Nichelle Nichols, trailblazing 'Star Trek' actress, dies at 89 - CNN

(CNN)Actress and singer Nichelle Nichols, best known for her groundbreaking portrayal of Lt. Nyota Uhura in "Star Trek: The Original Series," has died at age 89, according to a statement from her son, Kyle Johnson.

"Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration," Johnson said in a statement shared to Nichols' official site on Sunday. "Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all."

Nichols died from natural causes, he said.

Nichols portrayed communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura in the "Star Trek" TV series and many of its film offshoots.

When "Star Trek" began in 1966, Nichols was a television rarity: a Black woman in a notable role on a prime-time television series. There had been African-American women on TV before, but they often played domestic workers and had small roles; Nichols' Uhura was an integral part of the multicultural "Star Trek" crew.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called it "the first non-stereotypical role portrayed by a Black woman in television history."

Nichols is widely known for participating in one of the first interracial kisses on US television when her character kissed James T. Kirk, portrayed by White Canadian actor William Shatner. In an interview with CNN in 2014, Nichols said the kiss scene "changed television forever, and it also changed the way people looked at one another."

After "Trek's" three-season run, Nichols dedicated herself to the space program. She helped NASA in making the agency more diverse, helping to recruit astronauts Sally Ride, Judith Resnik and Guion Bluford, among others.

George Takei, who portrayed the USS Enterprise's helmsman Hikaru Sulu, posted a touching tribute to his co-star.

"I shall have more to say about the trailblazing, incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who shared the bridge with us as Lt. Uhura of the USS Enterprise, and who passed today at age 89," wrote Takei on Twitter. "For today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend."

"We lived long and prospered together," he added with a photo of the pair making the iconic Vulcan salute.

The National Air and Space Museum called Nichols "an inspiration to many, not just for her groundbreaking work on Star Trek but also through her work with NASA to recruit women and people of color to apply to become astronauts" on Twitter.

Stacey Abrams, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Georgia, also posted a tribute to the actress. "Godspeed to Nichelle Nichols, champion, warrior and tremendous actor," wrote Abrams on Twitter alongside a photo of herself with Nichols. "Her kindness and bravery lit the path for many. May she forever dwell among the stars."

Nichols was born Grace Dell Nichols near Chicago in 1932. (Unhappy with Grace, she took the name Nichelle when she was a teenager.) Her grandfather was a White Southerner who married a Black woman, causing a rift in his family.

Blessed with a four-octave vocal range, Nichols was performing in local clubs by the time she was 14. Among the performers she met was Duke Ellington, who later took her on tour. She also worked extensively in Chicago clubs and in theater.

She moved to Los Angeles in the early '60s and landed a role in a Gene Roddenberry series, "The Lieutenant." A number of "Star Trek" veterans, including Leonard Nimoy, Walter Koenig and Majel Barrett, also worked on the show.

When Roddenberry was creating "Trek," he remembered Nichols. She was in Europe when she got the call.

"(My agent said), 'They're doing 'Star Trek,' and I didn't know what a 'Star Trek' was," she said in an interview with the Television Academy.

Uhura wasn't in the original script, and Nichols was responsible for the name. She was reading a book called "Uhuru" -- "freedom" in Swahili -- and suggested her character take the name. Roddenberry thought it was too harsh.

"I said, 'Well, why don't you do an alteration of it, soften the end with an 'A,' and it'll be Uhura?' " she recalled. "He said, 'That's it, that's your name! You named it; it's yours.' "

Nichols is survived by her son, Kyle Johnson.

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Ne-Yo's Wife Airs Out His Alleged Cheating Four Months After Renewing Their Vows - HipHopDX

Ne-Yo and his wife Crystal Smith renewed their wedding vows in April, but it appears their reconciliation was short-lived. On Saturday night (July 30), Smith shared an Instagram post alleging her famous husband is still cheating on her and now she’s finally ready to walk away from the relationship.

“8 years of lies and deception,” she began. “8 years of unknowingly sharing my life and husband with numerous of women who sell their bodies to him unprotected… every last one of them! To say I’m heartbroken and disgusted is an understatement. To ask me to stay and accept it is absolutely insane. The mentality of a narcissist.

“I will no longer lie to the public or pretend that this is something it isn’t. I choose me, I choose my happiness and health and my respect.”

 Ne-Yo and Smith exchanged vows in 2016 during an oceanside ceremony about an hour outside of Los Angeles. They had three children together — Roman Alexander-Raj, Shaffer Chimere Jr. and Isabella Rose — which she says is the only good thing to come out of their union.

“I gained 3 beautiful children out of this but nothing else but wasted years and heartache,” she continued in her post. “I ask that you all please stop sending me videos or information of him cheating because what he does is no longer my concern. I am not a victim.

“I’m choosing to stand tall with my head held high. If someone can’t love you the way you deserve then it’s up to you to love yourself. With no hate in my heart I wish him nothing but the best.”

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The couple hit a rough patch in February 2020 and announced they were divorcing in February 2020. The news came as a complete shock to Smith, but they wound up reconciling four months later. Speaking to the talk in June 2020, Ne-Yo revealed COVID-19 lockdowns with saving their marriage.

“The whole quarantine thing was kind of a blessing,” Ne-Yo said at the time. “Before the quarantine happened, we were definitely talking divorce, and the quarantine forced us to sit still, block out the noise from the world — you know the world can get very, very loud, and we tend to let the world’s opinion mean more in certain situations than it should.”

He added, “We’re actually stronger now than we were before. Now we feel like we can really talk to each other.”

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Sylvester Stallone Slams New ‘Creed’ Spin-Off ‘Drago,’ Says Film Was Developed Behind His Back - IndieWire

Many fans were surprised this week to learn that MGM is developing a new “Creed” spin-off titled “Drago” about Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago and his son, played by Florian Munteanu. That group includes Sylvester Stallone, who is not participating in the film and claims he had no knowledge of it.

Stallone took to Instagram on Saturday night to voice his surprise and disgust about the film, which he says has been assembled behind his back by his longtime nemesis Irwin Winkler and his sons. He reserved some praise for Lundgren, but also feels personally betrayed by the fact that his former co-star didn’t inform him about the project.

“Another Heartbreaker…” Stallone wrote. “Just found this out…ONCE AGAIN , this PATHETIC 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS MORONIC USELESS VULTURE CHILDREN, Charles And David , are once again picking clean THE BONES of another wonderful character I created without even telling me … I APOLOGIZE to the FANS , I never wanted ROCKY characters to be exploited by these parasites… By the way, I have nothing but respect for Dolph but I wish HE had told me what was going on behind my back.… Keep your REAL friends close.”

