Month: August 2022

Over three years after the final episode of Game of Thrones premiered on HBO Max, ‘House of the Dragon’ has finally landed on the streaming service. The prequel series pulled in a massive 9.986 million viewers, making it the largest original series premiere in HBO history. The House of the Dragon premiere even caused HBO Max to crash for some users, with about 3,000 reported outages on Sunday timed to the debut episode of House of the Dragon. 

House of the Dragon is set centuries before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’, and follows the Targaryen family, ancestors of Game of Thrones‘ Daenerys Targaryen. The cast features Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy/Milly Alcock as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen and Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen.

Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer, HBO & HBO Max said in a press release: “It was wonderful to see millions of Game of Thrones fans return with us to Westeros last night. House of the Dragon features an incredibly talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into the production, and we’re ecstatic with viewers’ positive response. We look forward to sharing with audiences what else George, Ryan, and Miguel have in store for them this season.”

House of the Dragon episode 1 is now streaming on HBO Max. New episodes premiere at 9/8c on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.

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Elton John has teamed up with Britney Spears on a reimagined version of John’s and Bernie Taupin’s “Tiny Dancer”, set to drop on Friday, August 26.  John unveiled a snippet of “Hold Me Closer” on his Tik Tok, and in the 14-second clip, Spears’ voice can be heard alongside John’s singing the 1971 hit.

Elton’s Tik Tok also seemed to unveil the cover art for the track, which features side-by-side photos of Spears and John as young children. “Hold Me Closer” will marks Spears’ first new music since Glory in 2016, and also her first new music since ending her controversial conservatorship.

John is set to embark on his farewell tour, kicking-off September 7 in Toronto, Canada. For ticket information, head here.

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HBO has released a new trailer for its forthcoming drama series ‘The Idol’ starring The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp; and co-created by The Weeknd (aka Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye), Reza Fahim, and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.

According to HBO’s official synopsis, the six-episode drama is “set against the backdrop of the music industry and centers on a self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult who develops a complicated relationship with an up-and-coming pop idol.”

‘The Idol,’ written by The Weeknd, Levinson, Fahim, and Joe Epstein, also features a supporting cast that includes Troye Sivan, Jennie Kim, Debby Ryan, Rachel Sennott, Steve Zissis, Hari Nef, and Juliebeth Gonzalez.  HBO has yet to announce a release date set for the show, but the trailer teased that it’s “coming soon.”

Take a look at the trailer for “The Idol” – here.

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‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’ opened with $20.1 million-plus in earnings in North American box office to win the weekend box office, easily beating the weekend’s other new film, ‘Beast.’ Crunchyroll, the distributor of the Japanese movie, says the sequel to 2018’s Dragon Ball Super: Broly is scoring the best global opening ever for an anime film. Dragon Ball Super: Broly debuted to $9.8 million domestically from roughly 1,200 theaters.

Dragon Ball Super 2 is the 21st feature film in the long-running ‘Dragon Ball’ universe and a sequel to Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The CGI-animated martial arts fantasy — directed by Tetsuro Kodama from a story by series creator Akira Toriyama, and produced by Toei Animation — is playing in more than 3,100 cinemas in North America, including 324 IMAX locations.

Taking second place at the box office was Beast with a modest $11.6 million from 3,743 theaters, a disappointing start for the Universal release starring Idris Elba.  Elsewhere at the box office, Sony’s Bullet Train fell to No. 3; and Top Gun: Maverick took the No. 4 spot to reach $700 million in earnings at the domestic box office.

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The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Ryan Gosling is in negotiations to join Margot Robbie in the ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ reboot film for Warner Bros.  The new movie will be helmed by Jay Roach, with Robbie producing with Tom Ackerley and Michelle Graham. Details are being kept under wraps, but rumors say it will be an original Ocean’s Eleven tale that is set in Europe in the 1960s.  The project has not been greenlit, but is expected to begin production in Spring 2023.

The Ocean’s Eleven franchise was launched in 2001 when Steven Soderbergh directed the comedy featuring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and others. That remake of the 1960 Rat Pack movie turned into a successful franchise, with the first movie earning over $450 million worldwide theatrically and two more installments being released in 2004 and 2007. The franchise returned in 2018 with Ocean’s 8, a female-led spinoff featuring Sandra Bullock, Helena Bonham Carter and Rihanna.

Gosling also currently teaming up with Robbie on the live-action Warner Bros. film Barbie. The actor also co-stars with Emily Blunt in director David Leitch’s stuntman action-drama The Fall Guy for Universal Pics.

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Gary Busey was arrested in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and is facing four charges, including two counts of criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree. The actor was visiting the town during the weekend of Aug. 12 to Aug. 14 to attend the Monster-Mania Convention at the Doubletree Hotel.

Cherry Hill police responded to a report of a sex offense at the Doubletree Hotel during the time of the convention. After investigating the incident, detectives charged the 78-year-old actor on four offenses: two counts of criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree, one count of attempting criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree and one disorderly conduct count of harassment.  In a press release distributed on Saturday afternoon, Cherry Hill Police maintained that the investigation around Busey and the incident remain ongoing.

Busey was booked as a guest for Monster-Mania, a horror-themed, fan-fueled event that runs out of Cherry Hill semi-annually. According to the convention’s resources, the actor was listed as an attendant of the Autograph Room. Busey has appeared at Monster-Mania in prior editions of the convention.

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