Tag Archives: Entertainment

Tom Hanks’ Character In Big Almost Went To Robert De Niro, Co-Star Elizabeth Perkins Reveals

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Oscar-winning actor and international treasure Tom Hanks had a huge breakthrough moment in the 1980s thanks to the success of films like Splash and Big.

However, it turns out that one of his most prolific performances of that era almost went to a completely different actor.

His former co-star Elizabeth Perkins has revealed that not only was Robert De Niro originally cast in the lead role of Big, the whole film completely changed in tone when Tom signed on.

Speaking to Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, Elizabeth explained that while De Niro had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict, she actually auditioned with him when she auditioned for her part.

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Robert De Niro at last year’s Ocsars

“[De Niro’s interpretation of the character] was more moody,” she explained. “It was a little more of a horror movie… Robert De Niro wandering around the streets of New York. 

“What Tom Hanks brought to it was so much lighter.”

Big went on to give Tom Hanks his first Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination in 1989.

While he didn’t win the Oscar that year, he eventually scooped two consecutive Academy Awards in 1994 and 1995, for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, respectively.

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Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins in Big

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Benedict Cumberbatch Suspects He Fell Ill With Covid While Filming On Location Early In Pandemic

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Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed he thinks he could have been among the first people to contract coronavirus after falling ill in late 2019.

The Oscar-nominated actor said that while filming his latest film The Mauritanian on location, he became seriously ill after arriving in South Africa.

Speaking to The Independent more than a year later, Benedict explained: “I was incredibly ill, to the point that when all this Covid stuff suddenly broke in the new year, I was thinking, ‘oh my god was I actually patient zero?’.

“I was so ill – it was borderline pneumonia.”

Because of his filming schedule, Benedict was forced to “plough on” despite his illness, but says he even found himself “throwing up between takes” in the early days of shooting.

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Benedict Cumberbatch in October 2019

Benedict isn’t the only actor who believes he may have contracted Covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic.

Last year, Hugh Grant claimed that he and his wife suffered coronavirus symptoms in February 2020.

“It started as just a very strange syndrome where I kept breaking into a terrible sweat. It was like a poncho of sweat, embarrassing really,” he told US talk show host Stephen Colbert.

“Then my eyeballs felt about three sizes too big and this feeling as though an enormous man was sitting on my chest – Harvey Weinstein or someone. I thought, ‘I don’t know what this is’.”

Gwyneth Paltrow has also said that she was diagnosed with the disease “early on” in the pandemic, and went on to suffer long Covid symptoms.

As well as playing a military prosecutor in The Mauritanian, which centres around Guantanamo Bay, Benedict is also a producer on the film, with Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim and Shailene Woodley among the cast.

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Benedict Cumberbatch in character in The Mauritanian

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Dog Steals Russian Weather Presenter’s Mic And Runs Off In Unbelievable Live Broadcast

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They say to never work with animals on live TV – but sometimes they have a way of making themselves known regardless.

Earlier this week, Russian weather presenter Nadezhda Serezhkina was left stunned when a dog interrupted her in the middle of a live broadcast, stealing her microphone and then running off with it.

The Mir 24 presenter was hosting the day’s weather report live from Moscow when the canine intruder jumped up and took her microphone, before bounding down the street with the equipment still in its mouth.

Unfortunately for Nadezhda, the camera remained on her while she was forced to chase after it in a bid to try and get her mic back.

Back in the Mir 24 studio, stoic anchor Elina Dashkueva explained to viewers (per Mediaite): “It looks like we have lost the connection to our correspondent. We will try to connect with her momentarily.”

Fortunately, the story had a happy ending, and later in the show, Nadezhda was able to complete her weather report, with her new pooch pal at her side, no less.

She also showed a close up of the microphone, explaining that aside from a few teeth marks, her equipment had escaped from the incident unscathed.

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Friends Star David Schwimmer Teases What’s In Store For Reunion Special

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David Schwimmer has teased what fans should expect from the long-awaited Friends reunion special, which is to begin filming in a matter of days.

It was first confirmed back in February 2020 that the cast of Friends would be recording a nostalgic look back at the show for US streaming service HBO Max, but due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, filming has been pushed back on a number of occasions.

