A blog of recent clips, reporting and notions on what's happening in pop culture of interest to me. Written by Cynthia Wang.
My page for current articles and reporting, random thoughts on TV, music, movies, etc.
While I got to interview Brenton Thwaites for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, I also wrote the copy you see on the whole Back Chat spread. In the List, I got to speak to Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng, which was a highlight.
Outside of the Casey Donovan and Eurovision Diary features in the May 29 issue, here are other items I reported. With Isabel and Kellan, I interviewed them in a video set-up — so strange for this print reporter!
I spoke with Angourie Rice just before the Oscars but was glad to include her in the issue with the Oscars since she refers to her former co-star Ryan Gosling. Look for Angourie in the Sofia Coppola film The Beguiled.
Sometimes you have to write about things that are not related to one another but exist on the same spread. Here is an example.
I got to speak to Callan in December when he was promoting his work in the film The Legend of Ben Hall. Some of that interview was put online, in an article here, but I saved a statement to include in our list of notable young Australian talent.
Although Devon Terrell was born in California, he was raised in Perth, Western Australia. Nonetheless, he came Stateside to film the early-days bio-pic about Barack Obama for Netflix.
I got to speak with Jack Martin, the star of the film The Legend of Ben Hall. In a rare affirmation that an interview subject has read your piece, Jack sent on a selfie with the article!
I spoke to Anchorman star David Koechner, who is preparing for a July stand-up tour through Australia, and compared how actors look with their video-game alter egos.
I really enjoyed putting this week's Backchat together. First, there's an interview with Dalvinder Gill-Minhas, one of the featured Indian Australians looking for love in the SBS documentary Indian Wedding Race, then a look at the new line of Mean Girls dolls and a review of celebrities using Snapchat's puppy-face filter. Nicholas Fonseca and I had a great time compiling Bette Midler's best Twitter zingers, and I got to write all of the Gossip to Go boxes.
I've been fortunate to do first interviews with many now-famous people for both People and Who. One of these is young Australian actress Odessa Young. It will be great to see her career become more high profile.
I always enjoy writing up details on the fabulous gowns worn on the Oscars red carpet and this year was no exception. Text-wise, however, I am highlighting my turn at summing up the red-carpet action, usually handled by Jennie Noonan.
Great gowns, sure, but a great statement about diversity in entertainment — that summed up the Screen Actors Guild Awards in L.A. Glad to write about all of it for Who.
While the Screen Actors Guild Awards acknowledged diversity in Hollywood with hardware on Jan. 30, 2016, many are still looking for host Chris Rock to make a stand at the Oscars.
Following a spread featuring an interview with Jennifer Aniston, this coverage of the Critics' Choice Awards leads with Aniston and Justin Theroux. I loved being able to write from Reagan Alexander's file.
Reactions to this year's Oscar nominations are evolving and ever-changing, so capturing the zeitgeist, even for a moment, isn't the easiest task. Here is how I summed it up for Who this week.
I was proud to work with the WHO team to put together this tribute to David Bowie. 48 hours was not a lot of time to process how influential Bowie was to music, film, fashion and the arts, and how much he meant to me personally, but I found research and writing to be a tremendous salve.
Event Cinemas George Street hosted the black carpet and exclusive 70mm Roadshow premiere screening in Sydney of The Hateful Eight on Jan. 13, 2016, complete with a 12-minute intermission, programs and popcorn.
Credit: Roadshow Films
An enthusiastic Quentin Tarantino told the audience that any chill they may feel in the cinema wasn't from the air conditioning.
"This movie is cold," he said, referencing its dark tone and its white-and-windy snowscapes, which he added made the film just perfect for viewing in Australia's hot summertime. "But if you feel it getting colder, it's not just the snow," he said with a grin. "It's just good filmmaking."
View from our seat of Quentin Tarantino addressing the audience.
Tarantino then introduced stars Kurt Russell and Samuel L. Jackson to warm applause. Russell said he had not been in Australia "for 20 years, but it's always nice to be back."
Social media-savvy Jackson took a selfie with the audience for Instagram before speaking. "Hello Sydney!" Jackson said. "Let me offer you the first 'motherf---er' of the evening, because there will be a lot."
Instagram: samuelljackson
A bonus for fans — Tarantino, Russell and Jackson stayed to watch with the audience. In the carousel below are some photos Matt and I took from the carpet.
Below are the front and the back of the program provided at the screening:
Here is how WHO used the image of Jackson on social media, plus a photo of Tarantino also taken on the carpet:
But the actor I wish came to Sydney: Walter Goggins. I love his portrayal of Boyd Crowder from Justified (see this still from the show). In Hateful, Goggins provides electricity, unpredictability, humour and menace as Chris Mannix, the maybe-sherriff of Red Rock.
Courtesy: FX
Working on the tribute for David Bowie limited my contributions to this year's Golden Globes coverage, but here are the spreads I helped to write.
