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Variety reports: Universal’s “Wicked” has finally been unveiled to members of the film press, who are praising Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. The film’s leads, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, are also earning raves across the board as the musical launches them into Oscar season as acting contenders. Variety’s Katcy Stephen hailed the “Wicked” movie as …

Variety reports: Julia Roberts is the latest Hollywood celebrity to champion Kamala Harris‘ presidential campaign. The Oscar winner is featured as the narrator in a new Harris-Walz campaign video created by the progressive evangelical group Vote Common Good. The ad finds Roberts reminding women that their vote is their choice, regardless of how their husbands or anyone else may be …

Deadline reports: Andrew Lloyd Webber has unveiled his new West End and Broadway musical: a magical romance called The Illusionist, directed by Sunset Boulevard’s Jamie Lloyd. During a private audience at his penthouse office adjacent to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, one of six theatres controlled through his LW Theatres group, the legendary composer of Phantom of the Opera and …

Variety reports: A sea of 20-something boys, with a mix of defined jawlines, hazel eyes and mops of curly hair congregated at New York City’s Washington Square Park on Sunday afternoon to take part in a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest. But in a surprise twist, around 30 minutes after the contest kicked off, the real-life Chalamet made a surprise appearance …

Variety reports: Leonardo DiCaprio has endorsed Kamala Harris for president. In a video posted to Instagram, the Oscar-winning actor discussed the damage of recent hurricanes Helene and Milton, saying “these unnatural disasters were caused by climate change.” “Donald Trump continues to deny the facts. He continues to deny the science. He withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accords …

Variety reports: Bassist Phil Lesh, whose dense, inventive playing powered the Grateful Dead and, following the 1995 death of guitarist Jerry Garcia, many of the San Francisco band’s touring reincarnations, died Friday. He was 84. The news was posted on his official Instagram page with the message “Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Jack Jones, the silky Grammy-winning crooner who had hits with “Lollipops and Roses,” “Wives and Lovers” and “The Impossible Dream” before inviting TV viewers to set a course for adventure on The Love Boat, has died. He was 86. Jones died Wednesday night at Eisenhower Medical in Rancho Mirage, California, after a two-year battle with leukemia, …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Ron Ely, best known for his starring role as Tarzan in the 1960s NBC television series Tarzan, has died, his daughter Kirsten confirmed to TMZ, telling the outlet her father passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family on September 29. He was 86. His daughter shared an emotional tribute to her father on Instagram. “The …

NBC News reports: Liam Payne, the former One Direction singer, had multiple drugs in his system when he fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, several local and international news outlets have reported. An initial toxicology report revealed the British singer, who died aged 31, had drugs in his system at the time of …

Variety reports: A series adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “Carrie” from horror maven Mike Flanagan is in development at Amazon MGM Studios, Variety has learned. The series logline describes it as a “bold and timely reimagining of the story of misfit high-schooler Carrie White, who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother. After her father’s sudden and …

Variety reports: Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” added $679,000 as Disney brought the film back to 1,500 theaters over the weekend, boosting its North American total to $636.3 million. Those ticket sales were enough to ever-so-slightly surpass “Barbie” ($636.238 million) as the 12th highest-grossing release ever at the domestic box office. Greta Gerwig’s plastic, fantastic fantasy-comedy “Barbie” remains significantly bigger at …

Deadline reports: With less than three weeks until Election Day, Willie Nelson is lighting one up for Vice President Kamala Harris. On Saturday, the 15x Grammy winner announced a community Zoom call “emphasizing the importance of cannabis reform in America,” in support of the Democratic nominee and running mate Tim Walz, which he’ll host virtually with wife Annie D’Angelo on …

Agence France-Presse reports: Forty years after its 1984 release, Bronski Beat’s hit “Smalltown Boy” has transcended generations to become an LGBTQ anthem for young and old alike. Bronski Beat’s label London Records knew they had a surefire hit on their hands as soon as they turned to the UK capital’s iconic LGBTQ club Heaven to promote the single. “Suddenly, as …

Variety reports: From corporate suites to studio lots, Hollywood is bracing for a possible Trump return, one that could bring chaos and deepen political divisions in a polarized country. The actors, writers and directors who make most of what Hollywood exports are overwhelmingly supportive of Kamala Harris and view Trump as an existential threat to their freedoms. They speak at …

Variety reports: Mattel, the toy company behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, is developing a feature film about the stereoscopic image device View-Master. The live-action movie will be developed with Sony Pictures and Escape Artists. View-Master has been around since 1939. In a press release, Mattel described the toy as a “popular childhood staple for generations,” one that has “taken its …

Deadline reports: Newsies fans have reason for a little Extra! bounce in their step today: The director, composer, lyricist and cast members of the Broadway musical and 1992 movie adaptation have reunited for a non-partisan get out the vote video that features new performances of updated songs from the show. The project is for Broadway Votes, the theater industry’s largest …

Variety reports: On Thursday, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, unveiled a long-awaited glimpse into the future with models for their new self-driving prototypes: the cybercab and the robovan. Also at the celebration was the new Tesla robot Optimus. However, one person who seemed pretty certain about the origin of these designs was “I, Robot” director Alex Proyas. The …

Variety reports: Ariana Grande appeared at Studio 8H for hosting duties Saturday night and did some spot-on imitations of Britney Spears, Celion Dion and more. The singer, who stars as Glinda in November’s hotly anticipated “Wicked,” expressing excitement in her opening monologue about returning to the famed studio for the show’s 50th season. Recalling her last time hosting, the pop …

Deadline reports: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl executive producer Carla Shelley is promising an emotional comeback for Aardman’s stop motion heroes as they return this winter in feature film format for the first time in nearly 20 years. “I think we’re going to make everybody cry. We’re going to surprise everybody and make you laugh as well. It’s really …

Deadline Hollywood reports: After much pre-release turbulence, The Apprentice today opens on 1,740 screens across the country. Inspiring coming-of-age tales are a Hollywood staple, but most are warm and cozy compared to The Apprentice. In this ‘70s-set Manhattan tale, an ambitious real estate developer looking to crack the big time finds a mentor and role model in a take-no-prisoners lawyer …