March 2, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

JoJo Whilden/Sony Pictures Entertainment(NEW YORK) — (NOTE LANGUAGE) Despite being a highly accredited actor, Tom Holland sometimes needs a little advice on navigating Hollywood. Thankfully he’s got his Spider-Man co-star Zendaya to help him out.

In an interview with British GQ, the 24-year-old actor opened up about the moment that the actress was able to give him some tips on how to interact with fans. 

“Talking to Zendaya‘s helped me a lot, actually,” Holland admitted.

“I used to come across sometimes as a bit of a [jerk] to fans, mainly as I was always so surprised that they’d want a picture with me or signature or whatever,” he explained. “I’d have the typical Londoner reaction, one of instant suspicion: ‘Why are you talking to me?’ Zendaya spotted this and quickly told me that this sort of reaction was going to be more aggro than just smiling and taking the picture.”

“She totally changed the way I am able to be more comfortable in public,” he added. 

By Danielle Long
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

March 2, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Television Academy – 2021(LOS ANGELES) — CBS and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that the 73rd Annual Emmy Awards will be held on Sunday, Sept. 19.

The broadcast, which will also stream live and on demand on CBS’ Paramount+ platform, will be held live, but a venue and a host have yet to be announced. 

What’s also unknown is what format the event will take; the last Emmy Awards were originally to be held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, but they were moved to the Staples Center due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The new venue allowed for a groundbreaking hybrid format that aired on ABC: Jimmy Kimmel hosted at the mostly empty venue, and nominees were given recording equipment to shoot themselves at their homes or other protective “bubbles” with loved ones.

While last year’s Emmys night went off without a hitch, the same can’t be said for this past Sunday’s Zoom-heavy bi-coastal Golden Globes awards telecast, which was plagued with technical glitches.

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

March 2, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Photo credit: Takashi Seida(NEW YORK) — Golden Globe winner Andra Day isn’t taking award show season lightly.

Considering her dramatic transformation in becoming the renowned Jazz singer Billie Holiday — which included a 40-pound-weight loss — Day tells ABC Audio that to be recognized in Hollywood for her portrayal would be “amazing.”

“It was a huge reward for me to be on set with [director] Lee Daniels, with Trevante [Rhodes], with Garrett Hedlund, with Tyler James Williams, with all of my cast,” she says. “These are gargantuan talents and people with even greater integrity. [So] it would be great. It would be such a blessing and I would be grateful for it.”

The “blessing” of winning didn’t take long for the “Rise Up” singer when she took home the Best Actress Award in a Motion Picture – Drama at Sunday night’s Golden Globes. Day says being honored for her moving depiction of Holiday makes her job as an actress all “worth it.” 

“It was worth it to just sort of put our bodies through,” Day explains. “Everything we put our bodies through on set. And the not sleeping, and the stress of whatever time, and budgets, and trying to honor her legacy.”

Daniels quickly interjects, telling Day that they did honor Holiday’s legacy with the film.

“We did Andra, we did,” he notes. “And I think that the most important thing we did was that the truth was finally told.”

“And it’s not going to be Lady Sings the Blues, which we loved, but it’s not going to be there anymore. We now know what happened with Billie Holiday in The United States [vs. Billie Holiday],” he adds.

The United States vs Billie Holiday is available to stream on Hulu.

By Candice Williams
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

March 2, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Disney(LOS ANGELES) — On Friday, Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran will be heard voicing the heroic warrior Raya in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon.

The film is already winning praise for its stunning visuals and strong representation of the Asian community.  While its setting, Kumandra, is fictional, its world is based on Southeast Asia, and brought to life by an all-Asian main cast, including Tran, Marvel movie veterans Benedict Wong, and Gemma Chan, Emmy-winner Sandra Oh, The Good Doctor star and producer Daniel Dae-Kim, and Awkwafina. 

The role of Raya puts Tran firmly in the running to score something of a pop-culture Triple Crown: Like Mandalorian and Mulan star Ming-Na Wen, Tran has now appeared both in the Star Wars universe and a Disney movie. 

So if she can nab a role in a Marvel property, like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. veteran Ming-Na did, she’d be in a very exclusive club indeed. 

Tran was tickled at the Triple Crown potential, but certainly wasn’t ruling it out to ABC Audio. Putting her hands on her heart when she heard Ming-Na’s name mentioned, Tran gushed, “We’ll see. I hope to have a long career ahead of me, and, obviously, all hail Ming-Na Wen!” 

She then made a “We’re not worthy” gesture and called the actress one of her personal role models.

And as for that Triple Crown, Tran laughed, “I hope to join her!” 

Raya and the Last Dragon premieres March 5 in theaters and on Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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

March 2, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

STX Films/Graham Bartholomew(NEW YORK) — Fresh off Jodie Foster’s Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe win for The Mauritanian on Sunday, the film hits Video On Demand today.

It follows the true story of Mohamedou Ould Salahi, played by Tahar Rahim, a man held without charges in Guantanamo Bay who fights for his freedom with the help of his dedicated lawyer, Nancy Hollander, played by Foster.

Rahim, who was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his role, tells ABC Audio he put himself through a strict diet and other grueling measures to physically and mentally prepare for some of the more challenging scenes where Mohamedou is tortured while imprisoned. 

“[Director] Kevin [Macdonald] was a bit worried and he came to me like, ’Hey, calm down. You know, it’s all good, we have it.’” Rahim recalls of his deep dive into the character. “I’m like, ‘Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing, but I need this to, you know, to bring authenticity to my part, to you, to the audience and of course, to Mohamedou.”

The whole cast was inspired by Mohamedou’s story of resilience and wanted to do his story justice.

“I think a real lesson that Mohamedou has to give to all of us is that in the face of this kind of fear and terror, the best option is to become more human, not less,” Foster says. 

So what was the real Mohamedou’s reaction to seeing the darkest times in his life play out on screen?

“He said, ‘Oh, man, thank you. What a great story and a great job. Thank you so much. People will know that Mauritania exists now!’” Rahim laughs. “That was a joke, of course.”  

The Mauritanian, also starring Shailene Woodley and Benedict Cumberbatch, previously hit theaters February 12.

By Andrea Tuccillo
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.