Newsletter Wednesday, January 11, 2017

[LaineyGossip.com - Calling all smuthounds!] Wednesday, January 11, 2017 [Intro for January 11, 2017] [Solange covers Interview magazine ] Dear Gossips, Have you read the [Beyoncé-Solange interview in Interview] yet? As you know, Beyoncé hasn’t done a real interview in years. But here she is interviewing her sister at her request. You can tell they are close. Beyoncé credits Solange with being ahead of the game, ahead of the trend, of being artistically prescient. Solange speaks often about growing up learning from Beyoncé’s “master class” and shares examples of how Beyoncé has guided her, both personally and professionally. There’s also a really cute moment when Beyoncé teases Solange for “acting the fool” when she met Nas. But make no mistake – this interview is all about Solange. Because Beyoncé is here for Solange, to interview Solange, but also because Beyoncé does not talk about Beyoncé. Beyoncé does not reveal Beyoncé. We are still wondering about Lemonade, what it means, whether or not it was her real life or a parable. Beyoncé has never offered opportunity to explain it, nor is she interested in explaining it. Solange, however, since she is not her sister, is here to walk us through her process for [A Seat At The Table], her masterpiece, and one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2016. She talks about the meaning behind Cranes In The Sky, what she went through shooting the visuals, how nervous she was before the album’s release. Solange is giving answers where Beyoncé withholds. And she’s doing it through Beyoncé, who is known to withhold. It’s a fascinating interview. I’m not sure that it’s a great interview, because Beyoncé wasn’t talking to Solange, she was slow-pitching to her, and no real conversation can come from that. Still, I’ve read it three times because there is more than enough to take away. Like this question, from Beyoncé, that reads kinda weird for me: “Well, I am so glad we grew up in Houston. And I know that it's such a big inspiration for all of us: you, myself, my mom, my dad ... everybody that lives there. How can you describe growing up on Parkwood, and what about our hometown do you carry with you?” Are the possessive determiners there throwing you off? The double use of “my”? I don’t have a sibling but I can’t imagine that if I did and I was talking to them about our parents, I’d use “my” over “our”. Or simply “mom, dad” without any determiner. I’m not sure this is a big deal. And I’m not sure it means anything (it only happens once) beyond giving us some insight into how Beyoncé speaks, what her patterns are, if that. But let me get to the part of the interview when I screamed. Selena Quintanilla comes up! Which is when I realised. Of course Beyoncé and Solange, they would love Selena, they would connect with Selena. It’s Texas. [Click here] to read the full article. The other interview I read yesterday was Roxane Gay’s piece on Madonna for [Harper’s Bazaar], and more for Roxane than Madonna. It’s an interesting layout, the way they’ve presented this discussion. The first half is expository. The back half is straight Q&A. I preferred the first half. I preferred reading Roxane’s thoughts on Madonna, her observations about Madonna (the way her house smells, her relationship with wine, that she calls rosé “summer juice”, that of course Madonna would refer to Roxane by the lyrics of the Police song, of course she would) more than hearing from Madonna herself. Which is not to say that she doesn’t offer anything interesting, particularly when she talks about a certain “ex-husband” who wanted her to stop working, stop touring. But, more often than not, Madonna answers “we” questions with “I” responses. I’m not convinced she’s there to have a discussion. [Click here] to read the article. Yours in gossip, Lainey [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 2:32 PM [Rooney & Joaquin] [Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara attend the 'Her' Photocall during the 8th Rome Film Festival at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica on November 10, 2013 in Rome, Italy] See? Gossip is comin’ at us from all over the place this year. [Page Six reported] that [Rooney Mara] and [Joaquin Phoenix], who worked together on Her and, most recently, Mary Magdalene (he plays Jesus), “found love on the set”. They were shooting in the desert, away from the city, friends, family, life. They’re two intense people. They get caught up in their characters. They’re known for getting caught up in creative darkness and self-indulging in angsty headspace. I can see it. It makes total sense, even though Joaquin’s rep has denied it, saying “they’re just good friends”. You know what’s interesting though? Joaquin is best friends with [Casey Affleck]. Casey and Rooney were also co-stars on Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. I get anonymous emails now and again about rumours that they too had a fling. Nothing that I could ever substantiate beyond a quote from Casey last year when [he talked about the experience] of making Manchester By The Sea and then his thoughts turned to