Month: December 2023

Landing Neil Patrick Harris as the classic Doctor Who villain The Toymaker seemed like a major casting coup when the announcement was made last year. Pairing Harris with David Tennant was a match made in heaven for fans. However, showrunner Russell T. Davies has since shared a hilarious piece of trivia as Harris’ episode gets ready to stream on Disney+: The actor had no idea what the show was or even about.

“He’d never heard of it in his life, bless him,” Davies laughingly said while revealing how we was able to lock down Harris for the role.

Via Entertainment Weekly:

“I was lucky enough to work with the great man on a show called It’s a Sin, about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and working with him was such a joy. The Toymaker, he’s kind of the god of games, so he shuffles cards, he does magic tricks, and all of that fits Neil Patrick Harris. If you go through agents, they often tell you to go away. I was able to send just a text saying, ‘Do you fancy reading this?’ He read it and literally phoned me up going, ‘Let me get this right, so the Doctor’s an alien, right?’ I was like, ‘Oh my god, you really have never heard of Doctor Who!’ But he couldn’t resist it, and he came to Cardiff, and we had the most spectacular time.”

Tennant concurred that Harris was a quick study.

“Oh, he’s good,” Tennant told EW. “I don’t quite know if he knew what to expect, but he dived in with such gusto and brio. This part requires a lot of skill sets and Neil turns up with them all. I don’t want to give away too much about what might be required of the Toymaker, but you need a sort of an all-round entertainer to play that part and a very good actor.”

The third Doctor Who special episode, “The Giggle,” starring Neil Patrick Harris streams December 9 on Disney+.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

For the past year, Adele has been stationed in Las Vegas, performing her residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. What was supposed to be 32-concert run has been extended to a whopping 100 shows lasting from November of 2022 and scheduled to continue to June 15, 2024. During that time, she’s won more Grammys, hosted a gender reveal, collapsed due to sciatica, stopped drinking, and apparently married her longtime beau Rich Paul (although the couple remains fairly cagey about their marital status).

With all that going on, it’s no wonder she hasn’t released much new music lately. Her last album, 30, was released in November 2021, and she hasn’t dropped original music the entire time she’s been on revue in Vegas. But in a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, she explained why she hasn’t been working on any new music. “I get nervous about wearing my voice out,” she said. “It’s a lot of singing. It’s two hours. It’s all live. It’s a lot. And I f*cking motormouth and chat me ass off as well. But yeah, I have nothing to say yet. I haven’t even thought about it.”

She elaborated that when she writes songs, “I have to wait for a feeling. If I get antsy, that’s when I know I have to go to the studio, and I am the opposite of antsy right now.” She also confirmed she turned down “a lot” of collaboration requests, either due to bad timing or a bad fit, although she puts most of her rejections down to needing to spend time with her son. “Especially nowadays — the promo of music videos and all of that — I’m not doing that for nobody,” she declared.

For anyone who thinks stories of sexual harassment and assault are complicated, writer Maura Quint has a story for you. Actually, she has quite a few.

Quint posted a thread on her Twitter account that quickly went viral in which she talked about a number of real-life encounters with men that started out sexual, involved her expressing disinterest, and the men responding appropriately.

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It wasn’t an unrealistic hero’s tale of men handing over the keys to their autonomy. Rather, Quint’s incredible thread made it clear that the only variable in cases of assault vs. non-assault are when a man doesn’t respect the autonomy of the woman he’s propositioning.

Her thread opens up in an all-too-familiar tone, where we’re led to believe it will go to an incredibly dark place:

Instead, Quint says her indifference to his proposition was met in kind with a guy just acting in a basic, non-rapey way:

She goes on to offer several other examples of being in sexual or potentially sexual situations with men who also managed to not sexually assault her:

And here’s the real kicker, Quint says she has been assaulted. To her, the difference isn’t hard to pinpoint:

Her thread has been re-tweeted nearly 50,000 times and “liked” more than 100,000 times. Other women and some men jumped in with their own tales of drinking, partying and still, somehow, managing to not assault or even harass the women they encountered.

