Sun bleached horrors and genial sporting sitcoms

The Independent’s entertainment newsletter [View in browser]( [The Independent]( July 24, 2021 [The Independent]( Written by Louis Chilton The IndyArts Newsletter Hello and welcome back to the IndyArts newsletter. I am Louis Chilton, one of The Independent's culture reporters. Alex is on holiday at the moment and I’m filling in for the week, so let's get started. For many of us in the UK, it’s been a hot, muggy week, the kind of week where the air-conditioned space of a cinema auditorium seems like a veritable oasis in the desert. On that account, there’s new stuff to see - most excitingly the sun-bleached horror Old, the latest film from the twisty mind of M Night Shyamalan (though Clarrise Loughrey was [somewhat less than convinced by it](). [Oscars image]( Growing pains (clockwise from left): Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers from Camp Rock, Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana, Alyson Stoner, Britney Spears and Meaghan Martin Ed Cumming’s Box Seat column this week focused on Jeremy Clarkson’s new Amazon Prime documentary series Clarkson’s Farm, which he found to be a source of smart, open-minded humanism. Hot weather aside, you’d be forgiven for wondering whether hell has indeed frozen over. Elsewhere this week, I really enjoyed reading [this piece by Roisin O’Connor](, about former Disney child star’s efforts to transform the industry, and [this feature by Adam White](, which examines the strange significance of posthumous films, speaking with filmmakers and producers behind famous actors’ last roles. Tomorrow, Kevin E G Perry explores the story of Prince’s “lost” album Welcome 2 America, which is finally being given a release next Friday. Combine that with the releases from Kanye West, Billie Eilish and Dave, and you’ve got a blockbuster week of new music to blast through. The Saturday Interview – [Katherine Waterston]( [Oscars image]( Katherine Waterson will star alongside Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Getty Images) Today’s big interview is with Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them; Inherent Vice). The actor talks with Alexandra Pollard about her slow start in Hollywood, patriarchy in the film industry, and her new film The World to Come, one of a handful of recent sapphic period pieces. [Oscars image]( Waterston and Vanessa Kirby in ‘The World to Come’ (Sony Pictures) Read an extract from our Saturday Interview below... “What was being made available to me in Hollywood when I was very young was equal parts demeaning and boring,” says Waterston now, still sitting side-on, beside a large open window whose view is entirely obscured by leaves. “I struggled to find the people who wanted what I had to offer. And I found loads of people who wanted something I couldn’t offer.” What was that? “Oh God, so many things,” she says. “I couldn’t be a chess piece. I wanted to…” Five seconds pass. Then 10. She changes direction. “The simple answer would be to say: I felt I was very smart, and hard-working, and I wanted to really be challenged and get into the weeds with other creative people. And I felt that the business wanted me to stand there and look nice, and it would be great if my skirt was a little shorter. I could say that. And it’s probably mostly true.” Another 10 seconds. “But I think the harder question to ask is how much I decided that the world was saying that to me, and how much it really was. This is a very uncomfortable area of exploration.” [Read the full interview here]( What to binge this week [Oscars image]( ‘People don’t think you can be interesting when you’re a nice person:’ The cast of ‘Ted Lasso’ on the appeal of the feel-good comedy hit (Apple) [Ted Lasso]( With Euro 2020 now firmly in our rear view mirror, and the 2021/22 Premier League season still irritatingly absent from our screens, Ted Lasso picked pretty much the perfect time to return. The first season of Apple TV+’s genial sporting sitcom - starring Jason Sudeikis as an almost saint-like NFL coach who incongruously takes over managing an English football team - bagged 13 Emmy nominations recently, and season two promises more of the same feel-good charm. Anyway, familiar with the series (or curious about it), be sure to check out Jacob Stolworthy’s excellent [Ted Lasso oral history](, for which he spoke to several of the core cast. Out and about Hamlet - Theatre Royal Windsor Lost all your mirth? Maybe try getting yourself to Berkshire’s Theatre Royal Windsor, where Sir Ian McKellen is tackling the role of Shakespeare’s fabled Dane in an unusual age-blind production. Read our review [here](. Anna X - Harold Pinter Theatre The Crown’s Emma Corrin plays an ersatz heiress in this lively new play by Joseph Charlton. You can read Paul Taylor’s four-star review [here](. ...cake review, Theatre Peckham It’s a muggy evening in late April. Two electric fans are doing their best to cool things down, as a woman dances around her apartment, music getting louder and louder. This is the world of ...cake, a new play from Bruntwood Prize nominee babirye bukilwa. [Read our review here.]( Essential reading [Malcolm Lee: ‘I think LeBron likes to be coached’]( [Malcolm Lee: ‘I think LeBron likes to be coached’]( [Robert Downey Sr: Provocative underground filmmaker]( [Robert Downey Sr: Provocative underground filmmaker]( [Opinion: Don’t be surprised at the racist abuse of Bukayo Saka – this is England, after all]( [Opinion: Don’t be surprised at the racist abuse of Bukayo Saka – this is England, after all]( If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's entertainment newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's entertainment newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Culture_Newsletter_CDP). 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