Justin Baldoni countersues Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds; seeks $400 million-plus in damages

Justin Baldoni has filed a countersuit against his “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane and her husband Ryan Reynolds, dramatically escalating the legal battle over their tumultuous collaboration on last year’s romantic drama.

The latest twist in a dispute that has already sent shockwaves through Hollywood, the 179-page complaint, filed in federal court in New York on Thursday, accuses Lively, Sloane and Reynolds of smearing Baldoni and wresting control of the film, which he directed, away from him. The suit is seeking no less than $400 million in damages.

The legal and PR clash stems from Lively’s allegations that Baldoni engaged in sexual harassment on set and hired a crisis PR team to orchestrate a retaliatory smear campaign to damage her reputation in the run-up to the film’s release. The allegations first surfaced in a Dec. 21 New York Times article, and Lively formally filed suit against Baldoni in federal court on Dec. 31. That same day, Baldoni and nine other plaintiffs — including his crisis PR team and executives at Wayfarer Studios — filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the New York Times over the article, headlined “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.”

Baldoni’s countersuit, jointly filed by Wayfarer Studios, executive Jamey Heath and members of their crisis PR team, alleges that Lively’s accusations are baseless and have caused serious harm to his career, reputation and personal life. Baldoni, best known for his role as Rafael Solano in “Jane the Virgin,” has long cultivated an image as a progressive, socially conscious storyteller and feminist ally, guided by the principles of his Bahá’í Faith. In recent years, he has transitioned from actor to filmmaker and producer, launching Wayfarer Studios in 2019 to champion “purpose-driven” content.

Drawing heavily on private text messages and emails, as did Lively’s suit, Baldoni’s countersuit offers a sharply contrasting account to the one laid out by the actress’ legal team. According to the complaint, Lively was “determined to make Baldoni the real-life villain in her story” and, along with Sloane and with help from the New York Times, falsely accused him of sexual harassment in order to shift attention away from public backlash against her own “tone-deaf” interviews during the film’s press tour. “Defendants laid their trap carefully… advancing a fabricated narrative in the press,” the complaint alleges.

The countersuit further accuses Lively of making unreasonable demands during the film’s production, rewriting key scenes along with Reynolds and refusing to collaborate on intimacy choreography while blaming others for the disruptions. “Lively set out to destroy Plaintiffs’ livelihoods and businesses if they did not bend to her incessant demands,” the complaint alleges.

According to the countersuit, Lively seized creative control of the film, sidelining Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios despite contractual limitations. “Lively deliberately and systematically robbed Plaintiffs… of their movie” and “used threats and extortion” to exclude them from the premiere, the complaint claims.

Baldoni’s legal action marks the fourth lawsuit to emerge from the production of “It Ends With Us,” which, despite the controversy that overshadowed its press tour, became a financial success, grossing over $350 million worldwide. On Dec. 26, Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, filed her own complaint, alleging that the actor’s crisis PR team orchestrated a campaign to undermine her credibility and deflect blame for what she described as a retaliatory smear campaign against Lively.

The countersuit follows a litigation hold letter sent last week by Baldoni’s legal team to Marvel president Kevin Feige and Disney CEO Bob Iger, among others, calling on the studio to preserve all relevant documents with regards to Baldoni. Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has stated that he believes Reynolds was mocking Baldoni in a scene in last summer’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” featuring an overly earnest alternate version of Deadpool called “Nicepool,”

In the film, Nicepool delivered lines like, “Where in God’s name is the intimacy coordinator?” and answered criticism of his own misogyny by replying, “It’s OK, I identify as a feminist.”

Bob Uecker, announcer who was comic bard of baseball, dies at 90

He had a mediocre career as a baseball player, but found fame as a comic actor and Hall of Fame broadcaster.

Bob Uecker, who transformed his futility as a baseball player into a successful second career as a baseball broadcaster, humorist and comic actor in television, film and commercials, died Jan. 16 at 90.

The Milwaukee Brewers, for whom he was a longtime radio announcer, announced the death but did not provide further details.

Before he was known for two enduring catchphrases — “I must be in the front row!” from a Miller Lite commercial and “Just a bit outside” from the movie “Major League” — Mr. Uecker spent six years in the major leagues as a backup catcher and first-string clubhouse comedian. Among a long list of baseball jokers, he is widely considered the funniest.

Referring to his lowly career batting average of .200, Mr. Uecker said he was so hopeless at the plate that his manager would “send me up there without a bat and tell me to try for a walk.”

In a best-selling 1982 autobiography, “Catcher in the Wry” (written with Mickey Herskowitz), Mr. Uecker described the secret of his success, such as it was: “Anybody with ability can play in the big leagues. But to be able to trick people year in and year out the way I did, I think that was a much greater feat.”

He played for the Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. He never appeared in more than 80 games a season, but he did share a moment of glory as a member of the World Series-winning Cardinals in 1964.

“People don’t know this, but I helped the Cardinals win the pennant,” he later said. “I came down with hepatitis. The trainer injected me with it.”

In reality, Mr. Uecker was considered a valuable clubhouse presence, with his lighthearted banter and his humorous running monologues in the bullpen. Before the first game of the 1964 World Series, he picked up a sousaphone left on the field by a musician and used it to shag flyballs.

If he was the definition of major league mediocrity, he found unlikely success against one of the game’s best pitchers, Sandy Koufax, once hitting a home run off the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hall of Fame left-hander. (It was one of only 14 home runs Mr. Uecker had in the majors.)

During his final season in 1967, he was the personal catcher of Atlanta Braves knuckleball pitcher Phil Niekro. That year, Mr. Uecker led the National League in passed balls (pitches he should have caught but missed) — “and I did that without playing every game,” he boasted.

