Browsing Tag

Pamela Adlon

Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts Make History

Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts essence cover

–Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts are the first same-sex couple to cover Essence.

-Congrats to Jennifer Lawrence, who has reportedly given birth to her first child.

–The Weeknd was seen kissing deejay Simi Khadra while celebrating his 32nd birthday in Las Vegas on the weekend (and Selena Gomez was quick to point out that she’s cool with it).

–Prince Harry is suing the Mail on Sunday over an article alleging he attempted to keep details of his battle to reinstate his police protection secret from the public.

–Priyanka Chopra responded to Rosie O’Donnell‘s public apology after the TV host mistakenly referred to the actress as the daughter of Deepak Chopra. “If you wanted to make a public apology for a very awkward private encounter, I think probably best to take the time to google my name before doing it or even try to reach out directly.”

-The pandemic brought Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor back together. Five years after their separation, he moved back in with her and their kids during lockdown, and they rekindled their relationship.

-I’m not usually a fan of boob cutout dresses, but I love Zoe Kravitz’s look at The Batman premiere.  Someone on Twitter called it a “nipple thong” and now that’s all I can see.

-Speaking of promo looks, I also really dig Sandra Bullock’s dress here.

-Did we need the star of the 90210 reboot weighing in on Putin via poetry? Nope, but we got it anyway.

-Also, Sean Penn is currently on the ground in Ukraine filming a documentary about the invasion.

–Megan Thee Stallion filed a lawsuit against her record label for the third time.

-I missed this video earlier from Vogue of Kim Kardashian showing off weird objects in her home.

–Lilly Singh is recovering after being hospitalized for ovarian cysts.

-The week before Better Things returns, Pamela Adlon talked to Rolling Stone about what makes the show so special, what separates her life from Sam’s, and her boyish early roles.

-Country singer Sam Hunt‘s divorce is back on. After his wife withdrew her divorce filing, she re-filed in a different county.

–Tom Holland played with puppies while being interviewed by Buzzfeed.

-This is an interesting piece about why movies so long now, even though when directors sign on to major studio movies, they have a contractual obligation to deliver it at 2 hours. Many executives blame it on the rush to meet a release date; there’s less time to make surgical edits that would prevent moviegoers from dozing off.

-Five assassins wind up on a Japanese train and soon realize their assignments are connected in the first teaser for Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry and Zazie Beetz. The teaser doesn’t give us much but whew, that cast!

Liam Neeson Just Torpedoed His Press Tour

-Jeez, that Liam Neeson interview that everyone’s talking about is a MESS. I don’t understand why he would chose to tell this story (in which he recounts that after his friend identified her rapist as a black man he “went up and down areas with a cosh [bludgeon], hoping I’d be approached by somebody – I’m ashamed to say that – and I did it for maybe a week, hoping some ‘black bastard’ would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him”), why he chose to tell the story in this way (with an unsuspecting costar junketing along next to him), or why a psychologist is interviewed to help contextualise his racism. Yes, he expresses regret but even feeling the freedom to tell a story like this in such a seemingly offhanded way is an insane display of privilege and I’m not sure what he expected the fallout to be.  (Spoiler alert: it ain’t good.)

-This is an interesting addendum: the journalist tweeted the backstory on the decision to run the interview and all the legal and editorial hand-wringing that went with it.

-Goop is expanding into original content, with Gwyneth Paltrow inking a deal for a docuseries on Netflix. You know, the one place that probably won’t layer in any sort of editorial control or responsibility. Swell.

-This Pamela Adlon article in the New Yorker navigates the tricky Louis CK connection so well. As complicated as her feelings and reactions are, I do like that she points out that his female colleagues are being called to task more than he has been. “Anybody who has any association with him is peppered [questions.] Sarah Silverman is his fucking spokesperson.” I like her and love her show, I get why she doesn’t want to work out her feelings about it in public, and think she’s done pretty well after being dealt a shitty hand. She immediately severed professional ties with him, stopped speaking to him, and fired their shared manager Dave Becky. A lot of Becky’s other clients, including Jameela Jamil, Kevin Hart, Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler, seemingly have not (which very much bummed me out every time the end credits of Russian Doll rolled).

-My god. Soulja Boy is being accused of kidnapping and assaulting a woman, according to TMZ.

-After yesterday’s halftime show, a lot of people have pointed out the double standard between Adam Levine and Janet Jackson’s controversial nipple exposure.

-Speaking of the Super Bowl, it gifted us with a ton of new movie trailers, including Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4 and Captain Marvel.

-In terms of commercials, I really liked the Chance the Rapper/Backstreet Boys team up, and the Sarah Michelle Gellar horror spoof.  Here are some more of the best and worst.

-Wait, so Pete Davidson and Kate Beckinsale are actually a thing? They were spotted holding hands? I seriously did not believe the stories of them flirting at the Golden Globes because…how?!

-I love that Lizzo is covering the latest issue of The Cut. I have woken up and immediately listened to “Juice” every day for the last two weeks.

–Jussie Smollett performed in public this weekend and spoke out on inaccuracies surrounding his attack.

-Now Rami Malek is saying that Bryan Singer‘s alleged victims “deserve to have their voice heard”. Man, Oscar campaigning is a wild ride, huh?

