July 03, 2019

Here's the Scoop...

WarnerMedia announced Monday it ordered an animated series that will serve as a prequel to the 1980s live-action blockbusters Gremlins and Gremlins 2.

Set in 1920s Shanghai, Season 1 of Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai will include 10 half-hour episodes.

It will "reveal the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing (future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 movie) met the young Mogwai called Gizmo," a press release said. "Along with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a perilous journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore."

The show will be produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation.

No voice cast has been announced.

The original live-action Gremlins and its 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch was set in a fictional American town and starred Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates and Keye Luke.

Comedian Howie Mandel voiced the puppet character of Gizmo, a cute, fuzzy creature with the ability to spawn malevolent, reptilian-looking predators from its body when it gets wet or eats after midnight.

I'm not sure how I feel about this animated series. Maybe it'll be a nice surprise. We shall see.

Be Well,
Steve

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'Spies in Disguise': Tom Holland turns Will Smith into pigeon in new trailer

Spies in Disguise has released a new trailer featuring the voices of Tom Holland and Will Smith.

Holland, 23, and Smith, 50, play scientist Walter Beckett and super spy Lance Sterling in the new animated film.

The preview shows Walter (Holland) turn Lance (Smith) into a pigeon with one of his scientific experiments. The pair must team up to save the world with Lance disguised as the bird.

Spies in Disguise is inspired by Lucas Martell's animated short film Pigeon: Impossible. The movie is directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, and co-stars Ben Mendelsohn, Karen Gillan, Rashida Jones, DJ Khaled and Masi Oka.

"The world's flyest spy. Watch Will Smith and @tomholland1996 in the new trailer for #SpiesInDisguise, in theaters this Christmas," the film tweeted Monday.

Spies in Disguise opens in theaters Dec. 25. Holland will next star in Spider-Man: Far From Home, which opens in theaters Tuesday, while Smith will appear in Gemini Man.

Harry Styles, Ansel Elgort audition to portray Elvis in new biopic

Harry Styles, Ansel Elgort and Miles Teller are among five actors who have auditioned for the role of Elvis Presley for a new biopic from director Baz Luhrmann.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Austin Butler have also tested for the role. Tom Hanks will play Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker.

Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge) penned the script with Craig Pearce. The biopic will chronicle Presley's rise to stardom and his relationship with Parker.

Luhrmann is expected to decide who will portray Elvis in the coming weeks.

Styles, a former member of One Direction, made his acting debut in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. Elgort, of Baby Driver fame, is set to star in Steven Spielberg's upcoming adaptation of West Side Story.

Teller will be seen in Top Gun: Maverick and Butler has a role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which arrives in theaters July 26. Taylor-Johnson is best known for his roles in Kick-Ass and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

LOOSE LIPS:

"Going back to work was hard. Breastfeeding while working was hard, just for the timing of the pumping and the feedings and the sleeping and the not sleeping. You just do it and get it done."
--Eva Longoria, on the difficulties of balancing work and motherhood, in her Parents magazine August cover interview

??? Guess Who ???

Which 'True Blood' alum is joining a new spy thriller series?

Famous birthdays for July 3

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include:

-- Artist John Singleton Copley in 1738
-- Czech novelist Franz Kafka in 1883
-- English playwright Tom Stoppard in 1937 (age 82)
-- Singer Fontella Bass in 1940
-- Former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek in 1940 (age 79)
-- Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred in 1941 (age 78)
-- Humorist Dave Barry in 1947 (age 72)
-- Actor Betty Buckley in 1947 (age 72)
-- Overthrown Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier in 1951
-- Talk show host Montel Williams in 1956 (age 63)
-- Pop singer Laura Branigan in 1952
-- Actor Tom Cruise in 1962 (age 57)
-- Actor Thomas Gibson in 1962 (age 57)
-- Actor Yeardley Smith in 1964 (age 55)
-- Celebrity chef Sandra Lee in 1966 (age 53)
-- Actor/singer Audra McDonald in 1970 (age 49)
-- Former hockey player Teemu Selanne in 1970 (age 49)
-- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 1971 (age 48)
-- Actor Patrick Wilson in 1973 (age 46)
-- Actress Andrea Barber in 1976 (age 43)
-- Actress Olivia Munn in 1980 (age 39)
-- Champion Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel in 1987 (age 32)
-- Singer Elle King in 1989 (age 30)
-- Actor Chosen Jacobs in 2001 (age 18)

'Cash Cab': Ben Bailey to host revival at Bravo

Cash Cab is returning to television.

Bravo announced in a press release Tuesday it will revive the Emmy-winning game show.

Original host Ben Bailey will return to host the reboot. The new series begins filming this summer and will premiere later in 2019.

Cash Cab is based on the ITV series of the same name. The original U.S. version aired on Discovery Channel from 2005 to 2012 and in 2017 and 2018.

In Cash Cab, New Yorkers and tourists put their knowledge to the test for the chance to win money in the iconic Cash Cab. The Bravo revival will feature an upgraded car and more questions geared toward pop culture fans.

Each episode will feature three games, which begin the moment the contestant enters the Cash Cab. The passenger wins if they can answer enough questions correctly before reaching their destination, but are kicked out of the cab after three wrong answers.

News of the Cash Cab reboot follows Bravo's announcement in April it will reboot the series Blind Date.

??? Guess Who ???

Which 'True Blood' alum is joining a new spy thriller series?

True Blood alum Stephen Moyer has joined the cast of a new spy thriller series.

Canadian network CBC announced in a press release Tuesday the 49-year-old actor will star with Kari Matchett in the drama Fortunate Son.

Fortunate Son is created by Andrew Wreggitt and takes place during the social and political chaos of the late 1960s. Moyer plays Vern Lang, a CIA agent, while Matchett portrays Ruby Howard, an American who fled to Canada and now helps smuggle Vietnam War deserters and draft dodgers across the border.

In addition, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actor Darren Mann stars as Travis Hunter, a Vietnam War deserter with a troubled past. The show also features Kacey Rohl, Rick Roberts, Patrick Gallagher, Ty Olsson, Alex Naci and Zoé de Grand'Maison.

"Fortunate Son is about espionage, political activism and love, loyalty and healing. The world seemed on the brink of cataclysm in 1968. Divisions between races, generations and sexes seemed irreparable," Wreggitt said in a statement. "But there was also a sense of optimism, a belief that change was possible and everyone had a role to play. The world is still plagued by many of the same issues of 1968, but we see that same growing activism and drive for change today."

Matchett celebrated her casting in a tweet Tuesday.

"So pleased and proud to be a part of this most amazing series," she wrote.

Fortunate Son has started production in Calgary, Canada. The series will premiere on CBC in winter 2020, with Wreggitt, Tom Cox, Jordy Randall and Erin Haskett as executive producers.

Moyer is known for playing Bill Compton on the HBO series True Blood. Matchett portrayed Dr. Skye Wexler on ER and Joan Campbell on Covert Affairs.