He described his method of catching the fluttering, unpredictable knuckleball: “Wait until it stopped rolling and then pick it up.”

In fact, Niekro credited his Hall of Fame success to his catcher, writing in his autobiography that Mr. Uecker “ingrained in my mind that I shouldn’t be afraid to throw the knuckler. What happened to it after it left my hand was not my responsibility, but instead his.”

After his playing career, Mr. Uecker dabbled in broadcasting for the Braves and spoke at banquets, where he began to reshape his baseball experiences into a comedy act, with himself as the butt of the joke. Al Hirt, a popular trumpeter of the era, heard him at a nightclub in 1969 and recommended him to his agent. Mr. Uecker soon made the first of more than 100 appearances on the “Tonight” show, with host Johnny Carson dubbing him “Mr. Baseball.”

Back in the big leagues

In 1970, Milwaukee acquired a new baseball team, the Brewers, after an expansion franchise moved from Seattle. The owner, businessman Bud Selig, hired Mr. Uecker as a scout.

“Worst scout I ever had,” Selig, who later became commissioner of baseball, told the New York Times in 2010. When Mr. Uecker turned in a scouting report on a potential player, it “was smeared with gravy and mashed potatoes.”

Mr. Uecker moved to the team’s radio booth as an analyst in 1971 and, during the next season, he began to do play-by-play announcing. He would remain the voice of the Brewers for more than 50 years. During much of that time, he was also on the field before the games, throwing batting practice to the players.

In the broadcast booth, he relied on his inside knowledge of the sport as he described the action. He had a clear, distinctive voice and developed a well-known home run call: “Get up! Get up! Get outta here! Gone!” He seldom resorted to comedy, except when the Brewers were far behind.

From 1976 to 1982, Mr. Uecker was part of ABC’s “Monday Night Baseball” broadcasting team, often jousting good-naturedly with Howard Cosell, known for his large vocabulary and sometimes pompous manner. Once, when Cosell used the word “truculent,” he asked Mr. Uecker if he knew what it meant.

“Sure, I do,” Mr. Uecker replied. “If you had a truck, and I borrowed it, that would be a truck-you-lent.”

In the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Uecker was among many retired athletes who appeared in Miller Lite commercials. He cultivated the persona of the lovable loser, unperturbed by snubs and insults.

“You know, one of the best things about being an ex-big-leaguer is getting freebies to the game,” he says in one commercial, pulling a ticket from his pocket. “Call the front office, and bingo!”

An usher approaches, saying, “You’re in the wrong seat, buddy, come on.”

Mr. Uecker confidently says, “I must be in the front row!”

In the commercial’s final scene, he is sitting by himself at the top of the stadium, ever ebullient as he declares to no one, “Good seats, hey, buddy?”

The commercials led to an acting career, including an appearance as guest host of “Saturday Night Live.” From 1985 to 1990, Mr. Uecker starred in the ABC sitcom “Mr. Belvedere” as a sportswriter who hires a prissy English butler to manage his household.

Mr. Uecker also played Harry Doyle, a whiskey-drinking broadcaster in the 1989 baseball comedy “Major League.” When a pitcher, played by Charlie Sheen, throws a wild pitch that bounces off the backstop, Mr. Uecker — in an improvised line — says, “Ju-u-u-u-st a bit outside.”

The film became a cult classic, and generations of fans and players repeated the line, imitating Mr. Uecker’s cheery inflection. While appearing in two “Major League” sequels, he continued to announce for the Brewers and helped cover the World Series with Bob Costas for NBC in the 1990s.

Mr. Uecker often joked about being overlooked year after year by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“It finally got to the point,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “where I had to say, ‘Hey, I don’t need it.’ I can bronze my own glove and hang it on a nail in my garage.”

But in 2003, Mr. Uecker gained a permanent place in Cooperstown, when he received the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting. His acceptance speech was a variation on his well-polished comedy act.

“All the television stuff, the movies, the sitcoms, the commercials, that’s all fun,” he said that year. “All I wanted to do is come back to Milwaukee every spring to do baseball.”

Two statues in Milwaukee

Robert George Uecker was born Jan. 26, 1934, in Milwaukee. His father, who had played soccer in his native Switzerland, was an auto mechanic. His mother was a homemaker.

He later joked about his childhood as the child of immigrants, adapting to American ways. When his father bought a football, “we tried to pass it and throw it and kick it,” Mr. Uecker said in his Hall of Fame speech, “and we couldn’t do it, and it was very discouraging for him and for me. We almost quit. And finally … a neighbor came over and put some air in it. And what a difference.”

After high school, Mr. Uecker joined the Army, playing on baseball teams at bases in Missouri and Northern Virginia. He signed a minor league contract in 1956 with the Milwaukee Braves, his then-hometown team, for a $3,000 bonus.

He spent six years in the minor leagues — once hitting .332 with 21 home runs for a Class C team in Idaho — before getting called up to the major league club in 1962. His teammates included Hall of Famers Niekro, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn of the Braves and, in St. Louis, Bob Gibson and Lou Brock.

In addition to his baseball broadcasting and acting, Mr. Uecker occasionally announced major professional wrestling matches and was named to the WWE Hall of Fame.

His first two marriages ended in divorce. Two children from his first marriage, Steven Uecker and Leann Uecker Ziemer, died in 2012 and 2022, respectively. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.

Mr. Uecker had numerous health scares through the years, including heart surgery and cancer, and he stopped traveling to Brewers road games in his 80s. Still, he remained steadfastly behind the radio microphone in Milwaukee as he approached his 90th birthday.

There are two statues of Mr. Uecker at Milwaukee’s baseball stadium. One in front of the stadium, where he shares pride of place with Hall of Fame players. The other is high in the upper deck, behind obstructing pillars — the “Uecker seats” that could not be farther from the front row.

