For comparison, that’s a few steps above the $41 million opening for Spielberg’s 2018 blockbuster “Ready Player One,” making it the famed director’s best opening weekend since “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” in 2008.

Still, with a reported $115 million production budget before marketing costs, “Disclosure Day” has some work to do to turn a theatrical profit. Reception for the film has been generally positive with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 80% critics and 74% audience to go with a B on CinemaScore. But compared to Spielberg’s wide releases in the 2010s, these scores are below his track record as “Disclosure Day” marks the first time he has received a CinemaScore grade below A- since “Crystal Skull.”

Elsewhere on the charts, Focus Features’ “Obsession” is now starting to see larger weekend-to-weekend drops, but it is still posting totals above its opening weekend with an astounding fifth weekend total of $21 million.

In the coming week, “Obsession” will become just the fifth horror film to gross $200 million domestic before inflation adjustment and join Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” as only the second original film since “Coco” in November 2017 to cross that mark.

The box office news is not as good for last weekend’s releases, Paramount/Miramax’s “Scary Movie” and Amazon MGM’s “Masters of the Universe,” both of which fell at least 70% from their opening weekends as “Scary Movie” earned $15.6 million in its second weekend while “Masters” falls to a dismal $8.8 million.

Paramount and Miramax can shrug off this frontloaded run for “Scary Movie,” as the film has a production budget of just $30 million against an estimated 10-day domestic total of approximately $85 million. But it’s very bad news for the $170 million-plus “Masters of the Universe,” which stands to have a 10-day domestic total of $46 million as its fate as a summer bomb is sealed.

Farther down the charts, Lionsgate/Universal’s “Michael” is now the highest grossing music biopic of all time as it is set to add $4.6 million in its eighth weekend while earning a $2 million opening day in Japan. With more than $920 million worldwide, Antoine Fuqua’s biopic has passed “Bohemian Rhapsody” worldwide and is still on course to pass “Oppenheimer” for the all-time biopic record.

Lionsgate has also released the R-rated Hong Kong action film “The Furious” in 1,251 locations, where it is set to earn $2.9 million this weekend. Starring Xie Miao and Joe Taslim as two men who set out to take down a child trafficking ring in Hong Kong’s underworld, the bloody martial arts film has received critical acclaim with an A on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 98% critics and 95% audience.

Also opening in targeted release is the drag queen disaster comedy “Stop! That! Train!,” which has rolled out to 1,161 locations courtesy of Bleecker Street and is on pace for a $2.3 million opening. It has RT scores of 84% critics and 83% audience.

The post ‘Disclosure Day’ Uncovers $44 Million Box Office Opening appeared first on TheWrap.

The New England Revolution star blasted the former “Late Late Show” host as a “wanker” after fellow presenter Rebecca Lowe brought up Corden’s recent FIFA World Cup bit for Fox Sports.

“Can we talk about James Corden for a second?” Lowe said, seemingly attempting to line up a plug for Corden’s appearance on “FIFA World Cup on FOX After Hours.”

Before Lowe could even shout out the cross-promotion effort, Lalas chimed in with, “What do you guys call him? A full kit wanker, right?”

Lowe, along with fellow presenters Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović, were visibly stunned by the remark.

Lalas attempted to clarify his meaning, noting, “When he’s all dressed up and ready to go?” However, his peers were forced to explain that a “wanker” in British slang is not a nice descriptor.

“Lucky we’re on American television,” Lowe responded. “‘Cause the W-word on British TV …”

A representative for Corden did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

For those wondering, a “full kit wanker” is a British insult about a person dressed in a soccer get-up in public, despite not playing the sport. Lalas’ swipe at Corden wasn’t entirely wrong, however, as the “Cats” star did don a soccer uniform for his new Fox Sports project. Though, we assume Corden still didn’t appreciate the comment.

Nonetheless, World Cup fans had plenty to say about the moment, with one fan on X commenting alongside a photo of Henry’s shocked face, “The next meme of the World Cup.” Another chimed in with, “So much respect for Alexi Lalas after this.”

Watch the exchange, as well as Corden’s soccer segment, above.

The post Alexi Lalas Shocks Fellow World Cup Pundits With On-Air ‘Wanker’ Jab at James Corden | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

In a new filing obtained and viewed by TheWrap, the Trump administration argued, “Defendants respectfully request a brief extension of time to file the compliance declaration required by this Court’s May 29, 2026 permanent-injunction order … as one task – the removal of signage from the Center’s front portico ‘that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump,’ id. – has been delayed because of thunderstorms in the District of Columbia that presented safety concerns for workers.”

