July 20, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Julien’s Auctions(LOS ANGELES) — The space suit worn by Keir Dullea as astronaut Dave “Open the pod bay doors, Hal” Bowman in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was among the treasures from movies and TV fetching big bucks at Friday and Saturday, at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills.

The suit, with its iconic Helmet, sold for $370,000 — well over its original estimate of $200,000.

A couple of other hot items were a pair of pilot control sticks from the Apollo 11 moon mission — one used by Neil Armstrong which sold for $370,000 and the other used by Buzz Aldrin, which sold for $256,000.

Other highlights of the auction included a full-sized K.I.T.T. Pontiac Firebird from TV’s Knight Rider, autographed by David Hasselhoff himself, which sold for $192,000; an original wire and Zoptic flying and mechanical cape worn by Christopher Reeve in in 1978’s Superman: The Movie; an original tobacco pipe used by the late Ian Holm as the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, going for $28,200; and items from Marilyn Monroe including her water color still life titled “Viewed from a night table” which sold for $21,875.

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

July 20, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

L-R: Schwartzman, Wong, Cera, Plaza, Culkin — Kevin Winter/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — It’s officially been ten years since the cult smash movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World debuted in theaters and, to celebrate, the all-star cast is reuniting for a charity special.

While the movie, which starred Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anna Kendrick, Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman, Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Ellen Wong and Aubrey Plaza was technically a box office bomb, it rapidly obtained a cult following amongst video game and comic book fans.

10 years later, the cast of the action comedy is coming together again to not only celebrate the film’s aluminum anniversary, but to raise money for a worthy cause.

Plaza — who played the snarky Julie Powers — confirmed on Friday that the old gang was teaming up for a one time only table read to benefit Water for People on Monday. 

“Monday July 20 at 1pm EST, join me & these freaks for the @EW 10th anniversary virtual read of SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD in support of @waterforpeople,” Plaza wrote on Sunday and teased a screenshot of the old cast and crew gathered together in a Zoom call-like setting.  

The 36-year-old also explained what the charity Water for People does, which is “bringing cleaner and safer water to areas in need worldwide.”

“Visit http://waterforpeople.org/pilgrim to donate and learn more,” the Parks and Recreation alum encouraged.

The live read will not only entertain fans while raising money for a great cause, it’ll also reward watchers with an exclusive one-of-a-kind drawing that Cera flashed during the movie.  Drawings from the creator of the Scott Pilgrim comic series, Bryan Lee O’Malley, will also be rewarded randomly to donors.

The table read kicks off Monday at 1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT on Facebook Live.

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

July 20, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Disney+(LOS ANGELES) — Bert and Bertie — a.k.a. the filmmaking duo of Amber Finlayson and Katie Ellwood, respectively — are among the directors being tapped to helm a block of episodes of the Marvel Studios Disney+ series Hawkeye.

The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which notes the pair best-known for calling the shots on Amazon’s Troop Zero. 

Saturday Night Live director Rhys Thomas is another name on the list, according to the trade.

Hawkeye, starring Jeremy Renner, who reprises his role from the Avengers movies, is part of the first wave of Marvel shows that are due to hit Disney+ starting in the fall of 2020. The show will center on the archer Avenger taking on a protege, who takes on his mantle. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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

July 20, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — As the debate rages over wearing masks as the U.S. grapples with record-shattering numbers in regards to daily COVID-19 cases, actresses Jennifer Aniston and fellow Friends alum Courteney Cox hope to convince more people to cover up by sharing their friend’s harrowing experience with the virus.

“This is our friend Kevin,” Aniston narrated Sunday against a photo of an intubated and unconscious man, who is covered in wires and surrounded by hospital machinery. “Perfectly healthy, not one underlying health issue.”

“This is Covid. This is real,” The Morning Show star implored in hopes that, by sharing such an unapologetic and vulnerable look at her friend’s hospitalization, she will convince more people to take the pandemic seriously.

“We can’t be so naive to think we can outrun this…if we want this to end, and we do, right? The one step we can take is PLEASE #wearadamnmask,” Aniston furthered.  “Just think about those who’ve already suffered through this horrible virus.”

The 51-year-old pleaded with her 34.8 million followers to not only wear a mask in order to protect their families, but to protect themselves. “Covid affects all ages,” she cautioned.

As for her friend Kevin, he is thankfully on the mend.

“PS this photo was taken in early April,” Aniston clarified. “Thank god he has almost recovered now. Thank you all for your prayers.”

To further illustrate the importance of wearing a mask, the Golden Globe winner posed for a selfie with Cox that showed off their matching denim-printed face coverings.

Friends like Gwenyth Paltrow, Ali Wentworth and Michelle Pfeiffer wholeheartedly agreed with Aniston’s message, with the latter fuming, “Baffling why this so hard for some people.”

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, COVID-19 has infected over 3,768,000 Americans and killed over 140,500.

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

July 20, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — It’s been a tough week for Nick Cannon, who admits that he thought about taking his own life. 

On Sunday, the 39-year-old entertainer shared a somber Instagram post talking about his friend, Ryan Bowers, who had died by suicide. 

Cannon began, “Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse. 2020 is definitely the most f***** up year I’ve ever witnessed!

Bowers was an up-and-coming artist, signed to Cannon’s label, who was shot by a San Diego cop in his own home. After being in a coma, he made an impressive recovery as he relearned basic skills like how to walk and talk, however despite appearing to have come out of the tragedy stronger, Bower was still hurting and would occasionally whisper to Cannon, “Everything still hurts.” 

Cannon’s caption continued, “After waking up & barely rising from my own dark contemplation of continuing my physical existence on this planet, this powerful warrior actually had the balls to do it…. I can’t help but think if I [wasn’t] so engulfed in my own bull**** I could’ve been there for you when you finally took your life after several attempts.”

The social media post comes after a tumultuous week for Cannon. He was fired ViacomCBS — the company that owns MTV and airs his improv comedy show Wild’n Out — after receiving backlash for anti-Semitic comments he made in late June. He also announced a break from his morning radio show amid the controversy. 

It’s not all bad though, despite ViacomCBS’ decision to cut ties, Cannon will remain the host of Fox’s popular singing competition show The Masked Singer and his new syndicated daytime talk show, though delayed, is still in the works.

(The number for the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.)