“Everything I’ve done,” Mr. Uecker once said, “no matter how weird or ignorant it seems, people like it.”

David Lynch, surrealist filmmaker known for ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Blue Velvet,’ dead at 78

LOS ANGELES — David Lynch, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker who was known for surreal works such as “Twin Peaks,” “The Elephant Man” and “Muholland Drive,” has died.

Lynch’s family announced his death Thursday on Facebook. The director, an artist who channeled his talent in a number of mediums including film, television, music and art, was 78.

“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” the post said. “We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’”

The post added: “It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”

In 2024, Lynch revealed that he had been diagnosed with emphysema, a condition that causes shortness of breath, “from smoking so long” during his life. He said in an interview with Sight and Sound that his health had limited his ability to direct.

“I would do it remotely if it comes to it,” he said. “I wouldn’t like that so much.”

Lynch’s directing career included cult classics “The Elephant Man,” “Blue Velvet,” “Inland Empire,” a divisive adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” and “Wild at Heart,” among others.

His films were often filled with recurrent characters and motifs and blended film noir darkness, suspense and an ensemble cast of quirky characters. An influential filmmaker, Lynch most often drew his own inspiration from European filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard and Federico Fellini. He frequently worked with the same actors — Kyle MacLachlan, Jack Nance, Laura Dern, Grace Dern and Harry Dean Stanton among them. Most often, his films unfurled as Angelo Badalamenti’s haunting compositions swelled.

Lynch’s films often explored “the mystery and madness hidden in the normal,” as film critic Pauline Kael put it. The severed ear in “Blue Velvet.” Laura’s Palmer’s lifeless body wrapped in plastic on television’s “Twin Peaks.” The lone survivor of a car crash on Mulholland Drive, injured and wandering into Los Angeles. All were jarring openings that guided filmgoers into the strange netherworlds tucked away in otherwise normal big cities and small towns.

Born on Jan. 20, 1946, in Missoula, Montana, Lynch grew up in several states. The son of an English language tutor and a research scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the filmmaker and his family were often on the move, living in Washington, Idaho, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

After graduating high school, Lynch studied at the Museum of Fine arts in Boston. He then attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he created his first film, the 1967 animated short “Six Men Getting Sick.”

In 1977 Lynch directed his first feature film, the cult favorite “Eraserhead,” while attending the American Film Institute. He quickly gained the attention of filmmakers Stanley Kubrick and John Waters. George Lucas even courted Lynch to direct a “Star Wars” film, but Lynch turned down the offer.

Lynch kept busy in the ’80s with “The Elephant Man” in 1980, his controversial and critically panned take on Frank Herbert’s “Dune” in 1984 and 1986’s “Blue Velvet,” starring Isabella Rossellini, MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern. He was nominated for an Oscar for adapted screenplay and best director for “Elephant Man” and best director for “Blue Velvet.”

“This film is a trip into darkness and back out again,” he told The Times of “Blue Velvet.” “There are things lurking in the world and within us that we have to deal with. You can evade them for a while, for a long time maybe, but if you face them and name them, they start losing their power. Once you name the enemy, you can deal with it a lot better.”

In 1989, Lynch reunited with MacLachlan for ABC’s iconic “Twin Peaks,” which he co-created with Mark Frost. MacLachlan starred as coffee-enthusiast and FBI special agent Dale Cooper. From Lynch’s atmospheric and eerie depiction of Washington state came some of pop culture’s most recognizable moments — including Michael J. Anderson’s dance in the red chevron-floored room.

The original “Twin Peaks” series ran for two seasons before ending in June 1991. Just months before the show’s cancellation, Lynch deadpanned about keeping the show alive during an interview with David Letterman.

“If it has to end, that’s all right. But if it doesn’t have to end, that’s even better,” he said. “And I’m asking people to write to Bob Iger, the president of ABC.”

Lynch revisited his “Twin Peaks” empire with the 1992 film “Fire Walk with Me” and Showtime’s “Twin Peaks: The Return” in 2017.

From “Twin Peaks” also stemmed his longtime partnerships with late musicians Badalamenti and Julee Cruise, who both died in 2022.

Some of Lynch’s turn-of-the-century works included the films “Lost Highway,” “The Straight Story” and “Mulholland Drive.”

The mystery film, which starred Laura Harring and Naomi Watts, earned Lynch the director award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and an Oscar nomination for best director in 2002.

His final film was “Inland Empire,” a 2006 surrealistic thriller that was filmed as it was being written.

Later in life Lynch brought his talents to other mediums, directing music videos, pursuing his own musical projects or exhibiting abstract art.

Among his various side projects was the series of “Weather Reports,” which he started in 2008 and revisited on YouTube during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Predictably quirky, Lynch would stare at the camera, give the date, the temperature — in both Fahrenheit and Celsius — and then a general description of the weather. “It’s cloudy and there’s quite a breeze, Have a good day.”

“There’s a connection between music, film, painting, writing, everything,” Lynch told The Times in 1999. “I guess the more [things] you’re into, the more they’re going to help each other.”

The director was also a vocal supporter of transcendental meditation. In 2005, he founded the David Lynch Foundation, which seeks to promote transcendental meditation among “at-risk populations” to “improve their health, cognitive capabilities and performance in life.”

Lynch was married several times. He and artist Peggy Reavey married in 1968 and divorced in 1974. Three years later he married Mary Fisk — that marriage lasted 10 years. In 2006 Lynch and filmmaker Mary Sweeney wed and divorced. Lynch married actor Emily Stofle in 2009. He had three children, Jennifer, Austin and Riley.

In 2019 Lynch received an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards. He accepted the honor from “Blue Velvet” stars Dern and MacLachlan with a speech in true Lynchian fashion.

