Both People Magazine and US Weekly have extensive interviews with Judi Dench this week to promote The Second Best Exotic Marigold hotel, which was out this weekend. The film was third at the box office and is doing moderately well with critics. It also costars Maggie Smith, Dev Patel and Bill Nighy. It’s hard for me to get to the movies but I’ll definitely see it once it comes out on DVD. The first film was a nice change of pace.

I know that Judi doesn’t get a lot of interest because she’s not particularly controversial, but I just love to read her interviews. She doesn’t mince words at all and she speaks so much truth. I’m going to condense her People and US interviews into the best quotes, but if you like Judi I would recommend you pick up the magazines for more. These nice in-depth interviews are the best reasons to buy print magazines. Also, I was just reminded that Judi is 80 years old. I cover her often and I just assume she’s in her early 70s tops. (I would say 60s if she wasn’t famous and I hadn’t googled her age and forgotten it multiple times.) Here’s some of what she said:

On losing her eyesight to macular degeneration
My eyes only affect me if I’m somewhere dark and there are steps and I don’t see very well. I couldn’t go on the Underground [subway] now without somebody. I have all my scripts blown up. If six of us were coming in to read a sonnet, they’d all have one piece of paper and I’d have two or three. Or I have people read things to me. [People]

On aging
There’s nothing good about being my age. Someone said to me, ‘You have such a wealth of knowledge.’ I just said, ‘I’d rather be young and know nothing, actually.’ Bugger the wealth of knowledge. I suppose there are good things, but you have to find them. [People]

On people assuming she’s going to retire
It maddens me! I say that it’s not in my vocabulary, retirement. And if I can’t do one thing, then I’ll learn something new. [US]

On working with Benedict Cumberbatch in The Hollow Crown
I’ve known Benedict since he was a little boy. His mother and I went to school together. I send him and his new wife huge love. I’ve been thinking of him, and his ma and pa. [US]

On working with Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith and I were at the Old Vic together in 1958! We’ve done plays together, films together… You have a shorthand with someone you know very, very well… [People]

On hanging out and playing Banagrams with Maggie Smith
We swam a lot. And I loved this game called Bananagrams. Our hotel in Udaipur had this channel of water all the way around that our rooms looked out onto. One day I was swimming and Maggie – we’re old friends – called and said, ‘Judi! Get the Bananagrams!’ I swam back, got the game and tied it to my head and swam back around. I remember sitting outside, playing it into the night. [US]

On her pets and her legendary goldfish
I have one cat, one dog, which is my daughter’s, and this immense, legendary goldfish… I got him when he was very small. He’s died twice and I’ve blown into his mouth to save him. Now, he’s so big! People think I’m very eccentric. I am a bit eccentric, I know. But I’m mad about this fish and the fact that he came back to life twice. He’s now called Lazarus. He was called Scooby Doo. [US]

[From People and US Magazines, print editions, March 16, 2015]

She’s great, right? What I wouldn’t give to play Bananagrams on the beach with Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. I’ve never played that game but from what I know it’s similar to scrabble without a board.

That’s the best story about her epic goldfish. Long live Lazarus! Oh and both People and US have quotes from Judy (perhaps from the same press conference) on if she ever would guest with Maggie on Downton Abbey. (We heard recently that Maggie would leave Downton next year, but a publicist for the show said that’s not true.) Judi said that Maggie had never asked her to guest and that she didn’t know if she’d do it. She said she’d “miss watching” Downton if she was on the show.

Also, I didn’t realize that Benedict Cumberbatch had older parents or that his mom is an actress. I know her from Sherlock. Kaiser told me that Benedict is the one who convinced Judi to star in Richard III (part of The Hollow Crown series) for the BBC. It comes out in 2016.

View image | gettyimages.com

“To our resident ravishing redhead, Alex. It couldn’t be more perfect that you share your birthday with International Women’s Day, since you’re so awesome, you could have been created by Joss Whedon! While this past year saw a lot of great things come your way, including a …      

Lizzie McGuire alum Hilary Duff and her mother Susan Colleen threw her older sister Haylie Duff a flower-covered baby shower at Hilary’s house in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday (March 7).

