ROME (AP) — Global fashion celebrities will join the public on Friday morning to say goodbye to iconic designer Valentino at his funeral service in Rome at the central Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.
After a two-day public viewing Wednesday and Thursday at the Valentino foundation’s headquarters in the Italian capital, the funeral marks the final tribute the internationally acclaimed designer.
Top fashion names including designers Tom Ford and Donatella Versace along with longtime Vogue magazine powerhouse Anna Wintour and Hollywood stars like Anne Hathaway are expected to attend the funeral service.
Valentino Garavani, who died aged 93 at his Rome residence Monday, was adored by generations of royals, first ladies and celebrities such as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Jordan’s Queen Rania and Julia Roberts who swore the designer always made them look and feel their best.
Hundreds of people have already paid their respects to the “last emperor” of Italian fashion during the public viewing. Valentino always maintained his atelier in Rome, while he mostly unveiled his collections in Paris.
His sumptuous gowns have graced countless Academy Awards, notably in 2001 when Roberts wore a vintage black and white column to accept her best actress statue. Cate Blanchett also wore a one-shouldered Valentino in butter-yellow silk when she won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2005.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Jennifer Lawrence surprised listeners with a spirited performance of Shania Twain’s classic “Any Man of Mine” during a recent podcast appearance, and the country star herself couldn’t help but respond. Lawrence’s energetic singing caught Twain’s eye on social media, and the “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” singer shared her delight with fans.
Shania Twain reacts to Jennifer Lawrence singing ‘Any Man of Mine’
In an episode of The Good Hang podcast with Amy Poehler on Jan. 20, Jennifer Lawrence revealed her favorite karaoke go-to: Shania Twain’s 1995 hit “Any Man of Mine.” Poehler shared she didn’t know the song, prompting Lawrence to offer her own rendition on the spot. Lawrence delivered a passionate vocal take, singing lines like “And if I change my mind, a million times, I want to hear him say, Yeah, yeah, yeah!” into the microphone.
Poehler was impressed, exclaiming, “Oh my God, you’re good,” to which Lawrence playfully responded, “I know, really good.” The moment was clipped and shared online, catching the attention of Shania Twain herself.
Twain couldn’t get enough of the video and made sure everyone knew it. She made her way into the Instagram comments, cheering on Jennifer Lawrence’s high-energy moment. She wrote, “The passion! The energy! The microphone grab!! Obsessed. Love ya Jennifer… and you Amy!” The singer later took the love over to X (formerly Twitter), calling the clip “so perfect.”
For those not in the know, “Any Man of Mine” first came in 1995 as the second single from The Woman in Me, the album that turned Twain into a global star. She’s looked back on that era many times over the years, even celebrating the album’s 25th anniversary on social media in 2020, reminding fans just how massive that moment was in her career.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Duckwrth manifested a 2026 Grammy nomination for his album while in the recording studio. He just didn’t know it.
The singer, songwriter and producer would pretend to press an imaginary Grammy button whenever he and his friends finished a new track.
“It would be certain moments when we’ll be done with the song, and we’ll come up with this thing called ‘Grammy button.’ It’s an invisible Grammy button — we’ll be like, ‘Grammy, Grammy.’ And we said that over and over again … it was an interesting, beautiful manifestation,” the artist told The Associated Press.
The 37-year-old musician first started turning heads with his genre-fluid debut mixtape “I’m Uugly” in 2016. Soon his eclectic sound could be heard across films and television shows like “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and HBO’s “Insecure.” Since then, Duckwrth’s music has gone against the grain, seamlessly blending elements of hip-hop, funk, rock and soul throughout his projects.
Immersive sound for a unique project
Duckwrth’s latest album, “All American F—Boy,” is nominated at the 68th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 1 for best immersive audio album, a category that honors the technical work of albums mixed using multichannel audio recordings.
If they win, the trophy will be awarded to immersive mix engineer Andrew Law, who formatted the album’s previously mixed stereo recording for Dolby Atmos surround sound, a three-dimensional experience that allows listeners to feel as if they are at the center of the songs’ layered instruments and melodies.
“The difficult part is you have to keep the essence of the actual song so that when people listen to it on headphones or on other mediums, and not like in the (Dolby Atmos) studio, that it still sounds like the song without making it too crazy,” said Law. “I try to take the approach of keeping the song how it was meant to be heard. And then turn it into a big soundscape and something really, really fun when you’re sitting in an Atmos studio.”
The project is immersive in more ways than one. While brainstorming his next project, Duckwrth knew he wanted to center it on a character who was a bit more “brash and more a Sid Vicious type.”
“So, I feel I had to find a way to blend what they already knew me for,” he said. “I told my friend I gotta trick people, I gotta secretly drop a rock album, but people not know it’s a rock album.”
At the time, he was listening to audiobooks, like George Orwell’s “1984,” and wanted the album to feel like the layered soundscapes in a film or audiobook. So, he sat down and, over the course of 2 ½ years, created his own audio drama within the album, starring himself and featuring narration from actor LaKeith Stanfield. The album was produced alongside BLK ODYSSY and 2Fresh, featuring artists like Tanerélle, Sherwyn, Tommy Newport and IDK.
The album follows the titular “All American F—Boy” as he navigates the ups and downs of dating while grappling with a fear of commitment. His character ultimately is forced to confront his toxic playboy tendencies and break the patterns that have kept him in a constant loop of failed relationships. The loosely autobiographical project weaves into its coming-of-age story the invitation to explore the ways generational trauma, patriarchy and toxic masculinity affect romantic relationships.
“I was highly uncomfortable dropping this album, but I think when the wind pushes you so hard, it’s like when you’re like a child throwing a tantrum, and you’re just like, ‘No, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna go to school,’ but then your mom is like pushing you out the door, like ‘Boy, if you don’t get in that car,’” said Duckwrth. “So I think making this album, it was a strong wind against my back, pushing me forward to go as deep as possible and be as vulnerable as possible.”
