Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Judgement:

Verdict: Somewhat lukewarm

Almost 40 years have passed since the original Ghostbusters arrived in Britain, which is somewhat disturbing for those of us who vividly remember seeing the film in December 1984.

To make matters worse, I recently rewatched it and it may just have aged better than we have.

It was also a very influential film. It got Hollywood excited about the comedic potential of special effects, while society as a whole, albeit especially in America, began adding the suffix “busters” to everything.

‘Price breakers’ and ‘budget breakers’ became everyday expressions. And of course, Ivan Reitman’s film went gangbusters at the box office.

Reitman died two years ago, but had a producer credit on the 2021 revival, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was directed by his son Jason and was a ton of fun.

Now Gil Kenan, who co-wrote Afterlife, is directing a sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

It’s less engaging than the 2021 film, with a meandering plot that only really comes together in the last half hour. Like many of the best minds, it is somewhat formless.

But the lovable principals are the same as last time, led by the beautiful young Mckenna Grace, whose feisty character, 15-year-old Phoebe Spengler, looks and acts as if she’s been advised to envision a female Harry Potter.

Phoebe now lives in the Manhattan firehouse made famous by the original film, with her older brother Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), mother Callie (Carrie Coon) and her mother’s partner, formerly her own science teacher, Mr Grooberson (Paul Rudd ).

They spend their days patrolling the streets in a venerable Mercedes Sprinter, equipped to help them zap the city’s more dangerous ghosts.

But of course they are not alone in this noble mission. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson reprise their characters from the 1984 film, while British stand-up comedian James Acaster joins the cast as a paranormal investigator.

He works out of a laboratory in an old aquarium, where technicians extract ghosts from everyday objects, but don’t quite manage to coax much discernible acting talent out of Acaster.

He is what you might call endearingly wooden, although I expect American audiences will be more than satisfied with his vague resemblance to the young Michael Caine.

Meanwhile, Phoebe is randomly playing solo chess in Washington Square Park one night and encounters a ghost about her age, Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), who died “in a terrifying tenement fire.”

The pair bond over obvious hints, as in the last film, that Phoebe may be homosexual. We can definitely expect an LGBTQ Ghostbusters next time. But in the meantime, is Melody the supportive spirit she seems to be?

Let’s just say she has conflicting motivations, ending in what you might call a wraith aligned with the real villain of the piece, an evil 4,000-year-old warrior who, of course, wants to destroy humanity.

He wants to do this with his all-too-literally chilling ability to freeze everything he touches.

And as all this silliness unfolds, there are some fun set pieces and crackerjack one-liners, especially when Murray enters the fray, but at no point was I as enchanted as when I watched the last film, or even to the first.

The Persian version

Judgement:

Verdict: Worth immersion

The Persian version is also about conflict, but only within a family.

In Maryam Keshavarz’s partly autobiographical film, Leila (Layla Mohammadi) is a bisexual screenwriter who grew up in New Jersey after her parents and eight brothers left post-revolutionary Iran.

Leila spent her school years feeling that she was too Iranian to assimilate into America, and too American to go on visits to Iran.

But as an adult, her identity crisis has more to do with her sexuality, and the confrontations it brings with her strict mother, Shireen (Niousha Noor).

If that makes it sound a bit too solemn and intense, I can reassure you.

Overall, The Persian Version is a comedy, and especially a lively one, full of self-aware quirks in which Leila breaks the so-called “fourth wall” and speaks directly into the camera, or in which characters become immobile as the action unfolds around the film. them.

Keshavarz also ambitiously tries to tell Shireen’s story and takes us back to her traumatic life as a very young mother during the time of the Shah.

This requires a change in tone that feels more like a stab; the director doesn’t quite execute it. But throughout, there’s enough that’s both funny and thought-provoking to make the film worthwhile.

Nancy Sullivanwho played Drake Bell‘s mother Drake & Josexpresses her support after he broke his silence about his abuse as a child.

‘They weren’t my real children, but I will always love them. It broke my heart into a million pieces when I heard how much Drake had in him while we worked together,” the actress wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, March 20. “I was devastated and proud to see the man he has become sitting in front of the camera and courageously telling his truth.”

