Movie Reviews and Previews Barbenheimer blew up the box office After weeks of disappointing box office, summer 2023 finally staged a comeback thanks to Barbenheimer, the grassroots movement to make Barbie and Oppenheimer a double feature for the ages, and it worked. Barbie opened with an estimated $155 million domestic (with $182 million internationally), and Oppenheimer scooped up $80 million By Sarah • Jul 24, 2023 11:01 am
What Else What Else? Tony Bennett passed away at the age of 96. I saw him in concert once, he was incredible, both a great singer and storyteller. It was a lively show. For such an established professional, Bennett’s act wasn’t overly polished, he was off the cuff and improvising with his By Sarah • Jul 21, 2023 04:14 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Oh yeah, Gran Turismo As studios consider delaying films—particularly the kind of high-profile films that rely on star-studded press tours to drum up audience interest—one movie that is for sure coming out is Gran Turismo, due next month. The film stars Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, and Orlando Bloom, and is By Sarah • Jul 21, 2023 03:34 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews The Marvels’ not-Comic Con trailer Undoubtedly taking advantage of Barbenheimer weekend—and hinting at what a Marvel Comic Con appearance could have been—Marvel dropped a new trailer for The Marvels just in time to stick it in front of at least one of the two big new movies this weekend. Building on the good By Sarah • Jul 21, 2023 01:41 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Cillian Murphy and half of Hollywood in Oppenheimer Films about Great Men are usually acts of hagiography, and in many ways, Oppenheimer is no different. Christopher Nolan’s biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, “the father of the atomic bomb”, is invested in Oppenheimer as a once-in-a-generation genius, a Great Man who literally moved the earth, By Sarah • Jul 21, 2023 01:03 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Barbie Every possible question you could have about Barbieland is answerable with an enthusiastic “yes!”. Barbieland is a feminine utopia where women occupy all jobs from construction worker to president, everyone is aggressively positive and supportive, and everything is violently pink. Barbie—all Barbie, every Barbie, everyone is Barbie, you are By Sarah • Jul 21, 2023 11:26 am
Business of Hollywood Intro for July 21, 2023 Dear Gossips, Happy Barbenheimer weekend to all who celebrate! But before we talk about those two films—reviews for both coming today—let’s check in on Hot Strike Summer. We’re one week into the double SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, and while picket lines remain active and support By Sarah • Jul 21, 2023 09:19 am
Justified Raylan Givens is back in Justified: City Primeval The opening minutes of Justified: City Primeval establishes three things: 1) Willa Givens inherited her father’s love of ice cream, 2) the writers of Justified can still deliver a handsomely turned phrase, and 3) Raylan Givens is back, baby. Timothy Olyphant returns as Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens, the By Sarah • Jul 20, 2023 01:40 pm
TV Updates Dork Storm Strikes (Back) San Diego Comic-Con starts tomorrow and it’s gonna be a weird one. With actors and writers on strike—and most of the studios already skipping this year even before the double strike started—there is not a whole lot going on, at least in Hall H, where most By Sarah • Jul 19, 2023 12:15 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Dead Reckoning’s plan backfired It has been a bad box office summer so far (lots of pressure on Barbie and Oppenheimer to turn things around!). Sure, a couple big movies are doing well—Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is sitting at $842 million, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is at $663 By Sarah • Jul 17, 2023 11:35 am
What Else What Else? Simu Liu, one half of the “Kenadians”, has been so charming on the Barbie press tour. Here’s one last interview with Simu, to mark the official end of Barbie press, now that the actors are on strike. (Popsugar) Heather is right, now is the time for brand parties galore, By Sarah • Jul 14, 2023 04:00 pm
TV Updates Sam Richardson is back in The Afterparty It got buried by the SAG-AFTRA strike news, but The Afterparty returned this week, with the first two episodes of season two premiering on Apple TV+. Sam Richardson returns as Aniq, the well-meaning yet hapless suspect of a murder mystery taking place during an afterparty. In season one, By Sarah • Jul 14, 2023 02:59 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Michael Cera’s Allanergy Ever since we got our first look at Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie, we’ve been talking about his “Kenergy”, and even though barely anyone has seen the movie yet, consensus is already that Gosling was perfectly cast. We have not, however, given equal attention to Michael Cera as By Sarah • Jul 14, 2023 12:10 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Jenna’s last day Fresh off her first Emmy nomination, Jenna Ortega was filming a scene for Beetlejuice 2 this week in Vermont (in the same town where the original film was made in 1987). She’s playing Lydia Deetz’s daughter, and she’s been working all summer along with Tim Burton, Winona By Sarah • Jul 14, 2023 10:21 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Intro for July 14, 2023 Dear Gossips, Oppenheimer’s UK premiere was yesterday in London, and as Lainey mentioned, they moved the start time up in order to officially begin before the SAG strike was called. That’s a shady as hell move, but the New York premiere is now cancelled, so this was Universal By Sarah • Jul 14, 2023 09:39 am
Top Reads It’s a double strike Seventy-two days after the writers’ strike began, the actors are on strike, too. It’s the first time in fifty-three years both guilds have been on strike at the same time. We’ve been watching the increasingly frantic pace of the Barbie and Oppenheimer press tours over the By Sarah • Jul 13, 2023 03:50 pm
