Six weeks before Tom Girardi’s criminal trial in Los Angeles is scheduled to begin, federal prosecutors revealed that they intend to introduce key evidence: that the disgraced former attorney allegedly spent more than $25 million of client and law firm money on the career of his reality TV star wife.

Until now, Erika Girardi — a mainstay of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” — has rarely been mentioned in her estranged husband’s federal prosecution. Tom Girardi — once a superstar plantiffs attorney and influential Democratic Party donor — and his law firm’s former chief financial officer are accused of stealing $15 million from several clients in a years-long scheme.

In a court filing Friday, prosecutors said they plan to show the jury evidence that Tom Girardi misappropriated far more than that from his law firm, Girardi Keese, and his clients, including the $25 million they allege he diverted to cover the “illegitimate expenses” of EJ Global LLC, a company he formed for his wife’s entertainment career.

“By directing Girardi Keese accounting personnel to make these payments for the benefit of EJ Global, defendant [Tom] Girardi knowingly and intentionally funneled payments sourced from client funds for the improper personal enrichment of his family members,” prosecutors wrote in their filing.

No underlying evidence was included in the filing, and it’s unclear how prosecutors plan to prove their assertion. They did not mention Erika Girardi by name, nor did they accuse her of wrongdoing or knowledge of her husband’s financial practices.

Instead, prosecutors want to rebut Tom Girardi’s defense strategy of blaming the CFO by showing that Girardi was also misappropriating money to spend on his wife and her career.

Erika Girardi’s lawyer, Evan Borges, emphasized that prosecutors did not say the “Housewives” star did anything wrong and claimed that it was “undisputed” that Tom Girardi and his firm handled the finances and accounting of EJ Global LLC.

“She had no knowledge of the actions of Tom Girardi or Girardi Keese regarding client matters or finances,” Borges said, noting that one judge already dismissed a suit against her because of “ZERO evidence” of her involvement in client matters.

“Years ago, Erika filed for divorce and separated from Tom Girardi, and lives in a rental,” Borges said in a statement. “She is entitled to move on with her life.”

Prosecutors want to bring in the evidence related to Erika Girardi’s company, EJ Global, because of what Tom Girardi’s attorneys revealed at a hearing on Thursday. Deputy Public Defender Charles Snyder indicated at the hearing that the defense will point a finger at the law firm’s CFO, Christopher Kamon.

Snyder said his client wasn’t the one “running the machine” — it was Kamon, who oversaw the firm’s accounting department and 127 bank accounts.

In a separate federal prosecution, Kamon is charged with allegedly running a “side fraud” in which he embezzled millions from the law firm using sham vendors, then spent the funds on home renovations, exotic cars and “female escorts,” according to court papers. Kamon, who has pleaded not guilty in both cases, faces a second trial in October for the so-called side fraud.

Girardi’s legal team plans to cite the alleged “side fraud” by the CFO as a cause for large deficits in Girardi Keese’s accounts.

Further, they plan to argue that Girardi was liquidating his personal assets and putting those funds back into the firm for payroll and expenses to offset money depleted by Kamon’s alleged scheme.

In court Thursday, Snyder said that Girardi’s lies to clients about the whereabouts of their settlement money — what prosecutors called “lulling communications” meant to fend them off — were not meant to swindle victims but to permit Girardi himself to get to the bottom of his firm’s finances.

Kamon’s attorney, Michael Severo, poured cold water on the narrative: “It’s just fiction,” he said in court.

With Girardi’s lawyers suggesting that they’ll shift culpability onto Kamon, prosecutors wrote in their filing that evidence of money misappropriated to pay EJ Global’s bills is “essential” to telling “a coherent and complete story of the charged scheme.”

“Excluding such evidence would only serve to distort the truth and leave the jury with the mistaken impression that only defendant Kamon is to blame for such misappropriation when, in truth, defendant Girardi similarly misappropriated tens of millions himself,” the prosecutors wrote.

Girardi and Kamon are scheduled to go on trial together on Aug. 6. But late Friday, Girardi’s attorneys moved to try them separately, in part because their defense strategies are “mutually exclusive.”