-If you only have time for one long-read this week, make it this one in the New Yorker about a suspense novelist who duped everyone. You know it’s going to be a good one when the reporter calls an editor for the story and he responds with “My god, I knew I’d get this call. I didn’t know if it would be you or the F.B.I.”

-I guess if you have Anthony Rapp on your cast, you gotta do a Rent parody. Well done, Star Trek: Discovery crew.

–Cardi B‘s former history teacher defended her political knowledge. I’m not surprised. Remember that Caity Weaver profile in GQ when Cardi gushed about how her fave president is Franklin D Roosevelt because he started social security with the New Deal, and then had Weaver quiz her about the order of presidents? I’ll take political commentary from her over basically any other celebrity — and a lot of politicians.

-Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge got the Vogue 73 questions treatment.

-FX’s John Landgraf gave his annual state of TV address at the TCAs, and he warned what we already know: Netflix is “not telling you the whole story” when it comes to the way the ratings statements they chose to release. While Netflix self-reported that You would end up being watched by 40 million households in its first month, Landgraf says Nielsen data (which, let’s face it, is also problematic) indicates it was averaging 8 million viewers an ep.

-Landgraf also let it slip that Atlanta’s third season is delayed .

-Also at the TCAs, the TV adaptation of What We Do In Shadows announced its March premiere date and debuted its first trailer. Critics who’ve screened the first two episodes seem to universally love it. It seems to retain the movie’s vibe, so I’m in!

Jon Bernthal Is Having Aa Moment

esquire-jon-bernthal

-I’m really having a week with Jon Bernthal. I listened to his Nerdist podcast (which made me swoon), he liked one of my tweets (which made me swoon even more), and now he’s talking about transforming himself into the man he’s always wanted to be in the new issue of Esquire (which basically made me swoon so much I nearly passed out).

–Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence are interviewed for W, and the video is pretty damn cute. They both found out that they lost pet turtles (“This is criminally undiscussed: turtles run away. Nobody discusses this, you have to keep your eye on your turtle”), and how annoying they are to others (“We just scream at each other. We’re both hoarse after we hang out. Oh my god, I can’t imagine what it must be like for other people. We should never hang out, only with each other.”).

–Gwyneth Paltrow‘s GOOP recommends irrigating your rectum and colon with coffee and doctors are all “yeah, don’t do that.”

-All of Ed Westick‘s scenes in BBC’s Agatha Christie drama Ordeal By Innocence are going to be completely reshot, with Christian Cooke replacing Westwick following sexual assault allegations. The series was originally due to air over Christmas.

-Uh oh. A civil lawsuit charging Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis with raping a publicist has prompted three additional women to come forward with their own sexual misconduct accusations. It’s worth noting that Haggis filed a lawsuit against one accuser three weeks ago, alleging it was extortion. A lot of people are wondering if this is the vindictive work of Scientology (which he famously took on), but on the flip side, there’s also this Thandie Newton story about how he mishandled her big scene in Crash.

-If you’re avoiding the cold this weekend, critics are loving on the dark British teen drama The End of the F***ing World, which is on Netflix.

–Donald Glover revealed that he and his girlfriend have welcomed their second child.

-Speaking of Glover, Atlanta will be back for its second season, a.k.a. Robbin’ Season, on March 1st. The Americans will return March 28.

-FX’s president John Landgraf told the TCA that Pamela Adlon will keep running Better Things, without Louis C.K. “It’s Pamela’s show. These are her stories, this is her life. She’s the creative engine of that show & that won’t change.”

– The final season of New Girl (which will only be 7 episodes) will debut April 10, with the series finale airing May 15. It will kick off with a funeral and a three-year time jump.

–Kristen Bell says they were incredibly close to getting a Veronica Mars limited series off the ground but “a couple of business things got in the way.”

-I’ve given up on Riverdale, but I’m totally here for Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka starring as Sabrina in Riverdale’s new spinoff. That is excellent, excellent casting!

-Speaking of shows I gave up on, I couldn’t get through more than a few episodes of The Crown because I found it soooo slow. But then they cast Olivia Colman for the new season. And now comes news that Helena Bonham Carter will play Princess Margaret. Dammit!

–Justin Timberlake’s Filthy came out today, and I don’t hate it. I think I kind of like it? Ugh.  He also revealed the track list. Who’s AK? Anna Kendrick? Alicia Keys?

–Reese Witherspoon‘s first TV show for Apple will star Octavia Spencer and follows a murder case that’s reopened thanks to renewed interest in the mystery after a podcast about it goes viral. Serial’s Sarah Koenig will be a consultant on the show.

-It’s nuts that ABC had one of the best-reviewed broadcast comedies of the fall, and didn’t even give it a chance to find its audience.

-Speaking of network comedies, The Good Place returned last night and once again set up an entirely new narrative direction. I’m in awe of this show.

-On Wednesday, a day after Logan Paul uploaded his apology to YouTube and Twitter, he gains 80,000 subscribers. He reportedly made nearly $100k that day and gained more subscribers yesterday than the previous 2 days combined. And the disgusting videos from his trip to Japan just keep coming.

–Helen Mirren is in a horror movie, for some reason.