Monthly Archives

January 2022

Jake Gyllenhaal and Lady Gaga’s Mutual Appreciation Society

lady gaga jake gyllenhaal variety cover

–Jake Gyllenhaal and Lady Gaga interviewed each other for Variety and I ended up watching the whole damn video because I was pretty interested by their chemistry. (She started off a little standoffish, while he went in hot with the charm.) If you just want to see some short clips, here’s her gushing about Donnie Darko, and him gushing about House of Gucci. (Also, is Jake here for The Guilty? I liked that Netflix movie a lot but is it really in the awards convo?)

-Meanwhile, a photo from this shoot has already turned into a meme. This one is my favourite so far.

–Courteney Cox nabbed a People cover to promote her new home-care line, and she talks about her boyfriend of eight years, Johnny McDaid. “He’s just so smart, and I find that really sexy. And then he is gorgeous.”

-Less than a year after Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song welcomed their first baby together, the couple got engaged.

-This story is so weird. Someone tweeted this week that Dakota Johnson once locked customers inside of a café in 2016 (there’s even a pic), and it turns out someone else had tweeted about the same incident last year. Vulture did an investigation to determine if it really happened (and it seems like it did!), which includes this amazing line: “How does one live with the knowledge that at a moment’s notice, a star of Suspiria could spontaneously lock you in a coffee shop? Do you live in fear that Mia Goth might padlock you into a La Colombe?”

–Prince Andrew is demanding a jury trial in Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault case. He also denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

-It’s a bad week to be a racist on a reality TV show. Alina Kozhevnikova has been fired from 90 Day Fiancé after offensive social media comments surfaced.

–Rihanna may not be making music, but she is making a $15 million donation to climate justice organizations.

–Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers reportedly ‘agree to disagree‘ about politics. Like…how?!

-A vocal minority of fans are taking issue with comments from The Batman’s Robert Pattinson, who confirmed his version of the character does not kill — even though that’s been the rule in the comics for decades.

–Mandy Moore rewatching A Walk To Remember on its 20th anniversary makes me want to see it again. The first hour of that movie is perfection.

-Also, she and Shane West reminisced about their mutual crushes when shooting the movie.

–John Leguizamo talked about about colorism and Hollywood: “I stayed out of the sun so I could work. I definitely would not go in the sun for years. It was a conscious thing…All the Latinos that made it so far, a lot of them were light-skinned.”

–Cardi B wants to chat with Megan Markle and I want that too!

-Spotify has confirmed that Neil Young’s music will be removed from their platform at his request after he said he didn’t want to share a platform with Joe Rogan.

–This is an amazing look at the making of John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus (the 2006 movie that featured real sex and is being re-released in select theatres) and it wonders whether it could be made today? My guess is no — not just because of the challenge of getting it financed, but also because it feels like the pop culture has shifted a bit puritanical lately. The young ‘uns in the fandoms I follow and BookTok are always clutching their pearls about something or other…

-Of course, the outlier is Euphoria, which is all excess all the time. I do find myself exhausted by this season, not because of its over-the-topness, but because it seems more aimless than the first season. This HuffPo review nails it: “Euphoria needs an actual, enthralling plot. Instead, the series is shrouded in sensationalism and shock value, utilizing trauma as the sole vehicle for a shoddy storyline and lackluster character development. Its greatest pitfall is the absence of an objective.” (I’ve also been thinking a lot about TV shows using trauma as a signifier of prestige).

-Season two of Starstruck comes out Feb 7 on the BBC! (I have no idea when Crave will pick it up, but hopefully soon after.)

-This thread about strange celeb encounters is a treat!

-The reviews for Hulu’s Pam and Tommy miniseries are good, with critics especially praising the performances from Lily James, Sebastian Stan, and Seth Rogen.

-Speaking of reviews, Apple’s The After Party is getting lots of buzz. The stacked cast includes Tiffany Haddish, Zoë Chao, Ike Barinholtz, Ben Schwartz, Ilana Glazer and Dave Franco.

-Abbott Elementary just became ABC’s first comedy premiere to quadruple ratings since its original airing.

–Claire Danes has joined Jesse Eisenberg and Lizzy Caplan in FX’s upcoming limited series Fleishman Is in Trouble. I loved that book and am increasingly looking forward to this show.

