–Lena Dunham is on the cover of THR to talk about her new Sundance film (“My dad called it a ‘sexual fable'”), break her silence on dissolving her creative partnership with Girls co-showrunner Jenni Konner (“I think my recovery played a part in the break with Jenni insofar as it showed me that I needed to pause and clear the slate. I needed to almost start again and just hear my own voice”), and gush about the Sex and the City revival (“It was such a pleasure to see those women back together and to see them take on middle-age sexuality. For me, those are women who can do no wrong”). I do think this profile lets her off the hook a bit too easily by dismissing her previous controversies through the lens of how right-wing vs left-wing audiences reacted.
-In a new interview to promote the release of his book, Brian Cox says his Succession costar Jeremy Strong was warned against doing the now infamous NYer profile. “It was Jeremy’s idea, the whole article. He pushed for it, and you know, and people kept warning him about it…There is a certain amount of pain at the root of Jeremy, and I just feel for that pain. I think that he puts himself in vulnerable positions and with that New Yorker article, he placed himself in a very, very vulnerable position, and I think that he didn’t need to do that.” When asked if he too was putting himself in a similarly vulnerable position by releasing a memoir, Cox hilariously responded: “No, no. Listen, I’m too old, too tired and too talented for any of that shit.”
–Machine Gun Kelly told Vogue that Megan Fox’s engagement ring was designed to hurt if she takes it off. “The bands are actually thorns. So if she tries to take it off, it hurts…Love is pain.” This is some grade A bullshit and I hope she uses it as an excuse to make him to all the housework for the rest of their lives. (“Oh sorry honey, I was going to wash the dishes but taking off my ring is too painful so you need to do it.”)
-Fashion icon and former Vogue creative director André Leon has died at 73. (It trended last night but it took the Vogue twitter account until late this morning to mention it.) In her tribute, Vogue’s Anna Wintour acknowledged that the pair had a “complicated” relationship in recent years.
-This is devastating: French actor Gaspard Ulliel, who stars in Marvel’s upcoming Moon Knight series, passed away at age 37 after a ski accident in the Alps.
–Jon Bernthal talked to the NYT about his struggle to make it as a supporting scene-stealer. “I remember casting directors looking at my big nose and my giant ears and just being like, ‘What are you doing here?'” Casting directors are clearly not following the same people I am on Twitter. That swoony clip of him saying “you can call me whatever you want” while smirking hits my TL at least 3 times a week (and I stop to watch it every. damn. time.)
–Britney Spears‘ legal team claims her father, Jamie Spears, collected over $6 million in payments during his years as his daughter’s conservator, as well as spied on her daily activities by secretly obtaining her phone records and therapy notes.
–Cardi B has offered to pay the burial costs for all 17 people killed in a fire that ripped through a New York City high-rise in the Bronx, where she grew up. She’s also teamed up with The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City to push for systemic changes.
–Ray Fisher tweeted: “Joss Whedon had nearly two years to get his story straight. He’s likely spent tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars on PR, crisis management, and coaching. And his response to the allegations is: ‘They all misunderstood and/or are out to get me—also my mom is sexy’ ???” He’s not wrong.
-Seeming to allude to Whedon‘s controversial profile, Sarah Michelle Gellar posted a photo with the caption, “I can’t take back the past, but I can fight for the future.”
-Meanwhile, I really liked this piece on what it’s like for someone who loved Buffy to watch Whedon‘s self-inflicted downfall.
–Shane Carruth, the director of indie films Upstream Color and Primer, was arrested last week at the home of his ex-girlfriend on allegations of domestic assault. In his past, another former partner, actor and director Amy Seimetz, obtained a restraining order against Carruth in 2020, saying he had sent her several disturbing and threatening messages since she broke up with him two years earlier.
-I’m getting increasingly excited for Bridgerton whenever there’s a new wave of pics released from the upcoming season. Kanthony hive rise!!
-Speaking of new pics from Netflix shows, Elizabeth Debicki looks a lot like Princess Diana in these shots from season 5 of The Crown.
-I still can’t stop reading about Station Eleven, partly because there is such smart TV criticism surrounding that show, and partly because I didn’t realize how many easter eggs I’d missed while watching it. Like the fact that when we first meet adult Kirsten, she’s near the cabin, which means she went back there every summer to look for [spoiler]. *sob*
-I also liked this article on the show’s key visual choices.
-My love of Yellowjackets lead me to look up Liv Hewson, who plays Van, which led me to discover that she filmed a second season of Dramaworld! It’s an absolutely adorable show about an American waitress who gets sucked into a K-drama she’s watching, and I need to track down the new season.
-The reviews for Jason Katims‘ new autism dramedy on Amazon, As We See It, are very good. After Friday Night Lights, I’ll give all his shows a shot.
-Parasite director Bong Joon Ho and Robert Pattinson are teaming up for a new sci-fi movie. The project will be based on Mickey7, a forthcoming novel from author Edward Ashton.
-The season six trailer for Outlander shows the revolution is in full swing.
-Here’s the trailer for the 4-part docuseries called We Need To Talk About Cosby, debuting at Sundance and airing on Showtime on January 30.
-Here’s Naomi Watts racing against time to get to her son during a school shooting in the trailer for The Desperate Hour. (I liked this when I saw this at TIFF, when it was called Lakewood. The name change is odd; I’m pretty sure that movie unfolded in real time and was longer than an hour.)