<p>Here's hoping the Peter Tingle still works in the multiverse. Because judging by the first teaser trailer for <a href="https://www.etonline.com/movies/spider-man" target="_blank"><em>Spider-Man: No Way Home</em></a>, <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/tom-holland" target="_blank">Tom Holland</a>'s Spidey is going to need all the sense he can get as he faces familiar foes from across the Sacred Timeline and those <em>other</em> Spider-Man movies.</p>

<p>When last we saw Peter Parker in <em>Far From Home</em>, his secret identity was <a href="https://www.etonline.com/spider-man-far-from-home-end-credits-scenes-explained-127843" target="_blank">exposed to the world</a> by Mysterio (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/jake-gyllenhaal" target="_blank">Jake Gyllenhaal</a>), among other not-so-great accusations. And so in <em>No Way Home</em>, he turns to Doctor Strange (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/benedict-cumberbatch" target="_blank">Benedict Cumberbatch</a>) in search of a mystical fix. "When Mysterio revealed my identity, my entire life got screwed up," Peter says. "I was wondering if you could make it so that he never did?"</p>

<p>Luckily for him, the good Doctor has just the spell to make the world forget that Peter Peter is Spider-Man -- although that means M.J. (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/zendaya" target="_blank">Zendaya</a>), Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Aunt May (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/marisa-tomei" target="_blank">Marisa Tomei</a>) won't know either. Which will probably be a problem when Peter finds himself traversing time and space and coming face to face with Doc freaking Ock.</p>

<p>If you needed to see it to believe it, here it is: <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/alfred-molina" target="_blank">Alfred Molina</a> is indeed reprising his role as Dr. Otto Octavius, aka Doc Ock, from the <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/tobey-maguire" target="_blank">Tobey Maguire</a>-starring <em>Spider-Man 2</em>. From that same trilogy, <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/willem-dafoe" target="_blank">Willem Dafoe</a>'s Green Goblin is expected to pop up, as is <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/jamie-foxx" target="_blank">Jamie Foxx</a>'s Electro (from the <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/andrew-garfield" target="_blank">Andrew Garfield</a>-starring <em>The Amazing Spider-Man 2</em>).</p>

<p>Those three villains -- as well as Thomas Haden Church's Sandman -- are all teased in&nbsp;the epic&nbsp;<em>No Way Home</em> official poster, released on Sunday.</p>

<div class="ctd-shortcode" data-ctd-shortcode-id="social-media" data-ctd-shortcode-url="https://twitter.com/SpiderManMovie/status/1457543351079636995?s=20">&nbsp;</div>

<p>Former Spider-Men Maguire and Garfield are also rumored to appear in <em>No Way Home</em>, though neither appears in this trailer and the latter recently told ET he's "<a href="https://www.etonline.com/andrew-garfield-says-spider-man-no-way-home-casting-is-a-cool-idea-amid-rumors-of-his-return-165087" target="_blank">closed the book on</a>" reprising his role as Spidey. "What people are talking about is a really cool idea," Garfield said. "I haven't received a phone call, but you know..."</p>

<p>Back in August, Sony Pictures announced that the <em>No Way Home</em> teaser trailer broke the record for most global views in 24 hours -- a record previously held by <a href="https://www.etonline.com/movies/avengers-endgame" target="_blank"><em>Avengers: Endgame</em></a> -- with 355.5 million views. Leaks be damned! The official <em>Spider-Man</em> movie account <a href="https://twitter.com/SpiderManMovie/status/1429982989228810249" target="_blank">tweeted</a>, "shout-out to the real ones who are watching the trailer for the first time right now"</p>

<p><em>Spider-Man: No Way Home&nbsp;</em>swings into theaters on Dec. 17.</p>

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John Boone

field_byline

Movies

'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Poster Teases Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Electro and Sandman

<p>In the end, they weren't complete strangers, after all.</p>

<p>The eighth and final episode of <a href="https://www.etonline.com/tv/nine-perfect-strangers" target="_blank"><em>Nine Perfect Strangers</em></a>, "Ever After," confirmed that it was, indeed, jilted divorcee Carmel (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/regina-hall" target="_blank">Regina Hall</a>) who shot Masha (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/nicole-kidman" target="_blank">Nicole Kidman</a>) for having an affair with her husband, the near-death experience that led Masha to start Tranquillum House in the first place. And that's only the first minutes of the finale.</p>

<p>As in the <a href="https://www.etonline.com/news/210787_exclusive_big_little_lies_author_liane_moriarty_on_hbo_series_reese_witherspoon" target="_blank">Liane Moriarty</a> novel of the same name, the weeklong wellness retreat ends with the guests all locked in a room where they're tricked into believing the resort is on fire -- thus, experiencing their own impending demises -- with the exception of the Marconis. Diverting from the book's plot, Napoleon (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/michael-shannon" target="_blank">Michael Shannon</a>), Heather (Asher Keddie) and Zoe (Grace Van Patten) go on one last acid trip to share a hallucinogenic goodbye with Zach, with Masha using their psychedelic connection to reunite with her own dead daughter.</p>

