SHOW BIZ

Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

This week The Times published its rankings of the 101 best Los Angeles movies. Assembled from ballots by 17 film writers, the list would make for quite a viewing guide, running from 1924’s “Sherlock Jr.” to 2025’s “One of Them Days” and proving that there are many different versions and visions of the city. Directors including Amy Heckerling, David Lynch, Charles Burnett, Kathryn Bigelow, Michael Mann, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Altman and Billy Wilder all are represented on the list at least twice.

John Singleton’s 1991 drama “Boyz n the Hood,” starring Morris Chestnut, left, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ice Cube, made our list of the 101 best Los Angeles movies.

(Columbia Pictures)

“What makes a perfect L.A. movie?” Times film editor Joshua Rothkopf asked in his introduction to the list. “Some kind of alchemy of curdled glamour, palm trees, ocean spray, conspiracies big and small — and more than a pinch of vanity. From hard-bitten ’40s noirs and vertiginous Hollywood rises (and falls) to the real-life poetry of neighborhood dreamers and nighttime drivers, Los Angeles is always ready for its close-up. The city has long occupied a cinematic place, straddling its gauzy past and a dark, rainy future. Go west, they said, and we came here, a site of fantasy, industry, possibility and obsession.”

Times critic Amy Nicholson took a crack at what makes for a definitive Los Angeles film, tying it together with her own experiences moving here as a movie-mad transplant.

“Part of what defines a Los Angeles movie is our city’s willingness to turn the camera on itself, to prioritize a riveting tale over our own reputation. We’re eager to share our saga with the world. Our glamorous and gruesome history is all there in a close-up of ‘Chinatown’s’ Jack Nicholson: a movie star with a mutilated nose.”

Let us know your own favorites — and any titles you think we may have overlooked — by clicking here.

David Lynch, one year gone

Laura Dern in director David Lynch’s 2006 movie “Inland Empire.”

(Studio Canal)

Today marks the first anniversary of the death of filmmaker David Lynch, and Tuesday would have been his 80th birthday. To commemorate the occasion, venues all over town are celebrating Lynch and his work. The Academy Museum will have five nights of screenings, beginning with “Blue Velvet” in 4K with star Kyle MacLachlan as a special guest. “Lost Highway” and “Mulholland Drive” will also both screen in 4K. Star Laura Dern will attend for “Inland Empire” in 4K and ”Wild at Heart” in 35mm.

In her original review of “Blue Velvet,” Sheila Benson captured much of what has made Lynch’s work so enduring, writing, “Secrets are at the heart of David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet,’ the most brilliantly disturbing film ever to have its roots in small-town American life. Shocking, visionary, rapturously controlled, its images of innocence and a dark, bruising sexuality drop straight into our unconscious where they rest like depth charges. … ‘Blue Velvet’ takes us behind the working-class American facade, beneath the Technicolor grass, literally underground to the churning turmoil of black, shiny beetles below. It’s there. It’s always there, Lynch says, if you only look and listen.”

Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini in David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet.”

(Dino De Laurentiis Communications)

The American Cinematheque has launched a revisit of the entirety of the groundbreaking television series “Twin Peaks.” This week will feature Season 1, Episode 1, directed by Lynch himself.

On Tuesday, the Philosophical Research Society will present Episode 8 of the third season of “Twin Peaks,” widely hailed as the high pointof the reinvigorated return of the show. An introduction by cast members and a post-screening symposium involving experts from a wide range of fields should make for quite a night.

‘Goodfellas’ at 35

Lorraine Bracco and Ray Liotta in “Goodfellas.”

(Warner Bros. / Kobal / Shutterstock)

The American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre will present a 35th anniversary screening of Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” with producer Irwin Winkler and co-screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi for a Q&A moderated by Scott Foundas.

With its innovative style and indelible performances by Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro, “Goodfellas” would go on to redefine the gangster story — although it’s difficult from our vantage point to remember that the movie was once new.

In her original 1990 review, Sheila Benson wrote, “To see an artist working at the peak of his power, everything extraneous stripped away, every element there for a purpose, is an extraordinary exhilaration. Martin Scorsese gave us that pure, hot, unquestioned power last in ‘Raging Bull’ and, in virtuosity alone, ‘Goodfellas’ is ‘Raging Bull’ squared. .”

Points of interest

‘The Puffy Chair’ at 20

Katie Aselton and Mark Duplass in “The Puffy Chair.”

(Ink Films)

Some anniversaries we’re not ready for — has it really been that long? Such it is with Monday’s 20th anniversary screening at Vidiots of “The Puffy Chair,” which introduced the talents of Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton. In the years since, they have had remarkable careers together and apart, as Mark currently appears as an actor on “The Morning Show,” Jay’s latest film as director “See You When I See You” is about to premiere at Sundance and Katie’s own directing effort, “Their Town,” written by (husband) Mark and starring their daughter Ora, will premiere at SXSW. Aselton and both Duplass brothers are all scheduled to appear at the Vidiots screening.

“The Puffy Chair” was made for a reported $15,000 and was a key entry in the micro-budget movement that came to be known as mumblecore. The film tells the story of a young man and his girlfriend who go on a road trip to pick up a lounge chair that resembles one his father used to own.

In a 2006 review, Kevin Crust wrote, “The Duplass’ ability to accurately depict the rough edges that define relationships — both romantic and familial — is what elevates ‘Chair’ above the prototypical indie drama absorbed in aimlessness and twentysomething angst. What feels like meandering in the moment builds to a genuine emotional attachment to the characters. … Much of the film’s dialogue feels improvised, and there’s a casualness to the pacing that recalls early Richard Linklater. ‘Chair’ is one of those rare feature debuts that come out of Sundance (class of 2005) full of buzz and doesn’t disappoint.”

‘The Killing of a Chinese Bookie’ at 50

Ben Gazzara in “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.”

(Criterion Collection)

On Sunday the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre will host a 50th anniversary screening of the original extended 1976 cut of John Cassavetes’ “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.” In the film, Ben Gazzara plays an L.A. strip club owner with gambling debts who is begrudgingly enlisted by a mobster to kill a rival. With its mix of genres and tones, the movie made for a challenging follow-up to Cassavetes’ 1974 “A Woman Under the Influence,” with Gazzara’s magnetic performance colliding with the conventions of a genre thriller.

Charles Champlin’s original review of the film captures the confusion people felt on it’s initial release. As Champlin wrote, “In the earlier films, the weaving, poking, exploratory, hand-held cameras, the gargled sound, the mingling of very professional and very amateurish acting, the interminable scenes and the improvisatory sense usually combined to give a feeling of raw and painful honesty to the material. … Watching this stumbling story of a strip-joint owner forced into murder to square a gambling debt, you get the impression the filmmaker could not decide whether to make a ‘popular’ picture in something close to the gangster tradition or another of his studies of contemporary society.”

Bill Forsyth’s ‘Comfort and Joy’

An image from the movie “Comfort and Joy.”

(Mezzanine Film)

On Wednesday, Mezzanine will present Scottish filmmaker Bill Forsyth’s 1984 film “Comfort and Joy” introduced by actor Colin Burgess and filmmaker Alec Moeller. The follow-up to Forsyth’s “Local Hero,” the movie concerns a morning radio host in Glasgow (Bill Patterson) who learns that his girlfriend is leaving him on Christmas Eve. This sends him into an emotional spiral that somehow finds him caught between rival dairy vendors.

In her original review, Sheila Benson wrote, “‘Comfort and Joy’ is personal, droll, even more an inward observation than his other films. … It works on a variety of levels — one may be despair, but the others are parody, whimsy and irony. ‘Comfort and Joy’ is not broad humor but gentle civilized comedy — deftly performed — whose aftereffect is likely to be a glow of rueful recognition.”

In other news

‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’

Ralph Fiennes, left, and Jack O’Connell in “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.”

