We previously reported that the second season of the TV series The Last of Us is currently in production, with new cast members joining the show. Actor Pedro Pascal, who has a significant role in the series, recently gave an update about the show's progress.

During a conversation with Deadline at the SAG Awards, Pedro, who won the Male Actor In a Drama Series for his performance in The Last of Us, said, "Filming is going amazing,". He continued, "It's sort of awe-inspiring the kind of focus and dedication that everyone has going into Season 2."

He further mentioned his character Joel in season 2, "Stepping into those boots again, it feels strangely brand new," he said. "I've never done anything like this before that has such original authorship before I ever got to it."

The Last of Us is based on the popular video game of the same name. It has Craig Mazin as Executive Producer and co-showrunner alongside Neil Druckmann. 

The first season of The Last of Us follows the adventures of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they travel across The United States to find the mysterious fireflies, a gang of revolutionaries attempting to overthrow the American military in the wake of a zombie apocalypse.

The upcoming season also stars Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino and Catherine O'Hara. 

The 30th annual Screen Actor's Guild Awards, held by Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), occurred Saturday. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer won three awards, including the acting prize for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., While Lily Gladstone won an acting prize for her portrayal in Martin Scorsese's Killers of The Flower Moon. The comedy series The Bear wins three on the television section, including the acting awards for Ayo Edebiri and Jeremy Allen White. 

Here's the list of winners

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture-Oppenheimer 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role-Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role- Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role- Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer) 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role- Da'vine Joy Randolph(The Holdovers )

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series- Succession

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series- The Bear 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series- Pedro Pascal ( The Last of Us)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series- Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown )

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Comedy Series – Jeremy Allen White, (The Bear)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series- Ayo Edebiri  (The Bear) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series- Steven Yeun (Beef)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series- Ali Wong (Beef)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture- Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series- The Last of Us
 

The film adaptation of Rick Riordan's The Kane Chronicles book series has been scrapped by Netflix. The news came from Riordan while he responded to a question from a fan on Goodreads. The author is best known for Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

“Right now, Kane Chronicles is in ‘turnaround,’ which means Netflix has decided not to move forward and their option has lapsed after trying for two years to develop a script they liked. Now it depends on whether another studio would like to step in, assume the preproduction costs, and move forward," he wrote.

The book-to-film adaptation by Netflix was announced by Riordian in 2020. According to a 2022 blog post by Riordan, the first film, based on The Red Pyramid (2010), was written by Diandra Pendleton-Thompson writer of Star Trek: Prodigy. The author was awaiting a new script draft, at the time. 

Only recently, the television series adaptation of Percy Jackson was released on Disney+ Hotstar. The series was recently renewed for another season on the streaming platform. 

Earlier, we reported that To Kill a Tiger, directed by Indian-origin Canadian filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, is nominated under the Best Documentary Feature Film category of the upcoming 96th Academy Awards. The latest news is that Netflix has bought the rights to the documentary. 

Set in Jharkhand, To Kill a Tiger revolves around a father named Ranjit and his unrelenting fight to find justice for his 13-year-old daughter, who was abducted and sexually assaulted by three men. Nisha Pahuja has produced the film along with David Oppenheim, Cornelia Principe, and Andy Cohen.

Indian-origin Hollywood actors Dev Patel and Mindy Kaling are also credited as executive producers for the film. The most recent to join this list of executive producers is Priyanka Chopra. 

To Kill a Tiger premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10 last year, where it won the Best Canadian Film award. Including the aforementioned award, the film won a total of 15 awards under different categories like Best Documentary, Best Editing, and Best Soundtrack, in several film festivals. 

To Kill a Tiger is competing against other documentaries like The Eternal Memory, Four Daughters, Bobi Wine: The People's President, and 20 Days in Mariupol. The 96th Academy Awards will be announced on March 10. 
 

A couple of years ago, we reported that there might be a TV series on Harry Potter. Now, Warner Bros. Discovery's chief executive officer, David Zaslav, has shed some new information on it. He said on the company's quarterly earnings call that its first season will release on the streaming platform Max (formerly and in some markets HBO Max) in 2026. The makers of the series based on JK Rowling's beloved character are aiming for it to have seven seasons.

Sharing his excitement for the series, Zaslav reminded trade analysts that it has been 12 years since the release of the final film in the franchise, namely Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Zaslav, Warner Bros. Television's chairman Channing Dungey, and HBO and Max's Chief Content Officer Channing Dungey recently discussed the show with Rowling in London.

“We spent some real time with J.K. and her team. Both sides are just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise," Zaslav told Variety.

While there has not been any announcement related to who will star in the series as yet, WBTV has stated that its cast will be unlike the Harry Potter films. Meanwhile, the lead of those films, Daniel Radcliffe has clarified that he is not pursuing a role in the show.

Scarlett Johansson is directing her first film, Eleanor the Great, and is auditioning actors for it. The latest set of actors to be attached to the film are June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Jessica Hecht, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Nebraska fame Squibb will play the film's lead role as Eleanor Morgenstein, an old woman who is attempting to bring her life back on track after her best friend's passing. The film follows Morgenstein as she goes away from Florida to New York City.