<p>After the cops cart Masha off for her various crimes against wellbeing and the guests return to their everyday lives, Frances (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/melissa-mccarthy" target="_blank">Melissa McCarthy</a>) and Tony (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/bobby-cannavale" target="_blank">Bobby Cannavale</a>) find family in one another (and Frances finds inspiration for her next book, titled <em>Nine Perfect Strangers</em>); Carmel finds forgiveness; and Ben (Melvin Gregg) and Jessica (<a href="https://www.etonline.com/latest/people/samara-weaving" target="_blank">Samara Weaving</a>)…take over running Tranquillum House?!</p>

<p>"I can talk about this, right?" director Jonathan Levine confirmed to ET over Zoom, before venturing into finale spoiler territory to discuss Masha's happy (or is it?) ending, whether Carmel earned her atonement and more.</p>

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<p><strong>ET: You have a lot of balls in the air heading into this finale. What were your goals for this final episode? Or what were the things that were most important to you to accomplish?</strong></p>

<p><strong>Jonathan Levine:</strong> There was so many different things, as you said. There're thriller elements. There's humor. There's character-based drama. There's soap. For me, what was so important the whole time is engaging with the humanity of these characters and fulfilling their emotional journey in a satisfying way. That was, like, job one of this finale. And then there was the job of topping yourself, as it gets more and more crazy and more and more trippy. I love that sort of descent through the looking glass into madness, so pushing that even further as well. And of course, giving closure to our characters as well as some surprises.</p>

<p><strong>Masha's arc over the series pivots quite a bit obviously from the source material. What conversations did you have with David and Nicole about where you ultimately wanted to take that story and end with her?</strong></p>

<p>What David found with her -- and I think the seeds of it are in the book -- is that she is dealing with her own grief, the same way that all of these people are. And David changed it slightly from the book, but in the book, she had lost a child. So, I think what he did was connect these dots and figure out a way to dramatize it in a more heightened way that is appropriate for the type of material we're making. I was quite impressed and excited when he landed on this [plotline] that she is using the Marconis specifically as test pilots to get to her past. And I love what it explores -- the idea of, Is it better to live in a delusion than it is to live in our reality?</p>

<p>I think it's really relevant right now. Reality is really hard to face sometimes. And I think that this exploration of the subjectivity of reality could not be more relevant. So, I love where she ends up and I love her arc and I love what Nicole was able to do turning this person from an antagonist almost into a protagonist. Someone you can empathize with who started off as, for all intents and purposes, your bad guy. I think there's something very biting and I love where she ends up, driving away in their car with [her daughter]. She's living in a delusion. She's got her daughter back, but she doesn't. And she seems happy, but is she really? She's living in a dream. Her life is not reality.</p>

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<p><strong>You mentioned having to manage this thriller aspect, with the season-long mystery of who shot Masha. Talk to me about doling out those reveals and how you wanted to weave that thread into this bigger tapestry.</strong></p>

<p>That was a really tricky one to balance, because a lot of the reveals in the show are things you have to obfuscate quite a lot. You have to really gingerly pepper this stuff in. To me, what I love about it is the way Regina did it. We have all these characters -- whether it's Bobby's character killing someone in his past or Regina's character shooting Nicole or Nicole's character having an affair with Regina's charter's husband -- who are doing these awful, awful things, and one of the things we're exploring is, how do you maintain your humanity in spite of this stuff? It was about the push and pull with the audience of showing these people doing terrible things but then being like, "Hey, these are people worthy of your love as well." These are people who make mistakes -- and we're dealing with a heightened world and they're making huge mistakes -- and I don't know that they should be forgiven for their mistakes, but I do think they should have the opportunity to move forward and move past their mistakes.</p>

<p>As far as navigating the thrillery aspects, there's an element of the horror genre [or] the thriller genre hanging over the whole thing. Because to me, the very notion that you're going to go to a mysterious place that's going to completely change you for the rest of your life, the need for that is horrific. I feel it, but that's a scary feeling. And then this idea that she's dosing them without their knowledge, that's also a scary, terrifying thing to experience. And then a bad trip, as I know all too well, is a terrifying thing to experience. So, having that be germane to the material made it not feel whiplashy to go to these threats and to go to the Carmel reveal. That Carmel reveal is almost a campy moment, but I love it. I think it's just delicious. And I think that having the umbrella of psychedelics to help us push with humor in one moment and push with a thriller in another moment and for them to also feel like they're in the same piece was really helped by the idea that these guys were all tripping.</p>

<p><strong>You go into this thinking Nicole is <a href="https://www.etonline.com/how-nine-perfect-strangers-assembled-its-nine-perfect-stars-exclusive-170387" target="_blank">taking the biggest swing</a>, but by the end of episode 7, Regina is doing a full song and dance number to "Xanadu." It's <em>wild</em>.</strong></p>

