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George Segal, Oscar nominated actor and ‘The Goldbergs,’ star, dies at 87

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George Segal, a long-term leading man in movies who can be presently seen as the lovable grandfather on ABC’s “The Goldbergs,” died Tuesday. He was 87.

Segal’s wife, Sonia Segal, issued an statement announcing her husband’s death via Sony Pictures Television, which produces “The Goldbergs.”

“The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery,” Sonia Segal said. The statement didn’t say when the surger occurred or offer some other details.

Segal, conceived Feb. 13, 1934 in Great Neck, Long Island, New York. He got an Academy Award assignment for best supporting entertainer for his depiction of Nick in 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” the film variation of a play headlined by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Segal’s “Goldbergs” colleagues, recognized as the show’s “family” in a proclamation sent by Sony, offered their notions in regards to “the loss of our dear friend, George,” who additionally broadly engaged late-night TV crowds with his master banjo-playing abilities.

“He was kind, sweet, beyond talented and funny. George was the true epitome of class and he touched all of our lives so deeply. It was an honor and a privilege to have him as a colleague and friend all of these years,” the statement said. “He will be missed by all. Pops, we will miss your banjo playing and your infectious laugh. Rest in peace.”

Sony gave its sympathies, recalling Segal as a “true icon” who “brightened the screen whenever he was on camera” and ABC Entertainment said the actor’s “talent has left an indelible mark and we’re grateful for the laughter and joy he has given us all.”

Segal’s friend and manager, Abe Hoch, likewise gave an statement mourning Segal’s passing.

“I am saddened by the fact that my close friend and client of many years has passed away. I will miss his warmth, humor, camaraderie and friendship. He was a wonderful human,” Hoch said.

He got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017.

The actor, who rose to film fame during the 1960s and was A-rundown star during the 1970s, prevailed upon another age of fans lately as Albert “Pops” Solomon, the wise and wryly funny grandfather of Adam, Barry and Erica on “The Goldbergs.” He shot a few episodes that stay to be communicated.

“The Goldbergs” maker Adam F. Goldberg, who put together the arrangement with respect to his own family, regarded Segal through Twitter.

“Today we lost a legend. It was a true honor being a small part of George Segal’s amazing legacy. By pure fate, I ended up casting the perfect person to play Pops. Just like my grandfather, George was a kid at heart with a magical spark. I think these memories say it all…” he wrote in a tweet accompanied by photos of Segal.

“The Goldbergs” covered a long, successful acting career for Segal. In the wake of moving on from Columbia University and serving in the U.S. Armed force, he contemplated acting with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen, acquiring a traction on the New York stage.

After a progression of TV guest starring appearances, Segal got through on the big-screen in Stanley Kramer’s “Ship of Fools,” a 1965 best picture Oscar candidate that included Vivien Leigh, José Ferrer and Lee Marvin. He circled back to 1965’s “King Rat,” 1966’s “The Quiller Memorandum” and 1967’s “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” He further polished his resume with TV variations of Arthur Miller’s “Demise of a Salesman” (1966) and John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” (1967).

After a spate of featuring parts during the 1960s, he solidly settled himself as a main man in the next decade, beginning with Carl Reiner-coordinated “Where’s Poppa?” in 1970 and followed by 1972’s “The Hot Rock,” where he shared marquee space with Robert Redford, 1973’s “Blume in Love” and 1974’s “California Split,” which likewise featured Elliott Gould. He played the heartfelt lead against such Oscar-winning lights as Barbra Streisand in 1970’s “The Owl and the Pussycat,” Glenda Jackson in 1973’s “A Touch of Class” and Jane Fonda in 1977’s “Fun with Dick and Jane.”

Segal stayed a big-screen presence in supporting jobs in later movies, including 1989’s “Look Who’s Talking,” 1995’s “The Babysitter” and 1996’s “The Cable Guy,” wherein he played the dad of Matthew Broderick’s character.

Segal had a long profession in TV before “The Goldbergs,” which debuted in 2013, including a six-season run on the NBC satire “Just Shoot Me!” (1997-2003).

As the news spread Tuesday night, different entertainers offered recognition via online media.

“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” star Edward Asner, a Segal contemporary, hailed “Where’s Poppa?” as “one of the biggest laughs I have ever had in a movie. He was a great actor. Too many of these types of posts lately. RIP George!”

Melissa Joan Hart, who acted with Segal and furthermore guided him, respected him on Instagram with a photograph of the pair. “Shocked and saddened to hear of #GeorgeSegal passing away! From being on set of #JustShootMe to directing him on #Goldbergs, he was a true gem and great man. He will be missed!”

Morgan Fairchild, who imparted the screen to Segal in “The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood” and “Just Shoot Me!,” called him “one of a kind and always a joy!”

Also, Michael McKean, who knows some things about comedic acting, recognized Segal and his vital vocation. “George Segal has gone now. A career that kept going for 50+ because he loved it and he was great at it. RIP,” he tweeted.

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Wicked Box Office Hits Global Milestone, Poised to Surpass Kung Fu Panda 4 and Godzilla x Kong

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The box office for Wicked hits a significant milestone worldwide as it gets ready to surpass Godzilla x Kong and Kung Fu Panda 4.

Wicked is still doing well despite recent box office releases that have caused significant disappointment. The most recent Wizard of Oz musical was too good for the Spider-Man villain and the Tolkien adaption to compete with Kraven the Hunter and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim in the same week. Wicked has already exceeded its $145 million budget following a record-breaking first weekend that raked in over $160 million globally.