On Friday night, David – who played Ross Geller in the hit 90s sitcom – made an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, and lifted the lid on what we have to look forward to in the one-off special.

He told the host: “We’re going to be shooting a Friends reunion next week so I’m hopping on a plane this afternoon. I’m gonna see everyone next week for the first time in many years.”

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David Schwimmer

David continued: “There’s nothing scripted. We’re not in character, we’re all ourselves – the real people.

“We are all ourselves, although there is one section of it that I don’t want to give away, but we all read something.”

The actor also confessed that it’s been a long time since he actually sat down and watched Friends, joking: “I should have genned up on old episodes, but I just haven’t been able to bring myself to catch up on the 236 shows.

“I guess I need to watch a lot over the next five days!”

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The cast of Friends pictured ahead of the show’s last series in 2004

Last month, David revealed that special measures were being taken to ensure that filming went ahead safely in the pandemic.

He explained: “Finally, I mean, we figured out a way to film it safely and there’s going to be a portion of it that we filmed outside because of, you know, for safety protocols.”

David declined to reveal who would be on hosting duties for the unscripted episode, but ruled out Ellen Degeneres and former Friends guest star Billy Crystal.

Back in January, former cast member Lisa Kudrow revealed she’d “already shot a little something” for the special, teasing: “It is not a reboot, it is not like a scripted thing, we are not portraying our characters.

“It is us getting together, which just doesn’t happen and has never happened in front of other people since 2004 when we stopped.”

Watch more of David’s Graham Norton interview below:

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James Corden Reveals How Close Paul McCartney Came To Pulling The Plug On Carpool Karaoke

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Sir Paul McCartney’s viral 2018 Carpool Karaoke appearance came this close to being cancelled by the artist,  James Corden revealed this week.

The legendary Beatle repeatedly “got cold feet” over the project, which was filmed in his native city of Liverpool, England, the Late, Late Show host recalled. 

Speaking at PaleyFest LA 2021, James said he sent a heartfelt email to Macca, pleading the case for the singer-songwriter’s participation.

The show had already scouted locations, he told Sir Paul, and cancelling at the eleventh hour would cause a big financial hit. He promised the segment would turn out “great”.

Carpool Karaoke

Paul McCartney on Carpool Karaoke

Sir Paul apparently wobbled multiple times, and even considered pulling the plug on the morning of the shoot, according to James. Fortunately, the star finally agreed to get back on board when he was told to enjoy himself.

The Carpool Karaoke segment itself saw the pair driving around Liverpool, with Sir Paul visiting someone of his old haunts and singing Penny Lane on, well, Penny Lane, obviously.

James also got misty-eyed when they performed Let It Be together.

After it aired, Sir Paul secured his first chart-topping album as a soloist in the United States and, according to James, texted him to say: “We did it. Thank you for convincing me to do it. I had a blast.”

Check out Corden’s comments here:

And see the “Carpool Karaoke” segment here:

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Brit Awards 2021: Dua Lipa, Celeste And AJ Tracey Lead This Year’s Nominations

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This year’s Brit Awards nominees have been confirmed, with Dua Lipa, Celeste and AJ Tracey among the top nominees.

All three of these artists have received a total of three nods, as have British rapper Headie One, singer-songwriter Arlo Parks and music duo Young T & Bugsey.

The nominees for the upcoming awards show were announced on Wednesday afternoon in a special live-stream fronted by Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw.

Also in the running are Album Of The Year contenders J Hus and Jessie Ware, each on two nominations, while Harry Styles has also received a nod in the British Single category.

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Brits 2021

Little Mix have received one nomination in for Best British Group, where they’re up against The 1975 for the third time.

Meanwhile, chart-topping star Joel Corry is also on two nominations after having a huge hit with the MNEK collaboration Head & Heart.

Check out the full list of nominees below…

British Album Of The Year

Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams

Celeste – Not Your Muse

Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia

J Hus – Big Conspiracy

Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure?

