Mike White Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Ethan Shanfeld SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched the sixth episode of “The White Lotus” Season 1, titled “Departures.”“The White Lotus” opens with a coffin being loaded onto a plane but doesn’t address the death looming over the series until its final episode.Learning he is about to be fired from his job as hotel manager, Armond (Murray Bartlett) goes on a drug binge and saunters over to the Pineapple Suite, which has finally been relinquished to “special chosen baby child” Shane (Jake Lacy), who is downstairs wrapping up a tumultuous honeymoon. Armond enters the suite, peeks around and swiftly unbuttons his pants to defecate in Shane’s open suitcase.“It’s a weird combination of Armond being out of his mind but also firmly rooted in his power,” Bartlett says.

Murray Bartlett is making his anticipated debut as weight-loss guru Vincent “Vinnie” Green on season 2 of. In ET’s exclusive sneak peek of episode three, “Don’t You Go Far,” Vinnie and his short shorts grab your full attention as he leads a fitness class at his studio. Set to “Proud Mary,” the clip sees Sheila (Rose Byrne) sneaking into Vinnie’s class, only to be taken aback by the instructor's incredibly relentless energy as he works out to the Ike and Tina Turner hit. On the Apple TV+ dramedy, Sheila continues to rise within the fitness world after the successful launch of her first video.

It’s not often an actor can work for 35 years and suddenly make the leap into serious, household-name fame. But that’s precisely what happened to Murray Bartlett. The Australian began acting back in 1987, and while he’s landed a plethora of projects in his career, he says, “I haven’t really had that many choices along the way.” Then came The White Lotus. And Bartlett’s portrayal of fussy, tortured hotelier Armond took him from working actor to the kind of famous that inspires Halloween costumes and selfies on the street.

Jennifer Coolidge recalled a vacation story with “White Lotus” writer-director Mike White, which she believes inspired her character Tanya’s hookup in season 1 of the HBO comedy-drama.

Mark Bozon, who spent 12 years at Apple in creative and gaming executive roles, has been hired by Disney in a senior post to help oversee the company’s push into the metaverse.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorDisney hired Mark Bozon, a top gaming executive from Apple, as a senior creative leader for its cross-divisional Next Generation Storytelling initiative — which encompasses Disney’s “metaverse” ambitions.In a May 20 tweet, Bozon announced he was leaving Apple after 12 years, saying “I’m headed to an absolute dream job” (without revealing he was heading to Disney). Most recently, he served as games creative director for Apple Arcade, the tech giant’s game-subscription service.Bozon was hired by Mike White, Disney’s SVP of Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences, a 10-year company veteran who earlier this year was appointed to lead development and coordination of Disney’s metaverse strategy.

HBO series The White Lotus.The actor, known for playing Jeanine Stifler in American Pie, beautician Paulette in Legally Blonde and gold digger Sherri Ann Cabot in 2000 film Best In Show, discussed how she felt “locked” into certain roles over the past decade.Speaking to Vanity Fair in conversation with American Pie co-star Natasha Lyonne, Coolidge said: “I did these jobs that I felt like locked me into a certain perception. I was in this weird bubble for a really long time.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFor some cinephiles, Sicily may still conjure images from “The Godfather” franchise, but the Italian isle has long moved on.When you see Sicily on screen these days in movies and TV series made for global audiences, the narratives now seldom involve Cosa Nostra tropes as they once used to. What’s taking precedence for producers now is the sheer beauty of the Sicilian landscape in its plethora of forms.“For decades Sicily was where you would come to film stories that were centered around the Mafia and organized crime; but now this is changing,” says Sicilian Film Commission chief Nicola Tarantino.

Ellise Shafer The second installment of HBO’s “The White Lotus” has added Italian stars Beatrice Grannó, Sabrina Impacciatore and Simona Tabasco to its cast.As Variety exclusively revealed in January, the highly-anticipated Season 2 of Mike White’s social satire will take place at a luxurious resort in Sicily. Impacciatore will play Valentina, the manager of the White Lotus Sicily resort.

HBO has shored up the season 2 cast of The White Lotus by adding three Italian stars to the ensemble.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAmazon is making some changes atop its movies team.Julie Rapaport, who previously served as co-head of movies, will become the sole chief of the division. Matt Newman, Rapaport’s fellow co-head, will transition to a new role at Prime Video’s global sports group, where he is being tasked with developing original sports docuseries, films, and scripted projects.

