#article says there have been rumors since 2018!

[missriyochuchi]

SAY AGAIN???

[thoughtroomba02]

TS Film Thoughts Masterpost

As promised.

Let's start things off -

Breaking News - Headlines about the film

Dec 9 2022 - her film contract makes headlines

From what I can find, this is the first that anyone knows she is producing a film. There are no details released other than it's a script she wrote and she will be directing the film.

The next we hear is Dec 7, 2023 from the Tennessean --

It's been crickets, essentially. There are no public details I can find about the film anywhere including cast list, release date, content, ETC.

Interestingly, two days ago -- though uncertain of validity of source -

I don't have access to puck so cannot confirm what the article says; but this was recent! So; in theory, she finishes her Eras tour and moves directly in to film.

More on how Disney+ ties in our next section...

Who is Searchlight Pictures?

Created April 29, 1994 - formerly known as Fox Searchlight/under 20th/21st Century Fox

Biggest success: Slumdog Millionaire 187 Academy Ward Nominations with 46 wins; 5 Best Picture since 2009 117 Golden Globe Nominations; 51 wins 66 Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations; 55 wins 137 Independent Spirit Awards, 54 Wins

Other Notable Films: 12 Years A Slave; Black Swan; Napoleon Dynamite;

20th century fox, prior to the creation of Searchlight, was prominent in the specialty and independent films market in the 1990s; it carried this interest into Searchlight, at least initially.

In 2012, it was incorporated into Murdoch's 21st Century Fox. Barf.

On Dec 14, 2017 Disney put their first bid out on 21st Century Fox/Fox Searchlight. On March 19, 2019 the companies merged and Disney acquired Fox Searchlight; Fox News notoriously split independently. Disney dropped the name Fox; so now we have just Searchlight Pictures. There is also a Searchlight Pictures TV and shorts production, which for the sake of time I will not get into.

For Funsies, here is a short film (Jun 18 2019, after Disney acquired) produced by them called....LAVENDER. About a gay man who has a relationship with a married gay couple. Can't make it up.

Anyway, since merging with Disney especially, the company seems to be LGBTQ friendly.

And yes, Joe Alwyn has worked with Searchlight, with tweets I found dating back to 2018 with Searchlight UK. Make of that what you would like, I have no real objective commentary on the matter.

Taylor as a Director

She also directed the Long Pond Studio Sessions and Miss Americana.

Most of her directorial work has been since the Lover debut. Most of which is very queer coded/sapphic.. and again, make of that what you will.

Appearances/Pap Walks, ETC

Since her split from JA, we have seen her with multiple friends in the film industry. Among these: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Selena Gomez, Keleigh Teller, Miles Teller, Sophie Turner, Emma Stone...

And dare I say.... Travis Kelce, who seems to want to break his way into the entertainment industry?

(aside from this headline; his failed dating show, his podcast, his multiple PR deals like with ZenWater... etc. I rest my case).

We also know there has been some B roll footage taken at the Chiefs Games.

Additionally, the media coverage of this relationship has been an absolute f*cking circus; with constant headlines of the two and their "engagement" / relationship dynamics. On Taylor's end, we have had constant references to Bejeweled (where she Ghosts); including Keleigh Teller giving her the opal ring.

The Speculation

Yall, this is my opinion - you can agree, disagree, etc; but I have no insider information. Just thoughts.

She makes her film directorial debut with Searchlight - recently acquired by Disney, who is pro-LGBTQ; and is clearly in deep with business deals with them, as seen on Taylor Nation and her Eras Tour Film.

We have rumors of her beginning her film production at the end of the ERAS tour, along with knowledge of her currently with B roll footage from chiefs games. We have multiple highly papp'ed appearances with her + TK; but also with multiple film stars, including Blake Lively (still not over that photo), Sophie Turner (I do think there's altruism here tbh on TS's end), and Keleigh. If you believe Keleigh is her stand in invisible bride.... Holy shit. Between the opal ring shutdown of the media circus as well as her and TS literally taking a page out of TSHOEH and dressing in character...

My ultimate suspicion is that she's using actual experiences of her current life-highly papp'ed - to tell her story. And that Keleigh is her stand in muse in this film.

I also think the @spade-riddles we've been getting about a final act ending, etc, pertain to her film. I don't have evidence aside from speculation.

I rest my case. Enjoy this post and make of it what you will.

[felassan]

Some thoughts on the recent article on DA:D from Tom Henderson / Insider Gaming, under a cut due to potential spoilers for DA:D -

first, the usual set of disclaimers that accompany all leaks: might not be real, unable to verify at present, sometimes leakers think they're right about things but are unintentionally incorrect or got some wires crossed, games change a fair bit between development phases and final release, take with grain of salt etc

Tom Henderson is the one that leaked the game's title, 'Dreadwolf', ahead of time, along with Jeff Grubb.

all the stuff about the possible/speculated release window doesn't feel like new information really? for a while now rumors and guesses etc have been saying like 'late 2023 or 2024', sorta thing

The game still lacking features and completed character lines etc doesn't sound odd or surprising either. DA:D is currently playable from beginning to end, but not finished, as BioWare said themselves in the milestone announcement blog post a few months ago. iirc, at that stage in development there can still be placeholder assets, stuff without textures yet, 'robot-voiced' or still-silent lines, placeholder text and textures, etc.

I wonder who the sources are? playtesters? going by yesterday's Reddit leaks (DA:D spoilers at link), that wouldn't be outside the realms of possibility. I also wonder how familiar with the franchise said sources are. some bits of or language in the article make it sound like either they and/or the writer aren't super familiar.

There are 'central hubs' in previous DA and ME games, which were of course singleplayer: Party Camp, Skyhold, the Normandy etc. the PC goes to those locations between story missions and between side quests to regroup, talk to companions etc before heading out again. I'm curious what form the hub/base in DA:D will take - a camp, home, fort/castle, ship, secret base, a pocket somewhere 'in-between' worlds etc?

Recruiting and growing companions, completing missions, companions being found in the hub (or their own mini-hubs as in DAII), giving them equipment/modifications & so on - all things found to some extent in previous games. I guess it does confirm these features will return in DA:D.

Re: combat and FF15, emphasis on "the game's combat wheel" as being what's similar

also not really surprised by the description of the combat. DA changes significantly game to game and the rough trajectory since DA:O has been away from the tactics style of game towards more of an action-y RPG. it also lines up with the feel of the little snippet of combat we saw in a trailer (remember the footage of the character in Grey Warden armor doing Shield Wall?) and some comments that cropped up on ResetEra from possible playtesters in October 2022 (they mentioned God of War 2018 as a comparison point for example).

Re: controlling party members, it says "currently". that said, the playtester who was the source of the leaked screenshots and gif on Reddit also reported that they could not control the party. iirc this was also among the comments on ResetEra. this will vary from person to person, but personally for me I'm not bothered by the premise of being mostly unable to control squadmates. it's kinda like that in ME and ME:A and that was fine (for me I mean).

