Okay, so I totally got confused about these two competing projects about the decline and ousting of Roger Ailes from Fox News. We’ve already talked about the Showtime limited series, The Loudest Voice, which had Russell Crowe playing Ailes. Crowe seemed to think that Ailes was a sympathetic character, rather than a serial predator who created a toxic work environment. So, The Loudest Voice was actually a bad idea. What if we could tell the Roger Ailes story through his victims and the handful of women who took him down? Enter Bombshell.
Say what you will about Megyn Kelly – she’s a white supremacist moron and a sh-tty journalist – but she deserves a lot of credit for being one of the big names taking Ailes down. Gretchen Carlson is another victim-turned-heroine, and Carlson’s lawsuit was what really got things going. In Bombshell, Charlize Theron plays Megyn Kelly and Nicole Kidman plays Carlson. Margot Robbie plays Kayla Pospisil (not a real person, this character is complete fiction). The cast also includes Alice Eve as Ainsley Earhardt, Kate McKinnon, Allison Janney as Susan Estrich and… John Lithgow as Roger Ailes. The first trailer came out and what’s great is that it’s clear that it’s about the WOMEN. As it should be.
Everyone is freaking out about Charlize-as-Megyn Kelly. As they should be, it’s actually kind of insane. What did they do to Charlize here? The haircut/wig is perfect and I think she’s wearing dark contacts. But is there anything else? Is that her real nose and chin? Charlize looks unsettlingly like Megyn Kelly. Nicole, on the other hand, looks nothing like Gretchen Carlson but it’s fine. I’m into this. We’ll see. In any case, it will be much better than Russell Crowe’s garbage apologia to Ailes.
Photos courtesy of Lionsgate, screengrabs from trailer.
So… we’re rooting for the pretty faces of white supremacy who happily spread racism like the plague on Fox News?
Hard pass.
People aren’t good or evil. They are layered. Working for FOX News doesn’t mean you deserve to get sexually harassed or assaulted. We may not like their politics or them as people; but what they did WAS brave and it DID change things. And let’s not forget that a lot of people who work for these organisations do not necessarily share their politics. I used to work in radio and during the GFC I was made redundant 2 weeks before Christmas. In Australia that’s the summer break and you can’t even get an interview until late January. I ended up working for a talkback radio station that is right wing for a year. I work in media sales. I disagreed with their politics and despised most of the talent but I needed to earn money and keep going with my career. I was sexually harassed at the Christmas party by one of the presenters who also groped a number of other young women. We had no recourse. Someone leaked it to competing press eventually and they gave him a slap on the wrist and did nothing for us. Are you saying we deserved it? Sorry, no. This is an important story. The fact that it occurred in Fox has aspects to it that are unique and interesting. You may not like these women but they didn’t deserve this treatment and what they did was brave and changed a lot. I applaud them for that, at least.
She is not saying you deserved it, stop that. First, this isn’t about you. Second, she isn’t even saying the FOX women deserved it.
I really feel white women need to stop, look, and listen to what women of color are saying. Then put yourselves in their position, or try to. This film will likely make heroes out of these women, and I do share the opinion that at least, Megyn Kelly, does not deserve that. We need to keep clear eyed about who, and what, Megyn Kelly is. She’s a racist, who emboldened, and propagated racism for many years. She told little children of color that Santa was white, sneered into the camera at them, and said sorry not sorry!
Don’t forget what she is. She is awful. This does not mean she “deserved” sexual harassment or assault. It means this: stay clear eyed.
Racism is evil. Racism is Satan speaking through you. So while no one deserves abuse or harassment. Racists don’t deserve a pass for the deep, violent harm they cause humanity.
Not ever.
I think it is clear that this series is about racist women working for a racist channel who are being sexually harassed by their racist boss. It’s not like this is swept under the rug. Everybody knows who they are and what kind of channel Fox News is. However, this is not the main focus here. It also does not mean that people will suddenly see them as sympathetic ladies that should be looked up to. It might be a surprise to some but also white people can differentiate.
That being said, I wish Hollywood would not be so focused on white people’s stories. There are cases where POC go through the same but don’t make headlines like this or get their stories told in a dedicated series or movie.
I feel like this is tricky. As someone else said, you’re making this about you and your experience when that’s not what’s at issue. POC and WOC constantly get their stories shoved to the side, and it’s not fair to try and put words in their mouths here. This story IS about Fox News, which has a history of blatant racism that many people will find difficult to ignore (nor should they).
