Monthly Archives

August 2021

Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in Spencer

-The first poster for Kristen Stewart‘s Princess Diana biopic is goddamn art. Footage from the movie debuted at CinemaCon (where movie studios/distributors try to impress theatre owners/exhibitors) and word is that she’s “nailing Diana’s whispery tone of voice and accent.”

-CinemaCon attendees were also treated to new footage of Robert Pattinson in The Batman, and a teaser trailer for The Matrix: Resurrections, which shows Neo meeting Trinity in a coffee shop and asking “Have we met?”

-With every new article on how the staff at Jeopardy is unhappy with Mike Richards and how everything went down, I keep expecting him to be cut loose. But NYT’s latest story about it says Sony wants him to stay put. “In a show of defiance that has baffled Hollywood, Sony signaled it will keep Richards on as executive producer of Jeopardy & Wheel of Fortune. During a call with Jeopardy staff Monday, Sony’s top TV executive made clear the studio supported Richards.”

-A court has granted Megan Thee Stallion‘s request to release her remix of BTS’ “Butter” on Friday after her label tried to block it.

–Kanye West’s listening party tomorrow in Chicago for his upcoming album will admit up to 38,000 fans, but there’s no requirement for a COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination. What could possibly go wrong?

-Earlier this week in the UK, Tom Cruise needed somewhere to land his helicopter when he went to a meeting because the local airport was shut, so he asked a nearby family if he could use their field — and then repaid them by treating the kids to a helicopter ride. Upon hearing the news, James Corden told his own story about Cruise texting him about meeting for dinner and asking if he could “land his heli” in Corden’s tiny downtown yard.

–Spike Lee is getting heat for devoting a significant amount of time in his new four-part HBO documentary series to a 9/11 conspiracy theorist (which seems to fit with his own worldview, judging by his new NYT interview, in which he cites the widely debunked theory about steel not being able to melt at those temperatures.) He’s now re-editing the docuseries and asking people to “hold judgement until you see the final cut.”

–Mandy Patinkin responded to a fan’s question about The Princess Bride and my god, how his response made me cry.

-Speaking of celebs who made me cry today, here’s John Cena meeting a young fan who he inspired when his mom was going through cancer treatments.

–Madonna celebrated the 9th birthday of her adopted twin daughters, Stella and Estere, with a cute Instagram post.

-Ted Lasso stars Brett Goldstein and Juno Temple did an interview with the LA Times about why Roy and Keeley’s relationship works. (It works because it’s following a tried-and-true trope of romance novels: the grump who’s paired with the ray of sunshine).

-Meanwhile, here’s a clip from this week’s episode.

-Hulu says the Nine Perfect Strangers premiere was the most-watched Hulu original ever. I’ve seen the first three episodes and I basically want to fast-forward past everyone who isn’t Melissa McCarthy and Bobby Cannavale and pretend I’m watching a sequel to Spy.

–Hayley Williams and Josh Farro are now credited on Olivia Rodrigo‘s “good 4 u” after people kept pointing out the song’s similarities to Paramore’s “Misery Business”.

-The Flash will kick off Season 8 with a five-part special event that brings back fan-favorite heroes and villains from across the Arrowverse, including Arrow’s Kat McNamara and Neal McDonough, Batwoman’s Javicia Leslie, Legends’ Brandon Routh and Ryan Choi, Black Lightning’s Cress Williams, Supergirl’s Chyler Leigh, and The Flash alum Tom Cavanagh. It’s like a crossover except most of those people aren’t trying to concurrently film another show, so it won’t break the actors like usual (while at the same time offering the Flash regulars a bit of a break). I’m especially surprised by Routh’s inclusion as it seemed his departure from the Legends was less than amicable.

-Meanwhile for the Supergirl series finale, former cast members Mehcad Brooks, Chris Wood and Jeremy Jordan are coming back.

-Oh god, there’s rumbling again about NBC rebooting The Office. I loved this show, but please don’t.

–Jennifer Carpenter will appear in Showtime’s forthcoming Dexter revival as a regular — despite the fact that her character died in the series.

–Betty has been canceled after two seasons at HBO. Too bad. I haven’t gotten around to the latest season, but it was always a fun hang.

