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      ‘The Interview’: Vince Vaughn Turned This Interview Into Self-Help

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      The Vince Vaughn who lives in my head is one of my favorite comedic actors. He’s the swaggering, charmingly sarcastic and cheerily ingratiating star of that great run of hit comedies from the early 2000s: “Old School,” “Dodgeball,” “Wedding Crashers,” “The Break-Up.” (His cameo in “Anchorman” and recurring role as Freddy Funkhouser on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” are also prime comedic Vaughniana.) And putting my own preferences aside, I’d argue that there’s a whole microgeneration of dudes who tried to swipe the neo-Rat Pack vibes that Vaughn was able to deploy so winningly in “Swingers.”Listen to the Conversation With Vince VaughnI went in expecting a swaggering, overconfident guy. I found something much more interesting.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Music | NYT Audio AppIn more recent years, though, after the often R-rated, kind of bro-y comedies with which Vaughn made his mark lost some of their cultural mojo, he has focused more on dramatic roles: the highly anticipated, widely maligned and then critically reconsidered second season of “True Detective,” for example, or his performances in the brutally uncompromising crime films of the director S. Craig Zahler (“Brawl in Cell Block 99,” “Dragged Across Concrete”).But as good as Vaughn can be with darker characters, I never connected those parts to the man who played them. Ahead of our interview, I made the perhaps-common journalist’s mistake of expecting to talk with someone akin to the playfully glib guy from those comedies I love. (That’s in no small part thanks to how Vaughn’s role as a world-weary, wiseass former detective in the new Apple TV+ series “Bad Monkey” scans as a mature update of his comedic persona.) But what I was expecting from Vaughn wasn’t what I got. Instead, I found someone more provocative and earnest, who came most alive when he put me under the conversational microscope. Which is to say, I got a surprise.Hollywood doesn’t know what to do with R-rated comedies anymore. Why do you think they’ve become harder to crack? When you talk about the R comedies in Hollywood, I feel like there’s a set of rules that the executives follow. The goal is not to get fired — they can defend why they greenlit something. The R comedies that took off was the studio saying to young people that were funny, “Go ahead.” They didn’t micromanage. We were on the sets changing lines and trying to make each other laugh. It’s not done as well by committee. They started managing everything too much and trying to control it all.Vince Vaughn with John Favreau in “Swingers” (1996).Miramax Films, via Everett Collection More

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      ‘House of the Dragon’: All the Dragons and Their Riders So Far

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      The dragons are amassing, and just like their humans, they have histories and personalities, too. Here’s a rundown of who’s riding whom.“House of the Dragon” has finally lived up to its name; it’s all about the dragons ahead of the Season 2 finale, airing Sunday on HBO.The Targaryen civil war between the Blacks (supporters of Queen Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne) and the Greens (those who support her half brother Aegon) has had its share of palace intrigue, betrayals and populist tactics. But ultimately, the side with the greatest number of dragons has the edge.As Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra’s errant king consort, once said: “Dreams didn’t make us kings. Dragons did.”Here’s a look at all of the dragons and their riders from the show so far.Team BlackSyraxRhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and her dragon, Syrax, who is fearsome but young.Theo Whiteman/HBORider: Rhaenyra Targaryen (played by Emma D’Arcy)Status: AliveThe queen’s dragon with yellow scales is on the younger side and has been a presence in the show since Season 1. She is named after a goddess of Valyria, the doomed city in Essos that was also the ancestral home of House Targaryen.VermaxRider: Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett)Status: AliveRhaenyra’s firstborn son bonded with his dragon, who on the show has olive scales with pale orange wing membranes.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Ashley Park Wants to Laugh (or Cry) With You at the Theater