That is, Girardi’s lawyers believe that each man will blame the other. They plan to argue that Kamon wanted to cheat and deceive his boss and exploit an elderly man facing cognitive decline. They also predict that Kamon will claim he was “pressured” into acting at Girardi’s command, according to court papers.

Whether to try the two men separately, or to allow evidence of improper payments to Erika Girardi’s limited liability company, will be decided by U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton, who previously ruled Girardi competent to stand trial.

Staton will also rule on a motion filed late Friday by Tom Girardi’s legal team, which asks the judge to suppress evidence provided to prosecutors by the bankruptcy trustee overseeing Girardi’s law firm, saying that a search warrant was never sought to obtain the firm’s internal files and records.

Girardi’s lawyers have argued that the 85-year-old, who resides in the dementia ward of a nursing home, has no short-term memory and does not recognize them or remember the criminal case against him.

But in her ruling earlier this year, Staton said Girardi “clearly understands the nature of the charges against him.”

Girardi was once a titan of the American legal community who won billions of dollars in settlements for clients in a career that spanned five decades. A landmark payout to residents of Hinkley, Calif., by Pacific Gas & Electric and its subsequent portrayal in the film “Erin Brockovich” helped raise Girardi’s public stature. But he was long an insider in California politics, raising sums for governors, senators and legions of local Democratic politicians.

His firm collapsed in late 2020 as evidence emerged that he had misappropriated millions of dollars of settlements that Boeing had paid to widows and orphans of an Indonesian plane crash. The money never reached the families, prompting a federal judge in Chicago to freeze Girardi’s assets and refer him for criminal investigation.

Girardi and his firm were forced into bankruptcy, and since then, scores of former clients have come forward alleging they did not receive all or part of their settlements.

Girardi and his son-in-law David Lira, along with Kamon, also face federal criminal charges in Chicago in connection with the misappropriation of $3 million from the Indonesian plane crash victims.

A trial in Chicago is scheduled for 2025.

Justin Timberlake knows he’s “hard to love” sometimes but thanked his fans in the Windy City on Friday for doing so anyway, addressing his recent arrest in the Hamptons and subsequent charge of driving while intoxicated in public for the first time.

Apparently, his Tuesday arrest in New York did not “ruin” his world tour after all.

The Grammy and Emmy Award winner, 43, delivered a short but emotional speech Friday night at the United Center in Chicago, the latest stop on his Forget Tomorrow World Tour, as seen in concert footage posted on social media. As the boisterous crowd cheered him on, the former ‘N Sync frontman seemingly humbled himself in front of the sold-out arena.

“We’ve been together through ups and downs and lefts and rights. And, uh, it’s been a tough week. But you’re here and I’m here. Nothing can change this moment right now,” the singer said while holding an acoustic guitar and bowing to his adoring fans. “I know sometimes I’m hard to love, but you keep on loving me and I love you right back. Thank you so much.”

“Now if you’ll oblige me, I’d like to have a little sing-along with you guys,” he added, before launching into the show.

The “Can’t Stop the Feeling” singer was arrested on Long Island after Sag Harbor police saw his gray 2025 BMW UT run a stop sign and struggle to stay in its lane. Police who pulled him over just after 12:30 a.m. alleged the singer’s eyes “were bloodshot and glassy” and “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath.”

“[H]e was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” according to court papers obtained by The Times. The “Rock Your Body” singer was booked and held overnight in jail, where his mug shot was taken. He was arraigned hours later in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court, on the eastern end of Long Island, the Suffolk County district attorney’s office confirmed to The Times. He pleaded not guilty, the New York Times reported.

In surveillance footage obtained by CNN, a car that matched the police description of Timberlake’s vehicle could be seen running the stop sign near where Timberlake was arrested, but it did not appear to be swerving in the clip.

“The Social Network” and “Trolls” actor had been having dinner and drinks with friends at the American Hotel and was pulled over about a mile away, where he told police officers that he had had only one martini before following his friends home. He refused to take a breath test three times and “performed poorly” on field sobriety tests, police said.

Page Six, citing anonymous sources, reported that the police officer who arrested the singer “was so young that he didn’t even know” who the 10-time Grammy winner was. Another source told the outlet that when he was pulled over, “Justin said under his breath, ‘This is going to ruin the tour.’ The cop replied, ‘What tour?’ Justin said, ‘The world tour.’ ” The remark went viral Tuesday and, along with Timberlake’s mugshot, instantly became a meme.

