2025 Emmy predictions: Best TV movie
The panel's lack of enthusiasm for this category expresses itself in a drastic falloff after the first three contenders, as different from each other as TV movies can be. 'Rebel Ridge,' the intense actioner with a should-be star-making performance by Aaron Pierre, is at No. 1. Tied for second are the fourth 'Bridget Jones' movie, rom-com 'Mad About the Boy,' and 'Mountainhead,' which Lorraine Ali calls a 'billionaire satire.'
'We all gripe about this category every year,' acknowledges Tracy Brown, 'but I think the toughest thing … is the range of projects it encompasses, from the more blockbuster-skewing 'Rebel Ridge' to the more firmly indie 'Am I OK?'. And we all need to be OK with that.'
Kristen Baldwin sums up the frustration on the part of some panelists: 'Suggestion: Change the name of this category to Nontheatrical Movies. The concept of a 'TV Movie,' as we once knew it, is dead.'
Still, Matt Roush sees something to celebrate at the summit, saying 'Mountainhead' 'feels like a front-runner on pedigree alone,' citing its writing and direction by 'Succession's' Jesse Armstrong, and its starry cast. 'This darkest of farces is also frighteningly timely.'
1. 'Rebel Ridge'2. (tie) 'Mountainhead'2. (tie) 'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy'4. 'Out of My Mind'5. 'The Gorge'6. 'G20'7. 'Am I OK?'
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Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Women want more rom-coms. Does 'Materialists' deliver?
Warning: This story contains spoilers for the movie Materialists. There should always be room for heart at the box office. Race cars, plane stunts and giant dinosaurs make entertaining spectacles, but for devotees of the rom-com genre, nothing compares to watching a love story unfold onscreen, especially one that leaves you saying, 'To me, you are perfect.' Hollywood has largely been filtering rom-coms into the streamer release bucket, like Renée Zellweger's Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Amy Schumer's Kinda Pregnant and Anne Hathaway's The Idea of You. In some cases, it makes sense: Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding called the franchise's fourth film 'a good movie to watch on the sofa.' However, recent history shows that when a romance-centered film is headed to the big screen, people — specifically women — will come. Case in point: 2023's Anyone but You, the sleeper hit starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, which gave the rom-com genre a jolt. Sure, people may have bought tickets for the fauxmance, but it proved that a love story on the big screen — one that's more self-aware and less about marriage — still sells. Same with It Ends With Us, starring now-litigants Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni — women flocked to see the romantic drama even as the film's marketing faced criticism for underplaying domestic violence themes. And now: Materialists — driven by Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans's love triangle, which examines modern relationships (for love or money?) and even delves into sexual assault — is performing above expectations at the box office. Over its opening weekend, just behind the live-action franchises Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon and ahead of action-film franchises Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning and Ballerina is where Materialists landed at the box office. Its success tells us that audiences are still hungry for romance, though maybe not the traditional, wrapped-in-a-bow, happily-ever-after, fairy-tale type. Materialists is being marketed as a rom-com, but it's not like When Harry Met Sally… and Notting Hill, with a tidy arc and predictable ending. It's a romantic dramedy with social commentary about today's dating culture, exploring whether Johnson's Lucy (a professional matchmaker) should pick Pascal's Harry (the wealthy private equity broker who can more than provide for her) or Evans's John (her broke but cute waiter/aspiring actor ex). And, again, a sexual assault is a plot point, though not involving the main characters directly. The film's original love story was the lure for filmgoers we talked to — even if some are disappointed it wasn't the escapist rom-com they expected. Hira Mustafa tells Yahoo Entertainment that she went to see it with eight friends after 'looking forward to the release for weeks.' She was hopeful 'it would be an entertaining watch — a fun, fresh take on a romantic comedy that would likely have a meaningful message we could discuss afterwards,' but felt it lacked real substance. 