Here's the Scoop...

Did you see the teaser trailer for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi?" Did you? DID YOU?

What did you think? Exciting? Amazing? Jedi-rific? Lightsaber-tastic?

I've watched it a few times, but I'm not sure just yet. I must reflect on it.

Drop me a line and let me know what you thought of the 1st teaser trailer for the BRAND-NEW "Star Wars" movie!

Be Well,
Steve

Comments? Questions? Nooz? Email Steve



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Josh Brolin cast as Cable in 'Deadpool 2'
Josh Brolin has landed the role of time-traveling mutant Cable in Deadpool 2.

Brolin earned the role in a surprise move as actor Michael Shannon was reported to be Fox's top choice to portray the X-Men character in March. Stranger Things star David Harbour was also on the studio's shortlist.

Cable is the second Marvel Comics character Brolin will appear as since the 49-year-old already portrayed the villainous Thanos in Disney's Marvel cinematic universe which is separate from Fox's X-Men series of films.

Deadpool star and producer Ryan Reynolds poked fun at the casting writing on Twitter, "You can't play 2 characters in the same universe!! Josh Brolin was in Sicario and I was in Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Brolin's deal is to appear as Cable in four films.

Directed by John Wick co-helmer David Leitch, Deadpool 2 is set to begin production in June in Vancouver.

The sequel will be expanding its cast of mutants with Atlanta star Zazie Beetz having already been cast in the role of mercenary Domino.

Cable, also known as Nathan Summers, hails from the future and is the adult son of X-Men character Cyclops. He is often paired with Deadpool in the Marvel comics as the duo shared a 50-issue series together.


Billie Lourd, George Lucas pay tribute to Carrie Fisher at 'Star Wars' panel
Billie Lourd, daughter of the late Carrie Fisher, paid tribute to her mother Thursday alongside George Lucas and others during Star Wars Celebration in Orlando.

The tribute concluded a star-studded panel celebrating the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope which opened in theaters in May of 1977.

"She played a part that was very smart, and she was having to hold her own against two big lugs, goofballs that were screwing everything up. She was the boss. It was her war and when I cast it, I said I want somebody young to play the part. I want somebody very young. When Carrie came in, she was that character," Lucas said of casting Fisher as Princess Leia.

"She was very strong, very smart, very funny, very bold, very tough, and there really wasn't much of a question. There are not very many people like her. They are one in a billion. For this particular part, it was absolutely perfect ... she wore a dress through the whole thing, but she was the toughest in the group," he continued.

"It really shows the level of her talent, and at the same time she was fun to be with. ... she was very challenging in terms of pointing out that certain pieces of dialogue were a little hard to say. She was brilliant and obviously we will all miss her, but she will always be the princess who took command and never backed down. Never was in jeopardy. She was always helping the other guys get out of the messes she created. We'll all love her forever and ever."

Lourd took the stage following a speech from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy wearing a white dress that resembled the one Fisher wore in A New Hope.

"My mom used to say she never knew where Princess Leia ended and Carrie Fisher began," Lourd said onstage. "She was imperfect in many ways but her imperfections and willingness to speak about them are what made her more than perfect. My mom, like Leia, wasn't ever afraid to speak her mind and say things that might have made most people uncomfortable."

"She taught me by her own example, that the most evolved person is seemingly a contradiction - they are both the strongest and the most vulnerable person in the room. And that was her. That is Leia," she continued.

A tribute video was then presented featuring clips of Fisher from Star Wars alongside outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage during production on the films.

Also on hand during the panel to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars were franchise stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, Peter Mayhew, Billy Dee Williams, Warwick Davis, Hayden Christensen and Liam Neeson and Samuel L. Jackson who appeared in video form.

The group shared their experiences working on Star Wars and what the series has meant to them.


