January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Charley Gallay/Getty Images for WarnerMedia(LOS ANGELES) — Spike Lee is reflecting on the passing of Chadwick Boseman in a new heartfelt post.

On Instagram, Lee shared a personal photo of Boseman from the set of his Netflix film Da 5 Bloods. The image, which shows the late actor with his arms spread wide and eyes closed, gives the appearance that Boseman might be praying. In a powerful message, Lee explains the significance of the photo.

“Dis Photograph By My Brother David Charles Lee-My Longtime Unit Photographer (Since My NYU Grad Film School Years) Took This Picture Of Our Beloved Brother CHADWICK BOSEMAN In This Christ Like Pose,” Lee reveals.

“This Took Place Before The Final Scene His Character STORMIN’ NORMAN Who Reappears As A Ghost To Forgive His Best Friend Paul (DelRoy Lindo) For Accidentally Killing Him In An Act Friendly Fire,” Lee explains. “On My Grandmother’s And Mother’s Graves There Wuz Some Deep Spirituality Happening In This Scene.”

As previously reported, Da 5 Bloods, which follows a group of four aging Vietnam War veterans, was one of the last films in which Boseman appeared before he passed in August 2020 from colon cancer. Lee says that this specific moment was “felt” by everyone on set.

“Everybody Felt It, In Front And Behind The Camera,” Lee said. “The Heaven That Was Bathing Chadwick In The Light Was Not From On Of DP Tom Sigel’s Lights. The Wuz GOD Himself Who Lit Brother Chadwick. And Dat’s Da God’s Lamp Truth, Ruth. God Bless Our Brother.”

By Candice Williams
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Disney+ — ABC/Randy Holmes(LOS ANGELES) — (SPOILER ALERT) The surprise cameo during the season finale of The Mandalorian had even famous fans agog — including one who was on set for the big spoiler: Ming-Na Wen. 

The Disney Legend, Mulan star and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. vet plays assassin Fennec Shand in the hit Disney+ series, and she took to Twitter on New Year’s Eve to praise Star Wars star Mark Hamill, who appeared in the finale as a digitally de-aged Luke Skywalker.

“You (& Luke) have been immensely inspirational & impactful to my childhood & as an adult,” Wen said. “To have shared a scene with you in @themandalorian is truly one of the biggest highlight, not just in my career, but in my life. Thank you”

Complete with the lovey eyes and a heart emoji, she signed it with, “Your fan always, Ming-Na aka Fennec.”

Hamill retweeted the message, commenting, “So this happened & I’m literally speechless, other than to say: the pleasure was all mine @MingNa!” He finished with the hashtag, “#YoureNotSoBadYourself.”

Ming-Na replied, “I’ve reached nerd nirvana. Gotta say, this Is WAY cooler than the time Steven Tyler spilled red wine on my arm and wiped it off with cocktail napkins at a party.”

Last week, Hamill thanked the “true fans” who swooned over his character’s super-secret cameo. “To see them thrilled beyond belief with the exuberance of children, whooping it up, screaming in ecstasy, the tears of sheer joy…it’s a rollercoaster of emotions I’ll never forget.”

The action-packed scene, in which Skywalker goes full Jedi as he rescues the Mandalorian heroes and saves Grogu, AKA “Baby Yoda,” was seen by many fans as a redemption of the character after director Rian Johnson’s divisive imagining of the character in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

By Stephen Iervolino

January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Rick Rowell(LOS ANGELES) — Months after announcing that he relapsed after 16 years of sobriety, Dax Shepard received some extra special birthday love from wife Kristen Bell.

The Frozen 2 actress on Saturday shouted out her husband of seven years in celebration of his 46th birthday, who claimed his birthday happens to be “my favorite day of the year!”

“I get to celebrate the birth of my very favorite human on earth, and spoil him till he rots,” Bell continued, who didn’t hold back when listing all the reasons why she loves him.

Calling him “The one who’s [sic] commitment to growth is astounding,” the 40-year-old continued in her moving message that Shepard is the one “who’s [sic] honesty is admirable, and who makes me laugh more than anyone.”

“I love u so dearly, @daxshepard,” Bell concluded, who also shared an adorable selfie the two recently snapped together.

The couple have two daughters, 7-year-old Lincoln and 6-year-old Delta. 

On September 25, Shepard revealed in an extremely personal episode of his podcast, Armchair Expert, that he had fallen off the wagon and was taking painkillers to treat his injuries stemming from a motorcycle accident.

The episode was recorded after he marked seven days of sobriety.

The following month, Bell appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and provided an update on her husband’s health.

“Everybody’s up against their own demons. Sometimes it’s anxiety and depression, sometimes it’s substance abuse,” the 40-year-old said at the time, adding that Shepard is “addicted to growth” and “addicted to evolving.”

“I will continue to stand by him because he’s very, very worth it,” she also shared.

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

January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Discovery+(LOS ANGELES) — Discovery has entered the streaming war today with its new service, Discovery+. 

Boasting what it calls the “largest-ever content library for a new service,” Discovery+ is touting some 55,000 episodes from the network’s brands like HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Travel Channel and Discovery Channel, as well as shows from A&E and The History Channel.  It also promises more than 1,000 hours of originals in its first year.

To add to your likely growing sense of streaming show FOMO, the new service will also be the streaming home of the forthcoming Magnolia Network, the brainchild of Fixer Upper hosts-turned lifestyle brand gurus Chip and Joanna Gaines.

President and CEO of Discovery, Inc. David Zaslav called the slate “the world’s greatest collection of non-fiction brands and content”

Discovery+ will set you back $4.99/month for an ad version, and $6.99/month for an ad-free experience.

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

January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC Image Group LA(LOS ANGELES) — (NOTE LANGUAGE) Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Chloe Bennet is urging people to take seriously COVID-19, from which she’s suffering.

The warning came on New Year’s Eve after the 28-year-old actress took to Instagram to share that she and “multiple members” of her family tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bennett explained that her symptoms began on Christmas Eve when she woke with a “high fever, and unable to breathe.”

“It’s been a rough week to say the least,” she wrote, adding that she and her family have been “battling it out together. We’re still not in the clear, but as of now we’re doing…okay.”

Bennet, who played Daisy Johnson for all seven seasons of ABC/Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, shared her diagnosis as a way to persuade others to take the pandemic seriously. 

“Covid sucks. It just really sucks,” she wrote. “I pride myself on staying healthy, I always wore a mask, social distanced and took all the necessary precautions and still got VERY sick. And I’m one of the lucky ones. I repeat! I’m young healthy and diligent about my health and this virus knocked me the f*** down and continues to do so. Even trying to just write this out is proving to be … exhausting.”

“If it can happen to me, it can happen to you,” she concluded. 

By Danielle Long
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.