(Sony Pictures)

Probably the most exciting new release this week is “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Alex Garland. Arriving quickly after Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later” last year, the film continues to add to the ongoing mythology of a rage-inducing virus that takes over the United Kingdom. Further following young Spike (Alfie Williams), the story finds him falling in with a psychotic gang led by the self-described Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and reencountering Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Ian Kelson.

In her review, Amy Nicholson wrote, “DaCosta shares Boyle’s tactic of attacking a theme from two flanks: a showy assault (we’re doomed!) and a subversive sneak-around (perhaps we always were). Zombie stories are either about a civilization’s collapse or its rebuilding and typically use our contemporary society as a measuring stick of success. … Having had decades to run free, the infected now resemble Neanderthals. Life has devolved to its primordial pool. This filthy and fascinating film is peering in, nose crinkled and stomach churning, to see what bubbles up.”

‘A Private Life’

Jodie Foster and Daniel Auteuil in “A Private Life.”

(Jérôme Prébois / Sony Pictures Classics)

Rebecca Zlotowski’s “A Private Life” stars Jodie Foster as an American psychiatrist who lives in Paris, a role that gives the star a chance to utilize her fluency in French. When a troubled patient dies suddenly, Foster’s Lilian begins to suspect there is more to the story than first appears, turning into an amateur sleuth. The cast also includes Virginie Efira, Mathieu Amalric, Irène Jacob, Aurore Clément, Frederick Wiseman and Daniel Auteuil as Lilian’s ex-husband Gaby.

As Robert Abele wrote in his review, “As ‘A Private Life’ moves along, with Lilian negotiating a break-in, threats and lapses in judgment, it never exactly coheres. Yet it somehow entertains, which is a testament to Zlotowski’s energy juggling her various theme-colored story balls. While the mystery plot strains to be interesting as a lesson for its protagonist about how one never can fully know another human being, Lilian’s and Gaby’s rekindled affection is a wonderfully mature strand of midlife complexity, with Auteuil and Foster giving all their scenes the kind of nuanced, lived-in humor that suggests a flinty couple who never fully believed they were done with each other.”

Mickey Rourke is doubling down on his disgust over a fundraiser that quickly raised more than $100,000 on his behalf, calling it an embarrassing “scam” and a “vicious cruel lie” and promising “severe repercussions to [the] individual who did this very bad thing” to him.

At the same time, the fundraiser — aimed at keeping Rourke in his home when he faced eviction because of almost $60,000 in unpaid rent — has been taken down, with the actor’s name being used now by others to boost their more anonymous efforts.

(A Friday morning search for “Mickey Rourke” on GoFundMe yielded more than a dozen campaigns drafting off the search value of the actor’s high-profile situation but the campaign set up for the “9½ Weeks” actor was nowhere to be found.)

The GoFundMe had been placed on pause last week after more than $100,000 was raised in two days, with Rourke’s manager Kimberly Hines writing, “Thank you so much for your generosity and for standing with Mickey during this time. Your support truly means a great deal to us, and we are grateful for every donation. We remain committed to finding a resolution and are working with Mickey to determine the next steps.”

Rejecting the donations, Rourke called the fundraiser “humiliating” and “really f— embarrassing” in a video posted last week, saying he didn’t need the money.

“I wouldn’t know what a GoFund foundation is in a million years,” said the actor, 73, who was a leading man in the 1980s with movies including “Barfly” and “Angel Heart” and was Oscar-nominated for his work in 2008’s “The Wrestler.” “My life is very simple and I don’t go to outside sources like that.”

He said later in the video that he “would never ask strangers or fans for a nickel. That’s not my style.”

Hines might disagree, as she said she’s the one who has been fronting the money to cover Rourke’s move out of the Beverly Grove house and into a hotel and subsequently into a Koreatown apartment.

Hines’ assistant’s name had been listed as the creator of the fundraiser, with Hines named as the beneficiary. The actor’s manager of nine years told the Hollywood Reporter on Jan. 6 that Rourke knew the origins of the effort, despite saying he did not: She and her assistant had run the idea past his assistant before it was launched, she said, and both teams were OK with it.

“Nobody’s trying to grift Mickey. I want him working. I don’t want him doing a GoFundMe,” Hines told THR. “The good thing about this is that he got four movie offers since yesterday. People are emailing him movie offers now, which is great because nobody’s been calling him for a long time.”

But Rourke was still fretting over it Thursday on Instagram, where he said in a couple of posts that there was still more than $90,000 to be returned to his supporters and promised that his attorney was “doing everything in his power” to make sure people got their “hard earned money” back.

He also thanked some “great” friends who he said reached out after seeing the “scam” that he needed money, including UFC boss Dana White and fighter Bill “Superfoot” Wallace.

Rourke said in his Jan. 6 video, shot while he was staying at a hotel, “I’m grateful for what I have. I’ve got a roof over my head, I’ve got food to eat. … Everything’s OK. Just get your money back, please. I don’t need anybody’s money, and I wouldn’t do it this way. I’ve got too much pride. This ain’t my style.”

DISGRACED actor Noel Clarke has been declared bankrupt after losing a legal battle over sexual misconduct allegations. 

The former Doctor Who star, who also wrote and directed hit films and dramas, was slapped with costs of up to £6million. 

The married dad, 50, sued a newspaper for libel but a High Court judge said abuse claims by 20 women were “substantially true”. 

An initial £3million legal costs payment was due by late last year but he filed for bankruptcy in a bid to avoid paying. 

Official paperwork confirms Clarke, living in London’s upmarket borough of Kensington and Chelsea, was formally declared bankrupt on December 11.

Sources say he always knew he would never be able to meet his costs if he lost the case but “blindly pushed on regardless”. 

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Clarke continues to protest his innocence and said after he lost his case: “For almost five years, I have fought against a powerful media outlet and its extensive legal teams over inaccurate and damaging reporting.

“These stories started via anonymous emails portraying me as a monster to attract attention and outrage.

“The goal was to damage my career, and they succeeded.

“I have never claimed to be perfect. But I am not the person described in these articles.

“Overnight I lost everything, the media outlet didn’t just ruin my life they ripped through my family’s also.”

He shot to fame playing Mickey Smith during the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant eras of Doctor Who between 2005 and 2010.

Clarke also starred in blockbuster films such as Star Trek Into Darkness and turned to writing and directing, making movies including the ‘hood series – Kidulthood, Adulthood and Brotherhood.

In 2009, Clarke won the Rising Star prize at the Bafta Film Awards, and in 2021 was given Bafta’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema honour.

But that award and his Bafta membership were suspended when women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct.

MODEL Apple Martin flipped when asked to be the face of a fashion campaign.

The 21-year-old, who is the daughter of Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, posed upside down in a pink playsuit.

She also wore a minidress as part of her capsule collection for Self-Portrait.

Speaking about her campaign for the UK brand, she said: “Debuting with self-portrait was a no-brainer.”

“Their British spirit reminds me of growing up in London.

“So it’s felt like home from the start.”

“I’m so excited for this campaign to be out in the world and for us to continue exploring this side of my creativity together.”

It comes after Gwyneth, 53, said she had lost her “purpose” when Apple and son Moses, 19, went to university – inspiring her return to cinema in the film Marty Supreme.

She explained: “My kids went off to college.

“And I had this big vacancy in my purpose and orientation.

“And then this guy, Josh Safdie, called me and I was so embarrassingly out of the [loop].

“I had never even seen Timothée Chalamet in a movie.”

The Traitors is nearing its finale and recently murdered Jessie was gobsmacked to find out who was this season’s Traitors

Jessie Stride showed she had no idea of a secret in this year’s series of The Traitors. The popular contestant was savagely murdered as series four nears its end. But she couldn’t hide her shock as she discovered the truth about who were The Traitors. As she found out the game Stephen Libby is playing, Jessie shrieked and fell off her chair.

