‘Squid Game’ Star Hoyeon Joins Michael Fassbender & Alicia Vikander In Korean Thriller ‘Hope’

Emanuel Okusanya The fast-rising Afropop singer Ayra Starr says she always knew she was destined for greatness. It didn’t take long: She’d signed with the major African label Mavin, racked up hundreds of millions of streams, headlined a U.K. tour and gotten cosigns from many of her idols, all before her 21st birthday this coming June. After her debut single “Away” shot her to stardom in her native Nigeria, her hit single “Rush” has surpassed 100 million streams on both Spotify and YouTube, and she just dropped a tag-team single with labelmate DJ Big N and singer Oxlade called “How Many Times.” It all began simply enough: She’d been singing with her brother for most of her life, and one day when she was 18, “I posted a video — it was the first original song I posted online,” she recalls, “and the next day my executive producer called me and invited me to the studio. Literally three days later I was signed.” The label in question is Mavin Records, the powerhouse Nigeria-based company that launched the global careers of industry icons such as Tiwa Savage, Don Jazzy, Rema and others. Her career vaulted to the next level with “Bloody Samaritan” — an R&B banger that took off in the U.K. and caught the attention of Kelly Rowland, who later joined the remix and became a mentor to Starr. 

Seeing Kristen Stewart bounce between the acclaimed Princess Diana drama “Spencer,” which landed her a Best Actress Oscar nomination to David Cronenberg’s sci-fi thriller “Crimes of The Future” sure has been an interesting ride. However, it looks like the actress has found another promising project for her dance card and, oddly enough, will allow her to flex her comedic chops, harkening back to the days of 2009’s “Adventureland.” READ MORE: Kristen Stewart Will Play Susan Sontag In Kirsten Johnson’s Upcoming Meta Documentary, Which Starts Filming At Berlin 2023 Deadline reports that Stewart is joining the cast of the road-trip comedy “Sacramento,” which will be directed and co-written by Michael Angarano.

EXCLUSIVE: Hyde Park has a big package here heading into the Cannes Market: The feature take of Kevin Barry’s New York Times Top 10 Book of the Year, Night Boat to Tangier starring Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Negga. The Ashok Amritraj studio will be presenting the James Marsh-directed project to global buyers at the Cannes Marche Du Film next month, with the Oscar-winning filmmaker and Fassbender in tow. Barry is adapting the screenplay from his novel.

Jung Chae-yul, the South Korean actor who pivoted from modeling in 2016 to take part in reality series Devil’s Runway before finding greater success in the South Korean comedy Zombie Detective, was found dead at her home Tuesday. She was 26.

EXCLUSIVE: Kristen Stewart (Spencer) is joining Michael Angarano (This Is Us), Michael Cera (Juno) and Maya Erskine (Pen15) in road-trip comedy Sacramento.

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off the conclusion of Amazon’s long-running sci-fi series The Expanse, actor Wes Chatham is heading back to space as the latest addition to Disney+’s live-action Ahsoka series.

Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd first charmed audiences with their onscreen romance as protagonists Cher and Josh, Silverstone is back with some behind-the-screen secrets. The insights, revealed by  in a preview to Wednesday's podcast, included whether it was true or false that Rudd is a good kisser. «True,» Silverstone said, and then added, «You didn't ask me if it was an on-set kiss or an off-set kiss.» Silverstone didn't add any more details to that particular revelation, but did go on to recall another one of her first on-screen kisses. «The cutest story ever is when I was 15 and I did my first movie,  with Cary Elwes and we kissed on set and then I thought he was my boyfriend,» Silverstone said. «So I went to his trailer and I was like ‘Was that OK?' and he was like, ‘Yes it was OK, it was nice.' And I just thought in my head like, ‘OK, you're mine now.'»Silverstone also detailed how her experiences on set as a teen shaped her as an adult, adding that she prioritizes «fun, trust, and respect» at the center of her friendships.«And when the trust and respect starts to come down, they don't have to be blocked, they just don't hold that key to your heart, they just don't hold that inner circle,» she said.

By the sounds of it, fans shouldn’t expect to see Eva Mendes on the red carpet at the premiere for Barbie even though it stars her long-term love Ryan Gosling.

EXCLUSIVE: Rob Corddry is set as a lead opposite Terry Crews and Ryan Michelle Bathé in JumpStart, CBS’ multi-camera comedy pilot based on Robb Armstrong’s long-running comic strip, from Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Wendi Trilling’s TrillTV and CBS Studios. He rounds out the series regular cast of the pilot, which Glynn Turman has joined as a guest star in a recurring role.

Michaela Zee editor Hoyeon and Donald Glover were among the honorees at the inaugural GQ Global Creativity Awards on Thursday at the WSA, a new cultural center in downtown Manhattan. Hosted by musical artist Ian Isiah, the black tie gala spotlighted several multidisciplinary creatives that encompass such industries as fashion, film, television, music, tech and design. The inaugural class of honorees included Glover, Hoyeon, Apple CEO Tim Cook, fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, singer-songwriter Karol G, architect Gaetano Pesce, fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner, skateboarder Tyshawn Jones and filmmaker William Strobek.

So many stars were in attendance to help GQ celebrate at the magazine’s inaugural Global Creativity Awards!

EXCLUSIVE: Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day), Carmen Ejogo (True Detective) and Kevin Pollak (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) have joined Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis in comedy Goodrich, which began filming in LA this week.

Hoyeon Jung is speaking out about her life today.

EXCLUSIVE: Cameron Britton is the latest name we can reveal to be attached to director Na Hong-Jin’s Korean thriller Hope.

EXCLUSIVE: Waves and Bones And All star Taylor Russell has been cast in buzzy Korean thriller Hope, alongside Squid Game breakout Hoyeon, Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.

EXCLUSIVE: MGM+ continues to round out the lead cast for Hotel Cocaine, adding Mark Feuerstein as a series regular opposite Danny Pino. In addition to Pino, Feuerstein joins previously announced Michael Chiklis and Yul Vazquez in the streamer’s upcoming crime thriller from creator Chris Brancato.

Britney Spears‘ husband Sam Asghari landed his next acting role, and it’s a big one!

UPDATE, 8:55 am: Paramount+ has released the official trailer for Fatal Attraction, its series reimagining of the classic 1980s psychosexual thriller film.

Brian Michael Smith is opening up about his transgender journey, in honor of Trans Visibility Week.

Squid Game‘s breakout star Jung Ho-yeon has been cast in the upcoming Korean thriller film Hope, by director Na Hong-Jin (The Wailing).Jung’s role as a policewoman in the new movie will be her first starring role since her breakout appearance in Squid Game. She will join Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender (2013’s 12 Years a Slave) and Oscar winner Alicia Vikander (2016’s The Danish Girl), who are also husband and wife, in the star-studded cast.“Everything about Ho-yeon aligned with what I envisioned for Sung-Ae,” said Na, per Deadline.