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Dean McDermott and Tori Spelling have had a rocky marriage for many years. When I was looking through our archives I laughed when I saw stories with near-identical headlines, that they both wanted to divorce each other–but neither one could afford to. It’s not that funny for two people to be unhappily stuck together because of eye-watering debt. It’s just amusing to me that they each tried to run with that story in the press within six months of each other. Who can’t afford to divorce whom? Well, it looks like Dean was finally ready to pull the trigger, affordable or not. He posted an announcement of their split to Instagram and then deleted it hours later. Did he have it queued up in drafts and post it by accident?

Dean McDermott took to Instagram on Saturday to share that he and his wife of 17 years, Tori Spelling, are splitting up. However, hours later, the Canadian actor deleted the post.

McDermott, who has been married to the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum since 2006, announced their separation to his 138,000 followers in a post on his Instagram. The two share children Liam, 16, Stella, 15, Hattie, 11, Finn, 10, and Beau, 5.

“It’s with great sadness and a very very heavy heart that after 18 years together and 5 amazing children, that @torispelling and I have decided to go our separate ways, and start a new journey of our own,” McDermott’s statement read. “We will continue to work together as loving parents and guide and love our children through this difficult time. We ask that you all respect our privacy as we take this time to surround our family with love and work our way through this. Thank you all for your support and kindness.”

He concluded with a prayer hands emoji.

Spelling’s Instagram page has no indication of the duo’s split. Just one day ago, the actress shared a video of the family celebrating daughter Stella’s birthday at the Beverly Hilton, with McDermott in attendance. Set to the famed Weezer song “Beverly Hills,” the family can be seen celebrating poolside and in a penthouse suite with champagne and sweets. They family gathered together for a poolside video which was shared in Spelling’s reel.

Earlier this week, the family was all smiles as they appeared together at The Stand Up For Kids Gala at Universal Studios Hollywood. With the kids by their sides, Spelling and McDermott gave no indication that they would formally announce their split just 5 days later.

[From Yahoo!]

Okay, that statement is boilerplate and has “publicist” written all over it. This suggests to me that Dean has hired an attorney and is ready to file or has filed already. More interesting is why he deleted it so soon after posting it. A source (likely from Tori’s camp) ran to People to say the announcement was “out of the blue,” so Tori has apparently been blindsided. Although given how bad their relationship struggles have been, I don’t know what level of denial you’d have to be living in to not see something like this coming. That’s like, the ninth circle of denial. The same level of denial to continuously live beyond your means, maybe? Dean’s contributed to their money problems, too–I’m not laying the blame at only Tori’s feet here. They were both, to use one of my favorite words, feckless with their spending. Their marriage was beyond toxic and I think the writing’s been on the wall for years. It is weird that they’ve been hanging out as a family over the weekend and then Dean goes to post the Instagram on Monday morning. That’s not the usual “nothing to see here” play of the Friday afternoon breakup announcement. He knew, or his publicist knew, that it would get attention, and they wanted it that way–if it wasn’t an accidental post. But I don’t think it was, just a hunch. I think he wants to control the narrative for some reason. I have a feeling this is going to get messy.

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During the pandemic, the production of Mission Impossible 7 basically had to get special permission from the Italian government to shoot exterior scenes all around Rome while everything else was in lockdown. I still remember those photos too – Rome was at a virtual stand-still, with the Italian government enforcing strict lockdown procedures, and there was Tom Cruise, barking orders at everyone in the middle of Rome. Well, Cruise brought the world premiere of MI7 to Rome, and they took over the Spanish Steps and the Auditorium della Conciliazione last night. The photos are beautiful, honestly. But y’all know this cast is tired. They’ve been working on MI: Dead Reckoning Parts One and Two for three f–king years.

I’m including photos of Tom solo and with the cast. Tom and Hayley Atwell reportedly dated for a bit, but I don’t think they’re still together. They made a point of posing together though. Fashion notes: Rebecca Ferguson wore Emporio Armani, a pretty great dress, albeit very simple. Hayley wore a slinky black dress but I dislike her “wet look” hair. Vanessa Kirby looks the best, imo. I love a blonde in a gold dress, and this looks amazing on her.

