Newsletter Thursday, November 03, 2016

[LaineyGossip.com - Calling all smuthounds!] Thursday, November 03, 2016 [Intro for November 3, 2016] [David Pirner & Winona Ryder at the Mann Culver Plaza Theatre in Culver City, California, December 11, 1994] Dear Gossips, Duana [sent over an article] this morning to us on group chat that I can’t stop thinking about. It’s about Soul Asylum’s Runaway Train. Remember the song? And, in particular, the video? In addition to the band, the video featured photos of real missing kids. I had no idea until I read the piece that the video was re-edited often to update the images – if/when a young person was found, their picture would be replaced with someone else. The article wonders about the lost youth and follows up on a few of their stories. I was 18 or so when the video was first released. Not going to lie, probably one of the reasons it was on my radar was because Winona Ryder got together with Dave Pirner around this time, her first serious boyfriend after Johnny Depp. Back then I was only thinking about Winona’s romantic business. I wasn’t thinking about the haunting reality behind those class photos and, in my privilege, I certainly had no idea about why kids run away or, in some cases, how they are taken. Ten years later I started working at [Covenant House Vancouver] (CHV), raising awareness for at-risk youth, in our community but also in myself. At CHV I learned to challenge my own assumptions about street kids and we worked, together, to challenge the broader social assumptions about streets and to educate people on how kids end up alone, and angry, and afraid, and empty, and adrift. Every year, at Covenant House sites around the world, community leaders are invited to participate in the [Sleep Out]. They spend a night outside, experiencing in a minor way what youth-at-risk experience every day. This year’s Sleep Out is happening on November 17. In Vancouver we have a celebrity angle. If you watch The Bachelor/ette– and I know A LOT of you do – Kaitlyn Bristowe is involved. Please [click here] for more information and if you are able to help. I was on the Sleep Out team a few years ago. That night, before we went outside to sleep on pieces of cardboard and newspaper, we had the opportunity to meet some of the young people who’d been helped by our programs. One of them, in recounting his experience as a street kid, told us that the worst part of the day was often not making eye contact with anyone, that most people don’t want to acknowledge that they’re there. I remembered this story today when I was reading that piece on Runaway Train. And the difference more eye contact would make either in locating the missing or, simply, helping them feel, if only temporarily, not quite so lost. [Click here] to read the article on Runaway Train. Yours in gossip, Lainey [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 2:25 PM [Smutty Social Media, November 3, 2016] Last night Charlie Sheen was cheering for Cleveland. Can't believe the rain... best game ever. Come on [@Cubs] !!!!!! — Denise Richards (@DENISE_RICHARDS) [November 3, 2016] Oprah still does Favourite Things? I looked through the list, do NOT get the Le Creuset salt and pepper mills, trust me they suck. They are fine for display but terrible to cook with. [Sometimes it's the little things that make the most thoughtful gifts. There are lots to choose from in this list. Happy Favorite Things Day! 🎁 (link in bio)] A video posted by Oprah (@oprah) on Nov 3, 2016 at 6:30am PDT Office Christmas Party is [that holiday movie everyone is in]. [#tbt to tender moments with #katemckinnon #officexmasparty 👯🎄👁] A photo posted by Olivia Munn (@oliviamunn) on Nov 3, 2016 at 8:34am PDT Brooklyn Decker and Andy Roddick lost, then found!, their dog. [FOUND] A photo posted by Brooklyn Decker (@brooklyndecker) on Nov 2, 2016 at 4:07pm PDT Robin Thicke is on vacation with his son. For all his shenanigans with the Wolf Pack, I bet you he still drunk dials Paula Patton begging for forgiveness. [The big guy!] A photo posted by Robin Thicke (@robinthicke) on Nov 1, 2016 at 3:00pm PDT Is this a current or old photo of Charlie Hunnam and the Internet’s boyfriend, Rami Malek? I don’t know, but I’ll take Charlie however I can get him. Also I’m really into the apple sweatshirt the guy on the far left is wearing. [Ono kad nisi siguran jel smijes objavit sliku pa je stavis pa skines pa opet stavis pa ispadne da se samo gadno preseravas. Vise je ne skidam. I totalno cu bubnut jedan #actorslife na ovu. #ramimalek #charliehunnam #rolandmoller #lukaperoš #setlife #shooting #movie #hollywood] A photo posted by Slavko Sobin (@slavkosobin) on Nov 2, 2016 at 6:12am PDT Naomi Campbell at the W