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Alice Moody (left) and Jean Laughlin (right) first met during World War Two in Hardington Mandeville
Two women who first met more than 80 years ago have been reunited for the first time since World War Two.
Alice Moody, 104, was a then recently qualified teacher when she travelled from London to the Somerset village of Hardington Mandeville to help educate evacuated children.
She was well-remembered in the village and one of her former pupils, Jean Laughlin, 96, made the trip to her care home in Wiltshire to visit Mrs Moody – who she affectionately remembers as Ms Russell.
“In the interim, you forget so much and suddenly it all comes back which is lovely,” said Ms Laughlin.
Handout
Mrs Moody – then Ms Russell – seen here in both photos, was a young teacher and “role model” to teenage student Ms Laughlin during World War Two
Ms Laughlin brought some old photos of the village from the 1940s and 1950s to help remind Mrs Moody of “so many happy memories”.
She said that, although they were older and a lot of time had passed, it was marvellous to remember together.
When Mrs Moody arrived at the school, Ms Laughlin said she saw her as a role model.
She said: “I was a teenager and she was a young teacher, and she gave me the impetus to go on and become a nurse. I have a lot to be thankful for.”
She added that her smile was “exactly the same and lights up her eyes”, just as it did all those years ago.
Handout
Photos of Hardington Mandeville in the 1940s and 1950s helped remind Mrs Moody of “so many happy memories”
For Mrs Moody, it was a trip down memory lane for two “old friends from the wartime”.
Mrs Moody said her memories of Hardington were of lovely days and she “just can’t believe” she was meeting Ms Laughlin again.
She has recorded her wartime memoirs, which are currently being edited and made into a book, with a preview being sent to friends.
“She remembers so much in the book, and brought back so many memories for me. [Reading] it was wonderful,” Ms Laughlin said.
“It must have been so frightening for parents to put their children on a train, not knowing where they were going, but Mrs Moody was there to look after them,” Ms Laughlin added.
It felt like 2022 all over again when Josh Gad took to Instagram to express his heartbreak about contracting a “virus known as COVID” and announce his decision to pull out of playing King Herod in the highly anticipated production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Hollywood Bowl, which staged its first night of a three-night run Friday.
Gad hinted that maybe — if he tested negative — the situation might change. The following day, however, John Stamos announced on social media that his weekend “just got biblical” and that he was stepping in for Gad in the show.
On Friday, things got extra dramatic when Gad announced that he had tested negative. Fans on his social media clamored to know what that might mean, but he stayed mum until Saturday when he posted a photo of himself in an elaborate gold lamé costume with the words, “See you all Sunday night.”
A rep for the Los Angeles Philharmonic said that final confirmation that Gad will step onto stage won’t come until noon Sunday.
Stamos appeared onstage as Herod on Friday night, bringing some comic relief to an electric, deeply emotional show.
After one of star Cynthia Erivo’s solos, the audience clapped so loud, long and reverently, that tears came to the singer’s eyes — which only caused the crowd to cheer harder. The moment of symbiotic love lasted for at least 3 minutes, maybe more.
The Bowl was packed with marquee names, including former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Jim Carrey and Ted Neely (who played Jesus in the 1973 film adaptation of the musical). Erivo brought composer Andrew Lloyd Webber onto the stage as a special guest during curtain call.
Still, Gad fans were many — you could tell because they held Olaf dolls and wore Olaf jewelry — and they could be heard expressing their sorrow at the absence of Gad in the crush of the crowd after the show.
Gad’s addition to the cast, which included Cynthia Erivo as Jesus, Adam Lambert as Judas and Phillipa Soo as Mary Magdalene, was hailed by fans; and in an interview with The Times during rehearsal, Gad spoke about being beyond excited to perform at the Bowl for the very first time with a stellar cast that he called the Avengers of musical theater.
“I’ve wanted to play the Hollywood Bowl forever,” said Gad. “But I never thought I was good enough to play the Hollywood Bowl,” he added with a self-deprecating smile
Even though the role of King Herod entails a single song — a kind of comic interlude that Gad likened to the part of King George in “Hamilton” — Gad showed up at as many rehearsals as possible before he came down with COVID. He just liked sitting on the sidelines, soaking up the scene and the incredible talent on display, he said.
At a Saturday rehearsal before the show, he filmed numbers on phones for various cast members and cheered his heart out. His sense of excitement was infectious. Now he’ll get one night to give “King Herod’s Song” his all.
The Outlaw Music Festival began nine years back as a single event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, featuring Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Chris Robinson, and Lee Ann Womack. It’s slowly morphed into a traveling fest that brings Nelson and a rotating cast of top-grade support acts to amphitheaters across America every summer, and they leveled up significantly last year by placing Bob Dylan in the penultimate slot every night of the run.
They repeated the successful Bob/Willie formula this summer for an extensive, 36-show trek, and sprinkled on acts like Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings, Waxahatchee, Lucinda Williams, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, and Bruce Hornsby & The Night Sweats at various stops along the way. Some nights have slightly stronger bills than others, but it’s undoubtedly the most exciting/eclectic multi-artist show of the summer amphitheater season by a wide margin.
That was very clear August 1 when Lucinda Williams, and Wilco played truncated sets at Long Island’s Jones Beach Amphitheater before handing the evening over to Dylan and Nelson. These are four totally unique acts with fairly different approaches to live performances, and their own massive followings, but they all have a deep love and respect for American roots music that permeated through the entire night.
Due to tremendous good fortune, it was an unseasonably cool night at Jones Beach following two weeks of scorching, record-high temperatures, and a massive thunderstorm the prior evening that generated flood warnings all across the region. This placed everyone in a cheerful mood as Lucinda Williams took the stage in the very late afternoon. (Unfortunately, I arrived too late to see opening act Waylon Payne, but I caught him later when he played with Willie Nelson. Jones Beach is a beautiful amphitheater directly on the water, but the mass transit options from New York City are less than ideal.)
