Olivia Munn said during a recent appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” that one of her former male co-stars refused to be saved by her in a scene and stopped production for “45 minutes” to fight off the story beat.
“There have been a few times where I’ve been filming something, and my character was either like CIA, or a cop, or something, and there’s been scenes where my character has been the one to save the other character,” Munn said. The scene in question featured Munn and her male co-star fighting side by side in a bunker.
“If you read the script, it was that he was guarding his side, I was guarding my side, then we switch sides and then there’s a guy that was coming for him [who] was gonna shoot him in the back, so I shoot him,” she recalled. “And then we’re about to shoot and, somehow, I guess he didn’t read the script, and in that moment, he realized, ‘Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. She can’t save me. No, no. She can’t save me.’”
Munn said her co-star then halted production and became “comative with the director” over the moment. She added that he had “no insecurity about being obnoxious and everyone hearing this and being like, ‘She can’t save me! We’re not doing this.’”
“Finally, after like 45 minutes of just stopping down, I said, ‘OK, how about instead of my character saving you, it’s just that we switch because it’s time for us to switch and so this is my guy to get,’” she said. “And he was like, ‘OK.’”
This isn’t the first time Munn shared a bad on-set experience with a male co-worker. During an episode of Dax Shepherd’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, she said a director she worked with on HBO’s “The Newsroom” tried to “ruin her chances” of getting a film role by telling the studio she was “really combative” while filming.
“I was on the one-yard-line for the movie and my manager calls me and says, ‘Hey, you’re gonna get the role. But first, I guess there’s another director who they know and he says that on “The Newsroom” you were late all the time and really combative,’” Munn said. “I lived seven minutes from there. I was never late. I was like, ‘I know who this is.’ He just was trying to bash me. And I told my reps, ‘Please tell the directors this.’ And then I still got the role. But I will always remember that just because of our conflicts of how we approached a role, he wanted to ruin my chances of getting anything else.”
The new movie is in development at TriStar Pictures, with DuVall helming from her own script. Plot details are under wraps. Laurence Mark (“The Greatest Showman,” “Dreamgirls”) will produce alongside Diaz and her business partner, Katherine Power. (The duo co-founded Avaline wines.)
The caption reads: “The Return of @mssarahcatharinepaulson as Cordelia Goode. The Supreme Rises. And yes we have rebuilt the entire Robichaux Academy.”
As previously announced, Paulson will join Jessica Lange who returns to the series. They are joined by fellow “AHS” regulars Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe and Leslie Grossman in the 13th season. Ariana Grande, who starred in Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s 2015 series “Scream Queens,” reunites with the co-creators on “AHS.”
George Clooney, who has long been one of Hollywood’s most outspoken critics of Donald Trump, has slammed the U.S. president for threatening to erase “a whole civilization” unless Iran agreed to his terms for a ceasefire deal that was subsequently reached.
“Some say Donald Trump is fine. But if anyone says he wants to end a civilization, that’s a war crime,” Clooney said on Wednesday in Cuneo, Italy, according to Italian news agency ANSA. The actor was speaking in front of 3,000 high school students at a special event organized by the Clooney Foundation for Justice.
“You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it,” he added.
Speaking more broadly about current U.S. foreign policy, Clooney expressed concern about Trump’s recent statements that he is considering pulling out of NATO after European member countries of the trans-Atlantic alliance refused to be pulled into the Iran war.
“I’m worried about NATO,” Clooney said. “It has ensured that Europe, but also the rest of the world, has been safe. Dismantling an institution like this worries me. Aside from many mistakes, I believe the U.S. [with NATO] has also done many extraordinary things that have stood the test of time.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is expected to meet with the U.S. president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday to try to smooth over their differences.
ANSA reported that Clooney — who frequently spends time in Italy, where he owns a villa on Lake Como — first addressed the students in Italian by saying “Buongiorno!” before apologizing for his imperfect Italian and reverting to English. But he warned the students in both languages that he understands Italian. “So watch what you say!” he joked.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice, the human rights campaign group established by George and Amal Clooney, was founded in 2016 and currently works in 40 countries.
