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'Home Alone' star Macaulay Culkin honored during Walk of Fame ceremony

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Macaulay Culkin received a Walk of Fame star this week.

The actor, 43, who is known for his roles in Home Alone, Richie Rich, My Girl and more, was honored during a ceremony in Hollywood on Friday.

"Thank you to the Walk of Fame committee for honoring me in this way. I feel such esteem from this whole thing," Culkin said. "There's so many people that I love, and to feel that love back is just amazing."

He also thanked Brenda Song, with whom he shares two sons.

"You are absolutely everything, you're my champion," he said as he held back tears. "You're the only person happier for me today than I am. You're not only the best woman I've ever known, you're the best person I've ever known. You've given me just all my purpose. You've given me family."

"And after the birth of our two boys, you've become one of my three favorite people," he added. "You're somewhere in there. But I love you. I love you so much."

Culkin ended his speech by reciting his iconic line from Home Alone: "To wrap things up, in the spirit of the holiday season, I just want to say, Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals."

Friends, family and other Hollywood stars, including his Home Alone mom Catherine O'Hara, Natasha Lyonne, Seth Green and Paris Jackson, attended the ceremony to support Culkin.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson joins 'RoboForce: The Animated Series'

The Nacelle Company; ABC/Paula Lobo

Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Seven Bucks Productions is reteaming with their Disney+ Behind The Attraction collaborators The Nacelle Company for the latter's upcoming RoboForce animated series. 

As reported, Nacelle has become a force rejuvenating and reimagining retro pop culture properties and toys — one of their projects, the revamp of the 1990s cartoon Biker Mice from Mars, is being backed by superfan Ryan Reynolds and his Maximum Effort company.

RoboForce: The Animated Series is set in 2089, when a robot line destined to assist a new intergalactic society on Earth found itself immediately rendered obsolete, leaving the would-be heroes to working menial jobs. But 15 years later, when the 'bots that replace them turn on humanity, the RoboForce is called back into action.

In a statement, Johnson and Garcia noted of the series, which was inspired by a vintage toy line of the same name, "We love that it's a story about redemption, second chances, and rising to the challenge as told through the eyes of funny, messed up, renegade robots who finally get their chance to shine."

They added that they're excited "to bring the iconic story of RoboForce to life," commenting, "This is a great opportunity for Seven Bucks to build on its animation momentum, and we can't wait for audiences to see what we've got in store for them."

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Stephen Colbert getting back to 'The Late Show Monday' following appendix surgery

CBS/Mary Ellen Matthews

ABC Audio has confirmed Stephen Colbert will be back behind the desk at The Late Show Monday, December 4, following emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix and a week off to recover.

The guests scheduled for his return will be Sarah Paulson and recording artist Jason Isbell.

As reported on November 27, Colbert announced to his fans that he'd be taking the week off to recover, joking, "Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas."

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Jodie Foster on the how "amazing" it is acting in her 60s, mentoring and Marvel movies

Elyse Jankowski/FilmMagic

Jodie Foster's first Oscar nomination came at just 14 years old for her work in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Now 61, the two-time Academy Award winner is sharing some wisdom with Elle magazine.

"I went through a period where I was like, 'Wow, I had these goals about writing and directing, and I didn't meet any of them.' And I couldn’t stop feeling like a terrible failure," Foster admits.

"And now I feel like I have fewer goals in film than I've ever had, and I'm happier than I’ve ever been," she declares.

Foster can be seen in Netflix's Nyad, playing Bonnie Stoll, the coach to Annette Bening's Diana Nyad.

"[T]here's something amazing about acting in my sixties and supporting other people," Foster says. "I think I enjoy it more than anything I've ever done."

Having started out so young, Jodie says she can't help but have a "soft spot" for other actresses. "I find myself reaching out to girls who could be my daughters and saying, 'Wait a minute, you keep doing dumb things on publicity tours. What's going on with you? ... Who's letting you do that? And where's your mom?'"

