How Jessica Chastain’s ‘George and Tammy’ Costumes Took Her on a Journey Across the Eras of Country Music

Michael Shannon was “tremendously flattered” when he received his first Emmy nomination this morning for George & Tammy. “I love all the jobs I work on, and I put a lot into the work I’ve done on television over the years,” he says. “But I feel like this one was a huge challenge, and the possibility of it not working out was very real. Jessica [Chastain]’s devotion and this unspoken bond we share got us through it somehow.” Shannon is nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Congrats to the rookies!

Rev. Dr. A. Stephen Pieters, the AIDS activist and longtime HIV survivor known informally and widely as Steve Pieters following his groundbreaking 1985 interview by televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, died July 8 in Los Angeles after a two-week hospitalization with an infection. He was 70.

Sir Elton John will hold what he has described as his “final farewell show” in Sweden this weekend as his tour comes to an end. Billed as his retirement from touring, the megastar played his last UK date at Glastonbury festival last month and will bring the tour to an end on Saturday at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for Lionsgate’s “Joy Ride,” now playing in theaters. Lionsgate’s latest release, “Joy Ride,” is messy, fun, flirtatious and bold. It’s exactly the type of film writers Teresa Hsiao (“Family Guy”), Cherry Chevapravatdumrong (“Family Guy”) and Adele Lim (“Crazy Rich Asians”) wanted to see when they were kids growing up. The comedy revolves around Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola, and Sabrina Wu, who follow Ashley Park’s Audrey across the world on a business trip to Asia, where she has to track down her birth mother to close a huge business deal. From a drug-induced train ride to orgies to impersonating a K-Pop group, Brownie Tuesday, to a genital tattoo reveal, the film pushes the limits in the R-rated comedy space with Lionsgate and Point Gray’s blessing.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor It took over 555 musicians with sessions around Europe — including in Rome, Vienna, Venice, Switzerland and London — to put together the score for “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” composer Lorne Balfe tells Variety. The composer started writing the music almost three years ago, and “at last count, there was over 14 hours of music recorded,” Balfe says. However, only two-and-a-half hours or so made it into the final cut of the film. The storyline sees Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt take on a new villain, The Entity, a sentient Artificial Intelligence. Ethan’s mission is to defeat The Entity with a metal key. And while the film features an array of mind-blowing stunts, including Ethan driving a motorcycle off a cliff or a climatic fight atop a moving steam engine train, there was also plenty of emotion for Balfe to root his score in.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic A lot of people who go back in country music, be it the fans or even some who work in the industry in Nashville, refuse to call the CMA Music Festival anything other than “Fan Fair,” the name the annual event had in the far more humble ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. That’s the era when it took place out amid the pungent aromas of Nashville’s fairgrounds, not in and around a downtown stadium. Rather than resist that nostalgia for a quainter era, the CMA indulged it this year by selling vintage-looking T-shirts at merch booths — which, by the way, Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern says sold quite well. The festival is definitely embracing its past by including that former moniker in the title of a new documentary, “CMA Fest: 50 Years of Fan Fair,” premiering on Hulu today.

Penelope Cruz to Jessica Chastain and Kate Moss — is having a rare sale. Now through Monday, July 17, you can get up to 40% off Charlotte Tilbury's beloved makeup and skincare products. From light-as-air foundation and magical eyeshadow palettes to famous face moisturizers, Charlotte Tilbury's Big Summer Sale is not one to miss.

The Hot 100 chart is seeing a country music comeback.For the first time in 42 years, country music stars simultaneously hold the top two spots on the coveted music list. Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” remains atop the chart, with Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” coming in a close second. The last time country musicians were on top of the all-genre chart was in 1981.

Penelope Cruz to Jessica Chastain and Kate Moss — is having a rare sale. From now until Tuesday, July 18, you can get up to 40% off Charlotte Tilbury makeup and skincare, from light-as-air foundation and magical eyeshadow palettes to iconic moisturizers. Charlotte Tilbury's Big Summer Sale is a shopping event you don't want to miss. Shop Charlotte Tilbury SaleWith deals on fan-favorite products like the Hollywood Flawless Filter, Pillow Talk collection, luxury skincare sets and more, you can save on everything from celebrity makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury's eponymous beauty line. Charlotte Tilbury is known for selling out of products in the blink of an eye, so make sure to take advantage of these savings while you can.Below, we've rounded up our favorite Charlotte Tilbury deals to shop during the Big Summer Sale.Save a magical 15% on this exclusive Pillow Talk lip kit to create a nude-pink, sumptuous, silky lip look. You can now buy Charlotte’s iconic, award-winning Magic Cream and revitalising Magic Eye Rescue to flood your skin with moisture and reduce the appearance of dark circles. Liquid concealer combines with complexion booster to conceal the appearance of imperfections and brighten your eye area. This makeup kit includes a medium coverage, hydrating foundation formulated with skincare ingredients to combine instant glow and buildable coverage.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Start your engines and mark your calendars for July 28. “RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under” is back for a third season with 10 fierce and fabulous queens. RuPaul will be hosting the series with returning judges Michelle Visage and Rhys Nicholson. “Australasian drag is filled with heart and humor, and I’m thrilled to share my Season 3 queens to the world, for all to see their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent,” RuPaul says. The 10 queens hail from across New Zealand and Australia. This season promises to be filled with thrills and maxi-challenges galore as the queens go head-to-head to snatch the crown.

Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Dolly Parton and Adele were among a group of artists who protested outside Meta’s London offices yesterday. Not the actual artists, obviously, but a group of tribute acts.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor RuPaul’s go-to costume designer Zaldy Goco, who goes by Zaldy, has worked with the “Drag Race” superstar for over a decade and is no stranger to designing Ru’s show-stopping outfits. For RuPaul’s Season 15 finale look, Zaldy — whose trust with RuPaul runs so deep, they don’t even discuss finale looks prior to fittings — tells Variety he wanted it to feel “goddess-like and for Ru to float in.” Zaldy knew he wanted a unique color, so the three-time Emmy winner settled on a citrine and chartreuse combination that screamed springtime. For some extra sparkle, he added metallic fringe to the dress from Swiss fabric manufacturer Jakob Schlaepfer.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The 28th edition of the Shanghai TV Festival wrapped up on Friday with its Magnolia Awards presented to a range of TV drama series, documentaries and animation programs. The drama awards were dominated by two shows “A Lifelong Journey” and “Bright Future.” “A Lifelong Journey,” adapted from a novel of the same name by Liang Xiaosheng, tells the story of three generations of one family in China’s Northeast as time moves from the late Cultural Revolution period through to the country’s reform and opening up. With a starry cast and broadcasters including CCTV-1 and Jiangsu Satellite TV, the show is reported to have attracted 310 million viewers at the beginning of 2022. In mainland China, it ran for 58 episodes, while in Hong Kong it played in 35 parts.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor National Geographic’s “A Small Light” takes the well known story of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who hid in a cramped Amsterdam attic with her family during the Nazi occupation, and presents it though a new lens. The narrative focuses on a tenacious young woman, Miep Gies (Bel Powley), Otto Frank’s secretary, who risked everything to save the Frank family and many others. While the story centers around the horrors of World War II, the story finds resilience and hope through it all. Here the artisans behind the limited series break down how their respective crafts reflect hope, resilience and the atrocities of war.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Composer Sherri Chung admits she was late to the “Gremlins” party — only because she was too young and found it too scary. But when she grew older and was reintroduced to the movie, she thought “it was the greatest thing ever.” The 1984 film, as well as Jerry Goldsmith’s score, became a key inspiration for her. So when she got the opportunity to score Max’s new animated series “Gremlins: Secret of the Mogwai,” directed by Tze Chun, she decided to “lean into the scary and the fear, but also the emotion” with her music. The series is an origin story that gives a partial explanation as to how Gizmo ends up in a Chinatown antique store at the beginning of 1984’s “Gremlins.” To add a Chinese element to the score, Chung used bamboo flutes, but the meat of the score came from the erhu, a two-stringed bowed musical instrument sometimes referred to as the “Chinese violin.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Jessica Chastain was a “mess” when she won the best actress Oscar for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” in 2022. Not from the barrage of congratulatory messages from friends and family, but her hair (Stephanie Ingram) and makeup (Linda Dowds) collaborators had also won the best makeup and hairstyling Oscar. Says Chastain, “It was so meaningful to me that they were recognized for their work.” Chastain, Dowds and Ingram first crossed paths in 2013 on “Mama,” and most recently on Showtime’s “George and Tammy,” the story of country singers George Jones (played by Michael Shannon) and Tammy Wynette (Chastain). Since then, the trio has become a tight unit with honesty and trust at the core of their collaboration, whether conceiving real-life transformations or subtle applications as part of their process.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “Fatal Attraction” production designer Nina Ruscio’s visual challenge was taking on an iconic movie, paying homage to it and finding a way to put her creative stamp on it by taking it into 2023. In the eight-part Paramount+ series, Joshua Jackson stars as Dan Gallagher with Lizzie Caplan as Alex Forrest, roles originated by Michael Douglas and Glenn Close in the original film. And while it’s not a remake, the creative team stressed, it’s an expanded adaptation that provides more insight into Alex’s behavior after an affair with a married man drives her to obsession. The series covers Alex’s struggles with her mental health, but it’s also an erotic thriller.

There have been rumors for years that Jessica Chastain has a secret role in the movie The Flash and she just arrived for the film’s premiere. So, are the rumors true?!

Warner Bros. held the premiere for the long-awaited DC spinoff The Flash today in Hollywood with its star Ezra Miller, who has been the subject of several tabloid headlines from alleged assaults in Hawaii to unlawful trespassing at a neighbor’s house in Vermont, making their red carpet debut since such incidents.