When looking back at the album’s journey, both Law and Duckwrth knew they had something great on their hands. For Law, it was an instant win from the narration to the music.
“I was like, this is the one,” he said.
Duckwrth says the album and Law’s immersive engineering work receiving a Grammy nomination is rewarding and a reminder to trust himself, his creative intuition and to be just as vulnerable with future projects.
“Yeah, to get a Grammy nomination for just being all out rebellious is pretty cool,” he said with a smile on his face. “And I’m excited for the kids who come after me to see that, whether we win or not, just having a nomination, especially for my album.”
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Alexander Skarsgård is addressing comments he made about his sexuality while promoting his new BDSM film, Pillion.
Skarsgård, 49, was asked at the 2025 Zurich Film Festival what he brought from his own life to the upcoming film, which follows timid Colin (Henry Melling) as he meets confident biker Ray (Skarsgård), who initiates him into a submissive relationship.
“I mean, I do have a kid, but what I’ve done in the past, who I’ve been with, men, women…,” Skarsgård explained at the time. “To me, what was important was that this felt like an opportunity to tell a story about a subculture I hadn’t seen portrayed this way — with so much authenticity.”
Some fans took the actor’s explanation as a confirmation of his assumed bisexuality. However, when asked in an interview with Variety published on Tuesday, January 20, Skarsgård clarified that he was merely trying to de-center his own personal experience when explaining the premise of the film.
Alexander Skarsgård brought an added edge to his latest red carpet outing. Skarsgård, 49, stepped out at the BFI London Film Festival premiere of his movie Pillion on Saturday, October 18, showing off his rather impressive physique. Skarsgård donned a sleeveless, halter-style button-down that flaunted his toned biceps, which he wore with a pair of […]
“Oh. That it resonated with my past? It was definitely not an intended statement,” the Big Little Lies star told the outlet when asked about his previous comments. “I don’t know what I was talking about. Maybe it has to do with — there’s a lot of focus sometimes on me as an actor. Maybe it was trying to shift the focus more to the story and these characters. And the importance of telling the story like this.”
This isn’t the first time Skarsgård has made headlines for his remarks about the film. The True Blood alum previously opened up about why he was “excited” to shoot Pillion’s graphic sex scenes with his costar Melling, noting that the movie strays from the typical construct of what intimate on screen moments often look like.
“I was excited because [the sex scenes] are interesting [in Pillion],” he told The Hollywood Reporter in September 2025. “And that’s quite rare. Most sex scenes on screen are quite boring and sanitized.”
Skarsgård added that the sex scenes don’t shy away from the “awkwardness” of many intimate situations, which he appreciated.
“We really leaned into the authenticity, the awkwardness of sex, which I thought was really funny and sweet,” he explained. “It’s quite rare to have a sex scene that actually has an emotional journey. There’s stuff happening, and it’s like erotic and sexy, but then it’s awkward, and then it’s funny. I think [director Harry Lighton] instilled a lot of trust in us. We just felt very comfortable. There was no trepidation going in. Quite the opposite. We were excited to jump in.”
When asked whether any sex scenes were deemed too explicit for Pillion’s final cut, Skarsgård said with a laugh, “Oh yeah, we’ve got some extra scenes we’ve saved for the Christmas Special edition, a triple X version for the kids.”
Pillion is based on author Adam Mars-Jones’ 2020 Fitzcarraldo Editions Novel Prize-winning novel Box Hill. The book was also shortlisted by the Royal Society of Literature as one of the best British novels of 2021.
Alexander Skarsgård revealed that he gets “quite excited” to shoot “graphic” sex scenes. The Big Little Lies alum, 49, and costar Harry Melling have multiple intimate scenes in their critically-acclaimed romantic drama Pillion, which chronicles a BDSM relationship between a biker gang leader (Skarsgård) and a shy young man (Melling) who lives with his terminally […]
In his months promoting the film, Skarsgård has been praised for his method-like fashion choices, often showing up on red carpets wearing bondage-themed attire. While speaking to Variety on Monday, he admitted clothes are not his usual forte, but something he’s been playing with more recently.
“I never buy clothes. If you saw my closet, my wardrobe is very limited,” he confessed. “I’m not a big consumer of fashion. I don’t spend money on expensive brands. I really enjoy the creativity of it, but it’s not like I’m out shopping for these outfits. I guess it’s something I’ve leaned into a bit more of late.”
The critics association announced nominees in eight competitive categories and three honorary winners, including the celebrated author-journalist Frances Fitzgerald, who will receive a lifetime achievement award.
“Out of the many hundreds of titles that our organization carefully considered this year, these singular and striking finalists rose to the top,” NBCC President Adam Dalva said in a statement Tuesday. “They interrogate the lives we lead, broaden our creative and social horizons, move us, and continually surprise us. Especially in this difficult time, every one of these writers and translators deserves to be celebrated -– and to be widely read.”
Han’s “We Do Not Part” (translated from the Korean by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris) is a fiction finalist, along with Karen Russell’s “The Antidote”; Katie Kitamura’s “Audition”; Solvej Balle’s “On the Calculation of Volume (Book III),” translated from the Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell; and Flournoy’s “The Wilderness.”
Roy is a nominee in autobiography for “Mother Mary Comes to Me,” with other books cited including Geraldine Brooks’ “Memorial Days”; Beth Macy’s “Paper Girl”; Hanif Kureishi’s “Shattered”; and Miriam Toews’ “A Truce That Is Not Peace.”
Finalists in other categories range from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s “To Save and to Destroy” for criticism to Nicholas Boggs’ “Baldwin: A Love Story” for best first book to Kevin Young’s “Night Watch” for poetry.
