The daily gossip: The Cats movie made Andrew Lloyd Webber buy a dog, Peter Dinklage re-emerges as Cyrano de Bergerac, and more

1. Andrew Lloyd Webber says the 'Cats' movie was so bad, it made him buy a dog

Like many who saw it, Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted to wipe away the memory of the Cats movie as quickly as possible — which, in his case, involved the help of a dog. The composer recalled to Variety his abject horror after watching the 2019 film adaptation of his musical Cats. Directed by Tom Hooper, the movie was widely panned, in part because of its bizarre and unsettling visual effects. "I saw it and I just thought, 'Oh, God, no,'" Lloyd Webber said. In fact, Lloyd Webber revealed that after seeing the film, "It was the first time in my 70-odd years on this planet that I went out and bought a dog. So the one good thing to come out of it is my little Havanese puppy." He even claimed he cites the Cats movie as a reason he needs a therapy dog when traveling: "The airline wrote back and said, 'Can you prove that you really need him?' And I said 'Yes, just see what Hollywood did to my musical Cats. Then the approval came back with a note saying, 'No doctor's report required.'"

Variety The Week

2. Watch Peter Dinklage in the new trailer for 'Cyrano'

If you've been missing Peter Dinklage since Game of Thrones ended, today is a good day: The beloved actor is back in a new trailer for Cyrano, a musical based on Cyrano de Bergerac. In the original play, Cyrano is a French nobleman and poet who falls in love with his beautiful cousin Roxanne, but considers himself too hideous to risk confessing his true feelings; in the new film directed by Joe Wright (Atonement), Cyrano is played by Dinklage opposite Haley Bennett. It sounds totally bonkers, reportedly including a "literal rap battle during which Cyrano trades rhymes with a foe while they fence to the death" as well as "hundreds of lavishly costumed extras singing a mope rock banger on the snowy peak of an active volcano!" The film will reportedly include music from members of The National, and is set to be released on Dec. 31. Watch the trailer here.

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3. Jennifer Aniston gently suggested Jake Gyllenhaal embrace 'the pillow technique' during their romantic scenes

It's no secret that Jake Gyllenhaal has a major crush on Jennifer Aniston, which he admitted made things both "torture" and "also not torture" when shooting the 2002 film The Good Girl opposite her. "Weirdly, love scenes are awkward, because there are maybe 30, 50 people watching it? That doesn't turn me on," Gyllenhaal explained to Howard Stern. Still, he confessed that it was Aniston's idea to use "the pillow technique" on set during their more intimate scenes. "That was just pre-emptive and used generally always when actually in a horizontal place in that movie … She was very kind to suggest it before we began. She was like, 'I'm putting a pillow here,'" Gyllenhaal recalled. Nice save.

The New York Post

4. 'Black Panther' star Letitia Wright has allegedly espoused anti-vaccine views on set

Letitia Wright, the Black Panther star who last year faced backlash for sharing an anti-vaccine video, has reportedly continued to espouse these views on the set of the new sequel. The Hollywood Reporter describes Hollywood as more divided than one might expect over COVID-19 vaccination, with some productions descending into "chaos" due to unvaccinated actors catching the coronavirus. "A set source says [Wright] has espoused similar views about the COVID-19 vaccines on the Atlanta production" of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Reporter writes. Wright plays Shuri, the sister of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, in Black Panther, and fans have speculated she could become the next Black Panther after Boseman's death. Meanwhile, George Clooney said it's "crazy" and "stupid" that some in the industry won't get their shot.

The Hollywood Reporter The Week

5. We now know when to expect the 'Sex and the City' reboot

Mark your calendars: The Sex and the City revival And Just Like That... is set to debut this December, HBO announced Tuesday. In a teaser for the new show, series star Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays Carrie, addressed fans from "New York City, Fifth Avenue," offering a glimpse of "some beloved friends" — including Cynthia Nixon returning as Miranda, Kristin Davis as Charlotte, and Chris Noth as Mr. Big. The 10-episode series will reportedly explore the friends "as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s." Watch here.

HBO Max