Business of Hollywood Bob Iger is back in charge In February, Bob Iger, then-CEO of Disney, dropped a bombshell on the business and entertainment worlds when he announced he was stepping down from his post at Disney. He would be the “Executive Chairman” while Bob Chapek, formerly head of parks—insert Succession joke here—became CEO. Well now, as By Sarah • Apr 14, 2020 10:40 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Black Widow gives up the ghost Of the spring/early summer film release, Black Widow was the last giant standing, but yesterday, Disney pulled the plug, shuffling Black Widow off its May 1 release date and making it, like everything else, TBD. There goes the summer kickoff. Disney has moved BLACK WIDOW from May 1, 2020 By Sarah • Mar 18, 2020 11:22 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Even more coronavirus cancellations At the beginning of the week, I was hopeful that the spreading coronavirus situation would not lead to social meltdown, that the cancellation of SXSW would be the worst side-effect we saw. I was so young then, so naïve. Social meltdown is here, and the parade of coronavirus-related cancellations continues. By Sarah • Mar 13, 2020 09:43 am
Top Reads Rona Cancel Culture Are we going to die? And not because of the stupid virus! It’s the goddamn news ABOUT the virus that’s killing me. It’s SO MUCH. Last night, in the span of like, 15 MINUTES we learned the following: • The US is banning all travel from Europe for By Sarah • Mar 12, 2020 10:05 am
Business of Hollywood Disney’s surprise shake-up Late yesterday afternoon, Disney dropped a bombshell when it was announced that CEO Bob Iger is stepping down immediately and will be replaced by Bob Chapek, chairman of Disney Parks, as the new CEO. First of all, this is real-life Sucession and the HEAD OF PARKS got the CEO gig— By Sarah • Feb 26, 2020 09:44 am
Top Reads Beyoncé: no photos at Kobe and Gianna tribute Back in 2013, when Beyoncé headlined the Super Bowl halftime show (the first time), Buzzfeed heard from her publicist demanding that “unflattering” photos of her be taken down. It was the beginning of Beyoncé’s press shutdown, when she stopped giving interviews, stopped engaging with the media. At the time, By Lainey • Feb 25, 2020 11:50 am
Sports Beyoncé and Jay-Z take a seat Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and the Blue Ivy Carter were at the Super Bowl yesterday in Miami. But first, please enjoy this viz of Blue bossing on the sidelines with her phone. She’s probably playing a game. But in my mind, she’s seeing something that needs improvement and, like her By Lainey • Feb 03, 2020 11:17 am
TV Updates Who wants a Friends reunion? Friends ended like 15 years ago. And people have been talking about a reunion, not sure what that looks like, but that’s the question that keeps coming up over and over again. Part of that, even though no one wants to admit it, is that the show continues to By Lainey • Jan 16, 2020 11:59 am
Movie Reviews and Previews James Bond must move on No Time to Die, the 25th Bond movie and Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007, comes out in April. In advance of that, Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson gave an interview to Variety that comes across as half reckoning with the end of Craig’s tenure By Sarah • Jan 16, 2020 10:00 am
Royals Sussexit: “Financial Independence” Much of the negative and often inaccurate coverage around the royal family and particularly Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have to do with money. How much it cost to renovate their place, how much it cost for them to go on holiday, how much the baby shower was, how much By Lainey • Jan 09, 2020 01:19 pm
Dumbass #RoseTicoDeservedBetter The last week of the year is a liminal space. It is the abandoned shopping mall of time: It once was, it is not yet. Nothing happens in the last week of the year, when post-holiday blues and pre-New Year’s Eve nerves set in. And everything happens in the By Sarah • Jan 08, 2020 12:35 pm
Business of Hollywood Angelina Jolie switches agencies Angelina Jolie very famously has a small team. She still doesn’t have an official publicist. I think I wrote about this a few years ago when I was assigned to the Maleficent junket, that she personally reviews her junket roster, a responsibility typically assigned to a star’s personal By Lainey • Dec 02, 2019 02:08 pm
TV Updates Disney’s last laugh When Disney+ launched a couple weeks ago, some people laughed because there were some technical issues, with people struggling to sign in or maintain a decent connection with the platform. Well who’s laughing now, because Disney’s stock closed yesterday at a record high. Now, this is not going By Sarah • Nov 27, 2019 11:15 am
Movie Reviews and Previews The Angels keep rolling As you probably heard, Charlie’s Angels bombed last weekend. Like seriously tanked. Franchise-killer flopped. Even with a sub-$100 million budget, an $8 million opening weekend is bad news. But, the movie is still rolling out overseas, including a premiere in London yesterday. I am always curious about press By Sarah • Nov 21, 2019 12:30 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews #ReleaseTheSnyderCut will never end In case you think Martin Scorsese vs. Marvel is the worst, most pointless ongoing argument on Film Twitter, allow me to introduce you to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut. It has been going strong for two years and counting, ever since Justice League was released with significant material added by Joss Whedon following Zack By Sarah • Nov 18, 2019 01:28 pm
Business of Hollywood Show Your Work: On Angelina Jolie and Taylor Swift On this week’s episode of Show Your Work, we analyse the “rewilding” of Angelina Jolie. She’s been one of the savviest celebrities in the business in image management; as Duana says Angie will always be A++++ list and even though there’s been a pivot in her vibe By Lainey • Nov 06, 2019 03:54 pm
