John Moreland finds himself full of big questions and remorse in “Ugly Faces,” the Oklahoma singer-songwriter’s first release from his new album. Birds in the Ceiling, the follow-up to 2020’s LP5, will be released July 22 via Old Omens/Thirty Tigers.
“Ugly Faces” nods to some of the stylistic evolution Moreland demonstrated on LP5, putting a solemn piano together with a slow-but-funky programmed drum groove. “You’re seeing ugly faces in your dreams,” he begins, eventually piling on acoustic guitar, mandolin, and live drums before he turns apologetic. “I couldn’t hear you calling/the bullshit was so loud,” he sings. He could be singing to someone with whom his relationship has frayed, or even to himself.
Long admired for his gripping, emotive songwriting, Moreland started to incorporate his interest in beat-making and drum machines into 2020’s LP5, a pronounced shift from the gritty country-rock and acoustic balladry of his earlier albums.
“For a long time, I felt like those two things should be separate,” he told Rolling Stone. “Then it just reached a point where I felt everything I was writing was just not doing it for me. I thought, ‘Maybe I need to draw on some other influences that I have, other stuff that I like.’ It was eye-opening to realize that I could incorporate all these interests.”
The Moon Person is flying to Jersey. On Thursday, MTV announced that their annual Video Music Awards will take place on Aug. 28 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, where the awards show was held in 2019.
Last year, the VMAs took place in Brooklyn, New York, in front of a live audience after hosting the awards show — without anyone in attendance — in 2020 at different places in New York City, due to the pandemic.
Last year’s awards show saw Justin Bieber arrive with the most nominations. BTS, Lil Nas X, and Olivia Rodrigo took home the most trophies, with three each. The show also featured performances from Foo Fighters, Camila Cabello, and Ed Sheeran.
Lil Nas X took home the Video of the Year Award for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” while Justin Bieber won the Artist of the Year Award.
The 2019 awards show — which was held in New Jersey — saw a live performance from Taylor Swift, following the release of her album Lover. Her visual for “You Need to Calm Down” won Video of the Year.
Janelle Monáe is opening up about her gender identity. While appearing on Red Table Talk on Wednesday, Monáe — who previously came out as pansexual in 2018 on the cover of Rolling Stone — revealed publicly that she is non-binary.
“I just don’t see myself as a woman solely. I feel all of my energy. I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she,’ she said. “And if I am from God, I am everything. But I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything that I am, beyond the binary.”
Monáe added that when she looks at people, she sees their “energy first” before their gender expression. “That opens you up to fall in love with any beautiful spirit,” she said. (A rep for Monáe confirmed to Rolling Stone that the singer continues to use she/her pronouns.)
Willow Smith then asked Monáe what helped bring her to the point of feeling safe to speak her truth. “Somebody said, ‘If you don’t work out the things that you need to work out first before you share with the world, then you’ll be working it out with the world,’” Monáe said. “That’s what I didn’t want to do. So I thought I needed to have all my answers correct, I don’t want to say the wrong thing.”
She added that she hadn’t yet had conversations with her family about what her gender identity really meant to her. “I wasn’t ready to have my family question my personal life or get calls from people who still look at me as Little Pumpkin — that’s what they call me back home,” she said. “I needed to talk to my dad, who was just great. My sister knew already because I’ve been in monogamous relationships; I’ve been in polyamorous relationships. But I knew that I couldn’t be Little Pumpkin. I couldn’t be little Janelle.”
The Red Table Talk episode served as the return of the show helmed by Jada Pinkett Smith. It’s the first episode since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars earlier this year, which was addressed by a message onscreen before the episode.
“Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focusing on deep healing. Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls,” the message read. “Until then, the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring, and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guest. Thanks for joining us, Jada.”
Monáe — who dropped her memoir The Memory Librarian last week — opened up about her sexuality in 2018 to Rolling Stone. “Being a queer Black woman in America, someone who has been in relationships with both men and women — I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker,” she said at the time. She initially identified as bisexual, “but then later I read about pansexuality and was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.’ I’m open to learning more about who I am.”
