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Los Angeles, Sep 16 (IANS) Hollywood star Will Smith is apparently not welcome back on "Saturday Night Live". The actor is reportedly being permanently banned after slapping comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.

The 'NBC' sketch series is reportedly banning the actor permanently following the Oscars slap, reports aceshowbiz.com.

According to Radar Online, the 'King Richard' star will never be invited back to 'SNL' after what he did to Chris Rock at the March event. The comedian is a former important part of the show, having starred in it from 1990 to 1993.

"Smith will never ever be invited back to 'SNL' after what he did to Chris," a source told the site. "The show is a temple comedian, and no one wants him around anymore."

"Forget hosting, Will won't even be able to get a ticket to sit in the audience anymore. He's not welcome."

The show's producers are allegedly also worried that if Smith comes to the show again, other big celebrities will refuse to join in the future.

"If Will Smith was invited back, 'SNL' would never get another big celebrity ever again," the source explains.

"Stars would rightly boycott the show if he was welcomed inside Studio 8H."

Will slapped Chris at the 2022 Academy Awards in March over the latter's joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. He then shouted at the comedian, who was presenting onstage, twice to "keep my wife's name out of your f**king mouth!"

Will has apologised several times for his behaviour at the live event.

In a video posted in July, the actor said, "It's all fuzzy. I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk. I hate when I let people down. So it hurts, it hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn't live up to people's image and impression of me."

"And the work I'm trying to do is, I am deeply remorseful and I'm trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself," he added. "I'm human and I made a mistake, and I'm trying not to think of myself as a piece of s**t."

However, Rock seemingly didn't accept the apology as he said earlier this month, "F**k your hostage video," during his stand-up show at London's O2 Arena. He went on calling out the Oscar-winning actor saying that Will had managed to do an impersonation of a "perfect man for 30 years" before showing he is "just as ugly as the rest of us."

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 16 (IANS) Come September 22, and as many as five short films depicting slice of life stories, are set to premiere on Amazon mini TV, the free video streaming service available on Amazon's shopping app and on Fire TV. The free video streaming service on Friday announced the launch of a one-of-a-kind movie festival - Mini Movie Festival.

This ambitious project of Amazon miniTV aims to bring together a diverse set of stories and an ensemble of talented actors across a bouquet of short films ranging from romance to legal dramas.

"As we present a powerhouse of talent, renowned production houses, and skillful directors, we hope to deliver some meaningful and impactful stories through this initiative," said, Girish Prabhu, Head of Amazon Advertising.

The films, 'Conditions Apply', 'Vakeel Babu', 'Parde Mein Rehne Do', 'Good Morning' and 'The List', are powered by a cast of artists including Neha Dhupia, Abhishek Banerjee, Shreya Chaudhry, Angad Bedi, Kirti Kulhari, RJ Malishka among many others who play multiple characters across various movies from the line up.

"Launching our two mini-movies, 'Conditions Apply' and 'Good Morning', with their first-ever Mini Movie Festival, is absolutely amazing. Conditions Apply is a classic relationship drama with a twist, we explore the idea of love and the things we do to find closure after a breakup. 'Good Morning' is a story of a multitasking super mom. We intend to inspire viewers with this tale of motherhood," said Guneet Monga, CEO, Sikhya Entertainment.

"Written and Directed by debutante Gaurav Dave and Helmed by the fabulously talented Kirti Kulhari and Angad Bedi, 'The List' takes an incisive look into the life of an urban Indian couple in their early 30s." said Malvika Khatri of Roy Kapur Films.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, Sep 16 (IANS) Embarking on padayatras is common for politicians. But in a first of sorts for the film industry, Tollywood actor Naga Shaurya has hit the road on foot to promote his upcoming movie 'Krishna Vrinda Vihari'.

When it comes to promoting their movies, film stars usually don't go beyond the rigmarole of stage events and jetsetting city tours. However, Naga Shaurya is literally turning heads as he embarked on a state-wide padayatra in Andhra Pradesh.

