Kisses From Kumail

The movie Over Your Dead Body completely slipped by me when it got a brief release in April, which is a shame since I am one of the world's biggest Samara Weaving fans and I try to be a completeist when it comes to my under-appreciated gal-pal -- did any of you see it? Samara stars alongside Jason Segel as estranged spouses who head to a cabin in the woods (always a warning sign) to supposedly reconcile, but in actuality try to murder each other. Also in the cast is Timothy Olyphant and Kumail Nanjiani who, as seen here, is leaning back into his sex-god side again -- I was worried he'd give up this body after Eternals, the superhero franchise he built it for flopped, so seeing him show off again makes me smile. All over! I'm smiling in places that have never smiled before, I tells ya. (Can't wait to see him flaunting this bod on the French beaches of The White Lotus' fourth season soon enough!) Anyway obviously the existence of these gifs (which I swiped off Tumblr) mean this movie is out on VOD now, so I will try to catch it sometime when I have two free hours... something that's about to become a rather big ask as NewFest and Tribeca both kick off in the next week. Speaking of -- I'm leaving you now, right this minute, to go to a press screening for one of said fests. So this will be it for today. I'm sorry I have made our all-over smiles wilt so suddenly. Kumail will keep your warm for me, nestled in against his sturdy bosom in my absence. Hold tight til tomorrow!

A Lotus For Laura

I had kinda sorta given up on Mike White reuniting with his Enlightened and Year of the Dog star Laura Dern after rumors of a fracture in their working and personal relationship had made its way through the whisper-vine to my lowly ears, so I'm extremely happy to see that whatever truth there was in that has been fixed and they're reuniting at last! Deadline just announced this morning that Dern is taking over the role that Helena Bonham Carter vacated last week -- actually I think the role's being completely rewritten, re-fitted to Dern, as the issue was that the character HBC was playing wasn't working in the context of the rest of the season. This is great news -- two of our greatest collaborators together again! I just uhh hope it goes smoothly. For everybody's sake. That's my only wish for now -- I will put everything on that and then later I will start the Enlightened Season Three campaign. Like... tomorrow. I'll start that tomorrow. 

More Hotties Head to Mike White's Place

It was just last week that I admitted to my 90s-brain on the sexiness of overalls (because Joe Alwyn rocked a pair) so how'd I miss this photo of Kumail Nanjiani in the last "Sexiest Man Alive" issue then? I guess I was probably still on the floor from the Joanthan Bailey shoot contained therein but still, no excuse. Anyway! Excellent news this mroning as a new batch of names have been droppeed (via Deadline) as The White Lotus' fourth season cast members -- and yes Kumail is right there up front. He's not the only hot piece in the bunch though, because Mike White loves us -- also named (joining the previously announced Chris Messina and Alexander Ludwig and Vincent Cassel among many) are adorable  Max Greenfield...

... and The Sex Lives of College Girls actor Charlie Hall, seen down below. He's Julia Louis-Dreyfus' son! I had to look back through Charlie's credits to figure out why I was already following him on Instagram and was reminded he played the police officer on Ryan Murphy's Ed Gein show whose mother (played by an astonishing-as-always Lesley Manville) was murdered by Charlie Hunnam. He was great in that role! I know that series got a lot of shit as exploitative but I really dug it. Fuck the discourse. Anyway speaking of "the discourse" I can't wait to see what psychotic behavior Mike White has all of these hotties getting up to in France. How's he ever gonna top last season's bro-cest? I have many perverted ideas, Mike... MANY. Just hit me up if you need any inspiration.  

Adam DiMarco Seven Times

Rather attractive actor Adam DiMarco has moved on from his star-making turn on the second season of The White Lotus to having a main role on the series Overcompensating (which is coming back for a second season) as well as in the buzzy upcoming A24 horror flick Undertone -- he has done all of those things and yet it's this V Man cover that sees me here, finally posting about him again. I like what I like dammit! No but seriously seeing him on that cover yesterday reminded me of two things. One, I haven't mentioned that the great Vincent Cassel joined the next season set in France, and that shall not stand. I'm guessing he's playing the concierge role but just because they're always gay on The White Lotus and I'm always on the look-out for some gay Vincent Cassel.

And two -- no one named for the new season yet has been someone who's played a character from an earlier season and that's making me sad. Are y'all fans of the recurring character thing? If no, would you be if it didn't have anything to do with Jennifer Coolidge's character this time? I imagine some people feel the Tanya / Greg thing's been played out -- personally I'd love for DiMarco's character Albie to show up with Haley Lu Richardson's Portia again, which would probably entail some more Tanya stuff but if we got to see Adam clenching his butt-cheeks whilst orgasming again wouldn't it be worth it? I thought so. Anyway pictures, we got pictures, hit the jump for pictures...