Speaking on Traitors Uncloaked, Jessie said: “Ellie, oh my God. I’m not just a daft lass who wears yellow and orange! He had the audacity to murder me!” Her reactions reached an all-time high however when she found out that Ellie and Ross are actually dating. “You’re going to have beautiful babies!” she said.

READ MORE: Traitors star Stephen’s ‘genius’ trick to distract the players and it’s working a treatREAD MORE: Traitors stars share their shame and torment as tears flow during dinner

Her stunned reaction came as two players left the show on Thursday. Ellie was banished after Jessie had earlier been murdered.

The latest episode was one of the most emotional to date. As the remaining hopefuls enjoyed a dinner together, they explained their reasons for being on the show and revealed how they would use the winnings if they were victorious.

There were tears as Jade revealed her tragic past. The Faithful wiped away the tears as she told the group that she had lost her mother and her half-sibling in very difficult circumstances eight years ago.

The other seven players gasped and looked horrified for her as Jade explained: “My parents got divorced when I was seven, my Mum moved back to Hong Kong, she had a kid and then in 2018 they were both found dead.”

She added: “I have had to really rebuild myself from that point onwards. So I’m really proud of myself for being here and getting this far.” As the others commended her bravery, Jade said that if she ended up winning the prize money, she’d spend it on getting her own pad. “I think I’d really like to buy a home,” she said. “Somewhere I can call my own.”

And speaking to the camera after the dinner party, Jade said: “In 2018 I lost my Mum. I was always very close with her so it was a shock to the system.

“Our parents form a big core of our own identity so I had to rebuild myself. It’s affected me a lot. It takes me a very long time to let people in just because it does take me a minute to get comfortable and I can come off as a bit standoffish at first.”

Personal trainer Jack Butler, 29, also told the group his plan was to propose to his girlfriend “in the next few months”, saying he’d like to spend any winnings on a deposit for a house.

“I’ve got a secret plan, the ring’s already sorted, it’s a massive surprise,” he said. And that’s exactly what he seems to have done since the show.

Pictures have already shown him proposing to partner Kim during a trip to Santorini in August. The holiday took place two months after filming on the show ended.

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Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone wondering how to make each hour in their workday riveting for television viewers. Call me, HBO Max.

It’s the hottest TV show that isn’t about the steamy romance between hockey rivals. “The Pitt” returned earlier this month for its second season with a fresh gust of awards wind to propel its arrival — it racked up hardware at the recent Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. And if its debut season is any proof, the week-to-week chatter around new episodes is sure to keep the buzz around the HBO Max series energized. Season 2 is set during the day shift on the Fourth of July — 10 months after the events of the first season — and catches us up with the staff at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. And there’s a new doctor, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), joining the team. Moafi stopped by Guest Spot to discuss her experience of scrubbing in to a hit show.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our streaming recommendations are a series documenting an Oscar winner’s 26,000-mile journey from the South Pole to the North Pole and a 1950s film starring a former president and a monkey. Never say we don’t keep things interesting around here.

ICYMI

Must-read stories you might have missed

Sandro Rosta and Holly Hunter — the pair who lead the latest “Star Trek” series, “Starfleet Academy” — photographed in New York this month.

(Bexx Francois/For The Times)

How an Oscar winner and a newcomer became the fresh faces of ‘Star Trek’ : While Sandro Rosta and Holly Hunter are on the opposite ends of their careers, they are both leading the franchise’s latest series, “Starfleet Academy.”

The 101 best Los Angeles movies, ranked: Our list of the 101 best Los Angeles movies is as sprawling as the city. From noirs to Hollywood rises (and falls) to neighborhood dreamers, Los Angeles is always ready for its close-up.

‘Fallout’ fans know New Vegas. How the show brought the video game location to life: The show’s executive producers and production designer discuss bringing the video game location to life.

Scott Dunn Orchestra proves that ‘background’ music deserves L.A.’s full attention: The orchestra’s upcoming concert features 1970s Hollywood composers including Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams and Nino Rota, showcasing the decade’s rich film scoring legacy.

Turn on

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Will Smith, left, and polar ecologist Dr. Allison Fong during their expedition to the North Pole.

(Freddie Claire/National Geographic)

“Pole to Pole with Will Smith” (Hulu, Disney+)

The latest celebrity travel series, a genre that has included Ewan McGregor’s “Long Way Round,” Eugene Levy’s “The Reluctant Traveler,” “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” “Neil & Martin’s Bon Voyage” (recommended here recently) and a dozen series from Monty Python‘s Michael Palin, including “Pole to Pole with Michael Palin,” from which this series nicks its title but not its longitudinal structure. Here, the Fresh Prince fetches up in “extreme places” — the Amazon, the Kalahari Desert, the Himalayas, the Pacific Islands and, yes, at the North and South Poles — engaging with scientists and local cultures and searching for something within himself. (His Oscar meltdown is not avoided.) There’s a stunt element involved — a visibly nervous Smith climbing a 300-foot ice wall, encountering bugs and bats in an Amazon cave, out on the Pacific in the suggestion of a boat — but all with some resonance to the series’ themes of harmony with nature and cultural preservation. (The words “climate change” are spoken.) Beautifully photographed while creating the illusion that there’s no one present to do the photography. — Robert Lloyd

Ronald Reagan and Diana Lynn reading a bedtime story to Bonzo the chimp from the movie “Bedtime for Bonzo.”

(Universal Pictures)

“Bedtime for Bonzo” (TVOD via YouTube, Apple TV, Prime Video)

The 1951 comedy has been a punchline since Ronald Reagan successfully campaigned for California governor in 1966. But have you ever watched it? Spurred on by last week’s new chimpanzee horror flick “Primate,” I clicked on “Bedtime for Bonzo” to finally watch one of the odder footnotes in American political history. The president who controversially cut funding for mental health services plays a psychologist named Professor Boyd who adopts a monkey as his son to prove that personality traits are shaped by one’s environment, not one’s genetics. Naturally, the professor doesn’t do the parenting himself. He hires a beautiful blond babysitter (Diana Lynn) who dutifully cooks and cleans and calls him “Papa” — and causes his not-so-motherly college-educated fiancee (Lucille Barkley) to pitch a fit. As curios go, it’s watchable kitsch with moments worth rewinding. Facing a sulky ape wielding a surgical knife, Reagan‘s Professor Boyd sputters, “Maybe he’ll respond to the Gestalt theory.” And in all sincerity, the chimp itself is terrific. — Amy Nicholson

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Sepideh Moafi as Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi in Season 2 of “The Pitt.”

(Warrick Page/HBO Max)

Finding a new doctor can be an overwhelming process. But “The Pitt” is well-known for make compelling choices. The second season of the HBO Max series introduces viewers to Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi). She is an attending physician brought in to take over as chief when Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) takes a three-month sabbatical. And her presence causes a stir from the start. She reports early for duty — armed with bagels and ideas for how to improve the ER’s workflow, no less — as Dr. Robby, cynical from years of frustration dealing with hospital bureaucracy, counts down the hours of his last shift. Let’s just say the pair aren’t exactly taking the work besties crown from Princess and Perlah, at least not yet. With this week’s release of the drama’s second episode, Moafi stopped by Guest Spot to share her take on Dr. Al-Hashimi’s management style and the songs her character cues up at the start and end of each shift. — Yvonne Villarreal

Right away, we get a sense of Dr. Al-Hashimi’s management style — she likes structure and efficiency, she embraces AI, she wants to do away with the ER’s nickname. What did her work style and her approach to getting acquainted with her new role and colleagues reveal to you about who she is as a person?

On the surface, Dr. Al-Hashimi might come across as a Type-A disrupter — by the book, thrives on order and control, wants to elevate the culture of the Pitt — but if you scratch past the surface, you see a woman who has lived through a lot and has been shaped by chaos. As the season progresses, we come to understand a bit more about her personal and professional history, and one thing we learn is that she spent years working as a frontline medic with Doctors Without Borders. As a humanitarian doctor, she has served in countries that have been turned into conflict zones, which explains why she leans so heavily on structure — she knows exactly what can go wrong without it, especially within a system that is bursting at the seams. Her meticulousness comes from a deep sense of care, not ego.