About 40 close friends and family members were in attendance, including Lauren Conrad, Kaley Cuoco, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Ali Fedotowsky, Lacey Chabert, Beverley Mitchell, Marla Sokoloff and Joanna Garcia.

Donning flower crowns from The Bouqs, guests noshed on pastel-colored cupcakes and Steve’s Ice Cream. The Duff sisters shared a Flipagram slideshow of pictures from the afternoon soirée.

“Sissy @haylieduff you are the most beautiful sister/mom to be and I love you so much! Happy baby shower day! Thank you to so many for coming and a big thanks to @donatiennela @hannahskvarla @ashleybeverly @thecrowncollective @lowenban @realjoseph #mhbabylove,” Hilary, 27, Instagrammed the pictures.

In one of the images, Haylie, 30, and her fiancé Matt Rosenburg are holding a baby with Hilary’s smiling face.

“@haylieduff and @subwaytileshirts what if this is what u get?? Meeeeeeee???!!!!” Hilary captioned the fun shot.

Sissy @haylieduff you are the most beautiful sister/mom to be and I love you so much! Happy baby shower day! Thank you to so many for coming and a big thanks to @donatiennela @hannahskvarla @ashleybeverly @thecrowncollective @lowenban @realjoseph #mhbabylove

A video posted by Hilary Duff (@hilaryduff) on Mar 7, 2015 at 6:48pm PST

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Dear Gossips,

Have you seen those throwback Ryan Gosling dance videos yet? The Internet seems to be losing its mind over them.

Because it’s Ryan Gosling, the human hug pillow.

To his credit, he had a great response:

Obviously I peaked early. Thank you @JaneChu…      

Even though Mo’nique’s HuffPo interview was relatively short, I found it exhausting. She is an exhausting person. Mo’nique has been promoting a new film, which is why she’s giving so many interviews lately, but I also feel like… did she go off her meds or something? She’s been quiet for years, then all of a sudden, it’s like she’s trying to create some major war with Lee Daniels and she’s making these grand pronouncements about how she was offered this juicy role or that great part but everything’s fine because she loves herself and she has integrity and everyone is lying but Mo’nique (and yes, she refers to herself in the third person a lot).

The latest is that she’s still insisting that she was offered the role of Cookie in the new mega-hit TV show Empire. The role is being owned by Taraji Henson, who is always amazing. And even though everyone involved with Empire says Taraji was always their Cookie, Mo’nique still won’t shut up about it. And everything else. You can read the full HuffPo piece here. Some highlights:

The speculation that Fox executives said she was difficult to work with: “You know, it doesn’t disappoint me because I haven’t heard Fox say that. That came from Mr. Daniels. I can’t be disappointed in Fox for anything because it’s hearsay. It came from someone else; it’s just what it is. What I will say is, when you ask someone about things that they know are not true, I’m not the type of person that will just sit down and be quiet and allow you to do that. There are so many people that sit down and be quiet, and they will suffer in silence. I just refuse to be silent when you say that “Mo’Nique is demanding,” “Mo’Nique is difficult.” But you never say, “Well, what were her demands? And what was she difficult in?” Those questions have never been asked. We’ll just accept it and we’ll just put it out there. See, for me, you’ve got to explain what you’re saying. If you’re going to accuse me of something, you have to explain what it is that you’re accusing me of.

Empire director Danny Strong “questioning” whether Mo’nique was ever offered a role: “My baby, Danny Strong didn’t question it — he tweeted out a statement saying, “Mo’Nique was never offered it.” And as I said on “Access Hollywood,” “Guys, I have that email to show those communications.” The one thing I am not, I am not a liar. I take pride in the character of who I am, and I take pride in my integrity. So I’m not pulling anything out of the air. People want to make this a competition. “Is it Taraji? Is it Mo’Nique?” Taraji is my girl, and I’m so happy and proud of my sister. She is the best and baddest Cookie that the world could ever see. However, it has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with, “Mr. Daniels, you’re putting my character in a place where people could question me, and you and I know, along with my husband Sidney, that those aren’t the right conversations you’re putting out there.” Now, for Mr. Strong, I understand why he’s doing what he’s doing, because he’s believing his friend. His friend, Mr. Daniels, says, “We didn’t offer Mo’Nique those things.” Well, he’s going to be supportive of his friend and his business partner, and I respect people like that. Whereas I say to Mr. Strong, “Will you speak as loudly when you find out that you’re incorrect?”

