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Cosmetic surgery: Courteney Cox: ‘I didn’t realize that I’m actually looking really strange with injections’ | Culture

On September 22, 1994, six barely known young actors appeared on screen together for the first time in what marked the beginning of what would be the greatest professional experience of their lives: Friends, one of the most successful television comedies of all time. Almost instantly, the six leads became some of the most recognizable people on the planet, changing their lives forever. Nearly three decades after the show’s final episode aired, on May 6, 2004, all of them have continued their careers with varying degrees of success under a fierce media spotlight. Courteney Cox, who played Monica Geller, recently gave an interview with The Times in which she discussed the show, her life now and why Friends remains important to her.

Cox, 57, says she sees “nothing wrong” with being 60, but the number still surprises her. “It’s so hard to even hear or say. I can’t believe it,” she told The Times. “I just can’t believe it. Time goes so fast. There’s no question that I am more grounded, I’ve learned so much in my life – what to enjoy, what to try to do more of and what to let go of.”

Cox says she has also stopped trying to look the same as she did on Friends, as a twenty to thirty-something, which was something she found hard to accept for a time. “There was a time when you go, ‘Oh, I’m changing. I’m looking older.’ And I tried to chase that [youthfulness] for years,” she said. “And I didn’t realize that, oh shit, I’m actually looking really strange with injections and doing stuff to my face that I would never do now.”

She also revealed that she considered posting two photos on Instagram – one before and after the implants – to compare her face then and now. “I would post the following message: ‘The day that you realize what your friends are talking about.’ Because people would talk about me, I think. But there was a period where I went, ‘I’ve got to stop. That’s just crazy.”’

The actor also acknowledges the media constant attention – and on occasions, the pressure and criticism – faced by women who are logically aging, but takes it all with a pinch of salt: “The scrutiny is intense, but I don’t know if it could be more intense than what I put on myself,” she said. “I’m a product whore. I will try anything.”

(l-r) Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
(l-r) Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ABC ENTERTAINMENT (AP)

Cox is promoting her new show, a comedy-horror called Shining Vale, in which her character, a writer of erotic novels who is going through an existential crisis and fighting depression, moves from New York to the country with her teenage daughter. It’s a parallel to her own life, with Cox mother to a 17-year-old, Coco, who is finishing high school. In the show her relationship with her daughter is complicated, which is not the case in real life – Cox says she is “grateful to be able to understand” her own child. What she doesn’t understand quite as readily is how Coco, whose father is the actor David Arquette, Cox’s ex-husband, can have over 300,000 Instagram followers. “I don’t like that she has them. It just feels weird to me. What are people attaching to?” she wonders.

Although Cox has had many post-Friends roles in movies, television, videos and musicals, as well as trying her hand as a director and producer, the role of the competitive, controlling but fun-loving chef Monica Geller, continues to define her life almost 30 years after she landed the part, at the age of 30. Whenever she watches an episode today, she says, it still seems “funny and relevant.”

“I’m happy it’s survived all this time and people still love it. If people stop loving it, that would be worse.” As a curiosity, Cox says she is also a perfectionist and enjoys cooking and entertaining guests, as does Monica. She says she will never disown Friends, and that she will never tire of it. “That was such a huge part of my life. It was such a lucky situation that I fell into the show, and I went through so many things in those 10 years.” The cast recently reunited for a one-off special, and Cox says it was “fantastic” to see everyone again. She also spoke about the pressure suffered by her co-star and, later in the show, on-screen partner Matthew Perry, who played Chandler, because of his role as joker-in-chief. “That was a lot of pressure he put on himself.”

Cox also revealed that she and her co-leads Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow are as close in real life as they were on set: “We’re just really comfortable. We’ve shared so much history together and we laugh. Lisa’s laugh alone is the most infectious laugh I’ve ever heard. It’s adorable. We have deep conversations; we also have silly times.”

Despite having played cult roles including Monica and Gale Weathers in the Scream franchise, or perhaps because of that, Cox admits she still suffers from the insecurity of a complex profession. “I don’t want to expose myself again without the security of knowing it’s going to work,” she says. In the interview, she recalls filming a pilot five years ago that never made it to production: “It shook me for a little while. I mean for years in some weird way, I was scared to go back out.” As such, Cox also revealed she tries not to read reviews, but when she does, she often skips straight to the first mention of her name. “Let me skip all the ‘What do you think about the film?’ Just, what did you say about me?”