The reviews are already coming in for this movie and they’re overwhelmingly positive. I guess there’s still a lot of love for this franchise and for Tom as Ethan Hunt. We’ll see.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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I have been overweight all my life. As a kid I preferred serious movie watching to after-school sports and considered PE class a nuisance to carefully chosen outfits. Instead of traditional summer camps I went to nerd camps where I took humanities courses on college campuses (when I was 13 the summer course I chose was Existentialism, wasn’t I a barrel of laughs) and the most physical activity I can remember from them was wading in the fountains–which tied back nicely into all the movie watching cause I got to pretend I was Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita. Oh, and I’ve always eaten too much!

In my last year of college I focused for the first time on losing weight, and I did. I lost a lot and looked great and loved the way I looked. But when I hit a really dark time and faced a sort of existential crisis (a real one this time, not a class), I absolutely turned to comforting myself with food, and gained back all the weight I had lost plus some more. So reading this new interview with Chrissy Metz, who’s out promoting her new indie film Stay Awake, my honest response is of feeling so envious of her state of mind. A few highlights:

How she resonated with her role in Stay Awake: Every time Metz sees a clip from the film, she gets emotional. “I know what addiction looks like. I have friends who have experienced it,” she says. “I have a food issue–I know how it plagues our minds and infiltrates our lives. I want people to know that they’re not alone and that it’s really important to talk about this stuff. Because once the fear goes away, maybe there could be some healing and empathy in that process.”

Our bodies, ourselves: “For me, because I’m more accepting of having an unconventional body or whatever they want to call it–the fact that we still even talk about it is hilarious–our bodies are vehicles,” she reasons. “And everybody has a different make and model. You learn to love, celebrate and hopefully, embrace it. Enjoy riding in that car, otherwise you’re just torturing yourself. Because that allows you to minimize the suffering or hopefully, completely alleviate it.”

On radical acceptance: “There’s just no reason to compare yourself to other people. Do I do it? Yes, of course, because I’m human. I spent a long time beating myself up and wishing I looked or sounded a certain way or had this or that. What’s the point? Is that a way to exist? I’ve just radically accepted it and learned to really love myself,” she said. “Also, I’m proud of the things that I’ve overcome and what I’ve become, because of that.”

Everyone has their stuff to deal with: “I have realized that we all have stuff that we’re contending with, that nobody is better or worse than anyone else… whatever it is that you might have experienced during childhood. All that stuff will follow you to adulthood if you don’t look at it and say, ‘Okay, that was my story, but I’m not taking that with me. Not going to carry this baggage anymore.’ That really helped to open my eyes to that.”

In the eye of the beholder: “If we could see the beauty within or see ourselves the way other people see us, it’s really magical. I’ve looked at someone and said, ‘oh my gosh, I love this about you!’ And they’re like, ‘I hate my teeth, I hate my smile!’ And I’m like ‘what?!’ If you could just give yourself a little grace and love and treat yourself the way you would treat others. That’s really, really important.”

[From Hello!]

There is so much goodness from Chrissy in this article, not all that surprising since she’s always been candid, humble and gracious since finding success on This Is Us. The last quote probably touched me the most–I catch myself so many times seeing joy and possibility for friends in my life, but not extending the same courtesy to myself. And I’m not a car person, but I found that metaphor to be kind of brilliant. “Enjoy riding in that car, otherwise you’re just torturing yourself,” hit me hard from the perspective of someone who’s still, honestly, torturing herself. But Chrissy’s right when she says “it’s really important to talk about this stuff,” because it does make people (me) feel less alone and more hopeful about finding a better, kinder relationship with oneself. I’m not there yet, but thinking of Chrissy will always remind me that it is possible to get there.

