1. Will Smith banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years
Welcome to the season — and hopefully series — finale of the Will Smith Slap Saga. On Friday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Smith has been banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years after he slapped Chris Rock for a joke about his wife. "This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith's behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy," Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said. The harsh punishment came a week after Smith voluntarily resigned from the Academy rather than be expelled, though this wouldn't prevent him from attending the Oscars next year, as acting winners normally do. The Academy notably didn't rescind Smith's Best Actor award, though, and he technically is still eligible to be nominated going forward. But he won't be able to attend the Oscars until the 2030s — though the ban might as well be permanent since 2033 definitely doesn't feel like it's actually a real year.
The Week The Hollywood Reporter
2. Did Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck get engaged?
Will the Bennifer reboot culminate with the two finally making it down the aisle? Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have sparked engagement rumors after Lopez was spotted wearing a diamond ring on her ring finger. While shopping, TMZ reports Lopez appeared to "pick up on the fact" that she was being photographed and flipped the ring, "hiding the diamond side in her palm." Lopez and Affleck, who rekindled their romance last year, recently bought a massive house together for more than $50 million. They were engaged once before, of course, during the original Bennifer era, but they ended up calling off the wedding. Lopez has been married three times, most recently to Marc Anthony, and ahead of her new movie Marry Me, she said she'd do it again. "You know me, I'm a romantic," she said. "I always have been."
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3. Mads Mikkelsen says method acting is 'bulls--t'
Mads Mikkelsen is here with the antidote to the increasingly insufferable Jared Leto method acting stories. The actor chatted with GQ and shared his hot take on the idea of method acting: "It's bulls--t." While Mikkelsen noted he does prepare extensively for roles and will sometimes learn new skills for them, he said there's a point where "preparation, you can take into insanity." The comments came after Leto's latest method acting shenanigans were revealed, as he apparently had to be taken to the bathroom in a wheelchair in between scenes for Morbius — a movie that ended up getting terrible reviews. While not commenting on Leto directly, Mikkelsen asked, "What if it's a sh-t film — what do you think you achieved?" Later, Mikkelsen offered this nugget of wisdom when asked to comment on the J.K. Rowling controversy: "I have a habit of not commenting on things that I don't know anything about, and I actually think that that would suit the entire world."
GQ
4. 'Better Call Saul' creators strongly imply Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul will appear
Are Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul returning to the Breaking Bad universe? The creators of Better Call Saul don't want to spoil anything … except they pretty much did. At the Better Call Saul sixth season premiere, co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould were asked if Cranston and Paul could return in the Breaking Bad prequel series now that it's almost over. Gould tried to give a vague response, teasing "these two worlds cross over in a way that you haven't seen before" this season. But then Gilligan, while seeming to giggle nervously, said "perhaps" they will return, adding, "It would be a damn shame if the show ended without them appearing on the show, would it not?" So, that's 100 percent a yes, right? As if that wasn't enough of a hint, Bob Odenkirk told Variety some "wonderful new characters" show up this season, and "I could tell you in two words" what the biggest surprise is, "but I can't tell you." Better call the spoiler police!
Variety
5. 'Dancing with the Stars' will now be a Disney+ show
Dancing with the Stars is dancing away from network television. In a shock move, the long-running competition show is leaving ABC after more than 15 years and will instead air on Disney+ in the United States and Canada. Going forward, new episodes will air live on the streaming service, which will make this the first live Disney+ show ever. Disney said the hope was for Dancing with the Stars to help Disney+ in "continuing to expand our demographic reach," arguing its "broad appeal" makes the streaming service the "perfect home" for it. The show has already been renewed for two more seasons, and it will debut on Disney+ this fall. We look forward to the brand new season featuring contestants Jen Psaki and Baby Yoda.
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