December 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Patton Oswalt and friends at the Ratatouille premiere in 2007 – Kevin Winter/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — With so many musical theater actors and fans sitting around with nothing to do because of the COVID-19 pandemic, what started as a gag musical on TikTok celebrating Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille is becoming the real thing. Sort of.

Deadline reports that Seaview, the producer of Broadway shows including Slave Play and the Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge production Sea Wall/A Life, has announced it will sell tickets to a digital charity staging of Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical.

The original production saw hundreds of people contributing to the project, including Disney Channel vet Milo Manheim, who contributed Remy’s Rap, some of which was shot inside a Disney park.

Some of the contributors’ songs are catchy indeed — although some, unlike Milo, incorrectly referred to the Oscar-winning movie’s central chef rat, which was voiced by Patton Oswalt, as “Ratatouille,” not Remy.

At any rate, the online event debuts Friday, January 1 at 7 pm ET, and will stream for 72 hours, with all tickets benefiting The Actors Fund to help performers in need during the pandemic. 

“Finding new outlets for creative collaboration has never been more imperative than it is right now,” said Seaview CEO Greg Nobile in a statement. “We can’t wait to share what these remarkable creators have dreamt up which will now allow them to benefit other artists through the vital work of The Actors Fund.”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

December 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

“Wonder Woman 1984” – © 2020 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.(LOS ANGELES) — After a number of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wonder Woman 1984 will be released in theaters and stream on HBO Max on December 25, and Gal Gadot, who reprises her role as the titular character, tells Entertainment Tonight that filming the movie ended up being a family affair.

The 35-year-old actress had both of her daughters on the set with her, as did Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, who has a son with husband Sam Sheridan.  Gadot says they all became one happy family.

“Patty’s family and my family are really close — our husbands, our children — and we made sure to bring them all on set,” says . “And when we were shooting on locations, [the kids] were always there. They’re part of the circus, you know? We can’t do it by ourselves.”

Gadot says she also couldn’t have done without her Wonder Woman co-star Chris Pine either, who plays her love interest Steve Trevor.

“I couldn’t imagine doing another one without him,” Gadot says of Pine, whom she credits with making the first film a success.

“The fact that they figured out the right way to bring him back that actually helps the story,” Gadot tells ET, it was delightful to work with him again and it felt like coming back home, working with Patty and with [Chris] and with our wonderful crew.”

By George Costantino 
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

December 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

L-R – Kirk and Michael Douglas in 2011 — Michael Buckner/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Actor Kirk Douglas would have turned 104 on Wednesday and his family spent the day composing messages that honored the late Hollywood legend.

Douglas passed in February of this year. 

The Spartacus star’s son, Michael Douglas, shared a video that repeated the best advice his father ever gave him, which he shared in a voice over as photos of the two through the years flashed across the screen.

“Whatever you do, you do it to the best of your ability,” The 76-year-old actor narrated in the tribute video. “You leave that job knowing that you couldn’t have done anymore, and then screw it. Walk away. You’ve done the best. Don’t look back.”

In the caption, Douglas expressed, “Happy Birthday Dad! I miss you and thank you for always giving the best advice!”

His wife, Kirk Douglas’ daughter-in-law, Catherine Zeta-Jones also honored the late actor on Wednesday by sharing a sweet photo of the two sharing a kiss.

“Missing you every day,” the Red 2 actress wrote. “Happy birthday Pappy.”

Michael broke the news of his father’s death, writing on Instagram, “It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103. To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to.”

Kirk Douglas starred in over 80 films between 1946 and his retirement in 2004.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

December 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Mark Sullivan/WireImage(LOS ANGELES) — Looks like True Blood is coming out of the coffin again. The beloved cast from Bon Temps is being rebooted and returning to HBO.

While not much else is known about the project, which has been in the works for over a year, Deadline reports that Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa in talks to helm the series while Alan Ball, the original series’ creator, has signed on as executive producer.

HBO’s True Blood, which ran from 2008 to 2014 and won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe, was an ultra-streamy adaptation of The Southern Vampire Mysteries series written by Charlaine Harris.  With any adaptation, however, the HBO series took a few liberties to engage a TV audience… Such as creating new characters and changing the fates of others.

Deborah Ann Woll’s character, Jessica, who was introduced in the first season, was created specifically for the HBO series but never appeared in the novels.  Another big change in the TV adaption was made for scene-stealer Lafayette, played by the late Nelsan Ellis, who was originally killed off very early in the novels.

It is unknown if the new reboot will be more faithful to the novels or will go in a darker direction as seen by Aguirre-Sacasa’s interpretations of Riverdale and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. 

But, the big question from fans is who Sookie Stackhouse, who was played by Anna Paquin, ends up with in the new version.

In the final episode of the HBO adaptation, Sookie compassionately kills her lover, Bill Compton, played by Stephen Moyer — which enraged fans.

However, in the final Southern Vampire Mysteries novel — Dead Ever After — published in 2013, the series ends with Sookie not ending up with a vampire, but marrying Sam Merlotte, the true shapeshifter — which also enraged fans.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

December 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Tom Holland in “Spider Man: Far From Home” – ©2019 CTMG, Inc. All rights reserved.(LOS ANGELES) — Just like the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse saw multiple web-slingers from alternate dimensions joining together to save the world, the upcoming live-action Spider-Man movie will reportedly tie together all three recent cinematic incarnations of the beloved superhero.

While Sony Pictures and co-producer Marvel Studios are keeping details tightly under wraps, photographic evidence is getting fans’ Spider-senses tingling. 

While Spider-Man 3 is currently filming with current star Tom Holland reprising his role as Peter Parker/Ol’ Web Head, Slashfilm reports that Tobey Maguire, who portrayed Spider-Man in Sam Raimi’s early 2000s Spidey trilogy was spotted Wednesday arriving for a supposed costume fitting — sparking rumors that he’ll have a part to play.

What’s more, Andrew Garfield, who succeeded Maguire in the role in 2012 and 2014, is also rumored to return — as are stars Emma Stone and Kirsten Dunst, reprising their respective parts as Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. They’ll reportedly join Zendaya as Holland’s MJ.

The Hollywood Reporter has already confirmed that Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina will be reprising their respective villainous roles of Electro and Doctor Octopus in the third movie.

But the Spider-fam aren’t the only callbacks who may appear in the new film. 

If you recall, 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home ended with Holland’s Peter Parker being outed as the superhero, and accused of murder. He’s likely going to need a good lawyer — which is why it make sense that multiple fansites say Charlie Cox has also boarded the packed picture. Cox played blind attorney/superhero Matt Murdoch for three seasons on Netflix’s acclaimed Daredevil series.

Spider-Man 3 is scheduled to be released on December 17, 2021. 

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