The 7-day walkathon from Tirupati to Visakhapatnam aims to promote his latest movie 'Krishna Vrinda Vihari' coming in theatres on 23rd of this month.

Reaching Vijayawada on day 3, Friday, Naga Shaurya didn't take a break, even though it was raining. The onlookers say: "Shaurya, what dedication!"

Anish R. Krishna has directed the movie, while Usha Mulpuri produced it on Ira Creations. Shirley Setia is the female lead.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 16 (IANS) Crime drama series 'Hush Hush' will see the arrival of '90s silver screen heartthrobs Juhi Chawla and Ayesha Jhulka making their debut in a web series.

Surprisingly, even though the two actresses have been working in the film industry for the past three decades, they have never worked together. With 'Hush Hush', which will stream on Prime Video from September 22, they will be seen together on the screen.

Talking about it, Ayesha said: "Juhi and I go back a long way in the industry, but 'Hush Hush' let us come together and gel along like the good old days! Imagine romancing the same actors, but never sharing screen space before! On the sets, most of our conversations revolved around how exciting it is to finally collaborate on a project."

Talking about her working with Juhi, Ayesha talked about the characters the two actresses play: "Ishi and Meera's relationship is based on bonding, so our off-screen camaraderie translated onscreen. We had some really powerful scenes together and it was a very nice give and take. For you to perform well, you need a mutual power exchange, and it was quite some help from Juhi's side. We should do more work together."

Directed and co-produced by Tanuja Chandra, 'Hush Hush' also stars Soha Ali Khan, Kritika Kamra, Shahna Goswami and Karishma Tanna.

It is part of Prime Video's festive line-up for the Great Indian Festival 2022, which kicks off on September 23. The line-up also includes several other original series and blockbuster movies across multiple languages.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 16 (IANS) Actor Chethan Cheenu, best known for playing the lead in Telugu films like Charmi-starrer 'Manthra-2' and 'Raju Gari Gadha', says that the shooting of his next film, which is being directed by actress Kaveri Kalyani, is over and that post production work of the film is going on in full swing.

The actor, who has been getting consistently good offers in Telugu, will be looking to establish himself in Tamil with this bilingual film, which incidentally will mark the debut of actress Kaveri as a director.

Says Chethan, "Actress Kaveri Kalyani, who has delivered several commendable performances as the lead heroine in critically acclaimed hits like 'Punnagai Poove', 'Samuthiram' and 'Kasi', is turning director with this movie.

"Apart from directing the film, she is also producing this pan-Indian movie that is being simultaneously made in Tamil and Telugu. I am happy to play the lead role in this movie."

Stating that the film has four heroines in all, Chethan discloses that Siddhi Idnani, who plays the lead in Gautham Vasudev Menon's critically acclaimed film, 'Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu', is one of the heroines paired opposite him in the film.

"Siddhi Idnani, who is now sensational for her debut in director Gautham Menon's film, 'Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu', is one of the four heroines in the film. Suhasini, Srikanth, Vijay TV fame Pugazh and many more actors are a part of the star cast. The film's shooting is already completed and the post production work is happening in full swing."

Apart from this Kaveri Kalyani's untitled film, Chethan says he is also a part of 'Vidyarthi', a bilingual movie that is based on real life incidents revolving around honour killings, and a Tamil film that is being produced by an Australian producer.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 16 (IANS) Ace director Gautham Vasudev Menon, known for making classy action thrillers and romantic dramas, is to next direct a film with Telugu star Ram Pothineni in the lead.

Gautham Menon revealed this piece of information during a recent interaction organised to promote his just released Tamil film, 'Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu'.

Gautham Menon said he would be directing Ram Pothineni in a new film next year.

He also added that producer Sravanthi Ravi Kishore had been a bridge between Ram Pothineni and him for a long time now.

In fact, the Telugu version of 'Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu', called 'The Life of Muthu', was released by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore under the banner Sravanthi Movies.

With Gautham Menon's intense gangster flick, 'Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu', featuring Silambarasan and Siddhi Idnani receiving rave reviews, fans of Ram Pothineni are excited.