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This is far from the first time Stallone has aired his grievances about Irwin Winkler. The actor has long held a grudge about the fact that he does not own any of the rights to the “Rocky” characters despite creating the entire franchise. Stallone’s contract for the first “Rocky” film paid him a set fee for writing and starring in the movie, as well as a percentage of the box office gross, but no ownership over the intellectual property. This has led to a strained working relationship with the Winkler family over the years, as Stallone was forced to keep working with them if he wanted to continue portraying the iconic character despite frequent creative and business disagreements.

In 2019, Stallone recalled his unsuccessful attempts at asking the Winklers for equity in the franchise: “When I finally confronted them, I said, ‘Does it bother you guys that I’ve written every word, I’ve choreographed it, I’ve been loyal to you, I’ve promoted it, directed it and I don’t have 1% that I could leave for my children?’ And the quote was, ‘You got paid.’ And that was the end of the conversation.”

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Sylvester Stallone Doubles Down on ‘Rocky’ Ownership Complaints Over ‘Drago’ Spinoff - Hollywood Reporter

Sylvester Stallone has more to say about the Rocky franchise in light of MGM developing a film spinoff centering on Ivan Drago.

Stallone — who wrote the screenplay for 1976’s Oscar-winning Rocky, in which he starred as boxer Rocky Balboa — took to Instagram on Saturday to criticize the planned film Drago that is being written by Robert Lawton, as first reported this week by The Wrap. Although Stallone did not directly name anyone in his latest post, his mention of a “94-year-old producer” is an apparent reference to Irwin Winkler, who is 91 and has a producing credit on all of the films in the Rocky franchise, in addition to the subsequent Creed spinoff films.

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“Another Heartbreaker… Just found this out…ONCE AGAIN , PATHETIC 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS SELFISH USELESS CHILDREN are once again picking what is left OFF THE BONES of another wonderful character!!!” Stallone wrote about Drago. “Seriously, how do you weasels look in mirror???”

The star continued, “I am sorry to the FANS , I APOLOGIZE to the FANS I never wanted ROCKY to be exploited FOR THIS GREED .. # no shame #sad day #Parasite.”

Drago is set to revisit Ivan Drago, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren in 1985’s Rocky IV and later in 2018’s Creed II. Lundgren had previously teased a potential spinoff film in a November 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Stallone’s message follows his Instagram post from July 16 that criticized Winkler by name, referring to him as “the remarkably untalented and parasitical Producer of Rocky and Creed.” The post also criticized Irwin’s son David Winkler, who is credited as a producer on the Creed films, including the 2015 first film that starred Michael B. Jordan and earned Stallone an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for reprising his role as Balboa.

In a follow-up post on July 17, Stallone wrote that he was upset over an ownership dispute related to the franchise. “I really would like [to] have at least a little WHAT’s LEFT of my RIGHTS back, before passing it on to ONLY YOUR CHILDREN – I believe That would be a FAIR gesture,” wrote Stallone, directing his vitriol at Irwin.

Both of those earlier posts have since been deleted.

Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff are credited as the sole producers on the first five Rocky films. The 2006 franchise-reviving Rocky Balboa credits six producers, including David Winkler and Irwin’s other son, Charles Winkler.

The Creed films center on Michael B. Jordan as the son of the late Apollo Creed, portrayed in the Rocky films by Carl Weathers. Stallone and Irwin Winkler are both credited as producers on the Creed movies, as are David and Charles, in addition to others. Chartoff was a producer on the first Creed before his 2015 death.

Last month, Stallone told Metro that he had “bowed out” of appearing in Creed III due to the story changing directions but that he supported the film. Creed III, hitting theaters March 3, 2023, counts Jordan as both director and star.

The character of Rocky Balboa originated with Stallone’s Rocky script in 1976, and his deal stipulated that he would play the title role. Stallone told Variety in 2019 that he had “zero ownership of Rocky” and that he was “furious” about this.

“Our commitment to him was that he could star in it,” Winkler recalled to The Hollywood Reporter in 1983 about making the first Rocky with Chartoff. “We convinced United Artists to give us the money to make it. They would only give us a limited amount of money, and they said that we had to put up our houses as collateral. We really mortgaged ourselves to make sure that we brought it in on time, and we did.”

Representatives for Irwin Winkler and Stallone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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‘The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical’ Creators Sued by Netflix for Infringement - Variety

The team behind an unofficial “Bridgerton” musical is being sued for infringement by Netflix in a Washington, D.C. U.S. District Court.

Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the songwriting team behind the project, initially developed the musical on social media. The duo went on to score the No. 1 slot on iTunes U.S. pop charts and even won a Grammy this year in the category of best musical theater album.

Netflix alleges that it made “repeated objections” against the team as they planned to mount a live stage show of the project. “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Album Live in Concert” performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. earlier this week, selling out the venue with ticket prices that ranged up to $149.

The stage show reportedly featured more than a dozen songs that involved exactly copied dialogue, character traits, expression and other elements from “Bridgerton.”

The streamer alleges that “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Album Live in Concert” misrepresented to audiences that it used the “Bridgerton” trademark “with permission.” Netflix also objects to an allegedly planned line of merchandise and the production’s upcoming tour dates.

Representatives for Barlow & Bear were not immediately available for comment on the lawsuit.

“Netflix supports fan-generated content, but Barlow & Bear have taken this many steps further, seeking to create multiple revenue streams for themselves without formal permission to utilize the ‘Bridgerton’ IP,” Netflix wrote in a statement. “We’ve tried hard to work with Barlow & Bear, and they have refused to cooperate. The creators, cast, writers and crew have poured their hearts and souls into ‘Bridgerton’ and we’re taking action to protect their rights.”

“There is so much joy in seeing audiences fall in love with ‘Bridgerton’ and watching the creative ways they express their fandom,” Shonda Rhimes, creator of the “Bridgerton” series, said. “What started as a fun celebration by Barlow & Bear on social media has turned into the blatant taking of intellectual property solely for Barlow & Bear’s financial benefit. This property was created by Julia Quinn and brought to life on screen through the hard work of countless individuals. Just as Barlow & Bear would not allow others to appropriate their IP for profit, Netflix cannot stand by and allow Barlow & Bear to do the same with ‘Bridgerton.'”

