Category: BUSINESS

Combs’ attorneys met with Judge Arun Subramanian on April 25 at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan to hash out trial preparations with prosecutors.

The pretrial conference comes as attorneys for Combs dispute key aspects of the legal proceeding with the U.S. government, such as the identities of Combs’ alleged victims on the witness stand and the scope of expert testimony presented to jurors in the case.

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Peppa Pig’s mother first broke the news of her pregnancy in late February, sharing the “joyous baby news” in a podcast interview with Kylie Kelce, host of “Not Gonna Lie,” on Feb. 27. Peppa and her little brother George also made a cameo on Kelce’s show.

“Mummy’s on a call, you two. Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, the announcement,” Mummy Pig said. “Well, I’m thrilled to say I’m pregnant. Baby #3 is due in the summer.”

Mummy Pig’s gender reveal, not discussed on the show, was featured on an episode of “Peppa Pig Tales” released Friday by Walmart.

Peppa and George, who weren’t sure about whether they wanted a little brother or a little sister, found out their sibling’s gender by catching a balloon that held the answer. Audiences will get to see Peppa (and George) step into a bigger role with her new little sibling arriving in Season 11 later this year.

No, Anna Kendrick, the romantic interest of Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in the 2016 original, does not return. Nor does Christian find success at a speed dating event, seen in the sequel’s trailer, for which the neurodivergent mathematical genius has hacked the company’s algorithm. The new installment is a revelrous, wave-your-cowboy-hat celebration of brotherly love. (And we don’t mean that in the “White Lotus” Season 3 sense.)

The film, which arrives in theaters April 25, reunites Christian with his younger brother, hitman Braxton (Jon Bernthal). At the end of the first movie, the two estranged siblings (who shared very little screentime) made loose plans to see each other the following week. In “The Accountant 2,” we learn once again they’ve been out of touch for years.

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“They really do connect to things we all go through, like the difficulty sometimes with families,” says Affleck, seated next to Bernthal. “These are people that we love most in the world. They’re also the people that can sometimes aggravate us most in the world. So you’ve got that closeness, but sometimes the friction of that. And that can be funny, and that can be maddening.”

Christian and Braxton team up to help Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) solve the mystery of Ray King’s (J.K. Simmons) death, resulting in plenty of deadpan comedy and shoot-‘em-up scenes.

“Violence was always the language which was the easiest way for them to tell each other that they loved each other,” Bernthal, 48, says. “And that’s really what those scenes were.”

Ben Affleck stars in action-packed sequel ‘The Accountant 2’

Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) and Braxton (Jon Bernthal) reunite for “The Accountant 2.”

Amazon MGM Studios

Affleck, 52, and Bernthal require far fewer rounds of ammo to express their affection.

“It sounds cheesy, but I genuinely love him,” Bernthal told USA TODAY on the carpet for the film’s world premiere at South by Southwest on March 8, sporting a black cowboy hat that concealed his buzzed hair for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.” “I love him as a guy, I love him as an artist, and I’m super-proud to call him a friend. I’d follow him anywhere.”

Considering that Bernthal keeps his daughter’s headband hanging around his rearview mirror and carries a picture of wife Erin Angle to every gig, his gushing over Affleck seems sincere.

With Bernthal by his side, Affleck describes acting together as “the great joy of the movie.”

“You always have the sense that there’s some sort of lightning in a bottle that you could catch, and that’s what it felt like every day,” Affleck says. “It was like, ‘Something special might happen here.’ I felt very in sync with Jon. He’s extremely intelligent. He’s a writer. He’s a filmmaker, really, and he understands all of what needs to happen on multiple levels.”

‘Relationships are complex’: How Ben Affleck relates to Christian in ‘The Accountant 2:

Bernthal is protective of “blow your mind”-type stories Affleck shared with the cast, “unbelievable stories” about Affleck’s experiences in the industry.

