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Forbes
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Real-Life Matchmaker Lauren Daddis Talks Accuracy Of ‘Materialists'
Former Interscope Records publicist turned professional matchmaker Lauren Daddis. Writer/director Celine Song famously went from matchmaking to Hollywood for the new film Materialists, the current rom-com starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans based on her past life as a matchmaker. Philly-based Lauren Daddis is the perfect person to respond to Materialists. A former music industry publicist at Interscope Records, among others, who worked with the likes of Eminem, Gwen Stefani and Black Eyed Peas, Daddis has been a matchmaker for the last eight years. So, it was a lot of fun to get her insights on the accuracy of the film, its dialogue and how it compares to the current state of real-life matchmaking. Spoiler, she says it is pretty damn spot on. Warning, she also does give some spoilers on the film. You are warned before reading on. Steve Baltin: How accurate was the movie? Lauren Daddis: It was really good. I was laughing my ass off cause I'm a matchmaker. I was laughing about how right on some of the stuff was. She did a really good job of depicting a day in the life of a matchmaker and what kind of stuff comes up. So, for me that was very entertaining. It was very reminiscent of a '90s rom-com because it was more like relationship drama and less comedy. It was a very good balance between hearts and, obviously, the name of the movie is Materialists. She did a very good job of reflecting on real life. Her character was very kind of crass and transactional and it's different than like I feel like some of the women that are in rom-com's. They usually play the role of the sappy, lovesick [woman] Baltin: Where are you based? Daddis: As a matchmaker, I'm an outside of Philly. Working with clients in New York, it was really interesting to watch a matchmaker based in New York. I often say that New York is one of the hardest markets to match because there are so many people. They talk in the movie about referring to people as product, merchandise. There are so many people, there's always someone better, there's always someone else, so, it was interesting to watch it happen in New York. I think it was a great city to pick being a matchmaker. And she faces that: does she want the luxury life without true love with the unicorn guy? Or does she want a tough life where she's fighting over money, but they're madly in love? I think the whole movie just goes back and forth, but you never wonder who she's going to pick because at the end, that's what we all want, right? The true love. I know a lot of people actually pick the other. But I don't really think that they end up happy. I think trying to find love in a material world is very tricky. Baltin: You said you thought it was accurate. How was the matchmaking dialogue? Daddis: I loved the scenes where they did a lot of cut in and cut out of her with clients, client facing meetings where they're just sitting in front of her going, 'I want this and this and this because I deserve it.' Some of this stuff was just verbatim. "I won't date anyone over six feet.' "They have to make at least 500,000.' "They have to do this and this and this." To me, I was just laughing. It was very normal and everyday for me. It was funny, my boyfriend was with me. And to him, that was very normal cause I work from home. He hears these conversations all the time. It didn't shake us. But I kept wondering what the people behind me and around me in the theater thought. I wondered if they thought this was fake because it is so real. People do say I want this and I want all of these boxes checked and then as a matchmaker when you deliver someone sometimes it turns out awful. Sometimes it turns out great, you can deliver a product but it's all up to the person how it happens. One of the references they use that was really funny and I use all the time she was like giving ingredients. And Lucy the matchmaker cocks her head and she's like, 'I can't build your boyfriend for you, I'm not Frankenstein.' I lost it because I always say this isn't Build a Bear. We're not building a boyfriend We can't take ingredients, we're dealing with humans and people, and they come as they are.' So, I thought that was funny because she had that talk with one of her clients. They have the matchmaker part. I listened to a couple of interviews with the writer, and she was a matchmaker a long time ago. I was interested to see how much it's changed. It hasn't, everything was spot on. People have not changed what they're looking for, what they expect, what we value, how we perceive our own value. It's all the same. Baltin: Why do you think that is because obviously society has changed so much? Daddis: I think fundamentally all we really want is to find that true love. And some of the ways people go about trying to find it are people going to great lengths. One of the plots twists of the movie was Harry, which is Pedro Pascal's character, the unicorn, the rich guy. Well, it turns out we find out at the end of the movie-- it's a spoiler alert-- but there's the surgery that can add up to six inches to your height and at the end of the movie it comes out she sees the scars on his legs. He seems to be this perfect guy but it shows even the perfect people the lengths that they go to to make themselves a good catch. He had leg surgery and he used to be five six and so it really changes perception. At the end of the movie, you're like, "Wow, like we're watching women fawn over this guy, and he's perfect, and he's the unicorn of the movie, and all this, come to find out if he was five six, none of this would be available to him." He said, "I wouldn't have done better, and I wouldn't have done as well in business. Men respect me, women fawn over me." So, it was showing that even on the outside, the people who look like they have it all, and they're these unicorns, that he still went through this. He broke both of his legs and paid 200 grand for six inches. And he said it was the best decision he's ever made. I do think that's a good point that you made. I don't think it has changed. I