The daily gossip: Embattled Netflix announces plans to make Squid Game real, Jared Leto had a 'lovely' experience with Elizabeth Holmes, and more
Today's top entertainment and celebrity news
- 1. Netflix is turning 'Squid Game' into a real competition
- 2. Jared Leto on Elizabeth Holmes: 'I liked her a lot'
- 3. Lady Gaga in talks to play Harley Quinn in 'Joker' musical sequel
- 4. Kim Kardashian might have permanently damaged Marilyn Monroe's dress
- 5. Jason Momoa and Eiza González break up
1. Netflix is turning 'Squid Game' into a real competition
The takeaway from Squid Game was that having people compete for cash in a deadly competition is actually totally cool and good, right? Netflix clearly thought so. The streamer has announced plans to turn the hit Korean series into an actual reality competition show. Squid Game: The Challenge will see 456 players compete in a series of games for a $4.56 million prize, similar to the plot of the show — except, you know, for the part where a bunch of people die. Netflix proudly boasted Squid Game: The Challenge will feature the "largest cast and lump sum cash prize in reality TV history," and casting is underway. Of course, critics would argue a giant streaming company profiting off a show where people desperate for cash are pitted against each other betrays the entire point of Squid Game, but ... well, there's no but. Maybe Netflix should have actually watched the show before giving this idea the green light.
2. Jared Leto on Elizabeth Holmes: 'I liked her a lot'
It sounds like there's no bad blood between Jared Leto and Elizabeth Holmes. As part of Variety's Actors on Actors series, Leto chatted with Amanda Seyfried about her role as the disgraced Theranos founder in The Dropout, and he recalled presenting Holmes with a Woman of the Year award back in 2015. "I liked her a lot," Leto said of Holmes. "She was really sweet, really kind. No indication that things weren't great in her life and at the company." In fact, Leto said he stayed in touch with Holmes, who was later convicted on fraud charges after it was revealed her blood testing technology didn't actually work, after this event. "My experience with her was always quite nice and lovely," Leto said, adding, "No one is one thing." Then again, maybe this was all just part of the Morbius star's process to get into character as a blood-sucking vampire.
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3. Lady Gaga in talks to play Harley Quinn in 'Joker' musical sequel
Talk about a bad romance. Lady Gaga is in talks to star opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the sequel to Joker, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline. She'd reportedly be playing Harley Quinn, the Joker's love interest whom he falls in love with after she serves as his psychiatrist. Margot Robbie is currently playing Harley in the DC films, most recently The Suicide Squad, but this would be a separate version in a different universe. Director Todd Phillips announced last week this sequel was moving forward with the working title Joker: Folie à deux. But the Reporter also reveals a jaw-dropping new detail: even though the original Joker was a dark character study, the sequel is apparently ... a musical. Perhaps if the first movie was pretty much Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, this one will pretty much be Scorsese's New York, New York. Tell me something girl: are you happy we live in a society?
The Hollywood Reporter Deadline
4. Kim Kardashian might have permanently damaged Marilyn Monroe's dress
It seems like no one wants to not damage iconic historical artifacts these days. Kim Kardashian is facing massive backlash after being accused of permanently damaging the actual Marilyn Monroe dress she wore to the Met Gala last month. For the event, Kardashian wore the real dress that Monroe was wearing when she famously sang "Happy Birthday" to JFK in the '60s, which was loaned to her from Ripley's Believe It or Not. But the Marilyn Monroe Collection has now shared before-and-after photos on Instagram allegedly showing that the dress — which Kardashian has admitted didn't initially fit her — is "missing crystals" with "some left hanging by a thread." This is despite Ripley's assuring everyone that "great care was taken to preserve" the dress. Believe it or not? We're gonna go with not.
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5. Jason Momoa and Eiza González break up
Paging Emilia Clarke: it looks like Jason Momoa is back on the market. Momoa and Ambulance actress Eiza González have reportedly broken up after a few months together. "They love each other very much having dated quietly for some time before it became public," an insider told People. But a source told the outlet the two are "just very different people," while another said they're "in different life stages." Yeah, that'll do it! Momoa and González were reported to be dating last month, though they apparently started seeing each other in February, not long after Momoa and Lisa Bonet announced they were separating. Momoa was also briefly rumored to be dating Kate Beckinsale, though he denied that, saying everyone just read too much into him giving her his jacket at a party. The newly single Aquaman star presumably now plans to spend more time with his fish.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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