Laura Dern has returned to working with one of her previous collaborators – but you may have missed it.
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The “Jurassic Park” star has a small part in the second season premiere of HBO Max’s ensemble dramedy anthology “The White Lotus,” in a voice role as Dominic Di Grasso’s (Michael Imperioli) estranged wife. (CNN and HBO Max are both part of the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Eagle-eyed viewers (or listeners, as it were) recognized Dern as the voice behind the character, who told off Di Grasso over the phone shortly after he and members of his family arrived at the luxury White Lotus resort in Sicily.
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HBO Max confirmed the casting move to CNN on Monday.
“The White Lotus” is an Emmy-winning series from writer and creator Mike White that centers on a luxury resort chain and the guests who visit, as well as the staff who run the establishment. The first season, which premiered last year, took place in Hawaii. This season moved the action to Mediterranean Europe.
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White previously collaborated with Dern on the Emmy-nominated HBO show “Enlightened,” which ran from 2011 until 2013.
While Dern’s character in “White Lotus,” Abby, sounds rather angry and like she won’t be joining her family on their sojourn in Sicily, it’s too soon to tell whether or not she will appear onscreen in the series.
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White has a habit of repeatedly working with his favorite actors – Molly Shannon, who starred in his 2007 film “Year of the Dog,” also appeared in smaller roles on both “Enlightened” and the first season of “The White Lotus.”
It appears that one of the biggest shows on TV is moving production to Vancouver.
As first reported by Deadline, The Last of Us will be filming season 2 in the west coast province.
“We’re incredibly excited to have one of the largest shows on television choose to film in Vancouver,” Mayor Ken Sim told Vancouver’s Economic Commission Friday.
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“Vancouver is Hollywood North – this announcement is a demonstration of our city’s continued strength in the film and television sector. As we look to the future, I’m confident that we will see even more productions decide to make their home here.”
Global News has reached out to HBO and Creative BC for comment.
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Travel Alberta hopes ‘The Last of Us’ success leads to boom in tourism
The City of Calgary said in a statement that it was notified Friday morning of the decision to move production to Vancouver.
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Global News reached out to one of the unions whose members worked on the show in Alberta and a spokesperson said a producer confirmed the news to them.
They were not surprised, however, as the season two storyline is dependant on marine-based locals, which Alberta does not have.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the alleged assault and robbery of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine at a South Florida gym last week, the local sheriff’s office said Thursday.
Rafael Medina Jr., 43, Octavious Medina, 23, and Anthony Maldonado, 25, were taken into police custody on Thursday. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement the three suspects “have been located, arrested and are currently being booked/processed into the Palm Beach County Jail.”
PBSO Detectives arrested three suspects for Assaulting and Robbing Daniel Hernandez on March 21, 2023. All three suspects; Rafael Medina, Jr., Octavious Medina, and Anthony Maldonado, have been located, arrested and are currently being booked/processed into the Palm Beach County… https://t.co/ix5k6BxXr7
Jail records show the suspects are all being held on preliminary charges of felony battery and robbery.
Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, was allegedly attacked without warning inside a sauna at an LA Fitness on March 21. (Ed. Note: The preceding link contains violent footage.)
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One person filmed the attack on Hernandez, 26, who can be seen lying on the ground shielding his face as two men kick him. In the video, one attacker pulled Hernandez’s hair and taunted, “Take a picture. I want to be famous now.”
Hernandez was taken to hospital. His lawyer said he obtained “cuts to his face and bruises.” TMZ reported the rapper also suffered injuries to his jaw, ribs and back.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said all three attackers would make their first court appearance on Friday morning.
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Suspects Rafael Medina, Jr., Octavious Medina, and Anthony Maldonado were arrested on March 30, 2023, in connection to an alleged assault and robbery of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
In April 2020, Hernandez was released from federal prison, where he served a two-year sentence for charges including racketeering, drug trafficking and firearm offences, all in connection with the Nine Trey Bloods gang.
He was given a shorter prison sentence after he co-operated with federal officials and provided names of his associates. The deal earned him leniency from charges that could have subjected him to a mandatory minimum of 37 years in prison for crimes that included orchestrating a shooting in which an innocent bystander was wounded.
What is racketeering? Rapper 6ix9ine pleads not guilty to RICO charges
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The deal saw Hernandez labelled a “rat” by the likes of rappers Meek Mill and Snoop Dogg, among others.
It is not known whether the plea deal served as motivation for last week’s attack against Hernandez.
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn’t at fault for the crash.
A jury dismissed the complaint of a retired optometrist who sued Paltrow over injuries he sustained when the two crashed on a beginner run at Deer Valley ski resort, siding with Paltrow after eight days of live-streamed courtroom testimony that made the case a pop culture fixation.
Paltrow, an actor who in recent years has refashioned herself into a celebrity wellness entrepreneur, looked to her attorneys with a pursed lips smile when the judge read the eight-member jury’s verdict in the Park City courtroom. She sat intently through two weeks of testimony in what became the biggest celebrity court case since actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off last year.
The dismissal concludes two weeks of courtroom proceedings that hinged largely on reputation rather than the monetary damages at stake in the case. Paltrow’s attorneys described the complaint against her as “utter B.S.” and painted the Goop founder-CEO as uniquely vulnerable to unfair, frivolous lawsuits due to her celebrity.
Paltrow took the witness stand during the trial to insist the collision wasn’t her fault, and to describe how she was stunned when she felt “a body pressing against me and a very strange grunting noise.”
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‘I did not cause the accident’: Gwyneth Paltrow testifies in ski collision trial
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Throughout the trial, the word “uphill” became synonymous with “guilty, ” as attorneys focused on a largely unknown skiing code of conduct that stipulates that the skier who is downhill or ahead on the slope has the right of way.
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Worldwide audiences followed the celebrity trial as if it were episodic television. Viewers scrutinized both Paltrow and Sanderson’s motives while attorneys directed questions to witnesses that often had less to do with the collision and more to do with their client’s reputations.
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The trial took place in Park City, a resort town known for hosting the annual Sundance Film Festival, where early in her career Paltrow would appear for the premieres of her movies including 1998’s “Sliding Doors,” at a time when she was known primarily as an actor, not a lifestyle influencer. Paltrow is also known for her roles in “Shakespeare in Love,” which won her an Academy Award, and the “Iron Man” movies.
Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial: Terry Sanderson testifies he was hit in the back by skier, went ‘flying’
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The jury’s decision marks a painful court defeat for Terry Sanderson, the man who sued Paltrow for more than $300,000 over injuries he sustained when they crashed on a beginner run. Both parties blamed the other for the collision. Sanderson, 76, broke four ribs and sustained a concussion after the two tumbled down the slope, with Paltrow landing on top of him.
He filed an amended complaint after an earlier $3.1 million lawsuit was dismissed. Paltrow in response countersued for $1 and attorney fees, a symbolic action that mirrors Taylor Swift’s response to a radio host’s defamation lawsuit. Swift was awarded $1 in 2017.
Paltrow’s defense team tried to paint Sanderson as an angry, aging and unsympathetic man who had over the years become “obsessed” with his lawsuit against Paltrow. They argued that Paltrow wasn’t at fault in the crash and also said, regardless of blame, that Sanderson was overstating the extent of his injuries.
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AP writer Anna Furman contributed from Los Angeles.
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