Monthly Archives

November 2020

Jennifer Lopez Gets Naked For Her New Song

–Jennifer Lopez showed off the cover art for her latest single, and it’s a pic of her in the buff shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. I didn’t think singles got the cover art treatment, but if I looked like this I guess I’d be looking for any excuse, too.

–The Weeknd called the Grammys out for his nomination shut out (and Nicki Minaj backed him up). There’s some speculation that the Grammys wanted him to perform on their show and not the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which airs just a week later, but the Academy CEO insists that’s not the case.

–Chris Evans posted a video of himself playing piano while wearing a chunky sweater. Vulture says he’s “adopting the persona of a jock who’s having an emotional crisis in the third act of a high-school movie” but I’m not complaining.

-In a deeply personal NYT op-ed, Meghan Markle revealed she suffered a miscarriage in July. Not only is her op-ed incredibly moving, it helps to break down the stigma surrounding talking about miscarriages. I didn’t realize until I started doing some social media work for a fertility clinic that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. That’s an insane stat, and people rarely talk about it. Besides it being very well-written, I also liked how her essay clearly positions her as a hands-on mom, with all the talk of diaper changes and picking up crayons and socks.

–Christina Perri also revealed she and husband have lost their baby girl in a stillbirth.

–Prince Charles and Camilla both deactivated the replies on their tweets, and there’s speculation it’s because of the heat they’re getting from their depiction on this season of The Crown. The show truly has given up on engendering any audience sympathy for him in these new episodes.

-Cdn gossip columnist Shinan Govani tweeted about the Jessica Mulroney story in Page Six, and just now tweeted an apology to her “as requested“. Well.

-The NYT’s list of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century (so far) caused a bit of debate on Twitter. There are certainly some snubs but I like how diverse it is. I especially appreciate the callout for Melissa McCarthy in Spy.

–Timothée Chalamet, Jason Bateman and Kristen Wiig are set to host the remaining SNL episodes of the year. Morgan Wallen will also get a second chance at being a musical guest.

-The cast of the 90210 reboot got together to reminisce about their behind-the-scenes drama. AnnaLynne McCord admitted to the rumoured tension with Shenae Grimes Beech: “I wanted to strangle that chick. I’m so grateful that in the last 24 hours of [shooting] 90210, Shenae and I fully repaired our relationship issues. I ended up at her wedding in England!”

-As if his album documentary In Wonder on Netflix wasn’t enough, Shawn Mendes surprise-dropped a second film this week — this one a concert film.

-Meanwhile, Shawn shared his view of his Toronto condo in his Netflix film, and the scene is agonizingly familiar to anyone who lives here.

-I follow a lot of romance writers on Twitter for some reason, and what they’ve been doing to mobilize voters in solidarity with Stacey Abrams has been nothing short of remarkable.

-Speaking of people doing good, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have donated $500,000 to Covenant House in Vancouver and Toronto.

-The trailer for the live-action Clifford the Big Red Dog debuted by Paramount Pictures today and everyone is freaked out by how sick the dog looks.

-The trailer for Life In A Year, starring Cara Delevingne and Jaden Smith, has dropped. These “sick-lit” dramas are never going away, huh?

 

The Happiest Season Is Here

kirsten stewart happiest season

-Happiest Season drops tomorrow on Hulu (available for rent in Canada on Thursday) and I cannot wait! The reviews are glowing and it seems like the type of movie we’ll all end up watching every year and not hating ourselves for it, unlike some others (*cough* The Family Stone *cough*). The leading ladies recently graced the cover of The Advocate.

-Speaking of Happiest Season actors, are Clea Duvall and Josh Hartnett responsible for an entire generation’s sexual awakening? How did I not know this?

–Tristram Shapeero, the director who mocked Lukas Gage‘s apartment in a Zoom audition, has apologized...sort of. It starts off well (“I offer Mr. Gage a sincere and unvarnished apology for my offensive words, my unprofessional behavior during the audition and for not giving him the focus and attention he deserved”) but then it veers into excuses territory (“I was using the word ‘poor’ in the sense of deserving sympathy, as opposed to any economic judgment”). Come on, man. If that was the case, why did he talk about Gage’s “tiny” apartment and how he could see his TV in the background? He should have quit while he was ahead.

-In a new interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Miley Cyrus said she “fell off” her recent sobriety wagon during the pandemic, but she is now two weeks sober. “To me, it was a f— up because I’m not a moderation person, and I don’t think that everyone has to be f—ing sober. I think everyone has to do what is best for them. I don’t have a problem with drinking. I have a problem with the decisions I make once I go past that level of …  I’ve just been wanting to wake up 100 percent, 100 percent of the time.”

–Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly have now entered the “regrettable tattoos” phase of their relationship.

–Pete Davidson is set to lead an all-star version of It’s a Wonderful Life. I guess they were going for the anti-Jimmy Stewart.

-The Grammy nominations were announced today and while there were some nice surprises (Megan Thee Stallion should have been a lock for Best New Artist but there was some concern she wouldn’t get it, so I’m glad she did), the snubs are what has everyone talking. The Weeknd got zero nominations (not even “Blinding Lights” in Record of the Year, which makes no sense). The Dixie Chicks were also shut out, and Fiona Apple‘s Fetch the Bolt Cutters didn’t get an Album of the Year nod. It’s all very odd.

–Justin Bieber is not happy about the Grammy nominations either. Oh, he got nominated. He just doesn’t like the category he’s in. This is not a great look for him.

-In other big music news, Taylor Swift announced today that she’ll be dropping an intimate concert film on Disney+ for her latest album, folklore.

-Congrats to Gabourey Sidibe, who just got engaged.

–Mark Ruffalo is only nine years older than Ryan Reynolds, but he’ll be playing his father in a new movie.

