Latest news with #HauntedMansion
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
That time Chris Martin blew up the world (oops) for a couple caught cheating on the Coldplay kiss-cam
Sometimes you just want a moment back. Just one tiny moment. For example, the moment that a kiss-cam busted you and your head of HR for cheating at a Coldplay concert on Wednesday night. Andy Byron, chief executive of data-infrastructure company Astronomer Inc., was caught on camera holding human resources chief Kristin Cabot — a woman who is not his wife — tenderly in his arms. The moment was an instant classic for those attending the concert: 'Ohhh, look at these two,' singer Chris Martin said as the cam spotlighted the couple, prompting Cabot to suddenly, awkwardly duck out of camera range while Cabot turned her back, covered her face and ultimately fled. 'Wait, what? Either they're having an affair,' Martin said, 'or they're just very shy.' Or maybe, just maybe, they were actually really stupid to react that way? No cheating experts here, but if they had simply smiled and continued their loving embrace, the details of their entanglement might have stayed unknown to the 65,000 or so folks packed into Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL's New England Patriots. All they had to do was nothing. But ooh, they did something. So much for conscious uncoupling. Nice move, Martin. But the singer wasn't really to blame for this week's hottest story. What happened in Foxborough, Mass., could have stayed in Foxborough, Mass., were it not for one Grace Springer. Springer is reportedly the 28-year-old who posted the clip on TikTok. She told the U.K. Sun she made the video public because she thought the couple's 'something' was 'an interesting reaction' from the people involved. 'A part of me feels bad for turning these people's lives upside down, but, play stupid games … win stupid prizes,' Springer said before adding that she hoped their partners could 'heal' and get a second chance at happiness. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Ouch. The internet, of course, has been quite happy to mete out those stupid prizes left and right. There's now merch to commemorate the moment, including one tee on Etsy that simply reads, 'Not Shy. Just Married. #Coldplaygate.' Another seller is offering a sweatshirt that screams in all-caps, 'I TOOK MY SIDEPIECE TO THE COLDPLAY CONCERT AND IT RUINED MY LIFE.' One T-shirt dips its toes into political waters, urging people to MAPA: 'Make Affairs Private Again!' The tee with an actual photo of the couple is unlikely to last long, what with copyright and all, but the animated version might hang around a bit longer. Alas, there are no koozies for sale. Not yet. Then there are the memes. One shows the couple with the hitchhiking ghosts from the famous finish of Disney's Haunted Mansion ride. Another shows Miss Piggy in the arms of a tall Fozzie Bear, with a sign in one corner saying 'Coldplay's Caught-in-the-Act Cam.' On X, Elon Musk chuckled at an image of the couple reimagined in the style of Edvard Munch's 'The Scream.' Then there was the classic MasterCard meme: 'Priceless.' 'Coldplay hasn't made a single in years,' one wit said on X, posting a still from the video. 'Last night, they made two.' 'This is outdated,' another account said, commenting on a ChatGPT blurb about a Taylor Swift ticket allegedly selling for $200,000 on the secondary market. 'Coldplay now holds the record for most expensive concert ticket ever sold.' 'Uh, it's time to 'Kiss It Goodbye,' ' ESPN's Randy Scott said as he and 'SportsCenter' co-anchor Gary Striewski reenacted the viral moment live Friday morning. 'Baseball's probably not the only thing you could say that about recently.' And if Andy Byron appeared to be having some really bad days, what about other dudes named Andy Byron? 'NOT THE GUY FROM THE COLDPLAY GIG' reads the Threads bio of one such Andy, who apparently hails from Dublin. 'The only one having a worse day than Andy Byron is all the other Andy Byrons,' one user snarked. However, an apology statement attributed to the Astronomer CEO turned out to be fake, according to the company itself. The real Astronomer Inc. announced Friday that it is looking into the matter and that Alyssa Stoddard, whoever that poor thing is, is not in the video. Um, we were concerned? Turns out Stoddard is the company's VP of HR, a step or so down from Cabot, and probably doesn't deserve to be mentioned in this context at all. 'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,' the company said in a post on LinkedIn. 'The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.' Additional. Details. Very. Shortly. Soooooo — the fun won't be ending any time soon. Meanwhile, the real Andy Byron's real wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, nuked the 'Byron' from her name on Facebook and then deactivated her account entirely amid an onslaught of comments from the public, according to Newsweek. Looks like she's choosing to do something instead of nothing, too.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Emmys: HBO and Max Score Most Nominations, Apple Takes a Big Bite