Magazine party for The Weeknd. There’s nothing smutty here, Naomi and Bella are super tight. [#congratulations baby @theweeknd on your #wsjmagazine #innovator award #2016 many more to come # honored to present to you #proudsista 😘😘😘😘❤️❤️👊🏾] A photo posted by Naomi Campbell (@iamnaomicampbell) on Nov 2, 2016 at 11:07pm PDT Demi sparring with Rocky – this is amazing. He says “I slipped” 3 times. [Just knocking out Rocky (@officialslystallone) easy day at @unbreakableperformance.. #nobigdeal #boxingLEGEND #thenewcreed #ROXYBALBOA #Rockysdaughter #unthinkableatunbreakable] A video posted by Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) on Nov 2, 2016 at 12:16pm PDT [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 7:44 PM [Carrie and Brad start strong…] [Hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood speak onstage at the 50th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 2, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee] [Carrie Underwood] and [Brad Paisley] have hosted the CMAs for the last 9 years. And you know what? I like their chemistry. I liked it last year and I quite enjoyed their opening monologue this year. I mean it was corny, but also, they know their audience. And it worked on the audience. If you’ve been reading this blog a while, you know that I’m not set on default to stan for Carrie Underwood. So if I’m into it, I’m actually into it. That said, their energy seemed to slip away from them the deeper we got into the show, in particular when they were doing individual throws. For some of his presenter or performer introductions, Brad looked almost bored. Or pissed – at least to me. And she too wasn’t all that animated when she had a prompter read on her own. It’s a long show. And they also performed in several numbers. This is a big job, so, understandably, you can start to deflate. Maybe I’m reading a little too into it but the times they had to hype up “Beyoncé, coming up soon!” or “Taylor Swift is here!”, it was wayyyyy low on enthusiasm. Like, in some shots Brad looked like he was in pain. Just me? As for all of the outfit changes, because this is a thing now, how many times Carrie changes during the show, some of them were “inspired” by dresses worn at previous CMAs to celebrate the 50th anniversary so, I dunno, I guess she’s supposed to get a pass on the ugly ones. The thing is, um, I wouldn’t have known that the choices were “inspired” by the past. They look exactly like the tacky sh-t she always wears. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 7:18 PM [Benedict Cumberbatch IS Doctor Strange] [Benedict Cumberbatch on Good Morning America, November 1, 2016] [Benedict Cumberbatch] stars as Stephen Strange, an arrogant neurosurgeon who is great at his job but terrible at everything else. He’s arrogant, rude, belittling, and selfish, and he’s mean to [Rachel McAdams] which is a shorthanded way of making a character instantly unlikeable. There’s a strong similarity to Cumberbatch’s take on Sherlock Holmes, but with a flawless American accent and also the added edge of an ambition Sherlock doesn’t possess. Strange is driven, and it’s his hubris and ambition that ultimately does him in. Reckless driving—the film includes a “Don’t text and drive” addendum—leads to a car crash which ruins Strange’s hands, ending his surgical career. From here, Doctor Strange slides sideways into a world of magic and mysticism that consumes Strange just as medicine once did. The visuals are incredible—this is the most eye-popping Marvel movie ever, and the magic, here visualized as precise, geometric runes performed as a martial art, is stunning. Strange enters a world of alternate dimensions which allows director Scott Derrickson (Sinister) to imagine new worlds and new ways of viewing our own. From the moment Avengers Tower folds into Manhattan’s navel, you know you’re in for some real eye candy. And Derrickson’s background in horror shows in some genuinely creepy visuals. Cumberbatch is TERRIFIC as Strange, as instantly indelible in the role as RDJ is as Iron Man, and bringing a similarly huge presence to the role—it’s going to be electric when [those two meet]. The strength of Doctor Strange rests entirely on Cumberbatch’s performance and the visuals, but Benedict Wong comes through as the secret MVP, his dust-dry performance as a fellow sorcerer—also named Wong—providing much of the film’s comedy. And then there’s [Tilda Swinton], and the controversy-laden role of the Ancient One. Within the mechanics of the film, the Ancient One works and Swinton is pretty great. She’s obviously enjoying herself and as reinvented for Swinton, the Ancient One is a sly, vaguely unsettling mentor. But given the movie’s mystical