Williams no longer plays guitar due to a stroke she suffered in 2020, but she made the excellent decision to bring former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford into her band to compensate, and her singing voice retains much of its power. The set began with back-to-back songs from her 2023 LP Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart, “Let’s Get the Band Back Together” and “Stolen Moments,” before dipping back to Car Wheels on a Gravel Road for “Drunken Angel.”
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Midway through her set, Williams broke out Memphis Minnie’s “You Can’t Rule Me,” dedicating it to the “so-called king of the United States.” She didn’t speak Donald Trump’s name once, but it wasn’t necessary. Prior to that, she unveiled her excellent new ballad “Lowlife” (“Play Slim Harpo on the jukebox/Let me go with no shoes or socks”) that will hopefully appear on the next LP.
She closed out the set with the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” giving Ford and guitarist Doug Pettibone the chance to show off their chops, “Joy,” “Righteously,” and a fierce take on Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World” that brought the capacity crowd to their feet.
A decent percent of the Outlaw crowd is on the elderly side, and it’s unclear how many of them were familiar with Wilco when they took the stage, but it didn’t take long for Jeff Tweedy and company to win them over with a set packed with staples like “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” “Jesus, Etc.,” “Handshake Drugs” and “Walken.” None of these songs are “hits” in the traditional sense since Wilco never had anything resembling a Top 40 song, but they’ve been perfected across hundreds and hundreds of concerts by one of the greatest live bands of the past quarter century.
Nels Cline delivered an epic, mind-bending guitar solo on “Impossible Germany,” proving once again that he’s one of the single greatest guitarists of his generation. And Willie Nelson’s harmonica player Mickey Raphael came out to join them on “California Stars,” wearing a Flaco Jimenez t-shirt to honor the legendary Tejano accordionist, who died this week.
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They closed out with a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “U.S. Blues” that caused the place to absolutely erupt with joy. (It’s always a good time to cover the Dead, but this was also Jerry Garcia’s birthday, and the first day of the Dead’s 60th anniversary celebration at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.)
As the sun began to set, the crew removed Wilco’s gear and set the stage for Bob Dylan and his band. On most Outlaw dates last year, Dylan compromised on his usual stance and allowed venues to display a single, distant shot of his set on the screens, giving people in the upper seats at least a vague sense of what was happening on stage. This year, the screens remained completely dark, meaning the vast majority of the audience saw nothing more than a distant, blurry figure in a white hat perched behind a piano. And if you were in the nosebleeds, it’s unlikely the figure was anything more than a tiny dot.
If nearly any other artist pulled this move at a large amphitheater, a rebellion would likely brew. (Back in 2012, Peter Gabriel kept the screens off for his first few songs at Jones Beach, and fans howled in frustration until they were illuminated.) But Bob Dylan fans are a different breed, and they simply leaned forward and focused on the music.
Unlike his indoor theater shows of the past few years, which focus heavily on material from 2020’s Rough and Rowdy Ways, this was Dylan’s version of a crowd-pleasing set that drew from all eras of his career. That doesn’t mean he played any actual hits besides a radically re-worked “All Along The Watchtower” that stripped out every bit of Jimi Hendrix’s influence, but it did mean we heard “To Ramona,” “Desolation Row,” “Gotta Serve Somebody,” and “Love Sick” from his back catalog.
More importantly, he was once again in remarkably clear voice, even if he occasionally slurred lines in wordy tunes like “Desolation Row.” Many people were forever turned off to Dylan shows after witnessing “wolfman” era gigs about a decade back, but they need to give him another chance. Somehow or another, at age 84, his voice has been rejuvenated. It’s a minor miracle.
If you’re only seen Dylan at a theater these past few years, the atmosphere of the Outlaw Festival will be quite jarring. At the theaters, phones are taken away, the houses are completely dark and silent, and ushers roam the aisles with flashlights to pounce on anyone violating the rules. At the Outlaw shows, people are eating chicken fingers, spilling ketchup on themselves, chugging beers, loudly talking with their friends, scrolling through their phones, and taking selfies with Bob in the background. It’s the opposite vibe in nearly every imaginable way.
As always, practically every song in Dylan’s set was rearranged not just from its original version, but the live rendition we heard as recently as last summer. “‘Til I Fell In Love With You” is now practically a spoken-word track with sparse instrumentation, “Gotta Serve Somebody” has a rollicking groove, and “Blind Willie McTell” has rarely sounded so loose and playful.
There are some grumblings in the fan community that nearly 30% of the set is devoted to obscure covers like “Charlie Rich’s “I’ll Make It All Up To You,” Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Share Your Love With Me,” and George “Wild Child” Butler’s “Axe and the Wind,” but Dylan delivers them with real passion and tenderness. And if they cause anyone to seek out the originals, he’s done them a favor.
The set wrapped with a revved-up “Highway 61 Revisited,” Roy Acuff’s World War II-era folk song “Searching For a Soldier’s Grave,” which Dylan regularly played live at the turn of the century and only recently resurrected, and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” Casual fans perked up at the latter one, and some surely recognized it from A Complete Unknown. He delivered it like a torch ballad, and it was easily the most moving moment of the evening.
There’s virtually no figure on the planet with the song catalog and the gravitas to follow that besides Willie Nelson. He missed several shows last summer due to health matters, and he looks every day of his 92 years, but every ounce of his essential Willie-ness remains.
Smartly, he’s stripped his band way down to the essential players, centering the focus on his voice and guitar. His lean band includes Waylon Payne, who doubles many of the vocals, and takes over on lead for a handful of songs, including “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Help Me Make It Through The Night,” ‘ and “Workin Man Blues.” This gives Willie a chance to catch his breath, and prep for the next song.
