Esther Breger
The New Republic
Washington, DC, United States
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The trailer for Bridget Jones’s Baby has introduced a new timeline into the Bridget Jones multiverse.
The movie’s trailer was released this morning, and it introduces us to a slightly older Jones, now single and pregnant and—gasp—unsure who the father is: Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy or some new guy played by Patrick Dempsey. If you read Helen Fielding’s most recent Bridget Jones book, or even a review of it, this is where you might get confused. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, which came out ... → Read More
Soon even six-year-olds will be reading Elena Ferrante.
The Italian author’s 38-page children’s book will be published in the U.S. in December, just in time for the holidays. This fall, the doll from LOST DAUGHTER speaks, in a new children's book by #ElenaFerrante called THE BEACH AT NIGHT. pic.twitter.com/xZSxJdLzfx— Europa Editions (@EuropaEditions) March 16, 2016 The Beach at Night is aimed at children age 6 to 10, who will certainly appre... → Read More
The Brutal Despair of The Americans’ Fourth Season
If espionage ever looked fun or exciting, it certainly doesn’t anymore. → Read More
J.K. Rowling needs to be stopped.
With the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them eight months away, the Harry Potter author has begun releasing publicity material—sorry, I mean “original pieces of writing”—about the history of magic in North America. The first in the four-part series—titled, conveniently enough, “Magic in North America”—went up this morning on Pottermore, offering an explainer on what Native Amer... → Read More
J.K. Rowling needs to be stopped.
With the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them eight months away, the Harry Potter author has begun releasing publicity material—sorry, I mean “original pieces of writing”—about the history of magic in North America. The first in the four-part series—titled, conveniently enough, “Magic in North America”—went up this morning on Pottermore, offering an explainer on what Native Amer... → Read More
Neil deGrasse Tyson has run out of things to correct people about.
Where would we be without esteemed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to make sure we all understood that Star Wars is not totally 100 percent scientifically accurate? But with no new movies to fact-check, Tyson is now using his Twitter feed to make sure we understand how a Leap Year works. The Leap Day is misnamed. We’re not leaping anywhere. The calendar is simply, and abruptly, c... → Read More
Stacey Dash wrote a blog post explaining her Oscars cameo (and plugging her new book).
Dash’s appearance at tonight’s Oscars probably elicited some googling from confused viewers at home—luckily, the Clueless actress is totally on top of her SEO. “Who is Stacey Dash and why did she just walk across the #Oscar stage?” is the utilitarian headline Dash gave the blog post she published shortly after she left the stage. In it, Dash introduces herself, reminds us that she spells Stac... → Read More
Stacey Dash wrote a blog post explaining her Oscars cameo (and plugging her new book).
Dash’s appearance at tonight’s Oscars probably elicited some googling from confused viewers at home—luckily, the Clueless actress is totally on top of her SEO. “Who is Stacey Dash and why did she just walk across the #Oscar stage?” is the utilitarian headline Dash gave the blog post she published shortly after she left the stage. In it, Dash introduces herself, reminds us that she spells Stac... → Read More
So you want to boycott the Oscars...
You have a few options other than just turning off the TV, if you’d like to make a statement about the Academy Awards’ snow-white slate of contenders by skipping the awards show.#JusticeforFlint, a benefit concert organized by directors Ava Duvernay and Ryan Coogler is livestreaming here—the event is hosted by Hannibal Buress and features Janelle Monae, Jazmine Sullivan, and Jesse Williams. M... → Read More
My Fuller House confessions.
An embarrassing thing to admit in print—more embarrassing than having once decided to name my lucky blanket “Jesse” after John Stamos’s Elvis-loving heartthrob; more embarrassing than having read enough tie-in novels about Stephanie Tanner to have had a favorite—is that I kind of like Fuller House.I’m not going to tell you that the TGIF sequel, released on Netflix today, is good; I do have some… → Read More
My Fuller House confessions.
An embarrassing thing to admit in print—more embarrassing than having once decided to name my lucky blanket “Jesse” after John Stamos’s Elvis-loving heartthrob; more embarrassing than having read enough tie-in novels about Stephanie Tanner to have had a favorite—is that I kind of like Fuller House.I’m not going to tell you that the TGIF sequel, released on Netflix today, is good; I do have some… → Read More
Black-ish revived the Very Special Episode, with some help from Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Last night’s Black-ish showed something rarely seen on primetime TV, let alone on a network sitcom that airs right after Modern Family: a black family debating how to introduce the realities of police brutality to its young children. Black-ish has dealt with some heavy-hitting issues before, with episodes devoted to guns, spanking, and the n-word. But “Hope,” the episode that aired last night... → Read More
Eva Longoria, America Ferrara, and Jimmy Smits were all told by casting directors that they needed “Latino accents.”
The New York Times’s Melanie Ryzik interviewed 27 Hollywood actors, writers, directors, and producers for a piece on “What It’s Really Like to Work in Hollywood (If You’re Not a Straight White Man).” In it, America Ferrara describes being asked by a casting director at her first audition, “Can you do it again but sound more Latino? ... Do it in English but just sound more Latino.” S... → Read More
Eva Longoria, America Ferrara, and Jimmy Smits were all told by casting directors that they needed “Latino accents.”
The New York Times’s Melanie Ryzik interviewed 27 Hollywood actors, writers, directors, and producers for a piece on “What It’s Really Like to Work in Hollywood (If You’re Not a Straight White Man).” In it, America Ferrara describes being asked by a casting director at her first audition, “Can you do it again but sound more Latino? ... Do it in English but just sound more Latino.” S... → Read More
‘Broad City’: Are You an Abbi or an Ilana?
More likely you’re neither, as the third season resists the stereotypes of female friendship. → Read More
It’s hard out here for a white Oscar nominee.
At least that’s what The Hollywood Reporter editor Stephen Galloway argues in a tone-deaf column published this morning. “Pity the plight of Oscar’s all-white acting nominees. Instead of celebrating, they’re entering a minefield where any comment can explode in their faces,” Galloway writes. (Galloway’s previous greatest hits include “Why Every Actress on The Hollywood Reporter Roundtabl... → Read More
Ryan Murphy has pledged to hire more directors who aren’t straight white men.
One day after the premiere of The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, the showrunner announced that he’s launching a foundation called Half to increase diversity among TV directors. Something like this is sorely needed. In the 2014-5 season, women directed just 16 percent of episodes on TV, and minorities directed 18 percent. Murphy owned up to being part of the problem (... → Read More
Pope Francis is making his feature film debut—but don’t call him an actor.
His Holiness will appear in Beyond the Sun, a children’s movie from Italian production company AMBI Pictures. But the Vatican wants to make clear that the author/musician/Holy Father won’t be adding anything new to his multi-hyphenate job title: “The pope is not an actor,” a Vatican spokesman told Reuters. The movie, which the production company describes as a “family... → Read More
Fox’s Grease: Live made NBC’s live musicals look like amateur hour.
Time for Grease 2 Live! → Read More
The “Hollywood Blackout” at the 1996 Academy Awards
When "People" magazine took aim at diversity among the nominees, celebrities were unwilling to join the protest. → Read More