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Archives 2024

18 Thoughts I Had About the First Trailer for Babygirl

I would watch a two-hour compilation of Nicole Kidman taking out the trash, so maybe I’m not the best judge of whether her upcoming film Babygirl—an A24 production that also stars Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas—actually looks good or is just horny enough to get the Carol-loving audience filing into theaters on Christmas Day. (For what it’s worth, its reviews out of Venice were quite good!) One thing’s for sure, though: Babygirl is already inspiring discourse.

Watch the first full Babygirl trailer for yourself, then see (literally) all my thoughts about it below.

  1. Finally, a wig worthy of Nicole Kidman!
  2. Wait, is that even a wig? Is that just her real hair? Will wonders never cease?
  3. I’m choosing to believe the dog being called a good girl is actually Amy Adams in Nightbitch.
  4. Ooh, a Christmas-themed A24 logo!
  5. Do they make ornaments?
  6. Okay, I was joking, but it seems they do.
  7. Botox needles are the hottest accessory in film right now, apparently.
  8. This whole busy, high-powered working-mom thing is a common Kidman trope, but that doesn’t mean I’m not excited to see her embrace it yet again.
  9. This time with sexy-intern intrigue, apparently!
  10. “I think you like to be told what to do.” Damn!
  11. Is this yet another May-December movie?
  12. This tracking shot of what I think is a fancy New York apartment is making me think of one of my favorite movie scenes of all time: the part where they rob Audrina’s house in The Bling Ring.
  13. Is this not also kind of just…Fair Play, only less corporate?
  14. Milk!
  15. Okay, I don’t hate Harris Dickinson in a Connell–from–Normal People chain.
  16. Pool games? Okay, that’s the kind of torrid affair I can get behind.
  17. Hey, Antonio Banderas!
  18. I’ve long said we need more sexy Christmas movies, so I’m going to be seated as hell for this one.
On the Tactile Delights of Being an AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego)
An Exclusive Look at Kristin Chenoweth in the Broadway-Bound The Queen of Versailles

There are actors who seem tailor-made to play certain roles, and then there is Kristin Chenoweth in The Queen of Versailles: Not since she belted “Popular” in a bundle of pink tulle has Chenoweth sunk her teeth into a part so uniquely suited to her talents. And it makes sense, given that The Queen of Versailles reunites the performer with her Wicked composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who developed the role of Glinda the Good Witch with Chenoweth in mind back in the early aughts.

“Stephen has been teasing me and saying he wants to write me an original musical for years!” Chenoweth tells Vogue. “Every time he said, ‘I promise I’m gonna do it before I die!’ I’d just go, ‘Yeah, yeah, sure, buddy.’”

It may have taken more than two decades, but Schwartz finally delivered on his promise. Currently running at Boston’s Colonial Theatre, The Queen of Versailles stars Chenoweth as Jacquelie “Jackie” Siegel, the real-life pageant queen turned socialite who collects Birkin bags like Funko Pops. F. Murray Abraham plays her significantly older husband, David Siegel, the founder of a timeshare company with a net worth north of $6 billion.

Chenoweth during the curtain call on The Queen of Versailles’s opening night

Photo: Nile Hawver

John Legend on Composing in His Sleep, Meeting Prince, and His New Album of Lullabies, My Favorite Dream

John Legend has music on his mind even when he’s asleep. There are nights when the singer-songwriter is so inspired, he dreams of new melodies and concepts, eventually jolting awake and grabbing his phone to record them before they disappear.

The constant, even compulsive churn of Legend’s creativity can perhaps be explained by the fact that the 45-year-old has been writing songs since he was a child, regularly harnessing inspiration from the ether and channeling it into the songs making up his extensive discography.

In the 20 years since the release of his debut album, Get Lifted, Legend has often chronicled defining moments of his life through his work; his signature song “All of Me,” dedicated to Chrissy Teigen, was released a month before their Lake Como wedding in 2013. Now the father of four children under age nine (the youngest, a baby boy named Wren, was born last summer), Legend is decidedly a family man—so it follows that his tenth studio album, the aptly titled My Favorite Dream, is a project focused on lullabies and music for kids. For Legend, the project represented a chance to put his distinctive stamp on a largely overlooked genre.