Sullivan, 54, continued with a message for Bell, 37, adding: “Past abuse does not define us, and it has no right to control our lives. I know that removing this burden will free him in so many ways. I hope that one day the memories of the joy he had at our shows will largely overshadow the pain. Sending love to Drake for deep healing and a rich and beautiful life ahead.”

Bell revealed in Investigation Discovery’s docuseries Quiet on the set: the dark side of children’s television that he was the unnamed minor who accused the dialogue coach Brian Peck of sexual abuse in 2003.

During the third episode of the documentary, which aired on Monday, March 18, Bell called the attack “extensive” and “brutal.”

“I really don’t know how to work that out on camera,” he noted. “Why don’t you consider the worst things someone can do to someone as an assault, and that will answer your question. I don’t know how else to say it. It wasn’t a one-off.”

Peck — who is not dating the former Bell and Sullivan costar Jos Peck – was arrested in August 2003 after being accused of sexually abusing a child. Brian, 63, pleaded no contest to committing an obscene act with a victim approximately 14 or 15 years old and to oral copulation with a child under 16 years old, which resulted in a 16-month prison sentence.

Before the documentary aired, Nickelodeon released a statement We weeklywhich stated: “Now that Drake Bell has revealed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are stunned and saddened to hear of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength it takes to come forward .”

Sullivan isn’t the only former costar to reach out to Bell after his revelation. Bell took to social media on Wednesday to confirm that Josh, 37, had checked in with him privately.

“I want to clarify something. I’ve noticed a lot of comments on some of Josh’s TikToks and some of his posts and I just wanted to let you guys know…processing this and going through this is a very emotional time and a lot of it is very difficult,” Bell said via TikTok. “So not everything is made public. But I want you to know that he contacted me.”

Bell said he appreciated Josh reaching out to him about the “very sensitive” issue. “He reached out to me to help me get through this,” he added. “And he’s really great.”

The clip ended with Bell encouraging his followers to “take it easy a little bit” with Josh, who has yet to publicly comment on the docuseries.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Megan Fox revealed that her marriage to Brian Austin Green had been ‘unfulfilling’ and admitted to ‘falling in love with other people’ during the course of their long-term relationship. 

The Transformers actress, 37 – who confirmed the end of her engagement to Machine Gun Kelly – got candid about the former couple’s union in the latest episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast on Tuesday. 

The star tied the knot with the Beverly Hills, 90210 actor, 50, in 2010 until their separation in 2020. Their divorce was finalized in 2021 and the pair share three children: Noah, 11, Bodhi, 10 and Journey, seven. 

‘First of all, let me just say, I was not a great girlfriend to Brian. I’ll be very honest,’ Fox admitted to host, Alex Cooper. 

‘And he was not great to me either all the time, but I think it would be easy for me to lean into and complain about or let it seem like that relationship was one way. Maybe I was not great.’

Megan further explained, ‘Because I was young and really should not have been in a relationship of that level of commitment and magnitude.’ 

Both Fox and Green began dating in 2004, when the actress was around 18-years-old and the actor was 31. 

‘I shouldn’t have been involved in that when I was 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. I shouldn’t have been.’ 

The Jennifer’s Body star then recalled that she, ‘did a lot of, like, falling in love with other people all the time.’

‘I would go to work and fall in love because I was a kid. And, yeah, I never had the full freedom to be single and experience that life…’

The mother-of-three continued, ‘And I thought for a minute when I got divorced that that’s what I was gonna do, and I was single for like three weeks.’ 

Earlier this year on his own podcast called …With Brian Austin Green, the actor additionally reflected on first dating Megan when she was only 18. 

‘She didn’t get to experience being a single, young woman at the top of her fucking game,’ he explained, while adding, ‘She was really starting to feel the weight of it.’ 

Following the separation, Brian has since moved on with Dancing With The Stars pro, Sharna Burgess. 

The two began dating in 2020 and welcomed their first child together in June 2022, followed by their engagement last year in September. He also has another son with ex Vanessa Marcil. 

Fox also started dating rapper Machine Gun Kelly in 2020 and the pair went public with the budding romance later that summer. 

However, despite becoming engaged in January 2022, the actress also revealed on the Call Her Daddy podcast that the engagement has ended after a rather turbulent year between the two. 

And while she did give the update about the engagement, she did not confirm the status of their current relationship. 

