Paramount Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Jamie Lynn Spears, who played Zoey in the hugely popular Nickelodeon dramedy “Zoey 101” (2005-2008), headlines “Zoey 102,” a one-off Paramount+ movie (paramountplus.qflm.net/9WG5D0) reuniting many of the series original stars including Sean Flynn (Chase Matthews), Christopher Massey (Michael Barret), Matthew Underwood (Logan Reese) and Erin Sanders (Quinn Pensky). “This [movie] would not have existed without her,” “Zoey 102” director Nancy Hower told The Post about Spears.

Critics loathed the last movie iterations of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise from 2014 and 2016, respectively: a live-action revamp seven years after the previous 2007 animated film. Now after another seven years, Paramount reboots “TMNT” by going back to animation with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Nurtles: Mutant Mayhem,” in theaters next month.

When you look at the current year of massive hit films, with “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” being the biggest film of 2023 thus far and “Barbie” scoring the biggest opening weekend of the year, it’s starting to seem as if there’s quite a bit of nostalgia going around.

shredded the Sheridan-created show in a near-lethal takedown, where she calls out the series as “an unabashed work of military propaganda that positions the United States Armed Forces as the ‘strong’ who ‘protect the weak.'”Described by Paramount+ as being “inspired by an actual US Military program,” the show follows Joe (Zoë Saldaña) through her work and private life as “the tip of the CIA’s spear in the war on terror.” The series boasts boldfacers like Nicole Kidman (who executive produced as well) and Morgan Freeman. It offers a fictionalized account of a group of female fighters who worked to root out women terrorists at the height of the War on Terror, after 9/11.

inspiration for Paramount’s forthcoming action thriller “Special Ops: Lioness,” which debuts Sunday and stars Zoe Saldaña, 45, alongside Oscar winners Nicole Kidman, 56, and Morgan Freeman, 86. The eight-part series — a brainchild of Taylor Sheridan, the visionary behind “Yellowstone” and “Sons of Anarchy” — follows the journey of a young Marine named Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveria, 31, of Netflix’s “Locke & Key”).She’s recruited by the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to befriend the daughter of a terrorist group leader in an effort to ravage the criminal organization. Saldaña, who plays “Joe,” the station chief charged with readying new recruits for undercover operations, explains the significance of the niche program to De Oliveira’s “Manuelos” in the first episode, noting the evolution of their task force’s duties over the past two decades. “When the Lioness team was first formed we needed female soldiers to frisk and interrogate female insurgents,” she says. “What we do now is locate the wives and the girlfriends and daughters of these high value targets and we place an operative close to them,” continues Joe.

The FBI: Inside the World’s Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency,” says, “Under Hoover, the Bureau created this image of this invincible agency…They did this through the media, through radio shows, TV shows, movies that they controlled.”These days, the FBI is more subtle, quietly working behind the scenes to offer advice to keep movies and TV on the straight and narrow. Enter Anne Beagan.For a decade Special Agent Beagan held the little-known title, “Entertainment Industry Liaison,” perpetuating Hoover’s tradition of making certain the Bureau was portrayed accurately, and looked good on screen.“Hollywood’s mission is to tell stories that captivate, enthrall, seduce, entertain and educate,” Beagan told The Post. “FBI investigations naturally contain all of those elements.

$2.3 billion “Avatar: The Way of Water” raked in last Christmas — movie theaters are back to being an armory of high-profile bombs. This weekend, wobbly Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” dropped a staggering 73% in its second week to a worldwide total of just $210 million. A more-than-50% decline for an expensive DC Comics superhero film spells trouble.Consider that fellow Justice League member “Aquaman” made $229 million by his second weekend in the US and Canada alone.Pixar’s uninspired “Elemental,” released June 16 and so far having grossed $121 million, will wind up as one of the Disney-owned animation studio’s biggest failures ever.

the Hollywood Reporter and also revealed that HBO passed on landing the hit show.“Look, it just feels so Middle America,” an HBO exec said, according to Sheridan. “We’re HBO, we’re avant-garde, we’re trendsetters. This feels like a step backward.