[From HuffPo]

She then goes on to say that she would work with Lee Daniels again, no problem. Which makes NO SENSE because she basically blames Daniels for everything that’s gone wrong with her career… except nothing has gone wrong with Mo’nique’s career, in Mo’nique’s mind, and she has the receipts to prove it. What is the point of all this? I have no idea. Even if Mo’nique is telling the truth about being offered Cookie in Empire (which is doubtful), why even bring it up? It’s unprofessional and rude to discuss what roles you were offered.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Gwyneth Paltrow did an interview with Bloomberg News on Friday. I wish I could say that I poured over the video, hanging on her every word, but I had to stop the video about one minute in because her voice gets on my last nerve. If you’re made of stronger stuff, you can watch the video here. Thankfully, other sites had already pulled the best quotes. Gwyneth talked to Bloomberg News about Goop and how she’s an entrepreneur and businesswoman and brand nowadays. Which she is, I guess, although her focus is so narrow, it’s a wonder she makes any profit from peasants actually buying her crap. Some highlights:

Whether Goop.com is “out of touch”: “I think there is sometimes a miscommunication. We aren’t a super-luxury site but we’re aspirational. We have things on there that cost $4. We have things on there that cost $500. Sometimes I think that some of the criticism Goop gets is because people haven’t actually gone to the site and looked around and seen what we actually are.”

She doesn’t want to be super-involved with Goop in 20 years: “I very much want Goop to be its own stand-alone brand. I know at this point it’s inextricably me but we are a team of amazing people who bring incredible ideas to the site and it’s not only me. My dream would be that in 20 years, people would sort of recollect that I maybe had something to do with it at one point and my involvement would be less essential. I never wanted to do a proprietary brand. I wanted it to be its own thing that my children could run one day if they wanted to.”

Starting her own business: “I was a fool and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I have to say it’s been incredibly rewarding. I learn so much every day and we’re in a really exciting time in the business right now and it’s amazing to be the creative force and also to understand what’s going on on the fiscal side and with raising money and all of that. It’s very challenging. It’s a side to me that I didn’t necessarily know that I possess.”

[From E! News]

I think she has learned a lot on the job (if you want to call it that) with Goop. I still visit Goop every now and then to see what she’s shilling, and the site is much more efficiently organized and well-run than it was in its first years. But will Goop be a stand-alone brand that will still be around in 20 years? Eh. I have my doubts. People like Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Lopez have successful brands because A) they actually make affordable stuff for peasants and B) because they work with major retailers (I think J.Lo is exclusive to Kohl’s now?). Will we see Goop at Macy’s? Or will Goop always be a minor little niche?

And Gwyneth is talking out of both sides of her mouth on the “out of touch” criticism – Goop is the very definition of “stuff rich people like.” She’s shilling $1100 blazers (the largest size is 10, because Goop has a “no fatties” rule) and $650 shorts.

Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN.

Yesterday, I covered part of John Mayer’s Today interview with the lovely Ronan Farrow. John insisted that he’s not a womanizer but a “recovered ego addict.” He made no sense. Mayer is so obsessed with sounding clever and quirky, which has nothing to do with being a womanizer. Another part of this interview covers John’s thoughts on Taylor Swift. Way back in 2009, these two had a brief fling that ended horribly. Swift called John out with her “Dear John” song. He was very butthurt over the song but possibly wrote “Paper Dolls” as revenge. Is he still upset? Yeah.