Even before she appears on-screen, we hear that she’s brought staff a full bagel spread, which immediately indicates how she wants to lead — she isn’t interested in taking over, she’s interested in taking care of people, of the department. (She is Iranian/Iraqi and that instinct to feed everyone is very Persian/Arab of her, too!) How she relates to the students shows how much she values teaching and mentoring, and the detailed packet she sends to Robby and the staff reflects her commitment to transparency and communication. She has strong ideas about leadership, yet she still wants to shadow Robby and learn — she’s curious, adaptable, collaborative. All this goes to show that she’s someone who believes that the best idea wins. I’m not saying she isn’t flawed, or doesn’t think she has the best idea from time to time, but she’s ultimately driven to make things better for the patients first and foremost.

Dr. Al-Hashimi is a newcomer to this well-oiled machine. You are a newcomer to a show that’s settling into itself. How did your journey parallel your character’s?

We each bring a breadth of experience to our respective roles, and we’re both confident and clear about what we’re doing and why — though, if I’m being totally honest, we were both also a bit intimidated and eager to put our best foot forward. Where our paths diverge is that Baran shows up having studied the Pitt’s flaws and blind spots with a blueprint already in hand for how to improve efficiency and the patient experience. I showed up having relentlessly prepared in the short amount of time I had — immersing myself in medical texts and conversations with doctors — so that when I arrived on set, I could let go of the technical details and make space for the kind of magic that only happens through full collaboration and presence. In that way, our journeys mirrored each other beautifully. We’re both new, a little intimidated and deeply reliant on our preparation, expertise and commitment to growth. It was about bringing everything we’ve lived through into the work — and then, in my role as an actor, making all of that disappear the moment the cameras start rolling.

Moafi, far left, as Dr. Al-Hashimi, who assesses an incoming patient with her colleagues in a scene from “The Pitt.”

(Warrick Page/HBO Max)

What about incorporating the demands of the technical aspect to your performance? There’s the choreography when everyone is coming together to work on a patient, there’s the procedures itself and medical jargon. Any fun stories or mishaps that stand out?

The good news, which I learned early on, is that every trauma procedure is broken down with our on-set medical advisor much the way a stunt would be choreographed or a sex scene would be run with an intimacy coordinator. We usually start individually and then come together as a group, running everything at 25%, 50%, then eventually at full speed. We don’t roll cameras until everyone feels solid in what they’re doing. When it actually comes together, it’s thrilling. I’m addicted to the feeling of disappearing into the work. Once you understand what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, what could go wrong and what absolutely has to go right, you can really fly in those scenes. It’s like the fake-ER Olympics! Total adrenaline rush, with the best part being that no real lives are on the line.

There’s one especially high-stakes procedure for Baran later in the season that I learned is so rare most doctors hope they never have to perform it in their careers. Without giving anything away, it involves a child, and any healthcare worker will tell you that the emotional temperature skyrockets anytime kids are involved. I found this incredible visualization exercise on EM:RAP (an invaluable online resource for ER staff) that guides you through the procedure almost like a meditation. I did it multiple times a day leading up to when we shot that scene, and it made a huge difference.

Dr. Robby opened and ended last season listening to Robert Bradley’s “Baby” in his earbuds. What’s the song that’s Dr. Al-Hashimi listens to at the start or end of the day?

She starts her day with “Bsslama Hbibti” by Fadoul — a bright, groovy funk track from 1970s Morocco. It roots me in her in a visceral way, puts me in her body and gets me focused enough to face whatever madness the ER throws our way. The title means “Goodbye, (or literally ‘with peace’) my love,” so for Baran it’s about leaving behind whatever and whomever she doesn’t need before stepping through the hospital doors. At the end of the day, it would be something like Solomon Burke’s “Cry to Me.” The song is about letting the walls come down and allowing yourself to fall apart, and after everything she’s carried through a brutal shift, she needs something that gives her permission to release it all. I also feel like Baran holds these grand, almost impossible ideas about love and romance, so the fantasy of having someone she could crumble with or someone she could cry to feels both deeply aspirational and painfully out of reach.

What’s your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?

Oh, there are so many comfort films. The ones I’ve probably watched the most are “As Good as It Gets” [Netflix] by James L. Brooks and “Children of Heaven” [TVOD, Kanopy] by Majid Majidi. Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear (my buddy!) are all so brilliant in “As Good as It Gets,” and it’s just such a perfect film, even if it might feel a little dated or not entirely politically correct now. It’s sad to think about how hard it would be to get a movie like that made today. “Children of Heaven” is simply perfect. It captures the heart of Iranian cinema and of its people through patient storytelling and extraordinary performances, especially by the children.

For television, it has to be “The Sopranos” [HBO Max]. That’s the show that made me want to be an actor. Watching James Gandolfini and Edie Falco together is still a masterclass. Anytime I feel untethered in my work, I go back to the greats — and they’re two of the ones I often return to. I’ve been lucky enough to work with Edie twice (“Nurse Jackie” and the film “I’ll Be Right There”), and though I don’t usually get starstruck, I still do with her.

What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?

Jafar Panahi’s masterpiece “It Was Just an Accident.” I had to collect my jaw from the floor multiple times. It’s a work of art, edge-of-your-seat thriller that somehow also captures the lived experience of millions of Iranians, both inside Iran and in the diaspora, whose lives have been shaped and traumatized by the current regime. And the way Panahi explores vengeance and humanity — the moral complexity, the urge for justice and cost of losing one’s own humanity — is absolutely genius. For almost five decades, filmmakers in Iran have had to navigate telling their stories through metaphor to survive censorship and punishment. Panahi has consistently taken the risk and he’s been penalized and imprisoned many times for his work, spending years in prison; but this film is on another level (he was even sentenced in absentia for it). Also, the timing is hauntingly uncanny. We’re now witnessing Iranians pouring into the streets yet again, rising up in the largest anti-regime protests in decades and they’re being met with one of the most brutal crackdowns in Iran’s modern history. It feels as if the film foresaw this moment and Iranians are not letting up.

The 2019 drama has been hailed as the ‘creepiest show ever’

An ‘unsettling’ horror drama with a rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating is now streaming on Netflix.

TV fans are always on the hunt for new shows and Reddit has become a hub for recommendations. One user recently appealed to others on the platform in search of the perfect weekend watch.

They wrote: “So it’s freezing cold outside and apparently I want to make myself even colder?? Looking for some good series to binge this weekend.

“Horror would be absolutely perfect (because why not add psychological chills to the physical ones lol), but I’m open to anything that’ll keep me glued to the couch.”

The post went on to ask: “What are your recommendations? Hit me with your best/scariest/most binge-worthy series!”

French drama Marianne was among the recommendations, and it likely flew under most Netflix subscribers’ radars. It premiered in September 2019 but was cancelled in January 2020, after just one season.

Despite its short run on the streaming platform, the chilling show earned overwhelming praise from critics and casual fans alike. Its plot revolves around best-selling horror author Emma Larsimon, who returns to her hometown for inspiration.

Once there, Emma discovers that the evil spirit that haunts her nightmares may not be a figment of her imagination.

French actress Victoire Du Bois leads the cast as Emma. Film fans may recognise her from Oscar-winning drama Call Me By Your Name, where she shared the screen with Timothée Chalamet.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

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This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Stranger Things and The Last of Us.

Upon its debut, Marianne earned critics’ approval. Taking to Rotten Tomatoes, one reviewer wrote: “With a decidedly Stephen King-esque inspired premise that feels like a combination of It and Misery and viscerally unsettling visuals edited with hair-raising precision, Marianne is a perfect recommendation for any horror fan.”

A casual moviegoer agreed: “It was seriously unsettling and creepy as hell. The whole vibe is super eerie, and some scenes actually gave me chills.”

