Dave Chappelle’s bizarre SNL drop in, Jerry Seinfeld’s Pop-Tart movie, and more news from the week

Why did Dave Chappelle pop into the last seconds of Saturday Night Live this week?

It seems the cast of Saturday Night Live simply cannot escape the presence of Dave Chappelle, even on a night when he’s nowhere near the call sheet. The divisive, transphobic comedian popped up on stage alongside host Dakota Johnson, musical guest Justin Timberlake, and a slew of other celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran during the goodbyes segment of this past weekend’s broadcast, seemingly to the surprise of the cast as much as the audience. And sure, this writer is no body language expert, but it seems clear that certain cast members weren’t too thrilled about welcoming the three-time host back to their place of employment. Read More

We finally have photographic proof of Jerry Seinfeld’s bizarre Pop-Tart movie

Was Jerry Seinfeld’s semi-obsessive desire to make a movie about the creation of the Pop-Tart—a project Seinfeld has been talking about regularly for years at this point, with its origins dating back to a long-toiled-over joke in his act—simply an idea waiting patiently for its time? After all, the Netflix-produced Unfrosted apparently finished filming way back in 2022, with no word as to why it hadn’t yet been released, almost two years later. Was it simply waiting until the era of Air and Flamin’ Hot was in full swing, so that this strangest of the Product Movies might have a well-traveled place to land? Regardless, we now have genuine proof that the movie—Seinfeld’s directorial debut, as it happens, and his first cinematic project since a weary nation lost its heart to Bee Movie lo these 17 years ago—actually exists outside its creator’s head, as Netflix released a few seconds of footage from the movie as part of its much bigger film slate announcements earlier today. Read More

Jamie Chung took that Succession cameo to keep health insurance

Humanity’s evidence-finding mission to prove that stars really are just like us has made some impressive strides in the last few years. From finding out Tom Cruise likes popcorn and movies to Ben Affleck trying to wrangle an unwieldy Dunkin’ order in a single trip, celebrities have expressed greater willingness to show off their more down-to-earth qualities in front of their adoring public. Even Taylor Swift is getting in the action by attending football games, just like a real person might. Read More

SNL 1975 has found its Not Ready For Primetime Players

Jason Reitman has quite a task on his hands with his Saturday Night Live origin story, SNL 1975. People who care about SNL’s history really care about it. Choosing the right actors to portray the show’s legendary performers, whose comedy stylings are not only specific but also incredibly beloved by their fans, is a big challenge. Who can match the gonzo energy of John Belushi? The effortless quirk of Gilda Radner? The erudite arrogance of Chevy Chase? It’s a nigh impossible task, but one that is now completed and open to judgment from the masses: SNL 197 has cast its Not Ready For Primetime Players, a list that includes Dylan O’Brien, Lamorne Morris, Cory Michael Smith, and Ella Hunt (per Deadline). Read More

The return of Vanderpump Rules is most notable for who’s missing

Vanderpump Rules returned last night for its first outing since the Scandoval affair took its cast from the confines of Bravo and onto the pages of The New York Times. It was a mostly normal return to form, even if the Big, Bad Thing hung over the heads of the cast: Tom Schwartz explained that he’s still on the outs with Ariana Madix after their intense conversation in the finale; Lala Kent has grown closer to her family in the wake of her own scandalous divorce; Schenea Shay reveals that she has begun taking Zoloft after the national attention understandably triggered flareups of OCD and anxiety. Read More

Trapped theatergoers held overnight at Holdovers screening

The Holdovers is 2023’s comfiest movie. Who wouldn’t want to spend the yuletide with a cup of cocoa and Paul Giamatti at a beautiful New England boarding school carved from mahogany and blanketed with soft, white snow? There’s nothing like getting wrapped inside The Holdovers—as long as you’re the one doing the wrapping. Read More

Avatar: The Last Airbender is updating Sokka, presumably because they don’t understand Sokka

When Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino departed the live-action reboot for undisclosed creative differences (the show became something they hadn’t “envisioned or intended to make”), fans were nervous as to what changes would have driven them away. Well, here’s one possibility: Sokka is going to be less sexist than he was in the original series. Star Kiawentiio (who plays Sokka’s sister, Katara) shared this with Entertainment Weekly, observing that “there were a lot of moments in the original show that were iffy.” Read More

What actually happened between Jake Gyllenhaal and this viral French movie Suddenly?

Last week, the French film website Technikart published a harrowing account of a production involving Jake Gyllenhaal, Vanessa Kirby, and a Pepe Le Pew impression. Told mostly from the perspective of director Thomas Bidegain, known for A Prophet, it recounts Gyllenhaal’s erratic behavior on set, which, depending on who translated the article, means he wanted to write a scene where his character slaps a fish or forced set builders to sleep in their cars out of COVID precautions. Over four days, the director, who reportedly worked with Gyllenhaal and Kirby for 10 months on the script, decided it wasn’t worth the headache and shut the project down. Read More

Larry David takes down Elmo (sort of)

The Curb Your Enthusiasm star attacked Elmo while Elmo’s dad did nothing to protect his 3-year-old puppet son

J. Smith-Cameron discusses her favorite scene from Succession

The actor also discusses her approach to voice acting for In The Know