I'm curious about what other details they were provided with, and will be keeping an eye out for future reports. seems like quite a few leaks have been going on lately.

sometimes companies 'leak' stuff on purpose or want certain stuff to leak, in order to gather feedback, see peoples' reactions to it, as a marketing tactic etc. Mark Darrah said that wrt quantitative focus testing at least, there's a high chance of leaks and they know it. on his game development YouTube channel, on this he advised "Be careful that anything you put in there has a high probability of leaking, but that's potentially an opportunity. If you have information that you kind of want to be leaked out into the greater sphere of the internet, including it in a quant test, knowing that in all likelihood it's going to leak, might be a way to test the waters. It gives you plausible deniability if it does end up leaking. A good example of a leak like this was the concept picture of Dorian for Dragon Age: Inquisition. The concept piece includes a monkey. We never really had any intention of having a monkey for Dorian, but it was just what was drawn in the concept piece. And so we got to watch the internet react to this character, with a monkey, on the internet." I'm sure I've read or heard somewhere that the Dragon Age: Inquisition character concept feedback survey was leaked intentionally and that the devs kind of wanted the Crestwood demo to leak (and were surprised when it didn't result in many videos online).

"It’s understood that you’ll be able to move from your hub to missions by passing through a mirrored portal." - this is the most interesting snippet in this article to me. the obvious question is, eluvians? In Trespasser, Solas tells us he controls the eluvian network now, after over-riding the magic personally. So: have we gained control of part of the network (Briala controlled part of it for a time)? taken control of it or part of it from Solas? is there more than one network? have we built some eluvians of our own? In Trespasser banter Dorian was wondering about building eluvians of our own. there are some folks with eluvian knowledge kicking around like Merrill and Morrigan, and there are glassworks of note in Serault..

moving from a hub to missions through eluvians was exactly what we did in Trespasser from the Winter Palace, and it worked really well. Trespasser's setup was really enjoyable. it was a fun mechanic that helped explain fast travel and apparent teleportation. it also allowed for travelling to places all over, from the Deep Roads to ancient elven ruins to places in-between the waking world and the Fade - a variety of handcrafted places to explore still but with a tighter storyline threading through them, as opposed to open-world that felt like it was probably mandatory to include during development because of other games on the market like Skyrim and AC, but which then struggled to be filled with meaningful content to fill the space and in which that struggle was apparent. I'd be down for that. I'm just daydreaming and speculating wildly now for real (bc it's fun) but we could travel all over Thedas that way. We did that in DAI I know but you know what I mean? also what if the hub is in a pocket dimension, reachable only via eluvian? eluvian secret base..

[majaloveschris]

As an anon said in the past, if I were Chris, I would be really concerned about someone apparently from my inner social circle leaking info to blogs about my private matters such as wedding and house. If someone is actually leaking his info, he really should reevaluate his friends and the people he lets into his life (but well, he basically allowed a racist, antisemitic into his life so he clearly isn’t very smart when it comes to that). If the house is his I still don’t feel like he would live there and the decoration doesn’t seem to be his style (or even Alba’s style but she probably doesn’t care about anything as long as she keeps getting attention and we know she molds herself to what benefits her the most). If this house has the name of his trustee, does that automatically make it his? I don’t think Chris is the only client they have. Also, I read some people saying that the Carlisle house was bought by him in 2018 according to Tara’s page? She more than anyone should protect the privacy of her friend but she’s an attention seeker too so I don’t really have much faith in her.

I also don’t know why would Chris want to have pics of his house in a magazine like AD and then hold back because of “keeping his privacy”, he knows very well what would happen if he did that feature for AD so I don’t buy that shit either. L&D lying about the location seems weird to me too, because the damage has already been done since the beginning of this shitshow, why would they try to “protect” anything now? And if they lie that clearly shows how unprofessional they are and that they only care about the attention as well.

Sorry for the long rant but like everything else in this “happy and healthy relationship” seems the opposite and with a lack of sense

For now, this is the last ask I share about the Carlisle house. Some people in my inbox are going crazy over this topic. Not even their alleged wedding caused whatever this is.

We actually talked about this with a good friend of mine yesterday and how having those addresses on that site is really unsafe. I guess it works for her as a portfolio, but still. She could have all the other details but the address. I think she should've already removed it. However, I still have a hard time believing that anybody from his circle comes to Tumblr to share information about his personal matters, such as his wedding, for example. I always say this and will continue to repeat it, that even DM said that his circle is very tight and that she never really has anything on him or gets info. If somebody from his circle wanted to leak something, they wouldn't come to Tumblr. Neither would Justin. If they decided to betray him, they would want to do that on a bigger level. If somebody comes here and shares legit information about him or his personal life, I'd rather say that's his team, or if it's even somebody closer to him, they do it to plant something; they do it for PR reasons. A lot of rumors start here, but if somebody would leak something or do something to harm him, and not to help sell a narrative, they would go somewhere else, not here.

I also don't think that house is really his style, and I also doubt he would want to move into such a big house. The other MA one isn't one he is currently living in.

My very good friends explained to me that all the houses are owned by the same company but by different trusts.

If this whole thing was about "protecting privacy," having an AD article wouldn't have even crossed his mind. So they did the whole photoshoot, the whole interview, or whatever, and then he was like "Nah, I'd rather have my privacy with this one". I don't think that's how it works. And again, saying "privacy" and "Chris" in the same sentence is, at least for now, ridiculous. Since Alba is in the picture, somehow everything involving her has lost the privilege of being private.

Interestingly, this is the first time L&D cared about the mean comments and DMs they got because of Chrisba. This was definitely not the first time I saw them receive hateful comments because of them, and they clearly didn't seem to care about it, and now suddenly they even changed the location because of that. I don't really think that the privacy and hateful comments/DM explanations are working here right now.

And I'd like to ask everybody not to go to L&D's page and leave hateful comments or send hateful DMs. It's inappropriate; it's a bad thing to do. Leave them be.

[missmortox]

Translation:

Bill Skarsgärd and Alida Morberg's unusual name choice - the daughter's name

Alida Morberg and Bill Skarsgard have two children together.

After the birth of their second daughter, the name has been a secret for a long time.

What is the daughter's actual name?

Oona's name was secret for two years until Alida posted a photo of that birthday cake. This baby isn't even a year old. What does this publication think is a long time?

Translation:

Alida Morberg and Bill Skarsgard changed the name of their firstborn daughter

Alida and Bill have been a couple for several years and have had two children together since they met.

In the fall of 2018, the couple welcomed their first daughter. She was given a name that was later changed; the couple regretted their choice and subsequently changed their daughter's name to Ona.

More accurately if I recall correctly, Alida said she couldn't stand for the name and she changed it. Bill didn't seem to be a part of the decision the way she phrased it but I'd have to find the article again. You're right, they also didn't spell Oona's name correctly. Unless Alida has changed it again for some reason. Or it's just a typo.

Translation:

The well-known actor couple has chosen to keep their family life private and rarely share about their life together with their children.

More accurately Bill is private. Though in the recent months Alida has been more private she wasn't when Oona was first born. That was for sure. This included not only several secretly filmed videos of Bill but videos and pictures of Oona leaked as well. Maybe she's kinda private now but she's still managed to leak 5-6 pictures of the new baby on social and that leak 5-6 pictures of the bey baby on social and that weird video of her dancing with the baby and you can see her face so...way less private and secretive than they were with Oona. Sorry, she was. Bill has still been pretty private about it. Also actor couple? Bill is the actor. Alida just exists and gets into stuff because she knows Bill. Her career is non existent without him & Alida also is definitely not well known outside of Sweden but I guess since this is a Swedish tabloid maybe it makes sense to say that.

