Steve Pond's Blog, page 106

‘Doctor Odyssey’ Season 2 on Ice as Cast Contracts to Return Expire

The future isn’t looking too bright for “Doctor Odyssey,” as the cast’s contracts to return are set to expire without a Season 2 greenlight from ABC.

After not receiving a spot on ABC’s primetime lineup this fall, the fate of “Doctor Odyssey” has been in flux amid ongoing creative conversations with Ryan Murphy about what a Season 2 might look like, though, with the cast’s options set to expire this coming Monday, the show certainly won’t be returning to ABC this fall.

That’s not to say that “Doctor Odyssey” is officially over, as the Joshua Jackson-led drama series could pick back up at a later time according to an individual with knowledge, but it’s unknown if or when that might happen.

The future of “Doctor Odyssey” has been in limbo since the spring, when the series didn’t receive a renewal nor a cancellation, and the show’s fate was further cemented when it did not appear on ABC’s upcoming schedule for the 2025-26 TV broadcast season. Instead, a spinoff series of Murphy’s “9-1-1,” “9-1-1: Nashville,” will take over “Doctor Odyssey’s” previous timeslot of Thursdays at 9 p.m.

At the time of the schedule’s debut in May, Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich assured TheWrap that while the show is not on the fall schedule, it had not been canceled yet.

“‘Doctor Odyssey’ is not currently on our schedule. We’re continuing to have creative conversations with Ryan about what a next chapter would look like,” Erwich told TheWrap, adding that Murphy is quite busy as he prepares to launch a new season of “9-1-1” and new series “9-1-1: Nashville” on ABC as well as the legal drama series “All’s Fair” on Hulu this fall. “It’s an ongoing conversation.”

“Doctor Odyssey” stars Jackson as Max Bankman, a doctor who takes a job on a luxurious cruise ship — captained by Don Johnson’s Captain Robert Massey — after a brush with death. Max joins the medical team alongside Phillipa Soo’s nurse practitioner Avery Morgan and Sean Teale’s nurse Tristan Silva.

“Doctor Odyssey” is now streaming on Hulu.

The post ‘Doctor Odyssey’ Season 2 on Ice as Cast Contracts to Return Expire appeared first on TheWrap.

‘28 Years Later’ Ending Explained: What Am I Missing?

After more than two decades, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return to their iconic zombie horror franchise with “28 Years Later,” a loose sequel to “28 Days Later.” Through the blood and horror, the duo delivered a highly satisfying and emotional franchise film that places equal weight on terror and tenderness. This builds to a surprisingly heartfelt conclusion full of pathos.

After this emotional payoff, “28 Years Later” ends on a coda to the primary story, teasing the future of the franchise and looping back to the beginning of the film. Simply put, it’s one of the most bizarre movie endings of the decade. But what characters show up at the end of the film, and what cultural figures are they referencing?

Let’s break down the ending and its significance. In case you couldn’t tell, this article contains major spoilers for the events of “28 Years Later.” If you haven’t seen the movie yet, go watch it and then come back. Or don’t. Just don’t go all Rage Virus on me if you get spoiled.

What happens at the end of “28 Years Later”?

“28 Years Later” follows Spike (Alfie Williams), a 12-year-old boy living on the secluded, infection-free island of Lindisfarne, as he takes his first trips onto mainland (and zombie-infested) England. Spike eventually takes his mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), onto the mainland in hopes of finding a doctor who can cure her of her illness. When Spike and Isla reach Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), he informs them that Isla suffers from an aggressive form of cancer in her brain and body. Kelson helps Isla die in peace, allowing Spike to place her skull atop a monument to the fallen.

If you can’t tell, it’s emotionally devastating. I nearly cried just writing this.

Along the way to Dr. Kelson, Spike and Isla come across a pregnant infected woman (Celi Crossland) who, with the help of Isla, delivers an uninfected baby. After the death of his mother, Spike names the baby “Isla,” brings her to Lindisfarne and leaves a note for his father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Spike then returns to England on his own in a journey of self-discovery, saying he wants to walk until he can’t see the water anymore.