‘I feel like everyone has such an opinion on your guys relationship. You got engaged, then I think it was called off, then we don’t know what’s going on with you. How would you describe your relationship with MGK?’ Alex Cooper asked.

Megan responded, ‘I think that what I’ve learned from being in this relationship is that it’s not for public consumption, so I think as of now, I don’t have a comment on like the status of the relationship per say.’ 

‘What I can say is that is what I refer to as being my twin soul and there will always be a tether to him no matter what. I can’t say for sure what the capacity will be, but I will always be connected to him somehow.’

‘Beyond that I’m not willing to explain. But all those things you said were accurate things that have occurred and I can see them being confusing or interesting to people and them being like, “What’s up?”‘

Megan and MGK met on the set of Midnight In The Switchgrass back in 2020 and began dating that year.

They never shied their affection for one another in public, often putting on PDA-packed displays wherever they went.

In 2022 they became engaged, and when announcing their betrothal on Instagram, Megan said she and MGK ‘drank each other’s blood’ to celebrate the occasion.

But just over a year later, Megan sensationally hinted she had split from MGK as she shared a cryptic Instagram post before completely deleting her account.

The actress posted a video in which she appeared to burn a letter in a bonfire, along with a bag.

She also uploaded a very raunchy string of mirror selfies while joined by a male pal, in which she put on a busty display in a plunging black top and cut-out trousers.

Fox then removed all traces of Machine Gun Kelly from her Instagram grid, having unfollowed him before deleting her account altogether.

Ultimately they seemed to patch things up and things appear to be all well between them now, with the couple recently seen going on a getaway to Mexico together.

The rapper also recently tattooed his entire upper body in black ink, reportedly to prove to Megan that he is 100% committed to their relationship.

Fox also prioritizes raising her three children and co-parenting with ex, Brian. His fiancee, Sharna, discussed the topic last year on the Whine Down With Jana Kramer podcast. 

‘And [Megan’s] very much a part of our life, and we’ll always be connected because of the kids.’ 

‘So we are all family. So there’s no bad feelings there to be like that cannot be in this house,’ the dancer added. 

In Tuesday’s episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, Megan admitted that she ‘loses a lot of sleep’ when it comes to her children being in the public eye, and said, ‘I know one of them is going to be in the public, probably all three of them.’ 

‘They’re drop-dead gorgeous kids and both of their parents are actors in the industry so it’s likely they’re going to have some type of public platform at a certain point. I worry about that every day.’ 

She then revealed her children were not ‘raised with screens, and they don’t have iPads or anything like that or phones.’ 

‘I can’t keep that up forever, eventually, that will happen, I’m trying to delay it as long as possible, but when they get a little bit older.’ 

‘It’s still too early and I don’t want to put the weight of my experience on them. I want them to have their own experience and I don’t want to pre-load it by being like, “This is all the suffering that Mommy’s been through.”‘ 

Investigation Discovery’s docuseries on Nickelodeon unsealed the letters of support dialogue coach Brian Peck received after being arrested for sexually abusing actor Drake Bell in 2003.

The contents of the letters were briefly shown during the fourth episode of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which will air on Monday, March 18. Directors Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz confirmed to Us Weekly that they petitioned the Los Angeles court to unseal the court documents while making the docuseries.

According to journalist Kate Taylor, the letters asked the judge to grant Peck, now 63, probation at the time. Taylor noted it’s unclear how much Peck’s friends knew about the charges against Peck.

Peck was a crew member who worked in front of and behind the camera on dozens of Hollywood productions. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Peck was employed on several of producer Dan Schneider’s projects at Nickelodeon.

Peck was arrested after an unnamed child star accused him of sexual abuse. The 11 charges brought against Peck included oral copulation, sodomy and forcible penetration. He pleaded no contest to two charges of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to 16 months in prison in 2004. He is now a registered sex offender.

During the ID docuseries, Bell, now 37, revealed he was the then-minor involved in the lawsuit. He recalled being surprised when people packed into the courtroom to support Peck (who has no relation to Bell’s former Nickelodeon costar Josh Peck) on the day the dialogue coach was set to be sentenced.

“On the day of sentencing for Brian, I get to the courthouse and it was the most unbelievable thing you have ever seen,” Bell, 37, told cameras. “His entire side of the courtroom was full. There were definitely some recognizable faces on that side of the room and my side was me, my mom and my brother.”