-An outcast’s wish comes true in the Supercool trailer.

Christine Baranski’s Good Fight

christine baranski townandcountry mag

-Any day there’s a new Christine Baranski photoshoot is a good day. She talks about her habit of playing  imperious grande dames: “It’s funny because I’m from this blue-collar neighborhood in Buffalo. I don’t know how it happened.”

-Meanwhile, I haven’t watched The Gilded Age premiere yet, but it’s probably a bad sign that the two reviews I read about it quoted Aretha Franklin’s “Great gowns, beautiful gowns.”

–Kim Kardashian may have gotten famous thanks to a sex tape, but she’s denying Kanye West’s claims that there is more footage of her and Ray J.

–Kanye West reportedly thinks Kim Kardashian‘s relationship with Pete Davidson is “fake” and he’s sick of the family making “up story lines for their lives.” Wouldn’t it be hilarious if he were the one to pull back the curtain on what makes the Kardashian empire tick?

-Speaking of hilarious, he’s also reportedly been dissing Pete Davidson for looking like he gets his clothes ‘from the mall.’

–Cheryl Hines responded to a tweet about her husband, saying “My husband’s opinions are not a reflection of my own. While we love each other, we differ on many current issues.” Ok, but her hubby Robert Kennedy Jr. just compared vax and mask mandates to the Holocaust, so it’s a bit bigger than a difference of opinion. (She’s been shooting the second season of The Flight Attendant so she’s presumably vaxxed.)

–Cardi B won a defamation verdict against a YouTuber who spread rumors of herpes and shocking sex acts. The rapper won $1.25 million damages, with possibly more on the way.

–Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon comparing their Bored Apes NFTs is really disturbing. How are we normalizing this?!

–Tiffany Haddish joked about her recent DUI arrest while on Jimmy Fallon‘s show. “I can say this, Jimmy…I’ve been praying to God to send me a new man. A good man. And God went ahead and sent me four—in uniform.”

-Speaking of Haddish, Girls Trip is finally getting a sequel.

-I kinda love that Angelina Jolie takes her 13-year-old daughter shopping at Urban Outfitters.

–Peter Dinklage recently called Snow White a “f—ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave,” saying he was “taken aback” that the new adaptation was moving forward. Disney has responded, “We are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”

-A source in Olivia Munn‘s camp tells Us Weekly that her and John Mulaney’s relationship has been strengthened since their son’s birth in November.

-Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series is a really great way to read the scripts from this year’s movie awards race. What an excellent resource for anyone hoping to break into the writing biz.

–Alicia Witt opened up about the sudden passing of her parents, who were both found dead in their home days before Christmas. Reports suggest a space heater may have caused their deaths, and the actress said, “I hadn’t been allowed inside my parents’ home for well over a decade; every time I offered to have something repaired for them, they refused to allow workers into their house.”

-CBS renewed Ghosts, and this is the cute way they told the cast.

–Sydney Sweeney credits Euphoria creator Sam Levinson for agreeing to cut out some of her topless scenes from the second season. “There are moments where Cassie was supposed to be shirtless and I would tell Sam, ‘I don’t really think that’s necessary here.’ He was like, ‘OK, we don’t need it.’ I’ve never felt like Sam has pushed it on me or was trying to get a nude scene into an HBO show. When I didn’t want to do it, he didn’t make me.” I mean, I’d suggest maybe the writers shouldn’t have including so many topless Cassie scenes in the first place, but everything about Euphoria this season puts me in old lady prude mode.

–John Krasinski has cast his Office costar Steve Carrell in his new movie.

-Bravo finally axed Jennie Ngyuen from RHOSLC, saying “We recognize that we failed to take action once her offensive social media posts were brought to our attention.” Controversial social media posts appearing to promote White Lives Matter from 2020 resurfaced this week.

–Franz Ferdinand is back! Here’s their new music video.

–Marilyn Manson‘s attorney has issued a statement denying Evan Rachel Wood‘s allegation that he raped her on camera during a 2007 music video shoot. “Brian did not have sex with Evan on that set, and she knows that is the truth.”

–Neil Young is demanding Spotify remove his music over their partnership with Joe Rogan. (Young almost died of polio as a kid before the vaccine came out and the illness affected his life for years, so him fighting against vax misinformation makes sense.)