Spike quickly comes under attack from a group of infected who threaten to overwhelm him. From nowhere, a group of saviors emerges, each wearing a track suit and calling themselves some variation of the name “Jimmy”: Jimmy Ink, Jimmy Jones, Jimmy Jimmy, Jimmima. The leader of the pack, Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) offers to help Spike. His group then jumps to action, flipping and kicking with “Teletubbies” audio playing in the background as they kill some infected with a series of tricks. Sir Jimmy Crystal invites Spike to join them. The scene is shot and edited unlike anything else in the film.

As far as endings go, it’s… odd.

Who is Jimmy?

“28 Years Later” opens with a sequence where a group of young kids watch the British children’s series “Teletubbies” as their parents speak sternly outside. A group of infected then break into the house, with all adults and children dying save for one: a young boy named Jimmy. Jimmy runs to his father, a preacher (Sandy Batchelor), who gives the young boy a necklace of an upside-down crucifix before accepting his “salvation” among the infected. A text card then reads, “28 years later…”

When Sir Jimmy Crystal arrives at the end of the film, he bears the same necklace as the young Jimmy from the prologue. Unless some massive plot twist occurs in the next films, it’s safe to assume O’Connell is portraying an adult version of the same Jimmy.

The prologue isn’t the only mention of Jimmy from the film. Throughout “28 Years Later,” characters come across a number of instances of graffiti promoting an unknown “Jimmy” as some sort of savior. In a particularly disturbing scene, Spike and Jamie find an infected man dangling from the ceiling with the word “JIMMY” carved into his body. O’Connell may be charismatic, but Spike should approach with caution.

Are the Jimmies a reference to something?

Like you wouldn’t believe. For those who don’t know, the gang of Jimmies are all meant to be dressed like Jimmy Savile, a British television personality who was, for a long time, an immensely popular and well-known celebrity. The Jimmies’ track suits, blonde hair and gold jewelry are all giveaways for their Savile inspiration.

Here, Garland and Boyle draw inspiration from a dark character in British history. Following his death in 2011, Savile was exposed as a serial sexual abuser. Hundreds of cases were formally recorded against Savile, the majority of which involved children. While allegations had been made against Savile prior to his death, the extent and severity of his crimes were then unknown.

Why do the Jimmies idolize Jimmy Savile?

When considering the final scene, one has to remember that, in the world of the film, the outbreak of the Rage Virus occurred in 2002. This means that, for most of the characters in “28 Years Later,” culture froze in the early 2000s.

Garland and Boyle play with this idea a number of times throughout the movie. In an early scene, Spike interacts with a Power Ranger toy in his room. After the events of the prologue, the Teletubbies clearly have a profound impact on Sir Jimmy Crystal’s life. An image of the Queen still hangs in Lindisfarne. In the film’s most humorous scene, Spike struggles to understand the concepts of smart phones, delivery drivers and the internet. Even a basic Frisbee confounds the young boy.

These concepts are all baked into “28 Years Later” on a thematic level. Through Lindisfarne and infected Britain as a whole, Boyle and Garland play with ideas of isolationism, memory and culture in the landscape of an ongoing pandemic. As a legacyquel itself, there’s something rewarding about “28 Years Later” playing with the concept of cultural inertia. This film isn’t stuck in the past, but its characters are.

Sir Jimmy Crystal was a child when the infected outbreak occurred. At the time, he likely revered Sevile, as many other children did in 2002. Reports of his crimes were not as prevalent as they would be after his death, and it’s highly unlikely that a child of Jimmy’s age would be aware of such actions. To Sir Jimmy Crystal, Sevile is the same enigmatic figure he considered him as a child. It appears the same goes for all of the Jimmies.

This places the Jimmies ending in an odd space within the larger context of “28 Years Later”: it’s thematically relevant, tonally inconsistent and, at the very least, incredibly bold.

But does it work?

While “28 Years Later” earned broad acclaim upon its release, the ending is by far the most controversial aspect of the film. A cursory scan on social media will show audiences calling it both a triumph and a baffling decision  — as well as some viewers who clearly don’t get the reference.

