Sarah Michelle Gellar shares her wild idea about the upcoming Buffy reboot
Sarah Michelle Gellar has a few ideas about what she'd like to see included in the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot.
The actress,48, who recently reunited with her Buffy co-star Alyson Hannigan on a red carpet, opened up about her hopes for the highly anticipated show in an interview with Vanity Fair.
'It will be lighter than the last few seasons of the original,' the Emmy winner who played the title role for seven seasons told the publication while attending the Filming Italy Sardegna Festival.
'We will try to find a balance between new and old characters,' she said of the series being helmed by Oscar winner Chloé Zhao.
The actress and executive producer then opened up about something that could thrill Buffy fans of all ages. 'My dream is to bring back everyone who has died, but space will have to be made for new stories as well.
Gellar hinted there could be opportunities to expand the Buffy universe again.
'One of the surprising aspects of Buffy is that it's always been a crossover series,' she explained.
'We're trying to figure out how to modernize the themes of the series, especially what it means to feel like an outsider in a world dominated by social media,' she explained.
The action star added that she feels 'lucky' not to have had to deal with that when she first took on the role.
'What we want to explore are the space-time boundaries that affect society today.'
Gellar explained why it took her so long to agree to a reboot.
'I didn't want to reintroduce something we had already seen. I waited for the right time to come,' she said.
The versatile star explained that Zhao, who is a self-admitted fan of the show 'proposed the project to me, and I accepted.'
'The gestation was long. It's been three years, and we're still working on it,' Gellar said.
Sharing her hopes for the reboot, the actress revealed 'My dream is to bring back everyone who has died, but space will have to be made for new stories as well'
The actress and executive producer said the tone 'will be lighter than the last few seasons of the original'
Scripts are being written by Poker Face scribes Nora and Lilla Zuckerman
Little is known about the reboot, except that Ryan Kiera Armstrong, 15, will star as a new Vampire Slayer, alongside Gellar's Buffy.
'From the moment I saw Ryan's audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side,' the welcoming star wrote on social media in May.
'To have that kind of emotional intelligence, and talent, at such a young age is truly a gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room.'
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Protesters say Bezos' star-studded Venice wedding highlights growing inequality
This weekend's star-studded Venice wedding of multi-billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez has galvanized activist groups that are protesting it as a sign of the growing disparity between the haves and have-nots as well as disregard of the city's residents. About a dozen Venetian organizations — including housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners and university groups — have united to protest the multi-day event under the banner 'No Space for Bezos,' a play on words also referring to the bride's recent space flight. They have staged small-scale protests, unfurling anti-Bezos banners on iconic Venetian sites. They were joined this week by Greenpeace and the British group 'Everyone Hates Elon,' which has smashed Teslas to protest Elon Musk, to unfurl a giant banner in St. Mark's Square protesting purported tax breaks for billionaires. 'IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX,' read the banner, which featured a huge image of Bezos. Police quickly took it away. There has been no comment from Bezos' representatives on the protests. The local activists had planned a more organized protest for Saturday, aiming to obstruct access to canals with boats to prevent guests from reaching a wedding venue. Then they modified the protest to a march from the train station after claiming a victory, asserting that their pressure forced organizers to change the venue to the Arsenale, a more easily secured site beyond Venice's congested center. 'It will be a strong, decisive protest, but peaceful,'' said Federica Toninello, an activist with the Social Housing Assembly network. 'We want it to be like a party, with music, to make clear what we want our Venice to look like." Among the 200 guests confirmed to be attending the wedding are Mick Jagger, Ivanka Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio. Venice, renowned for its romantic canal vistas, hosts hundreds of weddings each year, not infrequently those of the rich and famous. Previous celebrity weddings, like that of George Clooney to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014, were embraced by the public. Hundreds turned out to wish the couple well at City Hall. Bezos has a different political and business profile, said Tommaso Cacciari, a prominent figure in the movement that successfully pushed for a ban on cruise ships over 25,000 tons traveling through the Giudecca Canal in central Venice. 'Bezos is not a Hollywood actor,'' Cacciari said. 'He is an ultra-billionaire who sat next to Donald Trump during the inauguration, who contributed to his re-election and is contributing in a direct and heavy way to this new global obscurantism.'' Critics also cite Amazon's labor practices, ongoing tax disputes with European governments and Bezos' political associations as additional reasons for concern. Activists also argue that the Bezos wedding exemplifies broader failures in municipal governance, particularly the prioritization of tourism over residents' needs. They cite measures such as the day-tripper tax — which critics argue reinforces Venice's image as a theme park — as ineffective. Chief among their concerns is the lack of investment in affordable housing and essential services. City officials have defended the wedding. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro called the event an honor for Venice, and the city denied the wedding would cause disruptions. "Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage,'' Brugnaro told The Associated Press, adding he hoped to meet Bezos while he was in town. Meanwhile, a Venetian environmental research association, Corila, issued a statement saying Bezos' Earth Fund was supporting its work with an 'important donation.' Corila, which unites university scholars and Italy's main national research council in researching Venetian protection strategies, wouldn't say how much Bezos was donating but said contact began in April, well before the protests started.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Superyachts and apocalypse insurance: the secret lives of the ultra-rich