Willie standards like “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” and “You Were Always On My Mind” sounded absolutely majestic, and were reminders that this man wrote a decent chunk of the Great American Songbook. It’s impossible to cram all into one set, so he combined “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Crazy” and “Night Life” into a medley.
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Wilco came back out near the end of the set for “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?,” but there was no sign of Dylan. Oddly enough, despite their close friendship and long history of onstage collaborations, they haven’t appeared together at a single Outlaw Festival. It’s a tremendous missed opportunity because a duet on “Poncho and Lefty,” “You Win Again,” or “Heartland” would set any venue ablaze.
The tour continues Saturday night in Saratoga Springs, New York, and wraps up September 19 in East Troy, Wisconsin. Let’s hope they’re back next summer for another round. It’s only been two years of Bob and Willie leading this tour as a combo act, but it already feels like a summer tradition.
Photo: Blake Lively, Youtuber legal drama takes new turn
Blake Lively is reportedly under the fire once again for her legal drama.
Though the Gossip Girl alum, recently backed down from efforts to obtain private information from several journalists and online creators, one YouTuber is still fighting back, per Daily Mail.
Reportedly, Lauren Neidigh, known online as LethalLauren904, has now asked a judge for a protective order against Blake even though the actress formally withdrew her subpoena over the weekend.
According to a letter obtained by the publication, Lauren Neidigh claimed that she still feared the It Ends With Us producer could refile the subpoena in the future as part of her ongoing legal dispute with actor-director Justin Baldoni.
“[Lively’s] Subpoena targeted creators who have expressed unfavorable opinions about her online,” she wrote and added, “It served to intimidate, harass, chill constitutionally protected free speech, and threaten the safety and privacy of non-parties who are not involved in this litigation.”
The letter further argued that the subpoena was “not supported by any evidence.”
Her allegation continued to mentioner that Blake’s legal team has been “largely unresponsive” and unable to explain how her personal data could be relevant to the actress’ case.
Though Lively has rescinded subpoenas targeting Lauren Neidigh and two other independent creators, she still insisted that the threat hasn’t passed.
“There is still an ongoing threat of further abusive discovery requests,” she wrote, adding that such legal tactics could be used to “intimidate” her for exercising her First Amendment rights.
Singer Dua Lipa has said she is “feeling grateful” after being awarded citizenship of Kosovo by the country’s president.
The 29-year-old was born in London to Kosovan-Albanian parents, Anesa and Dukagjin Lipa, and moved to the country’s capital of Pristina aged 11, when her family returned after Kosovo gained its independence in 2008, before moving back to London aged 15.
In a post on Instagram, Lipa said: “Feeling so grateful to have been awarded my Kosovan citizenship by our president vjosaosmani.”
Kosovo’s president, Vjosa Osmani, posted a picture of herself presenting a certificate of citizenship to the singer with a caption saying: “Welcome home Dua.”
She added: “Special honour that today, by presidential decree, to grant citizenship of the Republic of Kosovo to Dua Lipa, one of the most important cultural and artistic personalities in the history of our country.
“Dua and Kosovo have always been inseparable. She has been and continues to be one of the most powerful voices on the world’s biggest stages, making history with her achievements and becoming an inspiration to millions of people around the globe.
“Our gratitude is endless for all that Dua has done and continues to do for Kosovo, for our youth, for our art and for the international image of our country. Dua, Kosovo is always proud of you.”
At her initiation ceremony, Lipa was welcomed by a group of children dressed in white singing her 2020 UK hit single Levitating.
It comes after the singer appeared at the country’s Sunny Hill festival, which she created in 2018, on Friday, where she performed the song Era, with her father, in Albanian.
She said of the performance in a post on X: “Sharing this night with you all, in the city that shaped me, surrounded by so much energy, joy, and pride … it’s hard to put into words what it means.
“Performing for you, and sharing the stage with my dad dukagjinlipa was a moment I’ll never forget.
“I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful, and we still have two more nights to celebrate together.”
In November 2022, the singer was granted Albanian citizenship by its president Bajram Begaj.
Since beginning her career in 2013, Lipa has had four UK No 1 singles and two UK No 1 albums. She is best known for songs such as Training Season, New Rules and One Kiss, which she recorded with DJ Calvin Harris.
[This story contains spoilers for Netflix’s My Oxford Year.]
Audiences may have seen Sofia Carson fall in love onscreen in roles such as Netflix’s Purple Hearts and the Life List, but her new filmis offering a revival of the traditional classic love story.
“There’s a certain level of escapism that comes with falling in love with a love story that is so beautiful to be able to offer that, and this one in particular just felt timeless,” Carson tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It felt like it had been a while since I had seen a classic and timeless love story brought to life for this generation.”
That love story is My Oxford Year, directed by Iain Morris and starring Carson (who also exec produce) and Queen Charlotte star Corey Mylchreest. The film, based on the 2018 book by Julia Wheelan, centers on Carson’s Anna, an ambitious young American woman who sets out for Oxford University to fulfill a lifelong dream. Though she has her life planned, things take an unexpected turn when she meets local and her professor Jamie (played by Mylchreest). They may find a connection through literature and poetry but soon their unforseen bond alters both of their lives.
“It’s like these two people see each other for who they are for the very first time,” Carson says. “I think that’s one of the most beautiful parts of this film is that they fall in love through poetry. They fall in love through literature.”
Amid the film’s release, Carson spoke with THR about bringing a new love story onscreen, the film’s emotional turn and hopes her character lets young women “feel represented.”
What was it about this story that interested you and made you want to be a part of bringing it to life?