Bell added: “I addressed my statement to everyone in the room. I looked at all of them and I just said, ‘How dare you. You will forever have the memory of sitting in this courtroom and defending this person. And I will forever have the memory of the person you are defending violating me and doing unspeakable acts and crimes. And that is what I will remember.’”

The docuseries didn’t specify which celebrities publicly showed their support for Peck in court. However, James Marsden, Taran Killam, Alan Thicke and Ron Melendez were some of the stars to contribute the 41 letters of support, which Peck provided to the judge. It’s noted that neither Schneider, 58, nor top executives at Nickelodeon wrote any letters.

Bell pointed out that Schneider — whom he worked with on The Amanda Show and Drake & Josh — offered him support after finding out he was involved in the case.

“The only person I remember being there for me is Dan,” Bell said in the docuseries.

While speaking to Us, Quiet on Set directors Robertson and Schwartz discussed the process of unsealing the documents.

“We began hearing from people who had been at Nickelodeon around this time that they had been asked to write letters of support. I had been a court reporter so I knew in general that letters of support are supposed to be public documents,” Schwartz explained. “But when we went to the court, they were not public. So we spoke with our lawyers and we said, ‘What can we do?’ And they said, ‘Well, you can petition the court to unseal them.’”

She continued: “That’s in fact what we did. And the court agreed to release those letters. We didn’t know what we would find. We didn’t know who would be in there. And that’s what you see in the documentary.”

Robertson addressed whether they were concerned about the public response from people who wrote the letters, concluding, “The letters have been entered into the public record, they’re available.”

Keep scrolling for a breakdown of some of the familiar names who supported Peck at the time — and their letters:

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV airs on ID Sunday, March 17, and Monday, March 18, at 9 p.m. ET.

James Marsden

After working with Peck on movies such as Public Enemies and X-Men, Marsden, 50, reflected on their friendship in his letter.

“I can easily say that Brian is one of the reasons why I have been as successful as I have been in this industry,” Marsden wrote at the time. “I was lucky enough to have been graced with Brian’s guidance, uncommissioned guidance I might add, and support in pursuing an acting career.”

Marsden referred to Peck as a “mentor” to him, adding, “I don’t mean to dramatize this but I am speaking wholeheartedly about a man who’s heart is pure and no matter what you’re talking about, his intentions are always good. He has such an amazing capacity to care about people. This, I find, is very rare. Especially in Hollywood. Brian genuinely cares about other human beings.”

According to the docuseries, Marsden compared Peck’s suffering after his arrest to that of “a hundred men.”

“When I first heard the news of Brian’s arrest I couldn’t breathe. I could not believe what was happening. It was unimaginable,” he concluded. “I’ve known Brian for 14 years and never once did I ever see any sign of him being capable of something like this. I have lived at his house for months and shared hotel rooms with him and never once did he ever make me feel compromised or uncomfortable in any way. I don’t know what it would take to have something like this occur, whatever it is, it is extremely out of character for Brian.”

Marsden was also mentioned in X-Men producer Thomas DeSanto‘s letter about Peck. DeSanto, 56, noted that Peck served as Marsden’s best man when he married Lisa Linde in 2000. (Us Weekly has reached out to Marsden for comment.)

Taran Killam

“I first met Brian Peck four years ago while working together on a television show. We instantly became friends, which seems to be a common response to meeting Brian,” the comedian, 41, wrote in his letter. “Over the years, Brian has become one of my dearest friends. I know him quite well on both a professional and personal level. Brian has to be one of the most well liked people I have ever known. I think this has to do a great deal with his generosity, genuine concern for other’s well being, and especially his honesty.”

Killam referred to Peck’s arrest as “too out of character.”

“When I found out about Brian being arrested I was shocked. Brian is the last person I would expect to be charged with criminal activities. My first thought was, ‘This is a mistake.’ I know many of our mutual friends had similar thoughts,” he added. “I have seen the effects this situation has had on Brian and I know for a fact that he regrets any mistakes made and that this is certainly not something that would ever happen again.”

Killam concluded: There has yet to be a set that I work on, where someone doesn’t know Brian, and also doesn’t think the world of him. He honestly is one of the most well liked, well-respected people in this business.”