At the police station, where he spent the night, he handed over his wedding ring, phone, baseball cap, watch and wallet, along with a vape pen and green and blue papers, the kind used for rolling marijuana, according to the New York Times.

“He was freaking out and stayed up all night when he was in custody,” a source told People on Friday. “He’s insisting he only had one drink and it wasn’t some wild night out.”

Timberlake was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated because he refused to take a breath test when he was pulled over, Timberlake’s attorney Eddie Burke Jr. told Us Weekly. The singer was also given two citations, one for running a stop sign and the other for not traveling in the correct traffic lane, Burke said.

He was released on his own recognizance; no bail was set. His next court date will be July 26 — the same day he is scheduled to be in Kraków, Poland, on his Forget Tomorrow tour. Timberlake‘s arrest took place during a brief break on the tour, which stopped in L.A. last month and will run through December.

He has kept a low profile since the incident. His attorney on Wednesday told TMZ that he and the singer look forward “to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake against these allegations. He will have a lot to say at the appropriate time.” The outlet also reported that the musician, who does not have a previous arrest record, does not plan to check into a rehab facility — a proactive move often used by celebrities to look good in front of a judge and strike a better plea deal in alcohol- or drug-related legal incidents.

The remarks he delivered Friday in Chicago marked the first time Timberlake publicly acknowledged the arrest since it happened.

After releasing his sixth studio album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” in March, the hitmaker set off on his Forget Tomorrow world tour in April. The tour is scheduled to continue in Chicago on Saturday before he plays Madison Square Garden in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The musician landed in hot water last year amid revelations in “The Woman in Me,” his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears’ bombshell memoir, that she had an abortion at Timberlake’s behest while they were dating around the turn of the century. Timberlake’s connection to Spears was also scrutinized in 2021 when a series of documentaries about her protracted conservatorship revisited the media’s treatment of the embattled pop princess, which included accepting his spin on their breakup.

Timberlake — now a father of two boys with actor Jessica Biel — took a lot of heat during that time, prompting a public apology to Spears and to his 2004 Super Bowl co-headliner Janet Jackson that acknowledged he “fell short” and benefited from “a system that condones misogyny and racism.”

In the wake of Timberlake’s arrest, Spears’ fans rallied to send her 2011 song “Criminal” — believed to be an allusion to her relationship with Timberlake — back up the charts. Her fans had some success with that endeavor back in January when they staged a digital-music coup to dethrone Timberlake’s new single “Selfish” by streaming her 13-year-old song with the same name.

The swaggering showman is allegedly having a harder time lately landing roles in Hollywood, Page Six reported, and is facing lackluster sales for his tour and latest album, which dropped off the Billboard 200 chart after four weeks.

“The album didn’t do too well, and I don’t see Justin getting big acting roles right now,” a Hollywood insider told the outlet earlier this week.

“He’s got a bit of an ego,” another industry insider added. “His golden boy image is definitely depleted.”

Meanwhile, the owner of the American Hotel told TMZ that Timberlake would be welcomed back anytime, because he was a model customer, “great guest and a nice guy.”

Likewise, “CBS Mornings” host Gayle King defended the musician Wednesday on air, saying that Timberlake is “a really, really great guy” and adding that the incident was “clearly a mistake” and that she bets “nobody knows it more than he.”

“He’s not an irresponsible person, he’s not reckless, he’s not careless,” King said. “Clearly this is not a good thing, he knows that.”

Other celebrities have either come out against the singer or come to his defense. Comedian Ricky Gervais used the viral news story as a way to plug his own vodka brand on X. But singer Billy Joel, who was spotted at the American Hotel after Timberlake’s arrest, told a New York news station, “Judge not lest ye be judged.”

On TikTok, footage from Timberlake’s May tour stop in Las Vegas began making the rounds, with users commenting on the crooner’s reddish eyes while performing in the clip and speculating about whether that was a precursor to his Sag Harbor arrest.

Artificial intelligence is “exciting,” but guardrails must be put in place to protect labor, intellectual property and ethics, NBCUniversal Studio Group Chairman Donna Langley said Friday at an entertainment industry law conference.

