Category: 5. Entertainment

Blake Lively has secured a significant legal victory in her ongoing courtroom clash with It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni.

According to Page Six, a federal judge ruled in Lively’s favour on Friday, August 8, granting her motion to strike her recent deposition transcript from the public docket as he slammed Baldoni’s team for uploading it in the first place.

The deposition, which took place last week in New York, saw Baldoni’s lawyers question the Gossip Girl alum about sexual harassment claims she made in her lawsuit, as well as accusations that Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign against her.

Baldoni, 41, was present during the proceedings.

Lively’s legal team argued that attorneys for Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios uploaded the nearly 300-page transcript purely to fuel a media narrative, noting there was “no plausible legal reason to do so.”

Judge Lewis J. Liman strongly agreed, stressing that “the Court has not only the power but also the responsibility to step in.”

Liman wrote that the filing “served no proper litigation purpose” and appeared intended to “invite public speculation and scandal.”

“The Wayfarer Parties have not even attempted to argue that the entire deposition was relevant. Nor could they,” the judge stated, calling the excessive, irrelevant pages “gratuitous.”

Lively, 37, is suing Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment on the film’s set, as well as his publicists for allegedly spreading damaging falsehoods.

Baldoni has denied all allegations, but his countersuit against Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds was dismissed in June.

The case heads to trial in March 2026.

“Weapons,” a twisty horror film about a group of missing children, and “Freakier Friday,” a body swap comedy, delivered a potent one-two punch at the box office this weekend, lifting ticket sales as summer movie season draws to a close.

The films captured the top two spots on the charts, with “Weapons” debuting to $42.5 million and “Freakier Friday” premiering to $29 million. Last weekend’s champ, Disney and Marvel’s “Fantastic Four: The First Steps,” surrendered its box office crown, earning $15.5 million in its third weekend of release for a third place finish. After starting strong with a $117.6 million bow, “Fantastic Four” has plummeted in subsequent weekends, falling more than 67% in its sophomore frame and another 60% over the past weekend. The superhero film has grossed $230 million domestically and will likely earn less money that “Superman,” the latest comic book adaptation from its rival DC Films.

“Weapons” extends a hot streak for Warner Bros., which released the film through its New Line label. The studio started 2025 with bombs like “Mickey 17” and “The Alto Knights,” but regained its stride with last spring’s “Sinners” and “A Minecraft Movie” and this summer’s “Superman.” Made for $38 million, “Weapons” is writer-director Zach Cregger’s follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Barbarian,” which was released by 20th Century Studios in 2022 and earned a solid $45.4 million. Cregger’s latest film stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan. Its success should catapult him to the top of the filmmaking ranks; Cregger has already been enlisted to reboot “Resident Evil.”

Disney released “Freakier Friday,” a follow-up to the hit 2003 film “Freaky Friday,” bringing back original stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter who trade places. With a production budget of $42 million, the family film is off to a strong start. Both “Weapons” and “Freakier Friday” benefitted from strong reviews and word-of-mouth, earning an “A-” and an “A” grade from CinemaScore, respectively. That could set them up nicely for repeat business over the coming weeks.

In fourth place, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Bad Guys 2″ picked up $10.4 million in its sophomore outing, a 53% from its opening. That will push the animated sequel’s domestic total to $43.4 million. Its predecessor ended its run with $97 million in North America.

And “The Naked Gun,” the final release of Paramount’s old regime after the studio’s acquisition by Skydance closed earlier this week, rounded out the top five. The action satire, which stars Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, picked up $8.3 million in its second weekend, bringing its North American haul to $33 million.

Among other new wide releases, Angel Studios, which specializes in faith-based programming, premiered the fantasy comedy “Sketch” to $2.5 million.

The communal experience of seeing movies in theaters was on full display at the weekend box office as audiences across the country screeched, screamed and hollered together when watching New Line’s original horror pic Weapons.