To be fair, John does tell Ronan “that’s really cool” when asked about Swift’s refusal to play her music on Spotify. He then says, “The only reason we’re talking about Taylor Swift taking Spotify on is because she’s Taylor Swift.” John’s trying to seem diplomatic by saying Taylor is one of only a few artists who could pull the Spotify move. When he talks about Kanye West, John slips a little bit with his tone of voice. Here’s what happened:

Is John jealous of bigger artists? “Nooooo. Not at all. Nothing bothers me anymore, man. There are going to be times when I make music as popular or as empirically valuable as that … that won’t sell as many copies. I’m fine with that. Look, if I save a baby from a burning building, and Kanye saves a baby from a burning building, there’s more Google News hits on Kanye. I’m FINE with it.”

More on the Swift feud: “I put out a song called ‘Paper Doll.’ The song never got listened to as a song. It became a news story because of the lyrics. I’m not in the business of telling people what the song is about. I never said anything about it. And now I just go, ‘Look, I can say the name Taylor Swift. She’s an artist. I’m an artist. Everybody stop. Nobody’s got an incurable cancer. We’re rich people who get to live out our dreams. Let’s just stop it.’”

John is fine, really: “I’m a musician who’s bigger than one song or one record. So it’s really about the longevity of all the work that goes together. I’m just not interested in the things that won’t last forever.”

[From Today]

Well John’s not wrong with the “burning building” analogy. People pay more attention to Kanye West than little ol’ John Mayer. But John is wrong about not caring. He cares a lot. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t talk about it. His wavering voice (as he talks about not caring) completely gives him away. At least Kanye is upfront about his meglomanaical status. John’s a fantastically bad liar. Just own up to caring, man.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet & WENN

Sean Penn was the big “surprise” presenter at the Oscars. He presented the final award, Best Picture, to Birdman. Birdman was directed by his friend Alejandro Iñárritu, who directed Penn in 21 Grams. When Penn opened the envelope, he made a “joke” about Iñárritu being Mexican, saying, “Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?” Penn was widely criticized on Oscar night for that “quip,” although Inarritu said that night that he wasn’t offended, that it was just a joke, and that he and Penn are friends. Up until now, Penn hasn’t explained or apologized. But now he’s saying that we’re stupid for being offended. Because of course.

Sean Penn is adamant that he has no reason to apologize for making a green card jibe at the expense of Mexican director Alejandro Iñárritu while handing him his Oscar for Birdman. The joke prompted a storm of outrage from critics who branded the comments xenophobic – but Penn has today said he has ‘absolutely no apologies’ and that the only reason anyone could be offended is their own ‘flagrant stupidity’. According to Penn, the jibe was part of his friendship with Iñárritu, with whom he has worked in the past – and even a way to let him know of his victory seconds before everyone else.

Speaking at a promo event in Beverly Hills for one of his own movies, Penn said of the reaction to the joke: ‘I’m always surprised by flagrant stupidity. I keep having more hope.’

He later added: ‘I have absolutely no apologies. In fact, I have a big f—k you for every… anybody who is so stupid not to have gotten the irony when you’ve got a country that is so xenophobic. If they had their way, you wouldn’t have great filmmakers like Alejandro working in this country. Thank god we do.’

Penn also clarified that the order of his comments were intentional.

‘There’s a little inside humor with he and I where I know, and wanted to know, that he would be the first person in that room to know that his film won,’ he said.

[From The Daily Mail]

I’m willing to make the journey and say that Penn’s comment would have been fine if it was simply an inside joke between two friends, friends that “get” each other. But for that to be the announcement of Best Picture, to be said in a huge public forum, I think it’s perfectly reasonable for people to be all “seriously, Sean Penn is kind of racist jerk.” And I’m surprised by Penn’s “flagrant stupidity” in not knowing which jokes will be more well-received in private conversation rather than a public forum.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Following Kanye West’s pissy hissy fit at the Grammys – in which he said Beck did “not respect artistry” – Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson decided enough was enough. She posted an open letter of sorts on her Facebook, calling out Kanye West for being an immature, petty and spoiled child. It was awesome. Kanye hasn’t said anything about Shirley Manson publicly, but considering the backtracking he’s done in the month since the Grammys, I had assumed that he was actually feeling some regret. Guess not. Shirley Manson posted another Facebook open letter to “He who shall remain nameless” and I think we should assume that she’s talking to Kanye and that Kanye emailed her or something with another hissy fit:

Dear He who shall remain nameless,

It is with great sadness that I read your email today. Clearly you have forgotten or are just generally unaware, that in business it is always wise to be kind and respectful in your day to day dealings with other people. Especially those you have never met.