During a wide-ranging, on-stage conversation at the UCLA Entertainment Symposium, the media chief emphasized that first, “the labor piece of it has to be right,” a proclamation that was met with applause from the audience.

“Nor should we infringe on people’s rights,” she said, adding that there also needs to be “very good, clever, sophisticated copyright laws around our IP.”

But once those issues are adequately handled, filmmakers and content partners also need “creative freedom to be able to use technology,” Langley said. She described AI as like any other technological innovation the film industry has encountered throughout its history and said she was interested in anything that can “evolve creativity.”

“As an industry and as a company, we’re better off embracing it and adhering to those pillars … than pretending it’s not here,” she said. “I think it’s exciting. It should be exciting. But we’ve got to get the ethics of it right.”

Langley and Universal Pictures are coming off a big year last year with “Oppenheimer,” which grossed $975 million in global box office revenue and won a slew of Oscars, including best picture.

Langley isn’t the first studio mogul to comment on AI and its role in the entertainment industry. Last month, Sony Pictures Entertainment Chief Executive Tony Vinciquerra told analysts and investors that AI would save the studio money in production.

AI has emerged as a major issue in Hollywood, as technology companies have increasingly courted studios and industry players. But it is a delicate dance, as entertainment industry executives want to avoid offending actors, writers and other workers who view the technology as a threat to their jobs.

The fast-rising technology was a key issue in last year’s dual labor strikes. The respective agreements struck by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists included some AI protections, including a provision that actors must be asked permission and compensated for the use of their digital likenesses.

Still holding out hope that Kevin Costner might return to “Yellowstone?” Let John Dutton set the record straight.

Costner, who starred in the hit Paramount series for five seasons, revealed on social media that his time with “Yellowstone” is officially over. Amid the release of his film “Horizon: An American Saga,” the actor-director said on Instagram late Thursday, “I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue.”

The Oscar winner, 69, put to rest speculation about a return more than a year after news of his departure broke. Reports about Costner’s exit first surfaced in February 2023, but the actor only confirmed the end of his “Yellowstone” ride in September during a Santa Barbara hearing for his divorce from Christine Baumgartner. At the time he mentioned negotiation issues with the studios behind the beloved series.

In May 2023, Paramount announced that the blockbuster series was to end, with its episodes split into two batches. Costner says now that a return for “season 5B or into the future” is unlikely.

“Yellowstone,” created by Taylor Sheridan, premiered in 2018 and became a blockbuster series for the network. Costner starred as the Dutton family patriarch who owns Montana’s largest ranch. In 2023, he earned a Golden Globe award for his performance. At the beginning of his Instagram video, Costner told fans said “Yellowstone” is a “beloved series that I love, that I know you love.”

He added: “It was something that really changed me. I loved it and you loved it and I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning.”

Costner released his statement as he promotes “Horizon,” which was reportedly one reason he decided to leave “Yellowstone. Last year, the Hollywood Reporter reported that Costner and Sheridan were at odds over the former’s “Horizon” schedule and how it allegedly complicated his “Yellowstone” commitments.

“His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus,” Sheridan told the Hollywood Reporter last June. “I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”

“Horizon: An America Saga,” the first in a four-film series, makes its theatrical bow June 28.

Two climate activists in the United Kingdom threw orange paint at private jets at an airport Thursday — an action specifically targeting Taylor Swift.

Alas, her jet wasn’t there.

The activists are part of Just Stop Oil, a coalition of organizations demanding that the British government create a treaty that would “end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.”

Cole Macdonald and Jennifer Kowalski were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, police told BBC News. Stanstead Airport confirmed to the outlet that Swift’s jet wasn’t present.

The two individuals chose that airport, in Essex, because they believed Swift’s plane was stationed there, the group said in a release. The singer has been criticized for the carbon dioxide emissions from her globe-trotting affairs.

In a statement released through the group, Macdonald condemned billionaires for living in luxury while others reside in “unlivable conditions.”

Swift’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for the airport told BBC News that the demonstration briefly suspended runway operations, but that no flights were disrupted. The airport has since continued operating as normal.

In December, Swift served a cease-and-desist letter to a Florida college student who runs a social media account publishing information about the whereabouts of the pop star’s jet.

