We’re just two weeks out from Christmas and if you’re feeling stumped for present inspiration, I have a wildly impractical recommendation: Gwyneth Paltrow’s 2025 Goop Holiday Gift Guide.

This year’s unaffordable standouts include an Hermès Jukebox (priced at around $AU500,000) and a ‘smart typewriter’ that saves your work digitally but has no internet access ($1,650).

My personal favourite is this pasta water candle ($105), guaranteed to fill the air “with notes of saline water and semolina wheat, for a unique umami aroma.”

A $250 “wellness onesie” promises to deliver “graduated compression and has micro-massage zones that follow your body’s lymphatic pathways.”

Or, make your waste-conscious loved one’s dreams come true with a sculptural toothpaste squeezer. For $511, the contraption “ensures no paste goes to waste.”

Another year, another completely ridiculous/hilarious/delightful/unattainable gift guide from Gwyneth and her Goop empire. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Performance is inherently vulnerable and… unmasculine. There’s no bravado in suggesting that you’re a mouthpiece for someone else’s ideas... Have you ever heard of a female actor that was method? [Marlon] Brando sounds like a hero, doesn’t he? If a woman did that, it would be different.”
Kristen Stewart criticised “method” actors on this week’s episode of The Interview, a New York Times podcast. Method acting is an immersive technique where performers embody the physical and psychological traits of their character, on and off set. The late Marlon Brando is credited with popularising the “method”.

One year.
The length of late night host Jimmy Kimmel’s contract extension. The comedian reached a deal with Disney to continue hosting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on American free-to-air network ABC until at least 2027. Kimmel was briefly suspended by the station in September over his on-air comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Pantone has faced backlash for its 2026 Colour of the Year, ‘Cloud Dancer’. Known for its global colour standard system, Pantone assigns unique codes to specific shades to create “a universal language of colour” for accurate reproduction. Each year, its colour specialists select one shade that represents global emerging trends. The pick for 2026 is described as “a lofty white that serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection”. The colour has sparked controversy online, with some questioning if Pantone is trolling us, and others calling it an “out of touch” and “tone deaf” decision in a volatile political context.

The nominations for the 2026 Golden Globe Awards have been announced, with a strong Aussie contingent putting the gold in ‘green and gold’. 

Every January, critics and fans watch the Golden Globes winners list closely to predict the Academy Awards (aka the Oscars), which are held in March. 

However, the Globes separate nominations across musical/comedy and drama categories. The Golden Globes also include awards for outstanding film and television from the previous year, unlike the Oscars.

Jacob Elordi received two nominations, for his performances in the film ‘Frankenstein’ and the Australian Prime Video series ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ adapted from the award winning book.  

Rose Byrne picked up a nomination in the Musical/Comedy film category for her leading role in the psychological dramedy ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’. The Aussie will go up against Cynthia Erivo for her portrayal of Elphaba in ‘Wicked: For Good’.

Australian actor Joel Edgerton is up for best leading male in a drama, for his performance in the film ‘Train Dreams’. Edgerton said he was “thrilled to be in [a] line-up of incredible actors,” including Dwayne Johnson and Michael B. Jordan. 

Australian musician Nick Cave is also nominated for ‘Train Dreams’ in the Best Original Song category. 

Sarah Snook rounded out Australia’s successes with a nomination for her performance in the miniseries ‘All Her Fault’. Snook already has two Golden Globes to her name thanks to ‘Succession’. 

‘One Battle After Another’ is leading the count with nominations in nine categories. The Paul Thomas Anderson-directed film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, is shaping up to be the one to watch this awards season.

Nominees in the drama series and drama film categories, considered the most competitive of the night, include the latest seasons of ‘The White Lotus’ and ‘Severance’, and blockbuster hit movie ‘Sinners’ and Iranian thriller ‘It Was Just An Accident’.

The 83rd Golden Globes will air on 12 January at 12pm AEDT on Paramount+.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

Fred again..’s USB002 is nearly here…

This September, Fred again.. kicked off USB002: ten songs, ten shows, ten cities, ten weeks - and he absolutely delivered. Each show had a custom visual by Boris Acket, with Mexico City wrapping up the final performance this weekend.