Today, Cox is in a relationship with Snow Patrol guitarist Johnny McDaid. The pair split their time between both sides of the Atlantic and, Cox says, have no plans to marry. She is also close friends with singer Ed Sheeran, who stays at her Malibu house when he is in the area. Asked by The Times if she habitually hangs out with younger people, she replied she doesn’t think about and has lots of friends in their 30s. “I feel like I’m young. To me, they’re the same age… until I stop to think about it.”



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Here’s when your favorite show may return as writers strike is on the verge of ending | Culture

A tentative agreement between striking screenwriters and Hollywood studios offers some hope that the industry’s dual walkouts may soon be over. But when will your favorite shows return?

Well, it’s complicated. First, the agreement needs to pass two key votes, and certain paused productions such as Deadpool 3 and Yellowjackets will still have to wait on actors to reach a deal with studios.

When is ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ coming back?

Once the contract is approved, work will resume more quickly for some writers than others. Late-night talk shows were the first to be affected when the strike began, and they may be among the first to return to air now. NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on CBS could come back within days.

Saturday Night Live might be able to return for its 49th season, though some actors may not be able to appear. The actors strike limits promotional appearances that are the lifeblood of the late-night shows.

Shows that return while actors are still picketing could prove controversial, as happened with the planned resumptions of daytime shows including The Drew Barrymore Show and The Talk. Those plans were later abandoned.

One show that’s likely to make a speedy return? Real Time with Bill Maher. The host plotted a return without writers but ended up postponing once last week’s negotiations were set.

What about ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Superman’?

Writers rooms for scripted shows that shut down at the strike’s onset, including Netflix’s Stranger Things, Severance on Apple TV+ and Abbott Elementary on ABC are also likely to reactivate quickly. But with no performers to act out the scripts, long delays between page and screen will be inevitable.

Film writers will also get back to work on their slower timeline, though those working on scripts or late revisions for already scheduled movies — including “Deadpool 3″ and “Superman: Legacy” — will certainly be hustling to avoid further release-date delays.

When are Drew Barrymore and other daytime shows coming back?

Barrymore’s planned return to her daytime television show became a rallying point for picketers earlier this month, prompting her to cancel her plans. The Talk and The Jennifer Hudson Show, which also employ some screenwriters, also called off plans to return.

Barrymore and the other shows have not announced their plans for returning. However, the Writers Guild of America has made it clear: Guild members cannot start working again on projects until the tentative contract is ratified.

That vote has not yet been scheduled.

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Milan fashion celebrated diversity and inclusion with refrain: Make more space for color and curves | Culture

More curvy models than ever showed up on Milan runways this season, due mostly to a single show by Brazilian designer Karoline Vitto, while designers of color showcased their work at collateral events meant to promote their visibility — along with diversity — in the backrooms of Italian fashion.

Wherever diversity and inclusion were being celebrated during Milan Fashion Week, which ended Sunday, there was one underlying refrain: Make more space.

Curvy models get outing at Karoline Vitto

“We made history! It was incredible,’’ world-renown curvy model Ashley Graham gushed as she embraced London-based Vitto after Sunday’s show. Graham is often the only curvy model on major fashion runways, but for this show she led a cast of models ranging in size from UK 10 to UK 24 (US 6 to US 20).

By comparison, some Milan brands typically size up to 48 Italian (US size 12), while some, notably Dolce & Gabbana which sponsored Vitto, has extended some looks up to an Italian size 52 (US 16).

Graham wore an edgy black ripped corset and long sheer skirt, while other models wore form-hugging jersey dresses fitted with S-shaped metallic fixtures that sculpted their curves. She used the same technique for bathing suits.

“It feels normal,’’ Graham said, calling on more designers to get more curves on the runway. “If I feel normal on the runway with this many girls, that means that there is something that doesn’t feel normal when I am on the runway with everybody else.”

Diversifying small brand profiles

After working in fashion for decades, Deborah Latouche launched her own brand after converting to Islam and realizing how hard it was to find clothes that were “luxury, high-end and modest.”

Latouche brand, Sabirah, was highlighted along with US brand BruceGlen at the Milan Fashion Hub for new and emerging designers, sponsored by Blanc Magazine’s Teneshia Carr and the Italian National Fashion Chamber. The Hub offered space to meet buyers and other people interested in new brands.

“Something like this is really important because small brands such as myself can get really overlooked,’’ said Latouche, who has shown her brand in London, where she is based. “We put a lot of work in but we don’t necessarily get a lot of recognition.

Being invited to Milan “is an amazing platform that gives us the potential to elevate and that is really important,’’ she said.

Twins Bruce and Glen Proctor have been working on their brand for 17 years, and relished the time in Milan showing their creations to a new audience while they also connect with their true creative intentions.

