Will Ferrell Had ‘Zero Knowledge’ About the Trans Community. Then His Best Friend of 30 Years Came Out: ‘This Was All New Territory for Me’

We are a little late posting this trailer, but have a look as we have just added it to The Hollywood News Videos. Will Ferrell, Tina Fey and Brad Pitt lend their voices to this new animation from Dreamworks — the guys that brought us Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda.

Illumination’s “Despicable Me” franchise has grossed a total of more than $4.4 billion worldwide, and given the brand is the biggest global animated franchise in history, you can bet everyone wants more. So, today, Illumination and Universal revealed the first trailer for “Despicable Me 4,” the first film in the franchise in seven years (not counting “Minions” spin-offs and whatnot).

Valerie Wu Intern Gru and the Minions are back, as Universal and Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4” has released its first trailer. The film, which hits theaters on July 3, 2024, continues the popular animated franchise, which follows the reformed supervillain Gru (Steve Carrell) trying to do good and finding family while he’s at it. Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Chris Renaud, Dana Gaier, Pierre Coffin also return for the fourth installment.

EXCLUSIVE: In a deal that when closed will be worth $15 million, Warner Bros Discovery has emerged as frontrunner to land the Sundance buzz title documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, sources said. The inspirational film is about the late actor best known for playing the Man of Steel. Docu’s focus is on how he found strength and purpose through activism after he was paralyzed in an equestrian accident. I believe that puts the film in precedent setting territory for a docu launched at Sundance. Numerous bidders have been in the mix, but I hear it’s likely to land at the home of the Superman film franchise.

Addie Morfoot Contributor The 40th edition of Sundance proved that despite corporate consolidation, there is still a market for independently made documentaries. While there haven’t been many sales so far, there has been strong buyer interest in two celeb-focused docs — “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” and “Will & Harper,” featuring Will Ferrell — and healthy interest in others. “The market didn’t have a pulse six months ago,” says Submarine Entertainment sales agent Josh Braun, who came to the festival with nine documentaries seeking distribution, including “Daughters,” “Gaucho Gaucho” and “Union.” “So there was a reason to be a little bit fearful coming into Sundance.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sofia Vergara is taking on her most dramatic role yet in Netflix’s “Griselda,” in which she plays infamous Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco. The show marks a rare opportunity for Vergara to flex her dramatic acting muscles as her career has largely been defined by comedy projects, from playing Gloria Pritchett on ABC’s “Modern Family” (which ran for 11 seasons and garnered Vergara four Emmy nominations) to films like 2015’s “Hot Pursuit” with Reese Witherspoon. “I’m always looking for characters because there’s not much that I can play with this stupid accent,” Vergara recently told the Los Angeles Times, poking fun at herself.

The premise of the documentary “Will & Harper” is so simple that it almost seems presentational, self-serving, or stunt-y. The idea is, after 30 years of friendship, comedian Will Ferrell learns, through a personal email, that an old friend and former “Saturday Night Live” writer, then Adam Steele (yes, the dead name is used at first), is coming out as a trans woman.

Will Ferrell has received praise for his support of the transgender community ahead of the premiere of the new documentary Will & Harper.The film explores the friendship between Ferrell and Harper Steele, a former Saturday Night Live writer, who came out as transgender in 2022. The film received its first official screening at the Sundance Film Festival this week.In a video clip with Variety that has gone viral, Ferrell says: “It was three summers ago in which Harper emailed a lot of her close friends with the headline: ‘Here’s a Weird One’.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Will Ferrell has some pretty cool friends. That shouldn’t come as any kind of surprise to his fans.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Unlike Cannes and Venice, Sundance isn’t a film festival that inspires too many standing ovations. But moviegoers at the Eccles Theatre were moved (more than once!) to stand up and applaud after the premiere of “Will & Harper,” a funny, heartbreaking and poignant documentary about Will Ferrell taking a road trip with his longtime friend, Harper Steele, who transitioned at 61.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sofia Coppola continues to shed light on her unrealized adaptation of Edith Wharton’s “The Custom of the Country,” which she was developing as a five-episode series for Apple TV+. In a new interview with the New Yorker, it’s revealed for the first time that Coppola had cast Oscar nominee Florence Pugh to star in the lead role of Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl who attempts to ascend in New York City society. News broke in May 2020 that Sofia Coppola was partnering with Apple TV+ on “The Custom of the Country.” By the end of 2021, the project was killed.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Emma Stone‘s quest to compete on “Jeopardy!” got a promising update courtesy of the game show’s host Ken Jennings, who said during an interview on “Live With Kelly and Mark” that the “La La Land” Oscar winner would be welcomed on the game show “in a heartbeat.” Now it’s your move, Stone. During an appearance on Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast earlier this month, Stone went viral for revealing she is a “Jeopardy!” junkie and applies to be a contestant on the game show every year. “I apply every June,” Stone said.

Will Ferrell revealed Sunday that he had “zero knowledge” of the trans experience until his close friend of 30 years Harper Steele came out to him in 2022.“I know I’ve met trans people before,” Ferrell, 56, told Variety in a clip posted to the outlet’s social media. “I didn’t have anyone personally in my life.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Pauly Shore is responding to Richard Simmons after the fitness icon disavowed the upcoming biopic in which Shore is set to play him. Shore stopped by the Variety Studio presented by Audible while at the Sundance Film Festival and said his Simmons movie is “all about love,” with or without the real Simmons’ blessing. “My come from has always been love,” Shore said.

William Earl Variety is returning to the Sundance Film Festival this year with its annual Interview Studio, presented by Audible, the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling. Throughout the festival, videos from the interview studio will be distributed across Variety.com as well as Variety and Audible’s social media channels (Instagram: @audible, @Variety; Twitter: @audible_com, @Variety; TikTok: @audible, @VarietyMagazine).

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Nicole Kidman revealed on the “Radio Times Podcast” (via Business Insider) that she was once told she would never have a career in Hollywood because of her height. Long before she became a star in the U.S. and an Oscar winner for “The Hours,” Kidman was an aspiring actor in Australia and said her height was often challenged during auditions as a teen.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Paul Mescal is already an Oscar-nominated actor with a diehard fanbase thanks to his roles in “Normal People,” “Aftersun,” “All of Us Strangers” and more, but his fame is surely going to explode this fall when Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator 2” opens in theaters. Mescal is headlining the sequel opposite a heavyweight supporting cast that includes Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington. The original “Gladiator” made Russell Crowe one of the world’s most famous actors and won him the Oscar for best actor.

When the Oscar shortlist of feature documentaries was announced in December, it was dominated by films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival – films like Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, The Eternal Memory, Beyond Utopia and A Still Small Voice. 

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Taylor Swift is not the mysterious author behind the “Argylle” book that served as the inspiration for Apple’s upcoming spy thriller from director Matthew Vaughn. Conspiracy theories have circulated on social media for months alleging Swift is the author “Elly Conway,” a pseudonym for the writer whose manuscript was apparently so astonishing that it led to a reported $200 million deal for the film rights. Screenwriter Jason Fuchs adapted Conway’s book into Vaughn’s movie.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Matthew Perry received an emotional tribute during the 2023 Emmys In Memoriam segment, which also included late stars such as Len Goodman, Andre Braugher, Lance Reddick, Paul Reubens, Barbra Walters, Kirstie Alley and more. Pop singer Charlie Puth and singer-songwriter duo The War and Treaty performed during the segment, first starting with a rendition of Puth’s “See You Again” before delivering a stripped-down cover of the “Friends” theme song (“I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts). Perry died unexpectedly on Oct.