Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were in the midst of their largest production ever, the $200 million science-fiction adventure “Project Hail Mary.” They were shooting some of the movie’s early scenes, when middle school biology teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling) wakes up in deep space. After realizing he’s the sole survivor on board the spaceship, he turns depressed and, eventually, drunk.

“Ryan was like, ‘I just feel like I need a friend. I need a scene partner for this. I don’t know what to do in here,’” Miller recalls. “We were like: OK, let’s make a friend. So we scoured the set and found a mop and got a dress from the costume department. And we made a little mop friend for him to dance around with.

“We called it ‘Moppy Ringwald.’”

In their two decades making movies together, Lord and Miller have shown a particular talent in making inanimate objects come alive. They did this especially in 2014’s “The Lego Movie,” but little in their idiosyncratic filmography, from “21 Jump Street” to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” hasn’t involved some degree of playful reinvention.

“Project Hail Mary” may be their biggest challenge yet in breathing life into an improbable concept — and not just Moppy Ringwald. The film, adapted from Andy Weir’s bestseller, stars Gosling as an astronaut sent far into space on a mission to save Earth that brings him into contact with a faceless, rock-based alien whom Ryland nicknames “Rocky.”

“It did seem like a crazy idea to make a movie with the hunkiest actor of his generation and a rock puppet,” Lord said, chuckling, in an interview alongside Miller. “I guess we’re interested in difficult things.”

A big-budget bet

Budgets of $200 million are usually reserved for the biggest franchises, but “Project Hail Mary,” which opens in theaters Thursday, is hoping to become a blockbuster built on originality. The film, comic and heartwarming, arrives with an enviable pedigree.

Weir’s 2011 book “The Martian” became the Oscar-nominated 2015 film, which adopted the book’s sense of joy and wonder for science. That movie’s screenwriter, Drew Goddard (“The Cabin in the Woods,” “Bad Times at the El Royale”), also penned the adaptation to “Project Hail Mary.” Gosling was attached before the 2021 book was even published. Sandra Hüller, the celebrated German actor of “Anatomy of a Fall,” co-stars as the leader of a United Nations task force trying to save the planet from a star-eating virus called “astrophage.”

Lord and Miller have made a career out of turning seemingly bad ideas into good movies, but “Project Hail Mary,” greenlit by MGM before it was acquired by Amazon, started off with clear crowd-pleasing possibilities, albeit with an unconventional extraterrestrial.

“We no longer get the benefit of low expectations,” Miller says, laughing. “So we sort of try to do things that maybe seem like a good idea from the beginning. It’s the evolution of our career.”

The result is something a little like a combination of “Interstellar” and “Deep Space Homer.” Though the directors’ first sojourn into space (the “Star Wars” spinoff “Solo”) was famously aborted, “Project Hail Mary” gives Lord and Miller a space odyssey entirely of their irreverent sensibility. While the movie shares Weir’s physics-and-jokes approach from “The Martian,” Lord and Miller are approximately the polar opposite of Ridley Scott.

“In both cases, the directors were perfect for the task ahead of them. Ridley Scott is really good at conveying grandeur, really letting the setting hit and capturing the scale of things,” says Weir. “But ‘Project Hail Mary’ is a bromance. It’s like a buddy comedy.

“It’s much more fast-paced, there’s a lot of rapid dialogue, and that’s Phil and Chris’ bread and butter,” he adds. “You can give them any random thing off the shelves and they can make a movie such that you care about its emotions.”

Giving Gosling free rein, in space

Much of what distinguishes “Project Hail Mary” is that, despite the size of its production, the directors were still able to make a loose-limbed comedy, with zero-gravity improvisation and interstellar pratfalls. Big budgets and copious special effects are usually kryptonite to comedy, but “Project Hail Mary” gives Gosling, a not charmless performer, room to riff.

“What we’ve learned throughout our career is that spontaneous moments are magical,” says Miller. “Our job was to prepare and prepare and prepare, but make sure there was room to play and room to chase an idea that might be inconvenient.”

