Monthly Archives

October 2017

CTV Moves Up Hip Doc In Tribute To Gord Downie

-In tribute to Gord Downie, who passed away today, CTV has moved up the premiere of the Tragically Hip doc to this Friday night.

–Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogen and more reacted to Gord’s death on Twitter.

-Meanwhile, of all the stories and tributes that came out today, this Twitter thread is my absolute favourite.

-I follow a lot of TV critics, and absolute favourite has always been Mo Ryan of Variety (previously of HuffPo). She has just as much respect for “low brow” network fare as “prestige” drama, she is constantly and publicly pushing for more diversity in front of and behind the camera, and she frequently gives voice to fan causes (the most recent being the “kill your gays” trope sparked by The 100). So I was absolutely gutted this morning to read her account of being sexually assaulted by a TV executive three years ago at an industry event.

–Kevin Smith says he’s going to donate future revenue from his Weinstein-backed movies to charity.

–Channing Tatum is walking the walk by announcing that he’s halting development on the movie he was supposed to make with Weinstein’s company.

–Laura Dern opened up about being sexually harassed on Ellen’s show today.

–Kate Winslet is in the super awkward position of having to talk about Harvey Weinstein — while also promote her new Woody Allen movie. In a new interview, she says she refused to thank him in her 2009 Oscar speech.  “I remember being told, ‘Make sure you thank Harvey if you win.’ And I remember turning around and saying, ‘No, I won’t. No, I won’t.'”

–Casey Affleck has just been cast in Alfonso Cuarón‘s horror drama TV series, proving nothing ever changes.

–Charlyne Yi took to Twitter yesterday to recall the time David Cross introduced himself with a racist comment. He doesn’t remember it that way.

–Johnny Depp is now suing his lawyer, accusing him and his firm of swindling almost $35M.

-Early reactions to Thor: Ragnarok are in — and most critics seem to dig it.

–Blake Lively is redefining extra with all these press tour looks.

-My entire Twitter TL is obsessed with a Norwegian teen drama called Skam — and Facebook just announced they’re doing a US remake of it.

-Ex-Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge hopes to discover aliens with his crowdfunded spaceship. You do you, bud.

-The ratings news for Riverdale just keep getting better and better. Now that the live-plus-3 ratings have come in, the premiere saw its teen audience go up by 400%. This stuff just doesn’t happen on broadcast TV anymore. The power of Netflix binges!

-The Pussycat Dolls are disputing a claim made by a former member that the group is a front for a “prostitution ring.” Whoa.

-I’m not entirely convinced that Ian Somerhalder is famous enough to be mocked on SNL, but this certainly does seem like him…

-The first trailer for Louis C.K.‘s I Love You, Daddy has arrived  — at the worst possible timing. I wonder what kind of appetite there is for a movie about a Woody Allen-type character, created by a guy who refuses to address his sexual harassment allegations.

Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Stewart Come Forward with Harassment Stories

Embed from Getty Images

-Last night the Elle Magazine Women in Entertainment event was held in Los Angeles, and actresses didn’t hold anything back. Reese Witherspoon revealed she was sexually assaulted by a director at 16. Jennifer Lawrence told a harrowing story about being put in a nude lineup.  And Kristen Stewart (god, I love her) reminded everyone to protect the below-the-line females on sets, saying “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve saved makeup artists — because it trickled down, too — and camera assistants from DPs who are like, ‘woo woo.’… And when I say saved, I mean momentarily been like, “Don’t, fucker!” And they are embarrassed for one second but it just keeps going every single day. So I’d say let’s be aware of this on every level. Those girls are as duct-taped as one could possibly be because they are in fear of getting their next job, as every is actress, too, same deal.”

-In an essay for the New Yorker, Molly Ringwald recalled years of harassment when she was a teen star. “When I was thirteen, a fifty-year-old crew member told me that he would teach me to dance, and then proceeded to push against me with an erection. At fourteen, a married film director stuck his tongue in my mouth on set.” She also seems to call out Dreamworks chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg.

-Game of Thrones star Lena Headey  took to Twitter to talk about her experience with Harvey Weinstein, and also recalled being subjected to “endless bullying by the director Terry Gilliam.”  The floodgates are open, y’all!

