For the Culture
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Rom-Coms Have a Diversity Problem
Dear {{first_name | Reader}},
In my line of work, some weeks are real pinch me weeks. This week was one of em.
Why, you ask?
Well, in the span of a week I chatted with Oscar-winner Renée Zellweger, Brooke Shields, and then somehow, I also added in talking with Nick Robinson and Zoey Deutch about their new Netflix rom-com Voicemails for Isabelle. (Speaking of rom-coms, we also need to talk about how badly they suffer from a lack of diversity. More on that below.)
So yeah, I’m bruised up from all these pinches.
H. Alan Scott is Newsweek’s Senior Editor for Entertainment, host of the celebrity interview podcast ‘The Parting Shot’, and author of the entertainment newsletter For The Culture. Follow H. Alan Scott on Twitter and Instagram at @HAlanScott.
Netflix And Chill
Romantic comedies rarely get released theatrically anymore. More often, they go straight to a streaming platform like Netflix, which like, makes the phrase ‘Netflix and chill’ pretty gosh darn literal.
Considering this, I knew I needed to chat with Nick Robinson and Zoey Deutch about their new Netflix rom-com Voicemails for Isabelle.
"It's really hard right now to get original IP made without it being a very small, low-budget movie," Deutch told me in our sit down, which you can watch on YouTube or listen to on the Parting Shot Podcast. "And for them to believe in Leah's vision [director Leah McKendrick] and to put us in it. I'm really grateful that they [Netflix] do that because I love these movies, and I know how much people love them."
Robinson agreed, calling Netflix "such a populist platform" where "everybody has a Netflix account." "’Netflix and chill’ is sort of designed for a movie that you can watch at home and be comfortable and enjoy, laugh and cry," he said.
Netflix isn't just filling a rom-com gap missing at cineplexes. It's building a genre's new home, one voicemail at a time.
Rom-Coms Have a Diversity Problem
I spent this week thinking a lot about rom-coms, especially as I researched this list of the 10 best rom-coms of the 90s. As I did my research, something stood out to me: The rom-com has a major diversity problem. I always knew this, but in compiling this list, it became painfully obvious.
That’s why I invited my friend, comedian, and rom-com obsessed Naomi Ekperigin on the Parting Shot Podcast to talk all about it. This is one chat you’re going to want to listen to.
25 Years of Bridget Jones
When a two-time Academy Award winner asks you to do something, you just do it, no questions asked.
That's how I found myself at the Tribeca Festival in June to honor the 25th anniversary of Bridget Jones's Diary, chatting with star Renée Zellweger and director Sharon Maguire.
“In terms of meeting people and sharing something in common with people everywhere in the world who love that character, that was really surprising to me,” Zellweger told me.
“I don't think we thought, making the film, that that would be the effect it had in the long run. You don't meet a stranger anymore. You meet people and they tell you, no, no, you're not Bridget, I'm Bridget. Everybody shares their Bridget Jones stories with you. It's endearing. It's like a huge blessing really.”
Brooke Shields Is In Control
Brooke Shields stopped by the Parting Shot Podcast and honestly, she did not waste words.
On her new Acorn TV hit cozy mystery You're Killing Me, she said the goal was respecting the audience: “Just because it’s light, doesn't mean it has to be thin or without layers.”
As an executive producer, she fought for every scene. “I had something to say about everything, and it was appreciated, in the casting, the writing, the wardrobe.”
The payoff? A recently renewed second season, and Shields knows why.
“I know how these things work. There's real power in how we present this to the press. I am willing to work my ass off for you, but I have to know you're going to be in support.”
The Register
THAT’S WHAT HE SAID | If you’re a fan of The Office, you’re sick of hearing it couldn’t be made today thanks to wokeism. Now, even Dwight K. Schrute himself, aka Rainn Wilson, agrees. “I do feel like you couldn’t make The Office today,” he told Fox News Digital, “and I do kind of miss that.” How about this: Reboot it exactly as it was. We’d show up, politically incorrect and all. I chatted about this with my colleague Lauren Giella on the Parting Shot Podcast. (Just go watch how mad this makes me.)
AI WEDDING FAIL | Tom Holland and Zendaya stayed tight-lipped about their wedding, but some AI-generated fan art sent the rumor mill into overdrive. Holland’s grandmother apparently saw the fake images of their big day and was confused why she wasn’t invited. The actor told Esquire he didn’t need that uncomfortable conversation with the rest of the family “because they were all there.” (Unaware the pair had already got hitched, the internet collectively lost its mind.)
ADVANTAGE: WILLIAMS | You know when the universe just gets it right? Well, that just happened, because sisters and tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams are making their Wimbledon return this year, their first time competing together at the All-England Club in a decade. The pair will team up for the women’s doubles, proving that some partnerships, like some serves, never really go away.
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