Here's the Scoop...

Here's the best news that I heard all week...

Universal Parks and Resorts announced Tuesday they will collaborate with Nintendo to bring Nintendo-themed attractions to their parks in California, Florida and Japan.

The two companies provided further details on the collaboration first announced in May, promising "expansive, immersive and interactive" Nintendo-themed areas at Universal Studios Japan, Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood.

"You will enter an entire realm filled with iconic Nintendo excitement, gameplay, heroes and villains. And it is coming to three Universal theme parks around the globe," the companies said in a press release.

Creative teams from both Nintendo and Universal Parks stated the goal of the attractions, scheduled to open separately over the next several years, will bring Nintendo's video games to life in new, innovative and "breathtakingly authentic" ways.

"Imagine the fun of stepping into a larger-than-life Nintendo adventure," they said. "Gigantic Piranha Plants spring to life. Question blocks, power-ups and more surround you. And Mario and all his friends are there to pull you into a brand-new world."

The companies announced development of the "highly themed" environments is "well underway" and the environments will feature multiple attractions, shops and restaurants.

In a video outlining the vision for the theme parks President of Universal Creative Mark Woodbury said Nintendo was a "natural" choice for a new line of attractions.

"We're always looking for the next great idea and the next great place to take people and Nintendo fit the bill," he said.

Nintendo game designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto shared a similar admiration for the work done by Universal Parks in bringing his iconic characters like Mario to life.

"We are constantly amazed at how the park developers are bringing the essence of our games to life in the real world," he said. "Since we're really bringing the world to life, I think Mario will feel like he finally came home!"

I cannot wait! I hope that the Contra code comes in handy there. (You know...Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start.)

Be Well,
Steve

Comments? Questions? Nooz? Email Steve



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Kyra Sedgwick reveals she and Matthew Broderick dated in high school
On Tuesday night's Watch What Happens Live Kyra Sedgwick revealed that she and Matthew Broderick, who also appeared on the episode, dated in high school.

"We kind of went back and forth a lot," Sedgwick told host Andy Cohen, who was surprised at the revelation.

"We went back and forth for a few years," Broderick confirmed.

Cohen asked if they knew each other "connubially."

"Never that," Broderick insisted.

"Never before I got married!" Sedgwick said, who married actor Kevin Bacon in 1988.

Broderick has been married to Sarah Jessica Parker since 1997.


LOOSE LIPS:
"All I know is that this whole thing about give him a chance? I'm all for giving a chance but don't give him an inch because I believe everything he said and I remember everything he said and it's horrifying."
--Stephen Colbert, referring to President-elect Donald Trump, at a post-election event with Colbert and Jon Oliver


??? Guess Who ???
Which 'Westworld' star met his crush Helen Mirren on 'Ellen'?



Doug Jones, Michelle Yeoh and Anthony Rapp board 'Star Trek: Discovery'
Doug Jones, Michelle Yeoh and Anthony Rapp are to lead the cast of Star Trek: Discovery, the latest installment in the space-travel franchise.

The sci-fi series is scheduled to premiere on the CBS Television Network in May, with subsequent episodes debuting via its on-demand and streaming service CBS All Access.

Jones will play Lt. Saru, a Starfleet science officer and a new alien species to the Star Trek universe, while Yeoh will portray Captain Georgiou, the Starfleet captain aboard the Starship Shenzhou, and Rapp has been cast as Lt. Stamets, an astromycologist, fungus expert and Starfleet science officer aboard the Starship Discovery, a press release noted.

Although CBS did not specify this in its media alert, Entertainment Weekly reported Rapp's Stamets will be the first Star Trek character originally conceived and confirmed as gay.

"So proud to be a part of this journey. I'm a longtime fan and super geek of the highest order," Rapp tweeted.

"The series will feature a new ship, new characters, and new missions, while embracing the same ideology and hope for the future that inspired a generation of dreamers and doers," the press release said.

Rod Roddenberry -- son of the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry -- and Trevor Roth will serve as executive producers.


??? Guess Who ???
Which 'Westworld' star met his crush Helen Mirren on 'Ellen'?

James Marsden was thrilled to meet his celebrity crush Helen Mirren.

The 43-year-old actor got a kiss from the 71-year-old actress on Monday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show after admitting to a "massive" crush on the Collateral Beauty star.

"I just love her. I do. I've had a massive crush on her for years," Marsden gushed prior to Mirren's appearance onstage.

"I was on a flight with her once to Rome, and when I got off the flight I followed her to baggage claim and in a very voyeuristic, creepy way, I took a photo of her while she was walking," he admitted. "I was avoiding seeing her backstage because I didn't want her to know I was stalking her."

Marsden was last linked to British singer Emma Deigman, aka Edei, while Mirren has been married to director Taylor Hackford since 1997. The actress called Hackford the "love of [her] life" during an appearance on the Today show in March.

"The great thing about finding a partnership later on is that you recognize it -- the partnership level of this relationship -- as much as the love and the lust and all the rest of it," she said.

Marsden also discussed his series Westworld on Ellen. The HBO sci-fi western thriller is based on the 1973 movie of the same name, and co-stars Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright.

"It takes place in a futuristic theme park where paying guests can go and immerse themselves in a virtual reality, essentially, of a wild west town that's inhabited by robots that are virtually indistinguishable from human beings," the actor said. "You can go and live out your most adventurous fantasy -- or your darkest fantasy, or whatever -- without any rules or repercussions."

Westworld airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET, and was renewed this month for a second season. Marsden will also star in the movie Shock and Awe with Jessica Biel, while Mirren is slated for Collateral Beauty with Will Smith.