No one deserves to be sexually harassed at all. But Gretchen Carlson was a horrible woman who constantly went after the Obama’s. This is one movie where it will be hard to like anyone.
And I didn’t even know that. I really only know Kelly and how awful she is. I know next to nothing about Carlson.
So I don’t know that we are, could be an unsympathetic portrayal of unpleasant people in a situation they do a good thing against their own nature. The actors are unafraid of being ugly or bad in the past.
I agree with you Ariel. While it was important what these women did, in their minds they did it FOR women like them, white and preferably blonde or dyed blonde. I am not sorry for saying this. So tired of this society that promotes hatred and where even the oppressed are oppressors. The title Bombshell is also very very annoying, even if it is ironic. People cannot see a blonde white woman as anything other than a bombshell: a sexual object, potentially dangerous because Eve and the Apple. Meanwhile, women of colour or women in “minor” jobs are oppressed and taken advantage of all the time. And no one is interested.
If the writing is good enough, I think the movie will be able to portray that doing a good thing in this situation does not make them good people. I’d certainly hope so. It’s garbage if it tries to make them out as heroes.
I. Am. So. With. You. They will make them heroes, I bet my money on it. They don’t hire high profile actresses for nothing.
I seriously did NOT recognise Charlize – had to do a triple take. I will watch this as these 3 ladies will rock it.
As usual, whole heartedly agree with you DU.
Me too! When I saw this yesterday I could not believe that this was Charlize. Whatever they did in terms of makeup is bloody amazing. I am really looking forward to seeing this movie
I must be the only one who saw Charlize and thought “who is she supposed to be?” Then saw Nicole and thought the exact same thing. They look like themselves to me
This trailer is freaking brilliant, music and acting only with only one sentence which spoke volumes.
And yes Charlize totally nailed Megan’s looks and body language.
At first glance I thought that’s Elizabeth Banks!
sorry didn’t see your comment. me too!
Looks like we posted at the same time 😉
And she also looks like that woman who played the “new wife” in Divorce. Wow Theron looks really different, great makeup.
And Kidman is miscast, I feel.
To me Charlize looks totally like Elizabeth Banks. Thought it was her for a second.
The trailer is haunting and it’s actually scary how Charlize looks exactly like Megan Kelly holy cow. I never liked or respected Megan particularly for her “whats so bad about blackface?” comment, but I will probably give it a watch to see how the story is portrayed.
I loved the loudest voice. I went in not knowing anything about what Russell Crowe has said and want to keep it that way. I don’t think it was an apology for Ailes at all.
Same here..he came off as the biggest ass hole imaginable! In fact most of the people around him (faux, and his asst and wife in particular) were painted as disgusting enablers.
Charlize in this role looks as far from Charlize as humanly possible. It is chilling. I haven’t watched the Loudest Voice but heard it is actually good despite Russell carrying a torch for Ailes. Just how silly/diva like was it for him not to do interview after the presenter told the truth describing the scumbag he was playing?
Love love love how the trailer looked. And while all three are powerhouses, I am cheering on Margot. Yay!!!! She rocks her roles and is so versatile. Can’t wait.
At first I thought Margot was Tomi Lahren. I actually gasped. Phew.
I though so too! Even if her character is fictional Fox really has a type lol
Yeah the three blondes in the elevator is telling, huh?!
Being a sexual predator was just one of several of Roger Ailes’s evil legacies. He has a long, sordid history as a political consultant responsible for some of the most vicious and amoral ‘strategies’ of the Republican party. He was a master at race-baiting, dog whistle innuendo and cheerleading for illegal wars. And he trained an army of like-wise ‘consultants’ who are still out there working their hustle. It’s no accident he ended up the head of Faux News. He should have been taken down a long time ago for crimes that were actually worse than the sexual predation that ended his illustrious career.
Charlize nailed Meghan cold. The iciness, the way she shifts when “Gretchen” walks in the elevator. Her perpetual pout and side eye. That was the real Megyn Kelly and why being on the Today show did not work for her.
Wow, I didn’t even recognize her.
This is an aside, but why are Nicole Kidman’s wigs ALWAYS terrible? In every movie/show, terrible. WTF?!?!?
So true. In Big Little Lies it was almost okay, but it was still bad. And I think she plays every role as if she’s made of cotton and the world is sharp.
