Tag: Mike Faist

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NYT trendspots ‘Rodent Men’, with examples like Jeremy Allen White & Mike Faist

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This week, the New York Times’ Style editors tried to do a trend-watch piece and it’s getting mixed reviews. The trend? “Rodent Men.” Actors or celebrity men who are some being designated as “rodent men.” Not to be confused by “rat-faces,” which really confused me. When I say someone looks like a rat or has a rat-face, I do not mean it as a compliment. It means that someone’s eyes are too close together and their features are too rat-like. The NYT seemingly explands the idea that Rodent Men are distinguished by not just their physical qualities but by their vibe and aura. Which… is very strange. The NYT says that some of the notable Rodent Men are: Jeremy Allen White, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, Barry Keoghan, Rami Malek, and Matty Healy. Josh O’Connor is NOT rat-faced, but he does have the look of a very sweet-faced cartoon mouse. Mike Faist, I will grant you, sort of has rat-like features. As does Matt Healy. But Rami Malek? Barry Keoghan? This whole concept doesn’t make much sense.

“Rodent Men”: What are they? Tiny men? Men who eat garbage? Some kind of furry science experiment gone wrong?

According to the tabloids, they’re actually the most physically desirable thing a man can be at this particularly disorienting moment in American history. Exemplified by the faces of actors like “The Bear”’s Jeremy Allen White and “Challengers” leads Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor; as well as the 1975 band member Matty Healy and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, hot “Rodent Men” are a loose category that seems mostly to refer to men who look a bit like mice or rats.

Rodent Man: An unconventional mousy man with a toothy smile, and instead of a chiseled face like Brad Pitt or Chris Hemsworth, it’s more pointy. It’s important for their faces to be angular, that’s the dead giveaway. That and big ears. They come off as edgy and elusive.

[From The NY Times]

My confusion is “a bit like mice or rats.” There’s a huge difference between someone who has mouse energy versus someone who has rat energy. As I said, Josh O’Connor looks like a sweet mouse and I’m appalled that someone would call him a Rodent Man. But Matt Healy? Everything he does and everything about him is so rat-like, so he IS a Rodent Man. I feel like we should talk about Glen Powell here too – his eyes are too close together and the man has a ratty vibe.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

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Fashion Josh O'Connor Mike Faist Venus Williams zendaya

Zendaya wore custom Vera Wang to the LA ‘Challengers’ premiere: cute?

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I genuinely hope that last night’s LA premiere was the final piece of the Challengers promotional tour. Not that I’m tired of Zendaya’s many sartorial adventures, but I just think these actors are exhausted. They criss-crossed around Europe last week, even turning up in Monaco for the men’s tennis tournament (they watched one of the men’s semifinals) at the Monte Carlo Country Club. The way Challengers has done promotional tie-ins with various tennis tournaments is sort of amazing too – Zendaya has turned up at more major tournaments in the past two years than several top players.

Anyway, here are some pics from the big LA premiere. Zendaya wore a custom Vera Wang ballgown which… is not my favorite look from the tour. It’s very princessy, which is fine, but it also has kind of a weird Lady Marmalade vibe which clashes with Challengers? It’s the lace on the bodice, I think.

Zendaya also changed into this Celia Kritharioti dress which fully makes her look like she’s wearing a tennis ball.

Embed from Getty Images

More photos from the premiere – Venus Williams looked great in a little grey dress. Mike Faist kept it simple with an all-black look, while Josh O’Connor has a more offbeat style.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.

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Zendaya wore three Louis Vuitton ensembles for her Paris ‘Challengers’ promo

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Zendaya had so much fun on the Dune 2 promotional tour in February and March, and the tour sort of overshadowed a lot of awards season stuff too. Now, weeks later, she’s on yet another tour, this one for Challengers. You know she’s tired. I bet her stylist Law Roach is tired too. Which might explain why there’s sort of a low-energy, going-through-the-motions vibe to this. I’m not saying Zendaya looks bad or over it, but there’s just a vein of exhaustion running through this tour. Keep in mind, before the SAG-AFTRA strike, both Challengers and Dune 2 were supposed to be released last fall/winter.