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      TV shows like “Emily in Paris” and “Beef” are raising her profile, but she’s still a fan of “the magic of a live audience.”Ashley Park has heard the criticism of “Emily in Paris.” The costumes can be garish. (Bucket hats? In the office?!) The characters can be cartoonish. The biggest worry for Emily, the protagonist, is often whether to cut trauma bangs or what outré dress to wear next.“Just relax. We want the show to be fun,” Park, who plays Mindy Chen, Emily’s best friend and an aspiring singer, said in a phone call from her home in Los Angeles. “You can fold your laundry to it. It’s a really easy watch.”In Season 4 of the Netflix comedy series, whose first five episodes begin streaming on Aug. 15, the action moves temporarily to Italy, on a Roman holiday. Another change: For the first time, viewers of the show will get to see winter in Paris.“I don’t think anyone enjoyed that — Paris winter is hard — but the fashion is to die for,” said Park, 33, who previously split her time between New York and California.That move reflects the fact that Park, who earned a Tony nomination as Gretchen Wieners in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls,” has increasingly found herself in demand as a television and film actress.“When John Hoffman, the showrunner of ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ calls you and says, ‘Hey, I would love for you to play this part; you do a duet with Meryl Streep,’ there’s literally zero percent, if not negative percent, hesitation,” said Park, who appeared in Season 3 of the series.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes’ and the Moment Star Worship Curdled

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      The documentary blends audio interviews with footage from her life to provide a revealing look not so much at the actress, but at celebrity culture.This summer, thanks mostly to the rise of Glen Powell, I’ve been in a lot of discussions about the state of movie stardom. The jury’s still out on whether we have “real” movie stars today, but it’s clear that the process of becoming a celebrity is different now from what it used to be. Social media and the popularity of small-screen entertainment have changed the game.That question of stardom permeates “Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes” (premiering Saturday on HBO and Max), an intriguing documentary about one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses, mostly in her own words. In the 1960s, Taylor gave interviews to the prolific journalist Richard Meryman, who died in 2015. Meryman, who had been known for his interviews with celebrities, was researching a book. Recently, more than 40 hours of tapes containing Taylor’s interviews were found in his archive.That audio, in which Taylor is reflective and candid, is the backbone for this documentary. The director Nanette Burstein takes a smart approach to the material, layering the conversation — along with audio from a handful of older interviews with Taylor and some of her friends — on top of archival footage from her life. Taylor became a familiar screen presence while still very young, with her first screen role, in “There’s One Born Every Minute,” hitting theaters when she was 10, in 1942. Soon after, she starred in “Lassie Come Home” and “National Velvet” and turned into a figure of fascination for the audiences. Thus the cameras followed her everywhere.For the Taylor enthusiast, the film is unlikely to reveal much new information. But that’s not really the point. The movie covers each of her eight marriages and many of her projects, but Taylor’s narration focuses largely on her feelings at the time. Because we’re often seeing footage of her public appearances as she talks about her interior life, the result is almost like a behind-the-scenes track, a fresh disclosure of the disjunction between what we think we know about stars — who they are, how they feel — and what’s actually going on inside.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘House of the Dragon’ Guide: Key Characters Ahead of Season 2 Finale

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      A lot has happened since we published a who’s who list before Season 2 began. Heading into the finale, here’s at look at where the characters stand now.This roundup has been updated to reflect events through Episode 7 of Season 2 of HBO’s “House of the Dragon.”Before Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” began in mid-June, HBO hadn’t released a new episode for about two years; so with the premiere days away, we published a guide to the show’s sprawling cast.Seven episodes later, much has changed. Westeros is divided by a civil war between the Blacks, who support Rhaenyra Targaryen’s claim to the throne, and the Greens, who support her half brother Aegon’s. Characters have died, been maimed or disappeared. Meanwhile, the common people — known in the show’s parlance as smallfolk — have played an increasingly large role, adding several new faces to the show. It seemed like time for an update.Whether you’ve picked sides or simply want to catch up in time for the Sunday season finale, here is a look at the major players now.Team BlackQueen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy)STATUS: Stacked with dragons. Long the only child of the late King Viserys Targaryen, Rhaenyra was proclaimed heir by the king in defiance of centuries of tradition that held that only males could rule. But traditions die hard, and her younger half brother Aegon was crowned king by his supporters in Rhaenyra’s absence from the capital of King’s Landing.Throughout the season, Rhaenyra has worked to keep violence to a minimum, even though her son Lucerys was one of the war’s first casualties. At the encouragement of her common-born adviser — and romantic interest — Mysaria, Rhaenyra has repeatedly relied on Westeros’s everyday people. By turning the public against Aegon through deft propaganda, and by recruiting descendants of House Targaryen born out of wedlock to become dragon riders, she hopes to tip the balance of power in her favor. Heading into the finale, she is looking pretty stacked on the dragon front again, having lost three from her team (Arrax and Meleys are dead; Caraxes is AWOL) but then effectively gained three back (Seasmoke, Silverwing and Vermithor all have Team Black riders now). She herself rides a bright yellow dragon called Syrax.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Punkie Johnson Announces She Is Leaving ‘Saturday Night Live’