think people want just to feel loved, but I feel like what I see as a matchmaker is I very much understood when Lucy talked a lot about it being very easy. It's math, it's just math. She spoke very clinically about partnering as if it were like an equation. And that was her response, it's just math. They come from a similar socioeconomic background. They both went to Ivy League schools. They refer to checking boxes, that's a lingo that we used a lot and the reality is yeah you can put two people together, their resumes, so to speak, and they check each other's boxes. He wants what she has and everything's perfect but when they meet each other it's all up to their chemistry, the energy they bring into the room, the kind of day they had, if they had a bad day, they're not going to bring their best self in, their nerves, what if one person has some kind of anxiety and they're not doing the best. There are so many things that can be off or what if just the woman walks in and just is not attracted to the guy or the man is rude to the waiter. There are so many things that can happen outside of the boxes and the personality traits and all those things that people are looking for, that I think people lose sight of what really matters. And one of the things they said in the movie was, it was like her pitch, she was at a wedding and like passing her card out and schmoozing. It was really funny. And she said, you're really finding at the end of the day, a nursing home roomie. Who are you going to be in the nursing home with? Who's going to do the long haul on the hard things. And that stuff you can't vet for. As a matchmaker, I can't find someone. If someone hires me and says find someone that's going to have a great relation with me and love me so much that they'll change my bedpan. I can't guarantee that I'm going to find that for you. I can try though. Baltin: How did you go into matchmaking? Daddis: I got married, had a baby and moved to the east coast. I had a few years of being a stay-at-home mom and eventually the plan was to get back to LA. I stayed on with a couple of smaller bands and toyed with the idea of working in NY. I never really meant to leave the music industry, and I was kind of miserable about it. I became a yoga teacher, got divorced and settled into the east coast for the foreseeable future. I met a matchmaker through a girlfriend of mine and she saw potential immediately in me. I was fascinated that this was even a job… a matchmaker? This was about eight years ago or so. We became really great friends. I eventually took a job at the company my friend worked for, and I learned from the ground up. It was a natural fit. I'm at a different company now and I work with mostly high income 'VIP' men. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I absolutely love my job. It comes naturally, it's challenging and so rewarding. I still have the same hardcore work ethic and want to work at the best company and break ceilings. And I still do that but in the love Celine Song famously went from matchmaking to Hollywood for the new film Materialists, the current rom-com starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans based on her past life as a matchmaker. Philly-based Lauren Daddis is the perfect person to respond to Materialists. A former music industry publicist at Interscope Records, among others, who worked with the likes of Eminem, Gwen Stefani and Black Eyed Peas, Daddis has been a matchmaker for the last eight years. So, it was a lot of fun to get her insights on the accuracy of the film, its dialogue and how it compares to the current state of real-life matchmaking. Spoiler, she says it is pretty damn spot on. Warning, she also does give some spoilers on the film. You are warned before reading on. Steve Baltin: How accurate was the movie? Lauren Daddis: It was really good. I was laughing my ass off cause I'm a matchmaker. I was laughing about how right on some of the stuff was. She did a really good job of depicting a day in the life of a matchmaker and what kind of stuff comes up. So, for me that was very entertaining. It was very reminiscent of a '90s rom-com because it was more like relationship drama and less comedy. It was a very good balance between hearts and, obviously, the name of the movie is Materialists. She did a very good job of reflecting on real life. Her character was very kind of crass and transactional and it's different than like I feel like some of the women that are in rom-com's. They usually play the role of the sappy, lovesick [woman] looking for her prince. It was interesting. It was also very predictable. You definitely within the first five minutes knew who she would pick. The whole story she's a matchmaker, and she's caught between the 'perfect match,' like the unicorn, the rich guy with the 12-million-dollar Manhattan apartment. He's over six feet and checks all the boxes, so to speak. Then there's the ex-boyfriend, who is a broke actor, cater waiter, but she loves him. So, you know in the end who she's going to pick. Baltin: Where are you based? Daddis: As a matchmaker, I'm an outside of Philly. Working with clients in New York, it was really interesting to watch a matchmaker based in New York. I often say that New York is one of the hardest markets to match because there are so many people. They talk in the movie about referring to people as product, merchandise. There are so many people, there's always someone better, there's always someone else, so, it was interesting to watch it happen in New York. I think it was a great city to pick being a matchmaker. And she faces that: does she want the luxury life without true love with the unicorn guy? Or does she want a tough life where she's fighting over money, but they're madly in love? I think the whole movie just goes back and forth, but you never wonder who she's going to pick because at the end, that's what we all want, right? The true love. I know a lot of people actually pick the other. But I don't really think that they end up happy. I think trying to find love in a material world is very tricky. Baltin: You said you thought it was accurate. How was the matchmaking dialogue? Daddis: I loved the scenes where they did a lot of cut in and cut out of