The daily gossip: A Twilight TV series is in the works, Freddie Highmore says a talk show made him hide in a broom closet, and more

1. A 'Twilight' TV series is in the works

Welcome to the age of shows based on books that were already successfully turned into movies. A television series based on Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books, which were adapted into a series of hit films from 2008 through 2012, is in early development, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Meyer is expected to be involved, and Sinead Daly, who has worked on shows like The Walking Dead: World Beyond, is reportedly writing the script. But the project is so early in its development that the Reporter says it isn't yet clear if it will be a remake of the books or some kind of "different offshoot." Either way, it comes just a week after Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed it's making a Harry Potter show, which will simply re-adapt the original seven books. The Twilight series is reportedly set up at Lionsgate, where executives are likely thanking their lucky stars that, unlike a certain other author, Stephenie Meyer is not active on Twitter.

The Hollywood Reporter

2. Freddie Highmore says a talk show made him hide in a broom closet so he wouldn't see the host

My next guest needs no introduction and is also currently standing in a bucket. Freddie Highmore shared a bizarre anecdote on Jimmy Kimmel Live! about being forced to hide in a broom closet before going on an unnamed talk show. "This host doesn't like seeing guests beforehand," Highmore said. When he went on the show, Highmore recalled being backstage with the producers, who "looked up and they saw the host at the end of the corridor, and they were really, really scared." So they "grabbed me and threw me into the next door," which happened to be a "dark" broom closet. "I was there for about a minute," Highmore said. He intentionally didn't name the host, though when Kimmel jokingly guessed Kathie Lee Gifford, Highmore said this is "close." Fans also guessed James Corden and Ellen DeGeneres, but as a reminder, Elmo did have a talk show on HBO Max for a while. We knew that guy was up to no good.

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Jimmy Kimmel Live!

3. The 'Godzilla vs. Kong' sequel will be 'Godzilla x Kong'

Breaking news: Godzilla and King Kong's friendship remains very much intact. Warner Bros. has unveiled the title of the sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong, the next installment in the MonsterVerse: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. A teaser video revealing the title pans back from a giant ape-like creature, possibly the film's villain, to show Godzilla and Kong's skulls lying on the ground. Dropping the "vs." from the title fits with the idea that the sequel won't come up with some weird new reason for Godzilla and Kong to be fighting each other after the last movie ended with them having formed a weird sort of alliance. According to the synopsis, The New Empire pits Kong and Godzilla "against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence — and our own." Spoiler alert: The film's thrilling post-credits scene will see Kong asking Godzilla to serve as best man at his wedding.

Twitter

4. Janelle James explains why she won't reveal her age

Are you one? Are you two? Are you [REDACTED]? Abbott Elementary star Janelle James explained to Variety why she refuses to disclose how old she is, information that isn't publicly available and is missing from her Wikipedia page. "I'm not ashamed of my age or anything like that," she said. "But for women — and everybody knows it and acts like they don't — it gives an idea of what you are in people's heads." We do know James has a 20-year-old son, though she also wouldn't say how old her other child is. But she noted people incorrectly assume she's a "mom comic" when they find out she has two kids. "People have this idea of motherhood, the same way they have an idea of women as we reach a certain age," she said. "Each age group, people have an idea in your head of what it is. I don't want that to prevent me from doing anything, because I can do everything."

Variety

5. Martin Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' is really, really long

Martin Scorsese's latest film won't be too much kinder to our bladders than his last one. The legendary director's highly anticipated upcoming movie Killers of the Flower Moon has been confirmed to have an epic runtime of 3 hours and 26 minutes, according to Deadline. That makes it "one of the longest Hollywood movies in modern times," the Hollywood Reporter noted, longer than Avatar: The Way of Water. Even so, it's actually three minutes shorter than Scorsese's previous film, The Irishman. That was a Netflix movie that most people watched at home and could pause whenever they wanted, though, whereas Killers of the Flower Moon is expected to get a full theatrical release prior to its debut on Apple TV+. Still, an earlier rumor suggested the movie would be 3 hours and 54 minutes, so the real runtime makes it look like a brisk episode of The Office by comparison.

Deadline The Hollywood Reporter