She continues, "I just don't know how they survive without some mother around the way I had a mom around. To be able to say, 'You’re overexposed,' or ... 'You can go away for two years and have a life and come back and there will be work for you. Yeah, maybe it won't be in some franchise, but what do you care? This is your life.'"

Foster also calls the superhero genre "a phase that’s lasted a little too long for me."

"The good ones — like Iron Man, Black Panther, The Matrix — I marvel at those movies ... but ... those movies don't change my life," Foster continues.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Reality Roundup: Rachel Leviss gets a podcast, '90 Day Fiancé' couple has a baby and more

Have no fear, your reality roundup is here! Here's a look at what happened in the world of reality television this week:

Vanderpump Rules (Bravo)
Rachel Leviss is launching a new podcast. Rachel Goes Rogue is set to premiere January 8 and promises to explore a wide range of topics, including mental health, pop culture and self-empowerment. Back in September, Tom Sandoval came out with his own podcast, Everybody Loves Tom. The two stirred up the biggest scandal – or should we say Scandoval – in Vanderpump history when their secret affair was exposed earlier this year.

90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way (TLC)
Couple Brandan and Mary revealed to Entertainment Tonight that they welcomed a baby girl named Midnight in August. They also shared a cute picture of the sleeping newborn. "When I heard our baby crying for the first time during my C-section, I got teary-eyed and was so happy to realize I have a baby!" Mary tells ET. "Our daughter, Midnight, is worth everything and I've never been this happy in my whole life."

Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix)
This may not have been a challenge contestants were expecting, but they certainly found a creative solution. Player 301/Trey Plutnicki confirms to Entertainment Weekly that contestants were not given lip balm in their toiletry bags, so some resorted to using lubricated condoms to moisten their lips. He said producers eventually gave players tins of lip balm with their numbers on it. The season finale of Squid Game: The Challenge hits Netflix on December 6.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Weekend Watchlist: What's new on streaming

Ready, set, binge! Here's a look at some of the new movies and TV shows streaming this weekend:

Netflix
American Symphony: The new documentary follows musician Jon Batiste and his wife as she battles cancer.

Family Switch: All these years after 13 Going on 30Jennifer Garner stars in another body-swapping comedy. This time it's a Christmas movie!

May December: You have to watch this genre-bending film that's already getting Oscar buzz. It stars Julianne MooreNatalie Portman and Charles Melton.

Apple TV+
Slow Horses: Your favorite agents are back for season 3, which is sure to be filled with all the signature twists and turns.

Max
BookieCharlie Sheen reteams with Chuck Lorre in the new comedy series.

Prime Video
Candy Cane Lane: Last but not least, you can get into the holiday spirit with Eddie Murphy’s latest film.

That’s all for this week’s Weekend Watchlist – happy streaming!

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Surviving 'Taxi' stars plan 45th reunion on 'The View'

Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Ban via Getty Images

Tony Danza, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner and Carol Kane will be getting back together at the Sunshine Cab Company, as part of a 45th anniversary to the beloved, Emmy-winning sitcom Taxi, courtesy of ABC's The View.

Danza tells People the event will be seen on December 11's installment of the daytime chat show.

Whoopi Goldberg first spilled the tea that something was in the works on The View's companion ABC Audio podcast Beyond the Table. She explained Hirsch called her personally to try to set up the gathering.

"He called, he said, 'Listen, we are all gonna be in town. It's the 45th anniversary, and we're all in town because we're seeing Danny's show on Broadway [I Need This]. Could you get us on The View? We should get on The View," Goldberg recalled.

Danza tells People the old friends "have been getting together on a Zoom every month for three, four years now and we see each other a lot."

He confirmed Hirsch with setting the whole thing up. "Judd is the most energetic ... I don't know how old he is. He's incredible," 72-year-old Danza enthused Thursday at the New York City premiere of Power Book III: Raising Kanan.

Hirsch, now 88, played levelheaded cabbie Alex Reiger; Henner was Elaine Nardo, a single mom and aspiring artist; Danza played wannabe boxing champ Tony Banta; Lloyd played the burned-out "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski; DeVito was their scheming dispatcher Louie De Palma; and Kane played Simka Gravas, the eventual wife of the late Andy Kaufman's mechanic Latka Gravas.