The document defended that “the removal work is presently ongoing, and Defendants expect it will conclude in the early hours of the morning of June 13, 2026.”

They added: “Defendants reached out to Plaintiff when it became clear later in the evening of June 12 that progress on removal of the letters had been sufficiently hindered to threaten the midnight compliance deadline.”

However, Trump’s DOJ noted that the Plaintiff remained unmoved by their position, reportedly telling them that they “had two weeks to comply with the order, and only need an extension because of their inexcusable delay.” However, Trump’s camp noted the Plaintiff didn’t take a position on the 12-hour extension outside of “strongly” opposing “any further extensions.”

Matt Floca, the COO of the Kennedy Center, co-signed this reason for the delay in a declaration filed by the Trump administration on Friday.

The update came after a large crowd of spectators, including Rep. Joyce Beatty (who sued Trump and his Kennedy Center board over the rename) gathered outside the famed arts venue to watch the president’s name be taken down.

Earlier on Friday, the D.C. appeals court rejected the Trump-appointed Kennedy Center Board’s attempt to halt the court-ordered removal of the president’s name from the arts institution.

The judges denied the center’s request for an immediate administrative stay that would have put on hold a district judge’s order that Trump’s name be removed from all references to the name of the Kennedy Center by the end of the day on Friday.

The president’s name has been removed from the website and social media, but it has yet to be fully removed from the building itself.

This was the second loss of the day for Trump, as a U.S. district judge had ruled at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon that the arts center failed to show it would win on appeal or even face “irreparable harm” if the president’s moniker was removed.

A livestream of the name removal can be viewed above.

The post Trump Team Seeks 12-Hour Delay in Kennedy Center Name Removal, Blames Weather appeared first on TheWrap.

During his “New Rule” segment for Friday’s “Real Time,” Maher explained his two reasons for urging Maine voters to support Platner’s senate bid.

“If you’ve been sleeping on politics lately, well, who can blame you? But the big story is the Democrats can likely take back the Senate in November if they win Maine,” Maher started off. “But their local candidate … Let’s just say [is] a guy who has a backstory that screams, ‘Don’t ask.'”

While Maher noted that he was trying not to judge Platner, he couldn’t help but rattle off the aspiring senator’s long list of controversies.

“What I do know is he served his country in the Marines in war, and you can never discount how big that is,” Maher said. “But then there’s the sexting while married, scary behavior — so, say some of his exes — old posts about how he’s a communist and all cops are ‘bastards’ and Black people ‘don’t tip.’ Well, they don’t tip cops. I can understand that.”

“Here’s a typical Platner quote he said about the Iraq war: ‘You can think it’s dumb and also kind of not want to miss it,'” he went on. “Oh, Graham, I feel the same way about so many things. The Oscars, Christmas, Taylor Swift’s wedding, that little speech Nicole Kidman gives before the movie comes on where she looks insane.”

Maher then called out Platner’s skull and crossbones tattoo, which the Maine senate candidate has since covered after not realizing its association with Nazism.

“I mean, seriously, this guy’s whole life is the movie ‘The Hangover,'” Maher sounded off. “He doesn’t need a term in the Senate. He needs a gap year in Costa Rica.”

Yet, despite all of this, Maher said he “would still urge the folks in Maine to vote for him.”

As for his reasons why, Maher shared: “One, we need to restore balance in our government, and a Democratic Senate would help a lot with that. And two, get used to it. America is a country filled with a lot of broken, horribly educated, phone-addicted, sort of nutty people. And as long as we live in a representative democracy, we are always electing our reflection in the mirror.”

Though, Maher admitted he wished Platner’s tattoo controversy was “the scariest thing about [him].”

“It’s not. That would be his solution to a home invasion, which is to rape the home invader,” Maher said. “And no, of course, that’s not policy he’s proposing. It’s a fantasy his ex says he talked about. Next week it’ll be policy.”

He continued: “Okay, this is the kind of thing war does to people. That’s who we created. Our society is not healthy. We create broken people. So, don’t expect politicians to suddenly become Lincoln-esque again.”

Watch Maher’s full monologue above.

The post Bill Maher Backs Embattled Maine Senate Candidate Graham Platner: ‘We Need to Restore Balance’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

“The Ellisons’ bid to take control of Warner Bros. Discovery is a direct threat to the film and entertainment industry, independent media and democracy in this country and beyond,” the coalition noted in a statement released to media Friday. “If allowed to go forward, this consolidation would reduce jobs, competition and the views and voices presented in our entertainment and news media — all while increasing costs for consumers.”

