Illumination’s Chris Meledandri on ‘Super Mario’s’ Chris Pratt Casting Controversy, Importance of Theatrical Releases

After weeks of upward trajectory, LF SYSTEM are heading for their first UK Number 1 this week with Afraid To Feel, which has pulled into pole position in our Official Chart First Look. Discover more about LF SYSTEM in our exclusive chat with the Scottish DJ duo here.

Susana Dosamantes died on Saturday at the age of 74. Dosamantes is the mother of Mexican singer Paulina Rubio.

American Idol has provided us with a ton of talent, from Kelly Clarkson to Carrie Underwood to Jennifer Hudson – but that doesn’t mean they always get it right.

CASA AMOR returns to our screens tonight as the bombshell new girls enter the villa and Dami claims the boys are in trouble. Whilst the girls are away in Casa Amor the boys have remained at the main villa. In tonight's show we will see the boys go outside to be greeted by six new girls.  There could be trouble as Dami appears to be very pleased with the surprise along with Jacques.

Mike Tindall is regularly snapped chatting and laughing with members of the Royal Family, and the former rugby player has formed some close bonds with many royals over the years, including Kate Middleton and Prince William. Mike, 43, married Zara Phillips, Princess Anne's daughter, back in 2011, and he's since proven to be popular among the royals. The dad-of-three, who shares Mia, eight, Lena, four, and one year old Lucas with Zara, 41, previously credited his wife's grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, for making him feel so welcome at the start of his and Zara's romance.

Love Island viewers were left gutted for Antigoni Buxton on Saturday's Unseen Bits as the singer suffered an unfortunate fall while working out with the boys. During the episode, Antigoni, 26, who was later dumped from the ITV2 villa, decided to have a sparring match with fellow contestant Luca Bish.

James Argent has revealed the exact moment Ferne McCann told him that she was engaged to boyfriend Lorri Haines.The TOWIE star, 34, took to Instagram to post a screenshot from his Facetime call with his friend, 31, who can be seen flashing her giant engagement ring. Both reality stars can be seen beaming into the camera and Arg captioned the post with a touching message. He said: "The very moment that one of my closest & most special friends @fernemccann tells me she’s just got engaged to the very lucky @lozzahaines.

The Only Way is Essex star Yazmin Oukhellou has been seriously injured in a car accident in Turkey, and her ex-boyfriend and friend Jake McLean sadly died at the scene, according to reports. According to reports 28 year old Yazmin was travelling in the vehicle with Jake when it left the road and fell over the cliff side. The star was then said to have been rushed to intensive care in hospital and has remained there since the crash.

A number of famous faces were out in force this weekend as they flocked to Silverstone to watch the British Grand Prix get underway, where Lewis Hamilton hopes to scoop another victory this season. Among the celebrity spectators were celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his daughter Holly, who appeared to be loving every minute of the action as the race got underway.

The Only Way Is Essex star Yazmin Oukhellou has been seriously injured in a car crash that has killed her ex-boyfriend Jake McLean, after their car reportedly left the road in Turkey.

After having their music removed from Spotify earlier this year, Crosby, Stills & Nash are back on the streaming service.

Keeping the spark alive. Jamie Chung is opening up about her marriage to Bryan Greenberg after becoming a mom of twins.

Another cutie for Jhené Aiko! The singer and boyfriend Big Sean are reportedly expecting their first child together, her second.

Drake and the Backstreet Boys may have just become the collab we never knew we needed. Drizzy joined BSB on stage during the group's DNA World Tour stop in the rapper's hometown of Toronto, Canada Saturday night to help them perform their hit, «I Want It That Way.»But before lending his vocals to one of the group's most iconic songs, Drake explained why the late '90s hit holds such a special place in his heart.After BSB introduced Drake as the «6th member» of the boyband, the «Texts Go Green» rapper hit Toronto's Budweiser Stage to share that when he was 13, he had a crush on a girl he knew but wasn't sure that the feelings were mutual, till at his Bar Mitzvah, when the girl came up to him and asked him to dance to none other than Backstreet's «I Want It That Way.»Drake, who went on to call the song «one of the greatest songs of all time,» said that moment was the first time in his life he felt like he «had a shot at being cool.»Fans then got a treat when Drake sang along to the song with BSB, and even busted out some of their signature boy band dance moves.Both Drake and the Backstreet Boys shared snippets of the performance on Instagram, with the boy band writing, «What’s better than I Want It That Way? I Want It That Way….

The new batch of Love Island bombshells are set to shake up the famous TV villa tonight (Sunday June 3). Six glamorous ladies will sashay their way into the main villa to get to know the boys after their partners were packed off to the neighbouring Casa Amor.

A video has captured the horrifying moment a car went up in huge flames along a busy main road on Saturday afternoon (July 2). The car, which was parked in the lay-by of the A56, was swallowed by the fire, and was already well alight by the time fire crews arrived.

Former Love Island star Siannise Fudge was in tears after opening up to her online family about her battle with depression and anxiety. The 27-year-old model, who was an Islander in the 2020 winter series of the ITV dating contest, lost two stone after 'suffering behind closed doors.'

Ricky Martin is going through some MAJOR legal troubles right now…

Thania Garcia A judge in Puerto Rico has issued a restraining order against Ricky Martin, police confirmed on July 2.Law enforcement spokesman Axel Valencia told the Associated Press that authorities visited the singer’s upscale neighborhood in the north coastal town of Dorado to serve the order, however, “police haven’t been able to find him.”Because the request was filed under Puerto Rico’s domestic abuse law, it remains unconfirmed who is behind it. Puerto Rican news outlet, El Vocero, reported that it came from someone Martin had dated for seven months.According to the petitioner, Martin has denied their breakup for two months now and he has been seen wandering near their home at least three times.

Directed by Benjamin Renner from a screenplay by Mike White, “Migration” follows a family of ducks living in New England who try to convince their over-protective father to go on a vacation of a lifetime in the Bahamas. Illumination founder Chris Meledandri is producing.

Universal Pictures has pushed back the wide theatrical release for the Illumination film Migration from Friday, June 30, 2023 to Friday, Dec, 22, 2023.

Universal and Illumination’s Nintendo movie Super Mario Bros about the famed videogame plumbers, kart drivers and squashers of turtles is zipping from its planned December 21 release date to April 7, which is Easter weekend 2023.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorAccording to Chris Pratt, his voice performance as Mario in the upcoming feature adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. video game will be “unlike anything you’ve heard.”Variety got the chance to catch up with Pratt at the Wednesday night premiere of his new Amazon Prime Video series “The Terminal List” (more on that later!) to talk about finding his voice for the film, which co-stars Charlie Day as Luigi.There’s been much internet discussion over Pratt’s casting in the animated film as the Italian plumber despite his non-Italian background, with critics expressing concern that his accent could potentially be offensive.

Chris Pratt‘s Italian accent for the upcoming Super Mario film will not be offensive, producer Chris Meledandri has claimed.The casting of Pratt as Mario and Charlie Day as Luigi was instantly met by criticism from fans, given that neither actor is Italian. But Meledandri has since attempted to quell those concerns.“We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character-licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros.

As part of the opening day here at CineEurope in Barcelona, Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri shed some light on everything from the upcoming Minions: The Rise of Gru to whether we’ll see a same-sex kiss in a future Illumination title and how one long-ago misfire helped inform his career.

The studio behind the upcoming live-action “Super Mario” movie is teasing Chris Pratt’s “great performance”.

Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri is speaking out about the backlash surrounding Chris Pratt‘s casting as the iconic Nintendo video game character Mario.