The daily gossip: Danny DeVito explains bizarre tweets that left everyone 'wondering if I'm insane,' Shia LaBeouf denies Olivia Wilde's claim she fired him, and more

1. Danny DeVito explains bizarre tweets that left everyone 'wondering if I'm insane'

This week on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: "The Gang Learns the Importance of Hashtags." Danny DeVito on Thursday night decided to live tweet the premiere of his new animated comedy Little Demon on FXX. But there was only one problem: He forgot to let followers know he'd be doing this, and his tweets didn't mention the show, so without context, it looked like he was just losing his mind. "Peepeeepoopoo. Let's head over there and boil their firs born alive," one tweet read, while another said "I just wanted to get the mailman to fart," and still another read, "Raise your hand if you f--ked the devil." Eventually, DeVito finally started tagging @LittleDemonFX in the tweets and clarified to everyone "wondering if I'm insane" that he's referencing a TV show. Honestly, though, we'd prefer to turn the clock back to when we didn't have that explanation and thought DeVito just decided to become the Joker.

Newsweek

2. Shia LaBeouf denies Olivia Wilde's claim she fired him from 'Don't Worry Darling'

Don't worry, darling? Sorry, we're officially worried. Shia LaBeouf has accused Olivia Wilde of lying about firing him from Don't Worry Darling, and he has receipts. In a recent Variety profile, Wilde claimed she fired LaBeouf from the movie and replaced him with Harry Styles because his "process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand." But LaBeouf now tells Variety he quit the film because he didn't have enough rehearsal time. As evidence, he showed the outlet a text Wilde allegedly sent in 2020 after he quit, in which she says she's "gutted." LaBeouf also showed Variety a video he claims Wilde sent him after his exit, which reportedly shows her asking him to reconsider. "I'm not ready to give up on this yet," Wilde says, adding, "I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo," meaning Florence Pugh. On the bright side for Harry Styles, at least now we're talking about something other than his dicey accent work.

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3. NBC might stop programming an entire primetime hour

Oh, how the mighty Peacock has fallen. In the latest sign that everything is going just swimmingly on broadcast television, NBC is thinking about just giving up on programming anything for an entire hour during prime time, according to The Wall Street Journal. A report says NBC is considering a cost-cutting measure that would involve simply ceasing to program shows between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., meaning they'd "give those seven hours per week to local TV stations." It would be a pretty drastic move for the network, which this fall will be airing scripted dramas during that hour like Law & Order: Organized Crime and Quantum Leap. The Journal says these are still preliminary talks, though, and it couldn't happen any earlier than fall 2023 — assuming plans to make it 1997 again through science or magic don't succeed.

The Wall Street Journal The Hollywood Reporter

4. Marvel's 'Fantastic Four' finds a director (whose name isn't Steven Spielberg)

Like the Human Torch, one fantastical Marvel rumor just went up in flames. Marvel has reportedly found a new director for its upcoming Fantastic Four film: WandaVision director Matt Shakman. An opening on the film emerged earlier this year when Spider-Man director Jon Watts exited. But since then, an absolutely wild rumor emerged claiming that none other than Steven Spielberg might swoop in to direct. Would one of the two or three greatest living directors seriously consider making an MCU movie? Probably not, and Variety's Adam B. Vary previously called the rumor "absolutely not true." Now Shakman, best known for directing every episode of WandaVision, is reportedly in talks for the project, which, yeah, makes a lot more sense. The new Fantastic Four cast hasn't been announced, but everyone assumes John Krasinski will play Mister Fantastic after appearing as the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But there's still time to replace him with Martin Scorsese.

The Hollywood Reporter

5. Britney Spears celebrates release of new Elton John duet from her bath

She finally did it again. Britney Spears has released her first new music in six years: "Hold Me Closer," a duet with Elton John and a remix of his song "Tiny Dancer." The last time Spears put out new music was in 2016, when she dropped her ninth studio album Glory, and this track is the first new music she's made since being freed from her conservatorship last year. Spears recently deleted her Instagram, but she shared her reaction to the song's success on Twitter, posting a video of herself in the bath. "Hello, Sir Elton John," Spears says from her bathtub, adopting a British accent for the entire video. "We are, like, number one in 40 countries. Holy s--t! I'm in the tub right now, and I'm about to go have the best day ever." Next up from Spears: A "Rubber Duckie" dance remix.

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