logo
Look of the Week: The hidden meaning in Millie Bobby Brown's blonde blowout

Look of the Week: The hidden meaning in Millie Bobby Brown's blonde blowout

CNN28-02-2025

Is Millie Bobby Brown trying to send a message with her new look?
The 21-year-old British actor has undergone a massive style shift as she debuted a new bleach blonde blowout accompanied by '90s and Y2K-inspired ensembles — from bedazzled low-slung pants to a nostalgic Hervé Léger bandage dress — that wouldn't look out of place in a certain mega pop star's closet. Fans online have eagerly hoped that the outfits are a nod to a future Britney Spears biopic, which is currently in the works under 'Wicked' director Jon M. Chu.
On Thursday in Madrid, Brown continued the trend in another Britney-coded look, with a patchwork spin on the Canadian tuxedo (see Spears' iconic 2001 matching denim look with Justin Timberlake), and sheepskin-trimmed knee-high boots (Spears is among the A-listers that have made Uggs part of their unofficial off-duty uniform).
Brown's latest outfits coincide with the press tour for her new Netflix film, 'The Electric State,' co-starring Chris Pratt. Brown replied to the rumors about her role in Spears' biopic, telling Access Hollywood on Monday that she 'would love nothing more' than to be involved, but 'that's (Spears') story, and I am in full support of her bringing her story to life … how she wants to.'
Since the film rights to Spears' bestselling memoir 'The Woman in Me' were nabbed by Universal Pictures last summer, the forthcoming biopic has sparked a flurry of fancasts, including Addison Rae and Sydney Sweeney. But Brown first signaled interest in stepping into Spears' shoes long before. On 'The Drew Barrymore Show' in November 2022, Brown said: 'I want to play a real person and I think for me, Britney. (It) would be Britney Spears. I think her story, first of all, resonates with me.' A day later, Spears wrote in an Instagram post: 'I hear about people wanting to do movies about my life… dude I'm not dead!!!'
While Brown has yet to confirm her involvement in Spears' biopic, the 'Stranger Things' and 'Enola Holmes' star's denim and sheepskin outfit was her most playful nod to the conversation yet. Or at the very least, it was one more look somewhat enigmatically keeping in line with the decade before her birth, following up on a velour pink tracksuit top emblazoned with '1991,' which she wore to an after-party for her latest film.
If Brown — or Millie Bobby Blonde, as a fan online dubbed her — isn't auditioning for the biopic of her pop idol, the sudden nostalgia in fashion may be a simpler answer. After all, Brown's red carpet appearances and Instagram snaps have also drawn comparisons to Barbie as well as '90s icons both real and fictional, including Pamela Anderson and Carmela Soprano.
With the dystopian flick 'The Electric State' taking place in an alternate, robot-populated timeline of 1997 — though one in which teenagers still crimp their hair — Brown is possibly just having fun with the decade's fashion and her role as the protagonist. In the film's trailer, which is set to Oasis' 1995 smash hit 'Champagne Supernova,' Brown sports a pair of overalls and a scrunchie in her blonde hair.
From Zendaya to Margot Robbie, many stars have been adopting method dressing — matching real-life red carpet looks to their film roles — in order to drum up excitement, so it's a possibility that Brown may not be emulating some far future role and is embracing the film that she's currently promoting. But if she starts rocking Spears' favorite fedoras, we'll circle back.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Netflix, Incentives and Location Perks Spur Growth in Mexico's Film and TV Industry
Netflix, Incentives and Location Perks Spur Growth in Mexico's Film and TV Industry

Yahoo

time30 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Netflix, Incentives and Location Perks Spur Growth in Mexico's Film and TV Industry