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Gavin Rossdale talks about parenting, money & music. [LaineyGossip]
Garth Brooks rejected Trisha Yearwood’s offer to take his surname. He wants her to keep her maiden name for a very cool reason. [Jezebel]
J.Lo shared a shirtless photo of Ben Affleck for Father’s Day. [Just Jared]
Would you buy or wear Taco Bell Crocs? [Dlisted]
How did Warner Bros’ Ezra Miller strategy play out? [Pajiba]
Photos from the National Gallery party last week. [Go Fug Yourself]
Hailey Bieber celebrates the one-year anniversary of Rhode Beauty. [Egotastic]
T&L didn’t like Princess Kate’s Trooping ensemble. [Tom & Lorenzo]
What are some “beige flags” in relationships? [Buzzfeed]
Who was the best-dressed of the past week? [RCFA]
Sister Wives has been on for seventeen seasons?!? [Starcasm]
I wish my girl Sarita Choudhury had a better career. [Towleroad]

If you were unfamiliar with Bill Simmons before now, consider yourself blessed. He’s mainly known as a sports columnist and sports-site guy, with a real focus on the NBA. He founded the Ringer, which he then sold to Spotify, and now he works at Spotify. A lot of dudes used to like him for his analysis and humor, but I’m not sure he’s still that guy. I remember he used to make a lot of sexist jokes about women athletes… then he became a father to a daughter, and suddenly sh-t got real. He also got fired from ESPN for what was described as his profound disrespect for coworkers and executives. TL;DR: he’s an obnoxious, sexist loud-mouth from Boston. Anyway, Simmons decided to chime in on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex ending their contract with Spotify.

Bill Simmons, who sold The Ringer to Spotify in 2020 and has risen through the tech company’s executive ranks, derided Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on his podcast Friday as “f–king grifters.”

The Sussexes and Spotify confirmed Thursday they have parted ways after signing a deal reportedly worth $20 million three years ago for their production company, Archewell. The pact was part of Spotify’s surge in spending on podcasting, a push including the roughly $200 million Ringer acquisition. More recently, the audio giant has scaled back and laid off staff, consolidating divisions and emphasizing the creator economy instead of big-ticket talent, though it still has Joe Rogan and a few other notable hosts on its podcast roster.

Simmons, who still runs the Ringer and is also Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization at Spotify, made the comments on his eponymous podcast.

“The f-cking grifters. That’s the podcast we shoulda launched with them,” he said. “I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.”

Simmons did not hold his tongue about the royal couple even during the time they were under contract with Spotify. Last January, he blasted Prince Harry, saying it was “embarrassing” to be affiliated with the same company.

“Shoot this guy to the sun,” Simmons groused, according to the Big Lead post. “I’m so tired of this guy. What does he bring to the table? He just whines about sh-t and keeps giving interviews. Who gives a sh-t? Who cares about your life? You weren’t even the favorite son. … You live in f-cking Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the royal family and you just complain about them.”

[From Deadline]

Now, as with all things related to Meghan and Harry, I think there are some good-faith criticisms to be made about various things they do and what they’re involved in. The problem is that even minor or objective criticisms can be drowned out by the sea of hatred, racism and misogyny that crops up whenever they breathe. Like, if I’m being honest, I would also say that M&H could have done so much more with the platform they were given with Spotify. I think they should have produced multiple podcast series in the past two and a half years. But Bill Simmons just f–king hates them and he enjoys hating them. It makes him feel good to disparage them the way he disparages female athletes. It makes him feel big and manly to mock a veteran who speaks about mental health and abuse. And that says more about Bill Simmons than Prince Harry.

Bill Simmons absolutely HATES Prince Harry

We need to know what Harry said to Bill on that Zoom pic.twitter.com/lsxNoSPaCU

— The r/BillSimmons Podcast (@rBillSimmonsPod) June 16, 2023

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

The Duchess of Sussex was photographed on Friday in Montecito and the Daily Mail paid for the exclusive photos. They ran the pics as their top story throughout the day on Saturday, the same day as Trooping the Colour in the UK. As in, as the British press was being inundated with new photos of the all-white Buckingham Palace balcony, the Mail’s top story was Meghan “looking glum” in an ensemble by La Ligne. The jeans and the sweater are both from La Ligne. And I don’t think she looked glum as much as she just looked like a pretty woman going through her day.

Make-up free Meghan Markle looks glum as she is spotted in public for first time since her $20million Spotify deal ended https://t.co/lHw5YuRHZt pic.twitter.com/VEmfmmorjy

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) June 18, 2023

Meanwhile, Page Six had particularly nasty coverage of the Sussexes’ Spotify deal coming to an end, with the added bonus (to Page Six) of Bill Simmons calling the Sussexes “grifters.” According to Page Six’s sources, the Sussexes are “not broke” but they will need to find new revenue streams in a hurry.

