October 30, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

LARA SOLANKI/NETFLIX (Pictured: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in Never Have I Ever)(LOS ANGELES) — When looking for Halloween inspiration this year, Mindy Kaling looked no further than her own show.

The actress dressed up as Devi Vishwakumar, the lead character in the Netflix teen comedy series she created, Never Have I Ever.

She posted photos of the costume on Instagram, and even enlisted two of her friends to dress up like Devi’s love interests in the show, Ben Gross and Paxton Hall-Yoshida.

“What’s a’poppin?! Do you like my Halloween costume?” Mindy wrote, posting a photo of the real Devi, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, as a comparison.

Never Have I Ever debuted on Netflix in May and has since been picked up for a second season.

“Mindy needs to be on season 2,” Ramakrishnan told Entertainment Tonight in July. “That’s not negotiable. She needs to be on season 2. That would be awesome to be able to act with her! …[she] could play a family member. She could play somebody in the school. She could do whatever.”

By Andrea Tuccillo
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

October 30, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Courtesy of Paramount(NEW YORK) — Omari Hardwick and Loretta Devine share the screen in the new suspense horror flick Spell.

In the film, Hardwick plays Marquis, a father held hostage in rural Appalachia by a Voodoo priestess, played by Devine. Hardwick tells ABC Audio that because he and Loretta were fairly new to the horror genre, they quickly developed a “trust of each other” to help them ease into the “dark” places. 

“We were virgins to it,” Hardwick says. “She was definitely a virgin being seen as a bad guy, as the antagonist. I was not. So, I had to hold her hand a bit. And in between takes literally grounding her.”

It was during those breaks that Hardwick says he and Devine found levity.

“We were finding laughter and a lot of joking in between takes. That was the best,” he says, comparing their experience to those of essential workers who “see so much gore” and laugh “to remain sane.”

Still, Hardwick says he found “Loretta’s crazy… funny” personality refreshing and a perfect match for her character of Eloise. Devine agrees, adding that her role wasn’t too much of a stretch since she grew up with similar superstitions.

“I would say that this is a tribute to my grandmother because some of the things that happened in the movie she used to scare me with when I was very little,” Devine says. “Things like being born with a cover over your face, [which meant] that you had magical powers.”

While Devine says she found the film “scary” and her character mysterious, she says she’s glad she was up for the challenge.

“It was exciting because it’s so different from what I’m usually known for,” she says. “And, that’s sort of like my go to thing of late. 

Spell is in select theaters and available On Demand.

By Candice Williams
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

October 30, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Paul Marotta/Getty Images(BOSTON) — Lori Loughlin began serving her two month prison sentence Friday for her role in the Varsity Blues college admissions cheating scheme, a source familiar with the case told ABC News.

The former Full House actress reported to federal prison in Dublin, CA ahead of her report date of November 19. Federal prosecutors in Boston had to sign off on the earlier reporting date provided she does not try to seek early release.

“The parties recently agreed that the defendant can report to prison on October 30, 2020, instead of on November 19, 2020,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston said. “The defendant has further agreed that, during her two month sentence, she will not seek an early release from prison on COVID-related grounds.”

Back in August, Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were sentenced to two months and five months in prison, respectively, on conspiracy charges stemming from the cheating scheme.

Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded guilty May 22 of this year via video conference before a federal judge in Boston after maintaining their innocence since their March, 2019 arrest.

They had both been accused of paying Rick Singer $500,000 to get their daughters Isabella Rose and Olivia Jade into USC as crew recruits — even though neither girl had ever rowed competitively.  Singer also pleaded guilty to his role in facilitating the fraud.

By Aaron Katersky and Andrea Tuccillo
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.