Hi All,
Happy Valentines Day weekend! I donāt know about you - but Holidays have been a good marker of time. This time last year I was filming ARC and had decorated the whole house for the kids. But this year, I donāt think I have the energy to decorate anything.
Does anyone else feel the burn out creeping in? I think itās the combination of the polar vortex, Mercury in retrograde, and the 11th month of this pandemic. Iām tired and I know Iāve been saying that a lot, and I normally hit a winter wall at this time of year but this feels particularly hard. A friend shared this Huff Post article about how a lot of us are hitting the wall right now. So know that if youāre in a funk - me too.
Anyways letās just say it feels like a couch weekend, but like a āgrab all the blankets and comfort food (and wine) and never ever leaveā couch weekend.
So thankfully there are lots of fun things to dive in to and Taylor Swift has new-old music.
Letās get into it.
This week on the blog:
Itās all about Rom-Coms! All I want to do around Valentineās Day is get a bunch of ice cream and watch my favourite movies.
This week, I put together a list of my favourite Rom-Coms perfect for this weekend. Read that here and let me know what you end up watching in your marathon.
Next week Iāll have a post up about To All The Boys: Always And Forever.
Things to watch this week:
As always, Netflix has a few releases today of note.
First up, out today is the much anticipated final film in the To All The Boys trilogy, To All The Boys: Always And Forever. Staring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo - Iām cautiously optimistic about this one. I didnāt love the 3rd book and I really didnāt love the last movie so thatās where my trepidation comes from, however I do love the characters in this series and I really want it to be good. Watch the trailer here.
Also on Netflix, Nadiya Bakes. Nadiya HussainĀ - a former Great British Bakeoff contestant and all around super star - has a new show out. Iām really looking forward to watching this and learning some tips from her. Check out the trailer here.
Over on CBC Gem, there are multiple new things to check out all apart of their āLove is Complicatedā collection including the comedy Another Kind of Wedding, and documentaries Love Sick, and Love Me As I Am.
Saturday Night Live this week is hosted by Regina King and features musical guest Nathaniel Rateliff. Iām excited. Regina is a great actress - but she has a fantastic reputation as a director and Iām very curious to see what they create this week.
If you donāt have a hot date on Sunday (itās Valentineās Day) you can have one with John Oliver because Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is back with new episodes weekly on Crave/HBO. I think Last Week Tonight is at itās best when it dives into boring minutiae and with the Biden administration - boring is what weāre hoping for. Iām very curious to see what his team is cooking up.
Also on Sunday, Belgravia starts streaming on CBC Gem. This is the Canadian premier of the critically acclaimed British TV show. Itās a six episode costume drama and sounds right up my ally for a Sunday afternoon. Watch the trailer here.
On Wednesday (Feb 17th) Miss Juneteenth starts airing on Crave. It looks really good. Itās about a mom prepping her daughter for the Miss Juneteenth pageant. Check out the trailer here.
Lastly - I was really sad to hear about Christopher Plummerās passing last week. I was working backstage when he won his lifetime achivement award at the CSAās a few years ago - I feel very lucky to have been there. He was a remarkable talent and it feels like a good weekend to re-watch The Sound of Music. Itās streaming on Disney+.
Other things to check out:
Obviously weāre starting with Taylor Swiftās re-record of Love Story and the Fearless annoucement. The New York Times has a great primer on this for folks who are looking to catch up on why sheās doing this - but the Coleās notes is that she if she re-records, she ownās 100% of the work. On her old stuff, she owns the āsongsā as a writer, but not the masters. Now sheāll own both. There are other writers/producers who own their own percentages, but the key is that sheās the majority owner and can control how her songs are used. For example, she was able to give the rights to Love Story to Ryan Reynolds for his Match ad. For a Swiftie like me, this is all very exciting. I will be doing nothing else today but listening to this on repeat and giving her all the streams.
Iām obsessed with the Variety Directors On Directors between Olivia Wilde and Emerald Fennell. From their āno assholesā rules on set to banning āAre you sure?ā - these two women are such inspirations. I cannot wait for this pandemic to be over so I can go back onto set and then set up these rules. Itās a 45 minute interview but you can also read it. Check it out here.
David Dobrick is back on YouTube. To a certain group of people this is a *big* deal. I wouldnāt say that Iām a David Dobrick expert or have a deep knowledge of the vlogsquad - but I always like watching his videos when they come across my feed and as a Producer, Iām very interested in watching his career. He would be an excellent late night host if Jimmy Fallon ever wanted to retire. If youāre a David Dobrick fan hit me up - I want to talk about this theory.
Amy Sherman-Palladino wrote a beautiful tribute to Carol King on the 50th anniversary of Tapestry. It dives into how Where You Lead became the theme song of her show Gilmore Girls. Itās a quick read but absolutely wonderful.
The Guardian has a featured interview with Priyanka Chopra Jonas and it is a facinating read. A lot of the people I follow on Twitter have been talking about how remarkable it is that the publicist are quoted and I agree. I love that they are in here. If you are apart of the interview and you impact the flow of questions - then you are in the article. Big props to journalist Simon Hattenstone for this one.
I was talking to some friends about the Super Bowl last weekend and I ended up talking to them about The Gist. Itās a newsletter about sports - written by women for women. You get the usual sports news, but I really appreciate how they highlight female athletes and sports leagues. If youāre not signed up - do it here. They also have a fantastic podcast that helps me keep up with sports. Anyways - highly recommend.
Bachelor Nation had huge problems this week. Host Chris Harrison went on Extra and defended current Bachelor contestant Rachel Kirkconnell to former Bachelorette (and first Black Bachelorette) Rachel Lindsay. It is a trainwreck. Watch this for a āwhat not to do as a white personā. If Chris thought he was helping, he made things worse for the franchise, for Rachel K, and for himself. After this Rachel K came out with a statement apologizing for her past behaviour and Chris released a statement apologizing for his conduct in this interview. The BIPOC women of this season released a statement standing by Rachel Lindsay. This is an evolving situation but the person who I really want to hear from is Matt James. While I love his Star Wars gummies charcuterie boards I want something substantial.
Finally, itās Friday and weāve got to get down on Friday.
Itās the 10th anniversary of the infamous song, Friday by Rebecca Black and in honour of this āachievementā she released an updated remix with Dorian Electra, Big Freedia, and 3OH!3. Itās wild.
Have a fun fun fun weekend,
-Paula
p.s.
My apologies for the typos in last weekās newsletter. I was in a rush and I missed some pretty glaring mistakes. Iāve always been terrible at spelling and itās not something that Iāve ever felt good about - Iād go as far as to say itās a huge insecurity for me. So know that I try my best but mistakes happen and as soon as I find them or someone points them outā¦ I feel awful š
If you are someone with an eagle eye and have the time to do a quick scan of my newsletter for typos before I send it outā¦ let me know because Iād love to have rotating editors š