Here's the Scoop...

Here's some good news Han Solo fans!

Woody Harrelson has officially been cast in Disney's upcoming Star Wars standalone film about a young Han Solo.

"We couldn't be more excited to work with an artist with as much depth and range as Woody," the project's directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller said in a statement Wednesday on StarWars.com

"His ability to find both humor and pathos, often in the same role, is truly unique. He is also very good at ping pong," they continued.

Harrelson joins a growing cast that includes Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Emilia Clarke in an unspecified role and Alden Ehrenreich who is stepping into the title role made famous by Harrison Ford.

Recently, it was reported that Harrelson was in negotiations to join the film and was Disney's top choice to portray a mentor to Han Solo.

While Solo was never seen with a mentor on film, a set of novels from the Star Wars Expanded Universe that Disney has made noncanonical, featured a character named Shrike who was a bounty hunter turned space pirate who adopted Solo and taught him everything he knew.

The Han Solo spinoff film is expected to arrive in theaters on May 25, 2018.

Come on, May!

Be Well,
Steve

Comments? Questions? Nooz? Email Steve



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Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie release first joint statement since split
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie released a joint statement Monday, the first since their highly-publicized split in the fall.

The 53-year-old actor and 41-year-old actress put on a "united front" to announce they've agreed to seal all court documents pertaining to their divorce to protect their six children.

"The parties and their counsel have signed agreements to preserve the privacy rights of their children and family by keeping all court documents confidential and engaging a private judge to make any necessary legal decisions and to facilitate the expeditious resolution of any remaining issues," the pair said in a statement to People.

"The parents are committed to act as a united front to effectuate recovery and reunification," the statement concludes.

Pitt was denied an emergency order to seal documents pertaining to the divorce in early December. He later filed a motion to seal records regarding his kids with Jolie, claiming the actress has "exposed" the children since their split.

"[Angelina] appears to be determined to ignore even agreed upon standards relating to the children's best interest and she is attempting to clear the way to put in the public eye any allegations she can, without regard to the impact on the minor children," the actor's attorneys claimed in court documents last month.

Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September after two years of marriage and a decade together. The couple share 15-year-old Maddox, 13-year-old Pax, 11-year-old Zahara, 10-year-old Shiloh and 8-year-old Vivienne and Knox, who reportedly saw their dad over the holidays.

"Brad did see the kids at some point for a holiday gift exchange," a source recently told Us Weekly.

"[Brad] gave them presents and it was cordial," a second insider added. The visit was reportedly supervised by the children's therapist.


Iman remembers David Bowie one year after his death
Iman is remembering late husband David Bowie one year after his death.

The 61-year-old Somali model paid tribute to the English singer, born David Jones, Tuesday on Instagram on the anniversary of his passing.

"Jan 10th, 2016 NYC Skyline #ForeverAndEver #ForeverLove #BowieForever," she captioned a photo of a double rainbow above the New York City skyline.

Bowie died at age 69 on Jan. 10, 2016, following an 18-month battle with liver cancer. He and Iman were married nearly 24 years and share 16-year-old daughter Lexi Jones.

"We both understand the difference between the person and the persona," Iman said in an interview with Where Are They Now? that was filmed before the singer's death. "When we are home we are just Iman and David. We're not anybody else."

"You have to be at the right time in your life that you're ready for an everlasting relationship, that it becomes first and a priority in your life," she added during the episode, which aired in April.

BBC Two released a new documentary, David Bowie: The Last Five Years, this week in honor of the singer's birthday, Jan. 8. The show examined the star's last albums, The Next Day and Blackstar, and his play Lazarus.



LOOSE LIPS:
"Without realizing it, I started drifting away from the playful connection to movement I'd enjoyed as a young child and into a different and darker kind of dynamic: pushing my body to its limits and commanding it to perform through pain or fatigue."
--Hilaria Baldwin, on developing an eating disorder as she became more committed to dancing professionally, in her book The Living Clearly Method


??? Guess Who ???
Which filmmaker said he's moving away from reboots and is more excited about original ideas?


Mariah Carey's Hollywood Walk of Fame star vandalized with question mark
Mariah Carey's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been tagged with a blue question mark next to the singer's name.

Los Angeles police began their search Tuesday for the culprit after the vandalism appeared on social media Monday, notes the Los Angeles Times citing Hollywood Walk of Fame spokeswoman Ana Martinez.

The marking has been polished and cleaned up with repairs costing $1,500 Martinez said.

Carey received her 2,556th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August of 2015.

The vandalism comes after the pop star went through an awkward performance in Times Square on New Year's Eve where Carey walked off stage and spoke to the audience instead of singing due to technical difficulties.


??? Guess Who ???
Which filmmaker said he's moving away from reboots and is more excited about original ideas?

Filmmaker J.J. Abrams is done with making reboots and remakes of popular franchises and is ready to focus on original content.

"You know, I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten involved in things that I loved when I was a kid," Abrams said while speaking with People magazine at the Golden Globe Awards.

"In fact, even Westworld, which we're here for tonight, is one of them. But I don't feel any desire to do that again. I feel like I've done enough of that that I'm more excited about working on things that are original ideas that perhaps one day someone else will have to reboot," he continued.

Abrams has made a career out of reviving established franchises including his work on the then dormant Mission Impossible series with 2006's Mission Impossible III, Star Trek which he rebooted cinematically in 2009 along with its 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness and most recently with 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which jump-started a new trilogy in the storied franchise.

"You know, I do think that if you're telling a story that is not moving anything forward, not introducing anything that's relevant, that's not creating a new mythology or an extension of it, then a complete remake of something feels like a mistake," he noted to People.

"But film is a fairly young medium and there are stories that have lasted for centuries," he added. "And it's not uncommon, I think, for stories to be retold - whether it's at campfire or on film, but I think you always have to be additive. You can't just be remaking something just for the sake of remaking it."

Abrams next project is a tie-in film to a franchise he helped create, Cloverfield, with the formally titled God Particle.

The film about a team of astronauts that make a terrifying discovery, is produced by Abrams and connects to the Cloverfield universe following 2016's 10 Cloverfield Lane.

The project originally scheduled to release in February, was pushed back until Oct. 27, 2017 and will be given a new title.