In Brief: A third ‘Princess Diaries’ taking off, and more

December 12, 2022

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang is the latest addition to the star-studded cast of Jon M. Chu’s two-part film adaptation of the Broadway hit Wicked, opposite Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Yang will play Elphaba and Glinda’s classmate, Pfannee. Chu announced the news on Friday, tweeting, “Welcome #BowenYang to Shiz University in Oz. Please cause lots of trouble on campus for us.” Yang confirmed the news on his Instagram, sharing a photo of a pink heart with the name “Galinda” — the real first name of Grande’s character — captioned, “What the f*** is a ‘hoi polloi’????” Yang joins previously announced castmembers Bronwyn James, Marissa Bode, Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, and Michelle Yeoh. The Wicked movies are set for release Christmas 2024 and 2025…

It was a tie between Tár and Everything Everywhere All at Once at the Los Angeles Film Critics Awards. Todd Field won both director and screenplay prizes for the former film, while its star, Cate Blanchett, shared best lead performance honors with Bill Nighy for his work in Oliver Hermanus’ Living. The best supporting performance prizes went to Dolly de Leon for her turn as toiler manager Abigail in Triangle of Sadness and Ke Huy Quan for his portrayal of the lovable husband Waymond in Everything Everywhere All at Once. The LAFCA switched to gender-neutral acting categories for the first time this year. The complete winners list is available at LAFC.net…

A third installment of The Princess Diaries is in the works at Disney, though at least one original castmember may not be on board. “I think we know that it’s probably not going to be possible,” Julie Andrews — who played Clarisse Renaldi, the Queen regent of Genovia — recently told Access Hollywood. “It was talked about very shortly after [the second sequel] came out, but it’s now how many years since then? And I am that much older and Annie the princess, or queen, is so much older. And I am not sure where it would float or run.” Anne Hathaway, who played Mia Thermopolis, a teenager from San Francisco who discovers she’s the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia, has expressed interest in returning, though a deal hasn’t been set. The first Princess Diaries movie was released in 2001, followed by The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement three years later in 2004. Disney is the parent company of ABC News…