Frasier reboot “may even be funnier” than the original.Back in 2021, Grammer confirmed that the American sitcom was being revived on Paramount+, in which he is returning in the title role of psychiatrist Frasier Crane.The show originally ran for 11 seasons between 1993 and 2004 after being created as a spin-off for hit ’80s series Cheers.The reboot, however, will not feature David Hyde Pierce, who played Frasier’s brother Niles, or the late John Mahoney, who played his father Martin. New castings include Only Fools and Horses actor Nicholas Lyndhurst, and Jack Cutmore-Scott, who will play Frasier’s adult son, Frederick.Speaking about what to expect from the reboot in a new interview with The Independent, Grammer suggested that the brand new dynamics could result in a show that “may even be funnier” than the original.“An entire [US] audience is gonna suddenly know who this guy is, who hasn’t known before,” Grammer said of Lyndhurst, who he described as “arguably one of the great actors of the UK” and a “great friend” of his.“So there’s a lot of positive energy around the casting of it.”Speaking about Cutmore-Scott, Grammar recalled: “At first, you cast these people, you’ve never seen them before.

the Hollywood Reporter. “It’s so hot and combustible right now.”Bentley was referring to his role as as Jamie Dutton, the more political-minded attorney general son of family patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner), who has various dramas on the show, along with his siblings Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Beth (Kelly Reilly). However, he could have just as easily been referencing all the behind the scenes drama. Creator Taylor Sheridan, 53, and Costner, 68, have a rumored feud that’s been ongoing. Amid Costner’s surprise divorce, there were allegations that he refused to spend more than one week filming the second half of Season 5 — a claim that Costner’s attorney denied. A different source claimed that Sheridan was to blame for the friction, stating that the showrunner developed a “God complex” as his star rose. “Only Taylor truly knows what is going on,” a source told The Post. “Taylor spent years not being truly appreciated in Hollywood, and now that he’s the top of the heap, there’s definitely some ego to all of this.”A article in the Wall Street Journal detailed Sheridan’s “ridiculous spending,” which includes renting his own cattle to Paramount at $25 a head, and charging up to $50,000 a week for the show to film on ranches that he owns. He also reportedly insists on using his preferred farrier to make the horseshoes, and had the specialist flown out to Montana from Texas in order to get the job done. “Are you kidding me? We can’t find a local person?” wrote David Glasser, the head of 101 Studios, in an email to staff. Bentley did not directly address all these rumors, but he did say about the show’s end, “You just never know.

a lawsuit over a nude scene in “Romeo and Juliet,” finding the 1968 film is protected under the First Amendment.Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting — both 72 and the titular stars of the Franco Zeffirelli flick — claimed they were coerced into performing nude in the film’s bedroom scene while minors.They accused Paramount Pictures of sexual exploitation and distribution of nude imagery of children in their December suit, which sought more than $500 million in alleged damages.Judge Alison Mackenzie granted Paramount’s motion to strike the lawsuit Thursday.Mackenzie rejected Hussey and Whiting’s argument that the nude scene could be considered “child pornography.” The judge also found the pair did not comply with a 2020 California law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits.According to court documents obtained by The Post, Mackenzie wrote there was no evidence the film included “sufficiently sexually suggestive as a matter of law to be held to be conclusively illegal.” Paramount requested to dismiss the suit under the state’s anti-SLAPP statute, which allows defendants to move to strike supposedly meritless complaints that could undermine free speech.Solomon Gresen, an attorney for Hussey and Whiting, said he plans to appeal the decision.“I was angry,” Gresen told The Post on Friday. “I think that the anti-female bias in this country is real, and it’s something that I have dedicated my career to trying to right the wrongs.”He added: “It’s abusive to take images of naked children.