You just never know when you might meet that person who has been at the receiving end of your disrespect for indeed you may have to come on bended knee to that person later on down the line because they hold on to something of value that you need to get your greasy hands on. What alarms me more than anything about your nasty little barbs is that you are in the business of representing artists interests and yet you are clearly unaware that not all musicians are obsessed with the charts or being famous.

That some of us do not value ourselves by the number of mainstream “hits” we have enjoyed. That some of us just enjoy making music and having a long lifespan of a career without having to dance as fast as we can, or be the loudest clown in town or be having to hitch ourselves to the latest ,greatest, freshest sound in order to remain “on top” . There are some of us who just like to live the way WE see fit. Make the music WE feel passionate about. Music that feels authentic to who we are and where we are in our lives. There are even some of us who do not believe that being famous is the holy grail or the answer to a beautiful, meaningful and rewarding life.

Clearly you are unable to wrap your head around the idea that some musicians actually prefer NOT having to perform on Children’s TV shows. Who do NOT want to be gossiped about in the popularity contest columns. Who most definitively do NOT want to be chased by paparazzi and who do NOT want to put their family name to some sh-tty , poorly made product in order to build a “brand” and who most definitely do NOT want to go out every night, dressed up to the nines to the opening of an envelope.

SO allow me to make my choices as I see fit without having to endure your childish and un-evolved criticism. As you so rightly pointed out, there are plenty of talented people in the world who will sell their grannies to serve your desires.

So now then sir, that all said,
Go F#CK yourself.

[From Shirley Manson’s Facebook]

I think Manson is, like, 95% justified and righteous here. The one little negative quibble I have is that the only reason she incurred Kanye’s “nasty little barbs” is because she called him out so thoroughly in a public forum. And now she’s acting like she’s so taken aback that he might have something equally negative to say about her, to her (privately). So, that part of it is just “too cute by half.” Otherwise, yes, she’s on point. Kanye is a sad famewhore clown and Shirley is happy where she is.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Well, well. George Clooney and Amal stepped out in NYC on Saturday night for a bite to eat. They went to Kappo Masa (Japanese). I wonder… do you think Amal can cook? I have my doubts. She seems like the kind of woman who prefers going out to eat. And much like Amal’s street style the previous day (we discussed it here), Amal wore Giambattista Valli for this outing. You like? It really does seem like yellows are “in” for Spring. This is from Valli’s Pre-Fall 2015 collection, which isn’t even in stores yet. Is Giambattista Valli sending Amal free stuff? It wouldn’t be the worst idea. She really does seem to love that label – she’s worn a lot of Valli in the past six months. Also: her earrings are Dolce & Gabbana.

As for their body language… yeah, I could do this ALL DAY. Amal is all “Face! Beauty! Teeth! Hair! Glamour!” And George is all “My back hurts, I wish we had stayed home and just had some soup.” That’s what you get, George. Stacy Keibler never made these kinds of demands! You just had to marry “your equal,” George. And of course your equal is 16 years younger and she loves the cameras.

Speaking of, Amal has taken on more casework. Sort of. While she’s in NYC with George and in between lecturing at Columbia Law School, Amal is sort of working for the legal team of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the disgraced former president of the Philippines. Arroyo stole elections and looted millions of dollars from a state-run lottery scheme. Arroyo is also sick and not getting the best medical care while she sits in jail. So Amal has joined the legal team petitioning the UN Human Rights Council, asking them to intervene and end Arroyo’s substandard “hospital detention” so Arroyo can get better care.

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.