<p>From the beginning, we knew that our sweet spot was being weird and wild and just pushing it. Luckily, we had actors who were brave enough to just go to those places. Regina dancing was one of the most fun things we shot. We just locked her in a room with our camera operator and he was on this really wide lens, so he had to get really close. Like, he crashed into her once and in the outtakes, you can see it. The camera almost falls to the ground! But it was so fun. To me, she's an amazing distillation of the tone of the show. She's so funny and then she can be terrifying and then she can find that vulnerability in Carmel and tap into it. I just love her. She's fantastic.</p>

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<p><strong>Was this finale episode always as written? Or did these actors coming in and shaping these characters then shape the way the story ended in specific ways?</strong></p>

<p>Oh yeah. I think the architecture of it was always very similar. Where we wanted to end up was always very similar, but sure, you have actors who have been living with these characters for three months. They were the guardians of these characters even more so than I was. Especially with people like Michael and Melissa and Bobby and Samara. These are top-class actors and so I would be crazy not to integrate their feedback. Because she's a producer, Melissa and I talked a lot about the finale and where Tony and Frances were going to end up. She's so brilliant creatively that she was very helpful in crafting that arc for the final episode. We would go back and forth, she and David and I, quite a lot on those scenes. I knew that that was going to be one of the big things that viewers loved about this show. I think their relationship is just so beautiful and touching to me.</p>

<p>Regina helped figure out her coda or epilogue. Asher with her epilogue. Stuff like that. We'd be on set shooting episode six or seven and I'd have little sidebar conversations with people all the time, and then I'd relay that back to David, who couldn't be on set because we were in Australia and COVID and all that stuff. It probably changed about 15 percent. These weren't huge structural changes. But I think that's what's really fun about directing. There's where I come from having worked with <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/seth-rogen" target="_blank">Seth [Rogen]</a> in comedy. I love being in a creative dialogue with the actors throughout. You have to be pretty flexible when you're doing something insane.</p>

<p><strong>Have you gotten Liane's review of the series as a whole yet?</strong></p>

<p>Liane saw it maybe a couple of weeks before it came out. I mean, she'd read the scripts and she'd been a part of it, and I got [her review] through Bruno. I didn't really get a chance to hang with her very much at all, which is a shame because I'm such a huge fan of her writing, but yes, we got her blessing. She was very positive about it.</p>

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<p><strong>Before I let you go, I want to ask about "Crimson Blue." [<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/keith-urban" target="_blank">Keith Urban</a> recorded the original song for the series' end credits.] Nicole and Keith have always been so supportive of each other, but how did this come to be? Was it Nicole suggesting her husband? Or an ask from you?</strong></p>

<p>I'm a big fan of his and his music. We [did post-production] in Sydney, and we had occasion to end up at a little party at Nicole Kidman's house, not trying to brag. That was my personal first time meeting Keith and just, what a wonderful, amazing dude. At the end, he was playing the piano and doing covers, and I was like, "I've got to pinch myself. This is crazy!" But I think what happened was Nicole was like, "He's quarantining," and I was like, "Well, he should write some tunes for us." And she was like, "That's a great idea." Maybe it was Nicole's suggestion and I was like, "That's a great idea!"</p>

<p>Then a few days later, I got some songs in my inbox. And this one in particular, it had this Pink Floyd-y kind of vibe, which made it really perfect for the end song. I love that sort of nod to psychedelia and the music I would listen to in my dorm room on repeat. It was kind of perfect. And to think that he was quarantining and just wrote it. I don't know how songs come to people, but I was so impressed when we got it. It's not every day you get a giant pop star to write a song for your show.</p>

<hr />
<p><em>Nine Perfect Strangers&nbsp;</em>is streaming in its entirety <a href="https://www.etonline.com/how-to-watch-nicole-kidmans-new-show-nine-perfect-strangers-170240" target="_blank">on Hulu</a>.</p>

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'Nine Perfect Strangers' Director Jonathan Levine Breaks Down the Finale's 'Happy' Ending (Exclusive)

<p>Backstage at Sunday's <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">2021 Emmy Awards</a>, <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/jean-smart" target="_blank">Jean Smart</a> reflected on what it meant to win after "such a difficult last six months." Smart, 70, took home Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance on <a href="https://www.etonline.com/how-to-watch-hacks-172442" target="_blank"><em>Hacks</em></a> and, as she acknowledged onstage <a href="https://www.etonline.com/jean-smart-emotionally-dedicates-best-actress-comedy-emmy-win-to-late-husband-172382" target="_blank">during her acceptance speech</a>, the celebration comes in the wake of the death of her late husband, Richard Gilliland.</p>

<p>"He'd be very happy for me," Smart told ET's Lauren Zima on the Emmys' Winners Walk. The couple, who met as co-stars on <em>Designing Women</em>, married in 1987. <a href="https://www.etonline.com/richard-gilliland-actor-and-husband-of-jean-smart-dead-at-71-162972" target="_blank">Gilliland died in March</a> at age 71.</p>

<p>With the Emmys marking her first awards show since his death, she brought along a special date: Her son, Forrest, whom she and Gilliland adopted in 2009. "I was thrilled to share it with my youngest, and he's ecstatic!" Smart told ET. "So that was really special."</p>