“No one ever walked out of a movie going: ‘Wow, that seemed so well planned,’” says Lord.

That included suspending Gosling in a spinning ring that allowed him to move where he wanted within the spaceship, designed by Charles Wood. And it involved following instincts. In one scene set at a karaoke bar, Gosling, after hearing Hüller sing, felt her character needed a song. Hüller picked Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” and the filmmakers rushed to secure the rights within 48 hours.

But their most important innovations had to do with Rocky. Weir had written him, he says, intent on going further than a humanoid creature with funny prosthetics. “I wanted my alien to be truly alien,” he says.

“The part of the book that made me go, ‘Oh, god, I don’t know how we’re going to realize this,’ was Rocky,” says Goddard. “He doesn’t have the usual crutches that you have for loveable aliens. He doesn’t have a face. He can’t even exist in our atmosphere. He speaks in whale songs. He looks like the kind of alien that would normally be eating everyone.”

Goddard, a filmmaker, too, was happy to leave the problem-solving to Lord and Miller.

“I knew Chris and Phil could figure it out,” Goddard says. “I knew from their background with animation and creating delightful characters out of thin air, they could do it.”

A gift from Spielberg

To give Gosling a scene partner that went beyond a mop in a dress, Lord and Miller opted to hire a puppeteer to manipulate and voice Rocky. To find the right match, they even did chemistry reads between puppeteers and Gosling. James Ortiz got the role, and “Project Hail Mary” lives off his and Gosling's interplay.

“You never would have gotten that if you were like, ‘OK, there’s a tennis ball and a stick that’s an alien here. Now be delighted by it,’” Miller says.

Hollywood loves to make merchandise of cute little aliens. Faces are usually a part of that. But the unique challenges of “Project Hail Mary” were what most intrigued Lord and Miller. The common denominator to their movies, Lord says, is that they all begin with a thought process of “It’s impossible,” followed by “unless …”

“Even ‘Spider-Verse’ was like: Oh, this is going to be the seventh ‘Spider-Man’ movie. Nobody wants this — unless …” says Lord. “Audiences want to watch a movie put itself in a box, and wiggle out of it like Houdini.”

The alien sequences worked well enough that Steven Spielberg urged the filmmakers to insert a nod to his own sci-fi classic of first contact: “He was like: ‘You should have the alien do the “Close Encounters” theme,’” Miller says. “If you say so, Steven.”

It’s one of several references peppered throughout (another is to “Rocky”) by Lord and Miller, who have maintained the “Lego Movie” ethos of taking neatly constructed sets apart and rebuilding them in their own fashion.

“It’s having it both ways,” Lord says, smiling. “Making an original thing out of unoriginal parts.”

Hatch, who won the inaugural season's $1 million prize at age 39, responded on March 18, 2026, via Men's Journal. The 64-year-old reality TV veteran said, “I’m disappointed in Lisa. It is ironic that someone so richly rewarded for playing roles and celebrating superficiality feels comfortable imagining she has any idea who I am.” He argued that Kudrow's view echoed early viewers' misunderstandings of the game's social strategy, noting, “Lisa’s comment is reminiscent of so many viewers 25 years ago who lacked the presence of mind to understand the beautiful game of Survivor.”

Hatch emphasized evolving fan appreciation for his approach, stating, “Long ago now, people began to understand the game’s rules and credit me for having so quickly figured out how to play so well.” He compared 'Survivor''s rules—"outwit, outlast, outplay"—to sports like football, where deception is standard, adding, “Imagine a football player tapping his opponent on the shoulder to let him know he is about to tackle him. How boring would that be? We participants signed up, knowing the rules, to compete for a prize, and I won, fairly and squarely.” Hatch concluded, “I’m very proud of my accomplishment, and were Lisa to have taken the time to learn anything about me before sharing her opinion, I’d like to think that opinion would be markedly different from the one she expressed today.”

