Tag: HollywoodReporter

Polo legend Nacho Figueras says the centuries-old horseback sport could finally be poised for a mainstream breakthrough thanks to the recent success of the World Cup.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at The St. Regis British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup in the UK last weekend, Figueras says the resounding buzz and fan engagement around the World Cup has him believing that polo could find a similar audience.

“I think it’s been an incredible moment for sports in America,” he says, also citing the New York Knicks’ recent NBA championship win. “People are learning to love sports events, especially when it’s very well put together, and polo, I think, has all the ingredients to be the next big thing.”

While Figueras appeared in the 2024 Prince Harry-produced Netflix documentary, Polo, the Argentine sporting icon says he’s working on his own real-life project to “bring polo to the cities.” Describing it as “Formula 1 meets Sail GP meets Padal [and] mixed with the Longines equestrian series,” the polo star says he envisions events that will be “like the F1 version of polo,” complete with a film crew to capture how it all comes together.

“The idea is to do a Drive to Survive-type thing, because I think that giving people access to our kitchen and the kitchens of the athletes, really helps you feel connected to the person on the horse,” he says. Plus, he adds, “Polo has horses, good looking men and women, athleticism and beautiful spots [where the matches take place]. What else could you want?”

ASSOULINE CLASSICS COLLECTION

Polo Heritage

Co-written by Figueras

Figueras was among the VIP guests taking in the Cowdray Gold Cup in West Sussex last weekend from the St. Regis tent. As the official “St. Regis Connoisseur,” the athlete and model got to enjoy a rare day off from the polo field, instead watching the proceedings alongside stars like Andrew Scott, Gwendoline Christie, British designer Giles Deacon and writer Jack Guinness, who all enjoyed storied St. Regis rituals like a champagne sabrage, and sips of the brand’s signature Bloody Mary (the tomato-based cocktail was said to have originated in the U.S. at the King Cole Room inside the St. Regis Hotel in New York in 1934).

Guests at the polo event also got a preview of the St. Regis London, expected to open in the city’s Mayfair neighborhood this fall. Occupying the former Westbury Hotel location at the intersection of Bond Street and Conduit Street, the new property will feature 193 guest rooms inspired by its Savile Row and luxury fashion house and auction house surroundings. The property will also open with Le Perroquet, a French brasserie-style restaurant from acclaimed Chef Daniel Rose, best known for La Bourse et La Vie in Paris and the Michelin-starred Le Coucou in New York.

“St. Regis is an old brand with heritage, with family values, and with an actual history and connection to polo,” Figueras says, noting that the hotel chain’s founding family, the Astors, were a prominent fixture at polo matches on New York’s Governors Island. “This event and this partnership just makes sense.”

The Gaston Polo Team, led by Chilean patron Jean Paul Luksic, was crowned Cowdray Gold Cup champions after a nail-biting 9-8 victory over the previously unbeaten Dubai Polo Team. While Figueras was mum on who he was cheering for — explaining that he has friends and fellow Argentine players on both teams — he says the weekend event in England was further proof that the sport is ready for a U.S. invasion. And in addition to his planned polo event series and documentary, Figueras says he has one other idea he’d like to pitch.

“I feel very bullish about doing a scripted thing,” the memorable Gossip Girl guest star says, noting that, “what Yellowstone did for Western was incredible. I would love to work with a guy like Taylor Sheridan, who is really one of the most incredible storytellers out there and who loves horses, and say, ‘Hey, I think that polo could be a perfect anchor for one of your amazing shows.”

“I also love Succession,” Figueras adds, “so I believe that this polo show could be the perfect marriage between Yellowstone and Succession.”

Has he been in touch with Sheridan?

“No, I don’t know him, so maybe this [article] will help,” the dashing polo star says with his magazine-cover smile. “Taylor when you read this, please get in touch.”

Warner Bros. Discovery has filed a lawsuit against Amazon for “hurriedly seeking to pirate away a number of contracted employees,” citing the recent hiring of Pia Barlow as a “better example of Amazon’s lawless employee shopping spree.”

Warner Bros. alleges intentional interference with contractual relations, breach of contract, intentional interference with prospective economic advance and unfair competition against Amazon in the suit that was filed on Tuesday. In using Barlow, HBO Max’s former EVP originals marketing, as an example, the company notes that her contract was not set to expire until Oct. 31, 2027. Barlow was announced as Amazon MGM Studios‘ new head of original series marketing on Friday, when most outlets began reporting on the suit.

