Has there ever been a celebrity as A-list as Timothée Chalamet to self-engineer a fall from grace so as to set up an eventual comeback?

Timothée Chalamet was not at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opening gala the other night in Los Angeles, attended by so many celebrities it seemed like it was a major award season stop, like the Oscar Academy’s Governors Awards. I’m talking about the Oscars because there’s a lot of jockeying for position right now with so many contenders being screened at the three recent festivals in Venice, Telluride, and Toronto, as we head into the most critical few weeks for premieres for films and performers who will be angling for nominations. Among them Dune Part 3, directed by Denis Villeneuve who, by the way, was at the Lucas Museum event.

Dune 3 will be in theatres in December, at the same time as Avengers: Doomsday, setting up theatrical cage match between two tentpoles. It’s still early, Timmy won’t be on the press circuit just yet… but that doesn’t mean the promotional plans aren’t coming together – and some of those plans would have already been put into motion. I’m curious to see if he does any print magazine interviews, long-form media, and what that might look like considering… how it went last time, just a few months ago, when he became the internet’s designated opp, one of the culture’s current villains.

As I’ve been saying, that also plays into his character in Dune – from messiah to monster, Paul Atreides will turn to the dark side, and to bring it back to George Lucas, LOL, this is Timmy’s Anakin Skywalker moment. Has there ever been a celebrity as A-list as Timmy to self-engineer a fall from grace so as to set up an eventual comeback? I’d be curious to see if he can pull it off, if that is indeed what he’s after.

For now, his holiday continues. Timmy hasn’t been on a proper film set in a while, although I’m sure there are projects in development, just not announced. So here he is in Saint-Tropez on his bike, reportedly there for a wedding.

What else happened today…

Florence Pugh, who also stars in Dune 3, looks great in this Rodarte from 2017. (Go Fug Yourself)

Resident Evil was big at the box office this weekend. Horror + video games are the business right now. Video games are the business, period. In case you haven’t heard, Grand Theft Auto VI is coming in November and some of the projections have been wild – not wild as in not believable but wild as in mega mega money. I’ve seen estimates as high as $5 billion, BILLION, in the first week. (Pajiba)

I have a really hard time believing that Channing Tatum has a burner account and leaves comments about celebrities, including his ex-fiancée Zoë Kravitz but I really, really want to. (Celebitchy)

Orville Peck has a lyric on his new song that’s a blind item about hooking up with a professional athlete. He’s a good gay who knows how to give good gossip. (Out)

Kathleen Newman-Bremang aka our Kathleen, always and forever, interviewed Oprah. She’d been preparing for the discussion her whole life. (Refinery 29)