Credit: Cécile Boko(NEW YORK) — Meagan Good was ready to get into action with her latest film, Monster Hunter.
In the film, which is based on the popular video game series of the same name, Good plays Dash, a veteran Army solider and masterful mechanic who is transported to a monster-filled dimension. Good tells ABC Audio that from the start of the project she knew it was going to be a wild ride.
“It was cool, because from the moment we got there, we got into training,” Meagan shares. “We started learning with our coach and learning different ways to use the weapons.”
“And it was just a really, really cool experience,” she continues. “And I definitely learned a lot and had fun just working out and pushing myself.”
While training for her physical role proved to be an exciting adventure, Good admits there were some real risks by being in the African desert with “spitting cobras” and “spiders.”
“Getting sand bombed every single day was pretty crazy too,” she laughs. “I mean, you take a shower and be ready for the day. By the end of the day, all that sand — it was like in my ears, and my lashes, up my nose. I’d be talking and like gravel would be in my mouth. And it was pretty insane.”
Thankfully, Good says she didn’t let her concerns get the best of her.
“But it was really one of the best experiences I think I’ve had in my career,” she says. “I had so much fun.”
Monster Hunter, also starring Milla Jovovich and Clifford “T.I.” Harris Jr., is now available in select theaters.
Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Brian Volk-Weiss is the guy behind Netflix’s successful behind-the-scenes shows The Movies That Made Us, and The Holiday Movies That Made Us, among others.
The shows take a deep dive into how classic films like Dirty Dancing, Die Hard, Ghostbusters, and Elf came together — and unlike other documentaries, they’re very funny.
Volk-Weiss tells ABC Audio this was very intentional. “I loved documentaries my whole life, like long before it was like cool and mainstream, and one of the things that I noticed was — and I always thought this was really weird — a lot of docs about jovial topics would have a tone more fitting, like- The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich or something. I’m like, “You’re doing a doc about He-Man. What’s with the horror movie music? It’s He-Man. It should be fun.”
The established producer, who has worked with the likes of Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, adds, “Up until Toys That Made Us, ninety nine percent of what I did was comedy, so all the people I know, all the producers, all the writers, all the researchers, they’re funny people and they do funny work. So I just hired the people that I trusted and we just did what we always did, which was try to be funny.”
However, we wondered one thing: Why is Die Hard in Movies That Made Us, and not its Holiday Movies cousin, if it is for many a quintessential Christmas movie?
“Take it up with my boss,” Volk-Weiss laughs. “My boss’s name starts with a big, bright red ‘N’ so you could you can talk to them about it, but I’m with you.”
The Holiday Movies That Made Us is currently streaming on Netflix.
Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb(NEW YORK) — Former Juno star Elliot Page has posted to Instagram to show gratitude to those who supported their coming out as trans. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” Page said in a selfie post. “Your love and support has been the greatest gift.”
Page announced last month that they now identified as trans.
The 33-year-old star, shown wearing a hoodie and wire-rimmed glasses added, “Stay safe. Be there for each other. If you are able, support @transanta and @translifeline,” referring to Pose star Indya Moore’s TranSanta gift giving program, and another support system for trans youth.
Page concluded, “See you in 2021 Xoxo Elliot.”
Jennifer Garner, Page’s Juno co-star replied, “Major, huge love to you, Elliot.”
Myriam Borzee/iStockBy ROSA SANCHEZ and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 76.9 million people worldwide and killed over 1.6 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Here’s how the news is developing Monday. All times Eastern:
Dec 21, 9:43 am European Medicines Agency authorizes Pfizer vaccine
The European Medicines Agency on Monday issued a recommendation granting a conditional marketing authorization (formal authorization) for the Pfizer vaccine, bringing it one step closer to commercialization in EU countries.
The EMA said one a conditional marketing authorization is one of the EU’s “regulatory mechanisms for facilitating early access to medicines that fulfil an unmet medical need, including in emergency situations such as the current pandemic.”
President of the European Union’s Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted that she wants to “act fast” said she expects a decision from EU leaders by Monday evening.
Dec 21, 9:32 am TSA screens more than one million people for third straight day
The TSA said it screened 1,064,629 people at airport checkpoints nationwide Sunday — the third consecutive day that checkpoint volume surpassed one million.
Dec 21, 8:57 am Moderna vaccine will likely be administered Monday
The Moderna vaccine will likely be administered to Americans for the first time on Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said this weekend.
The first cases containing the Moderna vaccine — which was authorized by the FDA on Friday — were seen Sunday morning being rolled out from a facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi, to be shipped to the FedEx hub in Memphis, Tennessee, for nationwide distribution.
The doses were packed into insulated coolers with specialized cold packs and a temperature monitor, according to pharmaceutical distribution company McKesson.
Dec 21, 6:25 am New strain of COVID-19 driving South Africa’s resurgence
South Africa is seeing COVID-19 cases rise as the new strain of the virus spreads though the country.
According to health officials, the new variant, known as 501.V2, is responsible for new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
South Africa has had 921,922 confirmed cases and 24,691 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data. In the past day, it has seen 9,445 new cases and 152 new deaths.
Experts are saying the new strain of COVID-19 may be more infectious than the original virus.
Dec 21, 2:00 am California Gov. Gavin Newsom in quarantine
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in quarantine, again, after a staffer who came in close contact with him tested positive for COVID-19.
Newsom was tested for the virus after the news and the results came back negative, according to a statement from his press office.
The individual who tested positive, and who has not been named, was also in contact with various other staff members. They too were tested and their results came back negative.
“In an abundance of caution, the Governor will begin a ten day quarantine per state guidelines. The Governor and staff will be tested again in the next few days and continue to follow state and CDC guidelines,” the press office said in a written statement. “We wish our staff member who tested positive well.”
The office said its staffers have been following guidance from the California State law and the California Department of Public Health. Among other things, staffers have been wearing masks.
“Early on in the pandemic, the Governor’s Office put in place a number of protocols that minimized the amount of staff physically present at work, converted most in person meetings to video conference calls, instituted a no questions asked remote work policy and reduced seating capacity in meeting rooms for in-person meetings that can’t be done remotely. Those policies are still in effect and will be for the duration of the pandemic,” they said.
Newsom also went into quarantine one month ago, when he and his family learned they had come into contact with a California Highway Patrol officer who had tested positive for COVID-19. The officer provides security for the Newsom family.
Warner Bros.(CHINA) — Even Wonder Woman is no match for the COVID-19 pandemic. Wonder Woman 1984 opened to an estimated $18.8 million in China this weekend — far below the $38 million the first Wonder Woman grossed in its opening weekend in the Middle Kingdom. The performance puts it on a pace to earn significantly less than the $90.5 million that its predecessor delivered there over the course of its run.
What’s more, the movie earned a dismal $38.5 million for its total overseas haul.
Wonder Woman 1984 was supposed to have been one of the holiday season’s biggest releases, but with coronavirus cases rising, Warner Bros. has release it the it in the U.S. on HBO Max, as well as movie theaters on Christmas.
Credit: Cécile Boko(NEW YORK) — Meagan Good was ready to get into action with her latest film, Monster Hunter.