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<p>Smart also gave Forrest and her eldest son, Connor, thanks onstage during the telecast, calling them "both very courageous individuals in their own right and put up with Mommy commuting from Philadelphia and back. But <em>Hacks</em> has been such a thrill. I can't even tell you."</p>

<p>She reiterated the latter point backstage. As a now four-time winner with seven additional nominations (including a second nod this year alone for her work on <a href="https://www.etonline.com/tv/mare-of-easttown" target="_blank"><em>Mare of Easttown</em></a>), Smart admitted that she's happy to be rewarded for something she can stand behind.</p>

<p>"If you did something that you thought was kind of OK, you didn't feel like it was your best and then you got rewarded for it, that wouldn't feel that great. But to be really proud of something and then get honored for it, that's extra special," she said. "Unfortunately, I have to go to work at the crack of dawn tomorrow so I can't party too much tonight."</p>

<hr />
<p><em>The <a href="https://www.emmys.com/" target="_blank">2021 Primetime Emmy Awards</a>, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, aired live Sunday, Sept. 19 on CBS and Paramount+. For complete <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">Emmys coverage</a>, stay tuned to ETonline.com.</em></p>

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Awards

Jean Smart Reveals the 'Really Special' Way 13-Year-Old Son Forrest Reacted to Her Emmy Win

<p>Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series is never not a tight race, and this year's contenders remained neck and neck (and neck and neck and neck) up to Sunday's <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">73rd Primetime Emmy Awards</a>. Would it go to the singular <em>I May Destroy You</em>? Or <a href="https://www.etonline.com/tv/mare-of-easttown" target="_blank"><em>Mare of Easttown</em></a> or <a href="https://www.etonline.com/tv/wandavision" target="_blank"><em>WandaVision</em></a>, both series that launched a million fan theories? Or perhaps one of the prestige period pieces, <a href="https://www.etonline.com/latest/tv/the-queens-gambit" target="_blank"><em>The Queen's Gambit</em></a> or <a href="https://www.etonline.com/latest/tv/the-underground-railroad" target="_blank"><em>The Underground Railroad</em></a>?</p>

<p>In the end, <em>The Queen's Gambit</em> was named the winner. Stars <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/anya-taylor-joy" target="_blank">Anya Taylor-Joy</a> and <a href="https://www.etonline.com/moses-ingram-talks-queens-gambit-filming-macbeth-with-denzel-washington-155157" target="_blank">Moses Ingram</a> joyously led the processional to the stage, where William Horberg accepted on behalf of his fellow EP, writer-director by Scott Frank, and the ensemble cast.</p>

<p>"The one thing that no algorithm can predict, no billion dollar budget can manufacture is word of mouth," he said. "This award is for the fans who told their friends, 'Dude, you gotta watch the orphan girl chess drama.'"</p>

<p>"Anya Taylor-Joy, what can I say?" Horberg&nbsp;continued. "You brought the sexy back to chess, and you inspired a whole generation of girls and young women to realize patriarchy simply has no defense against our queens."</p>

<p>The Netflix miniseries, based on Walter Tevis' 1983 novel of the same name following chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Taylor-Joy) from orphan to chess grandmaster, was nominated for 18 Emmys in total this year. <em>The Queen's Gambit </em>ultimately won 11, including Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.</p>

<p>"I'm just so grateful that people connected to this story and connected with that as much as they did because she means so much to me," <a href="https://www.etonline.com/anya-taylor-joy-on-possibly-revisiting-queens-gambit-for-season-2-after-golden-globe-win-exclusive" target="_blank">Taylor-Joy previous told ET</a>. "Whenever you do a project, it kind of feels like you're throwing your baby out of a window and when people catch it, that's just the best feeling in the world."</p>

<hr />
<p><em>The <a href="https://www.emmys.com/" target="_blank">2021 Primetime Emmy Awards</a>, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, aired live Sunday, Sept. 19 on CBS and Paramount+. For complete <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">Emmys coverage</a>, stay tuned to ETonline.com.</em></p>

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'The Queen's Gambit' Wins Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series at 2021 Emmys

<p><a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/ewan-mcgregor" target="_blank">Ewan McGregor</a> is a first-time Emmy winner, taking home the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his performance in <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/halston" target="_blank"><i>Halston</i></a> during Sunday's <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">73rd Primetime Emmy Awards</a>.</p>

<p>"It's quite difficult going after you, Kate," McGregor began with a nod to <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/kate-winslet" target="_blank">Kate Winslet</a>, who won the <a href="https://www.etonline.com/kate-winslet-salutes-fellow-nominees-after-winning-2021-emmy-for-best-actress-in-a-limited-series" target="_blank">Actress in Limited Series category</a> immediately before him. "That was a lovely speech."</p>

<p>In acceptance, he thanked <i>Halston</i> EP <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/ryan-murphy" target="_blank">Ryan Murphy</a> and his co-stars. "David [Pittu], Rebecca [Dayan], I love you. Gian Franco [Rodriguez] and Krysta [Rodriguez], it was my great pleasure to get to work with you every day," he listed off, going on to thank his dialect coach and director Daniel Minahan.</p>

