Winona Ryder Says She Lost Out on a Movie with Marlon Brando Because She 'Wasn’t Gonna Apologize’ for “Heathers”

Winona Ryder Says She Lost Out on a Movie with Marlon Brando Because She 'Wasn't Gonna Apologize' for "Heathers"

Cinemarque-New World/Kobal/Shutterstock Winona Ryder's career would have looked different if she hadn't doneHeathers. Ryder, 53, opened up about her career in an interview withElle UK, published July 23. The actress starred in the dark comedyHeathersin 1989, playing Veronica Sawyer. Veronica teams up with Christian Slater's J.D. to get revenge on Kim Walker's Heather Chandler, and J.D. ends up killing her. After they stage it as a suicide, J.D.'s quest for revenge ramps up, with more deadly consequences. The movie's plot involves gun violence, eating disorders, sexuality and murder — while still being full of jokes. "I was told I was never gonna work again if I didHeathers," Ryder, who had found success as achild star, told the outlet of the film, which is now widely considered a high school classic. Then she admitted, "I did lose a job." Tri-Star/Kobal/Shutterstock Ryder didn't want to say, but since it was 35 years ago, she eventually gave in. It turned out the movie was the 1990 movieThe Freshman, which starred Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick. She was offered a role, but then the people behind the movie sawHeathers. "They thought it was making fun of teen suicide. They were deeply offended and, yeah, they revoked the offer," she remembered. "I'm like, 'I can't work with Marlon Brando?' " she said, using a weepy voice. But she stood firm in her choices. "But I had to stand my ground. I wasn't gonna apologize," she said. TheStranger Thingsstar admittedHeathersis one of her favorite projects, and she said if she seesHeatherson TV, she never turns it off. "I know it basically by heart." Heathersdirector, Michael Lehmann, defendedHeathers' mix of dark crimes and comedy in a 2016 interview withThe Denver Post. "The more horrifying or disturbing human behavior is, the more opportunity there is to mine it for certain types of comedy," he said. "You click it a few notches in one direction or another to make it absurd, and it allows to you to understand human behavior better, because people do horrible things with the best intentions." "When it came out a lot of people were very upset and there was a big politically correct backlash saying, 'How dare you make fun of teenage suicide!' " Lehmann said. "But Columbine hadn't happened yet. And anyway, we weren't making fun of teenage suicide, we were making a comedy about the way teenagers are perceived by adults and how they behave to each other." Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Heathersfound even more fans when it was adapted into a musical in the 2010s. The musicalreturned to New York this summer. https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf Despite getting cut fromThe Freshman, Ryder's career kept chugging along after Heathers, with 1990'sEdward ScissorhandsandMermaids. She received back-to-back Emmy nominations for her role in two novel adaptations: 1993'sThe Age of Innocenceand1994'sLittle Women. Read the original article onPeople

byLiam Oneel

in

July 25, 2025

Winona Ryder Says She Lost Out on a Movie with Marlon Brando Because She 'Wasn’t Gonna Apologize’ for “Heathers”

Winona Ryder Says She Lost Out on a Movie with Marlon Brando Because She 'Wasn't Gonna Apologize' for "Heathers" Cinem...

Read More

Didi Conn Used Improv to Soothe Olivia Newton-John's First Day Jitters on the “Grease” Set (Exclusive)

Didi Conn Used Improv to Soothe Olivia Newton-John's First Day Jitters on the "Grease" Set (Exclusive)