“While this may be a game to you, or an avenue that you hope will earn you wealth or fame, it is a life-or-death-matter for our Client,” said the letter, reviewed by The Times. “Ms. Swift has dealt with stalkers and other individuals who wish her harm since she was a teenager.”

Jack Sweeney, who runs the account, told the Washington Post that he obtains the information from public records and that he would not be intimidated from sharing the data.

“This information is already out there,” Sweeney said. . “Her team thinks they can control the world.”

Swift is in London for her Eras Tour concert, which has international dates throughout the year.

Donald Sutherland, the prolific Canadian actor who roared to fame in the irreverent antiwar classic “MASH” and captivated audiences with his dramatic performances in films such as “Ordinary People” and “Don’t Look Now,” has died.

A mainstay of Hollywood for more than six decades, Sutherland died Thursday in Miami after a long illness, his agency confirmed in a statement. He was 88.

Son Kiefer Sutherland also confirmed his father’s death “with a heavy heart” in a statement Thursday morning on social media. “I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”

Donald Sutherland’s body of work showcased his transformative range, shifting comfortably from drama to comedy and bouncing between heavier and lighter roles with ease. Tall at 6-foot-4 with shock white hair and piercing blue eyes, he was difficult to miss whether he was playing a zany oddball, an icy tyrant or a sadistic villain. In all, he had nearly 200 film or television roles.

“It’s characters who make pictures,” he told The Times in 1995. “Essentially my job is to provide information about them.”

Deep in his career, as he shifted between leading and character parts, Sutherland thrived in smaller roles that ordinarily called for an older actor who’d long ago been typecast as a villain or a kooky sidekick. But Sutherland had the winning ability to transform those small roles into complex characters who often helped elevate the film.

On the small screen, Sutherland also appeared in “Human Trafficking,” “Commander in Chief,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Pillars of the Earth” and “Trust.” Though he originally intended to be a theatrical actor, his only Broadway appearance was in Edward Albee’s short-lived adaptation of “Lolita” in 1981.

Donald McNichol Sutherland was born in St. John, a small fishing village in New Brunswick, Canada, on July 17, 1935. The town had only 5,000 residents, he said, and “that was when the train rolled into town.” One of four children, his mother was a mathematician and his father a salesman.

Initially, he planned to be an engineer and attended Victoria College in Toronto, where he earned a degree in engineering and drama. It was also where he met his first wife, Lois Hardwick. His love of acting began in a Nova Scotia movie theater when he was a teen, but movie-acting seemed too lofty a pursuit, so he tried his luck in theater instead.

“It’s not that theater was my first love. My first love was just to be an actor,” he told The Times. “I was kind of dumb and cowish, and I didn’t think movies were something I could ever be part of. I don’t know why I presumed that the theater would be. It was more ordinary, I suppose.”

He moved to England in 1956 to study acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art but dropped out after nine months because he disliked its psychological approach to acting. He went on to tour with various repertory companies and appeared in several BBC television productions, including bit parts in “The Saint” and “The Avengers.”

Rejection became all-too familiar. When he tried to break onto the big screen in 1962, he came away thinking his audition had gone well. The next morning the director phoned him. “The role we’re casting is that of a guy who lives next door,” the director said. “You don’t look like you’ve ever lived next door to anyone.”

He finally made his first movie, “The Castle of the Living Dead,” in 1964 and followed it with a series of undistinguished films such as “Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors” and “Die! Die! My Darling!” His break came when he arrived in Hollywood in 1967, a year after his first marriage ended, to co-star in the 1968 thriller “The Split.”

“We had no money,” said Sutherland, who by then was married to his second wife, actress Shirley Douglas. (They divorced in 1970.) So he called his “Oedipus the King” co-star Christopher Plummer of “Sound of Music” fame, who was working in Stratford, Canada, to get his input.

“I woke him up,” Sutherland told The Times in 2011. “He loaned me $1,500. Incredible. We were on a Boeing 707 — Shirley, her son Tom. Kiefer and [his twin] Rachel were probably 3 or 4 months old. I had a raincoat on and I was holding Kiefer, and when we landed in Los Angeles, he threw up all over me.”