Winners will be announced March 26.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
NEW YORK (AP) — Channing Tatum is bringing the stage spin-off of his wildly successful “Magic Mike” film franchise to New York City, promising to “turn up the gas” on a show that already generates plenty of heat.
“Magic Mike Live” — which offers plenty of chiseled abs and sex-positivity — will open its specially designed 425-seat immersive experience Oct. 8 at the onetime Copacabana nightclub on the corner of 47th Street and 8th Avenue.
“We’re going to turn the gas up a little bit and make it a little hotter, just pour some gasoline on it. It’s New York. So you’ve got to throw everything at it,” Tatum tells The Associated Press.
“Magic Like Live” flips the traditional, cheesy male review on its head, putting the women in the audience first at a time when toxic masculinity is under fire.
The show features 13 ripped male dancers and a female MC, combining songs, aerial acrobatics, comedy, plenty of drink service and audience participation, only if wanted.
“It’s kind of like a dance spectacular that has a sexy twist, and sexy for us is a lot of things. Sexy is funny. Sexy is athletic. Sexy is smart. So we try to approach the dance with all of those things in mind,” says Alison Faulk, co-director and choreographer.
“There’s very few spaces that are made with women in mind,” she adds. “This is made with the woman in mind and making her whole night happy and easier and fun, just to like to take a load off. There’s few places like that.”
Some of the songs will include Ginuwine’s “Pony,” which is featured in the films, 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop,” Gallant’s “Open Up,” James Brown’s “Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine” and Ro James’ “Permission,” as well as original music.
The creators say the new venue is a hybrid between a really beautiful nightclub and a theatrical space, with multiple bars and lounges and seating that ranges from couches to traditional theatrical seats, to bar stools, cabaret tables and banquets.
“What we really try to do is to create an evening of surprise and delight that gives you a bit of what you expect and then a whole bunch of things you never thought you’d ever get,” says Vincent Marini, creative director and executive producer. “What we did for the male revue is very similar to what Cirque du Soleil did to circus.”
Tatum, who spent time in a Chippendales-like revue as a young dancer before becoming a movie star, conceived of the nightclub-style shows but warns visitors not to expect a live version of the “Magic Mike” movies.
“One of the biggest reasons why I wanted to make this show was to kill that old version of male entertaining, because I’ve worked in that version and it’s misogynistic and degrading to women,” he says.
“It’s just gross a little bit. I ain’t gonna lie. Like, I did it for like about 10 months and I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. This is nuts,’” he adds. “Most of the people that end up loving our show, I think, the most are the people that kind of hate that type of thing the most.”
The success of the films first spawned a Las Vegas stage show in 2017 that now has outposts in London and Berlin and is touring Australia. The version that lands in New York will be tweaked to reflect the city and creators say they’ve fine-tuned the story.
Tatum says the creators have learned that audiences in different cities act differently — London’s were more staid than Vegas, for instance — and that whoever is the MC can really change the experience by setting the tone.
“This New York production is the culmination of 10 years of work and thought and watching millions of people, men and women go to this show,” says Marini. “We want to come to New York with the very best version of this that we’ve ever done.”
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Marvel Phase 7 may already be quietly taking shape. A new report suggests a long-absent MCU hero could be gearing up to return in a major ensemble project tied to the long-rumored Midnight Sons movie.
Moon Knight to play a major role in rumored Midnight Sons movie
While never officially confirmed by Marvel Studios, the Midnight Sons movie has accumulated substantial rumors since whispers of its development began in 2022. The latest update comes from MyTimeToShineHello, who tweeted, “Moon Knight will have a main role in Midnight Sons.”
The claim has fueled renewed interest in the character’s MCU future, especially since Moon Knight Season 2 remains unconfirmed and there has been no indication of the character appearing in Avengers 5 or Avengers 6. As a result, Midnight Sons increasingly appears to be the most logical continuation of Moon Knight’s story.
Momentum around Midnight Sons intensified following a reported update on Mahershala Ali’s Blade reboot. Industry insider Jeff Sneider revealed on The Hot Mic podcast that the solo Blade film announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 may no longer be moving forward.
During the discussion, Sneider said, “Blade is dead,” later clarifying that the information was “a rumor.” He then added, “I’m hearing Blade is dead and that it is a Midnight Sons movie. He will not be introduced in a solo movie. He’ll be introduced in Midnight Sons.” The MCU already teased Blade with a voice cameo in the post-credits scene of Eternals. An alternate version of the character later appeared in Marvel Zombies.
Moon Knight debuted in his solo Disney+ series in 2022, with Oscar Isaac in the lead role. The character has yet to appear elsewhere in the MCU. With no confirmed follow-up project, the rumored Midnight Sons movie appears to be the most viable platform for his return in Marvel’s Phase 7.
As of writing, Marvel Studios has not officially confirmed Midnight Sons.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on SuperHeroHype.
“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” may have scored well with critics, but slightly more moviegoing audiences chose to spend the holiday weekend catching up with “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” James Cameron’s epic topped the North American box office charts for the fifth straight weekend with $13.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Walt Disney Co. also celebrated another win as their Thanksgiving release “Zootopia 2” became the highest grossing animated Motion Picture Association release of all time.
Meanwhile “The Bone Temple,” directed by Nia DaCosta, landed in second place with $13 million through Sunday. By the end of Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, it’s expected to be at $15 million, still trailing “Avatar’s” projected $17.2 million. The film, released by Sony Pictures and starring Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell, opened wide this weekend in 3,506 theaters on a wave of hype and strong reviews. It currently has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 72% of audiences said in a PostTrak poll that they would “definitely recommend” the movie. Considering it’s also solidly in the horror genre and arriving in January, often a dumping ground for lesser movies, “The Bone Temple” should have done better. Internationally, it made $16.2 million from 61 markets.