Depending on who you ask, the state of Mexico's film industry is either waxing or waning. The twin labor strikes of 2023 saw fewer U.S. film and TV productions that year and the following year. However, the first trimester of 2025 has reported a 16% spike in overall audiovisual activity, said Guillermo Saldaña, Mexico City's Film Commissioner. More from Variety Boxing, Uprisings, LGBTQ+ and Coming-of-Age Stories Power Guadalajara Co-Production Meetings Lineup Climate Change Hell, Military Coups, Big Industry Pollution, Fractured Families: Guadalajara Gives a Bracing Latin American Take on World Collapse Guadalajara Highlights Hits, Notable Debuts Among Recent Spanish, Portuguese-Language Movies, Plus a Film About a 'Hell of Naked Depravity' 'I'd like to think that we have a symbiotic relationship with the U.S. and Colombia because we share talent, industry and information. We always work closely with the MPA, the major studios, Netflix and the others,' he said, adding: 'Lately, there has been a sense of uncertainty — I'd call it a sort of tariff threat — but we're not 100% dependent on the U.S. industry, as you well know. We also have a strong local industry that produces content for both domestic audiences and the U.S. Latino community.' 'Some local production companies saw limited activity in 2024, but are now gaining momentum in 2025 with two to three projects underway,' said Saldaña. Others are still discouraged from the paring back of incentives for domestic productions and have been inactive. 'Mexico's presence on the international stage has been down recently,' noted Pimienta Films' Nicolas Celis ('Roma,' 'Emilia Perez'), who's just been named president of the Mexican producers association AMPI and the newly launched Mexican Federation of Film Producers (FMPC), unveiled at the Guadalajara Film Festival on Sunday. Eficine, the incentive for co-productions, rejected local producers' bids to participate in both films that won in Cannes' Un Certain Regard this year, Chile's 'The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo' and Colombia's 'A Poet.' When Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos showed up in February with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum to announce a landmark $1 billion investment in production over the next four years in Mexico, the local audiovisual industry let out a collective cheer. 'It was very well received by the film community, I got calls from everywhere in the world,' said Redrum's Stacy Perskie, who has worked on some of the biggest international productions in Mexico, led by the 2015 James Bond thriller 'Spectre,' which featured a spectacular Day of the Dead parade in the streets of Mexico City, Neil Blomkamp's dystopian 'Elysium' and Netflix's upcoming 'The Gringo Hunters' and 'Man on Fire.' Among other large-scale local projects, he's also worked on 'Narcos: Mexico,' 'Pedro Paramo' and Alejandro González Iñárritu's 'Bardo,' which involved closing down the center of Mexico City. Reflecting on the growing competition from elsewhere in Latin America and other territories, he pointed out: 'There are all these incentives all over Latin America and in Europe as well but sometimes when you compare Mexico to all these places with incentives, you see that at the end of the day, you won't have to bring equipment, crew, department heads, etc. And we're closer to Los Angeles than Atlanta or New York!' At present, Mexico offers a 16% VAT rebate to international productions on a federal level. Only the state of Jalisco extends a cash rebate incentive, but it has an annual $5 million cap. 'If we did have incentives, Mexico would be so much more appealing,' noted Celis who has a slew of productions in the pipeline, including the latest fiction features from Lila Avilés ('The Chambermaid'), Tatiana Huezo ('The Echo'), Eliza Miller ('Hurricane Season') and the directorial feature debut of lauded stop-motion animation artist, Sofia Carrillo. The issue of a nationwide location filming incentive is being discussed and coordinated closely with the Presidency and the Ministry of Economy, according to Saldaña. 'In Mexico City, the film industry makes up nearly 12% of the city's GDP, reflecting significant investment. The President is well aware of its importance — hence her joint announcement with Netflix. Discussions are ongoing in the Ministry of Economy's Creative Industries roundtables, alongside cultural institutions like the film institute Imcine, the Ministry of Culture led by Claudia Curiel, and various industry chambers,' he asserted. Asked if Netflix foresees any challenges to fulfilling its $1 billion commitment to Mexico, Carolina Leconte, Netflix VP of Content for Mexico, responded: 'We've been producing original content in Mexico for a decade now, so we've built strong local partnerships with cast and crew, in front of and behind the camera, and we continue to grow alongside each other.' 