Jim Acosta's journalistic integrity is being questioned after the CNN alum interviewed an AI avatar of Parkland shooting victim Joaquin Oliver, who died in the 2018 tragedy along with 16 other people. While the conversation was organized by Oliver's parents' gun control group, Change the Ref, in honor of his 25th birthday, the decision wasn't well-received.

"I was taken from this world too soon due to gun violence while at school," the AI version of Oliver said in the interview. "It's important to talk about these issues so we can create a safer future for everyone."

The AI version of Oliver went on to discuss the Second Amendment with Acosta.

"I believe in a mix of stronger gun control laws, mental health support and community engagement," it said. "We need to create safe spaces for conversations and connections, making sure everyone feels seen and heard. It's about building a culture of kindness and understanding."

"Though my life was cut short, I want to keep inspiring others to connect and advocate for change," the AI Oliver added.

The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, continues to be used in activism against gun violence. But viewers didn't feel like Acosta moved the needle with his AI interview, which he shared on YouTube.

Critics took to Bluesky to share their concerns.

"You don't have an interview. You're facilitating a grotesque puppet show, using grieving parents' heartbreak for a bit," one Bluesky user wrote. "The bar is in hell and you still managed to trip on it."

"You're interviewing an AI recreation of a person who was murdered by a spree killer? Wow," another Bluesky user complained to Acosta. "It's hard to accept that no one around you suggested that this was probably in the worst possible taste. AI exists, we know that, but just because you CAN do something with it, that doesn't mean you SHOULD."

"'I'll have a one of a kind interview with Joaquin Oliver.' … No, you won't. You're talking to a glorified answering machine message, you dingbat," another critic wrote.

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zgu2azx6tvj7s4bhbvhtz5ac/post/3lvmid4gcp22m?

Colleen Hoover is returning to the big screen with another adaptation of one of her books. A year after the headline-making adaptation of her 2016 novel It Ends With Us opened in theaters, the first trailer for the adaptation of her 2019 book Regretting You has debuted.

Allison Williams, Dave Franco, McKenna Grace, Willa Fitzgerald, Scott Eastwood and Mason Thames star in the film, which centers around a young mother and widow (Williams) as she bonds with her widowed brother-in-law (Franco) over their mutual loss, all while navigating the complex relationship with her teen daughter (Grace) as they both explore new romances.

After screenwriter Susan McMartin handled the script, while The Fault in Our Stars filmmaker Josh Boone directed Regretting You.

It Ends With Us — which performed well at the box office in spite of mixed reviews — was famously directed by star Justin Baldoni. His legal drama with costar Blake Lively is still playing out in court.

Hoover's books are clearly resonating with Hollywood. Her 2022 novel Reminders of Him is getting an adaptation starring Maika Monroe in early 2026, and an adaptation of her 2018 novel Verity starring Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett and Dakota Johnson is due in October 2026.

Everyone's favorite moody teenager is back!

Season 2, Part 1, of Netflix's Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega and Catherine Zeta-Jones is out now — and critics are weighing in.

Perhaps the most beloved member of the Addams Family, Wednesday (Ortega) returns to Nevermore Academy for the fall term as she continues to use her psychic abilities to try to solve a shocking mystery and dive deeper into her ancestral history.

Variety's Aramide Tinubu applauded the series' consistency and the abilities of its leading lady. "Like its first season, the first part of Wednesday Season 2 is spooky, kooky and mysterious. As Wednesday races against the clock to unpack her startling vision of Enid and prevent it from coming to fruition, she understands there are certain darker aspects of her precognitions she still hasn't grasped," she wrote. "Wednesday has been criticized for being a Netflix-ified version of the Charles Addams classic, with Nevermore standing in as a Hogwarts-type institution. And while that may be true, it doesn't diminish the exquisite details embedded in the show, its mystifying darkness or Ortega's commanding control of her character."

While some praised Ortega, others critiqued her performance. The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg, for example, claimed the young star gets "lost" amid the "overcrowded" season.

"Whereas my original review of the first season praised Wednesday for having the restraint and focus to not simply become The Addams Family, Wednesday has simply become The Addams Family, complete with a recast, still underutilized, Lurch (Joonas Suotamo) and the always handy Thing (Victor Dorobantu). Only Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) hasn't become a full-time member of the ensemble, but he appears in the midseason' 'finale' (words have lost all meaning)," he wrote.

The Guardian's Sarah Dempster gave the series' latest installment four stars but seemed to have mixed feelings on the story. "Fun is to be had in the return of Catherine Zeta-Jones's, woozy, pillowy Morticia Addams if not in Luis Guzmán's lumpy, grinning Gomez, whose character, as ever, seems oddly unfinished, as if he'd abandoned rehearsals halfway through, having been distracted, perhaps, by a scotch egg," she wrote, adding that "minor quibbles aside, the season opener is wonderfully skittish and dense with jokes and plot."

