The Weeknd's controversial series 'The Idol' debuts at Cannes
The Weeknd’s controversial new HBO series, The Idol, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Monday night.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show received a five-minute standing ovation and co-creator and director Sam Levinson got choked up while addressing the audience. Despite a scathing exposé by Rolling Stone criticizing the show as “torture porn,” Levinson said he was “proud of this show, proud of how we made this show.”
The Idol stars Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn, a pop star in crisis. The Weeknd, in his TV acting debut, co-stars as Tedros, a cult leader who seduces Jocelyn.
Levinson praised the cast, telling the Cannes crowd, “I feel like I gained a family. I know that’s a little culty, but that’s how it feels.”
So far, reviews of the show have compared it to Levinson's previous show, Euphoria, in terms of its racy content.
The Idol debuts on HBO June 4.
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Vin Diesel teases Fast & Furious spinoffs in the works
(SPOILERS AHEAD) On the heels of Fast X's #1 domestic box office debut, Vin Diesel says multiple Fast & Furious spinoffs are already in development, including a female-led installment.
"I started developing the female spinoff...in 2017 with other spinoffs, and the sooner I deliver the finale, the sooner I can launch all the spinoffs," Diesel told Variety at Saturday's Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project Block Party.
At the film's Rome premiere on May 12, Diesel, who plays Dom Toretto, hinted the franchise wouldn't end with the upcoming 11th installment as previously thought.
“Look how many characters and great talent there is in the movie,” Diesel said of the possible 12th film. “There was no way I can pull that off unless I had everyone on for five seconds.”
Fast X features the surprise returns of Gal Gadot's Gisele and Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs, and Diesel says he's “so excited to have them back home and even more excited to see fan reactions and to see how happy it makes people.”
Michelle Rodriguez revealed that Gadot had shot cameos for earlier films, but they didn’t make the final cut.
“We have shot other things a long time ago that might not have fit that specific movie as a finale,” Diesel explained. “Doing tags is a very tricky thing because you want your great talent but at the same time you have to be very careful to maintain the emotional state of your audience at the end of the movie.”
For her part, Rodriguez still hasn't committed to appearing in any spinoffs, noting, “You pass the baton on. You take the back seat. You go passenger side. When it comes to the next generation, you have to. It’s the only way to let them define the future.”
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In Brief: CBS unveils reality slate as writers strike lingers, and more
CBS on Monday announced season 3 of Secret Celebrity Renovation will premiere July 28, followed by the 25th season premiere of Big Brother on August 2, the debut of the musical game show Superfan on August 2 and season 2 of The Challenge: USA on August 10. The network delayed the launch of its summer reality programing as a safety net in the event the Writers Guild of America strike should delay production of its scripted series, according to The Hollywood Reporter...
Variety reports Apple TV+'s The Last Thing He Told Me was the most watched limited series ever since the streaming service's launch in 2019. Nielsen data obtained by the outlet reveals the series drew 4.5 million unique viewers in its first 31 days of streaming. Additionally, the series premiere reached 3.4 million viewers, and is Apple TV+'s #3 title behind Ted Lasso and Shrinking. The Last Thing He Told Me stars Jennifer Garner as a wife who investigates her husband’s disappearance...
Paramount announced on Monday that its new Paramount+ and Showtime bundle will launch June 27, according to Deadline. The bundle will cost users $11.99 per month, while Paramount+ without Showtime will cost $5.99 -- a $2 increase from the current Paramount+ premium plan. "By integrating the Showtime premium and critically acclaimed portfolio with the service’s already broad and popular slate, all at a competitive price, we will solidify Paramount+ as a cornerstone in streaming," said Tom Ryan, President & CEO Paramount Streaming, in the announcement...
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Alec Baldwin calls last day of 'Rust' filming: "Nothing less than a miracle"
Alec Baldwin marked the last day of filming on his latest film Rust on Monday with an Instagram post honoring the cast and crew.
Alongside an on-set photo of co-stars Frances Fisher and Patrick Scott McDermott, Baldwin wrote, "Last day of filming RUST in Montana. Sorry that I did not get to work with this living legend, the great @francesfisher. Patrick, I envy you."
"It’s been a long and difficult road. But we reach the end of the trail today," the 65-year-old actor continued. "Congratulations to Joel, Bianca, and the entire cast and crew. Nothing less than a miracle."
The "long and difficult road" was the only oblique reference Baldwin made to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, while he was practicing using a Colt-style .45 revolver on the New Mexico set in October 2021. Director Joel Souza was also injured when a live round -- instead of an inert "dummy" round that had been loaded into Baldwin's pistol -- discharged.
Prosecutors recently dropped involuntary manslaughter charges against the actor in April, after investigators reportedly found the gun that fired to be mechanically improper.
The movie's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, whose responsibilities on set included handling of the firearms and ammunition, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, but days ago, her lawyers lobbied for the charges to be dropped. They claim the investigation was "sloppy" and the prosecutors biased.
Prosecutors found a dangerous "mix" of hundreds of dummy rounds, firing blanks, and live ammunition on the movie's New Mexico set.
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Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne explore true friendship in Apple TV+'s 'Platonic'
Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are JUST FRIENDS in the show Platonic, premiering Wednesday on Apple TV+.
They star as a pair of old friends who reconnect, and chaos ensues. But don't expect it to be a will they/won't they type of show, watching it and expecting their characters to hook up.
"We work so hard for that not to happen," Byrne tells ABC Audio. "We wanted the audience to be relaxed, to let go of that expectation, and just enjoy what was going to happen."
