Dwayne Johnson to Star as Motorcycle Stuntman With Dementia in ‘Free Byrd’ From ‘Sing Sing’ Director Greg Kwedar

Dwayne Johnson is going to star in and produce the new action-drama movie called "Free Byrd." This film is the latest project from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's production company, Artists Equity.

In "Free Byrd," Johnson plays a motorcycle stuntman from Las Vegas who hides his dementia diagnosis from everyone, including his brother, who is a mechanic.

He takes huge risks for one final jump.The movie's logline says it looks at the big mysteries of the mind and the importance of asking for help before it's too late.

Greg Kwedar, who has been nominated for two Academy Awards for "Sing Sing" and "Train Dreams," is directing "Free Byrd" and rewriting the script.

The original script was written by Jon Boyer and was on the Black List.An earlier version of the script was written by Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson, who also made "The Peanut Butter Falcon."

This news comes as Johnson, who was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for "The Smashing Machine," is ready to start working on his next movie, Disney's live-action version of "Moana." He will also appear in "Jumanji: Open World" and the upcoming film "Lizard Music," which was written and directed by Benny Safdie.

Johnson said, "Free Byrd" is a special project for many reasons.

He described it as showing both the beautiful and difficult parts of life.The story has become very personal to him and Greg Kwedar as they work on the film together.He also praised Artists Equity for being great partners who share the vision for the movie and have a personal connection to the story.He added that when someone close to you starts to lose their mind, life takes on a whole new meaning.

Gil Netter, who was nominated for an Academy Award for "Life of Pi" and "The Blind Side," first brought "Free Byrd" to Artists Equity and will be a producer.

Other producers include Fifth Season, which worked with Artists Equity on "Animals" for Netflix; Johnson through his company Seven Bucks Productions; and Kwedar along with Clint Bentley, who has been nominated for two Academy Awards, for their production company Ethos.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who are the CEO and Chief Content Officer of Artists Equity, said, "This is a project that all of us at the company have connected with personally.

Greg is one of the most exciting writer-directors working today, and Dwayne is an extraordinary talent and person.We are extremely excited that they have chosen to make this with us and very much look forward to sharing the finished film with audiences."

Louise Lasser, Star of ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,’ Dies at 87

Louise Lasser, who was known for her role in Norman Lear's short-lived satirical soap opera "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," has passed away.She was 87 years old.

She passed away due to natural causes on Monday while she was at home in Manhattan.

Louise had a quiet and calm personality in real life, but in the show, she played a stressed and money-driven Midwestern housewife.

The show used strange and funny situations to make fun of how consumerism affects American women who stay at home.In one funny episode, a man drowns in a bowl of Mary's chicken soup.

Louise started her career on Broadway, where she first appeared in the musical "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" in 1962.

In 1966, she married Woody Allen and became his first leading lady.She starred in some of his early films, like "Take the Money and Run" and "Bananas." The two divorced in 1970.

Louise was a well-known comedian.

She hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 1976 and appeared on a number of TV shows, including "The Bob Newhart Show," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Taxi," "Laverne and Shirley," and "St.Elsewhere."

In her later years, she acted in dark comedy movies such as Todd Solondz's 1998 film "Happiness" and Owen Kline's 2022 movie "Funny Pages."

She also had a role in Seasons 3 and 4 of Lena Dunham's HBO comedy "Girls," where she played a wheelchair-using artist named Beadie.

Beadie hires Jemima Kirke's character, Jessa, as her assistant and later asks her to help her die by taking pills.In a twist, Beadie changes her mind after taking the pills and then calls for help.Jessa urgently calls the ambulance to save her.

Louise is survived by her partner, Michael Citriniti.

Why Zendaya Botched Her Lines on First Day of ‘The Odyssey’ Filming: “My Mouth Was Just Frozen”

 Even experienced actors like Zendaya feel nervous when working with famous director Christopher Nolan.

Recently, during an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, host Josh Horowitz asked Zendaya about what happened when she messed up her lines on the first day of filming for *The Odyssey*.

That didn’t seem like something she usually does, so he wanted to know more.

Zendaya shared that she was already feeling nervous stepping onto a Nolan set for the first time.

But there was another challenge – the weather was freezing cold, and they were shooting in Iceland.

She explained, “I had my lines memorized and I wanted to nail them.

I think I psyched myself out a little bit.It was especially cold.It was in Iceland.My mouth was frozen.Oh, there was nothing coming out.My mouth just wouldn’t move.Literally.It just came out like, ‘Blah blah blah.’ So embarrassing.”  

She went on to say, “But I will say, I think just showing up in any situation like this… It was such a pleasure and a gift to be able to share scenes with people you’ve admired for so long.

Part of you has to compartmentalize to a degree.OK, lock in; we’re working.But I was so moved and excited to be there and wanted to do my best work.”  

In *The Odyssey*, based on Homer’s ancient Greek poem, Zendaya plays the Greek goddess Athena.

The story follows King Odysseus (played by Matt Damon) as he struggles to return to his home, Ithaca, after the Trojan War.His journey includes battles with mythical creatures, and he tries to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).

The film also stars Lupita Nyong’o and Robert Pattinson, and it hits theaters on July 17.

The Odyssey Movie Trailer, 2026 The Odyssey Official Countdown Trailer

Julia Garner to Star in Apple TV True Crime Series ‘Guilty Creatures’ From Craig Gillespie, Stuart Zicherman

Julia Garner is set to star in an Apple TV adaptation of the true crime book "Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida," according to Variety.The series will explore the intense relationship and eventual murder of two young, adulterous but religious lovers, uncovering their complicated lives and the emotional burden of living as killers for 18 years.

