Walt Disney Pictures(LOS ANGELES) — The new Disney film Raya and the Last Dragon is winning praise for celebrating Southeast Asian culture, via its fictional but Asian-inspired world of Kumandra.
For star Kelly Marie Tran, who plays the titular warrior princess, seeing her culture and that of her co-stars — including Akwafina, Benedict Wong and Daniel Dae-Kim — well represented onscreen was so important. But seeing their own faces so well portrayed by the animators was something to behold, she tells ABC Audio.
“Yeah! Yeah!” Kelly enthused when asked if she was surprised by seeing her real-life expressions borrowed by the movie’s artists to bring Raya to life. “That goes to show how talented all of the animators are, and how incredible the team that we worked with is movie.”
“You know, movie after movie after movie you’re seeing the characters become more and more lifelike,” Tran adds, “and I think especially with this one, you sort of forget that you’re watching an animated movie because it just feels so real! Yeah, it’s really, really special.”
Raya and the Last Dragon debuted in first place at the box office over the weekend, and is also available on demand on Disney+.
LMPC via Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Adieu Le Pew, you’ve been cancelled.
Pepé Le Pew, the French skunk from Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoons whose relentless pursuit of love — and his odor — typically caused other characters to flee, has been axed from the studio’s upcoming Space Jam sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The move follows a New York Times editorial calling out the the toon for behavior that “normalized rape culture.”
Pepé was featured in the first Space Jam movie, which starred Michael Jordan. It is unclear if the cartoon character will be retired completely.
Space Jam 2, starring NBA champ LeBron James, is due out July 16, 2021.
Nomadland topped the winners in the film categories with four awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Chloé Zhao, who became the first Chinese woman to win as either director or writer.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom came in second with three awards, including Best Costume Design, and Best Hair and Makeup and posthumous Best Actor honors for the late Chadwick Boseman.
Boseman’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted the award on his behalf, noting, “It is so hard to find a celebratory in these moments.”
“His work in this film deserves this — he deserves this,” she added.
Best Actress honors went to Carey Mulligan for Promising Young Woman, which also earned Emerald Fennell the trophy for Best Original Screenplay. Best Supporting Actor went to Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah; and Best Supporting Actress to Maria Bakalova for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.
In the TV categories, The Crown took four categories: Best Drama Series, Best Actor and Actress in a Drama Series for Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin, respectively; and Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Gillian Anderson.
Ted Lasso was three-for-three in the comedy categories, taking home Best Comedy Series, Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Jason Sudeikis and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Hannah Waddingham. The Queen’s Gambit won the award for Best Limited Series; and its female lead, Anya Taylor-Joy, won for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television.
As previously announced, Zendaya was the recipient of this year’s SeeHer Award, which recognizes a woman who embodies the values set forth by the SeeHer movement, “to push boundaries, defy stereotypes and acknowledge the importance of authentic portrayals of women across the entertainment landscape.”
The complete list of winners is as follows:
FILM CATEGORIES
BEST PICTURE Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
BEST ACTOR Chadwick Boseman — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
BEST ACTRESS Carey Mulligan — Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Daniel Kaluuya — Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Maria Bakalova — Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios)
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS Alan Kim — Minari (A24)
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
BEST DIRECTOR Chloé Zhao — Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Emerald Fennell — Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Chloé Zhao — Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Joshua James Richards — Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale — Mank (Netflix)
BEST EDITING — TIE Alan Baumgarten — The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) Mikkel E. G. Nielsen — Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN Ann Roth — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Tenet (Warner Bros.)
BEST COMEDY Palm Springs (Hulu and NEON)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Minari (A24)
BEST SONG “Speak Now” — One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios)
BEST SCORE Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste — Soul (Disney)
SERIES CATEGORIES
BEST DRAMA SERIES The Crown (Netflix)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Josh O’Connor – The Crown (Netflix)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Emma Corrin — The Crown (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Michael K. Williams — Lovecraft Country (HBO)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Gillian Anderson — The Crown (Netflix)
BEST COMEDY SERIES Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Jason Sudeikis — Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Catherine O’Hara — Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Daniel Levy — Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Hannah Waddingham — Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
BEST LIMITED SERIES The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Hamilton (Disney+)
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION John Boyega – Small Axe (Amazon Studios)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Anya Taylor-Joy — The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Donald Sutherland – The Undoing (HBO)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Uzo Aduba — Mrs. America (FX)
BEST TALK SHOW Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
BEST COMEDY SPECIAL — TIE Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (Netflix) Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia (Netflix)
BEST SHORT FORM SERIES Better Call Saul: Ethics Training with Kim Wexler (AMC/Youtube)
Walt Disney Pictures(LOS ANGELES) — Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon topped the weekend box office, delivering an estimated $8.6 million in its opening weekend.
Its release couldn’t have been better timed, as theaters in several major cities, including Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City, re-opened for the first time in nearly a year.
Raya and the Last Dragon also flew off with an estimated $17.6 million overseas, bringing its worldwide total to $26.2 million.
The computer-animated adventure, featuring the voices of Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina, was also available on Disney+ for a $30 premium fee.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News.
The live-action/animated film Tom and Jerry dropped to second place in its second week of release, earning an estimated $6.6 million.
Chaos Walking, the sci-fi thriller starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley landed in third place, grabbing an estimated $3.8 million in its debut weekend.
The week’s third and final new release to crack the top five, the R-rated coming of age drama Boogie, took fourth place with an estimated $1.2 million.
Rounding out the top five was The Croods: A New Age, delivering an estimated $780,000 in its 15th week of release, for a total of $53.6 million here in the states. Its worldwide total now stands at $157.7 million.
Harpo Productions/ Photographer: Joe Pugliese(LOS ANGELES) — A year after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their royal exit, they got candid about their experiences with the royals in an extensive interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Sunday evening.
Here are some of the bombshells.
Why they left the royal family: Harry stated, “My biggest concern was history repeating itself…. What I was seeing was history repeating itself.” He also added, “[We left because of] lack of support and lack of understanding.”
Conversations about Archie’s skin: Megan revealed, “in the months when I was pregnant… we have in tandem the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
Meghan had suicidal thoughts: Meghan said she had “very clear and very scary” thoughts about suicide before deciding to step away from the royal family.
Harry and Prince Charles relationship: Harry said his father at one point “stopped taking my calls” after detailing his plans to leave the royal family. He added that he was “cut off” financially and has since been living off an inheritance from his late mother, Princess Diana.
Harry and Prince William relationship: “As I’ve said before, I love William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together,” Harry said. “I mean, we have a shared experience. But we’re on different paths. … The relationship is space, at the moment. And, you know, time heals all things, hopefully.”
Meghan and Kate Middleton feud rumors: Recalling a story that claimed Meghan made Kate cry, Meghan clarified, “The reverse of that happened.” “A few days before the wedding she was upset about flower girl dresses and it made me cry. It really hurt my feelings,” she explained, adding that Kate has since apologized.
Walt Disney Pictures(LOS ANGELES) — The new Disney film Raya and the Last Dragon is winning praise for celebrating Southeast Asian culture, via its fictional but Asian-inspired world of Kumandra.
