-This was a good interview with Miley Cyrus, which is getting buried by the attention surrounding the trashy cover.
-Black Panther star Letitia Wright defended her decision to share a video questioning the use of vaccines after facing backlash from her followers and celebs like Don Cheadle and Roxane Gay. Look, I get why people (especially Black and indigenous people) don’t trust the medical industry because there is some horrific history there. But if you have a huge platform, this YouTube guy isn’t the one to promote. I at least appreciated that Wright was trying to understand why people were so upset, but yikes.
-There was another HUGE return on Grey’s Anatomy last night. (Don’t click if you don’t want to be spoiled). I wonder if Katherine Heigl or Sandra Oh is next?
-Critics are saying David Fincher’s new movie Mank is a finely-tuned Netflix drama about the co-writer of Citizen Kane is about the power of movies.
-The reviews for the Euphoria christmas episode are glowing – despite it sounding very stripped down. Aside from an opening fantasy of life with Jules, the entire special is just Rue and Ali talking over cold pancakes about drugs, sobriety and the exhausting struggle of feeling suspended between the two extremes.
-Queen of Christmas Mariah Carey graces the December digital issue of Elle. In the interview, she talks about why the season is so special to her: “After I kind of emerged from my first relationship-slash-marriage [to Tommy Mottola] I created the Christmases that I wanted to have. A lot of very bad stuff happened to me when I was 12. But also, there is the spirit of that kid, that fighter who doesn’t give up, who does embrace who she is, even though the world didn’t understand that from my point of view.”
–Miley Cyrus gave another no-holds-barred interview to Howard Stern, saying that during the pandemic “I have a lot of Facetime sex” and that there was “too much conflict” in her marriage to Liam Hemsworth: “When I come home, I want to be anchored by someone. I don’t get off on drama or fighting.”
-It’s Britney Spears‘ birthday and she’s celebrating with her most disturbing IG post yet.
-The Morning Show just cast Julianna Margulies in season 2 and while I didn’t love the first season, this is damn fine casting.
–Taylor Swift has debuted her re-recording of Love Story in a Match ad with Ryan Reynolds.
–Hailee Steinfeld has been seen filming Hawkeye as Kate Bishop, even though Marvel hasn’t even confirmed she’s in it yet.
-The Academy insists the upcoming Oscars will be in person. That’s cute.
-I don’t usually care about NBA players’ marriages, but damn this is messy.
–John Mulaney says he was investigated by the Secret Service after his SNL monologue. “I guess they opened a file on me because of the joke, and I have to say: Am I stoked there’s a file open on me? Absolutely. Did I enjoy it in the moment? Not so much.”
-Happiest Season drops tomorrow on Hulu (available for rent in Canada on Thursday) and I cannot wait! The reviews are glowing and it seems like the type of movie we’ll all end up watching every year and not hating ourselves for it, unlike some others (*cough* The Family Stone *cough*). The leading ladies recently graced the cover of The Advocate.
-Speaking of Happiest Season actors, are Clea Duvall and Josh Hartnett responsible for an entire generation’s sexual awakening? How did I not know this?
–Tristram Shapeero, the director who mocked Lukas Gage‘s apartment in a Zoom audition, has apologized...sort of. It starts off well (“I offer Mr. Gage a sincere and unvarnished apology for my offensive words, my unprofessional behavior during the audition and for not giving him the focus and attention he deserved”) but then it veers into excuses territory (“I was using the word ‘poor’ in the sense of deserving sympathy, as opposed to any economic judgment”). Come on, man. If that was the case, why did he talk about Gage’s “tiny” apartment and how he could see his TV in the background? He should have quit while he was ahead.
-In a new interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Miley Cyrus said she “fell off” her recent sobriety wagon during the pandemic, but she is now two weeks sober. “To me, it was a f— up because I’m not a moderation person, and I don’t think that everyone has to be f—ing sober. I think everyone has to do what is best for them. I don’t have a problem with drinking. I have a problem with the decisions I make once I go past that level of … I’ve just been wanting to wake up 100 percent, 100 percent of the time.”
–Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly have now entered the “regrettable tattoos” phase of their relationship.
–Pete Davidson is set to lead an all-star version of It’s a Wonderful Life. I guess they were going for the anti-Jimmy Stewart.
-The Grammy nominations were announced today and while there were some nice surprises (Megan Thee Stallion should have been a lock for Best New Artist but there was some concern she wouldn’t get it, so I’m glad she did), the snubs are what has everyone talking. The Weeknd got zero nominations (not even “Blinding Lights” in Record of the Year, which makes no sense). The Dixie Chicks were also shut out, and Fiona Apple‘s Fetch the Bolt Cutters didn’t get an Album of the Year nod. It’s all very odd.
–Justin Bieber is not happy about the Grammy nominations either. Oh, he got nominated. He just doesn’t like the category he’s in. This is not a great look for him.
-In other big music news, Taylor Swift announced today that she’ll be dropping an intimate concert film on Disney+ for her latest album, folklore.
–Mark Ruffalo is only nine years older than Ryan Reynolds, but he’ll be playing his father in a new movie.
-Wonder Woman is officially opening in Canada on Dec 25 theatrically — even though it doesn’t seem like many cities will have open theatres. Swell!
–Michael B. Jordan says he’s going to join OnlyFans and try to raise some money for struggling businesses. “Yea it’s a thing. My barber Joe and the whole team, we’ve been plotting on that so we’re going to work the system.” I very much approve of this plan.
-Peacock’s Saved By The Bell (which airs on W here) is getting surprisingly great reviews.
-Netflix’s Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, meanwhile, has surprised critics by being less camp, more Christian.
-I watched the first few episodes of A Suitable Boy, a coming-of-age story set in 1950s India, at TIFF and really liked it. But Netflix is facing a boycott in India because of a kissing scene between an interfaith couple at a temple, and two Netflix execs have been booked.
-I tried to watch the Gilmore Girls revival on the CW last night but it was worse than I remembered. They’re so mean! Were they always that mean? In any case, in a new interview Scott Patterson says he and Lauren Graham both had to quit smoking to survive Gilmore Girls’ rapid-pace dialogue
–Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Veep cast are reuniting to do a table read for “Mother”, their episode on vote recounts, to help get out the vote for the Georgia runoff elections in January.
-I have no interest in reading Ready Player Two, but this thread from a guy who’s working his way through it is gold.
-It’s equal parts hilarious and sad that it took a cover of the Goo Goo Dolls‘ “Iris” for Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers to each earn their first Hot 100 hit.