The Sussexes’ lifestyle: The collapse of the Spotify deal piles financial pressure on the Sussexes as exorbitant bills for their Montecito, Calif. lifestyle mount. Their sprawling Tuscan-style estate, bought for $14.7 million in June 2020, has a hefty mortgage. Annual property taxes alone cost $144,427 and there is staffing and maintenance on top. The bill for the couple’s private security detail is believed to be about $2 million a year, there are legal fees from Harry’s unending battles with the British press — and they have to keep their Archewell company afloat without Spotify’s cash. “They’re not broke,” stressed a source. “But they’re going to have to keep spending their money, instead of banking it.”

The Sussexes should have done more for their Spotify contract: Sources pointedly contrasted the Sussexes’ failed deal with the Obamas’ similar deal, which ended last year. “Although ‘Archetypes’ did well and got a couple of awards, when you go into a deal like this, to have just one series over that course of time is not great,” a source close to the Sussexes’ deal said. “To put that into context, the Obamas and their production company, Higher Ground, delivered multiple new series.”

Lazy & difficult? Another industry insider added, “Spotify wants to focus on people who drive strong audiences, like Alex Cooper, Dax Shepard and Emma Chamberlain. There are a lot of great creators who are very eager. Meghan and Harry are the outlier on all of this, I think they have come off as being lazy and difficult.”

Their Netflix deal: So far, the only other show the couple has coming out is “Heart of Invictus,” which was filmed while they were at the Invictus Games, for wounded service personnel, in The Hague last year. Page Six has been told it’s still slated to stream in August, a month before Harry and Markle fly to Germany for this year’s Invictus Games. It is unclear if this time they will be accompanied by documentary crews. A Netflix source said they remain “very valued” partners with the company, and the decision is “business as usual.”

Meghan’s plans: Despite the collapse of the Spotify deal, Markle — who sees herself as an entrepreneur — is making plans to launch her own business, akin to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop. She also would love to be the face of a luxury brand, something like Cartier, according to friends. “Meghan is super quiet at the moment,” said someone who knows her. “And she always does that just before she makes a big announcement.”

The Sussexes are turning down work: As for cash, the Sussexes are still working with Hollywood money man Adam Lilling and Markle’s longtime business manager Andrew Meyer. Their relationship dates back to when she starred in the TV show “Suits.” Harry is also earning from online therapy start-up Better Up, where he has the title of Chief Impact Officer. He’s not paid as an employee, Page Six is told, but is on a larger deal. The Sussexes have, however, turned down work, including being guest speakers to a group of CEOs at a closed-door “summit” in California.

[From Page Six]

“Piles financial pressure on the Sussexes as exorbitant bills for their Montecito, Calif. lifestyle mount” – they have a mortgage on their one home, they’re still making plenty of money, and they pay a lot for their private security because they need it. That’s it. They make it sound like the Sussexes have spent the past three years living way beyond their means. They have not. I’ve always been impressed with how the Sussexes have managed their money post-Sussexit. They made two big deals, with Netflix and Spotify, and Harry is clearly getting some kind of backend from the super-successful BetterUp, plus the money he’s made from his massively successful memoir. Meghan already had money from her years as a working actress, and Harry had the trust his mother left him. They made good business choices out of necessity in 2020, and Meghan signing on with WME shows that she’s ready to grow her business beyond the choices they made in 2020.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

I didn’t pay any attention to Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, at Trooping the Colour, so here’s a post about her appearance. She’s now one of the most senior women in the Windsor clan, just below Queen Camilla, the Princess Royal and the Princess of Wales. Sophie flashes her working royal credentials constantly, and we know that she considers herself to be the monarchy’s secret weapon. So she was included on the anemic all-white balcony for Trooping, off to the other side of King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Fashion notes: Sophie wore an unflattering cream dress from Beulah London, a dress which retails for £695, with a Jane Taylor hat. Is it just me or is this whole ensemble just… Sophie cosplaying Kate? That style of dress, with the pleating at the neck, looks so much like the McQueen dresses Kate has customized. The hat is also very Kate. Kate must love it that FINALLY, someone is cosplaying her. While I didn’t think Sophie looked good, compared to Camilla and Kate, Sophie was fine.