(Us Weekly has reached out to Killam for comment.)

Tom DeSanto

Following their time working together on X-Men, DeSanto had nothing but praise for Peck.

“The Brian Peck that I know is a man who is always there when a friend is in need,” DeSanto wrote. “The Brian Peck I know [is] a well respected and loved professional who has worked in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. That is why his arrest was so surprising and totally out of character. He has worked with actors as a coach for many years with never one whisper of improper conduct. His actors speak of him in the highest regard and continue their friendship even after the working relationship has ended.”

(Us Weekly has reached out to DeSanto for comment.)

Rider Strong and Will Friedle

The Boy Meets World costars addressed their past friendship with Peck shortly before the docuseries was released. (Strong, 44, and Friedle, 47, met Peck during his time as a guest star on their hit sitcom, which ran from 1993 to 2000.)

Their letters were also featured on Quiet on Set, with one stating, “It was extremely disturbing to learn of Brian’s arrest. Maliciousness is so antithetical to his nature, it is impossible for me to comprehend a situation that would lead him to do something illegal or even inappropriate. I immediately called him and offered whatever support I could. Of course, Brian being Brian, he had already received numerous such calls.”

Strong clarified on his “Pod Meets World” podcast last month that he wasn’t aware of the charges brought against Peck.

“He didn’t say that nothing had happened. So by the time we heard about this case and knew anything about it, it was always in the context of, ‘I did this thing, I am guilty. I am going to take whatever punishment the government determines, but I’m a victim of jailbait. There was this hot guy! I just did this thing and he’s underage.’ And we bought that story line,” Strong said. “I never heard about the other things because, back then, you couldn’t Google to find out what people were being charged with. So in retrospect, he was making a plea deal and admitting one thing — which is all he admitted to us — but it looks like he was being charged with a series of crimes, which we did not know.”

Friedle, meanwhile, expressed regret at attending Peck’s sentencing.

“We’re sitting in that courtroom on the wrong side of everything … The victim’s mother turned and said, ‘Look at all the famous people you brought with you. And it doesn’t change what you did to my kid,’” he recalled. “I just sat there wanting to die. It was like, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ It was horrifying all the way around.”

Friedle added: “We weren’t told the whole story, but it doesn’t change the fact that we did it. I still can’t get the words out to describe all of the things that I’m feeling inside of myself.”

Alan Thicke

“I worked with Brian Peck daily from 1987 through 1991 and found him to be a highly professional and nurturing mentor of the young people on our television set. Because he was never inappropriate in any way around children, including my own two young sons, I was shocked and saddened to learn of the trouble he was in,” the late actor wrote at the time of the case. “Knowing him as I did, I also know beyond a doubt how remorseful he is and how dedicated and focused he will be on his rehabilitation. Brian’s integrity and self-respect have always been important to him and this turn of events has been mortifying to him in ways that will only make him a better, stronger citizen in the future.”

Thicke died in 2016 at age 69 from a ruptured aorta.

Joanna Kerns

In addition to Thicke, whom he met on the set of Growing Pains, Peck received support from former costar Kerns, 71, as well. The docuseries quoted a section of Kerns’ letter, which read, “I can only believe there must have been some extreme situation or temptation exerted upon him to influence his actions.”

Kerns issued a statement in response to her show of support for Peck, which was included in Quiet on Set. “I have now learned that my letter of support was based on complete misinformation,” she stated. “Knowing what I know now, I never would have written the letter.”

Kimmy Robertson

Robertson, 69, who appeared in Peck’s 1990 movie The Willies, wrote in a letter to the judge, “I believe with all my heart that Brian was pressured and pushed beyond belief before he caved in.”

(Us Weekly has reached out to Robertson for comment.)

Rich and Beth Correll

The couple stood by Peck at the time, with Rich, 75, writing in his letter, “It would be my pleasure to work with him again.” Rich and Beth, 58, professionally crossed paths with Peck two years after he was sentenced for child sexual abuse when they worked together on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

The Corrells released a statement for the docuseries, which noted that “they had no input or involvement in the casting” of Peck on the Disney show. They said when they asked him about the case, “Mr. Peck simply replied that ‘The problem had been resolved.’”

(Us Weekly has reached out to Rick and Beth for comment.)