It’s a stark contrast to the half-baked defenses of Brett Kavanaugh and other men like him. There are incredibly rare exceptions where a man is accused of assault or harassment and he is entirely free of guilt. But for women, or anyone for that matter, who has survived sexual assault or experienced sexual harassment, there is no “gray area.”

There’s being OK with assault and then there’s everything else. Whether or not we’re consciously aware of this, we’ve all chosen a side. But if you’re on the wrong side, it doesn’t have to be that way forever.

This article originally appeared on 10.02.18

Much like his character in Barbie, Will Ferrell is the voice of women everywhere. Ferrell, a noted and iconic feminist, opened up The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Women in Entertainment gala, presented by Lifetime, a famously woman-forward network. Why was he tasked with such an honor? Nobody knows, but let’s just sit with it for a moment.

Being the martyr that he is, Ferrell took the time in his opening remarks to call for women to “run the planet,” which is really nice of him and doesn’t add any more societal pressures at all.

He said, “This is such a wonderful event where we honor and support and continue to fight for women in all facets of the entertainment world. Forget about the entertainment world, isn’t it just time? Isn’t it just time for women to run the planet?” Ferrell said. “I’m not just trying to placate you, I swear, but I don’t know what else to do because we — men — we’ve been running the show since, what, 10,000 B.C., and we’re not doing so good. So, please, can you guys just take over?” he added over some applause. Sounds like something that Mattell’s CEO would say.

Ferrell even had a specific person in mind, Kerry Washington, who received the Equity in Entertainment Award. “Kerry, you’ve always been amazing in everything you’ve ever done and an incredible advocate for so many different things,” Ferrell began. “Can you just run for president? Please? We’ll pay you. We’ll do a GoFundMe right in this room and we’ll launch you,” he pleaded. This would not be the first time that we had a President Washington, though it has been a while. We could definitely use a new person on the $1, though.

On the other hand, having celebrities as political figures can get extremely messy…we all know why. Kerry is doing great on TV! She should stay there.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Much like his character in Barbie, Will Ferrell is the voice of women everywhere. Ferrell, a noted and iconic feminist, opened up The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Women in Entertainment gala, presented by Lifetime, a famously woman-forward network. Why was he tasked with such an honor? Nobody knows, but let’s just sit with it for a moment.

Being the martyr that he is, Ferrell took the time in his opening remarks to call for women to “run the planet,” which is really nice of him and doesn’t add any more societal pressures at all.

He said, “This is such a wonderful event where we honor and support and continue to fight for women in all facets of the entertainment world. Forget about the entertainment world, isn’t it just time? Isn’t it just time for women to run the planet?” Ferrell said. “I’m not just trying to placate you, I swear, but I don’t know what else to do because we — men — we’ve been running the show since, what, 10,000 B.C., and we’re not doing so good. So, please, can you guys just take over?” he added over some applause. Sounds like something that Mattell’s CEO would say.

Ferrell even had a specific person in mind, Kerry Washington, who received the Equity in Entertainment Award. “Kerry, you’ve always been amazing in everything you’ve ever done and an incredible advocate for so many different things,” Ferrell began. “Can you just run for president? Please? We’ll pay you. We’ll do a GoFundMe right in this room and we’ll launch you,” he pleaded. This would not be the first time that we had a President Washington, though it has been a while. We could definitely use a new person on the $1, though.

On the other hand, having celebrities as political figures can get extremely messy…we all know why. Kerry is doing great on TV! She should stay there.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Only five weeks remain in the 2023 NFL regular season, and bye weeks are slowly coming to an end. That means opportunity from a handicapping perspective, and a nearly full slate is on tap in Week 14. In this space, Week 13 wasn’t a full-fledged disaster, but it was a losing week overall. Of course, it was a half-point away from success, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Alas, Week 14 is a fresh start.

Before we get into the upcoming slate, let’s look back at the season-long work.

• Week 13: 2-3
• 2023 Season: 34-28-3

Come get these winners.