The controversy emerges as CBS airs 'Survivor' season 50, featuring returning players and marking 25 years since Hatch's win, which set the template for strategic alliances and betrayals. Hatch, a polarizing figure, has appeared on 'All-Stars,' 'The Celebrity Apprentice,' the 2024 series 'House of Villains,' and maintains a YouTube channel critiquing recent seasons.

No direct LGBTQ+ perspectives on this exchange appear in initial coverage, though Hatch, who came out as gay in 1993 and became one of the first openly gay reality TV contestants, has long navigated public scrutiny of his identity alongside his gameplay. His win predated widespread visibility for LGBTQ+ contestants on network reality TV, and the debate Kudrow reignited—prioritizing "humanity" over strategy—mirrors broader discussions in queer communities about authenticity versus survival tactics in competitive formats. LGBTQ+ media outlets have not yet issued specific responses to Kudrow's comments, but Hatch's response underscores his pride in a victory achieved openly as a gay man in a conservative era of television.

Kudrow, an Emmy winner, tied her critique to 'The Comeback,' a satire on reality TV excess, highlighting her long-standing distaste for rewarding ruthlessness over integrity. This clash revives fan divides: some celebrate Hatch's innovation, others echo Kudrow's moral qualms. As 'Survivor' endures, the legacy of its first winner remains contentious, blending game theory with cultural values.

“We all go through ups and downs and bumps and turbulence and all that kind of stuff during whatever journey,” said the 36-year-old Grammy-winning producer. “I was able to do a lot of reflection and look at the landscape of the game … just learn a lot and put it into perspective.”

The producer of Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” and co-producer of Beyoncé's “Formation” put all of his newly acquired knowledge into “R3SET,” his 15-track star-studded album out Friday.

Following 2017’s “Ransom 2,” this new project features contributions from rap megastar J. Cole, as well as YoungBoy Never Broke Again, arguably the hottest street rapper out. There are also heavyweights like 2 Chainz, Ludacris, T.I. and CeeLo Green paired on some tracks with newer artists like Monaleo and Teezo Touchdown.

During his unintentional solo hiatus, Mike Will still created music, including crafting the 2018 “Creed II” soundtrack, collaboration projects with Yo Gotti and Trouble, and co-producing three songs on Miley Cyrus’s “Endless Summer Vacation” album which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2023. He also built an 80,000-square-foot (7,432-square-meter) compound used as a creative event space in Atlanta, that also houses his state-of the-art studio.

“If I know this recipe, and I know it’s gonna work, and I know I gotta put it in the Crock-Pot and it gotta sit in there … I just gotta deal with you telling me, ’Man, it’s taking too long,” he explained. “But I know once you taste it, it’s gonna slap you upside the head … I took the same approach with the album.”

The man who joined a rapping Miley Cyrus with Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa on “23” spoke with The Associated Press about the “Flowers” singer, unanswered phone calls and trap beats created with AI. This interviewed has been edited for brevity and clarity.

AP: What kinds of ups and downs did you face that led to your solo album hiatus?

MIKE WILL MADE-IT: I lost my hard drives, that was a big one. I fulfilled my label deal. … And then took a step away. I ain't know I was gonna take this long.

That’s the thing about this industry, too: it’s like, when you're hot, everybody's in your face, they’re your ‘bro,’ they’re rocking with you. And then, if you’re not on them charts or you’re not hot, the conversation’s just a little different. You’re not able to reach the same folks at the same time. That kind of gets discouraging.

AP: Were you surprised you couldn't reach artists you worked with before?

MIKE WILL MADE-IT: It’s surprising, but that’s when you’re not looking at it like business … This corporation is just doing what they have to do to build and expand. Just because me as a corporation is dormant right now … it might not make sense for this corporation to (collaborate).

AP: How did you decide to pair Atlanta legends with rising artists on 'R3SET?

MIKE WILL MADE IT: I gotta represent for the town, for this sound that I grew up on … I filled that position way back in ‘07, ’08. So now, 2026, like no matter how big the (expletive) gets, every project that I ever went into, from Rihanna to Beyoncé to Miley to Jay-Z to Kendrick, I’m always thinking about that sound.