“Though it was aware of Barlow’s ongoing contractual commitment to WMS, of which WBD is a beneficiary, Amazon has brazenly and deliberately induced Barlow to breach the employment agreement by packing up and decamping to Amazon more than 16 months before its expiration,” the suit reads.

Warner Bros. also alleges in the filing that “Barlow is not the first (nor, apparently, the last) WBD employee that Amazon has targeted or will target in the future.” The suit alleges that “a few weeks before Amazon’s interference with Barlow’s term employment contract with WMS, Amazon similarly endeavored to tortiously induce another WBD employee to breach their term employment agreement, which was not set to expire until December 2027.”

“Fortunately, in that instance, Amazon ultimately was unsuccessful in its efforts to raid WBD’s workforce as to that particular executive,” the suit continues.

Warner Bros. is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages and injunctive relief.

After years of massive Comic-Con panels with full Avengers casts, it didn’t seem possible that Marvel Studios could go bigger. But, boy, did they.

In a first for Hall H, the studio surprised the 7,000-strong crowd by revealing a hidden stage in the back of the cavernous room, with castmembers from Thunderbolts* and the 2000s X-Men movies appearing.

After giving brief speeches, the actors made their way from the back, through the entire hall, high-fiving fans along the way and the crowd screaming like it was a Beatles or BTS concert. They joined the main stage already populated by Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and the star attraction, Robert Downey Jr.

It was just one part of supersized panel, that included the startling revelations that Alien: Romulus breakout David Jonsson would play the son of T’Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman) in Black Panther 3 for a Dec. 15, 2028 release. He will take the mantle of the Black Panther.

Another bombshell: not only would Ryan Gosling play Ghost Rider in a new movie, but Deadpool & Wolverine and Gosling’s Star Wars: Starfighter director Shawn Levy would direct for a 2028 release.

Even Ryan Reynolds, who had not attended Apple TV’s presentation of his upcoming action comedy Mayday earlier in the day, crashed the proceedings — in costume as a cosplayer named Ricky, but really as Deadpool. He pointedly asked if production had begun. (Apparently he wasn’t invited.) Downey was having none of it, jokingly seeming annoyed with the Merc with the Mouth.

“It’s in the can, bro. Look around you. Did you bump your head?” Downey told Deadpool, who then asked about possible additional photography to add new people to the mix. The crowd “awwed” in sadness.

On some level, there had been pressure all week for Marvel to pull out all the stops for its Comic-Con presentation. On Monday, it released the trailer for Doomsday, and while it racked up record views showing a lot of interest, reaction was not enthusiastic. And with a checkered slate since 2019’s mega-event Avengers: Endgame, the company needed to show that Doomsday isn’t a grasp at past glories. And while not indicative of future quality, Saturday’s panel demolished any negativity from days prior.

In addition to the big news drops and the sheer force of actors, it was a massive spectacle with light shows and pop music. And, oh yes, costumes. Each attendee received a Doom mask and cape that they donned when asked by Downey, who in his Doom accent, asked the assembled legion to join his cause. Marvel, with this panel, continued to up the ante. The crowd was continually on its feet; every time it would sit down, some reveal would jolt them back up, to see, to yell, to record on their phones.

And in a bit of a redo, Marvel showed a Hall H-only reel that it called an extended look but was, to many fans, what the initial trailer should have been: something that clearly delineated the stakes and the threat. “Victor, did you do this?!” yells Pascal’s Richards to Doom. Doom says, “All of you have lived stolen lives” at one point and raises an army of giant mutant-killing robots known as Sentinels out of the ground. He tosses Thor aside like a doll. And begins with Susan Storm (aka The Invisible Woman) explaining Doom’s motivation, saying “Everything he loved was taken from him.”

Ahead of the panel, the feeling in the room was electric. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people camped overnight for a chance at Comic-Con’s hottest ticket. Marvel gave away Doctor Doom masks and capes, while the Fantastic Four robot H.E.R.B.I.E. was onstage.

And it began with a sizzle reel of Marvel’s greatest hits — not just of Marvel Studios, but of films made before Iron Man kicked off the MCU in 2008. There was footage of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Patrick Stewart’s Prof. X. Feige, with the help of Jon Bernthal, also showed an action sequence from Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which opens next week and for which little has been shown.

Marvel boss Kevin Feige, a confident and loose speaker, began his talk by giving due to the source of all things at Marvel Studios, the comics. He referred to the change in leadership at the publishing division, thanking outgoing editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski for his work and giving a shout out for the new chief, Stephen Wacker.

“Without the comics, no MCU, no movies, no TV shows, no animation,” Feige said. “Nothing.”