Chicago Bears (+3.5) over Detroit Lions — PointsBet

At the time of this post, the weather report looks better in Chicago than it did earlier this week. I’d rather it stay brutal, but I like this either way. Chicago appears to just have the better defense in this matchup, and Jared Goff isn’t usually the same quarterback outside in the elements. Chicago also covered and should’ve won outright in Detroit on Thanksgiving, and this number should be lower.

TEASER: Baltimore Ravens (-1.5) over Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills (+7.5) over Kansas City Chiefs — Widely Available

I love the Ravens teaser leg this week. Baltimore is coming off a bye and the market might be a touch high on the Rams now. Plus, this is a friendly matchup for Baltimore on both sides of the ball. From there, Buffalo may not win, but the Chiefs are mortal right now on offense, and this is an urgent spot for the Bills coming off a bye.

Seattle Seahawks (+11) over San Francisco 49ers — DraftKings

The market couldn’t possibly be any higher on the 49ers right now, and that’s understandable after the destruction in Philadelphia last week. Still, this is a great spot for Seattle with a rest advantage and a number that is very clearly inflated. It won’t be fun to sweat, but it’s the side.

Los Angeles Chargers (-2.5) over Denver Broncos — DraftKings

The run of great fortune finally ran out for the Broncos last week, but the underlying metrics don’t paint the best picture for Denver. Yes, the Chargers looked awful on offense last week, but they got there for us. We’re going back to the well in a spot where the world is on the Broncos.

TEASER: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+8.5) over Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts (+7.5) over Cincinnati Bengals — FanDuel

This is unsightly, but I like both spots. We’ve gone with teaser legs against the Falcons a number of times this year, to good success. Atlanta is content to play bafflingly middling offense, leading to few lopsided results. That’s also a total in the low 40’s that is exploitable. On the other side, the projected weather conditions seem to favor the Colts, and I think the market is more confident in Jake Browning after one quality start than I am.

Only five weeks remain in the 2023 NFL regular season, and bye weeks are slowly coming to an end. That means opportunity from a handicapping perspective, and a nearly full slate is on tap in Week 14. In this space, Week 13 wasn’t a full-fledged disaster, but it was a losing week overall. Of course, it was a half-point away from success, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Alas, Week 14 is a fresh start.

Before we get into the upcoming slate, let’s look back at the season-long work.

• Week 13: 2-3
• 2023 Season: 34-28-3

Come get these winners.

Chicago Bears (+3.5) over Detroit Lions — PointsBet

At the time of this post, the weather report looks better in Chicago than it did earlier this week. I’d rather it stay brutal, but I like this either way. Chicago appears to just have the better defense in this matchup, and Jared Goff isn’t usually the same quarterback outside in the elements. Chicago also covered and should’ve won outright in Detroit on Thanksgiving, and this number should be lower.

TEASER: Baltimore Ravens (-1.5) over Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills (+7.5) over Kansas City Chiefs — Widely Available

I love the Ravens teaser leg this week. Baltimore is coming off a bye and the market might be a touch high on the Rams now. Plus, this is a friendly matchup for Baltimore on both sides of the ball. From there, Buffalo may not win, but the Chiefs are mortal right now on offense, and this is an urgent spot for the Bills coming off a bye.

Seattle Seahawks (+11) over San Francisco 49ers — DraftKings

The market couldn’t possibly be any higher on the 49ers right now, and that’s understandable after the destruction in Philadelphia last week. Still, this is a great spot for Seattle with a rest advantage and a number that is very clearly inflated. It won’t be fun to sweat, but it’s the side.

Los Angeles Chargers (-2.5) over Denver Broncos — DraftKings

The run of great fortune finally ran out for the Broncos last week, but the underlying metrics don’t paint the best picture for Denver. Yes, the Chargers looked awful on offense last week, but they got there for us. We’re going back to the well in a spot where the world is on the Broncos.