her with clients, client facing meetings where they're just sitting in front of her going, 'I want this and this and this because I deserve it.' Some of this stuff was just verbatim. "I won't date anyone over six feet.' "They have to make at least 500,000.' "They have to do this and this and this." To me, I was just laughing. It was very normal and everyday for me. It was funny, my boyfriend was with me. And to him, that was very normal cause I work from home. He hears these conversations all the time. It didn't shake us. But I kept wondering what the people behind me and around me in the theater thought. I wondered if they thought this was fake because it is so real. People do say I want this and I want all of these boxes checked and then as a matchmaker when you deliver someone sometimes it turns out awful. Sometimes it turns out great, you can deliver a product but it's all up to the person how it happens. One of the references they use that was really funny and I use all the time she was like giving ingredients. And Lucy the matchmaker cocks her head and she's like, 'I can't build your boyfriend for you, I'm not Frankenstein.' I lost it because I always say this isn't Build a Bear. We're not building a boyfriend We can't take ingredients, we're dealing with humans and people, and they come as they are.' So, I thought that was funny because she had that talk with one of her clients. They have the matchmaker part. I listened to a couple of interviews with the writer, and she was a matchmaker a long time ago. I was interested to see how much it's changed. It hasn't, everything was spot on. People have not changed what they're looking for, what they expect, what we value, how we perceive our own value. It's all the same. Baltin: Why do you think that is because obviously society has changed so much? Daddis: I think fundamentally all we really want is to find that true love. And some of the ways people go about trying to find it are people going to great lengths. One of the plots twists of the movie was Harry, which is Pedro Pascal's character, the unicorn, the rich guy. Well, it turns out we find out at the end of the movie-- it's a spoiler alert-- but there's the surgery that can add up to six inches to your height and at the end of the movie it comes out she sees the scars on his legs. He seems to be this perfect guy but it shows even the perfect people the lengths that they go to to make themselves a good catch. He had leg surgery and he used to be five six and so it really changes perception. At the end of the movie, you're like, "Wow, like we're watching women fawn over this guy, and he's perfect, and he's the unicorn of the movie, and all this, come to find out if he was five six, none of this would be available to him." He said, "I wouldn't have done better, and I wouldn't have done as well in business. Men respect me, women fawn over me." So, it was showing that even on the outside, the people who look like they have it all, and they're these unicorns, that he still went through this. He broke both of his legs and paid 200 grand for six inches. And he said it was the best decision he's ever made. I do think that's a good point that you made. I don't think it has changed. I think people want just to feel loved, but I feel like what I see as a matchmaker is I very much understood when Lucy talked a lot about it being very easy. It's math, it's just math. She spoke very clinically about partnering as if it were like an equation. And that was her response, it's just math. They come from a similar socioeconomic background. They both went to Ivy League schools. They refer to checking boxes, that's a lingo that we used a lot and the reality is yeah you can put two people together, their resumes, so to speak, and they check each other's boxes. He wants what she has and everything's perfect but when they meet each other it's all up to their chemistry, the energy they bring into the room, the kind of day they had, if they had a bad day, they're not going to bring their best self in, their nerves, what if one person has some kind of anxiety and they're not doing the best. There are so many things that can be off or what if just the woman walks in and just is not attracted to the guy or the man is rude to the waiter. There are so many things that can happen outside of the boxes and the personality traits and all those things that people are looking for, that I think people lose sight of what really matters. And one of the things they said in the movie was, it was like her pitch, she was at a wedding and like passing her card out and schmoozing. It was really funny. And she said, you're really finding at the end of the day, a nursing home roomie. Who are you going to be in the nursing home with? Who's going to do the long haul on the hard things. And that stuff you can't vet for. As a matchmaker, I can't find someone. If someone hires me and says find someone that's going to have a great relation with me and love me so much that they'll change my bedpan. I can't guarantee that I'm going to find that for you. I can try though. Baltin: How did you go into matchmaking? Daddis: I got married, had a baby and moved to the east coast. I had a few years of being a stay-at-home mom and eventually the plan was to get back to LA. I stayed on with a couple of smaller bands and toyed with the idea of working in NY. I never really meant to leave the music industry, and I was kind of miserable about it. I became a yoga teacher, got divorced and settled into the east coast for the foreseeable future. I met a matchmaker through a girlfriend of mine and she saw potential immediately in me. I was fascinated that this was even a job… a matchmaker? This was about eight years ago or so. We became really great friends. I eventually took a job at the company my friend worked for, and I learned from the ground up. It was a natural fit. I'm at a different company now and I work with mostly high income 'VIP' men. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I absolutely love my job. It comes naturally, it's challenging and so rewarding. I still have the same hardcore work ethic and want to work at the best company and break ceilings. And I still do that but in the love industry.
