Zack Sharf Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Edgar Wright appeared on the latest episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast and went on a reflective rant about the current state of Hollywood and IP (via IndieWire). Without calling out any franchises in particular, the “Scott Pilgrim” and “Baby Driver” director expressed frustration over the lack of breathing room when it comes to Hollywood’s current IP output.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Taika Waititi revealed on a new episode of the “SmartLess” podcast that he had no interest in joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a director. The filmmaker has directed two MCU movies: 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok,” which is widely considered one of the best Marvel movies, and 2022’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” which is one of the franchise’s most polarizing. The Oscar winner said he originally accepted the “Ragnarok” gig for money, as he had just had his second child.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Mrs. Doubtfire” director Chris Columbus revealed to Business Insider while celebrating the movie’s 30th anniversary this month that talks for a sequel to the beloved 1993 comedy only started in 2014 shortly before Robin William’s passing. Following the comedian’s death, there was not a shot Columbus would ever make another “Mrs.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Nicolas Cage broke out in laughter during a recent Vanity Fair video interview when forced to watch the infamous scene from 2004’s “National Treasure” in which his character, treasure hunter and cryptographer Benjamin Gates, says for the first time, “I’m gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.” The line of dialogue has been a calling card for Cage’s career for 19 years now and counting, and it’s inspired countless memes and parodies on the internet. “How do you take something that is so profoundly ridiculous and really try to sell it?” Cage said while watching the infamous moment. “What I really like about that scene just seeing it again for the first time in however many years is I like the positivity of the character.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Fans clamoring for another “Nightmare Before Christmas” movie should know Tim Burton is vehemently against the idea. The filmmaker, who came up with the “Nightmare” story, co-produced the film and created character designs, recently told Empire magazine that the stop-motion classic is too important to him to ever create a sequel, prequel, reboot or more. “To me the movie is very important,” Burton said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in February that a new “Toy Story” movie was in development along with new installments in the “Frozen” and “Zootopia” franchises. No further details were provided at the time, but it appears the new “Toy Story” movie will not be another tangentially-related spinoff like “Lightyear” but a return to the core story centered on Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director With “Twilight” celebrating its 15th anniversary this month, director Catherine Hardwicke joined the “Happy Sad Confused” spinoff podcast “Watchalong” to remember all the highs and lows that went into getting the vampire romance made. One of her more interesting revelations revolves around how impossible it was to predict the film’s box office. No one was expecting a phenomenon, and Hardwicke was even told her film would probably never crack the $30 million mark.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Mrs. Doubtfire” director Chris Columbus marked the film’s 30th anniversary this month with a new interview courtesy of Business Insider in which he revealed that 2 million feet of film was shot during the making of the 1993 comedy because Robin Williams improvised so much dialogue. The film is home to one of Williams’ most classic characters.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sarah Paulson revealed on “The View” that Matthew Perry helped land her a supporting role on Aaron Sorkin’s short-lived TV series “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Perry headlined the NBC show opposite Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet, all of whom were cast already when Paulson was auditioning for the role of fictional actor Harriet Hayes. The Emmy winner said Perry took her under his wing and ensured she had an advantage in her final audition by personally running lines with her. “I was at a particular place in my career where I needed that job very desperately,” Paulson said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director When backlash over Bradley Cooper‘s nose prosthetic in “Maestro” first erupted in August ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Cooper himself could not speak out to defend his choice as it was in the midst of the SAG-AFTRA strike. He finally got the opportunity to do so during an interview with “CBS Mornings,” explaining that he first attempted to play famed composer Leonard Bernstein without the prosthetic but ultimately decided “we just had to do it.” “Nothing catches me off guard,” Cooper said when asked about the initial backlash over the fake nose. “You never know what’s going to happen.