Latest news with #nepo
Cosmopolitan
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Sara Waisglass on Max's season of change in Ginny and Georgia S3
There's a scene towards the end of Ginny and Georgia season three, where we are invited into Maxine's internal monologue. It's a rapid firing of a million thoughts and questions at once - her battery is low, the chicken needs to go in the oven, do her friends hate her? Is her brother an alcoholic? Wait, she has homework to do? It's a relatable moment, and one that Sara Waisglass is finding herself experiencing more and more after four years of playing Maxine [Max for short] Baker. 'If I'm with my mum shopping, we'll be like, 'Oh, that shirt is so Max. Or, like, these trousers are so Max. Or, I'll do a mannerism, and my mum will say, 'that is completely Max', which is fun. She pops out at many different moments,' Sara laughs. 'If I'm going into a room with people I don't know, or even doing this interview, I'm going to be honest, some part of me channels her. Her confidence comes out. I think that's the thing I love most about her, her energy. It's a very infectious and loving thing.' After spending just half an hour with Sara, chatting over Zoom, it's clear to see Max's warm infectious energy is most definitely a Sara thing, too. It's early in the morning when I call the 26-year-old in her native Toronto. She's a few minutes late and apologises profusely before gushing about how content she's feeling. "I'm great. I'm super. I'm actually so happy these days," she says when I ask her how her day is going. She's got a lot to be happy about right now, that's for sure. Her long distance boyfriend just arrived into the city and the couple plan to spend a few days together. 'We're going to go and look for outfits for him', before travelling to Los Angeles for a full run of Ginny & Georgia press. Oh, that's the other reason to be excited, btw. Netflix's hit drama series Ginny & Georgia returned yesterday for its third season after two years away. Telling the story of a mother and her teenage daughter, the series which debuted in 2021, has had 967.2 million hours viewed across both seasons, and is sure to only explode with the release of its third season. The new series sees Georgia (Brianne Howey) arrested and facing trial for the murder of her neighbour's husband. Meanwhile her daughter Ginny (Antonia Gentry) must deal with the fallout of her mum's crimes and a new romance, all while trying to balance her friendship group. Sara plays Ginny's best friend Max - a loud, outgoing, big-hearted girl with a passion for drama, both on and off the stage. Sara's career began long before Max though. At just six years old she was booking commercials, following a Dove advert she appeared in, thanks to her mum. 'I consider myself half a nepo baby, because my mum was a producer, and she still is for commercials. They're very different industries, but still, she was doing a Dove campaign and she needed real people and my mum was like, 'Well, you're shooting at my house you might as well use my daughter'. At the end of the day, the director came up to my mum and was like, 'Your daughter's pretty directable, you might want to consider getting her an agent.'' Months later, Sara had booked the Disney Channel series Overruled! which she appeared in for three years. Does she feel like a typical Disney kid, I ask? 'I wouldn't say it was one of the hit [shows], but it was really fun, and it shot in Toronto, which was amazing, because I still got to stay here with my family. They just treated me so well, and I got to do such wacky stuff and really get comfortable on a set, which has served me so well over the years.' She ended up taking a break after Overruled!, happy to have skipped having her awkward teenage years caught on camera. 'I got the awkward phase out of the way. I had braces, I had the bad haircuts, so it was a good time to quit.' Skip to a few years and she was helping a friend run lines, and the acting bug caught her again. She began auditioning and landed the role of Frankie Hollingsworth in Degrassi: The Next Generation which she appeared in for four years. The timing worked out well again, as just as she wrapped on Degrassi, she began her four years at university, studying screenwriting at York University in Toronto. In her final year of university, she booked the role of Max. Since Max first burst onto our screens in 2021, she's been both loved and hated by the show's legions of fans. During the early episodes of season one, she is the enigmatic, energetic and supportive friend of Ginny, but as the show progresses the pair's relationship becomes fractured, and in season two they have a full on falling out. That, along with Max's occasionally selfish attitude caused the fans to turn on Max, with many Tweets and TikTok criticising the character. While Sara says she personally didn't experience much backlash, she admits it hurt for her to see the character of Max treated in that way. 