They added: “That the DOJ, an agency filled with Trump loyalists like acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, would green light this merger is no surprise. The transaction will likely benefit the president by muzzling CNN, a major independent news outlet committed to reporting on and investigating this administration’s actions. This is a joke — and it is what corruption looks like.”

As the statement went on, the coalition stated that their campaign against the merger was “continuing to build momentum,” adding, “Our grassroots opposition movement is growing. And, according to press reports, it appears that state Attorneys General will heed our calls to bring suit and protect American consumers, small businesses and the working people whose livelihoods are threatened by this disastrous transaction.”

The Block the Merger coalition warned that, in addition to pushback from states attorneys general, regulators in the U.K. and Europe were set to deliver “what the Department of Justice will not.” Namely, they believe regulators overseas will deliver “the scrutiny this merger deserves.”

“They are charged with assessing the merger’s overwhelmingly anti-competitive effects and the harm it will have on crucial public interests, like freedom of expression, media pluralism and the diversity of voices on which the public relies,” the statement added. “These public interest and market considerations overwhelmingly counsel against approving this merger. The DOJ’s rubber-stamp approval is not a legitimate or fair assessment of the anti-competitive nature of the deal.”

Before signing off their response, the coalition said their message “remains the same,” writing, “This merger is not a done deal, and we will continue to work to make sure it never is.”

A representative for Paramount did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment. Though, Paramount’s legal chief Makan Delrahim previously called into question the motivations of the backers for the anti-Paramount-Warner Bros. movement.

“Let’s be honest. There’s a lot of fear-mongering, particularly from people in Washington, D.C.,” Delrahim told the Los Angeles Times last week. “They are running a political campaign. Some of these people are trying to inflict harm on this transaction really because of their own antisemitic views. Regulators and law enforcement officials will see right through that.”

Yet, the Block the Merger coalition was not the only group to speak out against the DOJ signing off on the WarnerMount deal. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also ripped into the DOJ over the move, calling on state attorneys general to “block this merger.”

“This is terrible news for every American who doesn’t want Trump-aligned billionaires to control what they watch and how much they pay,” Warren wrote on X. “The Paramount-Warner Bros. deal has reeked of corruption and influence-peddling. This fight isn’t over. State AGs must block this merger.”

Though, California Attorney General Rob Bonta downplayed the DOJ’s decision Friday on X, assuring the merger is “not a done deal … and remains under investigation by my office.”

Nonetheless, in a statement on Friday, the DOJ said that the transaction is “not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers” based on the evidence received over the course of an eight-month investigation.

It noted that it received over 2 million documents from over 80 parties, “substantial productions” of data, as well as extensive documents, data and advocacy from third parties across the media and entertainment ecosystem. State attorneys general also participated in the investigation, which allowed it to share information with the DOJ and vice versa and attend related depositions.

The DOJ’s statement also noted: “The extensive investigatory record reviewed by the Division suggests that the impact of the transaction will be to increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers.”

A spokesperson for Paramount once again defended the deal on Friday after the DOJ’s decision, noting, “This deal is pro-competitive, resulting in a stronger company better positioned to compete against dominant technology platforms in an industry increasingly defined by intense competition for audiences, talent, technology, and investment. We remain focused on completing the transaction as soon as possible and delivering its benefits to consumers, creators, and the entertainment industry as a whole.”

The post Block the Merger Vows to Stop Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal Despite DOJ Green Light appeared first on TheWrap.

That’s right, the singer took to the World Cup stage at SoFi Stadium Friday night, where she was joined by 10-year-old Tius Luka. The young Norwegian singer, who was dressed in a navy tracksuit with red and white stripes, sang the opening and closing lines of Perry’s 2024 song, “Wonder,” which first debuted on her seventh studio album, “143.”

So, why was Luka included in the Friday performance? Keep reading for all the details.

Who is Tius Luka?

As Perry explained in a video uploaded to Instagram, Luka was the inspiration behind her song “Wonder,” which is why she included him as part of her World Cup performance.

“That little voice you’re listening to right now is Tius,” she wrote on Thursday. “Tius recorded his part on ‘Wonder’ when he was 5 years old in 2021. I heard his vocal in 2023 and was inspired to write the verses for ‘Wonder’ and added it to my [seventh] album.”

She continued: “Tius is 10 now and flew all the way to L.A. from Norway to sing this song with me on Friday at the World Cup.”

The video appeared to be from Perry and Luka’s rehearsal on Thursday, as the two singers are seen walking out on the field in full costume together.

You can see the post here.

Where can I watch Katy Perry and Tius Luka’s performance?