Paramount/Rso/Kobal/Shutterstock WhenOlivia Newton-Johnbrought Sandy's first day jitters to life, she was experiencing her own. Didi Conn, who played Sandy's friend in the beloved 1978 filmGrease, opens up to PEOPLE exclusively about working with Newton-John, whodied in 2022 at age 73. Conn, 74, says that on their first day on set, Newton-John, who had found success as a singer but had limited acting experience, was anxious. "The first scene in the movie was her scene of walking onto the campus of Rydell with Frenchy, and she was nervous," Conn says. Part of her concern was that she was older than John Travolta, who starred as Danny Zuko, but Conn didn't think she had to worry. "Theydid a screen test, and if you ever see that, she's so beautiful, she just looked exactly 'teenager,' " she says. "So we were waiting and waiting and they're fixing the lights and [it[ was a long shot, and they had to get it all right," Conn says. But Conn had an idea to help her co-star calm down. Paramount/Getty "I just started to improvise. I said, 'Oh, so you are from Australia. Tell me all about what school's like in Australia,' " Conn remembers. In the movie, Newton-John's Sandy has just come to the United States, and Frenchy, a member of the Pink Ladies, is one of the first to welcome her to her new school. "And she looked at me like, 'Is this in the script?' And I said, 'Well, tell me, did you have a boyfriend in school?' " "Then she just caught on because that's who she is. And she told me that, 'Oh my God, the boys had to go in one side and the girls in another,' and she had to wear gloves, and she just went on and on," Conn says. When director Randal Kleiser called action, Newton-John's nerves were done. "There we were so many, many, many times, she said how grateful she was that we had so much fun and that I just pulled her right into it," Conn says. She jokes she was "a big veteran of movies" sinceGreasewas her third, but she "loved improvising." Because almost all the actors were"a little older" than the characters they played, they also used improv to feel their characters out when the cameras weren't rolling. "As soon as we got into makeup and our hair costume, I wasn't Didi anymore, I was Frenchy," she says. Frenchy, the sweetest of the Pink Ladies, drops out of Rydell High to go to beauty school, then drops out of beauty school after sheaccidentally dyes her hair pinkand goes back to high school after Frankie Avalon's Teen Angel serenades her with "Beauty School Dropout." So on set, Conn says, "I walked around with a comb, fixing people if they needed it, always looking for how I could make everybody as beautiful as they could be. And what it did was we were always in an improv. So when the cameras were rolling, it was just a continuation." That cast-wide improvisation formed a friendship "that was very, very deep," Conn says, adding, "we'restill friendsto this day." Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Conn calls Newton-John "just so sweet and beautiful," and says they stayed close in the decades afterGrease. "I lived in Malibu on the bottom of Big Rock, and she lived on the top of Big Rock, so I'd see her a lot," she remembers. "I miss her." Conn reprised her role as Frenchy in 2023'sGrease 2. She also had a cameo in Fox's 2016Grease Live!Madison Elizabeth Lagares played a younger version of Frenchy in 2023'sGrease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. Read the original article onPeople

byLiam Oneel

in

July 25, 2025

Didi Conn Used Improv to Soothe Olivia Newton-John's First Day Jitters on the “Grease” Set (Exclusive)

Didi Conn Used Improv to Soothe Olivia Newton-John's First Day Jitters on the "Grease" Set (Exclusive) Paramount/Rso/Kobal/Shu...

Read More

Valkyries' Kayla Thornton to miss rest of WNBA season after knee surgery

Valkyries' Kayla Thornton to miss rest of WNBA season after knee surgery

Golden State ValkyriesforwardKayla Thornton'srenaissance season has been cut short. The Valkyries announced that Thornton successfully underwent surgery on Friday, July 25 after suffering a right knee injury in practice, effectively ending Thornton's career-best campaign and dealing a devastating blow to the Valkyries' hopes of becoming the first expansion team to make the playoffs in its inaugural season in nearly three decades. The news comes nearly a week after Thornton participated in the2025 WNBA All-Star Gamein Indianapolis, where she recorded 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and one steal off the bench for TeamCaitlin Clark. It marked the 10-year veteran'sfirst All-Star nodof her career, and she's the first player to be named an All-Star as a member of a first-year team since Candice Dupree for the Chicago Sky in 2006. Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton, who suffered an injury to her right knee earlier this week in practice, underwent a successful surgery earlier today in San Francisco.Thornton will be out for the remainder of the 2025 WNBA season and will begin the rehabilitation…pic.twitter.com/DTOvTNCml6 — Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries)July 25, 2025 VALKYRIES:Setting new standard for WNBA expansion teams with early success The UTEP alumna played for the Washington Mystics (2015) and Dallas Wings (2017-22) before winning a Commissioner's Cup and WNBA championship with the New York Liberty in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Thornton was a role player on the Liberty in 2024, averaging 5.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 20.2 minutes of play per game on the championship roster. But that all changed when Thornton was drafted in the expansion draft by Golden State in December. Thornton quickly became the No. 1 option on the Valkyries, playing a team-high 30.1 minutes per game. Although expectations are typically low for expansion teams early on—theAtlanta Dreamwent 4-30 in their inaugural season in 2008, while theChicago Skywent 5-29 in 2006—the Valkyries jumped to an unprecedented 10-9 start and are the third expansion team in WNBA history to pick up its 10th victory in 20 games or less. Thornton led the Valkyries in scoring through 22 games (all starts) and averaged a career-high 14 points per game, besting her previous high of 10.4 points per game in 2019 by nearly four points. She also set career-highs in rebounds (7) and steals (1.3), leading the team in both categories. "It goes beyond basketball. She's a tremendous person. She's someone that you wanna be around all the time,"teammate Kate Martin saidafter Thornton dropped a career-high 29 points in a win over the Chicago Sky on June 27. "She's a great leader in the locker room and a great friend, so it's really fun whenever she's all of that, but also a phenomenal basketball player. "You can learn a lot from KT And how she plays and I'm just really glad she's getting all the success she's getting. She deserves it and I'm thankful that I'm her teammate." The Valkyries have fallen on hard times and dropped five of their last six games heading into the All-Star weekend. Thornton's season-ending injury marks a significant loss, and it's only going to get tougher. Golden State opens the second half of the season with a matchup against the Dallas Wings at home on Friday, July 25, before going on a five-game road trip to face Connecticut (July 27), Atlanta (July 29), Washington (July 31), Chicago (Aug. 1) and Las Vegas (Aug. 3). The Valkyries (10-12) are currently ninth in the standings and would miss the playoffs if the postseason started today. Golden State is looking to become the first expansion team to make the playoffs in its inaugural season since the Detroit Shock in 1998. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Kayla Thornton injury update: Valkyries star out rest of WNBA season

