Todd Haynes Plays the SuperegoThe director is interested in people constrained by society’s rules. In his new film May December, he makes it harder to root for the rule-breakers.
ByMadeline Leung Coleman
the industry
Romeo and Juliet Was a TragedyIn 1968, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were the most famous teenagers in the world. Fifty-five years later, they sued Paramount for child abuse.
The Decomposition of Rotten TomatoesThe most overrated metric in entertainment is erratic, reductive, and easily hacked — and yet has Hollywood in its grip.
ByLane Brown
book review
How Zadie Smith Lost Her TeethSince her audacious debut, she has been moving toward character-driven realism. In the process, she’s become the least interesting version of herself.
The Search for the Next Will and KateThe Crown’s casting director on how the show found the right pair to bring an interior life to these tabloided young royals.
The Final SondheimThe complete, from-beginning-to-end story of how Stephen Sondheim, David Ives, and Joe Mantello created the musical Here We Are.
ByFrank Rich
movie review
The Flash in a PanThe latest DC movie is the cinematic equivalent of a snake eating its own tail. This isn’t a film so much as brand management in flailing motion.
The Call Is Coming From Inside the CubicleThe creators of the new HBO docuseries Telemarketers started filming their own office — where they’d later learn they were part of a nationwide grift.
The Fans Who Won’t Leave Britney AloneAfter the pop star was released from her conservatorship, some of her fandom latched on to a new theory: What if she had never been freed at all?
Communing With the Dead Just to Feel AliveThe new A24 horror movie Talk to Me is an impressively slick piece of work, from two button-pushers who came up on the internet.
Kit Connor Wasn’t ReadyThe star of Netflix’s teen rom-com Heartstopper was forced to come out by the show’s fans. He’s not letting them get to him anymore.