<p>"Mary, I love you so much. I love you so much," he added to partner <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/mary-elizabeth-winstead" target="_blank">Mary Elizabeth Winstead</a>. "We'll take this home and show it to <a href="https://www.etonline.com/ewan-mcgregor-and-mary-elizabeth-winstead-welcome-first-child-together-167996" target="_blank">our new little boy</a>, Laurie. And to my beautiful girls who I know are watching -- Clara, Esther, Jamyan and Anouk -- I said I'd say hello to you too!"</p>

<p>McGregor earned three previous Emmy nominations, with his first in 1997 for&nbsp;guest starring on <em>ER</em> and dual nods&nbsp;in 2017 for Outstanding Narrator for <em>Highlands: Scotland's Wild Heart</em> and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for <em>Fargo</em>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This year's Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nominees also included <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/paul-bettany" target="_blank">Paul Bettany</a> (<em>WandaVision</em>), <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/hugh-grant" target="_blank">Hugh Grant</a> (<em>The Undoing</em>), and <em>Hamilton</em>'s <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/lin-manuel-miranda" target="_blank">Lin-Manuel Miranda</a> and <a href="https://www.etonline.com/latest/people/leslie-odom-jr" target="_blank">Leslie Odom, Jr.</a></p>

<hr />
<p><em>The <a href="https://www.emmys.com/" target="_blank">2021 Primetime Emmy Awards</a>, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, aired live Sunday, Sept. 19 on CBS and Paramount+. For complete <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">Emmys coverage</a>, stay tuned to ETonline.com.</em></p>

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Ewan McGregor Can't Wait to Show Emmy to His and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's New Son

<p>A witch, a chess prodigy, a grizzled lady detective, a twenty-something writer and the Queen of Soul walk into the <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">73rd Primetime Emmy Awards</a>. During Sunday's telecast, <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/kate-winslet" target="_blank">Kate Winslet</a> took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her performance in <a href="https://www.etonline.com/tv/mare-of-easttown" target="_blank"><em>Mare of Easttown</em></a>.</p>

<p>"Mom, they're standing up! Oh my god, thank you so much. OK, breathe," an overcome Winslet said as she took the stage. "I just want to acknowledge my fellow nominees in this decade that <em>has</em> to be about women having each other's backs. I support you. I salute you. I'm proud of all of you."</p>

<p>This year's limited series races were especially tight, with Winslet joined by fellow nominees <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/michaela-coel" target="_blank">Michaela Coel</a> (<em>I May Destroy You</em>), <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/cynthia-erivo" target="_blank">Cynthia Erivo</a> (<em>Genius: Aretha</em>), <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/elizabeth-olsen" target="_blank">Elizabeth Olsen</a> (<em>WandaVision</em>) and <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/anya-taylor-joy" target="_blank">Anya Taylor-Joy</a> (<em>The Queen's Gambit</em>).</p>

<p>She then thanked writer and EP Brad Ingelsby for creating a series that "brought people together and gave them something to talk about other than a global pandemic." "You created a middle-aged, imperfect, flawed mother," she said, "and you made us all feel validated, honestly."</p>

<p>In <i>Mare of Easttown</i>, Winslet plays Mare Sheehan, a small-town Pennsylvania detective working a murder case as she works through the grief of her own tragedy. This marks her second Emmy win, previously picking up a trophy in this same category for 2011's <em>Mildred Pierce</em>.</p>

<p>Winslet wrapped her acceptance speedily shouting out co-stars and fellow winners <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/evan-peters" target="_blank">Evan Peters</a>, <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/julianne-nicholson" target="_blank">Julianne Nicholson</a> and "the all mighty" <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/jean-smart" target="_blank">Jean Smart</a> (who was nominated for <em>Mare of Easttown</em> but won for Hacks) and her family, including her children, Mia, Bear and Joe. "And my husband, Ned, who I get to hold hands with for the rest of my life. Yes, I am the winner!" she exclaimed.</p>

<hr />
<p><em>The <a href="https://www.emmys.com/" target="_blank">2021 Primetime Emmy Awards</a>, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, aired live Sunday, Sept. 19 on CBS and Paramount+. For complete <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">Emmys coverage</a>, stay tuned to ETonline.com.</em></p>

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Kate Winslet Salutes Fellow Best Actress in a Limited Series Nominees During Emmy Acceptance Speech

<p>Finally, something to celebrate in Easttown. During Sunday's <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">73rd Primetime Emmy Awards</a>, <a href="https://www.etonline.com/tv/mare-of-easttown" target="_blank"><em>Mare of Easttown</em></a>'s <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/julianne-nicholson" target="_blank">Julianne Nicholson</a> earned her first Emmy win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.</p>

<p>"Great, great material is hard to find, and you wrote a script that is true to the horror and beauty and the incredible bonds of ordinary people's lives, particularly the bonds between women, something we don't always see," she said to series creator Brad Ingelsby from the Emmys stage, going on to thank the show's crew and her co-stars.</p>

