The daily gossip: November 6, 2019

Lady Gaga says she and Bradley Cooper weren't actually in love, James Dean will return to the big screen via CGI, and more

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
(Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

1. Lady Gaga says she and Bradley Cooper didn't actually fall in love for A Star is Born

For anyone who swooned at Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's chemistry in A Star is Born last year, we have some bad news to deliver: According to Gaga, all that acting was... just an act. "For me, as a performer and as an actress, of course we wanted people to believe that we were in love," said Gaga, explaining that she and Cooper didn't actually fall in love just because they played two characters who did. Great. Next you're going to tell me the Avengers didn't really kill Thanos and save the galaxy.

2. James Dean will return to the big screen via a CGI doppelgänger

Like a story out of a subpar Philip K. Dick novel, Hollywood's obsession with questionable CGI has reached an unsettling new apex: The resurrection of James Dean, who died in 1955, as a CGI movie star. Now that Dean's family has signed off on the rights, the late actor will "appear" in the upcoming movie Finding Jack, via what the filmmakers vow will be "a realistic version of James Dean" — and in 2019, nothing is more realistic than a bunch of strangers milking a beloved cultural icon to sell a few more movie tickets.

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The Hollywood Reporter

3. Colin Farrell is in talks to play the Penguin in the new Batman movie

When you think of a short, stout, beak-nosed villain with a penchant for umbrellas, who's the first actor who comes to mind? If you said "Colin Farrell," congratulations! You are the casting director for the upcoming Batman reboot. Farrell is in talks to join the movie as the Penguin, playing the villain alongside Paul Dano as the Riddler and Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman — because not even the new Batman movie can justify doing the Joker again.

Deadline

4. There's a new George Michael song in Last Christmas, and you can listen to it now

If you're the kind of person who can't resist peeking at your presents a little early, this Friday's new movie release Last Christmas — which prominently features George Michael's music — has dropped an unexpected gift: A never-before-released George Michael song, titled "This is How (We Want You to Get High)" that will play over the movie's final scenes. If you'd rather listen to an established Michael hit like, uh, "Last Christmas," don't worry: That song appears in the movie too, and will also be on the radio roughly 47 times per day as soon as December rolls around.

Entertainment Weekly

5. Dame Helen Mirren says she wants more tattoos

Actress, dame, and all-around rebel-without-a-cause Helen Mirren has issued a typically queenly proclamation: She would like some more tattoos. Mirren already has one small tattoo near her thumb, which she says she got at a time "when only Hell's Angels had tattoos," but that she also plans to get more tattoos as she gets older. If she's looking for inspiration for tat number two, she can probably ask literally any of her Fast & Furious costars.

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.