But now, months after the birth of their daughter, it's clear that the couple has given their daughter the name

Minou Xoli Inese Morberg Skarsgärd.

Alida's mother is named Inese Bergs Morberg.

Therefore, it's not impossible that the couple has given Alida's mother is named Inese Bergs Morberg.

Therefore, it's not impossible that the couple has given their second child the name Inese as a middle name after Alida's mother.

How is it clear? Where? From what I understand the public records in Sweden aren't made public until the person is at least 16 years old. However, that doesn't mean there isn't a way to look up a birth certificate that journalists know about and the general public doesn't have access to. However, why would they? Bill isn't nearly as A-list as he was as Pennywise right now. There was no article about this at all when Oona was born (or less than a year after) why is a tabloid suddenly so interested in the second child instead of the first? My theory here is that Alida 100% sent this to them and/or possibly paid someone to publish it. This is barely news and a lot of it is really old like the interview from when Alida said she changed Oona's name and the quote from her Instagram when she said she was "in the baby bubble". I can't believe Alida didn't incentivize someone to publish this just because she wanted to add the last name Skarsgard to the child's name. This is probably some PR attempt to insist the two of them are still together and happy amidst all the breakup rumors. However, since Bill is intent on the privacy of the kids and she has now leaked both names (even though I'm sure she'll claim she had nothing to do with this even though no one would be interested in it if she didn't make it happen) I wonder what will come of it. Part of me wants to say that the article has to be inaccurate or for some reason made up but Alida is such a nobody bimbo idiot why would any reporter dig up this baby's name to put in an article if Alida or her PR people didn't send them the information? Send thoughts on that if you'd like.

[themovieblogonline]

DCU’s Brand New Live Action In Works

Millennials would be lying if they said that Teen Titans weren’t a part of their childhood. Well, DC is bringing this 90’s dream very much to life with a live-action remake. Here’s everything that has surfaced. Teen Titans have been around since the 1960s as the trusted sidekicks of many prominent DC superheroes. The lineup consists of several teenage kids with extraordinary powers.  Teen Titans Franchise – A Refresh The Teen Titans empire first came to light in DC comics, specifically in The Brave and the Bold #54, in 1964, making it their debut year. Robin, a.k.a. Dick Grayson is penned as the “leader” of the group, who also worked closely with Batman, as his partner-in-justice.  Fast forward to 1980, the dawn of the team followed by New Teen Titans comics by Marv Wolfman. This is probably the version people remember the most.  In 2003, Kids’ WB/Cartoon Network adapted the comics into the infamous 5-season-long animated series. The leader of the group was Robin. Alongside were his allies, namely Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg. Even though there were temporary additions to the Titan team as the seasons progressed, like Terra joining the squad and turning against them later on, the core remained pretty much the same.  They were also up against many villains, the titular one being Slade, a menacing, masked-faced character, who also brainwashed Terra to fight against the Titans.  The 2003-2006 series followed up with a movie called Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (2006). There were also more additions to the animated series, like the comedic series Teen Titans Go! (2013-present) as well as a theatrical film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018). Now, DC Studios, led by James Gunn and Peter Safran, are adding Teen Titans live-action feature to the superhero lineup.  Ana Nogueira – Behind the Script Ana Nogueira will lead the live-action feature by wording the story. Ana Nogueira is a playwright, who’s famously known for writing the ongoing story of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which is rumored to be released after the release of the Superman reboot on 11th July 2025.  Best known for her role of Penny Ares in The Vampire Diaries (2016) and Sarah in Sarah + Dee (2018), Ana Nogueira has a way with words and DC Studios is confident that she will bring forth a script that’ll impress.  Expectations & Excitement Still, in the development phase, there’s no plot, production news, casting, or even a release date for the project. However, that hasn’t stopped netizens from cherry-picking their favorite actors/actresses for the roles. From rooting for Jenna Ortega to play the goth heroine, Raven, to Halle Bailey being a perfect fit for Starfire, fans are going crazy with excitement. The details of the upcoming feature are a mystery.  To say that fans are jumping off the walls for more news on the upcoming Teen Titans feature would be an understatement. Let’s see what the future brings regarding this feature’s release updates.  Read the full article

[celebritydecks]

Jack Depp

Jack Depp

Jack Depp: A Glimpse into the life of Johnny Depp’s Rising Son

Johnny Depp, whose name is linked to success in Hollywood. He is not only a well-known actor but also a loving father to Jack Depp. Due to his celebrity parents, the world has been following Jack Depp’s life since his birth in 2002. The life of Jack Depp will be examined in further detail in this article, along with his many abilities, his relationship with his father and his rise to fame in the entertainment industry.

Introduction: Jack Depp

Jack Depp was born on 9th April 2002 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Nanterre, France. His full name is John Christopher Depp III but he is better known as Jack Depp.

His mother is French singer, model and actress Vanessa Paradis. At an early age, Paradis rose to fame with her song Joe le Taxi. Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp began dating in 1998 and ended their relationship in 2012.

Lily-Rose Melody Depp is the sister of Jack Depp. Like her brother Jack, Lily-Rose is also involved in the entertainment industry. She made her acting debut in the 2014 movie “Tusk” in a supporting role. Since then, she has gone on to star in films including “Yoga Hosers”, “Planetarium” and “The King”. In short film ‘Yoga Hosers‘, Johnny and Jack both played crucial role with her.

With one sibling already making headlines for her growing career in industry, Jack has been noticeably absent from the spotlight. There have been numerous rumors about his future course of action and career since his birth, but the Depp family kept secret and don’t say anything.

Early Life and Career

Jack Depp’s familial history had a significant impact on his early years. Jack was introduced to the world of art and performance at a young age as a result of his parent’s careers as renowned actors. With Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis as his parents, Jack’s upbringing surely had a big impact on his artistic patterns. Jack was inspired to develop his own artistic potential by watching and learning from his parents’ commitment to their work.

Jack was born with a severe Health problem. Due to Jack Depp’s illness, his mother Vanessa skipped the premiere of her movie Knife and Heart in 2018.

Professional Life

He finished high school in a nearby private school in France. He was always more interested in singing and music than in academics, even as a young child. He plays guitar professionally and he is a part of the Tunnel band. He has performed in a variety of venues alongside his father and other musicians. Jack prefers to maintain a low profile, therefore not much is known about him.

He has only appeared in one movie, the 2016 horror comedy Yoga Hosers, in which he costarred with his sister Lily-Rose as Peg Kid. The future release plan for Jack Depp films is unknown. His father, actor Johnny Depp, said in an interview with the Inquirer from 2014 that his kid is talented in singing and art.