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Full SummerSlam Preview – Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar and more: WWE Now, July 30, 2022 - WWE

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Shakira Prosecutors Call for 8-Year Prison Sentence Over Alleged Tax Fraud in Spain - Rolling Stone

Spanish prosecutors want Shakira behind bars. On Friday, the prosecutors in her ongoing criminal tax fraud case told the court that the Colombian superstar should face an eight-year and two-month sentence if she’s convicted of tax fraud. Along with the lengthy prison stay, prosecutors also urged for a heft 20 million euro fine.

Shakira is being charged with failing to pay the government $14.5 million euros in taxes between the years 2012 and 2014. After being offered a plea deal earlier this year, Shakira instead opted to move forward with a trial. A date has not yet been set.

A statement sent to BBC by Shakira’s publicist said the singer is “fully confident of her innocence” and called the case a “violation of her rights.”

The tax fraud charges — which date back to 2018 — stem from the allegation that Shakira spent more than half the year of each year in Spain between 2012 and 2014. According to Spain’s tax law, anyone residing in the country for over six months is considered a resident and therefore must pay taxes. Shakira, however, claims she did not live most of the year in Spain during that time, though she did purchase a house in Barcelona in May 2012, according to documents viewed by Reuters.

Since the tax fraud allegations were made in 2018, Shakira has said that she paid the 17.2 million euros she owed the Spanish government, per Reuters.

Gerard Piqué, Shakira’s ex-husband, faced a 2 million euro fine in 2019 for evading taxes between 2008 and 2010.

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Beyoncé Unveils ‘Renaissance,’ the First of Three New Projects - The New York Times

The pop star’s seventh solo album is “Act I” of work born during the pandemic, a time she “found to be the most creative,” she said in a statement.

The new Beyoncé album has officially arrived. In a rare breach of the pop queen’s carefully choreographed release plans, an unauthorized version of “Renaissance,” the singer’s seventh solo studio LP and the first part of a teased trilogy, leaked two days early online.

Beyoncé acknowledged the hitch in a statement upon the album’s wide release on streaming services at midnight on Friday. “So, the album leaked, and you all actually waited until the proper release time so you all can enjoy it together,” she wrote to her dedicated fans. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she added, thanking her followers “for your love and protection.”

The debut of “Renaissance” followed a marketing rollout that, for Beyoncé, was oddly conventional. After years of ripping up the standard playbook for releasing new music — eschewing early radio singles and interviews for surprise drops and elaborate multimedia spectacles — Beyoncé spent six weeks beating the promotional drum. She announced the album more than a month ahead of time, did an interview with British Vogue, put out the single “Break My Soul,” revealed a track list and finally began posting on TikTok.

Yet on Wednesday, about 36 hours before the appointed release time, high-quality copies of the album’s 16 tracks appeared online, spreading across social media even as Beyoncé’s most vigilant fans encouraged one another to hold out (and to tattletale on the bootleggers). “I appreciate you for calling out anyone that was trying to sneak into the club early,” Beyoncé wrote in her statement on social media as the album was released.

Sleuthing observers speculated that the tracks may have come from copies of the CD that were being sold in some European stores early. In a perverse way, the old-fashioned leak of a blockbuster album seemed to fit the throwback theme of “Renaissance,” which throbs with the sound of dance music from across the decades.

Referencing disco, funk, house, techno, bounce and more, the generally upbeat songs draw from a wide array of writers and producers, with some tracks crediting more than dozen people. In addition to reliable Beyoncé collaborators like The-Dream, Pharrell Williams, Hit-Boy and Drake, experimental songs like “Energy” and “All Up In Your Mind” also feature electronic producers including Skrillex, BloodPop and A.G. Cook of PC Music among their eclectic personnel.

The samples and interpolations run the gamut as well, from the regional and esoteric to the indelible: “America Has a Problem” pulls from the Atlanta bass pioneer Kilo, while “Summer Renaissance,” the closing song, includes an interpolation of Donna Summer’s 1977 electro-disco classic “I Feel Love.” On “Move,” a feature from the cultural chameleon Grace Jones is paired with the rising Afrobeats star Tems; elsewhere, Beyoncé links the sounds of traditional Black music genres like soul and R&B with subcultures like ballroom vogueing.

“I’m one of one/I’m number one/I’m the only one,” she intones on “Alien Superstar.” “Don’t even waste your time trying to compete with me/no one else in this world can think like me.”

In an explanatory statement posted to Instagram last month that Beyoncé expanded on her website on Thursday, she said “Renaissance” was part of a “three act project” she recorded during the pandemic. She called the album, which she refers to as “Act I,” “a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world.”

Adding that she hoped the dance floor-focused tracks would inspire listeners to “release the wiggle,” she added: “My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom.”

Beyoncé also cited her late “Uncle Jonny,” whose battle with H.I.V. the singer has spoken about before, as an influence for the music and its historical ties to the L.G.B.T.Q. community.

“He was my godmother and the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as an inspiration for this album,” she wrote. “Thank you to all of the pioneers who originate culture, to all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognized for far too long.”

Since “Lemonade” (2016), her last solo studio LP and accompanying film, Beyoncé has tided fans over with a number of ambitious in-between projects.

In 2018, she performed as one of the headliners at the Coachella festival, where her show paid tribute to the marching band tradition of historically Black colleges and universities, and was widely hailed as a triumph — one that “reoriented her music, sidelining its connections to pop and framing it squarely in a lineage of Southern Black musical traditions,” as The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica wrote. The performance was later turned into a Netflix special and an album, both titled “Homecoming.”

Also in 2018, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, her husband, released a joint album, “Everything Is Love,” credited to the Carters. And in June 2020, at the height of national protests in wake of George Floyd’s murder, she released a song, “Black Parade,” with lines like “Put your fist up in the air, show Black love.”

“Black Parade” took the Grammy Award the next year for best R&B performance, one of four prizes that night that brought Beyoncé’s career haul to 28 — more than any other woman. This year, Beyoncé was nominated at the Academy Awards for best original song for “Be Alive,” from the film “King Richard,” a biopic about the father of Venus and Serena Williams.

How the early leak will affect the commercial prospects of “Renaissance” remains unclear. Years ago, the unauthorized release of music in advance could have devastating consequences for an album. But that danger has been mitigated by the shift to streaming.

And Beyoncé, like most other artists today, took advance orders for physical copies of her album, which will count on the charts as soon as they are shipped — usually the week of release. On Beyoncé’s website, the four boxed sets of “Renaissance” and its limited-edition vinyl version are sold out.