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

James Marsden and other celebrities wrote letters of support for shamed Brian Peck after he was accused of the child sexual abuse of Drake Bell in 2003.

In August 2003, Nickelodeon dialogue coach Peck – now 63 – was arrested and charged with nearly a dozen counts related to allegations that he had sexually abused an unnamed minor.

Peck subsequently pleaded no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14-or 15-year-old and to oral copulation with a minor under 16 – with Bell – now 37 – claiming he was the unnamed minor who was abused by Peck aged 15 when he appeared on The Amanda Show.

Now Investigation Discovery’s docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV has unsealed 41 letters of support sent to the judge in the case, revealing Marsden was one of the most prominent figures asking for probation – rather than jail time – for Peck.

Journalist Kate Taylor notes it is is ‘unclear how much Peck’s friends knew about the charges against Peck’ when they penned the letters.

Marsden wrote in the letter seen by USWeekly: ‘I can easily say that Brian is one of the reasons why I have been as successful as I have been in this industry. I was lucky enough to have been graced with Brian’s guidance, uncommissioned guidance I might add, and support in pursuing an acting career.

Saying Peck was his ‘mentor’ he added: ‘I don’t mean to dramatize this but I am speaking wholeheartedly about a man whose heart is pure and no matter what you’re talking about, his intentions are always good. He has such an amazing capacity to care about people. This, I find, is very rare. Especially in Hollywood. Brian genuinely cares about other human beings.’

He compared Peck’s suffering after his arrest to that of ‘a hundred men and wrote: ‘When I first heard the news of Brian’s arrest I couldn’t breathe. I could not believe what was happening. It was unimaginable.

‘I’ve known Brian for 14 years and never once did I ever see any sign of him being capable of something like this. I have lived at his house for months and shared hotel rooms with him and never once did he ever make me feel compromised or uncomfortable in any way. I don’t know what it would take to have something like this occur, whatever it is, it is extremely out of character for Brian.’

Marsden was also mentioned in  X-Men producer Thomas DeSanto‘s letter of support – Peck was Marsden’s best man at his wedding to Lisa Linde in 2000.

DailyMail.com has contacted Marsden’s representative for comment. 

Taran Killam, 41, also praised Peck in a letter writing: ‘Over the years, Brian has become one of my dearest friends. I know him quite well on both a professional and personal level. Brian has to be one of the most well liked people I have ever known. I think this has to do a great deal with his generosity, genuine concern for other’s well being, and especially his honesty.

‘When I found out about Brian being arrested I was shocked. Brian is the last person I would expect to be charged with criminal activities. My first thought was, ‘This is a mistake.’ I know many of our mutual friends had similar thoughts. I have seen the effects this situation has had on Brian and I know for a fact that he regrets any mistakes made and that this is certainly not something that would ever happen again.”

‘There has yet to be a set that I work on, where someone doesn’t know Brian, and also doesn’t think the world of him. He honestly is one of the most well liked, well-respected people in this business.’

Boy Meets World co-stars Rider Strong, 44, and Will Friedle, 47, who met Peck when he guest-starred on their show also wrote letters to the judge.

One read: ‘It was extremely disturbing to learn of Brian’s arrest. Maliciousness is so antithetical to his nature, it is impossible for me to comprehend a situation that would lead him to do something illegal or even inappropriate. I immediately called him and offered whatever support I could. Of course, Brian being Brian, he had already received numerous such calls.’

Strong revealed on his  Pod Meets World podcast last month that he didn’t know about the charges against Peck – who he says lied about the abuse.

He said: ‘He didn’t say that nothing had happened. So by the time we heard about this case and knew anything about it, it was always in the context of, ‘I did this thing, I am guilty. I am going to take whatever punishment the government determines, but I’m a victim of jailbait. 

‘There was this hot guy! I just did this thing and he’s underage.’ And we bought that story line,” Strong said. “I never heard about the other things because, back then, you couldn’t Google to find out what people were being charged with. So in retrospect, he was making a plea deal and admitting one thing — which is all he admitted to us — but it looks like he was being charged with a series of crimes, which we did not know.’