Of the main cast, Kaufman passed away in 1984 and Jeff Conaway, who played aspiring actor Bobby Wheeler, died in 2011.

Taxi ran from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


New trailer to 'The Crown''s final season teases the aftermath of Princess Diana's death

Netflix

On Friday, Netflix released the trailer to the second half of the sixth and final season of The Crown.

The final episodes see Ed McVey and Luther Ford as Princes William and Harry, respectively, mourning the death of their mother Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki).

A spitting image of the prince, McVey's William returns to Eton University "amidst an increase in attention from young female fans touched by his plight," the streamer teases. "The struggle to re-adjust leads to tensions with his family, as they try to support another young heir to find his way in the system and the world."

In the clip, Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams) tells Dominic West's Prince Charles of his mourning sons, "The boys need you now more than ever," to which Charles answers, "I'm afraid we don't do fathers and sons very well in this family."

The sixth season also sees William "tested when he develops a crush on one of the most desired students on campus: a woman by the name of Kate Middleton," played by Meg Bellamy; the final six episodes deal with the now-royal couple's budding romance.

Meanwhile, Imelda Staunton's Queen Elizabeth II, "having approved the marriage between Prince Charles and Camilla ...starts to consider her reign and ultimately her legacy," Netflix continues. "Approaching her ninth decade, the Queen is forced to dig deep and really examine what is best for the future of the monarchy."

This comes as public sentiment shifts away from the Royals following Diana's death to the U.K.'s charming Prime Minister Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel).

Part 2 of the sixth season of The Crown premieres on December 14.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


"I had to break the law": Felicity Huffman opens up about "Varsity Blues" college cheating scandal

KABC-TV

Actress Felicity Huffman broke her silence on the college admissions scandal that gripped the nation four years ago, discussing serving 11 days in jail for paying to help get her daughter Sophia into college.

In an exclusive interview with Los Angeles ABC station KABC, Huffman said she owes an apology to the academic community and students and families that sacrifice and work hard to get into college.

"It was sort of like my daughter's future, which meant I had to break the law," Huffman told KABC. "I know hindsight is 20/20 but it felt like I would be a bad mother if I didn't do it. So, I did it."

Huffman explained why she paid a $15,000 bribe for a proctor to correct wrong answers and falsify the results on her daughter’s SAT test, which ultimately landed her in prison.

Huffman described the guilt she remembered feeling while driving her unknowing daughter to take that test back in 2017.

"I kept thinking ... Just turn around. And to my undying shame, I didn't," Huffman said.

The following year, the FBI was at her home. Huffman said the agents woke her daughters up at gunpoint before taking her into custody.

"I literally turned to one of the FBI people in a black jacket and a gun and I went, 'Is this a joke?'" she recalled.

The Desperate Housewives alumna was one of the 33 parents, including actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, who faced federal charges in the so-called "Varsity Blues" scandal, pleading guilty to their involvement in 2020.

As part of her mandated community service after pleading guilty, Huffman worked with New Way of Life, an organization that assists formerly incarcerated women.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'Lawmen: Bass Reeves' arrests record audience for Paramount+

Lauren Smith/Paramount+

Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has another hit on his hands.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves, the anthology show executive produced by the guy behind Yellowstone and its prequels, as well as Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King, has become Paramount+'s most-watched season premiere.

The company trumpeted that the first two episodes of the show, starring executive producer and Emmy Award nominee David Oyelowo as the man with the badge, arrested 7.5 million viewers across the world in its first seven days.

The series debuted on November 5.

The audience was on both the platform and CBS, which ran the first two episodes on November 12, following an episode of Yellowstone.

Earlier this year, another Sheridan show, Special Ops: Lioness, starring Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman, also premiered to record numbers for the streamer.

Lawmen follows Reeves' "rise from enslavement to law enforcement as the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi." The remaining three episodes roll out Sundays on Paramount+, leading up to the finale airing December 17.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'Power Book III: Raising Kanan' is coming — Mekai Curtis + Joey Badass reveal best parts of their characters

Starz

With the upcoming return of the hit crime drama series Power Book III: Raising Kanan, ABC Audio caught up with some of the cast to chat about what's to come in season 3 and more.