But perhaps in a case of too much too soon, the sequel also comes less than a year after the previous installment, “28 Years Later,” which opened to $30 million in June. Going into the weekend, “The Bone Temple” was expected to make at least $20 million through Monday. With a reported $63 million production budget, not including marketing and promotion, it also has a long journey to break even.
“It’s one of those head-scratchers,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Comscore. “There may be a little bit of confusion from audiences. But word-of-mouth might sustain it in this marketplace, like we saw with ‘The Housemaid’ and ‘Zootopia 2.’”
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the team who started it all with “28 Days Later,” which came out in 2002, are also working on a third installment.
Third place went to “Zootopia 2,” with $8.8 million in its eighth weekend. With global grosses currently at $1.7 billion, it surpassed “Inside Out 2” as the highest grossing MPA animated release of all time. The MPA distinction means that the Chinese blockbuster “Ne Zha 2,” which has made over $2.2 billion, is not included in the rankings. “Zootopia 2” is also now the ninth biggest global release of all time
“The Housemaid,” one of the other major blockbusters of late, landed in fourth place with $8.5 million. Made for only $35 million, the Lionsgate release has grossed nearly $250 million worldwide.
Rounding out the top five was “Marty Supreme,” which became A24’s highest grossing North American release with a running gross of $79.7 million, unseating “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Josh Safdie’s mid-century adrenaline rush may get another boost after Oscar nominations are announced Thursday.
“Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers” were also back in theaters this weekend and both in the top 10, grossing $3.6 million and $2.4 million respectively.
Outside of the top 10, Focus Features’ “Hamnet,” which won best drama and best female actor for Jessie Buckley at the Golden Globes last weekend and is considered another top Oscar contender, expanded to 718 locations this weekend where it made $1.3 million through Sunday.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Tuesday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore:
1. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $13.3 million.
2. “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” $13 million.
3. “Zootopia 2,” $8.8 million.
4. “The Housemaid,” $8.5 million
5. “Marty Supreme,” $5.5 million.
6. “Primate,” $5 million.
7. “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” $3.6 million.
8. “Greenland 2: Migration,” $3.4 million.
9. “Anaconda,” $3.2 million.
10. “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” $2.4 million.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia will keep his late daughter close to his heart during the upcoming 2026 baseball season.
“It’s glove day [and I] get to customize six gloves with Marucci,” Alex, 29, said in a Friday, January 16, TikTok video shared by his wife, Kayla Vesia.
According to Kayla, also 29, her husband designs a new baseball glove ahead of each MLB season.
“It’s that time of the year again when we make Alex’s gloves for the season [with] the colors, everything,” Kayla explained in her footage. “Fun fact about gloves. No. 1, the gloves cannot be white, they need to be two-toned … [and] pitchers tend to have a bigger glove so they don’t tip their pitches.”
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia’s wife, Kayla Vesia, has been his biggest supporter throughout his baseball career. The couple went public with their relationship in April 2019 while Alex was still playing for the Clinton LumberKings collegiate team — and she stood by him as he turned pro, first for the Miami Marlins and, […]
In addition to picking the colors of the mitt, Alex adds several sweet references to Kayla and their family.
“Ever since we started dating, he puts [the letter] ‘K’ on his ring finger,” Kayla said. “He has ‘FUFB’ always on his glove and now, he will start adding Sterling’s name. Sometimes he pulls inspo from different pictures of gloves that already exist and most of the time we mess around and see what we like.”
“There are no words to describe the pain we’re going through but we hold her in our hearts and cherish every second we had with her,” the couple wrote in a social media statement at the time. “Thank you to the Dodgers for their understanding and support during this time. Our baseball family showed up for us and we wouldn’t be able to do this without them.”
Alex sat out the entirety of the 2025 World Series last fall while grieving Sterling’s death. (The Dodgers eventually won the championship over the Toronto Blue Jays.)
Alex and Kayla returned to social media earlier this month, often sharing updates on how the pair are coping amid their tragic loss.
“You know, I don’t have much to say, honestly,” Kayla said in an emotional TikTok video posted on January 2. “Alex and I are trying to get through it everyday. Every day is so different for us, and I don’t really have the words.”
Thank You!
You have successfully subscribed.
She continued, “I share a lot of Alex and I’s life on here [and] it just felt right to come and say thank you. I am really grateful for the community of you guys just expressing your support and love for us. It really has brought us a lot of comfort during this.”
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia and his wife, Kayla Vesia, were supported by his MLB teammates in the weeks after their newborn daughter’s death. “Having all the guys show up in matching pjs,” Kayla, 29, wrote over a Saturday, January 4, TikTok video, where Alex, also 29, was floored on Christmas morning as his […]
Kayla further hoped that her social media return would help her navigate the unimaginable death of her child.
“[I don’t know] what this content is going to look like going forward, but I do want to share my journey,” Kayla said. “I don’t know how much I’m gonna share, I don’t know the details, but I do know I want to share if it can help somebody who’s going through the same thing feel like they’re not alone. I don’t want to come on the internet and cry. I don’t think that’s fun for anyone. I think it will be a good outlet to be able to talk and share, different from me and Alex talking [or us] talking with our therapist.”
A family comedy movie featuringRyan Reynolds has found considerable success on streaming after reaching a broader audience. Thanks to its strong viewership on Paramount+, IF has managed to rank high on streaming analytics charts. Notably, the film, helmed by John Krasinski, premiered in theaters on May 17, 2024, to mixed critical reception.
Ryan Reynolds’ IF is ranking high on Paramount+’s streaming charts
As of January 16, 2026, Ryan Reynolds’ family comedy movie is doing well on Paramount+.
