Welcome to another round-up of entertainment headlines heading into the July 4th holiday. Hope you’re all able to stay cool and safe in these excessive temperatures.
Television
Emmy nominations are out! [Emmys]
Good Omens is coming back for a second season on Amazon Prime, with Michael Sheen and David Tennant reprising their roles, respectively, as Aziraphale and Crowley. While the first season adapted the entirety of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s book, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, this second season will rely on the authors’ plans for a sequel that never came to fruition before Prachett’s death in 2015. Gaiman is again attached as executive producer, writer, and showrunner and John Finnemore (Cabin Pressure) has signed on as cowriter. [Deadline]
It’s not easy being a working Mama! Genius #christinewada designed Sylvie’s costume & added concealed zippers so I could pump easily & nurse my baby between takes. Little (big) things like this that made it possible for me to do my job & be a parent. I’m forever grateful ? pic.twitter.com/nn0d8HYrFi
— Sophia Di Martino (@sophiadimartino) July 1, 2021
What an amazing way to ensure accessibility of the workplace for a working mother.
No one knows when shooting will complete on the set of the upcoming Amazon Lord of the Rings series. Actor Ben Walker said of their wrap date, “It is a bit nebulous at this point. We’ve been here a long time and they’ll let us go when they’re done with us.” [IndieWire]
Movies
In an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Vin Diesel revealed that he is “dying to do a musical” and would love if the Fast and Furious series decided to go that route. The way he lights up when talking about almost doing Guys and Dolls and maybe revamping Frank Sinatra’s role is delightful.
Helen Mirren describes Vin Diesel’s voice (“velvety brown rumble”) and more in this interview. Hope she gets to be in the musical too! [NYTs]
The script to the sequel of Netflix’s film about a group of near-immortal heroes, The Old Guard, is complete. Actors Charlize Theron, Marwan Kenzari, and Luca Marinelli will be returning to begin filming in 2022. [Variety]
Every legend must start somewhere.
The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to The Sopranos, will be in theaters and streaming exclusively on HBO Max October 1. pic.twitter.com/qn48MhI6r6
— HBO Max (@hbomax) June 29, 2021
The fourth installment of the new movie edition of Evangelion is set to be released on Amazon Prime on August 13. EVANGELION:3.0+1.01 THRICE UPON A TIME is the final chapter of the theatrical release and features the original voice actors from the old anime series as well as the talents of Hideaki Anno, the creator, screenwriter, and chief director. [AmazonUK]
Disabled actor Kelsey Ellison, who has a glass eye, is featured in a fan-made trailer for book series A Darker Shade Of Magic by V.E. Schwab, produced by nonbinary model Rain Dove, her longtime partner. The project is a campaign to get Ellison cast as Lila Bard, a main character who also has a glass eye in the YA series currently being adapted for the screen by writer Derek Kolstad (John Wick). You can watch the trailer and its creators’ appeal on YouTube. [DailyMailUK]
Mischief arrives in Springfield—well, more mischief, anyway. Start streaming the short, @TheSimpsons: The Good, the Bart, and the #Loki July 7 on @DisneyPlus. #SummerOfDisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/x2omCFOebF
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) June 30, 2021
Grab Bag
The Yale School of Drama has received a $150 million gift from billionaire David Geffen and will eliminate tuition for all returning and future students beginning in August 2021. The graduate school has turned out the likes of Meryl Streep and Lupita Nyong’o and will be the second program at Yale to waive all tuition, following the Yale School of Music’s decision to do the same in 2005. [New York Times]
This report on the number of verified queer and trans characters (259) in cartoons/kids’ shows over the years was really interesting and shows how much progress has been made, though there’s still a ways to go. [NPR]
The Opposite of Cool
content warning: this section includes discussion of sexual assault, racism, and abuse of power
Bill Cosby was released from prison this week due to a truly absurd exploit of a prosecutorial mistake by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and actresses from the era of The Cosby Show weighed in via Twitter. Phylicia Rashad—who played Clair Huxtable, the wife of Cosby’s character Cliff—celebrated the decision, while Janet Hubert—who played the role of the original Aunt Viv from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air—seemingly responded in a separate thread with righteous ire. Rashad, who was recently named dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts, then posted a message of support for survivors of sexual assault without retracting her previous statement. [The Daily Beast]
Quentin Tarantino went on Joe Rogan’s podcast this week, where he defended his portrayal of Bruce Lee in Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood by citing that “stuntmen hated Bruce on ‘Green Hornet'” and “Bruce had no respect for American stuntmen.” Moving past the fact that Bruce Lee WAS an American stuntman, Tarantino’s continued insistence that his film portrayed the martial arts legend accurately does not match with Lee’s daughter Shannon’s objections. [IndieWire]
James Franco has agreed to pay $2,235,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by acting students who alleged that he had pushed them to perform in increasingly explicit sex scenes on camera while he taught them at Studio 4 Film. The proposal is just waiting on the approval of a Los Angeles judge. [The Hollywood Reporter]