“To the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, thank you for this honor, and to all the people who helped me along the road. Congratulations to all the other honorees tonight. And everyone, have a great night.” he said, before looking at his Oscar. “You have a very interesting face. Goodnight!”

Lynch is survived by his wife and three children. Representatives for the David Lynch Foundation did not immediately respond Thursday to The Times’ requests for comment.

Wendy Williams is ‘permanently incapacitated’ by dementia battle, her guardian says

Joined by her niece, Alex, on radio show “The Breakfast Club,” former TV talk show host Wendy Williams said she is not cognitively impaired after it was revealed late last year that her guardian reported Williams battle with dementia was deteriorating.

Former talk show host Wendy Williams broke down in tears on the air Thursday morning and said she is not “permanently incapacitated,” denying previous claims made by her guardian.

Williams was joined by her niece, Alex, speaking clearly on a phone call to American radio show “The Breakfast Club,” breaking her silence on her reported dementia diagnosis and revealing harrowing details on her experience with her conservatorship.

“I am not cognitively impaired,” Williams said. “But I feel like I’m in prison.”

“My aunt sounds great. I’ve seen her in a very limited capacity, but I’ve seen her and we’re talking to her. This does not match an incapacitated person,” Alex said.

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According to court filings made public by Deadline in November and obtained by a number of news outlets, Williams’ court-appointed guardian, Sabrina E. Morrissey, claimed the American media personality was “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled and incapacitated.”

Williams, 60, was first diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in 2023, but it became known to the public in February through a statement on behalf of her caretakers.

Alex told radio host Charlamagne tha God of the suffocating living conditions her aunt is facing, calling the New York City apartment she lives in under guardianship a “luxury prison.”

“It’s small. She has a bed, a chair, a TV, a bathroom and she’s looking out one window of buildings across the street,” Alex said of her aunt’s apartment, which she visited in October.

Williams added that all of her belongings from her previous apartment, which has since been sold, are in storage.

When asked about allegations of “guardianship abuse,” Williams called the system of the conservatorship “broken” and said that it has “falsified a lot.”

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“For the last three years, I have been caught up in the system,” Williams said, adding that she cannot leave her unit until someone unlocks the door and elevator for her.

According to Alex, Williams can phone her family but they’re not allowed to call her and she isn’t permitted to leave her apartment without permission from her guardian.

“This is what’s called emotional abuse,” Williams said after she mentioned she has spent her last three birthdays alone.

Williams said in December she was granted visitation to Florida where her entire family lives, to attend her son Kevin Hunter Jr.’s college graduation, but she got emotional when expressing that she wants to go back to celebrate her father’s upcoming 94th birthday.

“I’m exhausted thinking about what if I can’t see my dad for my birthday. At 94, the day after that is not promised,” Williams said before sobbing.

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In a post on Instagram, the “Breakfast Club” radio show linked a GoFundMe campaign reportedly from friends of the Williams family calling for expediting Williams’ return to her family in Miami, Florida.

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“Wendy’s family is passionately advocating for her return to Florida, where she can once again be surrounded by the love and support of those who care about her,” the campaign reads. “They are suffering emotionally as they witness the toll her isolation is taking on her well-being.”

Who is Wendy Williams?

Williams is a former TV host and American media personality who, between 2008 and 2021, hosted her own daytime talk show, “The Wendy Williams Show,” featuring celebrity gossip and entertainment news, presented with a confrontational approach.

Before she made her TV debut, Williams gained popularity as a radio disc jockey for over a decade, establishing herself in the industry in the mid-’90s before she went on to host her own daily radio show, “The Wendy Williams Experience.”

What is a conservatorship?

A conservatorship, sometimes called a guardianship, is arranged when an individual no longer has the capacity, including mentally or physically, to make decisions for themselves. It allows courts to give another person — usually a relative, friend or court-appointed guardian — control over a person’s money and at times, their choices in life.

Perhaps one of the most well-known conservatorships is that of Britney Spears, whose finances and medical decisions came under the power of her father, Jamie Spears, when it was implemented in 2008 before being finally terminated in 2021 after a years-long legal battle.

What kind of dementia does Wendy Williams have?

Williams was diagnosed with a rare form of frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD, which damages the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain affecting behaviour, motor function and language. As the dementia worsens, these parts of the brain shrink.

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FTD is incurable and usually occurs in people in their 40s, 50s and early 60s. It can affect a person’s personality, causing a loss of inhibition or inappropriate behaviour. It is sometimes mistaken for depression or bipolar disorder, and can take years to diagnose.

The disease often includes primary progressive aphasia, which means it causes problems with language skills. A person with this type of FTD might have trouble finding words or understanding speech.

In most cases, people with FTD don’t have a family history of dementia, however those with relatives who suffer from or had FTD are more likely to be diagnosed with it.

United States Explainer Wendy Williams has frontotemporal dementia. What is FTD? Carla K. Johnson The Associated Press Which other celebrities have dementia?

Renowned American actor Bruce Willis, known for his leading man roles in action films such as “Die Hard” and cult classic “Pulp Fiction,” was also diagnosed with FTD, which was announced by his family in February 2023.

A year before, his family said the 69-year-old would be stepping away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia.

Entertainment Bruce Willis diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia as condition worsens The Associated Press

Since then, Willis’s condition has worsened. His daughter, Tallulah Willis, shared a recent photo of herself with her father and mother, actor Demi Moore, on social media on Tuesday.

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Actor Sean Connery lived with dementia in the final years of his life, and actor and comedian Robin Williams, who died by suicide in 2014, had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.

Why did Wendy Williams’ guardian sue A&E Television Networks?

