Whedon breaks silence on allegations
Filmmaker Joss
Whedon has broken his silence over multiple allegations of misconduct by him on productions he oversaw, including the 2017 film “Justice League” and TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
In an interview with New York magazine that published Monday, Whedon denied Gal Gadot’s allegation that he “threatened” her career while working on “Justice League,” which Whedon took over after original director Zack Snyder withdrew from the film.
But Ray Fisher’s July 2020 allegation — that Whedon’s behavior making “Justice League” was “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” — was the spark that led to the collapse of Whedon’s career. In December 2020, Warner Bros. said an investigation into Fisher’s claims resulted in unspecified “remedial action.”
To New York, Whedon denied Fisher’s allegations, saying none were “true or merited discussing.” Instead, Whedon claimed that Fisher’s actions were done in bad faith. “We’re talking about a malevolent force,” Whedon said. “We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.”
Fisher’s allegations were followed in February by actor Charisma Carpenter’s allegation that Whedon was “casually cruel” to her while making “Buffy” and its spin-off series “Angel,” including calling her fat after she became pregnant, and asking her if she was “going to keep it.” A subsequent investigation by Variety backed her story.
Whedon told New York he was “not mannerly” with Carpenter when she told him she was pregnant, but he denied ever calling her fat. “Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming,” Whedon said.
Haddish charged with DUI: Tiffany Haddish was arrested Friday and charged with driving under the influence in Georgia, authorities said.
The actor and comedian was detained after Peachtree City Police got a call about 2:30 a.m. regarding a driver asleep at the wheel on a highway, Assistant Police Chief Matt Myers said in a news release. An officer saw a vehicle matching the caller’s description and stopped Haddish as she pulled into the yard of a residence, Myers said.
Haddish later posted $1,666 bond and was released from the Fayette County Jail, Myers said.
‘Scream’ tops ‘Spiderman’ at box office: After a month at No. 1, “Spiderman: No Way Home” has finally been overtaken at the box office. Paramount Pictures’ “Scream” reboot debuted with $30.6 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“Scream,” which cost about $24 million to make, led all releases over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Paramount forecasts that it will total $35 million including Monday’s grosses.
“Spider-man: No Way Home” slipped to second place and grossed $20.8 million. Sony Pictures predicted that with another $5.2 million on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the film will reach a domestic cumulative total of $703.9 million Monday, edging “Black Panther” and moving into fourth place all-time. That puts it behind only “Avatar” ($760 million), “Avengers: Endgame” ($858 million) and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($936 million).
Jan. 18 birthdays: Singer Bobby Goldsboro is 81. Singer Brett Hudson is 69. Actor Kevin Costner is 67. Actor Mark Rylance is 62. Actor Alison Arngrim is 60. Actor Jesse L. Martin is 53. Singer Jonathan Davis is
51. Actor Jason Segel is 42. Singer Samantha Mumba is 39. Actor Ashleigh Murray is 34. Actor Zeeko Zaki is 32.