This year, many of us put holiday decorations up early. Many people keep the Christmas lights up until January (like Taylor Swift), but what is the protocol this year? Leave them up longer because there’s not much else going on or take them down earlier because they’ve already had their time to shine. (Lainey: mine are staying up until end of February.) 

 

“New year, new you” is a cornerstone of wellness marketing in January but this year, I don’t know if resolutions are going to be a popular talking point. Instead of an internal makeover, maybe the focus will be on easing back into good habits we had (and maybe didn’t appreciate) pre-pandemic. Who has time to become a whole new person?

There’s a new story in Vanity Fair about how a few celebrities dominated the headlines this year, some with the help of paps (like BenAna). Spencer Pratt is quoted in the story (LOL) and I agree with his prediction that the not-so-subtle agreement between all of the players will continue once COVID restrictions ease because, right now, it’s mutually beneficial. Paps only become a problem for celebrities when they can’t control them, which will happen eventually. As the market for “candid” photos grows, audiences tire of dog walking photos and want something more, but then the celebs pull back on access and the photographs get more invasive (depending on perspective), so the celebs claim they are being harassed and animosity between photographers and celebs sour the arrangement. After a few years, the cycle will start all over again.

 

Anytime there’s a Carrie Fisher clip in my feed, I have to stop and watch because she was always so sharp and vibrant. Here she is with Courtney Love talking about marrying up and movie stars – I found a longer clip on YouTube if you are interested.

The Hilaria Baldwin story has run its course with this New York Post cover (the story is insanely sexist and aggressive so I’m not going to bother linking to it) but like many celebrity skirmishes (ie: Chris Evans dick pic), a sense of humour would have served them well. 

 

Sarah wrote about the Coming 2 America preview and Arsenio and Eddie’s chemistry. And I wonder if there will be talk of an Arsenio Hall Show reboot.  (It was attempted once before in 2013, but was cancelled after one season.) The original talk show was massively popular and with so many format and streaming options now, maybe it can find a way to reconnect with audiences. It doesn’t have to be a traditional 11:30 p.m. time slot. 

 

Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical is happening on New Year’s Day and I think I’m getting tickets. It’s a great way to support Broadway (via The Actor’s Fund) and engage young people in “live” theatre. And TikTok has the most “theatre kids” energy of any social media platform.