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Shakira could face 8-year prison sentence if convicted in trial for alleged tax fraud in Spain - KABC-TV

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Prosecutors in Spain said they would ask a court to sentence Colombian pop star Shakira to eight years and two months in prison, if she is convicted.

MADRID -- Prosecutors in Spain said Friday they would ask a court to sentence Colombian pop star Shakira to eight years and two months in prison, if she is convicted in her expected trial for alleged tax fraud.

Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, is charged with failing to pay the Spanish government 14.5 million euros ($15 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014. The prosecutors said they would also seek a fine of 24 million euros ($24 million).

The indictment details six charges against Shakira. The singer this week rejected a settlement deal offered by prosecutors, opting to go to trial instead. A trial date has yet to be set.

Her publicists in London said in a statement Friday that Shakira "has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as an individual and a taxpayer." The publicists accused the Spanish Tax Agency of violating her rights.

Shakira's Spanish public relations team said earlier this week that the artist has deposited the amount she is said to owe, including 3 million euros in interest.

Prosecutors in Barcelona have alleged the Grammy winner spent more than half of each year between 2012 and 2014 in Spain and should have paid taxes in the country.

Shakira recently ended an 11-year-long relationship with FC Barcelona star Gerard Piqué, with whom she has two children. The family used to live in Barcelona.

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Toronto Film Festival Expecting “Full Houses” Says CEO With Star Power World Premieres: Jennifer Lawrence’s ‘Causeway’, Anya Taylor-Joy’s ‘The Menu’, Jessica Chastain’s ‘The Good Nurse’, Jonathan Majors & Glen Powell’s ‘Devotion’ & More - Deadline

The Toronto Film Festival is back this year.

Seriously, it’s really back.

Unlike last year, which was a significantly quieter festival with fewer stars and feature films at a count of 130, this year TIFF will see the celebratory closing down of King Street (sans streetcars), full-capacity maskless theaters, no proof of vaccinations, live press conferences and the return of concessions and orange shirt volunteers. It also will feature a robust curation of 260 feature films, of which Thursday the fest announced 18 galas and 45 special presentations.

In a fall and holiday corridor at the domestic box office that’s chock-a-block full of adult counterprogramming primed for awards season, distributors require a TIFF launch now more than ever in order to generate buzz and stoke older moviegoers who are still slow to return during the pandemic. A critically acclaimed film out of TIFF can propel a movie to cross over to wider audiences. Cases in point: the 2019 TIFF world premiere of Hustlers, which became Jennifer Lopez’s highest-grossing live-action movie stateside with $105 million, and even the 2018 North American premiere of A Star Is Born, which saw its way to a $215M-plus stateside gross, eight Oscars noms and one win.

“There are movies that will launch on the heels of the festival, that I hope adult audiences will see and revive that moviegoing habit. Thankfully that’s been done with the summer blockbusters. There’s a different kind of movie that launches in the fall, and we’re hoping audiences go and see them,” says TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey.

Outside of the already announced nine world premieres — including opening-night Netflix movie The Swimmers from Sally El Hosaini, Rian Johnson’s Netflix title Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Billy Eichner’s Bros, Clement Virgo’s Brother, Sanaa Lathan’s On the Come Up, the Harry Styles Amazon Prime pic My Policeman, Viola Davis starrer The Woman King, Steven Spielberg’s autobiopic The Fabelmans and Lena Dunham’s Catherine Called Birdy — there are works by Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin); Sam Mendes (Empire of Light); Tyler Perry (A Jazzman’s Blues); Catherine Hardwicke (Prisoner’s Daughter); Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale starring a very transformed, and big, Brendan Fraser; Peter Farrelly (The Greatest Beer Run Ever); and Reginald Hudlin (the Sidney Pointier documentary Sidney) among several others.

Other star-studded world premieres include Jennifer Lawrence in the U.S. military veteran drama Causeway; Nicolas Cage in Butcher’s Crossing; Anna Kendrick in Alice, Darling; Jessica Chastain (who started her path to a Best Actress Oscar win last year at TIFF with The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and Eddie Redmayne in Netflix’s The Good Nurse; Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult and Ralph Fiennes in The Menu; Lily James and Emma Thompson in What’s Love Got To Do With It?; Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell in Devotion; Judi Dench in Sir Richard Eyre’s geriatric ward drama Allelujah; and Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan in Stephen Frears’ The Lost King.

Last year, films competing for the coveted Oscar bellwether TIFF prize, the Grolsch People’s Choice Award, were required to screen at the festival in-person and online. This year those rules have changed as Bailey says “We are a fully in-person festival.”

In regards to the hybrid nature of this year’s 47th edition, “We will only have a small sampling of films available in Canada for at-home viewing online. The festival is happening in-person, in theaters, and that’s where we want to see everyone.”

“We’re excited to welcome some of the most celebrated figures in movies back to Toronto to present their Gala and Special Presentation films,” he continues. “With stories that span six continents and feature performances you just have to see, this lineup delivers the rich experiences we wait all year for. Cinema is alive. Red carpets are back. And the best audience in the world awaits them in Toronto.”

Typically, Spielberg’s awards-season entries go down to the wire in post before their release (remember 2005’s Munich?), but here’s the three-time Oscar winner has a November release roaring to go at TIFF. Not to mention, the filmmaker doesn’t always world premiere his movies at festivals; Ready Player One being the last title at SXSW. Talking about how TIFF notched the filmmaker’s first ever movie at the festival, Bailey explained, “We are longtime partners with Universal Pictures. We speak with them about what they have coming up in the fall — this was, of course, high on our list, and on their list as well.”

“When we saw the film, we responded in a strong emotional way. I sent a note, which was passed on to Steven, about our own reaction to the film, how moved we were by it, how it’s a beautiful love letter to films and movies,” he continues.

“Toronto is a place where the audience is paramount. The audience defines the shape of the festival, defines the films that everyone is speaking about and go on to further notice and elsewhere,” Bailey said. “The emotional reaction that we had when we saw it will be amplified when our audience sees it; that embrace will be stronger and fiercer than anywhere else.”