After his 2022 USB project (hello Baby Again, Rumble, leavemealone, stayinit, Jungle, plus remixes from Nia Archives, HAAi & Rico Nasty), USB002 is the next chapter.

This one’s extra special, with collabs from Amyl & The Sniffers, Skin on Skin, and Shady Nasty, pressed on 2 x 12" black vinyl with reflective silkscreen ink.

Pre-order it now - our co-founder Sam’s already counting down the days. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Late last week, Netflix announced it was buying Warner Bros for $US83 billion ($AU125 billion) in a deal both companies said will bring together “two pioneering entertainment businesses”.

Then on Tuesday, we woke up to news that Paramount has made a bid to acquire Warner Bros.

Netflix is now also facing legal action from subscribers who claim the acquisition is anti-competitive.

With a class action seeking to block the deal, and a challenge from Paramount, what’s going on?

On Friday, Netflix announced it was acquiring Warner Bros.

Under the agreement, Netflix would buy Warner Bros’ film and television studios, as well as HBO Max and HBO.

The cable arm of the business, which includes CNN, would be carved out as a separate business outside of Netflix’s control.

The announcement said the deal was “unanimously approved” by the boards of Netflix and Warner Bros. Both companies said it would be completed in 12-18 months, once the cable arm of Warner Bros had been split off.

The statement also confirmed that completion of the transaction required sign-off by federal government agencies.

Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav said the deal “combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love to watch the most.“

The process of acquiring Warner Bros. didn’t actually start with Netflix. International media reports it began when Paramount made several unsolicited bids to acquire the company.

These bids were rejected by Warner Bros’ board and weren’t made public.

It’s reported that both Paramount and Netflix made offers in recent months to purchase Warner Bros.

Ultimately, the announcement on Friday was an indication that Warner Bros had accepted Netflix’s bid over Paramount’s.

So, if both companies had announced the acquisition and Netflix’s bid had been successful, why is there now news of a Paramount offer?

Earlier this week, Paramount launched something called a “hostile takeover bid”.

That means an attempt to take control or acquire a company (in this case, Warner Bros) without the consent of the company’s board of directors. Instead, the offer goes straight to shareholders for their consideration.

Paramount’s offer is all cash (no equity) and is $US18 billion more than Netflix’s. U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is one of the investors behind the deal.

The Paramount offer also includes buying CNN, while Netflix’s offer excludes CNN.

In a statement, Paramount said its “strategically and financially compelling offer to [Warner Bros.] shareholders provides a superior alternative to the Netflix transaction.”

Trump said Netflix’s plan “could be a problem,” due to how much of the market a combined company would control.

Later in the week, he appeared to favour Paramount’s bid when he said: “It’s imperative that CNN be sold”.

Paramount is backed by billionaire Larry Ellison and run by his son David Ellison. The Ellisons have close relationships with Trump, with Larry Ellison hosting fundraisers for the President. Trump has described both men as “friends” and “big supporters of mine.”

Meantime, Netflix is now facing a consumer class action lawsuit seeking to block its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros.

The lawsuit, filed by a HBO Max subscriber in the U.S, argues that the deal would substantially reduce competition in the streaming market and cause harm to consumers.

The complaint alleges that eliminating HBO Max (which is owned by Warner Bros) as a major streaming competitor would give Netflix control over valuable franchises, (including Harry Potter, DC Comics, and Game of Thrones) potentially driving up subscription prices.

Netflix has called the lawsuit “meritless”.

Warner Bros said it will “carefully review and consider” Paramount’s offer. The company said it would respond within 10 business days (as required by law).

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos called Paramount’s offer “entirely expected”.

“We have a deal done, and we are incredibly happy with the deal,” he stated.

Any deal will require regulatory approval from the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division.

TDA Partnerships Executive Ange wants you to go and see ‘Love Actually? The Musical Parody’, now playing in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

“This is one of the funniest shows I've seen in ages! The whole cast was insanely talented, the impressions were SPOT ON (I genuinely felt like Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson and the whole cast had wandered on stage), and their comedic timing, singing, and dancing were 10/10! It's such a cheeky take on the classic Christmas movie and it put me right in the holiday spirit. The whole theatre was in absolute stitches throughout the show. All I want for Christmas is to be able to watch this again for the first time!”