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Alex Moffat takes over Joe Biden role from Jim Carey, as 'SNL' mocks Mike Pence getting COVID-19 vaccine

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Will Heath/NBC(NEW YORK) — Following Jim Carey’s announcement that he would no longer play Joe Biden, Saturday Night Live‘s Alex Moffat debuted as the president-elect in a cold open that spoofed Vice President Mike Pence receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

“I’m sure all Americans are excited to see me, the guy who let COVID spread everywhere, get one of the vaccines,” he said Pence, once again played by Beck Bennett.

After getting vaccinated, Bennett’s Pence joined by vice president-elect Kamala Harris — played once again by Maya Rudolph — who, when pressed by Pence about how she got into the White House, answered, “I won more votes.”

Moffat’s Biden then entered wearing a boot on his foot, referencing the recent injury he received while playing with his dog.

“You look different somehow,” Bennett’s Pence noted, referring to the recasting, to which Moffatt explained that, as in the the recent series of KFC commercials, “I’m like Colonel Sanders — every time you see me, I’m a different guy.”

Added Biden, “There’s a good chance the next time you see me I’ll be Mario Lopez.” Lopez has been cast to play Sanders in an upcoming movie about the fast food mogul.

Moffat’s Biden was getting the vaccine because Harris was worried about him, noting, “you’re already in a cast on day minus-40 in office.”

“I just want to let the American people know one thing,” he said. “You’re about to have a real leader again, and you’re going to have the most diverse cabinet in the history of American politics.”

“And I will make sure that Joe never specifies what he means by diverse,” Rudolph’s Harris added.

SNL alum Kristen Wiig hosted Saturday night’s show, with musical guest Dua Lipa.

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

Will Smith shares everything that the audience missed during the 'Fresh Prince' reunion

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ABC/Randy Holmes(LOS ANGELES) — Fans of the The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air were reunited with the beloved Banks family last month for a reunion special and, on Thursday, Will Smith shared a seven-minute video detailing everything they didn’t see.

Smith, 52, posted on YouTube a video titled “Everything you didn’t see in the Fresh Prince Reunion” where he praised the groundbreaking sitcom.

When asked about what makes the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated show stand out, the Aladdin star credited “the casting.”

“You cannot buy or fake chemistry,” said Smith, who was 21 when the series started production.  “When people vibe, when people are in sync and in tune and in harmony, you can’t fake that. And when you have it, it creates magic.”

“I think we could all sense that something special was bubbling,” he added of the show, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.

Another behind the scenes look showed an emotional Smith sitting at the reconstructed set and gushing, “This is crazy!  Dude, big chunk of my life on this set!”

Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton, winced when reviewing his audition tape and exclaimed to his laughing cast mates, “Everybody in that cast has more experience than me… and they picked me?!”

The video also showed more about Smith and Janet Hubert’s emotional reunion, with the actor admitting the two hadn’t spoken for 27 years.

“I have to say, after 27 years, being here today and having the conversation Will and I had together, the moments that we shared the other day, it’s healing,” said Hubert after a large sigh.  Hubert played Aunt Viv before being replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid in the third season.

The Fresh Prince ran from 1990 to 1996 on NBC.  The 30th anniversary reunion special is streaming now on HBO Max.

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

Michael Ealy and Hilary Swank explain why their grown-folks thriller 'Fatale' is "authentic" and "fascinating"

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Photo credit: Scott Everett White(LOS ANGELES) — Michael Ealy and Hilary Swank say they both took on characters that pushed their limits as actors in the Deon Taylor-directed film, Fatale.

In the new thriller, Ealy plays Derrick Tyler, a sports agent who becomes the target of a troubled police detective, played by Swank. Ealy tells ABC Audio that he and Swank both brought their A-game to the film.

“It just felt more authentic in that way… like we kind of raised the bar a little bit with Fatale,” he says. “And I was very, very proud to be a part of this.”

Swank agrees, nothing that although she starred in previous thrillers, she’s never done one like this before.

“[My character] was complex and she’s so multi-faceted and fascinating and I just thought, breaking this down and figuring this out would be really fun,” she says.

However, even though their “authentic” and “fascinating” characters were the main draw, Swank and Ealy acknowledge that Taylor’s enthusiasm for the project was the biggest selling point.

“But first and foremost, really Deon — he’s a tour de force,” Swank beams.

Ealy, who previously worked with Taylor on his 2019 thriller The Intruder, concurs, adding he found this film to be “a graduation” for him and Deon.

“This was a different kind of thriller,” he explains. “The Intruder was kind of a popcorn movie. It’s fun. It was entertaining…PG 13. And Fatale feels more like an adult rated R, grown folks movie, with grown folks issues. It’s a noir thriller that we haven’t done before… [and] seen in recent years.”

Fatale, also starring Mike Coulter, is now playing in select theaters.

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

Pete Davidson is getting all of his tattoos "burned off"

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NBCUniversal/Peggy Sirota(NEW YORK) — Pete Davidson is in the process of trying out a new look — a look sans tattoos. 

The Saturday Night Live star apparently revealed the news while doing a Q&A session with the King of Staten Island cast and crew which film critic Mike McGranaghan was able to attend and relay the news. 

“Just attended a virtual Q&A with the Judd Apatow and the cast of THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND. And here’s a scoop: Pete Davidson is in the process of getting all his tattoos removed,” the critic tweeted at the time. 

McGranaghan was later questioned on the seriousness of this “scoop” and he stood his ground that “it’s real.”

“No, it’s real,” he wrote. “He even showed his hand, which is already done. He said it takes 3-4 hours in the makeup chair to cover them, so he figured “it would be easier to get them burned off.”

Davidson has more than a few tattoos covering his body in areas like his arms and chest that are highly visible. There was no mention of why the 27-year-old actor wants to get rid of his ink.

By Danielle Long
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Report: Tom Cruise shutting down 'Mission: Impossible 7' production early for holiday break following outburst

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Paramount Pictures(LONDON) — After his on-set outburst against his Mission: Impossible 7 crew members for allegedly violating COVID-19 protocols became public, The Sun is reporting Tom Cruise is leaving London earlier than planned to take his Christmas break. 

The paper, which first publicized the audio of Cruise cursing at staffers, quotes an “insider” on set who said the star and producer has had enough for now. “It has been exhausting keeping the production on track for so long, and it’s not getting any easier,” the set spy reportedly says. 

The insider adds: “Tom has decided he’s ready for a break and is now going to wind up filming for 2020 on Friday, and fly to Miami over the weekend on his private jet to spend Christmas with his son…It’s the end of a really tough year, and a bit of time out seems like a good idea for everyone as tensions have been mounting for a while.”

Those tensions reportedly led five crew members to quit the production, which has already been delayed by the pandemic and only resumed shooting when strict COVID-19 safety protocols were enacted.

The Sun also claims that Cruise is dating his M:I 7 co-star, Hayley Atwell, who played Agent Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Agent Carter spin-off series on ABC. 

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