Browsing Tag

Jodie Whittaker

Scarlett Johansson Sues Disney

-This is HUGE: Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit today against Disney, claiming that the decision to stream Black Widow on Disney+ while also releasing it in theaters breached her contract and could cost her tens of millions of dollars. Her salary was largely based on the theatrical box office receipts and she gets bonuses whenever the tally reaches certain milestones. Estimates suggest she lost out on $50M in bonuses when Disney pushed it to streaming and refused to renegotiate.

-Disney fired back, saying that she has so far received $20M from the project and her lawsuit shows a “callous disregard” to the pandemic. Please. At this point when almost all theatres have reopened, its simultaneous debut on streaming had less to do about safety and more about adding Disney+ subscribers. She’s missing out on bonuses her male counterpoints have reaped because the distribution strategies have shifted while their compensation structures haven’t changed. It’s not just about a millionaire complaining; it’s about the old way of doing things being dead. Netflix already pays out talent up front, and after announcing their simultaneous streaming debuts, Warner Bros went back and amended contracts to pay actors more up front since the potential box office take was reduced.

-The Hawkeye series at Disney+, starring Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld, will debut on November 24. I became way more interested in this show once I realized that’s where Florence Pugh‘s Black Widow character is heading next.

-Broadway is the latest to require all workers to be vaccinated.

-Manifest is in top spot on the streaming chart for the third straight week, even though its future remains in limbo.

-With all the love that James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad is getting from critics (it’s 97% fresh!), David Ayers made a post about his Suicide Squad: “The studio cut is not my movie… A handful of people have seen it. If someone says they have seen it, they haven’t.”

-The first posters for the House of Gucci trailer by Ridley Scott have arrived. Lady Gaga looks amazing; Jared Leto is ridiculous.

-It leads in nicely to this piece on Hollywood’s enduring love of fat suits.

–Camila Cabello posted a video about waiting to fart until Shawn Mendes left the house. Ok then.

-Netflix renewed Sweet Tooth (a show I really liked but haven’t gotten around to ep 3 yet) for season 2.

–Candace Cameron Bure has apologized for dancing sexily with a Bible in a TikTok clip, saying “So many of you thought I was trying to be seductive, which clearly means I’m not a very good actress because I was trying to be strong, not sexy. So I guess that didn’t work, but I deleted it.”

–DaBaby just can’t seem to help himself.

–Jason Sudeikis talked about how Foo Fighters song “My Hero” influenced Ted Lasso season 2.

–Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard’s daughter is named Delta, which isn’t working out so well for her at this particular moment of humanity.

–Jennifer Garner inked a partnership with Netflix that will see the actress star in and produce movies, including a sequel to Yes Day.

–Joshua Jackson revealed that he bought his childhood home, and his daughter now sleeps in his old bedroom. “There was a mural of a dragon on the wall in that room that I couldn’t believe was still there, years later. The owner [who sold him the house] said, ‘I knew it meant a lot to somebody and that they were going to come back for it some day.'”

-Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall are leaving the show in 2022.

–Angelina Jolie earned a victory in her lengthy court battle against Brad Pitt over custody of their children, but it could lead to their current custody arrangement being overturned, with the proceedings starting over again.

-I love that Vulture has brought back the report card-style reviews for Gossip Girl. Ah, memories!

–Oscar Isaac is haunted by his past in the trailer for The Card Counter, co-starring Tiffany Haddish.

–Will Smith plays Richard Williams, the father of legendary tennis siblings, Venus and Serena Williams, in the new trailer for the Oscar-baity King Richard.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Getting Divorced, Says Page Six

-Welp. According to Page Six, it’s splitsville for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. If true, I wonder why they didn’t try to slide this news under the cover of holiday madness last week?

–Emma Stone confirmed what we’ve known for months: she’s expecting her first child.

-I didn’t even know there was a rumour about Zoë Kravitz dating Channing Tatum, but they’re already denying it.

-The Alexander Wang assault allegations don’t seem to be going away, despite his vehement denial and the near-total silence from the fashion industry.

-The Grammy Awards will no longer be held this month and have been postponed as COVID-19 cases surge in Los Angeles. Organizers are hoping to hold it in March, but that seems wildly optimistic.

–Arnold Schwarzenegger accidentally referred to son-in-law Chris Pratt as Chris Evans on Instagram, which is a belated xmas gift to all of us.

