Melanie Lynskey Pitches ‘The Last Of Us’ Origin Season to Show How Kathleen ‘Got Into This Crazy Position’
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”
Melanie Lynskey wants to return to “The Last of Us.” Only problem is — as fans of the HBO series know — her ruthless resistance group leader character Kathleen was killed off at the end of the first sea- son. “If they wanted to go back and do an origin story, I would be there for it,” Lynskey tells me. “The story of how this woman got into this crazy position would be really interesting.”
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Lynskey admits she knew nothing about the Last of Us video game before she was approached about the project. “I’ve never played a video game,” she says. “My thumbs don’t work that way. I didn’t even play Atari. I was reading books. I was reading D.H. Lawrence when I was a child.” She jokes it was her husband Jason Ritter who convinced her to take the part: “He said, ‘You have to do it, no questions asked.’ I was like, ‘But I’m tired.’ He was like, ‘I don’t care.’”
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With so many Marvel properties getting series adaptations on Disney+, when will “Black Panther”-inspired shows get green lights? “We’ve certainly talked about characters and ideas that could be Disney+ series,” “Black Panther” producer Nate Moore tells me. “But it really is about the right story and making sure we’re not taking away from the cinematic experience of the franchise. … I think our first love and Kevin Feige’s first love is the cinematic experience. The movie will always take precedence, but we have had ideas of what could be a Disney series.”
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Brooke Shields came pretty close to starring in Stephen Frears’ 1988 period drama “Dangerous Liaisons” alongside John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer and Keanu Reeves. “They told me it came down to me and someone else,” Shields tells me. “They said the other person was this girl not many people knew about. It was Uma Thurman. At that time and that age, it felt so personal, but I’ve learned over time not to take it personally because ‘No’ outweighs ‘Yes’ extensively in this business.”
“Pretty Baby,” a two-part docuseries about Shields’ life, premiered on Hulu on April 3. Could a scripted biopic be next? “I’m not sure it’s necessary. That feels a little too self-indulgent,” Shields says. “I feel like the documentary is closing a chapter. I think it’s the healthiest and the most honorable way to tell the story.”
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Check out the best celeb party photos of April 2023 here!
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Dove Cameron is speaking out about the recent push for anti-LGBTQ laws in state legislatures. “So much of it is so violent and so hateful and so irrational,” the “Boyfriend” singer and “Schmigadoon!” star, who identifies as queer, says on this week’s “Just for Variety” podcast. “I would love to say I feel incredibly hopeful, and everything’s gonna be fine, but I think that it’s a very, very scary time right now.” However, Cameron insists, the hate is “not more powerful” than the LGBTQ community. “It’s just louder sometimes.”
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Eugenio Derbez is revealing more about the virtual reality game accident that left his shoulder shattered in 17 pieces in August. The “CODA” actor tells me his son Vadhir convinced him to try out their new gaming system. “He was the one who was like, ‘Let’s play VR,’” Eugenio says. “I was like, ‘No, let’s just watch TV.’” Leave it to the Derbezes to have a good laugh about it today. Vadhir cracks, “Even when he was on the floor and was like, ‘Let’s go to the hospital,’ I was like, ‘No, chill. I know you’re hurting, but it’s going to be OK.’”
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