'Most people were able to separate it, which is cool, but I care about her so much, and I love her so much, and so seeing her get beaten up by people who don't know her was tough,' she explains. 'But, you know, I also say that that just means I'm doing my job well. And she was supposed to be a little bit of a naughty little demon in season two. She was supposed to be acting out and being dramatic, that was the whole point. And so people calling her 'annoying and overreactive'. It's like, yeah, she is annoying and overreactive, because 15 year old girls can be annoying and overreactive.' Having watched the majority of season three by the time I chat to Sara, I can't help but admire Max's shift in the new season. There's both a newfound vulnerability and a strength she didn't have in the previous two seasons. 'I think what's cool about this season is that she has less of her own issues, but she's really attentive to what Ginny is going through, what her brother [Marcus] is going through, and she just wants to be there for them. She just wants to be that light for them, which I think is really special and a beautiful side of Max that we haven't really explored before,' she agrees. But we also see Max struggle with her friendship group. While Abby and Ginny grow closer, and at points Norah is also brought into the fold, Max is often unintentionally left out of the group. In one scene, Ginny and Abby happen to both be at the same dress shop and send pictures to the group chat trying on dresses together. The pain in Max's face receiving the photo is heartbreaking and instantly relatable. Watching in my late 20s, I was instantly transported back to that teenage girl sting of pain. 'There's more of that in the next five episodes, and I think that is actually one of the things I'm most proud about for season three, just because I think that is so extremely relatable for high school girls,' she reflects. 'I remember having those moments and seeing everyone hang out [without you]. Or they would all be talking about a movie they went to see and I'd have to be like, 'Okay, well, was it good?' You try so hard to be cool about it, but it hurts and it's a harsh thing that everyone goes through.' It's a season of change for many of the characters, including Max's friend Abby (Katie Douglas), who begins exploring her sexuality, though not to the disappointment of fans everywhere with Max, but instead with skater girl Tris [Noah Lamanna]. 'The fans have always put Abby and Max together. And I've always been down for that. I always think that's so cool, but we always thought Abby was completely straight, and so it never seemed like a possibility,' she says. 'But now that we're kind of seeing Abby explore maybe a queer identity, it's kind of on the table again, which is cool.' But before you start planning the edits, Sara clarifies this is not a confirmed storyline for season four just yet. As for what else we could see for Max in the already confirmed season four? 'After this season, she ends in a weird place with her friends. And so I hope they can mend that. And I also hope that she can repair her relationship with Marcus,' she says. Though her diary is 24/7 Ginny & Georgia right now, Sara can't play a teenager forever. So what does she plan on next? 'A huge source of inspiration for me is Phoebe Waller Bridge,' she says excitedly. 'Her career and the content that she's brought to the table has been extraordinary. Writing, starring and directing in my own piece of work would be the ultimate goal.' She also cites Benito Skinner's Overcompensating as a recent inspiration. 'I always love people who write their own stuff and star in it, just because they understand the story in a way no one else does,' Sara explains. 'I've worked on a couple films that were written and directed by the same people and when it's the same person, it's just very clear, and I love that, so directing might be something I would want to explore someday. I love what I do. I'm never leaving this industry, it really is the best job in the world, and I'm so lucky.' And we're oh so lucky to have her.