It has achieved even more success this past weekend. Variety said that after making $359 million domestically, the musical adaption made over $524 million internationally. It is currently on track to surpass Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Kung Fu Panda 4, which brought in $547.6 million and $571.1 million, respectively. Having significantly outperformed Grease’s $188.62 million total, it is also officially the highest-grossing Broadway adaption in domestic box office history.

What the Box Office Success of Wicked Means

Musicals and animated blockbusters are regaining their position at the box office after ten years of action film supremacy. Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4 have taken first and third place for the entire year, while Moana 2 and Wicked are the top films this weekend. With a $1.3 billion box office total, Deadpool & Wolverine is still in second place, but it’s probably the only action film to stay in the top five globally. Dune: Part Two may lose its position when Mufasa: The Lion King is released the following week:

TitleDomesticWorldwide
Inside Out 2
$653 million$1.7 billion
Deadpool & Wolverine
$637 million$1.3 billion
Despicable Me 4
$360 million
$970 million
Moana 2
$338 million$717 million
Dune: Part Two
$282 million
$714 million

This pattern is probably due to the fact that, other from Deadpool & Wolverine, neither DC nor Marvel have released any successful films this year. With Joker: Folie à Deux, DC tried to duplicate its $1 billion triumph, but it only made $200 million globally. With the exception of Wicked, every film in the top 10 global releases for 2024 has been a sequel, creating a distinct market. Based on a Broadway musical and The Wizard of Oz, Wicked is not a completely original film, but its box office performance does demonstrate that non-sequels may be successful in theaters in today IP-driven landscape.

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Danny Ramirez on Joaquin Phoenix Leaving the Gay Romance Film Directed by Todd Haynes

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Todd Haynes was planning to cast Danny Ramirez and Joaquin Phoenix in a gay romance movie. However, Phoenix left the untitled production five days before Guadalajara, Mexico, filming got underway.

At the Academy Museum Gala on Saturday night in Los Angeles, Ramirez told Variety’s Marc Malkin, “It’s definitely disappointing.” “If anything,” he continued, “If anything, it just gave me more inspiration to keep driving, keep pushing, and knowing that I’m on the right path and approaching the work the right way. So that’s what I’m excited about.”

The movie, which depended on Phoenix’s casting, was in danger after it was revealed in August that he had quit the production, according to sources. Two guys in love in the 1930s who escape Los Angeles and travel to Mexico were the main subject of the NC-17-rated movie.

“It’s definitely a very complicated situation,” Ramirez stated. “The audition process was extensive, and so what I walked away with that was just the artistic validation of throwing down opposite of [Phoenix] in this chemistry read… There was a moment that I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve arrived as a performer.’”

“The most recent update is ‘hopefully.’” Ramirez said in response to a question about whether the movie is still in development with filmmaker Haynes.

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David Schwimmer Remembers Rejecting “Men in Black”: ‘That Would Have Made Me a Hollywood Star’

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Although David Schwimmer admits his “career would have taken a very different trajectory” if he had been the lead in the 1997 movie, he doesn’t regret declining Men in Black.

The actor said, “That’s not why I turned it down,” in response to a question on a recent episode of the podcast Origins With Cush Jumbo regarding whether he rejected down the successful franchise because it conflicted with his Friends filming schedule. Rather, he decided to become a feature film director.

Schwimmer said, “[It] was a brutal decision.” the actor chuckles. “I had just finished filming The Pallbearer, my first film with Gwyneth Paltrow, and there were high expectations of that, which didn’t come true (Laughs). It was kind of a bomb, but there were high expectations, and the studio, which was Miramax, wanted to lock me into a three-picture deal at a fixed price, and I said I would do that if I got to direct my first movie.”

After months of talks, the intelligence actor said that they had come to an agreement whereby he “would act in three more movies for them” in exchange for allowing him to “direct my entire theater company in the first film,” Since You’ve Been Gone from 1998. The film was told through the perspective of a doctor who was severely beaten up by a fellow graduate on graduation day, humiliating him and setting the stage for a ten-year class reunion.

“All these unknown actors but I was going to put them on the map, basically. I was going to let everyone discover the talent of this amazing company,” Schwimmer said, “We found this amazing script, and we were developing it. We started pre-production. All my best friends in the world in my theater company quit their jobs so they could be in this film over the summer, which was going to be a six-week shoot in Chicago.”

However, Schwimmer had to make a tough decision about his career because the production for his directing debut happened to coincide with the filming of Men in Black.

The Six Days Seven Nights actor recalls, “We’re in pre-production, hired the whole crew, everything’s going and that’s when I was offered Men in Black.” “It was a direct conflict with this. My summer window from Friends was four months. I had a four-month hiatus and Men in Black was going to shoot exactly when I was going to direct this film with my company. And of course, it was an amazing opportunity. However, my theater company and that relationship with all those people would probably have ended. I don’t think it would have recovered.”

Schwimmer stated that he is unsure if “he made the right choice,” but he firmly feels that in these kinds of circumstances “you have to follow your gut, you have to follow your heart.”

“Look, I’m really aware, whatever 20 years later maybe more, [Men in Black] would have made me a movie star,” he continued. “If you look at the success of that film and that franchise, my career would have taken a very different trajectory.”

In the end, Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith played the key parts in the Men in Black franchise.

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