Perry and Luka performed the song “Wonder” live ahead of the FIFA World Cup match between USA vs. Paraguay. The soccer game was broadcasted across FOX and Telemundo, who are the official U.S. broadcast rights holders for the World Cup.

However, FIFA already uploaded the pre-game performance on YouTube, which you will find here. You can also find the performance in the X video below.

Who else performed at the USA vs. Paraguay match?

In addition to Perry, headliners for the pre-match show included Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla.

Though, as we previously reported, the World Cup remains a huge event that brings out huge stars, and the other opening ceremonies saw other notable names, including Shakira, J Balvin, Belinda, Alejandro Fernández, Los Ángeles Azules, Lila Downs and Danny Ocean. Canada’s ceremony included Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez and Michael Bublé.

The post Who Was the Child Singing With Katy Perry on the World Cup Stage? appeared first on TheWrap.

Hermès Goes Hollywood Glam

Julia Louis-Dreyfus cozied up to Melinda French Gates in the front row, Natasha Lyonne slid in at the very last minute and Miley Cyrus shimmied in her seat to the finale song “Bette Davis Eyes.”

There was star power aplenty at the Hermès Fall 2026 “Chapter Two” show in Bel Air last week. Both off the runway and on it too, with women’s artistic director Nadège Vanhée showing her most glamorous collection to date, and one that felt very L.A.

The hilltop location just above the Hotel Bel-Air made for some logistical headaches. But the cinematic golden-hour vantage point made up for the long wait for golf carts and shuttles.

The event had been in the works for a year, and the show’s pavilion structure was built over the course of a month. Bathed in golden-hour yellow paint, or jaune flave, the set ushered in a softer vision of Hermès ready-to-wear.

Since 2024, the brand has been taking its women’s RTW collection on the road, stopping in New York, Shanghai and now L.A., with each destination informing the designer’s work.

For this chapter, Vanhée zeroed in on the dress, specifically a gorgeous strapless duchesse satin design that seemed destined for the red carpet. Signaling a new direction for the leather-centric house, the dress came in several colors, including rouge tango, modeled by Karen Elson. All were styled with super-chic matching satin evening boots, which feel like a trend in the making.

The propositions for glam nights continued with fluid gowns in velvet or scattered with starry embroidery, jewel-tone silk coats and suiting.

Meanwhile, the elements of practice and performance inherent to Hollywood came through as Vanhée drew inspiration from the world of dance, touching on rehearsal wear with side-tie silhouettes and groovy sparkly-knit jumpsuits with flared legs. (Groovy and Hermès are two words I never thought would meet.)

The house’s signature leather was reimagined with a lighter touch, as buttery blousons layered over sensual velvet dresses, for example, while Western-detailed, boxy zip-front jackets with matching shorts felt very L.A. rock ’n’ roll.

The event underscored the reality that the U.S., even with all its troubles, is a key market for luxury brands navigating the industry slowdown, though it should be said that Hermès is already doing much better than most. The show followed L.A. destination presentations from Dior at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Gucci and Louis Vuitton in New York in the last few weeks.

The U.S., specifically L.A., is also the celebrity-fashion power center, of course, and the night’s lineup of dressier looks made it clear that Hermès is getting more serious about Hollywood dressing.

Several celebrities have been priming the pump, with director Chloé Zhao wearing a Spring 2026 Hermès bodycon dress at Cannes last month, actor Toheeb Jimoh choosing a sleek pinstriped Spring 2026 Hermès men’s suit for a screening of “Sheep in the Box” at Cannes, and Cyrus donning a glossy black Hermès coat at the iHeartRadio Music Awards back in March.

Adding to the celebrity dressing potential, there’s already a lot of anticipation for what’s next in Hermès menswear with British designer Grace Wales Bonner taking the reins–and making history as the first Black woman to lead a major European fashion house. Her first show will be in January 2027.

Zegna Does Malibu Without the Clichés

Ermenegildo Zegna turned the Malibu Pier into a runway on Friday night, bringing a taste of the Med to the Pacific with its Spring 2027 show.

Silver-haired style setter Stellan Skarsgård, Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson, Rami Malek, Mahershala Ali, Paul Dano and many more from the Hollywood set took their seats in beach chairs for the parade of luxe leisurewear from Italian designer Alessandro Sartori.

The Italian art of villeggiatura, or escaping — truly escaping — to the seaside for the summer season, was Sartori’s starting point for what he does best: a relaxed but refined lineup, one that would be right at home at Nobu just down the PCH.

