Tom Holland Says New ‘Spider-Man’ Is the Most Emotional, Most Mature, Yet

Tom Holland. (AFP)
Tom Holland. (AFP)
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Tom Holland Says New ‘Spider-Man’ Is the Most Emotional, Most Mature, Yet

Tom Holland. (AFP)
Tom Holland. (AFP)

Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is dealing with the reality of making his friends forget his identity in the upcoming “Spider-Man” movie.

Sony Pictures unveiled new footage from “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” Monday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, in which Zendaya’s character MJ apparently has a boyfriend.

Five years after “Spider-Man: No Way Home” became a sensation in theaters, earning over $1.9 billion worldwide thanks in part to the appearance of past Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, the webslinger’s fourth standalone movie is one of the most hotly anticipated of the summer. Its trailer already broke records, with over 1 billion views in its first four days.

Tom Holland, in a video message, told the exhibitors in the audience that it’s the most emotional Spider-Man movie yet, and “the most grown-up.”

He introduced an early scene in the new film showing the aftermath of his decision at the end of “No Way Home.” In the sequence, he attends a housewarming party for MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned and introduces himself as “Maynard ... just a neighbor from across the hall.”

Destin Daniel Cretton, who made the Marvel movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” stepped in to direct this newest “Spider-Man,” which opens in theaters on July 31.

Sony Pictures has for years kicked off the annual conference and trade show for movie theater owners, where throughout the week Hollywood's major studios bring out stars and new footage hoping to wow the people putting their films on the big screen.

The studio announced the development of an R-rated adaptation of the video game “Bloodborne,” and the release date of “Godzilla Minus One” director Takashi Yamazaki’s English language debut, “Grand Gear,” which will begin filming soon. It’s scheduled to hit theaters on Feb. 18, 2028.

They also debuted new footage from the “Spider-Verse” finale, revealed the title of the next “Jumanji” movie — “Open World” — previewed “Weapons” filmmaker Zach Cregger's “Resident Evil,” and gave the audience a first look at Jeremy Strong playing Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin's “The Social Reckoning,” a companion piece to “The Social Network.”

Oscar-winner Mikey Madison (“Anora”) plays Facebook engineer Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White is then-Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz in the film, which comes out in October. Haugen leaked thousands of pages of internal Facebook records to the Journal, yielding a 2021 investigation known as the “Facebook Files.” The series of stories alleged the social media giant was prioritizing profits over safety and hiding its own research from investors and the public.

“It was time to say more,” said Sorkin, who described this film as “a real David and Goliath story.”

In the footage, Strong's Zuckerberg quips that he's “a professional defendant” and pushes back on an adviser saying, “I’m not two years out of a dorm room anymore.”

Sony Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman said he believes “it’s going to be an Olympic level movie year overall” while also acknowledging the industry’s “serious challenges” including that admissions have been down since before the pandemic.

Studios, he said, need to deliver a variety of great films for all audiences. He also made some recommendations for theaters, imploring them to enforce longer theatrical windows “even if that means you cannot play every film,” to get rid of endless advertising before films and make going to the theater more affordable.

“I’m not heckling,” Rothman said. “I’m rooting for you.”



In Partial Victory, Blake Lively Wins Legal Fees from Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively has been in a lengthy legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP/File
Blake Lively has been in a lengthy legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP/File
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In Partial Victory, Blake Lively Wins Legal Fees from Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively has been in a lengthy legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP/File
Blake Lively has been in a lengthy legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP/File

US actor Justin Baldoni must pay legal fees but not damages to "It Ends with Us" co-star Blake Lively, a New York judge ruled Friday, settling a years-long legal battle.

The decision marks a partial victory for Lively, who was fighting a defamation suit brought by Baldoni and his production company, which Lively claimed was retaliation for sexual harassment allegations she made, said AFP.

The pair settled their dispute in May, avoiding a costly civil trial, though no settlement figure was disclosed.

Lively's initial complaint said Baldoni -- who also directed "It Ends With Us" -- had spoken inappropriately about his sex life and sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the script.

It further said that Baldoni waged a PR campaign to wreck Lively's reputation.

Baldoni and the studio Wayfarer in turn countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds with claims of extortion and defamation.

Federal judge Lewis Liman, who issued Friday's judgment, dismissed Baldoni's claims in June 2025 and struck down parts of Lively's complaints this April.