Anyway, these are photos from Saturday in Paris. They did two photocalls (one indoor, one outdoor) and a premiere. The Parisian color palette was chartreuse, celadon and white, and Zendaya wore Louis Vuitton for all of her appearances. She’s the latest house ambassador for LV, although her contract doesn’t seem to be exclusive (she wore many different designers during the Dune 2 promo).

So, thoughts on all of the LV looks, plus Zendaya’s newly lightened hair? She’s been going lighter in recent weeks, but she’s pretty much blonde now. The combination of the blonde hair, the somewhat “prim” Louis Vuitton looks and the fact that she’s promoting a tennis movie… I think they’re trying to make her look like a cute heiress who spends half the time at the tennis club. I think my favorite look is the “pajama suit” in chartreuse – those are some of the best LV pants I’ve ever seen. My least favorite look is the premiere gown…the weird “belt” and the princessy styling, it’s a big “eh” to me.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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Fashion Josh O'Connor Mike Faist zendaya

Zendaya wore a custom Loewe & debuted lighter hair at a ‘Challengers’ premiere

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As someone who will be seated for multiple viewings of Challengers, I’m not pleased by how little energy Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor are bringing to the promotion. These photos are from the first premiere event for Challengers, which was held this week in Sydney, Australia. Zendaya flew her ass to Australia for this?? And Josh and Mike can’t even bring some drama or chemistry to the photos??

Zendaya’s green “tennis dress” in these photos is from Loewe and I’m surprised that it’s so… straight-forward and themed. People are in love with this dress and I just find it kind of obvious. I mean, it’s flattering and sexy, but I hope Zendaya and Law Roach play around a little bit more with her promotional styling for this film. Josh is also involved with Loewe (he’s modeled for them) so I hope he gets some interesting looks for the tour as well. People are also talking about Zendaya’s newly lightened hair. It looks good? I like that she didn’t go too light.

One cool thing about Zendaya’s Challengers promotion is that she’s been showing up to big tennis tournaments for much of the past two years. I think she’s become a legitimate fan of the sport. She was just in Indian Wells last weekend for the men’s and women’s finals there, and she posed with Iga Swiatek after she won the women’s title.

Josh and Mike really saved all of their flirty energy for the screen and nothing more!

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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The ‘Challengers’ trailer has a tennis love triangle between Zendaya & two cuties

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The tennis community and Zendaya-stan community has been abuzz about Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers for what feels like years? Zendaya was showing up to tennis tournaments and doing research with tennis people and even practicing on some well-known tennis courts. All for this: to play a teenage tennis prodigy turned tennis coach, who also happens to be in the middle of a deliciously sordid love triangle with two white boys. I love everything about this trailer, including the janky Adidas poster, Mike Faist’s character wearing Uniqlo and Josh O’Connor looking HOT.

First, Zendaya: seeing her thwack a forehand is sexy, even if her form is a little bit off. Her “KAMAN” was very Serena Williams/Danielle Collins. Her character’s clothes (not tennis kits) are apparently all Loewe, but considering the prominent placing of the Adidas poster, I would assume Adidas did Zendaya’s tennis kits. Fascinating.

Secondly: let this be the end to the discussion about whether Josh O’Connor was the wrong actor to play Prince Charles in The Crown. Josh absolutely was wrong for the role: Josh is much too cute, much too sexy and much too watchable to play a young Charles. My boy looks GOOD. Especially when he’s got some facial hair and there’s all of the sexual tension.

Now, I don’t know much about Mike Faist, but he’s doing something here. I think it’s interesting that the story is that following Tashi’s injury, she becomes her husband’s coach. That’s actually pretty rare in tennis, to see a man being coached by his wife. The last guy who maybe did that was Roger Federer? I will absolutely die if the first line of the movie is “Based on real events, aka Roger and Mirka Federer.” Anyway, this looks hot, fun, dramatic and interesting. Finally, an original drama! A sexy drama about tennis pros!

No one:

Danielle Collins at 1-0 0-15 in the first set: pic.twitter.com/DF8CKX34M4

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) June 20, 2023

Zendaya’s forehand swing is immaculate pic.twitter.com/SHHwOYNUMM

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) June 20, 2023

Screencaps courtesy of the ‘Challengers’ trailer.