After winning raves at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, including a richly deserved Best Actress win for Renate Reinsve, the hotshot indie distributor NEON picked up The Worst Person In The World and started prepping its US release strategy. The Delta variant, and then the Omicron variant, took the wind out of this arthouse movie’s box office sails — it grossed just over $3MM domestically during its time in theaters — but NEON managed to pick up two Oscar nominations for this film (Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature). They weren’t able to secure a Best Actress nom for Reinsve, though (too busy pushing K-Stew for Spencer?), which is a shame because her performance here does CIRCLES around the clownshow pantomime that was Jessica Chastain’s Oscar-winning work as Tammy Faye Bakker. If you find yourself drawn to movies like Before Sunrise or Amelie, do yourself a favor and rent this wonderful, hilarious, and heartbreaking movie about an intelligent yet aimless millennial (Reinsve) making her way in the world today.
One of the biggest stars and standouts of Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” Christina Ricci, will be submitted in the supporting actress drama category, Variety has learned exclusively. She’ll now compete alongside her young co-stars — Ella Purnell, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher and Samantha Hanratty. The campaign had initially planned to have her alongside her fellow “adult-version” co-stars Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis and Melanie Lynskey. Instead, they will still seek consideration in the lead actress drama race, as previously reported.
The horror drama flashes back and forth between two periods: One, the aftermath of a plane crash, as the members of a high-school girls’ soccer team have to fend for themselves; the other, in their adult lives, as they deal with the trauma of that experience.
Ricci plays the awkward but devilishly intoxicating Misty, one of the series’ brightest spots. As a result, her chances for receiving her second Emmy nom have increased significantly in a category that’s light on frontrunners, aside from Julia Garner from Netflix’s “Ozark” and Sarah Snook from HBO’s “Succession.” Her first nom came in 2006 for her portrayal as Hannah Davies for ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” in guest actress drama.
Also, a larger allotment of slots in supporting versus lead will be in her favor. The number of nominees in the acting categories is contingent upon submissions from all networks and studios. A minimum of 240 is needed to produce eight nominees, the highest allotment. Lead actress drama is trending to have between 81 and 160 submissions, which will create six available slots.
As one of the most popular and acclaimed freshman series of the year, “Yellowjackets” is one of the leading contenders at the Emmys following a lackluster year for Showtime at the 2021 ceremony. The network’s other drama contenders include “American Rust” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”
“Yellowjackets” garnered four million viewers across Showtime’s multiple platforms for the premiere episode on Nov. 14, with numbers continuing to grow. The series was created and executive produced by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson. Co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco also executive produces. Showtime renewed the thriller for a second season back in December.
The Tony Awards have introduced a new policy on how it will handle potential violence during the live show weeks after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
In the FAQ portion of a letter obtained by The Hollywood Reporter and sent by Tony Awards Productions to possible ticket buyers for the 75th annual show, producers revealed how they plan to handle an individual in the event they are the “perpetrator” in a violent incident during the ceremony.
“The Tony Awards has a strict no violence policy,” the letter reads. “In the event of an incident, the perpetrator will be removed from the event immediately.”
The show’s new protocol was included among several other standard policies addressing a range of ceremony and gala-related topics, including dress code, seating and vaccination requirements for the New York event. No additional comment beyond the policy was given in the letter.
The new show procedure comes weeks after Smith slapped Rock at the 2022 Oscars, resulting in the best actor winner — who resigned from the Academy following the incident — being banned from the show and other Academy-related events for a decade.
The Tonys are the first known major award show to publicly institute a new no-violence policy following the Oscars, which took place March 27.
The 2022 Tony Awards will take place Sunday, June 12, at Radio City Music Hall and will air live on CBS and Paramount+. The complete list of nominees for the 75th annual ceremony will be announced May 3. A limited number of tickets to the show will be made available on the same date.
MTV announced today announced that its 2022 Video Music Awards will air live in more than 170 countries on Sunday, August 28, from New Jersey’s Prudential Center.
