March 31, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Russell, left — Marvel Studios/Chuck Slotnick(NEW YORK) — Wyatt Russell plays John Walker, the decorated Army vet who becomes the new Captain America in Marvel Studios’ Disney+ hit The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

He’s also the son of another MCU vet, Kurt Russell, who played Star-Lord’s man-planet dad Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. 

Interestingly enough, the last time ABC Audio spoke to Russell, he was playing the hard-drinking surfer dude Dud in AMC’s cult hit series Lodge 49, and he gave no hint when asked if he’d follow in his dad’s Marvel footsteps. 

“That was long before [I knew],” the laid-back actor said with a laugh, “I think that was the point when, doing Lodge 49, you’re like, ‘No way in hell are they gonna pick me. Dud’s not going to be Captain America, I promise.'”

He adds with a smile, “But then they told me that I was gonna do it, and I was like, ‘Are you sure?'”

He says of following his dad, “It’s totally fun. It also feels like, you know, the MCU is so big now that there’s quite a few actors who are joining, the MCU, which is totally cool.”

He adds, “It really has become a universe in like actual sense of the word. You have all of these actors coming in and joining, all these really awesome actors. So it’s great.”  

The third episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier drops Friday on Disney+. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC Audio.

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

March 31, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

© 2017 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved/Robert Falconer(LOS ANGELES) — Melissa Benoist is not ready to say goodbye to Supergirl, but promised the ending will do the series “justice.”

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, the 32-year-old actress said there is much to look forward to in the series’ sixth and final season.

“It was a massive decision, but I think as everyone was talking and we were able to step back and look at the big picture,” said Benoist. “Everyone that’s involved in the show can say with certainty how proud we are, how far we’ve come and what we’ve been able to accomplish in six years. And six years is a great run of a show.”

Added the Glee alum, “As bittersweet as it will be to say goodbye, I could not be happier with what we’ve created.”

While Benoist couldn’t reveal how the series ends, she did promise one things to fans — she was “happy'” with the finale.

“I could not be happier with it. I think fans will be really happy with it,” she promised. “It does the character justice, at least my iteration of her on our show. So I’m really happy with the way it’s ending.”

As for what fans can expect from the final season of the superhero drama, Benoist said, “This will be inspired by real-world issues — both the Black Lives Matter movement and how some people felt disempowered because of circumstances that we’re all living in with the pandemic. Those are issues we’re going to tackle.”

While Benoist is stepping down, there will be a new Supergirl joining the DC movieverse, actress Sasha Calle — who has the OG Supergirl’s seal of approval.

“She just seems perfect for it,” said Benoist.

 Supergirl‘s final season airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.

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

March 31, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images(SAN DIEGO) — (NOTE LANGUAGE) With their large gatherings, sweaty cosplayers, and artists glad-handing with autograph seeking strangers, comic conventions are something of a Greatest Hits of New Normal no-nos.

However, Comic-Con International, the organization behind the massive San Diego Comic-Con, is defending its recent announcement of an in-person event billed Comic-Con Special Edition.

The event at the expo’s traditional home at the San Diego Convention Center would kick off November 26 — the day after Thanksgiving.

“[W]e understand this choice is not optimal for everyone,” the organization says on its website.

There hasn’t been a major in-person Comic Con since the pandemic lockdowns last year, and July’s Comic-Con San Diego will still be virtual. But producers are getting push-back from those who would be its guests. 

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with several anonymous industry insiders who shared their disapproval. One said, “During the pandemic, we’ve had Wonder Woman and The Mandalorian, but what we haven’t had is a hug from our parents and grandparents. Talent are not going to want to give up time with their families at Thanksgiving this year of all years.”

Organizers are now defending the decision, saying, “Comic-Con Special Edition was never intended to be the large gathering reflective of the summer event,” and it’s “our attempt to start slowly and cautiously while…addressing [fans’] desire…to have an in-person show.”

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, a fixture of conventions all over the world, recently told ABC Audio he’s got no plans to “hit the floor” again any time soon.

“Who’s going to that?” he asked rhetorically of whatever convention becomes the first to re-open. “People vaccinated and people who don’t give a s***.”

He adds, “A convention is…like a packed airport.”

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

March 31, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC(LOS ANGELES) — Gwyneth Paltrow is looking back on the challenges she faced when marrying husband Brad Falchuk, saying one of the biggest hurdles was becoming a stepmom.

Falchuk, co-creator of Glee and American Horror Story, has two children from a previous marriage — Isabella and Brody, who are 14 and 12, respectively.

And while Paltrow now refers to the two as her “beautiful stepchildren,” that wasn’t always how she felt.  The actress recalled a time when she did nothing but panic over them — saying she had a near meltdown when it finally hit her that she was about to become a stepmother.

Speaking with fellow stepmom Gabrielle Union on The goop Podcast Tuesday, the Oscar winning actress said, “When I became a stepmother, when I knew I was going to become a stepmother, I was like, ‘S***, I have no idea how to do this.  There’s nothing to read!'”

Paltrow, 48, said she then began to panic over questions such as, “What do I do? Where do I step in? Where do I not? How do I do this?”

The Iron Man star said that she eventually figured it out, calling her big life adjustment “a really interesting challenge.”

“I love them and I’ve learned so much about myself through the process,” she added.

Besides Isabella and Brody, Paltrow is the mother of 14-year-old Apple and 12-year-old Moses, whom she shares with ex-husband Chris Martin.  She and the Coldplay frontman “consciously uncoupled” in March 2014.

Both have since moved onto new relationships, with Martin settling down with 50 Shades of Grey actress Dakota Johnson.

As for Paltrow, she and Falchuk, 50, the two met on the set of Glee in 2014 and tied the knot in September 2018.

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

March 31, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News