<p>"<a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/kate-winslet" target="_blank">Kate Winslet</a>, man, you're good at acting," Nicholson said. "But turns out, that you're good at caring for a whole production. You led all of us every step of the way with such care and intelligence and love. If you hadn't called and asked me to join you in Philly, I'd have probably read the first two scripts and said, 'Nah, the priest did it,' and stayed home. So, I owe this to you."</p>

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<p>In the HBO series, Nicholson plays Lori Ross, Mare's (Winslet) closest friend, with the actress earning raves for her poignant performance in the finale episode. "I think the ending scene with Kate and Julianne in the kitchen, I had written something that Julianne was supposed to say," <a href="https://www.etonline.com/mare-of-easttown-creator-on-the-heavy-emotions-revealing-erins-killer-in-finale-exclusive-166607" target="_blank">Ingelsby told ET</a>, "and Julianne was like, 'I don't want to say anything.' I just went with it."</p>

<p>Nicholson's fellow nominees included her <em>Mare Of Easttown</em> co-star <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/jean-smart" target="_blank">Jean Smart</a>, <em>WandaVision</em>'s <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/kathryn-hahn" target="_blank">Kathryn Hahn</a>, <em>The Queen's Gambit</em>'s Moses Ingram and <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/renee-elise-goldsberry" target="_blank">Renée Elise Goldsberry</a> and <a href="https://www.etonline.com/latest/people/phillipa-soo" target="_blank">Phillipa Soo</a> for <em>Hamilton</em>.</p>

<hr />
<p><em>The <a href="https://www.emmys.com/" target="_blank">2021 Primetime Emmy Awards</a>, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, aired live Sunday, Sept. 19 on CBS and Paramount+. For complete <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">Emmys coverage</a>, stay tuned to ETonline.com.</em></p>

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Julianne Nicholson Dedicates First Emmy Win to 'Mare of Easttown' Co-Star Kate Winslet

<p><a href="https://www.etonline.com/tv/the-white-lotus" target="_blank"><em>The White Lotus</em></a> won't be an Emmy contender until <em>next</em> year's ceremony, but star and future frontrunner <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/jennifer-coolidge" target="_blank">Jennifer Coolidge</a> was on hand to present during Sunday's <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">73rd Primetime Emmy Awards</a>. And on the red carpet, she reacted to news that the show's second season will <a href="https://www.etonline.com/the-white-lotus-renewed-for-season-2-170256" target="_blank">feature an entirely new cast</a>.</p>

<p>"I hope not," Coolidge told ET's Nischelle Turner. "I have heard that. But you know what? You never know! And even so, imagine what Mike White can write the second time around. So, I'll watch it, even if I'm not in it."</p>

<p>The actress is equally hopeful about another would-be project, the long-awaited <em><a href="https://www.etonline.com/movies/legally-blonde" target="_blank">Legally Blonde</a></em> threequel. Elle Woods herself, <a href="http://etonline.com/reese-witherspoon-gives-update-on-legally-blonde-3-exclusive-171951" target="_blank">Reese Witherspoon, recently told ET</a> that Mindy Kaling is "working hard" on the script, which was itself news to Coolidge.</p>

<p>"I was hoping tonight somebody could fill me in, because I haven't heard <em>anything</em>," she said. "Every week, I get like a little text or something going, 'It's happening' or whatever and then I don't hear anything again. Reese has a lot going on, but I hope it happens."</p>

<p>The one project Coolidge can talk about -- since she's already finished filming it -- is the rom-com <em>Shotgun Wedding</em>. <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/jennifer-lopez" target="_blank">Jennifer Lopez</a> and <a href="https://www.etonline.com/people/josh-duhamel" target="_blank">Josh Duhamel</a> star as a couple whose destination wedding is taken hostage, with Coolidge cast as the mother of Duhamel's groom-to-be.</p>

<p>"It was very hot. They're very hot. They're a really good combination, and I had some really good times there," she said of shooting the movie in the Dominican Republic. And though she was loathe to spoil any of the fun to come, she did tease of <em>Shotgun Wedding</em>: "Parts of it are <em>really</em> scary."</p>

<hr />
<p>The <a href="https://www.emmys.com/" target="_blank">2021 Primetime Emmy Awards</a>, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, will air live Sunday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+. In the meantime, stay tuned to ETonline.com for complete <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys" target="_blank">Emmys coverage</a>.</p>

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Jennifer Coolidge Is Optimistic About 'White Lotus' Season 2 and 'Legally Blonde 3' (Exclusive)

<p>In a movie that includes a fight club for wizards and monsters, a henchman with a machete for a hand and a freaking dragon, <a href="https://www.etonline.com/movies/shang-chi" target="_blank"><em>Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings</em></a>' undisputed standout is Morris, a faceless lump with wings, six legs and the heart of a champion.</p>