Even with Miley, I grew up on MTV AM, like crossover records, pop records … doing that record (“23”) with Miley was like a perfect bridge to that. … At that time, we were trying to create a new genre called trap pop … we still were thinking to keep that DNA in there.

AP: Did you talk with Miley about appearing on this album?

MIKE WILL MADE-IT: I think I got three songs on her last album. … Me and Miley got a boatload of records. So, it’s like this specific record, I didn’t really call anybody and say, ‘Yo, I need you for this album.’ I literally just been working.

AP: You’ve mentioned AI is being used to create trap beats. Can AI recreate your sounds?

MIKE WILL MADE-IT: I’m one-of-one … I don’t think they ever said AI knows how to do magic. You feel me? They can’t do God’s work.

The Swedish company, co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, is known for their digital avatars and immersive experiences.

Pophouse CEO Jessica Koravos would not disclose the deal's financial details or describe the company's plans for the Turner acquisition but told The Associated Press “that one of the reasons that we were so interested in Tina is because she has such an incredible visual presence and such an incredible stage energy. And so, we’re very much looking at projects that can portray that and try to recreate that to some degree.”

“What we want to do is really help to consolidate her legacy,” she added. “I think that Tina Turner is up there, or is going to be up there, with the Elvises and the Marilyn Monroes of the world.”

Koravos would not confirm if a digital avatar is on the way. She did say Pophouse will announce plans in the next six months.

Turner, known as the “Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll” for her chart-topping hits such as “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “The Best” and “Proud Mary,” died in 2023 at 83. Across her multidecade career, Turner won 12 Grammy Awards — including a Lifetime Achievement Award — was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and 2021, was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2005 and sold over 150 million records worldwide.

Conversations for the Pophouse deal began after her death. Koravos told the AP that BMG still holds a percentage of her catalog. She said Turner's estate was not involved “as a counterparty but certainly involved and in the sense of informed and participating in the conversations.”

“Tina Turner’s voice and spirit shaped modern music and popular culture,” Alistair Norbury, president of BMG U.K., Continental Europe and APAC, wrote in a statement. “Our responsibility, alongside Pophouse and the Estate, is to ensure her work continues to resonate with audiences around the world, while remaining true to the strength, independence and originality that defined her career.”

One of many musical investments

Pophouse has been making investments outside of Sweden as of late. In 2024, hard rock quartet Kiss sold their catalog, brand name and intellectual property to Pophouse in a deal estimated to be over $300 million. Previously, the band partnered with Pophouse to develop digitized avatars of themselves, which they revealed onstage at the final night of their 2023 farewell tour.

The cutting-edge technology was created by George Lucas’ special-effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, in partnership with Pophouse. The same companies teamed up for the “ABBA Voyage” show in London, where fans could attend a full concert by the Swedish band in their heyday, as performed by their own digital avatars.

Also in 2024, Cyndi Lauper entered a partnership with Pophouse, which included the sale of the majority share of her music.

“Most suits, when you tell them an idea, their eyes glaze over, they just want your greatest hits,” Lauper told the AP at Pophouse's Stockholm headquarters at the time. “But these guys are a multimedia company, they’re not looking to just buy my catalog, they want to make something new.”

“I think what interests artists, and the estates of artists in some cases, is that there aren’t very many people who are talking to them about what they want to achieve, creatively, around their body of work,” Koravos says. “So I think that is interesting to people, it's interesting to artists, who have got creative projects in their heads that they would like some support realizing. And those are the people we’re interested in talking to.”

“We’re not trying to be a major (label),” she adds. “It’s not a volume game for us. We want to acquire 10 or 12 really unique properties that have even more unique projects attached to them.”

In a free concert expected to draw tens of thousands of fans, the K-pop juggernaut's seven members, all South Koreans, will perform songs from their first album in nearly four years, “ARIRANG,” whose title is taken from the most beloved traditional folk tune on the Korean Peninsula.