Soft tailoring and stripes were the foundations of the collection. Shirt jackets, safari jackets, duster coats and beachy cardigans were casually layered over shorts, while terry-cloth pullovers and color-blocked windbreakers offered more overt nautical references. Blazers with adjustable belts and shirts with interchangeable collars underscored the functional aspect of the clothes.

The palette was surf-and-sand, and ease was the prevailing mood, but never at the expense of elegance. Instead, the designer explored how summer dressing can look spontaneous and polished at the same time, taking on coastal L.A. without falling into palm-tree and surfboard clichés.

“I wanted to express a Zegna take on summer,” Sartori said. “Our vision of leisure dressing is rooted in a cultivated attitude and a discerning gaze that is profoundly Italian, yet open to the world.”

H. Lorenzo’s New Guard Flagship 

Fashion’s new guard is alive and well at the new H. Lorenzo flagship on Beverly Boulevard. The 9,000-square-foot, gallery-like space is a garden of edgy delights from hard-to-find and up-and-coming global and L.A. brands. There’s Paris-based enfants terribles Matières Fécales, who created Sarah Paulson’s memorable “One Percent” Met Gala gown; London-based goth designer Dilara Findikoglu, who recently collaborated with Khy after Kylie Jenner’s stylist discovered the designer here; and Paly Hollywood, whose art-to-wear pieces are co-designed by James Franco.

One of L.A.’s formative fashion boutiques, H. Lorenzo was a Sunset Boulevard institution for 42 years. It was founded by Lorenzo Hadar, who helped bring cutting-edge European and Japanese clothing to L.A. in the 1980s — literally — beginning with a “cash-and-carry” model that saw him bringing Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Comme des Garçons pieces back in his suitcase to sell to customers.

The store’s reputation grew, attracting a who’s who of celebrities over the decades, from James Brown and Michael Jackson to Tupac Shakur, Drake, Cardi B and Justin Bieber. It also became a go-to destination for stylists and costume designers looking for the newest looks, including Ruth E. Carter and Euphoria costume designer Natasha Newman-Thomas.

Now, Lorenzo’s son Mac Hadar is heading the business day to day, and the store has relocated to Beverly and Robertson boulevards. “We wanted to inject new energy into the company and just evolve,” Mac said on a busy Wednesday afternoon at the store, as shoppers rolled in for Paly hoodies and Sekrit Saints leather jackets, trying things on and pronouncing them “fire” and “cool as f–k.”

“We try to add at least a 15 to 20 percent new brand mix to our roster every season … and be one step ahead of the curve,” said Mac, who also merchandises H. Lorenzo’s archive store on Santa Fe Avenue in downtown L.A., curating 40 years of vintage so it feels relevant to the moment.

The flagship was designed in collaboration with Italian architect Oliviero Arch Baldini, who has created all the H. Lorenzo stores. It’s minimal, but packs a punch.

“We love the racking system in this space. It feels like there is a lot of metal, but with the clothing on it, it almost floats,” said Mac, explaining that the front of the store is intended to be a rotating design installation, starting with a Japanese curation of custom tatami tables, hand-painted fans, pottery and other objets d’art, all of which are for sale.

On the racks and shelves, shoppers can find Elena Velez’s wasteland-cool sweats, Chopova Lowena’s punky princess skirts, Kapitol’s cult-favorite Japanese-Americana workwear jackets, Doublet’s moss-embroidered jeans, Stephen Jones’ haute hats, Maison Margiela’s tabi shoes and Ashley Williams’ surreal paper roll bracelets.

Mac is also envisioning the new, larger space as a community space—and it already has been, hosting the kickoff for an exclusive collaboration with Ann Demeulemeester last month. “We wanted to introduce the space before it was open,” Mac said. “And we’re planning on doing things like movie screenings and activations that bring people together in ways beyond just a clothing drop with a DJ.”

H. Lorenzo, 8801 Beverly Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90048

Rare Exhibition of Chinese Fashion  Opening at LACMA

Opening June 14 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, “Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to Modernity” is a rare showcase of Chinese fashion in the U.S., dazzling with textiles and embroidery so exquisite they have to be seen IRL, as well as stories of cross-cultural influence and trailblazing 3D-printed mannequins created by designer Jason Wu to represent Chinese physiques, hairstyles and skin tones.

The exhibition is also rare in that it is largely based on a single collection donated to the museum by Berkeley-based Chinese American artist Chere Lai Mah, who spent more than four decades preserving garments belonging to her mother, mother-in-law and other relatives who traveled regularly between Fresno, Calif., and Hong Kong to buy their clothing.

