–Regina King graces the October cover of Vanity Fair. I feel like she got robbed of lots of Oscar buzz last year because the awards circuit was so quiet, so I’m hoping she gets to make up for it with The Harder They Fall. (“It won’t be like One Night in Miami….” She pauses, and I hear tears in her voice. “We never got the opportunity to see our film with an audience. I’m grateful to be healthy. I’m grateful that all of our crew and cast are healthy. We got to be in so many different festivals…but we didn’t get a chance to share that, except through this,” she says, indicating the virtual realm. “That was disappointing. But everything is for a reason. I try not to question God’s will.”) Also, this photoshoot is awesome. That gold skirt!!
-In THR’s new cover story, Benedict Cumberbatch discusses staying in character as a meanie while shooting Netflix’s The Power of the Dog. “[Director Jane Campion] introduced me to the crew as Phil and said, ‘You’ll meet Benedict at the end. Benedict’s really nice. Phil is Phil.’ And it just gave me carte blanche to say, ‘No.’ To be Phil, really. To stand in his shoes.”
-Congrats to Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney, who are expecting their first child.
–Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have arrived in Venice for the premiere of his new movie.
–Jessica Chastain laughed off the hysteria surrounding Oscar Isaac‘s arm kiss. “We have all been locked in our houses for so long. When this video went viral, I was like, people just need to see people touch and hold each other.”
-Gossip Girl got renewed for season two, which is genuinely surprising to me. I felt like the buzz (and any critical admiration) fell off a cliff after the first few episodes.
-The Met Gala is Monday night and there’s still rumours about the guest list. One star who won’t be attending: Zendaya.
-Netflix will be bringing a Bridgerton fan experience to select cities next year. I want it!
-The is an interesting look at how the depiction of suicide on TV is changing.
-I think I would actually love this outfit on pretty much anyone else but Katie Holmes. It’s just not her.
–Rebel Wilson and some of her Pitch Perfect costars reunited to celebrate her birthday.
-TIFF starts today! Here are my picks for the 10 buzziest films, most of which are hitting theatres or streaming very soon.
–Keira Knightley’s dark holiday film, which I’m seeing next week, has already sold at the festival.
-I’m not going to be able to watch any TV for the next week, but it feels like everything is debuting, including Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac‘s HBO show Scenes from a Marriage, FX’s long-awaited Y: The Last Man, and the VMAs.
-Speaking of the VMAs, Nicky Minaj just pulled out.
-Aw man. Phoebe Waller-Bridge has left the Mr & Mrs Smith project she was going to do with Donald Glover for Amazon.
-Netflix must have been more impressed with Addison Rae’s performance in He’s All That than critics were; they just signed her to a multi-movie deal.
-Watch Demi Lovato and friends search for UFOs in the trailer for Peacocks’ Unidentified.
-The Princess Diana content keeps flooding in. Netflix released the first trailer for Diana: The Musical, which will premiere in October ahead of the show’s return to Broadway.
–Jason Sudeikis is doing a Ted Lasso-y accent in the South of Heaven trailer while playing a very non-Ted Lasso character, and it’s breaking my brain.
-The Matrix Resurrections dropped its first trailer early Thursday morning. I have no idea what’s happening in it but I’m in!