Entertainment

Pedro Pascal in Tony Gilroy’s Wan Character Study

Tony Gilroy returns to features after 14 years’ absence — the last three of them spent in the Star Wars TV trenches as creator, showrunner and head writer on Andor — with a movie that makes itself hard to love. Hampered by a fussy hopscotching time structure that too often halts the dramatic momentum and by a central character whose passivity fights against the warmth and magnetism of Pedro Pascal in the role, Behemoth! is an odd duck, alternately intriguing and frustrating. What it does have going for it is a series of thrilling sequences observing the workings of an orchestra employed on Hollywood’s scoring stages.
That rarely glimpsed milieu and a virtuoso cellist protagonist might make Gilroy’s film sound like Maestro meets Tár. But the story’s internal engine seldom revs hard enough to stand up to either of those comparisons, despite its capable ensemble cast and polished craftsmanship.
One issue is that the script by Gilroy (an Oscar nominee for screenwriting and direction on Michael Clayton) gives insufficient dimension to Pascal’s character, Alex Serian, for someone meant to carry a film. He’s a sideliner in his own life, which may well be the result of living in the shadow of a family of narcissists, but that is not enough to make him interesting. Nor does it help that Alex’s failed relationships seem less a symptom of his own damage than his poor choice of partners.
The women characters generally are not drawn kindly, especially Carol Spedding (Olivia Wilde), a wealthy, married arts patron whose ferocious pursuit of Alex when he ends their affair makes her seem like a soul sister to Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. Maybe Carol’s $6 million gift to the Chicago Symphony during Alex’s tenure there enables her to feel some kind of ownership, though that’s more implied than explored. “I bleed for you and you shun me?” screeches the manic drama queen after he blocks her calls.
Alex’s flight from scary Carol lands him back in his hometown, Los Angeles, after 20 years of playing in other cities, looking to get back into session work recording orchestral film scores. It’s in those scenes on studio lots — including the Barbra Streisand Scoring Studio at Sony — that the movie is most dynamic.
That’s in large part due to the staggering range of ravishing original film music we see being performed — from dark drama to suspense to action to soaring romance — written by an assembly of nine respected composers billed as “The Behemoth! Collective.” They include Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Lukas Frank, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Henry Jackman, Nami Melumad, Brandan Roberts and Alan Silvestri. Much of their work also plays over scenes elsewhere in the movie, including an art rock song, a requiem, a cartoon theme tune, a harp concerto and cello etudes.
For anyone who loves movies, being prompted to think about the experiential role that a great score plays is fascinating, but while Behemoth! feints toward being a celebration of film music, it never fully commits. It seems a missed opportunity that we don’t get to watch music being matched to specific beats on the screen, beyond background shots of fuzzy footage on a monitor.
Alex’s relationship with his parents was defined by their need to outshine their children. We see video of Alex playing Bach at age 6 on Johnny Carson’s show, but the film seems to suggest their nurturing of their sons’ musical gifts was just another way to burnish their own reputations.
His self-absorbed brother Andy (Will Arnett, who’s in a different movie) became something of a black sheep when he turned his back on classical viola to form a briefly successful rock band in the ‘90s. He now hosts a podcast about the TV and movie themes of their late father Peter (Hank Azaria, in a video cameo). Their mother Ginnie (an unrecognizable JoBeth Williams) was a renowned harpist, fading fast with dementia when Alex stays with her upon first returning to L.A. She once said of her husband, “He was a Peter who really wanted to be a Pierre.”
But those glimmers of insight fail to coalesce into a fleshed-out family mythology — though we do learn that Alex and Andy’s grandfather died from a stroke, immedicately after hitting a high C while playing trumpet on the same MGM stage where Alex now works. There’s simply not enough meat on the bones of the parental background or in Alex and Andy’s conversations about them to give much shape to the supposedly chaotic upbringing that formed them.
The movie is more engaged in Alex’s reflections on his own life in the two decades since he left, jumping between fizzled relationships and elite orchestra positions in Boston, Dallas and Chicago. The one woman he appears to have loved is brilliant violinist Nadia (Eva Victor), who bailed to marry a billionaire businessman (Matthew Lillard). Victor (Sorry, Baby) is a vivid screen presence, but Nadia isn’t around long enough to leave much of an impression before Alex’s memories jump to her funeral six years later.
It’s on that solemn occasion that he first sees Nadia’s prodigiously gifted daughter Viviana when she plays an original piano composition of astonishing maturity. That piques Alex’s curiosity about the possibility that he might be the girl’s father; his paternity sleuthing gives the movie a much-needed kick.
While Alex’s romantic past is too thinly outlined to be compelling, Pascal’s internalized performance becomes more affecting once the character’s paternal instincts emerge. This happens first with Bronte (Kaya Ralls), a bright young cellist he coaches for an audition with the prestigious San Francisco Symphony. (Professional musician Ralls is a natural in her first acting role.)
But it’s when he starts following Viviana’s success as a composer and musician across multiple genres that the film finally gains some emotional heft. An interlude during which their professional paths cross, when 15-year-old Viviana (Alexa Swinton, terrific) is hired to take over scoring duties on a major movie from a temperamental Euro-diva (Thomas Kretschmann, amusingly playing a male Lydia Tár), is lovely. But it comes too late in a movie that gives us few reasons to care about its opaque central character.
Behemoth! is handsomely shot by Damián García, who previously worked with Gilroy on Andor, but in the end it’s satisfying only as a sensory experience in which music acquires physical form, an aspect greatly enhanced by the advanced sound technology of Dolby Atmos.