“We are thrilled to be back in New Jersey for this year’s VMAs live from Prudential Center,” said Bruce Gillmer, President of Music, Music Talent, Programming & Events, Paramount and Chief Content Officer, Music, Paramount+. “Our 2019 show in Newark was undoubtedly one of our biggest and most successful shows yet and we’re excited to bring back the incredible fan energy for one of music’s most anticipated and iconic nights.”
Said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, “New Jersey is honored to once again host the MTV Video Music Awards at one of our many world-class entertainment and sports venues. Our state has a proud history of supporting the arts and is always seeking opportunities to partner with the entertainment industry to promote economic development and cultural appreciation. On behalf of New Jersey, we welcome VMA performers and attendees alike to our great state.”
The VMAs will air across MTV’s global footprint of linear and digital platforms in more than 170 countries and territories, reaching over 420 million households.
Additional details will be announced closer to the show.
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.
To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit THE EMMYS COLLECTIVE Visit each category, per the individual awards show from THE EMMYS HUB To see old predictions and commentary, click the EMMY PREDICTIONS ARCHIVES For film awards predictions go toTHE OSCARS HUB
UPDATED: April 21, 2022
2022 EMMYS PREDICTIONS: OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
AWARDS PREDICTION COMMENTARY:
Zendaya, already the youngest actress to win lead actress drama in Emmy history, looks to extend her record with a possible second win for “Euphoria.” She’s also the second Black woman to win the category following Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder,” so she would also be the first Black woman to win multiple leading trophies.
She’ll face stiff competition from Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”), and any number of her co-stars that are vying for a spot including Juliette Lewis and Tawny Cypress.
Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh, the co-leading duo from “Killing Eve” have a decent shot for their farewell season of the BBC series. Other dark horses for recognition include Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”), Carrie Coon (“The Gilded Age”), Mandy Moore (“This Is Us”), and perhaps even Caitriona Balfe (“Outlander”).
The Emmy eligibility period runs from June 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022. The deadline for entering programs for Primetime programming and uploading all entry materials is on May 12, 2022, at 6:00 PM PT.
The nomination round of voting runs from June 16 to June 27. The official nominations for the 74th Emmy Awards will be announced Tuesday, July 12.
2021 category winner: Olivia Colman, “The Crown” (Netflix)
ALL AWARDS CONTENDERS AND RANKINGS:
Showtime/Everett Collection
AND THE PREDICTED NOMINEES ARE:
RANK
CONTENDER
SERIES
NETWORK
1
Zendaya
“Euphoria”
HBO/HBO Max
2
Melanie Lynskey
“Yellowjackets”
Showtime
3
Laura Linney
“Ozark”
Netflix
4
Sandra Oh
“Killing Eve”
BBC America
5
Jodie Comer
“Killing Eve”
BBC America
6
Jennifer Aniston
“The Morning Show”
Apple TV+
NEXT IN LINE
7
Juliette Lewis
“Yellowjackets”
Showtime
8
Mandy Moore
“This Is Us”
NBC
9
Reese Witherspoon
“The Morning Show”
Apple TV+
10
Elisabeth Moss
“Shining Girls”
Apple TV+
11
Sissy Spacek
“Night Sky”
Amazon Prime Video
12
Caitríona Balfe
“Outlander”
Starz
13
Aunjanue Ellis
“61st Street”
AMC
14
Yuh-jung Youn
“Pachinko”
Apple TV+
15
Tawny Cypress
“Yellowjackets”
Showtime
16
Annie Murphy
“Kevin Can F**k Himself”
AMC
17
Simone Ashley
“Bridgerton”
Netflix
18
Carrie Coon
“The Gilded Age”
HBO/HBO Max
19
Christine Baranski
“The Good Fight”
Paramount+
20
Octavia Spencer
“Truth Be Told”
Apple TV+
ALSO IN CONTENTION
21
Angela Bassett
“9-1-1”
Fox
22
Anna Paquin
“Flack”
Amazon Prime Video
23
Kristin Scott Thomas
“Slow Horses”
Apple TV+
24
Katja Herbers
“Evil”
Paramount+
25
Sonequa Martin-Green
“Star Trek: Discovery”
Paramount+
26
Queen Latifah
“The Equalizer”
CBS
27
Naomie Harris
“The Man Who Fell to Earth”
Showtime
28
Sue Ann Pien
“As We See It”