HBO and Max jumped back into the front of the Emmy field with Tuesday's nominations for the 77th annual awards. The sibling platforms earned a combined 142 nominations, the most ever for HBO and its sibling streamer. The combined total beats HBO's previous high of 137 in 2019, a year before HBO Max launched. The big haul, along with nods for Warner Bros. TV Adult Swim, Discovery and Food Network, also puts Warner Bros. Discovery at the front of the media conglomerate pack with 170 total nominations. That's well ahead of Disney's 137 and Netflix's 120. Apple also had a strong year with 81 total nominations, beating the 72 it received a year ago. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Amy Bradley Is Missing,' But the Netflix Docuseries Filmmakers Think They Know Where She Is Filming Underway on Season 2 of Netflix's 'Geek Girl,' Layton Williams Joins Cast Disney's New Haunted Mansion Collection Brings Madame Leota and More Ghouls to Life The 142 nominations for HBO and Max in 2025 are a huge gain over the 91 they garnered in 2024. A lot of the surge can be attributed to the return of two big contenders, The White Lotus (23 nominations) and The Last of Us (16), to HBO's schedule after taking the 2023-24 season off. Limited series The Penguin scored 24 nominations, the second most of any program. Add in strong showings by Max originals Hacks (14 nominations) and first-year breakout The Pitt (13), and five shows account for 90 of HBO and Max's 142 nominations — about 63 percent of the total. The remaining 52 nominations are spread among 18 other titles. Only three Netflix shows got double-digit nomations: Adolescence (13), Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (11) and Black Mirror (10). More than 20 shows on the platform received multiple nods, however, a testament to the sheer volume of programming Netflix puts out. The bulk of Apple TV+'s 81 nominations come from just two shows. Severance leads the pack with 27 nominations (vs. 14 for its first season in 2022), and The Studio landed 23, breaking Ted Lasso's record of 20 nominations for a first-year comedy series. Shrinking (seven nominations) and Slow Horses (five) also performed well and give Apple two contenders each in the best comedy and best drama series categories. After a record-setting year in 2024, led by Shōgun's 25 nominations, FX fell off considerably with 35 nominations. Season three of The Bear leads FX's haul with 13 (down from 23 a year ago). ABC's 34 nominations are about even with FX to lead Disney's total. Below are the leading nominees by platform for the 2025 Emmys, and the number of programs that received nods. 1. HBO/Max: 142 nominations (23 programs)2. Netflix: 120 nominations (44 programs)3. Apple TV+: 81 nominations (14 programs, 2 commercials)4. ABC: 38 nominations (16 programs)5. FX: 35 nominations (8 programs) And a count of nominations by media conglomerate: 1. Warner Bros. Discovery: 1702. Disney: 1373. Netflix: 1204. Apple: 815. NBCUniversal: 72 July 15, 12:20 p.m. Updated nomination totals by platform and media conglomerate. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disney Fans Are Getting Their Own Dating App
If your ideal first date involves churros, castle fireworks, and an impromptu photo in front of the Millennium Falcon, you're not alone, and soon, you might not be single either. A new dating app called Single Riders is on the horizon, built entirely around one very specific type of person: the Disney adult. Designed to help theme park superfans connect romantically (or platonically), the app is preparing to roll out its beta testing phase, with plans to launch nationwide in the U.S. The name itself is a clever nod to Disney's single rider lines—queue lanes that allow solo parkgoers to skip ahead by filling empty seats. Now, the app takes that same concept and applies it to real-life matchmaking, offering Disney lovers a chance to meet others who speak fluent Haunted Mansion quotes and plan vacations around EPCOT festivals. In a sea of dating platforms that focus on swiping and surface-level bios, Single Riders leans into niche appeal. The idea isn't just to match people based on proximity or photos, but around a shared passion