Asian roots, it cannot get away from the unfortunate Orientalism of the comics. It’s not as pronounced, and the biggest improvement is Wong’s character going from manservant to equal partner, but there is an undeniable Orientalist streak that none of the obvious tweaks can overcome. Doctor Strange has a lot working for it but it has this one, not insignificant, blemish. On the other side there’s the angle taken in regard to Strange’s injury. There’s no magical cure. Strange does not get better. His hands are permanently damaged, and even with his magical ability, if put in a physical contest, he WILL lose. So Strange has to THINK, and compensate, and work around his injury. The parallel to those living with disabilities is explicit within the film, and it gives Strange, both the character and the movie, a unique and rewarding message for a superhero movie: Injury is not defeat, and that which you think makes you weak, may in fact be the source of your power. So you just have to take the good with the bad. What works in Doctor Strange works REALLY WELL. Strange is fantastic and Cumberbatch sets a high bar for the next-gen Avengers being introduced over the next couple years. His dimension-hopping world of magic has a lot of potential to provide refreshing breaks from the city-destroying world of the Avengers—the way Strange handles his own city-destroying fight is inventive and clever. However, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer doesn’t really register, but then, Christine Palmer isn’t Strange’s signature love interest (that would be his wife, Clea). McAdams does bring some real emotion to the proceedings though, and she’s a good foil for the intolerably arrogant Strange. Likewise, Chiwetel Ejiofor checks the boxes as Strange’s frenemy Mordo, though Wong pretty well steals his thunder. But the real scene stealer? Strange’s magical cape. You thought a talking tree was cute? Or perhaps Ant-ony from Ant-Man? Forget it. Derrickson found a way to make a CAPE cute. Here’s how good Doctor Strange is. Were it not for the Orientalism—which is no small thing—it would absolutely be better than Iron Man. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 6:26 PM [Chest thumping at the CMAs] [Matthew McConaughey speaks onstage at the 50th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 2, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee] Some people weren’t feeling Beyoncé and the Dixie Chicks’ performance at the CMAs. (I see you, [Kenny Chesney]. But I also understand that no one wants to follow Beyoncé.) Other people were feeling it hard. Faith Hill knew all the words and was singing along. Miranda Lambert was getting really into it at the end. But no one demonstrated their feels for Daddy Lessons more than Daddy Longhorn himself, [Matthew McConaughey]. We’re having a debate about what he wore. A friend of mine who was there texted as soon as he came on stage, “Thanks for dressing up, McConaughey”. But there’s Kenny Chesney in a t-shirt a few rows over. One of my producers argued in a meeting though that that’s always been Kenny’s vibe and that Matthew knows a red carpet, he knows formal attire for an award show. But then other people argued that it’s anything goes at the CMAs and it wasn’t like he was the only one. After that someone brought up that his wife was in a gown and that it’s mismatched as a couple and could a woman just go in a pair of jeans? OK but all this conversation is taking away from the most important McConaughey moment of the night! When he gave us one of the best award show cutaways of the year. THUMPS! Nominee for gif of the year. [pic.twitter.com/sI6rrWgcon] — Elaine L. (@LaineyGossip) [November 3, 2016] [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 5:19 PM [Beyoncé & the Dixie Chicks] [Beyoncé performs onstage with Emily Robison, Natalie Maines, and Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks at the 50th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 2, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee] A few weeks ago, we had a memory scientist on [The Social] who talked about how sometimes we remember things that we can’t possibly remember. Like your dad feeding you a piece of chocolate when you were 14 months old and you spat it out and it’s the story you’ve been hearing all your life so, somehow, you’ve created the memory in your mind but it’s almost impossible for you to really be able to remember it because our brains don’t build memories that early. I remember being with Duana at [Beyoncé]’s Formation and experiencing Daddy Lessons live with her next to me. Like I can feel her energy, I can feel our energy, fused together by our love for the song. Only we weren’t