Amazon Prime Video
29
Uma Thurman
“Suspicion”
Apple TV+
30
Catalina Sandino Moreno
“From”
Epix
UNRANKED CONTENDERS
—
Amanda Collin
“Raised by Wolves”
HBO/HBO Max
—
Daniella Pineda
“Cowboy Bebop”
Netflix
—
Emily Hampshire
“Chapelwaite”
Epix
—
Golshifteh Farahani
“Invasion”
Apple TV+
—
Imogen Poots
“Outer Range”
Amazon Prime Video
—
Jennifer Connelly
“Snowpiercer”
TNT
—
Julianne Moore
“Lisey’s Story”
Apple TV+
—
Lauren Ambrose
“Servant”
Apple TV+
—
Maura Tierney
“American Rust”
Showtime
—
Molly Parker
“Lost in Space”
Netflix
—
Neve Campbell
“The Lincoln Lawyer”
Netflix
—
Niv Sultan
“Tehran”
Apple TV+
—
Rosamund Pike
“The Wheel of Time”
Amazon Prime Video
—
Rutina Wesley
“Queen Sugar”
OWN
—
Winona Ryder
“Stranger Things”
Netflix
AWARDS CATEGORY HISTORY (Lead Actress Drama)
The Primetime Emmy Awards, better known simply as the Emmys, is television’s most prestigious artistic award. There are many records held for both wins and nominations in the near eight decades.
For wins: Tyne Daly and Michael Learned have the most awards in this category with four, while Barbara Bain, Kathy Baker, Edie Falco and Loretta Young all have three each. “Cagney & Lacey” is the series with the most awards in this category, with six.
For nominations: Angela Lansbury has the most nominations in this category with 12, which were all consecutive, failing to win. The next most nominated actors are Sharon Gless, Mariska Hargitay, Michael Learned and Julianna Margulies, with eight apiece.
“Cagney & Lacey” and “Murder, She Wrote” are the series with the most nominations in this category, with 12 each.
The Primetime Emmy Awards, better known as the Emmys, are given out by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). Since 1949, the awards have recognized excellence in American primetime television programming. They are divided into three classes – Primetime Emmy Awards, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (honors artisan achievements), and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards (recognizes significant engineering and technological contributions). The typical eligibility period is between June 1 and May 31 of any given year. The Television Academy comprises over 25,000 members, representing 30 professional peer groups, including performers, directors, producers, art directors and various artisans and executives.
The 74th Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, Sept. 12, and air on NBC.
Fresh off of an Oscar nomination for Tick, Tick…Boom!,Andrew Garfield is turning his sights to the small screen, starring in FX true crime limited series Under the Banner of Heaven.
Admitting that after an extremely busy awards season, “I’ve been laying the hell down and contemplating existence,” Garfield was back on the carpet on Wednesday night for the premiere of the show. The series is based on Jon Krakauer’s novel about a detective (played by Garfield) investigating the Salt Lake City murder of a young woman (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her baby who uncovers buried truths about the origins of the LDS religion and the violent consequences of unyielding faith.
“I loved the book when it first came out 10 years ago, I was obsessed with the book actually,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the event, held at the Hollywood Athletic Club. “I found it to be so illuminating about a subject that I’m so fascinated in, about how do men get to the place of doing terrible, evil things and justify it using God as a shield.”
“It’s the type of character I’ve never played before, very internal,” Garfield added, noting, “A Mormon police officer is very far away from [Tick,Tick…Boom!‘s] Jonathan Larson. There’s a lack of expression there I was interested in playing with and making everything as internal as possible — seeing if I could communicate clearly just having it going on inside without having it being revealed on the outside. I liked the challenge and I loved the material.”
Early on in the production process — aside from consulting with creator Dustin Lance Black, who grew up Mormon — the star went to Utah to meet with both current and former members of the church, as well as consult with Mormon police officers.