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke recently joined the “Happy Sad Confused” spinoff podcast “Watchables” to reflect on her 2008 vampire romance, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this month. Hardwicke’s film launched a $3.3 billion movie franchise and turned leads Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson into global superstars. But Pattinson wasn’t exactly an exciting choice at first for Summit Entertainment.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Christopher Nolan made headlines earlier this month when he took a playful jab at streaming platforms while discussing the upcoming home release of “Oppenheimer.” The atomic bomb drama, which grossed a staggering $950 million in theaters worldwide, is hitting Blu-ray and other digital platforms this month. Nolan said at a recent “Oppenheimer” screening that it’s important to own the film on Blu-ray so that “no evil streaming service can come steal it from you.” “It was a joke when I said it. But nothing’s a joke when it’s transcribed onto the internet,” Nolan recently told The Washington Post in a follow-up interview.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Ridley Scott is shrugging off the negative reviews coming out of France for his new historical epic “Napoleon,” which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French emperor and Vanessa Kirby as his wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Reviews are all over the place for the biographical drama.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Rachel Zegler is the new face of the “Hunger Games” franchise thanks to her role as Lucy Gray Baird in the new prequel movie, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” During a recent visit to “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Zegler recalled what it was like meeting Jennifer Lawrence for the first time. Lawrence headlined the original four “Hunger Games” films as Katniss Everdeen, a role that turned the Oscar winner into a global superstar. “We were at Paris Fashion Week for the Dior show only a couple weeks ago,” Zegler said about her first encounter with Lawrence.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jeremy Renner marked 10 months of recovery since his near fatal snow plow accident by posting a video of him running up and down his inclined driveway, which he says was his “first attempt at any of this activity.” Renner was hospitalized for blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries on Jan. 1 after his Sno-Cat, a large snow plow that weighs at least 14,330 pounds, ran him over.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Ke Huy Quan just wrapped his debut run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to his role as Ouroboros (aka O.B.) in “Loki” Season 2. While it’s undetermined if he’ll pop up in the MCU again, the actor is already eyeing a jump to another massive Disney-owned franchise: “Star Wars.” In an interview with Collider, Quan recalled his “shameless” encounter with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in which he told her straight up to get him a role in the “Star Wars” franchise. “I love the MCU.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Courteney Cox shared a personal tribute to her late “Friends” co-star Matthew Perry on Instagram alongside one of her “favorite” memories of him: an outtake from an episode of “Friends” in which Perry whispered a line for her to stay when it’s revealed that Monica is sleeping in Chandler’s bed. The clip was first released as part of the “Friends” reunion special on Max. “I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day,” Cox wrote.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Taika Waititi told Business Insider while promoting his new sports comedy “Next Goal Wins” that he “won’t be involved” in a fifth “Thor” movie, at least if it’s happening anytime in the next six years or so. The Oscar winner directed Chris Hemsworth in the beloved “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) and the hugely divisive “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022). A fifth “Thor” film is currently not on Marvel’s upcoming slate, although the character is still very much alive within the MCU and the door is presumably open for his return.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Stephen King is not a Marvel movie fan, but that didn’t stop him from expressing frustration over the “adolescent fanboys” who are taking pleasure in “The Marvels” flopping at the box office. The latest Marvel tentpole, with a reported budget in the $225 million range, is a box office disaster after opening to $47 million, the lowest start for a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film’s global debut wasn’t much better at $68 million.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Anne Hathaway is 41 years old, which means she has long defied the warning she often heard as a teen actor that her career would not flourish past a certain age as a woman in Hollywood. “When I started out as a child, I was warned that my career would fall off a cliff at the age of 35, which is something I know a lot of women face,” Hathaway recently told Porter magazine. “The thing that has evolved during [that time] is that more women are having careers deeper into their lives, which I think is fantastic.