Entertainment

Hilary Swank, 52, announces she’s pregnant with baby No. 3

Hilary Swank is expecting her third child in December.
The “Million Dollar Baby” actress, 52, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a video of herself, husband Philip Schneider and their 3-year-old twins, Aya and Ohm, dancing and wearing what appeared to be glow sticks taped to their bodies.
Swank also showed off her baby bump featuring a tiny glow stick baby.
“A lot of people have been asking what project I’m doing next, this one releases in December. 😉👼🏼🫶🏼,” she captioned the creative family video.
Fans in the comments thread were in disbelief, with one person writing, “Whatsssss ? Wait, am I crazy, or are you pregnant again?”
Another wrote, “Ahhh congratulations!!! How beautiful! What a fun announcement 😍❤️” while a third chimed in, “Best news of the day, week, month and year!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!”
A fourth gushed, “As a 44 year old mom of twin 7 year olds, I’m so excited and impressed!! I would love to have another baby if only I had the stamina!!!! Enjoy your new hormones 😊”
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The Oscar winner and Schneider welcomed Aya and Ohm back in April 2023. She was 48 at the time.
“It wasn’t easy. But boy (and girl!) was it worth it. 👼🏼🤍👼🏼 Happy Easter!” she captioned a snapshot of herself holding the infants while taking in a sunset.
She added, “🐣🐣 Posting from pure Heaven. 🙌🏽.”
The actress first announced she was becoming a mom during an interview on “Good Morning America” in October 2022.
The “Beverly Hills, 90210” actress gushed that she was “so happy” to share the news, confessing that it was something she’d “been wanting for a long time.”
“And not just of one but of two,” she added.
Swank — who was previously married to actor Chad Lowe — and Schneider tied the knot in California back in 2018.
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Entertainment