Mekai Curtis, who plays the show's titular character, young Kanan Stark, and Joey Badass, who's the smooth drug lord antagonist Unique, dish on what they love most about their characters.

Curtis says he appreciates that Kanan, the son of the powerful and fierce New York drug queenpin Raquel "Raq" Thomas (Patina Miller), is dynamic and possesses a high level of duality.

"One of the things I enjoy as the actor getting to bring [the role] to life is getting to kind of give those different gears to the performance, and to those different relationships that he builds and possesses throughout the series," Curtis says.

Curtis notes that through his TV character, he's able to humanize Kanan in a way that's relatable to viewers.

"The good, the bad, thinking on your feet, adjusting for what's in front of you — that's the greatest gift about getting to play this character."

Joey says he enjoys the love/hate relationship fans have with Unique.

But this season, he says, there's new opportunity for his character.

"I think he opens up in a way where we've never seen him this vulnerable. So I'm excited to see the way people receive him in this season."

Season 3 of Power Book III: Raising Kanan premieres on the Starz app on Friday, December 1, at 11:59 p.m. and on TV at 9 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy rev up trailer to 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'

Warner Bros. Pictures

Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures dropped the high-octane trailer to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Thursday, a prequel to director George Miller's Oscar-winning Mad Max: Fury Road.

As the name implies, the movie centers on the early days of Charlize Theron's warrior woman, with Anya Taylor-Joy playing the role this time.

The post-apocalyptic film is the origin story for the character. The studios tease, "As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus," played by Chris Hemsworth.

The tease continues, "Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home."

Immortan Joe was the skull-mask-wearing, god-like baddie in 2015's Fury Road, played then by the late Hugh Keays-Byrne, who led his army of warboys to find Furiosa after she escaped with his harem.

George Miller, who exploded onto the scene with 1980's Mad Max, which spawned two sequels starring Mel Gibson, is back in the driver's seat for Furiosa. And as fans would expect, the trailer is chock full of the insane-looking vehicles and over-the-top stunts that made his Max movies famous.

"The question is," Hemsworth's baddie asks Furiosa at the close of the clip: "Do you have it in ya to make it epic?"

Furiosa speeds into theaters only nationwide on May 24, 2024.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


In Brief: Eli Roth says 'Thanksgiving' getting a second helping, and more

Thanksgiving filmmaker Eli Roth is cooking up a second helping of the horror film. "John Carver will kill again! @thanksgivingmovie sequel is a GO!!!" Roth shared Thursday on Instagram "Thank you everyone who supported ORIGINAL HORROR in theaters!!! Go see it now on the big screen while it’s in cinemas, sequel set for release in 2025! Taking a year to really get the script right, working on it starting today!" The original has grossed more than $30 million worldwide to date...

Deadline reports Amy Schumer is set to produce and star in a new Netflix feature, Kinda Pregnant. The movie, co-produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions, stars Schumer as a girl who's jealous of her best friend's pregnancy and "begins wearing a fake baby bump -- then meets the man of her dreams," according to the outlet...

Apple TV+ has dunked its basketball drama series Swagger after two seasons. “What an amazing adventure," series creator, showrunner and director Reggie Rock Bythewood shared on Instagram. He continued "In our two seasons, we have launched careers, disrupted genre, brought forth humanity through our characters, told stories we care deeply about, revolutionized the way to shoot basketball and had fun. That's a blessing." The series is loosely based on the life of basketball star Kevin Durant, follows a high school basketball star -- played by Isaiah Hill -- and his journey through the world of youth hoops...

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'The Golden Bachelor' finale recap: Gerry finds love, proposes

Disney/John Fleenor

Gerry Turner's The Golden Bachelor journey for love concluded with a proposal to Theresa Nist, 70, in the season finale of the hit show, which she accepted.

The episode also saw his heartbreaking goodbye to Leslie Fhima, 64, who was the first woman he said "I love you" to during his journey.

