CDC director's sole 'parents' meeting on school reopening guidance featured left-wing activists, docs reveal

EXCLUSIVE: In-demand actress Emma Roberts is in final talks to join Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush in action-comedy Verona Spies, which will be directed by comedy veteran Frank Coraci, known for movies including The Wedding Singer and The Waterboy.

While Chad Stahelski wraps up post-production on “John Wick: Chapter 4,” he has one of his next projects lined up at Netflix. Deadline reports that Stahleski will direct the streamer’s feature film adaptation of the “Black Samurai” novels, about an American soldier who learns the way of the samurai.

By Solea Pfeiffer says she's used to the question: “What are you?” As a mixed woman who describes herself as racially ambiguous, she knows all too well how it feels to have her identity questioned. It's why she related so much to her character in Tyler Perry's new , A Jazzman's Blues. Pfeiffer stars as Leanne, a Black woman passing as white in the South during the 1940s.

Anna May Wong is getting her own quarter!

American Idol is a cultural institution.

Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are both Grand Slam champions, with their only Major triumphs coming at the French Open, but are yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The ballot for the International Tennis Hall of Fame has been released, with all but one of the former pros on the list appearing in the lineup in the past but failing to get voted into the prestigious group. Daniel Nestor is the only player making his debut on the ballot, while the likes of Moya and Ferrero have another shot of getting into the Hall of Fame.

Marta Balaga Following the success of Emmy-nominated “Tindler Swindler,” director Felicity Morris is already at work on Netflix’s miniseries “All American Nightmare,” she said at Rome’s MIA. Morris, previously at Raw TV, started her own company Ladywell Films with “Tinder Swindler” producer Bernadette Higgins. “It felt like the right time to do my own thing,” she said. “All American Nightmare,” clocking in at three episodes, will be completed next summer. Raw TV is also on board.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Novelist Amy Tan and Oscar-winning “Rain Man” screenwriter Ron Bass are on board to deliver a sequel to “The Joy Luck Club,” the 1993 movie that broke new ground for Asian American representation. The new film, “Joy Luck Club 2,” is set up at Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group, with Ashok and Priya Amritraj producing alongside Tan, Bass and Jeff Kleeman. A director hasn’t been announced yet. The original “Joy Luck Club,” directed by Wayne Wang, was an epic, multigenerational saga of Chinese and Chinese-American mothers and daughters, whose histories, stories and lives interweave as they navigate life. Club members included characters played by Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, Lisa Lu and Kieu Chinh. The ensemble cast also included Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao and Russell Wong.

Mark Ruffalo, better known for his role as The Hulk, has signed on to executive produce an upcoming docuseries that explores the fight against systemic injustice for Native communities. “Natives” aims to highlight the ground-breaking achievements of Indigenous activists and allies in what Ruffalo coins as “The Native Century” — an era in which younger and older generations of Natives can better get in touch with their cultural heritage. Ruffalo is a three-time Oscar nominee and two-time Emmy winner for performances in works like the 2015 film “Spotlight” and 2020 miniseries “I Know This Much Is True.” Earlier this year, he executive produced the documentary “Lakota Nation vs. United States,” which exposes the exploitation of Native people by virtue of colonization from the late 1400s to modern day.

departed, TheWrap has learned. The project hails from EPs Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio.The long-gestating project was set to mark “The Matrix” star’s first major television role, as the infamous Dr. H.

EXCLUSIVE: Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has acquired Ivan Herrera’s drama Bantú Mama for distribution in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The company will be presenting the film — which has been named as the Dominican Republic’s 2023 entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar — on select screens and on Netflix beginning November 17.

EXCLUSIVE: Ashton Gleckman, the director behind Holocaust documentary We Shall Not Die Now, is turning his attention to John F. Kennedy in a new docuseries.

Tom Cruise may be headed for a new mission, and this time it’s in space.  The "Mission Impossible" actor and "The Bourne Identity" director Doug Liman have reportedly reached out to Universal Filmed Entertainment Group Chairman Donna Langley for a movie that will be out of this world.  The movie pitch included Cruise taking a rocket up to the International Space Station.  "I think Tom Cruise is taking us to space, he’s taking the world to space," Langely said, according to BBC News. "That’s the plan.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic In what plays like Singapore’s answer to “About Schmidt,” never-too-late-to-live dramedy “Ajoomma” follows a widowed housewife as she steps out of her comfort zone by making a solo trip to South Korea. This upbeat debut from director He Shuming — whose title is the Korean equivalent of all-purpose Asian term of respect “Auntie” — offers longtime TV actor Hong Huifang (“Housewives’ Holiday”) a chance to shine in the title role, which has already netted her a Golden Horse Award nom. Selected to rep Singapore at the Oscars, affable “Ajoomma” is more of a dark horse in that race, albeit one with art-house sleeper potential. Mrs. Lim’s life is light on excitement. What it lacks in drama, she fills by binging on Korean soap operas — a not at all uncommon obsession among Asian women (and a growing number of Americans, thanks to services like Kocowa and Viki). “Auntie,” as most of the other characters call Hong’s character, fusses a bit too much over her only son, who long ago agreed to accompany her on a special tour of Seoul. Now, mere days before they’re to depart, he backs out for a job interview in New York — one that would put some much-needed distance between the closeted young man and his overly suffocating mom.

Christian Bale is opening up about playing “mediator” between Amy Adams and director David O. Russell while on the set of “American Hustle”.

Rebecca Souw Along with “Return to Seoul” and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Broker,” Singaporean comedy film “Ajoomma” joins a growing list of recent foreign movies set in Korea or probing contemporary Korean culture.  “Ajoomma,” which premieres at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival on Friday in the New Currents competition section, tells the story of stereotypical Singaporean middle–aged woman (or “auntie”). Her obsession with Korean TV dramas leads her to visit Korea for the first time and as a result, embarks on a journey of self-discovery.