Rooney: “The reason that I keep [acting] is the conversations that I have early in the morning, late at night, between the scenes. And none of them were ever better than the ones that I had with Kenny [Lonergan] just talking about, Why does the character do this? What would you do? What would I do? I was thinking about this recently, but the only reason that I do movies is because I like having those conversations. The rest of it is either a chore leading up to it or just following through on the fun part that we just had. When you're with someone like Kenny, all of those conversations make you understand yourself better, other people better, and the characters better. That's the fun part but watching [the movies] is torture unless Rooney [Mara] is in movie. Then it's a pure joy to watch [laughs].” So she comes up there. And then he goes on to talk more about his relationships with directors. But after that, he’s asked about other actors he’s worked with, specifically Rooney – and he says this: “I just fell in love with her and then the movie's over and then she lets you know that she was just sucking you in [laughs]. Then there's zero feeling there at the wrap party and I was devastated. I was kind of just a little fly in her web, I guess. So that was how that was like.” [Click here] to listen to the conversation. (PS I hate Casey Affleck’s voice.) A joke, obviously a joke! But it’s hard for me, after [those allegations] about how he and Joaquin behaved while shooting I’m Still Here, to not be tempted to look at this situation through that lens, if, that is, Joaquin and Rooney are actually together. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 8:31 PM [Smutty Tingles] Like Michael K, [I forgot this was happening]. And I want to go back to that time. (Dlisted) I love [Nicole Kidman’s hair] like this (Just Jared) [Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton hold hands] (Cele|bitchy) Duana has been [OBSESSED with this], all last night and all today (TooFab) Lindsay Lohan is [trying to make us miss her]. Not working. (The Superficial) [Ben Affleck gets the pat down] (TMZ) [Great makeup on Vanessa Hudgens] (Go Fug Yourself) In today’s [“He’ll be fine!” news]… (Jezebel) Cara Delevingne and her [Twitter troll] (Pajiba) [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 7:46 PM [Selena Gomez + The Weeknd] [Selena Gomez/The Weeknd] We are two weeks into the year and already it’s been great for gossip. Mimi, JLO, Clooney Twins, thirsty-ass Tom Hiddleston, and now [Selena Gomez] and [The Weeknd]. TMZ has the photos – [click here] to see them. I mean, if you want to stretch, and it would have to be like the most advanced yoga, you could say these are just friends being affectionate. Or, you know, what everyone else is thinking – this is a thing. Just some background. The background is that he and [Bella Hadid] broke up not that long ago. Bella and her sister Gigi are friends with Selena. And The Weeknd and [JB] are friendly too. That’s the good gossip. The darker gossip is… well… Selena was in rehab for quite a while last year for mental health. And, come on, it’s no secret what the The Weeknd has been known to sing about. His habits. What he uses. Or what he says he has used. He insists it’s in the past. That’s the hope. As for these photos…and specifically the Photo Assumption…everyone at work thinks she looks like she’s way more into him than he is into her. I don’t see him leaning away though. In fact, I think he’s leaning INTO her. And his hand on hers suggests that he wants to keep her there. There’s no discomfort on his face either. In fact, he seems like he’s enjoying it – scroll through to the shots where he’s smiling. And this guy is not a chronic smiler. Very closely monitoring Justin Bieber’s Twitter. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 7:03 PM [Tom Hardy in Taboo] [Michael Kelly, Oona Chaplin and actor/creator/executive producer Tom Hardy pose at the after party for the premiere of FX's 'Taboo' at Soho House on January 9, 2017 in West Hollywood, California] [Tom Hardy]’s first foray into producing for television is the dark, macabre Taboo, which premiered last night with a ninety minute pilot. Hardy stars as James Delaney, who returns to London after being presumed dead for a decade. Delaney is the long lost heir to a shipping company, I think? It's 1814 and everyone’s jobs are things like prostitute, fancy man, soot salesman, and grizzled mysterious sea captain. Delaney more or less falls into that last category, as he has made a fortune in Africa that may be through the slave trade, and he is obviously keeping many secrets. The show is called “Taboo” and Delaney’s secrets are all different taboos, like loving his half-sister (Game of Thrones’ [Oona Chaplin]) a little too much. Like, [Folgers Christmas Commercial] too much. There’s also his as yet unexplained connection to the slave trade, and his mother’s suppressed identity as a Native American his father bought as part of a land deal in the Pacific Northwest. So, yes, Tom Hardy is playing a bi-racial Native American. That’s not ideal. The whole reason to watch Taboo is Tom Hardy’s