Category: Taika Waititi

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Christine Baranski Da'Vine Joy Randolph Emmy Awards Fashion Kristen Wiig Rita Ora Taika Waititi Viola Davis

Rita Ora wore Tamara Ralph to the Emmys: better than her afterparty look?

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It’s sort of amazing how Rita Ora & Taika Waititi feel so overexposed, and yet they’re really not everywhere constantly at this point. This is their first red carpet together in several months, and yet when they popped up at the Emmys, there was a collective groan of “not this again.” Anyway, these are photos of Rita and Taika at the Emmys and then at one of the after-parties (the black lace dress). Rita’s pink Emmy look was by Tamara Ralph. It’s actually a really great dress.

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Kristen Wiig wore Oscar de la Renta. It’s okay? Kind of disco-ball chic.

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Da’Vine Joy Randolph wore Sophie Couture to the Emmys. I love this? I usually don’t enjoy yellow, but she looks amazing.

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Christine Baranski wore Oscar de la Renta. This was insane. She looks magnificent and noble.

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Love Viola Davis, but this Zuhair Murad dress feels very Project Runway.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Getty.

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Rita Ora Taika Waititi

Rita Ora and Taika Waititi took an ice bath with Wim Hof

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As a couple, I find Rita Ora and Taika Waititi low-level annoying. But I also can’t deny that they’re cute together. They’ve apparently been married for a year but it feels like it hasn’t been that long at all. Recently Rita and Taika met the Dutch wellness guy and ice bath evangelizer Wim Hof. He kind of popularized the idea of taking cold swims along with breath work. Wim Hof, the self-proclaimed Ice Man, led Rita and Taika through ice baths and Rita put photos of their day together on Instagram. Whoever’s bathroom they did it in has absolutely beautiful tiling. Everyone looks like they enjoyed themselves. But I have thoughts about Wim Hof, which we’ll get to in a second.

Rita Ora and Taika Waititi are taking the plunge!

The “Let You Love Me” singer, 32, revealed on Instagram Saturday that she and her director-husband had an opportunity to do an ice bath in Ibiza with Dutch wellness guru Wim Hof, who touts the many health benefits of cold therapy.

“I got to meet the Ice Man himself @iceman_hof out here and he’s honestly the SWEETEST!!” Ora wrote in the post’s caption. “He even performed some songs for us too ???????? Anyone else taken an ice bath before? It’s CRAZY!!”

She shared a series of photos documenting the experience, including a snapshot of her and Waititi, 48, posing with Hof in their swimsuits. A second image captured Ora perched on the edge of the bath as her husband and Hof smiled for the camera while enjoying their icy soak.

Another picture showed Ora and a friend taking their turn in the tub. The two appeared to be holding hands and had their eyes closed as they braved the freezing water.

The songstress also included a video clip of Hof serenading his guests with a guitar performance.

The motivational speaker and extreme athlete, 64, has published a series of popular wellness books promoting the myriad benefits of practicing cold therapy, along with breath work. According to Hof, taking ice baths helps reduce inflammation in the body, aids muscle soreness, strengthens the immune system, balances hormone levels, improves sleep quality and more.

[From People>]

This is the most random combo of famous people I could have imagined (also, dang, Rita Ora has a beautiful figure. I’ve always been too distracted by her wacky red carpet looks to realize). For whatever subconscious reason, Wim Hof reminds me of a line from the movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: “the faith of the fanatic is always concealing a secret doubt.” He’s so certain that cold swims are the solution, he has the vibe of an evangelist or a door-to-door vacuum salesman. Whenever someone tells me that one simple practice is a miracle cure for a bunch of different problems, I am instantly suspicious. I also don’t vibe with his breathing exercises at all–the ones I’ve tried were very much about activating and stirring up your nervous system and I hated how that felt. I am by nature an extremely anxious, neurotic person. I am trying to get my nervous system to simmer down, not rile it up.

That being said, I like cold swims and there is scientific evidence that supports it as a treatment for muscle soreness so he’s right about some things. Last week I hiked to a lake that was all glacier runoff and let me tell you, I got some funny looks when I walked out to the shore in my pink bikini. Nobody else was swimming! When I lunged forward into the water I definitely felt like I got the breath knocked out of me, but I only stayed in for about 30 seconds and then got out. It does give you a brief euphoric feeling afterwards and it was a super hot day so it was intensely refreshing after four miles of hiking. But you have to be careful, and people with certain health conditions shouldn’t do it at all. There’s a thin line between “therapeutic” and “dangerous” with ice swims, at least in my non-expert view (and I can’t reiterate enough that I am not an expert).