So shortly after Purple Hearts came out, I met with Marty Bowen and Laura Quicksilver at Temple Hill, and I, of course, was very familiar with their work. They’ve brought to life some of the most beloved love stories of our time from Twilight to The Fault in Our Stars. And so in our meeting, Marty pitched wanting to bring this story to life with me as a producer and to star as Anna. I was so moved by that of course. By the moment I read the script, it was just the easiest yes. I fell so instantly in love with Anna and Jamie’s love story and with their world of poetry and literature, and it was just a beautiful love story, the kind of love that changes you. I felt so sure that Marty and Temple Hill were the partners to bring this to life, and it’s been a beautiful journey ever since.
You’ve become quite the presence on Netflix having starred in multiple films, in particular romance stories. What is it about the romance genre that appeals to you and attracted you to want to tell these stories?
I was always writing love songs years before I had ever even been close to being in love. I always gravitated towards love and romance. I think also as a consumer, there’s a certain level of escapism that comes with falling in love, with a love story that is so beautiful to be able to offer that, and this one in particular just felt timeless. It felt like a classic, and it felt like it had been a while since I had seen a classic and timeless love story brought to life for this generation. And that really excited me!
What do you think are the necessities to make a romance film stand out and be a timeless story especially when we’ve had so many great romance stories told onscreen?
Love is such an innate part of the human experience. It’s bound to be a part of most films that we bring to life as artists. This one is probably the closest to a straight romance story that I’ve ever had the privilege of telling. I’ve always been drawn towards really timeless classics from Audrey Hepburn’s films to Barbra Streisand’s The Way We Were and this film felt very reminiscent of that. I also tend to enjoy in my films, the enemies to lovers trope, which happened in Purple Hearts and also takes place in My Oxford Year. I think there’s always something really exciting about that dynamic. The cinematography of this film taking place in Oxford is just so sweeping and romantic and magical. It’s like every inch of Oxford is brimming with poetry and history, and it frames the story just so beautifully.
For this film, Oxford felt like its own character and it was an immersive experience for the audience. But I read that you didn’t want to see Oxford before filming but rather save your immediate reaction to seeing it for the first time for the film. Why did you make that decision and what was your reaction when seeing it for the first time?
I really wanted my first time witnessing and experiencing Oxford to take place on camera, so it was real and genuine and true to Anna’s honest reaction. It’s just as magical as it feels on film. It doesn’t feel real. It is so beautiful, every inch of it. It was such a privilege to be able to film this movie and bring this love story to life in one of the most historic institutions in the world.
Anna may be new and not from London but she never appears to be a fish out of water. She goes in very confident and really seems to adapt easily to it. Was that intentional to not really portray this naïve person?
Yeah, Anna walks into a room and makes her presence known. She’s beaming with confidence, and she knows that she’s earned it. She’s deserved it. I kind of walked with that as I walked in the room as Anna, and she’s the kind of person who also knows exactly who she is and what she wants out of life, and she takes the rose living deliberately, quite literally, and has planned every single moment of her life to live it deliberately. So when she’s in Oxford, she’s there to live every moment with confidence. And I’m glad that you felt that in meeting Anna.
Sofia Carson as Anna in My Oxford Year.
Chris Baker/Netflix
There’s a notable scene in which Anna confronts someone in a pub who refers to her as “Miss Mexico” and “Miss Diversity Quota.” Can you talk about that moment and highlighting Anna’s background and how that also served as a foundation for understanding who she is?
It was so important to my mom and I — my mom and I both produced the film together — in creating Anna’s world was her background, who her mother is, who her father is and representing a woman of color (a Hispanic, Latin woman) in a way that I would feel so proud to be represented on screen. I myself am a Hispanic woman. I am an American with Hispanic parents who immigrated into this country as is Anna. And so to see a girl who looks like me in Oxford, in that institution, who has planned and worked her whole life to earn that moment, and then to be faced with the racism that we are still, unfortunately plagued with in this world, was so crucial to us. And to see how she handled it and how she stood up for herself, and how she always makes room for herself in every room that she walks into, even as the world is trying to take it away, was really important.
There’s even a conversation between Anna and Jamie’s father during the ball where Jamie’s father talking about her background, and she says, “Yeah, my mom was a doctor in Argentina, studied medicine and now is a nurse, because her degree doesn’t transfer.” That was so important to me as well, because so often Hispanics are painted in only one very narrow stereotypical picture. I was really proud that we were able to bring Anna’s story to life in a really beautiful way that I hope a lot of young women will feel represented.
“Anna walks into a room and makes her presence known.”
Chris Baker/Netflix
Anna and Jamie form a connection through their love of literature and poetry and it seems like they can communicate through the written word things they can’t articulate or are still trying to understand. Can you talk about poetry and literature being this foundation for them and how it helped them see each other in a way that others wouldn’t?
That’s such a that’s such a beautiful question, and you’re right, that’s when they first truly connect. When they’re sitting in his office and she starts reading the poem that she picked, and he starts finishing her sentences, it’s like these two people see each other for who they are for the very first time. And I think that’s one of the most beautiful parts of this film is that they fall in love through poetry. They fall in love through literature. And we kind of discover these great poets like Alfred Tennyson or Elizabeth Barrett Browning and even some quotes from Emily Dickinson that I wasn’t familiar with that are such a tenant of their relationship. I think the one that encompasses Jamie’s love was written by Alfred Tennyson, maybe 100 years ago, and he said the words, “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,” which I think are some of the most beautiful words ever written in the English language, and really encompass their love story. Life is too short to not live it in love and to not live it in joy, and to not live it in fulfillment, and that is what Anna learns through falling in love with Jamie.
This story is emotional, but it’s rooted in laughter. One notable fun scene was the karaoke scene. Now when I spoke to Corey, he explained that it was rather traumatizing for him to watch himself. So I have to ask what was it like filming that and your thoughts on his performance especially given you’re a professional singer?
