February 5, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

L-R Shepard, Bovington, Corddry – Courtesy Motor Trend(NEW YORK) — Actors Dax Shepard and Rob Corddry and veteran automotive journalist and driver Jethro Bovington didn’t know each other before they signed on to host Motor Trend‘s new streaming series, Top Gear America, but they tell ABC Audio some wheel time off-camera changed that. 

“Per Jethro’s recommendation, he said, let’s borrow three cars and do a Angeles Crest run, which is the most legendary road in L.A. County,” Shepard says.  “So we got an [Audi] R8, we got a McLaren and we got — Jethro had that [Mustang] Shelby 500 [and] We did a crazy canyon day.”

“Something about it was the most fast forwarding to a friendship. Just by the end of that day, we were like, yup, we’re team,” Shepard declares.

Corddry says he knew he was picked to give an “everyman” perspective on the show, as he had no racing experience compared to his co-hosts. He’s quickly coming up to speed, however.

“[Somebody] asked me, “What’s the craziest thing you you want to do in a car?…I can no longer answer that question because on Top Gear, we are allowed to do stupid, stupid things,” says Corddry. “And so all my dreams are fulfilled in that realm.”

Bovington laughed, “The producers are great because they they come up with stupid things, but I don’t think there’s been an episode where we haven’t said, ‘We should do this thing,’ which is like what their thought times two and they let us do it.” 

Shepard adds with a laugh, “That Ford Explorer comes to mind…It was just sitting there and we said, you know, it would be an absolute crime if we didn’t jump that pile of logs with that thing.”  

Top Gear America is now streaming on the Motor Trend app.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 5, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Marvel Studios(LOS ANGELES) — Tom Holland cannot reveal too much about the upcoming Spider-Man movie, but did promise one thing: it is going to raise the bar on all superhero flicks.

Holland, who stars as Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, chatted with Variety on Thursday about his Apple TV+ film Cherry before the conversation gravitated toward the MCU.

When asked if he could reveal “anything” about the third Spider-Man film, Holland replied, “Obviously, I can’t really say anything.”

However, it appears the 24-year-old actor is struggling to keep the movie’s secrets under lock and key because, later, he confessed to the interviewer, “What’s funny is like, I nearly told you then. You were so close to getting what you want.”

Holland admitted he is extremely excited about this film and cannot wait for it to hit theaters.

“I can say that it’s the most ambitious standalone superhero movie ever made,” he gushed. “You sit down, read the script, and see what they’re trying to do, and they’re succeeding. It’s really impressive. I’ve never seen a standalone superhero movie quite like it.”

The interviewer tried unsuccessfully to squeeze Holland on the movie’s casting rumors, namely if former Spideys Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are on board.

“Beats me, I don’t know. If they are, they haven’t told me yet,” shrugged Holland. “That would be something that Marvel would do. I watch the film and be like ‘So that’s who that tennis ball was!'”

Holland added that he feels extremely “lucky” to be playing Spider-Man in the upcoming third installment.

“I’m just as excited as everyone else to see it, let alone be a part of it,” he furthered.

The yet unnamed Spider-Man 3 is expected to hit theaters December 17, 2021.

Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 5, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Frito-Lay(NEW YORK) — Sure, there’s a football game going on on Sunday but millions of people tune into the Super Bowl just for the commercials. But just like seemingly everything else in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the kinds of ads you’ll be seeing this year.

Ad Age Senior Editor Jeanine Poggi [POE-gee] tells ABC Audio that, for example, you won’t be seeing the traditional debuts of movie trailers for big blockbusters this year.

“Obviously with theaters closed, [and] a lot of productions being delayed and pushed back, we’re expecting far fewer studios to advertise in the game this year,” she explains.

But Poggi says the ads we do see will be more star-studded for the same reason.

“We saw a lot of…TV and movie studios delaying productions…which means that some of these really A-list celebrities have more time to actually come in and do commercials that perhaps in the past they never would have done,” she explains.

She’s not wrong: just some of the stars who’ll we’ll see this year in ads include John Travolta, Dan Levy, Michael B. Jordan, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Matthew McConaughey, Will Ferrell, Jason Alexander, Amy Schumer, Post Malone, Serena Williams, Mike Myers, Cardi B, John Cena and more.

Replacing more traditional advertisers who are sitting out this year, Poggie says, will be online companies that made a mint during lockdown, like Uber Eats, plus many first-time advertisers. For example, Huggies will bring us the first-ever Super Bowl ad for diapers. 

Overall, expect the tone to be lighthearted.

“I’m sure some [ads] will touch on some of the themes that we saw during the pandemic and social justice movements,” Poggi notes. “But I think for the most part, brands are really viewing the Super Bowl as a place to entertain consumers.”  

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