Before the balcony wave, Sophie was watching the parade from a separate building and I guess she was looking after the Wales children. Sidenote: Sophie and Edward’s kids were not invited or welcome on the balcony, which… people were complaining about. I agree, Lady Louise and James should have been on the balcony, but Charles is awful, so here we go. Anyway, Sophie was seen with Princess Charlotte, and royal fans think Sophie told Charlotte to “sit down” quite sharply. You decide! I’m no “lip reader,” but Sophie did look like she spoke sharply to Charlotte.

Princess Charlotte & Duchess Sophie viewing the parade.
pic.twitter.com/3fj1oiTWQV

— Gert’s Royals (@Gertsroyals) June 17, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Prince William gave his first interview as Prince of Wales to Roya Nikkhah at the Sunday Times. The Times of London is part of Rupert Murdoch’s press empire (through News Group Newspapers). Nikkhah has become one of William’s go-to people, she’s always writing stories which are well-sourced from “William’s camp” and “royal sources in Kensington Palace.” This relationship between prince and royal reporter really flourished following NGN handing William a secret, seven-figure settlement in 2020, a settlement which was only revealed this year by Prince Harry. Rupert Murdoch has seemingly bought and compromised a prince and future king. What’s funny is that William doesn’t even seem to realize how compromised he is. Anyway, the exclusive interview with Nikkhah isn’t just William reading off some talking points (surprisingly). The purpose of this whole thing is for William to hype his big new project about homelessness.

A really big project: This month, the prince will launch “a really big project” from his and the Princess of Wales’s Royal Foundation, his first significant intervention as heir to the throne. “It’s nerve-racking,” he says. “But I’m really excited. I’ve been waiting for the right time to do this.”

Political Peg: There is genuine passion and optimism as William, who turns 41 on Wednesday, repeatedly mentions the name of his new five-year project, details of which are under wraps until the end of the month. He is frustrated that government, councils and charities have for too long been “managing” homelessness instead of “preventing” it. “We can do it,” he says. “It’s not insurmountable, this challenge. If anyone does become homeless [we can say], ‘OK, here’s the way back, here’s the pathway’. We can visualise that and we can show people that there is a way to do it.”

Changing the narrative about homelessness: “There’s a lot of preconceived ideas around homelessness. There’s still stigma, when actually a lot of people don’t understand the fundamental basics. We just see the individual on the streets and go, ‘Oh’. Loads of judgments as to why that person is there. You see more elderly people homeless because that’s what we see on the street. What we don’t see is the youth homelessness — sofa-surfing, people sleeping in their cars or on a mate’s bed. A lot of youth homelessness is very hidden. If you actually sit down and hear from young people why they’re in their situation, it’s like a jigsaw. There are so many pieces that have had to come together or fall apart, that meant they’ve ended up where they are.

But he’s above politics: William recently met Michael Gove, the housing secretary, and Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, to brief them on his plans. Some might wonder why it is the heir to the throne, rather than the government, launching a big homelessness project. “I’m not here to talk about government policy,” he says diplomatically, conscious that the royal family must remain “above politics”. “My plan is an additive to what is already being done.”

His many homes: With homes at Kensington Palace, Adelaide Cottage in Windsor and Anmer Hall on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, as well as the run of many other royal residences, William is — by his own admission — “one of the most unlikely advocates for this cause”. In his new role as Prince of Wales, he also controls the Duchy of Cornwall, a 130,000-acre property empire stretching from Cornwall to Kent. That is a lot of spare bedrooms, and many wonder why he does not give some of them over to the homeless. An eloquent non-answer ensues. I ask again: “So there are no duchy plans yet for affordable housing?” A pause. “There is,” says William. “Absolutely. Social housing. You’ll see that when it’s ready. I’m no policy expert, but I push it where I can.” It is a curveball from William that aides were not expecting him to reveal, but it is thought he will “start small” with social housing on his land. If he can demonstrate it is viable, he will scale it up.