byLiam Oneel

in

July 25, 2025

Valkyries' Kayla Thornton to miss rest of WNBA season after knee surgery

Valkyries' Kayla Thornton to miss rest of WNBA season after knee surgery Golden State ValkyriesforwardKayla Thornton'srenaissance se...

Read More

NFL fining more than 100 players for selling Super Bowl tickets above face value, AP source says

NFL fining more than 100 players for selling Super Bowl tickets above face value, AP source says

The NFL is fining about 100 players and two dozen club employees for violating league policy by selling Super Bowl 59 tickets for above face value, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press on Friday. The person, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said the players who resold their tickets will have to pay a fine of 1 1/2 times the face value they paid. They also won't be permitted to buy tickets for the next two Super Bowls unless they are playing in the game. Club employees who violated the policy will be fined two times face value. In a memo sent to teams and obtained by the AP, NFL head of compliance Sabrina Perel said the league was still completing its investigation. "Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket's face value in violation of the Policy. This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket's face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less. We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of 'bundlers' who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value." The "bundlers" will face increased penalties, per the memo. According to the CBA, players on all 32 teams can purchase two tickets for the Super Bowl. "In advance of Super Bowl LX, we will be enhancing the mandatory compliance training regarding the Policy for all League personnel, which will emphasize the specific requirements of the Policy and the broader principle that no one should profit personally from their NFL affiliation at the expense of our fans," Perel said in the memo. "We will also increase the penalties for future violations of this Policy. All clubs must ensure their personnel understand and comply with this policy. Additional details regarding the enhanced compliance measures will be provided in early fall." The Philadelphia Eagles beat theKansas City Chiefson Feb. 9 in a Super Bowl rematch from two years ago. ___ AP NFL:https://apnews.com/NFL

byLiam Oneel

in

July 25, 2025

NFL fining more than 100 players for selling Super Bowl tickets above face value, AP source says

NFL fining more than 100 players for selling Super Bowl tickets above face value, AP source says The NFL is fining about 100 players and two...