“Bridgerton” has added three new cast members for the Shonda Rhimes-produced period drama’s upcoming fifth season, including the role of Lord Marcus Anderson’s (Daniel Francis) adult son.
“Mobland” and “The Sandman” actor Tega Alexander will play Christopher Anderson, described as “A Regency-era Casanova who could give the Bridgerton bachelors a run for their money. Yet behind his cheeky facade lies a current of self-doubt that threatens to unravel him. The son of Lord Anderson will make his mark on society, one way or another…”
Jacqueline Boatswain as Michaela Stirling’s mother Helen, “the very essence of Michaela’s spirit.” Gemma Knight Jones as Lady Elizabeth Ashworth, “a true friend of Michaela who seeks to mentor her in London society.”
Last month, Netflix unveiled a first-look teaser for the fifth season of the series, which is based on Julia Quinn’s romance novels about the love lives of the eight siblings in the titular Bridgerton family, and announced production had begun in the UK on the eight-episode season.
Per Netflix’s description for “Bridgerton” Season 5, “The fifth season of Bridgerton spotlights introverted middle daughter Francesca (Hannah Dodd). Two years after losing her beloved husband John, Fran decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons. But when John’s cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza) returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Fran’s complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions.”
“Bridgerton” Season 4, which was released in two parts on Netflix between January and February, focused on the love story between Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).
In May 2025, Netflix renewed “Bridgerton” for a fifth and sixth season but was careful to not reveal which Bridgerton sibling would be the lead of each of those installments. While not officially revealed to be Francesca Bridgerton until March 24, the lead of Season 5 was teased throughout the airing of Season 4, with Francesca being positioned as the likely frontrunner despite the fact Eloise (Claudia Jessie) is the book-accurate next contender.
Gianmarco Soresi‘s “The Downside” weekly comedy podcast, co-hosted with actor Russell Daniels, is coming to Vox Media‘s podcast network.
The podcast “embraces the negatives of life with humor and honesty” and is a place where “complaining is encouraged, negativity is celebrated and silver linings are debunked,” per Vox Media. The show features new guests visiting Soresi and Daniels each week. Recent guests include Kumail Nanjiani, Caleb Hearon, Grace Reiter (HBO’s “The Chair Company”) and political commentator Hasan Piker.
Vox Media will take over sales, marketing and distribution for the podcast. “The Downside With Gianmarco Soresi” previously was affiliated with comedy podcast network Headgum.
Soresi said about the Vox Media deal: “I’m thrilled to join a network that grants us a completely unearned air of intelligence.” Daniels added, “I just go where they tell me but this seems legit!”
Soresi’s show launched with video five years ago — earlier than many others in the category. Today it has 1.37 million YouTube subscribers, while Soresi’s Instagram has grown from 50,000 to 1.2 million followers (and he counts 4.9 million total across platforms). The show’s owned channels have another 163,000-plus followers, and “The Downside” offers Patreon subscriptions with additional exclusive content.
“Gianmarco and Russell have built a hilarious and smart show where complaining has never been more fun. Their dynamic with their guests and genuine affection for each other makes every episode a reliably good time,” said Lillian Xu, Vice President of Podcasts at Vox Media. “We’re excited to partner and build on their success to bring The Downside to audiences everywhere.”
Soresi is a touring stand-up comedian and actor who released his first special, “Thief of Joy,” on YouTube last year. In addition to making multiple appearances on late-night talk shows and working on “The Downside,” he works on his recurring new show, “The Silver Lining,” as well as “Theater Adult,” where he melds the world of theater and comedy.
Daniels is an actor, writer and comedian who recently starred in the off-Broadway comedy “Ginger Twinsies” at the Orpheum Theater and in the modern adaptation of Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid” at the Red Bull Theatre.