(Laughs.) I’m so glad the comedy resonated with you. It was so crucial to us and and in bringing Iain Morris, our director — he created one of the most iconic comedy shows in British television The In Betweeners — it was so important that our film be grounded in laughter, because so often when life gets dark and hard, laughter is how we shed light. I love that moment and being in the audience! I thought it was so endearing, and I just felt the rest of the world was just going to fall in love with him even more for being so brave, free and so tender and honest in that moment. [He was] so visibly uncomfortable, but so game at the same time. It’s such a beautiful moment in the film. And also it ties together. He sings the song “Yellow” and then you see Anna in her yellow dress, and yellow becomes a really important theme for us in the film; What the color yellow means is hope and light. Marty literally cries watching that scene, because he thinks it’s really emotional, but it’s really endearing!
With Jamie and Anna’s dynamic, Jamie wants things between them to be kept fun given the secret he’s keeping but it seems like it took somebody like Anna to challenge Jamie into thinking that maybe there is a person who could understand who he really is and the challenges he’s living through. And also maybe vice versa with how Jamie helps Anna. They seem to subvert each other’s expectations. Can you talk about the progression of their relationship?
From Anna’s perspective, Anna walks into Oxford, and she’s not looking for any serious distractions. She’s a tremendously goal oriented young woman. She’s there to make the most out of her year, study as much, read as much, learn as much, absorb as much. So if she does have something with a boy, she doesn’t want it to be serious. And then Jamie, of course, we don’t know his secret, but he obviously has a profound reason for wanting to keep things fun and light. And so in the beginning, it works for both of them. But then, as we all know very well, love changes us, and falling in love changes you and it changed these two individuals in really powerful ways. It changed Anna [who went] into living the life that everything was just so perfectly planned and so deliberately thought through, into understanding that the beauty of life, no matter how painful it can be, exists in the messiness, in the freedom, the joy, in the love and the unexpected. And then for Jamie, I think she cracked something inside of him where he was so terrified of hurting and of pain. But I think her love transformed him in that way, and he wanted her there. He wanted to be loved by her, and he wanted that companionship more than ever, rather than pushing it away. It’s this beautiful, impossible, heartbreaking love, but it’s the kind of love that changes you forever.
“She never asks him to be anything else and exactly who he is,” Carson says.
Chris Baker/Netflix
When we learn of Jamie’s illness and his decision to not continue treatment, Anna never seems to ever try to convince him to change his mind but rather instead convince him to not push her away and let her stand by his side through this journey regardless of how long he has left. Can you talk about her decision to remain by his side and respecting his choice?
It was really admirable. I often didn’t understand it, but I think it was such proof of how much she knew him and understood him and loved him for exactly who he was, and stood by that decision regardless of how absolutely heart wrenchingly painful it would be. I mean, she even stands beside him when she’s speaking to his father, and she has to have a really difficult confrontation there, but she has such respect and I think an understanding of Jamie that she never asks him to be anything else and exactly who he is.
At the end of the film, we don’t necessarily see Jamie pass away but rather get a snapshot of what could’ve been with him and Anna traveling and completing that bucket list that Jamie mentions. What did you make of the ending? Had Jamie not been sick, what did you envision for what could’ve been for him and for him and Anna?
Wow, that’s a fantastic question that I have not thought of. But to touch on the first part of your question, I appreciate you enjoying how we decided to finish the movie, because it was definitely a big conversation for all of us. It was really important for Marty that we never know for sure if we never see Jamie leaving us. And it was also so important for us that this movie ended with hope, with life after love and seeing that snapshot of Anna and doing the things she always wanted to do. That sequence of them, traveling in Europe, we shot every scene in Amsterdam and Paris and Venice and Greece, both with myself and Corey and then me alone. And even while we were shooting, we weren’t exactly sure how it would cut together. There was thoughts of it cutting together with just Anna alone, of it only being the two of them and then we decided on the compilation of both where you kind of see them doing this trip together. Then that moment, which was so beautifully shot in Greece, where the camera kind of does the 360 around them, and then we see him disappear and it’s the implication that he’s gone and that she did this without him, was felt really impactful for us. For me, it was really important that it was clear that Anna was not stepping into Jamie’s shoes. Anna was stepping into her own. Her dream was always to do this, and in this love she I guess she gained the confidence or the realization that life is too short to not do and be the thing you’ve always wanted to do and be.
“I do think they were each other’s great loves.”
Courtesy of Netflix
And then in terms of what they would’ve been, fantastic question because it changes so much of the relationship, doesn’t it? Even if he wasn’t sick, it changes so much of that dynamic. But I do think they were each other’s great loves, and I wonder if perhaps Anna would have gone back and worked a year in New York, and then she probably would have come to the realization on her own, but that’s not who she is, nor what she wants, and perhaps would have still ended up at Oxford teaching. I don’t know for certain, but I know without a doubt in my mind that they were each other’s love of their lives.
What do you ultimately hope that people take away from this film and what did you take away from it and this character?
I learned so much from Anna, and I related so much to her, because similarly to her, I’m a planner. I live deliberately by planning every single moment. And I learned through becoming her, I was reminded that the messiness of life is often the most beautiful and unexpected parts of life. I also think, like so many of us, we also fear heartbreak, but this movie is the reminder that it’s just so much better to have loved than never to have loved at all. I think what I hope people take away more than anything is what I mentioned earlier, is that life is too short to not live it in love and to not live it in joy and to not live it in complete and utter fulfillment, whatever that means to you.
Now with My Oxford Year being the new addition to your growing list of stories we’ve seen onscreen, what’s next? A Purple Hearts sequel perhaps? What other stories are you looking forward to telling?