Thanks to winning over critics and audiences alike, director Zach Cregger’s buzzy movie came in more than $10 million ahead of expectations to win the weekend with $42.5 million in yet another notable victory for New Line and parent company Warner Bros., as well as for original stories. Overseas, it took in a winning $27.5 million for a terrifyingly great global debut of $70 million.

That wasn’t the only freakishly good headline of the weekend. In a double win for the late-summer box office, Disney’s body-swapping comedy Freakier Friday landed on the high end of expectations with a $29 million domestic start to come in second and become the top August opening ever for a PG-rated pic (or G-rated film for that matter). Overseas, it launched to $15.5 million for a global bow of $45 million — the exact cost of its modest $45 million budget before marketing.

And, just as Weapons is a boost for the challenged horror genre, the Freaky Friday sequel is the second win in a row for big-screen studio comedies, which have become an endangered species in the streaming era.

Both films ran circles around Disney and Marvel’s superhero tentpole The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which suffered another steep drop in its second week, falling roughly 60 percent to an estimated $15 million for a troubled domestic total of $229 million.

Heading into the weekend, prerelease tracking showed Weapons and Freakier Friday opening in the $25 million to $30 million range, but the former quickly pulled ahead after landing an impressive 96 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore from audiences, an almost unheard of grade for a horror pic. Rival studios say Warners’ marketing campaign was nothing short of brilliant.

The creepy R-rated Weapons was the subject of a heated bidding war when the package hit the market. New Line and Warners prevailed over rivals after plunking down $38 million, including a $10 million payday for Cregger, who made waves with his debut feature film, 2022’s Barbarian, which he both wrote and directed.

Weapons stars Julia Garner as a teacher who learns that 17 of the 18 children in her classroom simultaneously got out of bed and ran off into the night at the exact same time, 2:17 a.m. Josh Brolin plays a grieving father who is intent on finding his missing child, and is suspicious that the young teacher had something to do with it. Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams and Amy Madigan also star in Weapons, which is playing in coveted Imax auditoriums. All told, Imax and other premium large-format screens turned in a huge 34 percent of the opening gross.

Freakier Friday — reuniting Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis 23 years after Freaky Friday became a cult classic — is an audience favorite, earning a perfect A CinemaScore. And its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 93 percent, versus 89 percent for Weapons (the latter’s audience score is 89 percent). The Freaky Friday sequel is the first event pic in weeks to target girls and women, and is also benefiting from the nostalgia factor. A fun tidbit: the 2003 film popped up on the top 10 list of the most-watched films on Disney+ in the last two weeks.

Directed by Nisha Ganatra, the movie picks up after the events of the first film, when Lohan’s character, Anna, swapped bodies with her mother, Tess, played by Curtis. This time around, in a multigenerational twist, they find themselves swapping places with, respectively, the daughter and soon-to-be stepdaughter of Anna. Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Manny Jacinto, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Rosalind Chao, Chad Michael Murray, Vanessa Bayer and Mark Harmon also star.

The Freaky Friday franchise, which also includes a 1976 film, is based on the book by Mary Rodgers. Disney has enjoyed great success in tapping into nostalgia and luring young adults in their 20s and 30s who grew up on its library of films. For example, it’s live-action tentpole Lilo & Stitch, based on the 2002 animated film, is the only Hollywood pic of 2025 so far to clear the $1 billion milestone after attracting both families and non-parents.

Last weekend, Paramount’s R-rated Naked Gun comedy first bucked the trend in opening to nearly $17 million domestically. While that film is considered more of a straight-up comedy, versus a family comedy such as Freakier Friday, it is good news for all that they both work. It held up well in its second weekend, dropping only 50 percent to $8.4 million for a domestic cume of $33 million.

More to come.

Main Manto Nahi Hoon is ARY Digital’s high-budget drama series directed by Nadeem Baig. The production is a collaboration between Six Sigma Plus Productions and Next Level Entertainment, with the screenplay written by Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar. Filming took place in Lahore, and the drama has a large ensemble cast that is attracting significant attention from fans.