New York Times
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Shirley Manson, the Unexpected Godmother of Rock
An unanswered question in modern music history is: What happened to the culture that created all those amazing female artists in the 1990s? From Liz Phair to Björk to PJ Harvey to Hole to Bikini Kill to Tori Amos and others, women with wildly different sounds, looks and opinions were as critically and commercially powerful as, if not more than, men. Yet by the early 2000s, we were all living in a Disney pop star dominated world, in terms of mainstream commercial music. Shirley Manson, the Scottish musician who has, for 31 years, been the frontwoman of Garbage, one of the most successful rock bands of the era and a major contributor to this woman-powered '90s culture, has a fascinating theory. 'Sept. 11th stopped all alternative female voices in their tracks, because when people get scared, they get conservative and what does a conservative society loathe? A dangerous woman,' she said. 'The fact is, they stopped playing alternative female voices on the radio,' Ms. Manson added, sitting in her favorite cafe in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles this April. 'I remember someone at Interscope Records telling me KROQ [Los Angeles's alternative rock station] will only play one woman, and it's Gwen Stefani, and therefore we're putting all our marketing money into No Doubt. That literally became the dead end for that incredible explosion of female-empowered alternative voices, which were a direct result of that first incredible wave of alternative women: Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry, Patti Smith, Stevie Nicks. My generation was a response to that. Our careers exploded, so we were like, 'Oh, hey, everything's cool, everything has changed, the ceiling has been broken.' And then we hit 2001 and it fell to the earth.' She shook her head, continuing: 'We've now seen two decades of very carefully managed, young, mostly solo, mostly Disney, mostly theater school kids, and they're great! It brings people a lot of joy. To make somebody dance — what a great gift. I could cry just saying that. But as a result, we've also lost the esoteric and the fragile and the dark and the spooky and the fury and all the things that a patriarchal society considers not fitting for a young woman's mind.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Truth to Rumors Justin Bieber Is Balding After Fans Call Out His ‘Insane' Hair Transformation
After writing a scathing Instagram caption about his wife, Justin Bieber is receiving another kind of hate, for something he might not control. Netizens are discussing his hair transformation, and it's bringing a broader conversation about body image and male beauty standards. The Internet went up in flames when one person posted on X, 'justin bieber balding at 31 years is insane😭' alongside two different photos of the singer. Many fans seemed to be appalled at the change with one fan writing, 'he took his wife's surname too srsly' referring to her maiden name Baldwin. More from StyleCaster Hailey Bieber's Latest Move Speaks Volumes About Her Marriage With Justin Bieber After He Felt 'So Disrespected' by His Wife Hailey Bieber Just Reacted to Justin Kissing SZA's Hand on Stage as Fans Claim He 'Humiliated' His Wife Another fan defended the singer writing, 'The man is stressed.. leave him alone.' Lots of people in the quote tweets also recognized that younger people might regret what they say about balding men in the future. 'gen Z genuinely does not seem to grasp the concept of aging. the idea of being 30 is unimaginable to them. good luck lol,' one person wrote. Justin Bieber's appearance has had a lot of changes over the years, and he's recently been sporting a buzzcut or wearing a beanie. Nonetheless, it's really common for men in their early 30s and late 20s to be balding. According to the American Hair Loss Association, two-thirds of American men will experience some degree of noticeable hair loss, and by the age of fifty, approximately 85% of men will have significantly thinning Bieber's hair used to be everything in the cultural zeitgeist. When he rose to fame, the Bieber haircut was the trend where men would put their swooping hair over their eyes. 'It's a calculated move' to cut his hair, Randy Sosin, a former executive at MTV and Interscope Records, told WSJ in 2011 when the singer was 16. 'His hair is not that different, he's not changing it that much, but he's making it more of an event. Everything he does is something.' In fact, Justin just debuted his buzzcut earlier this year in March. His other iconic hair eras include a pompadour, sleek combovers, cornrows, and locs. So it wouldn't be surprising that he would be constantly evolving his hair. However, men still struggle with body image issues when it comes to their hair. 'When someone looks in the mirror,' psychologist Sue McHale told the Guardian, 'often the person they see is someone they no longer recognise. It can leave your self-image fractured, dramatically changed.'Best of StyleCaster The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways
Cosmopolitan
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
How Reneé Rapp's Mom Manifested Her Fame as a Pop Star
Reneé Rapp's stardom was written in the stars—at least, according to her mom, Denise Rapp. The powerhouse vocalist appeared on The Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast, where she opened up about her rise to fame and how she became the latest pop girl to transform the scene. She also shared the major way her mom manifested her stardom to begin with, and it all goes back to the year 2000. 'My mom chose my first and last name to be, well, okay, arguably chose my first and last name to both have [two letter R's],' she explained to the Saturday Night Live alum. 'She was like, 'Alliteration, just in case she wants to be a pop star' before I was born.' While Reneé admitted the move was a bit 'conceited,' she shared that she's actually 'obsessed with the way she did it.' 'I'm like, thank you, God,' she added. Amy agreed with the sentiment, saying, 'She gave you a pop star name just in case, because Reneé Rapp is a huge pop star name.' Reneé quipped, 'It's a really good one!' The interview comes hot off Reneé's American Music Awards debut, where she performed her new single 'Leave Me Alone' for the first time. Complete with dancers, angsty garage-band guitars, and her personality-driven delivery of the lyrics, it was merely another moment catapulting Reneé's name further into our current pop culture landscape. Mark your cals for her next big moment, because her sophomore album, Bite Me, is due on August 1 via Interscope Records. And, ICYMI, catch Reneé's full interview on The Good Hang with Amy Poehler riiight here so you don't miss a beat.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Diddy's ex-employee says music executive warned her 'to leave Puff alone'
During an at times emotional day of testimony, a former employee of Sean "Diddy" Combs opened up about the former hip-hop icon's alleged retaliation that prevented her from employment in the music industry. On May 27, Capricorn Clark – a personal assistant who worked in various other roles for Combs and his businesses from 2004 to 2012, then again in 2016 – testified about the threats and violence she'd witnessed from him over the years. While on the stand, she also described having a hard time finding a job after she was fired over an issue related to vacation time – a move she insinuated was related to telling Bad Boy Records President Harve Pierre about Combs allegedly kidnapping her to threaten Kid Cudi over his relationship with Cassie Ventura Fine. As she sought a new job, Clark told the court, Combs tried to blackball her. She alleged that she met with Jimmy Iovine for what she thought was a job opportunity, but the co-founder of Interscope Records and Beats Electronics, among others, gave her a warning on Combs' behalf. "They were there to tell me to leave Puff alone and that this wasn't going to end well for me," Clark said. The judge then sustained an objection from the prosecution. USA TODAY has reached out to Interscope Records for comment from Iovine, who stepped down from his leadership role in 2014. Clark then said she was looking for work until she got pregnant in 2015, but she couldn't get a job. "I wanted people to see I was a valuable person. I wasn't disposable. In this business, he held all the power over me," Clark said, sobbing. During a tense cross-examination from Combs' team, lawyer Marc Agnofilo attempted to cast doubt on the accuracy and direness of Clark's allegations in the eyes of the jury. He showed communications from Clark starting in 2014, in which she appeared to be making nice with Combs. As Agnifolo brought up exchanges in which Clark mentioned "dope chemistry" and having the "biggest crush" on Combs before she worked for him, she denied remembering the message. Several celebrities have been name-dropped during Combs' trial so far, with many being passing references with no actual relation to the allegations against the mogul. Such was the case, for example, with Barack Obama; Combs' former assistant at one point mentioned a pill shaped like the former president. These other names have come up: Kid Cudi Usher Jimmy Iovine Britney Spears Michael B. Jordan Chris Brown Mike Myers Lauren London Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child 50 Cent Suge Knight If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN's offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and Spanish via chat and at 800-656-4673. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the at 800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788. Contributing: Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy's ex-employee says music exec warned her 'to leave Puff alone'
