Entertainment

A world of pure imagination: Warner Bros. collabs on 'Wonka'-themed hotel rooms

Booking.com

If you've ever wanted to live in the chocolaty "world of pure imagination" of Willy Wonka, Warner Bros. has your ticket.

The studio behind the forthcoming Timothée Chalamet prequel Wonka has teamed up with Booking.com to offer Wonka’s Sweet Suites in New York and Los Angeles.

According to the announcement, suites at the Park Lane New York in New York City and Viceroy Santa Monica in Los Angeles have been "transformed into sugary wonderlands inspired by the highly anticipated film, and complete with activities fit for a candy connoisseur."

The booking site teases "all-you-can-treat experiences and edible amenities such as limited-edition, fun, and imaginative Wonka Magic Hat Gummies in four fruity flavored combinations, life-sized chocolate confections, a replica of the tree in Wonka's candy shop, and a decadent chocolate bar bed topped with marshmallows set amidst cotton candy clouds for the sweetest dreams, like those in the new film."

Also, "the experience will come with tickets to see Wonka in theaters, vintage destination posters and stamp wallpaper inspired by the chocolatier’s travels, candy-inspired beverages, and more."

You can check out the details for the New York stay here and the Los Angeles suite here.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Ryan Reynolds pokes fun at Taylor Swift & wife Blake Lively's sultry London pic

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Last week, Taylor Swift attended the London premiere of Beyoncé's Renaissance concert film, and brought her pal Blake Lively with her.  Blake and Taylor each posted a photo of themselves cuddling in a banquette at the event in their glamorous evening wear -- which was a cue for Blake's husband Ryan Reynolds to poke fun at them.

On his Instagram Story, Ryan posted a hilarious photo that a fan created: It has his face Photoshopped onto Blake's in the London pic, while Travis Kelce's face is Photoshopped onto Taylor's. Travis looks quite fetching with a side-tucked bang and slinky silver dress, while Ryan looks great with long, flowing blond hair.

"I feel like I should remember this," he captioned the pic.

Meanwhile, the real Travis and Taylor were together December 3 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with Taylor in a VIP box cheering on Travis as his Chiefs took on the Packers. Taylor was joined in the VIP suite by Brittany Mahomes, wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Unfortunately, the Chiefs lost.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Florence Pugh hit in the face by fan-thrown object

ABC

Florence Pugh became the latest celebrity to get struck by an object thrown by an over-excited fan.

The incident happened on Sunday, while she and her fellow Dune: Part Two cast members were promoting the movie at the CCXP 2023 convention in São Paulo, Brazil.

According to video posted by a fan, the Oscar-nominated star was smiling for photos, arm in arm with Austin Butler, Timothée Chalamet, Souheila Yacoub, director Denis Villenueve, and Zendaya, and when a small item hit Pugh in her right eye.

She grabbed her face before crouching down to fetch the object, while a peeved Butler scanned the crowd to see who threw it.

Pugh, like Butler, is a newcomer to the Oscar-winning Dune franchise. She plays Princess Irulan in the movie, which opens March 1.

The incident is reminiscent of other such occurrences at concerts this year: Harry Styles was hit in the face by a thrown water bottle at a show in July; in June, Bebe Rexha got a black eye on stage when a fan frisbeed a cellphone at her.

In that case, the offender was arrested and charged with assault.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


In Brief: 'The Boys' drops season 4 teaser, and more

Legendary Pictures debuted the trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the fifth movie in its Monsterverse series. This time, Kong and Godzilla are pitted against "a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence -- and our own." Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Kaylee Hottle reprise their 2021 roles as Dr. Illene Andrews, Bernie Hayes and Jia, respectively, along with franchise newcomers Dan Stevens and Fala Chen. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is set to open April 12...

HBO dropped the first trailer for season 2 of The House of the Dragon on Saturday. The Game of Thrones prequel series, based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and tells the story of House Targaryen. The returning cast from the first season includes Rhys Ifans, Matthew Needham, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel and Ewan Mitchell, joined by newcomers Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh, Tom Bennett as Ulf and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne. House of the Dragon season 2 premieres next summer...

Prime Video has released the teaser trailer for season 4 of The Boys. Per the streaming service, "The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) -- is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander (Antony Starr), who is consolidating his power. Butcher (Karl Urban), with only months to live, has lost Becca's son as well as his job as The Boys' leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it's too late." The snippet also reveals Jeffrey Dean Morgan's addition to the Emmy-nominated series. The Boys' fourth season is set to premiere sometime in 2024...





Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' concert film tops the box office with $21 million opening weekend

Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood

Beyoncé's concert film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, topped the domestic box office in its opening weekend, finishing slightly above expectations with an estimated $21 million. That marks one of the best debuts for a concert film, behind Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour with $92.9 million this past October, 2008's Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert with $31.1 million, Justin Bieber's 2011 outing Never Say Never with $29.5 million and Michael Jackson's This Is It with $23.2 million.

Renaissance -- written, directed and produced by Queen Bey -- was the first film in a couple of decades to open with more than $20 million on the typically slow weekend after Thanksgiving, according to distributor AMC Theatres.

Renaissance fell short of expectations overseas with an estimated $6.4 million, for a total of $27.4 million worldwide.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes dropped to second place in its third week of release, delivering an estimated $14.3 million. To date, the Hunger Games prequel has grossed $343.9 million in North America and $243.9 globally.

Third place went to another major debut, Godzilla Minus One, gobbling up an estimated $11 million. The foreign language sci-fi movie has already earned $23 million in Japan.

The animated threequel Trolls Band Together took fourth place, earning an estimated $7.4 million, for a three-week North American tally of $74.2 million $160.6 million worldwide.

Disney's Wish rounded out the top five with an estimated $7.4 million. To date, the animated feature has collected $42 million in North America and $81.6 million globally.

The Marvels ended its box office run as the lowest-grossing film in MCU history, with a total of $80 million in North America and $197 million worldwide.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'Home Alone' star Macaulay Culkin honored during Walk of Fame ceremony

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Macaulay Culkin received a Walk of Fame star this week.

The actor, 43, who is known for his roles in Home Alone, Richie Rich, My Girl and more, was honored during a ceremony in Hollywood on Friday.

"Thank you to the Walk of Fame committee for honoring me in this way. I feel such esteem from this whole thing," Culkin said. "There's so many people that I love, and to feel that love back is just amazing."

He also thanked Brenda Song, with whom he shares two sons.

"You are absolutely everything, you're my champion," he said as he held back tears. "You're the only person happier for me today than I am. You're not only the best woman I've ever known, you're the best person I've ever known. You've given me just all my purpose. You've given me family."

"And after the birth of our two boys, you've become one of my three favorite people," he added. "You're somewhere in there. But I love you. I love you so much."

Culkin ended his speech by reciting his iconic line from Home Alone: "To wrap things up, in the spirit of the holiday season, I just want to say, Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals."

Friends, family and other Hollywood stars, including his Home Alone mom Catherine O'Hara, Natasha Lyonne, Seth Green and Paris Jackson, attended the ceremony to support Culkin.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson joins 'RoboForce: The Animated Series'

The Nacelle Company; ABC/Paula Lobo

Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Seven Bucks Productions is reteaming with their Disney+ Behind The Attraction collaborators The Nacelle Company for the latter's upcoming RoboForce animated series. 

As reported, Nacelle has become a force rejuvenating and reimagining retro pop culture properties and toys — one of their projects, the revamp of the 1990s cartoon Biker Mice from Mars, is being backed by superfan Ryan Reynolds and his Maximum Effort company.

RoboForce: The Animated Series is set in 2089, when a robot line destined to assist a new intergalactic society on Earth found itself immediately rendered obsolete, leaving the would-be heroes to working menial jobs. But 15 years later, when the 'bots that replace them turn on humanity, the RoboForce is called back into action.

In a statement, Johnson and Garcia noted of the series, which was inspired by a vintage toy line of the same name, "We love that it's a story about redemption, second chances, and rising to the challenge as told through the eyes of funny, messed up, renegade robots who finally get their chance to shine."

They added that they're excited "to bring the iconic story of RoboForce to life," commenting, "This is a great opportunity for Seven Bucks to build on its animation momentum, and we can't wait for audiences to see what we've got in store for them."

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Stephen Colbert getting back to 'The Late Show Monday' following appendix surgery

CBS/Mary Ellen Matthews

ABC Audio has confirmed Stephen Colbert will be back behind the desk at The Late Show Monday, December 4, following emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix and a week off to recover.

The guests scheduled for his return will be Sarah Paulson and recording artist Jason Isbell.

As reported on November 27, Colbert announced to his fans that he'd be taking the week off to recover, joking, "Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas."

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Jodie Foster on the how "amazing" it is acting in her 60s, mentoring and Marvel movies

Elyse Jankowski/FilmMagic

Jodie Foster's first Oscar nomination came at just 14 years old for her work in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Now 61, the two-time Academy Award winner is sharing some wisdom with Elle magazine.