'We always strive to tell better stories and to apply learning as the industry evolves in the newest production standards and technologies, and luckily Mexico has so much talent and so many stories to tell,' she added, listing a slew of projects underway. These include: 'Las muertas,' the first series from film director Luis Estrada ('Herod's Law') and Mexican Revolution period series 'Mal de amores,' based on the novel by Ángeles Mastretta. It has recently kicked off production on four new series: 'Santita,' 'Love 9 to 5,' 'I'm Not Afraid' (No tengo miedo) and 'Corruptors' ('Los corruptores'). The state of Jalisco, whose capital of Guadalajara hosts a number of cultural activities, including the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG), a book festival and a gay pride parade among others, launched a 40% cash rebate on production and post-production expenditures in 2023. The incentive is luring more companies to set up shop there in order to avail of the rebate, open to those who have had offices in the region for at least three years. Non-resident producers would need to forge a co-production deal with a Jalisco-based producer to avail of the rebate. News broke at FICG that post-production house Chemistry joined forces with its Guadalajara-based counterpart Semillero Estudios in order to better tap the perks. Netflix has shot Season 3 of 'The Manny' as well as 'Snakes and Ladders' in Guadalajara while AppleTV+ was shooting its Eugenio Derbez series 'Acapulco' in Puerto Vallarta. While Jalisco has yet to reach Mexico City-levels in terms of crew and department heads, the state boasts a wealth of locations. 'Barring snow, we have cities, we have deserts—in other words, Jalisco offers a wide variety of locations, which isn't the case, for example, in Mexico City where if you wanted a beach location, it would take at least five hours to get there. We have a clear geographic advantage in that sense, plus, we have great food – and of course, tequila and mezcal,' said Filma Jalisco film commissioner Alejandro Tavares, who added that it hosts an average of five to six international audiovisual projects a year. 'We organized a fam trip here for producers from Los Angeles, directly in coordination with the Los Angeles Consulate. It was great that they came to see firsthand how easy it is to do things here — co-productions, etc. As you know, Hollywood is facing major issues right now, so they're looking for new filming destinations,' he said, adding: 'Jalisco has a big advantage over other states in Mexico, mainly due to its connectivity. Two of the country's top five airports are in Jalisco, and we have direct flights to Canada, Europe and the U.S.' Guadalajara has also become an animation hub with the Guillermo del Toro-backed film school El Taller del Chucho spearheading the genre. Over the weekend during the Guadalajara Festival El Taller unveiled 'Sira,' an ambitious hybrid animated feature co-produced with Spain, written by actor-writer-director Ángeles Cruz. Also, 'They're doing a lot of work with students, thanks to strong ties with the University of Guadalajara; It's become a key training ground for up-and-coming filmmakers and a talent pipeline for the animation industry,' Tavares noted. Around 20 animation studios have been working on several international projects, including some from Marvel. FICG's opening night film, Mexico's first stop motion animated feature 'I Am Frankelda' was post-produced in Guadalajara and tapped the cash rebate. Some of the pics in FICG's Made in Jalisco section used the cash rebate, most notably 'Abracadaver' and 'Over the Waves' ('Sobre las olas'). 'The political push by other states to develop their regions has benefited everyone, as a greater number of developed regions means more audiovisual industry growth and production services coming to Mexico,' said Saldaña. 'We are open to exploring locations where the story calls for it, and we continue to explore new regions,' said Netflix's Leconte, adding: 'So far, we have filmed in over 50 locations in 25 states – for example in Oaxaca ('El secreto del río'), Baja California ('Gringo Hunters'), Puebla ('Mal de amores'), San Luis Potosí ('Pedro Páramo' and 'Las muertas'), Tijuana ('Santita') and Veracruz ('No tengo miedo'), among others.' Said Saldaña: 'We're planning to fully leverage Mexico City's infrastructure and are working to diversify the permitting process. The goal is to shift filming away from the usual central areas – like Roma, Condesa, and Coyoacán, which are typically featured – and instead spotlight and give visibility to other parts of the city, such as Iztapalapa, with its deep cultural roots, and Azcapotzalco. We're also focusing on boroughs with significant protected natural areas, like Milpa Alta, Magdalena Contreras and Tlalpan. In short, we're aiming to bring more exposure to these underrepresented, ecologically and culturally rich areas of Mexico City.' And to partly address the beach issue, the city is working on an agreement with the famous coastal resort town of Acapulco. 'Our goal is to revive the audiovisual corridor between Acapulco and Mexico City, with the initiative led by the Tourism Ministry. We're deeply invested in restoring Acapulco's rich cinematic legacy and its long-standing history in film,' Saldaña said. Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'