“The Downside With Gianmarco Soresi” joins Vox Media’s slate of podcasts, which includes “Pivot” (hosted by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway), “A Touch More” (hosted by Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe), “Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast” (hosted by YouTuber and tech reviewer Marques Brownlee), “Networth & Chill” (hosted by Your Rich BFF Vivian Tu), “Criminal” (hosted by journalist Phoebe Judge) and “Tefi Talks” (hosted by creator and comedian Tefi Pessoa).
Variety has learned that Thurman will be back for the sophomore outing of the Paramount+ Premium series, reprising her role as Charley, a former Special Ops officer who worked for Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage). At the end of Season 1, Charley broke from Prater and fled New York to take care of her terminally ill mother.
Thurman is the latest casting announcement for the second season of “Dexter: Resurrection.” It was previously announced that Brian Cox would be joining the new season in the role of Don Framt, also known as the notorious serial killer the New York Ripper. And of course Michael C. Hall will be back as titular killer of killers Dexter Morgan.
Although Thurman is best known for her feature roles, she was previously nominated for an Emmy for her guest role in the series “Smash” and won a Golden Globe for her work in the HBO film “Hysterical Blindness.” She also recently appeared in the shows “Super Pumped” and “Suspicion.” Thurman was nominated for an Academy Award for “Pulp Fiction” in 1995. She went on to collaborate again with “Pulp Fiction’s “Quentin Tarantino in the two “Kill Bill” films. Her recent credits include the films “Oh Canada,” “Red, White, and Royal Blue,” and “Hollywood Stargirl.”
She is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, Jonathan Sanders & Co, and Hansen Jacobson.
“Dexter: Resurrection” was developed by original series helmer Clyde Phillips, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer on the new series. Hall executive produces in addition to starring. Scott Reynolds, Marcos Siega, Tony Hernandez, and Lilly Burns executive produce along with John Goldwyn and Sara Colleton, Veronica West, Kirsa Rein, and Tanner Bean & Katrina Mathewson. The series is produced by Paramount Television Studios and Counterpart Studios.
SPOILER ALERT:This article contains spoilers for the Season 3 finale of “Shrinking,” now streaming on Apple TV.
Harrison Ford is still “Shrinking.” The Apple TV series wrapped its third season on Wednesday with a poignant episode that creator Bill Lawrence has repeatedly framed in interviews and social media as a finale of sorts. That’s gotten him into a bit of trouble, as fans began to assume that Lawrence planned to reinvent “Shrinking” as something entirely different next season.
But rest assured, as Variety told you on Monday, the same stars will be playing the same characters next season. And that includes Ford, who has been doing some of the best work of his entire career as Dr. Paul Rhoades and has signed on to return. At a “Shrinking” PaleyFest LA panel in Hollywood on Tuesday, Ford said his work on “Shrinking has been “one of the most pleasurable experiences of my life.”
Also back for Season 4 are the rest of the cast as well: Jason Segel (as Jimmy Laird), Jessica Williams (Gaby), Lukita Maxwell (Alice), Luke Tennie (Sean), Christa Miller (Liz), Michael Urie (Brian) and Ted McGinley (Derek), for starters. And yes, they’ll be playing the same characters — but on new journeys.
“I think people will feel when they come back to this show, that it’s a completely different story,” Lawrence said. “And the reason we agreed to do it was that we feel that the cast and characters of this show have enough stuff going on in their life that we are interested in seeing what a new story for these characters looks like.”
Apple TV renewed the show early enough that Lawrence said the “Shrinking” writers found ways to leave Easter eggs throughout Season 3 that hinted at what’s to come — so even though next year might feel different because the characters are in a different place, it will also feel earned because you’ve already seen some of those new tales begin.
“There’s some stuff in the third year that is left unresolved, and it hints that the next year will be different because of what characters are doing and where they’re going,” Lawrence said. “People shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a time jump and it feels like we’re telling a completely different story.”
