Thursday's Ways Not To Die

Soulm8te (2026)

I considered throwing the disgusting half of this scene behind a page-jump but you know what? The site's been too yuck-free lately -- we needed to bring some yuck. I miss the yuck. So there's the yuck! Enjoy! Anyway -- speaking of not yuck -- the minute I learned that my Daredevil crush Arty Froushan was in the M3GAN spin-off Soulm8te I knew I would be watching Soulm8te...

Oh I guess the M3GAN spin-off SOULM8TE got dumped onto streaming amzn.to/4fU7kcz so obviously it's high-quality! That said I will probably still watch it because hey look Arty Froushan

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) August 3, 2026 at 1:11 PM

... and you know what? I'm glad I did. As far as 2026 movies reveling in the "crazy girlfriend" trope I'd rather watch this trash than I would the critical and box-office hit Obsession -- at least Soulm8te doesn't pretend to be something it's not. Still, as much fun as I had with this incredibly dumb movie, I do feel a responsibility to point out that the "that bitch" genre of bro-horror is tip-toeing itself back onto the scene and we should all do our part to shoo that shit back into the Aughts. Shoo, misogyny, shoo! Okay now that we have solved sexism, hit the jump for links to the previous ways not to die...

Double Oh Arty

I just happened to be looking at that picture of Daredevil villain and Downton fop Arty Froushan this morning -- "just happened" -- and it struck me: why not Arty for James Bond? He was born in the U.S. but was raised by his British mother in London -- they want someone younger and he's only 33. We need to be putting Arty's name (and everything else) into the conversation! They just started officially casting last week (although I have my doubts that they haven't been having conversations with actors and their own team at Amazon behind the scenes for months) and who knows where they're going with the franchise but I think all roads should lead to Arty. I have just decided it right now. Nothing else will make me happy. And you won't like me when I'm angry, Jeff Bezos! (Also fuck you, Jeff Bezos.) Anyway 007 or not I have now posted that photo above so my mission is accomplished. (Ooh an Ethan Hunt reboot! I know who'd be perfect for that!)

Arty Froushan Twenty-One Times

I think I know my audience. And my audience consists of the kind of people who are screaming "Make out!" at Arty Froushan and Charlie Cox whenever their characters share the screen on Daredevil: Born Again. I know all of this because it's exactly like that old T.V. commercial for the Hair Club For Men -- I'm not just the President of the "Screaming 'Make out!' at Arty Froushan and Charlie Cox whenever their characters share the screen on Daredevil: Born Again" Club, I am also very much a member. King of the members!

Anyway with the triple hit on my sensibilities that Arty's landed this past year -- a faggy fop in the last Downton movie, a terrifying sociopath on Daredevil, and Patrick f'ing Bateman in my beloved American Psycho: The Musical (unfortunately only in the U.K., so far) -- it's no surprise I'm quickly finding myself entrenched in the obsessed camp. And these exrtemely cheerful and adorkable photos (very Pushing Daisies!) for Bean Magazine  are only cementing that. You can read the interview at that last link, but if you just want to get oglin' you can hit the jump...

Good Morning, World

Considering how much posting I did when Benjamin Walker starred in the American Psycho musical on Broadway (to date the only time I've gone to see a Broadway show three times!) you'd think I'd have posted about Daredevil and Downton Abbey actor Arty Froushan's run by now -- I guess since it was in the U.K I will cut myself some slack, but still. Every time Arty has popped up on this season of Daredevil I felt a twinge -- well okay several competing twinges -- that I didn't get to see him give us his Patrick Bateman best on stage. SIGH. That show has now ended its run but -- and I can't believe I haven't posted about this news yet either! -- it will be staged here in New York again in 2027! It's not going to Broadway -- it's happening at some venue in Brooklyn that I am unfamiliar with but that thrills me because I can hopefully afford to go see it repeatedly again then! I have my doubts that the U.K. cast will carry over, but they can feel free to prove me wrong! I'd love to see Arty in the (bloodied) flesh. Anyway I've only posted about Arty a couple of times here on the site (see here) but I will hopefully get lots more chances to revisit the subject of him -- and he was kind enough to share some swoon-worthy behind-the-scenes photos from the show on his Instagram, which I in turn have thoughtfully curated for you (with some bonus shots because duh) after the jump...

The Lights Are Much Brighter There...

Several reviews from yours truly are going to be dropping this week (if not today), starting right here and right now with my take on the third and supposedly final Downton Abbey movie, The Grand Finale. Click here to read my thoughts! I've been surprisingly kind to this franchise over the years, given its wealth-obsessed soapiness is not my usual beat, but I take it the same way that people during the Great Depression must have approached Busby Berkeley musicals -- a lavish distraction. And chauffeur-stud Allen Leech is my Dick Powell, I guess! As I say in my review this final film is extremely For The Fans, but it does have the good sense of gifting us with Arty Froushan's delightful turn as Noel Coward plus half-naked Alessandro Nivola. Of course I had a good time!

My review of the new Downton Abbey movie won't drop til next week but let it be known that Arty Froushan as Noel Coward is now my North Star

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) September 4, 2025 at 11:03 AM

Big Cigars & Even Bigger Estates

The New York Times chatted with MNPP faves Alessandro Nivola and André Holland over the weekend  on their new series The Big Cigar, about the unexpected friendship between Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton and Hollywood producer Bert Schneider back in the 1970s, premiering on Apple+ on May 17th -- read it here. But wait! There's more Nivola News! I wish there was enough Nivola News for us to have a weekly column titled just that -- Nivola News. I could make a logo and everything. Anyway he works enough that it feels like it sometimes, bless him. Anyway Deadline reported this morning that Mr. Nivola has joined the cast of the third Downton Abbey movie, which is happening. Not really a surprise, given that the last movie did well (and was pretty delightful to boot.) He joins the cast along with Paul Giamatti, Joely Richardson, Simon Russell Beale (who I can't believe hasn't been on the show previously) and Arty Froushan -- I knew that last name was familiar and sure enough I already followed him on Instagram because...

... he's one of the super hot guys on House of the Dragon. In fact he was one of the super hot GAY guys on House of the Dragon -- if you need a recap of that storyline click here; to be honest I'd completely forgotten all of that myself. I am going to need a real recap on that series when it returns later this year! Anyway I think Froushan himself is gay but don't quote me on that -- his social media and some articles seem to point in that direction but I couldn't find a definitive quote before my laziness took over. It's a real ticking time bomb, my laziness -- answers best show up fast or I'm out! Anyway whoever he's fucking in real life Froushan is a hot one...

... and I hope Downton takes advantage of that. Where did we last leave our favorite hot gay footman Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier)? I can't remember how the last movie ended. He was flirting with both the actor and the King's dresser? Am I mashing different movies up in my head? Anyway just throw Alessandro Nivola in there and bring back Charlie Cox's gay character (and as seen below Froushan is in the new season of Daredevil after all so Charlie can just jump on his back, ahem, and ride over) and then have the entire third Downton movie be a bunch of gays fighting and fucking threir way through the 1940s. We've earned it dammit!