In recent episodes of Main Manto Nahi Hoon, Mehmal’s fiancé Mikaal has been making headlines on social media. Many viewers are praising his acting, character, looks, and demeanor, with some even rooting for him as the perfect wedding match for Mehmal, hoping she ends up with him in the story. Naturally, fans are curious to know more about the actor who plays Mikaal:

Durab Khalil’s Showbiz Career
Durab Khalil is playing the character of Mehmal’s fiancée from Haweli Lakhaan Wala. He began his showbiz career with the drama series Laal Ishq, which aired in 2017 as a sequel to Landa Bazar. The show featured a star cast including Babar Ali, Saba Hamid, Anzela Abbasi, and Faysal Mehmood. His role as Meher Punaar received significant acclaim. He later appeared in Kaaf Kangna and has also directed a few short films.

Durab Khalil’s Parents and Background
Durab Khalil, who plays Mikaal in Main Manto Nahi Hoon, is the eldest son of renowned Pakistani film and television writer Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar. Durab Khalil is son from his first marriage. He hails from Punjab, Pakistan. He has talented siblings and his sister is happily married.

Durab Khalil’s Marital Status
Durab Khalil tied the knot in January 2022 in Lahore. His wedding was attended by several popular Pakistani celebrities, including Reema Khan.

Durab Khalil’s Children
In November 2022, Durab Khalil became the father of an adorable son. The news was shared publicly by his father, Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar.

Viewers’ Remarks
Fans loved his pairing with Sajal and also admired his screen presence and role:

Durab Khalil Pictures from MMNH

Durab Khalil doesn’t share much about his personal life. Here are some pictures of Mikaal from Main Manto Nahi Hoon:

Jennifer Lopez is seemingly committed to looking her absolute best.

Reportedly, the songbird has been basking in hot girl summer post Ben Affleck divorce.

According to a Star Magazine insider, she has been spending a small fortune on the ultimate beauty dream team who follow her around day and night.

While the On the Floor singer, who has just turned 56, has always had her hairstylist on hand for red carpets to “smooth every flyaway,” that role is now a much more permanent fixture.

“She gets her makeup done professionally every morning as well,” a tipster tattled.

They went on to address, “She has multiple people on each team so they can have time off.”

Her glam squad doesn’t stop there, it reportedly includes a facialist, a masseuse, and personal trainers, and they are “so close to her” they’re practically “family,” as per this insider.

“Every morning her masseuse gives her a full-body lymphatic drainage massage. She gets some sort of facial treatment daily,” the insider continued and noted, “She has all the latest gadgets in her home spa. You never see her going out to one – she has it all at home.”

Reportedly for Jennifer Lopez personal trainers are another “key part” of the operation.

“She’s got them on staff too so she can fit in multiple workouts a day, whenever it slots into her jam-packed schedule,” they added.

 “They’re all at the top of their game,” the source also revealed  and  added that their hourly rates are “astronomical.”

 “These people are on call day and night, even between shows, to make sure every inch of her is flawless,” they declared. 

Before conclusion, the source reasoned, “But she earns $40 million annually, so it doesn’t even make a dent – plus, it’s a business expense.”

Dreamville Records cofounder and J. Cole’s manager, Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad, has dismissed speculation that the label was sold, clarifying that its recent financial windfall came from the closure of its partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG), not a buyout.

“For those that misunderstood, we did not sell Dreamville lol. Never will, never would,” Hamad wrote on Twitter. “We ended our Dreamville partnership with UMG and some blessings came with that. When blessings come your way, it’s only right to share those blessings with the family. Just some clarity.”

Rumors of a sale began after label artists JID and Bas publicly discussed receiving substantial payouts when the UMG deal ended. Speaking to Elliott Wilson and on The Joe Budden Podcast, Bas revealed that Cole distributed the proceeds among the Dreamville roster.

