The daily gossip: The best director of all time isn't letting his status go to his head, a Great Gatsby musical is on the way, and more

(Image credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

Jump to category:

1. Director of the best movie of all time (Paddington 2) trying not to let the title get to his head
2. Florence Welch is writing a Great Gatsby musical
3. Chris Harrison did not get married even though it totally looked like he got married
4. Chrissy Teigen wonders if Lori Loughlin could help her get in to hospitality school
5. In less than 24 hours, Billie Eilish drops her new single

published 28 April 2021

1. Director of the best movie of all time (Paddington 2) trying not to let the title get to his head

If today's technology had been around in 1941, Orson Welles might have been able to make a film "nearly as good" as Paddington 2, said Paddington writer and director Paul King. "But he had to make do. He had to muster his meager talent into merely knocking out Citizen Kane," King said. His comments come after Citizen Kane was knocked out of the No. 1 Rotten Tomatoes spot due to an unearthed 1941 Chicago Tribune review that decried the film's status: "Its sacrifice of simplicity to eccentricity robs it of distinction and general entertainment value." Now, Citizen Kane has a 99 percent score, while Paddington 2 has 100 percent. King says the titular bear would react to the news by "cracking open the marmalade" to "have a second sandwich."

Everybody's favorite AP Lit and Comp unit is getting turned into a musical. The Great Gatsby is headed to the stage, with music and lyrics by Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine, and a script by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok. "This book has haunted me for a large part of my life," said Welch, who notably contributed the song "Over the Love" to Baz Luhrmann's 2013 adaptation of Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio. "It contains some of my favorite lines in literature." F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jazz Age novel entered the public domain in January, and has additionally inspired a graphic novel, a prequel about narrator Nick Carraway, a version with zombies, something called The Gay Gatsby, and a forthcoming "big budget" TV show. So we beat on, indeed.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Abductive reasoning would have us conclude that if it looks like a wedding, and "celebrates love" like a wedding, then it is probably a wedding. But despite Bachelor host (???) Chris Harrison posting a photo of himself kissing his girlfriend, Lauren Zima, in a white dress, the two apparently didn't get married. If you read past the part of the caption where Chris writes "'I'd stop the world and melt with you' @laurenzima there's no one I'd rather celebrate love with," he finishes by adding "...and I'll be your plus one anytime." Apparently Lauren was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding in Dallas, and Harrison went along with her — instead of shooting the season of The Bachelorette that just wrapped filming, where he's been temporarily (???) replaced by Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe.

Chrissy Teigen wants to go to hospitality school but is unsure of where to start — she claims she is "old" and didn't take her SATs. "Do I have to Laurie Laughlin photoshop myself being hospitable?" the model tweeted, in reference to Lori Loughlin, of Full House and bribing the University of Southern California fame. Though Loughlin's bribes did work, she won't be emulating that for Teigen. Yeah, there was the whole prison sentence, but she's busy working on her marriage and plotting a move to Idaho to take advantage of the great outdoors, as "taking long hikes calms her." Teigen might have to apply the old-fashioned way.

Foolish people might call today "Wednesday," when really it's "The Day Before Billie Eilish Drops Her Next Single." On Tuesday, the 19-year-old singer surprised fans with a dramatic new look and the announcement that her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, is dropping this summer. "This is my favorite thing i've ever created and i am so excited and nervous and EAGER for you to hear it," she wrote. The new track premieres at 9 a.m. PT on Thursday, and is called "My Power." Eilish teased a nine-second snippet of the song, in which she croons to an acoustic guitar, on Instagram on Wednesday; it'll be the third single from her 16-track album, after "Therefore I Am" and "My Future," which peaked at No. 2 and No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively.