Paramount Buys John Swetnam Action Comedy Spec ‘Ballistic’

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel‘s longstanding “Fast & Furious” feud came to an official end last year when Johnson shocked fans by popping up as the beloved Luke Hobbs in a “Fast X” mid-credits scene. Diesel had extended an invitation to Johnson in November 2021 to join “Fast X,” but Johnson said the following month that “I would not be returning to the franchise.” That turned out to be a bluff. The duo’s “Fast & Furious” co-star John Cena recently appeared on the “Armchair Expert” podcast (via People) and was asked by host Dax Shepard about the rumors concerning Johnson and Diesel’s on-set tussle.

John Mulaney is doing a comedy series in a new way!

The search for Cole Brings Plenty has come to a sad end.

EXLCUSIVE: Sarah Chalke (Scrubs), Alan Tudyk (Resident Alien), Stephen Root (Barry), Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me), Sabrina Elba (Three Thousand Years Of Longing) and Hiro Kanagawa (Star Trek: Discovery) are joining Kevin James and Alan Ritchson in action-comedy Playdate, which is now filming in Canada.

Lexi Carson More Matt Rife is coming to Netflix. Following his comedy special “Natural Selection” in November 2023, Rife will make two more specials at Netflix.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer George Carlin‘s estate has settled a lawsuit over an AI-generated imitation of the late comedian, with the creators agreeing to remove it from their YouTube channel and podcast feed. In January, the Dudesy podcast released “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead,” which purported to be an hour-long special created by artificial intelligence.

Ghost of John McCain, the musical comedy set inside the brain of Donald Trump that got under the skin of Meghan McCain, will make its world premiere Off Broadway this fall, producers announced today.

EXCLUSIVE: Sierra Katow (The Sex Lives of College Girls) is partnering with Comedy Dynamics on the release of her debut comedy special, Funt, which will become available on platforms worldwide on April 2nd, rolling out in album form on April 5th.

, as in the semiconnected and ballet, red shoes symbolize seduction, vanity, and ambition. On Dakota Johnson, however, they're just cute!Stepping out in Rome, added a bright pop of color to one of her typically subdued outfits by wearing patent leather red flats. The Madame Web star had on black pants and a houndstooth plaid coat with tinted sunglasses, and opted for a simple black bucket bag.Her walking companion was none other than Alessandro Michele, former creative director for Gucci.

Rachel Johnson, sister of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has raised doubts about a video showing Kate Middleton at a farm shop near her Windsor home.

Sharon Stone has made a critical comment about Johnny Depp’s artwork in a recent interview.The Basic Instinct star, who switched her focus from acting to art during the COVID lockdown, has just opened her own exhibition in Berlin, and is due to open another in San Francisco in April.In explaining her road to success to The Guardian, she made comments referring to an art collection created by Depp, which sold for more than $3.6million within hours.The collection, titled Friends And Heroes, featured portraits of individuals who inspired the actor: Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Al Pacino and Elizabeth Taylor.According to Business Insider, Depp sold all 780 pieces within hours of his announcement that the art would be on sale at Castle Fine Art’s 37 gallery in Birmingham, England.Stone however, didn’t seem to be quite so enamoured with the portraits, saying: “Johnny Depp is printing pictures of people, putting some paint over it and signing it, and making a fortune.”Depp followed up the original collection with some more prints in 2023, which featured other famous faces including Bob Marley, Heath Ledger and River Phoenix.Seemingly referring to Depp’s recent sale of his self-portrait, in which he donated $200 from every sale to Mental Health America, Stone shared that she had received similar requests from galleries.“I had galleries approach me and say, ‘Could you please make prints of your face?’ I think it’s my duty not to do that,” she said.

Aaron Taylor Johnson gave a wide ranging interview where fans might be interested in two topics he discussed.

Last year, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt were part of the theatrical juggernaut event known as Barbenheimer (the organic viral marketing push for “Barbie” and Best Picture winner “Oppenheimer” last summer). Their films opened on the same day, but instead of canceling each other out because there was a push to see the two films, they both turned both into massive box officer earners.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paramount+ has boarded “Zorro” (working title), an adventure series starring Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning actor of “The Artist,” as the iconic character of Diego de la Vega. Created by Benjamin Charbit (“Gagarine”) and Noé Debré (“Dheepan”), the anticipated show was bought by Paramount+ for France, the U.K., Italy, Germany and Latin America. In the eight-part series, Dujardin stars opposite well-known Italian comedian Salvatore Ficarra, and French actors, including Audrey Dana, André Dussollier, Eric Elmosnino and Grégory Gadebois.

Daniel Craig’s final Bond film hit cinemas – and we finally know (maybe) who his successor is.As reported by The Sun this morning, 33-year-old British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, has been offered the role, with 007 production company Eon expecting him to put pen to paper “in the coming days”. His first outing as cinema’s most famous spy is expected to start filming this year, after it was delayed by the Hollywood strikes that disrupted shooting schedules in 2023.“Bond is Aaron’s job, should he wish to accept it.

Jelly Roll was last year’s most-awarded artist at the CMT Music Awards and it looks like he has a chance to repeat.

EXCLUSIVE: Nowhere Special by director Uberto Pasolini (The Full Monty, Still Life), and starring James Norton (Bob Marley: One Love, Little Women, Happy Valley), is set for theatrical release on April 26.

For the second time in the last three years, the Oscar for Best Documentary Short has been claimed by Ben Proudfoot. The Canadian-born filmmaker and his fellow director Kris Bowers won the Academy Award tonight for their film The Last Repair Shop, the story of craftspeople in Los Angeles who keep 80,000 musical instruments in working order for the city’s public school students. It’s the only big city school system that keeps kids in tune with free bassoons, trombones, sousaphones, cellos, piccolos and every other kind of instrument.

Seoul-based sales company Finecut has boarded international sales on the action-comedy Boss and will launch sales at this week’s Filmart in Hong Kong. 

Diego Ramos Bechara editor Dwayne Johnson got emotional talking about a potential on-screen reunion with Emily Blunt in Benny Safdie’s upcoming mixed martial arts drama, “The Smashing Machine.” Johnson’s comments came while speaking with Variety’s Marc Malkin at the Oscars during Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV. Blunt has been in talks to join Johnson for what will be Safdie’s solo directorial debut — a biopic about MMA and UFC champion Mark Kerr. Blunt has been eyed to play Dawn Staples, Kerr’s wife.