1.
Grammy nominations have dropped, and as expected, voters are 100 percent on board with Lizzo, who topped the list with eight nominations — just ahead of Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish, who scored six nominations apiece. The actual Grammy ceremony won’t be held until January, which should give viewers plenty of time to catch up on the nominees from all 8,000 categories — so get hype to find out who will take home this year’s trophy for Best Album Liner Notes! [The Hollywood Reporter]
2.
Have you followed Marie Kondo’s advice and thrown out everything in your residence that doesn’t spark joy? Great! Now it’s time to fill your residence back up again — and as long as your shelves are bare, why not buy all that stuff directly from Marie Kondo’s online store? And if you think it’s a little hypocritical for the self-styled de-cluttering guru to sell you a bunch of overpriced junk, we’re sure a sip from your $98 gem-infused water bottle will clear those bad vibes right up. [The Wall Street Journal]
3.
Cynthia Erivo stars in Harriet, a based-on-a-true-story drama about the life of the legendary abolitionist Harriet Tubman — but 25 years ago, at least one Hollywood executive had a different star for a Tubman biopic in mind. Screenwriter and producer Gregory Allen Howard says that back in 1994, when he was pitching a Tubman-focused movie, one Hollywood executive proposed an unconventional choice for the lead role: Julia Roberts. When someone in that meeting raised, well, the most obvious objection to Julia Roberts playing Harriet Tubman, the executive replied, “It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference” — a thesis that would surely have been put to the test by literally anyone who saw the movie. [Entertainment Weekly]
4.
What’s worse than being the second choice for a starring role in a movie? Being the second choice for a starring role in a movie when the first choice is dead. The upcoming drama Finding Jack will feature a “new” James Dean performance via a CGI recreation and a voiceover soundalike — but originally, producers reportedly planned to fill the role with a CGI Elvis Presley. Unfortunately for the film’s creative team, Presley’s estate balked at the offer. [The Hollywood Reporter]
5.
Al Pacino is widely regarded as one of America’s great living actors, but in recent years, that hasn’t stopped him from appearing in movies like Gigli, Righteous Kill, and Jack and Jill, which offered audiences two Adam Sandler performances for the price of one. Why does Pacino sign up for such dreck? In a recent interview, Pacino admitted he has a “perverse” impulse to appear in bad films just to see if he can make them better. (Alas, they still don’t give out an Oscar for Most Acceptable Part of a Piece of Garbage.) [GQ]
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