[thetoxicgamer]

FaZe Clan star dismisses rumors of roster changes ahead of CS2

When CS2 is completely available this summer, many teams will be evaluating their alternatives. Additionally, despite what certain rumours may have said, FaZe Clan won't modify anything. Twistzz told HLTV during the BLAST Premier Spring Final's media day on June 7 that they're satisfied with their current lineup despite being in shaky form since their early elimination from the IEM Rio Major in November 2022 and not winning a trophy since ESL Pro League season 17 in March, which gave them the Intel Grand Slam trophy as well. “No changes,” Twistzz said in an interview with HLTV. “Everyone enjoys playing with each other and we have great team chemistry, and it’s something we’re not gonna take for granted.” The rumors about FaZe potentially making a roster change have been gaining traction since rain, one of the veteran players on the roster, became a father in January. Many fans were wondering if the Norwegian star would continue competing in CS2 or choose to retire. But rain made it pretty clear in May that he’s not going anywhere and actually renewed his contract with FaZe. It also doesn’t help that FaZe has made questionable decisions in the past regarding roster changes, such as parting ways with karrigan in December 2018 to make NiKo the in-game leader. The move never panned out and led to multiple roster changes as the team continuously failed to reach the top despite having star players until karrigan returned in February 2021 and RobbaN was reinstated as the head coach. FaZe are one of the eight teams fighting for the trophy at the $425,000 BLAST Premier Spring Final this week in Washington, D.C. Should they make a deep run, let’s say at least advance to the semifinals, any roster change rumors will likely cool off further. Read the full article

[bunmellos]

One of my friends really likes loona, tho I don’t really follow them. And the articles I just searched up after reading your posts don’t really give the full story. Do you mind summing up what happened to someone outside the community? Totally fine if you don’t btw! But I wish there was a source that doesn’t sound like they’re forced to sell a certain pov

sure, here’s a brief summary. i’ll probably get a couple things wrong because i’m doing this mostly from memory, but here we go:

- loona debuted one member each month from 2016-2018, and debuted as a group with hi high in 2018. notably, the last member to debut only trained for 1 day before being thrust into the spotlight

- after that, comebacks were slow coming, especially considering they were a popular new group with a lot of potential.

- at some point, staff reveals that they haven’t been paid since debut. this includes the girls. bbc (the management company) also claims severe financial debt, and orbits (the fans) come together and mass buy merch to pull them out of debt. it was honestly pretty amazing

- a couple of members begin to stand out from the rest of the group. this includes heejin, the first member to debut, who begins getting ad appearances and a lot of center time. the other is chuu, the tenth member to debut, who is known for her bubbly and cheerful personality. she starts doing a lot of work outside the group- guest starring in reality shows, MC-ing, etc. we learn that, despite pulling bbc out of debt, they still haven’t paid the staff or idols.

:readmore:

- chuu begins to inexplicably miss a lot of group schedules. rumors say she might be planning to move to another company.

- in 2022, the kpop industry starts touring again. loona (minus chuu, of course, as she’s busy with other events) does a world tour with a very harsh schedule. members begin breaking down one by one until eventually only 7 or 8 are able to perform.

- chuu sues bbc to get out of her contract and wins, somewhat. she can now freely do solo activities but bbc still profits from her efforts. there’s silence for a few months. then, suddenly, on november 25th, bbc announces chuu’s removal from the group. they cite her abuse of the staff as their reason and make a lot of really weird statements. one of these is that “the rest of loona do not do this for personal gain”, which is very very odd considering chuu just wanted to be paid for her efforts. lol

- immediately, people start coming to chuu’s defense. one of these is hyunjin, her own group member, who expresses her frustration over chat despite risking getting in trouble for it. sunmi, a senior idol, posts a selfie of the two together in support. in addition, all kinds of staff for the different shows chuu has worked on share their stories of how kind and considerate she is. basically, the rest of the industry comes together to call bbc on their bullshit

- at this point, people have been speculating for a long time. one theory is that bbc is a money laundering scheme that’s kept loona as nugu (new group, despite being 4-6 years old depending on the member) as possible to avoid drawing attention. because like… if nobody’s being paid and they’re committing tax fraud then where is all that money going…? it’s kind of weird because bbc is the bottom of a chain of command that eventually leads to ilgwang group, which mainly sells weapons to the government and has gotten in trouble for corruption before (take that how you will)

- the rest of the group members are expected to continue with their activities like nothing happened, and are forced to do one on one video calls with fans. most of them are visibly upset. especially hyunjin, who’s always been one to express her real feelings. also we find out that the bbc ceo is suspected of evading over $37 million usd in taxes

- bbc releases another statement telling fans to stop speculating and let the members do their jobs

- almost immediately afterward, news comes out that 9 of the members (excluding vivi and hyunjin, probably because vivi is in korea on a work visa and hyunjin is busy doing some stuff for fifa) have filed injunction against bbc to terminate their contracts. chuu has now joined by4m studio

- and that’s about it, assuming nothing else has happened since i was asleep. tldr: loona was a group with a lot of potential but their company fucked it up and kicked out a member over bullshit claims, leading the rest of the group to quit too

[justzawe]

Zawe and Tom Timeline

Preface: This should not be confused with when they first met. This is just when things seemingly started for them. Zawe said her and Tom sat next to each other at a play once, years prior. Both Tom and Zawe said they’ve seen each other at random events in London over the years. So they did not just meet in 2018.

2018

October 2nd - Zawe and Tom are both in Intelligence Squared’s Dickens vs. Tolstoy event.

October 10th - Zawe and Tom do a scene from Betrayal for a Harold Pinter birthday gala, and attend the after party.

October 11th - Zawe posts a Polaroid of her and Tom from the night before, on her instagram.

2019

February 12th - All About Eve premiere: video of Zawe waiting for Tom, paparazzi caption saying they left together in the same car

February 21st - they go see a Pinter play together

February 23rd - visit the White Cube art gallery

March 14th - dancing at the Betrayal premiere party in London

April 3rd - being cute at the Character Breakdown launch

April 7th - 2019 Olivier awards

May 23rd - Zawe is on the Talk Art podcast and makes some interesting remarks @ 27 and 34 minutes in

August 8th - Seated together at the Sea Wall/A Life, plus red carpet interaction

August 12th - leaving together after dinner with Charlie Cox

August 26 - US Open day 1 w/ Eddie Arnold

September 1st - US Open day 2

September 6th - The Sun releases an article saying they’ve been dating since February

September 22nd - Arriving to the theatre together with Bobby

October 13th - Zawe doesn’t deny dating rumors in Telegraph interview

October 15 &17 - Tom attends Zawe’s play preview and premiere

November 18th - Subway picture from the day of Zawe’s play preview

December 5th - Being cute at Tom’s Sardi’s event

2020

January 8th - Went to see Cyrano together

January 9th & 10th - Flew to Atlanta, paparazzi Atlanta Filming tweets about it the next day

January 18th - Spotted having dinner at The Optimist in Atlanta

February 3rd to 7th - Zawe goes to NYC and leaves in time for Tom’s birthday(feb 8th)

February 14th - Zawe’s Valentine’s Day post

March 5th - Zawe moves from Margate to Tom’s London place

April or May - Zawe’s quarantine photo shoot from Tom’s hotel suite in Atlanta

June 14th - Spotted together at Piedmont park in Atlanta

July 4th - Tom and Zawe take Bobby to the vet in Atlanta

July 26th - Zawe posts video from Tom’s Atlanta hotel suite

September 29th - Fan meets Zawe and Bobby at London park

November 7th - Fan meets Tom and Zawe in Atlanta hotel lobby, confirms they live together

November 17th - Zawe does a stream from Tom’s Atlanta hotel suite

November 22nd - Diana Hiddleston (Tom’s mom) is thanked for getting Tom and Zawe to join the NYT Christmas auction

2021

June 8th - Zawe does livestream from Tom’s London place

August - Fan sighting/meeting in the south of England

September 2nd - Spotted having dinner at Soutine in London

September 13th - Papped on vacation in Ibiza, Spain, first sighting of Zawe’s engagement ring

September 26th - Attended the 2021 Tony awards together

November 6th - Spotted at the closing night of Anything Goes

November 13th - Spotted walking Bobby in London

December 7th - Attended the People’s Choice Awards 

December 8th - Attended UNICEF's Blue Moon Gala 

December 11th - Attended Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

December 15th - Belfast screening

December 16th - Tom mentions “we” more than once during Happy, Sad, Confused livestream

December 18th - Spotted shopping and walking in Regents Park

December 31st - Spotted buying wine at a Waitrose in Hampshire

2022

March 13 - Attended the BAFTAs and walked the red carpet together as a couple

March 17 - various news outlets report Tom and Zawe are engaged

May 11 - Tom confirms their engagement on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show

Special thanks to @insanityclause @zawe-at-night @missmaji @the-real-zhora-salome and @unreal-entity for all your help!