Talk about a festival that’s looking to be loud a year after Hollywood was reluctant to venture across the re-opened Canadian border: mega-performing artist Styles will reportedly be in Toronto for the world premiere of his love triangle movie My Policeman. However, curiously not receiving a North American premiere after its Venice Film Festival world premiere is the Styles-starring, Olivia Wilde-directed erotic drama Don’t Worry Darling. Sources have told Deadline that a situation didn’t want to be created at TIFF whereby a star such as Styles has competing projects pulling on his profile. Says Bailey about why Don’t Worry Darling is M.I.A. at TIFF, “Great question, not one for me, that’s one for Warner Bros,” further adding that in regards to Styles’ other title at the fest, “if you’re looking for edgy, you’re going to want to see My Policeman.”

With the vibrant return of an in-person festival, Bailey says that drive-in premieres, which were implemented during the pandemic, will be no longer.

“We had a two-year run with drive-ins and it was an exciting new thing for us to do, but there’s all kinds of new complications of showing movies to people who are sitting in their cars, as you can imagine, but for the moment, we’re done,” Bailey says.

Before the pandemic forced TIFF to go hybrid over the last two years, attendance in 2019 reached a reported 307,362 in its last in-person event. Bailey feels upbeat that with the increased offerings this year, audiences will indeed return to the fest.

“We are expecting full houses. We know from the ticket packages that we had going for the last few weeks, some of them have already gone off sale, but there’s a lot still available. There’s enough appetite for what we’ve seen so far that we’re expecting a big audience.”

Here are the films in the lineup revealed today:

GALA PRESENTATIONS
*Previously announced

Alice, Darling
Mary Nighy | Canada, USA
World Premiere

Black Ice
Hubert Davis | Canada
World Premiere

Butcher’s Crossing
Gabe Polsky | USA
World Premiere

The Greatest Beer Run Ever
Peter Farrelly | USA
World Premiere

The Hummingbird
Francesca Archibugi | Italy, France
World Premiere

Hunt
Lee Jung-jae | South Korea
North American Premiere

A Jazzman’s Blues
Tyler Perry | USA
World Premiere

Kacchey
Limbu Shubham Yogi | India
World Premiere

Moving On
Paul Weitz | USA
World Premiere

Paris Memories
Alice Winocour | France
North American Premiere

Prisoner’s Daughter
Catherine Hardwicke | USA
World Premiere

Raymond & Ray
Rodrigo García | USA
World Premiere

Roost
Amy Redford | USA
World Premiere

Sidney
Reginald Hudlin | USA
World Premiere

The Son
Florian Zeller | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

*The Swimmers (Opening Night Film)
Sally El Hosaini | United Kingdom
World Premiere

What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Shekhar Kapur | United Kingdom
World Premiere

*The Woman King
Gina Prince-Bythewood | USA
World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Allelujah
Richard Eyre | United Kingdom
World Premiere

All Quiet on the Western Front
Edward Berger | USA, Germany

The Banshees Of Inisherin
Martin McDonagh | United Kingdom, Ireland, USA
North American Premiere

Blueback
Robert Connolly | Australia
World Premiere

The Blue Caftan
Maryam Touzani | Morocco, France, Belgium, Denmark
North American Premiere

Broker
Hirokazu Kore-eda | South Korea
Canadian Premiere

*Brother
Clement Virgo | Canada
World Premiere

*Bros
Nicholas Stoller | USA
World Premiere

*Catherine Called Birdy
Lena Dunham | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Causeway
Lila Neugebauer | USA
World Premiere

Chevalier
Stephen Williams | USA
World Premiere

Corsage
Marie Kreutzer | Austria, France, Germany
North American Premiere

Decision to Leave
Park Chan-wook | South Korea
North American Premiere

Devotion
JD Dillard | USA
World Premiere

Driving Madeleine
Christian Carion | France
International Premiere

El Suplente
Diego Lerman | Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Spain, France

Empire of Light
Sam Mendes | United Kingdom, USA
Canadian Premiere

The Eternal Daughter
Joanna Hogg | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

*The Fabelmans
Steven Spielberg | USA
World Premiere

*Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Rian Johnson | USA
World Premiere

Good Night Oppy
Ryan White | USA
International Premiere

The Good Nurse
Tobias Lindholm | USA
World Premiere

Holy Spider
Ali Abbasi | Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France
Canadian Premiere

Joyland
Saim Sadiq | Pakistan
North American Premiere

The King’s Horseman
Biyi Bandele | Nigeria
World Premiere

The Lost King
Stephen Frears | United Kingdom
World Premiere

A Man of Reason
Jung Woo-sung | South Korea
World Premiere

The Menu
Mark Mylod | USA
World Premiere

*On the Come Up
Sanaa Lathan | USA
World Premiere

One Fine Morning
Mia Hansen-Løve | France
Canadian Premiere

Other People’s Children
Rebecca Zlotowski | France
North American Premiere

Moonage Daydream
Brett Morgen | USA
North American Premiere

*My Policeman
Michael Grandage | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Nanny
Nikyatu Jusu | USA
International Premiere

No Bears
Jafar Panahi | Iran
North American Premiere

The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile
Kathlyn Horan | USA
International Premiere

Saint Omer
Alice Diop | France
North American Premiere

Sanctuary
Zachary Wigon | USA
World Premiere

Stories Not to be Told
Cesc Gay | Spain
World Premiere

Triangle of Sadness
Ruben Östlund | Sweden, United Kingdom, USA, France, Greece
North American Premiere

Walk Up
Hong Sangsoo | South Korea
World Premiere

Wendell & Wild
Henry Selick | USA
World Premiere

The Whale
Darren Aronofsky | USA
North American Premiere

Women Talking
Sarah Polley | USA
International Premiere

The Wonder
Sebastián Lelio | United Kingdom, Ireland
Canadian Premiere

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3 People Injured After Unsanctioned Fireworks Set Off at Dua Lipa Concert in Toronto - PEOPLE

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Amy Grant, 61, rushed to the hospital after falling off her bicycle - Daily Mail

Country singer Amy Grant, 61, is rushed to the hospital after falling off her bicycle and suffering cuts and abrasions but is in 'stable condition'

• Amy Grant was rushed to Vanderbilt Hospital hospital in Nashville, Tennessee
• The crooner had fallen off her bicycle and suffered cuts and abrasions
• The wife of singer Vince Gill was wearing a helmet at the time, her rep said 
• She had stayed overnight at the hospital and is now in 'stable condition' 

By Heidi Parker For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:33 BST, 28 July 2022 | Updated: 18:14 BST, 28 July 2022

Country singer Amy Grant was rushed to Vanderbilt Hospital hospital in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday after she fell off her bicycle.

The 61-year-old crooner spent the night in the hospital and is now in 'stable condition,' according to the musician's rep who spoke with People.

