January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC(LOS ANGELES) — Justin Bieber is starting out the new year by reigniting his boxing challenge with Tom Cruise. 

Over the weekend, the 26-year-old pop star took to Instagram to share a black-and-white photo of himself as a fighter in a boxing ring, taken from the music video for his new single “Anyone” and cheekily captioned the post,  “Tom Cruise is toast.”

Bieber first challenged the Mission Impossible actor, 58, to a match back in June 2019. At the time he tweeted, “I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon.”

“Tom if you don’t [sic] take this fight your [sic] scared and you will never live it down,” he continued. “Who is willing to put on the fight?”

Days later the “Holy” singer admitted that he wasn’t serious about getting in the ring with Cruise.

“I was just playin’,” he told paparazzi in a video obtained by TMZ. “I’m pretty sure Tom would… probably whup my a** in a fight.”

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

January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Terence Patrick/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved(LOS ANGELES) — Late night talk show host James Corden rang in the new year by revealing how 2021 will be a physically and mentally transformative year for him.

In a new announcement about his new partnership with WW, formerly Weight Watchers, the Late Late Show host and CATS actor opened up about his weight struggles and how it negatively impacted his self image.

“I’ve realized that every year for the past decade — probably even 15 years on January 1 — I’ve told myself and anyone that would listen that, ‘This is it, this is the year I’m going on a diet. I’m going to lose a load of weight,'” explained Corden in a video message.

That annual mentality would tempt him to binge eat over the Christmas holidays “because in my head, in January, I’m starting this diet and it’ll be a success,” the Tony Award-winner said.

“I’m fed up with the way I look. I’m fed up with being unhealthy… with ‘This is the year I’m doing it,'” Corden continued. “I really am sick and tired of just doing the same thing every year.”

“I want to change the way that I live. I want to be better for my children and for my family,” the 42-year-old furthered in a press release, saying he selected WW because of its focus on wellness over weight loss.

“The weight is not the issue, it’s the wellness of it I am ready to tackle,” he said. “I want to change the way that I live.”

Promising that 2021 will be the year he will “work towards getting healthy,” Corden hopes to inspire others to join him on his journey and “make this the last year that this is our New Year’s resolution.”

Corden and WW will also donate 100,000 digital memberships to those facing financial hardship.

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

January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC(LOS ANGELES) — Beginning this evening, January 4, the final five Jeopardy! episodes featuring Alex Trebek will begin airing. 

Trebek died of pancreatic cancer on November 8 at age 80.

These final five episodes were shot back in October; the quiz show’s producers say Trebek worked up until 10 days before he passed away.

Sony Pictures Television says Monday night’s episode will kick off with Trebek delivering a “powerful message about the season of giving,” and the final episode, which airs Friday, will conclude with a tribute to the beloved, Emmy-winning host. 

All-time Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings will take over as guest host starting on January 11.  A search for a permanent successor for Trebek has yet to be officially announced.

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

January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

© 2020 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.(LOS ANGELES) — Wonder Woman 1984 followed last week’s $16.7 million debut with just an estimated $5.5 million at the New Year’s weekend box office.

The sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman — starring Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal and Robin Wright — added an estimated $10.1 million overseas, bringing its worldwide total to $118.5 million.

Wonder Woman 1984 is also available to stream on HBO Max for the next 21 days, and while the streamer has reported a spike in subscriptions following its release, it has yet to provide any hard numbers.

Elsewhere, The Croods: A New Age delivered an estimated $2.2 million in its sixth week of release, which pushes the animated sequel’s earnings here in the states to $34.5 million and just under $115 million globally.

News of the World, the western starring Tom Hanks, collected an estimated $1.7 million, bringing its U.S. haul to $5.4 million.

Monster Hunter, Sony’s video game adaptation starring Milla Jovovich pulled in an estimated $1.2 million to bring its stateside total to $6.3 million.

The Hilary Swank and Michael Ealy-led psychological thriller Fatale, earned an estimated $700,000 in its third weekend of release, bringing its domestic total to $3.1 million.

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

January 4, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for the Friars Club(LOS ANGELES) — Larry King has been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for COVID-19, a source close to the King family tells ABC.

“Larry has fought so many health issues in the last few years and he is fighting this one hard too, he’s a champ,” adds the source.

The 87-year-old talk show host revealed in 2017 that he had received treatment for lung cancer.  King, who had a major heart attack in 1987, for which he underwent quintuple-bypass surgery, also suffered a stroke and had an angioplasty in 2019.

King has written two books about his experience with heart disease: Mr. King, You’re Having a Heart Attack: How a Heart Attack and Bypass Surgery Changed My Life in 1989, and Taking On Heart Disease: Famous Personalities Recall How They Triumphed over the Nation’s #1 Killer and How You Can, Too in 2004.

King lost two of his children this past year.  His son, Andy, died of a heart attack in July, and his daughter Chaia died of lung cancer in August.

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