I’m so happy to have been back on air with you this morning, but if you missed it, I’ve got you covered! SO much is happening in Hollywood this week – I was actually a bit overwhelmed trying to decide what I should share with you.
For now, let’s start with the Olympics. The United States is doing incredibly well in the Games this year. As of this morning (and it may have already changed!) the US has won 37 medals already!
I’ve been closely following gymnastics – our women’s team won Gold in the Team Final earlier this week, then Simone Biles and Suni Lee went on to win gold and bronze in the individual all-around competition yesterday. This marks the sixth straight games in which a US female gymnast took home the gold!
As for the men, they won Bronze in the team final, taking home a medal for the first time since 2008 (16 years!)! The team has TWO Massachusetts natives on the roster: Fred Richard of Stoughton and Stephen Nedoroscik of Worcester. These two have stolen our hearts and are lovingly referred to as Frederick Flips and the Clark Kent of pommel horse.
Coming up today in the Games, we have events in tennis, track and field, basketball, handball, equestrian, water polo, archery, boxing, and more! You can check out the full schedule and stream the events here.
If the Olympics aren’t your thing, the new Matt Damon and Casey Affleck film The Instigators is in select theaters this weekend and will start streaming on Apple TV+ next Friday.
Deadpool and Wolverine is also still in theaters and if you haven’t seen it yet, I can’t recommend it enough! This movie has the highest global opening weekend since Spider-Man: No Way Home and there is so much positive press surrounding the movie!
I read countless articles this week about the movie and I’m still clamoring for more. There are stories about Ryan Reynolds’ family and their appearances in the film, Dogpool, Hugh Jackman and his kindness on set, and the way in which Ryan Reynolds invited guest star after guest star after guest star to appear in the movie (if you click on the guest star links, each one will bring you to a different article about a different guest star in the movie).
In terms of what’s upcoming, there’s a Britney Spears biopic in the works based off of her memoir The Woman in Me. There’s no release date, plot details, or casting announcements yet, but it is confirmed the film is in the works.
Rob Lowe also confirmed earlier this week that he’s working to develop a St. Elmo’s Fire sequel. He said, “We’ve met with the studio and I have been talking about doing it for about four months…But it’s very, very, very, very, very early stages, So we will see.”
News broke last week at San Diego Comic Con that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to Marvel to play Doom. The film – Avengers: Doomsday – is slated for a May 2026 theatrical release.
If you’re a fan of That 90s Show, Netflix announced this week that the second part of the new season will be coming to the platform two months earlier than expected. They’ve pushed up the release date from 10/24 to 8/22, so you only have a few more weeks until you can catch new episodes of the show! Laura Prepon – Donna on that 70s show and mom to That 90s Show’s protagonist – also has a larger role in this season.
Speaking of returning to your roots, Carrie Underwood will be returning to American Idol as a judge on the upcoming season. She’s going to be taking Katy Perry’s spot on the judges panel.
If you’re a reader like me, you’ll be thrilled to hear that Carley Fortune’s sensational debut novel Every Summer After is being developed into a TV series at Prime called Every Year After.
If you haven’t read the book yet, dive into it before the series is released! It’s a novel about Percy and Sam, two young lovers who are torn apart as young adults and brought back together in the present day after the passing of Sam’s mother. The novel is told in alternating perspectives from the past and present and it’s a nostalgic look at love and life and the possibility of a second chance romance. It was one of my favorite novels that I read in 2023 and I’ve gone back to reread it a couple times since.
Lastly, as we gear up for the release of the Wicked the Musical film, new Wicked books are on the way as well! Check them out here.