The wife of 65-year-old singer Vince Gill suffered from cuts and abrasions from the accident. She was wearing a helmet during the fall.

The beauty was enjoying a bicycle ride in Nashville with a friend when the fall occurred.

She is doing fine, her rep said, but the musician stayed overnight in the hospital only as a precaution, it was shared.

Grant is best known for the songs Baby Baby, Could I Have This Dance, This Is My Father's World and El Shaddai.

She began her career in contemporary Christian music before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. 

It has been a bumpy few years for the star.

In June 2020 she had open-heart surgery to take care of a rare condition she was born with: PAPVR (partial anomalous pulmonary venous return).

'I think women tend to put their health on the back burner,' the singer told Good Morning America in 2021.

'It's more like, "Oh my children, my grandchildren, my work, my spouse." All of those things and we need the gift of each other. 

'So even if you go, "Oh, I got nothing on the radar,' just get somebody else to check it out."'

In December Grant will be honored in Washington DC at the Kennedy Center Honors. 

'Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine ever receiving this prestigious Kennedy Center Honors,' said the musician this week when she was named as one of the honorees alongside George Clooney and U2. 

'Through the years, I've watched so many of my heroes serenaded by colleagues and fellow artists, always moved by the ability of music and film to bring us together and to see the best in each other.'

Grant continued, 'I cannot wait to celebrate with my fellow honorees, friends, and family. Thank you for widening the circle to include all of us.'

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Black family sues Sesame Place, alleging discrimination - New York Post

PHILADELPHIA — A Baltimore family is suing a Sesame Street-themed amusement park for $25 million over claims of racial discrimination, alleging multiple costumed characters ignored a 5-year-old Black girl during a meet-and-greet event last month.

The lawsuit comes in the wake of a video, shared widely on social media, showing two other Black girls apparently being snubbed by a costumed employee during a parade at the park in Langhorne, outside Philadelphia. Sesame Place apologized in a statement and promised more training for its employees after the video went viral earlier this month.

The suit, which seeks class action status, was filed in a federal court in Philadelphia against SeaWorld Parks, the owner of the Sesame Place, for “pervasive and appalling race discrimination.”

The lawsuit alleges four employees dressed as Sesame Street characters ignored Quinton Burns, his daughter Kennedi Burns and other Black guests during the meet-and-greet on June 18. The lawsuit says “SeaWorld’s performers readily engaged with numerous similarly situated white customers.”

The 5-year-old girl’s family is asking for $25 million in their lawsuit alleging racial discrimination.

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During a press conference held Wednesday, one of the family’s attorneys, Malcolm Ruff, called for transparency from SeaWorld and for the company to compensate the Burns family. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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Sydney Sweeney on Fame, Hollywood Fakery and the Pressure of Paying the Bills - Hollywood Reporter

This summer, Sydney Sweeney experienced her first glimpse of millennial burnout. At 24, the actress is by definition a member of Gen Z, but this feels like a technicality given the amount of life experience she has. The panic attacks began in June, fast and furious events that convinced her brain she was probably dying. “I was losing my shit,” she says.

She went home to the Pacific Northwest for two weeks of family-mandated phone-free time, grounding herself in the region’s fresh air, “hiking and skiing and doing what I truly love.” The regimen worked in the immediate sense — though, she adds, “I still can’t get my mind to shut up, and I don’t sleep” — and helped her realize that her punishing schedule of back-to-back film and TV projects was working against her. It’s a hard lesson to accept, given the amount of pressure Sweeney feels to maximize this pivotal moment in her career — and the way the very same anxiety often will convince her that the momentum could stop at any time.

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Sydney Sweeney

We’re having breakfast in New York, three days after the Emmy nominations were announced; she scored nods for both Euphoria (supporting actress in a drama) and The White Lotus (supporting actress in a limited series). She has just flown down from Boston to New York, where she’s spending several months in production for Marvel’s Madame Web movie, with very little publicly known about her character. I’ve been asking her about her time in the New England city in hopes of gleaning something — anything — about the highly secretive Spider-Man offshoot.

“I’m a very open person,” she says. “I love to talk about everything,” noting the fact that it eats at her that she can’t open up about Madame Web. I eventually learn that she’s preparing for the role with fight training, movement training and something called Reformacore Pilates, and that she was drawn to the film because she “liked the personal struggles that the character goes through.” She spends a lot of time talking about the cross-country road trip she took — with her mother and her rescue dog, Tank — to get to Boston and how she much prefers that city’s slower pace to New York’s frenetic nature. Here on the rooftop of Sweeney’s favorite Manhattan hotel, though, we’re insulated from the chaos of midtown.

The venue is different than the places one would expect to find burgeoning A-listers — the Sunset Tower it is not — but she’s become friends with the staff and even good-natured ribbing from friends and family hasn’t persuaded her to decamp for fancier pastures. Her loyalty proves to be valuable currency when, later, endless boxes full of designer fashion for this shoot start arriving at the happily accommodating front desk at record pace.

Over the course of her short career, she’s had to learn how to make herself at home pretty much anywhere. White Lotus introduced a certain Eloise at the Plaza energy into her life: The HBO miniseries, a darkly satirical examination of white privilege at an upscale Hawaiian resort, was shot on location at the Four Seasons in Maui during the throes of the pandemic. The sequestration was a COVID-protocol necessity but lent itself greatly to the project, giving the cast — fellow Emmy nominees Connie Britton (who plays her mother), Murray Bartlett, Jake Lacy, Steve Zahn, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario and Natasha Rothwell — a chance to immediately bond via what Sweeney describes as an idyllic routine of celebrating each day’s wrap with a sunset swim. Britton mentions during a phone call that she and Sweeney actually met for the first time in the pool at the Four Seasons. “To be honest, the shoot was more fun for the cast than for me,” show creator Mike White says with a laugh when asked to corroborate the set environment. “I would look out from my balcony while working and see them having drinks. But it gave everyone a camaraderie and depth of relationship that, particularly with Connie and Sydney, we could exploit for the show.”

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Fendi top, Fred Leighton jewelry.

It also was Sweeney’s first time at an exclusive resort, giving her a front-row seat to a class divide that she’s still grappling with: balancing her lower-middle-class upbringing and the wealth-filled spaces she finds herself in now. For much of the shoot, she had the run of the place, getting to know the staff well enough to pop in to the kitchen and grab food from the refrigerator. “We were all friends, and [the resort] felt like a house that belonged to all of us,” she says. “Then toward the end, they opened up the resort to guests, and it became clear I did not belong [among the clientele]. I would go to breakfast in my sweatshirt and pajama shorts and get the most disgusting glares from the guests that I dared to show up like that.”

