Sometimes, when you hear the plot of a movie, you think the executives behind it must have done a double-take when they read it. Or maybe it was a dare, and they didn’t realize, so they greenlit it for fear of being accused of “missing the point”. A murder mystery solved by sheep is absolutely one of them. Look at it on paper, though. Talking animals, a quality voice cast, Wolverine himself getting offed, and fuzzy creatures going Poirot, it could either become a surprise hit or leave everyone involved quietly pretending the sheep were never their idea, but now, thanks to financial filings, we have a clearer sense of just how big that swing really is.

From the looks of the numbers game, The Sheep Detectives reportedly needs to gross at least $128.6 million worldwide to break even, based on a rough 50-50 split between theaters and the studio. Now, the important thing is that those numbers are based on fact: via Forbes, the minimum cost was revealed through U.K. financial filings, with the production’s original cost reduced after a hefty U.K. tax break. Those filings put the movie’s cost at a minimum of $64.3 million after relief, which is where the break-even mathematics begin.

Based on Leonie Swann’s novel Three Bags Full, the film follows a flock of sheep who try to solve the murder of their beloved shepherd. The setup is basically Knives Out by way of Babe, which is utter nonsense, but the kind you’d want to watch. In fact, it sounds like the kind of movie Rian Johnson wishes he’d made. Maybe we’ll get Benoit Blanc on a farm next time. The project has also been a long time coming, with the book spending years in development before finally becoming a big-screen project. And critics have loved it so far, which is great. Reviews have said the weird premise, charm, and emotional weight of the film all hit.

Who Stars in ‘The Sheep Detectives’?

The cast includes Hugh Jackman (Logan, The Greatest Showman) as George, the shepherd whose death sends the story into motion — spoiler alert, sorry, but it is the plot after all — with voice performances from Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep, Seinfeld), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle), Regina Hall (Girls Trip, Support the Girls), Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Logan), Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso, Shrinking), Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility, Nanny McPhee), and Nicholas Braun (Succession, Cat Person).

The Sheep Detectives is now playing in theaters.

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Release Date

May 8, 2026

Runtime

109 Minutes

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Director

Kyle Balda

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When you think of a spy show, you imagine glamorous locations, fancy suits, high-tech gadgets, and the most handsome people in the world. Not this one. It’s about broken-down intelligence officers, terrible offices, worse hygiene, and one of the greatest actors in history farting all the time. That has always been part of the appeal. The show doesn’t need glossy Bond-style fantasy to work, for in its place it has insults, horrible buildings, betrayal, and a group of rejected spies who somehow keep becoming extremely useful.

Slow Horses has, since 2022, become one of Apple TV’s best and most consistent dramas, but it has cost a lot to get it to this point, as via Forbes, newly revealed U.K. financial statements have shown that Apple has spent more than half a billion dollars on the spy series, with the production benefiting from the U.K. government’s Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit, which provides reimbursement on qualifying production spend.

What Is ‘Slow Horses’ About?

The series is based on the Slough House (which is where the name Slow Horses comes from) novels by Mick Herron and follows a group of MI5 rejects exiled to Slough House, where careers go to die under the aggressively unpleasant and flatulent supervision of Jackson Lamb. The team is continually underestimated, and yet somehow finds a way to succeed despite their horrible offices.

The cast includes Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) as Jackson Lamb, Jack Lowden (Dunkirk, Fighting With My Family) as River Cartwright, Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient, Darkest Hour) as Diana Taverner, Saskia Reeves (Luther, Wolf Hall) as Catherine Standish, Rosalind Eleazar (The Personal History of David Copperfield, Harlots) as Louisa Guy, Christopher Chung (Waterloo Road, Silk) as Roddy Ho, Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes, Brazil) as David Cartwright, and Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Peaky Blinders, Detectorists) as Shirley Dander.

Slow Horses is streaming on Apple TV.