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Rita Ora Taika Waititi Weddings

Rita Ora wore Tom Ford to her LA wedding to Taika Waititi one year ago

rita-ora-wore-tom-ford-to-her-la-wedding-to-taika-waititi-one-year-ago

Rita Ora and Taika Waititi have already been married for a whole year? It feels like they just got married a month ago. But it’s been a year, at least according to Vogue. Apparently, Rita and Taika never showed us the photos from their intimate LA wedding ceremony, so they chose Vogue to publish the pics on their one-year anniversary. You can see Vogue’s piece here.

Apparently, Taika and Rita loved all of the misinformation and bad reporting around when, where and how they got married. They didn’t have a ceremony in London or France, they did it in LA “with a small group of friends.” The bride wore Tom Ford and Lorraine Schwartz jewels. Rita spoke about how honored she was to wear a Ford dress, especially since she basically bought it off the rack with no alterations: “To get married in his dress was a dream come true. And because it wasn’t planned, I didn’t know if the right dress was even going to be in town, and I just took the risk and went to the Tom Ford shop, and they had it perfectly waiting with the veil, in my size, no alterations needed to be done.” It doesn’t even look like a wedding gown to me, it looks like something she would wear to the Grammys? One shoulder/sleeve dresses never look like wedding gowns to me, but I’m an old fart.

Taika also told Vogue that Rita “proposed to me, and I said ‘yes’ instantly.” Rita popped the question while they were on vacation in Palm Springs in the summer of 2022. They put together the wedding in a matter of weeks and got hitched on August 4, 2022. I’m fine with that – I mean, I don’t think this marriage will last, but I’m fine with women proposing and I’m fine with people planning their weddings in a matter of weeks not months.

Photos courtesy of Jack Gorlin for Vogue.

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Taika Waititi

Taika Waititi: ‘No one knows’ the name of the director of ‘Casablanca’

taika-waititi:-‘no-one-knows’-the-name-of-the-director-of-‘casablanca’

People who are “extremely online” will understand what it means to be the internet’s main character of the day/week. This week, it feels like Taika Waititi is one of the internet’s main characters. People have been climbing up his ass all week and I’m not entirely sure why. It definitely feels like there’s been a shift, in recent months, in how Taika is perceived. He went from art-house god to Marvel guy and Oscar-winning screenwriter, and currently people think the luster has worn off. He recently had some milquetoast stuff to say about the WGA strike and people climbed all over him for that. Currently, he’s on the new cover of the Hollywood Reporter, all to promote his latest directorial effort, Next Goal Wins. In the THR piece, he suggests that “no one” knows the name of the director of Casablanca. This has been all over Film Twitter for days.

Before he became a global acting-writing-directing star with an Oscar and a Marvel résumé, Waititi, a Maori-Jewish filmmaker from New Zealand, found community in the U.S. among Native American filmmakers like Harjo. “One of the things we all connected on was our disdain for how we appear onscreen in white productions,” says Waititi. “Indigenous characters, they’re always stoic. They’re always the people who talk to trees and play flutes on mountaintops. They’re never funny, they’re never normal. Nerd has not been a choice. Or dorky. Where are the dorky Natives?”

Waititi has managed to preserve the showmanship and silliness of his condo dance-off days, even as he has seen the stakes of his career raised. “I’m 47,” he says. “My God, take the pressure off. People are so obsessed with likes or leaving behind a legacy, being remembered. Here’s the thing: No one’s going to remember us. What’s the name of the director of Casablanca? Arguably one of the greatest films of all time. No one knows his name. How the f–k do I expect to be remembered? So who cares? Let’s just live, make some movies. They’ll be obsolete and irrelevant in 15 or 20 years. And so will I, and then I’ll die and someone else can do it. This whole idea of chasing, chasing, chasing this life. It’s like, do we have to actually work this hard? Maybe not.”

Waititi’s wit is a Trojan horse for exploring issues like antisemitism and colonialism. “Comedy is a great way of pulling people in and going, ‘Hey, we’re all friends. Get comfortable. You’re racist,’ ” he says. Humor with sociopolitical themes has its pitfalls, however. “People check themselves and they go, ‘Am I allowed to laugh at this?’ ” he says. “They have to google if they’re allowed to. And sometimes you shouldn’t laugh at some stuff. You’ve got to navigate it.” On Jojo Rabbit, some audiences felt uncomfortable with the idea of a Holocaust comedy. “People were really unsure if they should laugh until about 20 minutes into the film,” he says. “One issue they had was like, ‘Well, I wish I’d known that I was allowed to laugh.’ Another issue was, ‘I wish I’d known that he was Jewish before I went in.’”