JID praised the move as “one of the most beautiful things in hip-hop,” adding that it’s rare for artists to benefit financially when a label partnership concludes. He noted that some members could walk away from music entirely and still be financially secure, calling Cole’s gesture unusually selfless in an industry he described as “predatory.”

Bas echoed that sentiment, framing the distribution as proof of Cole’s commitment to the artists he works with.

While the financial details remain undisclosed, Hamad’s statement makes clear that Dreamville remains independent and under Cole’s leadership. The label continues to operate actively, including promoting JID’s new album and working with its roster on upcoming projects.

Sex and the City, a hit series created by HBO, faced possible cancellation after its first season, according to Kristin Davis, who starred as Charlotte York.

The revelation comes on the actress’s recent appearance on Hey Dude… The 90s Called!, which the star shared she, too, recently learned about the discussions of possible cancellation at the time.

“It was kind of, you know, from a production standpoint, like, an unwieldy show,” she explained the reasons the studio entertained axing the series. 

“We were shooting really fast. We were shooting in so many locations in New York City, which is not easy, as we know. We didn’t really have sets.”

“That was the great part of it, but I guess they were stressing over there at HBO about it,” Kristin shared of the show’s filming on the New York City streets.

“We were talking about stuff that you don’t normally talk about,” she noted. “It wasn’t necessarily for men. It was more from the female perspective and the female gaze, but yet also there were a lot of salacious storylines obviously, especially first season.”

But Sex and the City became a hit, which ended these talks and led to a six-season run. Similarly, the impact of the show on New York City, particularly on its women was significant as Sarah Jessica Parker, who played Samantha, recently shared.

“About a year into the show airing, I could see evidence of the way it was impacting New York City,” the actress said on the Call Her Daddy podcast. 

“You’d see groups of women all of a sudden at tables leaning into each other, not leaning in… which, I can’t stand that phrase. But, I mean, physically, like, clustered.”

Sex and the City also led to a spinoff in And Just Like That, which has three seasons.

The Duke of Sussex is considering starting a new humanitarian charity after a highly publicised dispute led to him leaving his Sentebale charity, a spokesperson has said.

Prince Harry stepped down as patron of the charity in March in support of trustees who resigned in opposition to the board chair, Dr Sophie Chandauka, who previously levelled accusations of bullying and harassment against the royal.

The charity works in Botswana and Lesotho supporting the health and wellbeing of young people, especially those with HIV and Aids.

Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who co-founded Sentebale alongside the duke in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 2006 also stepped down as patron.

The Charity Commission published a report into the episode on Tuesday, criticising all sides for making the fallout public with interviews and statements, but the war of words has continued.

A source said earlier this week that the row had been “emotionally absolutely devastating” for Harry, and described Dr Chandauka’s comments as “nothing short of a hostile takeover”.

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the duke said: “The duke remains absolutely committed to continuing the work he started, supporting the children and young people of Lesotho and Botswana, nearly 20 years ago.

“In what form that support takes – no decisions have been made. All options remain on the table; whether that be starting a new charity or working to support pre-existing charities operating in the same sector in the region.”

The charity regulator, which cannot investigate individual allegations of bullying, said it found no evidence of systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir at the charity but acknowledged “the strong perception of ill treatment” felt by some involved.

The trustees who resigned said in a statement they were “gravely concerned for the future of the charity” as they felt the commission had “chosen to ignore key concerns and irrefutable evidence raised with them regarding the leadership and oversight of Sentebale’s chair”.

In response to the findings, Sentebale said in a statement: “The Charity Commission is explicitly clear, including in its public guidance, that it is not the commission’s responsibility to adjudicate or mediate internal disputes. This would include individual allegations of bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir, etc.

“As a result, the commission has not investigated any individual allegations and therefore has not made any findings in relation to individuals, including Prince Harry. The issues not investigated by the commission can and may be dealt with through avenues more appropriate than the commission.”

BBC

Will Brooks