Chuck Lorre says Anna Faris’ exit from ‘Mom’ confirmed his casting concerns

Chuck Lorre suggested his reservations about Anna Faris starring in “Mom” had been “correct” when she left the show for “mysterious reasons.”
The co-creator of the hit CBS comedy reveals in his new memoir, “Sitcom,” that he was initially hesitant to cast Faris, 49, in the lead role, despite her being the network’s first choice to play Christy Plunkett.
“I wasn’t sure Anna would be appropriate for this kind of material,” Lorre, 73, writes in his book. “Then I thought about how badly I’d bungled my working relationship with Charlie Sheen.”
In his memoir, Lorre claims that Melanie Lynskey was “terrified” of Sheen while filming the final episode of “Two and a Half Men” ahead of the actor’s 2011 exit from the show.
He also writes that the cast and crew were in a “constant state of anxiety” around Sheen.
Sheen, 61, would later tell Lorre to “suck his f–king butt” during a radio show tirade over his “firing,” but the pair eventually mended their relationship when Lorre realized Sheen would be perfect for a role in his HBO comedy series “Bookie.”
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Reflecting on his experience with Sheen, Lorre says he reconsidered his reservations about Faris, writing, “Someone’s personal life is none of my business. The mom in ‘Mom’ would be, and should be, Anna Faris.”
The “Scary Movie” actress went on to star alongside Allison Janney, who played Bonnie Plunkett, from 2013 to 2020, before exiting the series ahead of its eighth season.
“As the years went by, it became apparent that my initial reluctance to hire Anna was, in fact, correct,” Lorre writes in his memoir. “After six years, she left the show for mysterious reasons that were not mysterious to anyone on the show.”
Lorre praises the show’s later seasons, writing that “‘Mom’ found its true voice” by showing that “there is hope, and there is laughter in overcoming the seemingly fatal disease of alcoholism.”
He also criticizes CBS for canceling the series after eight seasons in 2021, writing, “CBS decided they could live without a perfect cast led by a national treasure. They canceled a show starring Allison Janney.”
Faris would later open up about her decision to leave “Mom” during a June appearance on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast.
“I do think the intensity, like, towards the end, I think I started to lose my focus,” Faris said.
“I’d never had a job, besides waitressing, for over three and a half months before,” she added, noting that her decision to leave came during a “complicated time.”
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Entertainment

Listen to Hayden Panettiere 911 call as Brian Hickerson’s brother desperately tries to save actress’ life

Zach Hickerson’s desperate attempts to save actress Hayden Panettiere’s life have been revealed in a a newly released 911 audio dispatch.
A 911 call, obtained by CBS News Wednesday, revealed Brian Hickerson’s brother called authorities in a panic after finding the “Heroes” alum unresponsive in an Airbnb in South Carolina on Aug. 16.
“Oh god, oh my god,” Zach — who said he had just returned from church when he found her — can be heard on the call before the dispatcher asked if Panettiere was breathing. “No, I don’t think so.”
The dispatcher instructed Zach to find a defibrillator, which he was unable to locate. He then confirmed the actress was not breathing.
“OK, we need to start CPR,” the dispatcher told Zach. “I’m going to tell you how to do CPR, OK? We’re gonna start with ventilation first.”
Zach proceeded to perform the life-saving measures on Panettiere until first responders arrived and took over.
The “I Love You Beth Cooper” star was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:32 p.m. local time. She was 36.
Additionally, a police report previously obtained by Page Six revealed Brian, who was involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with Panettiere since 2018, gave officers a “bag of medication” she had been taking.
Page Six confirmed that Panettiere died from the toxic effects of 4-ANPP, fentanyl, methocarbamol, alprazolam and quetiapine.
Her manner of death was ruled an accident, with “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”
Hayden’s death was confirmed by her father, Skip Panettiere, via a statement that same day.
“She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” he wrote. “We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
Ahead of her death, Hayden was candid about her ongoing addiction to opioids and alcohol, and her journey with postpartum depression.
The “Nashville” alum recalled in 2015 the “really scary” and “painful” experience after she gave birth to her and her then-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko’s now 11-year-old daughter, Kaya.
“There’s a lot of misunderstanding — there’s a lot of people out there that think it’s not real, that’s it not true, that it’s something that’s made up in their minds, that, ‘Oh, it’s hormones,’” she shared on a vulnerable episode of “Live with Kelly and Michael.”
“They brush it off. It’s something that’s completely uncontrollable. It’s really painful and it’s really scary and women need a lot of support.”
Ultimately, Hayden’s battle with addiction led to her engagement with Klitschko ending in 2018, and her giving full custody of Kaya to her ex.
“It was the hardest thing I ever had to do,” Hayden said in 2022, per People. “But I wanted to be a good mom to her — and sometimes that means letting them go.”
According to a Greenville County Coroner’s Office obtained by Page Six, Hayden had allegedly overdosed and entered rehab before she died.

