Monthly Archives

June 2020

What Is Kristen Bell Doing?

-For the second day in a row, we’re treated to a great long-read about celebrity/influencer conduct during these trying times. This is such a good take on how Kristen Bell seems to be consciously evolving her brand to try to turn herself into the next Ellen Degeneres — and how this quest for relatability often leads to excruciating overshares about her marriage. “Kristen Bell has to be bubbly and preach bland platitudes of kindness and show how she’s just like the rest of us, even in her mansion.”

–Saint West thinks his mom Kim Kardashian is 11-years-old and he likes her because she “buys him things” and leaves him “alone.” Fair enough.

–Elon Musk and Grimes have finalized the name of their offspring: X AE A-XII.

–Brian Austin Green was spotted grabbing lunch with Courtney Stodden almost a month after revealing he had separated from Megan Fox.

-30 Rock, which aired its final episode in 2013, will return to the airwaves in July for a one-off, hour-long special that will double as NBC’s upfront’s presentation.  Hilariously, this is the kind of corporate synergy the show used to make fun of.

-Instead of Comic-Con, Warner Bros. is doing its own virtual con this August.

-The Emmys are still happening on Sept 20. Jimmy Kimmel tweeted, “I don’t know where or how or even why we are doing this, but we are and I am hosting it!”

-I thought I was truly sick of Zoom calls — and then I found out that Keanu Reeves is auctioning off a private Zoom date for children’s cancer charity.

-A former Bachelor casting producer says the show has been “white-washed for decades” and claims producers routinely passed up contestants who they considered “too Black.”

–Beyoncé demanded “swift” justice for Breonna Taylor in letter to the Attorney General: “Don’t let this case fall into the pattern of no action after a terrible tragedy.”

-Netflix removed several British sketch shows over blackface, including Little Britain and The Mighty Boosh. They also pulled an episode of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross’ 2015 comedy show W/Bob and David.

-Hmmm…this article makes it sound like Christopher Nolan is the one pushing for Tenet to be released this summer to “usher in a new era of moviegoing…providing a populist platform for exhibitors to unveil their new COVID-19 safety measures and cleaning procedures,” while the studio is worried not enough people will show up to recoup the $200M budget.

-Also, it will be really interesting to see how critics react to it (assuming they get to see it).  Even if they love it, will they want to urge people to go to the theatre to see it?

-This is a really great video on how HBO’s Insecure has mastered the cinematographic art of properly lighting black people.

-Speaking of Insecure, though I didn’t love the last few minutes of the finale, the season was amazing, mostly because of how it delved into the breakdown of a close female friendship.  The show did such a good job of exploring the emotional damage of falling out with your BFF.

-I haven’t tuned into Michaela Coel’s new HBO show I May Destroy You because the premise sounds grim, but the reviews are glowing.

-Meanwhile, the reviews for HBO’s Perry Mason seem to suggest that the performances are amazing and the ’30s period recreations are beautiful, but the plot is muddled.

-The Palm Springs trailer traps Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti in a Groundhog Day situation, hitting Hulu on July 10.

Daisy Edgar-Jones’ Abnormal Press Tour

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-Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones covers Porter, and the accompanying interview is a delight. She talks about bonding with costar Paul Mescal (“He’ll be a friend for life”), shooting those revealing sex scenes (“You need more protection because it is a stunt, with physical manoeuvres that you need to make look realistic – just like in a fight scene”), and the odd circumstances of her first press tour (“It’s a different thing when you can do it from the comfort of your bedroom, and then can go and have a cup of tea. It’s probably a nice way to ease into it, so if I have another one, I’ll know how to light myself, at least!”)

–This video from 1983 of David Bowie grilling an MTV VJ on why they don’t play more Black artists is gold.

-Lainey waited until CTV aired their special on racism this weekend before commenting on how Jessica Mulroney wielded her white privilege over Sasha Exeter, but she posted about it today — and what a post it is. It’s long but it is well worth your time. This is brave, ballsy stuff, especially considering she’s coworkers with Jessica’s husband, Ben, on eTalk. There is a lot to digest and unpack here, but I was particularly struck by her comments about how she and Ben are not friends outside of work and this situation hasn’t helped (“I think he’s probably mad at me”), how the Mulroney camp appears to be keeping watch — and possibly chastising — people who’ve “liked” Exeter’s posts, and how more stories about Jessica might be coming but people are worried about retribution (“Before last week, before Sasha Exeter told her story, there were a lot of people in Canadian media with their own Jessica Mulroney stories. Some of them are thinking of telling them now after Sasha opened the door. But they don’t work with her husband.”) The text is juicy; the subtext even more so.

-Lainey also talked about the story on today’s episode of The Social. She mentioned how many media outlets are mischaracterizing it as a “disagreement,” while cohost Marci Ien (who is Sasha’s aunt) said, “the whole idea that someone can be threatening, bullying and feel like there are no consequences is something we really need to think about…Those times are over. There are consequences now.” Melissa Grelo also talked about how difficult it is to call out people you know: “The closer it is to home, the more discomfort arises. But that is what allyship should be. It shouldn’t be easy. The fact is, I am so uncomfortable sitting here and talking about this and if I’m perfectly honest, I’m really scared, too. Because this is within our circle of work – or friendship, for some people. And it has caused utter chaos.”

