Legendary Pre-Empts Chris Sparling Underground Fight Spec ‘Fight Fast’

Amazon’s massively expensive fantasy streaming series, “The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power” has wrapped up its first season, headed by showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

Zack Sharf Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne have found success as the showrunners of Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” but before they resurrected Middle Earth it was the Starship Enterprise they tried to get off the ground. McKay and Payne wrote a “Star Trek Beyond” sequel for director S.J. Clarkson that would’ve served as the fourth film in the J.J. Abrams-backed reboot series starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and more. The script, which McKay and Payne have rarely spoken about, featured Chris Hemsworth returning as George Kirk, father of Pine’s James Kirk. “I would love to tell you about it,” McKay told Esquire magazine, opening up in detail for the first time about the “Star Trek” movie never made. “We worked on a couple of ‘Star Trek’ movies. The one you’re asking about would have been the fourth in the franchise, reuniting Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pine. The conceit was that through a cosmic quirk in the ‘Star Trek’ world, they were the same age. It was going to be a grand father-son space adventure—think ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ in space. We were really thrilled about it.”

Legendary Television boss Chris Albrecht has been placed on administrative leave, individuals with knowledge of the matter confirmed to TheWrap.No reason has been given for why the company took this action, nor has Legendary released a statement on the matter. However, the leave comes after news that an upcoming book about the history of HBO includes an allegation that Albrecht physically assaulted another HBO executive early during his tenure at the cable channel.According to the book “It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution and Future of HBO,” written by  Felix Gillette and John Koblin, in 1991, Albrecht tried to strangle Sasha Emerson, a former HBO executive with whom he’d had an affair.

J. Kim Murphy Legendary Television president Chris Albrecht has been placed on a leave of absence by the company, a spokesperson for Legendary confirmed to Variety Monday. No official reason for the exec’s leave of absence was provided.

Chris Fountain, who played Tommy Duckworth in Coronation Street, has revealed that he suffered a mini stroke last month. The actor awoke in his home unable to speak, and called 111 on his mother's advice.

The conversation around Chris Pratt’s casting as the voice of Mario in Illumination and Nintendo’s upcoming The Super Mario Bros Movie was well underway before Thursday. But it hit a new gear after the first trailer – and first listen of Pratt’s interpretation of the video game icon — was released at New York Comic-Con. It hits theaters April 7, 2023.

Eddie Hearn has spoken out following the recent controversy surrounding Matchroom fighter Conor Benn in the lead-up to his catchweight bout against Chris Eubank Jr.

Conor Benn remains 'free to fight' despite returning a positive sample for the banned substance clomifene ahead of Saturday's blockbuster showdown against Chris Eubank Jr at the O2 Arena.

Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Under doctor's orders, he will be off stage over the next several weeks with an eye towards returning to performances in late November or early December."Although Penn & Teller travel the country to perform, Las Vegas is their home, as they've had a residency act there for over 20 years. Teller, the silent half of the FX's "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" stars, has dealt with health issues in the past, as he underwent three back surgeries over 18 months in 2018 and 2019. At the time, it was reported that Teller's spine injury was a result of his physically-taxing tricks.Penn & Teller have performed more than 12,000 shows since first partnering in 1975.Billy Eichner seems to be blaming straight people for the dismal box office receipts of his new gay rom-com.The comedian had high hopes for "Bros," which he co-wrote and executive produced.