“There have been a couple of agents when I was in New York who suggested or advised that I change my name,” she said. “There was an agent that I was with who I liked, so she was the only one whose opinion could have possibly swayed me. But her approach was kind of like, ‘I’m just curious. I’m not saying you should, but have you ever considered it?’ And I’m grateful for that because it was never mandatory....
As reported by Variety, CNN CEO Chris Licht reportedly told staffers at a Tuesday town hall that he wanted on-camera talent to refrain from drinking during the channel’s annual New Year’s Eve coverage. Licht, who took the position of CEO this May, reportedly wants his first New Year’s Eve at the network to be a teetotal affair due to fears that on-screen drinking damaged the “respectability” of CNN as a news source....
While plot details are scarce, the name “Drago” is instantly recognizable to fans of the Rocky franchise. Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren in “Rocky IV,” is one of Rocky Balboa’s most iconic foes. In “Creed II,” Lundgren returned as Ivan Drago and Florian Munteanu was introduced as Viktor Drago, his son who squared off against Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed. While it is not confirmed if Lundgren and Munteanu are returning for the film, the premise appears to follow the “Creed” formula by telling the story of the son of a famous Rocky Villain (Jordan’s Adonis Creed is the son of Rocky’s original opponent, Apollo Creed)....
“I wasn’t expecting to get such a reaction, and some of the crazy headlines — like, Yahoo said, ’68-year-old Elfman and 20-year-old Eilish make festival history,’” Elfman told Variety, reflecting on his festival performance. “And I just thought that was hilarious, Billie and I being the wunderkind and the elder statesman of Coachella. Stuff like that was priceless in its weird way.” The Oscar-nominated composer scored hit films like “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Men in Black,” and “Fifty Shades of Grey....
Next up: his beefiest superhero role yet, starring in James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” as the haunted Polka-Dot Man, whose awkward “powers” — throwing toxic polka-dots at people — mask a dark backstory befitting Dastmalchian’s dramatic chops. No one is more amused than Dastmalchian about the impact superhero movies have had on his career, especially as a kid who grew up obsessed with comic books. “I’ve spent so much time invested in genre and sci-fi and the world of comic books, and I believe that they are a space in which deeper questions can be explored,” Dastmalchian said in a recent interview with IndieWire....
A dozen years ago, Nevins took the Showtime reins when the channel was a dime-a-dozen subscription-cable network that aired movie reruns. (Those definitely did not cost a dime for a dozen — then or now.) Nevins, a producer whose credits included “Friday Night Lights” and “Arrested Development,” immediately greenlit “Homeland” — one of the three biggest hits in Showtime’s history. “Dexter: New Blood,” was also his — as were fellow Showtime Top-10 series “Billions,” “Yellowjackets,” and “Your Honor....
Baryshnikov took Lavinia, who started Season 1 as a cat-loving young woman desperate for normalcy, and transitioned her into a fun and sexily awkward character. When the series debuted, the actress explained she was more focused on the source material and translating “Vinnie” from page to screen. Season 2 was different. “I found a groove of working off of the character we created in Season 1 and getting to dip back into the historical facts when I felt I was getting lost or needed inspiration,” she said....
