Browsing Tag

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck Chats with Matt Damon for EW

Ben-Affleck-Matt-Damon-EW

-In his Entertainment Weekly cover story, Ben Affleck is interviewed by Matt Damon and says that he doesn’t regret Gigli because that’s where he met Jennifer Lopez. “I thought my job was to be a cipher. I can see now how people looked at me and thought of this person as some callow frat guy who’s cavalier, or has too much. It engendered a lot of negative feelings in people about me….But if the reaction to Gigli hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have ultimately decided, ‘I don’t really have any other avenue but to direct movies,’ which has turned out to be the real love of my professional life. So in those ways, it’s a gift. And I did get to meet Jennifer, the relationship with whom has been really meaningful to me in my life.” (Also, the video in the middle of the story is cute because there’s a lot about how his 16-year-old daughter is constantly mocking him.)

–Jamie Lynn Spears is on a promo tour for her forthcoming memoir, and got teary when asked about her rift with sister Britney, saying she’s “always been my sister’s biggest supporter.”

-Oh god. Pete Davidson is reportedly being considered to host the 2022 Oscars.

-The SAG Award nominations were announced this morning and they were WILD. Kristen Stewart (thought to be the frontrunner) was shut out, as was Rachel Zegler, while Jessica Chastain, Nicole Kidman, and Jennifer Hudson somehow squeaked in. Selena Gomez was not nominated for Only Murders in the Building but costars Steve Martin and Martin Short were. The inclusion of the cast of Yellowstone in the TV ensemble category was unexpected, as were Squid Games and House of Gucci’s multiple nods.

–Amy Schumer and Shirley Maclaine will join the cast of the second season of Only Murders in the Building.

–Prince Andrew will face a civil trial in America over sexual abuse claims after a US judge dismissed his lawyer’s attempt to have the lawsuit thrown out.

–Reese Witherspoon published an Instagram post about habits she wants to embrace to improve her daily life, and Ina Garten was like ‘Nah, imma drink more.’

–Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen not only released a statement on the death of Bob Saget, but they also allowed their names to be added to the FH cast statement. This is the first time I can remember them speaking in public in at least a decade, and I wish it wasn’t for such a terrible thing.

–Kellie Martin is reprising her role in a sequel to Life Goes On for NBC. Her gut-wrenching storyline with Chad Lowe in the original show is still burned in my memory.

-I’m so glad to see this thoughtful review of To Paradise. I’m trying to get through that book but man, I’m struggling. I felt like a failure for giving up her previously super buzzy book (A Little Life) but now I’m on the DNF train. The New Yorker profile of Hanya Yanagihara is fascinating, though.

-Netflix is moving ahead with not one but two sequels to Red Notice, featuring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds.

-I’m finally caught up on Station Eleven and I wish I hadn’t resisted it so long because of its post-apocalyptic/pandemic content, because I find it so hopeful and kind. Episode 9 was especially exceptional.

-One TV show at a time is about all I can handle these days, but this review of the reality show Finding Magic Mike makes me really want to watch it.

-The creators of The Americans have a new series for FX called The Patient, starring Domhnall Gleeson as a serial killer and Steve Carell as his prisoner.

-An adult film shoot goes horribly wrong in the terrifying trailer for Ti West‘s new horror film X, which stars Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, and Kid Cudi.

–Zoë Kravitz stars as an agoraphobic tech worker who discovers a recording of a violent crime in the trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s KIMI, coming to HBO Max in Feb.

Caitríona Balfe Talks Fame, Fandom

Caitríona Balfe vanity fair

–Caitríona Balfe is on the cover of Vanity Fair’s Awards Insider issue for Belfast (a film I found super boring but what do I know?), and she talks about how scary Outlander fans can be. “When you have a kid, you become really protective. I don’t want those [crazy fans]—because that’s what they are—I just don’t want them talking about him. It’s sad, because you meet the loveliest people who are fans of the show and they’re super supportive and they do the nicest things—and then you have that little thing, which just taints it.”

-I tried to watch The Tender Bar this weekend but even my love for George Clooney (who directed it) couldn’t sustain me past the first hour. Still, Ben Affleck was the best thing about it. He talks to the LA Times about turning 50 this year (“The common thread I’ve found from the people I know who’ve turned 50 who are the happiest is that they’ve stopped worrying so much about what other people think”) why he dropped out of directing The Batman (“I looked at it and thought, “I’m not going to be happy doing this. The person who does this should love it”) and how his priorities changed around the time of Justice League (“It was really Justice League that was the nadir for me. That was a bad experience because of a confluence of things: my own life, my divorce, being away too much, the competing agendas and then [director] Zack [Snyder]’s personal tragedy [Snyder’s daughter Autumn died by suicide in 2017] and the reshooting. It just was the worst experience. It was awful. It was everything that I didn’t like about this. That became the moment where I said, “I’m not doing this anymore.” It’s not even about, like, Justice League was so bad. Because it could have been anything”).

-Meanwhile, Kevin Smith explained how he tried (and failed) to make a Superman movie with Ben Affleck.