-The Nevermind baby is suing Kurt Cobain’s estate and the surviving members of Nirvana for child sexual exploitation.

-This is incredibly smart of Netflix — they’ve just announced their own sort of virtual ComicCon. TUDUM is a virtual fan event coming September 25, in which Netflix stars will introduce exclusive first looks of upcoming shows and films.

–Charlie Cox is an ex con who gets mixed up in a cartel in the trailer for AMC’s Kin.

–Grace Van Patten and Mia Goth star in the Mayday trailer.

Selena Gomez Covers Elle

selena gomez elle cover

-In her new Elle cover story, Selena Gomez opens up about mental illness, lupus, and letting go of social media. I’m very intrigued by her new Hulu show Only Murders in the Building, in which she stars alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short. The reviews are good.

-Also, Hailey Baldwin (who is married to Gomez’s ex Justin Bieber) liked a post about the cover. I appreciate that she knew that would make headlines.

–Kanye West has filed to legally change his full name to Ye.

–Megan Thee Stallion has reportedly filed legal documents  alleging that her label is blocking the release of new music from her, particularly a remix of BTS‘ global hit “Butter.”

-No surprise here: Disney is hoping to resolve its issues with Scarlett Johansson in private. Disney’s lawyers filed a motion to put the dispute over Black Widow’s profits in private arbitration rather than have a public trial.

-Amid all the hand-wringing about the quality of season 2 of Ted Lasso, this is the most valid complaint I’ve seen: Apple’s weekly rollout is hurting it. (Also, here’s yet another critic alluding to the fact that the season is about to kick into a higher gear…)

-The world is morning Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away at 80.

-Scheduling conflicts may keep Mayim Bialik from hosting Jeopardy full-time, but she has expressed an interest in the position if she is able to make it work. Of course she has.

-I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for some of her questionable momfluencer advice to surface again.

-I’m very glad to see Brandon Routh leading a new TV show after how it sounds like he was treated on Legends of Tomorrow, and a Netflix series about Magic: The Gathering sounds perfect for him.

-In her second day of testimony, the woman accused R. Kelly of forcing her to have sex with his other girlfriends and another male, and testified that he made her lie to Gayle King.

–Jessica Chastain says she spent 4 to 7 hours a day in the makeup chair for The Eyes of Tammy Faye. “I think for sure I’ve done some permanent damage to my skin on this.”

-If Harry Styles launches a nail polish line I will buy every damn shade.

-Buffy alum Nicholas Brendon is in the new again. He was arrested last week and charged with felony prescription fraud.

-This is a great thread of reviews from Asian critics of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

-Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which was originally supposed to be released in Oct 2020, will likely be delayed again.

–Dan Stevens plays a robot in the trailer for the German sci-fi romcom I’m Your Man. Ohhhh, this might be one of my TIFF picks.

-Here’s the very good trailer for Yellowjackets, a new Showtime drama series about a team of talented high school girls soccer players who become the survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness, starring Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Melanie Lynskey.

–Margaret Qualley is a single mother fighting for survival in the trailer for Netflix’s Maid. (Her real-life mom Andie MacDowell plays her on-screen mom in the series.)

-Netflix just announced a huge new slate of movies dropping over the next few months. (I’m especially excited for Cowboy Bepop based on the magnificent first photos.)

–Melissa McCarthy and Chris O’Dowd play a couple dealing with the loss of a baby who meet ex-shrink Kevin Kline in trailer for The Starling, on Netflix September 24.

-The Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer leaked over the weekend, but it officially debuted at CinemaCon. I’m not as interested in a story about the multi-verse (as someone who always got annoyed by it when the CW superhero shows messed around with alt versions of characters) and I’d prefer if Peter Parker was still fighting a neighborhood badguy like Michael Keaton in Homecoming, but Tom Holland and Zendaya own me, so it’s all good.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s Stunning Tiffany Campaign

–Beyoncé and Jay-Z are starring in a new Tiffany campaign featuring a never-before-seen Basquiat painting, as well as the iconic yellow diamond, which has only been worn by 4 women.