(Laughs.) That is the question! You know, it’s been a really exciting and thrilling journey, especially this last year. Purple Hearts made history, and it did what it did, and I don’t think any of us expected that to happen a second time if it happened again. Carry-On went on to make history as the second most streamed movie in the history of Netflix, and then LifeList did it again. So I think there’s a certain level of pressure that is weighing on my shoulders. A lot of it is self induced when it comes to now making these next decisions. But I think what I keep reminding myself of, with artists the most important thing that we can do is any story that you tell, whether it’s film or movie, it just has to be something that you love, that you believe in, that is honest and true to who you are, and is an important story to tell. And that’s kind of my compass in these next decisions. But we are in the middle of developing a few things that I’m really excited about. I’m excited to continue elevating the caliber of artists that I surround myself with —directors, actors, writers — and challenging myself as an actor and the stories that I tell. I have loved being able to bring stories that give light to people when it feels like the world is a bit of a dark place right now, and I don’t take that privilege lightly. I think it’s a beautiful thing to be able to do that.
With the next prequel in The Hunger Games hitting theaters on Nov. 20, 2026, at least one familiar face is open to returning.
Josh Hutcherson, who originated the role of Peeta Mellark in the 2012 adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘ first novel in the YA series, recently addressed the possibility of reprising the role in Sunrise on the Reaping, which has been rounding out its cast in recent months.
“That’d be cool. No, I know nothing in that world right now,” Hutcherson clarified to Brit + Co. “Hunger Games is amazing, and I’ve loved it for many years and I will love it forever.”
Although the events of Sunrise on the Reaping are set 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, the book briefly features a grown Peeta and Katniss Everdeen (originated by Jennifer Lawrence) as Haymitch Abernathy (which Joseph Zada is set to take over from Woody Harrelson) recounts the events of his Hunger Game to them.
In March, Collins released the fifth book in the franchise, Sunrise on the Reaping, which marks the second prequel after 2020’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. A feature adaptation is set for a fall 2026 release.
The cast also includes Whitney Peak as Haymitch’s love interest Lenore Dove Baird, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Billy Porter as Magno Stift, Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Lili Taylor as Mags and Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, among others.
Hutcherson previously portrayed Peeta in The Hunger Games (2012), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 (2014) and Part 2 (2015), alongside Lawrence, Harrison and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne.
The actor has previously said he “would happily play Peeta again,” adding: “I think Peeta’s an incredible person to get to bring to life. I’m curious to know what happens between when they have their family and when the story ends, just to understand what happened in the world, how they got to that place. But I’m down. If you can talk to Suzanne Collins and tell her to write a book, I’m in. Sign me up.”
Even 26 years after their tragic passing, we all still want in on the private world of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. The enduring public fascination with the couple has sparked the production of an anthology series about their relationship—and, consequently, intense scrutiny over whether its first looks adhere to the style of its subjects. Will the upcoming Ryan Murphy series, American Love Story, give us an accurate glimpse of the settings where CBK and JFK Jr. spent their time?
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Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy on the set of American Love Story.
Carolyn Bessette’s name has become synonymous with her classic taste––a personal brand that Lee Radziwill famously encouraged Carolyn cling to when the Kennedy spotlight fell on her. Her clothing, of course, comes to mind first: Bessette was a living masterclass in chic-minimalism, favoring staples in black, white, and brown, clean lines and sharp tailoring, slip skirts and crisp button downs, sumptuous coats, and fine leather footwear (I’ll stop myself here). The Calvin Klein publicist also had a habit of finding herself photographed in impossibly chic New York City settings, but peeks into her private spaces were few and far between.
A 1996 New York Times article profiling Bessette shortly after her wedding says that she grew up in “a large house on Lake Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut.” She graduated from Boston University in 1988, and moved to New York’s East Village the following year. “I used to step over drunks and crack dealers to get into my apartment. Everybody at Calvin Klein thought I was crazy, but I couldn’t imagine coming to New York and living anywhere else,” she said in a 1999 Women’s Wear Daily interview sourced by Sunita Kumar Nair. Friends also recall her living in a West Village brownstone, where she was briefly Kate Moss’s downstairs neighbor, before moving into Kennedy’s sweeping Tribeca loft at 20 North Moore St. in 1995 (Kennedy bought the space for $700,000 in 1994, according to New York Post). They married the following year, and called the loft home until the plane crash that killed them in July 1999.
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Most of the details available on the couple’s home life are cobbled together from oral histories, biographies, and secondary sources. Carolyn was known to be private and press-shy, especially in reaction to the constant media storm that centered her, according to PEOPLE. These circumstances create a unique challenge for American Love Story, and fans are anxious to see how the series will interpret both the apartment’s set dressing, and Carolyn’s relationship to it.
New York Daily News Archive//Getty Images
The technical details informing the set include the loft’s open concept layout, high ceilings, and industrial ambiance (Kennedy allegedly nicknamed it “The Home Depot”), as reported by House Beautiful. But from a decor perspective, how will the set dressing reflect the iconic style of its inhabitants, when we know so little about their intimate life in the space? Will Murphy’s team attempt to translate Carolyn’s crisp, minimalistic fashion into design details, or take queues from the more rustic, unassuming wedding venue she selected on Cumberland Island? Will we see the North Moore St. loft painted as a comfortable refuge from the public, or a tense environment that is too constantly surrounded by press to truly feel like a home?
Arnaldo Magnani//Getty Images
Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy Jr. returning to their Tribeca apartment building.
As I flip through my copy of CBK: A Life In Fashion—the comprehensive coffee table book you’ve surely seen on several gift guides this year—I can’t find a single photo of Bessette at home. The shots most often referenced find her on the move: roaming the streets of New York, D.C., and London; attending galas and walking the dog; dressed down on a Martha’s Vineyard dock, or looking up from her signature oval shades on a weekend coffee run with John. We see her sleekly stepping out of the industrial door to the Tribeca apartment building, and returning to it, gracefully undone after a long night in heels. But we, the viewer, are never invited in.