Lady Gaga and her iconic meat dress made quite an impact at the 2010 MTV VMAs, and the pop star continues to build a legacy at the award show 15 years later, as she is the most-nominated artist this year.

The Mother Monster's 12 new nominations include artist of the year, best album for Mayhem and best direction, best art direction, best cinematography, best editing, best choreography and best visual effects for "Abracadabra." She scored the other four nominations — video of the year, song of the year, best collaboration and best pop — for her hit duet with Bruno Mars, "Die with a Smile."

Aside from Gaga, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus and Tate McRae all scored multiple nominations for their work this year.

This is Gaga's third time dominating the awards show, and fans were enthusiastic about the news.

Lady gaga is the best out there pic.twitter.com/HqnmMkHBch

— Arnab D. Saha (@TheArnabSaha) August 5, 2025

"Lady gaga is the best out there," one fan wrote.

"The run Gaga has been on is unmatched. Each era, something new, but always fresh," another penned.

"THIS REALLY IS GAGAS YEAR," someone else declared.

But not everyone was thrilled for the "Just Dance" chart-topper.

"Did that with 0 good songs in over a decade. Impressive. Not that much deserved. Right, guys?" one critic wrote.

"And that's how you know the entire industry is rigged," another hater shared.

South Park isn't having it with Donald Trump and his administration's antics.

After the United States Department of Homeland Security used a teaser still from the Comedy Central series to encourage people to join ICE, the show's creators took to X slam the agency.

Wait, so we ARE relevant?#eatabagofdicks https://t.co/HeQSMU86Da

— South Park (@SouthPark) August 5, 2025

"Wait, so we ARE relevant?" South Park's X account commented on the DHS post, adding a crude hashtag for "eat a bag of d****."

The X exchange is just the latest move in the back and forth between the White House and the adult cartoon, which never backs away from making fun of the Republican president. In the season 27 premiere, South Park depicted Trump in bed with Satan while complaining about his microp****. 

The Trump admin lashed out at South Park in response: "This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention," spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement. "President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history – and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak."

"The left's hypocrisy truly has no end – for years they have come after South Park for what they labeled as 'offense' content, but suddenly they are praising the show," Rogers continued. "Just like the creators of South Park, the left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows."

According to Nielsen and internal data, South Park's season 27 launch raked in 5.9 million viewers across Comedy Central and Paramount+ in its first three days.

On the season premiere episode titled "Sermon on the 'Mount," creators crafted a bold takedown of Trump and Paramount Global after the company settled a defamation lawsuit with the former star of The Apprentice.

Popular 1980s police procedural T.J. Hooker is getting a revival on Netflix. According to TheWrap, Jarrad Paul and Andy Mogel are developing a film adaptation of the series for the streaming platform.

The cop series starring William Shatner, Heather Locklear and James Darren first premiered in 1982 on ABC and aired its final episode in 1986 after five seasons.

The original show chronicles "the weekly adventures of tough-as-nails veteran police officer Sgt. T.J. Hooker, who rides the beat with his rookie partner Vince Romano."

Deadline first reported the news, noting that the retelling could take a comedic turn as the original "roughneck" approach to crime fighting could be seen as "out of place in a more woke world."

On X, fans of the series had a mixed reaction to the news.

I am sure @WilliamShatner is ready and able to reprise the role!

— Scribe Light (@Scribe_Light) August 5, 2025

"I am sure @WilliamShatner is ready and able to reprise the role," one user joked of the now-94-year-old actor, who portrayed the titular cop.

"The T. J. Hooker cast was perfection," another fan chimed in. "Netflix will juice it up so only the names are recognizable. So why not just write a new script? The target audience wasn't born for the original show."

"How can you top the 1980s and this cast… I watch the reruns and laugh," someone else shared. "It was so bad it was good."

"More proof Hollywood is creatively bankrupt," yet another person griped.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are officially back for Freakier Friday.

The A-listers return to the iconic dual roles of mother (Tess) and daughter (Anna) from the 2003 Disney smash Freaky Friday in the highly anticipated sequel, which opens in theaters on August 8.

In the 2025 installment, the mother-daughter duo has déjà vu when the body-swap experience plagues them yet again. This time, Anna's daughter and soon-to-be stepdaughter get involved in a four-way switch.

With the two Hollywood stars reunited and a new twist on the premise, what do the critics think of Freakier Friday? Deadline's Pete Hammond admits that although the plot laid out by screenwriter Jordan Weiss may be confusing, the flick is a good time for all.