for all things Disney, whether that's animation deep cuts, pin trading, or knowing exactly which fireworks show plays at which park. The app's creators have been teasing features on social media, and early responses have been enthusiastic. Many fans say it's the first dating app that actually makes sense for them, especially those who frequent the parks alone and want to find someone who gets the magic without needing an explanation. Beyond dating, the platform is expected to offer options for building friendships and planning meetups, potentially even at the parks themselves. That kind of functionality could make it more than just a dating app; it could become a hub for a subculture that's already massive but loosely connected online. While launch details are still under wraps, the app is expected to debut with location-based features, allowing users to see if other singles are currently at the same park. Additional filters, similar to those on mainstream platforms, like age, location, and interests, are also expected. For Disney fans, the parks have long been a lifestyle. Proposals at Cinderella Castle are routine, themed weddings are big business, and friendships formed in line for Space Mountain have a surprising staying power. In that sense, Single Riders is less of a gimmick and more of an inevitable evolution. If shared fandoms already power relationships in every other niche corner of the internet, why not in the most magical place on Earth? Read the original article on GEEKSPIN. Affiliate links on GEEKSPIN may earn us and our partners a commission. Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
If you like theme parks, thank Disneyland
If you enjoy theme parks or any immersive themed experience, you have Disneyland to thank. 'Half of the stories that I tell that are not about Disneyland start with somebody went to Disneyland and then they came back home and they tried to build their own Disney,' said filmmaker and theme park historian Kevin Perjurer, whose pop culture channel Defunctland has more than 2 million followers on YouTube. 'Something as small as a regional laser tag place probably even has someone designing that has Disneyland or at least the quality of what an Imagineer would do on the mind.' That's because Disneyland defined what we know of as theme parks today. Here's how. Park history By no means was Disneyland the first amusement park or themed guest experience. Widely cited Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen opened in 1843, more than a century before Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955. Domestic parks like Luna Park on Coney Island and Beverly Park kiddieland in Los Angeles – which Perjurer notes had a western-themed section – also predated Disneyland. World's fairs had themed experiences, too. What set Disneyland apart was "really this concept of full immersion and a full themed experience connected with a storyline,' said Jakob Wahl, president and CEO of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. 'Creating those lands, which were kind of immersive in their own space, I think that is what Walt Disney then ultimately changed and drove to perfection.' At Disneyland, guests could step into stories they already knew and discover new ones dreamed up by Imagineers, like Disney Legend Bob Gurr, who designed ride vehicles for iconic attractions like Autopia, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Haunted Mansion and the Monorail. 'I was one of the first 18 people that was assigned by Walt to work specifically on the design of Disneyland,' he said. 'He always saw this as storytelling. Storytelling, you know you can draw a picture, it's a story. You can make a movie, it's a story ... or you can do it in 3D, call it an amusement park.' Disneyland's 70th anniversary: How the resort is celebrating happy Inspiration from films Bruce Vaughn, president and chief creative officer of Walt Disney Imagineering, said Walt Disney and the original Imagineers used filmmaking techniques to tell stories in the park's physical environment. 'There's cross dissolve, so it's a slow fade from the hub into Adventureland, where it isn't just a hard cut,' he explained. 'Or a long shot, like as you're going down Main Street, suddenly in the distance, there's this fantasy castle ... It draws you through.' The park's hub-and-spoke design has been copied by parks around the world, but the caliber of Disneyland's craftsmanship wasn't easily imitated. 'I mean, you're pulling upon some of the greatest illustrators, some of the greatest sculptors, all these people that were employed by Disney,' Perjurer said, highlighting how Disney was producing groundbreaking films like '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' as the park was being built. 