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin//Getty Images
Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Kelly on set for American Love Story.
So far, Ryan Murphy’s production team has been spotted shooting outdoors with stars Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Kelly in the Upper East Side, Midtown, Tribeca, and outside of the Supreme Courthouse in Downtown, Manhattan, according to WWD. We can only assume that they will utilize the exterior of 20 North Moore, at the very least. But until we have our first interior set photos to analyze, we’re left with our imaginations—and the sense of mystery that Bessette-Kennedy successfully maintained around her private world.
Grace McCarty is a freelance Associate Digital Editor at ELLE Decor, where she covers design trends, shopping, and culture. She previously held a staff position at SELF Magazine, where she focused on beauty, style, and wellness. Her work has also appeared in Glamour and Parade.
Olivia Rodrigo performs on stage on day two at Lollapalooza. Friday, August 1, 2025 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
“Lollapalooza, are we ready to have a good f–ing time?” shouted pop star Olivia Rodrigo on stage Friday night during a headlining performance at Lollapalooza. “There’s so many incredible artists tonight. Thank you so much for coming. Thank you so much for having me.”
Rodrigo tore through her set Friday on the festival’s south end, continuing to flex a bit of a rock muscle alongside seminal alt rockers Weezer, who worked up their 1994 hit “Buddy Holly” during a guest spot with Rodrigo on the Lollapalooza T-Mobile main stage.
Temperatures were cool and rain free for the second consecutive day in Chicago, optimal festival going conditions and a rare respite from an otherwise sweltering Windy City summer.
Olivia Rodrigo performs on stage on day two at Lollapalooza. Friday, August 1, 2025 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
“I feel like it’s not too hot. As a ginger, these are the things I must think about,” said Irish singer songwriter Orla Gartland with a chuckle following a 45 minute performance amongst the trees on the Grove stage, long a favorite of concertgoers for the shaded break it provides in a section of Grant Park immediately adjacent to the Art Institute in downtown Chicago. “People were starting to scare me. They were like, ‘You’re gonna melt!’ But it was breezy and beautiful. And the crowd was amazing,” she said. “It’s really fun to get to do a festival and an aftershow in the same day. I feel very taken by my Lolla experience.”
Gartland got started as a YouTuber, busking as a teen in Dublin. Following a series of EP releases since 2011, Gartland released her sophomore full-length studio effort Everybody Needs a Hero.
In an industry constantly in search of the next big thing, often rendering the idea of artistry disposable, Gartland has thrived, carving out an identity while honing her craft methodically over time, building a sustainable and career.
Orla Gartland poses backstage following a performance at Lollapalooza. Friday August 1, 2025 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
“Those are really the moments where I think, ‘Yeah – it’s been a marathon not a sprint,’” said Gartland looking back. “It’s been a long time – but this is the only job I’ve ever done in my adult life. It’s been a slow and steady climb. But I feel really, really good,” she said. “This is the best festival, you know? And to get to play it? I’m definitely having a lot of those moments lately.”
Heading into Lollapalooza, Gartland performed on stage at Glastonbury earlier this summer, one of the most trendsetting festivals in Europe.
Arriving in Chicago, Gartland was taken by Lollapalooza’s unparalleled urban backdrop, a festival along the lakefront that takes over the downtown area of the country’s third largest media market, an immense footprint.
“It’s different. A lot of the festivals in the U.K. – not a lot of the big ones are in cities like this. This feels like it’s interacting with the city – we’re really in amongst the skyline,” she said. “It feels like the festival was built around an existing beast – not just put up in a field. It’s really, really cool. Watching the other stage and seeing the skyline, it’s very special.”
Orla Gartland performs on stage during a Lollapalooza aftershow at Bottom Lounge. Friday, August 1, 2025 in Chicago, IL
Photo by Ethan Chivari
Gartland shouted out Stranger Things star Joe Keery who performed in his guise as Djo for one hour on the festival’s south main stage Friday, recalling the way in which his 2022 hit “End of Beginning” – one now closing in on two billion streams on Spotify alone – lyrically references the city. “And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it,” sings Keery, who spent time on the city’s north side as a student at DePaul University.
Florida-born indie rockers Flipturn pondered the idea of aging and growth, similarly referencing Lollapalooza’s midwest home on their 2017 debut EP Heavy Colors.
“Being able to play our song named ‘Chicago’ in Chicago at a Chicago festival – that was cool. That was a fun time,” said Flipturn multi-instrumentalist Mitch Fountain prior to the group’s sixty minute Lollapalooza set.
ForbesLollapalooza Kicks Off In Chicago With Cage The Elephant, Luke CombsBy Jim Ryan
Flipturn performed on the Lolla stage Friday, sticking around for a Saturday night aftershow, giving them the rare luxury to experience the festival a bit and check out some other acts.
“Rüfüs Du Sol is one of my favorite bands ever. So, I’m very excited to see them,” said Fountain of the Australian alternative dance group who will headline Lollapalooza Saturday night. “I’m also looking forward to seeing Djo right after our set today,” added singer Dillon Basse. “I am really excited to see Olivia Rodrigo crush a festival set,” said bassist Madeline Jarman. “I want to see Junior Varsity tomorrow very badly,” added drummer Devon VonBalson.
Flipturn pose backstage following a performance at Lollapalooza. Friday August 1, 2025 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
Earlier this year, Flipturn released their latest studio album Burnout Days, demonstrating a growth in songwriting while avoiding the sophomore slump.
“The songwriting process has always been pretty similar. We’ve always come up with a riff or some sort of chord progression and brought it to the band – build a structure, build a feel, you know? And then usually we’ll put lyrics to it once there’s a feel already there,” explained Basse. “But, really, what was different about this album was, I think, our demoing process – and our focus on tones and really honing in on a sound in the studio.”