The actor used a clip of his appearance on “The Saint” to land a role in his first major American film, “The Dirty Dozen,” in 1967. Sutherland credited legendary producer Ingo Preminger and director Robert Aldrich, who oversaw the 1967 World War II flick, for landing his later role in the film “MASH.”

“I was a glorified extra” in “The Dirty Dozen,” Sutherland said. “They hired legitimate actors to play the bottom six of the dozen.”

But he quickly rose to fame in 1970 as the cocky surgeon Capt. Hawkeye Pierce in “MASH” and then as the neurotic platoon commander Oddball in “Kelly’s Heroes.” He went on to appear in such seminal films as Alan J. Pakula’s mystery “Klute,” Bernardo Bertolucci’s epic “1900” and Federico Fellini’s “Casanova.”

The plum roles continued to roll in with “The Eagle Has Landed,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” “The Day of the Locust,” and the 1973 occult thriller “Don’t Look Now,” which stirred controversy for a sex scene with Sutherland and Julie Christie that was unusually graphic for its time.

After being a leading man through most of the 1970s, Sutherland began alternating between leading roles in films such as “A Dry White Season” with Marlon Brando and Robert Redford’s Oscar-winning “Ordinary People” and character roles in films such as “JFK” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

He also appeared in lesser films that, nonetheless, became cult favorites, such as National Lampoon’s “Animal House,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Despite his lengthy resume, Sutherland had a dearth of accolades, winning but a few major acting awards for his performances — an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the 1995 miniseries “Citizen X” and another Globe for 2002’s “Path to War.” But the lack of award season hardware didn’t seem to trouble him.

“My career has been all downhill since the age of 11. I did my first play, ‘The Male Animal,’ at Toronto University’s Hart House theater. The audience laughed and applauded when I came on, they applauded when I went off, and they applauded when I came on again. I’ve never had it as good since,” he said.

In 2017 he was given an honorary Oscar, which recognizes extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement and exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences.

The actor’s short-lived romance with Jane Fonda after making “Klute” in 1971 introduced him to left-wing politics and a second career as a hard-charging activist. The two had met at a Black Panther Party benefit in Los Angeles where he voiced his opposition of the Vietnam War. Sutherland, Fonda and other antiwar activists went on to form the Free Theatre Associates as an alternative to Bob Hope’s USO tours in Vietnam. Documents declassified in 2017 revealed the CIA had placed him on a watch list because of his antiwar activities.

Watching his father’s seminal films was a revelation for Kiefer Sutherland, who came to appreciate his father’s body of work as a teenager. “I knew he was a famous actor, but I didn’t know how prolific he was. I didn’t know how diverse all of those characters were.”

The younger Sutherland, best known for his leading role in the television drama “24,” said he even called his father to apologize for not knowing the magnitude of his career.

The two Sutherlands both appeared in Joel Schumacher’s 1996 thriller “A Time to Kill,” but they did not share any scenes. That changed when they played an estranged father and son in the western “Forsaken” in 2015.

Sutherland said he generally didn’t watch his films after they were released, but when he did, he said he noticed room for improvement.

“I have to be truthful — I am still looking forward when I look back. All I see are mistakes,” he told The Times. “When you are working on a picture, all of your concentration, all of your intensity is directed toward the heart of it, to such a degree it burns inside of you. Then after it’s over, it’s gone.”

Sutherland is survived by wife Francine Racette; sons Roeg, Rossif, Angus and Kiefer; daughter Rachel, and four grandchildren, including “Veep” actress Sarah Sutherland.

Back in January, Jason Statham starred in the action thriller “The Beekeeper” as a former special-ops assassin who seeks revenge on a group of people targeting the elderly in phone scams. But in Josh Margolin’s directorial debut, “Thelma,” it’s the elderly themselves who fight back against the phone scammers. Ninety-three-year-old grandmother Thelma (June Squibb) doesn’t need no stinkin’ Jason Statham. All she needs is a ride.

Set over the course of one day, “Thelma” is a love letter to tough grandmas and Tom Cruise, and a celebration of California’s San Fernando Valley, from Encino to Van Nuys. And while “Thelma” is notable for being the very first lead film role for the now-94-year-old Squibb, who has been performing for more than six decades, the film is also a calling card for writer-director-editor Margolin, who demonstrates his skill with screen style and suspense in this high-stakes dramedy.

