Scandal Season 4 Episode 12 recap

Well, this is one of those oxymorons that happens on television. “How do we make a kidnapping fun to watch?” Lots of moving parts, a hell of a lot of booze, a body count…

This episode was more of an Ocean’s Eleven roundup of how y…      

A little over a week ago, news came out that Nicole Scherzinger and Formula One racecar driver Lewis Hamilton had split after a rocky on-off romance spanning over seven years. If Star is to be believed, Nicole isn’t letting any grass grow under her feet. The tabloid claims that she’s been “hanging out” with also-single Nick Cannon, who is in the process of divorcing Mariah Carey. This new romance is said to anger Carey, who has “always hated Nicole.”

Nicole [Scherzinger], 36, has been secretly hanging out with Nick Cannon, 34, and sources say his ex-wife, Mariah Carey, is having none of it. “She’s always hated Nicole,” a source tells Star, who adds the former Pussycat Dolls singer had a brief fling with Nick before he wed Mariah in 2008. “She’s very possessive and still thinks of him as her property.” But despite the 44 year-old singer’s protests, Nick is going ahead with the romance. “He’s really been there for Nicole during her breakup.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, February 23, 2015]

Star goes on to say that Nick and Nicole (that has a cute ring to it) have to be apart for now because Nicole is currently in Cats in London (that show is still playing live?) and he’s stateside. They are said to “constantly flirt via Skype.”

Fame-wise, these two are about at the same level so they make sense to me. Plus they look really cute together, don’t they? I would love to see them officially couple up, but this may fizzle out fast. Also, Mariah is surely still protective of Nick, but I bet she’ll hook up with some young dancer type and get over it. That’s the next step for her, although it will probably be hard for her to find a lover that’s as sycophantic as she requires. J.Lo and Madonna did it, but Mariah is beyond.

photo credit: WENN.com

It’s Valentine’s Day. Time to fall in love. They need your love. This weekend more than one hundred local animal welfare groups will have pets available for adoption at PetSmart stores across Canada for Be My Valentine Adoption Weekend. Meet the dogs and cats. Talk to volunteers. Then…      

Hiddles Dump! There are several items of news about Tom Hiddleston, so why not wait for a Friday and then just do a big Hiddles post? That was my thought. This ^^ is the first still from High Rise, where Tommy plays Dr. Laing. The doctor wears nice suits and likes mirrors. Sure.

Hiddles also celebrated his 34th birthday earlier this week and all of the Dragonflies went overboard wishing him a happy birthday. So he tweeted this:

Completely overwhelmed and humbled by all you lovely people wishing me a happy birthday. 34 & feeling very chipper. Had a lovely day. Happy.

— Tom Hiddleston (@twhiddleston) February 9, 2015

Considering he’s been so quiet on Twitter for months and months, the fact that we’ve gotten four tweets in the span of a week has been nothing short of miraculous. I hope he comes back to Twitter big time. We miss you, Tommy!

And finally, word is that the first trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak has debuted in front of Fifty Shades of Grey. They were saying the trailer wouldn’t be released until next Tuesday, but versions of it exist online right now. I watched a budget, jacked up copy of the trailer a few minutes ago and it scared the bejesus out of me. I’m not in for this one, you guys. I hate really scary haunted house movies. But at least we know a little bit more of the plot now – Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddleston play brother and sister. Mia Wasikowska is being seduced/terrorized. Charlie Hunnam is trying to take Mia away from it all. It’s sort of like “What if Jane Eyre was set in a crazy haunted house?”

I’ll try to update with a better trailer if it gets released. If you want to see the budget one, go here.

Photos courtesy of Joe Alvarez, WENN, ‘High Rise’.

Dear Gossips,

Rachel McAdams continued to work on True Detective Season 2 yesterday in LA. Rachel’s Chinese astrological sign is Horse. The Chinese Squawking Chicken says there’s not too much to be concerned about for the Horse during the Year of the Goat/Sheep. In fact, this year…      

Last year’s Sony hack disaster brought plenty of juicy tidbits. Kaiser covered the latest news about co-chairman Amy Pascal “resigning” as co-chairman. After her exit, Amy opened up at the Women in the World conference. I’m sure there were limits on what she could say, and the sweet severance package (which Kaiser talked about today) made it all worth it.

Amy did talk about the leaked information about American Hustle salaries. Jennifer Lawrence was paid less than her male co-stars even though — at the time — she was the biggest box-office draw of the bunch. Some of you disagreed, but the Hustle deal was inked immedately after the Hunger Games release. She was already in the successful X-Men franchise too. JLaw didn’t have as much screentime as the men or Amy Adams, but I see that as a minor point. Remember how Julia Roberts once got paid $3 million for 6 minutes of screentime? JLaw is as much of an attraction as Julia was in her heydey.

