James L. Brooks Warned Judy Blume Not to Trust Hollywood. She Still Let Him Produce a Movie of ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Brie Larson had few words about the decision to open this year’s Cannes Film Festival with “Jeanne du Barry,” a historical drama starring Johnny Depp. It’s the embattled actor’s first leading role in three years, following highly publicized legal battles with his ex-wife Amber Heard. She mostly evaded the question when asked whether she’d attend the world premiere, which she isn’t required to do since it’s not playing in competition. “You’re asking me that?” she responded during a jury press conference on Tuesday. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand the correlation or why me specifically.” When pressed, she added, “You’ll see, I guess, if I will see it. And I don’t know how I’ll feel about it if I do.”

Kelly Brook has candidly spoken about accepting her "changed body" from when she was a pin-up model in her twenties and thirties.The Heart Radio presenter, now 43, who recently admitted that she's much happier now that she's not thin, went on to add that she now accepts her wrinkles but also knows what her body's limits are, leading her to shun alcohol because she is unable to tolerate large quantities. Kelly, whose famous curves gave her a small dose of Hollywood fame years earlier, revealed: "When you're the pin-up in your 20s and 30s, and being cast in movies where you're in a bikini, you're 'that' girl. "But I'm 43 now.

Netflix's 'Queen Cleopatra' docudrama said it was a 'political act' to cast her - and laughed off controversy engulfing the show. Adele James, 27, takes on the role of the famous queen from the land of the Pharaohs. The show, which was released on May 10, features claims that Cleopatra VII was black with 'curly hair' and a historian saying 'I remember my grandmother saying to me: I don't care what they tell you in school, Cleopatra was black.

Ed Sheeran could one day make the jump to country music, according to a new interview and a new collaboration with Luke Combs.While in Texas for the Academy of Country Music awards, Sheeran revealed in a new interview with Billboard that he would “love to transition into country,” adding that he speaks to his wife about the idea “all the time”.“I love the culture of it, I just love the songwriting. It’s just like brilliant songs,” Sheeran explained.Having lived in Nashville, Texas across two periods in 2013 and 2018, Sheeran told Billboard that he is inspired by local songwriters: “It’s like a community.

Ed Sheeran has opened up on his long-standing friendship with fellow hit-maker Taylor Swift. Describing the I Knew You Were Trouble singer as one of the "only people that actually truly understands" him and where he's currently at in his career, Ed, 32, added that speaking to Taylor, 33, is like "therapy".

Russell Crowe will receive the Crystal Globe Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the 2023 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, KVIFF organizers announced on Friday. And unlike past recipients of the Crystal Globe like Michael Caine, Julianne Moore, Mel Gibson, Judi Dench and Robert De Niro, Crowe will also perform on the festival’s opening night with his rock band, Indoor Garden Party.The festival, which takes place in a spa town outside Prague in the Czech Republic, will present Crowe with the award on its opening night, June 30.

Billie Lourd is explaining why she did not invite Carrie Fisher's three siblings to her late mother's posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, saying there's no need for an invitation because she doesn't have a relationship with them.In a rare public statement given to, Lourd said she made a «conscious» decision not to invite Fisher's siblings — brother Todd Fisher, and sisters Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher — to Thursday's ceremony because, among other things, they allegedly profited off her mother's death. The iconic princess died on Dec.

Selome Hailu Now in her eighties, legendary children’s author Judy Blume only recently became keen to the idea of adapting her books for the screen. But when it came to “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” — arguably Blume’s most famous title — her arms were crossed. She didn’t want any filmmaker to touch it. “And then I got this letter from Kelly,” Blume told Variety, smiling, in a cover story for March’s Power of Women issue. She’s referring to “The Edge of Seventeen” writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, to whom she eventually granted the screen rights. Blume was convinced for three reasons: the beauty of the letter that Fremon Craig wrote her, the fact that James L. Brooks mentored Fremon Craig and would serve as a producer on the film, and most importantly, the fact that Fremon Craig was the first person to pursue the rights whose work Blume had previously seen. Within a week of the letter, Fremon Craig and Brooks flew to Key West, Fla. to make an in-person plea to Blume; the rest is history. “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” hit theaters via Lionsgate on April 28.

Few authors have established as powerful a bond with their fans as Judy Blume. That incredible connection first manifested with the publication of her debut novel for young adults, 1970’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, which shattered taboos by candidly addressing subjects like menstruation and masturbation.  

and famously said “I do” on this spring day in 2011, and have since welcomed three children: Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4. This year, the royal couple marked the personal milestone by sharing a relaxed portrait by photographer Matt Porteous. “12 years ❤️,” Kate and Will the previously unseen photo, which features the prince and princess at their most casual in jeans, light button-ups, sneakers, and sunglasses.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, the adapted from of the same name. Fremon Craig's name is not on the billboard, but the billboard—and the movie—exists because of her. For nearly 50 years, after Blume's 1970 story about a young girl's honest and relatable journey through adolescence and puberty became a beloved classic, the 84-year-old icon (and ) turned down offers to adapt Margaret. It was too personal, too important for anyone to get other than absolutely right.

, was published in 1970. She's been our advisor and confidante on everything from bras, bullying, and of course, periods.

Priyanka Chopra is telling-all in her new interview in promotion of her upcoming Prime Video series Citadel.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.We’re so used to seeing teens played by twentys-omethings. What was it like casting actual 11-year-olds for this?Kelly Fremon Craig: The casting process was seeing every kid under the sun and really looking places that you don’t expect, trying to find kids from all over. A lot of the kids, this was their first ever thing.

#KTLA tower just pulled out a guitar. @LAFD crews are figuring out how to get this guy down safely.

, 41, opted for the double-breasted blazer and cigarette trousers as a fuss-free outfit for a visit to The Baby Bank, an organization that provides families in need with essentials like diapers, strollers, and school uniforms. The charity focuses its efforts on Windsor, Maidenhead, Slough, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire—all areas that are close to where Kate grew up and to her and Prince William’s current family home of Adelaide Cottage, in Windsor Home Park.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter No, the box office hasn’t fully rebounded from COVID-19 — as evidenced by the peaks (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie) and valleys (“Shazam: Fury of the Gods,” “Babylon”) of the last year. But despite all of the obituaries, the movie theater industry is poised to recover. A new study even shows that revenues in 2023 will reach $32 billion, a 10% increase on earlier estimates of $29 billion. Though those aren’t pre-pandemic levels of $41 to $42 billion, the revised projections are still a relief for exhibitors. After all, they struggled to stay afloat during the darkest days of the pandemic but have emerged with a renewed confidence in one truth: watching movies from the couch is overrated.

Angelique Jackson Literary icon Judy Blume has been in the public eye for more than 50 years, but lately she’s been posing for even more cameras than usual. For the past few months, Blume has been everywhere — from the red carpet premiere of the feature adaptation of her 1970 classic “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” in Los Angeles last week, to Variety’s Power of Women ceremony in New York City, where she was honored earlier this month. But on Monday night in Studio City, Calif., it was Blume’s husband George Cooper on the other side of a cell phone camera lens. As Blume was introduced to an eager (and pink-masked) crowd by 16-year-old Annabelle Chang, who owns Annabelle’s Book Club LA, Cooper sprang from his seat behind the desk to capture the moment on his cell phone.

Walking down memory lane!