Augmented with pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, “Fashioning Chinese Women” includes 70 garments tracing the evolution of Chinese dress within China, from the loose, densely embroidered and decorated robes of the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911) to the sleek qipaos of Republican Shanghai (1912–1949) and the globally influential cheongsams of postwar Hong Kong.

The show touches on how political reforms brought narrower silhouettes, while global trade and imported materials led to textile innovations, including Art Deco-inspired machine lace and devoré velvets.

The exhibition explores the rise of the qipao as a symbol of modern Chinese fashion during the mid-20th century, when tailors refined the silhouette using Western dressmaking techniques. Among the highlights are two 1949 versions sewn by Susan Mah herself, made from whimsical mid-century California rayon fabrics that reflect her dual Chinese American identity, and three bold, colorful, 1960s-era graphic knee-length cheongsam shift dresses from the fashionable wardrobe of socialite Aileen Chiang Pei, stepmother of architect I. M. Pei.

The show also touches on historical figures who shaped how Chinese dress was perceived and copied abroad, including Anna May Wong, the Hollywood actress who brought Chinese glamour to the silver screen and into the public consciousness in the 1920s, and the stylish First Lady of the Republic of China, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who wore a modernized qipao on her 1943 goodwill tour to America and helped raise the visibility of Chinese Americans, including speaking to a capacity crowd at the Hollywood Bowl.

“Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to Modernity,” June 14–Oct. 12, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036.

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The post Hermès’ Nadège Vanhée Shows Her Most Glamorous Collection Yet appeared first on TheWrap.

“After a series of tests, my doctors have told me I have Alzheimer’s,” Ritter shared during Friday’s broadcast of “Eyewitness News.” “It’s ‘early stage’ Alzheimer’s, and they say the treatments I’m getting are keeping it at bay. For now. But there is no guarantee, because there’s no cure yet for Alzheimer’s. So, unless someone finds an amazing cure, and soon, tonight (Friday) will be the last newscast I anchor.”

Ritter has been with WABC-TV since 1998, stepping into the anchor role at 11 p.m. for “Eyewitness News” in October 199. He notably succeeded Bill Beutel.

Ritter added the 6 p.m. newscast to his lineup in February 2001, as well as the 5 p.m. hour for several years throughout his tenure. Prior to his time at WABC-TV, Ritter had made a name for himself in print journalism, working for the Los Angeles Times. He also appeared on several California and ABC Network news programs.

While Ritter is stepping down from the anchor desk, he clarified that he will remain on at “Eyewitness News,” but in a new role. Specifically, he shared that he is set to cover “the rising tide of Alzheimer’s, and other similar diseases, including how it’s affecting patients and their families, how the price of treatment and the price of caring for patients is simply unaffordable and how this country might begin to change that.”

Watch Ritter’s full statement below.

In response to the news, WABC-TV General Manager Marilu Galvez shared in a statement, “For decades, Bill Ritter has covered and led New Yorkers through the stories that matter most. A defining presence at ABC7, he has done so with exceptional insight, integrity, and, most of all – heart, earning the love and respect of viewers and colleagues alike.”

She continued: “While he is stepping away from daily anchoring, he will continue to be an integral part of our ABC7 family, including sharing personal updates and providing resources to help others impacted by Alzheimer’s better understand the disease and the resources available to them. Bill is strong, brilliant, and resourceful, and we look forward to his continued reporting on Eyewitness News.”

The post Longtime Eyewitness News Anchor Bill Ritter Steps Down, Shares Alzheimer’s Diagnosis | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Entertainment Tonight’s Denny Directo hosted a ceremony Thursday at the Sony
Pictures Studios Scenic Arts Building in Culver City to bestow awards upon a select group of such filmmakers, including Jack Hughes, Christine Seow, Michelle Brøndum, Ida Melum and Ana A. Alpizar.

“The winning films captivate, challenge, and resonate long after viewing.
These are artists who command their craft with confidence, execute their vision without compromise, and observe the world with clarity and empathy,” the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards jury said in a statement. “What distinguishes the winners, and the wider shortlist, is how far their stories reach – across borders, across cultures; across the full spectrum of human experience. Cinema remains the universal language, and these filmmakers demonstrate that its most essential voices are rising from every corner of the globe. It’s precisely filmmakers of this caliber that the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards were created to discover and to champion.”

That jury included Will Gluck (the filmmaker behind such comedies as “Anyone but You” and “Easy A”), Rachel O’Connor (President of Film and Television at Pascal Pictures) and Adam Rosette (co-director of this year’s animated feature “GOAT”). The jury was chaired by Justin Chadwick, director of “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.”

