Michael B Jordan is the safe choice over Timmy Chalamet (!?), Connor Storrie and SNL, scrapped movies and unpaid writing, Lindsay Lohan’s career resurgence, the 'must watch' Oscar rule, and more
re: "Like Michael B Jordan would ever have that fucking luxury!"
Fck yes, Lainey! You said it! This is not a level playing field. Like at all. Calling out bullshit makes it apparent. Or else, it stays sinister like a snake in the grass.
A B+ list actress is Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, and Elizabeth Moss: all women who can go between fronting decent movies with decent directors and television shows. They aren't getting Emma Stone access but they are getting decent quality stuff and are respected. I wouldn't put Lindsay Lohan in their ranks. And I wouldn't put Lindsay Lohan on the same level as a Blake Lively either or an Anna Kendrick.
I think this is tricky because strictly as an actor, Lindsay may not be B+, but in the combination of actor/celebrity, she might be? She’s very famous still, just maybe not for career reasons.
I think at this point she's an A list celebrity in terms of fame/attention/buzz when she does something industry-wise and probably a C+ actress.
Her name is enough to get attention when she's mentioned for a role, but she doesn't really have any capital she can trade on. The only reason Freakier Friday got made was because Jamie Lee Curtis used *her* reputation to vouch for Lindsay and guarantee a certain degree of professionalism. The training wheels were on the bike, as it were.
Lindsay had an enormous amount of goodwill for a long time, but she squandered every single bit of it when she did the reality docuseries with Oprah. The Fug Girls did a VERY insightful recap when it aired. It's well worth the read as Lindsay's career is reviving. If she wants to get back to having an A list status career, she's going to need to put in a lot more time an effort in the trenches. A few small, supporting, prestige roles on TV or an indy film with an up and coming director where her behavior on set is impeccable would go along way for her reputation.
I agree with you, I was never one of those people to lament the waste of good talent potential when Lindsay went off the rails. She was good in Mean Girls, and maybe a good child actor, but I was never blown away by her, and I don't think she would be able to measure up to her accomplished peers (such as Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway, etc) even if she hadn't gone of the rails. She's fine. But I don't see her as being a potential Oscar winner, no matter what. Remember the Liz Taylor movie? oof.
Thank you for taking my question. I hope the negotiations work out in their favor. Writing is hard, good writing doesn't just happen, it's labor that deserves to paid for the time and effort it takes to produce.
My favourite part of the award shows is our group chat. I'm sleeping within 3 mins if left alone. But my end of week thought is BTS, respected their hustle, thought they were pretty but not making major rotations in my playlist but wept like the stressed out cucumber I am at Lainey's opening for March 5th "but I was included, not just as one of their longtime fans, but as a human being, confused and frustrated and scared after three months of isolation, separated from our communities, still trying to acclimate to an entirely different way of living. And they were feeling that too!" Goodbye all my internal saline supply. Anyway, I love community. Happy Friday, Team. May the weekend be restorative.
Michael B Jordan moving like Timothee on this campaign circuit is, as Lainey so rightly points out, impossible, but more than that, it would tank the chances of the movie and his fellow costars as well! It’s been so noticeable to me how everyone connected with this movie is moving with such poise, but a large part of that is because they have to! I loved how Wunmi and Jayme Lawson spoke about that entire clusterfuck of a BAFTAS ceremony and the understanding they gave to Davidson while putting the blame where it belongs, but I also know neither of them have the luxury of going “fuck all these motherfuckers”. Look back at the interview Jayme gives on the red carpet—that woman is SEETHING, but she has to keep her anger in check because she doesn’t want to blow her costars and director’s shot at statues.
These are really so wonderfully informative, thanks for educating all of us on the industry. The analysis of power dynamics like this: " Imagine being able to say with your whole chest that a Black actor would be the safer choice for the Academy and Hollywood when he’s starring – in TWO roles – in a film that interrogates colonisation, systemic racism, artistic commodification and theft, and also the magical and connective power of music. " is why I have been a dedicated reader for decades.
I don’t know what I pictured the viewing infrastructure for Oscar films looking like but I didn’t expect there to be a dedicated platform 😂 I also wonder like…couldn’t you hit play and just walk away? But let’s hope there’s some honour left in people!
MBJ unfortunately never had another choice BUT to be “traditional.” He couldn’t be goofing off with a ski mask. Well fucking said👏Although I am still hoping , kneeling, praying Timmy Wins 🤲🏻
PS We will absolutely be watching your eTalk coverage. I am looking forward to seeing your Oscar Dress. I still remember that pink one from years ago oh my fucking GOD😍🤤
Hi there, I’d be very grateful for guidance on how to best experience the new Lainey Gossip ecosystem Generally spealking, where is now the first port of call for Lainey and the team’s take on the big stories of the day - is it the website, this Mailbag chat, or another page on the Substack? For example where have/will the team most likely first post about Timothee Chalamet’s ballet and opera disaster? Many thanks for your hlep with this!
This feels like a question I should already be able to answer, but how do I submit future questions for the mailbag? Is it enough to pose a question in the comments here, or is there a specific email I need to use? Thanks a bunch!
Hi Janelle, every week in which we do a mailbag, Jacek starts a dedicated mailbag chat. It will be titled like "Mailbag questions for week of 3-6-26". You can find in the Chat section of your substack dash.
re: "Like Michael B Jordan would ever have that fucking luxury!"
Fck yes, Lainey! You said it! This is not a level playing field. Like at all. Calling out bullshit makes it apparent. Or else, it stays sinister like a snake in the grass.
100% agree!! Thanks Lainey for calling this out!