<p>Morris is an unwitting expat from the realm of Ta Lo, who finds himself on a buddy adventure with <a href="https://www.etonline.com/sir-ben-kingsley-confirms-his-mcu-return-in-shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings-170618" target="_blank">Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery</a>. Though unlike anything you've probably seen onscreen, he is based on a being that has existed since ancient Chinese mythology. Which doesn't make him any easier to include in a Marvel movie.</p>

<p>Enter senior visual effects supervisor Chris Townsend, who previously worked on such MCU entries as <em>Captain America: The First Avenger</em>, <em>Iron Man 3</em> and <em>Avengers: Age of Ultron</em>. <em>Shang-Chi</em> offered him the chance to explore a completely new world. "It was [<a href="https://www.etonline.com/shang-chi-director-destin-daniel-cretton-talks-alternate-endings-and-those-post-credit-scenes" target="_blank">Destin Daniel Cretton</a>'s] first time working on a big visual effects movie," he explains, "but he came in with so many brilliant ideas and was so passionate about making this story and keeping it as authentic as possible to Asian culture." The idea that most excited Townsend?</p>

<p>"Well, I think when he first said there's a dragon in it," he says, "I was like, 'Whoa, there's a dragon.'"</p>

<p>Zooming with ET, Townsend answers every question I had about how Morris came to be, plus he dives deep into the behind-the-scenes secrets of <em>Shang-Chi</em>'s dragons, the titular ten rings and more.</p>

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<p><strong>ET: We need to talk about Morris. Did you know Morris was going to be as big a hit as he is? Did you have an idea everyone was going to fall in love with him?</strong></p>

<p><strong>Chris Townsend:</strong> I think so. I go back to when we did <em>Guardians 2</em>, we had Baby Groot and immediately, you said, "Ah, that's the one!" The last film I did was <em>Captain Marvel</em>, and there was Goose the cat -- <a href="https://www.etonline.com/captain-marvel-is-an-action-packed-flerken-filled-totally-90s-cosmic-adventure-set-visit-116925" target="_blank">or the Flerken</a>. You knew that these characters were going to be a hit. I think a headless, six-legged, winged, furry creature, it was just like, "Oh yeah, that's adorable. <em>If</em> we can make it adorable" -- that's the thing. It was the challenge of you don't want to make it gross and like, "Ew! It hasn't got a face!" You want to make it this fluffy, adorable thing without going over the top. You still have to feel that it's a physiological, realistic sort of creature. The company we went to, Trixter, who have got an amazing animation team, they really brought their A game to the table to bring this character to life.</p>

<p><strong>What was the biggest challenge of bringing him to life?</strong></p>

<p>I think making it so that he looks and feels believable as a character. He doesn't have a face, so you have to get over that. And you want the audience to not be questioning it. I think one of the interesting things is you don't really question ever that he's got six legs. People don't even think about that, that he's got six legs! How does that work? What we really tried to do is to make him as physiologically accurate as possible, trying to figure out how the skeleton would work on a six-legged creature. How do you make that make sense? You're designing a creature literally from the ground up. I think you have to put that work in to make sure that an audience doesn't question that and can very quickly get over the "<em>whoa, weird</em>" and then "OK, cool."</p>

<p>And in terms of performance, trying to create an animal which emotes and is approachable and cute but at the same time weird, you have to look at real world reference. I've got a small dog, and I would use my dog as a reference. The animators would use their pets. And obviously, there's a huge amount of stuff online of just cute animals. So, trying to nail down what it is about the way an animal will move that will be endearing and appeal to people.</p>

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<p><strong>You said you had to make sure he didn't skew grotesque. Was there ever a grotesque version of Morris where you were like, "No, no, no. We have gone astray"?</strong></p>

<p>[Morris] was in the script, and you think, "What? That is ridiculous." Like, it hasn't got a head? And then you look it up and realize it's actually based on a real mythological Chinese character, Hundun. Traditionally, he's the god of chaos and has no orifices -- that's the line I can remember reading. You're like, "No orifices?! How does he eat?" The visual development department at Marvel did the initial sketches, and there was an infamous meeting we had where one of the key executives said, "He needs a face. He needs eyes. He can't possibly not have eyes."</p>

<p>So, we did versions with and without eyes and then sort of took a vote. I said, "Look, come on. It's based on a mythological character that is faceless. So, if we're going to be true to the spirit of the culture, then we've got to just embrace it." I think we all agreed. Once we had the illustration, we took it to the visual effects company and said, "We need to see it moving to see if we can make it look cute." They did some beautiful animation tests of him rolling over, him chasing a ball, him trying to jump up onto somebody's lap, all these different animation tests just trying to figure out who character is and how the character would react and how the physiology and actual body itself would work.</p>

<p><strong>What did you actually use on set for this guy? I'm thinking of <a href="https://www.etonline.com/loki-episode-5-recap-classic-loki-kid-loki-and-alligator-loki-oh-my-168453" target="_blank">Alligator Loki</a> being a cute puppet with the googly eyes. What was on-set Morris?</strong></p>