**WINNER.Theatrical Feature FilmPaul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”Denis Villeneuve, “Dune”First-Time Feature Film DirectorMaggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”Rebecca Hall, “Passing”Tatiana Huezo, “Prayers for the Stolen”Lin-Manuel Miranda, “tick, tick…BOOM!”Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”Emma Seligman, “Shiva Baby”DocumentaryJessica Kingdon, “Ascension”Stanley Nelson, “Attica”Raoul Peck, “Exterminate All the Brutes”Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin, “The Rescue”Drama SeriesKevin Bray, “Succession”: “Retired Janitors of Idaho”Mark Mylod, “Succession”: “All the Bells Say”Andrij Parekh, “Succession”: “What It Takes”Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman, “Succession”: “Lion in the Meadow”Lorene Scafaria, “Succession”: “Too Much Birthday”Comedy SeriesLucia Aniello, “Hacks”: “There Is No Line”MJ Delaney, “Ted Lasso”: “No Weddings and a Funeral”Erica Dunton, “Ted Lasso”: “Rainbow”Sam Jones, “Ted Lasso”: “Beard After Hours”Mike White, “The White Lotus”: “Mysterious Monkeys”Movies for Television and Limited SeriesBarry Jenkins, “The Underground Railroad”Barry Levinson, “Dopesick”: “First Bottle”Hiro Murai, “Station Eleven”: “Wheel of Fire”Danny Strong: “Dopesick”: “The People vs. Purdue Pharma”Craig Zobel, “Mare of Easttown”Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled ProgrammingPaul G.

HBO has confirmed Jennifer Coolidge will return for The White Lotus season two.Following reports in October last year, the network confirmed the actor’s return on Monday via Twitter (February 28) as production on the second season started in Sicily, Italy.Coolidge, who plays the troubled Tanya McQuoid, is the only actor from the show’s first season confirmed to return.She is joined by previously announced new cast members Michael Imperioli, Aubrey Plaza, Haley Lu Richardson, F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Tom Hollander, Theo James, Meghann Fahy, Will Sharpe and Leo Woodall.A post shared by The White Lotus (@thewhitelotus)Filming on the second season is taking place at the San Domenico Palace in Taormina, along with other locations in and around Sicily.The White Lotus is a dark comedy drama which, in the first season, follows a group of visitors on holiday at a Hawaiian resort.

Good news for White Lotus fans — the second installment of Mike White’s dark comedy series will be one episode bigger than the first. The expanded second season will consist of seven episodes, HBO confirmed today as production has started at the San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel, as well as in and around Sicily.

A 911 call for help resulted in the arrest of a Colorado resident who was outside the home of "The White Lotus" star Alexandra Daddario. David Adam Cako was charged with carrying a concealed weapon after a handgun was found in his vehicle, authorities told the Los Angeles Times on Sunday. The Los Angeles Police Department revealed that a 911 call made on Saturday reported someone knocking at the door of a home that was identified by TMZ as the actress’ residence.

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment will release “Despicable Me 4” over Independence Day weekend in 2024, the studios announced Friday. The fourth film in the “Despicable Me” animated franchise will open in theaters on July 3, 2024. Illumination has also announced the date for another original animated film from writer Mike White called “Migration,” which will open in theaters a year earlier on June 30, 2023.

Jordan Moreau You haven’t seen the last of Gru and the Minions quite yet.Universal Pictures and Illumination announced Friday that “Despicable Me 4” is coming to theaters on July 3, 2024. Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove and Steve Coogan will all be returning for the next chapter in the animated, family-friendly series about the reformed super-villain and his army of yellow Minions.Chris Renaud, who directed the first two “Despicable Me” movies, is back for the fourth installment.

Illumination and Universal have set release dates for their forthcoming animated films Migration and Despicable Me 4. The former original will be released wide on June 30, 2023, opening against the untitled fifth film in the Indiana Jones franchise from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The latest installment in the top-grossing Despicable Me franchise is set for a wide release on the wide-open weekend of July 23, 2044. Both films are taking up slots inhabited by previously announced, untitled Illumination Animated Films.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorDisney CEO Bob Chapek installed veteran exec Mike White into a new role coordinating the Mouse House’s “metaverse” efforts going forward.White, who has worked at Disney for a decade, is assuming the new role of senior VP of next generation storytelling and consumer experiences at the Walt Disney Co., responsible for connecting the dots among the company’s initiatives that blend “physical and digital worlds,” Chapek wrote in a memo to staff, obtained by Variety. White adds the metaverse role that to his existing duties leading consumer experiences and platforms in the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED) division, overseeing the technology strategy, engineering and product teams charged developing digital experiences across brands including ABC, ABC News, Disney, ESPN, FX, Marvel, National Geographic and Star Wars.

Scott Huver The success of HBO’s limited series “The White Lotus” is built on how deftly it examines the intricacies of human nature, with biting scripts by creator and director Mike White, and brilliant performances by its ensemble cast. Co-stars Murray Bartlett and Jennifer Coolidge agree that the experience of portraying characters who are battling existential crises, set against a backdrop of beauty, luxury and privilege, was unlike any other.“It’s really holding a mirror up to some of the ugliest sides of our nature in such a cutting way,” says Bartlett in a video conversation with Variety.