'I was open to a dramedy that wasn't necessarily laugh-out-loud funny, but beyond the genre, it felt like the romance itself was underdeveloped,' she says. Plus, 'they introduced a sexual assault storyline but never fully explored its purpose or impact, which was disappointing given how serious and nuanced that topic deserves to be handled.' As for the ending — Lucy forgoing money (Harry) for love (John) — she was disappointed. Mustafa, who panned the movie on TikTok, says it would have been better had John realized "that love isn't enough without action. So he steps up, gets a stable job, moves out and actively commits to building a balanced future with Lucy, recognizing that true partnership requires compromise." She's not alone. Viewers have been hotly debating the film's ending and whether Lucy did herself a disservice by picking the guy with a bunch of roommates. Moviegoer Audrey Atienza, who sees most new releases with her AMC movie subscription and shares her takes on TikTok, says films with romantic plots "definitely" get her to the theater, as this one did. She saw it with friends on a rainy New York night. "I don't like movies that stress me out," Atienza tells Yahoo Entertainment, "and usually romantic plots are a safe bet that they won't." Atienza said that Materialists was not "an Anyone But You-type of movie.' She found it "deep" in ways that some rom-coms historically aren't. She was surprised to overhear other people in the theater unhappy with the ending. 'Maybe I'm just a sucker for love, but I feel like the movie demonstrated why she is a better fit for the person she chose,' Atienza says. 'Some people have called this film 'broke men propaganda,' but I think that idea overlooks a really important detail established early on,' says Alexis Oteng, host of the ChickFlicks podcast (and on TikTok @thechickflicksshow). 'In a world where so many of us just want to feel like we matter, I think Lucy comes to realize that while she struggles with the idea of a life with John meaning she might not have all the luxuries she's dreamed of (a side of herself she both hates and feels ashamed of), he still finds it so easy to love her. And that matters.' She adds, 'The film reminds us there is immense value and rarity in having someone who can love us, even when we're showing the most shallow, insecure or vulnerable sides of ourselves." Jamie McAleney, who reviews films on TikTok, says the marketing for the film may have clouded expectations. "As an A24 lover and a huge fan of Celine Song's Past Lives, I knew going into this movie that it wasn't going to be the rom-com of the early 2000s that the marketing was angling toward, but I thought that choice of marketing was cheeky and cute,' says McAleney. 'I really expected others to get it, but I think it may have gone over some heads.' She expected Materialists 'to leave a lot of room for dialogue to land and not be afraid of the silences' as well as 'to take some heavier turns, be paced slowly and be a bit more cerebral than a traditional rom-com — and that's exactly what was delivered.' McAleney says instead of the film harkening back to old-school romantic films, it's looking ahead. 'I don't think that Materialists is trying to be a 'return to form' for the rom-com — it's sharper than that,' says McAleney. 'It's asking us to look in the mirror and confront our habits and 'wish lists' in modern dating. Song doesn't just give us romance — she gives us contradictions and social commentary. Makes us feel the love and question it at the exact same time." Oteng said the film's marketing — 'with the vibe of classic 2000s rom-coms' — made her want to see it. "I think out of the romance films we've seen come out in the 2020s, this one definitely rises to the top," she says. "It looks at dating and love in today's world in a way that feels both realistic and a little idealistic, that balances the two really well. I like that it uses the classic rom-com tropes we all know to pull you in, then flips them to question the ideas and expectations we've built around dating now." Yahoo News reporter Kaitlin Reilly, who has written about Materialists, says that having loved Song's 2023 rom-dram Past Lives, she was excited for her "take on modern dating" and "what people value in romantic relationships — the 'boxes' they want their partners to check — when, at the end of the day, love isn't actually math." Reilly says she spent an hour unpacking the film with her aunt afterward. "It really made me think," she adds. Atienza also deconstructed the film with her friends. She felt it "had a realistic take on dating and how it can feel like a business deal." Also, "how [someone] can be perfect 'on paper' (or a 'unicorn'), but that doesn't mean they're who you're meant to be with." Materialists is its own kind of "unicorn" — a romantic dramedy swimming against a sea of summer spectacles and sequels. According to a Yahoo News/YouGov Survey conducted May 22-27, 2025, none of the big-budget films rolling out this summer that we polled about was a slam-dunk reason to go to the movies. Out of Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning, Superman, Karate Kid: Legends, M3gan 2.0, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, The Naked Gun and Freakier Friday, those surveyed were most interested in Tom Cruise's hit — but only 13% of respondents said they were most excited to see it this summer. A staggering 46% said none of those films sparked their interest. Digging deeper into movie habits, 28% of respondents surveyed said the last time they had gone to the theater to see a movie was over five years ago. Of those polled, 61% said if a new movie they were excited to see came out, they'd be more likely to wait and stream it, compared to the 23% who would go to see it in theaters. With more viewing options than ever, Materialists shows that audiences are still showing up for something fresh, as they did in an even