Here are the fresh happenings from the world of Hollywood.  So have fun and enjoy reading about your favourite Hollywood stars.

Fogel is a gifted comedy writer: McKinnon

Actress-comedian Kate McKinnon finds The Spy Who Dumped Me director Susanna Fogel a very gifted comedy writer.

"Susanna is a very gifted comedy writer but also really wants to keep everything real. I learned a lot from her, listening to the way that she was guiding me and what she wanted me to do. It was really different for me," McKinnon, who stars in The Spy Who Dumped Me, said in a statement to a publication.

It is a "genre-bender" with two women at the centre of an action-packed spy caper.

In keeping with the style of the film, it was only appropriate for the crew to hire a director with field experience in the spy-thriller genre but Fogel had something different in mind.

When she pitched herself for the role of director, after having written the script, it was befitting for the producers to choose her above anyone else because of the kind of intimacy Fogel shares with her material and characters.

"It is such a female story and such a personal story that has to do with being in your 30s and being a woman and having these issues that are very particular to my generation and me being at that age," Fogel said.

"It naturally started to feel like if we were going to find another director, it was going to be someone who was more removed from that narrative than me. It started to feel inevitable that I would do it. The challenge is really just having the confidence to throw yourself into it and to be as prepared as you can be," she added.

The Spy Who Dumped Me, distributed by Lionsgate India and starring Mila Kunis and McKinnon, is slated to release on 10 August.

China bans 'Winnie the Pooh' film over comparisons to Xi

Chinese censors have banned the release of Christopher Robin, a new animated film adaptation of A.A. Milnes beloved story about Winnie the Pooh for the character's comparison to President Xi Jinping.

Winnie the Pooh has become a lighthearted way for people across China to mock their President, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

It started when Xi visited the US in 2013 and an image of him and his former American counterpart Barack Obama walking together spurred comparisons to Winnie, a portly Xi, walking with Tigger, a lanky Obama.

Xi was again compared to the fictional bear in 2014 during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took on the part of the pessimistic, gloomy donkey, Eeyore.

As comparisons grew, censors began erasing the images which mocked Xi.

The HBO website owas blocked last month after comedian John Oliver repeatedly made fun of the Chinese President's apparent sensitivity over comparisons of his figure with that of Winnie.

The segment also focused on China's dismal human rights record.

Another comparison between Xi and Winnie during a military parade in 2015 became that year's most censored image, according to Global Risk Insights.

The analysis firm said the Chinese government viewed the meme as "a serious effort to undermine the dignity of the presidential office and Xi himself".

Christopher Robin is the second Disney film to be denied a release in China this year, after A Wrinkle in Time was blocked.

Rosie O'Donnell stages protest against Trump

Actress Rosie O'Donnell and some performers from Broadway's biggest musicals led a sing-along protest against US President Donald Trump outside the White House.

The renowned musicians and singers arrived here from New York on Monday evening and wore matching shirts that read, "Now showing TRUTH". They even chanted the word "treason" for Trump, reports suggest so.

O'Donnell said, "Let your voice be heard. Let the President know in no uncertain terms that we are alive, awake and we are woke. We are not going away."

The group sang various songs like "A Brand New Day" and "Do you hear the people sing?" to hit out at Trump's actions.

The Rosie Show host also tweeted a video in which singers make their way to the White House together on a bus and warm up their vocals with The Sound of Music‘s "Climb Every Mountain".

Demi Lovato out of hospital, checks into rehab

Singer-actress Demi Lovato is out of the hospital where she was admitted two weeks ago following a drug overdose and is currently undergoing treatment at a rehabilitation centre.

The 25-year-old got discharged from the hospital on 4 August and was flown to outside California in a private plane for her treatment, reports suggest so. A source close to Lovato said the singer's team has a plan set in place to scrub the negative people and "yes men" who contributed to her downhill spiral and fuelled her addiction for months before the overdose that almost killed her.

The "Sorry not sorry" singer also addressed her overdose and ill-health for the first time on Instagram on Sunday.

She wrote, "I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction. What I've learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.

"I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery. The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side. I will keep fighting."

'Supergirl' movie in the works

Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are in the early stages of a Supergirl film. They have hired 22 Jump Street writer Oren Uziel to pen the script, but have not found a producer yet.

The character has been played by Melissa Benoist in the titular CW series that's heading into its fourth season, and is executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller, reports suggest so.

The super heroine first appeared in "Action Comics #252" from writer Otto Binder and illustrator Al Plastino. It followed Kara Zor-El, who was born and raised in Argo City - a fragment of Krypton that survived destruction.

When the town is doomed, Kara is sent to Earth by her parents to be raised by her cousin Kal-El, known as Superman. Supergirl adopted the secret identity of orphan Linda Lee and made Midvale Orphanage her home.

After the first three Christopher Reeve-starring Superman movies, producers spun off Supergirl into a 1984 film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and written by David Odell. Helen Slater played Supergirl in the pic, co-starring Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, and Peter O'Toole.

DC's upcoming releases include Jason Momoa's Aquaman, which opens in December, and Asher Angel's Shazam, set for 5 April, 2019.

British actor Henry Cavill has played Superman in 2013's Man of Steel, 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017's Justice League.

Khloe Kardashian shows true love for daughter

Reality TV personality Khloe Kardashian says her daughter True is her lifeline.

She expressed her emotions while sharing a new photograph of her daughter on Sunday on Instagram, reports suggest so.

In the image, True is seen relaxing in a white dress.

She captioned the image, "Kyankus, My Life."

In fact, Khloe was paying homage to her family roots as 'Kyankus' is an Armenian word that translates to 'my life' in English.

Khloe welcomed her first child with professional basketball player boyfriend Tristan Thompson in April this year.