[From THR]

So… I’ll admit it, I didn’t know who directed Casablanca either, off the top of my head. It was directed by Michael Curtiz. Which kind of proves Taika’s point – I’m a film buff and I’ve seen Casablanca a half-dozen times, and I didn’t know/remember the director’s name. Besides, I think his larger point is that unless you create some huge legacy as a filmmaker – a Spielberg, a Hitchcock, a Tarantino – most people aren’t going to remember you, so why are you killing yourself in the name of art? Why not spend more time with your family? Granted, Taika is coming across like a dude who is going through a midlife crisis, but that’s been true for several years now. Anyway!

michael curtiz. jewish hungarian who lived in abject poverty until theater school, then served in WWI until he was wounded and got noticed for directing red cross docs. he would likely have a hard time forgetting the name of the man who directed the-nazis-but-cute movie. https://t.co/CL2qD22qJN

— Chris Cabin (@Crabin) June 1, 2023

Taika Waititi spending the day getting kicked around film Twitter because he made the inarguable point that most people don’t know who directed CASABLANCA is why you never start a sentence with “Nobody” or “Everyone”

— Sam Adams (@SamuelAAdams) June 1, 2023

“Man, I can’t wait for the strike to be over. As a WGA member, I can’t wait for us to get the thing that we want” – @TaikaWaititi jokes about the #WritersStrike during his keynote speech at THR’s #RaisingOurVoices event pic.twitter.com/FUh8NK2itl

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 31, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of THR.

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Anok Yai Gisele Bundchen Met Gala Quinta Brunson Rita Ora Taika Waititi

Gisele Bundchen wore a 2007 Chanel gown for the Met Gala: boring or cool?

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This was Gisele Bundchen’s first solo appearance at a Met Gala in many, many years. This was her first post-divorce gala. She wanted to bring it, and she… sort of did, I guess. She wore a 2007 Chanel look from the archives, a look she wore back in 2007 for an editorial. It was very dramatic and on-brand for her – she’s all about recycling and sustainable fashion. Was it also kind of snooze? Yeah. But she looked fine, albeit a little bit “worked on,” you know? Sis got some post-split cosmetic work.

Rita Ora & Taika Waititi in Prabal Gurung. Dedicated to never serving. Rita tries so hard, they both do. And it just ends up feeling blah.

Anok Yai in Prabal Gurung – truly one of the best looks of the night. This was gorgeous and a great interpretation of the theme.

Quinta Brunson in Prabal Gurung. This was also a great way to honor the theme and I loved how many sheer gloves were worn by various women. Quinta’s hair – with the Chanel-esque feathers – is incredible. She looks great.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid and Cover Images.

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Taika Waititi: ‘As someone who feels a real ownership of Kate Bush music… I’m annoyed’

taika-waititi:-‘as-someone-who-feels-a-real-ownership-of-kate-bush-music…-i’m-annoyed’

Taika Waititi feels very strongly about music. That’s not unusual, many people do. But Taika is known for his dedication to it. He sold himself into the director’s chair on Thor: Ragnarök by putting Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song on his sizzle reel and then spent the entire production trying to convince the band to give them the rights for it. It almost pushed back their opening because, allegedly, Taika wouldn’t open the movie without it. Must be nice to have Mouse money to make those kinds of demands. When the Thor: Love and Thunder teaser came out, the recognizable guitar of Sweet Child of Mine from Guns N’ Roses appeared almost like a guest star. While being interviewed by NME, Taika was asked if he thought G N’ R would get the Kate Bush treatment with Love and Thunder. Taika responded by saying that Stranger Things “ruined” Kate Bush. With what I can only assume was a fist clenched and raised to the sky he clarified that while he loved the show, “these kids” don’t get Kate Bush because they never listened to her before the show and only Taika knows the real Kate Bush – or something like that.

How’d you manage to fit four Guns N’ Roses songs in?


We actually wanted five [songs] but that might have been overkill. It was a real triumph, having one of my favourite bands from when I was a kid, the band that really informed the soundtrack to my life. Still at 46, usually at about 3am when I’m in bed, I’ll watch GNR music videos. I don’t go on one of those porn sites, I go and watch Axl Rose in the ‘Paradise City’ music video!

