Christina Ricci: I was threatened with a lawsuit after refusing sex scene

Andrew Wallenstein President and Chief Media Analyst A smart TV may be the biggest technological investment you make in your home. Yet it’s not being used approximately 20 hours per day. That strikes Daniel Rausch, VP of entertainment devices and services at Amazon, as an opportunity for the brand he oversees at the tech giant: Fire TV, which allows consumers to stream video to their living-room screen either in the form of small devices that plug into that screen or in the TV set itself, whether manufactured by a partner like Hisense or Amazon. But to take advantage of all that unused screen time, Rausch doesn’t just want the 200 million Fire TV-branded devices and TV sets he’s sold to date worldwide to be the best portal for serving up Netflix or Disney Plus; he believes Fire TV can be the hub for a smart-home experience that does a lot more than just provide access to entertainment.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s not HBO Max — soon it’s just going to be Max. Warner Bros. Discovery officially announced Max as the new name of its flagship streamer, lopping off the HBO part of the name as it mixes in a big bucket of new content from Discovery+ and other new original series. The company announced the name change at a press event Wednesday. The rebuilt Max (on the web at max.com) is set to launch first in the U.S. on May 23, featuring what the company promises will be an average of more than 40 new titles and TV show seasons every month. “Max is the one to watch,” WBD CEO David Zaslav said on stage at the event, with thousands of shows and movies on the service.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery finally revealed the plans (and confirmed the long-rumored name) for its new streaming service, Max, which will combine offerings from HBO Max and Discovery+ into one product, during a splashy press presentation on the Warner Bros. Studio lot Wednesday. The event kicked off at 10 a.m. at the iconic Burbank location, presided over by WBD CEO David Zaslav, president and CEO of global streaming and games JB Perrette, HBO and HBO Max CEO and chairman Casey Bloys (who now also has oversight of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network), and U.S. networks group chairman and chief content officer Kathleen Finch. Variety is on the scene, ready to fill you in on all the details about the new streamer, Warner Bros. Discovery’s direct-to-consumer strategy, the future of HBO and the standalone version of Discovery+.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Billy Porter is preparing to portray the author and civil rights activist James Baldwin in an upcoming biopic. He will also co-write the untitled movie with Dan McCabe, which will be adapted from the 1994 book “James Baldwin: A Biography” by David Leeming. An emeritus professor of English at the University of Connecticut, Leeming was well versed in Baldwin as his friend of 25 years as well as his assistant. Porter says it has been a career-long dream to tell the story of Baldwin on film. Born in Harlem in 1924, Baldwin was a Black gay writer whose influential works include “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Notes of a Native Son” and “If Beale Street Could Talk.” In addition to writing, Baldwin fought for racial justice in the U.S. civil rights movement. In Leeming’s book, he’s described as a “complex, troubled, driven, and brilliant man” who has a “gift for compassion and love.”

Emily Longeretta “Buddy Games,” a reality competition inspired by Josh Duhamel’s real-life tradition with his friends, has been given a series order at CBS. “Being able to bring ‘Buddy Games’ to CBS is truly a dream come true for me,” Dakota Kid Productions founder Duhamel, who will host and executive produce the series, said. “This is something my buddies and I have wanted to share with the world for a long time as we knew there was a relatability to it with other people doing similar things to strengthen their friendships. For me, getting to executive produce and host ‘Buddy Games’ while observing these groups of friends let loose and become part of this big family has been an honor and will be a lot of fun for viewers to watch.”

Todd Gilchrist editor “Fair to middling” is how Angie Dickinson is feeling this morning as she talks about “Rio Bravo,” the 1959 film that made her a star. “Somebody who says they’re great at 90, you can figure out that they lie a lot.” It’s a line that could have come straight from Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett’s script for the film — and a reminder that Dickinson’s gift for delivery isn’t dependent on working with a brilliant director, though she has many times in her seven-decade career. Dickinson has more then 350 screen credits — an enormous body of work that includes “Ocean’s Eleven” (the 1960 original), “Point Blank” and “Dressed to Kill.” She’s set to appear April 13 at the TCM Film Festival to introduce a 4K restoration of Howard Hawks’ classic Western, whose boys’ club cast of John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Walter Brennan she breaks up with that same brisk humor. Ahead of the event, Dickinson speaks with Variety about catching the acting bug after spying Frank Sinatra (later a lifelong friend) on the set of “The Jimmy Durante Show,” working with Brian De Palma, and other highlights from a lifetime of memories.

H.E.L.P. Since then, she has appeared in the likes of The Addams Family, Casper, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, Wednesday and, most recently, the TV series Yellowjackets.Ricci recently took part in an interview discussing the latter on The View, during which she spoke about the actors who play the younger versions of the characters in the show.

Christina Ricci revealed she was threatened with a lawsuit after objecting to participate in a sex scene.  The "Yellowjackets" star opened up about the shocking moment while discussing how the dynamic in Hollywood has changed since she first started her acting career.  "It's really great. Us older ladies talk about it all the time. It's amazing to see that they don't necessarily have to go through the things we had to go through.They're able to say, 'I don't want to do this sex scene,' 'I'm not going to be naked,'" Ricci explained during an appearance on "The View."  "They can set boundaries for themselves that we were never allowed to do.