The ending to 28 YEARS LATER is gonna reveal who’s actually up on their British pop culture lol

But seriously, it might be the most chilling scene in the entire movie.

— Robert Daniels (@812filmreviews) June 20, 2025

Given Savile’s disturbing place in British culture, the ending of the film has also received criticism for being unnecessary or potentially making light of a sexual abuser.

What happens next?

“28 Years Later” will be followed by a sequel, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.” The second film has already been shot and directed by Nia DaCosta. It is slated for release Jan. 16, 2026.

A third film was planned by Boyle and Garland pending financing and the reception to the first movie. Given the massive critical and box office success of “28 Years Later,” it’s probably safe to count on the finale coming in the next few years.

The post ‘28 Years Later’ Ending Explained: What Am I Missing? appeared first on TheWrap.

Fox News’ Bret Baier Says He’s Asked Trump Personally to Stop Calling Journalists ‘Enemy of the People’

Bret Baier has confronted President Trump personally about referring to journalists as the “enemy of the people.”

While speaking on The New Yorker Radio Hour, the Fox News host unpacked his history of being viewed both favorably and unfavorably by the president – including being called “nasty” after a 2023 interview. Trump has increasingly attacked the press in his second term, and even more so in the wake of his recent bombings in Iran.

“I wish he wouldn’t use it,” Baier said when asked about the president describing the press as “enemy of the people.”

Despite his own occasional clashes with Trump – and asking him personally to stop describing his fellow journalists that way – the host applauds him for being the most accessible president in some time.

“I think it is part of the man,” Baier said. “I think it is part of his time here in New York as a New York real estate mogul, and the rough and tumble to punch back and to characterize your opposition before they can characterize you. I think that’s part of it. I think it is this cat-and-mouse game. You know, for all of the things he says about the media. Again, he’s reaching out and doing interviews with the same people he says are nasty.”

The Trump administration has increased its attacks on the media in the wake of the bombing strike of Iran’s nuclear facilities. On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth went after his former colleague Jennifer Griffin for asking about the success of the strike.

“Do you have certainty that all the highly enriched uranium was inside the Fordow Mountain?” Griffin asked. “Are you certain none of that highly enriched uranium was moved?”

“Jennifer, you’ve been about the worst,” Hegseth fired back at the question.

He then said Griffin was perhaps the most prominent reporter “who misrepresents what the president says” about the success of Operation Midnight Hammer.

The post Fox News’ Bret Baier Says He’s Asked Trump Personally to Stop Calling Journalists ‘Enemy of the People’ appeared first on TheWrap.

Trump Cuts Off Trade Talks With Canada Over Digital Services Tax

President Donald Trump on Friday said he was “terminating ALL discussions on Trade” with Canada over the country’s new digital services tax that aims to collect billions of dollars from American tech giants like Meta and Amazon, starting on Monday.

“We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with, including the fact that they have charged our Farmers as much as 400% Tariffs, for years, on Dairy Products, has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

The president then said he was canceling all trade discussions with America’s northern neighbor due to the “egregious Tax.”

He added “We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period,” before adding his trademark sign-off, “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Canada’s DST is a 3% tax on large tech companies with more than about $800 million in annual revenue. It targets companies involved in social media services and online advertising, which puts tech giants like Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Amazon, and Google-parent Alphabet on the hook for payments.

The first tax payment is due on Monday, and is retroactive to sales made since the start of 2022. The Wall Street Journal estimated that initial payment would be around $3 billion for the collective U.S. firms being taxed.

Upon the president’s post on Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office shared a brief response.

“The Canadian government will continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses,” his office said.

The post Trump Cuts Off Trade Talks With Canada Over Digital Services Tax appeared first on TheWrap.

Megyn Kelly Says Jeff Bezos ‘Looks Like a Walking Penis’ at Wedding, Ridicules Lauren Sánchez for Plastic Surgery | Video

On the occasion of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding, Megyn Kelly offered some pointed criticisms of the couple’s rather noticeable personal aesthetic.

According to Kelly, the tech billionaire resembles the male reproductive organ.

