March 23, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Clay Enos/HBO Max(LOS ANGELES) — Sorry, Zack Snyder fans: it looks like there won’t be a extended DC Comic movie universe based on his hit, extended cut of Justice League — no matter how much you hashtag it. 

You can’t blame ’em for trying. #ReleaseTheSnyderCut grew to be a viral movement so strong it eventually persuaded Warner Bros. to invest millions to allow Snyder to reassemble and eventually release the film on HBO Max, following the disappointment of the Joss Whedon’s re-shot version. 

The success of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut led to the currently-trending #RestoreTheSnyderVerse — with fans hoping the universe Snyder resurrected would thematically continue, a la the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

However, WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff tells Variety it’s not meant to be. 

While Sarnoff tells the trade she was “happy” that HBO Max gave Snyder the opportunity to “complete his vision,” of his DC heroes trilogy — including Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League — his vision is, apparently, officially complete.

And as for the success of another viral fan campaign? Looks like a one-off. “On balance, you of course want to listen to your fans, but we do want to stay true to our vision and our mission for DC and build that out,” the exec explains.

That strategy seems to be another attempt to imitate the success of Marvel Studios, in the wake of its hit MCU small-screen crossovers WandaVision and Falcon And The Winter Solider. 

“My mantra coming in was to make [the DC universe] bigger and broader…with more connective tissue across the various media and platforms,” Sarnoff says. “I’m talking movies, HBO Max, television and our games division.”

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC Audio.

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

March 23, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Marvel Studios(LOS ANGELES) — Marvel’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is ranked as the most watched series premiere ever on Disney+ during its opening weekend.

The streamer reports The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan respectively as the titular Avengers, was the most watched title overall Friday through Sunday, and for the same time period on a global basis, including in Disney+ Hotstar markets.

It joins the premieres of Marvel Studios’ first live-action series, WandaVision, and the season two premiere of The Mandalorian from Lucasfilm as the three most-watched Disney+ original series opening weekends to-date.

The series follows Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, which ended with a very old Steve Rogers passing his Captain America shield and mantel to Wilson, who doubts his worthiness.  The duo pairs up on a global adventure that tests their abilities — and their patience.

Marvel and Lucasfilm are owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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

March 23, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy(LOS ANGELES) — Portia de Rossi, wife of Ellen Degeneres, was rushed to the hospital on Friday for emergency appendicitis surgery.

People reports that the 48-year-old actress is back home and “doing well” after the ordeal.  

A source to the magazine explained, “Ellen rushed Portia to the hospital on Friday night, she was in a lot of pain… It was appendicitis and she had surgery.”

Adds the insider, de Rossi is “now resting at home and Ellen is taking care of her. It was a scare at first, but all good now.”

According to Mayo Clinic, appendicitis happens when a blockage causes the organ’s lining to become inflamed.  The condition, while common, causes severe pain and requires immediate treatment, which typically involves removal of the organ.  The condition can become life threatening as the appendix can burst if left untreated.

Ellen and Portia wed in 2008.

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

March 23, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — (NOTE LANGUAGE) After spending five weeks at the hospital for a “heart issue,” actor Chevy Chase is recuperating at home.

The National Lampoon’s Vacation star confirmed to Page Six on Monday that he is back home at his residence in Westchester, New York.

“These are my first few days home. I can only say how happy I am to now be back with my family. I’m feeling good,” Chase, 77, explained. “I was in the hospital five weeks. A heart issue.”

The Emmy Award-winning comedian added that he will be staying put for awhile and will be spending all his time “around the house” and “not going anywhere.”

Says Chase, he doesn’t want to tangle with the ongoing pandemic.

“I used to go out and do anything. I’d do slapstick in front of 3,000 people. But at this moment I have no need to go out and meet COVID,” the Caddyshack star expressed before confessing that he is not exactly happy to be confined to his house.

“I read. Turn on TV. Watch the news. All drek,” said Chase, who gave a blunt review of the current state of entertainment and comedy.

“I see actors, comedians, producers, screenwriters working and, God bless them, but I don’t see anything great on television,” he lamented. ” It all became a generation of [morons] laughing at the world.”

Adds the Golden Globe nominee, “The humor today’s giving the next generation worse stuff than they already have in their own lives. It drives me nuts.”

While Chase did not go into detail about his heart condition, this isn’t the first time the comedian had a medical emergency.

While filming Modern Problems in 1981, he was electrocuted when the lights attached to his body for a dream sequence short-circuited.

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