Read More

Colbert Is Practically Daring CBS to Shut Him Down Early

Colbert Is Practically Daring CBS to Shut Him Down Early

"Over the weekend it sunk in that they're killing off our show,"Stephen Colbertreflected at the top ofThe Late Showon Monday, following a tempest of outrage over CBS'ssuspiciously timed cancellationof the program that had only gained strength over the weekend. "But they made one mistake: They left me alive!" The audience responded with chants of "Stephen! Stephen!"—which, in retrospect, was the first clue that the host's taunt was not entirely a joke. Since then, Colbert has been ripping into Donald Trump with renewed relish, often while also flaying CBS and its parent company, Paramount. By doubling down on attacking his most powerful enemy, at a time when network execs are facing such intense scrutiny for what many believe was a politically motivated firing, he isn't just making the most of the 10 months he has left—he's essentially daring his bosses to kill the show sooner. (Think an expensive contract would be enough to keep a host judged to be a liability on the air? Kindly recallNBC's Megyn Kelly debacleof 2018.) If they take the bait, Colbert will have his most damning evidence yet that what they called a "purely financial decision" was, at least in part, political. For those who don't keep daily tabs on late-night talk shows—which, let's be honest, is the vast majority of us these days—it's worth reviewing this week'sLate Showhighlights. On Monday, Colbert devoted hiswhole monologueto Trump. First he addressed his cancellation ("Cancel culture has gone too far"), expressing relief that "I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really think about Donald Trump—starting right now," then feinting in the direction of understatement: "I don't care for him. Doesn't seem to have, like, the skillset to be President. Just not a good fit, you know?" He moved on toreportsclaiming that his show, despite winning its broadcast time slot, was losing some $40 million a year: "I could see us losing $24 million, but where could Paramount have possibly spentthe other 16… oh yeah." In an instantly viral soundbite, Colbert responded toTrump's social media postscalling him talentless and gloating over his show's demise by asking: "Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism?:Go f-ck yourself." Then he prefaced a riff on theWall Street Journal's Epstein birthday letter bombshellwith: "The President was buddies with a pedophile." "It's a great day to be me because I am not Donald Trump," Colbertgreeted the audienceon Tuesday, before discussingreportsthat FBI agents were ordered to scour the Epstein files for Trump mentions. "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't hide who Dumpty humped with his friend," he quipped. Also: "It's not a great look when you fly on the pedophile's planeenough timesto earn diamond pervert status." In response toTrump's apparent fixation on arresting Barack Obama, Colbert wondered aloud: "What the f-ck is wrong with this guy?" Finally, he seemed to pivot away from the President with a bit aboutsoaring beef prices. But then he brought Trump into that story as well, suggesting that his tariffs were partly to blame. Wednesday'sLate Showopened by poking fun at Coca-Cola's plans tooblige POTUSby manufacturing cane-sugar-sweetened soda in the U.S. with a faux advertisement for cocaine-enhanced "Don Jr. Coke." Amonologuethat kicked off with a few jokes about the impending heatwave soon segued to a familiar subject. "One person who's already sweating is Donald Trump," Colbert said, before pausing to let the audience boo. To no one's surprise, the host made a meal out of the news that the Justice Department had, in May,informed the President that his name was in the Epstein files. "He's in the file! He's in the file!" Colbert chanted, rubbing his hands together and approaching the camera with a gleeful grin. "You know how they say there's no such thing as bad publicity? They're not talkin' about this." He went on to show a greatest-hits collection of Trump-Epstein photos, casually drop "Micropenis DJT" into a list of fictional Trump nicknames, and roast Trump for themathematical impossibilityof his promised prescription-drug-price reductions. And then he circled back to "how [Trump is] making my network crawl," citing thePresident's claimthat he would secure another $20 million in free airtime from CBS. "By bending the knee, they lost like $40 million this year," Colbert said. "They better watch out. They might get canceled forpurely financial reasons." Colbert ended his show's four-day week, on Thursday, with more than eight minutes on the Epstein saga. First there was acold open skitthat used a montage ofThree Stoogeseye-poking clips to mock Attorney General Pam Bondi for citing a torn cornea as her reason formissingan awkwardly timed speaking engagement at a summit on sex trafficking. In hismonologue, Colbert tore through thelatest Trump-Epstein headlines("What are you gonna tell me next—that the Pope is in the Catholic files? That a bear is on the cover of this month'sModern Woods Pooper?"), from Epstein's evasiveness on Trump in a2010 depositiontoMark Epstein's claimthat his brother dumped Trump after deciding he was "a crook" to theGhislaine Maxwellof it all. When he finally moved off the topic, it was for a bit lampooning the President's recent statements on artificial intelligence that mostly seemed to be an excuse to direct viewers to Wednesday'salready-notorious season premiere ofSouth Park(also a Paramount property), which included anextremely NSFW parody PSAstarring an uncanny, AI-generated Trump. I'd call this a mic drop, but Ihave a feelingColbert will have plenty more to say come Monday. When you consider how litigious Trump has been with regard to practices that legal precedent supports as protected speech—of which satire and commentary are two—Colbert's stand is a risky one. But whether you think his response toThe Late Show's cancellation is brave or foolish, you can't deny that he's playing his cards perfectly against Paramount and CBS. If the powers that be pull him off the air before May 2026, he'll have all but proven that their decision to dump him was about more than the cost of making his show. And if they resign themselves to letting him say whatever he wants for the next 10 months? Well then, he'll get to say whatever he wants for the next 10 months. I can't imagine either option making his bosses jump for joy. Contact usatletters@time.com.

byLiam Oneel

in

July 25, 2025

Colbert Is Practically Daring CBS to Shut Him Down Early

Colbert Is Practically Daring CBS to Shut Him Down Early "Over the weekend it sunk in that they're killing off our show,"Steph...