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      Johnson told a stand-up audience she was leaving “Saturday Night Live” before confirming her departure in an Instagram video the next day.Punkie Johnson, a performer on the NBC sketch comedy series “Saturday Night Live” since 2020, announced on Thursday that she will not return this fall for the show’s 50th season.Johnson, who played characters on “S.N.L.” including Vice President Kamala Harris and the women’s basketball star Angel Reese, first said she was leaving during a stand-up comedy set on Wednesday at Union Hall in Brooklyn.She posted a video on her Instagram account the next day, confirming her decision to leave the show. She said that she was not leaving on bad terms, however, as some audience members had understood some of her onstage comments to imply.Johnson had told the Union Hall audience that “S.N.L.” staff wanted her to change her hair and to stop working out so much and looking “buff.” She had also mentioned a heated argument with a talent producer, adding that being on the show had been stressing her out and that she was happier since having decided to leave.An NBC employee confirmed that Johnson was leaving the show but did not respond to questions about Johnson’s onstage comments about the circumstances of her departure.In her Instagram video, Johnson said she had woken up to text messages and phone calls about the comments.“I’m like, it was a comedy show!” she said. “I was just having fun! It’s no bad blood; it’s no bridges burnt; it’s no hard feelings.”Born and raised in New Orleans, Johnson, 39, moved to Los Angeles to start her comedy career and worked as a server at the Comedy Store before she was made a paid regular onstage. Johnson joined “S.N.L.” for the show’s 46th season as a featured player and was promoted to the regular cast in 2022.Johnson was also the first openly lesbian Black cast member of “S.N.L.” (An earlier Black lesbian cast member, Danitra Vance, was not publicly out while on the show in the 1980s.)Johnson’s other screen roles have included the HBO series “Love Life” and “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” the Netflix series “Space Force” and the fight-club buddy comedy movie “Bottoms.”She is so far the only “S.N.L” cast member who has announced a departure ahead of the new season, which begins on Sept. 28.Genevieve Ko More

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      ‘Cowboy Cartel’ Tells a Galloping Story

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      With a made-for-TV plot, this documentary series explores a ploy by Mexican drug cartels to launder money through the world of horseracing.One of many recreation scenes in the documentary “Cowboy Cartel.”Apple TV+“Cowboy Cartel,” a four-part documentary arriving Friday, on Apple TV+, traces the wild saga of a Mexican drug cartel’s money-laundering scheme through the racehorse market and the F.B.I. agents and journalists who unraveled it. The plot feels ready-made for a TV show, and “Cowboy” sometimes rises to the occasion.The story has all the makings: a determined rookie F.B.I. agent, a jazzy I.R.S. dude, a starchy state attorney, well-sourced reporters, mountains of money, wise horsefolk and a ruthless, blood-soaked cartel. “Cowboy” is admirably lucid about the ins and outs of money laundering, and it nimbly anticipates all the “is everything a criminal does a crime?” arguments a skeptical viewer or defense lawyer may have.Muddy technique adulterates this appealing clarity of thought. B-roll of Texan highways does not illuminate anything, and more egregious is the use of hazy re-enactments. Those are tedious in any true-crime documentary, but here it isn’t (just) banality that irks. It’s that the show is repressing itself, as if in its heart of hearts it wanted to be a spinoff of “Narcos” but had to be a lower-budget documentary instead. It’s the businessperson whose dreams of the stage were denied and who now finds an awful lot of opportunities to turn presentations into song-and-dance numbers. Me? Sing? I couldn’t possib —— well, maybe just this once.The blending of self-aware nonfiction with imprecise, borderline goofy recreations here makes true things feel faker. I can see with my own eyes that the guy in the recreation looks nothing like the guy he’s portraying; am I meant to believe the inanity written on his white board was on a real white board? Flabby scripted dialogue offers so little, especially when the colorful, actual anecdotes offer so much.“Cowboy Cartel” and the talking-heads featured in it know they are in conversation not only with the cultural mythologies of the glamours of crime but also with crime fiction in general. Our wholesome F.B.I. agent solemnly describes one of the captured and convicted cartel bosses as “my Hannibal Lecter,” and other people lament the public’s lack of understanding about the true depravity of cartels. The real goings-on here — the real losses, the genuine conflict, the poignant asides — are enough. More

