Shonda Invents Anna

Posted by Lainey on "\/Date(1603910864600)\/"

Today I’m wondering about writer Jessica Pressler. Every year or so, Jessica Pressler produces a piece for The Cut that becomes a cult thing in and of itself alongside its subject(s). Back in 2015, her article on “The Hustlers at Scores” was one of the best investigative essays of the year. In 2019, just over a year ago, Duana and I were obsessed with her report on the “Class Riot Among the One Percent at Brooklyn’s Oldest Nursery School” and I can’t believe no one’s turned that into a Hollywood production yet – at least not that I’ve seen. Because “Scores” of course eventually became the movie Hustlers, starring Jennifer Lopez (for which she should have been Oscar-nominated). And Jessica’s 2018 piece, “How an Aspiring “It” Girl Tricked New York’s Party People – And Its Banks” is the inspiration for an upcoming Netflix series by none other than Shonda Rhimes called Inventing Anna. ...Full Story

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Dear Gossips, My Halloween tradition here at LaineyGossip is to complain about Halloween. I hate it. That doesn’t mean I’m not good at it, because I’m actually very good at Halloween – I am a professional, goddamn it! – but it’s such a pain in the ass. Here’s my gold medal Halloween performance from last year. You should have seen me in rehearsals, I was givin’er on every pass (flip through the carousel…or don’t, I do look pretty f-cking gross): It took forever to make that happen though, thanks to the talents of our makeup artists Stephanie Cruz and Nikki Strachan. Which is one of the reasons I always dread this week. Because I’m constantly falling behind, especially here on the blog, since Halloween takes up so much time. Even in COVID times! But does the audience actually care that much? On Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, every year, he makes fun of television and news presenters for their Halloween extra – and what he’s asking here is: will viewers really be disappointed if they turn on their television to their favourite newscast or talk show and the hosts are just wearing, like, cat ears, or a clown wig or a wizard hat, the end, that’s it, nothing elaborate?! I wouldn’t! I would be like… YES, this is the show I’m getting down with because nobody needs 45 costume changes, Kelly! Hocus Pocus on the other hand, well, that’s another story. Take away Hocus Pocus from millennials and there would be a revolt. I don’t get that either but I know it to be true. It’s another one of my Halloween hang-ups: what is it about that movie…and if we’re dealing with witch movies, why isn’t it all about Practical Magic? This, I think, is my new game. Are you a Hocus Pocus person? Or are you a Practical Magic person? Can’t believe Buzzfeed hasn’t made this quiz yet. I am 100% all about Practical Magic. AV Club just published a piece on the movie this week documenting “the rise of Practical Magic as a spooky season classic” even though the film was considered a flop at time of its release 22 years ago. Wasn’t a flop to me. But sometimes it takes a while to appreciate a movie – and for many this was a movie that revealed itself to people when they were alone on their couches, watching it on television. In this movie the big bad was an abusive lover, which is the real life horror, by varying degrees, that so many of us can relate to. In this movie it’s love that can save you, and that’s the real life magic that we’re all looking for. In this movie the hair game was ON POINT. And that’s the real life costume that everyone can f-ck with… all year round! Sandra Bullock’s waves. Nicole Kidman’s layers. Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest’s side-sweeps… and their caftans! Speaking of Practical Magic fashion, it was all slip dresses, prairie dresses, and boyfriend jeans – we all have that in the closet for the costume. Nicole Kidman was recently asked about the appeal of Practical Magic after all these years. She told WSJ Magazine that, ““Strangely enough, ‘Practical Magic’ — every time Halloween’s going — people are like, “I love Practical Magic! And I’m always like, ‘Sandy, that’s cool,’”. Yes. Because they were right about it all along, when they said yes to doing the movie, their reasons became everybody else’s reasons: sisterhood, kitchen dance parties, whispering side by side in bed with your closest confidante… oh my God, I need to watch this tonight. And every night until Halloween is f-cking over.Yours in gossip,Lainey

Shonda Invents Anna

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