IF is the #7 movie on the streaming platform, with 70 popularity points on FlixPatrol. It is also ranked either #7 or #6 in several international territories.
On Rotten Tomatoes, IF has a Tomatometer score of 57 percent but a robust Popcornmeter score of 85 percent. Meanwhile, Metacritic, which uses a weighted average to determine scores, gave the film a Metascore of 46, based on 39 critical reviews, and a user score of 6.2, drawn from 151 user ratings.
Following its release, IF also grossed $190.5 million worldwide against a reported budget of $110 million. (via Box Office Mojo)
The live-action fantasy comedy follows Bea, a 12-year-old girl who goes to live with her grandmother Margaret in the latter’s apartment while her father goes to the hospital for heart surgery. Her life turns upside down when she realizes one day that she can see imaginary friends of other children.
Bea later meets a man named Cal, also capable of seeing the same imaginary friends. The two subsequently work together to place the friends with new children, as the ones they were originally friends with have grown up and moved on without them.
In addition to directing the film, John Krasinski also wrote the screenplay and co-produced with Ryan Reynolds, Andrew Form, and Allyson Seeger.
The film includes a mix of live-action actors and voice actors. The live-action cast includes Reynolds, Krasinski, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, Alan Kim, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Bobby Moynihan. Meanwhile, the voice cast includes Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Awkwafina, Emily Blunt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, and Blake Lively.
Peter Jackson is giving fans a sneak peek into the making of The Lord of the Rings trilogy ahead of its theatrical re-release. The filmmaker recently revealed how Viggo Mortensen’s surfing accident altered one of the most iconic LOTR scenes. The news comes as a surprise to fans who are all set to re-watch the fantasy trilogy with remastered visuals and behind-the-scenes insights.
Peter Jackson details why he had to change one Lord of the Rings battle scene
Peter Jackson had to change a key battle scene in The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring after Viggo Mortensen’s surfing accident. In an exclusive clip by Entertainment Weekly, the Academy Award-winner recalls a hilarious incident involving Viggo Mortensen. The actor, who portrayed Aragorn, had arrived on set with a black eye. Consequently, Jackson had to change up the filming process of the epic battle scene in Fellowship of the Ring.
“The thing with these movies, of course, is we shot all three of them at the same time and then in a mixed-up kind of way,” Jackson explained. The Lord of the Rings director explained how they would shoot Fellowship on Monday and jump to Two Towers on Tuesday. By Wednesday, they would be back to Fellowship and filmed the Return of the King on Thursday.
Jackson continued, “So in the mines of Moria scene, too, the other thing I remember, we all show up to shoot that scene. And Viggo had been out with the Hobbits during the weekend, and he’d been surfing, and he had sustained an injury surfing, like the board had flipped in the air and whacked him in the face.”
As a result, he shot Viggo from the side, avoiding that gabe black eye. Jackson has asked viewers to watch the scene closely when the cave troll joins the attack. They will be able to spot that Viggo’s only shown from one side.
Fathom Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures have announced that filmmaker Peter Jackson has recorded special introductions for the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, hitting theaters on January 16-18 and 23-25. Tickets are now available at Fathom Entertainment and participating theater box offices.
Marvel fans are all set to witness Doctor Doom vs Ultron in the new one-shot Doom 2099: Rage of Doom #1. Written by Frank Tieri in collaboration with Von Randal, the one-shot is a sequel to the former’s popular work, Doomed 2099. Moreover, the cover art for this one-shot is done by Junggeun Yoon, Derrick Chew, and Peach Momoko.
Doctor Doom vs. Ultron set up for Doom 2099: Rage of Doom
Two of Marvel’s biggest antagonists, Doctor Doom and Ultron, are all set to face off against each other in Doom 2099: Rage of Doom.
The one-shot is a sequel to the highly popular Doomed 2099. Tieri’s work is based on a future version of Doctor Doom, who goes on a quest to undo his cruel fate and travels to the present.
According to a report by ComicBookMovie.com, Tieri recently gave a press release in which he said, “Behold the battle of two of comics’ all-time greatest villains! After the shock ending to the last one-shot—that Doom 2099 was responsible for wiping out his timeline and all life on Earth—fans of that book were clamouring to find out how things got that way. Well, they need wonder no more because we reveal it here in Doom 2099: Rage of Doom #1. And we’ve brought none other than Mr. AI terror himself, Ultron, along for the human life-ending ride.”
The synopsis of the Doctor Doom vs Ultron reads, “Doctor Doom’s spell didn’t just annihilate his enemies – it wiped out all life on Earth, leaving even him to regret the cost. In the desolate future of DOOMED 2099, Doom discovers Ultron’s buried head and risks everything to repair his time machine. But awakening a dangerously powerful machine intelligence invites new rebellion, and the path to redemption may demand a price even Doom never anticipated.”
Originally reported by Ishita Verma on SuperHeroHype.
Chase Infiniti may be sharing the screen with Leonardo DiCaprio in her latest film, but even she admits she hadn’t seen one of his most famous movies until fairly recently. The One Battle After Another star opened up about her early conversations with DiCaprio, the surprising gap in her movie-watching history, and why one of his other films has always meant more to her.
Chase Infiniti reveals which Leonardo DiCaprio movie she didn’t see until recently
While talking with PEOPLE, Chase Infiniti revealed a surprising confession that she didn’t watch Titanic until just last year. The iconic 1997 Leo DiCaprio classic somehow slipped past her for decades. Speaking ahead of the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards on January 10, 2026, she laughed it off, saying, “Do you know what’s crazy? I didn’t watch Titanic until last year. I had not seen it.”