actually standing next to each other, we only talked about it afterwards. Like rapturously. I wish Duana and I were together last night during the CMAs when Beyoncé and the Dixie Chicks performed Daddy Lessons. Would have been better if we were actually in Nashville but even the experience of watching it on television was its own magic. Because you already know that this was no ordinary Beyoncé-will-be-incredible-at-an-award-show situation. I mean, she was amazing. But for different, new reasons this time. This time, in Nashville, in front of the country music community, well, you have to consider the backstory. For Beyoncé, there were already some people bitching about the fact that Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, of Houston, TX, “isn’t country”. (You’ll note, Justin Timberlake did not provoke the same reaction last year.) What they mean to say, the people who say those things, is that Beyoncé isn’t “their kind of country”, [without knowing the roots of country music]. So this was never an audience that was going to be universally on side. For the Dixie Chicks, well, this was an audience who literally rejected them over a decade ago. The band’s relationship with the country music community is well documented. There are still many country music radio stations, and country music radio programmers, and radio is essential to country music success, that refuse to play their music. They were women who used their voices. They were punished, severely, for it. The Dixie Chicks went on to Grammy glory afterwards, and it was undoubtedly redemption for them, but there remains a large part of the country music community that continues to deny them, even as their influence has unmistakably inspired many of the artists and bands that have risen as a result of their sound. So, with all that in mind, last night they jammed, with Beyoncé, on a stage for some of the very people who made an example out of them. They jammed in joy, in solidarity, in love – with the music, first and foremost, with each other, that much was obvious, but also with themselves. What I saw last night were four women, Beyoncé, [Natalie Maines], Martie Maguire, Emily Robison, inviting us to join them, and if it was a little defiant, f-ck it, so be it. As we’ve seen with Beyoncé over the last few years, everything she does, she does it deliberately, with purpose. Beyoncé doesn’t just show up anywhere, with anyone. Beyoncé would have been aware of how she would be received and, in particular, how the Dixie Chicks have been received in that room. Together they decided that they’d be received collectively, in alliance, in Formation. And then, immediately after they left the stage, this: Yeehaw! Dixie Chicks joined Beyoncé on stage for 'Daddy Lessons' at [#CMAawards50] - download FREE here: [[#CMAawards50] [pic.twitter.com/qtsv6x0cC2] — Dixie Chicks (@dixiechicks) [November 3, 2016] So at some point, they all got together and recorded the song, planning to release it as soon as they performed it live. Without anyone knowing about it before yesterday afternoon, on the day of the CMAs, and even though people thought they were just getting a live performance, never suspecting that we’d be able to keep listening to it in our headphones. That’s pure, signature Beyoncé strategy and execution. And behind it a message to the Beyhive – embrace them as you would embrace me, you are their new community. PS. How much did you love it when Natalie said “Good job, B!” at the end? [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 3:47 PM [Justin Timberlake Can’t Stop] [Justin Timberlake covers Variety] Sorry, I should say [Justin Timberlake] won’t stop. He will never stop promoting Trolls. America could be well into HRC’s second term and JT will still be rocking a troll costume and singing the most annoying song of 2016. Name a more annoying song than Can’t Stop The Feeling. I dare you. On the latest stop of the never-ending press tour, Timberlake [covers Variety for a super long feature] I told Lainey I would read so she didn’t have to. I almost feel bad for depriving her of JT deep thoughts like this: “You’ll notice I say ‘I don’t know’ a lot… And you know the reason why? Because I don’t f—king know! I’ve realized that I don’t really know anything, and when you realize that, you realize a lot.” Full disclosure: It was only a few months ago that Justin Timberlake [dad danced his way out of my heart] and I officially, permanently, removed the JT blinders I had on since I was an *NSYNC –loving adolescent. In that time, Timberlake [has done some] [pretty dumb sh-t] that has made me feel great about my decision to focus my fangirl elsewhere. You know when you stop dating someone and all your