Browsing Tag

Alexander Payne

Drake Enlists Justin Bieber for “Popstar” Video

Drake and DJ Khaled debuted their new music video for “Popstar” and it features surprise appearances from Justin and Hailey Bieber. Two things: this is the best Bieber has looked in a long time, and why is there a “COVID Compliance Officer” listed in the credits when there’s zero social distancing??

-To celebrate her birthday, Beyonce donated $1 million to black-owned businesses.

-Meanwhile, we might have a new Beyonce project soon. Page Six reports that Bey shut down a television studio for four days to film something mysterious.

Rumer Willis is having quite a week. She kicked off dating speculation when she was spotted hanging with newly single Armie Hammer, and now she’s shooting sexy IG videos for Kim Kardashian‘s Skims.

-Speaking of the Kardashians, the one thing you can praise that family for is that they seem to have taken social distancing seriously — unlike 75% of the celebs I see on IG.

Scarlett Johansson says the new Black Widow movie will address #MeToo and #TimesUp directly. If only we could see it without fear of dying.

Alexander Payne published a guest column in Deadline today, in which he denies Rose McGowan allegation that he groomed her for a sexual assault when she was 15. “Rose is mistaken in saying we met when she was fifteen, in the late 1980s. I was a full-time film student at UCLA from 1984 until 1990, and I know that our paths never crossed.”

McGowan responded to his comments with “I told Payne to acknowledge and apologize, he has not. I said I didn’t want to destroy, now I do. Why do these men always lie? I will now make it a mission to expose him. I am not the only one.”

-Who knows when we’ll get a new album, but at least Rihanna’s documentary will be released on Amazon next year.

-Despite public disputes with her record label, in which she accused them of not letting her put out new music, we finally have something new from SZA! The singer-songwriter dropped the music video for her new single “Hit Different” featuring Ty Dolla $ign.

-I’ve never watched the CBS sitcom Mom, but it seems odd that Anna Faris is leaving the show. Isn’t she the lead?

-Another day, another stunning look from Cate Blanchett in Venice. I love that she’s recycling outfits she’s worn on previous red carpets!

-I’m really liking Vulture’s Two Friends series on Instagram Live, mostly because of all the odd celebrity pairings. Who knew You’re the Worst’s Desmin Borges and Tala Ashe from DC’s Legends of Tomorrow were buds?

-This is a really interesting take on what the movie industry in 2020 might have looked like without covid. Would Will Smith and Ana de Armas be Oscar frontrunners? Would the Top Gun and Ghostbusters reboots have flopped?

-The Good Place’s Jameela Jamil wants you to know that she’s not actually quarantining with Meghan and Harry. It does sound like a story Tahani would tell though.

-For the first time ever, all Canadians will be able to watch TIFF films digitally during the festival. Tickets for non-members go onsale Saturday at 10am and there’s still some left.  Even if you’re doing it from your couch, it really is the coolest thing to watch movies with big name stars that may never see the light of day, or obscure foreign ones that won’t get distribution here.

Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Zach Braff try to kill Tommy Lee Jones while making a movie in The Comeback Trail trailer.

A Pitch Perfect Reunion

-I didn’t realize I needed to see the Pitch Perfect cast reunite to perform a new song for charity until I saw it. But I did. I needed it.

Rose McGowan has leveled sexual misconduct allegations against director Alexander Payne, tweeting “You sat me down & played a soft-core porn movie you directed for Showtime under a different name. I still remember your apartment in Silverlake. You are very well-endowed. You left me on a street corner afterwards. I was 15.” In an interview with Variety, she called it a “grooming situation,” saying “I had for years looked at it as a sexual encounter, not understanding what it really was.”

Kanye West and Steve Harvey went to Chick-fil-A. I dislike so many of those words.

-Three senior producers — executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman — have been ousted from Ellen’s show. According to Variety, the talk show host announced the news on a company call. “DeGeneres was emotional to the point of tears, and apologetic as she addressed more than 200 staffers.” She also told staff she was an introverted personality that likes to have her own space, which may have led to staffers believing she wasn’t nice.

Daniel Dae Kim and Randall Park are teaming up for an Asian American-led heist film for Amazon. Put it in my eyeballs now!

Barack Obama‘s summer playlist includes Canadian artists PARTYNEXTDOOR and Andy Shauf. (I had a 3-month stretch where I listened to Shauf’s “Comfortable” on repeat to put me to sleep.)

-I don’t really know much about actress Charlotte Kirk, but she took down two studio heads so I definitely want to watch the movie about her life! An affair eight years ago with NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron Meyer is the reason behind his abrupt exit this week — and her involvement with Warner Bros chief Kevin Tsujihara led to his ouster last year.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is accused of rape in a new lawsuit. The assault allegedly took place at The Mercer hotel in 2013.

Laurence Fishburne says he hasn’t been asked to be in the fourth Matrix. “No. I have not been invited. Maybe that will make me write another play. I wish them well. I hope it’s great.”

-After a delay, Supernatural’s final seven episodes will begin rolling out in October.

Dan Levy is encouraging everyone to enroll in the University of Alberta’s free 12-lesson course called Indigenous Canada, about which he’ll host a weekly discussion. I signed up!

-Voice actor Stuart Baker isn’t happy about his recent firing from Adult Swim’s Squidbillies. He was ousted after he posted on Facebook that Dolly Parton is a “freak titted, old Southern bimbo” and a “slut” after she came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In a new post, he says “I just hope you assholes are happy you took a good Man and talent down. You succeeded. Be proud that you ruined a person’s life all because of [the] Freak Show called ‘Dolly Parton and BLM.'” Gee, sounds like a real loss.

-Amazon’s apocalyptic Utopia, created and directed by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, is set for a Sept 25 debut. It stars John Cusack, Rainn Wilson and Sasha Lane. Watch the new trailer here.

-The trailer for Netflix’s new British romcom The Duchess looks right up my alley.

Susan Sarandon prepares to say goodbye to her family in the Blackbird trailer, costarring Kate Winslet, Rainn Wilson and Mia Wasikowska. I saw this last year at TIFF and it was wildly uneven but there’s a dinner scene that’s stayed with me.