Margolin does a lot with a little in “Thelma,” which is inspired by his own relationship with his grandmother, also named Thelma. While the setting may be humble, Margolin captures the unlikely beauty of the Valley, and injects thrilling suspense into this yarn, one that transforms quotidian dramas — like making an unprotected left turn, or closing pop-up ads on a webpage — into nail-biting action sequences.

His surrogate in “Thelma” is Daniel (Fred Hechinger), a 24-year-old sensitive ne’er-do-well whose best friend is his grandmother Thelma. They spend time in her comfortable home, which is haunted by the absence of her recently deceased husband. Together, they watch “Mission: Impossible” movies, Daniel helping Thelma with her computer and fretting over her safety. When Thelma receives a frantic call with the news that Daniel’s been in an accident and she needs to send $10,000 in cash, she doesn’t hesitate to book over to the Encino post office to drop the money in the mailbox.

It’s when she finds out she’s been the victim of a scam that the plot kicks into gear. With Daniel safe and unharmed, the police aren’t much help, and her family (Parker Posey as her daughter, Clark Gregg as her son-in-law) throw up their hands in defeat. But Thelma isn’t about to take this lying down. She will, however, take it sitting down, behind the wheel of a two-seater scooter she “borrows” from an old friend, Ben (Richard Roundtree, in his final role), whom she visits at an assisted living home. The two set off on an odyssey to retrieve Thelma’s cash, while Thelma’s family worries about her whereabouts.

Their journey takes them to some unlikely places, specifically an antique lamp shop manned by a menacing Malcolm McDowell, as well as to some unexpected realizations, about accepting that it’s OK to ask for help, but that independence is a rare, complicated gift to those who are later in life. It’s refreshing to see a film where someone in their 90s is able to have new revelations and learning experiences, retaining the capacity to surprise themselves and others.

Squibb is a delightful presence, capably handling the humor and the heart of the story, and demonstrating true grit too, while the late, great Roundtree offers a warm, steadying presence. Posey and Gregg bring the comedic elements as the frazzled parents of Daniel, while Hechinger is charmingly stressed about losing his grandma and trying to figure out what he’s going to do with his life.

The cast is fantastic, but it’s the cinematic style that makes “Thelma” a proper big-screen movie experience. Nick Chuba’s percussive score brings a jazzy beat that’s “Ocean’s 11” by way of “Mission: Impossible,” and David Bolen’s cinematography is richly saturated with color and creative practical lighting. Margolin’s inspired direction elevates “Thelma,” imbuing each moment with a thoughtful eye toward craft.

“Elderly female action star” is a cute premise, but Margolin makes the most of it without infantilizing his heroine or otherwise resorting to lowest common denominator humor. Instead, he delivers a film that suggests there’s always an opportunity to experience something new in life, from the smallest observations to the most dramatic showdowns.

The most important lesson of all? Underestimate a determined older woman at your own risk.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

Apparently, this town is big enough for two Costners.

Kevin Costner’s upcoming western drama “Horizon: An American Saga” will star the Oscar-winning actor and director — and his 15-year-old son, Hayes Costner, in a minor role. But don’t call Hayes a nepo baby, quite yet. In a recent interview with “Today,” Kevin Costner said casting his son wasn’t about jump-starting his acting career.

“I realized there’s so many young actors out there that would kill to be in this movie,” he told “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie in a conversation published Monday. “I don’t want to take those parts away just ‘cause I can place my own children in [them].”

The former “Yellowstone” star defended casting his teen, noting that he plays a “smaller part” in the film and that hiring his son was part of his efforts to spend more time with him. The “Dances With Wolves” director-actor shares Hayes with ex-wife Christine Baumgartner, who filed for divorce in May 2023.

Baumgartner filed her petition after 18 years of marriage with Costner. The now-exes settled their divorce in September 2023 after a months-long court battle. Costner and Baumgartner also share 17-year-old Cayden and 14-year-old Grace.

“I selfishly wanted him with me for the week, two weeks he was with me,” Costner continued. “We would drive to the set every day… he didn’t have a lot of experience, but he’s really beautiful in the movie.”