–Mayim Bialik clarified her comments about sexual assault after being accused of victim blaming. In the words for @ira: keep it.

-And now Bob Weinstein is also being accused of sexual harassment.

–Sophie Turner‘s engagement ring costs over $25,000? But…it’s pear shaped!

–Blake Lively‘s menswear outfit is ridiculous and I love it.

-The royal countdown has officially begun! Kate Middleton and Prince William announced that their third child is due in April 2018.

–Christian Bale says Heath Ledger wanted him to hit him for real during the Dark Knight’s interrogation scene.

–Bryan Cranston looks great on the cover of Esquire.

-Netflix’s price keeps creeping up along with its subscriber numbers. Is it going to be worth it much longer?

-The reason the price keeps rising? They are planning 80 movies next year. (For context: this quarter they’re only doing 8.)

-I kind of got out of The Flash, but this clip makes it look like it’s going back to its funny roots. Finally!

-Oh, but the CW superhero shows are going to turn their heroes into Nazis. Cause people really responded so well when that happened to Captain America?!

-Meanwhile, Netflix revealed that Gilmore Girls was their fasted-watched original series. Yes, I remember that weekend of disappointment well…

-I really enjoyed this article on the art of the TV series finale.

-The trailer for the next season of UnReal actually looks pretty great. It helps that it doesn’t return until February, which gives us lots of time to forget how bad that last season was.

 

 

 

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas Are Engaged

–Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas announced their engagement on Instagram, and the internet is all about the jokes.

-The disturbing Harvey Weinstein stories now involve potted plants and kitchenware.  Meanwhile, actress Lauren Holly talked about her creepy encounter with him on The Social, while a Vampire Diaries actress says he propositioned her at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002, and thinks it affected her husband Ioan Gruffudd‘s career. The number of women who have publicly accused him is now up to 44.

-Sorry Mayim Bialik, but if I read your full essay then I’m not “taking it out of context” when I say it’s victim-blaming BS. Not being “a perfect 10” does NOT protect women from assault.

–Rose McGowan made a bit of a misstep on Twitter this weekend — and she blamed it on weed. Is it really that hard for white feminists to say “I’m sorry. I screwed up. I’m ready to listen and learn.” Really?

-If you want to read a good NYT essay on Weinstein, skip Bialik’s and read this one from Sarah Polley instead.

-I also found this essay by the showrunner of Grey’s Anatomy on the gender dynamics in Hollywood to be really powerful.

-A reminder that we lost Carrie Fisher way too soon: she once sent a cow tongue to an Oscar winner who sexually assaulted her friend.

–James Corden apologized for making jokes about Weinstein at the amfAR Gala. “To be clear, sexual assault is no laughing matter. I was not trying to make light of Harvey’s inexcusable behavior.”

-In similar news, Lars von Trier denies Björk’s claim that he sexually harassed her.

-In happier news, Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander  tied the knot in Ibiza on Saturday.

-I’m not trusting the source on this story about Meghan Markle quitting Suits in order to marry Prince Harry, though I do wonder what happens to her career once the engagement is announced. Royalty can’t be starring in a C-list show about lawyers, right?

–Roxanne Gay interviewed Nicki Minaj for NY Times magazine and I’m here for it.

-I thought Kumail Nanjiani’s SNL episode was just ok (mostly because he wasn’t in it enough), but I loved his shout-out at the end.

-The CW is rebooting Roswell? I am SO here for that! It fell apart in the later seasons, but I stand by my belief that that show had one of the best pilots I’ve ever seen. It’s on Netflix. Go, go, go!

–Beyoncé turned down the role of Plumette in the live-action Beauty and the Beast, according to the director.

-Yes, Nicole Kidman kissed Alexander Skarsgård on the lips at the Emmys. No, she doesn’t want to talk about it.

-Ellen made Friday Night Light’s star Taylor Kitsch throw footballs on her show, and he was a little rusty.

–Tom Holland is Twitter teasing Mark Ruffalo, who accidentally live-streamed the first 10 minutes of the new Thor film at the premiere.

-The new Black Panther trailer is amazing. I want this movie to make a billion trillion dollars!