“For a longtime we did black and white, based on what we thought the industry wanted,” Bruce Glen said. Now they are doing what comes naturally, “Colors, prints and fur.’’

Carr said presentations where people can touch the wares are a great way to connect people with a new product, without the huge expense of a runway show.

“The fashion system isn’t working for anyone but the 1 percent. I am all for trying to make new systems where everyone gets paid and people get clothes that make them feel better,’’ she said.

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Hollywood Studios Reach Tentative Agreement With Screenwriters To End The Strike

The picket line of writers and actors outside Netflix offices in Los Angeles.

The picket line of writers and actors outside Netflix offices in Los Angeles.

A happy ending in Hollywood. The studios and the writers’ union have reached a tentative agreement to end the screenwriters’ strike that has brought the world of film and television in the United States to a halt for nearly five months.

After four days of negotiations, Hollywood studios and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) managed to set down the bases of a new collective agreement. The deal announced Sunday unblocks one of the longest labor conflicts in the industry, with the strike now at 146 days.

“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional, with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership” the WGA stated in a press release. The leadership of the screenwriters’ organization must ratify the pact on Tuesday by a vote. The studios must now focus on resolving the conflict with the actors’ union, which is still on strike, so that productions can resume operations.

The studios and the WGA resumed negotiations on Wednesday after months of tension and a failed attempt to reach an agreement in mid-August. This time, there was a greater sense of urgency from both sides, who were concerned that further disagreement could have stretched the strike to 2024.

The main executives of the four studios attended the meetings with this in mind to show their willingness to negotiate. The parties set the goal of drafting the new contract before the Yom Kippur holidays, which began Sunday afternoon.

The negotiations were attended by Bob Iger, from Disney; David Zaslav from Warner Bros. Discovery; Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley. The studio heads were present for three days at the meetings, which were held at the offices of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Over the weekend, the studios were able to finalize the remaining details of the deal with the WGA. California Governor Gavin Newsom was also involved to ensure that both sides remained at the negotiating table. The strike has cost the state about $3 billion, according to a conservative estimate by California State University Northridge.

SAG-AFTRA actors and Writers Guild of America (WGA) writers rally during their ongoing strike, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. September 13, 2023.

SAG-AFTRA actors and Writers Guild of America (WGA) writers rally during their ongoing strike, in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

In the press release to announce the tentative agreement, the WGA made it clear that the strike is not over yet: “No one is to return to work until specifically authorized to by the Guild. We are still on strike until then.” The WGA’s 11,500 members must vote on the agreement.

This will happen after Tuesday, when the Negotiating Committee ratifies the deal once the final version of the text is ready. The deal is likely to be overwhelmingly approved by screenwriters, who have expressed their satisfaction for the resolution. Union members have also recognized the work of the Negotiating Committee, headed by Ellen Stutzaman.

While the strike continues until the deal is voted on, the WGA has brought an end to the picket lines at the gates of major studios in Los Angeles and New York, which have been in place since May 2.

If the strike had reached September 30, it would have become the longest in the history of the WGA, surpassing the 153 days of the 1988 strike. Actors, in the meantime, remain on strike, until they reach a deal with the studios.

According to the writers, the agreement was made possible after the studios agreed to reformulate the scope that artificial intelligence will have in the writing of content, and to set minimum rules for writers’ rooms.

During the strike, screenwriters complained that studios were abusing so-called mini rooms, a more compact version of a writers’ room. These mini rooms were used to develop more content for streaming platforms in less time and with fewer hands, which made the work more precarious. The new agreement establishes a minimum number of people who must write a television series.

One of the most insistent demands by the WGA was a review of the residual payment model. Residuals are compensation paid for the reuse of a credited writer’s work. The union argued that the previous scheme worked in the times of broadcast TV, but that adjustments needed to be made for the era of streaming. In the digital age, writers, producers and actors receive see hardly any compensation for shows that become hits on platforms.

The studios agreed to change the model to increase compensation depending on a show’s audience figures. This issue is also key to resolving the conflict with the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, which has 160,000 members, and has been on strike for 72 days.

After the failed negotiations in August, the pickets at the doors of the studios became larger in September. The writers flexed their muscles when Drew Barrymore announced she would return to filming her CBS talk show. This provoked the anger of the scriptwriters, who argued that the popular actress was violating the strike. Barrymore defended herself by stating that many members of the production were suffering financial hardship after months without work. But she came under a lot of pressure.

After a week, Barrymore tearfully apologized in a video posted on social media and announced that she would not resume filming. Other television productions followed, reporting that they would not return until the strike was resolved.


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