Christina Ricci is happy to say things have improved for young women in Hollywood.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Christina Ricci revealed on a recent episode of “The View” (via Entertainment Weekly) that she once got threatened over refusing to perform a sex scene in a certain way. The “Yellowjackets” star was asked by the talk show’s hosts how film and television sets have changed over the years for young woman, to which she said they’re heard more clearly when they state their boundaries. “It’s really great,” Ricci said. “Us older ladies talk about it all the time. It’s amazing to see that they don’t necessarily have to go through the things we had to go through. They’re able to say, ‘I don’t want to do this sex scene,’ ‘I’m not going to be naked.’ They can set boundaries for themselves that we were never allowed to do.”

Christina Ricci says the entertainment business has really changed over the years.

Christina Ricci is looking back on her time as a child star.

Christina Ricci looked back on some of her earliest days in the limelight during a new interview.

 are well aware, there was no woodland fairytale to follow. The first full trailer for season two of the hit drama, which follows a high school girls’ soccer team whose plane crashes and the present-day lives of those who survived their 19-month sojourn in the woods, is officially here—and things are looking bleak.In the sophomore season’s present-day storyline, stars , Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, and Tawny Cypress are still carrying the “darkness” the teenage versions of themselves—played by Sophie Nélisse, Samantha Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, and Tawny Cypress, respectively—grappled with decades earlier. There are also several new arrivals to the show this year, including Lauren Ambrose as adult goalie Van, who is played in the past by Liv Hewson; Jason Ritter (Lynskey’s real-life husband) in an undisclosed role; and Elijah Wood as Walter, who connects with Ricci’s Misty over their shared passion for citizen detective work.Then there is the entrance of adult Lottie Simone Kessell (played by Courtney Eaton in the past), whose delicate mental state amidst withdrawal from antipsychotic medication emboldens her to become an Antler Queen.

“Once upon a time, there was a place called the wilderness…”

Julia MacCary editor Showtime has released the trailer for Season 2 of the Emmy-nominated series “Yellowjackets,” which is accompanied by Florence + the Machine’s new cover of No Doubt’s 1995 hit “Just a Girl.” The psychological horror series follows a high school soccer team that survives a plane crash in 1996, only to be left deep in the Canadian woods. Through a mix of flashbacks and present day, the show depicts how the athletes transitioned from an elite team into a savage clan. The second season picks up two months after Shauna disregarded Jackie with bad results. The tensions have grown within the team with winter conditions intensifying, leaving the girls to make impossible decisions to survive.

The trailer for season 2 of Yellowjackets has finally debuted online and it’s teasing three timelines this season!

is the hit survival drama that unfolds over two timelines: one in the past, when the high school soccer team’s plane crashed in the northern wilderness, forcing the stranded teenage girls to do anything to survive; and another in the present, picking up with four adults, who managed to make it out alive nearly 25 years earlier. After an explosive debut, which earned seven Emmy nominations, Showtime renewed the series from creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson for another season. And as anticipation builds, here’s everything we know about season 2, including the first official look at newest cast members Elijah Wood and Lauren Ambrose, as well as the extended trailer, teasing what's to come in the new episodes. Season 1 starred an ensemble cast, with Melanie Lynskey and Sophie Nélisse as the adult and teenage versions of Shauna, respectively; Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown as the adult and teenage versions of Taissa; Juliette Lewis and Sophie Thatcher as the adult and teenage versions of Natalie; as well as Christina Ricci and Sammi Hanratty as the adult and teenage versions of Misty.Other initial survivors included assistant coach Ben Scott (Steven Krueger), the late coach’s two sons, Travis (Kevin Alves) and Javi (Luciano Leroux), as well as team members Jackie (Ella Purnell), Van (Liv Hewson), Lottie aka the Antler Queen (Courtney Eaton), Akliah (Keeya King), Laura (Jane Widdop) and Mari (Alexa Barajas). While Laura died trying to take off in a small prop plane early on and Jackie froze to death during the season 1 finale, fan-favorite Van survived being mauled by a wolf.

Showtime has dropped another trailer for season two of Yellowjackets, which will return for its second season Friday, March 24 on streaming and on demand for subscribers. It’ll make its on-air debut Sunday, March 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.  

Yellowjackets was a nostalgic-tinged thriller which turned out to be one of the 2022’s breakout TV successes.The show is principally set in 1996, and tells the story of a high school girls soccer team whose plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness en route to the national championships. Some of the team die in the crash, though most of them survive.

Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” was best known for starring as Wednesday Addams in “The Addams Family” 1991 movie and its 1993 sequel, as well as films such as “Sleepy Hollow” and “Prozac Nation.” An “It” girl for most of that decade who gave irreverent interviews referencing death and eating disorders, she told Rolling Stone, “I could have handled [fame] in a way that was less teenage … I always go too far. I never realize how awful a thing I’m saying is until someone else is like, ‘What the f–k?’“I was a bit of a dickhead.” In 1999, when she was 19, Ricci graced the cover of Rolling Stone in pink lingerie.