News, buzz & rumours

BADMAN AND ROBYN

Notorious former Toronto mayor Rob Ford is the subject of a new thriller called Run This Town. The late politician will be played by Billions star Damian Lewis in a prosthetic suit, but that’s not the most controversial casting move: Ben Platt plays a journalist that tries to take Ford down. Robyn Doolittle, the real-life journalist who exposed Ford’s crack addiction, expressed her frustration at the gender reversal. Both Platt and the film’s director have promised the character is entirely fictional.

THE MASTER(S)

Fresh off of directing Daniel Day-Lewis in Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson is working with yet another untouchable auteur — he’s directed a portion of Adam Sandler’s new standup comedy special. Of course, the two previously collaborated on 2002’s excel- lent Punch-Drunk Love. Here’s hoping they can also get Jonny Greenwood to provide a score.

CANNING CANNES

The Cannes film festival has had a major falling out with Netflix. Artistic director Thierry Fremaux revealed that films could not compete in the fest without a theatrical release. Netflix chief Ted Sarandos said he would cooperate, but a law in France forbids movies from appearing on home platforms for 36 months after their theatrical release. Speaking with Variety, Sarandos said, “We loved the festival…. It’s just that the festival has chosen to celebrate distribution rather than the art of cinema. We are 100 percent about the art of cinema. And by the way, every other festival in the world is too.”

R2-D2 DID 9/11

Here’s a sentence we never thought we’d get to type — famed Canadian author Margaret Atwood has weighed in on her theory that the 9/11 terrorists were inspired by Star Wars. She shared her decidedly spicy take with Variety: “Remember the first one? Two guys fly a plane in the middle of something and blow that up? The only difference is, in Star Wars, they get away.” Could this mean that other Star Wars movies will predict future attacks? What do we need to learn from Jar-Jar Binks?

COMEDIAN BOMBS

Following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and transphobia, T.J. Miller is continuing his downward spiral. The comedian was arrested for allegedly phoning in a bomb threat on an Amtrak train in Connecticut in March. He was arrested in April and released on $100,000 bail. If he’s convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.