It’s true re Nicole & wigs! Even her real hair was so much prettier when she was a redhead!
Oh she had the best naturally curly red hair!!!! And Lindsey Lohan’s red hair was also great. I wish redheads in Hollywood would just leave the red and not go blonde. I think both Kidman’s and Lohan’s skin tones are flattered much more by red, and so many women get red hair out of a bottle the exact shades of Kidman’s and Lohan’s original colors, yet the people born with those glorious shades of red wash them out with bleach.
Charlize’s resemblance to Megyn Kelly is freakish, which begs the question, how could the same team (make up, hair, actor, director, et.al.) nail it with Charlize / Megyn and then just slap a wig, a very bad wig, on Nicole Kidman?
She needed a spray tan, more brass in the hair and French tips at least, but she’s nailed the uptight repression and smug nastiness
She also needs to shrink about 6 inches. Gretchen is super short.
I didn’t think The Loudest Voice portrayed him as sympathetic at all. It was like he was the devil.
I haven’t seen the “Loudest Voice”…not because of Crowe’s BS narrative regarding the Ailes…which psychologically…I GET why he went there…but…AWWW HELL NAW!!! As a talent…Crowe is one of my favorites…I’ve seen ALL of his movies…and I will see THAT ONE…as soon as there is NOT a Whyte Supremacist Fascist living on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.
Same thing with this movie…it LOOKS spectacular…I trust Charlize and Nicole when it comes to picking out source material and bringing their ALL…to have those two work together is a cinematic DREAM for me…and for me…Kidman is channeling Gretchen…SO PERFECTLY…I almost gasped…she’s like an older version of her character from “To Die For”…which is PERFECT…cause that’s who Carlson always reminded me of as she pushed her corporate media “hate speak”…
Charlize? Well, I THINK I FAINTED when I saw her….CAUSE BABYBEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Charlize really is nailing the pinched look of Megyn’s face.
These are 3 of my favorite actresses, so I will definitely try to see this. I hope, while the focus is on the sexual harassment and taking down of Ailes, that they don’t shy away from those real life women being racist and awful. They were clearly victims, but I don’t want to see them glorified.
I met Gretchen Carlson briefly during her run as Miss America and she was required to visit local pageants. She really was an accomplished violinist—played beautifully. She was also an entitled b*tch who was completely pissed off she had to waste her time mingling with the peons. The huffs of disgust, patronizing sneers, and eye rolling backstage told me everything I needed to know about her, and nothing I’ve seen since has changed my opinion.
No one deserves sexual harassment and I’m glad the environment at Fox was exposed. I also believe that if you lie down with dogs, you’ll get up with fleas.
Unbelievable. The sheer eagerness of people to whitewash the sins and hand out praise/admiration to white women is baffling. Plus, considering the whole #Metoo movement was started by black women, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a group of wealthy white women portraying a group of racist white women will be one of the first to capitalize off of it. I wouldn’t dream of giving a penny in support of this.
Pixie, I agree with everything you say. I’ve been uncomfortable with this project since it was announced. No one deserves to be sexually harassed. But I think it’s okay to say that I’m not sure Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson are the victims we should be focusing on. Kelly and Carlson are horrible, racist, complicit a-holes. They are victims, too, of course. But as good as these actors are, I would never support this. Is this the Me Too story we should be telling? I hope that comes across as nuanced as I mean it to.
Also, don’t forget Nicole Kidman has always been close with Rupert Murdoch.
And written/directed by two white guys.
Thank you for this comment. Good to know I’m not overreacting or “paranoid”. Also people saying Megyn was brave, but braveness is not a virtue, it’s a merit, usually found in the worst people.
It’s her makeup. They even have her the indented bags under the eyes. Nose could be prosthetic.
I still hate these women, and everything they stand for. Just because they called a predator out doesn’t mean they get a pass or should be glorified. They spread racism and hatred for years. I like Kidman, Theron and Robbie, but I hope this bombs.
Okay, I had to watch this twice. This is a great trailer…really haunting. I completely forgot this movie was happening and wasn’t planning on seeing it, but now I feel like I need to. Also, no one deserves to be sexually harassed and ALL victims have the right to have their stories told, regardless of how unpleasant they are.
I agree Mellymell. These women are some racist bitches however they did suffer. Maybe the movie is meant to question your own sense of who “deserves” what. Kind’ve like there is no perfect victim.