performance, but his father’s land in the Pacific Northwest is a huge plot point already. Anglo-European and indigenous interaction is obviously a big part of the show’s engine, which is fine in and of itself, but it’s undermined by an English actor playing a half-Native character, which perpetuates a system that disadvantages indigenous voices and talent. I think there’s enough going on to justify watching Taboo, but like so many other things—most recently [Doctor Strange]—there’s just going to be this one thing sticking in our collective craw about it. And that land deal provides the backbone of the show as Delaney is set up to fight everyone from his brother in law to the East India Company over that land, which includes a sound between Canada and westward-expanding America. Why this is important I don’t exactly grasp yet—I think Delaney explained it but Hardy’s in marble-mouth mode and some of his line deliveries are complete nonsense, I swear once he said, “Podunk mashed potatoes” when someone asked him about Africa—but it has something to do with the soon-to-be-settled War of 1812. Watching people argue over land deals and real estate is not inherently fascinating drama, but Tom Hardy is so laser-focused as Delaney that he turns every moment he’s on screen into utterly compelling television. It cannot be emphasized enough—Taboo lives and dies by Hardy and he is DELIVERING. If you’re a Hardy fan, this is a must watch, but even if you’re not, it’s still a strong start to a promising show. Between the lure of Delaney’s many secrets and the battle set up over the American land—which will undoubtedly lead to skullduggery and mayhem—Taboo has plenty of room to grow. It’s also GORGEOUS to look at it. It has the kind of lush, detailed set and costume design you expect from a Merchant-Ivory film, and Taboo hits the same “lavish melodrama” mark that the first season of Downton Abbey did. Co-produced by FX and the BBC, this looks like something you’d expect to see on HBO or Netflix, so it’s a little jarring when the show cuts to black for commercials. It would be interesting to see it without the commercial breaks because it feels like it’s meant to be watched uninterrupted. Some of those cuts come at awkward moments, like the show wasn’t written for them—network dramas tend to hit little dramatic peaks before each break so that you’re left in suspense during the commercial, but Taboo doesn’t quite have that rhythm. But that is such a minor annoyance in a show that is offering so much. Given the land-deal driven plot and sheer number of outrageous secrets being kept, this show has a high degree of difficulty, and Taboo certainly has every chance of going completely off the rails, but even if it does end up being a totally bonkers revenge drama, there is still Tom Hardy destroying the scenery with his acting. Because of Hardy’s natural charisma as a performer and the particular menace and grit he’s put into Delaney specifically, he can sustain a rather large amount of batsh*ttery and keep the thing afloat. And his primary antagonist is Sir Fancy Man—his name sounded like Sir Shush Solange when the ludicrously accented fat pompous man introduced him—who is played by Jonathan Pryce, Game of Thrones’s High Sparrow. Pryce makes a fantastic villain and even though he spends the whole pilot sitting at a table plotting to steal real estate, he’s clearly enjoying the role, especially when Hardy shows up to spar. So while there are a lot of secret revelations and the main plot mechanism is not fascinating, between Hardy and Pryce Taboo is worth a shot. This show will either get really silly or REALLY dark, or, if we’re very lucky, it might just nail the silly-dark combo and be an entertaining melodrama that’s just smart enough to not make you feel bad for watching it. At the very least, with all the period detailing and potential for Back-Stabbing and Lies, it’s filling the Game of Thrones void. And, seriously. Tom Hardy. Watch it for him alone. He’s spectacular. Attached - more shots of Tom Hardy with the cast of Taboo at the premiere and after party in LA the other night. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 6:02 PM [JLO & Jenna] [Jenna Dewan Tatum and Channing Tatum out in LA, January 10, 2017] [Jennifer Lopez] is producing a dance competition show called World Of Dance. She, NE-YO, and Derek Hough are the judges. And [Jenna Dewan] [has just been confirmed] as the host and mentor. [A show by dancers FOR dancers....so excited to share with you guys! Let's goooooooo! @jlo @neyo @derekhough @nbc #worldofdance] A photo posted by Jenna Dewan Tatum (@jennaldewan) on Jan 4, 2017 at 10:18pm PST I’ve said many times over the years on this blog that I love a dance movie. And while I’m not as hardcore as Kathleen and [cannot defend all the Step Ups], the first one, the original, as is almost always the case, was pretty perfect. Since then, Jenna Dewan hasn’t had much consistent career momentum. This, though, is an excellent career move. Because, as she says, the show is by dancers and for dancers. On shows like this, you want the “experts” to be the “experts”. I believe she is a dance “expert” on a show with other dance “experts”. And I hope all the experts have an expert dance-off. Dance battle: JLO vs NE-YO or NE-YO vs Derek. Definitely JLO vs Jenna! Lip Sync Battle kinda does this already, but not everyone is at that high of a dance level. Speaking of Lip Sync Battle, you’ve seen Jenna do Pony, right? Sexy as f-ck…in sweatpants. I want to dance like that in sweat pants. Her performance is why [Channing Tatum] had to bring out Beyoncé – it’s the only way he could triumph over his wife. Here are Jenna and Channing out in LA yesterday. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 5:20 PM [Three Natalie Portmans = One Ashton Kutcher, and a Best Actress Update] [Natalie Portman covers Marie Claire UK] Natalie Portman covers the newest issue of [Marie Claire UK]. Inside, she talks about legalizing pot, her sense of humour, and, of course, Jackie. But she also reveals that as of 2010, Ashton Kutcher [was worth roughly three times] as much as she was in the eyes of Hollywood: “Ashton Kutcher was paid three times as much as me on No Strings Attached. … I knew and I went along with it because there's this thing with "quotes" in Hollywood. … His was three times higher than mine so they said he should get three times more. … I wasn't as pissed as I should have been. I mean, we get paid a lot, so it's hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy.” So before she won her first Oscar for Black Swan, Natalie’s “quote” was a third of Ashton Kutcher’s. What a bargain. Like Tom Hanks said about Natalie last week at [Palm Springs], we know so much about her, and yet so little. She went to Harvard, she’s appeared on Sesame Street, and has worked with nearly everybody, and yet, to the eyes of many in the public (and some of us here at LaineyGossip, sigh), she maintains this quality of mystery… and possibly, her perceived inaccessibility or elitism. But, as the resident Natalie fan and apologist, I will defend her! Natalie’s a fighter for women. In the article, she talks about why she’s campaigning for a woman to direct her next project after she gives birth, a Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic. She also says she wants to get back to work ASAP, and goes into detail about why it’s so important to nurture female voices and support each other in Hollywood and beyond. I wrote about this back in August, when she appeared on Charlie Rose, and talked about how Jill Soloway [is her role model]. Now, she wants to be an advocate for equal pay, just like Jennifer Lawrence did in her [Lenny Letter essay in 2015]. When Natalie’s Best Actress Oscar competitor Emma Stone covered [Rolling Stone last month], she discussed her industry hardships, and how her male co-stars and crew members did not like it when she improvised, and would often steal her best lines and riffs. Natalie’s paycheck reveal serves a similar purpose in showing how hard it can be for women in the workplace to fight for equal pay, and equal respect on-set. She, like Emma, is making a play at being more relatable, more like us. She’s recognizing her Hollywood privilege and framing her wage war in terms we can understand. And, of course, she’s doing it now, during her Oscar campaign, in a tight race for Best Actress. So, sure, you could say this is pragmatic and self-serving. But that doesn’t mean it has to be a lie. Speaking of the race – Natalie lost out in the Best Actress Drama category to Isabelle Huppert at the Globes on Sunday, which led to a few pundits speculating she’s lost her lead in the Oscar race. Also celebrating Isabelle Huppert's win must be Emma Stone, whose main Oscar competitor was thought to be Natalie Portman. — Scott Feinberg (@ScottFeinberg) [January 9, 2017] Heyo! Press backstage gasp when Isabelle Huppert wins Globe over Natalie Portman [#GoldenGlobes] — Andrea Mandell (@AndreaMandell) [January 9, 2017] To further compound matters, Emma Stone won in the Best Actress Musical or Comedy category, as predicted. Beyond that, less than a week after hosting a private screening of Jackie [on Natalie’s behalf], Hollywood power player Reese Witherspoon tweeted about how La La Land is “pure MAGIC!” Reese used a photo of Ryan Gosling and Emma with their Globes to illustrate her point. Congrats to these two amazing actors on their very deserved [#GoldenGlobe] wins! If you haven't seen [#Lalaland] yet ... Run! It's pure MAGIC✨ [pic.twitter.com/dENdeP7VdR] — Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) [January 9, 2017] So, has Natalie lost her lead, and Reese’s endorsement? Well, Reese is a powerful producer (Gone Girl, Wild, soon to be Big Little Lies), and an Oscar winner who is also quite well-respected. Her word, or thumbs up, can carry some significant weight inside several Hollywood circles. Speaking to this, here are photos of Sarah Jessica Parker bowing down to Reese at the HBO Golden Globes after-party: [When you're at the party and finally run into your friends. ❤#SarahJessicaParker #ReeseWitherspoon #NicoleKidman] A photo posted by Pret-a-Reporter (@pretareporter) on Jan 9, 2017 at 3:54pm PST But back to Reese’s tweet and Instagram post. Of course you can like