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jacob Elordi revealed in a new interview with GQ magazine that he turned down a request to audition for Superman. While the actor did not name the specific superhero movie project, it’s likely he was referring to James Gunn’s 2025 tentpole “Superman: Legacy” as the film went through casting in the spring and summer months. David Corenswet was announced in June as Gunn’s Superman, with Rachel Brosnahan cast as Lois Lane.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director A police officer in Sydney, Australia has pleaded guilty to “carrying a firearm with disregard” for a colleague’s safety after he threatened to shoot another police officer who said he would reveal spoilers from Tom Cruise’s blockbuster sequel “Top Gun: Maverick,” the Australian Broadcasting Company reports. According to court documents, 30-year-old cop Dominic Gaynor took out his gun and pointed it “in the vicinity” of fellow officer Morgan Royston after Royston threatened to spoil the film.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The marketing for Disney and 20th Studios’ “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” got off to a strong start with 75 million views in 24 hours across platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, X/Twitter and more, Variety has learned. Social engagement for the trailer came in with 72,000 mentions in 24 hours, boosted by 11,000 TikTok comments and a top 10 trend on X.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Zac Efron has heard the news about Matthew Perry wanting to cast him in a biopic about the “Friends” actor’s life, and Efron would be “honored” to do it. The “High School Musical” and “Baywatch” actor spoke to People magazine on the red carpet for A24’s “The Iron Claw” and called Perry a “mentor” figure in his life. The two actors starred together in the 2009 teen fantasy comedy “17 Again.” .”I’m honored to hear he was thinking of me to play him,” Efron said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The Incredible Hulk” director Louis Leterrier was the first guest on the new “Happy Sad Confused” spinoff series “Watchalong” and he got frank while discussing his 2008 comic book movie. The film, which starred Edward Norton as Bruce Banner and the Hulk, was the second movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but its critical and commercial reception nosedived compared to “Iron Man,” which opened a month before. “The Incredible Hulk” only grossed $264 million worldwide, a sharp decline from “Iron Man’s” $585 million.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sharon Stone famously laughed during a 2018 “CBS Sunday Morning” interview when asked if she ever faced sexual harassment or assault in Hollywood. “I been in this business for 40 years,” the Oscar nominee told the reporter at the time. “Can you imagine the business I stepped into 40 years ago, looking like I look? I’ve seen it all.” In a new appearance on Kelly Ripa’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera” podcast, Stone disclosed for the first time one of her experiences combating sexual harassment in the industry.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Video game fans got a huge surprise when Nintendo announced Nov. 7 that it is developing a live-action film based on The Legend of Zelda alongside Sony Pictures. The film is being directed by Wes Ball, best known for helming three “Maze Runner” movies.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Outside of recent voice roles on “American Horror Stories” and “She Said,” Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow has not acted on camera in a few years. Her last film was in 2019 courtesy of “Avengers: Endgame,” in which she reprised her fan favorite Marvel role of Pepper Potts, while she also appeared in the Netflix series “The Politician,” which dropped its second season in June 2020. In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Paltrow suggested that she currently has no plans to get back in front of the camera as an actor given all of her business responsibilities with Goop.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Ridley Scott revealed in a recent New Yorker profile that he has been editing the 90 minutes of footage he was able to capture for “Gladiator 2” before the Hollywood strikes shut down production. Scott was shooting the long-awaited “Gladiator” sequel in Morocco when filming stopped indefinitely. He can’t resume production until the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Tyler Perry appeared on “CBS Mornings” and was asked to speak publicly for the first time about the SAG-AFTRA strike, which remains ongoing after the union responded to the AMPTP’s “best and final” offer by saying the two groups still differ on “several essential items.” Although Perry praised SAG-AFTRA negotiators, he also said the union needs to realize when it’s won “for now.” The media mogul noted that SAG-AFTRA is only negotiating a three-year contract, inferring that it might not be the best strategy to continue prolonging the strike so the union can get everything it wants now when more negotiations are in store in the future. “Here I am, a studio head and an owner of a streamer, but also understanding how it is for the working actor,” Perry said. “I get what we’re fighting for…I paid Cicely Tyson $1 million for one day of work because when actors get to a certain age they’re pretty much discarded.