-Wonder Woman is officially opening in Canada on Dec 25 theatrically — even though it doesn’t seem like many cities will have open theatres. Swell!

–Michael B. Jordan says he’s going to join OnlyFans and try to raise some money for struggling businesses. “Yea it’s a thing. My barber Joe and the whole team, we’ve been plotting on that so we’re going to work the system.” I very much approve of this plan.

-Peacock’s Saved By The Bell (which airs on W here) is getting surprisingly great reviews.

-Netflix’s Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, meanwhile, has surprised critics by being less camp, more Christian.

-I watched the first few episodes of A Suitable Boy, a coming-of-age story set in 1950s India, at TIFF and really liked it. But Netflix is facing a boycott in India because of a kissing scene between an interfaith couple at a temple, and two Netflix execs have been booked.

-There’s talk of a Slings & Arrows prequel? I’m so in.

-I tried to watch the Gilmore Girls revival on the CW last night but it was worse than I remembered. They’re so mean! Were they always that mean? In any case, in a new interview Scott Patterson says he and Lauren Graham both had to quit smoking to survive Gilmore Girls’ rapid-pace dialogue

–Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Veep cast are reuniting to do a table read for “Mother”, their episode on vote recounts, to help get out the vote for the Georgia runoff elections in January.

-I have no interest in reading Ready Player Two, but this thread from a guy who’s working his way through it is gold.

-It’s equal parts hilarious and sad that it took a cover of the Goo Goo Dolls‘ “Iris” for Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers to each earn their first Hot 100 hit.

–Alicia Silverstone makes a mess of her brother’s wedding in the trailer for Sister of the Groom.

Taylor Swift Is Dropping Clues

–Taylor Swift posted a black-and-white picture captioned, “not a lot going on at the moment.” She wore the same message on a t-shirt in her “22” music video and, in April, she used the caption while secretly recording folklore. While some assume it’s an “Exile” music video, the likeliest bet is that she’s re-recording Red, now that she’s officially free to. In her AMA speech, she confirmed that she’s re-recording her old music in the studio she originally did it.

-Euphoria star Lukas Gage posted a Zoom audition in which the director, thinking he was muted, mocked the size of his apartment. I’ve never seen so many blue-checked replies in a comments section, and they come from a weird, wide range of celebs like Dakota Fanning, Paul Mescal, January Joans, Molly Shannon, Emmy Rossum, Robbie Amell, Paul Scheer.

-TMZ reports the director on the call was Tristram Shapeero, and says he’ll be releasing his side of the story — but it won’t include an apology. Not quite sure how that comment could have possibly be taken out of context but sure.

–Vanessa Hudgens was spotted looking cozy with MLB player Cole Tucker.

-When Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas were in New Orleans last week, everyone zeroed in on the massive diamond ring she was wearing, but it seems they were simply doing reshoots for Dark Water, in which they play a married couple. The way she’s looking at the ring though, they were def playing it up for the paps.

-This is a great interview with Kristen Stewart, in which she’s asked if only queer actors should play queer characters. “would never want to tell a story that really should be told by somebody who’s lived that experience. Having said that, it’s a slippery slope conversation because that means I could never play another straight character if I’m going to hold everyone to the letter of this particular law. I think it’s such a gray area. There are ways for men to tell women’s stories, or ways for women to tell men’s stories. But we need to have our finger on the pulse and actually have to care. You kind of know where you’re allowed. I mean, if you’re telling a story about a community and they’re not welcoming to you, then fuck off.”

-Jeopardy is not naming a new long-term host after Alex Trebek‘s death right away. For awhile, there will be a series of rotating hosts, starting with Ken Jennings.

-I didn’t understand The Weeknd’s look at last night’s AMAs.

–Bad Bunny was originally set to perform at the AMAs but had to cancel after testing positive for the rona.

–Christine Baranski says she “practically didn’t have to read the script” before joining Dolly Parton’s new Christmas film: “Oh my God, I get to hang out with Dolly Parton!? She’s going to be my personal Christmas angel? Where do I sign the papers?” It just hit Netflix and I cannot wait to watch it.

-Now here’s a headline to kick off the week: “Sex Pistols star Johnny Rotten bitten by a flea on his penis after rescuing squirrels”

–Hasan Minhaj was trending today for a clip from Vanity Fair’s lie detector test where he said he was more attractive than Dax Shepard.

-Speaking of Hasan, women of colour who worked on his Netflix show Patriot Act have called out his treatment of them.

-Netflix today announced that, according to their numbers, a record-setting 62 million households chose to watch The Queen’s Gambit in its first month, making it its biggest scripted limited series to date. I don’t believe Netflix’s ratings press releases at all, but it must mean something that it’s been listed in the Top 10 in Canada for weeks. The fact that it hit No. 1 for at least a day in 63 different countries speaks to it’s wide appeal — everyone from teens to grandmas seems to be watching it.

-Meanwhile, expect it to land on many Best TV of 2019 lists.

–Prince William and Kate revealed their ‘dear dog’ Lupo died over the weekend.

-I remember when Ryan Reynolds filmed Just Friends in Saskatchewan and there were so many stories coming out of that town about him being um, not great. But his reputation on set has definitely turned around the last couple of years. And now he’s doing stuff like this: he recorded over 400 personalized videos to thank his quarantining crew.

–Kelly Clarkson and Jewel teamed up for a “Foolish Games” duet over Zoom to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Piece of You album and it was pretty damn great.

-What Alan Rickman once said about costar Tim Allen is perfection.

-The CW’s Arrowverse continues to implode now that the anchor show has ended: Black Lightning’s upcoming season will be its last, and it sounds like the cast found out the same time the rest of us did.

–Dennis Quaid and Sean Patrick Flanery team up for a MMA drama in Born a Champion.