“It puts flesh on the bone and fills me with the responsibility of making sure that I’m going as deep as I possibly can; to know that there’s somebody out there maybe watching this at home going, ‘That was my experience and I feel seen,’” Garfield said. “That feels important.”
The project also continues a recent Garfield trend exploring religion-based projects, following his portrayal of televangelist Jim Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, though he calls the convicted fraudster “the least religious, least spiritual person I think I’ve ever played, interestingly.”
“He worshipped at the altar of greed and money and status and power, the very narrow-minded view of what it is to be alive and be a person,” he said, but in diving into this series found “Mormonism has some real beauty in it I discovered and I found a lot to love in it: A community, a gentleness, a softness, and family values. But obviously there are terrible problems with it from my point of view, which I don’t feel the need to really get into.”
“I love exploring how people live, how people organize themselves around living, how we make meaning. And for me it’s storytelling and art and nature with the occasional little spiritual text in there if I feel inclined,” Garfield added. “I’m just fascinated with how we make meaning.”
Under the Banner of Heaven, which also stars Edgar-Jone, Sam Worthington, Wyatt Russell and Gil Birmingham, premieres on FX April 28 and next day on Hulu.
TV Talk is back – and in a big way. Our seasonal podcast with Deadline’s TV Critic Dominic Patten and Awards Columnist and Chief Film Critic Pete Hammond debuts a new weekly group of podcasts devoted to all things TV, Emmys and a whole lot more.
As usual we will be taking a deep dive into all aspects of what we are consuming on the tube these days, and it is a very big and inclusive list of topics. We try to explain it all and begin today with an overview of the 2021-2022 TV season, what it means for Emmys, the hot categories and trends, and much more. With so many new outlets and so much new content for voters to go through we also ask the question: Is it all too much? Plus you will hear some of Pete’s conversation with Josh Brolin and the cast of Outer Range as that series begins its run on Amazon.
Join us each Thursday for TV Talk. We are not short on opinions.
Ellen Pompeo said on a new episode of her “Tell Me” podcast that former co-star Katherine Heigl was “absolutely correct” when she called out “Grey’s Anatomy” in 2009 for unjust working hours (via People). Pompeo said Heigl was deemed “ungrateful” for her comments at the time, but if had she spoken out today “she’d be a complete hero.” Heigl was often vocal about her criticisms with “Grey’s Anatomy,” infamously pulling out of the Emmys race in 2008 because she felt the show didn’t give her strong enough material.
“I remember Heigl said something on a talk show about the insane hours we were working and she was 100 percent right,” Pompeo said on the podcast. “And had she said that today, she’d be a complete hero. But she’s ahead of her time, made a statement about our crazy hours and of course, [it was like] ‘Let’s slam a woman and call her ungrateful.’”
Pompeo added, “The truth is, she’s 100 percent honest and it’s absolutely correct what she said. She was fucking ballsy for saying it — she was telling the truth. She wasn’t lying!”
Heigl called out the long working hours on “Grey’s Anatomy” during a 2009 visit to “The Late Show With David Letterman.” The ABC medical drama was in its sixth season at the time. Heigl said the show had a typical 17-hour work day, which she described as “cruel and mean,” and added, “I’m gonna keep saying this ’cause I hope it embarrasses them.”
Pompeo was joined on her “Tell Me” podcast by “Grey’s Anatomy” star Kate Walsh, who added, “There’s nothing natural about [the filming process]. There’s nothing human about it. It’s made for a machine; it’s as if we’re a camera or a mic that just goes and goes and goes. And it’s not conducive to any kind of healthy habits.”
“Grey’s Anatomy” is currently airing its 18th season on ABC.
Reflecting on the idea behind Pixar’s wildly-anticipated Lightyear — which follows the studio’s iconic Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear, a Space Ranger — writer/director Angus MacLane remembers how Star Wars affected him as a kid. This led to the idea to make the movie on which the Buzz Lightyear toy was based, “Andy’s Star Wars … the movie that Andy saw that changed his life.”