Tomorrow Studios, which is part of ITV Studios, developed the project and brought it to Apple.

Craig Gillespie is set to direct and produce the show through his company, Fortunate Jack Productions.Sarah DeLappe, who wrote "Bodies Bodies Bodies" and "The Regime," will also write and produce.Stuart Zicherman will serve as the showrunner and executive producer.Julia Garner will executive produce through her company, Alma Margo, in addition to starring.Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, and Alissa Bachner will also executive produce for Tomorrow Studios, along with Annie Marter from Fortunate Jack and Mikita Brottman, the author of the book.Both Fortunate Jack and Alma Margo have first-look deals with Tomorrow Studios.

Julia Garner is best known for her role as Ruth Langmore in the Netflix series "Ozark," for which she won three Emmys and a Golden Globe.

She also received an Emmy nomination for her role as Anna Delvey in "Inventing Anna." She will next star as Caroline Ellison in the Netflix series "The Altruists," which follows the rise and fall of FTX.Her other TV roles include "The Get Down," "Maniac," "The Americans," and "Dirty John." In film, she recently played The Silver Surfer in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" and starred in the horror movie "Weapons" directed by Zach Cregger.

Craig Gillespie is most recently known for directing the DC film "Supergirl." He has also directed movies like "I, Tonya," "Cruella," "Dumb Money," and "Lars and the Real Girl." He has directed episodes of TV shows like Apple's "Your Friends and Neighbors" and "Physical," as well as "United States of Tara" and "Pam & Tommy," the latter of which earned him an Emmy nomination.

Gillespie and Annie Marter founded Fortunate Jack in 2024.

Stuart Zicherman recently created the first season of the FX series "American Sports Story." He has also worked on the Apple TV show "The Shrink Next Door" and written for shows like "The Americans," "Sweetbitter," and "The Affair."

Julia Garner is represented by UTA, LBI Entertainment, and Sloane Offer.

Gillespie and Fortunate Jack Productions are represented by CAA and Sloane Offer.Annie Marter is represented by attorney Jared Bloch.Stuart Zicherman is represented by Mosaic Media Group, UTA, and MFW.Mikita Brottman is represented by Betsy Lerner at Dunow, Carlson and Lerner Literary Agency.

Mark Hamill Jokes About Why He Wasn’t at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Wedding

 Mark Hamill had a good reason for not going to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding.On Sunday, the Star Wars star shared a photo of the newlyweds on Instagram with the message, "Congratulations to the newlyweds!"

He made a joke about why he wasn't there, even though the wedding happened on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

He said, "I didn't go to the wedding for a bunch of personal reasons, but mostly because I wasn't invited."

Taylor and Travis got married at MSG in front of around 1,000 guests from Hollywood, sports, music, and other areas.

Some of the guests included Brad Pitt and his girlfriend Ines de Ramon, Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez, Bradley Cooper and his girlfriend Gigi Hadid, Emma Stone, Reese Witherspoon, Zoë Kravitz, Mariska Hargitay and her husband Peter Hermann, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Jack Antonoff, Gracie Abrams, Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry Seaborn, Benson Boone, Tate McRae, Kelsea Ballerini, Camila Cabello, Maren Morris, the Haim sisters, Taylor's longtime publicist Tree Paine, Karlie Kloss and Josh Kushner, Abigail Anderson, Tommy Hilfiger, and George Stephanopoulos.

Adam Sandler was the officiant and sang an original song.

Stevie Nicks and Paul McCartney also performed, with McCartney reportedly singing The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid Shares Adam Sandler’s Advice to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

 Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid talked about the advice that Adam Sandler gave to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.Reid was one of 1,000 guests at the couple's wedding on Friday night, which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York.Many of the guests came from Hollywood, music, sports, and other areas.Sandler, who had acted with Kelce in Happy Gilmore 2, was the one who married them.

On Sunday, Reid was in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the guest narrator for a special broadcast called Music & the Spoken Word that celebrated America's 250th birthday, according to the Deseret News.

After the broadcast, Reid shared the advice Sandler gave to Swift and Kelce.

"He told them to 'keep kissing,'” Reid said to the news outlet."So, in its simplest form, that's a good thing.It's hard to argue when you give your wife a kiss, or your wife gives you a kiss.And make sure you do it every day, every minute you have the chance.Knock it out, and you won't have problems."

He also praised Sandler's performance as the wedding officiant.

" In a simple, funny way, he was amazing," Reid said.

"He's crazy, but he did a great job of getting them married with a lot of humor.But that part there, I thought, was pretty good advice, in its simplest form."

Sandler performed an original song at the wedding.

Stevie Nicks and Paul McCartney also performed, with McCartney reportedly singing The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Other guests included Brad Pitt and his girlfriend Ines de Ramon; Jennifer Lopez; Selena Gomez; Bradley Cooper and his girlfriend Gigi Hadid; Emma Stone; Reese Witherspoon; Zoe Kravitz; Mariska Hargitay and her husband Peter Hermann; Tom Brady; Rob Gronkowski; Jack Antonoff; Gracie Abrams; Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry Seaborn; Benson Boone; Tate McRae; Kelsea Ballerini; Camila Cabello; Maren Morris; the Haim sisters; Taylor Swift's longtime publicist Tree Paine; Karlie Kloss and Josh Kushner; longtime best friend Abigail Anderson; Tommy Hilfiger; and George Stephanopoulos.