The daily gossip: 'Exorcist' director William Friedkin dies at 87, Greta Gerwig makes history as 'Barbie' passes $1 billion, and more

1. William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director of "The Exorcist," dies at 87

William Friedkin, the Oscar-winning "Exorcist" director who gave generations of moviegoers nightmares with arguably the scariest horror film ever made, has died. He was 87. The filmmaker's death was confirmed Monday to Variety by a friend of his wife. Friedkin is perhaps best known for directing "The Exorcist," the groundbreaking 1973 blockbuster that became the first horror film recognized with a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Prior to that, Friedkin helmed the 1971 classic "The French Connection," which won the Oscar for Best Picture, and he took home the Best Director statue. His other movies include "Sorcerer" and "To Live and Die in L.A." Friedkin's most recent non-documentary film was 2011's "Killer Joe," though he has a new movie starring Kiefer Sutherland, "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial," premiering this year. Eli Roth remembered Friedkin as "one of the most impactful directors of all time," while Stephen King mourned the "deeply talented filmmaker," and Guillermo del Toro said the "world has lost one of the Gods of Cinema."

Variety

2. Greta Gerwig makes history days after her birthday as "Barbie" passes $1 billion

This Barbie is a history-making director. "Barbie" has officially passed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, making history for director Greta Gerwig. She's now the first woman ever to have sole directing credit on a movie that made $1 billion. Previously, women co-directed the $1 billion movies "Captain Marvel," "Frozen," and "Frozen II." Barbie" is now only the second 2023 film to gross $1 billion worldwide after "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," proving star Margot Robbie right. The actress previously revealed to Collider that when pitching the film, she told the studio that "Barbie" could gross $1 billion. "Maybe I was overselling," she said, "but we had a movie to make, okay?" If anything, she may have been underselling, and the film made history days after Gerwig celebrated her 40th birthday — and had a flash mob sent to her house by Ryan Gosling to sing "I'm Just Ken." Welcome to the $1 billion club and the birthday hall of fame.

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Box Office Mojo

3. Natalie Portman and her husband have reportedly separated

Natalie Portman and her husband, Benjamin Millepied, are "currently on the outs" after he allegedly had an affair, Us Weekly reports. The news comes after Page Six reported in June that the two were "battling to save their marriage after she discovered that" Millepied, 46, "had an affair with a 25-year-old woman," Camille Étienne. An insider tells Us Weekly that "after news of his affair came out, they've been trying to work on their marriage," but they have now separated after 11 years of marriage. A source previously told the outlet that she was "humiliated" by the rumors, but she "believes Benjamin's affair was a brief and stupid liaison that means nothing to him." Portman and Millepied, who tied the knot in 2012 after meeting on the movie "Black Swan," share two children together. She was recently spotted without her wedding ring on the couple's 11th anniversary.

Us Weekly

4. Noah Schnapp "probably would still be closeted" if he didn't play Will Byers

Noah Schnapp is living his truth, and he has his fictional "Stranger Things" counterpart to thank. The actor told Variety that playing Will Byers on the Netflix hit helped him come out as gay. "Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself," he said. "I would be in a completely different place if I didn't have Will to portray, and to embrace and help me accept myself. I think if I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted." Indeed, Schnapp recalled feeling like he didn't have anything to worry about after seeing the public celebrate his character being gay, and he described the process of coming out to his sister, parents, and friends, including co-star Millie Bobby Brown. "I just FaceTimed her one day in the middle of a Party City and I was like, 'Millie, I'm gay.'" he said. "And she was like, 'Oh, Schnapper! You told me finally!'"

Variety

5. Jamie Foxx apologizes for Instagram post after antisemitism allegations

How did a Jamie Foxx Instagram post lead to backlash against Jennifer Aniston? If you enjoyed a weekend offline, allow us to explain. Foxx came under fire over a Friday Instagram post that drew accusations of antisemitism. "They killed this dude name Jesus … what do you think they'll do to you???! #fakefriends #fakelove," he posted. After some interpreted the "they" to mean Jewish people, Foxx apologized to the Jewish community and explained what he meant. "To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that's what I meant with 'they' not anything more," he said. Before Foxx's apology, Jennifer Aniston responded to reports that she "liked" his original post. "I did not 'like' this post on purpose or by accident," she said on Instagram, adding that she doesn't "support any form of antisemitism." But some fans defended Foxx, arguing it was always clear that he wasn't being antisemitic, sparking calls for Aniston to apologize for implying otherwise. It hasn't been her week.

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