‘Percy Jackson’ Author Rick Riordan Slams Racist Backlash Against Leah Jeffries’ Casting as Annabeth

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterL.A. mayoral candidate Rick Caruso responded on Tuesday to TV ads that compare him to Donald Trump, accusing the ads’ principal financial backer, mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, of “lying” about him.The mayoral primary is just two weeks away, and polls show Caruso in a tight race against Karen Bass in a multi-candidate field. If no candidate secures a majority, the top two finishers will advance to a November runoff.Katzenberg, a longtime Hollywood power broker and Democratic fundraiser, has contributed $600,000 to an independent committee supporting Bass, a Democratic congresswoman.

This week is not only “Star Wars Celebration” week, but the debut of the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” event limited series. And while many will be excited for the show, “Star Wars” fandom can be deeply unfortunate, and others will simply sling hate because it features women and non-white characters in the cast.

Jackson Wang’s Magic Man Experience, NIKI and Rich Brian.Also on the bill are Jay Park, BIBI, Chung Ha, the debut of Audrey Nuna and Deb Never’s collaborative project, No Rome, Warren Hue and a Yebi Labs DJ set from Joji, among others. Check out the complete lineup below.Get ready Los Angeles, we're back!  Register now at https://t.co/QWmTFoz7T2 for first access to 2-DAY passes.

Ocean’s Eleven movie.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. have tapped up Robbie to star in and produce the film that will be helmed by Roach, who directed Robbie in 2019 drama Bombshell.The script, which is being penned by Carrie Solomon, is being kept under wraps, but what is known is that it will be an original Ocean’s Eleven set in Europe in the 1960s.Robbie is producing with Tom Ackerley, her partner at LuckyChap.

Nick Holdsworth European Film Academy president Agnieszka Holland has criticized the Cannes Film Festival for welcoming a Russian movie to the main competition.The Polish-born director – who fled to France in 1981 when Communist authorities imposed martial law – said now was the time to stand up to Russian aggression in Ukraine.That demanded a total ban on Russian cultural products in Europe, she said in Cannes on Saturday.The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker slammed the festival’s inclusion of Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Tchaikovsky’s Wife.”“If it were up to me, I would not include Russian films in the official program of the festival – even if Kirill Serebrennikov is such a talented artist,” the 73 year old filmmaker said. Speaking in Cannes at an industry roundtable on supporting the Ukrainian film industry at a time of war, Holland added: “Unfortunately my bad feelings were confirmed by his words.

Zack Sharf Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Vanity Fair that the company has learned never to recast iconic “Star Wars” characters following the flop that was “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” The Ron Howard-directed 2018 movie cast Alden Ehrenreich as a younger version of Han Solo, the hot  shot space pilot famously brought to life by Harrison Ford. Many critics and fans felt Ehrenreich just couldn’t capture Ford’s magic.“There should be moments along the way when you learn things,” Kennedy sad. “Now it does seem so abundantly clear that we can’t do that.”Ehrenreich, stating: “He is enduringly watchable: He nails Ford’s cocky gait, his roguish eye-twinkle, his puffed-cheeked finger-pointing, and while the performance may initially come across as a highly skilled bit of mimicry, by the film’s end he’s managed to give the role a satisfying new spin.

Selena Gomez, Kerry Washington and Hilary Duff hit the red carpet at the 2022 ABC Disney Upfronts!

 franchise that racism will never be tolerated. On Tuesday, the writer published a blog post condemning the racist backlash against Leah Sava Jeffries, the 12-year-old actress cast to play Annabeth Chase in the upcoming Disney+ series, . «If you have a problem with this casting, however, take it up with me. You have no one else to blame,» the author wrote. «We should be able to agree that bullying and harassing a child online is inexcusably wrong.

Angelique Jackson In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Amazon has announced the first in-person installment of its Voices series, featuring a conversation with “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” author and screenwriter Jenny Han.Han, whose series adaptation of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” launches June 17 on Prime Video, will sit for a for a wide-ranging discussion about her New York Times bestselling books moderated by journalist Dino Ray Ramos (The Diaspora Times). The three-hour event, titled “Voices: Asian & Pacific Islander Representation in Film & Media,” will take place on May 19 from 4-7 p.m.

Alexandra Daddario is speaking out about the backlash to Leah Sava Jeffries taking over the role of Annabeth Chase in Disney+’s upcoming Percy Jackson series.

Actress Alexandra Daddario has chimed in on the backlash against Leah Jeffries casting as Annabeth Chase in the upcoming Disney+ show Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Daddario previously played Annabeth Chase in two Percy Jackson films The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters. 

Last week, Disney+ announced its lead cast for “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”, the upcoming series based on Rick Riordan’s popular “Percy Jackson” book series.

Rick Riordan, author of the popular YA adventure novel series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, is speaking out amid backlash in casting one of his characters in Disney+’s upcoming series adaptation.

Dove Cameron gets back on the promo train for her music – Just Jared Jr HBO drops the first look at their upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff – DListed Bella Hadid‘s boyfriend shares pictures from her Met Gala experience – Egotastic Get to know new Percy Jackson series star, Leah Sava Jeffries – Just Jared Jr