Man arrested and charged after storming the stage at a Katy Perry concert
Man arrested and charged after storming the stage at a Katy Perry concert

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Man arrested and charged after storming the stage at a Katy Perry concert

A man has been arrested and charged after storming the stage at a Katy Perry concert. The American singer, 40, was perfroming at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney as part of her The Lifetimes World Tour on Monday when the incident occured. Footage circulated online captured the moment that Johnson Wen – known online as Pyjama Man – crashed her rendition of 2008 hit, Hot N Cold. Wen could be seen running up to her and grabbing her shoulder, while excitedly jumping up and down, before he was then escorted off stage. For her part Perry - who is engaged to 48-year-old British actor Orlando Bloom - looked furious. She then told the confused crowd: 'Well, there's never going to be another show like this, so just enjoy it, Sydney.' Adding: 'What the hell is going on?' According to 9News, he was arrested after the incident, and taken to Auburn Police Station. Wen was eventually charged with entering enclosed lands, as well as obstructing a person in the performance of their work or duty. After being granted conditional bail, he was issued with a six-month ban from entering the Sydney Olympic Park Precinct, and is due to appear at Burwood Local Court on June 23. Speaking to the Australian news outlet afterwards, Wen claimed his stage invasion had been for fun and went on to recall how Perry had 'freaked out' when she saw him. 'I said, 'Let me get on stage with you', then she freaked out because she realised I wasn't a performer,' he explained. 'I was about to do like extra Fortnite moves but security got there too quick.' This isn't the first time that Wen has done something like this. He was previously banned from the Olympic Park for crashing the Weeknd's concert, and also invaded arenas at the Olympics, the Women's World Cup and the Cricket World Cup final. Wen has now vowed to mend his ways, adding: 'I'm planning to quit forever because you get in way too much trouble for it. Especially me, because I've done it so many times.'

Harris Yulin, 'Scarface 'and 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' actor, dies at 87
Harris Yulin, 'Scarface 'and 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' actor, dies at 87

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Harris Yulin, 'Scarface 'and 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' actor, dies at 87

Harris Yulin, the veteran character actor whose many film and TV credits included Scarface, Ghostbusters II, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Ozark, died of cardiac arrest Tuesday in New York City. He was 87. His manager, Sue Leibman, confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly. In a career spanning six decades, Yulin played more than 100 roles on stage and screen. Born Nov. 5, 1937, in Los Angeles, he made his New York stage debut in a 1963 production of Next Time I'll Sing to You and landed his first screen role in the 1970 satire End of the Road, opposite James Earl Jones and Stacy Keach. After making his Broadway debut in 1980's Watch on the Rhine, Yulin would make several returns in productions including The Diary of Anne Frank, The Price, and Hedda Gabler. He also found success in film and TV, with roles in 1975's Night Moves, 1976's St. Ives, and 1979's Steel. One of Yulin's most memorable roles came in 1983, when he played corrupt police officer Mel Bernstein in Brian De Palma's gangster classic Scarface. A few years later, he played Judge Stephen Wexler in Ghostbusters II, then had another outing as a corrupt lawman in the 1994 Harrison Ford thriller Clear and Present Danger. On the big screen, Yulin also starred in 1996's Looking for Richard, 1997's Bean, and the 1999 Denzel Washington thriller The Hurricane. He would later reunited with Washington for Training Day. Yulin had a string of memorable television appearances as well. He starred in the acclaimed Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Duet," a fan-favorite installment functioning as a two-hander with him and cast member Nana Visitor. His appearance in a single episode of Frasier, as wise guy Jerome Balasco, earned Yulin an Emmy nomination. He also memorably appeared in episodes of 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Entourage. More recently, he played Buddy Dieker, the terminal housemate and eventual friend of the Byrde family in the Netflix crime drama Ozark. Other TV credits included Veep, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, And Just Like That, Billions, and Divorce. Yulin spent several years teaching at Juilliard and Columbia University and directed several stage plays, including The Glass Menagerie and The Trip to Bountiful. Prior to his death, Yulin was preparing to reunite with his Ozark costar Laura Linney for a role in American Classic, an upcoming MGM+ comedy about a Broadway actor who suffers a public meltdown. American Classic director Michael Hoffman said in a statement, "Harris Yulin was very simply one of the greatest artists I have ever encountered. His marriage of immense technique with an always fresh sense of discovery, gave his work an immediacy and vitality and purity I've experienced nowhere else. And what he was as an actor, he was as a man, the grace, the humility, the generosity. All of us at American Classic have been blessed by our experience with him. He will always remain the beating heart of our show."Yulin is survived by wife Kristen Lowman, son-in-law Ted Mineo, nephew Martin Crane, and godchildren Marco and Lara Greenberg. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store