Song Of The Year

220 Kid and Gracey – Don’t Need Love

Aitch and AJ Tracey – Rain

Dua Lipa – Physical

Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar

Headie One, AJ Tracey and Stormzy – Ain’t It Different

Joel Corry and MNEK – Head and Heart

Nathan Dawe and KSI – Lighter

Regard and Raye – Secrets

S1mba and DTG – Rover

Young T & Bugsey feat. Headie One – Don’t Rush

British Male Solo Artist

AJ Tracey

Headie One

J Hus

Joel Corry

Yungblud

British Female Solo Artist

Arlo Parks

Celeste

Dua Lipa

Jessie Ware

Lianne La Havas 

Ollie Millington via Getty Images

Headie One pictured in 2019

British Group

Bicep

Biffy Clyro

Little Mix

The 1975

Young T & Bugsey

Breakthrough Artist

Arlo Parks

Bicep

Celeste

Joel Corry

Young T & Bugsey

International Female Solo Artist

Ariana Grande

Billie Eilish

Cardi B

Miley Cyrus

Taylor Swift

International Male Solo Artist

Bruce Springsteen

Burna Boy

Childish Gambino

Tame Impala

The Weeknd

International Group

BTS

Fontaines D.C.

Foo Fighters

Haim

Run The Jewels

Rising Star

Griff (winner)

Pa Salieu

Rina Sawayama

The 2021 Brit Awards will take place live at The O2 Arena on 11 May, with comedian Jack Whitehall on presenting duties for the fourth year in a row.

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Ryan Reynolds Expertly Trolls Conspiracy Theorists As He Receives Covid-19 Vaccine

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Ryan Reynolds had some fun at anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists’ expense as he received his jab against Covid-19.

The Canadian actor posted a picture of himself receiving the vaccine on Wednesday, along with a cheeky message referencing a certain debunked conspiracy theory that began circulating in the early days of the pandemic.

“Finally got 5G,” the Deadpool actor wrote alongside a photo of himself getting the jab while sporting a face covering and, we have to say, a rather fetching pink hat.

The tweet quickly sparked some brilliant responses on social media – with the exception of mobile phone network Vodafone, who commented: “Please don’t encourage them, Ryan.”

Since the vaccine roll-out began last year, a number of high-profile stars have spoken out about receiving the jab.

Among those to receive it in the early stages were Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith and veteran actors Sir Ian McKellen and Brian Blessed.

More recently, Dolly Parton made quite the literal song and dance when she had hers earlier this month, delivering a rewritten version of her classic Jolene while she had the injection.

“Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you, please don’t hesitate,” she sang. Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, because once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late.”

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Rachel Bilson Says Rami Malek Was Less Than Impressed With Her Throwback Photo Of Them As Teenagers

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Rachel Bilson and Rami Malek have apparently been involved in some drama that’s straight out of a high school yearbook.

The former star of The O.C. sat down with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on a recent episode of their podcast, Armchair Expert, and shared an odd story about the Oscar winner.

Apparently, back in February 2019, Rachel shared a snapshot of herself and Rami in New York City when they were teenagers, in an effort to poke fun at their younger selves.

The pair were friends back in the day, having both attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, so the image was a nod to where they came from.

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Rachel Bilson

“Rami was a good friend of mine,” explained Rachel.“We were [in] the same crew. We did [the play] The Crucible together [in] senior year, we were the leads in it together— all these things.”

Rachel figured the throwback photo would be a fun way to celebrate Rami amid his various appearances at various awards shows in 2019 for his performance as Freddie Mercury in the Queen film Bohemian Rhapsody.

“Obviously, he gets super famous and he’s always been extremely talented … even in high school,” she continued.

“I had posted a throwback of us from our senior trip to New York… just the dorkiest picture of the both of us. But I throw it up [on Instagram], ’cause it’s funny and I think it’s so important to be able to make fun of yourself.”

However, she then that the image soon prompted a direct message from Rami on Instagram.

Amy Sussman via Getty Images

Rami Malek at last year’s Oscars

Rachel said that when her old friend contacted her there was no “hey! how are you?”.

“It was straight to: ‘I would really appreciate if you take that down. I’m a really private person’,” she revealed.

