This isn't your mother's "Mean Girls"

by Cláudio Alves

Maybe this trailer deserves the "Yes, No, Maybe So" treatment, but why do all that work when the answer is a resounding NO? Though the musical of Mean Girls isn't an especially well-regarded Broadway property, there was some hope regarding its transfer to the screen. That was before it kept getting delayed until landing on the dumping ground of January 2024. Everything's pointing to it being a disaster, and the first trailer only accentuates those doubts rather than dispelling them. And no, it's not just because it's so eager to make the original audience for Tina Fey's teen comedy feel as old as Methuselah…

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Link, Link... BOOM!

• Advocate MJ Rodriguez gets the "Person on the Year" profile
• Deadline Carrie Coon, Alessandro Nivola, Chris Cooper, and Keira Knightley to star in a new movie about the Boston Strangler case in the 1960s. Amazing cast
• GQ Tom Holland covers the "men of the year" issue. Lil Nas X (music) and an athlete we dont know (we know nothing of sports, sorry!) get the other covers.

More after the jump including Alexandra Shipp, Adele, Will Smith and King Richard, Mean Girls men, Sex and the City's sequel and Shang-Chi...

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Gay Best Friend: Damian in "Mean Girls" (2004)

a series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope  

"She doesn't even go here" - Daniel Franzese steals yet another scene as Damian in "Mean Girls."Everyone remembers their first.

I don’t think Damian from Mean Girls was the first gay character I saw on screen. So many comedies throughout the 90s and early 00s used gay characters as easy punchlines or setup for gay panic jokes. However, Damian was the first time I saw someone who said it was ok to be gay. It would be many years before I myself came out, but Damian always felt like a touchstone to come back to. Damian is arguably the most famous example of the “Gay Best Friend” trope in 21st century movies thus far. He epitomizes the stereotype in both positive and negative ways. What stands out and makes him timeless is the way he takes up space within the school, especially at a time where gay kids often tried to “make it through” or “fade into the background.” If he was going to be a stereotype, by God he was going to let you know that he was the stereotype and you'd better pay attention...

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Links: Anjelica Huston's Life, Magic Mike's Postponement, Madonna's Holograms

The Week's Must Read
Anjelica Huston interview in Vulture -Many great quotes. So much IDGAF mixing with caring about her career in interesting ways. And her tongue is so sharp and she's so candid I am forced to order her autobiography "Watch Me"

More links after the jump involving Mean Girls, casting news, Avengers Endgame, new series in development, and the Billboard Music Awards...

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Stage Door: Best Musical Nominees at the Tony Awards

by Nathaniel R

Though I have not seen as much Broadway theater as I'd hoped to this year, I have finally managed to see all of the nominees in the big kahuna Tony category: Best Musical. This is the marquee category each year in that it's the one that matters financially and for bragging rights the way "Best Picture," "Drama Series," and "Album of the Year" are saved for last at the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys respectively... even if you might personally think other prizes more significant or telling. Let's rank the nominees after the jump, shall we?

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