Black Panther 3 is ready to claw its way into theaters.

Kevin Feige and director Ryan Coogler announced during Marvel Studios‘ panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday that the sequel feature will film on 70mm and hit theaters Dec. 15, 2028. The duo also revealed that David Jonsson is set to star as an adult version of the son of T’Challa, portrayed by the late Chadwick Boseman in the 2018 original.

“Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor and privilege and the blessing to join,” Jonsson said from the stage as the audience screamed and cheered, with some sections breaking out in Wakanda chants. He will don the mantle of the Black Panther for the film.

The actor is a recent Hollywood breakout, with key roles in Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk. Jonsson was also part of the main cast for the first two seasons of Industry.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ended with the revelation that Boseman’s T’Challa had a young son with Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia. Given that this is Marvel, it’s possible that some sort of time jump or other factors are involved to age him up for the sequel. The film also will come after next year’s Avengers: Secret Wars and will likely affect the larger MCU.

The Black Panther film franchise kicked off with the 2018 title, starring Boseman as T’Challa. With a cast that included Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett, the film was a smash hit, collecting $1.3 billion at the global box office and becoming the first superhero feature to land an Academy Award nomination for best picture.

Boseman was set to reprise his lead role in a planned sequel before his death in 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer. The follow-up film’s focus shifted to Wright’s character, Shuri, taking up the mantle of Black Panther following the death of brother T’Challa. The sequel, Wakanda Forever, hit theaters in 2022 and surpassed $850 million at the worldwide box office. It won an Oscar from five nominations, with Bassett becoming the first performer nominated for an Academy Award for a performance in a Marvel movie.

Among the highlights of this year’s Marvel panel at SDCC included Ryan Gosling taking the stage to reveal his role as Ghost Rider in a forthcoming feature from Shawn Levy, his director for next year’s Star Wars: Starfighter.

Ryan Reynolds gave maximum effort while angling for a role in Avengers: Doomsday during San Diego Comic-Con.

As the star-studded team for the forthcoming Marvel Studios film was onstage at SDCC on Saturday, Reynolds surprised fans when he appeared among the crowd while dressed in Deadpool‘s gray suit that has not yet appeared on the big screen but can be seen in X-Force comics. Doomsday directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo were among those participating in the panel alongside Kevin Feige to promote the Disney film that hits theaters Dec. 18.

Reynolds joked that his name was Ricky and that he was “cosplaying hard.” He went on to say, “First question is for Mr. Paul Rudd. Where is Thor, and why was he crying?” This referenced a moment in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, during which Chris Hemsworth’s Norse God of Thunder appears to hold a dying Deadpool in a scene set in the future.

Rudd quipped, “He’s a Wrexham fan?” in a dig at the soccer team that Reynolds and friend Rob Mac own. Reynolds fired back, “You know goddamn well why he was crying.”

Reynolds’ Deadpool continued, “This seems like an awfully expensive way to announce a film. When do you start filming?” This spurred Robert Downey Jr., who stars as Doctor Doom after initially playing Iron Man in the MCU, to reply, “It’s in the can, bro. Look around you. Did you bump your head?”

After a pause, a deflated Deadpool responded, “I see. So there’s no additional photography, no overages, hot costs — maybe last minute additions?” The star then said abruptly, “No further questions. Happy Hogan, fetch the Audi. We’re leaving.” Reynolds dropped the microphone and made his way out of Hall H.

Although Reynolds has not been officially confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, media rumors have persisted about a possible role for Deadpool. The opinionated anti-hero was last seen on the big screen opposite Hugh Jackman in Deadpool vs. Wolverine, which surpassed $1.3 billion at the global box office.

Earlier this month, Reynolds confirmed during an appearance at Fanatics Fest that a new Deadpool film would indeed come to fruition at some point.

Other highlights from this year’s Marvel panel included Ryan Gosling teasing his starring role in a Ghost Rider movie that Shawn Levy will direct. Additionally, Black Panther 3 filmmaker Ryan Coogler took the stage to announce that David Jonsson will star as T’Challa’s adult son for the movie that will hit theaters in 2028.

Morgan Stewart has revealed more about the harsh reality of being burglarized twice at her Beverly Hills home.

The reality TV veteran, fashion influencer and podcast host joined Jake Shane on the newest episode of his show, Therapuss, and opened up about experiencing firsthand a crime wave that has impacted such celebrities as Brad Pitt, Lionel Richie, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rachel Zoe, Kathy Hilton, Sutton Stracke and more.

