Lin-Manuel Miranda Calls Out ‘Illegal, Unauthorized’ Production of ‘Hamilton’ by Texas Church

Meghan Markle might not be present for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, according to a royal expert who spoke to Fox News Digital. Former British public affairs official Shannon Felton Spence explained that Markle and Prince Harry were already traveling in Europe when the monarch died on Thursday, but she could decide to return home to California ahead of the funeral to be with their two young children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1. "Harry will likely stay in the U.K.

Carson Burton Boo! Disney revealed details from the upcoming “Haunted Mansion” remake, including new cast members like Winona Ryder, Dan Levy and Hasan Minaj during Disney’s D23 Expo on Friday. “Haunted Mansion” boasts a star-studded cast, including Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, LaKeith Stanfield, Jared Leto, Tiffany Haddish, Ryder, Jamie Lee Curtis, Levy, Minaj and Danny DeVito. Justin Simien directs the supernatural comedy film, which follows Dawson’s character Gabbie, a single mom with a nine-year-old son. Looking to start a new life, Gabbie buys a strangely affordable mansion in New Orleans. When they discover the mansion is haunted, Gabbie resorts to hiring a paranormal tour guide (Stanfield), a psychic (Haddish), a priest (Wilson) and a historian (DeVito) to help exorcise her newly bought mansion. The film will feature classic references to the classic Disneyland ride, including Leto’s character of the Hatbox Ghost. Curtis will also play a character named Madame Leota.

Wilson Chapman editor Barry Jenkins is heading to Pride Rock. At D23, the acclaimed “Moonlight” director appeared on stage to officially announce “Mufasa: The Lion King,” a new prequel to the 2019 “Lion King” film. Originally announced in 2020 as a sequel to the 2019 film, “Mufasa” tells the origin story of the iconic Disney father, exploring his childhood growing up with his brother Scar. The film will feature the voice of Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as younger versions of the characters, filling in for James Earl Jones as Mufasa in both the 1994 original and the 2019 CGI remake, and Jeremy Irons and Chiwetel Ejiofor as the villainous Scar. In addition to announcing the title, exclusive preview footage of the film was shown to the audience of the D23 expo.

Jennifer Yuma editorDisney released the first footage of “Peter Pan & Wendy,” the studio’s upcoming live-action adaptation, exclusively at the D23 Expo on Friday. The film will debut on Disney+ in 2023.The film’s cast, including Ever Anderson as Wendy, Jude Law as Captain Hook and Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lily, took the stage for the reveal. “It’s been really amazing to be able to play Wendy,” Anderson said. “Wendy and Peter are equals in this film.”“We got to mine their backstory a little more and try to know their past, when they were friends,” Law added. “It was nice to layer in that understanding of why Hook is so iconic.” The D23 audience got to see the footage in person, which showcased the first looks at the classic characters in a grittier, more realistic take that we’ve seen before. Starring Alexander Molony and Ever as the titular characters, “Peter Pan & Wendy” follows J.M. Barrie’s 1953 classic novel of Peter Pan (Molony), a boy who doesn’t age and the children he whisks away to a magical world of Neverland.

Wilson Chapman editor Get ready for Halle Bailey to be part of your world. The first footage of the highly anticipated “Little Mermaid” live-action remake has been unveiled at Disney’s D23 expo, revealing the acclaimed R&B star and actor in the iconic role of mermaid princess Ariel. Director Rob Marshall, of “Chicago” fame, celebrated the fact that this was a live action musical. Bringing up his Oscar-winning movie from the past “When we started this journey it was very important to honor the original” but also reimagine and “bring some depth” to the new film Marshall explained. The director also asked “Little Mermaid” longtime Disney alum and Alan Menken to link up with the award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda to come up with four new songs. “They’d never collaborated together before, and it’s magical…. We still retain the beauty of the original score by the late great Howard Ashman.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Josh Groban, Joshua Henry and Rita Moreno will star in ABC’s “Beauty and the Beast 30th Anniversary Special,” Variety can exclusively reveal. Groban, who recorded the original song “Evermore” for the 2017 “Beauty and the Beast” film, will play Beast. Henry, who recently starred on Broadway’s “Into the Woods,” will play Gaston. Moreno will serve as the show’s narrator, guiding viewers along the classically enchanting tale. As previously announced, Grammy winner H.E.R. will play Belle in the live-action/animated hybrid. The casting news was announced Friday at the D23 Expo’s “Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration” panel, moderated by Variety’s senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay.

