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Kevin Hart to join Cate Blanchett in big screen bow of video game 'Borderlands'

• No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Randy Holmes(LOS ANGELES) — Kevin Hart has gone from finding himself stuck in a video game in the rebooted Jumanji movies to returning to the gamer world, in the big screen adaptation of the hit Borderlands video game series. 

The plot of Borderlands centers on the planet Pandora — no, not the Avatar one — where players hunt for a mysterious Vault and its jackpot of alien tech and other assorted treasures.

Horror director Eli Roth is helming the movie, with Oscar winner and former Thor: Ragnarok baddie Cate Blanchett already cast as Lilith, one of a rare race of super-powered women known as Sirens. 

And whereas Hart’s small stature was played for laughs in Jumanji, he’s actually leveling up in Borderlands, playing the game’s powerful ex-soldier turned-mercenary Roland. 

“I’m thrilled to be working with Kevin,” Roth said in a statement about the Lionsgate-backed project. “Borderlands is a different kind of role for him, and we are excited to thrill audiences with a side of Kevin they’ve never seen before.” 

Roth adds, “He’s going to be an amazing Roland.”

The three Borderlands games have sold some 66 million units worldwide, according to creator Gearbox Software, which is involved in the movie’s production along with Lionsgate.

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

Gabby Barrett notches third longest-running no. 1 on country chart with "I Hope”

• No Comments • Country Music News

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartMediaGabby Barrett may be on maternity leave, but her smash-hit debut single “I Hope” is working overtime.  The song has just become the third longest-running number one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

For 25 weeks now, Barrett has dominated the chart that tracks streaming, sales and airplay platforms.  By notching another week at the top, “I Hope” eclipsed Florida Georgia Line‘s “Cruise” for having the third-most weeks in the number one spot.

“Cruise” topped the Hot Country Charts for 24 weeks between 2012 and 2013. 

Barrett is officially halfway to defeating FGL and Bebe Rexha‘s “Meant to Be,” which stayed at number one for 50 weeks between 2017 and 2018.  

But first, the American Idol finalist has to overcome Sam Smith‘s record, who has the second highest number of weeks in the top position with “Body Like a Back Road.”  It dominated the chart for 34 weeks in 2017.

As for the accomplishments “I Hope” collected over the past week, the song was streamed 8.4 million times in the U.S., sold an additional 3,000 singles and reached 52 million people on the radio.

Billboard‘s Hot Country Chart has been tracking movers and shakers in the country industry since 1958.

Barrett has another single climbing up the very same chart.  Her sophomore effort , “The Good Ones,” increased its foothold 31-25, reports Billboard, which is up 5 percent.   It was also streamed 4.8 million times and sold 4,000 singles.

Music career aside, Barrett previously announced on Tuesday that she and husband Cade Foehner welcomed a baby girl, named Baylah May, on January 18. 

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

Scoreboard roundup — 01/26/21

• No Comments • Sports News

iStockBy ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Atlanta 108, L.A. Clippers 99
Houston 107, Washington 88
Utah 108, New York 94

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Buffalo 3, NY Rangers 2
Philadelphia 5, New Jersey 3
Washington 3, NY Islanders 2
Florida 4, Columbus 3 (SO)
Boston 3, Pittsburgh 2 (OT)
Winnipeg 6, Edmonton 4
Los Angeles 2, Minnesota 1
Nashville 3, Chicago 2 (OT)
Dallas 2, Detroit 1 (OT)
Toronto 4, Calgary 3
Anaheim 1, Arizona 0
Colorado 7, San Jose 3
St. Louis 5, Vegas 4 (SO)

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Oklahoma 80, Texas 79
Alabama 70, Kentucky 59
Auburn 88, Missouri 82
Tennessee 56, Mississippi St. 53
Dayton 76, Saint Louis 71

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Kane Brown admits writing "Worship You" was a religious experience

• No Comments • Country Music News

RCA NashvilleWhen Kane Brown came up with his latest hit, “Worship You,” he admits he and his co-writers weren’t necessarily on a hot streak. But once they found their inspiration, they were off and running.

“When we were writing it, we really didn’t know what to write about. I think we tried like four different songs before we wrote that song…” Kane recalls. “But I remember us writing it. It came, you know, so fluent. We actually wrote it pretty fast.”

Perhaps it’s only fitting that writing a song titled “Worship You” should be a bit of a religious experience.

“Everything that we threw out, it was literally kind of like that we were in church, you know,” Kane reflects. “Everything that we said: ‘down on my knees praying,’ ‘If you were religion, I’d worship you.'”

“It was everything. It just felt right,” he adds.

And once it was finished, Kane was obsessed.

“It’s just one of those songs that I’ve listened to — when I first wrote it, I listened to it a hundred times,” he admits. “I was just like, ‘This is the song. This is it. This is it.’ And then [producer] Dann Huff did his magic on it.”

Of course, “Worship You” was inspired by Kane’s wife Katelyn and his daughter Kingsley, who both star in the song’s music video. 

You’ll find it on Kane’s Mixtape Vol. 1 EP. 

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

Judge rejects Mossimo Giannulli's bid for early release

• No Comments • Entertainment News

John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — A judge has rejected fashion mogul Mossimo Giannulli’s request to serve the remainder of his five-month prison sentence under house arrest.

Giannulli, 57, began serving his five-month prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc, in Southern California in November.

Entertainment Tonight reports that a judge rejected the fashion designer’s request, but left the door open for him to file a renewed motion or a prison warden to intervene if “extenuating circumstances occur in the future.”

The court documents, obtained by ET, state Giannulli served 56 days in solitary quarantine when he filed his request to the judge. His lawyers had argued the conditions of his sentence were “far more extreme than what the court recommended,” adding he was confined to a small cell 24/7 and only granted three 20 minute breaks a day.

His team had hoped he was eligible for release due to COVID-19 regulations that allow certain prisoners to be released to home confinement to help reduce California’s prison population.

Giannulli’s legal team hoped his age and that he is non-violent offender who has no prior criminal record would make him a prime candidate.

His prison sentence is set to expire April 17. Giannulli will also have to pay a quarter-million dollar fine and satisfy 250 hours of community service, on top of undergoing two years supervised release. 

As previously reported, Giannulli and wife Lori Laughlin pleaded guilty on May 22 of last year to playing a role in the Varsity Blues college admissions cheating scheme by paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits when neither child participated in the sport.  

Both sentenced to prison on conspiracy charges.  Loughlin already satisfied her sentence and was released on December 28.

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