Browsing Tag

Harvey Weinstein

Viola Davis’ Vanity Fair Cover Makes History

viola davis vanity fair

–Viola Davis is on the stunning new cover of Vanity Fair, in which she talks about the BLM movement not being her first form of protest (“I feel like my entire life has been a protest. My production company is my protest. Me not wearing a wig at the Oscars in 2012 was my protest. It is a part of my voice, just like introducing myself to you and saying, ‘Hello, my name is Viola Davis’ “) and the difficulties of being Black in Hollywood (“We know as women, when you speak up, you’re labeled a bitch—immediately… As a woman of color, there is very, very, very little you have to do. All you have to do is maybe roll your eyes, and that’s it”).

-The Viola Davis cover was shot by Dario Calmese, marking the first time in its 100+ year history that Vanity Fair has had a Black photographer shoot a cover. He told NYT how it’s meant to be an image of protest, referencing an 1863 photo of a slave titled “The Scourged Back.”

-There’s also lots of chatter on social about how Calmese lit Davis much better than Annie Leibovitz recently lit Simone Biles.

–Meghan Markle urged girls to “build each other up” and to “rebuild the world around them” in a powerful Girl Up Leadership Summit speech. Everyone’s going gaga over her longer hair.

-Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan announced they are creating a college fund for Naya Rivera‘s son, Josey.

-All of the Glee cast’s memories and stories that they’re sharing of Naya are heartbreaking.

-I spent a very long time on this thread of Naya’s best performances.

–Chris Evans‘ website, A Starting Point, launched today. It aims to, in its own words, “create a bipartisan channel of communication” through short videos from elected officials. I’m not sure both-sides-ism is what the world needs right now, but at least they’re saying it’ll be “fact-based and fact-checked.”

-The cast of Happy Endings is set to reunite and perform new scripted material from the writers of the series as part of a fundraiser. I recently rewatched that show and man, it still holds up.

–Miranda Kerr and Evan Spiegel cover WSJ Magazine.

-A federal judge has rejected a $46.8 million settlement of the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct cases, saying it is not suitable for a class action. “The idea that Harvey Weinstein can get a defense fund ahead of the claimants is obnoxious.”

–Bryan Fuller keeps teasing another season of Hannibal and honestly there’s nothing I want more.

-MythBusters’ former co-host Grant Imahara died suddenly following a brain aneurysm. He was 49.

–Trina McGee, who went public with the racism and general poor treatment she received from three stars of Boy Meets World when they were filming, said her relationship with two of them (Will Friedle and Danielle Fishel) has improved.  However, she added “I do not talk to Ben Savage at all.”

–Christopher Nolan‘s Tenet is likely to be delayed again, as theaters in LA are shut down again.

-In Johnny Depp‘s libel suit against The Sun, the court saw a pic of him passed out and covered in ice cream.

–Patrick Stewart‘s quotidian sonnet readings are often the highlight of my day. He read number 80 today — on the eve of his 80th birthday. His BFF Ian McKellen took over sonnet 81.

-Peacock, NBC’s new streaming service, launches today for free. In Canada, it looks like most of the new shows are coming to Corus.

-Stranger Things’ Natalia Dyer discovers masturbation in the trailer for Karen Maine’s Yes, God, Yes.

Scarlett Johansson Goes Solo

Scarlett Johansson black widow

–Scarlett Johansson covers EW to promote Black Widow. She talks about only having met Florence Pugh a few times before they filmed their first scene together (“Immediately we were in each other’s space, like, ‘All right, I’m going to grab your armpit, and you put your hand under my knee in a pretzel'”) and why she didn’t want the movie to just be “like Bourne, but with a woman” (“I hope that this film continues pushing that boundary, so that we can actually have more female superheroes who are inherently female, and aren’t just Batman in heels or whatever”).

-The Hollywood Reporter just released their stars and their stylists issue, which I always adore.

-Wow. Harvey Weinstein just got 23 years in jail, which is close to the maximum possible sentence, if his terms were run consecutively, of 29 years. The judge said “This is your first conviction, but not your first offense.”

-Meanwhile, before sentencing he said in the courtroom “I am totally confused. I think men are confused about these issues. Thousands of men are losing due process. I’m worried about this country.” It’s pretty ballsy to complain about a lack of due process — when you’ve just been afforded it.

–Jenna Dewan gave birth to baby No. 2, a boy she named Callum Michael Rebel Kazee.

–Wendy Williams called out Nicki Minaj for marrying Kenneth Petty, who registered as a sex offender this week following a 1995 conviction for first-degree attempted rape. “You should’ve never married him because now you’ve ruined everything about what your brand could be.”