The finale began with Nist meeting Gerry's family. Theresa met Gerry's daughters first and told them about herself and the similar story she shares with Gerry about the loss of a spouse.

When Gerry's daughters asked if she would say yes if Gerry proposed, Theresa said "yes."

After meeting with Gerry's family, Theresa and Gerry had a final date where they had a deeper conversation about life.

During their date, Theresa expressed her apprehension about Gerry's connection with Leslie, but told him that she'd "still want him to be happy" even if he didn't choose her. She also that she wouldn't want Gerry to choose her if he wasn't "1,000% wanting me and overwhelmingly wanting me."

Gerry told her that "There is another woman in the mix" and that he "wouldn't propose" unless he's a thousand percent "committed to what we have."

Next, it was time for Gerry to meet Leslie's family. Fhima was the first woman Turner said "I love you" to on the show. The two had an immediate connection.

"I'm crazy about your grandfather, I love him," Fhima told Gerry's granddaughters. "Everything about him, he's very heartfelt and sincere, he's a very good person."

But following her meeting with Gerry's family, Fhima said she noticed a change in him as they were parting ways, explaining, "His mannerisms were a little different."

During their final night together, Fhima confronted Gerry about how he was different with her that day, which he chalked up to stress over the decisions he'd have to make and apologizing for the "low energy" he was bringing.

At the very end of their date, Fhima told Gerry that she loved him, but his only reply was, "That's such a special sentiment. I can feel it."

After leaving Fhima's hotel room in tears, he came back and came clean to her about falling "in love with Theresa," telling her, "That is the direction I'm going to take."

Fhima answered with "Everything you told me the other night was a lie."

"I'm heartbroken once again," she added.

Fhima and Turner reunited after their heartbreaking goodbye on stage where Fhima told him about how she fell in love with him "for so many reasons" and how she fell in love with his integrity.

"Your words meant so much to me and that's why I was blindsided," she said. "I just don't know where I went wrong."

Turner admitted that he "got caught up in moments" where he said, "I love you." He also apologized for the "pain" he caused her and other women along the way. Fhima said she doesn't know if she accepts his apology, but "understands" it. She also told him that she doesn't regret Turner telling her "I love you" because it "opened my heart."

The finale ended with Gerry proposing to Theresa.

Turner also gave her a golden rose as a "symbol" of his love for her.

During the "After the Final Rose" ceremony, host Jesse Palmer surprised them with a trip to Italy.

Turner said that they would use the trip as a honeymoon because they're getting married live on television on Jan. 4, 2024.

Watch Turner and Nist's interview on Good Morning America on Friday, December 1.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Jennifer Lopez covers 'Elle', talks "fight" to be seen

Mindy Small/Getty Images

Jennifer Lopez covers Elle's Women in Hollywood December/January issue, and the singer and Hustlers actress delves into what it took to become a Hollywood hyphenate.

She laments that when big-screen stardom came calling, she "came in blind."

JLo recalls "having to fight for different roles" as a Latina, "to be a lead in a romantic comedy — to not play the maid or the housekeeper."

While she noted progress has been made for women and people of color, she contends, "There are still a lot of obstacles in the way."

Lopez allows, "It's not everything you would want it to be, but at least you can see a diverse cast in a movie where the leads are of different races and genders and things like that. And I think that's encouraging, that we fought for that."

That led to her becoming a producer, as well, she explains: "[W]e have to take ownership. We can't sit around and wait for people to hand us roles. A lot of actresses right now, they produce their own movies and develop their own material, and I think that’s key as well."

Lopez adds, "I want to tell the gamut of stories. Uplifting, empowering stories, and entertaining stories, and gangster movies. I want to do everything that men do. I want to do all of it."

And the 54-year-old isn't stopping anytime soon. "I see myself working [as long as] I want to. I don't know what that age is. It might be 70, it might be 80, it might be 90," she says.

As reported, her musical and theatrical sides will soon come together in This Is Me...Now, a highly autobiographical album that will be accompanied by a Prime Video film on February 16.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


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