Showbiz News & Hollywood Gossip, Wednesday, Aug. 21st – James Corden To Host Late Late Show Thru 2022

The latest Showbiz news and gossip from RogueValleyMagazine.com…

Wednesday Night TV

AMERICA’S GOT TALENT (8p ET, NBC) — New. Seven acts from the previous night’s show will move on to the semifinals.

BIG BROTHER (8p ET, CBS) — New.

MASTERCHEF (8p ET, FOX) — New. TV host Daphne Oz reveals the contents of the week’s mystery box challenge to the top eight.

BULLETPROOF (8p ET, CW) — New.

SONGLAND (9p ET, NBC) — New. Undiscovered songwriters pitch original material to country band Old Dominion, who are looking for original material to be featured in an upcoming Jeep commercial.

BH90210 (9p ET, FOX) — New.

HOLLYWOOD GAME NIGHT (10p ET, NBC) — New. Celebrities playing include Terry Crews, NE-YO, Kyle Bornheimer, Melissa Fumero, Dirk Blocker and Joel McKinnon Miller.

PREMIERE: FACE THE BEAST (10p ET, History Channel) — This new 2-part special looks at instances of mass killings of humans by predators.

THIS WAY UP (Hulu) — This new 6-part British sitcom is about a very smart English-as-a-foreign language teacher (Aisling Bea) trying to pull her life back together after a “teeny little” nervous breakdown, as her sister (Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe)  worries about her younger sibling, as well as her own life choices. Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show), Tobias Menzies (The Crown) and Indira Varma (Game of Thrones) also star.

AMERICAN FACTORY (Netflix) — This new documentary looks at what happened when a Chinese billionaire opened a new manufacturing plant in a former General Motors facility in Ohio in 2014.

Today’s Showbiz Headlines and Gossip:

JAMES CORDEN TO HOST LATE LATE SHOW THROUGH 2022 _ James Corden will host The Late Late Show through August 2022. Corden has been the show’s star since March 23, 2015.

James Corden with Celine Dion.

MERYL STREEP, CANDICE BERGEN TO STAR IN ROAD TRIP COMEDY FOR HBO MAX _ A new film starring Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, Dianne Wiest, Lucas Hedges and Gemma Chan will have its debut on HBO Max. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film tells the story of a “celebrated author who takes a journey with some old friends to have some fun and heal old wounds.”

… HBO Max is set to launch in 2020.

… Meanwhile, Disney+ is ready to launch November 12 and will be available to stream on Apple devices, Android devices, Chromecast, Roku, and game systems.

FOURTH MATRIX MOVIE IS HAPPENING _ About 16 years after the last movie in the series, Warner Bros. has confirmed work on a fourth movie in The Matrix universe. And it doesn’t appear to be a spinoff — Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will star in the picture. Sources say production will start in early 2020.

… As to why they’re revisiting the series, besides money? Producers say that many of the themes from the original Matrix trilogy are “even more relevant” in the modern era. That’s not a far-fetched conclusion. Simulated worlds and artificial intelligence are playing ever more important roles in society. We’re already asking questions about reality and what it means to be human, and The Matrix could feel like a logical extension of that discussion.

BOND 25 GETS OFFICIAL TITLE AND RELEASE DATE _ The title of Daniel Craig’s final James Bond movie has been announced: No Time to Die. In the 25th Bond film, 007 has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

… The movie also stars Rami Malek as the villain, Ana De Armas as the latest Bond girl, and Lashana Lynch as the new agent who takes on the 007 code name. No Time to Die opens in US theaters on April 8.

APPLE TV PLUS’ THE MORNING SHOW WILL BE EXPENSIVE _ Apple is going big on original shows for its upcoming streaming platform, Apple TV Plus. Front and center in the tech giant’s jump into the streaming war is The Morning Show, a drama series starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell about “the free fall of an early morning newscast in the wake of a scandal, and its struggle to survive in an era when news arrives in the palm of your hand.”

… Apple is reportedly dropping $300 million for two seasons of the series — 20 episodes. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Aniston and Witherspoon would make $1.25 million each per episode.

… At $150 million a season, that makes it one of the most expensive TV shows ever. For comparison, the first season of Netflix’s The Crown cost $130 million for 10 episodes. The hospital drama ER cost $13 million an episode in its later seasons.

… In its final season, Game of Thrones had a production budget of $15 million an episode, or $90 million for the entire six-episode season.

… It’s reported that Apple wants to roll out the service by November, when Disney is launching its own.

RAMBO: LAST BLOOD TRAILER INTRODUCES RAMBO’S NIECE _ A new trailer for Rambo: Last Blood was released on Tuesday, the fifth film in Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo series. An earlier teaser showed John Rambo (Stallone) coming out of retirement for revenge on a Mexican cartel. The new trailer reveals the source of that revenge. The trailer opens with Col. Trautman (the late Richard Crenna)’s speech from previous movies: “We’re dealing with an expert, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. Rambo was the best.” • VIDEO

… Then the trailer introduces Rambo’s niece Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal) calling Rambo, “Uncle John.” The cartel kidnapped the wrong niece because Rambo will take no prisoners when he comes to rescue Gabrielle.

SPIDER-MAN IS LEAVING THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE _ In a shocking development, Marvel Studios will part ways with Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man franchise. The decision will effectively remove the version of Peter Parker played by Tom Holland from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The issue reportedly comes down to money. Sony Pictures has owned the movie rights to Spider-Man for decades, and found great success with the character with director Sam Raimi and actor Tobey Maguire’s take on the webslinger in the 2000s — their three films grossed nearly $2.5 billion worldwide. But then Sony’s reboot of the franchise with director Marc Webb and actor Andrew Garfield, released in 2012 and 2014, was seen as a critical and commercial disappointment.

