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.
Author Rachel Noble was part of our Winter Books Special, a gracious woman with a children's book designed to help in the grieving process. Also this week, reviews of documentary The Gospel According to Andre and Anh Do's Brush with Fame Season 3.
Fellow cherub instructor Shirley Li did the main interview for Entertainment Weekly for a spread-page feature. We added a fourth page, which meant I got to do all new captions and a box. Combined? It's a lot of Mike Colter, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that.
For this week's Back Chat, I got to speak with up-and-coming actress Tiarnie Coupland and hilarious Nailed It! host Nicole Byer.
We were not able to use People's fantastic April cover story on Mariah Carey when it first came out due to photo issues, but I combined that reporting with original reporting for this health update.
I had the pleasure of speaking with the very funny and yet simultaneously earnest Glen Powell, co-star with Zoey Deutch in the Netlix rom-com Set It Up. I also enjoyed writing a wacky paragraph on Bachelor Nick Cummins, because sometimes, it's just the little things. WhoNews dealt with reality stars Sam and Tara as well as Sophie, and the we end on a review of one of my favourite shows, Nailed It (look out for my chat with host Nicole Byer soon!)
Here's my recap of Broadway's biggest night.
Anytime I can champion more diversity in the magazine is a good thing, and this week, it's a chat with Michael Hing, whose documentary series Where Are You Really From? tackles head on the "double from" question many Asian Americans and Asian Australians have encountered. From there, I talked to MKR judge Manu Feildel about his menu for the Hoyts Lux movie experience. In the issue on stands with the June 25 cover date, I spoke to John Cameron Mitchell, the pioneer behind Hedwig and the Angry Inch, for the Soundtrack of My Life feature, and took a look at the final four on The Voice.
Alan Cumming called while leaving his home (and his cats) to catch a taxi on the way to a CBS upfront party in New York. If only he knew just how much I knew where he was headed and why! This week also featured chats with Oscar-winning makeup artist Lucy Sibbick, Body Hack 2.0 host Todd Sampson, and one of the favourites in MasterChef, Brendan.
Sam Perry isn't the only one with a sweet romance tale on The Voice. Meet Trent! Also, a fun chat with Back in Time for Dinner host Annabel Crabb.
It's Nigella Week on season 10 of MasterChef, and I was able to feature her as the Back Chat opener and in an online story (about how to poach the perfect egg). Mixing up, there is a quick interview with actress Lesley Manville on working with Daniel Day-Lewis in Phantom Thread, a look back at the now-concluded-but-already-missed Eurovision, and a personal take on top Voice contestant Sam Perry, a loop artist.
I have interviewed Delta Goodrem often during my time (so far) in Australia but never for a cover. This May, Delta had a miniseries, Seven's biopic Olivia: Hopelessly Devoted to You, and a regular gig, Nine's The Voice, along with an album of Olivia covers, all hitting the same time. She spoke with ease and candor. Although the cover line may have emphasised newsy beats of the moment, Delta was nonetheless complimentary in a reply to my tweet thanking her for her time. Her response was unexpected but really sweet and generous. In addition to the online story, you can read the print interview in the WHO tab of the Telling Stories section on the site. Following the Delta cover is my short take on fave show Aggretsuko, which you can also find under my Shameless Plus tab, and interviews with Marcia Hines and Myf Warhurst.
I got to do a quick review of Avengers: Infinity War this week, which came before editing WHO's pick-up of EW's amazing Marvel Cinematic Universe package for next week's issue. Also, spoke to blues legend Robert Cray and got to set up the upcoming fourth season of The Bachelorette and tease the next episode of MKR. Rarely do I get a chance to do a pop-culture list, but when asked to do an Avengers-themed post, I enjoyed writing about The 10 Most Badass Women of the MCU.
It's been years since I covered Dancing with the Stars in the US, but Australian pro Kym Johnson, now Kym Johnson Herjavec, is still a great interview. We congratulate her on her babies-to-come (and sure enough, twins Hudson Robert and Haven Mae arrived healthy and well), and speak about My Kitchen Rules controversies, in the April 23 issue. I've combined two smaller items—the chats with Ryan Serhant in this issue and Hana Mae Lee in the next, into one image.
One of the featured players on The Real Housewives of Melbourne, Jackie Gillies came off a rather good showing on I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here and gained a new set of fans. Here we talk about her next endeavour—taking her motivational talks on the road. For more about Jackie, I spoke to her after her Celebrity exit and in an online companion piece to this one.
I had already gotten tickets for the Sheryl Crow/Melissa Etheridge show before the opportunity to speak to Sheryl came. She was fun, relaxed and gracious—clearly ready to enjoy touring in Australia. She was part of a Back Chat spread that also had cute animated creatures in it. What's not to love? Following that are a pair of WhoNews items on the start of Australia's first season of Bachelor in Paradise.
I spent most of March on MKR and other features rather than shorter interviews. Even so, I got to speak to one of my favourite singers and actresses, Audra McDonald, for her coming aboard The Good Fight. I also spoke with Natalie Bassingthwaighte about her return to Neighbours, Joel Creasey about hosting Sydney Mardi Gras coverage for SBS, and MKR judge Colin Fassnidge.
I had no idea at the start of the week that I would be pitched Michael Bolton for a Back Chat item, but it turned out to be so fun. Add to that words from Tabatha Coffey and Grant Denyer, plus a recap of the brilliant Tourism Australia ad that aired during the Super Bowl and you get our pop culture collection for mid-February.
What a joy to meet Tim Minchin and talk comedy, music, politics and the weather (we did—raining outside!)
I had no idea how fun it would be to talk to Men at Work's Colin Hay. He has had a long residency at LA's Largo (old and new locations) and is such an insightful, witty guy. He indulges me in a Soundtrack of My Life interview. I also have I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here's host Julia Morris for a Last Word.
Each year, I get to know the contestants of Seven's My Kitchen Rules very well. It all begins with this contestant preview and the small tease in the TV Preview (which also includes a quote from my interview with Chai Hansen for The New Legends of Monkey). Aside from that, here is also an interview with Richard Armitage (whose voice I could hear all day) for Berlin Station, and a pun-filled box on Game of Thrones stamps.
