Kathy Bates Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

EXCLUSIVE: WME has signed actress Abby Ryder Fortson, the 15-year-old up-and-comer known for leading Lionsgate‘s recent coming-of-age dramedy Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, based on the classic Judy Blume novel published in 1970.

In a world with silly action movies with muscly stars defying physics and superhero films with multiple universes and complicated continuity, it’s nice to have a film that stands on its own, filled with great actors and a pleasant story. Something like “The Miracle Club.” READ MORE: Summer 2023 Movie Preview: 52 Must-See Films To Watch As seen in the trailer for “The Miracle Club,” the film follows the story of a group of friends who are desperate, for one reason or another, to win a trip to the French city of Lourdes, where miracles are said to happen.

Sony Pictures Classics has unveiled a July 14th release date and trailer for The Miracle Club, their Dublin-shot comedy that Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Agnes O’Casey lead for Emmy-nominated director Thaddeus O’Sullivan.

EXCLUSIVE: Actress and model Kaia Gerber signs with Entertainment 360.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The major broadcast networks are trying very hard this year to do what they do best – create franchise drama series built around the adventures of larger-than-life characters. Kathy Bates, Kaitlin Olson, Carrie Preston and Shanola Hampton are among the female actors hoping to click as distinctive protagonists with new series in the 2023-24 season. Bates will bring to life a next-generation “Matlock,” while Preston limns a new chapter for Elsbeth Tascioni, the attorney character she has played on and off on CBS’ “The Good Wife” and Paramount+’s “The Good Fight” since 2010. This is good news for the hundreds of international television buyers heading to Los Angeles for next week’s LA Screenings market. Another welcome development is that the largest media congloms are now on a big push to reopen their doors to third-party buyers, after a few years of holding back the biggest shows for in-house streaming services.

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for a second consecutive weekend with £5.4 million ($6.6 million) for a total of £23.9 million, per figures from Comscore. In second place, in its sixth weekend, Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” collected £858,444 for a total of £51 million. There were two debuts in the top five. Sony’s “Love Again” bowed in third place with £340,785 and Universal’s “Book Club: The Next Chapter” in fourth with £299,370. Rounding off the top five was Studiocanal’s “Evil Dead Rise,” which earned £258,417 in its fourth weekend for a total of £5 million.

EXCLUSIVE: 1883 breakout Isabel May is set to star opposite Jurnee Smollett in the thriller Sunflower, which Misha Green is directing for Lionsgate, in her feature debut.

Eric Christian Olsen is brimming with excitement for the upcoming “Matlock” reboot starring Kathy Bates.

We’re getting the first look at new CBS fall dramas, The Good Wife spinoff Elsbeth, and Matlock, starring Kathy Bates. You can read about each and watch below.

CBS has ordered three new series from this year’s crop of pilots.

J. Kim Murphy Are you there box office? It’s-a me, “Mario.” Now in its fourth weekend of release, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is still dominating the competition on domestic charts, fending off theatrical newcomers “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” “Sisu” and “Big George Foreman.” The adaptation of Judy Blume’s best-selling 1970 novel is faring the best among new releases. Opening in 3,343 locations, the coming-of-age film earned $2.25 million on Friday, a figure that includes roughly $600,000 in Thursday previews. That may be enough for the Lionsgate release to project a third place finish for the weekend, but it’s ultimately an underwhelming result for a crowdpleaser based on a literary mainstay that carries a $30 million production budget.

As The Super Mario Bros Movie barrels toward a box office score that will make it the highest-grossing animated movie ever at the domestic box office, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 waits to pounce, Lionsgate is navigating the pre-summer calendar this weekend with two movies aimed at two different demos: the long-awaited feature take of Judy Blume’s 1970 novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret aimed at women, and their pickup of the Sony Stage 6 Finnish genre title Sisu, aimed at genre dudes.

EXCLUSIVE: Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation), Dennis Haysbert (Far from Heaven), Nicole Richie (Bless This Mess) and Josh Peck (How I Met Your Father) are among the newest additions to the indie comedy Summer Camp from writer-director Castille Landon (After franchise).

Author Judy Blume says she worries about intolerance in the US, following the removal in schools of some of her novels. 

tribute speech in honor of his friend Adam Sandler being awarded this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the comedian called out the Oscars for snubbing the “Uncut Gems” star.“I’ve known this guy for 30 years,” Rock, 58, said of Sandler, 56, during his speech from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.“The Oscars, you know, they’re f–king a–holes,” he continued. “And if they don’t want to give my man his props, we will tonight.”Rock appeared to be referencing Sandler’s lack of a nomination for his role as New York City jeweler Howard Ratner in the 2019 film, “Uncut Gems.” Sandler’s role was highly praised, with some even calling it the “finest” performance in his entire career — including The Post.The movie grossed over $500 million domestically on a $19 million budget, according to box office stats.Along with glowing reviews, it even scored an award from the USA National Board of Review as a “top ten film.”However, the Josh and Benny Safdie-directed film was not nominated for any Oscars.In response to the snub, Sandler tweeted out a message at the time, writing, “Bad news: Sandman gets no love from the Academy.

EXCLUSIVE: Schitt’s Creek alum Eugene Levy is heading to Summer Camp. The four-time Emmy winner will play Diane Keaton’s love interest in the comedy also set to star Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard.

