| It's Thursday, which is really just Wednesday's aftershow. Hello from Los Angeles, where we're hearing frightening new James Toback stories, checking on the Justice League movie tracking, and finally getting a look at the real Terry Notary. VOICES RISING "Well, if I can get out of here without being raped . . ." That's what Selma Blair said was running through her head when, in 1999, she auditioned for the Toback movie Harvard Man. In a piece by V.F.'s Krista Smith and Julie Miller, Blair and Rachel McAdams have told their own disturbing Toback stories, just two among the more than 200 that have emerged since the Los Angeles Times's Glenn Whipp first published 38 allegations about the writer-director's sexually predatory behavior. "I need you to take your clothes off," Blair said Toback told her. "'I need you to do this monologue naked' . . . I do remember looking down at the script and seeing my bare chest, and not being able to focus on anything but the words and my face being so hot and puffy, and feeling so ashamed." McAdams, then a 21-year-old theater student in Toronto up for the same film, described reporting to a meeting at a hotel where Toback said he had masturbated thinking about her, and tried to get her to remove her clothes by asking questions like, "How brave are you? How far you are willing to go as an actress?" Toback, 72, has written for Vanity Fair in the past. When reached by phone Wednesday evening, Toback said he had no comment on any of the allegations. Just as in Lupita Nyong'o's New York Times piece about Harvey Weinstein, Blair and McAdams's stories reveal how powerful men in Hollywood have exploited the vulnerability and physical openness to which actresses are taught to aspire. McAdams said she extricated herself from the hotel room and told her agent about the experience, only to hear that this had happened to another of the agent's clients with Toback. "That is when I got mad, because I felt like I was kind of thrown into the lion's den and given no warning that he was a predator," McAdams said. "This was something that he was known for doing already." JUSTICE DAWNS V.F.'s Katey Rich writes: Wonder Woman is the star of the year's second-biggest film, and she's not done yet. The early box-office projections for Justice League are out, and according to Deadline's Anthony D'Alessandro, the film could make as much as $120 million in its domestic debut—coming in just ahead of Wonder Woman's $103 million opening, and on track with the projections for next week's Marvel Studios effort, Thor: Ragnarok. But don't assume this means no more hard feelings from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; moviegoers polled by Fandango said they were most excited to see Gal Gadot return as Wonder Woman, and for Jason Momoa as Aquaman. You could cue up "The Sound of Silence" for Ben Affleck's Batman . . . but if a $120 million opening comes to pass, the rumors that his troubled relationship with the Batsuit is coming to an end may be put to rest. STRANGER-ER THINGS | | V.F.'s Laura Bradley writes: Get ready, Stranger Things fans, for something you might not have expected: in addition to the launch of Stranger Things 2 at midnight, Netflix announced Thursday that it will also launch an aftershow, titled Beyond Stranger Things. (We'd humbly suggest Strangest Things instead, but no matter.) TV has seen an aftershow boom of late, thanks to interview-based programs including AMC's Talking Dead and Talking Saul, about The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul. Other series that have tried out aftershow formats include Teen Wolf, Orphan Black, Mr. Robot, Game of Thrones, Bates Motel, Doctor Who, Nashville, and Bachelor in Paradise. (Some of those ventures have been more successful than others.) Comedian Jim Rash will host the latest attempt, which "tackles inspiration for the series, behind-the-scenes stories, and analyzes every aspect of the second season—answering all the burning questions," per Netflix. How far inside the Upside Down do fans want to go? We'll soon find out. THE MO-CAP MAESTRO V.F.'s Yohana Desta writes: You've seen his work before, but you've never really seen Terry Notary. The actor works largely in motion capture, making high-profile turns as an orc in Warcraft, a primate in Planet of the Apes, and the titular beast in Kong: Skull Island. That, however, is changing thanks to the upcoming Ruben Östlund drama The Square, which features a scene in which Notary entertains a dinner party by pretending to be a wild chimpanzee—but the catch is there's no mo-cap or C.G.I. The dinner guests are immediately discomfited by his presence, which is exactly what Notary and Östlund intended. In an interview with V.F.'s Emma Stefansky, Notary explains how difficult it was to actually film that scene (which included 300 blindsided extras). He also spoke about the surprising ease of delivering this particular performance, and the excitement of doing something a little more raw. "It was cool," he says. "My mom said to me, 'Terry! You're finally in a movie!' It impressed my mom, so that's good." TOP OF THE BLAKE V.F.'s Hillary Busis writes: Did you know that Blake Lively has a movie coming out this week? It's called All I See Is You, which is a pun, you see (did it again!), because Lively plays a woman who is blind. V.F.'s own Richard Lawson was impressed by her performance when he originally reviewed the film over a year ago, and is marking the occasion of its long-awaited release by pitching a few potential follow-ups for Lively, designed to capitalize on her burgeoning movie-star charisma. Come, marvel at his genius ideas—including The Texan's Wife, which would cast real-life lifestyle guru Lively as a fictional lifestyle guru making a new home for herself in the Lone Star State, or Daddy's Girl, which would cast Lively as "the daughter of a reviled/revered billionaire who launches an improbable run for political office." Isn't fiction fun? That's the news for this sweaty Thursday in L.A. What are you seeing out there? Send tips, comments, and Blake Lively-in-peril pitches to Rebecca_Keegan@condenast.com. Follow me on Twitter @thatrebecca. | | |
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