New Jersey-born singer songwriter Gigi Perez has experienced viral success via TikTok, with her “Sailor Song” amassing over one billion streams on Spotify to go along with another 46 million views on YouTube.
Gigi Perez performs on stage on day two at Lollapalooza. Friday, August 1, 2025 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
Releasing her debut full length studio album At the Beach, in Every Life this past spring, Perez offered up a 55 minute early afternoon set on the T-Mobile main stage Friday.
“Lollapalooza! How y’all doin’?” said Perez, taking the stage armed with an acoustic guitar for opener “Please Be Rude.”
Backed by a tight three piece group, percussion drove the opener with Perez moving to electric guitar, rocking things up a notch during “When She Smiles.”
Dueling acoustic guitars drove “Sleeping” while Perez’s vocal shined throughout “Fable,” with Perez opting to let the music do the talking while keeping banter to a minimum during a rewarding early Friday set on the Lollapalooza stage.
Star Bandz poses backstage prior to a performance at Lollapalooza. Friday August 1, 2025 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
Maintaining a trend which began Thursday via the inclusion of Chicago-based acts like Ratboys and BJ the Chicago Kid, 17 year old Chicago rapper Star Bandz threw down a 40 minute stage closing performance Friday at Lollapalooza on the BMI stage.
“This is my first time coming. But I know that Chicago do show love to their artists. They do,” said Star Bandz backstage prior to her Lolla debut. “It means a lot. I’m so excited. And I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be here,” she said. “I am very excited and grateful.”
Appearing on the viral Sugarhill Ddot single “My Baby” in 2023, Star Bandz dropped her studio debut Estrella last year, taking a confident approach to her Lollapalooza performance Friday night.
“I just know that if I do what I gotta do today on the stage? It’s a big opportunity,” she said. “That’s all I can say.”
T-Pain performs on stage on day two at Lollapalooza. Friday, August 1, 2025 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
Rapper T-Pain performed to an immense crowd late Friday afternoon on the north end of the festival, with an overflow crowd cheering and screaming along over the course of a beautifully choreographed, energetic, engaging and extremely entertaining hour on the Bud Light main stage.
“What the f–k goin’ on?” asked T-Pain rhetorically from the Lollapalooza stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, my name is T-Pain! Welcome!”
T-Pain took the stage to the victorious sounds of Super Mario Brothers, maintaining a gaming theme on stage while working in some Pac-Man effects as he moved from “Up Down (Do This All Day)” to “Cyclone.”
Clad in fluorescents and backed by a tight dance troupe, T-Pain ran through one of Friday’s most memorable sets. Revisiting Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” he moved deftly into “The Good Life,” a Kanye West track he’s featured on which builds largely from a slowed down sample of the 1983 Thriller hit.
Bo Staloch poses backstage following a performance at Lollapalooza. Friday August 1, 2025 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL
Photo by Barry Brecheisen
In an afternoon driven by throwback rock, pop and raucous rap, Nashville-based singer songwriter Bo Staloch took a more introspective approach to the festival setting.
“It’s a dream. A complete dream. It’s unbelievable,” said Staloch, pondering a Wednesday night aftershow set alongside Alex Warren and a Thursday afternoon performance on stage at Lollapalooza. “We’re here this whole weekend which is pretty awesome. I feel very lucky. Last night, we saw Royel Otis. And they’re unbelievable. Some of my favorite songs. So, that was a lot of fun,” he said. “And I got to see some buddies – Winyah and Hey Nothing. And we performed the new single yesterday.”
Staloch’s forthcoming single “Born To” drills down on a simple but crucial concept during tumultuous times which often seem sadly bereft of love.
“I think it’s just a big old declaration of love – and I think I wrote it kind of in the romantic lens,” he explained. “But I think it can kind of transform into friendship or family – whatever kind of love you want to be declaring.”
Driven by honesty, Staloch’s authenticity was on full display during a pair of Lolla sets.
“Whenever I write, it’s all just subconscious thought. I don’t really try to write something in particular, it kind of just flows out of me,” he explained backstage at Lollapalooza. “And after I’m done writing the song, it’s like ‘Oh. That’s what I was feeling. That’s what was going on in my head.’ It’s like free therapy.”
Anthony Mackie is opening up about how he almost lost his role in “The Hurt Locker” because of another director’s unreleased film.
During a recent episode of Variety‘s “Know Their Lines,” Mackie shared the backstory behind being cast in the 2009 Oscar-winner.
“‘Hurt Locker’ is probably one of the most important acting experiences I had,” he began. “We shot that in 2007, and I remember I was doing a movie in North Carolina with quite possibly the worst director to ever direct. Ironically, because of that the movie never came out.”
He continued, “Because of that, the movie went over and I had to pull out of ‘Hurt Locker.’ They offered it to somebody else, and he said no because it wasn’t enough money.”
Despite Mackie being tied up with the other film, the production offered him the role again and was willing to wait until he wrapped the unreleased project.
“I went from this sucky director who had no business in being in the business or in the director’s chair to Kathryn Bigelow,” Mackie said. “The moment I landed in Amman, Jordan, we hit the ground running [with] cultural research, military research, character studies – the real work a director does. It really was poignant to me the type of people I want to work with and the type of people who shouldn’t be working.”
Mackie’s performance in “The Hurt Locker” was a career-defining role as he played Sergeant J.T. Sanborn, a soldier and member of the fictional bomb disposal unit in Baghdad, Iraq.
The film received widespread critical praise for its portrayal of the war in Iraq. At the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010, “The Hurt Locker” took home six awards from its nine nominations for best motion picture, best achievement in directing, best writing, original screenplay, best achievement in film editing, best achievement in sound mixing and best achievement in sound editing.
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