A B+ list actress is Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, and Elizabeth Moss: all women who can go between fronting decent movies with decent directors and television shows. They aren't getting Emma Stone access but they are getting decent quality stuff and are respected. I wouldn't put Lindsay Lohan in their ranks. And I wouldn't put Lindsay Lohan on the same level as a Blake Lively either or an Anna Kendrick.
I think this is tricky because strictly as an actor, Lindsay may not be B+, but in the combination of actor/celebrity, she might be? She’s very famous still, just maybe not for career reasons.
I think at this point she's an A list celebrity in terms of fame/attention/buzz when she does something industry-wise and probably a C+ actress.
Her name is enough to get attention when she's mentioned for a role, but she doesn't really have any capital she can trade on. The only reason Freakier Friday got made was because Jamie Lee Curtis used *her* reputation to vouch for Lindsay and guarantee a certain degree of professionalism. The training wheels were on the bike, as it were.
Lindsay had an enormous amount of goodwill for a long time, but she squandered every single bit of it when she did the reality docuseries with Oprah. The Fug Girls did a VERY insightful recap when it aired. It's well worth the read as Lindsay's career is reviving. If she wants to get back to having an A list status career, she's going to need to put in a lot more time an effort in the trenches. A few small, supporting, prestige roles on TV or an indy film with an up and coming director where her behavior on set is impeccable would go along way for her reputation.
I’m rooting for her, for some weird reason.
I think a lot of people feel that way!
I am curious who may succeed Nicole Kidman who currently has the A list lock on the domestic/psychological thriller space.
Fully agree, I would not put her at B+. She was also kinda bad in those Netflix movies!
I agree with you, I was never one of those people to lament the waste of good talent potential when Lindsay went off the rails. She was good in Mean Girls, and maybe a good child actor, but I was never blown away by her, and I don't think she would be able to measure up to her accomplished peers (such as Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway, etc) even if she hadn't gone of the rails. She's fine. But I don't see her as being a potential Oscar winner, no matter what. Remember the Liz Taylor movie? oof.
That Liz Taylor movie was SO bad, but the script was the main problem I think.
Thank you for taking my question. I hope the negotiations work out in their favor. Writing is hard, good writing doesn't just happen, it's labor that deserves to paid for the time and effort it takes to produce.
There was a recent (this week?) episode of the excellent podcast Scriptnotes that discussed your exact question!
Thank you, I’ll give it a listen.
My favourite part of the award shows is our group chat. I'm sleeping within 3 mins if left alone. But my end of week thought is BTS, respected their hustle, thought they were pretty but not making major rotations in my playlist but wept like the stressed out cucumber I am at Lainey's opening for March 5th "but I was included, not just as one of their longtime fans, but as a human being, confused and frustrated and scared after three months of isolation, separated from our communities, still trying to acclimate to an entirely different way of living. And they were feeling that too!" Goodbye all my internal saline supply. Anyway, I love community. Happy Friday, Team. May the weekend be restorative.
Michael B Jordan moving like Timothee on this campaign circuit is, as Lainey so rightly points out, impossible, but more than that, it would tank the chances of the movie and his fellow costars as well! It’s been so noticeable to me how everyone connected with this movie is moving with such poise, but a large part of that is because they have to! I loved how Wunmi and Jayme Lawson spoke about that entire clusterfuck of a BAFTAS ceremony and the understanding they gave to Davidson while putting the blame where it belongs, but I also know neither of them have the luxury of going “fuck all these motherfuckers”. Look back at the interview Jayme gives on the red carpet—that woman is SEETHING, but she has to keep her anger in check because she doesn’t want to blow her costars and director’s shot at statues.
These are really so wonderfully informative, thanks for educating all of us on the industry. The analysis of power dynamics like this: " Imagine being able to say with your whole chest that a Black actor would be the safer choice for the Academy and Hollywood when he’s starring – in TWO roles – in a film that interrogates colonisation, systemic racism, artistic commodification and theft, and also the magical and connective power of music. " is why I have been a dedicated reader for decades.
I don’t know what I pictured the viewing infrastructure for Oscar films looking like but I didn’t expect there to be a dedicated platform 😂 I also wonder like…couldn’t you hit play and just walk away? But let’s hope there’s some honour left in people!
You could do that, but you have to leave the browser open. If you click away from the browser it stops.
My first thought was, they can totally pay someone else to ‘watch’ for them
MBJ unfortunately never had another choice BUT to be “traditional.” He couldn’t be goofing off with a ski mask. Well fucking said👏Although I am still hoping , kneeling, praying Timmy Wins 🤲🏻
PS We will absolutely be watching your eTalk coverage. I am looking forward to seeing your Oscar Dress. I still remember that pink one from years ago oh my fucking GOD😍🤤
Thank you for this wonderful and insightful post!!
Hi there, I’d be very grateful for guidance on how to best experience the new Lainey Gossip ecosystem Generally spealking, where is now the first port of call for Lainey and the team’s take on the big stories of the day - is it the website, this Mailbag chat, or another page on the Substack? For example where have/will the team most likely first post about Timothee Chalamet’s ballet and opera disaster? Many thanks for your hlep with this!
I start with the website and then check the daily/weekend chat! The Timmy discussion is in the daily/weekend chats!
This feels like a question I should already be able to answer, but how do I submit future questions for the mailbag? Is it enough to pose a question in the comments here, or is there a specific email I need to use? Thanks a bunch!
Hi Janelle, every week in which we do a mailbag, Jacek starts a dedicated mailbag chat. It will be titled like "Mailbag questions for week of 3-6-26". You can find in the Chat section of your substack dash.
I feel silly that I’ve completely missed that after all this time. Thanks Sarah!
Correction: idk if it was oscars but either way, it was majestic❤️