Can't wait to have my own little family: Alex Bain

Coronation Street actor Alex Bain is excited to start his family.

Bain, 16, is expecting a baby girl with girlfriend Levi Selby, also 16.

The actor shut down the rumours of his break-up with Selby through a Snapchat post, reports suggest so.

"For all those wondering, I'm still with my girlfriend Selby, and I honestly cannot wait for my little baby girl to arrive. I can't wait to have my own little family," he wrote alongside several scan pictures.

A source close to the actor told The Sun that the couple have been going through a bad patch but are now stronger than ever.

Selby has announced the news of her pregnancy last week on social media by posting a picture of her 12-week scan, and also revealed that she might deliver the child around 8 December.

It is also believed that the couple has decided to name their daughter as Lydia Rose.

Katie Holmes, Jamie Fox step out for beach date

Actress Katie Holmes was seen having romantic time on a beach with her actor, singer boyfriend Jamie Fox amid the rumours that the couple who have never publicly acknowledged their relationship may have broken up.

In the photographs of their beach outing, the pair was spotted smiling and cuddling each other by the sand.

A source confirming the couple's relationship told etonline.com, "they've always lived very independent lives, but try to make time to see each other, "It's not uncommon for them to go long stretches without seeing each other."

Also, Holme's representative denied the report that the couple had broken up, calling the entire story, which focused on their relationship, "false."

The couple is believed to have been dating for quite long but photos of them together have only emerged in the recent times.

Computer generated images are so extraordinary: Rainn Wilson

Actor Rainn Wilson thinks actors should get more training in working with Computer-generated (CG) imagery because of the rate it is developing.

"There was at least a square kilometre of green screen on set, as well as a giant water tank. Our point of reference for the Meg often was when (director) Jon (Turteltaub) would be on a megaphone, telling us, 'OK, the meg's coming at you!" Wilson told movies.ie.

"Sometimes we roughly knew where the meg's nose and tail were. But, we always had to do a lot of imagining. Computer generated images are so extraordinary. I've done some other films with CG imagery, and it seems that working amongst that technology may be the future of acting.

"In fact, there should be 'Acting with Green Screen' classes, where you have to imagine working opposite giant monsters because it's such a part of an actor's toolbox these days."

The The Meg was filmed in New Zealand and Rainn was blown away by the country, reports suggest so.

"One of the coolest things to be a part of is a big action movie, and I feel lucky to have done a few, including The Meg. The other coolest thing is when the production schedule allows you to travel. I hadn't been to New Zealand, but soon after arriving to begin work on The Meg I realised that it's really paradise down there," he said.

He added, "I had the opportunity to travel a bit, and visited the South Islands, saw a glacier and did some hiking."

Kim, Kourtney fight on social media

Reality TV stars Kim and Kourtney Kardashian took their feud to Twitter as their reality show fight aired on television.

"I can't handle this anymore. I need Kourtney to not be so f**king annoying with this stick up her a** like she f**king runs this s**t because she does not. She is the least exciting to look at, so she can be out. She doesn't do s**t," Kim tweeted.

And as the show aired on TV on Sunday, the pair showed that they have not put the drama behind them, even though it was filmed months ago, reports suggest so.

Kourtney, 39, wrote, "Watching this fight actually gives me chills. We all have our own priorities. Mine is being a mother."

Kim, who has three children North, Saint and six-month-old Chicago, took this as a personal insult and replied, "And mine is not? The shoot was with our kids! My #1 priority is being a mother as well and I can work too, so can you!"

Kourtney then tried to calm Kim down by explaining that she just wanted to spend more time with her children, Mason, Penelope and Reign rather than working.

She wrote, "And I do. But I was not wanting more work, I already felt spread thin. Being a good mother also has a different meaning to each of us. You are an amazing mother, I'm not taking that away from you."

However, she finished by explaining that her relationship with her sister had changed for good after the intense fight.

She tweeted, "We're ride or die. But I don't accept the way we criticize and judge each other anymore. My personal growth doesn't allow it."

Speaking on the show, Kourtney insisted she would no longer spend time with people who upset her, including her siblings.

Leona Lewis is engaged

Singer Leona Lewis has reportedly accepted a proposal from her boyfriend Dennis Jauch after dating for eight years.

On Monday, she subtly showed off her diamond engagement ring in several photographs and videos posted on her Instagram Story, reports suggest so.

The couple has been spending time together in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Lewis finished shooting for the second season of The Oath.

Both Lewis and her beau have been sharing beach photographs from their romantic getaway.

News of the pair's engagement comes days after they celebrated their eight-year anniversary.

On 1 August, Jauch shared some of his favourite photographs of the duo in a collage shared on Instagram.

"It's been the most beautiful eight years of my life with this incredible human being. Here's to many more beautiful memories," he captioned the nine images.

Johnny Depp's 'City of Lies' pulled from release schedule

Global Road Entertainment has pulled the upcoming Notorious B.I.G. film City of Lies, starring Johnny Depp, a month before it was slated to hit theaters.

The movie was scheduled to be released 7 September but is now undated, a spokesman for the distributor said Monday, reports suggest so.

The feature is based on the book "Labyrinth," which tells the story of the police investigation into the deaths of rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.

Depp last month was sued by a location manager involved in the production who said the actor punched him. He has faced a number of legal and financial woes, recently granting a wide-ranging interview to Rolling Stone that showcased the actor's decline.

Last month, he settled a lawsuit with his former managers who had accused the actor of spending money at an unsustainable rate.

Depp, who faced accusations of domestic violence in his divorce from Amber Heard, last year generated controversy for another film he's attached to, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Depp denied the allegations and Heard later issued a joint statement with her ex-husband saying "there was never any intent of physical or emotional harm."

(SOURCE : IANS)