[stormblessed95]

How did I just found out that jimin is afraid of butterflies because someone put a butterfly in his underwear when he was young lol 😂

Okay.... so I spent the morning looking into this and I'm starting to think it isn't true...

I had also never heard of this before, which definitely doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but I of course then had to go looking for an original source of WHERE Jimin said this. And if someone can provide that and prove me wrong, PLEASE DO. But as of now, I don't think there is one. I can't find a single instance of Jimin saying he is scared of butterflies, much less because someone put one in his pants when he was little while in an arboretum like I keep seeing people state as "random jimin facts" on Twitter or online articles. Which is ALL I CAN FIND. lmao no actual quotes or links to where Jimin himself has said this. I even asked @wingzie for help, she couldn't find it either.. The earliest instance we can find of people talking about it is from Dec 2016:

But again.... no source....

Lots of people again started talking about this supposed fact on 170321 on twitter.... but again, no sources. And the only thing BTS did that day was their show in Brazil, and subsequent tweets after their show thanking B-armys for coming. And Teen Vogue dropped an interview that day as well. But not a single mention of butterflies in that interview either

The other times I'm seeing people talk about it is in reference to Jimins storyline in the BU. Spectaculting that his fictional flower arboretum trauma in the BU was perhaps drawn from inspiration from real life fears of his.

Wouldn't be the first time people took fictional BU storylines and got them confused with real life facts for the Tannies unfortunately... lol

The last thing people reference in regards to this butterfly fear is from Rookie King in 2013. When Jimin got the end plate punishment and the members then got to hit him with a fly swatter where they placed fake little butterfly/bugs. Which they teasingly flew around him as he squirmed before picking their spots. But if we are honest, the squirming or "fear" could easily have been from the members pinning him to a table and trying to pull his shirt up to smack him wherever they wanted. I too, would be trying to run away from people hitting me on the stomach and face. Lmfao which would have had nothing to do with the butterflies

Seriously that was a lot of wandering hands and threatening fly swatters flying. Lmao I think the members glee over the punishments were more "frightening" then the fake butterflies or whatever they were 🤣

Plus Jimin picked cute little fake butterfly tattoos for his 2018 summer package shoot that he did. Which is odd for someone who had a fear of them. Maybe?

SO AGAIN, I just don't think this is true. 🤷🏻‍♀️ lol just one of those rumors that no one checked and ended up becoming "fact." Since it can't be found as an original quote and it can't even be backtracked by a date... it's likely not actually true. But if someone does have a source for this, please share and I'll correct myself!

[tilynation]

Bops & Flops

This is the podcast that first publicly mentioned the rumor that Taylor was going to come out in a Rolling Stone article. I had never heard the episode before, but I recently listened to it and there are some Gaylor gems in it. Here’s a link to the episode.

“The Gaylor Report”

The specific episode is the April 20, 2019 episode titled “The Gaylor Report.” The episode was released one week before the end of Taylor’s countdown to April 26, lesbian visibility day.

For context, the podcast host is a gay man who talks about pop music. The podcast in general is not a Taylor/Gaylor podcast. For this episode, he had two queer women on as co-hosts. Their names are listed in the episode description and are mentioned in the podcast. The hosts are from Chicago. They are not Swifties and did not know gaylor fan theory before the episode. Their recap of gaylor fan theory is admittedly just from what they found on the internet while preparing to record the episode.

Here are the parts of the podcast episode I found interesting (this info is all in the first 5 minutes):

The Sources

The co-hosts have a close friend who works for “an esteemed publication.” The person who works at the publication works with someone who is part of the New York underground lesbian scene. This NYC lesbian scene person was also getting info directly from someone who works for Taylor. So the coming out info was from the person who works for Taylor.

The hosts say they sat on this info “for almost a year,” which is clarified to be from October/November 2018. They say they revealed the info when they did because it was a week until the end of Taylor’s countdown to April 26, 2019 (lesbian visibility day) and the hosts thought Taylor might come out that day.

The Coming Out Plans Had Been in Place Since October/November 2018

This time period was the end of the Rep tour and when Miss Americana was filming.

The info from the podcast was that the coming out kept getting pushed back. Late 2018/early 2019 is when I think Tily broke up and when some people think Kaylor broke up. The info from the podcast makes me think Lily (or Karlie) may have been pushing Taylor to come out and when the relationship started to get rocky or ended, Taylor (and her team) hit the brakes. To me it’s much more likely that it was Lily who wanted Taylor to come out, not Karlie, who was already engaged/married by that point.

Kendall Jenner

The podcast co-hosts also mention that the woman in the NYC underground lesbian scene said that there is a “secret group of lesbians that sign NDAs to have orgies at Kendall Jenner’s house.” They say Kendall is queer and that Taylor is part of this group too.

I wonder who also could have been part of this group?

Especially since Lily was the one who was openly in the NYC lesbian/bi wealthy women group.

The Rolling Stone Article

In the actual article that came out in September 2019, it says that the photoshoot was done in London in August 2019. Is it possible that one version of the article and photoshoot were done earlier in 2019, then a second version was done in August?

All of the info above tracks with the LA source(s) the @whatiwillsay podcast mentioned about the Rolling Stone article.

April 26, 2019 - Lesbian Visibility Day

Ultimately, Taylor did not come out. Instead, she released ME! as the first single from the Lover album.

The NFL Draft Special with Robin Roberts

Taylor announced the release of ME! on this ABC special on April 25, 2019. Robin mentioned at the beginning of the interview that Taylor had been crying in the green room before the taping began. Taylor replied, “I have a lot of emotions about the whole thing. I don’t know. It’s so . . . it’s great. It’s just such a wonderful night. Thank you for having me.” To a non-gaylor, they may see this exchange as Taylor feeling nostalgic about being back in Nashville because that’s how Robin and Taylor play it off. But Taylor is frequently in Nashville, so her being there shouldn’t make her emotional, neither should the NFL Draft.

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

hi, i'm a new fs fan who came in liking shoma, but aside from the "misogyny" many people are currently bashing him based on the dating rumors about him and marin because of him allegedly offering to be her bf when she was 12/13 and he 16/17... on one hand there are a lot of red flags with that but 1) i don't think everything in the article is real, since the sources are very unreliable 2) this dropping the moment 2022 starts + with only a month to go to beijing? sus 3) if the intention was to out/accuse shoma as some kind of creep this kind of article would have been released years ago and not when both are now adults 4) the streaming incident may not have been as bad as haters make it out to be but i really don't see shoma having had a gf then. 5) if it WAS real the parents may have been involved + we don't know if it's a cultural thing. atp it's really hard to say what i feel about shoma but it's kind of disheartening to see fanyus obsessively dragging him when yuzuru and shoma are very good friends. (as a mainly fanyu myself)

They accused Shoma of many things in the past before they had any as they would call it "valid" concerns - for example 2018 they claimed he was not complying to the Olympic oath of fairness because he has the wrong jumping technique - they sadly will continue to spread hate. He could cure cancer at this point and they would have found something problematic in this.