"'ARIRANG' is an album that embodies the origin and identity of BTS and carries the message that they want to convey now,” Hybe Corp., the parent company of BTS' management agency, said in response to questions by The Associated Press. “Considering the symbolic significance of the word ‘Arirang,’ we've decided to hold a performance at Gwanghwamun, a place that represents Korea.”

Gwanghwamun is a Seoul landmark

Gwanghwamun Square is named after the huge main gate of nearby Gyeongbokgung, a royal palace for Korea’s Joseon dynasty, which ruled the peninsula for more than 500 years until its collapse in 1910.

Located in the heart of Seoul, the sprawling square is home to cultural and art events. It hosts giant statues of two of Korea's most respected figures — King Sejong, who invented the Korean script in 1443, and navy admiral Yi Sun-shin, who defeated the Japanese invasion in the 16th century.

The square is also a symbol of South Korea’s young, resilient democracy, the site of massive rallies in times of political upheavals in recent years.

When then- President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law imposition in late 2024 triggered the most severe crisis for the country’s democracy in decades, protesters gathered in the square, calling for his ouster. Rallies blended politics and pop culture, with demonstrators waving colorful light sticks used at K-pop concerts and signing K-pop tracks such as Girls’ Generation’s “Into the New World.”

Gwanghwamun concert will reaffirm BTS' roots

Observers say the hourlong Gwanghwamun concert, which will be livestreamed on Netflix globally, will reaffirm BTS’ identity as a group that expanded from Korea to the world stage. BTS had been on hiatus because its members had to complete their mandatory military duties in South Korea.

Ha Jae-keun, a cultural critic, said that no matter where the BTS holds its comeback concert, it would be successful. But as the biggest stars of K-pop, BTS likely determined that appearing at a symbolic Korean site would be “most meaningful,” he said.

Jung Dukhyun, a pop culture commentator, said the selection of Gwanghwamun likely reflected a view that Korean traditional culture and local elements can resonate on a global scale, as seen in the success of the Netflix sensation “KPop Demon Hunters,” which won the Oscar for best animated feature and best song for “Golden” this week.

BTS concert to promote South Korea

Officials believe the concert will likely enhance South Korea's international cultural influence.

They also plan to take extensive safety steps to prevent crowd-related incidents.

In a message posted on X on Wednesday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called BTS “a proud artist of the Republic of Korea” and expressed hope that the concert will show “our beautiful cultural heritage and the charm of K-culture.”

Besides about 20,000 ticketed fans at the square, about 240,000 others are expected to fill nearby areas to watch the concert on temporary screens. Authorities plan to block roads, have subway trains pass through some stations and close the Gyeongbokgung place.

Some residents criticized what they saw as preferential treatment given to BTS and potential inconvenience to the public. But many experts say the concert has a big public aspect.

“BTS is the nation's band. Now they intend to hold an open performance for the public free of charge. I think it would be very natural for the government to support it,” Ha said.

“I think there’s a balance between hiding and then also just like living your life and enjoying your life and protecting things that are special to yourself and I think everyone kind of has to do that in some way,” the actor told The Associated Press at the premiere of her new film, “The Drama.”

She arrived for Tuesday's premiere with what appeared to be a wedding band next to a large ring that started speculation at January's Golden Globes that she was engaged to Holland. Her representatives have declined to confirm the couple are married, even after Zendaya's longtime stylist Law Roach teased journalists recently that the wedding had already happened.

Zendaya stars opposite Robert Pattinson in “The Drama,” which has them playing an engaged couple whose relationship is thrown off course during their wedding week because of secret Zendaya's character is keeping.

“Whatever kind of job that you have, whatever kind of field that you’re in. Or if you’re dealing with, you know, social media, whatever have you, like we all in some ways have to learn how to keep things for ourselves and pour into ourselves just as much as we pour into the world or our work,” Zendaya told AP.

She declined to elaborate on who designed her rings.

“In-laws,” she’d explained drily, when asked by police what had happened. It was the biggest laugh of the movie — and also well-earned, especially by us, after all that gore.

Now, seven years later, we have “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” which takes off from that same moment. But the mood does not remain light. Uttering that last line, Grace (Samara Weaving) then collapses into unconsciousness and is carted away by ambulance. And her troubles, of course, are just beginning.

