July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic(LOS ANGELES) — While it certainly appeared this was a possibility, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has informed its members that this year’s 72nd Annual Emmy Awards is officially going virtual. 

Variety broke the news that the organization informed yesterday’s brand-new nominees of the change, noting they should prepare to party from home. 

“As you’ve probably guessed, we’re not going to be asking you to come to the Microsoft Theatre in downtown LA on September 20th,” the industry trade quotes the letter. “This year, it’s still going to be TV industry’s biggest night out… but we’ll come to you!”

And while the run-up to awards season usually sees celebs getting in their spa time, cleanses, and seaweed wraps, the Academy told nominees there will be a lot of technical assistance, “to make you look fabulous.”

“We are assembling a top notch team of technicians, producers and writers to work closely with [host] Jimmy Kimmel and with you and your team, to make sure that we can film with you (and loved ones or whomever else you choose to be with) at your home, or another location of your choice,” the letter reportedly reads. “We’re going to make you look fabulous – we’re exploring the cutting edge of technology to allow to use good cameras and lighting and look forward to working with you to produce your unique ‘on screen’ moments.'”

The 72nd Emmy Awards will will be broadcast Sunday, Sept. 20 starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time on ABC.

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

July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Freeform(LOS ANGELES) — As the lockdowns wear on, Freeform has announced a way to keep you entertained. In August, the cable network is kicking off Love in the Time of Corona, a limited drama series that deals with some of the hot-button issues of the day, including police brutality, raising a Black child in the current climate, and, as its title suggests, the pandemic. 

The series kicks off with a two-night event on August 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern. 

Meanwhile, the network will fill every weekend in August with movies. August 1 kicks off the Twilight Weekend, playing every film in the Kristen Stewart/Robert Pattinson series over Saturday and Sunday leading up to the Freeform premiere of Stewart in the hit Snow White and the Huntsman at 11 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.

August 8 kicks off Adventure Weekend, featuring movies like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Holes, the National Treasure movies, Speed, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

August 15 kicks off Funday Weekend, featuring animated hits like The Emperor’s New Groove, Kung Fu Panda, Bolt, and Despicable Me.

August 22 starts Let Love In Weekend, with movies like Pitch Perfect, The 40-Year-old-Virgin, Easy A, and the Miss Congeniality movies, all leading up to the first installment of Love in the Time of Corona.

Freeform is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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

July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage(NEW JERSEY) — Tracy Morgan and wife Megan Wollover have officially decided to go their separate ways.

In a statement to People on Wednesday, the two confirmed the news of their divorce.

“Sadly, after nearly five years of marriage, Megan and I are filing for divorce,” Morgan says via his rep.  “This is a challenging time for all involved, so I ask that you please respect our privacy.”

A rep for Wollover echoed similar sentiments, adding that “Megan filed for divorce yesterday” and it “is a private matter for the family.”

“Megan’s primary focus remains the best interest of the parties’ daughter,” the statement continues. “She asks that the family’s privacy be respected during this difficult time.”

Morgan and Wollover share one daughter together, 7-year-old Maven Sonae. Morgan is also the father to adult sons Gitrid, 34, Malcom, 32, and Tracy Jr., 28, whom he shares with ex-wife Sabina Morgan.

The news of the split comes three months after Morgan joked on live television that he and wife were actually having quarantine sex and “role playing” to occupy themselves during the hiatus.

Morgan and Wollover married in August 2015, just 14 months after Tracy survived a highway accident that killed his friend, comedian James McNair, and left Morgan with several broken bones that put him in a wheelchair for five months.

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

July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC Image Group LA(LOS ANGELES) — A Los Angeles appeals court has overturned an earlier ruling, giving actress Ashley Judd the go-ahead for a sexual harassment claim against disgraced movie exec Harvey Weinstein. 

Judd claims that Weinstein invited her to his hotel room in the mid ’90s, where she reportedly rebuffed his invitation to watch him shower and get a massage.

She claims that after she refused him, Weinstein used his power to effectively blackball her from the industry. Director Peter Jackson has claimed he was warned by the producer to avoid casting both Judd and Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino, who also reportedly refused Weinstein’s advances, in Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, saying they could be a “nightmare to work with.”

Variety reports the lower court rejected Judd’s 2018 claim of sexual harassment, noting she wasn’t an employee of the producer at the time. However, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision Wednesday, ruling that “[T]heir relationship consisted of an inherent power imbalance” that left “Weinstein…uniquely situated to exercise coercion or leverage over Judd…as a top producer in Hollywood.”

Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison for the sexual assault of Miriam Haley, a former Project Runway production assistant, and rape in the third degree of former actress Jessica Mann.

Earlier this month, a group of women who accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct announced that they’d reached an $18.8 million settlement as part of a class-action lawsuit against the former Miramax co-founder.  That settlement is still being litigated.

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

July 29, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Netflix(NEW YORK) — Netflix has released quite the teaser: the explosive opening scene of The Umbrella Academy‘s second season. 

The snippet opens with Aiden Gallagher’s Five dropping through time into an alternate 1963, where Soviet soldiers are openly battling American forces on the streets. 

“What the hell we do now?” Five asks rhetorically.

As he struggles to believe what he’s seeing, he sees his fellow super-powered siblings doing battle with the Reds. Ellen Page’s Vanya, Tom Hopper’s Luther, David Castañeda’s Diego, Emmy Raver-Lampman’s Allison, Robert Sheehan’s Klaus and Justin H. Min’s Ben all use their unique gifts to lay waste to the enemy soldiers, including Allison literally blowing minds with her powers of suggestion.

Appropriately, the battle is set to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”

Just then, a white-bearded Hazel appears, urging Five to leave his family. Cameron Britton’s character then shows Five why: nukes are on their way, and the only way to save everyone and stop another Armageddon is to go with him through a time portal.

The Umbrella Academy, a live-action adaptation of My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way’s comic book series of the same name, will return to Netflix with new episodes on July 31.

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