Mailbag for September 29, 2023

Tom's Reckoning, Angelina and Tracee (yes!), in-person stunners, strike coverage slants, our writing process, and the end of an era

(Photos: Gregory Pace/ James Gillham/ Gabriele Holtermann/UPI/ Christopher Polk/ Tyler Da Silva/ David Fisher/ Shutterstock)

Dear Squawkers,

Let us begin this week’s mailbag with gratitude. We are thankful for Taylor Swift because the gossip she has given us over the last few days was FUN. This is our third full week at The Squawk and I don’t want to fuck with the luck because I’m so superstitious but … like… ever since we started, it seems like the celebrities have been serving it up. Please, gossip star, keep shining your light. Now, onto your questions.

Question from Jojo Coco: 

Per Sarah’s open today, the latest instalment of Mission Impossible did not do well. I’m sure there are multiple reasons for that, but I’m wondering if the fact that Tom Cruise is a Scientologist is becoming a bigger issue for his box office results? (Might just be wishful thinking on my part 😅🤣)

Sarah’s Answer:

While I know there are a lot of people permanently turned off to Tom Cruise by his connection to Scientology...that's just not what happened to Dead Reckoning this summer. It's impossible to make the "Xenu hurts Tom's career" argument just one year after Top Gun: Maverick was the second biggest film of the year, a billion-dollar film, literally the most successful movie of his career. Also, throughout the 2010s, the M:I movies became MORE popular, not less. So no, I don't think Xenu is doing material damage to Cruise's career at this point. He has fully rebounded from the hit he took in the 2000s, and even the stain of his wife essentially fleeing from him--and him not seeing Suri in years--hasn't stuck. 

The problem for Dead Reckoning this summer was two-fold. First, it was titled "Part One". The "part ones" haven't fared well this year, with the exception of Across the Spider-Verse, which itself is a rising phenomenon, not arguably past its peak (like Fast X, and now I'm wondering how many people think M:I peaked with Fallout). I think a lot of people are turned off by "part one", which we actually learned in the 2010s with all the subdivided final entries into YA franchises. Why everyone forgot that lesson this year, I don't know. 

The second problem, of course, was Barbenheimer. I 100% understand Cruise, Paramount, and everyone assuming Dead Reckoning would be a big summer hit, ESPECIALLY coming off the Maverick summer, but Barbenheimer was just SUCH a phenomenon. It's clear people saved their money to go see those two movies later in July. Also, Oppenheimer eating up all the IMAX screens had a massive, probably nine-figure impact on Dead Reckoning's box office. Had Dead Reckoning come out in, say, September, when there was no competition and the IMAX screens were available, it undoubtedly would have done much better. Maybe they should have read the memes better and figured out Barbenheimer would be huge, but I think it's more accurate to say Paramount had every reason to think Dead Reckoning would be a hit until it was far, far too late to change the opening date.

Question from Jacqueline:

I’d like to Gossip Genie Angelina with women. My top pick? Tracee Ellis Ross. I would be HERE for that mingling of beauty, brains, and the combustion of TER’s zany joy with AJ’s new era of exploration and definition!

Lainey’s Answer:

I love this Gossip Genie suggestion. Angie and Tracee? I’m SO in. That said, I can’t say I spend a lot of gossip time thinking about Angie’s next romance. Like, I know there were those rumours about her and The Weeknd and it was fun for five minutes because no one had that on their bingo cards but the bigger conversation is WHY that hasn’t been a conversation. And the sense I get from Angelina – not that I have any idea, really, although I obviously wish I could be in her inner circle, LOL – is that she’s not about that life, and hasn’t been for years.

Not sure if any of you have been paying attention to what Julia Fox has been saying on her book tour but she’s been talking about men, and her history with men, and how that history has shaped her perspective on men. And basically, her whole thing right now is that she’s not interested. She’s been too hurt and too disappointed and too disgusted that she wants nothing to do with them. She doesn’t want to be attractive to men, she’s actively been trying to turn OFF men, because she doesn’t want that kind of attention.

Angelina Jolie attends the 'Eternals' film premiere in London, England on October 27, 2021 (Photo: James Gillham/Shutterstock)

So to go back to Angelina, when you consider what she’s been through, not just with Brad Pitt but, ugh, HER FATHER, and how father treated her mother, and what she’s seen of the world through her work with the UNCHR, and advocating for domestic abuse survivors and raising awareness for victims of conflict-based violence – all of which are perpetrated primarily by men – I can totally understand if she just wants a quiet life with her kids and keeps it to a tight circle of people she can trust.

On top of that there’s also how she must be processing the public reaction. To experience what she and the children experienced, and then to have people out here still applauding him, gushing over him at award shows, online comments about what she may or may not have been doing behind-the-scenes. He starts dating and it’s frontpage news and, primarily, the media outlets are losing their minds over the fact that he has a new girlfriend and how handsome he still is and how is he as old as he is, he doesn’t look a day over whatever number you want to throw out there.

