Dear Gossips,
Something really exciting happened this week: Judy Blume has finally agreed to have Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret turned into a movie. Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen, a movie I loved) will write the screenplay and direct. James L Brooks will produce. Kelly told Deadline that:
“It’s rare for me to run into a woman or girl who hasn’t read it and every time I’ve mentioned it to a woman, they clutch their heart and let out this joyful gasp. There’s something so timely and full of truth and I remember for me that at that age, it felt like a life raft at a time when you’re lost and searching and unsure. This book comes along and tells you you’re not alone. Women remember where they were when they read it. I can’t think of another book you can say that about.”
Every word is true for me. Like Margaret, I was an only child. Like Margaret, I was confused about my place in the world, my place in school, my breasts (only in my case it was “I must, I must, I must DECREASE my bust”), and my period. I am STILL confused about my period. This year, my period has taken up more mental and emotional energy than anything in my life. I just went for an ultrasound yesterday because of my period. My period has been f-cking up my sh-t all week. Margaret made me feel like it was normal to have a frustrating relationship with your period. And yet, even now, almost 50 years after its publication, girls are still dealing with their periods in secret, and often in shame. Girls continue to miss out on opportunities because they’re menstruating. Here in Canada, nearly 1 in 7 girls have either left school early or missed school entirely because of their periods.
So that “joyful gasp” that Kelly is talking about? It’s real. A joyful gasp came out of me when I read this headline yesterday. And, probably, there will be a lot of joyful gasps when we go see the movie. There are certain memories, certain feelings, we don’t outgrow. For so many of us, it’s impossible to outgrow Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Are you re-reading it this weekend?
Have a great weekend!
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
Jamie Lee Curtis returns to Halloween
Director David Gordon Green continues his hopscotch through genre with a sequel to Halloween, John Carpenter’s 1978 horror flick that basically launched the slasher sub-genre. Forty years later, the baton passes to Green who, along with collaborators Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, brings back the craft and careful compositions of the original. Full Story
Dear Gossips,
Mariah Carey is releasing a new album November 16 called Caution. Which means she’ll be on a promotional push for it through the holidays, her favourite season. Her own season. The first two songs off the album, “GTFO” and “With You”, didn’t do much. Read Full Intro
What Else?
A porn star went into the bathroom with a flight attendant is actually the plot of this actual porn only it’s now become a workplace ethics scandal which is a total boner killer. Michael K, however, has now turned it into a comedy. By the time I got to the part about “keep climbing Full Story
Harry & Meghan Day 3: public transportation and displays of affection
Backgrid, Pool/ Chris Jackson/ JULIAN SMITH/ Samir Hussein/ Scott Barbour/ ANDY BROWNBILL/ WILLIAM WEST / Getty Images
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent the day in Melbourne. There were several stops on the schedule, including a visit at Government House, a tram ride to the beach, learning about volunteer cleanup on the beach, watching sport demonstrations with ambassadors from the This Girl Can campaign, and a meeting with students in the F1 in Schools programme – which is when this moment happened: During the reception Harry and Meghan got to meet students from Trinity Grammar who had been involved in the #F1inSchools Full Story
Bad Times at the El Royale: a kitschy Lynchian dream
Bad Times at the El Royale, Drew Goddard’s follow-up to The Cabin in the Woods is at once completely like that movie and nothing like that movie. Getting into the specifics of how El Royale works would spoil it, but one important thing to know is that despite the ominous trailer and Goddard’s previous genre work, El Royale is not a horror movie. Full Story
Diddy and Cassie are done
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Cassie Ventura were together for 11 years. That number is higher than I expected and every time I’ve read it in a story about their breakup, I’ve had to pause and be like, “11 YEARS? Damn.” As Lainey pointed out, that timeline makes Cassie REAL young when they got together. Full Story
Smutty Social Media, October 18, 2018
I love a celebrity birthday message, but here Barbra Streisand is putting on a clinic in how to do it. It’s a full shot of her good side. John Mayer is in the corner of the shot, looking at her adoringly. She posted it a day late. And he’s still insanely grateful to even be acknowledged by her. Full Story
Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga: box office and charts
A Star is Born just crossed the $100 million mark at the box office after twelve days. And, as we’ve been saying, it’s one of those movies that has been able to sustain its earnings weekend after weekend as people go back to see it again and again or as other people, through word of mouth, go to see it because others can’t stop talking about it. Full Story
Jennifer Aniston: low key in New York
Backgrid
Jennifer Aniston was photographed leaving the Good Morning America studios on Monday in New York. Since then I keep expecting to see the interview, or some headline about why she was there and what she was promoting. There hasn’t been anything. The next day, Courteney Cox was photographed heading to the Springsteen show on Broadway. Full Story
Taylor Swift votes early
Two weeks ago, Taylor Swift made headlines for her voter registration appeal and revealing exactly who she would be voting for in Tennessee. Full Story