It’s hard to pinpoint why this next level of Grace’s very bad wedding night, again directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, feels darker and heavier — and hence, less enjoyable — than the original, which managed to maintain a bouncy feel, even with bodies combusting at an absurd rate. But if we have to blame someone, we’re gonna go with the doctor from “The Pitt.”

Yep, that would be Shawn Hatosy, and we’re sorry, dear handsome Dr. Jack Abbott, but we never thought you could be such a downer. There’s a particularly odious scene where Hatosy's character, Titus, seems to echo the murderous Shakespearean protagonist that he is, come to think of it, probably named after — Titus Andronicus. His twin sister, Ursula, is played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, and together they’re quite the depressing duo.

But back to the plot: Grace had triumphantly stayed alive 'til dawn in the first movie, thus winning the dastardly game she’d been forced to play moments after marrying Alex, her rich boyfriend. Required by family ritual to draw a game card from a deck, she’d unluckily drawn hide-and-seek, which meant she had to hide while the extended family hunted her down with weapons both antique and modern. Only gritty Grace survived.

The supporting cast of the first movie, including Andie MacDowell and Adam Brody, is not back (duh). In their place is a new group, including Hatosy, Gellar, Elijah Wood as the attorney who runs the grim proceedings, and Kathryn Newton as Grace’s sister, Faith.

Or should we say estranged sister. Faith shows up at Grace’s hospital bed, having not seen her in years, because she was listed as Grace's emergency contact. There’s a detective in the room, too. Grace is now, annoyingly, suspected of arson and murder.

But soon none of that matters. Because, it turns out, Grace is being hunted yet again — not by her in-laws, the Le Domas family, which is gone, but by four other families jockeying for the High Seat on the council that rules the world.

And so Grace is captured, and everyone converges on a Newport, Rhode Island, estate with a gorgeous golf course, for another night of hunting. Is Grace up to the challenge of this new level of play?

Of course she is, and so is Weaving, who proves yet again that she's better than the material: expressive in both fear and feistiness, a good screamer, and able to step back for an occasional moment of humor. Lookalike Newton proves an appealing companion, and of course Faith and Grace stop bickering and start bonding — did you expect anything else? “I tried to invite you to the wedding,” Grace says helpfully at one point. Reminder: the wedding ended in a bloodbath.

Speaking of a bloodbath, deep into the movie’s production notes comes an icky statistic: Some 250 gallons of stage blood were used for the film. Maybe all that blood was needed, but the extra 15 minutes of run time, compared to the original, feel unnecessary. You start to wonder when dawn will come.

And while most of the deaths have a cartoonish element, there's nothing cartoonish when Titus is involved.

No, there is little to redeem this truly mendacious character. So fair warning: If you’re still in the middle of the current season of “The Pitt,” where Hatosy’s Abbott is busy being heroic and also taking off his shirt, it might be better to wait a bit before you watch him here, doing the very opposite of saving lives.

“Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” a Searchlight Pictures release, has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association “for strong bloody violence, gore, pervasive language and brief drug use.” Running time: 148 minutes. Two stars out of four.

First Line Films announced Wednesday that Kilmer has posthumously joined the cast of a film titled “As Deep as the Grave.” The producers said that, before his death, Kilmer had signed on to perform in the movie but was unable to because of his health.

Kilmer's estate gave permission for his digital replication, and is being compensated for it. Mercedes Kilmer, the actor's daughter, said the role resonated with her father.

“He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” she said in a statement. “This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”

Kilmer died last April at the age of 65 from pneumonia. In 2014, Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer and required two tracheotomies. After losing his natural speaking voice, Kilmer turned to an AI software company to digital recreate his voice. In his final screen performance, 2022's “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kilmer's voice was digitally altered.

The use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking has been one of the most contentious topics in Hollywood in recent years. Lately, some have attempted to make greater inroads for AI-generated performance. The company Xicoia last year launched the AI-concocted persona “Tilly Norwood”; earlier this month, it debuted a music video.

SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, has condemned Xicoia's “AI actor,” but it has regulations around other uses of the technology. Its rules stipulate that consent from performers must be given for the use of digital replicas. “Consent not obtained before death must be obtained from an authorized representative or the union,” reads its guidance.

Representatives for SAG-AFTRA didn't immediately respond to questions Wednesday.

In an email, writer-director Coerte Voorhees and producer John Voorhees said SAG guidelines were followed.

“We believe we are serving as a demonstrator for how to do it ethically and correctly, especially in the case of working with a deceased actor’s estate and family,” they said.

“As Deep as the Grave,” formerly titled “Canyon of the Dead,” was shot several years ago but has been stuck in postproduction. It's based on a true story about the archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, whose Arizona excavations uncovered Native American history. The AI version of Kilmer plays Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist. The cast includes Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin.

Coerte Voorhees said Kilmer, who identified as part Native American, was drawn to the project five years ago. Producers are seeking distribution with the hope of releasing the film this year.

“It was very unfortunate that his health at the time prevented him from playing this role which spoke to him spiritually and culturally,” Voorhees said. “We are honored to collaborate with his daughter Mercedes, who brings her own filmmaking experience, to bring this character to life in the way that we had all originally imagined it.”

Women baseball players from around the world tossed balls back and forth, sharing laughs and taking pointers from major league coaches. In less than five months, they will play in the first women's professional baseball league in the United States in more than 70 years.

“I never thought this would ever happen for me in my prime career,” said Whitmore, a standout pitcher and outfielder who has won multiple medals playing for the U.S. women’s national baseball team. “I never thought it was ever going to happen, truly.”

Reality set in Wednesday for Whitmore and players from the Women's Pro Baseball League. The upstart league is taking part in a two-day event in Fort Myers, Florida, at the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox in preparation for the launch of its eight-week season on August 1.

The Red Sox have hosted women's baseball camps for a decade and welcomed several of the WPBL's stars for drills on Wednesday. Among them were veteran Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato and former Little League star Mo'ne Davis.

Davis, who at 13 became the first girl to earn a win and pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series, stayed close to coaches throughout the two-hour session to ask questions and refine her game. She left with plenty of helpful tips, including how to stay low in her hitting stance to generate power through her hips.

“This is another moment that I take when I go back home — what do I need to work on?” Davis said. “For me specifically is hitting approach. That’s the one I’m really focusing on because I want to be a better hitter. I want be a more consistent hitter. ... I appreciate all the coaches that helped today. Whatever question you had, they were open to answering it.”

The WPBL will also play an intrasquad scrimmage Thursday ahead of the Red Sox spring training game against the Minnesota Twins.

“These athletes have done something that hasn’t existed in 80 years,” said Shawn Smith, Red Sox general manager of Florida operations. “And they’re at the pinnacle of their craft right now only to get better. For us to be here — I feel like a little kid. I can’t describe it any other way.”

The WPBL is launching with four teams — Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York — this summer and will play a six-week regular season and two-week postseason at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.

The U.S. hadn't had a pro women’s league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League dissolved in 1954, but the WPBL is hoping to create a lasting path for women to play professional baseball. That's a rarity in the U.S., where opportunities beyond youth leagues have so often required girls to take unusual paths, most of them alongside men.

Whitmore is from San Diego and made her professional debut in the Bay Area with a coed team, the Sonoma Stompers, in 2016. The 27-year-old has won two silver medals representing the U.S. at the Women’s Baseball World Cup and won gold at the 2015 Pan-Am Games in Toronto.

Whitmore, the No. 1 overall selection to San Diego in the WPBL's inaugural draft, had grown accustomed to being the only woman on most teams and said she's often dreamt of what it would be like to play alongside other women.

Now that it's a reality, the hope is that this creates a pipeline that didn't exist for Whitmore and many of her peers.

“A lot of us women have created the path and created it without knowing what that looked like,” Whitmore said. “Now there is a path for them, and so these young girls have something to look forward to.”