But imagine if she actually had a serious boyfriend? How would her story be covered? Would she get the same treatment? She’s been in this game a minute. She knows all too well the sh-t that would be coming her way.

Question from Rainey Beth:

I’d like to know who the most beautiful celebrities are that they’ve met in person.

Lainey’s Answer:

We were just talking about Angelina Jolie. I’ve seen her in person multiple times. I’ve interviewed her. Her face is fucking crazy stupid what the fuck unreal I don’t understand how someone can look like that. Like there are people who photograph very well and know their angles and in person, they’re attractive but it’s not the same level of breathtaking. Angelina? It’s paralysing how beautiful she is.

Jennifer Lopez is a showstopper, but in a different way. You know how we always talk about the JLo glow? She glows in person like that. Her skin is wild. When she smiles, you can almost taste it, like honey. There’s an energy around JLo – like the molecules in the room start changing.

And then there’s Lupita Nyong’o. I was standing next to someone when she walked by at a party once and they did one of those classic double takes that you see in movies or TV. Like that scene from that Game of Thrones episode, “The Spoils of War”, when Daenerys attacks Jamie’s army and the moment he sees her roaring towards him riding Drogon. Nicolaj Coster-Waldau did such a great job with that expression. I’m not saying that seeing Lupita is like seeing a dragon – of course it’s not a terrifying experience. I just mean the shock of someone THAT stunning.

Lupita Nyong'o attends the 2022 Gotham Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Monday, November 28, 2022 (Photo: Gabriele Holtermann/UPI/Shutterstock)

This week I interviewed an amazingly talented Canadian artist called Dominique Fils-Aimé who’s promoting her new album, Our Roots Run Deep. Her face was just mesmerising. I’m a professional, I can focus on my job and I did my job – but I’m just saying, looking at her it was easy to get lost when this is staring back at you:

sing.with.mi

A post shared by @sing.with.mi

I also feel this way whenever I see Ashley Callingbull. Her bone structure is unbelievable:

ashleycallingbull

A post shared by @ashleycallingbull

As for the men, OMG Austin Butler. I am so grateful that I interviewed Austin Butler as a functioning adult with impulse control because if I had been under 30 at the time, I would have subjected myself to a lifetime of rejection and embarrassment.

Austin Butler speaks onstage at the 25th Costume Designers Guild Awards in Los Angeles on February 27, 2023 (Photo: Christopher Polk/Shutterstock for CDGA)

And finally, I just interviewed Park Seo-jun at TIFF a couple of weeks ago and … same. In my youth it would have been terribly embarrassing.

Park Seo-jun attends the 'Concrete Utopia' premiere at TIFF on September 10, 2023 (Photo: Tyler Da Silva/Shutterstock)

Sarah’s answer:

Angelina. I did the classic Drogon doubletake. Colin Farrell, multiple times now, it just never stops being unreal. And you know what? It’s in no small part fueled by the fact that every time I have encountered him, he has 1) been doing something kind, 2) made me feel like the only person in the room and we’re sharing a great secret, even when that has NOT been the case, and 3) remembered me. And not just like a general, “you’re the one who…”, but an actual, “Hi Sarah”, and then asking for updates. (He was thrilled I went to Ireland and had a blast.) Also, Dev Patel. To quote TSwift, He’s so tall, and handsome as hell…

Question from Hannah M:

I’d love some context on the reporting around the strikes--I’ve noticed that the Hollywood Reporter is at least indicating which side of the issue their sources are coming from now, management or union, whereas Variety is not. Obviously the former is preferred but has there been any widespread discussion or pushback against how negotiations are being reported in the media?

Sarah’s Answer:

People were definitely pissed when the trades reported on AMPTP leaks when they were supposed to be in a media blackout--which AMPTP asked for. I've honestly heard more anger directed at the AMPTP, especially for breaking their own request for a press blackout, than directed at the trades themselves. I think people realize the writers are just doing their jobs, even if they find the assignments distasteful, they're trying to make a living, too. Also, everyone in town knows the trades are owned by the same guy, Jay Penske, who also owns a production company in AMPTP. 

What I have heard over the summer is mostly a frustration that, like so much of media, industry reporting has become so homogenized. In the 2000s, Nikki Finke launched Deadline to be an oppositional voice, and a lot of people had issues with how she did her business, but at least she offered an independent take. But now Deadline is also owned by Jay Penske. Ostensibly, The Wrap, not owned by Penske, is now that outsider voice, but they had a lot of SUPER blatant pro-AMPTP messaging in their articles, so...there's just no one, really. Not to toot my own horn, but that's why I felt strike coverage was/is so important. I am pro-union, pro-labor, pro-workers' rights, sure, but also, if no one pushes back, the trades will just dominate the story without any interrogation of why and how certain things are expressed at certain times, and there's only one side that benefits, and it's not the workers.

