Pop Culture

The three-hour, Don Draper–style steakhouse extravaganza is long dead. Instead, writes GQ columnist Chris Black, today’s health-conscious creative class is breaking away from the laptop to gossip and close deals over light lunches at restaurants rich in people-watching. By Chris Black October 12, 2023 This is an edition of the newsletter Pulling Weeds With Chris

Netflix’s latest Mike Flanagan joint will spook your pants off—while also giving you a crash course on Edgar Allan Poe. By Emma Stefansky October 12, 2023 Bruce Greenwood in The Fall of the House of Usher.Courtesy of Eike Schroter for Netflix Sometimes it feels like it’s not Halloween season unless there’s a new Mike Flanagan

A comprehensive Taylor-themed survey of your non-Taylor filmed-entertainment options By Esther Zuckerman October 12, 2023 Photograph: Getty Images; Collage: Gabe Conte Have you heard? A little-known artist is releasing a small film this weekend. Just kidding: It’s time for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour to hit screens across the country and for the Swifties in

An oral history of a flawless 87 seconds of comedy, as told by the writers and actors who wanted it that way By Ralph Jones October 12, 2023 Photographs: Brooklyn 99; Collage: Gabe Conte If you’ve been on the internet in the past five years, chances are the video for the Brooklyn Nine-Nine sketch “I

Under fire for his portrayal of Sam Bankman-Fried and The Blind Side‘s Michael Oher, the bestselling author responds to his critics: “What I set out to do is leave a hole for the reader to make up their own minds.” By Brett Martin October 12, 2023 Michael Houtz; Getty Images Michael Lewis is feeling just

The A24 drama about a cursed wrestling family will suplex your senses this December By Esther Zuckerman October 11, 2023 We see the muscles before we see the men. The new The Iron Claw trailer opens with an image of Zac Efron, his shoulders bulging as he throws himself against a wrestling ring’s ropes. And

Take a lesson from Offset, Lil Nas X and NLE Choppa— a few small steps could be a giant leap for live rap shows. By Heven Haile October 11, 2023 Photographs: Getty Images; Collage: Gabe Conte NLE Choppa caught viewers off guard during his performance at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, and all he

The show’s creators explain how Kelsey Grammer’s iconic sitcom shrink came to be clad in Italian denim, Tom Ford shirts, and $400 sneakers. By Elle Hunt October 11, 2023 None of us wanted to see him this way: Frasier in denim! The promotional poster for Paramount+’s long-awaited revival of the sitcom, which showed Kelsey Grammer’s

The ‘Tickled’ filmmaker found another nonfiction rabbit hole to go down–and it nearly destroyed him. By Vince Mancini October 10, 2023 Photographs: Madman Entertainment Like a real-life incarnation of the most annoying people you’ve ever tangled with online, Michael Organ– antagonist and subject of David Farrier’s latest documentary Mister Organ, streaming now in the usual

In the latest edition of GQ Clout, the founder of the world’s buzziest electric truck maker talks about competing with Tesla while battling climate change: “It’s a multidimensional 20-year chess game.” By Alex Kantrowitz October 9, 2023 Photograph by Cayce Clifford / Courtesy of Rivian It’s 7 a.m. in Irvine, California, and RJ Scaringe is

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg produce Apple’s upcoming follow-up to the epic WWII series, with Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan leading an up-and-coming cast By Jack King October 9, 2023 Robert Viglasky Huge news for anyone who has a favorite plane (which, if a recent Twitter meme is any indication, includes every man on the

An absurdist satire of cis masculinity—with sewer monsters By Esther Zuckerman October 9, 2023 The new movie Dicks: The Musical opens with a disclaimer of sorts. “The following film was bravely written by two homosexuals, the first time gay men have ever written anything.” It continues: “These same two LGBTQ+ gay guys are also starring

Your first look at the ‘Euphoria’ actor’s thriller ‘Lucky Day,’ set for release only months after his passing By Vince Mancini October 9, 2023 Well Go USA Entertainment This week we get our first look at Your Lucky Day, an action thriller starring Euphoria’s Angus Cloud, whose death on July 31 was eventually ruled an

We are so back. By Gabriella Paiella October 6, 2023 Far left, center, and far right: Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, and Lance Reddick in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Center left and right: Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx in The Burial.Photographs: Everett Collection; Collage: Gabe Conte Recently, I made the point that Hollywood needs to

“What they’re trying to do offends me at the root of who I am and what I’m about.” By Heven Haile October 6, 2023 GQ; Photograph Courtesy of Stephanie Cozart Burton/ Courtesy of MoveOn/LeVar Burton “When I read Fahrenheit 451 for the first time,” LeVar Burton says, “I couldn’t imagine that situation in my reality.

It might not be a particularly scary movie, but it’s a pretty great David Gordon Green movie. By Jesse Hassenger October 6, 2023 Photograph: Everett Collection; Collage: Gabe Conte David Gordon Green has done it again—by which I mean he’s cowritten and directed a legacy sequel to a beloved 1970s horror masterpiece, causing critics and

It’s a renai-Saw-nce! Making sense of the two-decade-old horror mainstay’s unlikely critical and commercial resurgence By Jesse Hassenger October 6, 2023 GQ; Getty Images The Saw movies are almost as famous for their labyrinthine, borderline rococo plot twists as they are for their flesh-rending traps. The frenzied final 10 minutes of a Saw sequel will

A Boys spinoff that doesn’t skimp on dick jokes and violence, but takes mental health seriously. By Esther Zuckerman October 6, 2023 Prime Video’s series The Boys is a great show about the commodification of superheroes, the entertainment industry, and fascism in America. Its spinoff, Gen V, meanwhile, is a great show about the most

The striking actor-auteur keeps a low profile, letting his larger-than-life performance as Leonard Bernstein sell itself. By Esther Zuckerman October 5, 2023 Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre, Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein, 2023.Jason McDonald/Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection As the New York Film Festival crowd began arriving at David Geffen Hall for the US premiere of Maestro