!'” he wrote.

Jolie dropped Zahara off at Spelman College in August. She even posed for snaps on move-in day, as shared by the school’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Darryl Holloman.

When asked how she felt about the milestone moment, the actress admitted, “I’m going to start crying if I talk about today. I haven’t started crying yet so… hopefully, I can hold it together.”

She added that she felt “so excited” to be the mother of a Spelman student.

The director’s ex-husband, Pitt, gushed about Zahara’s college plans later that same week, saying that he is “proud” of his “smart” daughter.

“She’s going to flourish even more at college,” the actor said. “It’s an exciting and beautiful time to find her own way and pursue her interests. I’m so proud. Where does the time go, right? They grow up too fast. It brings a tear to the eye.”

Adblock test (Why?)

Angelina Jolie visits daughter Zahara at Spelman College for homecoming - Page Six
Read More

CAA Drops Kanye West as a Client, MRC Scraps Completed Documentary - Variety

Kanye West is no longer a client at CAA, Variety has confirmed.

In addition, a completed documentary about West will be shelved in light of his recent antisemitic comments, MRC studio executives Modi Wiczyk, Asif Satchu and Scott Tenley announced in a memo on Monday.

“This morning, after discussion with our filmmakers and distribution partners, we made the decision not to proceed with any distribution for our recently completed documentary about Kanye West. We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform,” they wrote. “Kanye is a producer and sampler of music. Last week he sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3,000 years — the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain.”

They added: “The silence from leaders and corporations when it comes to Kanye or antisemitism in general is dismaying but not surprising. What is new and sad, is the fear Jews have about speaking out in their own defense.”

In recent weeks, West has made controversial remarks about Jewish people, which led to his Twitter and Instagram accounts being restricted. On Sunday, antisemitic demonstrators gathered on a 405 Freeway overpass in Los Angeles and hung banners praising West.

The news of CAA dropping West and the cancellation of his documentary comes after UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer sent a company-wide memo denouncing antisemitism and calling for a boycott of West on Sunday night. West was briefly a UTA client, but moved back to CAA after a year.

“Regrettably, antisemitism, racism and many forms of hate and intolerance are part of the fabric of society. Generally, they live as a plague eroding the health of communities and are combatted by understanding, tolerance and the general goodness of most people,” Zimmer wrote. “But throughout history some have used their public platform to spew the plague out loud and spread the contagion to dangerous effect. Kanye is the latest to do so, and we’re seeing how his words embolden others to amplify their vile beliefs. I’ve also seen copies of horribly antisemitic flyers left this weekend on the doorsteps of homes in LA neighborhoods, showing that the 405 banners are not the end of it.”

Adblock test (Why?)

CAA Drops Kanye West as a Client, MRC Scraps Completed Documentary - Variety
Read More

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Trailer: Here Comes Kang the Conqueror - Variety

Marvel Studios has dropped the first trailer for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as the titular characters and introducing Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror.

After helping save the universe in “Avengers: Endgame,” Lang is the most popular guy around in the new trailer. He’s walking red carpets with Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne and is named “Employee of the Century” by Baskin Robbins (but still gets called “Spider-Man” at a coffee shop by Netflix’s “I Think You Should Leave” breakout star Ruben Rabasa). After Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang builds a satellite to the Quantum Realm, the entire Ant family is sucked into the new universe. The heroes find themselves surrounded by strange aliens and beasts, when supervillain Kang the Conqueror offers them a way out for their help. The villain comes from far into the future, specializing in time travel, which makes him a formidable villain for even the strongest — or smallest — of Avengers.

Majors’ Kang is preparing to be the next Thanos-level villain in the MCU, and he’ll likely pop up next in Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.” Initially appearing as He Who Remains in the Season 1 finale of Disney+ series “Loki,” Majors will get his first full run as the iconic comic book character in “Ant-Man 3.” Rounding out the cast is the return of Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne and the introduction of Newton as Cassie, who was initially played by Emma Fuhrmann in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”

Bill Murray plays an unnamed character, who has a history with Janet during her previous time spent in the Quantum Realm. Peyton Reed directs his third in the “Ant-Man” trilogy from a screenplay by Jeff Loveness.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” kicks off MCU’s Phase 5 and is set for theatrical release on Feb. 17, 2023. Watch the trailer below.

Adblock test (Why?)

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Trailer: Here Comes Kang the Conqueror - Variety
Read More

Travis Scott Slams Rumors He Cheated on Girlfriend Kylie Jenner: Stop With the ‘Fictional Storytelling’ - Us Weekly

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott. Broadimage/Shutterstock

After being accused of cheating on Kylie Jenner, Travis Scott is setting the record straight.

“It’s a lot of weird s–t going on,” the “Sicko Mode” rapper, 31, captioned a Saturday, October 22, Instagram Story statement. “An uninvited person was sneaking photos on what was supposed to be a closed set while I was directing a video.”

He added: “I’m saying this for the last time: I don’t know this person. I’ve never been with this person. So, please stop with the continuous cyber games and the fictional storytelling.”