Instead, the DiCaprio movie that really stuck with her while growing up was Catch Me If You Can. The 2002 Steven Spielberg film, where Leo plays real-life con man Frank Abagnale Jr. opposite Tom Hanks, was her go-to. “That’s the Leo film for me, she said, adding that she watched it when she was younger and still absolutely loves it.
That mutual love for Catch Me If You Can even helped break the ice between Chase Infiniti and Leonardo DiCaprio on set. While filming One Battle After Another, the movie became one of their first real conversations.
Infiniti plays Willa, the daughter of revolutionaries played by DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor in the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed film. She shared that conversing about the movie and even its stage musical version came up naturally while they were working together.
Infiniti also opened up about going through a long audition process that stretched nearly five to six months. She first sent in a self-tape while she was busy shooting her screen debut in Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent.
Walking into meetings with DiCaprio and director Paul Thomas Anderson could’ve been nerve-racking. In a sit-down with Today Infiniti said both were “so kind,” adding that she’s “so grateful for the entire experience.”
Affleck, 53, and Damon, 55, reunited at the Tuesday, January 13, premiere of their new film The Rip in New York City, opening up about what they are learning and relearning about each other as they continue to work together over the years.
“I keep relearning things about Matt that I already knew and I forget them,” Affleck, 53, joked to Us Weekly exclusively before getting serious about their decades-long friendship. “Honestly, I am continuously reminded of what a great father he is and what a fabulous actor he is.”
Affleck added that it’s “fun” he and Damon get to navigate their careers together. “You’re really lucky if you can do this for a living,” he said. “And you’re exceptionally lucky if you can do it with people you love and care about.”
Matt Damon has been married to his wife, Luciana Barroso, for more than 20 years — but turns out her eyes were initially drawn to his best friend Ben Affleck. “This is f****ing completely true,” Damon, 55, began during the Monday, January 12, episode of The Howard Stern Show after being asked if Affleck, 53, […]
Damon then jokingly ribbed his BFF to “keep going” with the kind words, causing Affleck to reply, “Yeah, pick that money up and put in my back pocket!”
The ride-or-die duo have been together since they wrote and starred in 1997’s Oscar-winning drama Good Will Hunting. They have since gone on to collaborate together on multiple projects throughout the years, both in front of and behind the camera.The Rip serves as their most recent project, which follows a group of Miami cops who, after discovering a stash of millions in cash, start to question who they can rely on.
“These are people who don’t make a lot of money. And it’s about going out and doing an honest day’s work, and the integrity and the meaning of that,” Affleck explained of the film during a Monday, January 12, appearance on The Howard Stern Show. “[They’re] under-appreciated, under suspicion often, and underfunded.”
The pair also reflected on experiencing the highs and lows of fame while speaking to Stern, 72, noting that they feel lucky that they’ve had each other to lean on throughout their 40 years in the spotlight.
“Getting famous and successful kind of together, [we had] somebody to turn to and go ‘is this f***ing nuts, or what?’ Or to say ‘what are you doing, man?’” Affleck shared, to which Damon replied, “We hit the lottery. We hit it together.”
That remains true for their personal lives, as well. When asked if he’d been there for Affleck when he was going through “all his problems,” including his divorces and substance abuse issues, Damon told Stern he’s stood by his friend’s side for “all of it.”
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix
Affleck was previously married to Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018 and the pair share three children together: Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 13. Their divorce was finalized in 2021, the same year the Argo director reconnected with Jennifer Lopez, who he was previously engaged to in 2002. They wed in 2022 but divorced after two years of marriage. Affleck has also been open about his struggles with alcohol over the years.
“Could you go to Ben and say, ‘I’m here to help you?’” Stern asked Damon, who didn’t hesitate in his reply. “Oh, yeah, our relationship isn’t affected by what people are saying.”
Affleck, for his part, shared how appreciative he is of having Damon in his life. “That means a lot to me,” he told The Odyssey actor. “That’s sort of what a real friend is.”
Damon has been married to wife Luciana Barrososince 2005 and the couple share four daughters: Alexia, 25, Isabella, 19, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15. When speaking with Stern on Monday, Damon confessed that Barroso initially thought Affleck was the “cute one”of the two when watching Good Will Hunting and before meeting Damon in person.
Thank You!
You have successfully subscribed.
The trio have since worked together on multiple projects, with Barroso serving as a producer on The Rip. She is also set to l co-produce Affleck’s next directorial project, Animals. Despite the awkward first impressions, Affleck told Stern that they’ve all since become great friends and he’s beared witness to how strong Damon and Barroso are as a couple since the start.
“It’s a really gorgeous marriage and friendship and two people who when they’re apart and independent of one another are one another’s partner,” Affleck shared of Damon and Barroso’s 20-year union. “I have a feeling it’s improved.”
Despite a lukewarm critical response, a 2025 German war movie has found unexpected success on Prime Video. The Tank has rapidly climbed the charts and is drawing fresh attention from viewers. The film’s sudden rise in popularity has turned it into a breakout hit following its limited theatrical release.
The Tank becomes a streaming hit on Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video’s World War II drama The Tank is gaining significant traction on streaming. The film has drawn renewed attention months after its low-profile theatrical release.
According to FlixPatrol, the World War II drama climbed to the Number 1 position on Prime Video’s Top Movies chart on January 11, 2026. This shows a sharp rise in viewership after the movie already appeared in the platform’s Top 10 earlier in the week. The chart also shows that film’s strongest performance has been recorded in Germany. The movie has consistently ranked at or near the top of Prime Video’s daily charts since its streaming debut.
Directed by Dennis Gansel, The Tank is set in 1943 on the Eastern Front. It centers on a five-man German Tiger tank crew tasked with a high-risk mission behind enemy lines. Ordered to locate a missing officer hidden in a classified bunker, the crew must navigate hostile territory while facing constant danger. As the operation progresses, increasing pressure and psychological strain begin to negatively impact the group.