Friedle said he regretted attending Peck’s sentencing,  

Friedle, meanwhile, expressed regret at attending Peck’s ‘horrifying’ sentencing, saying: ‘We weren’t told the whole story, but it doesn’t change the fact that we did it. I still can’t get the words out to describe all of the things that I’m feeling inside of myself.’

Actor Alan Thicke, who died aged 69 in 2016 said Peck was ‘highly professional and nurturing’ towards young people on set of their show Growing Pains from 1985-1992.

He wrote: ‘Because he was never inappropriate in any way around children, including my own two young sons, I was shocked and saddened to learn of the trouble he was in.

‘Knowing him as I did, I also know beyond a doubt how remorseful he is and how dedicated and focused he will be on his rehabilitation. Brian’s integrity and self-respect have always been important to him and this turn of events has been mortifying to him in ways that will only make him a better, stronger citizen in the future.’

An excerpt of a letter penned by Thicke’s Growing Pains co-star Joanna Kerns, 71, and shown on the documentary read: ‘I can only believe there must have been some extreme situation or temptation exerted upon him to influence his actions.’

Kerns later issued a statement refuting the letter saying: ‘I have now learned that my letter of support was based on complete misinformation. Knowing what I know now, I never would have written the letter.’

Kimmy Roberston, 69, wrote: ‘I believe with all my heart that Brian was pressured and pushed beyond belief before he caved in.’

While directors Rich and Beth Correll who worked with Peck on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody two years after his conviction, also supported him via letter.

In the wake of Quiet on Set the couple released a statement saying ‘they had no input or involvement in the casting of Peck on the Disney show.’

Bell has said on the docuseries how several ‘recognizable’ faces packed into the courtroom on the day of Peck’s sentencing to show their support. 

He said: ‘I addressed my statement to everyone in the room. I looked at all of them and I just said, ‘How dare you. You will forever have the memory of sitting in this courtroom and defending this person. And I will forever have the memory of the person you are defending violating me and doing unspeakable acts and crimes. And that is what I will remember.’

DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for comment. 

In October 2004, Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and mandated to register as a sex offender. 

Peck served as a dialogue coach on Nickelodeon’s All That and The Amanda Show, the latter featuring Bell from 1999 to 2002. 

Subsequently, Bell took the lead in his own Nickelodeon series in 2004 with Drake & Josh.

A clip from Quiet on Set teases Bell coming forward to discuss Peck. 

A press release from Investigation Discovery reads: ‘The clip reveals that former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell will be sharing publicly, for the first time, the story of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Brian Peck, his former dialogue coach who was convicted in 2004 for his crimes against Drake and ordered to register as a sex offender.’

Bell has not provided details about the nature of the abuse he endured. 

However, it is anticipated that he may reveal more when Quiet on Set airs later this month

In 2015, DailyMail.com exposed that despite his conviction, Peck continued to work on a Disney show and a high school–themed horror film.

He faced restrictions only in direct contact with children, enabling him to be hired in alternative roles, even on projects prominently involving children and teenagers.

According to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, Peck had visited the minor actor at his home for acting coaching during the incident. He was apprehended after the young actor’s parents reported the abuse to the police.

Peck eventually entered a no-contest plea to two counts from the initial 11 charges, as the rest were dismissed.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, he sustained minor acting roles and worked as a dialogue coach. His last credited acting appearance, according to IMDb, was in 2018.

It remains uncertain whether those hiring Peck were aware of his status as a convicted sex offender, though his IMDb page does acknowledge his criminal conviction. 

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is a four-part docuseries that exposes the toxic work environment prevalent in children’s shows during the 1990s and early 2000s. 

The focus is particularly on productions associated with Dan Schneider, the creator of cherished Nickelodeon series like iCarly and Zoey 101.

Child actors and crew members previously spoke to Business Insider about disturbing sexualized scenes that Schneider wrote for some of his series, and he alleged urged his young female stars to wear revealing clothing on camera.

The showrunner was also accused of repeatedly requesting massages at work, according to a 2000 gender-discrimination and hostile-workplace lawsuit from a writer on The Amanda Show. The suit was settled out of court. 

Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV airs on March 17 and 18 on Investigation Discovery.

DUNE: PART TWO (12A, 166 min.)

Judgement:

Verdict: A sand spectacle

Dune burst onto Leicester Square a few weeks ago at its world premiere. I’ve been to many big openings there over the years, but never one so flamboyant, with as much fanfare, that caused so much frenzy.