Telegraph
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Meet the new generation of nepo baby models
Oh to be a nepo baby, blessed with a foot in the door as well as a silver spoon in the mouth. If you're wondering why so many currently seem to be proliferating in the modelling world, it's likely because – like black – they're seen as a safe bet. In challenging economic times, safe bets are prized by brands for obvious reasons. 'Nepo models have inherent influence, thanks to the established fan bases their family legacy brings,' says Sarah Crawley, founder of marketing agency The Good Influence. 'Audiences are curious – and therefore engaged – as to how they'll carve a career and find their niche, and whether they can outgrow their 'nepo' gift. It's definitely a blessing for them when played well, but can lead to unwelcome column inches and social click bait when it doesn't play out as hoped. In a world where we're craving nostalgia, they also offer cross generational appeal. They can speak to both a boomer audience who may have grown up with their parents and a Gen Z audience at the same time.' Nepo babies have always existed, even if the term only became popular at the tail end of 2022, courtesy of New York magazine's impactful cover story offering 'a definitive guide to the Hollywood nepo-verse'. Suddenly, these bright young things were everywhere. They themselves were divided on the term. Some (Lily-Rose Depp) rejected the label as sexist and dismissive of their talents. Others (Hailey Bieber) wore a Nepo Baby T-shirt. While it's questionable whether acting ability can be passed through the generations, the trajectory of good genes is more linear. If your mother is Cindy Crawford and your father is Rande Gerber, the odds are low that you'll be born looking like a troll. Even if she hadn't had a leg up, Kaia Gerber would likely have been scouted umpteen times in her local mall. Her most recent coup: starring alongside her mother, 59, in a Zara campaign, where they present their 'perfect edit'. Now 23, Gerber, like Lila Moss, is one of the most prominent models born into fame working today. But there are others. Many, many others. Some are just starting out. Some may yet change course and end up as phlebotomists. Whatever their career trajectory, you can bet they won't be schlepping round their local cities on go-sees. Here's a guide to the new nepo models on the block. Sunday Rose Kidman Urban While her face may not yet be familiar, her surnames surely are. The progeny of actress Nicole Kidman and country music star Keith Urban has hard launched herself into the modelling world by opening the Miu Miu show, thus bagging the most prestigious slot in one of the most prestigious shows of the season. Sunday Rose, 16, made her debut in Paris last October, and walked again for Miu Miu in March - despite her 'overprotective' dad allegedly wanting her to hold off from entering the fashion industry until she's older. Kai Schreiber The Valentino show always draws a starry front row, but Naomi Watts ' presence was more significant than most. The Australian actress (and good friend of Nicole Kidman) was there not solely to marvel at the clothes, but also at her 16 year old daughter, Kai, who was making her modelling debut. She did well, even achieving the impossible: making a lace skull cap look good. Kai's father, the actor Liev Schrieber, parted ways with Watts in 2016 after 11 years, but the two remain committed parents who have staunchly supported Kai, who is transgender, through her transition. Scarlett White It's not too tricky to figure out the identity of her father: she's his spitting image. White Stripes' frontman Jack White is the proud dad of 18-year-old Scarlett, whose start in modelling was made all the easier by the fact that her mother is the supermodel Karen Elson. Born in Oldham, Elson currently resides in Nashville, where Scarlett was raised. She made her debut modelling for Zara, and is also splashed across the current issue of Vogue, shot alongside her mum by the renowned photographer, Annie Leibowitz. In the accompanying interview, she chats fondly about growing up with VIP access to Elson's 'treasure trove' of vintage clothes. The Gallagher brothers Named after his father's favourite Beatle, 25 year-old Lennon – son of Oasis's Liam Gallagher – has appeared on the catwalk at Saint Laurent, Hermes, Bottega Veneta and Burberry, as well as featuring in advertising campaigns for Burberry, Hugo Boss and H&M. If he's inherited his strong brows from his dad, his piercing blue eyes come courtesy of his mum, the actress Patry Kensit. While he hasn't set foot on a catwalk yet, Lennon's younger half brother, Gene, 23 (whose mother is former All Saints member Nicole Appleton) is another model waiting in the wings. The Sims siblings When your father is one of the world's top fashion photographers, it would be rude not to step in front of the lens yourself. Twenty-year-old Stevie's and 18 year-old Ned's parents are true fashion royalty: mum is fashion journalist-turned-designer-turned-fine artist Luella Bartley (to whom Ned bears a striking resemblance) and dad is David Sims, the Sheffield-born photographer who shot to fame in the nineties, and has lensed campaigns for everyone from Calvin Klein (in 1993, shooting a young Kate Moss) to Loewe and Saint Laurent (current season). Flame-haired Stevie has modelled for Burberry, Zara and H&M, while Scandi blonde Ned has walked for Isabel Marant, Loewe and Aries. Iris Law Her parents are actor Jude Law and actress Sadie Frost, who divorced in 2003 after six years of marriage, and were key members of London's 'Primrose Hill set'. Law, 24, was raised there, alongside her three brothers, but now lives in East London – at least, she does when she's not jetting round the world on modelling assignments. The current face of Versace's Dylan Purple perfume, she's a favourite of Donatella's, as well as of Miuccia Prada, Burberry, Nike, David Yurman and Victoria's Secret. Lux Gillespie The scion of Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie and super-stylist Katy England (who's worked alongside Alexander McQueen) has just started his modelling career, and has so far clocked up catwalk miles for Burberry. Elfie Reigate The daughter of model-turned-nutritionist Rose Ferguson (a former muse of iconic nineties photographer Corinne Day) and artist Barry Reigate, Elfie, 22, shares the same insouciant sense of style as her mum. Although she doesn't share her hair: Elfie's cascading blonde curls are fairly anomalous in the one-look-fits-all modelling game, and have garnered her a slew of work with mid-market favourites including Whistles, Liberty and Me + Em, in whose spring campaign she currently features. Her half sister, Bliss Chapman (whose father is the artist Jake Chapman) is set to follow in her footsteps, too.