What’s the point of the royal family? The monarchy has had a bumpy few years. The death of Queen Elizabeth, the fallout from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s departure to America, and the Duke of York’s antics have dealt hammer blows to the institution. The public may want a few more “big gestures” from its royal family, and William knows this project is a chance to refocus minds on what the monarchy is for. The feud with his brother has taken up far more airtime than he would wish, and he concedes that not everybody sees the point of the royal family. “We’re all very busy and I think it’s hard sometimes to see what the family bring and what we do. But the amount of causes, the interests, the dinners, the meetings, the visits, whatever it is, that we do day in, day out, throughout the year, we’ve always been involved in that. It’s part of what we do. It’s trying to spotlight other causes, other people, other interests, and help people where we can. We’ll continue to do that.”

Whether he gives cash to homeless people he encounters: “I don’t tend to give money. I tend to buy them a drink, food, something like that. I find that when I’m walking around or driving past and see other people do it [give money], people don’t even look at them. How many people stop and talk to somebody who is homeless? Very few of us. In my job, I get to meet these people, I get to hear the stories, I get to feel it, I get to see it. That for me — and I’ve heard from them themselves — matters an awful lot. They’ve become invisible. It’s really important that society acknowledges that there is somebody there and they’re having a tough time. It shouldn’t happen but it’s right there. You can’t ignore it.”

He doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s helping homeless people: “I try and do these things subtly, when there’s no media and no one else knows about it.” He tried — and failed — to go under the radar in London last year, selling copies of The Big Issue. He was wearing jeans, trainers, a baseball cap and a red tabard, with no media in tow, but was soon recognised by passers-by. “It’s very hard to make it not about me — [that’s] what I don’t want to do. That was about promoting homelessness. If you’re doing to go and do genuine gestures, you do them privately, you don’t do them with an audience.”

[From The Sunday Times]

When he sold The Big Issue, he was posing for selfies and he literally brought a camera crew. Mr. You Don’t Do Them With An Audience, GMAFB. I don’t even agree that charity should be done in silence or away from the cameras, like that’s not the f–king goal, especially for a public figure like William – his “power” should be the attention he can bring to causes and charities he cares about. And I guarantee that people who are struggling would prefer to have money rather than a prince with five homes telling them patronizingly that they are seen and here’s a power bar. It will be interesting to see if he follows through with using Duchy properties to house homeless people (I suspect he will not) and I’ll admit, I’m curious to see what this big new project is. Ten bucks says it will just be William’s version of Kate’s Early Years busywork, like it will be some new study about homelessness or some new scheme to divert funds away from homeless charities and put those funds into the Royal Foundation (which is what happened with Heads Together).

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images and social media, cover courtesy of The Big Issue.

Kensington Palace released two photos of Prince William with his three children for Father’s Day. These photos were not taken by Kate, they were taken by photographer Millie Pilkington, the same photographer who did a second set of “birthday photos” for Princess Charlotte. I suspect that much like last year’s weird denim-ad photoshoot in Norfolk, William and Kate recently organized a family photoshoot day and they will continue to parcel out those photos at random moments this year. Just wait, their Christmas card photo will be from this same photoshoot. Now, that being said, these photos are actually kind of nice. I saw some critics say that they were setting up a “Single Dad William” narrative, but the Waleses always release photos of William solo with the kids for Father’s Day. At least these pics are flattering of the kids (unlike that screaming one from Jordan, iykyk)

The issue with the photos is not that William is solo with the kids, it’s that Kensington Palace timed the release of the photos specifically to make the front pages of all of the Sunday papers. KP could have held the photos until mid-day Sunday and they would have gotten the Monday front pages, and allowed King Charles’s first Trooping the Colour as sovereign to get the front pages on Sunday. You can tell it’s an issue because even royal reporters are talking about how curious it is that William (and not Charles) covers all of the major Sunday papers. Buckingham Palace’s people must have been screaming down the phone at various editors and reporters.

It’s the Chelsea Flower Show all over, right? That was supposed to be Charles and Camilla’s first Chelsea Flower Show and they scheduled their appearance for Media Day, only Kate made a surprise visit before the king and queen arrived, AND she had “prop children” bused into the event. Kate stole Charles and Camilla’s thunder and they’ve been punishing her for weeks. I wonder what will happen with this Father’s Day snafu? LMAO. I can’t wait, honestly. Charles is such a bitter, hateful old man, I love it when he drags Peg & Buttons.