And that starts with the growth of Jimmy, whose journey from grief in Season 1 (losing his wife Tia) to forgiveness in Season 2 (bonding with the man who accidentally killed her) and then moving forward in Season 3 (his starts and stops to finding new love) seems to have now resolved itself. At the end of Season 3, Episode 11, “And That’s Our Time,” Paul — who had just relocated to Connecticut — makes a quick flyby back to L.A. to help set Jimmy on his new path, starting by tricking him into breakfast with Cobie Smulders’ Sofi.
“If the fourth season of this show came on and Jimmy was like, ‘I’ve been thinking about it. I’m still super sad about my wife,’ I’d be like, ‘turn the TV off.’ You can’t do that again,” Lawrence said. “So we’re hoping people feel it’s an incredibly optimistic and happy ending.”
Lawrence lauded Segel for his work in the final two episodes of Season 3 as his character struggled with sending his daughter to school and being home, all alone, while also feeling abandoned by his father figure Paul. And then it all came down to that moment where Paul made the temendous gesture of returning to reassure Jimmy that it was OK to move on. “I just really thought he was amazing, watching him and feeling, as a fan of the show, that his kind of suffering was finally over,” Lawrence said.
But not all is resolved with Jimmy, as viewers saw this season that he still harbors daddy issues. Lawrence said that means Jeff Daniels will likely be back as his father, Randy Laird.
“I guarantee you, some of the people that watch the show know that they’ll probably see Jeff Daniels again,” he said. “And Cobie too. What’s that look like for a guy building a second relationship?”
Now that we know Ford is back (and presumably, Wendie Malick as his new wife Julie), you can surmise that part of his new storyline will still intersect Alice, who long relied on Paul as her therapist and will now be living just an hour away.
“It’s obviously with great intent that Harrison’s character is moving to a state where Alice goes to college,” Lawrence said.
Paul, of course, continues to face the reality of his Parkinson’s disease — and that will remain an important part of that character’s journey. In Season 3, Paul got to bond with fellow Parkinson’s patient Gerry, played by guest star Michael J. Fox. Lawrence said he hoped to bring back Fox for Season 4 in some capacity, and at PaleyFest, Fox said he was up for it: “I would love to do it – it would be my honor,” he said.
Luke Tennie, Jessica Williams, Lukita Maxwell, Harrison Ford, Michael J. Fox, Jason Segel, Christa Miller, Bill Lawrence, Ted McGinley and Michael Urie at PaleyFest LA’s “Shrinking” panel on April 7.
Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Gaby will be taking over Paul’s practice and facilities to build a new crisis therapy clinic. But she’s still mourning the loss of her patient Maya (Sherry Cola), who died by suicide in Season 3.
“What’s it look like for a character like Gaby to have lost a patient in a fairly straightforward practice, and then, for whatever reason, be diving into treating people that are only dealing with stuff like that?” Lawrence said. “There’s the trauma of losing a patient that you may have crossed some boundaries and gotten too close to going directly into that world. Also, there’s still some tension between Gaby, her mom and her sister.”
Among other main characters, empty nesters Liz and Derek discovered in Season 3 that one of their sons is about to have a baby, giving the show plenty to mine as they will adjust to being grandparents. (Guest star Candice Bergen might also return as Derek’s mother — and Liz’s nemesis.) Sean has moved out of Jimmy’s pool house, has reunited with his girlfriend Marisol (Isabella Gomez) and is on his way to becoming a chef. Brian is still adjusting to being a parent, a role he was hesitant to fill at first.
“Sometimes people feel like Brian was somebody that entered, at least reluctantly, into building and having a family, and what is like that look like? We know that Brian’s childhood was tumultuous in terms of where he grew up, and their attitude towards his sexuality, but we still haven’t met his mom,” Lawrence said. “That’s with great intent.”
When asked if he has another three-season structure in mind for the next “Shrinking” chapter, Lawrence said he hadn’t mapped out a long-term plan with Apple TV or series producers Warner Bros. TV just yet. But, he added, “We aren’t going into this next season feeling like it’s the last one. There will always be material. You want to feel that people are changing and evolving. So, as long as we feel like we’re not treading water, and that we’re telling a new kind of cool story, we’ll hang with it. And who’s to say where a show like this could go.”
