Latest news with #ASimpleFavour
New Straits Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Henry's back for 'Another Simple Favour'
MALAYSIA'S "Mr Hollywood" Henry Golding is back in a dark drama-comedy, which reunites him with director Paul Feig and popular actresses Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. On Prime Video since May 1, 'Another Simple Favour' sees him reprise his role from 2018's dark comedy 'A Simple Favour' as a Sean Townsend, a good man torn between two women, namely his villainous former wife Emily and his honest-to-goodness current one, Stephanie. In 'A Simple Favour', Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick), a mummy vlogger, formed an unexpected friendship with the ultra-chic Emily Nelson (Lively), a fellow mother at her son's school. When Emily asked Stephanie to watch her son for a few hours while she was away at work, what seemed like a simple favour quickly spiralled into a labyrinth of secrets, lies and shocking revelations. Emily mysteriously disappeared, and Stephanie was determined to find out what, or who, was behind her friend's sudden disappearance. She uncovered the shocking truth: Emily had killed her twin sister, Faith, and staged her own death to start a new life. When Emily's dark past was finally exposed, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In a recent interview, Feig said: "In 'Another Simple Favour', Stephanie and Emily reunite on the breathtaking island of Capri, Italy for Emily's extravagant wedding. "But beneath the stunning scenery and glamorous fashion lies imminent danger, dark secrets, and the chilling possibility of murder that threatens everyone on the island. "This thrilling sequel takes everything fans loved about the original 2018 dark comedy and amplifies it — delivering even more show stopping fashion, high-stakes drama, and suspense. "Set against the backdrop of a breathtakingly beautiful location, the film reunites the original cast while introducing a new group of mysterious characters. "No one is safe, and every moment leaves you guessing, right up until the end." Many of the original movie's characters are back, such as Andrew Rannells as Stephanie's friend Darren, and Joshua Satine and Ian Ho as Stephanie's son Miles, and Emily's son Nicky respectively. Golding said that he was immediately excited by the script. "My initial reaction was one of just – How fun!" said the star of films like 'Crazy Rich Asians' and 'Last Christmas'. "I think Paul leaned into what everybody loved about the first film, and he wasn't afraid to amp it up and make those twists and turns even more shocking and graphic." Golding added that Sean certainly gets to cut loose. "He's only in Capri to accompany his son Nicky at his mother's second wedding, and he gets through the occasion by unwinding a little bit too hard, often acting outrageously, all filters removed. "I told Paul, I want to make sure Sean has a fun time in this one because he was a bit of a punchbag in the last movie. "So this time he has some barbed edges as he gets roped back into Emily's world." VLOGGING Feig said that Stephanie's vlog — which she has used to chronicle the investigation — has catapulted her to social media fame and part-time detective work. "Stephanie has reaped the rewards of her viral success, solving several more cases since Emily's incarceration. "However a recent case has her wrestling with guilt that she cannot seem to shake. "Stephanie puts her vlog on hiatus and is reluctant to celebrate the release of her first true-crime book which recounts the wild twists of Emily's case." Feig added that what begins as a routine day takes a shocking turn when to Stephanie's astonishment, standing before her is Emily, whom she thought had been serving a 20-year sentence for murder. "Emily reveals she's been released on appeal and about to jet off to Capri to marry a mysterious man from her past, Dante Versano. "She has a surprising favour to ask of Stephanie: to be her maid of honour." Feig admitted that after the release of the first film in 2018, he had no intention of creating a sequel. Despite the film's impressive box office performance, earning nearly US$100 million on a US$20 million budget, the idea of a sequel remained off the table. Feig explained: "During the pandemic, a lot more people discovered the film on streaming, and its popularity surged. "So, my team decided to get a second movie." THRILLER Feig, who had previously directed global hit female-led comedies such as 'Bridesmaids' and 'Spy', had always been averse to sequels, until now. "But Anna and Blake really stuck in my head, and I felt like there's something more to be done with them. "I wanted to see these two women take the next step and join together against a common adversary." Feig knew the exact ingredients needed for a great sequel. "It's a real delicate balance, and I feel we came up with exactly what we needed to have, which is a twisty, sexy, unexpected adventure thriller. "It was also fun to take Stephanie out of suburbia and drop her into the over the top European opulence of Capri." Several new players have joined the cast, including Italian actor Michele Morrone as Emily's wealthy mafia boss husband-to-be, Dante Versano, Italian actress Elena Sofia Ricci as Dante's mother, Portia and Oscar-winning actress Allison Janney of 'The West Wing' fame as Dante's aunt Linda.
Sky News AU
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
‘Better than Blake Lively does it': Zendaya the ‘highlight' at 2025 Met Gala
Royal Commentator Josh Rom praises Zendaya's choice of clothing at the 2025 Met Gala. 'Zendaya, for me, is a real highlight in this beautiful white suit with flared trousers and a gorgeous hat,' Mr Rom told Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriela Power. 'I feel that she's doing Blake Lively in A Simple Favour better than Blake Lively does it.'