The legal dispute between Morrissey and A&E Television Networks erupted after a Lifetime documentary called “Where Is Wendy Williams?” about the challenges that led to Williams’ departure from her eponymous TV show.

In an interview with NBC News, Williams’ former publicist, Shawn Zanotti, slammed the decision to air the documentary — which portrayed Williams’ drinking problems — saying Williams was being “exploited.”

“She would be mortified,” Zanotti told NBC News. “There’s no way you can convince me that she would be OK with looking and seeing herself in that way.”

With files from The Associated Press

‘Documents Do Not Lie’: Justin Baldoni Files $400 Million Lawsuit Against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

Over two weeks after Justin Baldoni filed a lawsuit against The New York Times for the feature reporting Blake Lively’s complaint, the director of It Ends With Us continued the legal filing against his co-star Blake Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds.

Variety reports Baldoni sued the Hollywood power couple and accused them of taking over his film, It Ends With Us on Thrusday, Jan. 16. The Jane the Virgin actor’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, acquired the rights of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel It Ends With Us and its sequel, It Starts With Us, in 2019 and later agreed to star in the film as the male protagonist, Ryle Kincaid. Lively joined the film in January 2023 as Lily Bloom, and Baldoni claimed the actress took over the film’s final editing, and costume designs, and accused her and the Deadpool & Wolverine star of trying to destroy him with false accusations of sexual harassment.

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Marvel & Disney Get Legal Notice From Justin Baldoni Over Ryan Reynolds’ Nicepool in Deadpool & Wolverine

Marvel Studios gets pulled into the Baldoni-Lively war due to a Deadpool & Wolverine character allegedly mocking Justin Baldoni.

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Baldoni officially filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds in the Southern District of New York. The 179-page complaint accuses the two of civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy.

This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio.

“At bottom, this is not a case about celebrities sniping at each other in the press,” Baldoni’s lawsuit states. “This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio… When Plaintiffs have their day in court, the jury will recognize that even the most powerful celebrity cannot bend the truth to her will.”

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Justin Baldoni Voice Message Claims Blake Lively Sent Him to the “Basement” During It Ends With Us Premiere

Justin Baldoni claims he was asked not to attend the It Ends With Us premiere and he and his guests were sent to the basements to avoid the cast.

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Lively received backlash over her promotion of It Ends With Us, a movie dealing with domestic violence. The actress filed her own lawsuit against Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath, and publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel on Dec. 31, 10 days after lodging her first legal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department ahead of Christmas. The New York Times reported her 80-page lawsuit in a lengthy feature where the Gossip Girl actress accused Baldoni and others of sexual harassment, as well as orchestrating a smear campaign to ruin her reputation over her complaints on the set of the adaptation. Baldoni’s team denied all allegations and promised to sue.

Justin Baldoni’s Lawsuit Reiterates His Previous Lawsuit

Following Lively’s lawsuit, Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The Times with nine other plaintiffs, including his Wayfarer Studios co-owners and CEO, and his publicists. His lawyer, Bryan Freedman, promised more lawsuits would follow, including one against Deadpool & Wolverine actor Ryan Reynolds, who allegedly used Baldoni as an inspiration for his Deadpool variant, Nicepool.

Reynolds was not directly involved in the production of It Ends With Us, but Blake Lively confirmed during the film’s red carpet premiere the actor re-wrote a pivotal scene in the movie, which was filmed without the screenwriter’s knowledge.

“This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media,” Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said in a statement. “It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret.”

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“Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth,” Freedman continued. “Ms. Lively will never again be allowed to continue to exploit actual victims of real harassment solely for her personal reputation gain at the expense of those without power. Let’s not forget, Ms. Lively and her team attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action. We know the truth, and now the public does too. Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie.”

Source: Variety

7

10

It Ends With Us

PG-13

Drama

Romance

Director Justin Baldoni

Release Date August 9, 2024

Cast Blake Lively , Justin Baldoni , Brandon Sklenar , Jenny Slate , Hasan Minhaj , Amy Morton , Kevin McKidd , Isabela Ferrer , Alex Neustaedter , Robert Clohessy , Robyn Lively , Megan Robinson , Robin S. Walker , Emily Baldoni , Adam Mondschein , Caroline Siegrist , Steve Monroe , Daphne Zelle

Runtime 130 Minutes

Studio(s) Columbia Pictures , Wayfarer Studios , Saks Picture Company

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David Lynch, surrealist filmmaker known for ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Blue Velvet,’ dead at 78

David Lynch, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker who was known for surreal works such as “Twin Peaks,” “Elephant Man” and “Muholland Drive,” has died.

Lynch’s family announced his death Thursday on Facebook. The director, an artist who channeled his talent in a number of mediums including film, television, music and art, was 78.

“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” the Facebook post said. “We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’”

The post added: “It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”

In 2024, Lynch revealed that he was diagnosed with emphysema, a condition that causes shortness of breath, “from smoking so long” during his life. He said in an interview with Sight and Sound that his health has limited his ability to direct.

“I would do it remotely if it comes to it,” he said. “I wouldn’t like that so much.”

Lynch’s directing career included cult classics “The Elephant Man,” “Blue Velvet,” “Inland Empire,” a divisive adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” and “Wild At Heart,” among others.

His films were often filled with recurrent characters and motifs and blended film noir darkness, suspense and an ensemble cast of quirky characters. An influential filmmaker, Lynch most often drew his own inspiration from European filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard and Federico Fellini. He frequently worked with the same actors — Kyle MacLachlan, Jack Nance, Laura Dern, Grace Dern and Harry Dean Stanton, among them. Most often, his films unfurled as Angelo Badalmenti’s haunting compositions swelled.

