Names and faces
■ The normally private Taylor Swift premiered an intimate documentary Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival in which the pop star discloses a past eating disorder, chronicles her inner battle over speaking forthrightly about politics, and says her victorious 2017 sexual assault court case was a dramatic turning point in her life. Miss Americana, a Netflix documentary directed by Lana Wilson, was one of the most feverishly awaited films in this year’s Sundance program, and the premiere at the Eccles Center in Park City, Utah, on the festival’s opening day was a predictably frenzied scene. Outside the theater, dozens of Swift fans sang in unison. The film, which will debut Jan. 31 on Netflix, plays like a coming-of-age drama for a performer who — despite finding mega-fame as a teenager — took some time to truly find her voice. In the film, she says she always strove to be “a good girl” and needed approving “pats on the head” for any sense of gratification. But Miss Americana captures an evolution in Swift. “It’s time to take the masking tape off my mouth, like, forever,” she says in the documentary. One of the film’s most dramatic scenes shows Swift, eager to speak out against the 2018 Senate campaign of Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn, meeting with her family to discuss it. Her father warns against it, citing the potential financial impact. Her publicist later advises that President Donald Trump might come after her. Indeed, when Swift posted on Instagram against Blackburn and urged young voters to register, Trump said he liked Swift’s music about 25% less — a response Swift mocks in the film.
■ A book by Rep. Elijah Cummings, nearly finished in his lifetime and worked on by his widow after his death, will be published this summer. Harper, an imprint of Harper-Collins Publishers, announced Friday that We’re Better Than This: My Fight for the Future of Our Democracy comes out June 30. According to the publisher, Cummings “powerfully weaves together the urgent drama of modern-day politics and the defining stories from his past. He offers a unique perspective on how his upbringing as the son of sharecroppers in a South Baltimore neighborhood, rampant with racism and poverty, laid the foundation of a life spent fighting for justice.” Cummings’ book was completed by his widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, and by co-author James Dale. “Elijah and I discussed this book for a long time,” Maya Cummings said in a statement issued through her publisher. “He had many stories from his life he wanted to share because he wanted to encourage young people to overcome obstacles and strive toward their goals. This book is for the ages and the moment. Elijah’s fierce defense of our democracy was tied to his total certainty that without it, freedom and opportunity for all would be impossible.” Maya Cummings is running for the seat left open by her husband’s death, with a Democratic primary scheduled for Feb. 4. Elijah Cummings, who died in October at age 68, served in Congress for 23 years and was chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.