Based on a best-selling novel by US writer Colleen Hoover, "It Ends with Us" made more than $350 million at the box office in 2024, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.


An Astronaut, Movie Stars and a Knight: US Brings Glitz for World Cup Opener

Tom Cruise, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attend the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Tom Cruise, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attend the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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An Astronaut, Movie Stars and a Knight: US Brings Glitz for World Cup Opener

Tom Cruise, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attend the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Tom Cruise, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attend the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

The World Cup arrived in the United States on Friday in a blizzard of celebrity and glamour, with Los Angeles pulling out all the stops for the opening game between Team USA and Paraguay.

The stands at SoFi stadium were a who's who of famous folk in the world's entertainment capital, with movie legends like Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio and "Star Wars" director George Lucas joined by the likes of socialite Paris Hilton and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Other Hollywood names included Oscar winner Halle Berry, actor and director Owen Wilson and "West Wing" alum Rob Lowe.

Singer -- and one-time astronaut -- Katy Perry, who performed in the opening ceremony, repaired to the seats to watch the action on the pitch while she cuddled up to former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. The pair have recently gone "Insta-official" with their relationship.

British footballing giant David Beckham was also in the stands -- sitting next to Cruise -- hours after he had been feted with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The honor was the latest in a long line for the former England captain, who was knighted by Britain's King Charles last year to become Sir David Beckham.

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also cheering for the USA, who romped to a 4-1 victory over a hapless-looking Paraguay, giving the host nation its highest-scoring World Cup result.

Before the game began, a packed SoFi Stadium was bid a booming "Welcome to the USA" in a glitzy ceremony that kicked off more than five weeks of football in the US, which is sharing the tournament with Mexico and Canada.

The stadium's giant "jumbotron" screen flashed a close-up of the city's famous Hollywood sign, before a marching band struck up and were joined by singers including Future, Tyla, Anitta and K-pop star Lisa.

Costumes and props were designed to evoke Los Angeles street art, and the city's creative industries.

Suspended from the roof of the space-age venue were enormous "FIFA" letters in the gold favored by US President Donald Trump -- who did not attend.

He instead spoke to the team via phone beforehand, telling them "I think you've a really good chance of going all the way. I just want to wish you a lot of luck."

Fellow co-hosts Mexico and Canada have already played their first matches, each featuring a separate opening ceremony on home soil.

Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0, while Canada came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw and their first ever World Cup finals point, against Bosnia-Herzegovina.


Ariana Grande to White House: Don't Use My Music for 'Heinous Nonsense'

US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (R) and US music video director Christian Breslauer accept the award for Video of the Year for "Brighter Days Ahead" on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (R) and US music video director Christian Breslauer accept the award for Video of the Year for "Brighter Days Ahead" on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
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Ariana Grande to White House: Don't Use My Music for 'Heinous Nonsense'

US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (R) and US music video director Christian Breslauer accept the award for Video of the Year for "Brighter Days Ahead" on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (R) and US music video director Christian Breslauer accept the award for Video of the Year for "Brighter Days Ahead" on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

American pop star Ariana Grande told President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday to stop using her music to promote its policies.

The comment came after the White House shared a video on TikTok earlier this week highlighting its immigration policy. The video, which depicts federal agents arresting and handcuffing people, features the Grammy Award-winning singer's 2024 song "Bye."

"Please ‌do not ‌ever use my music in ‌relation ⁠to this barbaric, inhumane, ⁠heinous nonsense," Grande wrote in a comment posted on the White House video on TikTok on Thursday.

A source close to the singer said her team is looking into how to remove the music from the video ⁠as soon as possible. Responding to Grande, ‌White House spokesperson ‌Abigail Jackson said: "We’ll say this one last time: what’s ‌actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal ‌illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens."

Grande, a singer and Academy Award-nominated actress, was critical of the Trump administration last year after ‌sharing a post on Instagram asking people who voted for Trump if ⁠their lives ⁠had gotten better since he returned to office.

Trump, now in his second non-consecutive term, has an active social media presence. Members of his communications team often post short videos that feature popular songs to illustrate the president's efforts to deliver on his campaign promises. Some of the videos have featured hit songs while depicting images showing Trump's immigration crackdown, US military operations against Iran and the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.