Alex Morgan gives acting a go

‘Wonder Woman’ sequel reveals Pine’s return

SBy Anne M. Peterson

he’s already an internationally recognized soccer player with a World Cup title and an Olympic gold medal. She’s also the author of a series of kids’ books.

Now you can add actor to Alex Morgan’s resume.

The US national team forward makes her movie debut in a new feature “Alex & Me” about a young player who is inspired by Morgan. Nickelodeon’s Siena Agudong stars alongside Morgan, who plays herself.

“I love the opportunities that have come my way. Honestly, it’s pretty special — I don’t think this gets to happen to very many people,” Morgan said.

It’s just the start of a busy time for the 28-year-old forward.

Morgan is currently in the midst of the National Women’s Soccer League season with the Orlando Pride. She’s also preparing for World Cup qualifying this fall with the US national team. The United States is the defending World Cup champion after winning the title in 2015 in Canada.

If the United States qualifies for next year’s tournament in France — and it seems a no-brainer considering the Americans are ranked No. 1 in the world — it will be Morgan’s third World Cup.

She first grabbed attention in the 2011 World Cup in Germany as the youngest player to make the US squad. Morgan scored in the final, which Japan won on penalty kicks.

In 2012, she led the team with 28 goals and 21 assists. The US won the gold medal at the Olympics in London.

Morgan was injured during qualifying for Canada and she sat out of the tournament until the final match of the group stage. But she started for the decisive 5-2 victory in the final over Japan, which was highlighted by Carli Lloyd’s hat trick.

Then came some disappointment for the women: the United States was ousted from the Rio Olympics in the quarterfinals by Sweden. Morgan’s eyes were moist with tears following the loss in Brasilia.

According to Lallas’ account in supporting court documents, Morgan seized control of Lee’s home, hired security guards with orders to keep away family members and others Lee knew and trusted, and then moved Lee from his longtime family home to a condominium.

“Petitioner, along with law enforcement

Now heading into the run-up to next summer’s World Cup in France, Morgan is closing in on top form. She has 13 goals in her last 15 appearances with the national team and a team-leading six goals this year . She’s also scored twice in eight matches this season for the Pride, who sit in third place in the NWSL standings.

“Obviously, we’re pretty well into our season now with Orlando, and we’ve played some really good soccer,” she said. “I feel like I’m fit and I’m in a place where I’m happy. I don’t feel like I’m the fittest I could be, but that should be happening around the end of the season and the World Cup qualifiers.”

The United States defeated China 2-1 on Tuesday night in Cleveland. Up next for the national team is the four-team Tournament of Nations starting in late July. Until it gets intense later this fall for qualifying, Morgan is just enjoying the ride.

She was introduced to the script for “Alex & Me” some two years ago. She went all-in when Nickelodeon and Warner Bros. jumped on board. The film was released on iTunes earlier this week and it’s set to come out on DVD next Tuesday.

Morgan took her role seriously, even hiring an acting coach. The result is sweet, family-oriented fare — similar to her series of children’s books, The Kicks.

Also: LOS ANGELES:

Everyone’s favorite lasso-spinning warrior leader is back — and this time, she brought a familiar friend.

Filming is currently underway for the “Wonder Woman” sequel, officially titled “Wonder Woman 1984.” Patty Jenkins, who is returning to the director’s chair, teased a first look on Wednesday morning of the highly anticipated followup.

Jenkins tweeted out a photo of Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor who (spoiler alert!) blows up during World War I at the end of the first movie. Nevertheless, he appears looking sharp as ever, albeit confused,

and Adult Protective Services, believes that Mr. Morgan is unduly influencing Mr. Lee and isolating him,” Lallas wrote in the petition. (RTRS)

LOS ANGELES:

“Dukes of Hazard” star John Schneider is free hours after he was in the year 1984.

Gal Gadot also shared a photo of her return as Diana Price — a.k.a. Wonder Woman — standing in front of a window of TV sets.

Jenkins previously revealed that the upcoming superhero sequel will be set in the United States during the 1980s. Kristen Wiig joins as the villainous Cheetah, while Pedro Pascal is also been cast in an undisclosed key role.

This is the eighth installment in the DC Universe franchise, and the fourth movie featuring Gadot’s Wonder Woman.

“Wonder Woman” was a box office sensation last summer, earning $821.8 million worldwide including $412.5 million in North America.

“Wonder Woman 1984” hits theaters on Nov. 1, 2019.

LOS ANGELES:

Warner Bros has released an unsettling first trailer for “The Nun,” with the demonic sister from “The Conjuring 2” returning to terrorize Taissa Farmiga’s novitiate at a remote convent.

The footage starts with a woman’s voiceover describing her visions of an evil nun, followed by a gravel-voiced sister asserting, “The abbey has a long history — not all of it good.”

The trailer concludes with the young nun walking through the dark - not aware that she’s being followed by the evil nun, who then leaps out. The trailer concludes, “Pray for forgiveness.”

The official synopsis: “When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in ‘The Conjuring 2,’ as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned.” (Agencies)

jailed for an alimony dispute.

The 58-year-old Schneider was released from the Los Angeles County Jail on Tuesday when his three-day sentence was cut short because of overcrowding.

The “Smallville” star told Fox News he cannot afford the payments to his estranged wife Elvira “Elly” Schneider. She filed for divorce in 2014 after 21 years of marriage; they have three adult children.

Schneider said he’s “disheartened” with the system.

Schneider still faces the payments and community service.

He played Bo Duke on “The Dukes of Hazard” from 1979 to 1985. (AP)

JERUSALEM:

A former Miss Iraq whose selfie with her Israeli counterpart triggered criticism called Wednesday for coexistence and regional peace in a speech during her first visit to the Jewish state.

Baghdad-born Sarah Idan, 28, had posted the picture on her Instagram account with her newly made friend, Israel’s Adar Gandelsman, during the 2017 Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas.

The outcry in her native Iraq, which does not recognise Israel and is formally at war with it, compelled Idan’s family to relocate to the United States, where Sarah had been living.

Speaking at a conference in Jerusalem led by a global Jewish advocacy organisation, Idan called for peace between Iraq and Israel. (AFP)