I See London, I See (Chris Messina in) France

Oh yes this is just the news I can use to get me back into this "writing posts" thing that I've spent the past several hours not doing -- our favorite Chris of them all Chris Messina has just gotten his sexy furry butt cast in the next season of The White Lotus! Bless you, Mike White -- a king, a god, anong us peons. Messina joins the formely announced also-hot-piece Alexander Ludwig, as well as actress AJ Michalka (don't knwo her) and that nutty dame Helena Bonham Carter. I suppose I should ass... okay I meant to type "add" but obviously I'm still thinking about Chris Messina haha. Let's try it again -- I should ADD that both Messina and Carter are still "in talks" but whatever, I'm not a legitimate entertainment reporter, I don't care about "specifics" or "facts." I think we all know what I care about and it's what I just typo'd a couple sentences ago.

Good Morning, World

Did y'all see the news that our boy Alexander Ludwig was the first official name dropped into the fourth season of The White Lotus over the holiday? Mike White loves a big dumb blonde type, it would seem -- from Jake Lacy (and Lukas Gage) to Leo Woodall to Patrick Schwarzenegger, there's always at least one of them hanging about every season. Anyway we've been a long time fan of Alexander's and we love this for him. This season will be set in the south of France -- apparently they're also trying to get Helena Bonham Carter, and she sounds like dream casting for this series. Cannot wait!

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Thelma (2024)

Daniel: I can't ... I can't do anything. I literally 

can't do anything. I'm such a little bitch.

Aww, Fred Hechinger! You're my little bitch if that makes you feel any better. A very happy 26th birthday to the White Lotus and Nickel Boys actor -- we were immediately smitten with him when he popped up in the Fear Street movies and it's been nothing but hits since then. (Well okay I wasn't nuts about the prissy gay villain stereotypes that he and Joseph Quinn performed for Ridley Scott's Gladiator sequel but I don't really blame the actors for that. That was Sir Ridley's doing.) 

As for this year Fred has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it role in Marty Supreme (seriously if I wasn't so nuts about him that I recognized him from the back and blurry I might not have realized it was him at all, that role is so tiny) but if you haven't watched this year's romance Preparation For the Next Life you should seek it out -- you can rent it at all the usual places. It's from Bing Liu, the director of the stellar doc Minding the Gap, and it definitely proves he's got the stuff for a move over to fiction films. It's a lovely little movie and Fred (along with his co-star Sebiye Behtiyar) are both terrific in it. It's a shame it's too small for major awards attention but maybe the Spirits will notice it!

Posted some photos and video of my boy FRED HECHINGER and director Bing Liu at tonight's screening of PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT LIFE at Asia Society over on the Insta www.instagram.com/p/DN7EiUvjpeg/ (The movie is lovely and also a love letter to Fred's shoulder and back hair i.e. a masterpiece)

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) August 28, 2025 at 11:06 PM

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

Alice: I saw the "Waitress Wanted" sign. 

I said, "Why not?" So I took this job.

Flo: Well let me give you a hint.
Honey, unbutton that top button.

Alice: Really?

Flo: Yeah. If you bend over you get
more tips when you're working.

Alice: You're kidding me.

Flo: I'm not kidding. I got $50 last week.

Alice: Really?

Flo: Yeah.

Alice: Like that?

Flo: Yeah. Honey, forget what I said. 

You do that and I'm never going to get a tip again.

Terrible awful news to hear that Diane Ladd passed away today -- her daughter Laura Dern (maybe you've heard of her) released a statement saying "My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother passed with me beside her this morning at her home in Ojai, California. She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created. We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.” I'm just going to assume that last line is a reference to Ladd's iconic role as Marietta in Wild At Heart where she recreates the Wicked Witch's broomstick flight:

I actually almost quoted that role for this post, but then I decided quoting her role as Dern's mother Helen on Mike's White's series Enlightened would be even better but I couldn't find a transcript of the script for that show's legendary episode all about Helen -- one of the great episodes of T.V. period, the end. She was so good on that show. Goddamn Enlightened was a masterpiece ahead of its time. 

Anyway from there that brought me to her lovely and hysterically funny performance in Martin Scorsese's great Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. I grew up watching the spin-off T.V. series Alice, my mom loved it, so I never saw Scorsese's film until I was an adult -- seeing Ladd's take on the grits-kissing role that Polly Holliday (who passed away earlier this year, marking a real bad year for Flos) had burned into my little brain was a surprise and a joy. She's wonderful in it. Anyway I kind of can't believe she passed away before Bruce Dern did (not to jinx anything -- sorry, Laura!) since Bruce has seemed so frail for so long, and so this came as a real surprise to me today. Rest in peace, icon.

