‘Baba Yaga’ introduces with a virtual reality movie premiere

LOS ANGELES » Last week Daisy Ridley and Jennifer Hudson went to a movie premiere together.

They posed for photos and made remarks from a stage while an audience watched quietly.

Or, more accurately, their avatars did. The actors were actually on different continents, brought together for a few minutes through virtual reality headsets to walk a red carpet, pose for photos in front of a step and to speak to a crowd of other avatars on behalf of their short film “Baba Yaga.” It’s being called the first ever VR movie premiere.

“I truly feel like I went to a premiere,” Hudson said later. “But I didn’t leave home! I think it’s a cool way to do it, especially right now.”

She especially liked seeing her team and how much their avatars looked like themselves.

John Krasinski, Dan Levy, Regina King will host ‘SNL’ as new episodes return

NEW YORK » “Saturday Night Live” is getting back to work soon, with three upcoming hosts and three musical guests announced Friday by NBC.

The sketch show returns Saturday with “A Quiet Place Part II” actor John Krasinski at the helm and musician Machine Gun Kelly making his first appearance on the show. Krasinski had been slated to host last March, but the series shut down production as the coronavirus crisis spiked.

“Schitt’s Creek” co-creator and costar Dan Levy and Grammy nominee Phoebe Bridgers will appear on the Feb. 6 episode. Regina King, whose directorial debut “One Night in Miami” is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video, will follow as host on the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, accompanied by singer-songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff.

“SNL” has been back in the studio since October, after putting “SNL at Home” shows together remotely amid the pandemic.