In Lightyear, Buzz, voiced by Chris Evans (Tim Allen voiced the character in the original films) is not a toy, but the human character on which Andy’s toy is based. MacLane relates that in the story, Buzz is traveling through time: “Lightyear is a fish out of water story. It‘s like a Rip Van Winkle trapped in a future he doesn’t recognize, desperately trying to get back to the past to correct the mistake of his youth. A hero out of his own time.”
Disney plans to open the movie on June 17, making it the first Pixar title to get a theatrical release since the start of the pandemic. (Soul, Luca and Turning Red debuted on Disney+.)
Pixar is well known for its research and attention to detail and work on Lightyear was no different. With the help of a pair of astronauts —Thomas Marshburn and Kjell Lindren — a team from the studio were given a unique tour of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
LIGHTYEAR concept Art by Grant Alexander.
Courtesy of Disney/Pixar
LIGHTYEAR concept Art by Dean Heezen.
Courtesy of Disney/Pixar
Producer Gayln Susman relates that during that NASA visit, they “tried on hundreds of pounds of spacesuits and gear.” Tailoring and simulation supervisor Fran Kalal adds that they also met with a spacesuit design consultant. (Additional research for the suits included exhibits at the Smithsonian and images from cinema.
The purpose of a launch and entry spacesuit, Kalal explains, is “to keep a human alive in space or water long enough for a rescue operation.They’re structured with layers upon layers of cooling wires, heavy metal rings, an impermeable outer shell, utility gauges and instruments.And all those layers add structure and change the way a wearer can move.”
These were considerations throughout, including when the team designed Buzz’s first launch and entry suit, the XL 01, which “takes us back to the early days of human space exploration, with function over form. The chest box is bulky and secured with a webbed harness.The oxygen hose is loose and unwieldy.The wrist communicator is strapped right onto the suit.”
A more familiar look is a later Space Ranger suit — an EVA, or extravehicular activity suit. “Buzz can perform demanding physical tasks outside his spaceship and this suit.Most of the fabric is replaced by well-articulated hard surface pieces that afford both mobility and maximum protection,” Kalal said.
Lightyear also features Buzz’s antagonist, Zurg (pictured below), who is voiced by James Brolin. “Adapting Zurg for our movie was a tall order,” says sets art director Greg Peltz. “The original design from Toy Story 2 is iconic, and we wanted to draw from that source material as much as possible.But at the same time, our movie has a look that is more mature and detailed than the original toy version of the character.We needed our Zurg to fit within the hard-boiled sci-fi world that we had created.”
He adds that, importantly, Zurg also had to be threatening. “His design has to be intimidating so he could carry the menace and the presence our story demanded,” Peltz says. “Taking all of those goals together, reimagining the character as a giant robot was a natural fit … In addition to our other sci-fi inspirations, Zurg also takes cues from super robots and mecha in Japanese anime.”
LIGHTYEAR concept Art by Greg Peltz.
Courtesy of Disney/Pixar
There are plenty of new characters in Lightyear, including Alicia Hawthorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba, who MacLane describes as an “emotional anchor for act one, Buzz’s best friend and the commander of the mission”. But MacLane relates that Buzz will lose his “commanding and compassionate” best friend by the end of act one. Taking command will be General Cal Burnside, voiced by Isaiah Whitlock, Jr.
Susman notes that Buzz is then joined by a trio of characters that will go on the journey with him: Izzy Hawthorne, Alicia’s granddaughter, voiced by Keke Palmer; as well as Mo, voiced by Taika Waititi, and Darby, voiced by Dale Soules,” who bring “a bit of comic relief, as well as being uniquely able to challenge Buzz where he most needs to grow.”
Susman adds that Waititi’s “improvisational skills really brought a depth and warmth to Mo” while Soules brought life to Darby’s “classic tough curmudgeon with a record.”
LIGHTYEAR concept Art by Grant Alexander, Matt Nolte and Dean Heezen.
Courtesy of Disney/Pixar
The research trip to NASA figured heavily in the production design. In Houston, the team visited the original control center for the Apollo missions and the one currently used to track the International Space Station. They examined training aircraft, capsules, and other designs.