Read More

This isn't the first time Trump's been parodied on 'South Park'

This isn't the first time Trump's been parodied on 'South Park'

Whether you're a long-time"South Park"fan or just have heard of the show in passing, you've probably heard aboutthatepisode by now. TheSeason 27 premiere of "South Park"started off with a fiery take on PresidentDonald Trump's widespread attacks on media. The episode, which aired on Wednesday, July 23, shows a character with Trump's face on a cartoon body crawling into bed, naked, with Satan. The episode referencedParamount's $16 million settlementwith the president, Trump's claims that he'll receive$20 million worth of ads on the networkand the cancellation of CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." In response to the episode, the White House told USA TODAY on Thursday, July 24, that the scene was a"desperate attempt for attention," calling the series a "fourth-rate" show. During a panel about the show atSan Diego Comic-Conon Thursday evening, July 24, "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone sarcastically said they were"terribly sorry"for the episode. Though Trump himself is not often depicted directly in the series, like the recent episode, Parker and Stone have used the popular character Mr. Garrison to represent the president through several seasons. In the series' 20th season, Mr. Garrison, who previously was an elementary school teacher, wins the 2016 U.S. presidential election against Hillary Clinton. Becoming President Garrison, the character continues to serve as a parody for Trump until 2020. President Garrison takes on Trump's swooped, blonde hair, sends out fiery social media posts and is obsessed with hosting Make America Great Again rallies. Here's a look at some of the key moments the president has been featured, or parodied, in "South Park." White House, 'South Park' trade barbs:What to know about the feud "Where My Country Gone"highlights theU.S.-Mexico border wallthat Trump wished to build long before he took office in 2017. The episode aired in September 2015, ahead of the 2016 presidential election. In the episode, Mr. Garrison (not yet President Garrison) begins to promote the idea of building a wall along the U.S.-Canada border to eliminate the number of illegal Canadian immigrants entering the country. Can 'South Park' take on Trump 2.0?They're walking a tightrope In"Oh, Jeez,"Mr. Garrison is elected as president in the 2016 election. The character, renamed to President Garrison, continues to serve as a parody of Trump in the series until Season 24, when Trump lost the 2020 election. The episode aired on Nov. 9, 2016, the day after the election. In the next episode, "Members Only," President Garrison begins his duties. He gets a Trump-style toupee, tours the Pentagon, is given a book of "military secrets" and gets in a heated phone call withBoris Johnson, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom. "Put It Down"highlights the United States' relationship with North Korea and referencesTrump's presence on social media. In the episode, which aired in September 2017, President Garrison posts aggressive tweets about North Korea, specifically about a nuclear missile fired by the country, which causes car accidents by drivers who are distracted by the posts. "Doubling Down,"references the decreasing popularity of Trump during his first presidential administration. The episode aired in November 2017. During the episode, President Garrison insults a world leader on the telephone in the White House while his advisers discuss low approval ratings. "Splatty Tomato,"again, parodies Trump's approval ratings following the 2016 election. The episode aired in December 2017. Throughout the episode, President Garrison pops up, scaring characters and asking them about his approval ratings. The characters compare Garrison sneak attacks to characters in "Stranger Things" and "IT." At one point, the character Tweek is riding his bicycle around town when he sees a collection of balloons that read, "Make America Great Again." The balloons then pop, revealing President Garrison, who asks Tweek about his ratings. "The Pandemic Special"was the premiere of Season 24. Airing in September 2020, the episodes satirize the United States' handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest amid the Black Lives Matter movement. President Garrison makes minor appearances in the episodes, notably using a flamethrower to encourage citizens to vote in the 2020 presidential election. "Spring Break"parodies the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. In the episode, Mr. Garrison, who freshly lost the 2020 presidential election, goes on a trip with his boyfriend to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The episode aired in March 2023. During the trip, Mr. Garrison starts to slink away to Make America Great Again rallies, despite his boyfriend's pleas not to. The episode ends with Mr. Garrison leading a chant that results in his supporters rushing the U.S. Capitol. Old and new episodes of "South Park" are now available for streaming onParamount+with apaid subscription. A Paramount+ Essential subscription is $7.99 a month with ads, and a Paramount+ Premium subscription is $12.99 a month without ads. Contributing: Brian Truitt and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her atgcross@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'South Park' parodies Trump in premiere, but it's not the first time

byLiam Oneel

in

July 25, 2025

This isn't the first time Trump's been parodied on 'South Park'

This isn't the first time Trump's been parodied on 'South Park' Whether you're a long-time"South Park"fan or j...

Read More