"I went through a period where I was like, 'Wow, I had these goals about writing and directing, and I didn't meet any of them.' And I couldn’t stop feeling like a terrible failure," Foster admits.

"And now I feel like I have fewer goals in film than I've ever had, and I'm happier than I’ve ever been," she declares.

Foster can be seen in Netflix's Nyad, playing Bonnie Stoll, the coach to Annette Bening's Diana Nyad.

"[T]here's something amazing about acting in my sixties and supporting other people," Foster says. "I think I enjoy it more than anything I've ever done."

Having started out so young, Jodie says she can't help but have a "soft spot" for other actresses. "I find myself reaching out to girls who could be my daughters and saying, 'Wait a minute, you keep doing dumb things on publicity tours. What's going on with you? ... Who's letting you do that? And where's your mom?'"

She continues, "I just don't know how they survive without some mother around the way I had a mom around. To be able to say, 'You’re overexposed,' or ... 'You can go away for two years and have a life and come back and there will be work for you. Yeah, maybe it won't be in some franchise, but what do you care? This is your life.'"

Foster also calls the superhero genre "a phase that’s lasted a little too long for me."

"The good ones — like Iron Man, Black Panther, The Matrix — I marvel at those movies ... but ... those movies don't change my life," Foster continues.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Reality Roundup: Rachel Leviss gets a podcast, '90 Day Fiancé' couple has a baby and more

Have no fear, your reality roundup is here! Here's a look at what happened in the world of reality television this week:

Vanderpump Rules (Bravo)
Rachel Leviss is launching a new podcast. Rachel Goes Rogue is set to premiere January 8 and promises to explore a wide range of topics, including mental health, pop culture and self-empowerment. Back in September, Tom Sandoval came out with his own podcast, Everybody Loves Tom. The two stirred up the biggest scandal – or should we say Scandoval – in Vanderpump history when their secret affair was exposed earlier this year.

90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way (TLC)
Couple Brandan and Mary revealed to Entertainment Tonight that they welcomed a baby girl named Midnight in August. They also shared a cute picture of the sleeping newborn. "When I heard our baby crying for the first time during my C-section, I got teary-eyed and was so happy to realize I have a baby!" Mary tells ET. "Our daughter, Midnight, is worth everything and I've never been this happy in my whole life."

Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix)
This may not have been a challenge contestants were expecting, but they certainly found a creative solution. Player 301/Trey Plutnicki confirms to Entertainment Weekly that contestants were not given lip balm in their toiletry bags, so some resorted to using lubricated condoms to moisten their lips. He said producers eventually gave players tins of lip balm with their numbers on it. The season finale of Squid Game: The Challenge hits Netflix on December 6.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Weekend Watchlist: What's new on streaming

Ready, set, binge! Here's a look at some of the new movies and TV shows streaming this weekend:

Netflix
American Symphony: The new documentary follows musician Jon Batiste and his wife as she battles cancer.

Family Switch: All these years after 13 Going on 30Jennifer Garner stars in another body-swapping comedy. This time it's a Christmas movie!

May December: You have to watch this genre-bending film that's already getting Oscar buzz. It stars Julianne MooreNatalie Portman and Charles Melton.

Apple TV+
Slow Horses: Your favorite agents are back for season 3, which is sure to be filled with all the signature twists and turns.

Max
BookieCharlie Sheen reteams with Chuck Lorre in the new comedy series.

Prime Video
Candy Cane Lane: Last but not least, you can get into the holiday spirit with Eddie Murphy’s latest film.

That’s all for this week’s Weekend Watchlist – happy streaming!

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Surviving 'Taxi' stars plan 45th reunion on 'The View'

Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Ban via Getty Images

Tony Danza, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner and Carol Kane will be getting back together at the Sunshine Cab Company, as part of a 45th anniversary to the beloved, Emmy-winning sitcom Taxi, courtesy of ABC's The View.

Danza tells People the event will be seen on December 11's installment of the daytime chat show.

Whoopi Goldberg first spilled the tea that something was in the works on The View's companion ABC Audio podcast Beyond the Table. She explained Hirsch called her personally to try to set up the gathering.

"He called, he said, 'Listen, we are all gonna be in town. It's the 45th anniversary, and we're all in town because we're seeing Danny's show on Broadway [I Need This]. Could you get us on The View? We should get on The View," Goldberg recalled.

Danza tells People the old friends "have been getting together on a Zoom every month for three, four years now and we see each other a lot."