-In a joint Vanity Fair interview with Jason Sudeikis, Elizabeth Olsen commented on Scarlett Johansson’s fight against Disney. “I think she’s so tough and literally when I read that I was like, ‘Good for you, Scarlett.’ ” So far, the only  other Marvel actor to publicly comment on the lawsuit is Dave Bautista, who tweeted, “Told em they should’ve made a #Drax movie but noooooo!”

–Drake and Kanye West‘s feud reignited over the weekend. Drake appeared to take a shot at West in his verse on the Trippie Redd song “Betrayal” and West then shared a screenshot of a text message he sent to a thread with eight people on it (including Drake, presumably) that showed a photo of Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker with the message “I live for this. I’ve been f–ked with by nerd ass jock n—as like you my whole life. You will never recover. I promise you.” And then West posted a Google Maps screenshot of what appeared to be Drake’s home address in Toronto.

–Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been praised for their efforts to help evacuate the people of Afghanistan.

–Elliot Page accepted his Outfest’s Achievement Award virtually and talked about the importance of representation. “I don’t know if I would have made it through the moments of isolation and loneliness and shame and self-hatred that was so extreme and powerful and all-encompassing that you could hardly see out of it. And then, you know, at 15, when you are flipping through the channels and you stumble on ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ and the dialogue in that film, and scenes in that film just transform your life.”

–Sandra Oh says she’s excited to see what Elliot Page is going to do next. “I have done so many movies with him.”

-I had no idea that Oh’s new Netflix show The Chair was created by actress Amanda Peet.

–Jesse Metcalfe is revealing why he chose to leave Chesapeake Shores. “Getting to know a new showrunner and create a working relationship with a new person was not necessarily something I wanted to do…I didn’t have any conversations with our new showrunner, Phoef Sutton. We took a lunch well before the pandemic. Then the pandemic hit and Phoef and his writing team had a long time to craft season 5, but unfortunately I never heard from anybody on the production side and so I was given the [scripts for the] first couple of episodes. That creative relationship was not really established this time around.” This seems to be asking a lot of a Hallmark show but ok.

–Taylor Swift joined TikTok with a video recreating looks from past albums – and an announcement that her version of Red will be released on vinyl Nov 19.

-In a new interview, Molly Shannon (who is coming off The White Lotus and stars in the new season of The Other Two) talks about the tragic childhood loss that has shaped her life. She reveals her mother, younger sister and cousin died in a car accident when she was 4. Her father, who had been driving under the influence, survived but was horribly injured.

-The trailer for Kacey Musgraves‘ upcoming album and film pays homage to Romeo + Juliet, and offers a glimpse of Euguene Levy‘s cameo. She also dropped a new single.

-Speaking of new music, Olivia Rodrigo released a video for “Brutal.”

-I loved this interview with Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein. He talks about how a classic Dickensian villain helped shape brooding hero Roy Kent, and why the show isn’t as light and fluffy as people make it out to be.

-HBO made some announcements today, including that Insecure, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Succession will all return in October.

–Barry Jenkins and Dan Levy tweeted out their support to a Toronto restaurant that’s being targeted but dumb anti-v**xers.

-The Toronto Film Festival is requiring all attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to attend. I still haven’t figured out if all my screenings with be virtual or if I’ll do a few in-person, but this is comforting.

-The reviews for Shang-Chi are glowing.

-William Miller’s fictional think piece about Stillwater from Almost Famous is now online.

–Mayim Bialik will take over hosting Jeopardy until the dust settles. She’s scheduled to tape three weeks of episodes when production resumes this week.

-This is a very smart piece on what happened with Jeopardy and what it says about the industry. “There are countless relatively anonymous producers across Hollywood who probably know that if Richards’ situation is about to define the new standard for decency in Hollywood, in terms of what is and what isn’t acceptable, they’re going to be in trouble as well.”

-A feature film focusing on Jurnee Smollett‘s Birds of Prey character Black Canary is in early development for HBO Max, with Smollett’s Lovecraft Country showrunner Misha Green set to write the script.

-The trailer for season 2 of The Morning Show (a show that started really rocky but grew on me by the end of season 1) has dropped. Looks like Will Arnett has joined the cast — and Billy Crudup is still the best thing about the show ’cause he continues to just GO for it.