"It’s not a show about that," she adds. "It's a show about a friendship."
Rogen echoes the same sentiment, stating, "These two people were not romantically interested in one another. Even if her husband had a hard time believing it and my friends had a hard time believing it."
"And that all feels very real, you know? But we also firmly believe that it is possible and real for a man and woman to have a friendship, you know?"
Even though Byrne and Rogen wanted to steer clear of the expectation that their characters hook up, they did have some fun with the notion.
"It's a trope that we're playing with, obviously," Bryne explains. "So inspired by a lot of, like, the classic When Harry Met Sally, for instance. But this is not that. This is saying that you can do it."
"And in the end, the show is about these personalities, this friendship that just can't sustain because it's too extreme, you know, high highs and lows," she continues. "And can they ever just have a more of a, you know, happy medium."
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Nick Jonas reveals the bad performance that sent him to therapy
Musicians have good performances and bad performances, but one particularly bad performance stuck with Nick Jonas — so much so that he had to go to therapy for it.
On the latest episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard featuring the Jonas Brothers, Nick says that "a really tragic" guitar solo during a performance with country star Kelsea Ballerini during the 2016 ACM Awards really messed with his head.
"In retrospect, I can kind of laugh about how big I thought it was,” he says. “But it did travel more than I wish it would have, and it did cause me to go to therapy."
He explained that he had “rehearsed it a million times” but when it came time for his solo, he blanked.
"To this day and hours after unpacking it, I can't really figure out exactly what happened, but I was rushed to a car and rushed to a plane right after it and I looked at my manager and said, 'I think that was bad,'” he says. “I was like in shock, kinda. Like, it was a really traumatic moment that shaped the pressure I put on myself to be perfect and to always be on."
He called it “the worst moment,” but says the experience led to “healing.”
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Halle Bailey, Fantasia Barrino and more shine in 'The Color Purple' trailer
The official trailer for The Color Purple is here.
The film, which is based on the 1982 novel by Alice Walker and the Tony Award-winning musical of the same name, stars Halle Bailey, Colman Domingo, Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and more.
In the trailer, Barrino sings the musical's song "I'm Here" as clips from the movie flash across the screen.
The story, set in rural Georgia in the early 1900s, follows sisters Celie and Nettie, who were separated as girls but correspond in a series of letters spanning 20 years, according to a synopsis of the novel.
Bailey plays the younger Nettie while Ciara plays the older version of Nettie. Barrino stars as an older Celie, and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi plays the younger Celie.
In the 1985 Steven Spielberg film adaptation of the book, Whoopi Goldberg played Celie. The role earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress. Actress Margaret Avery, who played Shug Avery, and Oprah Winfrey, who played Sophia, also earned Oscar nominations for best supporting actress.
Winfrey returned to the 2023 film adaptation as a producer. In 2020, she surprised Orange is the New Black actress Danielle Brooks with a Zoom call to tell her that she had landed the role of Sophia.
"I wanted to be the one to tell you I have such love for her, this character, everything she represents and everything she brought to my life," Winfrey told Brooks at the time. "And what I'm hoping is that she does the same thing for you."
The Spielberg film also earned an Academy Award nomination for best picture and was nominated for five Golden Globes, with Goldberg winning for best actress in a drama.
The film is expected to be released on December 25.
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Music notes: Backstreet Boys, Jonas Brothers and more
Backstreet Boys’ DNA world tour has come to an end. “After 4 years, 218 shows, 3 million tickets sold, and 44 countries across 6 continents, the #DNAWorldTour has finally come to a close,” the band posted over the weekend. “This was the most perfect way to celebrate 30 years, and we are so thankful to everyone who made it out to these shows - you make what we do so special and we couldn’t be here without you. We love you and we’ll see you soon.”
The Jonas Brothers’ new album, The Album, debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 albums chart, giving them their seventh top-10 album.
Get it while it’s hot: A new special edition of Taylor Swift’s Midnights – the Love Potion Purple Marbled Vinyl – is available for the next 48 hours or while supplies last on Taylor's official online store.
Lady Gaga is teasing something. In an Instagram video Monday, Gaga sips some tea, gives a shrug and a smile, and then puts her index finger to her mouth in a "shhh!" gesture. "Having a cuppa in celebration of something exciting coming tomorrow," she captioned the post.
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Max reveals "romantic documentary" 'Swiping America'
Streaming service Max has parted the curtain on a new "rom-doc," or romantic-documentary, called Swiping America.
The show will launch on the newly rebranded streaming service on June 15 with the first two of six episodes.
Producers tease the show "follows a group of diverse singles from New York City (Ashleigh, Kesun, Kris, Reagan) on an introspective, eight-city dating app journey, as they explore personal issues around sex, relationships, love and connection."
Each episode finds the group in a new American city, from Asheville, North Carolina, to Seattle, Washington, "as producers swipe through possible matches and curate blind dates for them."
Max continues, "While forging a special friendship with each other over the course of the season, their journey culminates in Hawaii, where they hand-pick their best match from the season and ultimately decide whether their relationship can go the distance."
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Report: Katy Perry buys $11 million LA penthouse
Katy Perry’s got a new penthouse.
According to Dirt, the singer recently purchased an $11 million penthouse condo in Los Angeles’ Sierra Towers skyscraper. The property was previously owned by the daughter of billionaire Garmin founder Min Kao.
The two-bedroom, three-bathroom condo has amenities that include a movie room and a yoga wall.
Katy primarily lives in her $14 million estate in Montecito, California, with partner Orlando Blo
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