The film features performances from Laurence Rupp, David Schütter, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Leonard Kunz, André Hennicke, Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey, Tilman Strauss, and Yana Shevchenko. The Tank released theatrically in Germany in September 2025 under the title Der Tiger. It later expanded to international audiences with Prime Video release on January 2, 2026.
While critical reception has been mixed, The Tank currently holds a 61 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Its swift climb on streaming platforms suggests that the film has gained fresh traction online after a modest theatrical release.
Indiana University football coach Curt Cignetti is a stoic guy on the field — but when a game is over, he’s a family man.
The coach learned his love of football from the best — his dad, Frank Cignetti Sr.
“First of all, my dad would be really mad at some of the things I said when I got hired,” Curt told the Indy Star in November 2024. “I thought this situation was a clash of two worlds. One used to winning, and winning championships, and another where people thought it was impossible. I wasn’t going to lower my expectations and standards.”
For those who missed it, Curt’s famous soundbite came from a 2023 interview when he was asked about securing football recruits to Indiana. “I win — Google me,” he said, confidently. (Curt did make the IU Hoosiers a 14-0 football team in 2025, so he’s not wrong.)
The 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza has taken the Indiana University football team to new heights — but the athlete couldn’t have done it without his supportive family by his side. “My lifelong teammate, Alberto, my brother, my closest confidant. The one I trust more than anybody to get through a tough day, tough […]
“I’d have got chastised for that,” Curt said of his father during the same interview. “But my dad was a confident guy. He was very confident.”
Curt and his father, Frank, aren’t the only Cignetti football legends. Keep scrolling to meet the Indiana University coach’s family:
Who Was Curt Cignetti’s Dad?
Curt followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a college coach. Frank Cignetti Sr. was most known for his roles as the head football coach at both West Virginia University, a position he held from 1976 to 1979, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), a role he held from from 1986 to 2005.
Frank Sr. was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Curt announced on social media in September 2022 that his dad died at age 84.
“I was blessed to have a great Dad!” Curt wrote on X at the time. “He inspired me and so many others. Love you Dad! Rest in peace.”
Does Curt Cignetti Have a Brother?
Curt’s brother, Frank Cignetti Jr., has also carried on their family’s football legacy. He kicked off his career coaching the IUP team under his father. Frank Jr. moved on to the NFL where he held coaching positions with the Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints before getting a job for Fresno State in 2002.
He’s also held positions coaching at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, the San Francisco 49ers, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers University, the St. Louis Rams, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers and Boston College.
Frank Jr. is currently the offensive coordinator for IUP, a role he’s held since 2025.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Who Is Curt Cignetti’s Wife?
Curt married Manette Cignetti in May 1989 after meeting in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
“We were doing a long distance keep in touch,” Manette told the IndyStar in October 2024. “Then I went to visit him for Halloween, and he asked me to marry him.”
Thank You!
You have successfully subscribed.
Manette couldn’t help but gush over her husband in the same interview.
“He’s super organized. He’s everything I’m not. He’s always looking for the edge. He can juggle anything,” she shared. “He leads by example. He has great integrity. He’s a great role model for these kids. He’s 100 percent all in and that’s why his players are the same way.”
Does Curt Cignetti Have Kids?
Curt and Manette share three kids, Natalie, Carly and Curtis.
Yellowstone actors Kelly Reilly and Jefferson White recently revealed some frightening experiences from the sets of the hit Paramount series. These moments involved filming scenes alongside wild animals. Reilly recalled working with a pack of wolves, while White shared his experience acting opposite a bear.
Kelly Reilly discusses working with real wolves in Yellowstone
During a cast dinner at Delilah at Wynn Las Vegas for the launch of the official Yellowstone podcast, Kelly Reilly and Jefferson White spoke about filming scenes that involved potentially dangerous wild animals.
Reilly recalled that she had to run toward a pack of wolves during the first season of the show. She said the crew assured her it would be safe and that measures were in place to pull her out if something went wrong. Still, the experience was unsettling. “I’m like, well, don’t you think their most inner instincts might come out when there’s a woman with a bottle of whiskey running up to them?” she recalled (via PEOPLE). “They were like, ‘Don’t worry, we’ve got these like invisible pieces of cord, so if they do run at you, that will trip them up.’”
Reilly said she could not see the cord. “That’s not going to stop a wolf, let alone his 12 mates,” she said. “But we went for it, and it was pretty terrifying, I have to say. I’m in the middle of Montana, and I’m running directly at a bunch of wolves.” She jokingly added, “I’m really brave.”
Reilly was not the only cast member to face a tense animal encounter. Jefferson White recalled a scene in which a bear was supposed to chase him. “We shot it in like late November, so it was hibernation season. So this bear was like the laziest bear you’ve ever met,” he said. “They kept trying to antagonize the bear to get it to chase me.”
When the bear did not cooperate, the production came up with another solution. “What they ended up doing was stuffing my pockets full of chicken,” White recalled. “So every pocket on my body was stuffed full of shredded chicken to try to get the bear to chase me.”
The first episode of the official Yellowstone podcast will drop on Friday.
Prime Video will soon begin streaming an underrated ’80s slasher movie from iconic horror director Tobe Hooper. The Funhouse was released in 1981 and garnered a lukewarm response from the general audience. However, it fared better with critics and currently has a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Funhouse sets Prime Video streaming date
The Funhouse arrives on Prime Video on January 31, 2026. Some of the other movies that will become available on the platform that day are The Big Lebowski (1998), Waterworld (1995), Earthquake (1974), and The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988).
