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'The Bachelorette' Canned after Star's Violent Video Emerges

Taylor Frankie Paul had been due to star in the 22nd season of 'The Bachelorette'. Mike Coppola / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Taylor Frankie Paul had been due to star in the 22nd season of 'The Bachelorette'. Mike Coppola / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
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'The Bachelorette' Canned after Star's Violent Video Emerges

Taylor Frankie Paul had been due to star in the 22nd season of 'The Bachelorette'. Mike Coppola / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Taylor Frankie Paul had been due to star in the 22nd season of 'The Bachelorette'. Mike Coppola / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

"The Bachelorette," one of America's highest profile reality TV shows, was cancelled Thursday just days before the new season was due to air, after video emerged of the show's star hurling furniture at her ex-partner, in an incident that apparently injured her daughter.

Disney-owned ABC had widely promoted the 22nd season of the show, in which 22 men compete for a relationship with a single woman, including trailing it during Sunday night's Oscars gala.

But on Thursday, the network yanked the glossy series -- whose $2 million episodes began filming last year -- over shocking footage of a domestic altercation involving "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star Taylor Frankie Paul.

"In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time," a Disney spokesperson said in a statement to AFP.

"Our focus is on supporting the family."

The video, obtained by entertainment outlet TMZ, shows Paul lashing out at Dakota Mortensen, her partner at the time.

In the footage, apparently filmed by Mortensen on a mobile phone, Paul rains abuse on him, kicks him and gets him in a headlock.

She then begins to throw metal stools across the room at him, one of which appears to be deflected towards her young daughter.

Mortensen can be heard asking her to stop and urging her to see to her crying child, as she continues to scream abuse at him.

The incident took place in Utah in February 2023, according to police, who arrested Paul on multiple charges, including domestic violence in the presence of a minor.

While the footage is new, Paul's arrest and subsequent conviction were featured on earlier seasons of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives."

Questions will now likely be asked as to how much due diligence producers of "The Bachelorette" did before casting the lead to the Sunday night prime-time show, which had pricey sponsorship deals with brands including Cinnabon.

Paul, a social media influencer, went viral in 2022 after revealing that she and her then-husband had been "soft-swinging" with other Mormon couples.

The Hulu show "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" followed the catty fallout from the revelation among a group of Utah-based TikTok influencers, and has so far run for multiple seasons.

Paul, 31, has not commented on the matter via her social media channels but local media outlets carried a statement from one of her representatives in which the reality star says she is "very grateful for ABC's support."

"After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm."

"She is currently exploring all of her options, seeking support, and preparing to own and share her story."

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Entertainment

Indie Horror Flicks ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’ Draw Gen Z to Cinema

This image released by A24 shows Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from "Backrooms." (A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from "Backrooms." (A24 via AP)
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Indie Horror Flicks ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’ Draw Gen Z to Cinema

This image released by A24 shows Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from "Backrooms." (A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from "Backrooms." (A24 via AP)

The multi-million-dollar openings of indie horror flicks "Obsession" and "Backrooms" have Hollywood buzzing about the 20-something YouTuber directors who are driving Generation Z audiences to the theater in droves.

The endless yellow hallways of A24's "Backrooms," directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, terrified tens of thousands of people in its opening weekend to rack up $118 million at the box office.

And Focus Features film "Obsession," directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, has taken in $148 million worldwide in two weeks -- a smash hit for a production that cost $750,000.

"It's a huge, huge success and a real turning point for the industry, potentially," said associate editor Matthew Frank of The Ankler, a digital media company that covers Hollywood.

"They're breaking out with these films that are appealing to a younger demographic," Frank said, adding that the vast majority of ticket buyers the past couple weekends "have been under 35 and even, you know, under 25. So it's appealing to this demographic (that) normally doesn't really get spoken to."

In recent years multiplexes have faced a multi-fold decline, fueled by the rise of streaming, a lag in recovery in ticket sales since Covid, and the strikes that halted production in Hollywood in 2023.

But this year's numbers are drumming up optimism for the best year since the pandemic.

This is thanks in part to Generation Z, which boosted the box office by 25 percent last year, according to a report from the National Research Group.

Theater owners are "ecstatic about these weekends," said Ronnie Yount, owner of the Phoenix Theaters chain in the midwest.

Yount compared both films to "Lilo & Stitch" for driving box office -- which seemed unthinkable.

- Franchise fails -

The trick to tapping into the younger market is to "deliver the right films," Frank said.

"Hollywood's problem, for a while, was saying, 'oh, it's young people,' when in fact it was because they were making the 10th (installment in) pre-existing franchises that were popular for their parents."

The safe bets from studios that hoped to cash in on an endless slate of summer action hero movies turned off younger audiences.

"When you make something that's for that audience, that's when they'll come out," Frank said.

Parsons, who is known to his 3.2 million subscribers as Kane Pixels on YouTube, has racked up more than 300 million views.

The inspiration for "Backrooms" came from a photo posted to an internet forum in 2019 showing, without context, a yellow space.

Parsons, then a teenager, told AFP that he saw the image as a "vaguely nostalgic and vaguely dreamlike but also very tangible science-fiction concept."

His YouTube video of a young man lost in terrifying corridors amassed millions of views in a matter of days, and led to a contract with A24.

His endless nightmare is now on the big screen, starring Oscar-nominated actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve.

Barker went from an audience of 1.1 million subscribers on his channel "That's a Bad Idea" to premiering "Obsession" at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025.

The movie follows the horrifying consequences after a young man's wish comes true, and the target of his romantic attention begins to love him more than anything else in the world.