Martin Scorsese film Killers Of The Flower Moon has been released. Check it out above.The footage provides fans with a first glimpse at the film, which will be the latest from Goodfellas director, Martin Scorsese.Released today (May 18), the clip features narration from leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio. “Can you find the wolves in this picture?” he repeats at the end of the increasingly intense footage.Acting legend Robert De Niro is also featured briefly throughout the new teaser, as well as Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons.As per a press release, the film is described as an “epic western crime saga” and is based on the best-selling book of the same name, first released by David Grann in 2017.

Social Security Administration, the “fastest rising” boys’ names heading into 2023 were “Dutton” and “Kayce” — inspired by the Paramount Network series “Yellowstone.”In the show, Dutton is the surname of the fictional family who owns the Yellowstone ranch in Montana. The blockbuster series depicts the generations of Duttons living on the land since the 1800s and their battles to keep the ranch.Kevin Costner plays John Dutton, the patriarch of the family and the sixth generation to run the ranch, and Luke Grimes plays his son, Kayce Dutton.It’s not uncommon for pop culture to influence popular baby names, with parenting website Nameberry predicting the top 23 baby names of 2023 would be influenced by celebrities like Billie Eilish, Dolly Parton and Scarlett Johansson.The SSA has been compiling baby name lists since 1997.“Just like your name, Social Security is with you from day one.

clip on ET. This applies to the various factions of the Dutton ranching family on the hit Paramount show — which consists of patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his adult kids, Kayce (Grimes), Jamie (Wes Bentley), Beth (Kelly Reilly) and John’s son-in-law, Rip (Cole Hauser). But it might also relate to the reportedly behind-the-scenes drama between Costner, 68, and showrunner Taylor Sheridan, 52. For the past few months, rumors have flown about a feud between the showrunner and star. Initially, it was reported that Costner refused to be on-set for long while filming the second half of Season 5, which caused uncertainty about when filming would resume.

comes to an end this fall with the second half of Season 5, a new report has revealed creator Taylor Sheridan’s rip-roaring spending habits on the set of the mega-popular TV show have caused “internal frustration.”  A story in the Wall Street Journal said Paramount and 101 Studios pay Sheridan, 52, tens of thousands of dollars a week on top of what he’s paid to write, direct and produce his series — to use his various companies and services, including a “Cowboy Camp” to train actors. He rents cattle to Paramount at $25 a head, and he charges up to $50,000 a week for the show to film on ranches that he owns. Sheridan also billed the studio $3,000 to pay a wrangler in Texas, 1,600 miles away from set, who was looking after his own horses. Some of his exorbitant costs are a result of personal taste. For instance, he insists on using his preferred farrier to make the drama’s horseshoes, and had the specialist flown out to Montana from Texas for four nights to do the job, flummoxing executives at 101 Studios.“Are you kidding me? We can’t find a local person?” wrote David Glasser, the head of 101 Studios, in an email to staff. According to the Journal, Paramount and 101 are increasingly bothered by the powerful showrunner’s enormous expenses.Episodes of the “Yellowstone” prequel “1923” can cost up to $22 million each to produce, according to the report.

Paramount announced that “Yellowstone” will end with the second half of Season 5, which will premiere in November. This news comes amid rumors flying of a feud between creator Taylor Sheridan, 52, and star Kevin Costner, 68, who was apparently “stunned” by his wife filing for divorce.However, that’s not all. Right after the ending of “Yellowstone” premieres, there will be a “sequel series.” The network has not yet revealed the title, cast or plot details of the “sequel series,” but it will premiere in December, immediately following the ending of “Yellowstone.” It’s likely that “Yellowstone” stars such as Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser will be in it, and it’s probable that this is the “Yellowstone” show that will star Matthew McConaughey.