… So in 2015 Sony entered into an unprecedented agreement with the Disney-owned Marvel Studios to share the Spider-Man character. Essentially, Disney got to use Tom Holland’s version of Spidey in its Marvel Studios movies, and Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige produced Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man movies for them, fully integrating the films within the MCU — 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home.

… Disney, according to a report, stipulated to Sony that it wanted to split future Spider-Man movies in a 50/50 cofinancing arrangement — which also meant a 50/50 split in the profits. Sony said no. Disney said fine, removed Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios as producers of Sony’s future Spider-Man films, and kicked the character out of the MCU sandbox.

FOOD TO BE ‘CANNON-BLASTED’ AT CHEFS IN NEW COOKING COMPETITION _ Cooking competitions are getting more and more explosive. Dishmantled, a new streaming cooking series coming in 2020, is reportedly going to start each episode by shooting food out of a ‘cannon’ into the faces of blind-folded chefs, who will then be tasked with trying to recreate the pre-blasted version of the dish. Dishmantled will air on Quibi, a short-form streaming service coming in April. The show will be hosted by Titus Burgess.

LARRY KING FILES FOR DIVORCE FROM WIFE NO. 7 _ Larry King has decided to part ways with his longtime love, Shawn Southwick King. The pair has been married for 22 years, but it looks like the 85-year-old television host is ready to close this chapter. King filed for divorce on Tuesday against the 59-year-old actress. The two tied the knot in 1997 — and it marked Larry’s eighth marriage and seventh wife, but for Shawn, this was her third marriage.

… This isn’t the first time the duo has called it quits. Back in 2010, both of them filed for divorce, but they later reconciled. TMZ points out that they hit a bump in the road in 2016, when rumors swirled that the actress was allegedly cheating on her husband.

NETFLIX WILL PEER INSIDE BILL GATES’ MIND WITH A NEW DOCUSERIES _ An upcoming Netflix docuseries will offer some insight into Bill Gates’ mind as he tries to solve some of the planet’s biggest problems. The three-part series, Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates, will offer “an unprecedented peek inside the mind of the celebrated tech visionary, business leader, and philanthropist.” It includes interviews with Gates and his wife Melinda, as well as their loved ones and philanthropy and business partners.

TEASER FOR THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL SEASON 3 IS HERE _ Hold onto your hats, people — Amazon Prime Video just released the first teaser for Season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. New episodes of the series — which received 19 Emmy nominations this year — will premiere on December 6. • VIDEO

KRISTEN STEWART FIGHTS SEA MONSTERS IN UNDERWATER TRAILER _ Vampires, ghosts and now sea monsters? Clearly there is no monster actress Kristen Stewart cannot tame. In the first trailer for the submerged thriller Underwater, Stewart is a member an stranded research vessel crew. The trailer begins with the radio message: “You are now 5,000 miles from land and you are descending seven miles to the bottom of the ocean.” Naturally, disaster awaits. • VIDEO

… Underwater will be in theaters in January, but Stewart’s next big release is in Charlie’s Angels, coming out on November 15 of this year.

AMY SCHUMER IS ONLY WOMAN ON HIGHEST-EARNING COMICS LIST _ Amy Schumer has come in at No. 7 on Forbes’ list of the highest-earning comics. Amy’s the highest-earning — and only — female on the list. Forbes estimates she earned $21 million over the past year from her tour and Netflix special.

… Ahead of Amy is Gabriel Iglesias (6); Sebastian Maniscalco (5); Trevor Noah (4); Jim Gaffigan (3); Jerry Seinfeld (2); and Kevin Hart (1).

PAULA DEEN’S BROTHER DIES AT 65 _ Paula Deen is mourning the loss of her younger brother and former business partner, Earl “Bubba” Wayne Hiers Jr., who died at 65 on Thursday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Hiers was the only sibling of the former Food Network star.

PRACTICAL MAGIC PREQUEL AMONG THREE HBO MAX PILOT ORDERS _ HBO Max is continuing to build up its original programming with three new projects. One of its shows is Rules of Magic, based on the novels Rules of Magic and Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. Practical Magic was previously adapted into a film in 1998 starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Set in 1960s New York City, the series follows three troubled siblings — Franny, Jet and Vincent Owens — who wrestle with “abnormalities” that have kept them isolated.

DALE EARNHARDT JR. IS SPEAKING OUT _ In a statement shared to his Twitter account, retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that he and his wife Amy wanted to “thank everyone who has lifted us up” since their terrifying crash landing last week: “We are truly blessed that all on board escaped with no serious injuries, including our daughter, our two pilots and dog Gus.”

… While people want to know what could’ve caused the private jet to burst into flames, Dale says that he will “not be speculating or discussing the cause of the accident” since it is the subject of an ongoing investigation.

NASCAR THANKS DALE JR. PLANE CRASH FIRST RESPONDERS _ NASCAR dropped an awesome “thanks for saving our legend” gift over the weekend — donating tickets to the first responders at Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s plane crash.

TRACY MORGAN JOINS EDDIE MURPHY IN COMING TO AMERICA SEQUEL _ Tracy Morgan has joined Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America. A number of new and returning talent have signed on for the movie, including Wesley Snipes, Lesley Jones, Kiki Layne, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and Shari Headley.

… Coming 2 American will be in theaters in December 2020.

KATIE HOLMES AND JAMIE FOXX SPLIT _ The six-year relationship between Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx has ended. After pictures emerged showing Foxx partying in Los Angeles on Friday night with much-younger singer Sela Vave, news outlets speculated that Foxx was cheating on Holmes. But a source says Jamie and Katie “haven’t been together for months,” having split back in late May.

… They’d been together since 2013 — about a year after Holmes divorced Tom Cruise.

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