But as he sets out for a different “Shrinking” in Season 4, Lawrence also promised some consistency: “People will still live where they live. This is still a found family show where people think they spend way too much time together. And people will still recognize sets and locations, and even if they’ve been superficially changed or have a new look. I don’t want the show to suddenly be like, ‘oh, so they work at a corporate office downtown!’ Hopefully it will feel the same, but different in the story that we’re telling.”
Writing is already under way on Season 4, and Lawrence said he thought fans “will dig it. We wouldn’t do this show if all the actors and actresses didn’t want to keep going. The main impetus for continuing on and coming up with another story is, yes, we’re lucky enough that Apple wants us to keep going. But all the performers are having a blast. I feel like there’s plenty of stories to tell with these characters. We just can’t tell this one anymore.”
India’s Sun Pictures has unveiled the title of its large-scale fantasy-action collaboration between director Atlee, Allu Arjun and Deepika Padukone: “Raaka.”
The announcement came Wednesday, on Arjun’s birthday, accompanied by a title poster that leans into dark, creature-driven imagery.
Atlee, whose credits include the Shah Rukh Khan blockbuster “Jawan” as well as Tamil-language hits “Mersal” and “Bigil,” described the project as a long-gestating passion. “‘Raaka’ isn’t just a film… it’s a part of me I’ve carried for years. For 18 years, I held on to one idea, never letting it fade. It tested me, shaped me, and stayed with me through everything. And honestly… this is just the beginning,” he said.
Sun Pictures, the Chennai-based production banner, said the film represents its highest ambitions for Indian cinema’s international reach. “Sun Pictures is privileged to bring together the singular storytelling of Atlee and the iconic stature of Allu Arjun in a project built for the world,” the company said in a statement.
Arjun, who won the Indian National Film Award for best actor for his performance in “Pushpa: The Rise,” arrives at “Raaka” off the back of a franchise that reshaped Indian cinema’s commercial landscape. The first “Pushpa” film, directed by Sukumar and co-starring Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil, grossed some $42 million worldwide on its 2021 release. Its 2024 sequel, “Pushpa 2: The Rule,” collected approximately $194 million globally, making it the third-highest-grossing Indian film of all time behind “Dangal” and “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.”
Padukone, who previously worked with Atlee on “Jawan” opposite Shah Rukh Khan, joins the project as female lead – her first collaboration with Arjun. Her casting was announced by Sun Pictures last year.
LAT reports that firefighters were deployed to the scene at 5:28 p.m. The cause of the blaze has yet to be determined, and officials have not yet said if there were any injuries as a result of the fire, according to NBC Los Angeles 4.
Magic Castle employees told KTLA that the roof was under construction, and roofers were using blowtorches to melt down material earlier in the day.
Located just north of the Dolby Theatre at 7025 Franklin Ave., the Magic Castle is a members-only clubhouse that serves dinners and features a rotating roster of magical acts. The venue, which was originally managed by the Academy of Magical Arts, was opened as the Magic Castle in 1963 by brothers William and Milt Larsen. It was declared a cultural monument in 1989.
The Larsen family leased property from owner Thomas Glover until 2022, when Randy Pitchford, founder of Gearbox Entertainment, purchased the chateau-style manor. In 2025, the Academy of Magical Arts voted to shift control of the Magic Castle over to Pitchford. The deal allowed the organization to keep using the Magic Castle as its clubhouse and host promotional events, award shows and educational programs there.
“The Magic Castle is like bedrock — the center point of magic,” Pitchford said in a statement after purchasing the Magic Castle property. “The people who think of the Castle as their home and the place itself seem to have magical properties that have created and inspired some of the world’s greatest entertainers. I’m proud to be trusted to both, give back to the place that made me to become the custodian of the Magic Castle, and to work with its members and the Larsen family to ensure our most incredible club house grows and thrives for decades to come.”