Sony Pictures Classics and TriStar Pictures are teaming up for the first time to distribute the film in theatres. Tory Kamen is the scriptwriter for the film, which marks Johansson's first work as a director. Johansson is also co-producing Eleanor the Great with Keenan Flynn and Jonathan Lia of These Pictures, Jessamine Burgum and Kara Durrett of Pinky Promise, and Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray of Maven Screen Media. Meanwhile, Raj Kishor Khaware and Ezra Gabay are acting as executive producers for the film as the representatives of Content Engineers.

Much like Johansson, Ejiofor is also part of the MCU as a character named Baron Mordo in the two Doctor Strange films. The film also sees Johansson reuniting with Hecht following their starring roles in the Tony-nominated Broadway play titled 'A View From The Bridge'.

Barry Tubb, who played Wolfman in Tony Scott's Top Gun, is taking legal action against Paramount Pictures for what he believes to be the use of his likeness in the recent sequel to the film without his consent. The actor submitted a complaint at a California court against the studio, claiming that he did not give his consent to it using his image in Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise.

The scene in question has an old photograph of Tubb's Wolfman with Val Kilmer's Iceman, Anthony Edwards' Goose, and Cruise's Maverick.

According to the complaint, the picture is “a four-shot close-up clearly establishing plaintiff,” and “[Tubb’s] likeness in the scene is essential in a way that is not incidental.” The complaint also claims that it is an alteration of an image of those actors shot behind closed doors, which “destroyed any purported copyright” to the picture.

According to reports, the actor is also seeking punitive and compensatory damages, whose value is unspecified, and asking for a trial by jury.

Actor and producer Eva Longoria is the latest in the line-up of stars to join the upcoming fourth season of Only Murders in the Building. She is set to play a recurrent character, playing an important role in the season's investigation. However, her storyline is being kept under wraps.

She joins Molly Shannon who will play the role of a high-powered businesswoman from Los Angeles who finds herself drawn into the world of the investigation in New York. The new season will see the return of Meryl Streep who will reprise her role as Loretta Durkin.

Only Murders in the Building stars Charles, Oliver and Mabel as Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez respectively. The three neighbours in an apartment come together to do a podcast based on the murder of their common neighbour. While the second season saw them probe into the death of another resident, the third season features Paul Rudd as a famous actor who gets murdered. Meryl Streep also appeared in the show. Towards the end of the third season, the makers left the audience with a cliffhanger where Sazz (Jane Lynch), Charles' stunt double, gets shot by an unknown assailant. 

As previously announced, season four of the comedy starring Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez will begin with a trip to LA before the central action returns to its primary location, The Arconia in their search for Sazz’s killer. Further details about the plot of the new chapter are yet to be announced.

Attached to 20th Television, the show is co-created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. They also executive produce alongside Short, Gomez, Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal. The first three seasons of the series are available to stream in India on Disney+ Hotstar.

It has been 17 years since the passing of Anna Nicole Smith, but there is still fascination on the life of the Playboy model turned actress. According to reports, Harold and Kumar star Kal Penn is set to play a lead role in the film as a doctor associated with Nicole Smith's death. Titlted Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, the film follows the last few days of Nicole Smith, whose untimely demise due to an accidental overdose grabbed the headlines. Trust Me, I'm a Doctor is based on the eponymous book by Dr. Sandeep Kapoor.

Thane Economou is writing and directing the film, which also chronicles the life of the pain management doctor, Kapoor, who got involved in a wrongful death controversy connected to the model. This is not the first film that revolves around Nicole Smith's life. Francesca Gregorini's Hurricanna also followed some people connected to her, including her mental health therapist. Holly Hunter is set to essay the role of the therapist in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor.

Dan Spilo and Penn are executive producing it, alongside Stadium, Park Cities Film and Picmovers. The makers of the film are searching for an actress to play Smith's character and are yet to decide the other cast members.

The Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, which was on hold due to the writers' strike in Hollywood, has finally got a release window.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav gave an update on the next Game of Thrones spinoff series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. “[Creator and executive producer] George R.R. Martin is in preproduction for the new spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which will premiere in late 2025 on Max,” Zaslav said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Although David Zaslav revealed the release window, he didn't offer a specific date. The show currently has a number of working titles including Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Tales of Dunk and Egg, and The Hedge Knight. The show is expected to begin production sometime this year.

Ordered to series in April 2023, the prequel is based on George R.R. Martin‘s Dunk & Egg fantasy novellas and takes place roughly 100 years before Game of Thrones. It tells the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Aegon V Targaryen, also known as Dunk and Egg.

"A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros: a young, naïve, but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg," the official synopsis said. "Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends."

The prequel series debut will follow the Season 2 premiere of GoT spinoff House of the Dragon in summer 2024. HBO is also developing an Aegon’s Conquest prequel series from The Batman: Part II writer Mattson Tomlin.

House of the Dragon is set 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen.