Browsing Tag

Morgan Wallen

Nicole Kidman’s Reinvention as a TV Star

Nicole Kidman sits on the grass in a red dress on the cover of Harper's Bazaar

–Nicole Kidman graces the new issue of Harper’s Bazaar (though I wish they’d chosen one of the other photos for the cover instead). She talks filming Nine Perfect Strangers during the pandemic (“We just really bonded and that’s unusual for this day and age. Because a lot of times people are coming in and leaving and you don’t get that camaraderie and friendship”) and recovering from the harsh spotlight of her marriage to Tom Cruise (“I’m wary at times, and I’ve been hurt, but at the same time I much prefer a warm approach rather than a prickly shut-down approach. My husband, Keith, says that when he met me, he said, ‘How’s your heart?’ And I apparently responded, ‘Open'”).

-The Emmy Awards were last night and though there weren’t many upsets, most of the winners were solid choices. Fashion-wise, my favourite looks were from Anya Taylor-Joy, Yara Shahidi, Beanie Feldstein, Angela Bassett and Nicole Byer. I didn’t love Kathyrn Hahn, Juno Temple or Emma Corrin (but at least Corrin gave everyone something to talk about).

–Seth Rogen was the first presenter and kicked off the show with a bit about the seemingly lax covid protocols. “Let me start by saying there’s way too many of us in this little room. What are we doing? They said this was outdoors – it’s not! They lied to us…I would not have come to this.”

–Taika Waititi and Rita Ora were way too extra.

–Michaela Coel‘s speech may have destroyed me.

-Do I have to start watching Reservation Dogs? The cast got the biggest cheers when they presented last night, and critics (who always liked the show) seem to be raving about the final three episodes of the season.

–Adele made her relationship with Rich Paul Instagram official among a slideshow about her wearing a dress that’s very reminiscent of 90210’s prom episode.

–Gisele Bündchen is defending Dutch model Doutzen Kroes, who is facing backlash for posting an anti-vax comment on Instagram.

-After he was caught on tape saying the n-word, country music star Morgan Wallen pledged $500K to Black-led charities. Rolling Stone reached out to 57 state, regional and national organizations, and so far only one reported receiving any money from Wallen.

-I don’t understand why people don’t scrub their internet history the second they achieve a whiff of fame. Simu Liu is under fire after old Reddit posts he reportedly wrote were uncovered.

-Jane the Virgin star Justin Baldoni‘s does his best Backstreet Boy impression in his hilarious new HP Ink commercial.

–Emily Blunt and The Rock proved that tequila makes makes press junkets better.

-I don’t actually think I finished The Haunting of Bly Manor, but I’m going to check out Midnight Mass, Mike Flanagan’s latest for Netflix, because the reviews are excellent. Hamish Linklater and Zach Gilford‘s performances, in particular, keep getting shouted out as exceptional.

-Michael Myers is back in the final trailer for Halloween Kills.

–Tom Hanks, a robot, and a dog versus the world in the first trailer for AppleTV’s emotional survival story, Finch.

Taylor Swift Continues To Be A Content Machine

-Has anyone been more productive during this pandemic than Taylor Swift? She announced this morning that she has re-recorded her entire Fearless album which has 26 songs, including 6 never before released songs from the vault. She’s releasing a new version of Love Story at midnight.

–Meghan Markle scored a big win today. A judge ruled in her favour, saying the Mail On Sunday invaded her privacy by publishing a private letter from her to her father.

–Shia LaBeouf denies “each and every allegation” in FKA twigs‘ domestic abuse lawsuit against him. LaBeouf’s attorneys also requested that she be required to pay his legal costs, because of course they did.

-Vanity Fair’s fascinating new story on the Hillsong church reveal that the scandal is bigger than one fame-obsessed pastor.

-Speaking of new stories, take it with a grain of salt but DeuxMoi is now posting blinds about the LA Times’ story on Armie Hammer being killed because it got too complicated (but that another outlet may be working on something).

-Meanwhile, Page Six claims Hammer allegedly gave Jessica Ciencin Henriquez the big bruise she posted on Instagram during their brief summer romance.

–Emma Caulfield and Clare Kramer are the latest Buffy alums to support Charisma Carpenter‘s statement calling out Joss Whedon‘s on-set abuse. It’s been a day and the male actors who’ve worked with Whedon have remained conspicuously silent. (Some of their reputations may hint at why.)  The only guy who seems to have addressed it so far is Anthony Head, who played Giles. He told a morning show he had no idea and felt like he “let down” his costars: “I have been up most of the night just running through my memories thinking ‘What did I miss?’. This is not a man saying ‘I didn’t see it so it didn’t happen’. I am gutted, I’m seriously gutted because one of my memories, my fondest memory was the fact that it was so empowering.”

-This is a good piece on Ryan Reynolds and his side-hustle prowess.

-Much like everyone calls Anne Hathaway “Annie,” Katherine Heigl says everyone in her life calls her “Katie.” “No one calls me Katherine…It helps me separate my work from me.”

–Rihanna has recognized that we’re all into sweatpants over luxury fashion right now. She and LVMH made the decision to put the ready-to-wear Fenty division on hold.

-In Variety’s latest Directors on Directors interview, Ben Affleck asked David Fincher about why he makes actors go through a “relentless” amount of takes.

-Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s long-delayed new season will be its last.

-Here’s the first look of Jodie Turner-Smith as one of the most famous figures in history, Tudor Queen Anne Boleyn.

-This is an excellent feature on The Shining’s reclusive star Shelley Duvall.

-On today’s earning call, Disney said Black Widow is still intended for a theatrical release, but they’ll be watching “very, very closely” to see if consumer behavior changes.

-Yesterday I asked what it would take for Disney to fire Gina Carano from The Mandalorian. Apparently, it was social media posts comparing the treatment of Republicans to Jews in Nazi Germany. Lucasfilms called her posts “abhorrent and unacceptable” and her talent agency, UTA, also dumped her.

–Morgan Wallen posted a 5-minute video to fans, saying he’s 9 days sober after his N-word outburst.

–Kevin Hart’s personal shopper got a little too personal — he allegedly spent more than $1 million buying himself luxury goods using the star’s credit cards.

–Chris Harrison has apologized for comments he made during a recent interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay. “I now realize I have done is cause harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism and for that I am so deeply sorry.”

–Dolly Parton will reunite with her 9-to-5 costars when she guests on Grace and Frankie.

-Vulture says Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar is weirdo cinema all the way, filled with non sequiturs, oblique cutaways, and an impressive level of commitment to the bit from its stars. I’m so curious about this one…

-Here’s the first trailer for HBO Max’s Generation, a new teen drama produced by Lena Dunham​.

Lana Candor Says Goodbye to Lara Jean

lana condor self lara jean

–Lana Candor is promoting the final To All The Boys film (on Netflix next week! Yay!) and talked to Self about burning out while promoting the first movie and shooting a TV show (“I was just saying yes to everything because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you want to capitalize on it, and you want to feel like you’re fully embracing everything. But I’ve never felt more horrible mentally. I was so burned out…. I would go home at night and I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I would shake going to bed and shake waking up because it was just so much stimulation. I was on the phone with my team and I had this moment where I just was in tears, telling them that I don’t feel okay. And they were all shocked because I wasn’t open about my feelings. No one knew”), experiencing body dysmorphia “(I’m not in a place where I can say, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s over.’ I have to work on it every single day”), and being the only Asian in a casting room of white women (“You’re like, ‘What am I doing? Do you have me here to fill a quota?’ That can feel very obviously limiting”).

-The Golden Globe nominations last year were surprisingly great — but we knew that couldn’t hold. This morning’s nominations were back to being a WTF mix of surprises and snubs. Emily in Paris and Ratched are nominated while I May Destroy You (the only consensus show of the goddamn year) is shut out? Jared Leto gets love but Meryl Streep doesn’t? There was also the lack of diversity, which was especially apparent in the TV categories. This is a good piece on why it matters, and this is a good piece specifically about what I May Destroy You’s shut out says about whose stories are seen as universal.

-My favourite nomination reaction tidbit is this one about The Great’s Nicolas Hoult, who was doing a workout *in his kitchen* when his phone started beeping with congratulatory texts. London apartments, man.

-Speaking of the Globes, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are back on hosting duties this year.

-My god, has any singer been so determined to torpedo his own career faster than Morgan Wallen? First came his SNL debacle, and now footage emerged that captured him using expletives and the N-word. He’s apologized but CMT has already dropped him from all its platforms. He’s also been disqualified by the CMAs for upcoming awards.

–Rebel Wilson and Jacob Busch have called it quits.

-The CW has given renewals to pretty much all of its existing shows, continuing its habit in recent years of announcing renewals before May.

-Watch some of the Super Bowl’s biggest ads ahead of the game, starring Michael B. Jordan, Mila Kunis, Mindy Kaling, and more.

–Sam Neill didn’t really know what was happening when he filmed Thor: Ragnarok. “I was completely baffled by so many things. I went with friends who sort of knew a bit more than me. I was like, ‘Do you know what planet we’re on at the moment? Is that Hopkins or was that Loki?’ And they were explaining it, they said, ‘You’re in the film! Why do we have to explain it to you?’ I said, ‘Because I’m a bit lost. I’m truly lost here.’ ”

–Bebe Rexha would like you to know that the rumours of her death have been greatly exaggerated.

–Dominic West and wife Catherine FitzGerald are enjoying a luxury family vacation in Kenya. In the middle of a pandemic. This guy…

–Pamela Anderson shared photos of her backyard wedding with People.

-I don’t watch The Bachelor, but apparently Matt James‘ season has devolved from being celebrated for its diversity to being defined by women attacking other women.

-Congrats to Jenny Slate, who just welcomed a baby girl. It’s her first child, who she named Ida Lupine.

–Mario Lopez says he had stayed in touch with Dustin Diamond — and they were talking about doing a reality show together. “I don’t abandon, like, my friends or never turn my back on people that are always there for me and I stood by him and was always a phone call away when he moved to Wisconsin and we stayed in touch and he met his girlfriend recently. We were actually discussing, when I talked to him recently, just two weeks prior to him passing, about the upcoming season and figuring out doing something cool. I was trying to convince him to do something in the reality space that I’d be producing for him.”

-Please don’t make me catch up on all the Southern Charm gossip. I just don’t care, even if A-Rod is involved.

–Fran Lebowitz doesn’t plan to watch Bowen Yang‘s SNL impression of her.  When asked how she learned about the sketch, she had the MOST Fran Lebowitz answer: “I went into the kitchen where there’s my answering machine, a device, which you may have to describe to your listeners. There were messages on it, and I thought something horrible happened, someone died, you know? And so I got these messages. But no, I didn’t see.”

-This interview with Viggo Mortensen is excellent. He says he’s reuniting with Eastern Promises’ David Cronenberg on a new project, and talks about that time he was found in the woods as a baby, wandering around with a dog.

-Here’s the latest trailer for Coming 2 America, coming to Amazon Prime.