Al Pacino talks turning down Han Solo, jokes he was 'in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career'

Al Pacino talks turning down Han Solo, jokes he was 'in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career'

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty; Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Al Pacino jokes he turned down the role of Han Solo inStar Warsas a favor to Harrison Ford. In reality, he turned down the role because he didn't understand the part. Pacino reflects on his relationship with the "Movie Brats," includingStar Warsdirector George Lucas andThe Godfatherdirector Francis Ford Coppola. The Force was not withAl Pacinowhen heturned down the role of Han SoloinStar Wars—a choice he opened up about in his memoirSonny Boy. Recently reflecting on that fateful decision further, the Oscar winner now jokes that he was simply doingHarrison Forda favor. "I said, 'I think I'm in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career,'" the legendary actor quips toEntertainment Weeklywhile promoting his latest film,The Ritual(in theaters now), alongside his costar,Dan Stevens. Strolling down memory lane, Pacino recalls his relationship with the so-called "Movie Brats," a group of pioneering directors includingSteven Spielberg,Martin Scorsese,George Lucas,Francis Ford Coppola, andBrian De Palma, who helped pave the way for the New Hollywood movement of the mid-'60s to early '80s. Neilson Barnard/Getty "Zoetrope started in San Francisco with Spielberg and De Palma and Francis Coppola, and Scorsese," Pacino explains. "They were in the late-'60s making this. They were real idealists coming into the '70s with great films all over the globe. So it was a wonderful place that I actually saw, I went to the building and everything before I didGodfatherwith them," he continues, referring to the Sentinel Building in San Francisco, purchased by Coppola as the headquarters for American Zoetrope. "So I loved their work, but I was doing a show on Broadway at the time, and they handed me this script, and I thought,I don't understand," he said of reading theStar Warsscript for the first time. "[I thought],I must be out of space myself," he joked. "But I looked at this thing and I sent it to Charlie Loughton, my friend and mentor, actually. I said, 'What do you make of this?' He was pretty wise and he said, 'I don't get it, Al. I dunno. I don't get it.' I said, 'Well, I don't either; what are we going to do? They offered me a fortune, but I don't know. No, I can't play something if I don't speak the language.'" Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Want more movie news? Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free newsletterto get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Fortunately, everything worked out in the long run for all parties involved. Pacino continued his iconic career, starring in films including Norman Jewison'sAnd Justice for All, William Friedkin'sCruising, and De Palma'sScarface.And, of course, the role of Han Solo in 1977'sStar Wars: Episode IV – A New Hopewent to Ford, transforming him into one of Hollywood's most bankable leading men. Pacino also wasn't the only actor Ford had to beat out to win the part of Han Solo. Sylvester Stallone has spoken about auditioning and being rejected for the role, and you can evenwatch Kurt Russell's audition tape. Burt Reynolds told Business Insider in 2016 that, like Pacino, he was offered and turned down the part. "I didn't want to play that kind of role at the time," he said. "Now I regret it. I wish I would have done it." Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

byAlpha World

in

June 07, 2025

Al Pacino talks turning down Han Solo, jokes he was 'in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career'

Al Pacino talks turning down Han Solo, jokes he was 'in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career' David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty; ...

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Another 'Duck Dynasty' Star Is Having Health Issues Following Death of Phil Robertson

Another 'Duck Dynasty' Star Is Having Health Issues Following Death of Phil Robertson

Another 'Duck Dynasty' Star Is Having Health Issues Following Death of Phil Robertsonoriginally appeared onParade. Just weeks after the death ofDuck DynastystarPhil Robertson, his son, Willie Robertson, has shared a bit of a family update. Inan interview withUSA Todaythat was published on June 5, Willie shared that his mom, Kay Robertson, isn't doing well. "Kay is not in the best of health. We're trying to help her out as much as we can," he told the outlet. "Some of it is she is just depressed. She lost her partner of 60 years," he added. Miss Kay, 77, is a part of theDuck Dynastyreboot, but didn't film much due to her ongoing health issues. "Mom was on the show at the beginning so we have some sweet moments with her," Willie toldUSA Today. Miss Kay did not attend the premiere of the reboot, which was held in Monroe, Louisiana, on June 1. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Phil Robertson (@officialphilrobertson) It's been a challenging few months for the Robertson family. Aside from Phil's Alzheimer's diagnosis and subsequent death, Miss Kay wound up in the hospital for more than a week after a nasty fall. During an Aprilepisode of the Robertson family's podcast, Jase Robertson revealed that his mom had a cut that got infected after the aforementioned fall. "She has to have pretty much 24/7 professional healthcare," he said at the time. In March 2024, Philshared an update on his wife on Instagram. 🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 "Miss Kay has been in the hospital this month, and both of us can't wait for her to be back home. She's doing better, and she's as ready to be out of the rehabilitation facility as I am to have her back with me," he wrote at the time. Duck Dynasty: The Revivalpremiered on A&E on June 1. Another 'Duck Dynasty' Star Is Having Health Issues Following Death of Phil Robertsonfirst appeared on Parade on Jun 7, 2025 This story was originally reported byParadeon Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.

