Links to the past, with relevance today:
THR: Seemingly nobody likes Blonde, the sensationalistic new account of Marilyn Monroe's life, starring an actress who is a dead ringer — with a Cuban accent. But along with criticisms of the film's mistreatment of Monroe, Planned Parenthood has stepped in to point out that a scene in which an aborted fetus is CGI-depicted as a fully formed baby sends a strong anti-choice message on the abortion issue. One more reason to avoid what sounds like a disgustingly misogynistic exercise.
VARIETY: Charlotte Gainsbourg on filming a doc about her mom, performer Jane Birkin:
“I did this first interview of her. I had a mass of questions and she got so scared and so distraught by my questions that coming back, she said, ‘Stop, I don’t want to do this anymore.' Then two years went by. She came to see me in New York. We were still of course very close. I showed her a documentary about Joan Didion done by her nephew. And it was so intimate and so touching. And then I showed her the images we had done in Japan and she said, ‘Oh, it wasn’t as shocking as I remembered it. So if you want, let’s go on.’ And so I started again.”
THE RANDY REPORT: Olivia Newton-John's widower shares a touching message on what would have been the late singer's 74th birthday.
EXTRATV: Brad Pitt calls this dude the best-looking man in the world.
EW: Every Hocus Pocus 1 reference in Hocus Pocus 2.
INSTAGRAM (FOLLOW GR8ERDAYS!): Happy 87th to Julie Andrews!
PEOPLE: Jimmy Carter sets another record for his longevity — at 98, he is (by far) the longest-living POTUS. The late George Bush is in second place; he achieved 94+ years. Democrats are just always better.
