The daily gossip: Julia Garner looks set to play Madonna, parents accuse Ezra Miller of grooming their daughter, and more

1. Julia Garner looks set to play Madonna in a biopic

The Madonna biopic has found its material girl. Ozark star Julia Garner has been offered the lead role in a movie about the famed singer, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. It's not totally final yet, as a deal hasn't been hammered out, but she's said to be the studio's pick. The choice comes after an extensive search and a "grueling" audition process, which had candidates meet with Madonna and go through choreography sessions lasting up to 11 hours a day, as the Reporter previously detailed. Florence Pugh, Alexa Demie, and Odessa Young were some of the other contenders for the role. The movie will be directed by someone who knows just a little bit about the Madonna story: Madonna. If she's looking for an ending, there's always time to incorporate some recent headlines like "Madonna Defends NFT Showing Singer Naked with Flower Sprouting from Vagina."

Variety The Hollywood Reporter

2. Parents accuse Ezra Miller of grooming their daughter

The "Ezra Miller avoid more negative headlines until The Flash comes out challenge" isn't going well. The parents of 18-year-old Tokata Iron Eyes are asking a court to issue an order of protection against Miller, claiming the Flash actor is a negative influence on her, TMZ reports. According to the legal documents, the two met when Miller was 23 and Tokata was 12, and the parents accuse the Fantastic Beasts actor of using "violence, intimidation, threat of violence, fear, paranoia, delusions, and drugs to hold sway" over her. They claim Miller provided their daughter with alcohol and drugs when she was underage and that when they flew to Miller's home to get her, they found she didn't have a driver's license, car keys, or bank card and allegedly had bruises on her body. But Tokata insisted in a statement that "my comrade Ezra Miller," who has been arrested in Hawaii multiple times this year alone, has "only provided loving support and invaluable protection."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

TMZ

3. Kristen Stewart puts out casting call for 'super gay' ghost-hunting show

If there's something gay in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? Kristen Stewart! The Oscar-nominated actress has announced she's teaming up with the producers of Queer Eye for the "most gayest, most funnest, most titillating queer ghost-hunting show ever," and casting is now underway. Stewart called for LGBTQ+ ghost hunters, paranormal specialists, mediums, psychics, and investigators to audition for her "super gay ghost-hunting adventure," directing fans to a casting website. There, interested gay ghost-hunters can answer a series of questions, such as "what kind of equipment do you use in connection with your paranormal activities, if any?" Amid her press tour for Spencer last year, Stewart — who strongly suggested Princess Diana's ghost blessed her performance in the film — revealed to the New Yorker she was working on this "paranormal romp in a queer space." Between this and Demi Lovato's UFO series, it presumably won't be long before Cara Delevingne joins the hunt for Bigfoot.

Variety

4. Nick Cannon has even more kids on the way

America's top baby maker isn't ready to hang it up just yet. Nick Cannon, who welcomed three kids last year alone, implied on the Lip Service podcast he's expecting several more children in 2022. Asked about rumors that he currently has three babies on the way, Cannon responded, "Well, when you say on the way — what count are you at? Let's just put it this way ... the stork is on the way." Indeed, TMZ reported Wednesday he's expecting baby number nine with Abby De La Rosa, even though he revealed last month he had a vasectomy consultation so he wouldn't "populate the Earth completely." On Lip Service, Cannon recalled his unsuccessful efforts to "try celibacy" last October, as recommended by his therapist. But he regretfully recalled that after he "fell victim" to "a little vagina," he "didn't even make it to January."

People

5. A 'Joker' sequel is officially in the works

He used to think his life was a tragedy, but now he realizes … it's a sequel. A follow-up to 2019's Joker is officially in the works, director Todd Phillips has revealed. Phillips shared a photo of the script on Instagram, which shows it's titled Joker: Folie à deux, as well as a picture of star Joaquin Phoenix reading it. The original film, which told the origin story of the clown prince of crime by way of Taxi Driver, was a surprisingly huge hit for DC, grossing $1 billion at the box office and winning Phoenix the Oscar for Best Actor. There's no word yet on the plot of the sequel, but the term folie à deux refers to an "identical or similar mental disorder affecting two or more individuals," according to the National Library of Medicine — sparking speculation that Harley Quinn could play a part. Either way, we look forward to seeing which Martin Scorsese movie Phillips plans to rip off next.

Deadline