byAlpha World

in

June 07, 2025

Another 'Duck Dynasty' Star Is Having Health Issues Following Death of Phil Robertson

Another 'Duck Dynasty' Star Is Having Health Issues Following Death of Phil Robertson Another 'Duck Dynasty' Star Is Having ...

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Planned Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap descends into blame game and uncertainty

Planned Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap descends into blame game and uncertainty

A planned exchange ofRussianandUkrainianprisoners of war failed to take place on Saturday, with Moscow accusing Kyiv of postponing the swap at the last minute, something Ukrainian officials dismissed as "dirty games" from the Kremlin. Russia said Ukraine unexpectedly postponed a transfer involving prisoners of war and the bodies of dead soldiers, leaving more than 1,200 frozen Ukrainian bodies waiting in refrigerated trucks at an exchange point with no one to collect them. Ukraine rejected Russia's account of the events, saying that the two sides had agreed to exchange seriously wounded and young troops on Saturday but a date had not yet been set for the repatriation of soldiers' bodies. During a second round of direct peacetalks in Istanbulon Monday, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange more prisoners this weekend. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation for peace talks with Ukraine, said this week that the exchange would be the largest since of the three-year war. "In strict accordance with the Istanbul agreements, the Russian side began a humanitarian operation to transfer more than 6,000 bodies of killed Ukrainian servicemen," as well as badly wounded soldiers under the age of 25, Medinsky said Saturday afternoon on Telegram. He claimed that 1,212 bodies of killed Ukrainian soldiers were at the exchange point, with the rest "on their way." He also said that Russia gave Ukraine the first list of 640 prisoners of war for exchange, listed as "wounded, seriously ill and young people," in order to start the swap. In a video posted by Russia's Defense Ministry on Telegram, two men wearing hazmat suits are seen opening the doors to the back of a truck parked on the side of a road. Inside the truck were dozens of sealed white bags, which the ministry said contained the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. Medinsky said Russia's Defense Ministry contact group was waiting at the border with Ukraine, but alleged that Kyiv had "unexpectedly postponed the transfer of bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war for an indefinite period" and had given "pretty weird reasons" for doing so. Ukraine swiftly rejected the accusations, saying Medinsky's claims "do not correspond to reality." It said the exchange of prisoners of war and soldiers' bodies were separate processes. "Unfortunately, instead of constructive dialogue, we are again faced with manipulations and attempts to use sensitive humanitarian issues for informational purposes," Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War wrote on Telegram. "We call on the Russian side to stop playing dirty games," it added. Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Russia was creating "artificial obstacles" and making "false statements" to obstruct the exchange of living prisoners, reneging on what had been agreed in Istanbul. "The Ukrainian side has faced yet another attempt to renege on the agreements after the fact," the ministry said. Although prisoner of war swaps had been a rare point of agreement between the warring countries, the unraveling of Saturday's scheduled exchange underscores the lack of trust that has so far marred the peace talks. The spat came soon after Russia launchedanother aerial assaulton Ukraine, killing three people in the city of Kharkiv. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byAlpha World

in

June 07, 2025

Planned Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap descends into blame game and uncertainty

Planned Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap descends into blame game and uncertainty A planned exchange ofRussianandUkrainianprisoners of war faile...