He confirmed Hirsch with setting the whole thing up. "Judd is the most energetic ... I don't know how old he is. He's incredible," 72-year-old Danza enthused Thursday at the New York City premiere of Power Book III: Raising Kanan.

Hirsch, now 88, played levelheaded cabbie Alex Reiger; Henner was Elaine Nardo, a single mom and aspiring artist; Danza played wannabe boxing champ Tony Banta; Lloyd played the burned-out "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski; DeVito was their scheming dispatcher Louie De Palma; and Kane played Simka Gravas, the eventual wife of the late Andy Kaufman's mechanic Latka Gravas.

Of the main cast, Kaufman passed away in 1984 and Jeff Conaway, who played aspiring actor Bobby Wheeler, died in 2011.

Taxi ran from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


New trailer to 'The Crown''s final season teases the aftermath of Princess Diana's death

Netflix

On Friday, Netflix released the trailer to the second half of the sixth and final season of The Crown.

The final episodes see Ed McVey and Luther Ford as Princes William and Harry, respectively, mourning the death of their mother Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki).

A spitting image of the prince, McVey's William returns to Eton University "amidst an increase in attention from young female fans touched by his plight," the streamer teases. "The struggle to re-adjust leads to tensions with his family, as they try to support another young heir to find his way in the system and the world."

In the clip, Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams) tells Dominic West's Prince Charles of his mourning sons, "The boys need you now more than ever," to which Charles answers, "I'm afraid we don't do fathers and sons very well in this family."

The sixth season also sees William "tested when he develops a crush on one of the most desired students on campus: a woman by the name of Kate Middleton," played by Meg Bellamy; the final six episodes deal with the now-royal couple's budding romance.

Meanwhile, Imelda Staunton's Queen Elizabeth II, "having approved the marriage between Prince Charles and Camilla ...starts to consider her reign and ultimately her legacy," Netflix continues. "Approaching her ninth decade, the Queen is forced to dig deep and really examine what is best for the future of the monarchy."

This comes as public sentiment shifts away from the Royals following Diana's death to the U.K.'s charming Prime Minister Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel).

Part 2 of the sixth season of The Crown premieres on December 14.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


"I had to break the law": Felicity Huffman opens up about "Varsity Blues" college cheating scandal

KABC-TV

Actress Felicity Huffman broke her silence on the college admissions scandal that gripped the nation four years ago, discussing serving 11 days in jail for paying to help get her daughter Sophia into college.

In an exclusive interview with Los Angeles ABC station KABC, Huffman said she owes an apology to the academic community and students and families that sacrifice and work hard to get into college.

"It was sort of like my daughter's future, which meant I had to break the law," Huffman told KABC. "I know hindsight is 20/20 but it felt like I would be a bad mother if I didn't do it. So, I did it."

Huffman explained why she paid a $15,000 bribe for a proctor to correct wrong answers and falsify the results on her daughter’s SAT test, which ultimately landed her in prison.

Huffman described the guilt she remembered feeling while driving her unknowing daughter to take that test back in 2017.

"I kept thinking ... Just turn around. And to my undying shame, I didn't," Huffman said.

The following year, the FBI was at her home. Huffman said the agents woke her daughters up at gunpoint before taking her into custody.

"I literally turned to one of the FBI people in a black jacket and a gun and I went, 'Is this a joke?'" she recalled.

The Desperate Housewives alumna was one of the 33 parents, including actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, who faced federal charges in the so-called "Varsity Blues" scandal, pleading guilty to their involvement in 2020.

As part of her mandated community service after pleading guilty, Huffman worked with New Way of Life, an organization that assists formerly incarcerated women.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'Lawmen: Bass Reeves' arrests record audience for Paramount+

Lauren Smith/Paramount+

Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has another hit on his hands.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves, the anthology show executive produced by the guy behind Yellowstone and its prequels, as well as Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King, has become Paramount+'s most-watched season premiere.

The company trumpeted that the first two episodes of the show, starring executive producer and Emmy Award nominee David Oyelowo as the man with the badge, arrested 7.5 million viewers across the world in its first seven days.

The series debuted on November 5.

The audience was on both the platform and CBS, which ran the first two episodes on November 12, following an episode of Yellowstone.

Earlier this year, another Sheridan show, Special Ops: Lioness, starring Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman, also premiered to record numbers for the streamer.

Lawmen follows Reeves' "rise from enslavement to law enforcement as the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi." The remaining three episodes roll out Sundays on Paramount+, leading up to the finale airing December 17.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


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