Lynch’s films often explored “the mystery and madness hidden in the normal,” as film critic Pauline Kael put it. The severed ear in “Blue Velvet.” Laura’s Palmer’s lifeless body wrapped in plastic. The lone survivor of a car crash on Mulholland Drive, injured and wandering into Los Angeles. All were jarring openings that guided film-goers into the strange netherworlds tucked away in otherwise normal big cities and small towns.

Born on Jan. 20, 1946 in Missoula, Mont., Lynch grew up in several states. The son of an English language tutor and a research scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the filmmaker and his family were often on the move, living in Washington, Idaho, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

After graduating high school, Lynch studied at the Museum of Fine arts in Boston. He then attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he created his first film, the 1967 animated short “Six Men Getting Sick.”

In 1977 Lynch directed his first feature film, the cult favorite “Eraserhead,” while attending the American Film Institute. He quickly gained the attention of filmmakers Stanley Kubrick and John Waters. George Lucas even courted Lynch to direct a “Star Wars” film, but he turned down the offer.

Lynch kept busy in the ’80s with “The Elephant Man” in 1980, his controversial and critically-panned take on Frank Herbert’s “Dune” in 1984 and 1986’s “Blue Velvet,” starring Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern. He was nominated for an Oscar for best adapted screenplay and best director for “Elephant Man” and best director for ‘Blue Velvet.”

“This film is a trip into darkness and back out again,” he told The Times of ‘Blue Velvet. “There are things lurking in the world and within us that we have to deal with. You can evade them for a while, for a long time maybe, but if you face them and name them, they start losing their power. Once you name the enemy, you can deal with it a lot better.”

In 1989, Lynch reunited with MacLachlan for ABC’s iconic “Twin Peaks,” which he co-created with Mark Frost. MacLachlan starred as coffee-enthusiast and FBI special agent Dale Cooper. From Lynch’s atmospheric and eerie depiction of Washington state came some of pop culture’s most recognizable moments — including Michael J. Anderson’s dance in the red chevron-floored room.

The original “Twin Peaks” series ran for two seasons before ending in June 1991. Just months before the show’s cancellation, Lynch, dead-panned about keeping the show alive during an interview with David Letterman.

“If it has to end, that’s alright. But if it doesn’t have to end, that’s even better,” he said. “And I’m asking people to write to Bob Iger, the president of ABC.”

Lynch revisited his “Twin Peaks” empire with the film 1992 film “Fire Walk with Me” and Showtime’s “Twin Peaks: The Return” in 2017.

From “Twin Peaks” also stemmed his longtime partnerships with late musicians Badalamenti and Julee Cruise, who both died in 2022.

Some of Lynch’s turn-of-the-century works included the films “Lost Highway,” “The Straight Story” and “Mulholland Drive.”

The mystery film, which starred Laura Harring and Naomi Watts, earned Lynch the director award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and an Oscar nomination for best director in 2002.

His final film was “Inland empire,” a 2006 surrealistic thriller that was filmed as it was being written.

Later in life Lynch brought his talents to other mediums, directing music videos, pursuing his own musical projects or exhibiting abstract art.

Among his various side projects was the series of “Weather Reports,” which he started in 2008 and revisited on YouTube during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Predictably quirky, Lynch would stare at the camera, give the date, the temperature — in both Fahrenheit and Celsius — and then a general description of the weather. “It’s cloudy and there’s quite a breeze, Have a good day.”

“There’s a connection between music, film, painting, writing, everything,” Lynch told The Times in 1999. “I guess the more [things] you’re into, the more they’re going to help each other.”

The director was also a vocal supporter of transcendental meditation. In 2005, he founded the David Lynch Foundation, which seeks to promote transcendental meditation among “at-risk populations” to “improve their health, cognitive capabilities and performance in life.”

Lynch was married several times. He and artist Peggy Reavey married in 1968 and divorced in 1974. Three years later he married Mary Fisk — that marriage lasted 10 years. In 2006 Lynch and filmmaker Mary Sweeney wed and divorced. Lynch married actor Emily Stofle in 2009. He had three children, Jennifer, Austin and Riley.

In 2019 Lynch received an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards. He accepted the honor from “Blue Velvet” stars Dern and Maclachlan with a speech in true Lynchian fashion.

“To the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, thank you for this honor, and to all the people who helped me along the road. Congratulations to all the other honorees tonight. And everyone, have a great night.” he said, before looking at his Oscar. “You have a very interesting face. Goodnight!”

Lynch is survived by his wife and three children. Representatives for the David Lynch Foundation did not immediately respond Thursday to The Times’ requests for comment.

Timothée Chalamet Got $79 Fine After Riding Bike To ‘A Complete Unknown’ London Premiere

After the Oscar nominee arrived to Tuesday’s London premiere of A Complete Unknown on a Lime bike, he revealed he was slapped with a £65 (roughly $79) fine for incorrectly parking the ride.

“It’s ecological!” explained Chalamet on the French talk show Quotidien of why he hopped the bike. “It was horrible, because it was actually kind of an advert for them.”

He noted that he opted out of taking a car to the BFI Southbank premiere due to a traffic jam.

Chalamet’s bike ride comes after he earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance as Bob Dylan in writer/director James Mangold’s biopic A Complete Unknown.

Now playing in theaters, the biopic follows an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota who arrives in NYC in 1961 with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music. He forges intimate relationships with music icons of Greenwich Village on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking and controversial performance that reverberates worldwide.

A Complete Unknown also stars Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, Will Harrison as Bob Neuwirth and more.

Chalamet previously told Deadline on the red carpet of the film’s Los Angeles premiere of working with Norton on their portrayals, “We were like a menace to Jim because we were always trying to sneak stuff in and honor these amazing artists. My favorite thing about Edward in the production of this movie and also after this, is he really wanted to honor the spirit of Bob — who is alive and well — and Pete Seeger through this press, and not compromise why we’re ultimately there, the sort of pure values that you kind of have to when you’re putting a movie out there. But I think Edward’s always been very clear-sighted about that.”