Perth Now
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Another Simple Favour director Paul Feig 'open' to Spy sequel
Paul Feig is open to a 'Spy' sequel - but only if Jason Statham agrees to return. The director of the hit 2015 comedy action flick - which sees CIA analyst Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) become a field agent when she "volunteers to infiltrate an arms deal and stop a global catastrophe" - said if any movie was going to "have a sequel, it'll probably be 'Spy'". Paul - who previously said he "don't do sequels" because they are "hard" to do - told HeyUGuys: "I mean, if there was ever going to be another movie that'll have a sequel, it'll probably be 'Spy'. "So, you know, never say never." His 'Another Simple Favour' co-star Henry Golding reminded Paul that the "conscientious is that 'Spy' has to be remade', to which 'The Housemaid' actor replied: "I think it must - it seems to be, yeah, exactly." After interviewer Freda Cooper said that a sequel can only be made on "one condition" - that Jason Statham will reprise his role as agent Rick Ford - Paul said: "There's no 'Spy' without Jason Statham, and I love him to death. "He's the greatest." His comments come as he released the new story for his 2018 thriller comedy 'A Simple Favour' - which follows a single mom called Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and her friend Emily Nelson's (Blake Lively) husband Sean Townsend (Henry Golding) solve the mystery behind Emily's disappearance - and he thinks the franchise "could go on" as the ending of the sequel allows for a third movie to happen. Asked if he would be open to a threequel, Paul admitted: "You know what, once you've pulled the band-aid off, you might as well keep going. "I definitely think this franchise could go on [to do] another one. "The door's slightly open." Paul previously insisted he doesn't do sequels at the Deadline Contenders Television panel for the film because it is "hard" for audiences, who are "burned by a lot of sequels", to "answer that question" of "why do I need to see this?".
NZ Herald
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Blake Lively opens up about ‘intense year' amid It Ends With Us lawsuits: ‘Highest highs and lowest lows'
'I see so many women around, afraid to speak – especially right now – afraid to share their experiences. And fear is by design. It's what keeps us silent. But I also acknowledge that many people don't have the opportunity to speak. So I do feel fortunate that I've been able to,' Lively said. 'It's the women who have had the ability to use this voice that's kept me strong and helped me in my belief and my fight for the world to be safer for women and girls.' She said her four children had been her 'lifeline'. 'No matter what day I'm having, I have to be Disneyland for them.' Lively first filed a lawsuit against her co-star Baldoni in December 2024 alleging sexual harassment and a smear campaign against her. Baldoni denied this and sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist in return for US$400 million ($672.5m) defamation and extortion. A trial date has been set for March 2026. Last month, it was reported that Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman could be subpoenaed in the case, which would draw more attention to the court battle. Swift is known to be a close friend of Reynolds and Lively, and is godmother to one of their four children. In the meantime, Lively is promoting Another Simple Favour, the sequel to 2018's A Simple Favour, in which she stars alongside Anna Kendrick.
Telegraph
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Another Simple Favour, review: Film noir sequel that's riper and slipperier than a brown banana
Film noir is a famously shadowy genre, but one of the great joys of 2018's A Simple Favour is that it less resembled The Big Sleep or Double Indemnity than a Real Housewives docusoap. From its sunny suburban setting to its cartoon-chic costumes, Paul Feig's comic adaptation of Darcey Bell's novel didn't just capture the pleasures of a schlocky page-turning mystery, but also the fun of tearing through one with an eyebrow raised. Every twist was equal parts slinky and ludicrous – and boy, did they look it. This even sillier, less memorable sequel, which is bypassing cinemas for Amazon Prime, stretches the approach to snapping point. Riper and slipperier than a brown banana, it packs Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick's eternal school-run frenemies off to Capri for the former's wedding: never mind that the last time we saw Lively's Emily, she'd just landed in prison for a 20-year stretch. This most fatale of femmes' early release has been secured by a rich and influential Italian fiancé (Michele Morrone) – an old flame who flickered back into view in the intervening years. True to psychotic drama-queen form, Emily asks Kendrick's Stephanie to be her maid of honour – and Stephanie, whose new career as a true-crime author could do with a publicity boost, warily accepts. Of course, she might end up murdered. But this online mumfleuncer knows there's power in #numbers – and the additional clicks the trip will bring to her livestream are too potentially lucrative to pass up. Since the release of the first film, Lively has weathered something of a domestic noir nightmare herself – an orchestrated cancellation campaign following a high-profile feud with Justin Baldoni, the director of her 2024 drama It Ends With Us. (Baldoni's lawyer described accusations from Lively in a legal complaint, as 'serious and categorically false'.) But that makes it doubly satisfying to see the actress on such raucously unhinged form here: there's something of Barbara Stanwyck in her weaponisation of glamour and bad-girl sexual ambiguity – and her outrageous wardrobe, again created by Renee Ehrlich Kalfus, is itself a plentiful source of shocks and punchlines. (While drifting through Capri incognita, she sports a sun hat the size of a radar dish.) As before, Kendrick is a winningly perky foil for Lively's mad machinations, and there's much fun to be had as both actresses snipe at one another from behind an increasingly tattered pretence of mutual bestie-ship. The mystery at hand is messier still: in an opening livestream, Stephanie announces she has been framed for the murder of Emily's new husband, who was somehow dispatched during the wedding banquet itself. But the plotting often mistakes wackiness for a lack of discipline. Promising supporting characters (not least a long-lost aunt played by Allison Janney) are feebly sketched, while the twists are sometimes arbitrary, sometimes obvious replicas of the original's various scandalous gambits. Yet Feig and his collaborators' poison-tipped instincts still hit the mark often enough: I had to stifle a guilty chuckle when one of Kendrick's prior true-crime scalps, a pervert who inveigled his way into a children's swimming club, is soberly referred to as 'the Speedo Paedo'. And the Kendrick-Lively double-act at its core remains a toxic treat. Pack these two off to St Tropez, Mustique, the Maldives, Skegness, wherever – I'll watch.