In the movie’s designs (additional concept art pictured below), MacLane says the team focused on creating a “1970s and 1980s vision of the future” with a “rugged military aerospace design, combined with the 1980s consumer electronics aesthetic.”
LIGHTYEAR concept Art by Nelson Bohol.
Courtesy of Disney/Pixar
LIGHTYEAR concept Art by Garrett Taylor.
Courtesy of Disney/Pixar
LIGHTYEAR concept Art by Greg Peltz and Ben Beech.
Courtesy of Disney/Pixar
Lightyear is the first theatrical feature spin-off of the Toy Story films, the first of which debuted in 1995. The most recent, Toy Story 4, won the Oscar for best animated feature in 2020.
Johnny Depp’s own threatening words about Amber Heard and his substance-abuse issues came back to haunt the actor today in the $50 million defamation trial.
As the one-time couple and Rum Diary co-stars battle over domestic-abuse claims by Heard against Depp, the defense team put the spotlight on a series of incendiary, profanity-filled texts from the former Pirates of the Caribbean star to fellow thespian and late-night pal Paul Bettany.
Public for years and brought up in various legal actions, the damning 2013 and 2014 exchanges between Depp and WandaVision star Bettany detail the former’s desire to “burning,” “drowning” and having sex with the “burnt corpse” of Heard.
Much more subdued than in the highly charged closing minutes of Wednesday’s testimony, a black-suited Depp was asked at length about his abusive childhood and his aspirations to meet the standards of a “Southern gentleman,” as defense attorney Ben Rottenborn termed it. Still, Depp’s frustration with the lawyer’s probing was evident. “I don’t feel like I am wasting anyone’s time, sir,” the actor piped up on one occasion as Rottenborn tried to cut short a long-winded reply.
Evoking the name of the Avengers alum, Rottenborn listed off the substances that Depp and Bettany were said to have ingested in their times together, including cocaine, Xanax and Adderall, as well as booze. The defense lawyer also used the line of questioning as a way to slip in a reference to Depp’s unsuccessful 2020 UK libel trial against The Sun tabloid for calling the actor a “wife-beater” in print. That British matter is only allowed to be introduced to the jury in very specific context.
Laying a very obvious foundation to counter Depp and his team’s assertion of the actor’s behavior during the relationship with Heard, Rottenborn also read out a May 30, 2014 text to Bettany that seemed to give credence to Heard’s accusations of abuse and her ex-husband’s consumption levels. “Drank all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA this past Sunday. Ugly mate. No food for days. Powders. Half a bottle of whisky,” Depp wrote. “An angry aggro injun in a fucking blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting any f*ck who got near,” the actor continued.
“She didn’t like it when it was her perception that I was high on drugs and alcohol,” a contrite and sometimes sunglasses wearing Depp said when asked of Heard’s feelings about his intake and the effect it had on him.
Over two years after the couple divorced amidst restraining orders and a $7 million settlement from the actor, Depp sued Heard in March 2019 in Virginia over a late 2018 Washington Post op-ed she penned on domestic abuse. While the op-ed never mentioned Depp by name, as Rottenborn made a repeated point of in his initial cross examination on Wednesday, the actor proclaimed that the article cost the one-time blockbuster cost actor big bucks roles, a return to the Pirates franchise and “devastated” his career. “Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse, she is a perpetrator,” Depp’s spring 2019 suit also stated.
After failing to both get the matter moved to California and dismissed, the Aquaman star countersued her litigious ex-husband for $100 million in September 2020.
Which, after a series of postponements, brought all to the Fairfax County Courthouse and seven-person jury – where Bettany is set to be called as a witness at some point.
In another set of texts read out in court to Patti Smith during the making of 2015’s Black Mass, Depp spoke of “getting shitty” to Heard. A 2014 text to Heard herself saw Depp apologizing for a clearly bad encounter between the couple: “I’m a fucking savage, gotta to lose that …the Devil is all around.”
A 2015 text to a staffer who had complimented Depp on how good he thought the actor and Heard could be together saw the Edward Scissorhands stars respond with “all I had to do was send the monster away and lock him up.” In another 2015 correspondence to Dr. David Kipper, who testified via pre-recorded video earlier in the much delayed trial, Depp bragged about what a great “three months” he and Heard had after he “locked my monster child away.”