Meanwhile, sources say that work on Ram's latest film, tentatively titled 'Boyapati Rapo', is to start by the end of this month.

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 16 (IANS) Actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are all set to welcome their fourth baby.

On Thursday, the former "Gossip Girl" star, 35, showed off her baby bump on the red carpet at the 10th annual Forbes Power Women's Summit, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Starting to date Ryan Reynolds in 2011 before they married in 2012, Blake already has three daughters - James, seven, Inez, five and Betty, two - with the 'Deadpool' actor.

The pair revealed their youngest child's name with the help of Taylor Swift, who named her 'Folklore' album track after the toddler in 2020 and later detailed how they trust the 32-year-old singer songwriter "implicitly".

Reynolds, 45, said: "She's very sensitive to any of that stuff. And obviously, the song has nothing to do with our kids other than our kids' names. But I mean, what an honour. We thought it was pretty damn amazing. We still do. You know, I still walk down the street and shake my head thinking, 'I can't believe that happened.' "

The 'Deadpool' star recently shared about his decision to step away from acting for a bit to focus on fatherhood.

He said, "The biggest thing for me, and I know you have kids as well, is that I don't want to miss this time with my kids."

"When I'm shooting a film, I'm oftentimes in Europe, I'm away, there are incredibly long hours, it's a ton of constant, kind of requirement to be there the whole time, not just because I'm performing but I'm also generally producing and writing on my movies as well."

He added, "I really enjoy being a presenter dad. I love taking them to school in the morning, I love picking them up."

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 16 (IANS) Actress Amber Heard is hit with yet another accusation in the aftermath of the much-publicised defamation trial against Johnny Depp. She is now accused of blackmailing Hollywood men to nab parts, including 'Aquaman' director James Wan.

According to a source close to production producers, the rumours about Heard had been swirling even "before the divorce drama started, it's just a different tune now."

The source went on detailing, "Anybody who is anybody in Hollywood has heard of Amber's wild orgies and sadly that means Depp knew too. He knew and it was slowly killing him."

"He didn't want to confront Heard, he just ran away, went on benders to try and kill his emotions and thoughts with drugs and alcohol."

As "most big studios began distancing themselves from Amber Heard after the messy divorce simply because they didn't want to upset Johnny Depp by hiring her," the source wonders how Heard managed to secure her role in 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom' following her loss in the defamation case, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"A lot of us were actually pretty shocked when we found out that Amber Heard had been cast as Mera in the 'Aquaman' movies - not because of the Johnny Depp situation but because she's not a great actress. I would hesitate to even call her b-list," the source further told Australian gossip site Pop Topic.

"Also, being one of the leads in the film and only banking approximately USD$2 million for the part, that just doesn't seem right," the source added, hence the allegations that she's blackmailed Wan.

"A lot of us are starting to wonder whether she slept with James Wan and that's how she secured this role, especially after seeing in an intimate setting with him and Elon Musk. We know what kind of wild things the two of them got up to."

"The studio has wanted her gone since before the trial. She's a terrible actress. They tried to execute a clause in a contract which would have gotten her fired, but James Wan fought to keep her in."

"So, the executives decided to just limit her role in the entire film by cutting her screen time to just 10 minutes," according to the source, who claimed that "again, James Wan fought to restore her scenes. Something about his artistic direction and what-not."

"I am almost positive she slept with him, but I'm even more certain that 'Aquaman 2' will be the last Hollywood movie you'll ever see Amber Heard in, Hollywood has blacklisted her," the source additionally noted.

Following the verdict in the defamation case, Heard denied rumours that her role could be completely cut from the 'Aquaman' sequel.

A spokesperson for the 36-year-old told Entertainment Tonight in June, "The rumor mill continues as it has from day one - inaccurate, insensitive, and slightly insane."

During the trial, Heard also said that she "fought really hard" to save her role in the upcoming movie, though her part was reduced significantly.

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 16 (IANS) Singer Madonna's dating history has been compared to Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio's.