“Bought it in France, brought it home, stolen out of my house two days later,” Stewart told Shane of a rare Hermes Birkin purse that was taken. “I was camping with my kids for their school camping trip, and we got a call from security. We had security [and he had fallen asleep] in front of the house. I’ve just now gotten past [him falling asleep], and they smashed through my office door and they went into our bedroom and ransacked my husband’s watches.”

Stewart then commented on the rash of burglaries and said “this is happening a lot in the area, unfortunately, it’s happening all the time,” so much so she claimed that “everyone I know has gotten robbed.” The robbers took armfuls of her rare purses but left a glass case full of bags untouched. “They didn’t touch because I think they probably would have thought there was an alarm or something attached to it.”

“I was just furious. I was angry. I’m pissed. It’s a violation,” she said of the emotions she experienced after the fact. “I saw the video of them climbing over my gate in the middle of the day. And they had six bags on each arm, and they tossed them over the gate onto the driveway. I’m like, ‘You are so disrespectful. Hop politely because you’ve just scratched the Box Kelly I just got.’ It was literally just like trash on the floor.”

Stewart also revealed that she experienced a second burglary at her home. “My security caught them on the hillside,” she said. “That was when they took all my jewelry. But we got it back, thank God.”

She now says her home is guarded like “Fort Knox.” The Therapuss episode is available on Netflix and Spotify, and finds Stewart also dishing about style trends for summer, what life was like on Rich Kids of Beverly Hills and more.

President Trump appeared at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, which took place in Washington, D.C. on Friday with a new location and a drastically reduced list of attendees, following the cancellation of the event in April after a gunman fired shots as the event was underway. 

Moved to the Waldorf, Astoria, in the nation’s capital instead of the Washington Hilton and reduced from  2,600 guests down to around 680, it was less a star-studded event that each year sees celebrity guests brush elbows with reporters and editors as they sit with the politicians they cover — the optics of which are criticized each year by journalists and critics alike. 

For the make-up dinner, the WHCA is also bringing back the Secret Service member who survived the April shooting, when 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, who allegedly intended to target multiple Trump administration officials, was arrested near the screening area outside the banquet hall after running past the security checkpoint. Plus honoring the Washington Hilton staff who stayed on the scene and continued tending to rattled guests.

Elements of the first dinner remained. The awards were handed out; mentalist Oz Pearlman, who got just one private trick for the White House press secretary at the first dinner before gunshots caused chaos, returned to deliver some levity; and ahead of the event, a group of hundreds of former journalists and press freedom groups sent a letter to the WHCA. Now, they were urging the association to capitalize on Trump’s attendance by calling him out for his administration’s attacks on First Amendment rights, which include recently subpoenaing New York Times reporters over their coverage and threatening to revoke licenses of broadcasters.

The president took to the stage around 9:30 p.m. ET and brought up the attempted attack early in his much-anticipated speech, which has been speculated upon heavily in April and again ahead of the July event. Traditionally, the dinner’s speeches are a roast of the attendees and the president himself.

“The attempted mass murder at the Washington Hilton — that’s what it could have been — was an assault on our democracy itself,” Trump said. “A very serious situation. Many of you were there with me, and some showed extreme bravery, like Pete Hegseth, Steve Miller, Tom Holman. Really, they were standing on tables. And most of you were under the table,” he said to Friday night’s attendees, which got some laughs.

Trump’s first joke to fall completely flat came soon and involved a rapper and MAGA convert who he recently had at a White House event. 

“After hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, ‘Get down! Get down!’ which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking,” he said, referring to the dance. “Do you believe it? Get down. She’s the only one that really understood what that meant.”

Trump’s speech began to meander as he at first reminisced about the Waldorf Astoria in the 1980s and moved to several topics and name-dropped celebrities not in the room and with whom he has personal gripes, some going back for decades. Rosie O’Donnell, Bette Midler and Bruce Springsteen all got a mention, with the latter’s looks as he ages compared to the president’s own. Trump joked that his live show, where he was railing about the administration’s policies, was now called “Bored in the U.S.A.” 

More to come…

The writing process has just begun for the second season of Apple TV‘s latest hit series Widow’s Bay.

Show creator Katie Dippold participated in Collider’s Showrunners on Showrunning panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, where she opened up about the project’s startling success. Starring Matthew Rhys as the mayor of a New England island that the residents are convinced is haunted, Widow’s Bay quickly became one of television’s buzziest shows after its April launch and went on to land a whopping 19 Emmy Award nominations, including best comedy series.

