| News Short | News Headline |
| Famous birthdays for July 16: Tony Kushner, Luke Hemmings | Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include -- Journalist/civil rights activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett in 1862 -- Explorer Roald Amundsen in 1872 -- Baseball great/"Black Sox" scandal figure "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in 1887 -- First U.N. |
| 'Ride or Die' creator: Viewers will relate to Octavia Spencer's Debbie | Ride or Die creator Tessa Coates and show-runner Matt Miller say the women Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham play in the action-comedy are surprisingly relatable, despite the outrageous circumstances they find themselves in. Premiering on Prime Video Wednesday, the eight-episode series follows mild-mannered Debbie Claybourne (Spencer) as she discovers that not only is her best friend and fellow book club member Judith (Waddingham) an international assassin, but her own bosses now want her dead. "What I love to watch and to write is ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events," Coates told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "When we're living through Debbie, we're always like: 'Oh, that's what I would have done. |
| Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein' gets extended cut in October | The Criterion Collection announced Wednesday that Guillermo del Toro is preparing an extended cut of Frankenstein. The Criterion Collection edition will be released Oct. 27. The Reborn Cut of Frankenstein runs 158 minutes, eight minutes longer than the theatrical cut. Bonus features include commentary by del Toro, behind the scenes features, conversations including cast members Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth, and a Q&A with Martin Scorsese and Patti Smith. UPI praised del Toro's Frankenstein in its review last year. The film won three Oscars for production design, costume design and makeup and hairstyling. Returning to the Criterion Collection on Oct. 20 is The Silence of the Lambs on 4K UHD. |
| 'La La Land' returning to theaters in August for 10th anniversary | Lionsgate announced Wednesday that it will rerelease La La Land in theaters. The 10th anniversary rerelease begins Aug. 16. La La Land stars Emma Stone as Mia, a hopeful actor who moves to Hollywood. She meets Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) at a jazz bar. and they have a musical romance through the city. Damien Chazelle wrote and directed La La Land, his follow-up to Whiplash. He co-wrote original music with Justin Hurwitz. La La Land won six Oscars including Stone's first for Best Actress, Chazelle's directing, music and Hurwitz's score. It was falsely announced as Best Picture in an infamous mix-up of envelopes. John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, Callie Hernandez, Sonoya Mizuno, Jessica Rothe, Tom Everett Scott, J.K. |
| Daniel Radcliffe, Peter Dinklage join Netflix 'Cinderella' reimagining | Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe and Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage are joining the cast of Steps. Netflix announced Wednesday that Radcliffe, Dinklage and Young Mazino (Beef Season 1) will voice the Prince, the villain Roderick and the "handsome troll" Gef," respectively. "We feel incredibly lucky to have all three of these massive talents on our film," co-director John Ripa told Netflix's Tudum. "Our goal was to break the fairy-tale mold by making every single character three-dimensional and worthy of a happily ever after, and we couldn't have done it without Daniel, Peter, and Young. |