If you enjoyed the mucho-money gaudiness and 'let them eat wedding cake' drama that was Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding in Venice, this is the book for you. It is a field guide to the super-rich. You already knew they were different from you and me — but you had no idea quite how different. Evan Osnos, a writer for The New Yorker, gained access to the world of the 0.00001 per cent and reports on their thinking and behaviour, their manners and delusions. Sure, it's not the toughest beat but a hoot to chronicle — and even more fun to read. The most extreme behaviour of the inhabitants of Richistan happens on superyachts, such as Bezos's $500 million Koru, because, as one owner tells Osnos, 'the boat is the last vestige of what real wealth can do'. What he means is: 'You have a chef and I have a chef. You have a driver and I have a driver. You can fly privately and I fly privately. So the one place where I can make clear to the world that I am in a different f***ing category than you is the boat.' Yachts symbolise waste and unbridled excess, which makes them the ultimate status symbol. 'Need' a bar stool upholstered in whale foreskin? No problem. Fresh hookers every day? One yacht owner paid a 'madam' more than half a million pounds a year. Separate on-board wardrobes for the wife and for the mistress — and a code word to reveal which will be visiting so the captain and crew know which dresses should be hung in the closets? All in a day's work at sea. Osnos exposes the private vocabulary the super-rich use. WROL stands for 'without rule of law'. This is mainly used when expressing fear that ordinary mortals will rise up against them, forcing them to flee to their luxury apartment complex in a converted missile silo in New Zealand. Half of the Silicon Valley elite has 'apocalypse insurance', Osnos reports. Capital — your fortune — is 'the corpus' and 'wealth defence managers' will exploit tax loopholes to ensure it does not suffer 'attrition'. Climate change is 'an externality', as is social and economic inequality, and 'you cannot think about the externalities. You have to think about the profit.' Oh, and if you are a Getty, your private jet is nicknamed 'the Jetty'. Osnos also reveals the subtle social codes of the super-rich and their — awks! — less wealthy friends. Those who do not have yachts but are invited on board 'are wise to remember your part of the bargain. If you work with movie stars, bring fresh gossip. If you're on Wall Street, bring an insight or two. Don't make the transaction obvious, but don't forget why you're there.' There is plenty of serious analysis amid the tales of the rich behaving badly. Osnos 'started reporting in earnest about wealth and class in 2016' when he sensed that to grasp the change that Donald Trump's election represented — 'to understand why a voter could revile 'the elite' and revere the billionaire scion of a New York real-estate fortune — we had to look beyond politics.' Osnos points out how the business and finance leaders, notably Elon Musk, have become almost as powerful and revered as presidents and often more popular. Many Americans now see no distinction or conflict between money and political power. To them — and to Trump more than anyone — they are two sides of the same coin. Who surrounded Trump at his inauguration? All the Silicon Valley tech bros. Musk, who did more than most to get him elected — he spent more than $200 million — was rewarded with a job in the White House. (Readers will note, however, that Musk's government gig did not end well and sent Tesla's sales and share price into a tailspin.) • The most expensive yachts that cost €3 million a week The writing is better than the usual field guide. Osnos describes the hedge fund-dominated enclave of Greenwich, Connecticut, as 'one of the wealthiest places in America, where the forces of capital and politics jockey amiably, like retirees in line at an omelette station'. It's often funny. He reports how the collapse of the Soviet Union minted a generation of new billionaires, whose approach to money inspired a popular joke. 'One oligarch brags to another, 'Look at this new tie. It cost me two hundred bucks!' To which the other replies, 'You moron. You could've bought the same one for a thousand!'' The only irritation is the number of stories and interviews that are anonymous — but that goes with the gilded territory. • Read more book reviews and interviews — and see what's top of the Sunday Times Bestsellers List Osnos begins the book by quoting his frugal grandmother: 'All you need are a few fine things.' But after a few weeks in Richistan even he admits it is amazing what you can get used to. When he arrives in Monaco he is put up in a members-only club for visiting yachties. Inside his aromatic, whisper-quiet cabin, designed by Norman Foster to offer sweeping views over the Mediterranean to evoke the indulgence of the Queen Mary, 'I quickly came to understand I would never be fully satisfied anywhere else again,' he notes. The next morning he stares down at a man on a 'mid-tier' yacht in the marina, and feels a new sensation — 'the unmistakable pang of superiority'. The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich by Evan Osnos (Simon & Schuster £22 pp304). To order a copy go to Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Inside the luxurious Venetian hotel booked out for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding - and the VIP guests that will be treated to its £10,000-a-night suites
