More from Seth Abramovitch
Hollywood Flashback: ‘Soylent Green’ Depicted an Overpopulated Planet With a Dark Secret
This story is part of The Hollywood Reporter’s 2023 Sustainability Issue (click here to read more). In 1970, 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day. One of the more alarming predictions that day was from Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich, who foresaw a future in which “population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small […]
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Hollywood Flashback: On ‘Bosom Buddies,’ Tom Hanks Became a Star in Drag
In 2023, anti-drag laws are being debated in at least 14 states, including Tennessee, the first to officially ban “adult cabaret performances” — which includes male or female impersonations — in public spaces or in the presence of children. But in 1980, drag formed the centerpiece of a new ABC sitcom. Bosom Buddies is notable […]
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Mo’Nique Makes Peace (Mostly)
Mo’Nique is beaming. She’s seated on a sofa in the sunlit living room of her Atlanta home, and she’s positively glowing. “I’m pregnant,” she says after I point out her aura. “No, just kidding.” What she is, it turns out, is happy — happier than she’s been in a while, says the 55-year-old Oscar-winning comedian […]
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Roald Dahl Publisher Bends to Controversy, Will Release “Classic” Version of Controversial Kids’ Books
The Roald Dahl purists have won. After a week of controversy and outrage over imposed sensitivity changes to the words of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author, publisher Puffin has announced that a collection of 17 Dahl works will be re-released untouched as part of the Roald Dahl Classic Collection. Netflix, which purchased the […]
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Everybody Hearts Paul Mescal
On the day he turned 16, Paul Mescal was on a stage, being presented with a cake by the cast and crew of his high school production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. “That’s the first thing I ever did, so I actually take great pride in it,” says Mescal of his […]
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Andrea Riseborough: Oscar’s Most Talked-About Nominee Breaks Her Silence
Andrea Riseborough — the shapeshifting actress whose name is on everyone’s lips — has lived in Los Angeles since 2010. But right now she’s back in her native England, where she’s filming the HBO miniseries The Palace, a period political satire co-starring Kate Winslet. A swanky hotel tucked discreetly at the end of a narrow […]
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Gregory Peck’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Script to Be Sold at Auction
Gregory Peck’s leather-bound copy of the To Kill a Mockingbird screenplay will soon hit the auction block. That wildly significant Hollywood artifact is one of 250 items from Peck’s personal collection — along with items belonging to his late philanthropist wife, Veronique — that will go to the highest bidders on Feb. 23 as part […]
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Hollywood Flashback: The Flood of 1938 Sunk Houses, Roads and Hollywood
The death toll stands at 19 and counting after a series of winter storms have deluged Southern California since Christmas. For Los Angeles, things have not yet reached the catastrophic heights of the flood of 1938, which claimed 115 lives and caused $2 billion in damage. The pummeling began on Feb. 27 and did not […]
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Hollywood Flashback: The Corvette Debuted in 1955’s ‘Kiss Me Deadly’
The Chevrolet Corvette, which turns 70 this week, was unveiled on Jan. 17, 1953, at the General Motors Motorama, held at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The sleek two-seater, named after a small warship, was a concept car, but interest was so high that it went into production later that year, with 300 hand-built models in […]
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Hollywood Flashback: In 1985, Vicki the Robot Wreaked Havoc on ‘Small Wonder’
M3GAN, the new Blumhouse flick about a homicidal robot doll (in theaters Jan. 6), is not Hollywood’s first foray into little-girl AI. A campy ’80s sitcom called Small Wonder followed the exploits of Vicki — an acronym for Voice Input Child Identicant — who was a child android played by Tiffany Brissette, then 10. The […]
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Hollywood Is Roaring Again: The Ultimate 2023 New Year’s Eve Party Roundup
With capacities back to pre-pandemic limits, mask mandates on ice (for now — fingers crossed) and people generally looking to blow off some steam, the ’20s are finally starting to feel fun (if not quite as debauched as the ’20s of a century ago depicted in Damien Chazelle’s Babylon). So in honor of this, the first […]
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Hollywood Flashback: ‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’ Charmed in 1978
Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977) may not be as widely known as Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) or Rankin/Bass’ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). But it is no less enchanting or enduring than those Christmas TV specials. Based on the 1971 children’s book by Russell Hoban, it was produced by […]
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