But clearly the self-described “monster,” who was mentioned in other texts to other acquaintances, was never that far away for Depp and Heard.
“I’ll smack the ugly c*nt around before I let her in,” another 2014 text from Depp to a friend read. In a further 2015 text to his older sister, Depp referred to his then wife as “that filthy whore” Having warned the packed courtroom that there would be some very strong language used, Rottenborn’s cross examination continued as Heard herself sat mere feet away from Depp and the various lawyers.
Bristling under the glare of the questioning and exhibits, many of which his own attorneys sought redactions on, Depp’s best counter was to exclaim “I have a particular way of using words, vocabulary in my vernacular.”
That remark didn’t seem to impress the jury and other onlookers, many of whom are self-declared Depp fans. However, Depp did get a laugh out of some in the courtroom at a later point when he responded “Isn’t Happy Hour anytime?” to a query about his drinking habits.
A 2012 text to Depp’s buddy Marilyn Manson on the “plants and the pills” made for more fodder of the actor’s issues with drugs. “They have always been a medicine for me, a numbing agent,” Depp reiterated on Thursday of his use of various substances. While the Hollywood Vampire guitarist has insisted that he never used drugs to “party,” the depiction in court today, along with s series of photographs of Depp with drugs in his vicinity offered a very different POV.
The trial will go dark tomorrow, as Judge Penny Azcarate has scheduled the five-week long proceedings to run Monday to Thursday. The whole shebang will pause from May 9-12 as the judge has a previously scheduled conference engagement.
As previously announced, the crime thriller also stars Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Foster, Toby Wallace and Jenna Ortega. It is written and directed by Brian Helgeland, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of “L.A. Confidential” and “Mystic River,” as well as the director of “A Knight’s Tale.” “Finestkind” is set to debut exclusively on Paramount+ in late 2022.
The film unfolds in New Bedford, Mass., America’s biggest commercial fishing port, and tells the story of two brothers (Foster and Wallace) from opposite sides of the tracks, who are reunited as adults over one fateful summer. When desperate circumstances force them to strike a deal with a dangerous Boston crime syndicate, a young woman (Ortega) finds herself caught in the middle. This tests the bonds between brothers, friends, and a father (Jones) and his son.
Stanford will play Skeemo, a fisherman and longtime member of Foster’s character’s crew who holds a devastating secret. Tovar will play Nunes, a fisherman and ship engineer, Daly will portray Dennis Sykes, Wallace’s character’s father and a very successful lawyer married to Donna (Davidovich), who also happens to be the ex-wife of Ray Eldridge (Jones). Crawford will portray Pete Weeks, an intense Boston Irish Gangster.
The film is produced by Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff of Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment, Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan of Bosque Ranch, David C. Glasser of 101 Studios, and is being made in association with MTV Entertainment Studios.
Stanford recently recurred on “Perry Mason.” Stanford has been a series regular on “12 Monkeys,” “Nikita,” and “Traveler.” He may be best known from his role as mutant Pyro in the “X-Men” franchise, and for his work in the acclaimed indie “Tadpole.” He is represented by Luber Roklin Entertainment and Gersh
Tovar has appeared in “The Mosquito Coast,” “Empire” and “After The Reign.” He is represented by Momentum Talent and Literary Agency and 831 Entertainment
Daly is best known for his work on “Wings” and “Madam Secretary,” as well as his performance on “The Sopranos,” for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. He is represented by Verve.
Davidovich previously recurred on “How To Get Away With Murder” and “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.” She starred opposite Paul Newman in “Blaze” and had a leading role in Brian DePalma’s “Raising Cain.” She is represented by Zero Gravity Management and A3.
Crawford recently starred in and produced “The Integrity Of Joseph Chambers” and “The Killing Of Two Lovers,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He also last starred in “Lethal Weapon” and was a regular on “Rectify.” Crawford is represented by Principal Entertainment LA / The Gersh Agency / Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman.