'That film, the scenic design just blew people away, and so the ability to walk through something with that level of scenic design or even trying to accomplish the level of scenic design ... was definitely mind-blowing to people.' New technology Over the years, Disney Imagineers have pioneered many new ways to tell stories. Gurr remembers Walt Disney calling him into a workshop when the first audio animatronic of President Abraham Lincoln was being developed in secret. 'He said, 'Bobby, I want half as much weight and twice as many motions, and I want you to get started now,'' he said, adding that he never could cure Disney of calling him Bobby. That Lincoln audio animatronic went on to mesmerize audiences at the 1964 New York World's Fair before moving to Disneyland, where a new audio animatronic of Walt Disney just debuted during the resort's 70th anniversary celebration. Audio animatronics are now commonplace at theme parks around the world. Another innovation Disneyland guests can still experience today is the ride technology on Indiana Jones Adventure. 'Since it's an Indiana Jones story, it's got to feel like you're off road,' Vaughn said. 'So you had to put a simulator on top of a vehicle to give you the sense that you were going over all this terrain and that you were on a suspension bridge and then you dove down deeper than you actually did.' He described Imagineers as magicians more than technologists, helping guests suspend their disbelief, to embrace the magic like kids again. Guests who want to keep the magic going can stay on property at Disneyland's resort hotels. Wahl notes other destinations around the world have copied Disney's model of offering themed accommodations onsite. 'The destination or attraction evolves from a one-day visit to a multi-day experience,' he said. 'You can forget about the daily concerns, and people want to have that for a day, but they also want to have that for the night.' Listening to guests One thing Disneyland guests could not get past in the park's early days was the first-person format of some Fantasyland dark rides. 'Originally it was like a simulation where you were the main character of that story, and you were seeing a point of view, while the films were from a third-party perspective,' Perjurer said. 'You are Snow White. You are Peter Pan. You are Mr. Toad ... and so the characters weren't in the rides.' Those rides were reimagined to include the main characters of their respective stories. 'We had to kind of redesign a lot of details in the park to suit how people actually behave,' Gurr recalled, but that was OK. '(Disney) wasn't afraid to try to do things even though he didn't know how to do it, but he became pretty good at a lot of things.' Many other theme parks also offer what Vaughn calls book reports, rides recapping stories with condensed highlights. However, in a full circle moment, Disney's newer attractions again invite guests to become characters in stories, like at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. 'You get to pilot the Millennium Falcon,' Vaughn said. 'You're taken as a spy. And we know that that's where Walt was going. One thing I love about Walt Disney is that he was always about immersing into stories.' It's those experiential stories that have kept guests coming back for 70 years. In his Disneyland opening day remarks, Walt Disney said, 'Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.' Seventy years later, it's still doing that.
Los Angeles Times
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Disneyland's Haunted Mansion to close its doors for a spell this summer
Disneyland's Haunted Mansion will be temporarily closed this summer as it undergoes a transformation in preparation for the Halloween season, officials said. The attraction will be closed starting Aug. 11, according to a post on the Disneyland website earlier this week. According to Disney officials, the temporary closure is an annual occurrence as the park prepares to convert the ride into Haunted Mansion Holiday — a macabre makeover inspired by 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.' 'This is something we do every year, so guests expect this brief downtime,' a Disney official said. The attraction is slated to reopen Aug. 22, in time for Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort, the official added. During the brief closure, guests should expect plenty of foot traffic as they stroll through the park. AECOM, an infrastructure consulting firm, estimated that Disneyland saw over 17 million visitors in 2023, an average of more than 46,000 a day.