Wilson Chapman editor “Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” Fans were treated to the first look at Disney’s live-action “Snow White” remake at the D23 Expo on Friday, revealing Rachel Zegler in the role of the first-ever Disney princess. The 30-second teaser opened with the Evil Queen’s iconic question to her magic mirror. Snow White dons her signature costume in the footage, which ends with her dropping the poisoned apple. Stars Zegler and Gal Gadot were on hand to tease the film. “I didn’t even see it! I didn’t see what you guys saw!” Zegler said in tears.

LGBTQ student organization for now, the Supreme Court said in a Friday evening order from Justice Sonia Sotomayor.A lower court had ordered Yeshiva University, a private Orthodox Jewish research school in New York City to recognize the student group, but Justice Sotomayor, who has jurisdiction over the Second Circuit, which includes Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, temporarily stayed that ruling, “pending further order,” as lower court and state court cases continue.“A New York state trial court ruled that as a public accommodation, Yeshiva was covered under the New York City Human Rights Law and required to provide the Pride Alliance the same access to facilities as dozens of other student groups,” The Washington Post reports. “The group said that means access to a classroom, bulletin boards and a club fair booth.”Yeshiva is an Orthodox institution, and the “Orthodox tradition only supports heterosexual relations and only within the context of heterosexual marriage,” the Human Rights Campaign Foundation has said.Well-known University of Texas School of Law Professor of law Steve Vladeck called Justice Sonomayor’s decision “surprising.”“Justice Sotomayor, acting by herself, has stayed a New York state trial court’s injunction that had ordered Yeshiva University to recognize an LGBTQ student group.

As the world mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Sunny Hostin shared a very different take than the numerous tributes celebrating the life of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

East Ayrshire councillors have knocked back a grant application to help put on Shrek the musical

Jenkins told the crowd in Anaheim that the movie will tell the story of how Simba’s father rose to become King of the Pridelands, with Rafiki as the narrator. While Mufasa would become a figure of wisdom to his son and to everyone in the Pridelands, he wasn’t destined for greatness and in fact came from a very rough cubhood.The teaser includes Rafiki’s narration, taking us to the “other side of the light.” He reveals that Mufasa was born “without a drop of royalty in his blood” and was forced to grow up alone.

#HocusPocus2, an Original movie event, is streaming September 30 on #DisneyPlus. #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/XUfXgbZbzxWhen Gilbert asks if they can talk about that, Winifred casually denies his request.The video then cuts to the witches taking to the sky on brooms — or in Mary’s (Najimuy) case, levitating shoes — “Running amok, amok, amok” as Sarah Sanderson (Sarah Jessica Parker) says.

“The Haunted Mansion” is about to open its doors.An adaptation of the beloved Disney Parks attraction is headed our way next year, and director Justin Simien was on hand to unveil it at the D23 Expo, across the street from Disneyland. (The attraction opened in 1969 after being teased since 1961. The World’s Fair and Walt’s untimely death slowed things down some.)Simien used to work at Disneyland and called it “the best summer job I ever had.” He said that when making the movie.

The new horror-thriller movie Barbarian is now playing in theaters and it’s getting such great reviews with a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes right now!

wrote, “Rudy, you just shredded the one thing you could have been admired for.”“Rudy Giuliani, for nearly 3,000 Americans including the employees at the Pentagon, 9/11 was not the greatest day of their lives. Especially their surviving family members and friends,” wrote Ken Gordon.

Taylor Swift is giving us a major fashion moment at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival!

The first trailer for Disenchanted is finally here!

Winnie, Sarah and Mary find their way into an unlikely place – a grocery store – in the brand new trailer for Hocus Pocus 2!

“Disenchanted” picks up 15 years after “Enchanted” left off, when “Giselle has grown disillusioned with life in the city, so they move their growing family to the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville in search of a more fairy tale life. Unfortunately, it isn’t the quick fix she had hoped for.

“The Lost King” will be released in the U.S. by IFC Films.

STRICTLY judge Motsi Mabuse claims a toxic relationship with her “controlling” ex-husband held her back from being the star she is today. The 41-year-old told how German dancer Timo Kulczak, 45, took charge of her money and paid her an allowance from what she earned via her dance teaching and TV appearances.