More than 8,400 filmmakers submitted their short films to the 2026 Sony Future Filmmaker Awards across 162 countries and territories. In the end, the jury deliberated over a shortlist of 30 films representing more than 20 countries.

The award for the Fiction category, presented by Gluck, went to Jack Hughes of the UK for the film “Deadheading.” “When her husband is given months to live, a determined wife sets out to jump the waitlist for his dream allotment garden, by whatever means necessary,” a synopsis reads.

The award for the Non-Fiction category, presented by Summer & Company founder Milissa Kazuko Douponce, went to Christine Seow of Singapore for the film “Two Traveling Aunties.” “Two Singaporean women in their fifties
trade conventional life for the open road, embracing newfound freedom and the joy of living life on their terms,” a synopsis reads.

The award for the Animation category, presented by Chadwick, went to Michelle Brøndum and Ida Melum of Denmark and Norway for the film “Ovary-Acting.” “While stuck at her sister’s baby shower, a thirty-something woman is forced to reflect on whether she wants to have children or not after unexpectedly giving birth to her reproductive organs,” a synopsis reads.

These three winners each received Sony Digital Imaging equipment and a $5,000 prize.

The award for the Student category, presented by Sony senior general manager of imaging marketing division Yojiro Asai, went to Cuban filmmaker Ana A. Alpizar of New York University for the film “Norheimsund.” “A long-distance romance
with an older Norwegian man promises to lift a Cuban girl and her mother out of poverty, until the fantasy begins to crack,” a synopsis reads. Both Alpizar and NYU received Sony Digital Imaging equipment with the award.

A final prize came in the Future Format competition, which this year required filmmakers to submit shorts in the vertical 9:16 aspect ratio as vertical viewing on social media platforms takes on a greater importance. Innocent Yama Lamido of Nigeria won this category for the short “Creating Without Permission.” Lamido received Sony Digital Imaging equipment with the prize.

The post Sony Future Filmmaker Awards Unveil 2026 Winners appeared first on TheWrap.

After a season full of stop and starts for Sadie Soverall’s Percy and Matt Cornett’s Sam in “Every Year After,” the Prime Video YA series sees the hint of resolution for the friends-to-lovers upon Sam’s return to Barry’s Bay in the final moments of the season.

With Sam already having handed over the keys to the tavern to Percy, showrunner Amy B. Harris hopes fans see his return as “a happy ending for Sam and Percy, or the possibility of a happy ending.” But that doesn’t mean their story is over, with Harris noting “happy endings are just the beginning — they have a lot of work to do to be a couple.”

“Time has passed — they’re not the same people that they were when they were 18, and even though they’re in love with each other, they have to learn a lot about each other now and who they are as adults,” Harris told TheWrap. “In the writers’ room, I always would say, ‘It’s not a matter of will-they-won’t-they now; it’s how will they?'” It’s why Harris left off with the couple standing apart from one another, explaining “I don’t think it’s fully resolved yet although I think they want it to work.”

The finale leaves off with a bigger question mark for Michael Bradway’s Charlie, who has a heart attack after seeing a photo of himself, Sam and Percy in their boat on his boss’ wall — an Easter egg for fans of Carley Fortune’s book series, which sees Charlie meet his romantic interest Alice, who took the photo, in “One Golden Summer,” which Harris plans to tackle should the Prime Video series receive a Season 2 renewal.

“Charlie is suffering from a broken heart, and then his heart is giving out on him,” Harris said, noting Season 2 would see Charlie’s struggle out of this tough spot. “Sam is the most important person in his life now, with both his parents having passed …. so his betrayal, I think, has haunted him for a long time and has put a lot of pressure on him … I’m excited to explore both how he and Sam can potentially come back together, but also where Charlie goes from here.”

With “One Golden Summer” slated to give Charlie his own happy ending next, Harris revealed the plan to keep expanding Fortune’s Barry’s Bay universe on screen with a blending of Fortune’s books and the expanded supporting characters, recalling that both she and Amazon executives “agreed [the show] could be multiple seasons right away.”

Harris breaks down those plans and what’s next for the central characters below.

TheWrap: What initial conversations did you have with Amazon about how far the series could go, and how did you approach having this trove in Carley’s books?

Harris: We all agreed it could be multiple seasons right away. Beyond the fact that Carley has a phenomenal book that takes place in Barry’s Bay, I think once we started talking about the ensemble being such a big piece of it, it became clear we could build out the stories for many seasons to come … Amazon’s very supportive. If the show does well, I think we’ll be lucky enough to get that second season, and hopefully the third season, and as far as long as the audience will have us, I think we have stories to tell, based on “One Golden Summer,” [and] we’ll have some new characters coming to Barry’s Bay as well.