Love and Thunder do for GNR what Stranger Things did for Kate Bush


You mean how they ruined Kate Bush? I love that show, but as someone who feels a real ownership of Kate Bush music… I’m really annoyed! I’ve become one of those old arseholes who’s like: ‘These kids never listened to Kate Bush, they’ve heard one song on a TV show! They don’t know Kate Bush! I know Kate Bush!’

Christian Bale said you were supposed to have a Kate Bush dance scene in Love and Thunder?


Before Stranger Things! Yeah, there were a bunch of Kate Bush songs I wanted to have in there. We were gonna have ‘This Woman’s Work’, which was gonna be great for [a scene with] Natalie Portman’s character. There was actually gonna be a lot of ABBA in the film as well…

#ReleaseTheWaititiCut?


I’ve been thinking about director’s cuts. I watch director’s cuts of a lot of other directors. They suck. Director’s cuts are not good. Directors need to be controlled sometimes and if I was to say, ‘ah you wanna watch my director’s cut? It’s four and a half hours long!’ It’s not good, at four and a half hours. There’s a lot of cup-of-tea breaks in there, you don’t even have to pause it.

What would your Love and Thunder cut look like?


I’d say my cut would probably have a few more jokes in there. There might be a couple of deleted scenes but as I always say, a scene is deleted because it’s not good enough to be in the film. I think the deleted scenes section on the DVD, not that they use them anymore, should just be a list of the scenes and no links so you can’t click on them!

[From NME]

Most outlets are going with Taika’s comments about Kate Bush being a joke. I’m sure he was being cheeky, but I’ll bet you there was truth to his words. I think if he was truly joking, he wouldn’t have qualified that he loved the show. Plus, I’ve read similar comments from people around Taika’s age believing they had ownership to Kate’s music, just like he did. But that’s not how music works. It touches people for many reasons at different times and nobody gets to dictate whether a person’s feelings about a song are valid. There are songs from my own generation that I didn’t ‘get’ until now for whatever reason. Music is art and it speaks to all of us when we are open to hearing it.

I’m a little curious about this Kate Bush dance party that they talk about in the second question. I wonder if that’s where Taika’s annoyance truly comes from. Did he want to be the person responsible for putting Kate back on the musical map? Did he fantasize about reintroducing the world to her and Stranger Things stole his *ahem* thunder? Because I have news for everyone getting credit: Kate Bush is why her music is trending with the new generation. End of. Fortunately, she has almost $3M in new royalties to keep her company while these boys duke it out for who ‘gets’ her more.

But then Taika’s director cut responses are cranky too. Maybe wedding planning is stressing him out.

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Photo credit: Avalon Red and Getty Images

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Fashion Natalie Portman Rege-Jean Page Rita Ora Serena Williams Taika Waititi Tessa Thompson

Natalie Portman wore Dior to the ‘Thor’ UK screening: love it or hate it?

natalie-portman-wore-dior-to-the-‘thor’-uk-screening:-love-it-or-hate-it?

Here are some photos from last night’s “gala screening” of Thor: Love and Thunder in London. What is the difference between a gala screening and a premiere? I do not know. Perhaps the difference is that Thor didn’t show up, and neither did the villain, played by Christian Bale. Chris Hemsworth and Bale were absent, but in their place, Taika Waititi walked the carpet with his girlfriend/fiance Rita Ora, plus his two leading ladies, Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson.

Fashion notes: Natalie wore Dior, a flouncy red minidress which… don’t yell at me, but I think the look is way too “young” for her? She’s 41 years old, she’s a mother of two, and she’s dressed like a 20-year-old Instagram influencer at the MTV Awards. Plus, the dress itself is really bad, like an ill-fitting, stiff tutu… ugh. Now, I love the flower headpiece. Gorgeous. Her makeup is on point too.

Rita wore an Elie Saab dress which is one of the cheapest looks I’ve seen from that designer. Tessa wore a gold Oscar de la Renta dress which… I don’t like that either? It doesn’t fit her properly, it’s way too tight in the bust and you can tell that she’s really uncomfortable. Poorly styled with the jewelry/choker too, although I love her braids.

Bonus photos of Serena Williams, who is still in London for some reason, with her husband Alexis Ohanian. Rege-Jean Page was also at the screening.

Photos courtesy of Instar and Backgrid.