PIERS Morgan led the praise for King Charles III as he made his first speech to the nation after succeeding to the throne. On Thursday afternoon, Charles' beloved mother Queen Elizabeth II died at her Scottish estate, Balmoral, with Buckingham Palace confirming the news shortly after. The 96-year-old's death meant Prince Charles became the new King of the nation, with him making his first speech following the tragic news.

Jennifer Hudson is "still processing" her newfound EGOT status. The Dreamgirls star has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award - earning her the coveted "EGOT" status. First winning an Oscar for her role in Dreamgirls, then two Grammys - one for her self-titled album - and an Emmy for Baba Yaga, Jennifer won her first Tony Award for A Strange Loop in June.

EASTENDERS fans are heartbroken for Frankie Lewis after her sexual harassment ordeal left her fearing for her life. The teaching assistant - who is played by actress Rose Ayling-Ellis in the BBC soap - was followed home by a creepy man from a club and terrorised on the street. Frankie (Rose Ayling-Ellis) was only saved from a sexual assault when two other men intervened and gave the chance to escape.

late Queen Elizabeth’s life from her idyllic and private childhood home in Piccadilly to her final days, her four children recalled that some of their best times as a family were spent on holiday in Balmoral, Scotland. Anne, Princess Royal, recalled how “the holiday times were pretty well kept, actually, from our perspective” adding that on holiday her parents were “nearly always around”.

Emmy Awards? Save your breath. They and other ratings successes failed to make a dent in nominations for Monday's ceremony. Instead, the haul went to shows that are critical darlings or possess a higher degree of cool, “Stranger Things" and “Squid Game” among them.

Julie Andrews and Cheryl added to the outpouring of celebrity tributes to Queen Elizabeth. Actress and singer Julie, 86, hailed the British monarch for her “love, wisdom and grace” in a statement. Julie, who played a royal as the dowager Queen of Genovia in the original ‘The Princess Diaries’, said: “A page in history has turned today.

Nick Kyrgios in complaining about marijuana being smoked in the stands at the US Open. Barbora Krejickova informed umpire Kader Nouni that it "smelled like weed" in the final set of her women's doubles semi-final on Thursday, prompting the chair official to make a hilarious gesture. Kyrgios was playing his second-round match against Benjamin Bonzi on Louis Armstrong Stadium last week when he claimed someone in the stands was smoking marijuana.

Daniel Craig found Queen Elizabeth to be "very funny" throughout filming for their London 2012 Olympics sketch. The British monarch - who died on Thursday (08. 09.

Hamilton might be well-known as a retelling of a famous figure’s life, but a Texas church has introduced another figure — Jesus Christ — to the mix, performing illegally incorporated Christian-centric rhetoric in an unauthorized production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit 2015 musical.The Tony-winning musical, still playing on Broadway and in the midst of a North American national tour, is unavailable for licensing by other theater groups.But that didn’t stop The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries of McAllen from performing their own illegal adaptation, with altered text, on August 5 and 6.Located in southern Texas, The Door uses popular media, altered to spread a conservative Christian message, as part of its programming. Hamilton is not their first target: past titles have included Beauty and the Beast and Toy Story, both of which can be found on an archived version of the church’s website.The Door’s production of Hamilton incorporated Christian messaging, and one performance was accompanied with a sermon by Senior Pastor Ramon Gutierrez that compared homosexuality to addiction.“Maybe you struggle with alcohol, with drugs, with homosexuality,” Gutierrez said.

Miranda tweeted. “Now lawyers do their work.”The staging of “Hamilton” performed at the Door Christian Fellowship church in McAllen, Texas, was tweaked to include biblical themes and a sermon at the end that compared homosexuality to addiction, the Dallas Morning News reported.Broadway veteran Miranda is known for his pro-LGBT stance.The paper obtained video of the Aug. 5 performance, which ran for about two hours, and the 15-minute sermon that followed.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is speaking out after it was discovered that a church in Texas was performing an unauthorized version of his musical Hamilton, which used revised lyrics and text.

“Stop running from God, Alexander…His word says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and [wants] just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us.”

th anniversary of Walt Disney World, it seemed like perhaps the animosity had soften between current and former management. Among the foundations of Eisner’s legacy: the Disneyland Paris resort, Pleasure Island and Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World, Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios), a pair of Walt Disney World water parks, Hollywood Pictures, the renaissance in Disney Animation, the purchase of ABC, founding the relationship with Pixar, the Celebration experiment and much, much more.