Costner kept his lips sealed about the details of his son’s “Horizon” scene but teased that it’s “complicated” and has a “nobility” and “an absolute fatalness” about it.

“Horizon: An America Saga” makes its theatrical bow June 28 but premiered in May at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Costner’s film was met with an 11-minute standing ovation, according to Deadline. The western epic, the first of a promised four-film saga, comes a year after Costner unexpectedly departed “Yellowstone” amid speculation of tensions with show creator Taylor Sheridan and negotiation troubles.

“Yellowstone” debuted in 2018 and starred the two-time Oscar winner as John Dutton, the family patriarch who owns Montana’s largest ranch. Costner left the series to work on his “Horizon” saga, which has been in the works for 35 years, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus,” Sheridan told THR last June. “I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”

As Costner prepares to share “Horizon” with audiences and “Yellowstone” ramps up for its final episodes in November, the actor is leaving the door back to the Dutton ranch open. On Monday, he told Guthrie, “I would love to go back under the right circumstances.”

Until then, Costner is committed to promoting “Horizon,” which he hopes will stand the test of time. During his film’s Cannes opening, Costner urged viewers to think of a film’s worth beyond its opening weekend success. Movies, he said in May, are “about their life.”

“About how many times you’re willing to share it. And I hope that you do share this movie with your sweethearts, with your children,” he continued. “I feel so lucky. I feel so blessed. And there’s three more.”

Ian McKellen is on the mend after falling off the stage during a performance at London’s Noël Coward Theatre. The 85-year-old actor was taken to a hospital after the fall.

“Following a scan, the brilliant [National Health Service] team have assured us that he will make a speedy and full recovery and Ian is in good spirits,” according to a statement to The Times by the theater. There were no details on any injuries he may have suffered.

The “Lord of the Rings” and “X-Men” actor fell after losing his footing during a battle scene between two other actors in “Player Kings,” in which he portrays John Falstaff, according to BBC News.

After toppling from the front of the stage, McKellen reportedly cried out as the lights came up in the venue. The actor appeared conscious as he was assisted by staff, attendee Sandro Trapani told BBC News.

Audience members, who were ushered out of the theater, were rattled by the incident, according to broadcaster Paul Nero. The night’s performance was canceled.

The production also canceled Tuesday’s performance so McKellen could rest, the theater told The Times. Ticket holders will be contacted as soon as possible.

“Thank you to our audience and the general public for their well wishes following Ian’s fall during this evening’s performance of Player Kings,” the statement read. “Thank you to doctors Rachel and Lee who were on hand in the audience and to all the venue staff for their support.”

“Players Kings,” an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part 1” and “Henry IV, Part 2,” kicked off in April and was expected to run for 12 weeks.

Lionsgate on Monday said it has picked up the rights to Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” for the U.S. and Canada, ending months of speculation over which studio might distribute the famed director’s epic passion project. The film will hit domestic theaters, including Imax screens, on Sept. 27.

“Megalopolis” is the first new film from the five-time Oscar winner since 2011’s “Twixt” and Coppola is reported to have invested some $120 million of his own money, raised from the sale of part of his wine business, to pay for the ambitious tale.

With a cast that includes Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Chloe Fineman, Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf and Laurence Fishburne, the film is a sweeping fable surveying power struggles set against a fictionalized New York, refashioned to seem like New Rome.

When the film premiered last month at the Cannes film festival, The Times’ Josh Rothkopf wrote that if “Megalopolis” becomes the last effort from the 85-year-old “Godfather” filmmaker, then “he’s going out not with something tame and manicured but with an overstuffed, vigorous, seething story about the roots of fascism that only an uncharitable viewer would call a catastrophe.”

“It may be the most radical film he’s ever done,” Rothkopf wrote.

Lionsgate has a longstanding relationship with Coppola and his American Zoetrope banner, having previously handled home entertainment releases of his “Apocalypse Now Final Cut,” “The Conversation,” “The Cotton Club Encore,” “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” and “One From the Heart: Reprise.”

While speaking at the film’s Cannes press conference, Coppola referred to the bold, stylistic leap of “Megalopolis” by saying, “I knew the film was not like other films that are out. It’s how I felt the film should be, and since I was paying for it I thought I was entitled [to do it my way].”