-Based on buzz, it feels like the Sundance movies everyone is talking about are Palm Trees And Power Lines (which is getting lots of Red Rocket comparisons), Cha Cha Real Smooth (a crowd-pleaser starring Dakota Johnson), and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (a two-hander with Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack).

–Emma Thompson talked about doing her first fully nude scene in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, in which she plays a widowed school teacher who hires a young male escort. “I don’t think I could’ve done it before the age that I am.”

-I was not expecting the hottest new trend in Hollywood to be following Greek philosopher Epictetus’ advice on stoicism.

-I had no idea there was a Jamie Foxx-directed comedy where Robert Downey Jr. plays a Mexican. It seems like it won’t see the light of day.

–Ewan McGregor plays a story-telling cricket in the first teaser for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.

-Here’s the trailer for the first Tiger King series, Peacock’s Joe vs Carole, which stars Kate McKinnon as Carole Baskin and John Cameron Mitchell as Joe Exotic.

Taylor Swift Claps Back at Damon Albarn

–Taylor Swift is NOT happy that Blur/Gorillaz’s Damon Albarn said in a new interview that she doesn’t write her own songs. (When the interviewer tried to correct him, he said, “That doesn’t count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn’t mean that the outcome can’t be really great.”) Swift tweeted in response, “I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really fucked up to try and discredit my writing. WOW. PS I wrote this tweet all by myself in case you were wondering.”

–Jack Antonoff added: “I’ve never met damon albarn and he’s never been to my studio but apparently he knows more than the rest of us about all those songs taylor writes and brings in. if you were there … cool … go off. if not … maybe …. shut the f–k up?”

-Likely feeling the heat from Swifties, Albarn quickly jumped onto Twitter to try to diffuse the situation, posting “I totally agree with you. i had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it was reduced to clickbait. I apologise unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting.” I mean, it was a Q&A so I don’t really see how things were taken out of context but sure, man.

-Also, lots of people are pointing out how many co-writers he had on his last album, and also that Billie Eilish (who he praised in the interview) co-writes with her brother. Why bother going after one of the world’s biggest female singers in the first place, let alone when you don’t have a leg to stand on?

–Garrett Hedlund is having a rough few days. Sources confirmed to People the rumours that have been floating around for a while that he’d split from baby mama Emma Roberts, and on Saturday he was arrested in Tennessee for public intoxication.

–Evan Rachel Wood details more alleged abuse by Marilyn Manson in her HBO documentary Phoenix Rising, which debuted at Sundance. She accuses him of violently dragging her through a hotel, says he threatened to “fuck up my whole family from the bottom up, starting with my dad,” and says she was “essentially raped on camera” during the filming of Manson’s 2007 video “Heart-Shaped Glasses.”

–Kristen Stewart says she and fiancée Dylan Meyer celebrated their engagement before things started locking down again. “We were kind of moving about the world a little more freely at the time. We did have an engagement party, which was nice and lucky and obviously not something we could have done now so I’m thankful for that.”

–Kanye West and Julia Fox rocked some Canadian tuxedos in Paris.

-After Emilio Estevez bowed out of the Mighty Ducks series amid rumours that he disagreed with its covid protocols, Josh Duhamel has stepped in for season two.

–Eric Clapton continues to try to drive any remaining fans away, claiming people vaccinated against covid are under ‘mass formation hypnosis.’

–Adele apologized to some fans with Facetime calls after she abruptly postponed her Vegas residency.

-The Wire creator David Simon reveals that he almost had to choose a completely different theme song because Tom Waits could not figure out how to use a VCR.

–Brad Pitt has teamed up with music producer Damien Quintard to relaunch the historic Miraval Studios in France, where Pink Floyd, Sting, The Cure and AC/DC recorded their albums.

-Did every TV writer decide this was the season that their characters were going to have heart attacks after a Peloton ride?

–Prince Andrew having 72 teddy bears is the least disturbing rumor about him to surface lately.

-This is a fun piece about which celebrities are actually reading the books they claim to be reading.

–Will Arnett, Ken Jeong, Annie Murphy, Conan O’Brien, Sharon Stone, Marshawn Lynch and more improv their way through crime scenes in the official trailer for Netflix’s Murderville. Improv can be hard to watch but this trailer intrigues me.