-In a new interview, Patty Jenkins details her “internal war” with Warner Bros. over the first Wonder Woman movie. “Everybody in the industry wanted to hire me. But I felt like they wanted to hire me like a beard; they wanted me to walk around on set being a woman director, but it was their story and their vision.”

-Meanwhile, this is a very good piece on how the second Wonder Woman is supposed to be for women, but still isn’t about women.

-The Bean Dad apologized. It’s not bad, in spite of the “let themselves be triggered” nonsense.

–Meghan McCain returned to The View after her mat leave, and Joy Behar did not mince words about her feelings on the return. “I did not miss you. Zero.”

-Following a day of conflicting information about the status of her health, actress Tanya Roberts has died at the age of 65. She passed away last night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA.

-This Is Us’ producers are blaming covid for a scene in which a teen took a pregnancy test with what was clearly an ovulation test.

–Steven Soderbergh released his annual list of every piece of pop culture he consumed in 2020, and once again I feel like a luddite.

-Mr. Bean star Rowan Atkinson was trending earlier because he weighed in on “cancel culture” in a new interview, saying “It’s important that we’re exposed to a wide spectrum of opinion, but what we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn.” I’m raising my eyebrows more about the part where he talks about “the weight of responsibility” of playing Mr Bean.

–Cardi B defended turning off “WAP” when her 2-year-old daughter enters the room. “I’m not [JoJo Siwa]! I don’t make music for kids I make music for adults.”

–Maria Bakalova, the Bulgarian star of Borat 2, says she’s kept in touch with the film’s 62-year-old babysitter. “Jeanise is a true angel. I will probably always think of her as my godmother, a real hero and life coach. We had a real human connection from the very first day we met. I called her on Thanksgiving. It was my first American Thanksgiving and was also my best. I was so happy to talk to her that I started to cry. When we were shooting, it was very hard for me, because I wanted to tell her not to worry about me.”

-Rumour has it that Jodie Whittaker will be leaving Doctor Who soon.

-The Dexter revival has tapped Clancy Brown as its big bad. I just saw him in Promising Young Woman (which we all must watch and talk about because I can’t stop thinking about it.)

–Jared Padalecki in Men’s Health is, um, surprising.

–Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in Locked Down, the first romantic comedy set during the pandemic — and it looks surprisingly good? Instead of the endless Zoom calls that have plagued most quar projects, these guys are planning a diamond heist. And good news for Canadians: it drops on Crave the same day it arrives on HBO Max – next Thursday.

Taylor Swift’s Holiday Home Movies

–Taylor Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm so it makes sense that she wrote a holiday song called “Christmas Tree Farm.” The video, released just days after she wrote the tune, features home movies of her as a kid and is undeniably adorable.

-Queer Eye’ star Jonathan Van Ness is the first non-female to grace a Cosmo cover since Boy George.

–Jennifer Garner showed off her giant Christmas tree. “I’m not sure this is the tree we picked out. It’s a little aggressive.” (Also, she says ‘foyer’ weird.)

-Variety went deep with Billy Eilish and brother Finneas O’Connell for their new cover story.

-I friggin’ love that Robbie Amell did interviews for his new movie at Pai because it’s his fave Toronto restaurant. He’s not wrong. (Great cameo by Chef Nuit, too.)

–James Corden and Max Greenfield made an aspiring screenwriter’s dreams come true in a Starbucks.

-My god, just shut down every version of Big Brother immediately. This show is a trainwreck in every country.

-In honour of Marriage Story hitting Netflix today, Vulture did a feature on how Adam Driver looks ridiculously tall in that movie. (“What we are gathered here today to discuss is how much fun it is to see Adam Driver, big boy, squeeze himself into small things.”)

-Wait, now Amy Sedaris is in The Mandalorian? I’m gonna have to watch this sucker, aren’t I?

-This is a very good, very deep dive into the reporting style of the National Enquirer.

-All the brands who replied to this Netflix tweet nailed it. (Scroll through the photos for responses.)

–Tom Holland may have saved the Spider-Man movies by drunkenly calling Disney head Bob Iger at a pub in tears. “I’m like three pints in, I haven’t eaten much…I was really emotional because I felt like it was all coming to an end.”

–Keri Russell and Oscar Isaac are the real dream duo on this promo tour.

-Here’s a lovely moment of Jodie Whittaker getting a silver disc for her cover of Coldplay’s Yellow.

–Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne star in the trailer for The Aeronauts, a film that got lukewarm reviews on the festival circuit.