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A 12-day search ends less than 2 miles away: How 'Devil in the Ozarks' killer was caught

A 12-day search ends less than 2 miles away: How 'Devil in the Ozarks' killer was caught

Theformer Arkansas police chief who escaped prisondisguised as a guard only made it about a mile-and-a-half away from the facility in the 12 days before he was captured, officials said. Convicted murderer and rapistGrant Hardinwas found at about 3 p.m. on June 6 west of the North Central Unit state prison near Moccasin Creek in Izard County, Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion said in a statement. In a photo of his arrest, Hardin is seen sitting on the ground in a vegetated area with his hands behind his back in a baseball cap and dirty T-shirt and pants. Hardin, 56, was in prison serving a decadeslong sentence for the 2017 murder of water department employee James Appleton in Gateway, Arkansas, and the 1997 rape of a school teacher in nearby Rogers. He's known as the "Devil in the Ozarks," the name of a 2023 TV documentary about his crimes. His escape on May 25 involved dressing up in a makeshift outfit to disguise himself as a corrections officer, tricking a real officer into opening a gate and allowing him to walk out of the medium-security facility, court records said. He will now be housed at the high-security Varner Unit in Gould, Arkansas, Champion said. Here's what we know about Hardin's capture and escape: Discover WITNESS:Access our exclusive collection of true crime stories, podcasts, videos and more Authorities said tracking dogs picked up Hardin's scent and were able to lead them to Hardin. Hundreds of law enforcement officers at the local, state and federal level spent nearly two weeks searching for Hardin, using dogs, drones and aircraft, at times hampered by severe weather. Moccasin Creek where he was found has seen high water due to heavy rainfall in the last two weeks, which may have limited Hardin's ability to move around. It also prevented authorities from finding him sooner. Champion said search teams had looked through the area before but couldn't fully investigate because of the high water. Though Hardin was previously thought to have left the state, Champion said investigators now believe he never got very far at all from the prison. He was fingerprinted and assessed at the North Central Unit before being moved to the Varner Unit, Champion said. He will be interviewed in the coming days. Hardin slipped away from the prison the afternoon of May 25 wearing a "makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement," the Arkansas Department of Corrections said. "Inmate Hardin impersonated a corrections officer in dress and manner causing the Corrections Officer operating a secure gate to open the gate and allow Inmate Hardin to walk away from the North Central Unit," Special Agent Dennis Simons of the Izard County Sheriff's Office wrote in an arrest affidavit. A photo from surveillance footage showed Hardin wearing the outfit and pushing a loaded cart as he escaped. Champion said Hardin was gone for about 20 minutes when an officer noticed he was missing. 'Devil in the Ozarks' killer:Why was it so hard to find Grant Hardin? His escape came amid an ongoingweekslong search for escaped inmates in Louisiana. On May 16, 10 inmates broke out of a New Orleans jail; two are still on the run as of June 7. Hardin pleaded guilty to the Feb. 23, 2017, murder of Appleton. Appleton's brother-in-law and the mayor of Gateway at the time, Andrew Tillman, told police he was on the phone with Appleton while Appleton was driving his truck. Appleton pulled over so he wouldn't lose signal while on the phone with Tillman, Tillman told investigators. Tillman heard what sounded like a car door slamming shut, then nothing. A witness also told police they saw someone pulled over behind the truck in a car and heard a gunshot, and identified the driver as Hardin. Appleton was found dead in his truck with a gunshot to the side of his head and face. After his conviction, his DNA was matched with that from an unsolved rape case in 1997, in which a teacher said she was attacked while at school by a man who held her at gunpoint, according to court records. Hardin pleaded guilty to charges related to the rape. Hardin's combined convictions added up to 80 years in prison sentences. Hardin was the chief of police in Gateway for about four months in 2016, the Associated Press reported. He was also terminated from roles at other police departments, local outlets have reported. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Devil in the Ozarks' killer captured: How Grant Hardin was caught

byAlpha World

in

June 07, 2025

A 12-day search ends less than 2 miles away: How 'Devil in the Ozarks' killer was caught

A 12-day search ends less than 2 miles away: How 'Devil in the Ozarks' killer was caught Theformer Arkansas police chief who escaped...

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Ron Howard and Cheryl Howard Celebrate Their 50th Wedding Anniversary Today — See Their Best Photos from a Half-Century of Marriage!

