The daily gossip: Jennifer Lawrence claims there were no female action leads before The Hunger Games, Janelle Monáe went to her birthday party topless, and more

1. Jennifer Lawrence claims there were no female action leads before 'The Hunger Games'

If there's one thing Twitter won't stand for, it's Linda Hamilton erasure. Jennifer Lawrence learned that the hard way after appearing to suggest The Hunger Games was the first action movie with a female lead. "When I was doing Hunger Games, nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie because it wouldn't work, we were told," Lawrence said in a Variety conversation with Viola Davis. She added the idea that boys can't identify with female leads was "a lie to keep certain people out of the movies." That's a valid point, but critics took issue with her seemingly claiming to be the first female action lead ever, pointing to Linda Hamilton in The Terminator, Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, and Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, among others. Perhaps Lawrence misspoke or meant this was Hollywood's wrongheaded way of thinking. But clearly, the odds of avoiding a social media dust-up were not in her favor.

Variety

2. Janelle Monáe went to her birthday party topless

Janelle Monáe gave a whole new meaning to the term birthday suit. When celebrating her birthday recently, Monáe told Jimmy Kimmel, she "decided to go topless." The Glass Onion star explained her friends have a tradition of taking her on a trip for her birthday and celebrating with nightly themes. This year, the trip was to Mexico, and the themes included a "wine night" where your clothes match your favorite wine. But Monáe instead went rogue, declaring she wanted to "be free" and "let it all hang out." So "they were all dressed, and I was topless" throughout the entire party, which had more than 20 guests — though she noted she did "cover my nips" with "temporary tats." Still, it was the one birthday party where the guests had their wish come true.

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Jimmy Kimmel Live!

3. Anya Taylor-Joy didn't call Charlize Theron about taking over her 'Mad Max' role

She's not mad, Max. In a new Hollywood Reporter profile, Charlize Theron said she never heard from Anya Taylor-Joy about the Queen's Gambit star taking over her role of Furiosa in an upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road prequel — but she understands. "I get that," Theron said. "It's always tricky. Who wants to pick up the phone and say, like, 'Hey, we're going to go do this without you.' No one wants to do that." The film is a prequel titled Furiosa, so director George Miller needed a younger actress. Theron told the Reporter she's "not mad" about Miller going in that direction rather than making a sequel starring her, calling Taylor-Joy "one of the greatest f--king actresses." Taylor-Joy also previously told People she's planning to get dinner with Theron to "swap war stories." But Theron acknowledged that "if I had another opportunity," she'd still be interested in returning to Mad Max. Maybe at some point down the Fury Road.

The Hollywood Reporter People

4. Whoopi Goldberg's will warns not to make unauthorized biopics about her

Hollywood will make a Whoopi Goldberg biopic over her dead body. Actually, not even then. During a discussion on The View about the Marilyn Monroe film Blonde, co-host Sunny Hostin suggested we'll eventually see a Whoopi movie, too. "It sounds macabre, but I was speaking to Whoopi, and I was saying she's such a famous person that when she passes away, people are going to make films," Hostin suggested. But according to Goldberg, she's so against this idea, she's noted her objection in her will. "Actually they're not," Goldberg shot back. "They're not going to make films [about me], because in my will it says, 'Unless you speak to my family, try it.' Try it!" Granted, Goldberg is a public figure, so anyone could try to make an unauthorized biopic anyway … if they want their film set to be haunted by Goldberg, that is. Actually, a movie about Goldberg's angry ghost sounds far more appealing.

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5. 'Avatar: The Way of Water' finally premieres — and dazzles critics

How many times must we learn the lesson to never, ever bet against James Cameron? After a 13-year wait and many delays, it turns out the Avatar sequel is a real movie, as The Way of Water has finally premiered — and it sounds like critics were absolutely blown away. "Light years better than the first & easily one of the best theatrical experiences in ages," raved IndieWire's David Ehrlich, while Uproxx's Mike Ryan said he's "never seen anything like this from a technical, visual standpoint." Good Day Chicago's Jake Hamilton also said it "left my jaw on the ground for the entire runtime," and The Hollywood Reporter's Beatrice Verhoeven said it's "so beautiful it's hard to put into words." So, yeah, it's pretty good, we take it? Between this and Titanic, if you're looking for a surefire hit, maybe all you need to do is hire James Cameron and Kate Winslet and just add water.

IndieWire