The rumors may just be true: Kevin Costner won’t be returning to “Yellowstone,” according to a new report.Sources close to the production of the show told Entertainment Tonight that Costner, 68, won’t return after Season 5.The outlet also reported that there is still no update on when the cast and crew will finish filming the remainder of Season 5’s episodes and return to Montana, where the series is filmed — leading to confusion and frustration with actors on the show, which also stars Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille and Gil Birmingham.The Post has reached out to reps for Costner and Paramount for comment.Reports of Costner’s exit come amid alleged behind-the-scenes drama between the actor and series co-creator Taylor Sheridan, 52.Deadline reported in February that Costner had disagreements over shooting schedules, allotting himself 65 days to shoot the first part of the series’ current fifth season — but only wanted to shoot for 50 days.When it came time to shoot the second part of the season, Costner reportedly only wanted to spend one single week filming, causing tensions with the cast and crew.However, a Paramount spokesperson shut down the rumors and told The Post, “We have no news to report.

After the release of “Bumblebee” there had been suggestions that Paramount Pictures would be move past the established Michael Bay “Transformers” films to more traditional designs of the Autobots/Decepticons. Enter “Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts,” directed by Steven Caple Jr.

Paramount+, several ex-girlfriends and former staffers spill new secrets about the royal family, ahead of the May 6 coronation. Allan Peters, a former royal protection officer who worked with the family for nine years, appears in the documentary to share his perspective on Charles and Diana’s marriage, which lasted from 1981 until the famously unhappy pair separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. “I can categorically say that the first person who strayed in the marriage was the Princess of Wales,” Peters revealed.“[Charles] didn’t, until after he knew she had strayed. I’m speaking now about all this because I’ve said nothing for 40 years, and I’ve just listened to lies, silly stories, and it’s quite frustrating.

Rihanna has confirmed that she will be voicing Smurfette in an upcoming animated Smurfs movie for Paramount.Paramount and Rihanna confirmed the news on Thursday (April 27) at CinemaCon, where the singer made a surprise appearance. Rihanna also revealed that besides voicing Smurfette, she will also be writing and recording original music for the film.Rihanna will also serve as a producer on the film, which is set to arrive in cinemas on Valentine’s Day in 2025.

Jodie Turner-Smith, is a big fan of seeing him have sex on-screen. And it looks like the British model-actress will get her fill when hubby’s latest project, the erotic thriller series “Fatal Attraction,” debuts April 30 on Paramount+.The show, based on the 1987 film starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas, follows an affair that threatens the lives of a cheating man (Jackson) and his wife (Amanda Peet). “Jodie is not fussed about my sex scenes.

CinemaCon has had its share of big news coming out the event this week. One of the biggest?  Paramount has its “Transformers” franchise back in gear, with “Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts” in theaters on June 9.

After the release of “Bumblebee” there had been suggestions that Paramount Pictures would be move past the established Michael Bay “Transformers” films to more traditional designs of the Autobots/Decepticons. Enter “Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts,” directed by Steven Caple Jr.

The Post exclusively reported that “Yellowstone” will end after five seasons. This comes amidst rumored tension between Sheridan, 52, and Costner, 68. On Friday, a source told the Daily Mail that Sheridan developed a “God complex” on the set of his hit Paramount Network show. The source alleged that Costner, who is also an executive producer on the show, felt dismissed when he raised concerns about the direction that the story was taking — and that he was told to “stick to acting.” However, “Kevin will forever be proud of and grateful for ‘Yellowstone’ and the cast is like family to him,” the source told the outlet. “He just felt like ‘Yellowstone’ is headed in a direction that was not in line with their initial vision, and he was met with criticism, including that he should just stick to acting.”No date has been set yet for when filming will begin for the second half of the final season. The ranching family drama, which follows John Dutton (Costner, who won a Golden Globe for the role) and his adult kids, including Beth (Kelly Reilly), Kayce (Luke Grimes), Jamie (Wes Bentley) and the late Lee (David Annable), has been a smash hit. Sheridan’s breakout hit has spawned several spinoff shows, including “1883” starring Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill; “1923” starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren; the upcoming “6666;” and yet another spinoff, whose title has yet to be announced, starring Matthew McConaughey.