Bob Uecker, Hall of Famer and legendary broadcaster, dies at 90

For a backup catcher with limited physical talent, Bob Uecker enjoyed a larger-than-life career in baseball and beyond due, in large part, to an uncanny ability to laugh at himself.

Uecker, a baseball icon, television and movie funnyman and Hall of Fame Milwaukee Brewers radio announcer, died Thursday at the age of 90, the Brewers announced on social media.

Known affectionately as “Mr. Baseball,” Uecker hit just .200 for his career and played only six seasons. Yet his infectious personality made him a valued teammate in the clubhouse, even if he wasn’t contributing much on the field.

Despite all the jokes about his playing career, Uecker was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, a team led by Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson, that won the World Series in 1964.

Uecker reached the majors in 1962 as a 28-year-old rookie catcher with his hometown Milwaukee Braves. He played two seasons in Milwaukee before being traded to the Cardinals in 1964. He was traded twice more before his career ended, to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1965 and then back to the Braves, who by then in 1967 had moved to Atlanta.

Over 843 plate appearances in six seasons, Uecker hit .200/.293/.287 with 14 home runs and 74 RBI. While offense wasn’t his strong suit, he wasn’t very good defensively either. In 1967, he led the National League in both passed balls (27) and errors by a catcher (11).

To be fair, his frequent batterymate on that Braves team was knuckleballer Phil Niekro, who provided the basis for one of Uecker’s many memorable quotes.

When asked the secret to catching a knuckleball, Uecker replied matter-of-factly, “I wait until it stops rolling and go pick it up.”

Not long after his playing career ended, Uecker joined the Brewers radio broadcast team, where his folksy style and self-deprecating humor made him an almost instant hit with fans. The 2024 season marked Uecker’s 54th as a Brewers broadcaster.

Uecker became known to millions more from his appearances on NBC’s “Tonight Show” with host Johnny Carson. Starting in 1971, he appeared approximately 100 times as a guest on the show, frequently cracking up Carson with his deadpan delivery.

“Sporting goods companies would pay me not to endorse their products,” he once quipped.

Uecker’s popularity help land him a starring role in the situation comedy “Mr. Belvedere.” Uecker played the role of sportswriter and family patriarch George Owens on the show, which ran on ABC television from 1985 to 1990.

Uecker’s personality also made him a perfect pitchman in a series of immensely popular beer commercials for Miller Lite starting in the 1980s.

Among the ads’ stable of current and former sports stars, Uecker stood out for his comedic timing and his ability to deliver iconic lines.

Perhaps the most famous one came when he’s seen at a ballpark watching a baseball game. When an usher comes along and asks him to move out of his seat, Uecker exclaims excitedly, “I must be in the front row!”

However, he turns out to be not quite as important as he thinks and finds himself in perhaps the worst seat in the stadium, far away from the action. As a result, a new term for the so-called nosebleed section of a stadium was born: “Uecker seats.”

In fact, a plaque and life-size figure of Uecker were placed on the last row of Section 422 in Milwaukee’s American Family Field (then Miller Park) in 2014 in commemoration.

Uecker continued to broadcast Brewers games, even as he was expanding his portfolio as an actor.

Occasionally, the two merged into one.

Uecker was cast as baseball play-by-play announcer Harry Doyle in the 1989 movie “Major League,” giving an over-the-top performance that was largely ad-libbed.

Among his memorable lines: “Heywood crushes one towards South America!”

And after an incredibly wild pitch that was all but impossible for the catcher to grab: “Jussssst a bit outside!”

Uecker was so popular in the role that he returned five years later to reprise the role in 1994’s “Major League 2” and again in 1998’s “Major League: Back to the Minors.”

In addition to many television guest appearances and voiceover cameos as himself, Uecker hosted a syndicated sports blooper show called “Bob Uecker’s Wacky World of Sports” that ran from 1985-96, and another called “Bob Uecker’s War of the Stars.”

At the center of everything, baseball was still the sun around which Uecker revolved.

He relished being at the ballpark and he was dedicated in his pregame preparation.

In addition to his duties with the Brewers, Uecker was also part of ABC’s “Monday Night Baseball” broadcast team in the 1970s and early 80s, along with host Warner Wolf and play-by-play announcer Bob Prince.

In the 1990s, he moved to NBC, teaming up with play-by-play man Bob Costas and analyst Joe Morgan.

Although he began to reduce the number of games he called for the Brewers in 2014 due to health issues, he continued through the 2024 season, his 54th consecutive with the club.

With his signature home run call of “Get up! Get outta here! Gone!” Uecker was named Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year five times by the National Sports Media Association. He was later inducted into the organization’s hall of fame in 2011.

And in perhaps the ultimate irony, Robert Eugene Uecker — a .200 career hitter with 14 home runs — was inducted into Cooperstown in 2003, when he received the Ford Frick Award, given out annually to a broadcaster by the Baseball Hall of Fame for “major contributions to baseball.”

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Universal Music Group calls Drake’s lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar song ‘illogical’

Rapper Drake has sued Universal Music Group for defamation over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” in what the music corporation is calling an unreasonable motion.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges UMG — the parent record label for Drake and Lamar — published and promoted the track even though it included false pedophilia allegations against Drake and suggested listeners should resort to vigilante justice. Lamar is not named in the suit.

The lawsuit claims that the messages in “Not Like Us” led to intruders shooting a security guard and two attempted break-ins at Drake’s Toronto home. Other results, the suit alleges, include online hate and harassment, a hit to Drake’s reputation and a decrease in his brand’s value before his contract renegotiation with UMG this year.