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Release Date

April 1, 2022

Network

Apple TV+

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Showrunner

Douglas Urbanski

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Directors

Adam Randall, James Hawes, Jeremy Lovering, Saul Metzstein

Writers

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Mark Denton, Jonny Stockwood

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By Robert Scucci
| Published 25 seconds ago

Christopher Nolan has spent the last 30 years going bigger and better, and I’m starting to wonder how much further he can push the medium of filmmaking. Having followed his career from Memento (2000) all the way through 2023’s Oppenheimer, there’s one pattern that’s become crystal clear: each production has to outdo the last. His first film, 1998’s Following, was produced for a modest $6,000, and it shows on screen. Meanwhile, his upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey tops out at $250 million.

Knowing how Christopher Nolan makes films, it’s safe to say not a single cent is wasted. When he wants to go epic, he goes epic. He’s so committed to scale and scope that I’m surprised he didn’t actually shoot Matthew McConaughey into space on an unsanctioned mission in order to prepare him for Interstellar (2014).

What goes up must come down, though, and I wonder how much bigger Christopher Nolan can realistically make another Christopher Nolan film. Like every privately owned company that demands to see a consistent increase in revenue and shareholder value quarter after quarter, Nolan keeps upping the ante. Most people would probably say the logical next step is to continue pushing the envelope and going even bigger.

Maybe after The Odyssey, Nolan decides he wants to make a film about Old Faithful and will only consider his vision fully realized once he causes the geyser to erupt prematurely, ushering in a new ice age. Or maybe, and feel free to call me crazy here, Nolan could go back to his roots, take a breather, and belt out another generation-defining thriller like Memento or Insomnia.

I’m Not Trying To Give Christopher Nolan Advice, He’s Much Smarter Than Me

While it would be easy to frame a piece like this as “Christopher Nolan Needs To Do This One Thing To Save His Career,” that’s not what I’m trying to do here. Christopher Nolan has made a career out of being Christopher Nolan, and I have not. I’ve been a fan of his filmmaking since his second film. While I can’t in good conscience say anybody can play Batman better than Michael Keaton, his Dark Knight trilogy is still the most cohesive Batman saga we’ve gotten so far, and often cited as responsible for redefining the superhero genre. Christopher Nolan has proven himself as an auteur and filmmaker who doesn’t need advice from anyone (especially me), and he has the clout and freedom to do whatever he wants, probably for the rest of his life.

What I keep thinking about, though, is what would happen if instead of scaling up again, he scaled back. The Odyssey will go down in history as the first major studio film shot entirely on IMAX film cameras. That’s cool and impressive. You know what else is impressive? Memento, one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time, which was made possible with a $9 million production budget. It’s a perfect movie.

Insomnia takes that same energy and adds some serious star power to the mix in the form of Al Pacino and Robin Williams. It also had five times the budget, but given the talent roster, I’d imagine a healthy chunk of that went toward securing the cast. Even if you take a quick look at his first film, Following, it’s rough around the edges, but it’s still a tight thriller that holds up today despite being made with virtually no budget while Nolan still had to work various day jobs between shoots. 

Christopher Nolan thrives in the psychological thriller space. He’s an expert at showing how troubled and conflicting personalities interact when they’re together, and how they act when they’re alone and ruminating. He also knows how to turn those character moments into tension once motives become clearer and the characters are forced to confront not only their demons, but their antagonists. He understands how to pace a man’s fall from grace as external forces beyond his control clash with the circumstances he can control. And he can do all of this for less than $50 million.

Not Asking For A Career Pivot, But Rather A Side Quest

Recently I’ve been thinking about how movie studios could benefit from putting out more titles with shorter runtimes and smaller budgets. My argument is that a movie like Zach Cregger’s Weapons (2025) cost $38 million to make and has already pulled in more than $270 million worldwide. It’s just over two hours long, and it’s a self-contained story. You don’t need to do homework or study history to enjoy what Weapons has to offer. Weapons just happens to you, and you either get it or you don’t.

