-Christmas Day is going to be a bonanza of new content. We’ve got Bridgeton on Netflix, Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max and Promising Young Woman on video on demand. (I had no idea that writer-director of PYW is Emerald Fennell, who played Camilla on the most recent season of The Crown.) She and Carey Mulligan cover Variety and talk about making the most audacious, feminist movie of the year.
-Speaking of cover stories, this is a very good one from THR on the career implosion of Johnny Depp, a casualty of Hollywood’s sycophant culture in which his wild spending and substance abuse were rarely challenged. “He’s just never been told no for the past 35 years.” Some of the highlights: despite being fired from Fantastic Beasts after only shooting one scene, he’ll still be paid his full $16-million fee due to him having “a pay-or-play contract, which requires that he be fully compensated whether or not the film is made and even if it is recast,” production on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales had to be shut down for two weeks after Depp reportedly swallowed eight ecstasy pills, and his romantic partners allegedly include former co-stars Angelina Jolie, Marion Cotillard, and Keira Knightley.
–Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn cover the latest issue of People and talk about their 37-year relationship. “People who have been together for a long time, they experience something that only people who have been together for a long time can talk about and relate to. For people like us, the marriage certificate wasn’t going to create anything that otherwise we wouldn’t have.”
-This is a great piece on how 2020 was the year celebrities lost their shine. “With little else to do, celebrities have been showing their asses at every opportunity. Similarly, as we sit at home with nothing to do, we have been more than willing to hand their asses to them with newfound rigour.” (Dolly Parton is the only celeb I can think of who is ending the year with an even stronger reputation than she started it with.)
-Is EVERYONE going to be in the new Spider-Man movie? Charlie Cox is reportedly reprising his Netflix role as Daredevil in MCU’s Spider-Man 3.
-Disgraced Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz has entered treatment for anxiety, depression, and burnout.
-A True Blood reboot is in the works at HBO. This is weird, mostly because there are SO many buzzy supernatural books out there right now that they could adapt instead. When True Blood was good, it was good but I remember longgggg stretches where it was very, very bad.
–Shawn Mendes played Spill Your Guts with James Corden and had to eat blood and pork jelly to avoid picking between who he liked collaborating with more: Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift. He also refused to answer how much he’s been paid for his Armani endorsement, which led to him eating scorpion dusted plantains.
–Nicolas Cage enthusiastically gives an etymological lesson on the word “pussy” in the first trailer for Netflix’s History of Swear Words, debuting Jan 5.
–Natalie Portman appeared on Dax Shepard’s podcast discussed how “being sexualized as a child took away from my own sexuality because it made me afraid. It made me feel like the way I can be safe is to be like, ‘I’m conservative, and I’m serious, and you should respect me, and I’m smart and don’t look at me that way.'”
-Memoirs continue to be a cash cow for celebs. Amazon Studios is prepping a new docuseries about Jessica Simpson based on her memoir, while Mariah Carey says she’s in talks for a potential movie or TV series based on hers.
-Mariah also gave props to Vulture’s latest article on her pop perfection.
–Victoria Beckham gushed about son Brooklyn’s wife-to-be Nicola Peltz in a new interview. “They’re so happy. She’s wonderful, sweet, and kind. She’s such a lovely, warm woman. We couldn’t have asked for Brooklyn to meet a more adorable lady. We’re very, very happy. We love her, he’s so happy.”
–Jason Sudeikis talked about how his character on Ted Lasso was inspired by Robin Williams. I didn’t think I was going to like that show, but it ended up as one of my faves of the year.
-The Riverdale season 5 trailer proves the show is still as bonkers as ever.
-A married man is tricked into a murder scheme by a police detective in the trailer for Fatale, starring Michael Ealy and Hilary Swank.