“He does look like a walking penis … It does give penis vibes. I’m not gonna lie, It’s not a good look for him,” Kelly said, agreeing with her guest, Daily Mail columnist Maureen Callahan, who originally called Bezos walking genitalia.

Kelly didn’t stop there, bringing up Sánchez’s cosmetic surgery, something the conservative podcaster thinks has “made her face look deformed.”

“I don’t know what she’s doing, because unlike him, she was more beautiful before. She was actually very pretty when she was just normal, and now she’s my age, I don’t know what she’s done,” Kelly said. “All I can say is I think plastic surgery is addictive for some people, and they think they’ve gotta keep one-upping.”

She continued: “They have one thing done, and they get compliments on it, and then they’re like, I have to have 10 other things. And when that procedure starts to wane… they’re like, I need more. And if a little was good, more must be good. And now she’s made her face look deformed. It’s sad.”

She went on to suggest that Sánchez is merely an object for Bezos’ pleasure and pondered the “amount of pressure” the Emmy-award-winning journalist must be under.

“I can’t imagine living my life like that for the pleasure of somebody, and I guess the inherent deal is, you get all the money, and it’s just worth it? No,” Kelly said while seemingly alluding that Bezos requests that Sánchez wear revealing outfits and throwing in some shots at former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

“Why does he like her to be showing her ass in public, to be dressed half naked in public, to show up at the inauguration with her tits hanging out? Why does he like that?” Kelly carried on. “Because I can tell you, in my marriage, which actually is loving, fun, and the opposite of miserable, Michelle, my husband does not encourage me to run around showing off my vag or anything else.”

Bezos and Sánchez tied the knot on Friday after six years together. Several stars were attended to the affair, which took place on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, including Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady and more.

 

The post Megyn Kelly Says Jeff Bezos ‘Looks Like a Walking Penis’ at Wedding, Ridicules Lauren Sánchez for Plastic Surgery | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

What Tariffs? Nasdaq, S&P 500 Climb to Record Highs as Netflix, Disney Continue Huge Runs

The Great Tariff Panic of 2025 that gripped Wall Street in April? It appears in the rearview mirror now, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at new all-time highs on Friday.

A number of prominent media and tech companies have been riding the wave to fresh highs as well, with Netflix increasing 1.26% and closing at a company-record $1,323.12 per share on Friday — a day after setting its previous high mark. The streaming heavyweight’s stock price is up 54% since early April.

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Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox Corp. and Paramount all made minor gains on Friday, continuing recent climbs that started following Wall Street’s April downturn. WBD and Disney’s shares are up about 50% since early April, while Fox Corp. and Paramount have both made roughly 20% gains since then.

The S&P 500 jumped 0.52% and closed Friday at 6,173, surpassing its previous all-time high of 6,144, which was set in February; the tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, posted an identical percentage increase and closed at 20,273, topping its record high that was set last December.

Amazon and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, each gained more than 2% on Friday, while Apple closed slightly higher. Apple has mostly rebounded to where it was before President Donald Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs in early April — a plan that initially rocked Wall Street and shaved more than $500 billion from Apple’s market cap in the days following his announcement.

“We’re going to have a booming stock market for a long time, because we’re reinvesting in the United States of America,” Trump said on April 4.

That was not the case, at least at first, when the S&P 500 and Nasdaq took its biggest hits since COVID smacked the markets in 2020. The S&P 500 is now up more than 20% and the Nasdaq has surged 32% since the day after Trump’s tariff plan was announced.

On Friday, Trump addressed the upcoming July 9 deadline on the pause he put on his stiffest tariffs, during a press conference in which he lauded the Supreme Court for limiting nationwide injunctions against executive orders. The president said he was not too concerned about the deadline when asked about it by one reporter.

“No, we can do whatever we want,” Trump said. “We could extend it. We could make it shorter.”

The post What Tariffs? Nasdaq, S&P 500 Climb to Record Highs as Netflix, Disney Continue Huge Runs appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Squid Game’: How Much Is 45.6 Billion Won in US Dollars? | Video

“Squid Game” may be praised for its wild twists and compelling characters, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the money. That can be confusing for some American audiences since all of the cash in this Netflix thriller is calculated in South Korean won.