bigger way earlier this year with horror flick Sinners. But films with original concepts — meaning stories created from scratch, not based on another film/show/comic book/game/book/toy — have become less common. "I think it's hard when creative decisions are made by committee, and it's hard when creative decisions are made by people who don't even really watch movies or know anything about them, and that tends to be what's occurring a lot," Johnson said on Hot Ones when asked about Hollywood being so risk-averse. She continued, "When something does well, studios want to keep that going, so they remake the same things. But humans don't want that. They want fresh. They want to feel new things, experience new things, see new things." There's excitement and unpredictability in watching stories we haven't seen before, especially ones told by new and different voices beyond Hollywood's short list of mostly male directors. "I want original stories — full stop," McAleney says. "I want studios and production companies to take a shot on voices we don't get to hear from often and invest in emerging filmmakers.' And from the romantic genre, 'I love a good yearn,' she adds. 'Give us more yearning, please.' __________________ The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,560 U.S. adults interviewed online from May 22-27, 2025. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 election turnout and presidential vote, party identification and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Party identification is weighted to the estimated distribution at the time of the election (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). Respondents were selected from YouGov's opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 2.9%.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
The British Wheeler Dealer who ended up dating Hollywood royalty
After making four Bridget Jones films, Renée Zellweger has admitted that she became an Anglophile. The Oscar-winning actress, 56, has spoken about her love of English breakfast tea, the London Underground and mushy peas. She even has a British boyfriend – a former British bobby turned footballer-turned-car mechanic, no less. Meet Ant Anstead – a quintessentially British bloke from Hertfordshire who's now dating Hollywood royalty. Anstead has been in a relationship with Zellweger since 2021 and is best known for presenting the TV show Wheeler Dealers. But after rumours of an engagement in January, there's now speculation that they're no longer living together amid his alleged money troubles. So who is this self-described 'British Boy who builds'? And how did he come to date one of the world's most famous women? Anthony Anstead was born in Cambridge in 1978 but grew up in Hertfordshire. As a car-mad teen, he was already building and selling kit cars when he was still at school and used the profits to buy himself an MG. At 18, he became a police officer with the Hertfordshire Constabulary and guarded the notorious 'Railway Murderer', John Duffy, in a police safehouse. At 22, he was made one of the youngest Tactical Firearms Team officers in the country, receiving two commendations for acts of bravery. But, in 2005, he resigned from the police force to pursue a career as a mechanic, building and restoring cars for private clients. In his free time he was a semi-professional footballer, playing over 700 games over 17 years at Ryman League (now known as Isthmian League) level, as both a goalkeeper and a striker. He started his own TV company in 2014 and hosted a number of motoring shows for Channel 4 and the BBC, and appeared on stage at some of the UK's biggest car shows. He met Mike Brewer, who would become his Wheeler Dealers co-host, when they were both presenting classic car shows at the National Exhibition Centre (which hosts the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show among others). 'Ant's an incredible presenter and car builder, he really knows his stuff,' says Brewer, who bought the used cars for the show for Anstead to fix up. 'When we moved Wheeler Dealers to the US in 2017, [former show mechanic] Edd China wanted to go back to the UK so I pushed for Ant to join the show. I knew he'd be amazing.' Before he moved to California, Anstead and his first wife – Louise Herbert – divorced. The couple had been dating since he was 19 and they have two children together, Amelie, 21, and Archie, 18. 'We spent 22 years together from teenagers to adults, and to this day remain very close friends and we stay in regular contact. Almost daily,' said Anstead. 'We have two amazing kids together who we are incredibly proud of and we will forever be family. I wish them a lifetime full of happiness.' In October 2017, Anstead began dating Christina Haack, an American TV presenter who specialises in property shows. They tied the knot a year later in a secret 'winter wonderland' wedding at their home in Newport Beach and their son, Hudson, was born in September 2019. But less than a year later, Haack announced that they had split. In 2021, Anstead's life took another twist when Zellweger was a guest on his US show Celebrity IOU Joyride. The premise of the series was for celebrities to fix up old cars and give them to important people in their lives, and the Bridget Jones' Diary star refurbished a 1970s Bronco and presented it to the twin brothers, Jerome and Jerald, who cared for her late publicist, Nanci Ryder, after she was diagnosed with ALS in 2014. 