friends are like, “oh, yeah he was the WORST” and then you look back and think, “How did I not see that he was the worst?” This is how I feel about Justin Timberlake. I always knew what he did to Janet was f-cked (#neverforget) but still, in another time, I would have thought all of the quotes from this interview were charming. I would have thought the above “I don’t know” bit was humble instead of pretentious. I would have laughed when the writer describes JT’s diaper-changing anecdotes followed by his admission that he isn’t keeping up with pop culture only to do this: When the topic of Frank Ocean’s “Blonde” is broached, he offers some impromptu a cappella beat-boxed renditions of “Solo” and “Ivy” in the middle of a crowded restaurant. Justin Timberlake started beat-boxing Frank Ocean songs in the middle of a crowded restaurant. Subtle. I can feel Lainey’s rage from across the building. How did I not know he was the worst? The focus of Variety’s piece is Justin’s film career or the fact that he has yet to become a Serious Movie Actor. Director Jonathan Demme (who also directed the JT Netflix concert film I fell asleep 20 minutes into watching) is quoted saying, “Justin is right on the verge of his gigantic breakout movie.” Really? The Social Network came out 6 years ago. He’s had 6 starring roles—not including voice work—since then. How long is this verge? How many chances is Justin Timberlake going to get before we realize that maybe he was only meant to be a great entertainer on stage, not on screen. Timberlake, as he usually does, finds a way to remind us of his Britney connection by crediting his time on The Mickey Mouse Club as a reason for his quest to be an Actor. “It’s not a stretch when you see people who’ve come out of that show and go, ‘Oh, that guy can sing? Oh, that girl can act?’ We were taught all that, and we were just sponges — most of us, anyway — just soaking it all in.” To me, the “most of us, anyway” is pure shade. So, who is it directed at? Britney? He would. Christina? Burlesque was a cinematic masterpiece so probably not. JC Chasez? Probably. The Variety feature is also making headlines because Justin talks about working on new music. Even though he’s my ex-imaginary boyfriend, I will still probably have a hard time resisting a catchy Pharrell-produced Justin Timberlake pop hit. Pharrell and Timbaland both reveal that they have been recording with JT. These are the guys behind some of Justin’s most famous hits. In the past, the promise of new music from Justin Timberlake would have made me squeal. Now, I’m just hoping Pharrell or Timbaland can stop JT from releasing another dad-pop anthem like Can’t Stop The Feeling. Here’s how Justin describes his new sound: “I wouldn’t say [my new material] is the antithesis of ‘20/20,’ but it does sound more singular,” he says. “If ‘20/20’ sounded like it literally surrounds your entire head, this stuff feels more like it just punches you between the eyes.” Nope. I have no idea what this means. Can’t Stop The Feeling might feel like a punch in the eye if it wins an Oscar, so there’s that? At one point, Timberlake says he sounds like he’s reading from the, “New Age Entertainer Manuscript.” That’s one way to put it. I’ll leave you with the quote that would be the thesis statement of that manuscript. “I’m just in the now of now. I think it’s an effect of just enjoying my life more. For a long time I lived my life for a lot of other people, or for the idea that those other people had an idea of me. And whatever — there’s a guy who’s gonna wake up tomorrow and transfer an organ from one body to another and save someone’s life — so what are we even doing?” WHAT ARE WE EVEN DOING? [Click here] to read the full interview in Variety. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 3:11 PM [November 3, 2016 – Smutty Shout-Outs] [Jason Bateman for Jenn] Jenn! Good luck today! I’m SO excited for you. And also SO jealous! We are the same age. You are living my dream. So, even though I know you’re afraid, and I would be too, try to remember what you’re coming out with. Or, um, losing. Ha! Here are Jason Bateman and Will Arnett to get you through. Happy Birthday Devin! Simon requested in your honour Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael B Jordan, Liam Hemsworth, John Krasinski, and bonus Matt Damon. And for Sanjeeta – Happy Belated Birthday! I hope you felt the heart of your grandmother, letting you know that it’s all good, that this year is full of promise, and that eventually the good memories will be the ones who take the most space. Here are Buffy and Angel to extend your birthday. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 2:52 PM [Privacy Policy] - [Unsubscribe]