Murray Bartlett is looking back at THAT moment from the season one finale of The White Lotus!

HBO has announced four more cast members for The White Lotus season two, including Theo James, Meghann Fahy, Will Sharpe and Leo Woodall.They will join previously announced cast members Michael Imperioli, Aubrey Plaza, Haley Lu Richardson, F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco and Tom Hollander.

Four more actors have been added to the cast of The White Lotus season two!

Theo James, Meghann Fahy and Will Sharpe have been tapped as series regulars for the second installment of Mike White’s dark comedy HBO series The White Lotus. Additionally, and up-and-comer Leo Woodall is set to recur.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The White Lotus” Season 2 at HBO is rounding out its main cast with the addition of Theo James, Meghann Fahy, Will Sharpe, and Leo Woodall.The four actors join previously announced cast members F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Tom Hollander, Michael Imperioli, Aubrey Plaza, and Haley Lu Richardson. It was also previously reported that Season 1 star Jennifer Coolidge will return for Season 2, but HBO has yet to officially confirm that.

Jennifer Coolidge was just as entertaining in her pre-fame days as she is now as a star.

The White Lotus is getting a second season on HBO and series creator Mike White is planning an anthology that will take place in a new location every season.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterLike the rest of us, Aubrey Plaza devoured the first season of “The White Lotus,” HBO’s buzzy social satire about insufferable vacationers and seemingly cheerful employees at a luxurious Hawaiian resort. Unlike the rest of us, Plaza was cast on the show’s second season.Beyond the chance to appear on the hit show, Plaza says she’s most looking forward to working with Mike White, who created, wrote and directed “The White Lotus.”“I was a fan of Season 1, but more importantly, I was a big Mike White fan,” Plaza said at Variety’s virtual Sundance Studio presented by Audible, where she’s on the press circuit for her coming-of-age thriller “Emily the Criminal.” Before the pandemic, Plaza and White had been collaborating on a creative project that “kind of got messed up by the COVID of it all.” “So I’m very excited to work with him,” she says.

star-studded ensemble for season 2 continues to grow. On Tuesday, HBO confirmed to ET that F.

F. Murray Abraham will play Michael Imperioli’s father in the second season of HBO Max’s “The White Lotus,” TheWrap confirmed on Tuesday.Oscar-winner Abraham will play Bert Di Grasso, father of Dominic (Imperioli), who’s also traveling with his grandson Albie (Adam DiMarco of “The Order” and “The Magicians”) a recent college graduate.Aubrey Plaza was previously announced as Harper Spiller, a woman vacationing with her husband and his friends.

HBO’s dark comedy series “The White Lotus” was a huge surprise hit last summer. The show, from comedy veteran Mike White (“School of Rock,” “Nacho Libre”), followed a week in the life of vacationers as they relax and rejuvenate in a paradise-like resort located in Hawaii.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The White Lotus” has added four new cast members for its upcoming Season 2 at HBO, Variety has learned.F. Murray Abraham (“Amadeus,” “Homeland,”), Tom Hollander (“The Night Manager,” “Pirates of the Carribean” franchise), Adam DiMarco (“The Order,” “The Magicians,” and Haley Lu Richardson (“Split,” ” The Edge of Seventeen”) have all joined the second season of the critically-acclaimed dark comedy.The quartet joins previously announced Season 2 cast members Michael Imperioli and Aubrey Plaza. It was also previously reported that Season 1 star Jennifer Coolidge will return for Season 2, but HBO has yet to officially confirm that.

Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham (Mythic Quest), Adam DiMarco (The Order), Tom Hollander (The Night Manager) and Haley Lu Richardson (Unpregnant) are set as series regulars for the second installment of HBO’s dark comedy series The White Lotus. They join previously announced Michael Imperioli and Aubrey Plaza in the upcoming follow-up to Mike White’s breakout social satire limited series.

EXCLUSIVE: A24 has brought in former HBO and Amazon Studios TV executive Nick Hall to oversee creative for the company’s growing television slate.

The White Lotus star and SAG Award nominee Murray Bartlett has boarded Hulu’s limited series Immigrant, which hails from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel. He joins star and executive producer Kumail Nanjiani.

In the age of streaming television, the mini-series is quickly becoming the best format that dramatic narrative has, more than just a movie, time for character development, and intrigue, but can still conclude with a beginning and middle and end instead of the extended and prolonged second act that is a lot of television. Still, when you get a massive hit on your hands, the temptation to go on (and potentially make a lot more money) is very real.