 

Good Morning, Lukas Gage

I haven't been paying much attention to the whole press onslaught that The White Lotus and Smile 2 actor Lukas Gage has been, you know, onslaughting, due to his recently dropped memoir because... I don't know why I am supposed to know or care about that. I have nothing against him! I've liked him when I've seen him in things on-screen and we are contractually obligated to love any hot young actor who is an out homosexual. He also had Murray Bartlett's face up his butt once (that we know of) so he's royalty, practically. But a memoir? In this eocnomy? All that said he wore a jockstrap in his new photoshoot for Paper magazine ...

... and I don't care how much of a stereotype this makes me -- it will always work on me. I can't help it! I saw Rob Lowe in Youngblood at an extremely formative moment y'all! Anyway have any of you read the book? I would love to hear your thoughts if so. What a time to be alive. Anyway just like the last time I posted a Lukas Gage photoshoot this is a photoshoot geared at my preppy jock fetish sweet-spot so I'm putty in his paws. Hit the jump for the rest...

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Chuck & Buck (2000)

Buck: We could play that game where I stick my dick 

in your mouth, and you stick your dick 

in mine... Chuck & Buck, Suck & Fuck!

A happy 25 to Mike White's original masterpiece!

I've been worshipping this weirdo king every day since. 

I should start the campaign to get this movie

a Criterion release now that Gregg Araki's trilogy happened.

Can you believe it's only on an out-of-print DVD? WTF.

Sam Nivola Five Times

Rather than leave you all weekend staring at my disappointing take on the Jai Courtney Shark Movie whenever you open the site, let's have a happier event on top -- The White Lotus' twink du jour Sam Nivola's new photoshoot for Dust magazine. He was photographed by the great Ryan McGinley so the photos are the good stuff (I got them off RM's Insta since Dust doesn't seem to have a link, at least not yet) -- I don't know if this is it or there might be more coming, but y'all make due. Oh and P.S. the Tribeca Film Fest begins today so I'm gonna be in screenings off and on for the next week so posting will be erratic. We'll see how it goes when we get there! Hit the jump for the rest of this tight little shoot anyway...

The Moment I Fell For... Aimee Lou Wood

I keep seeing White Lotus breakout Aimee Lou Wood's quote about feeling "ugly" from her new interview with GQ bouncing around social media today -- Pajiba did a good piece on it here -- and it's making me feel sad, crazy, and angry all at once. So let's give Miss Aimee Lou her roses! I only watched the first season of Sex Education and remember liking her there (although my eye was more drawn to Conor Swindells on that series for, uhh, obvious reasons). But it was her role as a cheerful secretary opposite Bill Nighy (who was giving the performance of his own career) in Oliver Hermanus' 2022 film Living (a remake of Kurosawa's masterpiece Ikiru that I voted my sixth favorite film of that year) where Aimee Lou Wood first won my heart -- I haven't seen Mike White talk about why he was fighting for her so hard to win the role but I would not be surprised if he'd seen Living as well; she should have been nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar alongside Nighy if you ask me. As I said in my review of the film she's tasked with representing all the light and life that Nighy's misplaced amid his daily grudgery, and Wood does so effortlessly (as she did on Lotus, albeit with a darker edge) -- she's just one of those performers that is is incredibly easy to fall head over heels for. And given the enchanting memes that her Lotus character of Chelsea gave life to (not to mention the general reaction to the finale) I don't think I am alone in feeling that way. We adore you, Aimee Lou! 

Don't Look For Enlightenment Here

I didn't even recognize Murray Bartlett in this photo at first but when I did my head spun around like somebody just clocked an owl -- anyway since Murray is the patron gay of The White Lotus I will use this random photo that made me go gee-gosh-golly-damn to ask y'all quick-like to tell me what you thought of the third season finale if you watched it last night? I did and I am firmly ensconced in Camp Loved It, which seems to be an embattled place to be but I don't care -- I'm a maverick and I loved it. People seem to be angry at "plot holes" as if this show has ever been about "plot" or as if you even need a plot to make sense for something to be excellent (go watch any Hitchcock movie and get back to me). It yes is probably the messiest of the three seasons but character-wise Mike White's incisiveness into human behavior is still as sharp and funny as ever. Although the darkness at the heart of this season -- a real spiritual malaise and cynicism and, well, sickness -- was very much felt, and I'd say is pretty resonant with our moment in time! Apologies for being kinda vague in these talking points -- I just don't want to toss spoilers out here in people's face less than 24 hours after the show aired, so have at it with spoilers in the comments if you'd like. Me, I'm heading out to a screening -- actually I should warn y'all right now that I have n incredibly busy week ahead (including a half day off tomorrow) and then I'm going home to visit my family for an extended weekend, so it might be semi-dry up in here for a few days. Not that anything can be too dry with that photo of Murray Bartlett staring at us. In summation -- Carrie Coon rules, the end. 