–Dakota Johnson‘s gives Architectural Digest a peek inside her home and I kind of love it.

-This video of today’s daytime talk shows with no audiences due to covid-19 is very eerie.

–Naomi Campbell showed up to a flight from LA to NYC on Tuesday clad in a full hazmat suit, surgical mask and latex gloves included. Look, I had to self-isolate today due to this damn virus and even I think this is irresponsible and panic-inducing.

-Westworld is trying to make it seem like its truly reinvented itself for season 3, but in the end it seems like it’s just more of the same.

–Jon Bernthal is set to star in an American Gigolo TV reboot at Showtime and wow, do I love that casting!

-Speaking of shows I want in my eyeballs immediately, Scott Foley has been cast to headline a dramedy about the ballet.

–Brad Pitt is coming to HGTV for Celebrity IOU With Drew and Jonathan Scott. Each episode will feature a star getting hands-on with the brothers to imagine a design plan to reward their mentors, friends or family member.

-The Ellen Show got the three Love Is Blind couples together for a game of Never Have I Ever.

-Meanwhile, I’m kind of shocked that Gwyneth Paltrow watched Love Is Blind.

–John Krasinski says he and Ryan Reynolds “turned into 14-year-old boys” when they got to meet a surprisingly friendly owl at Reynolds’ daughter’s birthday party.

–Colin Firth and Julie Walters star in a new adaptation of The Secret Garden.

Keri Russell Talks Style, Sleep and Sex

Keri Russell Shape magazine

–Keri Russell covers Shape, in which she says her husband Matthew Rhys calls her style “Sam Shepard from The Right Stuff” (“We laughed really hard about it, but I realized that’s my true fashion—like tough guys. Growing up, I didn’t play with Barbies or dolls. I wanted the adventures”), talks about doing the horror movie Antlers (“I’m a total scaredy-cat, but I think the reason why it’s OK for me to do scary movies is because I’m scared all the time. I’ll be in the bathroom getting ready, and Matthew will be coming down the hall and he’ll warn me, ‘I’m about to come in.’ And I’ll still scream!”), and reveals her feel-good essentials (“I need those little bits of time to myself. And time to see girlfriends. If you have that, if you have good sleep, if you have good sex—all those things just make you feel great”).

–Harvey Weinstein‘s defense team has asked for a 5-year sentence, citing his charity work and the stress of the allegations: “Mr. Weinstein cannot walk outside without being heckled, he has lost his means to earn a living, simply put, his fall from grace has been historic, perhaps unmatched in the age of social media.”

-Also, according to unsealed court documents, he once said in an email Jennifer Aniston “should be killed.”

-First reactions to movies when the full reviews are still embargoed tend not to be super reliable, but people seem enthralled by the live-action Mulan.

–Angelina Jolie shared a personal essay for Time and revealed that daughters Zahara, 15, and Shiloh, 13, have both undergone recent medical complications. “I have spent the last two months in and out of surgeries.”

–Brad Pitt skipped the BAFTAs to be at one of his daughter’s sides during her surgery.

-Meanwhile, sources close to Brad Pitt insist his relationship with Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat is “strictly platonic.” I’m more intrigued by who approaches them to talk during that video of them at a concert. Is that Beck?!

–Corey Feldman accused Charlie Sheen of sexually abusing Corey Haim in his new documentary, which screened last night. This is an old allegation that Sheen publicly denied and sued the National Enquirer over in 2017. At the time, Haim’s mother sided with Sheen.

-The Outsider was one of those shows that didn’t get a lot of buzz, but it felt like everyone I know was watching it. The ratings were surprisingly good, too.

-This excerpt from the new book Her Stories is about the Days of Our Lives devil possession story of the mid-’90s and how it was kinda all about the religious right.

-In a video interlude shown during her current world tour Billie Eilish performs a poem about her unique style. “If what I wear is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I am a slut. Though you’ve never seen my body, you still judge me for it. Why?”

-The Flip The Switch challenge has been sweeping TikTok the past couple of weeks, and now celebrities are starting to get in on the action.

–Selena Gomez said her first onscreen kiss was with Dylan Sprouse and “It was one of the worst days of my life,” and he’s since poked fun at himself on Twitter.

-An Australian bushfire benefit concert has been cancelled after Miley Cyrus pulled out due to coronavirus concerns, BTS has cancelled shows, and now it looks like Coachella will be postponed (which is probably for the best, seeing as it’s basically in a town full of retirees).

-The trailer for Netflix’s Uncorked looks great.

–Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt star in the new Jungle Cruise trailer.