Entertainment

Kaley Cuoco gives birth to second baby with fiancé Tom Pelphrey

Kaley Cuoco and fiancé Tom Pelphrey’s second child has arrived.
The “Big Bang Theory” alum gave birth to baby No. 2, a girl named Philomena Carmine Bobby, on Monday, three years after welcoming daughter Matilda.
“There are no words to describe this feeling once again,” Cuoco, 40, wrote on Instagram Wednesday, alongside photos of the couple with their newborn daughter.
“What a blessing,” she continued. “We are so grateful for the crazy wild up and down journey that brought us to our little Philo! Family officially complete 😭Time to bring Matilda’s baby home! 😂💕.”
Cuoco also wrote that Pelphrey’s “life exploded the minute we met, and the gifts keep coming.”
“I love you forever, girl daddy,” she concluded her post.
The actress announced her pregnancy news — and the little one’s sex — in a June Instagram post.
“completing our little family , what a dream come true ! 💖” Cuoco captioned the social media upload at the time.
“This second time around journey has been a little windier in many ways, but wow we are so grateful for this moment!!” she continued. “Little sissy on the way!!!”
The “Flight Attendant” star concluded by dubbing her partner a “girl dad for life.”
She and Pelphrey, 44, have been an item since 2022.
The duo, who share the same management team, started dating on the heels of Cuoco’s divorce from second husband Karl Cook.
Before marrying the equestrian in 2018, Cuoco was married to tennis star Ryan Sweeting from 2013 to 2016.
Five months after going public with Pelphrey, Cuoco revealed she and the “Ozark” alum were starting a family.
Matilda was born in March 2023, with the new mom gushing, “Overjoyed and grateful for this little miracle. … @tommypelphrey didn’t think I could fall even more in love with you, but I did.”
The following year, Pelphrey proposed to the Emmy nominee — despite her previously swearing off ever walking down the aisle again.
“Amazing weekend,” the bride-to-be wrote alongside her August 2024 engagement ring debut.
Cuoco subsequently teased to People that “maybe another kid” would “come first” before they walked down the aisle.
The “Meet Cute” star, who had yet to “start planning anything” for their nuptials, quipped, “We’re gonna go way out of order. That’s our plan.”

Entertainment

‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ Renewed For Season 2 By Apple TV

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed will be back for another go-round. Apple TV announced Wednesday that it has renewed the dark comedy thriller for a second season.
A writers room is underway, we hear, with Season 2 production slated for the first half of 2027.
Starring Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany and Jake Johnson, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed follows newly divorced mom Paula (Maslany) as she falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder and youth soccer. Convinced that she witnessed a crime — while simultaneously struggling through a custody battle and an identity crisis — Paula begins her own investigation, one that could unravel a greater conspiracy while also holding the keys to rebuilding her family and sense of self.
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The series hails from Apple Studios and Counterpart Studios and is written and executive produced by creator and showrunner David J. Rosen. David Gordon Green served as director and executive producer. The series is also developed by and executive produced by Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon for Genre Films under their first-look deal with Apple TV, and Bard Dorros for Anonymous Content.
In addition to Maslany and Johnson, the ensemble cast is led by Murray Bartlett, Dolly De Leon, Brandon Flynn, Jessy Hodges, Jon Michael Hill, Charlie Hall, Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg and Nola Wallace.
“We are delighted to continue the story of MPG and deeply grateful to Apple and our incredible cast and crew,” said Rosen. “This is all pretty amazing for a show whose title came from a spam email.”