'I'm really grateful to the show because these amazing things happen in your world and sometimes when things collide, they collide at the most obscure times when you least expect them,' Anstead has said of meeting Zellweger. The new couple were seen spending the Fourth of July weekend together at Anstead's beach home in Laguna Beach, and in September, Anstead went 'Instagram official' with the movie star, sharing a black-and-white selfie of them looking loved-up. Although they largely kept out of the spotlight, they attended a few events together in the US. 'Renée and my relationship is something that's really private,' said Anstead. 'It's something I'm not really willing to talk too much about. It's really early in our relationship and I don't want to put any pressure on that.' But in November 2021, Anstead shared an Instagram photo of Zellweger holding his son Hudson at a New Orleans Saints football game. He has also shared photos of him and Zellweger kissing and sharing anniversaries together. Zellweger, who filed for an annulment from her country singer husband, Kenny Chesney, in September 2005 after four months of marriage, has been a little more cryptic. This year, she confirmed that she lives near San Diego 'because that's where my fellow lives, and his little boy'. However, there was no being coy in January 2025, when the couple posed for photos with Anstead's children, Amelie and Archie, at the London premiere of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. He posted a picture from the red carpet with the caption: 'Midweek movie night with the kiddos.... The Movie was absolutely utterly brilliant and the lead actress was mesmerising and smoking HOT (I have a mega crush on her!) I've let the missus know she's my hall pass..... X.' There was even speculation that the pair were engaged, after Zellweger, who is worth a reported £67 million, appeared at the premiere with plasters on her ring finger, possibly to cover up a ring. But the jury's out on whether he's a dependable Mark Darcy type or a cad like Daniel Cleaver. In May there were reports that Zellweger and Anstead had split up, after he was seen spending time at the cliff-top mansion of a divorced Laguna Beach spin instructor named Julia French. 'Sadly, the recent reports in the press are disrespectful and misleading,' Anstead's publicist says. '[Anstead] stayed just a handful of days in Julia French's separate, and detached, guest house. They have been long-time friends with similar aged children within a circle of local Laguna Beach friends.' Anstead might also be having money troubles, as his supercar company Radford Motors filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy in a Delaware court in May. In recent months, he has faced a series of lawsuits from clients worth over £2 million. Anstead has said he remains 'fully committed' to the company despite its current 'challenges'. According to Anstead's publicist, he has been 'spending the majority of his time working in the UK', while Zellweger has been filming the TV show Only Murders in the Building in New York City. Mike Brewer says he's not surprised that his friend and co-host has ended up dating a Hollywood A-lister: 'He's a good looking guy and he's very charming,' he says. 'It was inevitable he'd hook up with somebody great, as people just gravitate towards him. Whatever the 'X factor' is, he's got it. Renée and Ant have a wonderful relationship. My wife and I meet up with them and hang out with them all the time.' According to Anstead's representative: 'Renée and Ant remain in a cherished relationship that they ask to keep private.' Maybe the Bridget Jones star will get her happily ever after, after all. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
2025 Emmy predictions: Best TV movie
The panel's lack of enthusiasm for this category expresses itself in a drastic falloff after the first three contenders, as different from each other as TV movies can be. 'Rebel Ridge,' the intense actioner with a should-be star-making performance by Aaron Pierre, is at No. 1. Tied for second are the fourth 'Bridget Jones' movie, rom-com 'Mad About the Boy,' and 'Mountainhead,' which Lorraine Ali calls a 'billionaire satire.' 'We all gripe about this category every year,' acknowledges Tracy Brown, 'but I think the toughest thing … is the range of projects it encompasses, from the more blockbuster-skewing 'Rebel Ridge' to the more firmly indie 'Am I OK?'. And we all need to be OK with that.' Kristen Baldwin sums up the frustration on the part of some panelists: 'Suggestion: Change the name of this category to Nontheatrical Movies. The concept of a 'TV Movie,' as we once knew it, is dead.' Still, Matt Roush sees something to celebrate at the summit, saying 'Mountainhead' 'feels like a front-runner on pedigree alone,' citing its writing and direction by 'Succession's' Jesse Armstrong, and its starry cast. 'This darkest of farces is also frighteningly timely.' 1. 'Rebel Ridge'2. (tie) 'Mountainhead'2. (tie) 'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy'4. 'Out of My Mind'5. 'The Gorge'6. 'G20'7. 'Am I OK?'
