The daily gossip: February 13, 2020
Disney is prepping a live-action Aladdin sequel, The Bachelor's Peter Weber says he's 'not making dumb decisions on purpose,' and more
- 1. Disney is prepping a live-action Aladdin sequel
- 2. The Bachelor's Peter Weber says he's 'not making dumb decisions on purpose'
- 3. Ryan Gosling told the Backstreet Boys they'd never make it
- 4. Rick Moranis will star in a new Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
- 5. Ray Donovan is coming back after all
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1. Disney is prepping a live-action Aladdin sequel
Who needs a whole new world when you can go back to the same old one? After scoring a billion-dollar box-office hit with last year's live-action Aladdin remake, Disney is going back to the well for a sequel — which is, for the record, a sequel to a live-action remake of an animated movie based on a folk tale. Though the 1992 animated movie also received two direct-to-video sequels, this new sequel is reported to be a wholly original concept — or at least as original as you can get when your movie starts with the question, "How can we make a free Genie do Genie stuff again?"
2. The Bachelor's Peter Weber says he's 'not making dumb decisions on purpose'
If you're watching The Bachelor and cringing at the mealy-mouthed indecisiveness of Peter Weber, you're in good company with Weber himself, who says watching himself on the show is "way harder than [he] ever thought it would be." On a podcast guest appearance, Weber swore he was "not making dumb decisions on purpose" — conceding, apparently, that he was making dumb decisions accidentally. "Yeah, there was a lot of indecision, but that's what you get when you date so many women at once," Weber added — which is fair but also probably something he should have seen coming since he's, you know, starring on The Bachelor.
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3. Ryan Gosling told the Backstreet Boys they'd never make it
The Backstreet Boys were one of two larger-than-life boy bands that exploded in the late 1990s. Along the way, there was at least one high-profile doubter who they proved wrong: Actor Ryan Gosling, who lived in the same apartment complex as Backstreet Boy AJ McLean. According to McLean, Gosling told him the Backstreet Boys' success was "not gonna happen, bro." Gosling was obviously wrong, but we suppose it's also possible that he was just playing games with McLean's heart.
4. Rick Moranis will star in a new Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Some very tiny news out of Tinseltown: Actor Rick Moranis — who has largely backed away from acting over the past 20 years— will return to the industry to star in a Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sequel, because hey, those Ant-Man movies make a lot of money, right? The new movie casts Josh Gad as Moranis' grown son, who will presumably shrink and/or blow up before the credits roll. Just a few years ago, Moranis turned down a role in the new Ghostbusters, saying it made "no sense to [him]" to return to the franchise after 30 years — so either he's changed his mind or the money is way, way better this time.
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5. Ray Donovan is coming back after all
Ray Donovan is back from the dead. Just a few weeks after being unceremoniously canceled by Showtime despite ending on a cliffhanger, sources report that Ray Donovan will return for a limited run and wrap up the story threads left dangling after season 7. Discussions are reportedly ongoing about whether the return will be a handful of new episodes or a one-off TV movie — but either way, it'll be something for your dad to watch after he finishes the new season of Jack Ryan.
Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