By now it’s fairly well known that 45.6 billion won — the most amount of money a winner can take home — is equivalent to tens of millions of U.S. dollars. But that’s not the only figure that appears in Season 2 and Season 3 of this award-winning drama. Consider this your guide to how some of the most important amounts of money this season equate to USD.

How much is 45.6 billion won in USD?

By now, nearly everyone associates “Squid Game” with one number: 45.6 billion. That’s the amount of won the winner of the game can take home if they play to the very end. That number also means the 455 other contestants who played alongside the winner have been killed.

In June of 2025, which is when Season 2 of “Squid Game” premiered, 45.6 billion won equated to a little more than $33 million.

How much is 500 million won in USD?

Players aren’t the only ones motivated by money this season. After winning the game in Season 1, Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) became obsessed with finding and stopping the creators of the Squid Game once and for all. And in the second episode of Season 2, he proves he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is to get what he wants, telling his network of hired gangsters he will give a 500 million won bonus to anyone who finds The Recruiter (Gong Yoo). That dangling carrot inspires Gi-hun’s hired hands to work extra hard for him.

At the time of publication, 500 million won equates to roughly $340,000.

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How much is 78 million won in USD?

Squid Game has always included a rule that the game can come to an end if the majority of players agree to stop playing. But in Season 2, that rule is capitalized upon as the game now includes a group vote after every game. After the first game, the jackpot went up to about 25 million won per person for the remaining players, which equates to about $17,000.

The jackpot then went up to 78 million won per person after 110 players were eliminated in the second game. That comes out to about $53,000 per person, a number that leads to a massive debate in the fifth episode of Season 5, “One More Game.”

“I don’t know how much you owe, but for some people here that doesn’t even cover 10% of their debt,” Player 100 argues. He then points out that after the first game, the jackpot more than tripled. By that logic, it’s possible that the jackpot will triple again after the third game (of course, that monetary increase comes with a lot more deaths). The players who want to continue rally behind the idea they can leave after the jackpot has reached 240 million won per person, or a little more than $163,000.

The post ‘Squid Game’: How Much Is 45.6 Billion Won in US Dollars? | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Review: Netflix’s Most Popular Series Comes to a Bleak but Resonant Conclusion

How much bleaker can “Squid Game” get? When the sophomore season of Netflix’s sensational drama concluded, it left our hero, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), in the midst of his biggest failure. After rallying his comrades to turn the tables on the forces controlling the titular games, the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) flipped the script, leading Gi-hun to watch his best friend murdered in front of his very eyes. It was a decision from series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk that spoke volumes and reminded the viewers that, despite knowing the stakes, Gi-hun is just as trapped now as he was during his first go at the games. “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,” indeed.

Season 3 spends a significant portion of its episode count lingering in the devastation, making the early stages of the final season — at least until we get that American version of the series from David Fincher — appropriately bleak. While Season 2 featured a lot of setup, this new installment dives right into the immediate aftermath of the failed rebellion. Gi-hun and our other players, including Lee Myung-gi (Im Si-wan), Kim Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri), Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), Cho Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), Jang Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim), Park Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun) and others, are pulled right back into the thick of it. Dong-hyuk can’t resist putting the remaining faces that audiences knew throughout Season 2 through the ringer.

While frustrations over a cliffhanger ending may have annoyed the audience at the conclusion of last go-round, the partitioned approach and overall increased episode count pay off in spades here. Similar to how the start of last season subverted the audience’s expectations of what games might be played, this block of episodes once again benefits from the viewer knowing what’s to come. Every interaction between characters takes on a significantly weightier tone as “Squid Game” ticks toward its conclusion, an impact made all the more powerful by the fact that Dong-hyuk actively sidelines Gi-hun for the early hours to dig into the supporting cast. It’s a highly effective decision, one that dovetails nicely with the increasing stakes of late-round games. The effect infuses “Squid Game” with a newfound sense of hopelessness. Remember how crushing the marble game was back in Season 1? An early episode of Season 3 manages to top that, to absolutely heart-wrenching effect.