With Sufjan Stevens aboard as a producer, My Favorite Dream spans joyful original compositions and covers of Fisher-Price ditties that many parents know all too well. Legend spoke to Vogue about the project and the magic of creativity—as well as about his recent headline-making performance at the Democratic National Convention.

Vogue: Aside from songs like “Rainbow Connection” or Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts music, serious songwriting and children’s music haven’t always mixed…

John Legend: I don’t want to denigrate all of the folks who make children’s music for a living, because there are plenty who make it and put a lot of thought and energy into it. But it’s true that there haven’t been a lot of mainstream pop artists who make a full children’s album like this. But I wanted to think about it like I would any other album, in the sense of setting a standard of musical excellence and just sonic quality and every standard I’d hold any other album of mine to.

An Obsessive Wicked Fan Breaks Down the Movie Version’s Soundtrack

Beginning from the top: “No One Mourns the Wicked” may have one of the most iconic opening chord progressions in all of musical theater. However, in Jon M. Chu’s film, the intro fans know so well is briefly interrupted with—if you are quick enough to catch them—the strains of “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead” from The Wizard of Oz. And that’s just one of Wicked’s many brilliant allusions to that 1939 film, starring Judy Garland.

10 Standout Artworks in the Whitney’s Blockbuster ‘Edges of Ailey’ Show

The Whitney Museum of American Art’s “Edges of Ailey” exhibition is a feast for the senses. Occupying the museum’s entire fifth floor, the show brings together hundreds of objects—paintings, drawings, photographs, videos, archival material, journal entries, and more—in tribute to Alvin Ailey, the late titan of modern dance whose influence on Black American culture is still deeply felt today.

Curated by Adrienne Edwards, “Edges of Ailey” was six years in the making. Though he is best known as the founder, in 1958, of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey engaged with many art forms beyond dance, and this show is similarly wide-ranging. Edwards combed through Ailey’s archives and sought artwork of all kinds that spoke to his legacy; the overall effect is a coming together of excellent Black and queer visual art that channels struggle, triumph, and transcendence—key themes of Ailey’s riveting choreography.

More than 80 artists are represented in the show, with works spanning from 1851 to this year. Presiding over all of it is an 18-channel video (and accompanying audio) playing performance clips and archival interviews. It’s a lot to take in, but it is this abundance that makes “Edges of Ailey” so very moving. A spirit of generosity coursed through Ailey’s career. What better way to honor him than by uniting so many incredible works under one roof.

Below, 10 standout pieces from “Edges of Ailey” to look out for as you make your way through this expansive show.

Emma Amos, Judith Jamison as Josephine Baker, 1985

Emma Amos, Judith Jamison as Josephine Baker, 1985. Acrylic on canvas, 100 × 32 in. (254 × 81.2 cm). Ryan Lee Gallery. © Emma Amos. Courtesy Ryan Lee Gallery.

Adam Reich

On the Podcast: Finneas Is Not Sentimental

Finneas is not afraid of letting things go. Whether it’s a song he’s written or a memento, the 10-time Grammy winner shares that being precious is not a part of his process.

Finneas first broke out co-writing and producing music with his sister, Billie Eilish, in their parents’ Los Angeles home; now, he’s produced music for a list of artists including Drake, Rosalía, and Justin Bieber. In ths week’s episode, he speaks with editors Chloe Schama and Chloe Malle about the making of his second solo album, For Cryin’ Out Loud; attending the Met Gala; and working with Alfonso Cuarón on the new Apple TV series Disclaimer.

Plus, Chioma Nnadi and Chloe Malle discuss the major fashion news of the week, including Chioma’s recent conversion to Maria Callas core (inspired by Angelina Jolie’s new film Maria), the best looks at the Academy Museum Gala, and a review of Armani’s first New York runway show.

Why Are There So Few Good, Accurate TV Shows About College?
The Long Shadow of Kate Winslet’s Nude Scene in Titanic
Escape Your Troubles With the Horny Hedonism of Rivals

Nominally, the story is about two rivals. On one end is the petty bourgeois turned artisto-by-marriage Lord Tony Baddingham (a delightfully peevish David Tennant), who is as nefarious as his Dickensian name suggests, scaling for power and prestige as the managing director of a commercial television station. Across the aisle is rakish, titled, and ravenous Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell), an Olympic show-jumper turned Thatcherite Minister of Sport, who, together with Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner), a hot-blooded Irish broadcast journalist lured from the BBC to the countryside, forms a competing station.