Now THAT is an actor #thewhitelotus

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) April 6, 2025 at 10:52 PM

Pic of the Day

White Lotus three-timer Jon Gries (dude pictured in the middle above who plays Greg / Gary) seems to've had the best time out of anybody on the seven month long shoot in Thailand -- his Instagram has been a non-stop beefcake-fest. But the above photo of him sandwiched between his co-stars Patrick Schwarzenegger and Arnas Fedaravičius really takes the cake. Cakes, even! Lucky man. See a few more below:

Jon Gries (aka that cad Greg / Gary on #TheWhiteLotus) has shared some noteworthy photos of the cast! (See more here www.instagram.com/p/DHBg1v4JAp...)

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) March 11, 2025 at 11:17 AM

Good Morning, World

Good morning from the Ratliff boys coming to you from the 

shores of sunny Thailand! Nothing but a positive outlook for them! 

So... who do you think dies?

Good Morning, World

Happy Monday... well you know. All things depending.  I think we all feel like Patrick Schwarzenegger in this scene from last night's White Lotus these days -- a little sick, a little terrified, every time we wake up -- and who can blame us? Mike White tapping into the zeitgeist in a way only he could! Chaos reigns at home and abroad and entertainmentally speaking. Good times. I suppose this is where I ask y'all what you though of that episode if you watched it? I'm trying to be non-spoilery although these two gifs obviously say a little bit! Feel free to jump in in the comments, and I'll even give you a bouncing off point here with Sam Nivola's lil' bum...

Sam Nivola Two Times

(via)

Parker Posey Island Hop

The cast for In Bruges and Banshees of Inisherin writer-director Martin McDonagh's next movie is shaping up and it's a good one -- this past week Parker Posey and Steve Buscemi both joined the already-cast Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich in what's being called Wild Horses Nine. Buscemi is replacing Mark Ruffalo (and I feel like that's the first and only time that sentence has been or will be uttered) and the movie will shoot on Easter Island of all places later this month. I have to admit I sort of feel like Sam Rockwell is a harbinger of doom as far as McDonagh movies go -- he starred in my two least favorite movies from the director previously. But maybe their third time together will be a charm? And Posey's presence more than makes up for anyone else. Our queen! I'm slightly curious what y'all are thinking of her work on The Whote Lotus but also hesitant to ask because just know I vehemently disagree with any complaints, of which I know many are going around. I think she's hilarious AND I think she's nailing the accent. So there!

 

Good Morning, World

Happy Monday! I hope you're all caught up on The White Lotus -- otherwise look away! Not that this scene is a "spoiler" exactly, except to a good gag. (And I'd give Jason Isaacs a good gag if you catch my meaning.) Yes another character's dropped trou on the show -- if you'd like to hear Isaacs talk about the scene click over to EW where he "unpacks" it lol. The real question, the one nobody's answered so far as I can tell, is whether that's all Jason Isaacs or not. My vote is not -- that it's a prostetic -- but why don't y'all unpack your magnifying glasses and go all Jessica Fletcher on it after the jump and tell me in the comments your thoughts...

Quote of the Day

Did y'all catch MNPP fave Alessandro Nivola during last night's Oscars show? I can't remember who it was that won (maybe the songwriters?) but they were seated behind The Brutalist actor and Nivola and his wife Emily Mortimer were sitting front and central on-screen for awhile as the people got out to walk to the stage and I yelped in excited recognition. (It was very the "Leo Pointing" meme.) Anyway Esquire chatted with Nivola about his custom-made tux and The Brutalist and his crazy year yesterday before the show, but my favorite bit was when they asked him about watching his son Sam Nivola on The White Lotus right now:

"You bet I have been watching season 3. From the looks of it, I may have to start watching some of it through my fingers. But I mean, it’s just amazing watching him. He’s done so well. I think he’s so good in it, and there’s something about his character that is so gentle and mysterious and really draws you in. I can tell that it’s headed in a direction that’s going to get a little hectic soon, so I’m bracing myself for the coming episode tonight. You know, Carrie Coon was texting me and wishing me luck for the Oscars, and I was saying I might have to slip out of the Vanity Fair party tonight to catch episode 3 before rejoining the fray. But, yeah, he’s kind of being shot out of a cannon now, and I’m so happy for him."

His saying "I may have to start watching some of it through my fingers" made me lol. No kidding! We've been leaning forward ourselves during Sam's scenes with Patrck Schwarzenegger but we have the benefit of not being his father haha. But in related news I passed out right after the Oscars last night and have not watched last night's episode of The White Lotus so nobody spoil anything in the comments please! I'll watch it tonight. And now I must insist you hit the jump for a couple more photos of handsome devil Alessandro looking sharp as fuck...