“Those stories,” Affleck jokes, “are going to go into the autobiography that I’m going to type out, on a typewriter, and then light on fire.”

One of the tenderest moments between the brothers is a scene Bernthal predicted would find a home on the cutting-room floor. To flirt with a woman at a bar, Christian line dances beside her to “Copperhead Road.”

“It had nothing to do with any doubt for this man, his musical abilities,” Bernthal professes as Affleck pretends to be wounded by his costar’s words. “I just really, really was like, ‘Oh, boy, line dancing.’ But I’m telling you, being there, it was electric. It made complete and utter perfect sense.”

Ben Affleck on ‘The Accountant 2’ at SXSW premiere

Ben Affleck opens up about relationships and authentic connections on the red carpet of “The Accountant 2” premiere at SXSW.

In the scene, Braxton lovingly looks at Christian dancing and proudly proclaims to bar patrons, “That’s my big brother up there!” Later the siblings toss a pair of guys, who were mad that Christian was flirting with one’s girl, out the window.

“The best part of that scene for me is Jon’s reaction where you see how much he roots for and wants his brother to be happy,” Affleck says. “And it’s moments like that where you really see that people love each other. Obviously, I’m not a − despite what you may think − a professional dancer, and I’m not an experienced line dancer.

“But I figured that’s sort of part of the charm, and the character’s going to put himself out there. It’s incumbent on me to do that, and it was a lot of fun.”

Every year, right about this time, toward the end of April, they know it’s coming. It being the onslaught of “It’s Gonna Be May” memes.

“I think every time May comes around, it becomes this meme and it’s been embellished over the years and even kids who might not know about it, they’re saying, ‘It’s Gonna Be May,’” Fatone told the USA Today Network.

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It was 25 years ago when Fatone, Bass and the rest of NSYNC, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chavez and Justin Timberlake, released the song “It’s Gonna Be Me.” Timberlake, who sang the title line of the song, pronounced “me” as “may,” and from there, hundreds of memes were born and continue to be rereleased each year at the end of April.

“I cannot believe ‘It’s Gonna Be May’ is still going,” Bass said. “I mean, it’s 25 years old. It’s kept alive by this one day a year, April 30. Thanks to Justin for being able to pronounce me may.”

They say April showers bring May flowers, but the main deluge this month seems to be facial hair on dudes in streaming movies.

Tom Hardy and Jude Law are rocking great ‘staches in a couple of action movies. Ralph Fiennes’ beard is definitely epic as Odysseus. And Christopher Abbott turns into a werewolf, so he’s furry to the max. All these guys, and some high-profile women, star in a new crop of flicks now available on your favorite streaming service, from Netflix and Max to Prime Video and Hulu. There are theatrical releases finally coming home, like the Nicole Kidman erotic thriller “Babygirl,” but also original fare such as Viola Davis’ presidential action movie “G20.”

Here are 10 notable new movies you can stream right now:

‘Babygirl’

Nicole Kidman stars in the erotic thriller as a powerful CEO who gets signed up for her company’s mentorship program. She at first spurns the sexual advances of her younger intern (Harris Dickinson), but they wind up in a full-on affair, in which she takes on a submissive role in a tryst that puts her personal and professional lives in jeopardy.

Amid her ongoing legal battle with actor Justin Baldoni, the “It Ends With Us” star, 37, delivered a speech focused on the importance of women not being silent about abuse on April 24 at the Time100 gala in New York City.

Lively, who Time magazine named one of the most influential people in the world, never mentioned Baldoni or her allegations of sexual harassment against him. However, she alluded to the litigation after reflecting on how influence is a “significant responsibility” to hold.

“Who and what we stand up for, and what we stay silent about, what we monetize versus what we actually live, matters,” she said.

“I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum,” Lively continued. “What I will speak to separately is the feeling of being a woman who has a voice today, and since I could speak, because of the pain, caution and fight of the many women who have paved the way, and the men who stood beside them.”