A short walk from Venice's main piazza, on the murky edge of the Grand Canal, stands one of the city's most luxurious hotels: the Aman Venice. With its Baroque frescos from celebrated painter Giambattista Tiepolo, restaurant offering delicious bowls of lobster-stuffed casoncelli, and a private jetty entrance to shield guests from prying eyes, it's little wonder that the 16th-century palazzo has become something of a haven for the city's super-rich. So what better accommodation for many of the wedding guests of the world's fourth-wealthiest man, Jeff Bezos, and his bride-to-be, former TV journalist Lauren Sanchez? Eleven years after Hollywood star George Clooney married human rights lawyer Amal at the five-star hotel, the stars are aligning once again at the Aman for the wedding of the year. Around 200 A-list guests are expected to arrive in Italy for Bezos's nuptials this week – including members of the Kardashian family, TV mogul Oprah Winfrey, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and 'First Daughter' Ivanka Trump. And a lucky 48 of them will be staying in the 24 rooms at the Aman, which former Amazon CEO Bezos has booked out for three nights from Wednesday, and where suites cost as much as £10,000 a night. 'It's the only place in the city luxurious enough for some of the guests this week. Anything they want, they'll be able to get,' a source tells me. 'With most weddings, the Aman can only be hired out for one or two nights. But the more money you have, the more nights and access you can get.' Indeed, while the wedding itself will take place on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, it is understood that Bezos and Sanchez will also host various reception parties and events for their guests at the Aman. This is set to include an evening 'concert' by Grammy Award-winning singer Lady Gaga, who will perform for guests on the hotel's grand piano said to have been played by 19th-century composer Frederic Chopin. Guests can also enjoy in-house pastry chefs, wine connoisseurs and join their own private chefs on 'market strolls' to pick their produce. Should they choose to join the 'masses' at one of the hotel's three dining rooms, they can enjoy bowls of pasta from £34, cocktails from £24, and even a bottle of Bezos's favourite wine, Dugat-Py Grand Cru, which he famously once bought for £3,000 in Cannes. It also boasts a library with views across the canal, a roof terrace and one of the only private gardens in the city. And, for any guests looking to unwind, there is a spa offering 'thermal anti-ageing' treatments as well as the hotel's own skincare range. Not that relaxation is what guests at the Aman often come looking for. 'Live opera string quartets have played at weddings at the Aman,' a source tells me. 'When hired completely out, 200 guests can fit across the venue for events and gatherings. One of the rooms has been transformed into a nightclub before.' Based in the 450-year-old Palazzo Papadopoli, the hotel building has been the home of the aristocratic Papadopoli family for 200 years. Though the family has offered part of the building to the Aman hotel group, they still live on the top floor of the palazzo in the penthouse suite. While they are usually there for most of the year, this week they have vacated their home to go on a family holiday. It means the penthouse residence will be available to the newlyweds – or whichever guest they might choose. Since it opened in 2013, the hotel has been dubbed the best in Italy. So it was little surprise that George and Amal Clooney, who met in Italy that year and have a house in Lake Como, decided to say 'I do' there. Around 100 of the couple's nearest and dearest arrived for the wedding weekend in September 2014 and the three-day celebration was jam-packed with cocktails, dinner and dancing. Guests including Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour, Oscar-winner Matt Damon, and supermodel Cindy Crawford arrived at the Aman for the ceremony, which was officiated by the former mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni. This was followed by a five-course meal and the cutting of the four-tiered art deco cake. The party lasted well into the next morning with more than 250 bottles of Champagne and 100 cases of Clooney's own Casamigos brand tequila to fuel the revelry. Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, may at least be fuelled by a more local business: the Rosa Salva dessert shop in the heart of Venice. Delicacies including lemon-flavoured bussola biscuits and cornmeal Zaletti cookies will be given out in gift bags from the city's oldest bakery, which was established in 1879. Quite what else the couple have planned has remained a little more of a mystery – even if the drama surrounding their nuptials has not. Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian and former Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria all attended Sanchez's 'bachelorette' trip to Paris in May and are set to attend the nuptials. However it is not confirmed whether singer Katy Perry – one of Sanchez's close friends who joined her on her 'Blue Origin' trip into space in April – and her husband Orlando Bloom will be there amid rumoured tensions between the couple. The wedding, which is thought to cost up to £10million, has upset locals and there have been several demonstrations with protesters holding signs that read 'No Space for Bezos'. Whether such protests will ever register with guests within the lavish walls of the Aman is anyone's guess.