<p>We had a few things. We were shooting and prepping and things down in Australia, and one of the props people found online a stuffed wombat. If you've ever seen a wombat, it's very much like Morris. If you took a wombat, added a couple more legs, took off the face and added some wings, that's Morris. It was really interesting. So, we had this stuffed toy that we brought in. And then from that, we had the props department build some green stuffies shaped like Morris without wings and legs, just something that our actors could touch and hold. And one of the things that I really wanted as well was it to be heavy enough. I'm always very aware watching films when people pick up a suitcase and there's nothing in it. You're like, "Oh, come on." And it would be a heavy, heavy creature. It's got a lot of bulk to it. So, we put sandbags inside to make it nice and heavy so that when the actors lift it up, it had some weight to it. So, we did it with this green cushion, basically.</p>

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<p><strong>You also have these other fantastical creatures in Ta Lo. There's phoenixes and nine-tailed foxes and I think Trevor calls it a weird horse. Do you have a favorite?</strong></p>

<p>All those creatures were done by the same company that did Morris, Trixter. We wanted to reference towards the mythological characters out there, so the horse is actually based on what we call a Qilin. The fox is based on a mythological character [Huli jinh]. The Fu Dogs are obviously based on the statues. The phoenix, the same. Everything was based on real creatures in this Chinese mythological world, and again, trying to find a way to make everything feel as real as possible.</p>

<p>The horse-like creatures, the Qilin, were incredibly difficult because you have to make them feel like a horse but you want to make them iridescent and have scales on them and have these strange horns and strange hooves. So, it's all this slightly dragon versus reptile versus horse sort of feel, and then trying to make it feel as real as possible was the real challenge. But I think they're fun, fun creatures. And they don't exist for very long in the film! That's the problem. You have to put just as much work into these character designs and the building of them as you do in the hero things that last for a long time.</p>

<p><strong>It all culminates with dueling dragons, which is a Marvel first. When it comes to a massive dragon-on-dragon battle, where do you even start?</strong></p>

<p>The third act is always the challenging bit in these films. There's an expectation from fans and a general desire to have these big end battles and you're building to that moment. This film was certainly one where we felt we'd earned the right to get to that point. I think trying to find a way to tie it all up but have something fitting as an ending was a challenge. Having dragons and beasts in it was always going to be fun, right? And we've seen lots of [movies] that have these kinds of things in a big epic battle, but like you said, it's a first for Marvel.</p>

<p>The interesting thing with our dragon was it was based on a Chinese dragon. It doesn't have wings and it doesn't breathe fire. It doesn't have the same Western sort of things that we've seen in a lot of other movies. So, how do you make this thing move through the air in a way that you can somewhat believe? We ended up saying, "Well, it swims through the air, similar to a sea snake or an eel swimming through water, and it's able to manifest the water or to control the air in a way to support it." There's lots of logical things in the background that we're trying to figure out that hopefully, when you see it on the screen, you don't necessarily think about it or question it too much because there's a set of rules that we've created in the way we built things.</p>

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<p><strong>Amidst these dragons, you also have, of course, the ten rings, which have their own powers and have to be identifiable when they switch users. How were the colors chosen, that when Wenwu is using them they'd be blue and when Shang-Chi is using them they'd be gold?</strong></p>

<p>We went through every color. [<em>Laughs</em>] One of the strange things working with Marvel is you say, "Well, this one needs to be a different color than we've seen before." This is my sixth movie and it's Marvel's 25th. We've used all the colors up! There are no other special, unique colors. So, trying to find colors that were unique enough, particularly, we wanted to go into the golds with Shang. We wanted the warmth. He comes from a very good place in the way he uses the rings so we wanted it to be gold, but we didn't want it to look like Doctor Strange. We wanted to be slightly different than that. We didn't want it to be the red of the wiggly woo of Wanda. It was trying to find that right hue, and I think we landed on something pretty good.</p>

<p>Then with Wenwu, he had used blue a lot in his costume in his earlier years, and so it felt like that was a good way to go. Again, we went looking for blues and you know, Tesseract blue, OK, we keep away from that. And you go a bit more purple and you get into Black Panther world, so you try to find something in between. It's trying to find those unique color tones, but having it based on the cool, angry, lightning power of Wenwu versus the warmth of Shang-Chi. And one of the things that I was very keen on was you don't want this stuff to become effects-y. You want to try and give it some logic and sense of grounding as much as possible. We ended up trying to use elemental forces -- lightning, aurora borealis, solar flares, all these kinds of things -- as a touchpoint that we referenced for all of these effects. And a lot of this stuff has to play with the actors. You've got a performance that Tony Leung brings which is often so powerful but quiet and controlled. Having big, effects-y stuff around him just didn't work, so you had to try and find that middle ground of it being powerful enough to work within the MCU and also grounded and not have it take away from the actors.</p>

<p><strong>Are you able to say what you're moving on to next?</strong></p>

<p>I'm afraid I can't. I don't actually know quite yet. [Laughs] So, that's one of the reasons, but I can't really talk about the future. It's so much fun working with Marvel. We get to play in an amazing sandbox and get to do such disparate movies. So, hopefully more of this!</p>

<hr />
<p><em>Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings&nbsp;</em>is now in theaters.</p>

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