“It took a long time,” Dippold said about how soon she got a sense that the show had picked up as many fans as it did. She joked that she remains “terrified” of Reddit but eventually took enough of a look on the social media platform to see that the amount of discussion about Widow’s Bay was increasing wildly. “Seeing that was really shocking.”

The writer, also known for her work on such features as The Heat and Snatched, explained that she did not know that the series had been renewed for a second season until just before the news went public. “But I was still always hoping and thinking about it,” she continued, pointing out that the writers room for season two started earlier this week. “It’s a great room, and then we’re going to be writing for the next 20 weeks.” Dippold noted that her goal is to begin filming next year for the show that also stars Kate O’Flynn, Kevin Carroll, Dale Dickey, Kingston Rumi Southwick and Stephen Root.

As for lessons from the initial season that the first-time showrunner plans to incorporate for the second one, Dippold said, “I learned pretty quickly in making it.” Dippold pointed out that she felt that the comedy worked because the actors played things straight and dramatic: “Throughout the process, it was making sure everything served that, and so that’s top of mind going into season two. Also, the scripts were longer and pretty dense. I had to make last-minute cuts for time, so I’ll just be more mindful of that because we didn’t need that much.”

She added, “In the edit, I just could see, ‘Oh, you actually didn’t need any of this stuff anyway.’ I learned a lot about what you don’t need and getting to things quicker.”

In her review of Widow’s Bay for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Angie Han wrote, “At its best, Widow’s Bay highlights the blurry line between comedy and horror.”

As Descendants enters a new chapter, so does Malia Baker.

The 20-year-old Botswana-born actress returns as Chloe Charming in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, stepping back into the Disney franchise, not as the newcomer who once idolized the original cast, but as one of the faces leading its next generation.

“It’s like entering this world as camp counselors this time instead of these nervous campers that we were the first time around,” Baker tells The Hollywood Reporter on a recent Zoom.

“We put so much pressure on ourselves just because we loved the movies so much. They were so integral, not just for my formative years, but my peers as well,” she continues. “You hold so much respect and love for them, so it was a really big deal. But it was still so much fun to film.”

Returning for a second film also meant welcoming a new group of cast mates, who quickly turned into some of Baker’s closest friendships. She’s excited for the “world to fall in love” with her friends and the new characters.

Ahead of the film’s release, the Descendants and Zombies casts embarked on a tour, giving Baker the chance to witness fan excitement firsthand. “It’s so wild to be able to literally watch it unfold in front of you and have people be so excited and joyful around something that’s so close to your heart,” she says.

The Descendants films are among the most beloved Disney movies in modern time. Baker feels that the films strike a necessary chord of timeless themes and represent young people well, which is why they’ve been able to remain relevant.

For Baker, stepping into the character of Chloe meant embracing the legacy of Cinderella and Prince Charming, two of Disney’s most recognizable characters. While audiences were already familiar with Chloe’s parents, the young actress had the opportunity to help define a new character entirely her own.

“I think we all put our hearts and souls into it,” she says. “Yes, these are iconic characters, but Chloe Charming has never been done before, which is a lot of trust to put into a person.”

With Disney’s trust in Baker to represent the beloved character over the course of two films, she says she’s found herself growing alongside Chloe. “As things in your life start changing, you can find different levels and depths to whatever character you’re playing,” she says. “I think Chloe and I have been very fortunate to have been at very similar stages in our lives. It feels like we really are learning these lessons at the same time and inspired by one another’s growth.”

The actress hopes that Wicked Wonderland viewers watch it and enjoy it. “It can seem like it’s your responsibility to not enjoy something, because it’s not as ‘serious,’” she says. “But I think there’s something really magical in being able to learn a great lesson while having fun.”

While Chloe Charming may be the role she’s most known for today, sitting at the top of her acting bucket list is Starfire from Teen Titans. “I love the role of Starfire, I think she’s the coolest ever she is just such a baddie in her own right,” she says, laughing. “I would swap out the blue for some pink hair any time any place.”

The actress says a role in a biopic would also be a dream for her. “I don’t know who, what or when, I keep joking with Brandy about playing her,” she says. “I told her I’ll start practicing for it.”

While Starfire, and maybe a Brandy biopic if she ever gives that call, remain on Baker’s manifestation board, she’s still wrapping her head around the fact that she’s become one of the faces of Disney’s newest generation with Descendants.

“Sassy little me would’ve been shocked, flabbergasted, everything in between. It’s still a dream now,” Baker says of her younger self. “I have to have little reminders every now and then. I don’t think it’ll ever fully sink in, and honestly, I’m happy it won’t.”