White describes the introduction of the real world into the cast and crew’s COVID bubble as “almost traumatic” but ultimately powerful in the way it served the narrative: “Suddenly we’re watching employees, our family, get bossed around — it added to the meta feeling of the show reflecting life.”

Euphoria, with its rampant drug use and unflinching sexual politics, sets fire to everything one thought a high school drama could or should be — it’s also HBO’s most-watched show after Game of Thrones. Sweeney was initially told that Euphoria‘s casting director didn’t think she was right for the role of Cassie — a sweet, popular girl whose insecurities and daddy issues drive her into the arms of boys at school — and that she shouldn’t bother coming in to audition. Her agent — she’s been with the same reps at Paradigm for her entire career— had other clients who’d gone in to read for the part and was willing to pass Sweeney the script. She eventually put herself on tape, reading with her mom, and sent it to the Euphoria team. They booked her directly. (“No hate to the casting director,” she adds. “I love her now.”)

Sweeney is frank about what she went through — and what she says she’s still going through — to make it in this business. “The rejection you get while you’re trying to learn to be yourself is insane,” she says. “It’s insane how adults look at you.” Even with two Emmy noms, she says her sense of being a Hollywood outsider remains. “I had no idea getting into this industry how many people have connections. I started from ground zero, and I know how fucking hard it is. Now I see how someone can just walk in a door, and I’m like, ‘I worked my fucking ass off for 10 years for this.’ ”

Sweeney spent her childhood in a small town near Spokane on the Washington-Idaho border, an experience she describes as simultaneously idyllic and wholesome, bordering on chaste. She was deeply committed to her education at a pastoral private school; she took multiple languages and was her high school valedictorian. Unlike the hedonistic characters on Euphoria, she never went to a party, opting to study and then be on call for the inevitable 3 a.m. phone call from friends requesting a ride home. Her parents were strict — she recalls having to sneak episodes of the Shailene Woodley-starring ABC Family sitcom The Secret Life of the American Teenager — but she never rebelled. To this day, her drink of choice is water, and over breakfast she tells me she’s never even tried coffee. “If I’m celebrating, or it’s a very rare occasion, I’ll have a Shirley Temple,” she says.

Money was limited at home — financial aid helped pay for private school and college — but never an urgent problem until the family moved to L.A. when Sweeney was 13 to facilitate her acting dreams. She can’t pinpoint where or when that itch started, describing it more as an emerging “idea in my head, a goal, of who I wanted to become.” Sweeney’s parents gave up their house and life in Spokane, but the extreme cost of L.A. living priced them out of the real estate market and into a motel: “We lived in one room. My mom and I shared a bed and my dad and little brother shared a couch.” Sweeney was relatively unaware of their financial hardships until her parents’ relationship started falling apart, a combination she says of losing their home and savings and the strain of the disapproval of their life moves by family and friends back in Washington. She kept auditioning throughout her teens, taking “really shitty projects” for little pay (sometimes $100 a day), hoping it would be enough to keep her parents’ faith and maybe even make the family whole again. “I thought that if I made enough money, I’d be able to buy my parents’ house back and that I’d be able to put my parents back together,” she says. “But when I turned 18, I only had $800 to my name. My parents weren’t back together and there was nothing I could do to help.”

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Styling by Molly Dickson Gucci look with hat, Fred Leighton jewelry, Christian Siriano skirt (hanging).

****

Sweeney says that Sharp Objects, Marti Noxon’s 2018 HBO miniseries based on the novel of the same name, was her first truly successful audition. She read with the director, the late Jean-Marc Vallée, and it felt “amazing.” She booked a role as Alice, a patient at a mental health facility whose death haunts star Amy Adams. It would be her first of several dramas on the premium cable network as well as the first of many jobs alongside established actresses, including Elisabeth Moss on The Handmaid’s Tale. Sweeney remembers Adams for her advice about balancing a successful acting career and her desire to have a family — in March, reports surfaced that Sweeney was engaged to restaurateur Jonathan Davino after she was photographed with an engagement ring; she declines to comment on her relationship status and doesn’t wear a ring to the interview. “I want to have a family, I’ve always wanted to be a young mom, and I’m worried about how this industry puts stigmas on young women who have children and looks at them in a different light,” she says. “I was worried that, if I don’t work, there is no money and no support for kids I would have.”

Adams assured her it could be done, but the insecurities over her financial health and the momentum of her career remain years later. There’s no longer a pressure to say yes to every offer, and she’s learned not only to negotiate her salary but to revel in the process of standing up for herself, yet she’s filling her schedule with as many movies and series as she can pack in. “If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have income to cover that,” she says. “I don’t have someone supporting me, I don’t have anyone I can turn to, to pay my bills or call for help.” Surely HBO paychecks afford a lifestyle immune from rising gas prices? “They don’t pay actors like they used to, and with streamers, you no longer get residuals,” Sweeney notes. “The established stars still get paid, but I have to give 5 percent to my lawyer, 10 percent to my agents, 3 percent or something like that to my business manager. I have to pay my publicist every month, and that’s more than my mortgage.” It’s not that she wants people to feel badly for her, but she is adamant that the luxuries of the job not gloss over the realities of the business. To stay relevant as a young actress, particularly one so deeply entrenched in and reliant on the internet generation, requires investment. There’s a lot of press to do, and the associated costs — styling, tailoring, hair and makeup, travel — aren’t always covered by a network. She says this is what motivated her pivot into brand deals, taking gigs as a Miu Miu ambassador and starring in an Armani beauty campaign: “If I just acted, I wouldn’t be able to afford my life in L.A. I take deals because I have to.”

After five years of constant work, she was able to buy a home in Los Angeles — something that’s still deeply out of reach for many of the city’s residents — and almost instantaneously the location leaked onto real estate blogs. She was scrolling through TikTok one day and discovered a trend in which college students (the house is near one of the city’s universities) drive past her front door and try to get a picture. Paparazzi have been camped out, ignoring personal pleas from her mother to pack up and leave. I mention the Kardashians, ensconced in their gated communities far outside the city, and she deadpans that she maxed out with this home purchase; there’s nothing left for a gate. “I couldn’t believe I was even able to buy a house,” she says. “I want to be able to stay there.”