TheWrap about her work on the “Yellowstone” spinoff.“I had to be in the bed with him, you know. I’m dressed up to here,” she said, pointing to her neck during the outlet’s Q&A session about the show. “But I’m lying there and I’m thinking, ‘I’m in bed with Harrison Ford.’ I was so excited, I can’t tell you.

“Yellowstone” will end after the second half of its fifth season — reportedly amidst tension between star Kevin Costner and series co-creator Taylor Sheridan for reasons vaguely hinted at in various press reports.The issue here is not so much that “Yellowstone” will call it quits — every show runs its course, eventually, and it’s always best to go out on top.But it’s the Shakespearean fashion in which this drama is playing itself out, both offscreen and in front of the cameras. Not one single frame has yet to be shot for the series’ swan song, and that’s a shame. “Yellowstone” fans, who’ve embraced John Dutton (Costner) et al.

hit by claims that Costner, who plays powerful Montana patriarch John Dutton and won a Golden Globe for his work, won’t return amid a dispute with creator Taylor Sheridan.“It’s the same as with any show runner and big star — there’s respect, but there’s friction,” a well-placed production source told The Post.Meanwhile, a highly-placed Hollywood source who has worked with Sheridan confirmed there is an element of ego at play — but that it’s not necessarily Costner’s: “Taylor is the star of his show. He’s the most important person on all of his shows.”Some 12.1 million fans watched the November 2022 premiere of the first half of Season 5, which ended in January, and they are now in a tense wait for the second chapter to drop on Peacock.But production has not even been slated yet, and there is a Hollywood writers strike looming.

future on the hit Paramount series, his co-star Dawn Olivieri may have just fueled the drama. When asked by the Daily Mail about the rumors of Costner, 68, leaving the show, Olivieri, 42, responded: “Sometimes we have to own the fact that nothing is forever, and impermanence is the single thing we can count on, and that life is like that.”Costner and series co-creator Taylor Sheridan, 52, have allegedly butted heads behind the scenes, resulting in reports that the “Silverado” star may soon leave “Yellowstone.” Filming of the second half of Season 5 has reportedly been delayed in the meantime.The Post has contacted reps for Costner, Sheridan and Paramount for comment.A Paramount spokesperson told The Post in February, “We have no news to report.

Paul Feig already has one intriguing upcoming comedy with “Grand Death Lotto,” starring John Cena, Awkwafina, and Simu Liu — now it’s time to add another to the list. Deadline reports that Feig is set to direct an upcoming spy comedy over at Paramount, with Sebastian Stan and Maria Bakalova to star.   READ MORE: ‘Grand Death Lotto’: John Cena, Awkwafina & Simu Liu To Star In Paul Feig’s Upcoming Action-Comedy On Prime Video Exact plot details are under wraps, but “Welcome To Flatch” writer Jenny Bicks pens the script, and its pitch is about a failed double agent who somehow becomes an unlikely success.

recent podcast interview on “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard.” “The last few years I had a really wonderful time getting rid of a lot of those filters that come with acting.” His last role was in Guy Ritchie’s 2019 movie “The Gentlemen,” co-starring Hugh Grant, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, and Jeremy Strong. Since then, he’s been a voice actor on a few series, such as “Agent Elvis” on Netflix, but he focused on releasing his 2020 memoir, “Greenlights.”But, he’ll return to the screen in the “Yellowstone” spinoff.

Kevin Costner’s neo-Western drama Yellowstone has quietly become one of the world’s most popular shows.Created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, the series follows the Dutton family, owners of the Yellowstone Dutton ranch, and the conflicts they face from groups along their shared borders – including an Indian reservation, a cattle ranch and land developers.Alongside Costner as John Dutton III, the show’s cast includes Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Jefferson White and Danny Huston.At the time of writing, the show has broadcast 47 episodes in total. Yellowstone is currently in its fifth season which has been split into two parts, with the remaining six episodes set to air later in 2023.Yellowstone’s first season consists of nine episodes, while seasons two, three and four all have ten.