While another added: “Creepiest show I’ve ever watched. And I loved it! I need to watch more French horror because if this is what y’all delivering I have been missing out.”

And a fourth viewer raved: “Best horror series on Netflix on the same level as Mike Flanagan’s Haunting of Hill House… which is the highest praise I can give anything!”

Marianne is streaming now on Netflix.

Emmerdale aired a comeback for a past character on the ITV soap on Friday, linked to the return of Graham Foster as there was a new twist linked to his fake death

There was a familiar face on Emmerdale on Friday night, leading to another twist linked to Graham Foster.

Graham returned from the dead after six years during the Corriedale crossover earlier this month. It was confirmed that he was alive, despite fans seeing him killed off in 2020 by Pierce Harris.

We still don’t know what happened all those years ago, and when he may be back on the show for good. But it seems he had help to fake his death, and on Friday we may have seen who that was.

DI Dent appeared in scenes with Joe Tate, after he grew suspicious about his sighting of Graham. He’d been injured in the Corriedale crash and when he was in hospital, he saw someone outside his room that he believed to be Graham.

READ MORE: Emmerdale fans concerned as missing character is replaced amid Ray’s murderREAD MORE: EastEnders fans ‘rumble’ who actually killed Anthony – but it’s not Jasmine

It was him, but Joe believed he was imagining things. He hasn’t been able to let it go though and he contacted a private investigator, hoping to uncover the truth.

When he met with the PI on Friday, also there was DI Dent. Fans will recognise the detective, played by actress Linda Armstrong, as she appeared on the soap back in 2020.

She was one of the officers investigating Graham’s murder, helping to put away his apparent killer Pierce Harris. She left the show months later, and has not been in the village since.

Dent told Joe that Graham was very much dead, and had been for six years. She revealed how she’d been the one to see his body after he was found, and that she also saw him in the morgue.

Joe took her word for it and decided Graham had to be dead after all. But when they left, Dent was seen in her car making a rather cryptic phone call.

It wasn’t clear who she was speaking with, but it was clear some sort of cover-up was in play. She told the person the job was done, and that Joe had been told what he needed to hear.

So what exactly is she covering up, and why is she lying to Joe? Is it Graham she was talking to, or somebody else that doesn’t want anyone to know he’s still alive?

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

EMRATA has done it again.

Just in time for Valentine’s day, supermodel Emily Ratajkowski is making headlines by showcasing her figure in a spicy red lace lingerie set on social media.

The sultry ensemble by British brand, Lounge, perfectly highlighted her curves, as she posed while squatting down on the floor.

Emily’s bold choice of color emphasizes not only her fashion-forward approach but also her ability to bring a fresh perspective to lingerie styling.

The vibrant red outfit included a lace bra, underwear, and garter belt.

The video, shot in a New York apartment interior, showed Emily kneeling in front of a mirror, taking the selfie video.

Fans commented with clamoring admiration.

“Lord have mercy,” one fan wrote. “I can’t put it into words. My God Emily.”

Female fitness trainer, Casey Cohen, dropped three fire emojis.

An EmRata fan account responded, “The most beautiful woman in the world.”

“She is a babe,” another fan commented.

Another fan wrote, “Thank you for inspiring me to be a supermodel! Modeling is raw energy that is focused, so it’s great skill and great talent.”

In addition to her fashion choices, EmRata has garnered attention for her advocacy, often using her platform to discuss issues that matter to her.

Her recent photos, including the ones shared on her Instagram, highlight her commitment to promoting self-love and confidence.

The model, actress, podcaster, and activist rose to widespread fame after her appearance in Robin Thicke’s 2013 Blurred Lines music video.

She has since established herself in the fashion world, modeling for renowned brands such as Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch, and DKNY, while also gracing covers of major magazines like Elle, Vogue, and Sports Illustrated.

In film, she has appeared in I Feel Pretty, Gone Girl, and We Are Your Friends.

Beyond her artistic contributions, Ratajkowski is a vocal feminist and advocate for body positivity, actively engaging in discussions on women’s rights through her writing and her former podcast, High Low with EmRata.

As an entrepreneur, she launched her clothing line, Inamorata, and continues to challenge beauty standards, promoting authenticity and self-expression in her public persona.

For more stunning visuals and to keep up with EmRata’s latest fashion statements, fans can check out her Instagram profile and explore her stylish past, including her memorable 2016 throwbacks.

Netflix fans are disappointed as the streamer has cancelled an unforgettable show after just one season.

Finding Her Edge will soon be landing on Netflix but it didn’t take fans long to moan that it looks “exactly” like a series that was axed six years ago.

Jennifer Iacopelli’s 2022 best-selling YA novel Finding Her Edge, which was inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, is finally getting its own Netflix adaptation.

Ready to make its grand debut next week on Thursday, January 22, on Netflix, Finding Her Edge is a romance about figure skating royalty Adriana Russo (played by Madelyn Keys), who is troubled by her family’s legacy and financial struggles.

This is until she begins a fake dating scheme with her new skating partner Brayden (Cale Ambrozic), while juggling feelings for her former partner Freddie (Olly Atkins), just as they’re ready to compete in the Junior World Championships.

While book fans are excited to see Iacopelli’s story brought to life, many Netflix subscribers have been experiencing deja vu.

In February 2020, Netflix released the one and only season of ice skating drama Spinning Out starring Skins legend Kaya Scodelario.

Much like Finding Her Edge, Spinning Out sees its lead character figure skater Kat Baker (Kaya Scodelario) matched with a talented “bad boy” partner which quickly leads to a romantic spark.

Unlike the upcoming YA romantic drama though, Kat was an Olympic skater who suffered a bad fall and struggled to get back on the ice due to her PTSD as well as her new bipolar diagnosis.

Nevertheless, fans haven’t been able to help themselves in comparing the two ice-skating dramas.

“So why cancel Spinning Out (which was a fantastic show) to make one that looks exactly like the other show?”, someone asked on YouTube.

Another agreed: “This is basically Spinning Out that Netflix will cancel after one season…”

A third exclaimed: “ALL THESE SAME NEW SERIES after cancelling Spinning Out ? Makes no sense.”

While a fellow user questioned: “To cancel a series like #SpinningOut to make another similar one isn’t taking the mick out of the people watching, is it?”

Finding Her Edge premieres on Thursday, January 22, on Netflix.

Netflix is set to release its next big true crime special, this time, focussing on the terrifying abduction of a 14-year-old girl.

Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is on the way with the wait almost over for Netflix fans keen to delve into this harrowing case.

Netflix is renowned for its true crime series and documentaries and Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is bound to be subscribers’ next binge-worthy watch.

Delving into the 24-year-old case, the hour-and-a-half special focuses on the night that teenager Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her bedroom, as well as the challenging nine-month manhunt to get her back.

As true crime fanatics eagerly await its release, here is all there is to know prior to watching Netflix’s Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart.

Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart release date

The countdown begins for Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart to drop with the true crime special coming out on Wednesday, January 21, on Netflix.

This will be a one-off documentary so subscribers won’t have to wait for any further episodes to be released.

What is Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart about?

Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is about the 14-year-old youngster who was taken from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the middle of the night, on June 5, 2002.

The only witness to the incident was Elizabeth’s nine-year-old sister Mary Katherine who pretended to be asleep as a mysterious man crept into their room.

Despite describing his voice as “familiar”, Mary Katherine couldn’t pin where she heard him before and for nine months, Elizabeth wasn’t able to return to her loved ones.

She explained during the trial that her captor, who turned out to be a man called Brian David Mitchell, hid her in a tent in the mountains, along with his wife Wanda Barzee.

Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart trailer

Released last month, the official trailer for Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart gives Netflix fans an eerie taste of what to expect.

“I saw this cut screen and the window was wide open. My wife screamed ‘call 911’”, Elizabeth’s dad Ed Smart recalled.

A journalist labels it as the case that “captured the nation” while a detective working on the investigation at the time admitted there was “so little evidence to go on”.