more than one performance in a year, especially amongst your peers… and especially between women in Hollywood. But this was a particularly interestingly-timed post given its proximity to last week’s Natalie endorsement. Is Reese switching sides to support Emma, who could beat out her friend as she tries to win her second Oscar? That would be a “social media assumption.” This looks to be a “thumbs up” for the film, and the Globes, where La La Land became the winningest film in Globe history. After her loss, Natalie still attended a [Globes after-party]. She schmoozed, and continued her hustle. Prior to posting the photo of Emma and Ryan with their trophies, Reese liked a photo of Natalie at the Fox/Hulu party. Juliette Lewis, Penelope Ann Miller and Amy Adams’ husband Darren Le Gallo liked it too, and Natalie was photographed laughing with Amy and Darren on the Globes red carpet. For what it’s worth, she was also caught on camera posing with Emma during the ceremony. So, perhaps there’s no bad blood, and simply, just ambition. And competition between women through work, not a bad word here at LaineyGossip. [A vision in chartreuse at the Fox party #natalieportman @jackiefilm @foxsearchlight 💋] A photo posted by Barry Dale Johnson (@barrydalenyc) on Jan 8, 2017 at 9:58pm PST However, don’t count Natalie out. From the looks of that “Like” – Reese remains on her side… or she may have just really liked her dress. And it’s not like she posted a photo of Isabelle’s win. While we’re on that topic: [A photo posted by Isabelle Huppert (@isabelle.huppert)] on Jan 9, 2017 at 8:45am PST Natalie and Emma will next vie for the same Best Actress statue at the SAG Awards in over two weeks, without Isabelle in the mix. The Oscars are next, but Isabelle may or may not make the cut there either. Her film Elle did not make the Academy’s foreign language film shortlist, making her more of a nomination wildcard. Plus, Isabelle was left out of yesterday’s [BAFTA nominations]. This leaves us with what looks to be seven women (Emma, Natalie, Meryl, Amy, [Annette], Isabelle, Ruth) [competing for five spots]. Who will “survive”? [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 4:30 PM [James McAvoy makes Split] [James McAvoy attends a photocall for 'Split' on January 11, 2017 in Milan, Italy] [M Night Shyamalan]’s new film Split opens on January 20th. So far the reviews have been pretty decent. I mean, it’s January, and the movie is probably being assessed by January standards. That said, it’s not pretending to be anything else. And [a few critics] have even called it a “[return to form]” for Night, relying heavily it seems on an outstanding performance by [James McAvoy] who plays a man called Kevin with 23 personalities. You know how it feels like every female lead in a rom-com is called Kate? I feel like Kevin is the new name for cinematic sociopaths. Kevin is the new Damien: discuss. Here’s James with Night and Anya Taylor-Joy, who at 20 was just nominated for a Rising Star BAFTA ([alongside Ruth Negga]) promoting Split in Milan today. Jesus he is pretty. Those lips. That’s the natural lip colour I’ve always wanted. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 3:31 PM [“Pound my yams”] [Idris Elba at YVR Airport in Vancouver, December 21, 2016] The impossible might be possible. I WILL FIGHT YOU FOR THIS POSSIBILITY so watch your hair because my fingers are coming at that ponytail…even though this is supposed to be for charity. [Idris Elba] is making himself available as your Valentine for a good cause. Have you watched this yet? I giggled the whole way through the first time. Like with my hands covering my face, as if he were actually speaking only to me, directly. The second time I laughed even harder at the comedy of it all. When he eats that candy heart, all slouched in the chair, with his arms flopped to the sides I f-cking lost it. God, can you imagine? Having dinner with him? Would you eat? You might be too nervous to eat. But you must eat. Because it’s not like for real he’d take you home. What he will do is take you somewhere renowned for good food. And you won’t have to pay for it. Free food and champagne while looking at and talking to Idris Elba. It’s going to be the best meal of your life. F-ck that. It’s going to be the best meal of MY life. You should still give money though. It’s a great organisation. Here is Idris at the airport in Vancouver at the end of December. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 3:17 PM [January 11, 2017 – Smutty Shout-Outs] [Zoey and Bette for Yinnie] Yinnie! "Happy birthday to one brilliant, beautiful and driven woman! That mind will take you far, and I know you are destined for great things--in the very near future. Thanks for teaching me many useful things these past couple of years: everything from K-Pop, to medical diagnoses, to interview strategy. Special mini shout-out to Robert for his help with this bday wish!" From Megan who sent along photos of Zoey and Bette and requested photos of Charlie Hunnam, Jungkook, G-Dragon, and So Ji Sub. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 2:56 PM [Privacy Policy] - [Unsubscribe]