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Fendi look with shoes, Fred Leighton jewelry, Piers Atkinson headpiece.

***

“The first time I saw her transform into this petulant child [on The White Lotus], I was shocked,” says Britton. “But she’s also so funny. We were exploring these vitriolic relationships while we had the time of our lives.” In the audition process, White was taken by Sweeney’s decision to play Olivia Mossbacher with an air of intimidation rather than the straightly funny approach other actresses took. “And then she’s obviously nothing like that as a person, so that all felt really exciting,” he says. “She’s very likable and charming, but then you put her in front of a camera and — I don’t want to sound like some Old Hollywood freak — but she has these powers. Certain actors have a certain kind of magic, and she is definitely one of them.”

Due to network scheduling, The Handmaid’s Tale made it to air before Sharp Objects, marking it as her onscreen introduction for many viewers. She played Eden, a teenaged handmaid assigned to an arranged marriage with Max Minghella’s Nick in the second season. It was a supporting but impactful role. It became the first time she was recognized in public with frequency, often by women who felt compelled to tell her they hate her character: “I think most people wanted Elisabeth’s [Moss] and Max’s characters to be together, and Eden disrupted that.”

Sweeney in The Handmaid’s Tale as Nick’s young wife, Eden, the role that first got her noticed in public, often by women who’d tell her how much they hated her character.

Handmaid’s Tale was nominated for 20 Emmys that year, with the entire cast in attendance. This year’s telecast, which NBC is set to air Sept. 12, Sweeney’s 25th birthday, will mark her return. Zendaya was the only Euphoria castmember to receive a nod, for the show’s first season, and Sweeney says her own nom came as a surprise: “Of course I was hoping for Euphoria because I’m so proud of my character and I put a lot into it, but I didn’t think I was going to get it because of the other actresses who gave such incredible performances this year.”

Francesca Orsi, head of drama and executive vp programming at HBO, calls the double nomination a thrilling moment for the network: “Sydney has an incredible ability to create unforgettable, breakout performances, and with Cassie and Olivia, she brought such versatility to her portrayal of these two very different young women.”

The show’s second season, for which she is nominated, focuses on the burgeoning addiction of Zendaya’s Rue while also pitting Maddie (Alexa Demie) against Cassie as Sweeney’s character self-destructs with her best friend’s ex-boyfriend (Jacob Elordi’s Nate). Sam Levinson, who has near total creative control over the show (he’s the creator, director and sole staff writer), called Sweeney during the hiatus between the first and second seasons. “He read me that first scene where Cassie and Nate go into the bathroom,” she says of the ill-fated couple’s first secret hookup. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God, Sam, you’re a madman.’ ” The plot twist paid off, spurring one of the constantly memed series’ most viral images (of Cassie hiding in the bathtub, face struck with fear) and laying the groundwork for her eventual snot-ridden breakdown monologue (“I have never, ever been happier!”) that felt like the star’s clear Emmy submission. “I feel really bad for Cassie; she’s losing herself so much,” Sweeney says of her character. “But I thrive doing that shit. People talk about how heavy this season is, but I love it.”

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Area headpiece.

There also have been reports about the way Levinson handles the making of the show: Guest stars like Minka Kelly have given interviews about initial drafts of scripts they felt were overly sexual, there were rumors of actress Barbie Ferreira feuding with the creator, and HBO was forced to issue a statement in response to concerns over long working hours, saying the set was in “full compliance with all safety guidelines and guild protocols.” Levinson declined to participate in this story, and Sweeney declines to discuss this element of the show in much detail, noting, “I fully trust in the filmmakers that I work with, and I’m always so excited for whatever Sam writes.” She adds that she forgets a lot of the minutiae of her shows and what it’s like behind the scenes: “It’s as if it’s someone else’s life.” This could be an evasion, but at the photo shoot a few hours after our breakfast, I see her lose herself so completely, I’m almost willing to buy it. When the cameras click on, Sweeney gets so laser focused, it’s almost like she’s dissociating. She tells me that, in photo shoots and on red carpets, she’ll even create a persona for herself, a way to calm her nerves and add a layer of armor between who she really is and who the job requires her to be. (The version you see in the cover photo is “Daphne.”)

“People forget that I’m playing a character, they think, ‘Oh, she gets naked onscreen, she’s a sex symbol,’ ” she says, referring to her many nude scenes in Euphoria. “And I can’t get past that. I have no problems with those scenes, and I won’t stop doing them, but I wish there was an easier way to have an open conversation about what we’re assuming about actors in the industry.”

Left: Sweeney (with Brittany O’Grady, right) in HBO’s The White Lotus. Right: The actress on the cable network’s Euphoria. She received Emmy nominations for both shows.

She’s trying to put a bit of that power back into her own hands with the launch of her production company, Fifty-Fifty Films. The first project on the slate is an adaptation of Jessica Goodman’s 2020 YA novel They Wish They Were Us; it’s set as a limited series at HBO Max under the new title The Player’s Table. It’s a murder mystery that takes place at an elite East Coast private school, and Goodman describes it as a story about a young woman (Sweeney) grappling with class dynamics and sexual politics and trying to find agency in her life. “When we met, it was immediately obvious to me that Sydney was very savvy, that she was very self-aware about the way she is viewed in the world and that she wanted to take charge of her own career,” says Goodman. “People underestimate young women in all industries, but especially in media and entertainment. She is such a force and really knows how to get things done in a way that might surprise people who only watch her on TV.”

As Sweeney starts to transition into the next phase of her career, she’s thinking a lot about her professional values. One of the most disconcerting things she’s noticed about the industry is the way it fails to facilitate loyalty — whether to yourself and your beliefs or to the people around you. “It’s built to try to make you backstab people,” she says. “It’s insane. My agent is my best teammate, and I’ll have her forever.” But, she adds, “I see how people are like, ‘We support each other’ — and I’m like, ‘No. You fucking don’t.’ ” I ask her whether she has people to commiserate with. No. Not the other girls from Euphoria? “We don’t really talk about that kind of stuff,” she says.

While fame has expanded her awareness of the way the world works, it’s having a chilling effect on her personal life. “I can feel my bubble of who I can talk to and share intimate things with and have relationships shrinking, shrinking, shrinking,” she says, explaining that she experiences it as a loss of control. “You’ll write about this and people won’t believe what I say. And that’s really, really hard.”

This story first appeared in the July 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Area dress, headpiece and necklace, Giuseppe Zanotti boots.

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