-Here’s a better look at The Batman’s villains Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman.

–Robert Durst, the subject of HBO’s The Jinx, has died in custody at 78. He was recently convicted of murdering Susan Berman in 2000.

–Bob Saget‘s Full House costars are expressing their shock and sadness over his sudden passing. (There was no sign of foul play or drug use.)

-Instead of having a Golden Globes broadcast, they just announced the awards via a live tweet and the rollout was a mess (with tweets full of dumb jokes but often missing what role the winner won for) and was quickly overshadowed by the outpouring of grief over Bob Sagat’s death.

-Despite the mess, there were some good wins (especially because the Globes broadcast died because of their lack of diversity). MJ Rodriguez became the first transgender woman to win best actress, while Squid Game’s O Yeong-su became the first Korean actor to win. That being said, judging by its reception today, I’m doubtful the broadcast will ever comes back.

-The Eternals is hitting Disney+ tomorrow.

–Zendaya posted a trigger warning for this season of Euphoria, which started last night. (This behind-the-scene clip cleansed some of the trauma from the premiere.)

-In honour of her 40th birthday, the palace released three new portraits of Kate Middleton by photographer Paolo Roversi.

-The CW is now for sale and Supernatural fans seem to want to take credit for its demise, but the network has never been profitable — even when that show was airing. (I saw a tweet where a stan claimed that SPN licensed conventions is what made the CW money, which is adorable. The stars? For sure. The network? No.) It has more do to with streaming — I remember when I was an Arrowverse fan there was a lot of industry talk about how the Netflix deal basically was the biggest way those shows made their studios money, but now all the streaming rights are going to the studio’s own apps. This tiktok explains it well.

–Aubrey Plaza will star in season two of Mike White’s HBO comedy The White Lotus, which sounds like perfect casting.

-Grey’s Anatomy has scored a surprise early renewal for its 19th season on ABC after Ellen Pompeo inked a rich new deal to return. She’s also been upped from co-executive producer to executive producer.

-Critics may hate Emily In Paris but the latest season must be doing great for Netflix— they just handed it a big two-season renewal.

-The Morning Show has scored a predictable third season renewal at Apple — and will now be on its third showrunner.

-I liked The Lost Daughter, but I’m starting to like all the think pieces surrounding it even more than I liked the movie. This one is excellent.

-Every year, this movie critic compiles clips from his favourite films of the year, and his latest edition doesn’t disappoint.

-Omicron is surging but studios are still expecting film critics to attend in-person screenings.

-Netflix’s The Kanye West Trilogy, decades in the making, just got a teaser ahead of its Sundance premiere.

-Here’s a look at Peacock’s BelAir, which premieres on Super Bowl Sunday with its first three episodes, followed by new episodes weekly. It’s a more dramatic take on the beloved sitcom.

Ben Affleck Backpedals on “Trapped” Comment

–Ben Affleck was on Kimmel last night and responded to the backlash from his Howard Stern interview, blaming “clickbait” headlines. “They had literally taken the conversation I had had for two hours and made it seem as if I was saying the exact opposite of what I said.”

–Chris Noth has been accused of rape by two women, in alleged incidents that took place in 2004 and 2015. Their stories are eerily similar. The actor calls the allegations “categorically false” and says the “encounters were consensual”.

-In less disturbing Sex and the City news, these tributes to Willie Garson from the cast are truly lovely.

-After a third human resources investigation into his on-set behavior, Jeff Garlin is leaving The Goldbergs, which is currently in the middle of its ninth season. “He is extremely verbally and emotionally abusive,” a Goldbergs employee told Deadline. This tidbit in the article is incredibly weird: “As of precursor of what was to come, I hear Garlin canceled his Covid test on Monday this week. According to sources, the show used his double for what was supposed to be the actor’s last day, and his face will be superimposed using CGI in post-production for the episode, designed to wrap his character’s storyline. (That is practice used a number of times for Garlin in the past for various reasons, I hear.)” CGIing an actor’s face onto a double? For a sitcom??

-The cast of Ted Lasso reunited for a very adorable holiday short.

–Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger are expecting baby no. 2.

-Yellowjackets has been renewed for season 2. I’m really liking that show but I’m so used to prestige TV being limited series that I was taken aback when the showrunner talked about wanting to do 10 seasons. But this is a really good thread about what we’re missing with 8 episode shows.

–Megan Thee Stallion just signed a major first-look deal with Netflix.

-I didn’t even know Canadians were allowed to compete in Survivor, but good for us!

–The cameo on this week’s Hawkeye was so, so good and it made me really love that Marvel character even more. Where’s their Disney+ show?

-Sony is trying to block a bunch of leaks after scenes from the new Spider-Man ended up on YouTube this week.

-Here’s the first trailer for How I Met Your Father, starring Hilary Duff. Is it weird that I miss the laugh track?

-Wow, I really hope we’re back to movie going in March because the trailer for The Lost City looks amazing (I’ve been ready for this one since I heard the romance author/cover hero premise and the trailer lives up to my hopes.) I was already on board by Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum‘s cute banter to intro it, but the cameo at the end? COME ON!!!