LOOSE LIPS:
"I just like a good old friend hooking you up, or, I don't know, introducing you. I'm so old school."
--Charlize Theron, explaining online dating apps, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show



??? Guess Who ???
Which 'Friday Night Lights' star did ABC originally want to play Olivia Pope on 'Scandal'?


Off-Broadway 'Friends' musical opening in New York this fall
Iconic sitcom Friends is being turned into an off-Broadway musical that is set to hit New York this fall.

Titled Friends! The Musical, the unofficial stage play comes from creators Bob and Tobly McSmith who previously helmed musical parodies based on Saved by the Bell, Full House and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

"Could we BE more excited about the chance to parody such an important TV show?!" Tobly said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

"It only makes sense to set our sights on the hit TV show Friends after creating parody musicals about Saved by the Bell, Full House, and Beverly Hills, 90210. Not only do we poke fun and celebrate the show, we also get some jokes in about the actor's lives, including their hefty salaries and personal lives," Tobly continued.

"Oh and there will be a smelly cat, there will be Janice, and there will be Fat Monica," he added. "We want all the alumni of Friends to come to the show and possibly be in it for a night or two - our first call is to the agent of Marcel the Monkey."

Friends! The Musical will feature songs such as "The Only Coffee Shop in New York City," "45 Grove Street - How Can We Afford This Place?" and "We Were on a Break."

The play will open at the Triad Theatre in the fall with tickets going on sale in June.


Dolph Lundgren joins Warner Bros. 'Aquaman'
Dolph Lundgren has joined the cast of Warner Bros. upcoming DC Comics epic, Aquaman.

According to Variety, the actor will portray King Nereus of the aquatic kingdom of Xebel who wants to kill Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and claim his royal love interest Mera (Amber Heard) as his own.

Other castmates include Patrick Wilson as Aquaman's half-brother Orm, also known as the villainous Ocean Master, Willem Dafoe as Aquaman's adviser, Dr. Vulko, Nicole Kidman as Aquaman's mother and Get Down star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as signature antagonist Black Manta.

Lundgren is best known for starring in Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe and in The Expendables franchise.

Directed by James Wan, Aquaman is eyeing a May production start in Australia.

Aquaman swims into theaters Dec. 21, 2018.


??? Guess Who ???
Which 'Friday Night Lights' star did ABC originally want to play Olivia Pope on 'Scandal'?

Connie Britton was ABC's top choice to play Olivia Pope on Scandal.

Series creator Shonda Rhimes said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she cast Kerry Washington in the role after network executives suggested Britton and other white stars.

"Nothing felt more important than the sense of outsiderness," Rhimes explained. "I didn't know that there hadn't been a drama series with a leading black woman for 37 years."

"When the show got picked up [to pilot], I got a phone call from somebody who said, 'This would be the perfect show for Connie Britton.' I said, 'It would be, except Olivia Pope is black,'" she recalled.

Scandal follows Olivia, a Washington, D.C., fixer loosely based on former White House press aide Judy Smith, who is African-American. Casting director Linda Lowry agreed with Rhimes that Olivia should be black.

"The network was reading us their top choices, and it was Connie and all white women," Lowry recounted. "I panicked. Somebody finally piped up, 'We're going to have to do redo this list.'"

"We tested Kerry, Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose. It was Kerry from the moment I took her to meet Shonda," she said.

Britton went on to play Rayna James on five seasons of the ABC/CMT series Nashville, while Washington is in her sixth season of Scandal. Washington recalled her first meeting with Rhimes in an interview with Entertainment Weekly this week.

"I remember walking in and seeing 'Shondaland' on the wall, and thinking, 'Who is this person? I don't know if I'm going to like this meeting,'" she admitted. "Here I am, years later, living in Shondaland and loving it! It's the best ride of my life."

Scandal will air its 100th episode Thursday. The political drama co-stars Tony Goldwyn, Bellamy Young, Scott Foley, Darby Stanchfield, Katie Lowes, Guillermo Diaz and Jeff Perry.