Billie Eilish has had a huge year — and she only released one proper single.
The singer dropped “What Was I Made For?” from the Barbie soundtrack, which was met with widespread acclaim from fans and critics alike. As she continues to promote the tune and prepares for what may be a very exciting award season, the superstar is also hard at work on her next chapter.
In an interview with Mr. Porter, Eilish’s brother Finneas shared some good news for fans of the Grammy and Oscar winner. When asked how his sister’s new collection is coming, he said it is “85 percent done.”
Finneas has worked with his younger sister ever since she began making music. The two are not only great collaborators, they’re best friends, and are often seen with one another. Finneas has won nearly all the same Grammys that Eilish has, as he produces all her work and co-writes much of what she sings.
A few days before Finneas’ interview was shared, Eilish herself was asked about upcoming music on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Fallon posed the question that so many want to know the answer to: when will she release something they haven’t heard before? Eilish admitted that it might not be long.
“We are almost done with this new album,” Eilish said, eliciting thunderous applause from the studio audience. Acting bashful, the singer added, “So, at some point, you will know more, but I’m not gonna say anything right now.”
She knew that by uttering that music was imminent, she’d likely be asked many times in the coming months about it, so she made it clear she wasn’t going to share more.
Eilish is busy at the moment working toward her second Academy Award nomination. She and Finneas just made the Best Original Song nomination shortlist for their Barbie composition. “What Was I Made For?” is one of three tunes from the blockbuster that might end up nominated. Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night” and the hilarious “I’m Just Ken,” performed by Ryan Gosling, are also in the running.
If she does earn a Best Original Song nomination, it will mark her second trip to the Academy Awards as a nominee. She and her brother won the trophy for their 2021 James Bond theme song, “No Time To Die.” At the time, she was one of the youngest Oscar winners in history. She may soon become a two-time winner, rare in the musical field.
As she appears on red carpets and conducts interviews, something else very exciting is happening in Eilish’s life. The singer recently came out in a cover story interview with Variety. While she didn’t state exactly how she identifies when it comes to her sexuality, she did make it clear that she is attracted to women.
After decades of remaining silent, Al Pacino has finally admitted that the 1980 film Cruising, in which he starred, was "exploitative" of the gay community.
The 84-year-old actor makes the revelation in his memoir, Sonny Boy, noting that he was so uncomfortable with how director William Friedkin's film portrayed gay people that he never used the money he earned from the film for his personal gain.
"I never accepted the paycheck for Cruising," Pacino writes. "I took the money and it was a lot, and I put it in an irrevocable trust fund, meaning once I gave it, there was no taking it back. I don't know if it eased my conscience, but at least the money did some good."
Denzel Washington revealed that a scene in which he kisses another male actor was cut from the final version of the movie Ridley Scott's upcoming Gladiator II.
The Oscar-winning actor plays Macrinus, an ambitious, wealthy Roman businessman who is presumed to be bisexual in the film.
"I kissed the man in the film but they took it . I think they got chicken," he told Gayety. "I kissed a guy full on the lips, and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet."
The gesture, at least in the context of the movie's plot, was not a romantic one, but more of a sealing of one's fate.
Arguably the most pivotal character in Alfonso Cuarón’s Disclaimer doesn’t appear onscreen until episode two: Lesley Manville’s tremendous Nancy Brigstocke, who’s already dead.
By the time Mrs. Brigstocke quietly, though not timidly, enters the picture, chapter one has deftly positioned the series’ two Oscar-toting main combatants. Cate Blanchett enthralls as TV journalist and documentarian Catherine Ravenscroft, described by no less than Christiane Amanpour as “a beacon of truth,” while the newswoman bestows what is presumably not Catherine’s first prestigious prize for excellence in journalism.
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