Frank said very production company and studio in Hollywood right now is asking: "How can we replicate this?"

"Not just because they're huge successes, but they're also made for these limited budgets."

But he warned it's not just about finding successful YouTubers.

"It still requires just finding the great filmmakers, which can come anywhere."

Entertainment

Jason Momoa Says Having Best Year of His Career

Jason Momoa. (Getty Images)
Jason Momoa. (Getty Images)
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Jason Momoa Says Having Best Year of His Career

Jason Momoa. (Getty Images)
Jason Momoa. (Getty Images)

With several films yet to be released, and riding his success from the global hit "A Minecraft Movie," Hawaiian actor Jason Momoa says he is living a unique moment.

"It's probably my biggest year of my career," Momoa, 46, told AFP in an interview.

The actor said he's enjoying playing a range of roles, including Lobo, the intergalactic bounty hunter in the upcoming "Supergirl" film, which he described as "a childhood dream."

The star also appears in the film adaptation of "Street Fighter" and in the "Dune" trilogy, whose final installment hits theaters in December.

Momoa, who rose to fame thanks to "Game of Thrones," had the opportunity to work with Julian Schnabel, whom he described as his favorite director, in "In the Hand of Dante," which premieres this month on Netflix.

The actor is feeling like he's on a roll after playing a comedic role in last year's box office hit, "A Minecraft Movie," which he starred in with Jack Black.

"Minecraft really was huge, you know?" he said. "We didn't see that coming."

"I always wanted to do comedy. I mean, I've always done action my whole life," where playing superheroes felt "inevitable." But he enjoyed the opportunity to "make people laugh."

The actor said that comedic roles like those in "The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part," in which he voices a parody of Aquaman, a character he has portrayed in several productions, also allowed him to connect with a very special audience: his family.

"It was an epic moment because my kids got to see me do the looping (voiceover)," he said. While they don't seem to care much about his other roles, "when I'm involved with Lego, I'm an all-star."

The actor reconnected with the famous brick brand by debuting this Monday as "the Playmaster," the central figure in Lego's "Never Stop Playing" campaign to encourage families to dedicate more time to playing with their children, as social media and screens gain ground.

"I grew up with Lego. My children grew up with Lego," said Momoa, who sees the colorful pieces and their infinite possibilities as a tool for developing creativity and imagination.

"It's something that makes my heart smile," he said.

The unique role came with a bonus: "Being chosen by Lego to have your own little action figures... for them to make that was pretty special."

Entertainment

'Backrooms', Based on YouTube Horror Series, Breaks Box Office Records

Kane Parsons, aged 20, is the youngest director with a number one feature film debut in North America. LISA O'CONNOR / AFP
Kane Parsons, aged 20, is the youngest director with a number one feature film debut in North America. LISA O'CONNOR / AFP
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'Backrooms', Based on YouTube Horror Series, Breaks Box Office Records

Kane Parsons, aged 20, is the youngest director with a number one feature film debut in North America. LISA O'CONNOR / AFP
Kane Parsons, aged 20, is the youngest director with a number one feature film debut in North America. LISA O'CONNOR / AFP

A24's "Backrooms," the big screen adaptation of a viral YouTube horror series, smashed several box office records with an $81.5 million North American debut, US media reported Sunday.

Directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, who created the "Backrooms" web series as a teenager, the movie's massive opening weekend haul is the largest ever for an original horror film and more than doubles A24's previous best domestic opening, according to Variety.

Parsons also becomes the youngest director ever to debut at number one with a feature film, the entertainment trade publication said.

Starring Oscar nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, the movie follows a furniture shop owner (Ejiofor) who discovers a mysterious, labyrinthine complex underneath his store, AFP said.

When the man goes missing, his therapist (Reinsve) steps inside the liminal space to try and find him.

The online series, which began in 2022, became part of a phenomenon known as "creepypasta" -- a short horror story reposted and modified around the web, to which other users added details such as monsters and undiscovered dimensions.

Second place went to another horror film, Focus Features' "Obsession," whose strong critic and audience reviews have seen it steadily notch higher earnings in its three weeks out.

Directed by 26-year-old Curry Baker, the film took in another $26.4 million at the domestic box office, Exhibitor Relations reported, and now has a global estimated haul of nearly $150 million on a budget of less than $1 million.

Inde Navarrette has earned particular plaudits for her role as a young woman who becomes dangerously infatuated with a man, played by Michael Johnston, after he makes a magical wish for her affection.

"Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu," Disney's latest entry in the blockbuster sci-fi franchise, plummeted nearly 70 percent in its second weekend in theaters, taking in $25 million and finishing in third place.

The film is a jump to the big screen for the hit streaming series, and the first Star Wars film to be released in theaters since 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker."

Maintaining its place in the top five for a sixth weekend was Lionsgate's "Michael," the biopic about king of pop Michael Jackson, which added $11.7 million.

The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring the late popstar's nephew Jaafar Jackson, has now taken in $340 million at the domestic box office and over $845 million globally, according to Exhibitor Relations.

Fifth place went to Sony's comedy "The Breadwinner," which took in $7.5 million in its debut weekend.

Comedian Nate Bergatze -- one of the highest-grossing American stand-ups with a deadpan act focusing on family life -- stars in the movie as a dad who must take care of the kids while his wife is away on business.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"The Devil Wears Prada 2" ($5.9 million)

"Pressure" ($5.8 million)

"The Sheep Detective" ($4.6 million)

"Passenger" ($2.6 million)

"Mortal Kombat II" ($2 million)