Amy says she didn’t agree with Jennifer making less money:

On the JLaw salary discrepancy: “I’ve paid [Jennifer Lawrence] a lot more money since then, I promise you. Here’s the problem: I run a business. People want to work for less money, I pay them less money … Women shouldn’t work for less money. They should know what they’re worth. Women shouldn’t take less. ‘Stop, you don’t need the job that bad.’”-

[From Hollywood Reporter]

Well … Amy didn’t say anything wrong here. Women shouldn’t work for less money than men make, period. If female actors don’t hold out for better deals, then studio execs will walk all over them. It’s difficult to put the onus onto actresses, who generally enjoy less job security and room for flops than male actors. But if Charlize Theron could demand equal pay from Sony, so could JLaw.

Photos courtesy of WENN

During the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Emile Hirsch had too much to drink. He was out partying with some bros at like 2 am, and he ended up getting into some kind of beef with a woman. Not just any woman either – the woman was Daniele Bernfeld, a studio executive. Most people claimed that Emile was trying to start something (a fight) with Bernfeld and she kept walking away from him and Emile’s friends kept trying to keep him away from her. But at some point, he jumped on her and put her in a chokehold and dragged her across a room. She blacked out. So… yeah, it was a pretty straight-forward case of assault. And now Hirsch has been charged. The details of the assault are chilling.

What happens in Park City sometimes reverberates in the Third District Court in Utah’s Summit County. Emile Hirsch has been formally charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor intoxication for allegedly attacking a woman at Tao nightclub on Jan. 25, when 2015 Sundance Film Festival revelry had taken over the city.

The criminal complaint obtained Thursday by E! News alleges that Hirsch, while appearing to be drunk, grabbed at studio executive Daniele Bernfeld, calling her a “‘rich kid’” and asking her why she looked “‘so tough.’” She pushed him away and they each went off with separate groups of friends, the complaint continues. But that’s not where the evening ended, according to Bernfeld.

“Shortly thereafter Hirsch came up from behind Bernfeld and wrapped his arm around her to put her in a chokehold,” the allegations continue, per the court documents. “Hirsch pulled Bernfeld across the table and onto the floor, where he landed on top of her. While Hirsch was on top of Bernfeld he wrapped his hands around her neck. Bernfeld said she felt as though the front and back of her throat were touching and she remembers things going dark. Bernfeld reported that she may have momentarily blacked out.”

Bystanders pulled Hirsch off her, the complaint continues, and a witness corroborated Bernfeld’s story. A responding officer, Sgt. Jay Randall, is also noted as having observed “redness on her neck and upper chest.”

Hirsch told Randall, per the report, that he was having a “verbal confrontation” with Bernfeld; the actor also admitted to having “three to four alcoholic beverages” that night. The third-degree felony charge carries a maximum punishment of five years in a Utah state prison and a $5,000 fine, while the class C misdemeanor is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine. A court date has been set for March 16.

[From E! News]

The details make me so uncomfortable. Hirsch had been drinking, obviously, but there seems to be an undercurrent of predatory behavior too, like he was looking for a woman to victimize. The idea that this little douchebag would jump on a woman and begin choking her… it’s profoundly disturbing.

Anyway, Emile’s people are blaming it all on the alcohol. TMZ got a statement from Hirsch’s rep, who said: “Emile consumed an enormous amount of alcohol on the evening in question and he has no memory of what happened…Emile takes these allegations very seriously, and is devastated that any of this has occurred. A few days after the incident, Emile sought help and checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation facility, where he remains today, to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.” Whatever, dude. I hope he goes to jail. And I’m glad they charged him with felony assault.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Actor Will Smith covers the latest issue of Esquire and opens up about family life with wife Jada Pinkett Smith and their two kids: Jaden, 16, and Willow, 14.

On Jaden’s wardrobe, which consists of one pair of shoes, three pairs of pants and five shirts: “He has refused to be a slave to money. I so respect that. The younger generation is less of an ownership generation, anyway. It’s such an interesting thing to watch, because I came from a middle-class background, but, you know, our lights and gas would be cut off from not paying the bill. I grew up in a house where you would need the kerosene heaters in the winter in case the bills didn’t get paid. And he’s from the complete other end of the spectrum. And it’s so interesting to me that from growing up in that space, he could see the need for things in a way that he’s rejecting. He’s like, ‘I’m not gonna let myself need things in that way.’ “

On what fatherhood has taught him: “My kids taught me to redefine love. Before 2010, I had a vision. I saw a family in my mind that I wanted to have. And I was pushing and driving hard for my picture, and then I realized everyone has their own journey. I have to support what they want to do. I have to support the vision that they have for themselves, not my vision. That was excruciating for me. That was excruciating because I’m military-minded. And to have to back up off of the masculine in that way, to have to embrace a more gentle, understanding, loving, and caring side—that was a tough transition for me.”