Associated Press
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Movie Review: ‘Novocaine,' with Jack Quaid, is a shot of bloody action-comedy
Nathan Caine may not be able to feel pain, as the tagline for the new action-comedy 'Novocaine' reads, but the same does not apply to audiences. Although he doesn't scream when his leg is impaled with an arrow or when he sticks his hand in a vat of frying oil, you might. I certainly did. Out loud. In a theater. With other people. There may have been some phrases uttered entirely involuntarily too. Were other people reacting in the same way, I wonder? I couldn't hear them over my own groans. Hooray for the communal experience, I guess? This is, in some ways, a film for people who thought John Wick wasn't stabby enough. It delights in the relentless mutilation of its hero, a regular guy (played by Jack Quaid) with a rare condition that has rendered him immune from feeling any sort of discomfort to bodily harm. Unlike such high concept premises as 'Crank,' congenital insensitivity to pain analgesia (or CIPA) is actually real. But it's not exactly a superpower, Nate explains. He can still die; it just might be because he hasn't emptied his bladder in many hours. Or because he's accidentally bitten his tongue off eating a sandwich. These are real concerns of his. His entire existence is devoted to preventing these kinds of crises, mostly through tried-and-true baby proofing techniques like using tennis balls on sharp corners. Like Kelly Ripa before a show, he only consumes 'non-chewing food.' Work is stable and dull as an assistant manager at a bank. And dating is out of the question; He spends most of his free time playing online video games. Quaid, even with his two movie star parents, is somehow believable as this cautious introvert, though everything is played with a light touch and a wink. The movie, written by Lars Jacobson and directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, even begins with the mournful R.E.M. anthem 'Everybody Hurts.' Then Nate's life is changed one day when a pretty teller at the bank, Sherry (Amber Midthunder), asks him out to lunch, then to drinks and even spends the night. The next morning, things get even crazier: Sherry is taken hostage after a violent robbery at the bank. These guys are capital B bad (led by fellow nepo spawn Ray Nicholson) killing both the bank manager the cops outside. So what does Nate do? He steals a cop car and attempts to save her himself. 'Don't do it,' pleads an injured cop as Nate hesitates before apprehending the car. It's hard to argue with the cop: Why not just let the professionals handle it, understaffed though they may be over the Christmas holiday? It would be a rather short and pointless movie if he did just leave it to the cops, but the impetus for this quest is a stretch to say the least. The conceit is missing some extra justification of why he felt like he was the only one who could do it, especially once he actually talks to said cops (Betty Gabriel and Matt Walsh). Like many things in 'Novocaine,' it simply exists to open more avenues for his torture. This involves a fight in a restaurant kitchen, a visit to a tattoo parlor to get more information on one of the robbers, and a stop by a booby-trapped house. The script is self-aware enough to throw in a 'Home Alone' reference, though not before you've made one in your head. On the heels of some bad action comedies like 'Love Hurts,' 'Novocaine' is pretty enjoyable. It might have been born in the same elevator pitch incubator (what if non-stop violence!), but it's executed with some style and understanding of comedic timing. In one clever sequence, Nate persuades his psychotic captor to torture him as slowly as possible, buying time until his friend gets there as he pretends to feel the pain. 'Novocaine' also kind of overstays its welcome, stretching on too long with too many endings. Still, it's an easy, if not entirely painless, watch. 'Novocaine,' a Paramount Pictures release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for 'strong, bloody violence, language throughout, grisly images). Running time: 110 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
