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Nick Jonas won't star in action thriller 'The Blacksmith' after all

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Anthony Mandler(LOS ANGELES) — While Nick Jonas is very busy these days, there’s one particular iron he doesn’t have in the fire anymore.

Nick was set to star in the action thriller The Blacksmith, which would have featured him as a Jason Bourne-meets-MacGyver character: A weapons expert for intelligence agencies who must go on the run with only his “unique set of skills” to protect him.   However, according to the Hollywood Reporter, he’s now dropped out of the project due to scheduling problems.

Because the start of shooting has been delayed, Nick couldn’t fit the movie into his schedule, the head of the movie studio producing the film told The Hollywood Reporter.

“Nick, as you can imagine, has a lot of other commitments, with his acting and his music,” explained CEO Stuart Ford. “Under normal circumstances, he could fly in and out, go to do things over the weekend, and come back to set Monday. But in a COVID environment, that doesn’t work.”

Ford notes that Nick would “have to stay in the same place for three months,” adding, “With a star like Nick Jonas, it became borderline impossible to make the schedule work.” The part will now be re-cast.

In other Nick Jonas news, he’s releasing another new song, “This Is Heaven,” on March 4, following its debut on Saturday Night Live.  His solo album Spaceman is due March 12.  Meanwhile, his new sci-fi movie Chaos Walking is out Friday.

By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dress for Success: Hillary Scott lends her support to "Your Hour, Her Power" campaign

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Chris HolloHillary Scott is helping to empower women during Women’s History Month. The Lady A singer is one of the 31 businesswomen taking part in Dress for Success‘ “31 Days of Women in Power.”

It’s an expansion of the nonprofit’s annual “Your Hour, Her Power” initiative where donating one hour of pay helps support Dress for Success’ programs and services that aim to stop poverty by giving women access to employment and economic independence, as well as gain needed resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The campaign, which takes place throughout the month of March, shares the stories of “inspiring women in leadership positions who are making an impact in their industries and beyond,” Dress for Success describes in a statement. 

“As a businesswoman and working mom, I think it is so important for us to rally together to support the Your Hour, Her Power campaign,” Hillary tells O Magazine. 

The country star is featured alongside many others business leaders and entrepreneurs including Janessa Cox-Irvin of Nashville-based research firm AllianceBernstein, Verizon Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Rima Qureshi, Stephanie Chung of Wheels Up, Blue Apron President and CEO Linda Findley Kozlowski and more. 

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Blanco Brown shares story of life-threatening motorcycle accident

• No Comments • Country Music News

Mitch Haaseth/ABC via Getty ImagesBlanco Brown is opening about his near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2020. 

Last August, Blanco was riding his motorcycle in Atlanta when he crashed head-on with a pickup truck. In an interview with Billboard, Blanco shares that multiple parts of his body were “shattered” as a result, including his arms, wrists and pelvis, and that he almost lost one of his legs. 

After a 12-hour surgery, the singer was in the hospital nearly a month recovering. “I couldn’t move at all. I couldn’t turn in the bed. I had external pipes sticking out of my body holding my pelvis together. I had to learn how to do simple things. I couldn’t feed myself,” he recalls. “I was broken, but it didn’t break my spirit.”

Music proved to be a source of healing for “The Git Up” singer, especially when a group of nurses came into his room one day playing his 2019 hit.

Blanco also received a special gift from Tim McGraw, who sent him one of his signature black cowboy hats signed “Love ya, Blanco.” 

“What’s so crazy is that day I was really down, just thinking like, ‘Will I heal in time? Am I going to heal at this rate?’ To tell you the truth, I got the hat and it made me feel great about everything. It made me want to get up, but I couldn’t!” the Atlanta native says. 

As he continues to recover, Blanco remains optimistic. “The accident, it solidified that you’re here for this purpose. Keep it going. Don’t stop what you’re doing. Don’t let this put a damper on what you do and how you shine and the joy you have,” he reflects. “Just continue to be a blessing.”

Blanco’s song with Parmalee, “Just the Way,” is in the top five on country radio. 

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

'Wonder Woman' star Gal Gadot announces pregnancy with baby number three

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ABC/Rick Rowell(LOS ANGELES) — Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot is pregnant with her third child, the Israeli-born actress announced Monday.

“Here we go again,” she wrote on social media alongside a photo of her family — including husband Yaron Varsano and daughters Alma, 9, and Maya, who turns 4 later this month — with their hands resting on her stomach.

Gadot, who married Varsano in 2008, previously welcomed Alma in Nov. 2011 and Maya in March 2017, just months before the first Wonder Woman film was released.

While promoting its sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, this past December, the Justice League star, 35, opened up about her daughters visiting her on the set.

“It was great. It was really, really great. First of all, it was a very familiar environment for them. They know the cast, they know Patty, they know Patty’s family,” she told Good Morning America at the time. “It felt like a second home for all of us. But at the end of the day, they come and they see me work, you know?”

In the same interview, Gadot recalled Maya’s priceless reaction to seeing the trailer for the Wonder Woman sequel for the first time.

“She said, ‘Oh my god, [mother in Hebrew], you can fly?!’ Then you have to explain it’s not for real,” she said with a laugh. “But they’re very excited and they’re very proud.”

By Carson Blackwelder
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tiger Woods breaks silence after crash

• No Comments • Sports News

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The MatchBy CARMEN COX, ABC News

(LOS ANGELES) — Tiger Woods tweeted a message of love after fans and fellow golfers took to the final round of the WGC-Workday Championship wearing his signature Sunday red as a tribute to the star athlete.

“It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirts,” Woods tweeted Sunday evening. “To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time.”

Woods’ message of gratitude comes just days after the 45-year-old golfer underwent emergency surgery for injuries he suffered in a serious car accident. Woods is still hospitalized and recovering in southern California.

Watch the report from ABC’s Good Morning America:

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