On his kids being “well-adjusted”: “With this generation of kids growing up, the technological battering is almost the norm. They generally avoid the stuff. They’re really well-adjusted around this business and understanding the nature of having to take a battering. It’s a brutal world out there for young people, for everybody. Willow had one moment. The Young Turks are Willow’s idol. They have a TV show online. They’re like a really powerful group of young writers, hosts, and political commentators. Willow loves the Young Turks, and that was the only moment I saw her cry. Other than that, she’s really well-adjusted with it. And Jaden understands that that’s a part of this business. If he wants to do it, there’s a certain amount of battery that you have to be willing to live through. We have a quote that I put up in the house from Pema Chödrön: “Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.” We call it leaning into the sharp parts. Something hurts, lean in. You just lean into that point until it loses its power over you. There’s a certain amount of suffering that you have to be willing to sustain if you want to have a good life. And the trick is to be able to sustain it with your heart open and still be loving. That is the real trick.”

For more from Will, go to Esquire…

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So far, Kris Jenner hasn’t addressed the stories that her ex husband, Bruce Jenner, is transitioning. Kim had something nice to say about her dad, that “he’ll share whenever the time is right,” and “that’s his journey to talk about,” but Kris hasn’t said anything. Rumor has it that Kris is in denial about Bruce’s change. It’s thought that she’s known about it for years, but is upset that he’s going public with it. Last year, Kris barely addressed the noticeable changes Bruce was going through. She said he wears clear nail polish and that “99% of the stuff in the tabloids is made up.”

In Kim’s interview with Love Magazine (the one where she gets her kit off yet again), Kris walks in and is asked about Bruce. She’s not having it, but she does have some nice things to say about their relationship now.

Where did the rumors that [Bruce] is transitioning come from?
“I’m not even answering that. It’s just dumb.”

On how Bruce is doing
“Bruce is great. Bruce is good. We’re good friends. In life, you realize on some level you’re happier living apart than you are together and that’s what happened with us. We just grew apart. We weren’t getting along like two people in love should be getting along. And it’s been kind of amazing, you know?”

[Love Magazine via US Weekly]

I can see Kris saying “I’m not answering that. It’s just speculation,” but it sounds like she’s calling Bruce’s transition “dumb”. If he’s really going through with it (all signs point to yes), then that’s rude and dismissive. This comment kind of brings their dynamic home.

US Magazine has a new article in the print edition about Bruce in light of the fatal accident he was involved in last weekend. They state that Bruce’s Escalade hit the Lexus only after it had stopped short and rear-ended the Prius in front of it. (See our past coverage for more information about that four car pile-up.) This is likely the official Jenner/Kardashian version, although TMZ reports that “Bruce couldn’t say if the Lexus driver had smashed into the Prius before his SUV struck her car, because it all happened so quickly.” All Bruce knew, reportedly, was that the Prius had stopped suddenly and that he couldn’t avoid hitting it. The question is whether Bruce was following too closely, especially given that he was towing an ATV at the time. (Whatever happened, Bruce lost my goodwill when he was spotted illegally speaking on a handheld cellphone while driving in the days following the accident.)

US also has some more information about Bruce’s upcoming interview with Diane Sawyer, slated to air in May. The state that Bruce did not wear makeup during the interview but that he did reveal the name he wants us to use in the future. “He referred to her in the third person.”

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Model Miranda Kerr covers the March issue of Harper’s Bazaar Australia and opens up about peacefully co-parenting her 4-year-old son Flynn with estranged husband Orlando Bloom.

On raising her son with her ex: “It’s really nice that Orlando and I now live so close to each other, and it’s a really good life for Flynn.”

On Flynn: “I can’t believe he turned four the other day! How quickly that time has gone. I look at him every day and say, ‘You’re just growing and growing’ and ‘Where has my little baby gone?’ And he says, ‘I’m here, Mama.’ He’s just become this little sponge, learning new words, and he comes out with the funniest things. The other day I was doing yoga on a paddleboard and he was with my mum on a kayak nearby, and he yells to me, ‘Mum, that’s so inappropriate.’ I’m like, ‘Excuse me?’ I was just doing a downward dog!’”

On not jumping into a relationship: “For the record, I’m single. What I’m trying to do right now, as I’ve always been the girl with the boyfriend, is to find that comfort within myself. Because it’s quite easy to always look to other people to lift us up or make us feel better about ourselves. At the end of the day, it’s really important to be comfortable with your own company and to feel good about that and not have to rely on anyone else.”

For more from Miranda, go to Harper’s Bazaar Australia…

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