Social media users have found the similarity between Madge and Leo's "dating rule" as they found out that the Queen of Pop has only been dating men at least 28 years younger for nearly two decades, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Page Six reported on Wednesday, September 14 that the 64-year-old pop star has dated men a minimum of 28 years her junior since her 2008 divorce from Guy Ritchie, who is 10 years younger than her.

Her current beau, model Andrew Darnell, is 41 years behind her. At just 23, he falls right between her 25-year-old daughter Lourdes Leon and 21-year-old son Rocco Ritchie.

Prior to dating Darnell, Madonna was romantically linked to dancer Ahlamalik Williams, who is 36 years younger than her. In 2018, Madge also dated model Kevin Sampaio, who is 28 years younger.

According to a friend, Madonna indeed loves to date younger men. "She likes the idea of a guy being younger than her daughter. It announces her desirability to the world. Some people may see her as a vampire, feeding off of the young, but, in her mind, she is forever youthful and this helps to prove it," the "Like a Virgin" hitmaker's pal told the New York Post.

Upon learning of what appeared to be Madonna's dating rule, social media users turned to Twitter to pour their thoughts, with many comparing it to Dicaprio's.

"Since 1998, Leonardo Dicaprio only dates chicks at most 25 year old," one person tweeted. A second chimed in, "Did Leo learn it from her? I mean, he loves dating women who are under 25."

Someone else pointed out, "I guess that means Madonna likes her men slightly older than Leonardo DiCaprio like his women," while another simply replied to Page Six's tweet with a GIF of the 'Titanic' star laughing while holding a glass of what appeared to be champagne.

A separate user added, "If Leo can do it... So can she. In other words. If she doesn't bothered by it, why would anyone else do."

DiCaprio's rumoured dating rule made headlines lately following his recent split from Camila Morrone, who turned 25 years old on June 16, and his attempt to pursue Gigi Hadid, who is 27 years old. Even Kenan Thompson made a savage joke about Leo's alleged desire to date younger women at the 2022 Emmys.

During his opening monologue, Kenan hilariously mocked the actor's dating life while discussing Zendaya's age.

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 16 (IANS) Supermodel Gigi Hadid may have gotten a stamp of approval from her father to date Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio.

When giving his two cents on the supermodel's rumoured new romance, her father Mohamed Hadid said that he "likes" the 'Titanic' star, reports aceshowbiz.com.

In an interview with Daily Mail, 73-year-old Mohamed told the outlet, "I met Mr. DiCaprio in St. Tropez four or five years ago and he is a very nice man." He further noted, "I liked him."

Mohamed added that Gigi and Leonardo "are friends" and that they've "known each other for some time."

Of the swirling dating rumours, the famous real estate developer said: "I have not spoken to my daughter about Mr. DiCaprio."

"I don't think they are dating, I believe they are just good friends. But I really don't know," Mohamed said.

"While he could not confirm if there's any truth to the romance rumours, the ex-husband of Yolanda Hadid later pointed out, "I don't comment on my daughter's personal relationships. I have no say in who she is dating."

Gigi and Leonardo are reportedly dating as the 'Don't Look Up' star is allegedly "pursuing" the 27-year-old beauty following his recent split from Camila Morrone.

Further fueling the romance rumours, the two were spotted getting cozy at a party in New York City on September 10.

Last week, it's reported that while the mom of Khai is flattered by the actor's advances, she isn't looking to jump into anything serious right away.

"Leo's clearly got an interest in Gigi, he's been pursuing her, but she's playing it very cool because dating just isn't a priority for her right now, between her daughter and everything she has going on with work, she has her hands full," a source explained.

More recently, it's said that Gigi and Leo's possible romance is 'upsetting' for Gigi's ex Zayn Malik.

"Zayn still has hopes of reuniting with Gigi, they're on good terms right now for their daughter's sake but he's made it clear he would love another chance with her so all of this news about her and Leo has been upsetting for him," an insider told HollywoodLife.com on September 15.

"Gigi is doing her best to manage it all, but it's definitely stirring up drama on Zayn's side that she's having to deal with."

--IANS
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