Ron Howard and Cheryl Howard Celebrate Their 50th Wedding Anniversary Today — See Their Best Photos from a Half-Century of Marriage!

realronhoward/Instagram RonandCheryl Howard's love story is decades in the making. The couple, who met in high school and went on their first date in 1970, have been by each other's sides for all of life's big moments. Cheryl, who is a published author, and Oscar-winning director Ron expanded their family four times over with the addition oftheir children, daughtersBryce Dallas, Jocelyn Carlyle and Paige Carlyle, as well as son Reed Cross. From their early days as a pair to their more recent outings, take a look back at some of the sweetest photos of the long-term couple as they celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary! Ron Howard and Cheryl Alley met while attending John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California, and had their first date in 1970. "Nov 1 1970 Cheryl & I went on our 1st date," Ron wrote alongside anInstagrampost commemorating the 50th anniversary of the moment in 2020. "We went to see a re-release of Stanley Kramer'sIt's a Mad Mad Mad Worldand then got some pizza at now defunct Barnone's in Toluca Lake. Quite a start, right?" He added a sweet detail sharing that to celebrate, "We'll be driving in the same '70 VW Bug I picked Cheryl up in 5 decades ago. It runs great. So do we." Sporting what appears to be a signature look for a young Ron Howard, the couple is seen here in the 1970s. Howard has posted a few angles of this snapshot from the early days of dating,saying that this moment of him "showing off my Super8"was captured about a month into their relationship. "What a journey," he wrote. "Today we're blessed w/4 amazing kids & 6 incredible grandkids & still goin' on some pretty great dates, too." "This is from the Backwards dance where the girl asks the guy out. Cheryl made that dress from store bought pattern as I recall," Howard wrote onthis sweet '70s throwback photo. realronhoward/Instagram Howard shared a throwback from the year before they wed, sporting a shiner but still looking pretty cute with his bride-to-be. "Me and Cheryl late '74. These kinda things like this used to happen even in fender benders before seat belts became law. I actually had a lap belt and still got knocked cold," he recalled. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty AfterRon Howard proposed three times, the two tied the knot in 1975 in Burbank. Special guests for their big day included the actor's famous costars fromThe Andy Griffith ShowandHappy Days, including his TV dadsAndy GriffithandTom Bosley. Kevin John Berry/Fairfax Media via Getty Three months into their marriage, Ron and Cheryl were pictured smiling from ear-to-ear while backstage at a press reception forHappy Days. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty The two couldn't keep their eyes off each other in this red carpet photo taken the same year. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty The two took their date night to the 31st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 1979. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty In 1981 the coupleexpanded their familywhen they welcomed their first daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard — seen here with her parents in 1982. Their family continued to grow over the years with the addition of twins Paige Carlyle Howard and Jocelyn Carlyle Howard in 1985 and later son Reed Cross Howard in 1987. Alan Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock Ron Howard and Cheryl Howard were all smiles when they attended the third annual Carousel Ball of Hope in Denver in 1983. AP Photo/Bob Galbraith And Cheryl Howard was of course on deck to celebrate her husband's filmParenthoodat the L.A. premiere in 1989. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty The two were all dressed up in 1996 when Ron Howard won the Directors Guild of America award forApollo 13. The Howard family (eldest daughter Bryce, twins Paige and Jocelyn and son Reed) took a classic '90s photo at Niagara Falls. Bei/Shutterstock The same year, the couple stepped out for the Oscars, where Ron Howard opted for a classic black tux while Cheryl Howard wore a blue gown. Albert L. Ortega/Getty In 2015, the entire Howard gang showed up to support their patriarch as he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The couple, who are now grandparents six times over, are still each other's favorite dates decades later. Over the years, Cheryl Howard has also "been in everything" that Ron Howard has directed since "11th grade in high school," he's said. "At a certain point, I became very superstitious about making sure that she appears, that she's at least identifiable in one frame," Ron explained to theTelevision Academy, calling Cheryl his "good luck charm." "They don't have to be big cameos, but she's gotta be in there." David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage From high school sweethearts to grandparents, Ron Howard and Cheryl Howard have a love story for the ages. "I met her, andthere was never anybody else," Ron, seen here with his wife in 2022, told PEOPLE in 2019. "She's unbelievably supportive and always has been. Our compatibility has endured through all kinds of experiences." realronhoward/Instagram The couple was as happy as ever to be sitting across the table from each other in London in 2021. Cindy Ord/Getty Fifty years in, Ron and Cheryl continue to live happily ever after. Above, the couple is pictured at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere ofEden,which Ron directed. realronhoward/Instagram "The adventure continues," Howard captioned this 2024 shot from Iceland. Read the original article onPeople

byAlpha World

in

June 07, 2025

Ron Howard and Cheryl Howard Celebrate Their 50th Wedding Anniversary Today — See Their Best Photos from a Half-Century of Marriage!

Ron Howard and Cheryl Howard Celebrate Their 50th Wedding Anniversary Today — See Their Best Photos from a Half-Century of Marriage! realron...

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