‘The Phantom Menace’ at 25: A Lover, Hater and Newcomer Debate Jar Jar Binks, Podraces, Droids and Darth Maul

Cynthia Nixon is opening up about And Just Like That.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Recently crowned Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph has joined the cast of A24‘s upcoming romantic comedy “Eternity,” Variety has learned exclusively. Directed by David Freyne, the film also stars Miles Teller (“Top Gun: Maverick”), Elizabeth Olsen (“WandaVision”), and Callum Turner (“Masters of the Air”). This project marks Randolph’s first feature film with A24.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor As Paramount’s British series “A Gentleman in Moscow” hopes to break into the highly competitive limited series races, the show has submitted for 20 Primetime Emmys, including lead actor for star Ewan McGregor and supporting actress for Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The eight-episode series follows an aristocrat, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, who spends decades banished to an attic hotel room following the October Revolution after being sentenced to house arrest by a Bolshevik tribunal. Based on the 2016 novel by Amor Towles, the series was written by Ben Vanstone, who also serves as the executive producer and showrunner, and whose pilot episode titled “A Master of Circumstance” is submitted for consideration.

The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria is starting his own Bruce Springsteen tribute band, named Hank Azaria & The EZ Street Band.The actor and comedian, known for voicing characters including Moe, Apu and Chief Wiggum, will lead the band for the first time on August 1 at New York City’s Le Poisson Rouge, with all profits going to the Four Through Nine Foundation, a social justice charity. Get tickets for that show here.The band have said they will play a “setlist packed with Springsteen classics and deep cuts, delivered with Azaria’s unique flair and the band’s top-notch musicianship.”Azaria himself has said: “I’ve never worked harder preparing for any role than I did in perfecting a singing vocal impression of Bruce.

Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey have their first “Jurassic World” co-star. THR reports that Rupert Friend is the latest actor cast to star in Gareth Edward‘s upcoming installment.  Friend also joins Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, the only other name on the call sheet, as the film inches closer to its mid-June production start.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Actor Lee Jung-jae will attend the Monte-Carlo Television Festival next month for the French press launch of Lucasfilm’s latest live-action series “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” which streams on Disney+. In the show, Lee plays a Jedi Master. It was his role in the globally successful Netflix series “Squid Game” that first catapulted Lee’s career to an international level.

Ellise Shafer Cate Blanchett‘s new film “Rumours” took its name from the iconic Fleetwood Mac album, it was revealed on Sunday at a Cannes Film Festival press conference. The dark comedy, directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, follows a group of world leaders who meet at the G7 — a political and economic meeting of the minds between Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — but get lost in the woods while trying to compose a joint statement.

Nicolas Cage was having fun as his new psychological thriller, “The Surfer,” scored a six-minute standing ovation at a Cannes Film Festival midnight screening on Friday night. Cage appeared to be having a ball, beaming from ear to ear and waving across the room as cheers erupted around the Palais.

“Young Sheldon,” ended on Thursday night after seven seasons – but, that’s not the end of the line. A third show in that universe is in the works on CBS, called “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.” Premiering in fall 2024 and helmed by Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro, and Steve Holland, the series will follow Sheldon’s brother, George “Georgie” Cooper Jr.(Montana Jordan) as he marries and has a kid with Mandy McAllister (Emily Osment). “Honestly, just as we watched those two actors in the last couple of seasons [of ‘Young Sheldon’] and how much fun they were on screen, it became clear that this could be a fun thing to follow,” Holland told The Post.

Stars in the world of TV brought the glamour to the BAFTAs on Sunday, 12 May, as they celebrated the very best of British television. From Love Islanders such as Amy Hart, Jessie Wynter and Will Young, to EastEnders and Strictly star Bobby Brazier, the celebs were all smiles as they posed up a storm on the red carpet, whilst they basked in the May sunshine.

TV favourites Robert Rinder and Rylan Clark are teaming up for the ultimate Brits abroad trip. The old friends joke that they are "complete opposites" and have very different approaches to travel - but put their differences aside for an epic tour of Europe in a new BBC series.

Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” segment leaned into the brain worm that U.S. presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said got into his head.

Switzerland has won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which took place Saturday evening in Malmo, Sweden.

The official page of the Netherlands' Songfestival, which sends acts to Eurovision Song Contest, has finally broken its silence on Dutch act Joost Klein's disqualification.They revealed that the incident leading to Joost's disqualification involved him being filmed despite his repeated objections.The statement from the Netherlands' Songfestival also mentioned that Dutch radio and television broadcaster AVROTROS found Joost Klein's disqualification "disproportionate". Detailing why Eurovision officials have barred Joost from participating in Saturday's final, the statement read: "An incident occurred after last Thursday's performance.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Mathew Rhys has been an “unabashed” fan of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas for as long as he can remember. He cemented his love of the writer — best known for his poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” — when he portrayed him in the 2008 biopic “The Edge of Love.” “When you tell most English people that you love Dylan Thomas, they go, ‘Grrr,’ because it’s such a cliché,” Rhys says. “But I’m unabashed that I’m a lifer.” He’ll play Thomas once again on May 14 in a one-night only stage reading of “Dear Mr.

Colin Farrell is on a bit of a hot streak in the wake of “The Banshees Of Inisherin” with his recent series “Sugar” and his upcoming MAX spinoff gangster series, “The Penguin,” debuting later in the year.

K.J. Yossman Lionsgate will handle U.S. distribution of eagerly awaited “Greenland” sequel “Greenland: Migration,” Variety can confirm.

Wet — Gala. On the first Monday in May, Hollywood favorites turned out in droves to ascend the museum’s iconic staircase, this year making a splash on the carpet with avant garde wet looks — and a bit of nudity.“Everyone looks wet,” content creator Mandy Lee said in a TikTok video while reviewing looks from the evening.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “The Fall Guy” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.5 million ($4.5 million), according to numbers from Comscore. But the force was strong with Disney’s 25th anniversary rerelease of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” as it debuted in second place with £1.1 million.

After weeks of deliberating over a name, Peter Andre and Emily MacDonagh have finally revealed what their adorable baby girl is called - and it has an emotional meaning. The couple became proud parents again after welcoming their newest child into the world on Tuesday 2 April – a beautiful baby girl weighing 7lb 3oz. Now, they've decided on a name - Arabella Rose Andréa.