Probably not in the sixty years since the heyday of The Beatles has that patch of central London reverberated with the kind of vociferous adoration directed (this time) at the star of the Dune films, 28-year-old Timothee Chalamet. And there were at least four Beatles to share the spotlight. The young American star gets ‘Chalamania’, as it is called, all to himself.

The bigger problem, though, was this: Would Denis Villeneuve’s epic sequel justify the razzamatazz, not to mention the investment of an entire evening? Dune: Part Two lasts almost three hours. It’s even longer than the first movie, which seemed like forever.

Fortunately. The 2021 film tackled many of the plot complexities that fueled years of belief that Frank Herbert’s mighty 1965 sci-fi novel was “unfilmable” (claims not exactly punctured by David Lynch’s 1984 stinker). It was wonderful, but exhausting, laboriously introducing us to the interplanetary empire Herbert imagined, and the various dynasties that struggled for power or simply for survival.

The sequel has a mercifully simpler story. On the barren planet Arrakis, where most of his own kin have been wiped out, Paul Atreides (Chalamet) prepares to lead the beleaguered, disenfranchised Fremen tribe against him and their mortal enemies, the formidably evil House Harkonnen.

Ruled by the grotesque Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard in a rickety fat suit), to whom they swear allegiance during hair-raising Nuremberg-style rallies, the Harkonnen owe their political and military supremacy to their control over “spices” – the most valuable commodity in this world. universe, which Dune enthusiasts widely assume is a metaphor for oil.

Paul’s goal is to disrupt spice production, but unlike our own Just Stop Oil brigade, he has to do more than lie on the highway. Anyway, Arrakis has no highways. It is a vast desert, in which he must prove himself to the Fremen by undergoing various challenges, such as sand surfing behind a worm about the size of a superyacht.

Paul has a useful ally in the Fremen chief, Stilgar (Javier Bardem), not to mention a Fremen lover, the smoldering and beautiful Chani (Zendaya).

But there are others who distrust him. Is he a false prophet or their true ‘mahdi’, their messiah? His modesty completes it. “The Mahdi is too modest to say he is the Mahdi,” someone says approvingly, which reminded me strongly of the scene in The Life Of Brian, in which Brian’s attempts to convince his followers that he is a completely ordinary man counterproductive, because only the true messiah would deny his divinity.

I hope Villeneuve also had Monty Python in mind, because other than that there isn’t much obvious humor or fun in this film.

But it’s supremely stylish, with a piercing Hans Zimmer score and beautiful work from cinematographer Greig Fraser.

Mostly, the action unfolds in subtle shades of brown and beige, as if the set designers were told to confine themselves to the edges of the Farrow & Ball color chart. This makes Paul’s eyes appear even bluer, a bit like Peter O’Toole’s in Lawrence of Arabia. As Noel Coward said at that premiere, if it had been more beautiful it could have been called Florence of Arabia. The same goes for Chalamet. Even more delicious and they should have called it June.

But Paul is first and foremost a fierce warrior, who wages a truly harrowing duel with the rising champion of the Harkonnen (a shaven-headed Austin Butler), and whose muscular beauty destroys Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), the Emperor’s scheming daughter ( Christopher Walken).

Butler, Pugh and Walken are all new additions to the cast, along with Lea Seydoux and, in a cameo, Anya Taylor-Joy. Rebecca Ferguson and Charlotte Rampling also return from the first film. There are stars everywhere you look, in a film that is exuberant in every way and demands to be seen on a big screen.

It’s really spectacular. But take sandwiches.

Red Island (12A, 117 minutes)

Judgement:

Verdict: Believe in Madagascar

This captivatingly quirky (and visually stunning) French-language drama is set on a French air base in Madagascar in the early 1970s, where the former colonizers continue to exert their control over the now independent countries.

Writer-director Robin Campillo immerses us in the daily lives of one family: the moody father of an aviator, his volatile wife, their marital problems and those of their friends.

But the main focus is on their impossibly adorable eight-year-old son Thomas (Charlie Vauselle), whose superhero fantasies are brought to life in strangely seductive little interludes as he seeks refuge in the strange world of adults.

Red Island is now in cinemas, as well as on Curzon Home Cinema.