Hooper directed the movie from a script by Larry Block. The cast includes Elizabeth Berridge as Amy Harper, Cooper Huckabee as Buzz, Largo Woodruff as Liz Duncan, Kevin Conway as Freak Show Barker / Strip Show Barker / Conrad Straker, Miles Chapin as Richie, Wayne Doba as Gunther Twibunt, Sylvia Miles as Madame Zena, and William Finley as Marco the Magnificent.
The plot of The Funhouse revolves around four friends who decide to spend the night on the eponymous dark ride at a sleazy traveling carnival. They witness a man in a Frankenstein’s Monster mask killing a woman and realize that they have to survive murderous carnival employees.
Hooper garnered widespread fame for helming classic horror movies, including The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Eaten Alive (1976), and Poltergeist (1982).
In a review, Matt Brunson of Film Frenzy noted, “The imaginatively designed funhouse, oddball characters along the periphery, and a masterfully staged climax allow this to stand out.” Brunson added, “The Funhouse was released during the glut of countless Friday the 13th and Halloween slasher rip-offs (e.g. My Bloody Valentine, The Burning, Hell Night, all also 1981), and it was unfairly dismissed as more of the same. Don’t you believe it.”
In the wake of last weekend’s U.S. military action in Venezuela, the news media got something it has seldom heard from the Trump administration: a “thank you.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio credited news organizations that had learned in advance about last Saturday’s strike that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with not putting the mission in jeopardy by publicly reporting on it before it happened.
Rubio’s acknowledgment was particularly noteworthy because Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has cited a mistrust of journalists’ ability to responsibly handle sensitive information as one of the chief reasons for imposing restrictive new press rules on Pentagon reporters. Most mainstream news organizations have left posts in the Pentagon rather than agree to Hegseth’s policy.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Rubio said the administration withheld information about the mission from Congress ahead of time because “it will leak. It’s as simple as that.” But the primary reason was operational security, he said.
“Frankly, a number of media outlets had gotten leaks that this was coming and held it for that very reason,” Rubio said. “And we thank them for doing that or lives could have been lost. American lives.”
Semafor, citing “people familiar with communications between the administration and news organizations,” reported that The New York Times and The Washington Post had both learned of the raid in advance but held off reporting on it to avoid endangering U.S. military personnel. Representatives for both outlets declined comment to The Associated Press on Monday.
Withholding information on a planned mission for that reason is routine for news organizations, said Dana Priest, a longtime national security reporter at the Post who now teaches at the University of Maryland. Even after the fact, the Post has asked government authorities about whether revealing certain details could endanger people, she said.
When The Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included in a text chain last spring where Hegseth revealed information about a military attack in Yemen, the journalist did not report on the events until well after U.S. personnel was out of danger and the information had been thoroughly checked out.
Most Americans learned of the Venezuela attack in the predawn hours of Saturday when President Donald Trump announced it on his Truth Social platform upon completion.
While The Associated Press did not have advance word that the operation would happen, its journalists in Venezuela heard and observed explosions taking place there, and that was reported on the news wire more than two hours before Trump’s announcement. The U.S. involvement was not made clear until Trump’s post, however.
Decisions on publication have many dimensions
Hegseth, in defending rules that restrict reporters’ movements and reporting in the Pentagon, told Fox News last year that “we have expectations that you’re not soliciting classified or sensitive information.” The Times last month filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the rules.
Decisions on whether to report information that could put lives or a mission in danger often involve high-level discussions between editors and government officials. But Priest stressed that in a country with freedom of the press, the ultimate decision on whether to report the information lies with the news organization.
Generations ago, President John F. Kennedy persuaded editors at the Times not to report when it learned in advance of a U.S.-backed attack by Cuban exiles on Fidel Castro’s forces at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. The mission proved a monumental failure and a Times editor, Bill Keller, later said that Kennedy expressed regret that the newspaper had not reported on what it had known because it could have prevented a fiasco.
Many mainstream journalists covering the military and national security have extensive experience dealing with sensitive issues, Priest said. But there’s a difference, she said, between reporting information that could put someone in danger and that which could prove embarrassing to an administration.
“The reporters are not going to be deterred by a ridiculously broad censorship edict by the Trump administration,” Priest said. “They’re going to dig in and work even harder. Their mission is not to curry favor with the Trump administration. It’s to report information to the public.”
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Michael Schumacher, a Wisconsin author who produced a diverse array of works ranging from biographies of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and musician Eric Clapton to accounts of Great Lakes shipwrecks, has died. He was 75.
Schumacher’s daughter, Emily Joy Schumacher, confirmed Monday that her father passed away on Dec. 29. She did not provide the cause of death.
Schumacher produced such varied biographies as “Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker’s Life;” “Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton;” and “Dharma Lion: A Biography of Allen Ginsberg” — a prominent Beat Generation poet and writer.
Other biographies included “Mr. Basketball: George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers & the Birth of the NBA” and ”Will Eisner: A Dreamer’s Life in Comics.” Eisner was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in American comic books and was a pioneer of the graphic novel concept.
Though he was born in Kansas, Schumacher lived most of his live in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He studied political science at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside but left the school just one credit short of graduating, his daughter said. He gravitated toward writing at a young age, she said, and basically built two writing careers — one focused on biographies and another on Great Lakes lore.
Living on the shores of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Schumacher produced accounts of how the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a storm on Lake Superior in 1975; a November 1913 storm that claimed the lives of more than 250 Great Lakes sailors; and how four sailors fought to survive on Lake Michigan after their ship sank in a storm in 1958.
Emily Joy Schumacher described her father as “a history person” and “a good human.” She said he worked longhand, filling countless flip notebooks and later transcribing them on a typewriter. She said she still remembers the sound of the keys clacking.
“My dad was a very generous person with people,” Emily Joy Schumacher said. “He loved people. He loved talking to people. He loved listening to people. He loved stories. When I think of my dad, I think of him engaged in conversation, coffee in his hand and his notebook.”
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