"I do have to confess that with all of this body switching and the various subplots Weiss has introduced, it isn't always easy to keep track of it all, but in the end it pays off, a feel-good comedy ripe for the times as evidenced by the loud laughter at the screening I attended of this nostalgic Disney film that is about as Disney as it gets," he wrote.

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw heaped praise on Curtis for her comedic chops and the script for not being melodramatic. "Another version of this movie might have wanted to dip its toe into the issues of body image and identity: Freakier Friday keeps it light, partly as a result of Curtis's jokey grandma, in whose knockabout generational presence there is no question of anything tricky. Curtis gets the laughs with her puppyishly uninhibited performance and there are some great gags, including one at the expense of oldsters who use a certain social media platform," he wrote.

As for Lohan, the critic claims she does a "reasonable job, although her own body-swapped status as the legendary wild-child of old who is now playing a stressed middle-aged person has to remain unemphasized, simply because Lohan doesn't really have the comedy chops."

According to Variety's Owen Gleiberman, the sequel misses the opportunity to expand the rebranding of the switch-up situation. "The stage is set for an even wilder comedy than Freaky Friday. Yet somehow it doesn't quite happen that way. What we're longing to see is that inside-out performative magic, the irrepressible primal comedy of an actor playing a character who's literally channeling someone else. We want to feel that body-swap tension. But in Freakier Friday this plays out in a weirdly limited way and for a confluence of reasons," he wrote.

The Washington Post's Ty Burr gave it two and a half stars, calling it an "unnecessary" yet "inoffensive" sequel. "More frantic than funny but sweet in its plastic Disney way, Freakier Friday will be a welcome and effective date movie for mothers, daughters, grandmothers and anyone else who had the 2003 Freaky Friday on heavy DVD rotation with Mean Girls in the first years of the new millennium. All other audiences are warned away," he wrote.

Francis Ford Coppola took to Instagram to reassure fans that he is ok after being hospitalized in Rome for heart-related issues.

"Da Dada (what my kids call me) is fine, taking an opportunity while in Rome to do the update of my 30-year-old afib procedure with its inventor, a great Italian doctor – Dr. Andrea Natale! I am well," Coppola told fans.

Both friends and fans rushed to share their love for the filmmaker in the comments section.

"We love you, honey," Sharon Stone, who starred in Coppola's The Rainmaker, wrote.

"This is wonderful news that all went well…Rest and recover! "🙏🏼Btw, The Godfather Part II has been playing a lot lately," Lynn Sellers wrote. "I'm always happy to see it, especially to see my late husband, Bruno Kirby. I still have his Young Clemenza shoes and hat from it."

Along with Stone and Sellers, The Godfather actor Andy Garcia and Goodfellas alum Frank Sivero also shared their support via social media.

"Francis, I will say a prayer for you. I want you to take care of yourself. You just finished a big tour. God bless, friend," Sivero wrote.

According to TheWrap, local outlets in Italy first reported that Coppola was hospitalized for a mild heart arrhythmia shortly after ending his U.S. tour for his movie Megalopolis. Italian outlets reported that the director already had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Natale, but while preparing for a procedure, physicians noticed an arrhythmia. Coppola's medical team reportedly decided it was best to keep him under observation.

Ice Cube's War of the Worlds reboot is facing harsh criticism.

After the newest version of the sci-fi classic — starring the rapper and Eva Longoria — hit Amazon Prime Video in July, the film received a zero percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience score, with more than a thousand reviews, stands at a low 14 percent.

In the flick — which is based on H. G. Wells' original novel — Ice stars as a surveillance expert for the Department of Homeland Security who deals with aliens taking over through his computer.

While the 2005 adaptation starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg was beloved, the updated installment seems to be getting ripped apart by people on social media.

"War of the Worlds (2025) is the worst adaptation of the source material to date," one X user lamented. "It had no ideas beyond the found footage approach and even then the film is struggling to find ways to present coherent scenes. Ice Cube is so lost. Maybe one of the worst movies I've ever seen."

"That new War of the Worlds movie was hilariously awful," a second person penned in an update.

"This new War of the Worlds movie might be the worst movie I have seen in years," a third added.

Variety film critic Peter Debruge wished he could get his time and money back that he spent on the movie. "It's really only worth watching to see Ice Cube jump out of his chair and shout, 'Take your intergalactic a**** back home!' When it comes to customer satisfaction, does Amazon's refund policy apply to stuff like this?" he penned.

The watch only received one star from Empire's Ian Freer, who called it "prime nonsense" and a "witless affair that fumbles the one or two good ideas it has."

"If Steven Spielberg's 2005 War Of The Worlds tapped deeply into post-9/11 anxieties, this latest update feeds into all the fears of today — the invasion of privacy, the dangers of data farming, the duplicity of governments, where Amazon will dump your package — but doesn't have any idea about how to make them feel real or pertinent," the writer noted.