Stephanie Hsu, Zosia Mamet on their new comedy series, ‘Laid’
Peacock
Stephanie Hsu stars in the new Peacock comedy Laid.
The original series, which premieres Thursday, follows Hsu’s Ruby, a professional party planner whose former lovers are dying in the order she was with them. The unconventional rom-com series was also executive produced by the Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar nominee, who told ABC Audio it’s rare to read a script you actually think is funny.
Laid was “making me laugh out loud out on my couch,” Hsu said. “It really felt that the infrastructure of this roller coaster was really there for us to get to kind of throw our weight into.”
Zosia Mamet co-stars as Ruby’s best friend and roommate, AJ. She said one of the best parts of making the series was getting to know Hsu.
“We both approach our work in a very, very similar way, and we kind of come to the table ready to play,” Mamet said. “I think it just really felt every day like such a joy because it was pretty effortless working together and getting to explore that dynamic of female friendship … it just felt so incredibly rich and fulfilling.”
Ruby is a complex character, and Hsu said she enjoyed the challenge of creating her.
“People would be like, ‘Ruby’s such a narcissist, Ruby’s so crazy, da-da-da-da-da.’ And I’m like, OK, but I have to be in her shoes for however many weeks, so I have to figure out a way to love her,” Hsu said.
In the end, the answer was to keep returning to the question at the heart of the show.
“I really did want to co-create a story … that kind of asked this question that I feel a lot of my friends ask, which is like, ‘How do you know when you know?'” Hsu said. “What is love, and how do you find it in this day and age?”
Reese Witherspoon announced Thursday that Lexi Minetree has been cast as young Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde prequel series, Elle.
Witherspoon, who originated the role in the Legally Blonde films released in 2001 and 2003, shared a video to Instagram of her revealing the news to Minetree.
“Your audition tape was amazing, as we talked about, and we had to make a really hard decision the other day,” Witherspoon tells Minetree in the video. “And we wanted to tell you in person, because you’ve just worked really hard, and we just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to audition anymore — because you got the part. You’re Elle Woods.”
Minetree, through tears, asks Witherspoon for a hug and the two embrace before calling Minetree’s mother.
“Y’all sound exactly alike,” Minetree’s mom says after they tell her the news.
“Isn’t it crazy? When I saw her tape I was like, ‘Are we the same person?’ This is so weird,” Witherspoon responds.
In a post on her Instagram page, Minetree wrote that her “brain is going nuts” over the news and went on to thank Witherspoon for “handing me down Elle Woods.”
“I already love her so so much, I promise she’s in good hands,” she added. “P.S. thank you for showing me how amazing I am going to look in the future, soooo looking forward to that.”
Prime Video announced during its upfront presentation in May 2024 that it had ordered a Legally Blonde prequel series, titled Elle, from Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine.
According to the streamer, the series, which was created by Laura Kittrell, will follow Woods during her high school years “as we learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first Legally Blonde film.”
Witherspoon will also act as an executive producer.
The 82nd Golden Globe Awards aired live Sunday from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. Comedian Nikki Glaser hosted the awards show, which honored the best in film and television over the past year. Here are some of the show’s highlights:
Shōgun, The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez win big It was a big night for the FX and Hulu series Shōgun, which won all four of the Golden Globes it was nominated for: best TV series (drama), best performance by a male actor in a TV series (drama) for Hiroyuki Sanada, best performance by a male actor in a supporting role on TV for Tadanobu Asano and best performance by a female actor in a TV series (drama) for Anna Sawai.
The Brutalist picked up three wins, including best motion picture (drama), best director for Brady Corbet and best performance by a male actor in a motion picture for Adrien Brody. In his speech, Brody said the film’s story is similar to his mother’s and his ancestors’. “I owe so much to my mother and my grandparents for their sacrifice, and although I do not know fully how to express all of the challenges that you have faced and experienced, and the many people who have struggled immigrating to this country, I hope that this work stands to lift you up a bit and to give you a voice,” Brody said.
Emilia Pérez came away from the evening with wins for best motion picture (musical or comedy), best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in a motion picture for Zoe Saldaña, best motion picture (non-English language) and best original song. Saldaña celebrated her win, the first of the night and her first-ever Golden Globe, by saying her heart was full of gratitude. “I know this is competition, but all that I have witnessed tonight is us showing up for each other, and it’s just so beautiful,” she said.
Nikki Glaser brings big laughs, roasts The evening’s host, Nikki Glaser, began her monologue by welcoming everyone to “Ozempic’s biggest night.” After mentioning the viral holding space meme from Wicked‘s press tour, Glaser told Zendaya she was incredible in Dune: Part 2, before saying her film Challengers “was more sexually charged than Diddy‘s credit card.” She also made sure to roast Timothée Chalamet‘s facial hair, after telling him he gave a great performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. “You have the most gorgeous eyelashes on your upper lip,” Glaser said.
Cute couples, family plus-ones hit red carpet Was that Blair Waldorf with Seth Cohen? Yes, yes it was. Nominee Adam Brody brought his wife, Leighton Meester, as his date to the awards ceremony. Timothée Chalamet also brought a famous plus-one — his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, who sat next to him during the live broadcast. Ariana Grande was accompanied by her mother, Joan Grande, as her date for the evening, while GlenPowell brought both his parents, Glen Powell Sr. and Cyndy Powell, whom he posed with on the red carpet.
Demi Moore wins her first Golden Globe The Substance actress Demi Moore won her first Golden Globe for her leading role in the horror film. She gave a powerful speech while accepting the trophy for best performance by a female actor in a motion picture (musical or comedy). “I’ve been doing this a long time, like, over 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor,” Moore said. “Thirty years ago I had a producer tell me that I was a ‘popcorn actress,’ and at that time, I made that mean that this wasn’t something I was allowed to have. That I could do movies that were successful and made a lot of money, but that I couldn’t be acknowledged, and I bought in and I believed that.”
A spokesperson for Brad Pitt has given a statement regarding the French woman who was scammed out of her life savings while believing she was in a relationship with the actor.
The French woman, named Anne, revealed she was scammed out of $850,000 after she believed she was in a long-distance relationship with the Hollywood actor. The story was first reported on the TF1 show Sept à huit on Sunday, according to Men’s Journal.
“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities, but this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence,” the spokesperson for Pitt told ABC Audio.
Anne, who was married to a wealthy man at the time, first began communicating with the scammer while on vacation with her children in the French Alps. She downloaded Instagram and shared photos from her trip. The scammer originally pretended to be Pitt’s mother, Jane Pitt. They found her Instagram profile and told Anne “that her son needed someone like me,” she said on the TF1 show. Their communication lasted over a year.
“At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous,” Anne said. “But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”
As time went on, Anne received AI-generated photos and audio messages from the scammers, now pretending to be the actor. They claimed Pitt needed $1 million for a kidney transplant and was unable to access his bank accounts due to his divorce from Angelina Jolie, coercing Anne into sending them the money.
“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this?” Anne said. “I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.”
Anne ultimately left her husband before she realized she had been conned when she saw reports about Pitt’s real-life girlfriend, Ines de Ramon.