There is some light — only slight, this is “Squid Game” after all — at the end of this dark tunnel, however. As the season progresses, Dong-hyuk explores familial relationships to a surprisingly emotional effect. This element has always been present in the series, but the concept of what parents and children owe one another becomes a critical part of the proceedings, and further enriches the series because of it. Part of that elevation is due to Lee Jung-jae’s performance. The reminder of his failure as a father has always loomed large for Gi-hun, and without giving much away, the possibility for some level of personal redemption helps to elevate Lee Jung-jae’s already superlative performance to another level. The work he does, particularly in the fifth episode, is magic.

What continues to be less compelling are the plots of Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) and Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young), which don’t offer either character much to do outside of their existing plots from the first half of the season. Both parties are largely stuck in the same rut of either trying to escape in the case of No-eul or find the island in Jun-ho’s instance. The net result has these plots treading water right up until the final episode, resolving in ways that aren’t nearly as impactful as the main narrative. Furthermore, intertwining their plots often dilutes the power and propulsion of the games, stalling the tension instead of heightening it. The same goes for the inclusion of a new round of VIPs, whose Greek chorus-like nature becomes a vehicle for restating the obvious instead of offering something new or insightful to the proceedings.

Wi Ha-joon in “Squid Game” Season 3. (Netflix)

When “Squid Game” digs into its intense moments, the show proves it’s still more than capable of rendering a tragically compelling story that manages to entertain and have you emotionally invested in its characters. Dong-hyuk’s series reimagined and re-energized the battle royale genre to tremendous results. Sure, the intensity of it all is a feature, not a bug, but that’s married with strong characters and haunting visuals that linger. Season 3 continues this tradition while providing an especially resonant conclusion.

“Squid Game,” in its final moments, says that while life goes on, finding a way to better the lives around you in the context of the large machine we’re all caught up in is worth the sacrifices needed to make that possible. Which is to say, “Squid Game” manages to find a ray of light in the midst of all that bleakness. In a reality this difficult, that victory is worth all the money in the world.

“Squid Game” Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.

The post ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Review: Netflix’s Most Popular Series Comes to a Bleak but Resonant Conclusion appeared first on TheWrap.

Diego Luna Says Comedy Can Defend Freedom’: ‘You Know What Else These Strongmen Really Don’t Like? To Be Unpopular’ | Video

For his final night guest-hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” acclaimed actor Diego Luna used his monologue to celebrate comedy and satire as weapons against “authoritarian leaders.”

The actor was obviously referring to Donald Trump, though he didn’t speak the name, instead urging the show’s audience to use their voices to “defend freedom” and democracy, and by the end suggesting they attend the next “No Kings” protest in July.

“This has really been a great week for me. And before I wrap up, my final monologue… I wanna say something. I know there is a lot of focus in your media about the differences between our cultures and the violence south of the border, but I hope this week, I was able to open up the dialogue,” Luna said. “We should be doing more of that. Telling our stories, and finding what connects us. Yeah.”

“We shouldn’t let our cultural exchange be divided by borders, by ignorance, by fear, or a wall built by your president, that he paid for it, by the way. We’re going through a hard time, authoritarian leaders and expressions are on the rise, and it’s happening everywhere,” he continued. “Leaders who attack the press, use the military against their own citizens, and claim they have the answer to everything. Does that sound familiar?”

“But it’s in our hands to do something. There are many ways to push back. And one way is by making fun of them every night like Jimmy does,” Luna went on. “Using comedy, using comedy to defend freedom. They don’t like that s—. And we can’t take that for granted because we, the audience, we have to defend spaces like this.”

“Without satire and voices like Jimmy’s that question and challenge the abuse of power, democracy doesn’t just weaken, it can disappear, and we cannot let that happen,” Luna explained, adding, “There’s a lot the rest of us can do as well. Like voting. And volunteering. And marching. Because you know what else these strong men really don’t like? To be unpopular.”

Luna reminded the audience of the second “No Kings” protest, set for July 17th., and joked that people should go, “I mean if you’re not going to a Kid Rock concert that day,” a reference to the rapper who is also a friend and supporter of Trump.

“You know by making your voice heard, you won’t just make the United States of America great again, you’ll help to make the world a little better,” he added.

Watch the full monologue below:

The post Diego Luna Says Comedy Can Defend Freedom’: ‘You Know What Else These Strongmen Really Don’t Like? To Be Unpopular’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

As Universal Unveils His New Theater, Steven Spielberg Reflects on How the Studio ‘Was My Therapy’ a Decade After ‘Jaws’

As cinephiles celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Jaws” this summer, Universal honored the film’s iconic director, Steven Spielberg, by unveiling their backlot’s new theater named in his honor.

NBCUniversal chairman Donna Langley presided over the ceremony, which was also attended by Seth Rogen, John Travolta, Dakota Fanning, Ke Huy Quan, and Ben Mankiewicz, among others.

“It is such an honor to have Steven as the namesake of this theater, and our hope and dream is that it’s not just the place that is founded on his extraordinary legacy, but it is the place of future hopes and dreams of filmmakers and storytellers who are going to take this company into the next 100 years,” Langley said.

Spielberg’s career is deeply entwined with Universal, going back to his teenage years. At the ceremony, Spielberg recounted how he would sneak off the tour buses going around the lot and hide in the bathroom until it left. He would then wander around the famed movie sets with a mixture of wonder and a gnawing fear of being caught.

“I was never cited for misdemeanor trespassing, but that’s exactly what I was doing for three months that summer,” he told TheWrap. “My biggest fear was getting thrown out by a security guard and, even worse, being arrested for trespassing.”

Not only was Spielberg never caught, but the Universal lot became his first home in Hollywood when then studio president Sidney Sheinberg signed him to his first contract. Through that contract, Universal’s television division released Spielberg’s directorial debut film, the 1971 thriller “Duel.” Starring Dennis Weaver and airing on ABC, “Duel” follows a traveling salesman who finds himself attacked by a mysterious semi-truck.

Three years later, Spielberg released his theatrical debut, “The Sugarland Express,” with Universal, before breaking through with “Jaws” in 1975. Regarded as the first modern blockbuster, “Jaws” launched Spielberg into a career that included hits at Universal like “E.T.” and “Jurassic Park” as well as one of the most acclaimed Oscar winners of all time, “Schindler’s List.”

But while “Jaws” transformed both Spielberg’s life and the landscape of cinema forever, it also left scars on the filmmaker. The stress of directing such a complex film with loads of special effects, stunts, and a final battle at sea left Spielberg with anxiety and trauma.

“I would wake up in a sweat at three in the morning ten years later because I thought I was still making the movie,” Spielberg said.

So like in his teenage years, in 1984 Spielberg turned to the Universal lot to detox. Thanks to the wild success of “Jaws,” Universal had placed the Orca, the famed boat where Martin Brody, Matt Hooper, and the misanthropic sea captain Quint go hunting for the deadly shark, in the middle of Falls Lake, a man-made lake that for decades was used for ocean scenes like “Psycho,” “Apollo 13,” and “Bruce Almighty.”

This time, Spielberg wasn’t dodging security guards. He was dodging the trams that drove by Falls Lake for the Universal Studios tour. But in between those trams, he snuck out to the Orca and sat inside, quietly confronting the tough side of making one of the greatest movies of all time.

“I would sit there in the corner booth where Quint gives his Indianapolis speech, and I would just deal with what I couldn’t deal with at home or at the office. I could just let all the bad memories fly through me. It was such a meaningful thing that the studio did for me. Being in that environment was my therapy,” he said.

“Jaws” will be the focus of an upcoming exhibit at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles this fall, featuring never before seen artifacts from the film. The exhibit will feature storyboards, props, sheet music, script pages, and costumes from every scene of the film and will be the largest exhibit the Academy Museum has dedicated to a single film to date.

Spielberg’s next film, an untitled sci-fi film starring Emily Blunt, is set to be released in June 2026.

The post As Universal Unveils His New Theater, Steven Spielberg Reflects on How the Studio ‘Was My Therapy’ a Decade After ‘Jaws’ appeared first on TheWrap.