Jason Ritter has been tapped to star alongside Kathy Bates in CBS’ drama pilot for “Matlock,” a reboot of the classic television series.The “Parenthood” and “Yellowjackets” actor will play Julian, the son of the head of the firm who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but who’s not to be underestimated. “Diligent and persistent with a lot to prove, he’s at odds with prioritizing his family and balancing his career.

Jason Ritter is set as a lead opposite Kathy Bates in CBS’ drama pilot Matlock, a new take on the classic legal TV drama that starred Andy Griffith. The new show comes from Jane the Virgin creator Jennie Snyder Urman and NCIS: Los Angeles star Eric Christian Olsen. Ritter rounds out the series regular cast for the pilot. In addition to Bates and Marshall, he joins previously announced Skye P. Marshall, David Del Rio and Leah Lewis.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Publicist Jillian Roscoe has launched Birch Public Relations. Her clients include Donald Glover, Melissa Rauch, Gerard Butler, John Cho, Jeremy Allen White, James Marsden, Judy Greer, Jesse Garcia, Mandy Moore, Sharon Horgan, David Duchovny, Lake Bell, Jim Parsons, Fred Armisen, Ty Burrell, Ben Schwartz, Jesse Tyler Ferugson, Kemp Powers and Hannah Fidell, among others. Roscoe was previously a senior vice president at ID PR. She left that firm — run by Kelly Bush and Mara Buxbaum — after 20 years last month. Publicists Rachel Karten and Lindsay Krug recently announced the formation of their company, Origin Public Relations, after also leaving ID in early February after 16 years with the company.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Former ID PR publicists Rachel Karten and Lindsay Krug have launched their own firm, Origin Public Relations. Their client roster already includes Kathy Bates, Hannah Einbinder, Tracee Ellis Ross, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Hampshire, D’Arcy Carden, Gillian Jacobs, Uzo Aduba, Abbi Jacobson, Christopher Storer, Jen Statsky, Andrea Savage, Busy Philipps, Ilana Glazer, Chris Estrada, Martha Plimpton, Lennon Parham, Jessica St. Clair, Liam James, May Calamawy, Michaela Watkins, Annabel Oakes, Jillian Bell, Abe Sylvia, Katy Mixon and Ellen Rapoport. Karten and Krug left ID PR — founded by power player Kelly Bush Novak in 1993 — in early February after 16 years with the company. “We are grateful to ID for their guidance and mentorship over the past 16 years. We are thrilled to be launching our own publicity firm and embark on this next chapter of our careers,” Karten and Krug told Variety in a joint statement shorting after announcing their departures.

EXCLUSIVE: Skye P. Marshall has been tapped as a lead opposite Kathy Bates in CBS’ drama pilot Matlock, a new take on the classic legal TV drama starring Andy Griffith, which comes from Jane the Virgin creator Jennie Snyder Urman and NCIS: Los Angeles star Eric Christian Olsen.

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up all rights in North America, Latin America and European Europe (excluding Hungary) to the Ilker Çatak drama The Teachers’ Lounge, which won both the Europa Cinemas Label award and the CICAE Arthouse Cinema award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in the U.S., Latin America, and select territories in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe to “The Miracle Club.” Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, the film stars Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Agnes O’Casey. The Dublin-shot film centers on four Dublin women who come together on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Lourdes in France, where they discover the solidarity in their friendship and unveil their own personal miracles. Produced by Chris Curling, Joshua Maurer and Larry Bass, the film was shot throughout 2022 and is currently in post-production. “The Miracle Club” reunites its leading actresses and Sony Pictures Classics, with all three having starred in previous films released by the distributor, including Linney in “Jindabyne” (2006) and “Driving Lessons” (2006), Smith in the titular role of “The Lady in the Van” (2015), and Bates in “Love Liza” (2002) and “Midnight in Paris” (2011).

EXCLUSIVE: Diane Keaton (Book Club: The Next Chapter), Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell) and Alfre Woodard (The Gray Man) have locked deals to star in the feature comedy Summer Camp, which Castille Landon (After franchise) is directing from her own script.

EXCLUSIVE: Kat Coiro (Marry Me) has been tapped to direct and executive produce CBS’ Matlock pilot, a gender-swap reboot of the classic legal drama starring Kathy Bates, from Jennie Snyder Urman and Eric Christian Olsen.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor AnnaSophia Robb has joined Kathy Bates, John Malkovich, Tim Blake Nelson, Stephen Root and Lewis Pullman in the cast of “Thelma.” The Exchange is selling the film at Berlin’s European Film Market. Robb starred in Hulu’s Emmy-winning series “The Act,” Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere” and HBO Max’s “The Carrie Diaries,” and is toplining Netflix’s upcoming “Rebel Ridge.” “Thelma” tells the true story of the 11-year battle by the mother of John Kennedy Toole, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of “A Confederacy of Dunces,” to get his novel published after his suicide.

CBS has made its first comedy pilot order this season, and it went to the network’s script with the highest-profile talent pairing attached, Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. Four months after Deadline broke the news of the father-son project being in development at CBS, the multi-camera comedy, co-written by the elder Wayans and former Last Man Standing executive producer Kevin Hench, remains untitled.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret—'s seminal coming-of-age novel.In the 50 years since it was first published, the book has become a cultural touchpoint. It's often referred to as the novel about as a young girl—from groan-inducing sex-ed presentations to the “Mom, I need a bra!” conversation.