Month: January 2022

Whoopi Goldberg has tested positive for COVID-19 with a breakthrough case of the virus. Joy Behar, Goldberg’s co-host on ‘The View,’ announced the news on the show Monday. Said Behar: “Why am I here instead of Whoopi? Well, Whoopi, unfortunately, tested positive over the break but she’ll be back probably next week. Since she’s vaxxed and boosted, her symptoms have been very, very, mild. But we’re being super cautious here at The View.”

Behar, co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines, and guest host Ana Navarro are filming ‘The View’ from home ‘out of an abundance of caution’ this week. Hostin said on Monday that she and her mom also tested positive for COVID-19 over the holiday break but have since recovered. Navarro’s father also tested positive for the virus but was able to join the family for New Years.

The 66-year-old Goldberg is fully vaccinated and boosted. Goldberg and Hostin’s positive diagnoses come amid the surge of COVID-19 cases due in part to the highly contagious omicron variant.

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‘Squid Game’ creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed in a recent interview that he’s presently in talks with Netflix over a second and third season of the show.  Following its Sept. 17 debut, the South Korean show became the Netflix’s biggest series in its history — reaching 142 million member households globally and becoming the first to surpass 100 million views.

According to The Korea Times, Hwang said:“I’m in talks with Netflix over season 2 as well as season 3. We will come to a conclusion any time soon.”  During a November special screening and Q&A for the series, Hwang shared that he had been working on a season two storyline and was currently in talks with Netflix over another season.   The writer-director shared: “I do have a basic storyline for season two — it’s all in my head — and I am currently in the brainstorming stage. It will happen, someday, but as for when I cannot tell you the details.”

Squid Game follows Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who receives a mysterious invitation to join a tournament of traditional Korean children’s games with a deadly twist. Held in a secret location, the games offer its 456 participants a shot at winning 45.6 billion in prize money.

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The producers of the documentary film “Betty White: 100 Years Young” say a theatrical screening will proceed as scheduled on the comedy legend’s 100th birthday, despite her death on December 31st, just a few weeks shy of that milestone.

Producers/directors Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein said in a joint statement: “Our hearts mourn today with the passing of Betty White. During the many years we worked with her, we developed a great love and admiration for Betty as a person, and as an accomplished entertainer. We are thankful for the many decades of delight she brought to everyone. Betty always said she was the ‘luckiest broad on two feet’ to have had a career as long as she did. And honestly, we were the lucky ones to have had her for so long. We will go forward with our plans to show the film on January 17 in hopes our film will provide a way for all who loved her to celebrate her life—and experience what made her such a national treasure.”

The documentary will feature appearances by Ryan Reynolds, Tina Fey, Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, Carol Burnett, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Clint Eastwood, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, and many more.   The film was expected to screen at 900 theaters across the U.S. on White’s birthday, Jan. 17, 2022. You can learn more about the documentary at Fathom Events’ website.

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Michael Keaton is set to reprise his role in the upcoming HBO Max movie, “Batgirl.” Keaton, who starred in Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman” and the 1992 sequel “Batman Returns,” will return as Bruce Wayne alongside Leslie Grace, who will play Batgirl, in addition to J.K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser and Jacob Scipio.  “Batgirl” has no scheduled release date, but is set to debut in 2022;  the film centers on the heroine whose real identity is Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon (Simmons).

Keaton will be seen as the Caped Crusader in the upcoming Warner Bros. adventure “The Flash” (in theaters Nov. 4), a multiverse-spanning story directed by Andy Muschietti (“It”).  The movie features Ezra Miller reprising his role as the title character, and will catch up with Keaton’s Batman 30 years after moviegoers last saw him in the role.  “The Flash” also will feature the return of Ben Affleck as the Batman from “Justice League.”

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