Memento and Insomnia are cut from a similar cloth. They both clock in under 120 minutes and, in the grand scheme of things, didn’t cost a hell of a lot to make. Imagine the kind of film Christopher Nolan could make today with, say, $100 million. Strip the whole thing down so it’s shot through more conventional, readily available means, and use the budget to secure the appropriate A-list talent, if needed, for the project.

Meanwhile, films like 2023’s The Flash, which cost more than $200 million to produce, didn’t even break even once marketing and distribution costs were factored in.

The problem Christopher Nolan has, and it’s a good problem to have, is that he’s been in the freakin’ zone for nearly 30 years. He takes massive creative risks, and they’ve all paid off up to this point. He can literally do anything he wants. If he wanted to bring back LaserDisc for a one-off feature, he could probably secure an investor willing to make it happen. If he wanted to make a time travel flick, he could probably snap his fingers and somebody would materialize out of thin air to help him track down an entire lot of functional DeLorean DMC-12s.

I’m a dreamer, though, and I’d love nothing more than to see Christopher Nolan take everything he’s learned and perfected since bursting onto the scene, scale things back, and go smaller instead of bigger after The Odyssey. This isn’t an indictment of his filmmaking or creative direction, but rather a celebration of it. I can’t say Nolan has ever missed. What I can say is that I’d love to see him make something more reminiscent of his roots now that he’s older, wiser, and influential enough to do whatever he wants whenever he wants, and see what that kind of wisdom could do for the genre that launched his career.

And no, I’m not asking for Memento 3D. But a tight, lean, dark, gritty thriller made today with Christopher Nolan’s talent and passion for the craft would absolutely pop off if he ever decided to give it a shot. He’s already done so much more with less, so just imagine the kind of thriller he could make now with the resources currently at his disposal.

If there’s anything productive you need to do today, let it be to shop a sale this good. The Macy’s One-Day Sale is here, and you can score up to 60% on tons of gorgeous summer fashion essentials. Far from being a sad seasonal leftovers situation, you’ll find a curated lineup of fashionable and functional pieces you’ll wear on repeat all summer long.

From bright summer dresses, quiet luxury-style blouses and breezy shorts and skirts, there’s a little something for everyone in this act-now event. And not to add to the pressure, but there are hours left to grab your well-deserved summer upgrades before they jump back up to full price. Below, shop our favorite summer-approved picks — including denim, linen fabrics and more — all up to 61% off!

Best Finds From Macy’s One-Day Sale

Loose and Slimming Dresses 

1. Our Favorite: Macy’s shoppers are obsessed with this bestselling Avec Les Filles dress. Reviewers say the belted, puff-shoulder piece is “elegant,” “lightweight,” and an absolute “conversation-starter” — was $188, now $113!

2. Stock Up: If there’s a dress we’re tempted to buy in every color, it’s this Tommy Hilfiger linen dress. Airy, polished and full of rich-mom details, it’s a shirdress that reads quiet-luxury the moment you button it up — was $129, now $90!

3. Luxe For Less: Get that Anthropologie energy for way less in this cotton eyelet maxi dress. The slimming empire-waist essential comes in black and white — perfect for elevated everyday dressing — was $90, now $54!

4. Denim Demure: Capsule-collection wearers won’t be able to resist this tiered denim midi. Lightweight, belted at the waist, and versatile, it has that summer-styling power to match basically anything in your closet — was $90, now $54!

5. Stand-Out Print: Stand out in a sea of monochrome in this Karl Lagerfeld floral print dress. Elegant, summery and lightweight, the fit-and-flare frock highlights the best of the feminine figure with floaty, romantic ease — was $170, now $107!

6. Office Approved: Put a polished spin on traditional workwear with this belted tiered midi dress. Conservative but still flirty, the Calvin Klein dress balances professionalism with playfulness in the best way possible — was $149, now $80!

7. Beloved Beauty: It’s no surprise this Donna Karan fit-and-flare dress is a Macy’s bestseller. The belted A-line midi highlights your figure beautifully, while offering a little extra ease through the midsection — was $189, now $113!