The trailer then teases that officers were suspicious of the family before convicted felon Richard Ricci was thought to be behind it all.

However, Mary Katherine was the “key” to finding Elizabeth as she revealed after a nine-month search for her sister: “I think I know who it is”.

The trailer then ends with a clip of Elizabeth Smart herself, sharing that the documentary is going to feature “never-before-seen material” and a new interview with the survivor herself.

Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart premieres on Wednesday, January 21, on Netflix.

LAUREN Goodger was once offered £2.5k to sell worn UGGS on OnlyFans.

The Towie legend, 39, is now a big banker on the steamy content site after being forced to make a living online during Covid.

She shares saucy lingerie pictures and is bombarded with special requests by fans – but some are just too much for Lauren.

Chatting at the launch of Olivia Attwood’s Getting Filthy Rich – which features Lauren – she confessed: “The weirdest request has been someone asking ‘Can I buy your uggs?’

“They wanted me to run in them, wear them all day and they said ‘I want them to smell’.”

Lauren opens up about her conflicted relationship with OnlyFans in the ITV2 series.

Read more on Lauren Goodger

ex files

Lauren Goodger’s ex joins dating app – and uses daughter and Insta ‘fame’ to pull

SEX APPEAL

Lauren Goodger reveals HUGE sum stranger offered to spend the night with her

While she never really wanted to share steamy content on the subscription platform in the first place, she can’t deny the financial benefits her content has brought her over the past five years.

Revealing the most lucrative offer she’s ever received, single mum Lauren told Olivia she said no to £150,000, though admitted it was a tough amount of money to reject.

She says: “I’ve been offered 150 grand for the night, that’s another whole world. Never. Not being wrong, it’s hard to turn down but I couldn’t. I can’t even sleep with a guy in real life.”

Lauren does cater to custom requests though, which she prices at around £6,500.

One of these saw her strip topless and suck her thumb, an act she admitted made her feel embarrassed.

Revealing her fraught relationship with the site, she explains: “Way back years ago when I was doing more TV work I was like ‘I’m never doing OnlyFans’ that’s not me.

“A few years later we went into Covid lockdown there’s no photo shoots, there’s no filming. Had these big bills come in and was like I have to pay this off so I sort of got backed into a corner. I was like I’m just gonna have to do it.”

In her early days on the platform, Lauren said she was coining in £30,000-a-month.

Since then, her content has got saucier as fans tire of standard underwear poses, but she refuses to go fully naked.

Lauren’s ex-boyfriend Charles Drury recently left pals stunned after joining a dating app and ‘using their daughter and his Instagram fame’ to pull women. 

The former couple appeared to be back on track towards the end of last year, with Towie legend Lauren, 39, sharing snaps of them enjoying quality time together with their daughter Larose, four. 

But it seems things between them have soured once again, with Charles, 28, signing up for a dating app. 

An insider told The Sun: “Friends of Lauren were really shocked to see Charles on a dating app.

“Obviously he is single and can do what he wants, but he and Lauren are still close and a lot of people in their circle thought they would get back together properly.

“The thing that surprised her pals the most though is that Charles talks about their baby daughter Larose in his profile, saying his greatest strength is ‘having a daughter’, and he also lists his Instagram bio when asked to name what he has recently discovered about himself.

“It very much feels like he is using the fact that he is a dad and a decent number of Instagram followers to attract women.”

Gardeners’ World star Monty Don has made a surprising admission after leaving the UK on a Rhine trip

Monty Don, the beloved horticulturist and lead presenter of Gardeners’ World , has revealed an “interesting” insight after leaving the UK to explore gardens along the Rhine.

The 70-year-old broadcaster recently embarked on a journey from the river’s source in the Swiss Alps down to the North Sea, documenting his discoveries in a new three-part BBC Two series that begins this evening, January 16.

Don’s expedition was not just about plants, far from it. “People are always more interesting than plants,” he told The Times, reflecting on the human stories behind the gardens he encountered. The Gardeners’ World favourite explained that his trip has been more of a cultural exploration than a horticultural one.

While he hasn’t necessarily learned anything new about plants, he has uncovered fascinating insights into the communities who cultivate them. The presenter noted that the Swiss, Germans, and Dutch, while sharing a love of greenery comparable to Britain’s, approach their gardens in very different ways.

“The Swiss are irresistibly drawn to tidiness and neatness. The Germans garden very enthusiastically but they do so as if it’s a job, in the same way as they will clean their houses or look after their cars,” he observed. Even the seemingly freewheeling Dutch are methodical and disciplined. “They’re incredibly methodical and organised,” he added.

Despite this orderliness, Don emphasises that these nations’ green spaces are far from dull or conformist. Across Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands, pioneering schemes have transformed both private gardens and public parks, sometimes reshaping entire communities in the process.

Often, he explains, these initiatives begin with a single passionate individual or a group of committed residents. “In the end, government is never going to do these things — it always has to come from an individual or a few individuals with passion and with knowledge, and they get the ball rolling.”

One striking example came from the village of Osterfingen, where Don was impressed less by the plants themselves than by the way the villagers had transformed their community through gardening. “It is about how gardens can change people’s lives. That’s the point,” he said, summarising the broader theme of his Rhine adventure.

Don’s own life has long been intertwined with gardens, but his professional career extends beyond the boundaries of his own back garden. Since becoming the lead presenter on Gardeners’ World , he has inspired generations of viewers with practical gardening advice, creative planting schemes, and an infectious enthusiasm for nature.

Away from the studio, Monty is a devoted family man, having married his wife Sarah in 1983, and the couple are often spotted with their dogs at their home in Herefordshire. They have three children — Adam, Tom, and Freya — and Monty has frequently spoken about the importance of balancing work and family life, though he rarely misses an opportunity to explore the world with a green-fingered lens.

The new series promises to showcase the diversity of gardens along one of Europe’s most iconic rivers while celebrating the human passion that makes them flourish. For Don, it is the stories of the people behind the plants that leave the most lasting impression.

“People are always more interesting than plants,” he concludes, reminding viewers that gardening is as much about community, creativity, and culture as it is about soil and seeds.

Cinephiles, assemble.

Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be revealed Thursday in a livestream that’s sure to spur some chatter. While critics seem to agree on a few locks, as this month’s Golden Globes — and last year’s Oscars, for that matter — proved, there’s always room for surprise.

Here’s everything you need to know about the announcement.

How can I watch?

Actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman will announce the nominees in all 24 categories, including the new casting award, in a livestream from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The presentation will kick off at 5:30 a.m. Pacific, and viewers can tune in live to the Academy’s website and social media platforms or to ABC’s “Good Morning America.” It will also stream on “ABC News Live,” Disney+ and Hulu. American Sign Language services will be available on YouTube. Nine of the categories will be revealed at 5:30 a.m., and the 15 remaining ones will be announced at 5:41 a.m. after a short break.

Brooks received an Oscar nomination for her role in “The Color Purple” (2024), and Pullman starred in “Top Gun: Maverick,” which won the Oscar for sound in 2023. He also co-starred alongside Amanda Seyfried in “The Testament of Ann Lee,” another awards contender this season.

When are the Oscars?

The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC, with streaming available on Hulu. The show starts at 4 p.m. Pacific.

Who’s hosting the awards show?

Conan O’Brien will return as host after his knockout performance in 2025, which helped the show draw its biggest audience in five years.

As Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Chief Executive Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in a notably early announcement of O’Brien’s encore, “Conan was the perfect host — skillfully guiding us through the evening with humor, warmth and reverence.”

The seasoned comic this past year made an appearance in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” whose star Rose Byrne is likely to receive a nod in the actress category.

Who are the projected front-runners?

Ryan Coogler’s horror standout “Sinners” is projected to lead nominations with as many as 15. Along with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” the film may tie or even break the record for most Oscar nominations (14), which was first set by “All About Eve” (1951) and later matched by “Titanic” (1998) and “La La Land” (2017).