“I was like, ‘Oh, shit! Okay!’ I get really hot and start sweating. I’m all nervous, like, ‘Oh god! What did I do?’. He was a really good friend, it’s a funny picture … you know? I don’t take myself that seriously.”

Rachel later spoke with Rami’s stylist, a friend of hers, who said: “Well it’s not a great picture of him.”

She also said that The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz remarked on the post, telling her: “You did him dirty. He’s about to be [Oscar] nominated.”

“I removed it, and I even wrote to him a really nice message like, ‘I’m so sorry! Go get the Oscar! You’re doing amazing’,” Rachel recalled. “And I never heard anything back, which is fine.

“I was super bummed because he was so nice, and we were good friends. I’m a big fan of not taking yourself seriously, especially at that level of fame and talent. But look, he wants to be super respected. It’s his thing, so I respected it. I took it down. I was just a little bummed at how it was handled.”

Rami probably didn’t stay too upset, though. He walked away with the Oscar for Best Actor just a few weeks later.

Listen to Rachel’s full interview on the Armchair Expert podcast.

A version of this story previously appeared on the US edition of HuffPost.

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Princess Diana Musical Coming To Netflix Ahead Of Broadway Return

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A new musical based on the life of Princess Diana is coming to Netflix later this year, it has been confirmed.

The stage production, titled simply Diana, began preview performances on Broadway in March 2020, but was shut down after just nine shows when theatres closed due to the pandemic.

Producers of Diana have now announced plans for the musical to reopen in December, but before that, the whole world will have the opportunity to watch it on Netflix.

A filmed version of the show, recorded in September, is set to debut on the streaming platform on 1 October, two months before its return to Broadway.

Evan Zimmerman/Matthew Murphy

Broadway performer Jeanna de Waal as Princess Diana

Frank Marshall, one of Diana’s producers, told the New York Times: “I think people will see the movie and will say, that’s a show I want to see in person.”

Beth Williams, another of its leading producers, added: “We feel like it’s an incredible opportunity to put Diana in front of the global Netflix audience, and then give them an opportunity to see it live.”

Diana features Broadway performer Jeanna de Waal in the title role, while Roe Hartrampf and Erin Davie play Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, respectively.

Judy Kaye – who won a Tony Award for her performance in Phantom Of The Opera – also appears as Queen Elizabeth II.

HuffPost UK has contacted Netflix for clarification on whether the Diana musical will also be streaming in the UK.

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Princess Diana pictured in 1995

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‘Jaysus! ‘Jaysus!’ Jedward’s Famous Quiffs Are No More As Twin’s Shave Off Each Other’s Hair On Live TV

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Jedward are as famous for their huge blond quiffs as they are for their dodgy choreo, but now the loveable twin brothers have a whole new look going on.

The 28-year-olds are now both sporting buzz cuts after shaving each other’s famous locks off live on Irish TV on Friday night.

The siblings, who shot to fame on the 2009 series of The X Factor, were in surprisingly good spirits considering they were about to ditch their trademark look on RTE’s The Late Late Show.

It was all in the name of charity as John and Edward were raising money for the Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day appeal.

It’s a cause close to the brother’s heart after they lost their mum to cancer in 2019.

As John picked up the electric razor to free his brother of his quiff, Edward said: “We’ve had this hair for over 10 years. It’s part of our identity. I don’t think we’d be here today if we didn’t have the hair, but this is the first time we’re going to have our hair like this since the beginning of Jedward.”

The Eurovision star then joked that he’d be investing in hats and sunscreen – before hilariously catching his reflection and screaming “Jaysus! Jaysus!”

“Who am I? Who is this person?,” John exclaimed before joking that he was a doppelgänger for Sinead O’Connor. 

The brothers then treated everyone to an impromptu rendition of their fellow Irish star’s biggest hit, Nothing Compares 2 U.

It was all just as brilliantly chaotic as you’d expect.

Jedward’s efforts helped raise €2.5million (£2.1m) for the Irish Cancer Society. 

Earlier in the show, Jedward performed an acoustic rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colours. They also shared that as well as their mum battling cancer, their grandad had previously been diagnosed with lung cancer and skin cancer. 

To donate to Daffodil Day, visit the Irish Cancer Society.

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