The daily gossip: Millie Bobby Brown is ready for 'Stranger Things' to be over, Will Smith has his 'notifications off' as Jada Pinkett Smith revelations pour in, and more
Today's top entertainment and celebrity news
1. Millie Bobby Brown is ready for 'Stranger Things' to be over: 'Let's get out of here'
Millie Bobby Brown is running up that hill and toward that finish line. In a new Glamour profile, the "Stranger Things" star said she's ready to move on from the Netflix phenomenon, which is ending with its upcoming fifth season. "'Stranger Things' takes up a lot of time to film and it's preventing me from creating stories that I’m passionate about," she said. "So I'm ready to say, 'Thank you, and goodbye.'" Brown compared leaving "Stranger Things" to graduating from high school, noting, "When you're ready, you're like, 'All right, let's do this. Let's tackle this last senior year. Let's get out of here.'" She also declined to mourn the series because "when it ends, I'm going to be able to still see these people." Other highlights from the profile included Brown revealing she had a feminist awakening after visiting a psychic, "who informed her that she was, in fact, a feminist." Stranger things have turned people into feminists, but that may be up there. Glamour
2. Will Smith has his 'notifications off' as Jada Pinkett Smith revelations pour in
Jada Pinkett Smith's book tour may soon involve a personal trip to your front door to spill tea about Will Smith. The actress has appeared on seemingly every talk show and podcast in recent days to promote her new memoir, and she continues dropping bombshells about her marriage. Her recent revelations include that she and Smith have actually been separated since 2016, that she believed Tupac Shakur was her "soulmate," and that she has become a self-described "urban nun" who abstains from sex. Amid all this, Smith shared an Instagram video of himself napping on a boat, which he captioned, "Notifications off :)." He told The New York Times his wife's memoir woke him up, as he had a "sort of emotional blindness" about her. On Monday's Today show, though, Pinkett Smith said she doesn't regret revealing as much as she has, explaining, "This whole journey, as difficult as it’s been, has just brought Will and I closer in such an authentic way." Instagram
3. Director Matthew Vaughn left 'X-Men: The Last Stand' over plan to trick Halle Berry
What the Halle? At New York Comic Con, director Matthew Vaughn shared a shocking story about discovering an alleged plan to trick Halle Berry into signing on to the third "X-Men" film, "The Last Stand." Vaughn recalled going into an executive's office and seeing a screenplay for the 2006 movie, which he was set to direct. It opened with a focus on Berry’s character, Storm, who would save children dying of thirst in Africa. But Vaughn soon learned the studio had no intention of shooting this. "They said, 'this is the Halle Berry script, because she hasn’t signed on yet,'" he recounted, per Screen Rant. "This is what she wants it to be. And once she signs on, we’ll throw it in the bin.'" That was enough to convince Vaughn to exit, leading Brett Ratner to replace him as director. "I thought, if you're going to do that to an Oscar winning actress who plays Storm, I quit," Vaughn said. "I thought, I'm mincemeat." Screen Rant
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4. 'Rick and Morty' reveals its new voice actors
We now know who will be wubba lubba dub-dubbing on "Rick and Morty" for the foreseeable future. The credits of Sunday's "Rick and Morty" premiere finally revealed the actors who have replaced Justin Roiland as the title characters, and they're complete unknowns. Ian Cardoni is now voicing Rick, while Harry Belden is voicing Morty. Roiland, the original voice of Rick and Morty, was fired after facing domestic violence charges, which were later dropped. Showrunner Scott Marder told The Hollywood Reporter the search for his replacement lasted six months, and "thousands" of people tried out. "It almost went so wide that we debated doing a global hotline though we knew it would wind up being a prank line," Marder said. Belden's previous credits include "Gwen's Assistant Kyle Henderson" on an episode of "Chicago Med," while Cardoni's resume includes a role as "Water Park Guest (uncredited)" in "Grown Ups," per IMDb. Their hiring is proof that there are still voice acting jobs in Hollywood for people not named Chris Pratt. Adult Swim
5. Taylor Swift's 'The Eras Tour' is already the biggest concert film of all time domestically
I don't know about you, but Taylor Swift is feeling $92 million. The pop star's "Eras Tour" concert film had an impressive opening weekend, grossing $92.8 million domestically, AMC Theatres confirmed Monday. That's the biggest debut ever for a concert film. In fact, just based on opening weekend ticket sales alone, "The Eras Tour" is already the highest-grossing concert movie of all time domestically, surpassing Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never." It was an undeniably fantastic result, even if some analysts were hoping for an even bigger debut north of $100 million given Swift's large fanbase. "The Eras Tour" fell just over $3 million short of setting a new record for the biggest opening weekend ever in October, as "Joker," which debuted to $96.2 million in October 2019, still holds that crown. One of those films is about a figure whose legion of fervent followers will obey their every command, while the other is about the Joker. The Numbers
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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