Courtesy of Travis Scott/Instagram

Model Rojean Kar alleged earlier this month that she had been texting with Scott after working together on a music video set.  After revealing their messages via Instagram Stories, she claimed that the Texas native was lying about knowing her since she has photos of the pair together. The social media influencer also claimed that Scott “cheats on that bitch every single f–king night,” referring to the Kardashians star, 25, with whom he shares two children. Kar further claimed that the twosome spent Valentine’s Day together, two weeks after Jenner gave birth to the couple’s son.

“If u wasn’t at this table on V day then u wasn’t with me 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄,” Scott captioned a second Instagram Story slide on Saturday, sharing a screenshot of a photo he had seemingly taken at 8:00 p.m. on February 14. The rapper had snapped a pic of his dining room table with L.O.L. Surprise! toys on top, seemingly belonging to his 4-year-old daughter, Stormi.

The “Highest in the Room” performer and the Kylie Cosmetics founder have been dating on and off since 2017. (Jenner has not publicly addressed the allegations.)

“The priority has been about taking care of the kids,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in May, noting Jenner “goes back and forth” about the idea of eventually getting married. They are “keeping things between themselves calm and chilled and setting up boundaries that will give them the best chance of staying together in the long term.”

The insider added at the time: “She does like her independence but can’t imagine herself long term with anyone other than Travis.”

The Life of Kylie alum and Scott eventually expanded their family in 2018 and 2022, respectively, as they welcomed Stormi and a baby boy. Despite initially calling their son Wolf, the couple have since changed their minds.

“We really didn’t have a name. We thought it was going to come to us when we saw him and it didn’t,” Jenner recalled to mom Kris Jenner during a September episode of The Kardashians. “Then 24 hours before we had to sign the birth certificate — or else they register him without a name — so I felt the pressure to choose a name. Khloé Kardashian suggested Wolf and I liked the WW. So we put Wolf Webster in that moment, and right after I signed the birth certificate I was like, ‘What did I just do?’”

While Kylie and Scott have locked in on a new moniker, they have not publicly announced it.

Adblock test (Why?)

Travis Scott Slams Rumors He Cheated on Girlfriend Kylie Jenner: Stop With the ‘Fictional Storytelling’ - Us Weekly
Read More

Meghan Markle enjoys retail-therapy amid 'Deal or No Deal' backlash - Page Six

Enjoying some deals!

Meghan Markle was spotted enjoying some retail therapy after she revealed she felt objectified by her role as a briefcase girl on “Deal or No Deal.”

The Duchess of Sussex wore a $595 strapless green Malia Mills jumpsuit, which she paired with an olive sweater, a wide-brimmed $128 Panama hat from Cuyana, sunglasses and sandals. She completed the look with a braid.

The former royal, 41, was accompanied by a friend and the two seemed deep in conversation as they shopped for home goods at the gourmet food boutique Pierre La Fond in Montecito, Calif.

Meghan Markle looked fresh-faced as she shopped in California Friday afternoon.

BACKGRID

Meghan Markle looked fresh-faced as she shopped in California Friday afternoon.

BACKGRID

Meghan Markle looked fresh-faced as she shopped in California Friday afternoon.

BACKGRID

Up Next

"That's an interesting way to phrase it because a beef...

3

View Slideshow

The pair of friends went on to have lunch in nearby Santa Barbara.

Her outing comes one week after she admitted that she quit her job on Season 2 of “Deal or No Deal” back in 2006 because she felt she was being “reduced to a bimbo.”

Markle and her friend looked deep in conversation.

BACKGRID

Markle and her friend looked deep in conversation.

BACKGRID

Markle and her friend looked deep in conversation.

BACKGRID

Up Next

"That's an interesting way to phrase it because a beef...

3

View Slideshow

Despite feeling “really grateful” to have a job that could pay her bills, she still felt there was “little substance” to the role.

“I ended up quitting the show. I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage,” she said on the latest episode of her podcast, “Archetypes.”

Her outing comes after she was slammed for saying she felt objectified on "Deal or No Deal."

BACKGRID

Her outing comes after she was slammed for saying she felt objectified on "Deal or No Deal."

BACKGRID

Up Next

"That's an interesting way to phrase it because a beef...

2

View Slideshow

Her disparaging comments about the game show sparked blowback, including from fellow briefcase holders Claudia Jordan, who went on to star in “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” and model Donna Feldman.

Even Whoopi Goldberg blasted Prince Harry’s wife saying she knew what she was getting into.

“When you’re a performer, you take the gig,” the talk show host, 66, explained on Wednesday’s episode of “The View.”

Whoopi Goldberg and fellow briefcase girls responded to her comments.

BACKGRID

Whoopi Goldberg and fellow briefcase girls responded to her comments.

BACKGRID

Up Next

"That's an interesting way to phrase it because a beef...

2

View Slideshow

“You take the gig. Sometimes, you’re in a Bozo suit, sometimes you got a big nose, and this is just the way it is.”

Goldberg continued, “We’re not journalists. We’re actors. We’re trying to get to another place.”

Adblock test (Why?)

Meghan Markle enjoys retail-therapy amid 'Deal or No Deal' backlash - Page Six
Read More