-This is a really good piece on how some white celebrities have been falling all over themselves to demonstrate “allyship” on social media, and how the price of having a huge platform has gone up. “Technology has given fans direct access to their faves’ ‘unfiltered thoughts,’ and what we’ve been seeing in the past few weeks is a paltry understanding of what’s really going on.”

-I somehow missed John David Washington‘s Esquire cover last week. His $200 million summer tentpole movie Tenet has pushed back its theatrical debut by two weeks to July. It boggles my mind that they’re still going to try to release it this summer. I don’t usually support piracy but I completely agree with this take: the studio is weaponizing FOMO for big opening weekend numbers and it’s going to get people killed.

-Meanwhile, the Oscars ceremony is getting pushed back by two months, with eligibility extended until the end of Feb instead of the end of Dec.

-Jurassic World: Dominion is the first major studio film that plans to resume production. Universal is set to pay $5 million on safety precautions and return to filming in July.

-The guilds have released protocols for what returning to work should look like.

-Insecure wrapped its fourth (and best) season last night. Loved the episode, did not love the last couple of minutes.

–Josh Gad managed to get the original cast of Ghostbusters together for a Zoom reunion.

-The trailer for Canada’s Drag Race is here and it looks likes fun!

-Netflix dropped the season 2 trailer for The Politician. Did anyone actually finish all of season 1?

Angelina Jolie’s Family Photographer

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-For Angelina Jolie‘s interview for Harper’s Bazaar, she was photographed by her youngest son, Knox. She talks about how the pandemic is affecting victims of domestic violence and girls’ education.

-In a recent interview, Lil Twist claims that Justin Bieber‘s team once convinced him to take on drug charges for the singer (likely referring to an incident in July of 2013, when he was pulled over in Bieber’s car and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana). He said: “If they would have put weed charges on Justin in his early career, it would have been bad on him. So I got a call one day saying, ‘Twist, do you really love this kid?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ They said, ‘Cool, if you love him then you can take the heat for him because you can come off a little weed charge.” Lil Twist later released a statement on his comments: “We are at a very critical point in society as we rewrite a new narrative that encompasses the experience of being Black in America. However, rewriting a new narrative requires one to stand in and speak his or her truth with confidence…In the spirit of being authentic, I felt it a disservice to my fans and the general public to not be completely transparent about my experience.”

–Kristen Bell is promoting her new children’s book on racism and is getting a lot of blowback for glorifying colourblindness, as it comes perilously close to declaring Purple Lives Matter. There’s no mention of her donating the profits to a BLM charity but my god, let’s hope she’s not making money off this.

-Also, she’s in a new animated show voicing a biracial character who spends her free time drawing herself as a superhero whose afro puffs have powers? What??

–Anthony Mackie appeared on Thursday’s episode of The Tonight Show and gave a tearful talk about the importance of voting.

–Taylor Swift is once again speaking up, using Twitter to call on the Tennessee Historical Commissions to remove statues of racist historical figures.

–Jennifer Lopez and ARod are asking fans to name their new puppy and you know what guys, we are a little busy right now!

–Dave Chappelle dropped a new short-form Netflix special titled “8:46,” which the streaming platform surprise debuted for free on its YouTube comedy channel late last night. (The title refers to how long Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee against George Floyd’s neck.)

–Jessica Mulroney deleted all of her supportive comments to Vanderpump Rules star Stassi Schroeder, who was recently fired. Shinan is reporting that Mulroney’s family had been asking her to cut down on her social media but she wouldn’t stop.

-The Bachelor is getting its first Black leading man. Originally, Matt James was cast as a suitor on Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette but when production was halted due to COVID-19, ABC started thinking of a new role for him. (It’s really weird that there’s no mention of the fact that the show was once sued by Black men for discrimination.)

-Despite both an NYT article and a Buzzfeed article questioning if Anna Wintour can survive the social justice movement, in a company-wide town hall today at Conde Nast, Roger Lynch reportedly said there is “no truth” to the rumour that she’s stepping down. Still, the rumours continue to circulate.

-Speaking of upheavals in publications, this report on Refinery29’s workplace culture is damning.

-I love how all the Harry Potter actors are condemning J.K. Rowling‘s ant-trans comments, including Emma Watson, Bonnie Wright and Rupert Grint. The kids are alright.

-This is an interesting piece on how Rowling‘s focus on denying trans rights may seem to have come out of nowhere, but there’s a clear lineage of transphobic thought in British media.

–Kelly Clarkson‘s estranged husband is also her manager, which might make this divorce even more awkward. He also manages Blake Shelton, Kelly’s The Voice co-star.

–Sharon Stone revealed she was once struck by lighting: “I was filling the iron with water. I had one hand on the faucet, one hand on the iron and the well got hit with lightning and the lighting came up through the water … I got picked up and thrown across the kitchen, and I hit the refrigerator. I was like, ‘Whoa!’ ”

-Scream Factory wants to release the original version of Event Horizon. See what the Snyder Cut has wrought?!?

-The Oscars will now include a locked 10 Best Picture slots — no more variation in a move aimed at diversifying nominees by literally adding more seats at the table for the final ceremony.

–Will Arnett is a dad again.

-This week was hard and listening to this weird ass new song by Glass Animals got me through it. I love how the second half of the video shows how he recorded it during quarantine.

-The trailer for Netflix’s Feel the Beat is ticking a lot of my boxes:  it looks adorably cheesy, it was shot in Toronto, it’s about dancing, and it costars the dad from Veronica Mars and the best friend from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.