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

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.

February 5, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Disney Channel(NEW YORK) — It’s karaoke night for the Green family on Disney Channel’s popular animated series, Big City Greens.

In Saturday’s 11-minute episode, titled “Okay Karaoke,” creators and brothers Chris and Shane Houghton have packed in five original songs, each suited to the different members of the Green clan. There’s even a guest voice appearance by singer Macy Gray.

“It’s like it’s a Big City Greens mixtape,” Shane tells ABC Audio. “There’s all these different genres and all these different vibes to the songs, and it’s…all of the songs are based on the characters personalities, which was a really fun challenge for us in the writers’ room, talking about kind of who would listen to what and why.”

The series is currently in its second season and has already been picked up for season three, with Chris, Shane and their entire crew of writers and animators continuing to work remotely during the pandemic. Despite the many changes to their production, they’ve made the decision to keep the Green’s world COVID-free.

“Yes, I’m happy to report Big City is the city we all want to live in right now,” Chris says. “It is open and people are having a great time and we’re just living in that world for a little while.”

Ahead of the new music-filled episode, the Big City Greens: Don’t Think, Just Sing! digital soundtrack, featuring all the songs from the episode, is available today via Walt Disney Records. 

Disney is the parents company of ABC News.

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

February 5, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

FOX/Ray Mickshaw(LOS ANGELES) — Rob Lowe has an impressive list of TV credits that includes The West Wing, The Grinder, Californication, Parks and Recreation, as well as his latest turn on Ryan Murphy’s Fox drama 9-1-1: Lone Star — with one notable misstep.

The 56-year-old actor passed on what became a career-rebounding role for Patrick Dempsey, playing surgeon Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd on the Shonda Rhimes hit Grey’s Anatomy.

However, Lowe has no regrets about his decision, telling Variety that he has learned to stay focused on the future rather than the past.

“This is what longevity, experience and recovery give you. There are no accidents,” he says. “Whatever decision you come to, if you come to it from the right place, it’s never wrong.”

In fact, Lowe’s not even sure he was right for the show in the first place.

“Me in that part isn’t as interesting as Patrick in that part,” he insists. “If it’d been me (the fans) wouldn’t have called me ‘McDreamy,’ they would have called me Rob Lowe.”

Besides, says Lowe, passing on Grey’s Anatomy gave him the chance to show off his comedy chops, playing the eternally optimistic government official Chris Traeger in the NBC hit comedy Parks and Recreation.

“Had I done Grey’s, I wouldn’t have been in Parks and Recreation,” he says. “That alone for me is enough.”

By George Costantino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 5, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Disney+/Marvel Studios(LOS ANGELES) — After last week’s WandaVision episode left the audience with more questions than answers, series creator Jac Schaeffer teased even more exciting developments are on the way.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight ahead of Friday’s new episode, Schaeffer explained why certain Marvel Cinematic Universe characters were brought back for the new Disney+ show — namely Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis from Thor.

For Darcy, who last appeared in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, Schaeffer explained, “It was really important to us that we show that eight years is a long time and she has accomplished a lot and is a different person.”

Schaeffer furthered that Darcy, who now has a PhD, is considered “an expert” inside the MCU but lamented, “There were a lot of ideas that didn’t make it into the show.”

The showrunner also explained why the series killed off Captain Marvel‘s Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) — a decision, he says, was not made “lightly.”

“Our priority was introducing Monica (Teyonah Parris,)” explained Schaeffer.  Parris plays Monica Rambeau, Maria’s daughter, who is introduced by coming back from Thanos’ snap and learning that her mother died of cancer while she was “blipped.”

“We learned so much about Monica and what she’s dealing with in that cold open,” he described. “It was a big decision. We had a lot of conversations, and Maria and Lashana, the actor, were so important in Captain Marvel and such a tremendous character. We did not make that decision lightly.”

As for what’s to come, Schaeffer teased, “There are more surprises and more conflict to see.”

“Wanda and Vision’s journey and the other characters get more complex as we move forward,” he added.  “We will answer all the things that need to be answered.”

WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, updates every Friday on Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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