And you're absolutely right that Yuzu likes Shoma. But sadly haters care more about their hate than Yuzu's friendship with other skaters. (It's also very funny when they try to ignore Yuzu and Shoma interactions when Yuzu is so affectionate towards Shoma and speaks so highly of him)

The obsession and vitriol is what is truly concerning. Yes point out that things he said could be seen offensive, that the age gap if the rumor is true can be seen as problematic, but 1. Don't make it your job to tell others what they should find offensive and what not 2. Don't make others feeling differently about it invalid of any opinion or hate on them (because this is what happened when ppl defended Shoma with the stream incident) 3. Don't obsess about ppl you don't like and don't know 4. Don't like a skater fine, no need to read about them 5. It's fandom it should be fun. So what does it matter to them if I like Shoma or not, if he has fans? His fans problem and his problem not theirs. Stick to the skating!!!

Ppl are more about policing what skaters you can like than actually talking about skating. I stan skaters for their skating. Shoma could be the most awful person in the world and I would still like his skating. He is a figure skater, but atm I have the feeling he is the candidate in a Bachelor show.

Anyway I don't see the point in ranting about it further. At this point it's gotten ridiculous.

Some points towards what you mentioned:

1) I haven't read a full translation about that article with Marin and Shoma. As far as I know some unknown JSF official shared that story from 2014, so what that was 8 years ago? All Shoma allegdly did was pointing to himself when Marin was talking about boyfriends as far as I know. So to say he offered anything is wildly blown up. Can you imagine that shy insecure boy he was at this time would come up to a girl he thinks is pretty and tells her to be his girlfriend? Really? I can't. And 2nd what an official is this that shares such a story? If it was even an official after all. I don't think anyone would have shared that if it would have been seen as problematic in Japan as you said if they would have found fault in it, they would have published this much earlier. Still to me it sounds more like a story that has been shared from person to person and details have been added in the get go. It's a tabloid paper with gossip. A thing Fanyus like to point out when there is something misleading about Yuzu in it. So actually they should know better.

I myself don't see any problem in the age issue that she was 17 (close to 18) and he 21. We don't know anything of the nature of this dating if it's even true...they were both young, Shoma is also said to not really behave like his age at that point (he was 18 years old when he still said on Keiji's lap in an official competition). She was in highschool and he was in college - is that so rare?...I am not sure about anyone else but I know girls at age 16/17 who dated boys who were in college, some boys even much older than 21. I think it's a problem when both are on different parts of their lifes but that wasn't the case. They both spend the most time in skating, not school or college, spend all their time in training, competitions or shows and both lived with their parents. So actually their situations were similar. So it's not like they lived the normal teenager/young adult life some may know. I think it would have been inappropriate if the age gap would be 17 and 25+ or if the perspective of life is different and if you have power as an elder over the other. But when both are in education at 21 and 17 the perspective of life usually isn't that different.

2) the whole timing is dubious. Why share such a rumor now? And still what's the fuss about it if it's not even confirmed by any of the involved parties? Fanyus claim it's PR created by Shoma's mom. Sure she would make up dating rumors because of some Englisch speaking fans calling Shoma names. Beg your pardon you don't have that much influence in his life! It's delusional to even think this. And when this is all PR, why not chose someone that is close to age for Shoma to mitigate the rumors? Why Marin? The media shipped Marin and Shoma for years. Who knows what was in the media's minds to pull this out now? Is it true? I don't know. I don't actually care. For all we know that is true is that Shoma and Marin are close friends.

3) You can see the stream in many ways. The problem is we don't know anything for real. I can't picture that he was dating at that time but maybe he was dating and didn't like the way he was still approached by girls? I dunno. On what was said in the stream I have explained my stance on this often enough now that I won't repeat myself here.

4) All I know if Shoma and Marin are truly dating for 3 years then they seem to be good for each other when they already spend 3 years together. I can only say if it's true, I am happy if they are happy. But it's not my business.

All feelings about Shoma are valid. No one has to like him or forgive him for what he allegdly said and did. All I ask is actually to not spread hate about him. Not constantly trashtalk every piece of even uncredited info. And pls don't hate on Shoma fans for liking him. Just why cannot all fans stay in their circles and let others live unbothered fan life.

[positivexcellence]

Jared Padalecki Has Been a Star for 20 Years. There's Still a Lot You Don't Know About Him.

There are few things more awkward than telling a grown man you're about to ask him a series of questions best saved for a second or third date. Especially when that man is Jared Padalecki, the chiseled-jawed heartthrob you've been watching on television for over half your life. But this is Glamour's “Inappropriate Questions” column, and this author has a job to do.

“Game on,” Padalecki challenges over the phone, instantly clearing the air of any nervous tension. In fact, he says to “be prepared” as if I'm the one about to be put in the hot seat. His lack of caution is disarming but not completely unexpected. The actor got his start in Hollywood in the early aughts playing Rory Gilmore's first great love on Gilmore Girls. After five seasons, he left the series to hunt monsters as Sam Winchester on Supernatural, which just ended its 15-year-long run in November. Considering the fanaticism surrounding both projects, there's likely no question he hasn't already been asked by the press or fans.

“I'll have even more inappropriate answers, you're gonna have to have a lot of asterisks in your article,” the 38-year-old jokes with a deep laugh. It's easy to picture the laid back, Texas boy smile on the other end of the line.

Despite initial plans to retire after well over a decade of filming Supernatural in Vancouver, Canada, Padalecki was sucked back into acting almost immediately by his latest project at the CW. He stars and serves as an executive producer on Walker, a modern reboot of the Chuck Norris martial arts procedural, Walker, Texas Ranger. But vocation is pretty much the only thing the two shows have in common.

Padalecki’s Walker centers around a grieving widower who struggles with the death of his wife (played by his actual spouse, Genevieve Padalecki), raising two teenagers, and balancing his duties as a law enforcement officer. The drama, which premiered in January, has already been picked up for a second season and will be filming an additional five episodes for season one.

But what was it about this particular property that halted Padalecki's plans for a long-overdue break? Well, for one, the headquarters of the Texas Rangers is in Austin, Texas, where he and his wife are raising their family. “It's a great sleep in my own bed. It fucking sucks to wake up because the kids are running around and jumping on my head, but it's awesome,” he says. “I feel like towards the end of Supernatural my thought process was like, 'Man, I have a wife and three kids. I'd like to meet them.'”

It turns out, dating your partner again after 10 years of marriage has its advantages. During our call, Padelecki opens up about his ideal date night, working with his wife, and even confirms a long-rumored Gilmore Girls romance. My one goal: surprise Jared Padalecki.

Before COVID-19, you were doing almost 20 Supernatural fan conventions around the globe each year. What's the wildest thing a fan has ever asked you?

Jared Padalecki: I have had a few people asked me to sign something on their body or draw something for them to get tattooed—and then I've seen the tattoos! I haven't tattooed anybody…well, I did tattoo my friend Bruce, and he tattooed me. But that's neither here nor there.