I’m soooooooo excited for John Lithgow! He was amazing as Churchill in The Crown and I bet he’ll be amazingly disgusting and evil in this.
I think Theron and Kelly look similar before the make-up/fx: white slim somewhat pointy blond women. All they did was make her look tired and puffy around the eyes and pinch her nose. The rest is mannerism, which Charlize does excellently – she’s a terrific actress. I also think Kidman was good casting for Carlsson because they also look pretty similar (not the height, tho!), but not as much as Theron/Kelly. It’ll be interesting to see what they’ve done to John Lithgow.
Theron rox.
I hate that they went ahead with this movie. I would hope they portrayed them as deeply flawed individuals and not martyrs.
Won’t be seeing this movie. At all. But damn, the makeup artist deserve awards for their work. She looks eerily like Kelly.
I watched the entire Loudest Voice series and thought it was well done. They portrayed Ailes as the sexist, pig, racist, paranoid freak he actually was. They didn’t do a “both sides” argument type of show. They portrayed Ailes and Fox News as the liars they were. They did not cover up his character’s flaws or his co-conspirators. Crowe played him perfectly…..take from that what you will.
As for this movie, Bombshell. I can’t wait to see it. Just because they’re making a movie about this doesn’t mean they won’t show how they all contributed to the Fox News culture of lies. I do applaud Gretchen Carlson for at least outing Ailes. Without her, he would still have been assaulting women until the day of his death.
And can we PLEASE GIVE SOME DAP TO WHOMEVER PRODUCED THIS PREVIEW?!?!
It was…PERFECT!!!!
I’m going to see this movie. I cannot believe that is Charlize Theron. The makeup artists for this movie already deserve an Oscar nom. I’m not in love with casting John Lithgow as Roger Alies mostly because he’s so tall and Alies was a squat, fat toad. Also I love John Lithgow so I don’t particularly want to see him as a monster.
the prosthetics and make up are insanely accurate kudos to the MUA there. But if you look closely Charlize’s bone structure isn’t much different than Megyn’s so add to that the, again, superbe MUA and the deal is sealed. Well of course there’s to say also that Charlize is a great actress and she nailed the facial expression as well. Kudos to all of them.
I think telling one story doesn’t inherently silence another. Are there other stories I would be more eager to see onscreen? Yes. But the complex morality of this story could result in interesting, multi-faceted female characters. There aren’t enough of those, so I’m still interested.
I think Megyn Kelly is hard to peg; she’s not clearly heroic nor clearly villainous. She’s done foul things (Santa is white, y’all!), but she’s done admirable things (challenging Drumpf WAS brave, even if her hand was forced).
I will call some people “cancelled,” but there’s complexity inherent in human beings that we haven’t learned to address with our current narrative of “hero” and “bad guy.”
I don’t know, she’s pretty villainous to me still. After all that, she went to NBC, spewed more racist nonsense, and then skipped on outta there with millions of dollars. I think it’s pretty clear who she is.
Given that this was about the biggest (barf) news network in the country, and all the influence that network has, I think it’s a story worth telling. But in doing so, I’m hoping it opens the door to others, because this bullshit happens every day in every industry.
I think telling one story doesn’t inherently silence another. Are there other stories I would be more eager to see onscreen? Yes. But the complex morality of this story could result in interesting, multi-faceted female characters. There aren’t enough of those, so I’m still interested.
I think Megyn Kelly is hard to peg; she’s not clearly heroic nor clearly villainous. She’s done foul things (Santa is white, y’all!), but she’s done admirable things (challenging Drumpf WAS brave, even if her hand was forced).
I will call some people “cancelled,” but there’s complexity inherent in human beings that we haven’t learned to address with our current narrative of “hero” and “bad guy.”
Charlize and Nicole are strong actors. This will be interesting to watch when it hits Netflix.
You know I have been checking in here for years and NO one can top your recc’s for movies/TV series etc. (great taste) I’ve been saying it for yrs and I am still saying it. Thank you and I cannot WAIT to see this.
ps . I saw the Loudest Voice and all I did was get mad at how he treated everyone and swigged vodka while cursing Ailes/Crowe out. What a pig. Theron does not play when she does portrayals, remember when she did “Monster”? She soo looks like Meghan.
thx BG, I am fired up for this one, once again.