Rachel Peller

Thursday night’s New York premiere of the Matt Smith-led biopic “Mapplethorpe” took place at Cinépolis Chelsea, just steps from the Chelsea Hotel where the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe once lived — but director Ondi Timoner had no sense of that legacy when she first encountered him in a very different context. “When I was ten [...]

Mary J. Blige kicks butt. The singer-actress plays Cha-Cha, a villain in the new “The Umbrella Academy,” Netflix’s adaptation of the superhero comic book series of the same name. “I went all the way for Cha-Cha,” Blige told Variety on Tuesday at the series’ red carpet premiere in Hollywood. “The stunt work was amazing. I [...]

“Dear White People” and “Leimert Park” executive producer Mel Jones is extremely familiar with growing up and watching “white men in all types of roles and never [seeing] ourselves as a part of those narratives.” Now, there may be some more opportunities for writers of color to tell their own stories, but, she notes, there [...]

Halle Berry wasn’t immediately sold on the idea of a “Boomerang” reboot. The 1992 romantic comedy, which starred Berry, Eddie Murphy, and Robin Givens, told the tale of cocky ad executive and insatiable ladies’ man Marcus (Murphy) who meets his match in his new boss Jacqueline (Givens) — an exec who treats him the same [...]

Liam Hemsworth had every intention of bringing his wife, Miley Cyrus, to Monday’s premiere of his new romantic comedy “Isn’t It Romantic.” However, the Aussie actor was forced to skip the evening because of some “health things.” That didn’t stop Cyrus from attended the red carpet shindig at the Theater at the Ace Hotel in downtown [...]

It wasn’t Soho House, the Polo Lounge or the Four Seasons that Mark Ronson chose for his post-Grammy “Club Heartbreak” celebration with some of the biggest stars in music. Rather, Adele, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Troye Sivan, Charli XCX and the girls from Haim were among the revelers at Oil Can Harry’s in Studio City, [...]