Question from Emma:

I'm curious what your writing process is. Do you write on your phones or laptops or...? Do your write better/more certain times of day? Do you edit each other's work? Do you set up a word limit (min/max) for each topic or just write freely? How do you manage your focus while presumably working with a million distractions? Overall, what helps and what doesn't?

Sarah’s Answer:

I have said before, my process is garbage. There is no ritual. I do write on a laptop, because that's my computer, and when writing like this, I need silence. So everything is off. Strangely, when working on narrative projects, I prefer to have music on, but for some reason it becomes distracting when I am doing this kind of writing.

Other than that, there's no shape or rhythm to what I am doing. I don't outline, I don't pre-write, I don't take notes unless I think of a really, really good line, then I'll save it in my Notes app for later. I don't impose word limits on myself, but I TRY not to write 1500 words screeds all the time (not always successful, I know). What I do prefer is to write something, put it away for a minute, then re-read and edit if necessary. Even if it's just to do something else for an hour and then re-read/edit, if I can have a little break then come back with fresh eyes, my writing is stronger. It's like turning that part of my brain off and back on again.

Also, procrastination is productive. Every writing session begins with a period of procrastination. Like I just decorated my condo for Halloween before sitting down to do this assignment. I stopped feeling bad about "wasting time" a long time ago, because some part of my brain IS working. It's like I need to take my attention off that part for a while and let it do whatever in the background, then I can sit down and churn out a couple thousand words for the site in a few hours.

Lainey’s Answer:

I mostly write and edit on my laptop but there are times when I’m heading from a shoot or to the airport or waiting at the passport office when I have to write from my phone, which I hate. Writing is more than just what you’re typing, though. I consider writing also to be when I’m not writing – it’s like Sarah just said, you’re writing when you’re procrastinating, because it’s still in your head, you’re still turning over what you want to say.

As for managing distractions …

For ten years, I did most of my LaineyGossip writing while also working on two television shows. This required a lot of discipline because there were constantly distractions. Some were scheduled distractions, like a meeting or rehearsal, so I had to be really militant. There were days where I would write in 15-minute bursts, and then rush off to makeup or a voiceover session and then rush back to my office and pump out another 15 minutes and then do something else.

The unscheduled distractions are the ones that I really struggle with, though. Margaret Atwood said in her Master Class that interruptions are devastating. The way I heard it, personally, like the way I internalised it, was that it can be violent. Because that interruption fucks up a thought, and when the flow is gone, you feel that loss. So for me, those knocks on the door, and it’s no one’s fault, are the ones that are hardest for me. Or, if I’m writing at home, when my asshole dogs just decide to lose it just because a squirrel passed through the yard, I mean I still haven’t found a solution for any of it. If you have one, let me know.

Question from Kathryn Ferguson:

A curious inquiry - it often seems like celebrities are extra nice to Canadian media (with the noted exception of Jake G). . .is this true? Do other media outlets and their reporters/journalists ever get jealous or pissy; moreover, do you have any fun examples from a red carpet?

Lainey’s Answer:

I don’t know that celebrities are extra nice to Canadian media. And thank you for your support re: Jake Gyllenhaal because he was a fuck to me, and I have heard that he’s been a fuck to other reporters, so my point is…when a celebrity is a fuck, it’s usually equal opportunity. And when they’re nice, they’re usually nice to everyone. Like Hugh Jackman. The best. Everyone gets a great interview. Same goes for, sorry to say this because of the whole cult thing, but Tom Cruise? Makes our jobs easier.

Since you mentioned Canadian media though, I’m going to take another angle and talk about what happened this week in Canadian media. ET Canada announced on Thursday that they are going off the air.

etcanada

A post shared by @etcanada

I work for ETALK, which started a few short years before ET Canada but for 18 years, we were basically on at the same time. Technically ET Canada is our competition but as I have always said at LaineyGossip, competition can be GOOD. Competition is often essential. Think about sports. What is sport without competition? Without competition we’d be watching a tennis player bounce balls off the wall.

So, sure, even though we aired on competing networks, we always knew that we made each other better. Our shows grew up together, side-by-side on the carpets and at the junkets. Just two weeks ago at TIFF I was hanging out with their hosts at the premieres. There is respect, there is admiration, there is camaraderie, so the news of their cancellation is a huge loss for our industry, our Canadian broadcasting community. With the end of ET Canada, so many talented people will not be producing and anchoring and editing and researching and STORYTELLING. My point is Canadian shows need your support.

On that note, please know how much we value your support here at The Squawk and LaineyGossip. It’s an honour to be on this ride with you. Let’s hope for another great week of gossip.

Keep squawking, keep gossiping,

Lainey