GOSSIP RAG (SEASON 34)

 

In this segment, we will delve into the inside dirt on some of the latest and upcoming LRF releases and the studio's stars....

TODD PHILLIPS

The only invisible hand on Mises was the one pulling it straight into the red. Todd Phillips’ bold but baffling dramaedy about the rise of the Libertarian Mises Caucus — and its real-life founder Michael Heise — was a box office belly-flop, with scathing reviews targeting both its muddled messaging and lackluster execution. Lucas Hedges, portraying Heise, reportedly clashed with Phillips during production, frustrated by constant script rewrites, unclear direction, and what one source described as a “barely functioning” schedule. Even more baffling was the ballooning budget: originally projected at a more modest budget, costs spiraled out of control due to excessive reshoots and abandoned locations, ultimately landing right around $40 million — quite high for a film that mostly consists of people arguing in windowless rooms. Said one exasperated producer: “We spent Dune money to make a libertarian C-SPAN episode.”

DAMSON IDRIS

Damson Idris has been keeping secrets sharper than a vampire hunter’s katana. Long before his acclaimed turn in At Night All Blood Is Black rocketed him to awards-season royalty, Idris had already quietly locked in a deal with the studio to star as Blade in its Marvel Universe — a move kept so under wraps that even his agency wasn’t briefed on all the details. According to sources close to the project, Idris was selected after a private screen test left execs “speechless,” with one insider describing his performance as “controlled fury wrapped in leather.” Marvel reportedly began pre-vis and fight choreography around him months before his casting was even announced. 

JENNIFER LAWRENCE

It’s lights, camera, tension on the set of Starlight. Jennifer Lawrence and Sydney Sweeney are turning back the clock for the 1960s-set Hollywood drama, but insiders say the real drama is happening between takes. While Lawrence commands the higher salary and top billing, word from the set is that Sweeney has quietly become the center of attention - earning praise from the director, wooing the crew with her professionalism, and even having wardrobe and lighting tweaked to best suit her look. The tension, according to multiple sources, seems to stem less from anything Sweeney is doing and more from Lawrence's growing discomfort with how much focus has shifted to her younger co-star. “It’s not a diva clash,” one crew member noted. “It just feels like Jennifer’s used to being the golden girl - and suddenly, she’s not.”

MADONNA

Strike a pose - but not that pose. Sources say Madonna is fuming over Chloe Grace Moretz’s portrayal of her in the upcoming biopic Material Girl, which takes a gritty, unfiltered look at the pop icon’s rise from starving artist to pop dominator. The film paints a portrait of Madonna as a ruthless opportunist who used charm, sex, and sheer will to bulldoze her way to the top - leaving collaborators, lovers, and rivals scorched in her wake. While Madonna has publicly slammed the film as “fictionalized garbage” and is allegedly threatening legal action to block its release - or at least prevent use of her songs - studio insiders at Last Resort Films remain unbothered. Turns out, they quietly secured full music rights through Warner Music, which controls much of Madonna’s catalog, and didn’t need her personal sign-off. One exec summed it up with a smirk: “She may be the Queen of Pop, but we read the fine print.”

ERIC BANA

Eric Bana may scoff at method acting - he’s called it “silly” and “disruptive” in past interviews - but that didn’t stop him from putting in the work for his upcoming turn as Randy Weaver in Ruby Ridge, a dramatization of the infamous 1992 standoff that shook America’s trust in its own government. While Bana didn’t go full survivalist, he did reportedly spend weeks learning backwoods skills, wilderness isolation techniques, and handling vintage firearms to convincingly portray a man who fled society to live off the grid. When asked whether he sympathized with Weaver’s anti-government beliefs, Bana remained characteristically diplomatic, describing the story not as a political statement but as a personal one. “It’s a story about a family trying to survive,” he told one outlet.