“The lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the lawsuit says, referring to Lamar. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous.”

The suit later alleges, “UMG did so because it understood that the Recording’s inflammatory and shocking allegations were a gold mine.”

And, the suit claims, the music company has made large investments and used its connections to arrange for “Not Like Us” to be performed at next month’s Super Bowl, where Lamar will be the halftime entertainment.

The lawsuit, which is seeking a trial and an undisclosed amount of money for damages, also repeated allegations in other legal filings that UMG falsely pumped up the popularity of “Not Like Us” on streaming services.

The track topped the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of May 18, 2024 and stayed on the chart for 35 weeks. “Not Like Us” is nominated for five Grammys, including record of the year and song of the year.

“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical,” a spokesperson for UMG said in a statement sent to MassLive.

“We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success,” the spokesperson continued. “Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”

UMG emphasized that the corporation does not engage in defamation against any individual and plans to “vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more than write a song.”

The feud between Drake, a 38-year-old Canadian rapper and singer and five-time Grammy winner whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, and Lamar, a 37-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner, is among the biggest in hip-hop in recent years, with two of the genre’s biggest stars at its center.

The two were occasional collaborators more than a decade ago, but Lamar began taking public jabs at Drake starting in 2013. The fight escalated steeply last year.

Drake’s lawyers, from New York-based Willkie Farr & Gallagher, said the lawsuit seeks to hold UMG accountable for knowingly promoting false and defamatory allegations against him. They said the shooting and break-in attempts at Drake’s home, and the online vitriol, prompted him to move his family out of the house, and that he fears for his and their safety.

“Beginning on May 4, 2024 and every day since, UMG has used its massive resources as the world’s most powerful music company to elevate a dangerous and inflammatory message that was designed to assassinate Drake’s character, and led to actual violence at Drake’s doorstep,” the law firm said in a statement.

“This lawsuit reveals the human and business consequences to UMG’s elevation of profits over the safety and well-being of its artists, and shines a light on the manipulation of artists and the public for corporate gain,” it said.

Representatives for Lamar did not respond to emails seeking comment.

‘Wolf Man’ review: Like father, like son in a grim and serious horror remake

Fans of “SCTV” may remember a “Monster Chiller Horror Theatre” episode in which Joe Flaherty’s late-night host, Count Floyd, mistakenly programs a made-up Ingmar Bergman film, “Whispers of the Wolf,” thinking it’s a simple werewolf picture instead of a moody, existential mashup of Bergman’s “Hour of the Wolf” and “Persona.”

The new “Wolf Man” from Universal Pictures and co-writer/director Leigh Whannell may likewise provoke some puzzled Count Floyd-esque looks of confusion among horror fans. Not that it’s a failure or a joke. Whannell, whose bracing, sharp-edged 2020 remake of “The Invisible Man” ushered us into the cold-creeps COVID era, makes genre films for a wide audience, adults included. He doesn’t play these Universal franchise reboots for kicks.

In “Wolf Man,” he really doesn’t. The results are equal parts marital crisis, sins-of-the-father psychodrama and visceral body horror. They’re also a bit of a plod — especially in the second half, when whatever kind of horror film you’re making should not, you know, plod.

The first half is crafty, patient and deceptively good. A 1990s prologue introduces young Blake (Christopher Abbott) and his surly father, venturing into a remote corner of the Oregon woods (New Zealand portrays Oregon) on a hunting expedition. They live nearby; Blake has yet to hear about the rumored “face of the wolf” creature sharing the same woods that First Nation tribes have feared for centuries. Protecting his son in a shrewdly staged attack, the father disappears into the woods, presumed dead.

Thirty years later in present-day San Francisco, Blake is an unemployed writer and full-time caregiver, married to workaholic journalist Charlotte (Julia Garner). She’s stress incarnate, envious of her husband’s close emotional bond with their daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth). With the arrival of his long-missing father’s death certificate, Blake inherits the rural Oregon house. For the sake of the troubled family, Charlotte agrees to spend some time with Ginger in this place.

From there, the movie narrows its geographic parameters, transforming into a close-quarters drama of three people in an old dark house, surrounded by lots of shrewdly designed sounds and beset by a werewolf stalking the visitors like it means business. Once Blake suffers a flesh wound at the hands of this predator, Whannell’s devotion to, among other films, David Cronenberg’s “The Fly” becomes apparent. “Wolf Man” delves into the fractured psyche and grotesque physical disintegration of a man stricken with an animal-borne virus, terrified of what it’s doing to him and what he may end up doing to those he loves. In other words, it’s a movie about every indignity an unemployed writer must suffer, lycanthropy included.

Even when her character takes a more urgent role in this hermetic story, the excellent Garner doesn’t have much to play outside a parade of slow-roll nonverbal shots of Charlotte peering this way and that, taking charge of a rapidly dissolving situation but never really getting her due. (The script is by Whannell and his partner Corbett Tuck.) “Wolf Man’s” seriousness is heavy going. Its leitmotif sticks, doggedly, to the idea of transmutable, unholy fears, and sins of the fathers, transmitted like a virus down the family line. A rare in-joke pops up on the side of the moving van Blake rents to clear out his father’s house: The company has been in business since 1941, the slogan notes, taking us back to the year Universal made hay with Lon Chaney Jr. in “The Wolf Man.”

That was neither the first nor the last werewolf movie. This one, originally slated for Ryan Gosling and director Derek Cianfrance, goes about its business with a solemn air, even when it’s super-blechy and Abbott is chewing on his own forearm for obvious reasons: an unemployed writer’s gotta eat.

“Wolf Man” — 2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for bloody violent content, grisly images and some language)