How much experience tattooing do you have?

Zero. We finished filming Supernatural forever on September 10; on September 11, he was like, “All right, have an appointment for us to go get tattooed, buddy.” So we went got tattoos, and he did a little dot on me and I did a little dot on him. Luckily it wasn't something that needed any artistic talent whatsoever.

So, let's talk a little bit about Walker. The premiere was the most-watched episode on The CW since 2018 as well as the network's highest-viewed series debut in five years. Why are people so obsessed with you?

The big forehead. [Laughs] I think a lot of people in the world right now are really looking for something to feel good. My Walker is not the Chuck Norris Walker, where he walks around roundhouse kicking people randomly. Our Walkers are not even related or connected.

My Walker is a guy who's flawed and trying to do the best he can in a world that's hard to navigate. I think it's a universal theme. Whether you're law enforcement or a parent or not, you can find parallels to your own life in somebody who's just a little in over their head and trying to be the best they can in difficult circumstances.

You actually had a Walker, Texas Ranger moment on Supernatural and now you're leading the reboot. Do you have a cowboy kink?

A cowboy kink? I'm not sure what that means…I've got three young kids, man. I know what Frozen is and I know what Paw Patrol is, and that's basically it. Kink…like a fantasy?

Yeah!

Okay, cowboy kink. [Laughs] You know what? Cowboy boots on a woman are very sexy. When I started dating Gen during Supernatural she had these—she still has them, I think she wore them on Walker as a matter of fact—she had these cowboy boots with skulls on them. I was like, damn girl.

There's something that just melts me in all the right ways when you see a woman who's beautiful and soft and caring and has some badass cowboy boots on. So that's probably my kink.

You met your wife when she played Ruby in seasons 3 and 4 of Supernatural. She appeared a few more times throughout the series, but what is it like to really act alongside her again on Walker?

It's pretty awesome. Gen's such a strong woman. I mean, she was a double major, double minor, college soccer player. The first marathon she ever ran was the Boston Marathon, and she missed qualifying by two minutes because her Apple Watch died or something. She's given natural childbirth multiple times. She is so much more tough and badass than I am, so seeing her in her element is so sexy.

I have to imagine, after spending so much time in Vancouver, you're almost re-dating. Do you guys do anything special for date night?

When we really want to have a special night, we will get a hotel room. [The night after the Walker premiere], we went out to the Lake Austin Spa. We got a babysitter for the night, and we're like, “We're gonna get a massage. We're going to watch a movie in the room, sleep, get in the hot tub, whatever, and we'll come home around noon to go watch our son's basketball game.”

OK. It's time to get really personal. Are you ready?

I'm in. I'm sitting.

In 2016, the casting director of Gilmore Girls, Mara Casey, gave an interview in which she said, “We did have a running joke about casting all of [Alexis Bledel's] real-life boyfriends. She dated Jared and [Milo Ventimiglia].” Is that true?

It is true! But I had never met Alexis before the show. We did date, but they cast me as a human being, and then I became a boyfriend.

When Alexis and I met, we were both 17 years old and were both Texans and kind of in this new, strange city and I was like, “Hey, want to go out to dinner?” I know she dated Milo for a while and yes, she and I did date.

Before or…?

It was before because he wasn't on the show until season 2. I think we dated during season 1.

How did you two keep it a secret?

I don't know if we tried to keep it a secret. I wish it was scandalous or something! I think it was more kind of silly. We were two 17-year-old kids who were like, “Hey, you want to go bowling?” It wasn't anything super juicy.

You've said multiple times that you're Team Jess over Team Dean. But do you feel like we, as a society, should still be Team Rory? She kind of sucks, too.

I laugh when people are like, “I'm Team Dean.” Dean cheats on his wife! And Rory didn't help.

Rory had some issues. You know, she was a kid growing up and trying to navigate her way in a weird world without a really solid father figure and with a kind of kooky, neurotic mother. I'll say this: Yes, I'm Team Rory. I think Rory was trying to live her life, and she wasn't malicious. She wasn't one of these mean girls who were like, “Oh, I'm gonna start a rumor about this person or that person. I'm gonna try and ruin this life.”

Did she make some mistakes? Fuck yeah! Of course! We all do. She probably hurt some people, she probably got hurt. But I think she was just trying to live her life and figure it out. She wasn't outwardly trying to hurt people. So yeah, call me Team Rory.

So, did any of these questions manage to surprise you?

I think so! That Alexis boyfriend question. I didn't know Mara had said that.

This was four years ago, you can't get mad at her!

[Laughs] Holy shit, so that was right during the reboot?

Yes, so the statute of limitations on this has long since passed.

[nickjunesource]

Full article below.

Max Minghella is sitting in his backyard in the LA sunshine, his t-shirt an homage to the French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve, his adopted shepherd mix, Rhye, excited by the approach of a package courier.

“You okay, sweetheart?” he asks — the dog, not me — tenderly.

Minghella, who at 35 has dozens of screen credits to his name, is best known as The Handmaid’s Tale’s cunning chauffeur Nick Blaine, a character who it’s difficult to imagine saying sweetheart. In airless Gilead, of course, a cautious hand graze with Elisabeth Moss’ June can pass for a big romantic gesture. In a Season 1 episode featuring child separation and hospital infant abduction, Nick’s major contribution is to trade stolen glances with a sex slave while “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” pumps discordantly along. I ask Minghella about playing the series’ closest approximation to a dreamy male lead against the show’s dark narrative of female subjugation.

“I know this is not the answer you want to hear,” Minghella says with none of Nick’s hesitation. “But I like that stuff, right? In the pilot, I think Nick only had a handful of lines. It wasn't clear that this is what the character would turn into. And it's quite fortunate for me personally, because I'm not a massively sort of intellectual person in my real life. I love Fifty Shades of Grey. That's like my Star Wars. It suits me to play a character like him.”

Minghella surmises that this enduring romanticism is an outcome of nurture. His father, the late British director Anthony Minghella, made grand romantic dramas like Cold Mountain and The English Patient. And there was the young, cinema-mad Max sitting on the living room sofa, absorbing everything. “It’s taken me a long time to understand this,” he says of his prolonged childhood exposure to love stories. “My dad made The English Patient when I was 10. So it was two years of watching the dailies to that movie and then watching 50 cuts of it. And then [The Talented Mr.] Ripley he made when I was 13, and it was the same thing.” These were an adolescent Max Minghella’s alternative to reruns. “I think they did shape my perspective on the world in a lot of ways, specifically The English Patient. That was a complicated love story, and I wonder sometimes how much it's affected my psychology.”

Some sons rebel; others resemble. Minghella’s co-star O-T Fagbenle, who plays June’s other lover from before the time of Gilead, got his first job acting in Anthony Minghella’s romantic crime film Breaking and Entering. “Anthony is one the kindest, most beautiful men that I've ever had the privilege of working with before,” Fagbenle says. “And Max has his gorgeous, sensitive, open-minded soul.”

Though Minghella spent his childhood on the set of The Talented Mr. Ripley, playing an uncredited Confederate soldier role in Cold Mountain, and tooling around with a Super-8 camera Matt Damon gave him, he insists his upbringing was normal. He grew up in South Hill Park overlooking Hampstead Heath in London with his father and mother, the choreographer Carolyn Choa. (Minghella also has a half-sister, Hannah Minghella, who is now a film executive.) Yes, technically, it was London, but that’s not how it seemed. “I feel like I grew up in a very small town. Every school I went to was in Hampstead. I was born in Hampstead,” Minghella says of the small map dot of his life before university. “When I went to New York, I felt I was going to the big city.”