TEASER: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+8.5) over Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts (+7.5) over Cincinnati Bengals — FanDuel

This is unsightly, but I like both spots. We’ve gone with teaser legs against the Falcons a number of times this year, to good success. Atlanta is content to play bafflingly middling offense, leading to few lopsided results. That’s also a total in the low 40’s that is exploitable. On the other side, the projected weather conditions seem to favor the Colts, and I think the market is more confident in Jake Browning after one quality start than I am.

One of the realities of being a celebrity of Selena Gomez’s caliber is that you sometimes have to deal with rumors about your romantic life. She actually just confronted one such rumor head-on, though.

Are Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco dating?

The answer: Maybe! As Pop Crave notes, the @popfactions Instagram account shared a post that reads, “Selena Gomez is rumored to be dating producer Benny Blanco.” Gomez herself commented on the post, writing simply, “Facts.”

Could that be considered confirmation from Gomez that she is in fact seeing Blanco? Perhaps, or maybe she’s joking and having fun throwing speculators off the scent. Whatever the case, there’s some context here.

Recently, celebrity gossip social media account Deuxmoi claimed Gomez and Blanco have been involved since “before the spring.” Indeed, there have been some public connections between the two this year. Blanco was confirmed to be in attendance at Gomez’s 31st birthday party in July. In November, Gomez shared a Blanco Instagram post about Open Wide: A Cookbook For Friends and wrote, “One of my favs releasing a cook book.”

Beyond the tabloid fare, Gomez and Blanco have collaborated musically on multiple occasions, most notably on “I Can’t Get Enough,” the 2019 single by Gomez, Blanco, Tainy, and J Balvin.

One of the realities of being a celebrity of Selena Gomez’s caliber is that you sometimes have to deal with rumors about your romantic life. She actually just confronted one such rumor head-on, though.

Are Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco dating?

The answer: Maybe! As Pop Crave notes, the @popfactions Instagram account shared a post that reads, “Selena Gomez is rumored to be dating producer Benny Blanco.” Gomez herself commented on the post, writing simply, “Facts.”

Could that be considered confirmation from Gomez that she is in fact seeing Blanco? Perhaps, or maybe she’s joking and having fun throwing speculators off the scent. Whatever the case, there’s some context here.

Recently, celebrity gossip social media account Deuxmoi claimed Gomez and Blanco have been involved since “before the spring.” Indeed, there have been some public connections between the two this year. Blanco was confirmed to be in attendance at Gomez’s 31st birthday party in July. In November, Gomez shared a Blanco Instagram post about Open Wide: A Cookbook For Friends and wrote, “One of my favs releasing a cook book.”

Beyond the tabloid fare, Gomez and Blanco have collaborated musically on multiple occasions, most notably on “I Can’t Get Enough,” the 2019 single by Gomez, Blanco, Tainy, and J Balvin.

Bradley Cooper has two important things going on in his life this month:

1. His new film, Maestro, premieres on Netflix on December 20th. The biopic of American composer Leonard Bernstein is expected to be a major contender at the 2024 Oscars with possible Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay nominations for Cooper.

2. But more importantly, he served cheesesteaks from a food truck.

Cooper teamed up with Angelo’s Pizzeria (South Philly stand up) owner Danny DiGiampietro to open Danny & Coop’s Cheesesteaks in, of all places, New York City’s Greenwich Village. The DeSean Jackson jersey he wore in Silver Linings Playbook is a lie.

“Cooper and DiGiampietro are donating all proceeds from this pop-up event — scheduled to reprise Thursday — to a nonprofit helping to feed New Yorkers in need,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “DiGiampietro would say only that he and Cooper hope to open a cheesesteak shop in New York, where they have been searching for locations for two years.”

DiGiampietro, who told the Inquirer that he is not leaving his Philadelphia shop, said Cooper chose Manhattan for the truck “to see if people want cheesesteaks in New York.”

It appears Danny & Coop’s Cheesesteaks is only open two days, yesterday and today, so you better hop on I-95 now if you want to yell “go Birds” at a future Oscar winner.

(Via the Philadelphia Inquirer)