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      Stream These 12 Movies Before They Leave Netflix in August

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      A ton of great titles are leaving for U.S. subscribers by the end of this month. Catch them while you can.A recent (and worthy) big winner at the Oscars is among the noteworthy titles leaving Netflix in the United States in August, along with a family favorite, an action epic and two franchises of the comic book and slapstick comedy variety.‘The Woman King’ (Aug. 12)Stream it here.Gina Prince-Bythewood has pulled off an unusual (and thrilling) career 180 in recent years, pivoting gracefully from her early, small-scale dramas (“Love & Basketball,” “The Secret Life of Bees” “Beyond the Lights”) to big action extravaganzas like “The Old Guard” and this, its 2022 follow-up. Viola Davis is fierce and unforgettable as Nanisca, the 19th-century general of an all-woman warrior army in the African kingdom of Dahomey, while John Boyega is terrific as the monarch (at least in name) who supports her. But the star-making performances come from Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch and Sheila Atim as warriors in Nanisca’s army — young performers who more than hold their own against their marquee leads. The screenplay, penned by Dana Stevens (with story assistance from the actor Maria Bello) is based on a true story.‘Paddington’ (Aug. 13)Stream it here.Nicole Kidman has played only a handful of outright villains in her long and prolific career, but when she does, she does so with gusto. In this 2014 adaptation by the director Paul King (“Wonka”) of the children’s book series, Kidman appears as an evil museum taxidermist who wants nothing more than to stuff the gentle cartoon bear of the title. It’s a delightfully wild performance, with just the right mixture of menace and camp — and there’s more to love besides, from the warmth of the family dynamic (led by Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville, both charming) to the sweetness of the convincingly integrated animated Paddington (whimsically voiced by Ben Whishaw) to the winking tone, which will entertain children and parents alike.‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (Aug. 22)Stream it here.Once upon a time, it seemed that the Academy Award for best picture would go only to sweeping period epics and turgid literary adaptations. But a few films in recent years have shaken up our conventional notion of “best picture winner,” including the winner of that Oscar for 2022. A madcap hybrid of action movie, slapstick comedy, family drama and brainy science fiction, this busy and brilliant effort from the music video makers turned film directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, a.k.a. the Daniels. Michelle Yeoh won the best actress prize for her role as a meek laundromat owner whose trip into the metaverse unlocks the hero within; Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis picked up supporting actor trophies for their rich and funny turns as her husband and a harried I.R.S. agent.‘Marcel the Shell With Shoes On’ (Aug. 23)Stream it here.What began as a simple stop-motion animation short on YouTube in 2010 became a viral sensation and then, in 2022, this charming feature film. In it, the director Dean Fleischer Camp reprises his role as the human interviewer of Marcel, an inch-long hermit crab shell, assisting him on a journey to find his family. Isabella Rossellini (pitch perfect) joins the cast as his grandmother. The screenplay, by Camp, Nick Pale and Jenny Slate (who voices Marcel), achieves bespoke whimsy without tipping into self-congratulatory twee, thanks in no small part to Slate’s energetic performance, which combines childlike wonder and no-nonsense practicality with a healthy dose of her comic timing.‘Burn After Reading’ (Aug. 31)Stream it here.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More