The daily gossip: November 15, 2019

1. Taylor Swift says her record label is holding her songs hostage

In a dramatic shot across the bow of her former label Big Machine, pop star Taylor Swift took to social media to allege that she's not being allowed to use or perform her older songs in some upcoming television specials. It's the latest salvo in a complicated and ongoing fight between Swift and the label, which owns the rights to Swift's back catalogue until November of 2020, at which point Swift plans to rerecord all her old songs. This is normally where we'd suggest that the haters are gonna hate, and Swift should be allowed to play, play, play — but honestly, we're not sure she has the rights to that song right now.

Variety

2. Actors have been cast to play Bill Clinton and Barack Obama

In one day, two different actors have been cast to play two different U.S. presidents in two different TV shows, because yes, the past 20 years of U.S. politics really have been that dramatic. Clive Owen will play Bill Clinton on American Crime Story, which will dramatize the sex scandal that led to his impeachment; Kingsley Ben-Adir will play Barack Obama in A Higher Loyalty, which will dramatize James Comey's memoir about his tenure as FBI director, which ended in a dramatic firing by President Trump. If you don't feel like waiting for the shows to premiere, you can get all the spoilers from literally any contemporaneous newspaper.

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3. Kelly Clarkson's kids ask Jason Momoa if he knows the Little Mermaid

Despite all appearances, it is probably safe to assume that Jason Momoa is not actually Aquaman, the D.C. superhero he played in the movie of the same name. But like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, Kelly Clarkson didn't want to spoil the illusion for her young kids — so she invited them onto her talk show to interview Momoa about what it's like to save the world while gabbing with some fish. Among their questions? If Aquaman has met the Little Mermaid — an adorable idea that's also almost definitely being pitched by some desperate screenwriter right now.

The A.V. Club

4. Werner Herzog says The Mandalorian is 'cinema back at its best'

Few living filmmakers are more acclaimed than Werner Herzog, which is why it was a little surprising when he turned up to play a by-the-numbers bad guy in the new Star Wars series The Mandalorian. But if you think Herzog is slumming it a bit, Herzog doesn't agree; at a recent screening, he somewhat inexplicably declared that The Mandalorian, which is a TV show, as "cinema back at its best" — an argument that would probably make Martin Scorsese's head explode.

Indiewire

5. Isabella Rossellini used to think Laura Dern was blind

How good an actress is Laura Dern? Good enough that even one of her fellow actresses couldn't tell she was acting. After seeing Dern play a blind woman in Mask, Blue Velvet costar Isabella Rossellini assumed Dern was actually blind, and guided her around the set by the arm before Dern corrected her mistake. The gesture may have been unnecessary, but you know what they say: A Dern in the hand is worth two in the bush.

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