By Susan Hornik

SCARLETT’S BACK WITH A VENGEANCE
Anticipation was sky high for Scarlett Johansson’s new Marvel Studios film Black Widow, where the badass spy Natasha Romano comes to life on-screen. For even more nonstop action, Titan Comics published Marvel’s Black Widow: The Official Movie Special Book, featuring cast interviews and movie imagery.

When asked if she had been thinking of the film since Iron Man 2, Johansson replied: “If we had made a Black Widow standalone back then, it would be such a different film to this one. Natasha’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame gave me a totally different perspective on who she is. Before, I don’t think I would have been able to show people who Natasha really is, what drives her, and show her emotional core. I don’t think we’d be able to cut that deep back then. It would have probably been much more of a straight-up spy thriller that maybe would have been a lot flashier in a different kind of way and just scratch the surface of what we do in this movie.”

MIRREN ON THE MOVE
Helen Mirren may be turning 76 this summer but the perennial actress still takes on new, rigorous challenges. In the latest installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, F9, she even embarked on her first on-camera car chase.

“Oh my God, it’s totally why I wanted to be in the movies!” she joked in an interview with the New York Times. “In reality, they wrote lovely scenes for me, and I was part of the creation of the character in the first place – I wanted her to be called Queenie and come from that kind of East End family I know a little bit about – but I mostly wanted to be behind the wheel of a car and, of course, that didn’t happen for two of the movies. Somehow, they made it work for this movie, which was fantastic.”

The English actress is also playing the villain Hesperia in the upcoming sequel Shazam: Fury of the Gods! (which premieres in 2023) and is currently hosting the ABC animal documentary series When Nature Calls with Helen Mirren.

AHS’ NEWEST MEMBER
Ryan Murphy’s twisted FX series American Horror Story will be returning for its tenth season on August 25, a highly anticipated double feature consisting of two mini series with separate casts and storylines, “One by land, one by sea.” While the ninth installment the ‘80s nostalgia summer camp slasher 1984 – was notably missing some of the anthology series’ biggest players like Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, and Kathy Bates, Murphy confirmed the trio will be returning. In other exciting news, Macaulay Culkin will be making his AHS debut, though any deets on his character have been kept under wraps.

“I have always loved Macaulay Culkin’s work,” Murphy told E! News. “I loved everything that he’s done, I love the stuff he did in Home Alone, I also loved the older, more recent stuff that he did. And he hasn’t worked in a while.”

Episodes will be available weekly leading up to the finale, airing of course on Halloween.

McHALE’S ON THE CASE
FOX has had great success with its numerous cooking competition series – both Master Chef and Hell’s Kitchen have been nominated for several Emmys and the network recently welcomed its newest culinary showdown, Crime Scene Kitchen. Actor and comedian Joel McHale hosts/ executive produces the series, with celebrity chef Curtis Stone and cake artist Yolanda Gampp acting as judges.

At the FOX Summer Press Day, McHale acknowledged how much he loves being a part of both scripted and unscripted series.

“You know, I love it all,” said The Soup’s former host. “A lot of people are like, ‘Gun to your head: What do you have to do, and what would you choose?’ And I always thought, ‘Where is this place that they’re holding a gun to my head and making me choose something to do in my career? I really do love it all.”

TYRA’S COOL VENTURE
When she is not hosting/executive producing ABC’s popular dance competition series Dancing With the Stars, Tyra Banks is whipping up tasty frozen dessert for her new ice cream venture, Smize Cream. Super fans of her previous cult favorite series America’s Next Top Model may remember that smize is to “smile with your eyes.”

At her new store in Santa Monica, Banks talked exclusively with INDUSTRY. “This is a lifelong dream for me, I have always wanted to create an ice cream company! As a kid, I have very fond memories where me and my momma would sit and have ice cream together,” she said.

The ice cream flavors have playful names like “Caramel Cookie Queen,” “Strawberry BirthYAY! Cake,” “Purple Cookie Mon-Star & Me,” and “Salted Caramel King.” Even if you are not in Los Angeles, the iconic supermodel still has your back. “Ice cream makes me so happy and I thought given the time we are living in, it would be nice if people can get Smize delivered right to their home!”