By Wonderwall.com Editors
1:36pm PDT, May 28, 2020
The 'John Wick' movies are only the 'John Wick' movies because of a certain leading man's recurring mistake
As a filmmaker, what do you do when your star repeatedly mixes up the movie's title before its released? You rename the movie, cash in on the free marketing and call it a day, obviously. That approach certainly worked for the creators of the "John Wick" franchise, set to go into production on part IV of the Keanu Reeves-centric series as soon as studios deem it safe to reopen the industry. In a recent interview with ComicBook.com, screenwriter and producer Derek Kolstad revealed how his original screenplay for an action flick called "Scorn" became "John Wick" (which went on to inspire "John Wick: Chapter 2" and "John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum"). While chatting about the fourth installation's subtitle, Kolstad said the decision will belong to director Chad Stahelski. Then Kolstad added: "The only reason it's called 'John Wick' is that Keanu kept referring to it as 'John Wick.' Marketing was like, 'Dude, that's $4 to $5 million dollars in free advertising so far, so it's 'John Wick' instead of 'Scorn.'" Kolstad said he "can't imagine it being 'Scorn' now," a testament to the power of branding — something the screenwriter pointed out matters more than ever given the hits funding has taken and will continue to take because of the pandemic. "John Wick" 4.0, originally scheduled for a spring 2021 release, is due out in May 2022.
Keep reading for Dolly Parton's thoughts on what we need to improve after the pandemic …
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Dolly Parton on the post-pandemic optimism of her new song, 'When Life Is Good Again'
"When life is good again, I'll try to be someone on which you can depend, a helping hand to lend …" Dolly Parton makes that promise in her new single and video for, "When Life Is Good Again," which premiered on Time this week as part of the outlet's Time100 Talks series. The music and screen legend wrote the forward-looking tune at her home in Tennessee, where she's been dutifully self-isolating. "When life is good again, it's going to be better than it ever was," Dolly told Time during the chat. "I know I'll be a better person. I can see a lot of things that I can do better than I did before." She also acknowledged that she's "in a position to help," saying "that's why I try to do it in every way that I can." In addition to releasing the inspiring new music, Dolly launched her "Goodnight with Dolly" YouTube reading series for kids. She also donated $1 million towards COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the same facility whose workers were treated to a drive-in Keith Urban concert earlier this month. As for the song, Dolly told Time: "I really try to write what I think everybody is going through right now. I try to create things that I think people would like to be able to express, because I've always been grateful that I'm a writer." In closing, she commented on how we can use the pandemic as chance to make positive changes. "I think we have to pull together a little better. I just think we're just getting so scattered and so selfish and we're just letting too many good things go by," she said. "And we will get through it. Everything has to pass."
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Lisa Kudrow on why Matthew Perry gave her the 'Friends' cookie jar clock as a wrap gift
With the "Friends" reunion on hold because of the pandemic, members of cast have been making semi-regular appearances on late-night shows to tide us over. The latest former "Friends" star to wade into the '90s series' nostalgia pool is Lisa Kudrow, who video called in to "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Wednesday. During the chat, Jimmy noticed the clock cookie jar that once lived in Monica and Rachel's kitchen now sits in Lisa's office and was visible behind her on the call. Turns out, the world has Matthew Perry to thank for the prop's reappearance. "That was the wrap gift he gave me," Lisa explained (via Glamour). "We were laughing hysterically, and crying, because it was the end," she recalled of when the show wrapped in 2004. "It's funny to us," she continued, before asking Jimmy if he wanted to be let in on the joke, which of course, he did. "We're shooting a scene, years before we were finished, and my line was 'Ooh! I better get going,' like, 'Oh, I'm late! I better get going!'" Lisa recalled. "Except I didn't have a watch, and we were shooting it when I realized it was too late — when I realized, I don't have a watch. How do I know 'Ooh, I have to get going'? So I just, as the words were coming out, I go, 'Oh good, there's a clock' and I gestured to that [pointing to the cookie jar behind her] and said, 'Ooh, look at the time, I better get going.' And Matthew said, 'Did you point to the cookie jar and say, 'Look at the time'?" TBH, it would have been more Phoebe to have checked the time by consulting an actual cookie, but we'll take our Buffay throwbacks however we can get 'em! Producers have said they're tentatively shooting for a Thanksgiving release for the "Friends" reunion special on HBO Max.
RELATED: Look back at the 'Friends' cast's craziest post-finale moments
Tom Hanks donates more plasma after recovering from COVID-19
Once again, Tom Hanks is giving more than just money to support COVID-19 relief efforts — he's giving an actual part of himself. This week, the star, who was the first celeb to go pubic with a positive diagnosis of the illness, along with his wife Rita Wilson, shared a photo of two bags of his own plasma on Instagram. "Plasmatic on 3! 1,2,3 PLASMATIC! Hanx," he captioned the shot. According to ET, Tom and Rita have both recovered and remain in quarantine at home. Tom also shared a plasma donation post back in April. Those who have fully recovered from COVID-19 have antibodies in their plasma that can be used to help fight the virus in patients with serious current infections, according to the Red Cross.
Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley pay homage to their 'Vampire Diaries' characters with new bourbon name
"Vampire Diaries" alums and onscreen brothers Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley announced last fall they were preparing to release a line of bourbon, their own version of their characters' favorite drink. On Wednesday, the erstwhile Salvatore brothers took one step closer to the finish line. "Twitterverse Meet Brother's Bond Bourbon," Ian captioned a shot of himself holding a bottle of the new product on Twitter. The label shows the bourbon is an 80 proof, "hand selected batch." It also features both actors' signatures on the front. No release date has been announced, but that could have to do with the fact fans were apparently so excited about the news, they followed Ian's prompt to visit BrothersBondBourbon.com for more information — and crashed the site on Wednesday. As of Thursday morning, it was still down. What we do know, thanks to Ian's original announcement, is that the bourbon is slated to serve as a source of funding for investments "into helping our world through regenerative agriculture and farming practices," which he described as "the surest and quickest way to slow climate change by sequestering carbon and producing oxygen."
Jada Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield Norris tackle colorism on 'Red Table Talk'
The latest edition of Jada Pinkett Smith's Facebook Watch series, "Red Table Talk," features a candid discussion between Jada, her mother, Adrienne Banfield Jones and her daughter, Willow Smith, about colorism. "It's discrimination or prejudice based on skin tone, from members of the same race," Jada explains in the episode, "Why Black People Discriminate Against Each Other" (via Complex). "It began during slavery. Owners often raped their slaves who gave birth to light-skinned children. [Those children] were given preferential treatment. Lighter meant better, smarter, and more beautiful. This hateful bias seeped into black culture and continues to divide us," she continues. The actress goes on to recount how her experience was "the opposite … being picked on for being light-skinned," before Willow and Adrienne share their own feelings about the issue. Willow, who recently shaved her head as part of a performance art piece with her boyfriend, recalls comparing her hair to that of her cousins and friends and thinking silently, "I would be so much prettier if my hair wasn't so kinky or if I had longer hair.'" From Adrienne's perspective, it all boils down to how ingrained racism has historically been in this country. "Back in the day, you would always hear black people like, 'I got Indian in me,' still not owning our own blackness and that's just a result of all the brainwashing that has happened over the years and the perpetuation of white supremacy," she says at one point. "The approximation to white is what's valued around the world … Back in the day, if you were light-skinned and long hair, you would get bank for no reason. Just think about how superficial that is," she adds. The full discussion is live now on Facebook.
Candice Bergen becomes a grandmother
Candice Bergen is a first-time grandmother at 74. The veteran actress' daughter, Vogue contributor Chloe Malle, announced this week that she and her husband Graham McGrath Albert are the proud new parents of a baby boy. "Arthur Louis Albert Born May 19, 2020," Chloe captioned photos of her new son. "A week into the world and still observing strict shelter in place orders," she joked. Congrats!
Henry Cavill in talks to reprise his 'Man of Steel' character
Henry Cavill is reportedly in talks to dust off his Superman cape. According to Deadline, Cavill, who starred in 2013's "Man of Steel," is expected to make a cameo in an upcoming Warner Bros DC Universe project, not a "Man of Steel" sequel. The outlet predicts that because "Wonder Woman 1984" and "Suicide Squad 2" are both completed, and Cavill's easy-on-the-eyes superhero probably won't turn up in "The Batman," there's a relatively short list of possible movies he could appear in, including "Aquaman 2," Dwayne Johnson's "Black Adam" and "Shazam 2." Warner Bros. declined to comment.
Kelly Rowland has some friendly advice for everyone making 'quarantine babies' right now …
A few years back, former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland told Us Weekly, she wanted to eventually have a sibling for Titan, the now 5-year-old son she shares with husband Tim Weatherspoon. The outlet checked back in with Kelly this week to see where the couple is now regarding a second child. "I mean, it's quarantine! Anything can happen," Kelly joked. "I don't know to be honest." She also pointed out that while "so many people are having quarantine babies," parents-to-be might want to consider the state of the economy before proceeding with any family expansion. "Babies are expensive," she quipped. "I want everybody to know that." Kelly, 39, became a mom in 2014 when she welcomed Titan. Since then, she's been busy with work, appearing as a judge on both the American and Australian versions of "The Voice," and recording new music. And though she admitted she feels some "very real guilt" when work calls her away for long hours, she's proud to set an example for him. "He's still a happy kid and I'm also showing him what responsibility looks like, so I try not to give myself too much of a hard time," she said. "Because I do want him to be responsible and I do want him to see me working so that he will eventually want to get a job and want to have something that he's just as passionate about as well."