Other top contenders include Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” which took the best drama Golden Globe, Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” and Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme.” Plus, after “The Secret Agent” notched a couple Globes wins, the Brazilian political thriller has its sights set on an Oscar next.

As for the individual categories, “Hamnet’s” Jessie Buckley is a sure bet for actress, and Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio are shoo-ins for their roles in “Marty Supreme” and “One Battle,” respectively. Chalamet beat DiCaprio for the Golden Globe Award on Sunday.

BBC’s Gladiators is back for a new series this weekend, with stars Giant and Diamond appearing on BBC Breakfast to talk about what fans can expect

Gladiators star Giant has spilled an “inside secret” ahead of the new series of the BBC show.

The rebooted series, which was revived in 2024 after its massive success in the 90s, is set to return for a third season this weekend, with Bradley Walsh and son Barney reprising their roles as hosts, reports the Daily Star.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast alongside fellow Gladiator Diamond on Friday (January 16), Giant hinted at “some good surprises” and shared a behind-the-scenes secret.

Speaking to hosts Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt, he revealed: “We had a little, I’m letting you into an inside secret this time. So the previous series we’ve been kept away from the contenders while they’re training. This time we’ve been allowed a little look while they’re training.”

Naga playfully responded with: “Oh, that’s not fair!” as Giant, whose real name is Jamie Christian-Johal, explained: “We’re sizing them up a little bit.”

Diamond chimed in, reminding everyone that “they’ve been able to watch us the last time,” leading Giant to agree that things were now “even”.

“There’s a few big guys, strong-looking girls,” he observed. “And then you think, right, he’s my target.”

Discussing this year’s contenders, Diamond, real name Livi Sheldon, commented: “I think every year they get stronger.”

She added: “Even though we go up on to like, Duel for example, and we hit everyone off as hard as we can, it’s all really friendly afterwards and stuff and we support and we encourage the contenders as well because at the end of the day it’s a huge thing for them to come up against us.”

Giant revealed: “I would say this season is ramped up on every single level. So there’s more interaction with contenders. We as a team of athletes and friends are just looking out for each other on all the games. There’s new games to look forward to.”

Naga then queried if they had become accustomed to the fan response.

“It really is amazing,” Diamond admitted. “I mean we walk down in supermarkets don’t we and we get stopped and asked for photos.”

“It’s lovely and for children, adults, everyone to recognise you, it just really shows the love for Gladiators, for how well it’s been received as the past three series,” she added.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website.

BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One from 6am and Gladiators returns to iPlayer and BBC One on Saturday January 17 from 5.45pm

The actor was left with a very short time in which to respond to the invitation to be honoured, from King Charles

Idris Elba has told how he nearly missed his chance of a knighthood – because the letter asking him if he wasn’t to be a Sir got lost in a pile of letters.

Revealing how the honour almost passed him by, the Luther star said: “It’s a bit embarrassing. I was sent a consideration letter asking whether I would or wouldn’t accept it, but I didn’t see it as it got lost in a pile of post.”

Luckily, word went to his management that he’d had the invitation and needed to respond. “My agent told me that if I didn’t accept it would pass me by,” he tells Graham Norton on tonight’s BBC1 chat show. “By the time I found the letter I had only two days to decide.”

READ MORE: The Traitors survive as Harriet’s outburst fails to topple RachelREAD MORE: BBC star quits major news show to follow dream of ‘being Del Boy’

Idris, who found fame in huge US series The Wire, said he had yet to receive his knighthood, which was announced in the King’s 2026 New Year Honours list.

Despite his long career on the screen, he was honoured for his anti knife crime work through the Elba Hope Foundation, which focuses on empowering youth and providing alternatives to violence. “I got it for services to young people and I was thinking, ‘Hang on a minute, that’s great, but I’ve been acting for 30 years!’ It is actually a great honour, and my mum is so pleased.”

And another family member is also delighted. Idris has told how wife Sabrina is already using her new title of ‘Lady’. “I haven’t had the sword on the shoulder yet, but my wife is loving it.”

At the time he said the honour reflected the efforts of the young people he has worked with rather than his own achievements. “I receive this honour on behalf of the many young people whose talent, ambition and resilience has driven the work of the Elba Hope Foundation,” he said.

“I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young people and to the responsibility we all share to help them find an alternative to violence.”

He has also called for greater accountability from the technology companies behind social media, warning about young people’s exposure to violent content online.

“When it comes to big tech, there needs to be accountability within their own policies,” he said last year. “It’s great that they are big companies that make a lot of money with lots of social media followers, that’s fantastic, but by the way we don’t like knives.”

The second series of his hostage thriller Hijack was released on Apple TV this week, with the action this time taking place on a train rather than a plane. Asked about his role as corporate negotiator Sam Nelson he said: “The first season was a big hit and people bought into so we’re going to do it again. The story is about what happens next after the plane hijack. It’s a good old-fashioned thriller.”

Also on Graham’s sofa tonight – fresh from her latest win alongside Stephen Graham for Adolescence at the Golden Globes – was Erin Doherty. Chatting about the second run of Victorian drama A Thousand Blows on Disney + – in which she also stars alongside Graham, she told Norton it was the first time she’d been able to use her own voice for a role.

Erin explained: “Surprisingly I’ve never been able to use it before, so it was a real joy. When Stephen Graham heard I was being considered for the role he said, ‘I don’t think she is what we are looking for’ because he had only seen and heard me as Princess Anne in The Crown. He was delighted to find out I’m from Crawley.”

Other guests in tonight’s show are actors Wunmi Mosaku and Martin Freeman and there is a musical performance from Olivia Dean.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

Now in their early 70s, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have spent their filmmaking careers worrying about the fate of those much younger and less fortunate. Starting with the Belgian brothers’ 1996 breakthrough “La Promesse,” about a teenager learning to stand up to his cruel father, their body of work is unmatched in its depiction of young people struggling in the face of poverty or family neglect. Although perhaps not as vaunted now as they were during their stellar run in the late 1990s and early 2000s — when the spare dramas “Rosetta” and “L’Enfant” both won the Palme d’Or at Cannes — the Dardennes’ clear-eyed but compassionate portraits remain unique items to be treasured.

Their latest, “Young Mothers,” isn’t one of their greatest, but at this point, the brothers largely are competing against their own high standards. And they continue to experiment with their well-established narrative approach, here focusing on an ensemble rather than their usual emphasis on a troubled central figure. But as always, these writers-directors present an unvarnished look at life on the margins, following a group of adolescent mothers, some of them single. The Dardennes may be getting older, but their concern for society’s most fragile hasn’t receded with age.

The film centers around a shelter in Liège, the Dardennes’ hometown, as their handheld camera observes five teen moms. The characters may live together, but their situations are far from similar. One of the women, Perla (Lucie Laruelle), had planned on getting an abortion, but because she became convinced that her boyfriend Robin (Gunter Duret) loved her, she decided the keep the child. Now that she’s caring for the infant, however, he’s itching to bolt. Julie (Elsa Houben) wants to beat her drug addiction before she can feel secure in her relationship with her baby and her partner Dylan (Jef Jacobs), who had his own battles with substance abuse. And then there’s the pregnant Jessica (Babette Verbeek), determined to track down the woman who gave her up for adoption, seeking some understanding as to why, to her mind, she was abandoned.

Starting out as documentarians, the Dardenne brothers have long fashioned their social-realist narratives as stripped-down affairs, eschewing music scores and shooting the scenes in long takes with a minimum of fuss. But with “Young Mothers,” the filmmakers pare back the desperate stakes that often pervade their movies. (Sometimes in the past, a nerve-racking chase sequence would sneak its way into the script.) In their place is a more reflective, though no less engaged tone as these characters, and others, seek financial and emotional stability.

The Dardennes are masters of making ordinary lives momentous, not by investing them with inflated significance but, rather, by detailing how wrenching everyday existence feels when you’re fighting to survive, especially when operating outside the law. The women of “Young Mothers” pursue objectives that don’t necessarily lend themselves to high tension. And yet their goals — getting clean, finding a couple to adopt a newborn — are just as fraught.

Perhaps inevitably, this ensemble piece works best in its cumulative impact. With only limited time for each storyline, “Young Mothers” surveys a cross-section of ills haunting these mothers. Some problems are societal — lack of money or positive role models, the easy access to drugs — while others are endemic to the women’s age, at which insecurity and immaturity can be crippling. The protagonists tend to blur a bit, their collective hopes and dreams proving more compelling than any specific thread.

Which is not to say the performances are undistinguished. In her first significant film role, Laruelle sharply conveys Perla’s fragile mental state as she gradually accepts that her boyfriend has ghosted her. Meanwhile, Verbeek essays a familiar Dardennes type — the defiantly unsympathetic character in peril — as Jessica stubbornly forces her way into her mystery mom’s orbit, demanding answers she thinks might give her closure. It’s a grippingly blunt portrayal that Verbeek slyly undercuts by hinting at the vulnerability guiding her dogged quest. (When Jessica finally hears her mother’s explanation, it’s delivered with an offhandedness that’s all the more cutting.)

Despite their clear affection for these women, the Dardenne brothers never sugarcoat their characters’ unenviable circumstance or latch onto phony bromides to alleviate our anxiety. And yet “Young Mothers” contains its share of sweetness and light. Beyond celebrating resilience, the film also pays tribute to the social services Belgium provides for at-risk mothers, offering a safety net and sense of community for people with nowhere else to turn. You come to care about the flawed but painfully real protagonists in a Dardennes film, nervous about what will happen to them after the credits roll. In “Young Mothers,” that concern intensifies because it’s twofold, both for the mothers and for the next generation they’re bringing into this uncertain world.

Jodie Foster is such a trustworthy actor, so intelligent about her credibility, that she can lead a patchwork French mystery-drama like “A Private Life” — which boasts the Academy Award winner’s Franco-fluency — as if it were simultaneously a wink at her celebrity, a perfect showcase for her talent and a handsome mess fortunate to have her imprimatur. In a way that makes her an ideal French movie star: a special brand of high wattage (Deneuve, Huppert, Binoche) that imbues just the right amount of class to an undercooked piece of adult peekaboo, while still burnishing the actor’s reputation.

Filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski, whose last film was the heartfelt, complicated “Other People’s Children,” does well to cast Foster as American-born, Paris-based psychiatrist Lilian Steiner. It isn’t long after meeting Lilian in her well-appointed apartment/office, alone on a rainy night, bristling at her upstairs neighbors’ loud music and leaving a brusque voicemail for an absentee patient, that we sense this control-minded professional is in for some destabilizing. And knowing this is in Foster’s hands comes as close to a guarantee of quality as a movie can offer.

The swerve comes when Lilian learns that the absentee client — a beautiful, troubled woman named Paula (Virginie Efira, seen in flashbacks) — died suddenly. After being thrown out of the family’s shiva by widower Simon (Mathieu Amalric), but clinging to cryptic messages from the daughter (Luana Bajrami), Lilian suspects foul play rather than the official ruling of suicide. She even wrangles her affable ex-husband, Gaby (Daniel Auteuil), an eye doctor she’s still on good terms with, for investigative support.

It’s debatable, however, whether Lilian is on to something or just scrambling to make sense of a tragedy to assuage her own guilt, a question that rattles in our ears with every campy symphonic flourish or percussive ornamentation in the aggressive musical score. Zlotowski, working again with co-screenwriter Anne Berest and ultra-capable cinematographer George Lechaptois, doesn’t go for half-measures, so when Lilian sets aside her skepticism to look into things with a suspicious hypnotist, it comes complete with a red-hued Freudian dream sequence that convinces this tightly wound, coldly reasoned doctor to believe in the florid logic of past lives. It’s a change that comes as a surprise to her grown son (a wry Vincent Lacoste) who’s always had to accommodate a carefully distanced mom.

As “A Private Life” moves along, with Lilian negotiating a break-in, threats and lapses in judgment, it never exactly coheres. Yet it somehow entertains, which is a testament to Zlotowski’s energy juggling her various theme-colored story balls. While the mystery plot strains to be interesting as a lesson for its protagonist about how one never can fully know another human being, Lilian’s and Gaby’s rekindled affection is a wonderfully mature strand of midlife complexity, with Auteuil and Foster giving all their scenes the kind of nuanced, lived-in humor that suggests a flinty couple who never fully believed they were done with each other.

The slouchless cast also includes icons Irène Jacob and Aurore Clément, “Return to Seoul” breakout Park Ji-Min and documentary legend Frederick Wiseman (as Lilian’s mentor), but all in bits that range from stunty to blink-and-you’ll-miss-them. Again, the party seems like it was fun, and Foster attracts a deserving cohort for her first all-French-speaking role since 2004’s “A Very Long Engagement.” But it also leaves one realizing that “A Private Life,” despite the commanding leading lady holding its center, is a bit mixed up by design.

The 93% rated series is now available on the streamer

Every episode of a drama many consider ‘one of the best series ever’ is now streaming on Netflix.

All four seasons of Everwood are now included in the streamer’s extensive library. It is said to be a perfect binge watch for those who are big fans of Virgin River.

According to the series synopsis, it centres around a world-renowned brain surgeon Dr. Andrew Brown, from New York who decides to start a new life after the death of his wife. He leaves glamorous Manhattan and his prosperous medical practice for the idyllic small town of Everwood.

He chooses this destination because of his late wife’s emotional attachment to the town. Along with him are his two kids, Delia and Ephram.

The show revolves around the family’s relationships as they adjust to small-town life and the kids’ relationships with their peers, both as friends and in the dating world.

While the show’s cast was lead by the late Treat Williams, it also included some soon to be famous faces in early roles. This includes Emily VanCamp who would go on to star in multiple Marvel projects as well as medical drama The Resident. Also starring is a young Chris Pratt, before he went on to appear as Andy in Parks and Recreation or Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy.

According to an article found in Southern Living: “Everwood is a cosy and sentimental show that ran on The WB from 2002-2006 with a storyline so similar to that of Virgin River that people have wondered whether or not it provided the blueprint for Netflix’s adaptation of the Robyn Carr books.”

They go on to claim that Virgin River fans would be ‘crazy’ not to check out the series. They also list several plot points that the two shows have in common.

Fans also agree as one responded to a post on Reddit that asked: ” I have just finished watching Virgin River for the first time. Does anyone have any recommendations for similar shows?”

One of the top answers was: “Everwood should definitely be your next watch!! One of my all-time favorites and I’ve watched a lot of the same shows as you.”

While originally being broadcast between 2002 and 2006, it was considered a critical hit at the time. It boasts an impressive 93% on website. The show has also remained a firm favourite with fans, who still recommend it 20 years after it concluded. They still claim it is an easy binge watch and more should discover it.

One fan claimed: “I got so hooked that couldn’t do anything else and became a daily binge watch marathon. Great acting. Great story.”

Another went so far as to say: “One of the best series ever. A pity it ended after just four seasons. Talented actors, beautiful photography, a complete and amazing drama, full of sentiments, sensations, fun. It makes me smile, makes me laugh, makes me cry a lot too.”

While a third added: “A gem. Truly one of the greatest shows ever. Always nice to visit Everwood.” Someone else shared a similar view as they commented: “An underrated TV series. The characters are interesting, and draw you in from the first episode. Well written and very clever humors at times. Quite relaxing and worth watching.”

A viewer called the series ‘addictive’ and continued: “I’m speeding through this show way too fast. I think it’s been less than a week and I’m already on the third season. We are talking 20+ episodes per season, not the usual 8-12 episodes that we get nowadays.”

Everwood is streaming on Netflix. **For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website**