Is there still more to explore with Delilah and Charlie as well?

Yes, I think there’s a possibility that they can come back into each other’s lives in a different way, but I think for the moment Delilah is pining for somebody who has maybe fallen for someone else.

We also leave off with this love triangle between Delilah, Chantal and Jordie. What do you want to explore more of those in those characters?

We always knew that Jordie would have like an unrequited love for her from high school … that was very interesting to sort of play Sam and Percy are sort of fully realized as lovers … as boyfriend and girlfriend as teenagers, but that Jordie is sort of on the outside looking in at this beautiful girl who is only looking at Charlie, so that was a bit of a love triangle in the past that was bubbling for them, and so I liked the idea that Jordie moves on right as Delilah in the present is starting to realize this friend who she’s always counted on as maybe the person. The scene when Delilah in the past is crying by the car and admits to him what’s going on — if you don’t fall in love with Jordie, that teenage Jordie, then I don’t know, you’re not human.

After “One Golden Summer,” you have plans for additional seasons for the Barry’s Bay universe, and how many seasons are you ideally hoping for?

I’ll take as many seasons as the fans want us to be on. I think the ensemble that we’ve built, and then the characters that are coming from “One Golden Summer” — there will be additional people who show up in our world. I think there’s a real opportunity to have many seasons, because I think I realized, as I’ve been working on this show, what I loved so much about Carley’s book was, like, these people are coming of age in two timelines — in their past as teenagers, and then in their late 20s, which I think is another really important time of coming of age, where you’re like, “What do I want my life to look like?” and actually, the spoiler alert is, you don’t have to know, and that’s a good thing. We have people who are like on the precipice of things … for Percy, it’s finding her voice again, and wanting to write again, and falling in love with Sam again, and I think there’s a lot of precipices we can put these characters on for seasons to come.

The other two books in the Barry Bay universe include different characters that we haven’t even met. Will you want to introduce those characters, or would additional seasons be focused on the characters that we’ve already met?

In my mind, it’s a combination. It’ll be a combo of the ensemble we already have and the characters we’re going to be introducing.

I’d love to hear about bringing some of those iconic moments to life, including that anatomy textbook scene?

There were definitely scenes that were so iconic we knew they had to be in the show, and I think “you came home,” we knew was going to be the end of the first episode. In the writer’s room, we ended up calling it truck sex, just to sort of shorten that, but that scene where he says, “I loved you, you broke my heart.” We knew that had to be there, and then the anatomy text scene, we knew was a middle post that could not not be in the show.

I felt a level of pressure on those scenes, in particular … those scenes I would reread the passages in the book, I would talk with the director — that anatomy scene held a lot of tension in my back until we had filmed it and I saw how good it was because I knew how much that scene meant to the book fans and really, I do not take lightly what this book means to people, and it was really important to me that we deliver on that scene. Carley has been so spectacular in that she has really always said to me, “a book adaptation cannot be the book” … there are scenes in the show that are some of my favorite, and they’re not in the book, and sort of the last beat at the end, with the mirroring of “you came home,” she was like, “Damn, I wish I thought of [that].” She’s excited by the things we’re exploring, which has been I think really fun and great.

What made Sadie and Matt the right Percy and Sam?

The anatomy scene was the one that told us Sadie and Matt were our Percy and Sam, and they did it over Zoom — their chemistry read, and … I’m going to be honest, I was very early on saying, “We’re going to need to find the budget to fly these people to be together, there’s no way we’re going to be able to tell these chemistry reads from a Zoom.” Sadie’s in London. Matt was on a film in North Carolina … it was complicated figuring out how we were going to get everybody together, but we knew we would get everybody together, because I was definitely assuming the Zoom wasn’t going to work.

We gave them like 10 or 15 minutes without us in the Zoom room to get to know each other a little bit, and then they came on, and oh, I was like embarrassed a little bit — I felt like I was watching some really explosive chemistry happening in front of me that I was not supposed to be participating — I think we were all like sort of blushing at the end, and then when they got off, we were like, “Okay, I guess we do not need to see them in person. That is unbelievable.” Their chemistry just literally popped off the Zoom screen, so I was like, “What will this look like when we actually get them in front of cameras?” I think their chemistry is off the charts.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

“Every Year After” Season 1 is now streaming on Prime Video.

The post ‘Every Year After’ Boss Unpacks That Dramatic Cliffhanger, Plans to Expand Barry’s Bay Universe appeared first on TheWrap.