South Park takes aim at Andrew Tate in the show’s season 26 finale.Tate, a former professional kickboxer who amassed millions of followers on social media through misogynistic content, is under arrest in Romania over allegations of human trafficking and forming an organised crime group. He has denied the allegations.In South Park episode Spring Break, Tate is depicted as “toxic masculinity coach” character Alonzo Fineski who is revealed to be a wanted sex trafficker.Tate responded to the depiction on Twitter, writing: “When I will be proven innocent, I look forward to help create the greatest South Park episode of all time.”All episodes in season 26 are available in the UK on Paramount+, which can be streamed through Amazon Prime Video.

“Yellowstone” after all.Paramount network exec Keith Cox appeared at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for PaleyFest over the weekend and gave some insight into the fate of Costner’s character, John Dutton.Cox’s speech came amid much chatter about whether the “Dances with Wolves” star, 68, will return to the western drama.“What I can say is our star, the face of our show, and executive producer, are very confident he is going to continue with our show,” Cox said at the event, according to Insider.Paramount’s president of development and production went on to note that the show will be filming the next season “soon.”The Season 5 midseason finale aired on Jan.

Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies has been praised in early reviews, albeit with some caveats.The musical comedy series serves as a prequel to the 1978 classic Grease, taking place four years prior in 1954 to tell the origin story of the Pink Ladies girl gang.According to a synopsis, the show “follows four fed-up and misfit students who band together to bring out the moral panic that will change Rydell High forever and become the founding mothers of the first high school clique known as the Pink Ladies”.Ahead of the show’s UK premiere on Paramount+ on April 7, critics have released reviews of the show’s first four episodes which paint an encouraging picture.Entertainment Weekly, who awarded the show a B- rating, described the show as “uneven” but “when Rise Of The Pink Ladies leans in to this vision of the protagonists as equal-rights innovators, it sings”. It adds that these highlights are “too often muffled by a surplus of mostly forgettable music, overly long episodes, and lukewarm central love stories”.ScreenRant particularly praised the show’s cast and said the series “offers plenty of enjoyment” even if it doesn’t justify its existence: “Regardless of whether this is a show that needed to be made, Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies is an entertaining trip into Rydell’s past, and one that deserves some credit for facing thorny topics head on.”In a C+ review, Consequence was slightly more critical, saying that it suffers from being connected to the Grease IP.

Rumors began to swirl in February that Apple and Martin Scorsese eyed a 2023 Cannes Film Festival world premiere for Scorsese’s latest, “Killers Of The Flower Moon.” Now those rumors are official: Deadline confirms that “Flower Moon” indeed gets to stride down the Croisette for a premiere screening on May 20, in the Grand Théâtre Lumière, as part of festival. READ MORE: Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ Gets An October Release Date It’s not clear right now if “Flower Moon” will be in competition or not for the coveted Palme d’Or, Cannes’ top prize; the festival will clarify that at their mid-April press conference.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles graphic novel The Last Ronin is being turned into a video game.Speaking to Polygon, Paramount Global’s senior vice president for games and emerging media, Doug Rosen, revealed that a third-person action role-playing game (ARPG) adaptation of The Last Ronin is in the works at an unrevealed studio.Rosen shared that the game is a “few years off” from launching, and likened the upcoming single-player game to Sony Santa Monica‘s God Of War series.The Last Ronin is one of the darker Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories. Set in the distant future, The Last Ronin followed Michelangelo — the lone surviving Ninja Turtle, after his brothers and mentor Master Splinter were killed by Foot Clan.The premise is much darker than last year’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge; as Michelangelo attempts to murder the Oroku bloodline while haunted by hallucinations of his deceased siblings.Rosen shared that although other characters could still be playable in flashback sequences, the main action would stick to Michelangelo in the game’s present.Looking ahead, Rosen teased that more information about The Last Ronin and other TMNT games would be shared in the next few months and years.It’s a good time to be a TMNT fan, with the likes of The Cowabunga Collection and Shredder’s Revenge launching in 2022.Since its release last June, Shredder’s Revenge has been hugely successful for developer Tribute Games.