Despite his illustrious surname, movie-watching was far from restricted to the classics. “Beverly Hills Cop is definitely the movie I remember having an unhealthy obsession with. I think I saw it when I was 5 for the first time, and I'd watch it just two or three times a day for years. I'm just obsessed with it.”

Plenty of actors can trace their love of movies back to a love of stories, but for Minghella the relationship seems to flow in reverse. When he left for Columbia University, Minghella opted to study history for its connection, through storytelling, to film. It was during the summers between his years of college that he started taking acting more seriously. Before his graduation, he’d already appeared in Syriana, starring Damon and George Clooney. Soon, he’d make a splash as Divya Narendra in The Social Network in 2010 and be cast in Clooney’s Ides of March. As all young actors eventually must, Minghella moved to Los Angeles.

It’s been over a decade since he last lived on the Heath, but, perhaps unusually for a person who’s chosen his profession, Minghella is adamantly not a “shapeshifter,” in his words. Home for Christmas this year, he started sifting through old journals stored at his mother’s house, “just like scraps of writing from when I was extremely young up through my teenage years,” before coming to America. “It was hilarious to me,” Minghella says of staring at his childhood reflection. “My review of a movie at 7 years old is pretty much what my review of a movie at 35 will be. My taste hasn't changed much. And when I sort of love something, I do tend to continue to love it.”

Which brings us back to his enduring love of romance, born of his bloodline, which is all over Minghella’s own 2018 directorial debut. Teen Spirit is a hazily lit film about a teenage girl from the Isle of Wight — the remote British island where Max’s father Anthony was born — who enters a local X-Factor-style singing competition. (It stars Minghella’s rumored girlfriend of several years, Elle Fanning.) The story is small, but its crescendos are epic.

Minghella calls the movie — an ode to the power of the pop anthem — “embarrassingly Max.” Max loves a good music-driven movie trailer — he’s watched the one for Top Gun: Maverick “many” times. And Max loves the rhythmic beats of sports movies like Friday Night Lights. Max loves movies with excesses of female energy, like Spring Breakers. He likens Teen Spirit to an experiment, his answer to the question, “Can I take all these things that I love and find a structure that can hold them?” The result is a touching “hodgepodge” of Minghella’s fascinations, inspired by the songs from another thing he loves: Robyn’s 2010 album Body Talk (itself a dance-pop meditation on love).

Minghella hasn’t directed any films since, but he sees now how making movies fits his personality — organized, impatient — more organically than starring in them does. Directing also helped him to appreciate that acting is “much harder than I was giving it credit for,” which, in turn, has made him like it more. Besides The Handmaid’s Tale currently airing on Hulu, Minghella appears in Spiral, the ninth installment in the Saw horror franchise and, from where I’m sitting, at least, a departure.

“I do like horror movies, but the thing that was really kind of magical is that I was feeling so nostalgic, right? We talked about Beverly Hills Cop earlier. I was just missing a certain kind of movie,” Minghella explains of his new role as Chris Rock’s detective partner. He was yearning for simple story-telling, like in the buddy cop movies of his youth, especially 48 Hours. It almost goes without saying that a buddy cop movie is another kind of love story. “And then I read the script and it was very much in that vein.” He clarifies: “I mean, it's also extremely Saw. It's very much a horror movie.”

His renewed excitement for acting translated onto The Handmaid’s Tale set, too. Veteran Hollywood producer Warren Littlefield describes casting Minghella in the role of Nick as an effortless choice: “Sometimes you agonize over things. [Casting Minghella] was instantly clear to me, and everyone agreed.” Now in its fourth season, the tone of the Hulu hit is graver than ever. Gilead is more desperate to maintain its rule, and so more audacious in its violence. Perhaps it’s fitting that the show’s romantic gestures finally match that scale.

In one particularly soaring moment, Elisabeth Moss’ June and Minghella’s Nick meet at the center of a bridge and crush into a long kiss. It’s been two seasons since they held their newborn daughter together, and it’s hard to see how this isn’t their last goodbye. Littlefield, like Minghella, is here for the romance among the rubble. “It's spectacular when they come together. In the middle of all of the trauma is this epic love story,” he says. “Max is just magnificent in the role.”

For Minghella, the satisfaction is more personal. He works with good people, he likes his scenes, and he thinks Nick is a complex character. Minghella read The Handmaid’s Tale for the first time in college in 2005. Like all the things Minghella has ever liked, he still likes it. He’s as proud of this most recent season as he is the show’s first. And he watched Nick and June race recklessly back to each other across the expanse of the screen exactly how you might expect. “I watched it like a fan girl.”

[themovieblogonline]

DCU’s Brand New Live Action In Works

Millennials would be lying if they said that Teen Titans weren’t a part of their childhood. Well, DC is bringing this 90’s dream very much to life with a live-action remake. Here’s everything that has surfaced. Teen Titans have been around since the 1960s as the trusted sidekicks of many prominent DC superheroes. The lineup consists of several teenage kids with extraordinary powers.  Teen Titans Franchise – A Refresh The Teen Titans empire first came to light in DC comics, specifically in The Brave and the Bold #54, in 1964, making it their debut year. Robin, a.k.a. Dick Grayson is penned as the “leader” of the group, who also worked closely with Batman, as his partner-in-justice.  Fast forward to 1980, the dawn of the team followed by New Teen Titans comics by Marv Wolfman. This is probably the version people remember the most.  In 2003, Kids’ WB/Cartoon Network adapted the comics into the infamous 5-season-long animated series. The leader of the group was Robin. Alongside were his allies, namely Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg. Even though there were temporary additions to the Titan team as the seasons progressed, like Terra joining the squad and turning against them later on, the core remained pretty much the same.  They were also up against many villains, the titular one being Slade, a menacing, masked-faced character, who also brainwashed Terra to fight against the Titans.  The 2003-2006 series followed up with a movie called Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (2006). There were also more additions to the animated series, like the comedic series Teen Titans Go! (2013-present) as well as a theatrical film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018). Now, DC Studios, led by James Gunn and Peter Safran, are adding Teen Titans live-action feature to the superhero lineup.  Ana Nogueira – Behind the Script Ana Nogueira will lead the live-action feature by wording the story. Ana Nogueira is a playwright, who’s famously known for writing the ongoing story of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which is rumored to be released after the release of the Superman reboot on 11th July 2025.  Best known for her role of Penny Ares in The Vampire Diaries (2016) and Sarah in Sarah + Dee (2018), Ana Nogueira has a way with words and DC Studios is confident that she will bring forth a script that’ll impress.  Expectations & Excitement Still, in the development phase, there’s no plot, production news, casting, or even a release date for the project. However, that hasn’t stopped netizens from cherry-picking their favorite actors/actresses for the roles. From rooting for Jenna Ortega to play the goth heroine, Raven, to Halle Bailey being a perfect fit for Starfire, fans are going crazy with excitement. The details of the upcoming feature are a mystery.  To say that fans are jumping off the walls for more news on the upcoming Teen Titans feature would be an understatement. Let’s see what the future brings regarding this feature’s release updates.  Read the full article