Curious decision by Kensington Palace officials to release sweet picture of #PrinceWilliam and his children in time to knock #KingCharles off the front pages on his first #TroopingtheColour. #royal pic.twitter.com/hWGLLVzEha

— Richard Eden (@richardaeden) June 17, 2023

Interesting how many papers have used the Father’s Day photo of Prince William & not a picture from #TroopingtheColour Can’t imagine it’ll go down well in certain parts of the palace especially with the homelessness story getting more front page coverage than the Kings big day pic.twitter.com/jkMEiykwy8

— Rhiannon Mills (@SkyRhiannon) June 17, 2023

Sunday’s Mail: Proof Boris Accuser DID Go To Party
In Lockdown #TomorrowsPapersToday #MailOnSunday #Mail pic.twitter.com/R8KAFx3S4I

— Tomorrows Papers Today (@TmorrowsPapers) June 17, 2023

Photos courtesy of Millie Pilkington for Kensington Palace.

Did you know there are only 401 Imax theaters in the US? By that I mean, theaters dedicated solely to showing Imax-formatted films. Imax theaters don’t have to follow the same rules of simply showing the latest release and/or whichever film will sell the most tickets. Imax theater owners can make side-deals with studios to exclusively show a certain film and block out dates for weeks at a time to give one film Imax-exclusivity. That’s what will happen this summer with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer – Universal asked for and received a total three-week exclusive deal for Oppenheimer. Meaning that the big-budget film opening one week before Oppenheimer, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, will only be shown in Imax theaters for one week. We heard several weeks ago that Tom Cruise was personally calling Imax theaters and trying to create his own side-deals to encourage the theaters to keep MI7 on Imax for as long as possible. Cruise didn’t get his way.

Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible 7” is only playing on Imax screens for one week, as first reported by Puck, a newsletter that covers the media business, before it has to relinquish all of its showtimes to “Oppenheimer.” That’s despite Cruise making a few calls around town to remind everyone that not even a year ago, “Maverick” earned more than $100 million from Imax alone. By shorting the Imax run of “Dead Reckoning,” he suggests, all involved parties risk losing out on serious coinage.

But long before the oft-delayed “MI” sequel moved to mid-July, Universal had already ironed out a rare agreement for “Oppenehimer” to control Imax’s entire North American footprint for three full weeks. (Directors like Nolan, who use Imax cameras to film their movies, are typically granted a two-week exclusive window.) Greta Gerwig’s star-studded “Barbie,” which also opens on July 21, isn’t playing in Imax at all as a result.

“I feel sad in a way we can’t accommodate all of them. I know ‘Mission: Impossible’ is going to be a really big movie,” Imax CEO Rich Gelfond tells Variety. “Nolan has a special place in Imax’s heart because he uses our cameras and promotes us. It’s not a matter of us saying which we can make more money on. I would hope after ‘Oppenheimer’s’ run, we can bring back ‘Mission.’”

There may be more of these fights brewing in the future. Here’s why: Attendance hasn’t rebounded in pandemic times, but the demand to watch certain movies on the biggest and brightest screens, known in the industry as premium large formats (PLF), has grown exponentially. Lest that sound like spin from PLF operators, there are stats to back up the idea that audiences are buying what they’re selling. Moviegoing is down 33% from 2019, but the market share for Imax, one of the art’s more recognizable forms, is up 50% without adding any new screens, according to the company. On a big-budget tentpole, those enhanced viewing experiences can account for as much as 30-40% of overall box office returns even though there are only about 900 PLF screens in the country. As a result, studios have more at stake in the battle for access to the finite number of screens that can generate outsized ticket sales.

[From Variety]

Can I say something controversial? This is so f–king stupid. I understand that everyone in Hollywood wants to get more people into movie theaters and they want to maximize the potential to price-gouge the audience with exorbitant Imax ticket prices, but ENOUGH. People will enjoy MI7 in regular theaters or even at home. Plenty of people will enjoy Oppenheimer in regular theaters too, and I’ll certainly rent it months from now and watch it at home, GASP. I’m sure Imax-affectionados swear by Imax theaters, and good for them – I’m glad they have the time, money and interest. But Jesus H., this is the dumbest, most privileged f–king fight.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Oppenheimer/Universal, Backgrid.