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Flattering Skirts and Shorts

8. Our Favorite: Breathable, flattering and cozy, these Levi’s cotton shorts are a summer essential. The mid-thigh-length shorts won’t ride up, giving you stay-put comfort that moves with you from mom duties to morning coffee runs without a single tug — was $65, now $55!

9. Vacation-Ready: Color Us surprised, but we’re totally on board with these linen Bermuda shorts. The pleated, high-waist shorts are so chic we’d wear them to the office with a white blouse and matching blazer for a boardroom-ready ensemble — was $65, now $39!

10. Easy-Breezy: Give your denim a well-deserved break with these chambray cargo shorts. Easy to slip on and fuss-free, they’re the kind of breathe-easy piece that still lets you look chic with a button-up or well-worn tee — was $45, now $25!

11. Matching Set: Youthful but elevated, this eyelet midi skirt lets you add play, poise and a breezy femininity to every summer outfit. Even better, it has a matching top that’s well worth the purchase for the refined head-to-toe look — was $105, now $63!

12. Country-Club Chic: You’ll look like you stepped right into the Hamptons in this striped midi skirt. Adorned in a signature blue-and-white, it looks just as stunning with a tee and sneakers as with a blouse and pumps — was $90, now $45!

13. Statement Style: Add a bit of bounce and a lot of beauty to your wardrobe with this pull-on ruffled-hem skirt. Adorned in a vibrant green, the Vince Camuto skirt will turn heads wherever you go — was $118, now $89!

Breezy Blouses 

14. Our Favorite: Sweet, simple and chic, this CeCe scalloped puff-sleeve blouse leans into femininity without the frill. The go-to summer shirt comes in bright hues, like lemon drop, azalea, lush meadow and fiery red — was $69, now $42!

15. In Style: If high-fashion runways and capsule collections are any indication, polka dots are majorly trending. This gorgeous sleeveless polka-dot peplum blouse lets you tap into the trend, with plenty of functional flair you can actually wear — was $65, now $39!

16. Compliments Guaranteed: We’re getting Oscar de la Renta vibes from this pintuck floral blouse. It’s a bold print that pairs beautifully with everything from denim, skirts, trousers — you name it — was $75, now $52!

17. Rich Mom-Approved: Not going to lie, this short-sleeve chambray shirt is a style we can picture on quiet-luxury fashionistas like Meghan Markle. A crisp wash, impeccable tailoring and elevated details give the Tommy Hilfiger top a custom-made look — was $65, now $52!

18. Elegance Achieved: Fitted but forgiving, this tie-front linen-blend shirt defines your waist while still feeling relaxed throughout. It’s that one-and-done blouse that flatters a range of shapes and sizes — was $65, now $32!

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Wedding season is quickly picking up, bringing a slew of invitations with it. And while there’s nothing like celebrating true love, buying a new dress for every occasion can get expensive fast. That’s why shopping on a budget is key — and Amazon currently has tons of wedding guest dresses for under $50. I found […]

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

Whenever people talk about the best Marvel series on Disney+, they never mention Moon Knight. That’s a shame, though, because this show was like nothing else in this sprawling cinematic universe. It kept fans on their toes from beginning to end, and the entire thing was anchored by an amazing performance from lead actor Oscar Isaac. When the credits rolled on Season 1, everyone wanted to know if he was going to come back and portray this unstable hero ever again. Almost half a decade later, though, and most of the fandom has concluded that Isaac is never coming back to this show despite it racking up an impressive nine Emmy nominations.

However, in a recent interview, Moon Knight creator Jeremy Slater revealed that Isaac signed a very special contract with Marvel in which he would only come back to the show if Marvel could develop “stories that he is creatively excited to tell.” Some might think the Star Wars actor is just being a prima donna and refusing to return to genre storytelling. Taken at face value, though, Isaac is primarily interested in the creative integrity of his character. Meanwhile, the contract he signed is a great example of how other actors can collectively do the impossible: fix the MCU.

In The Name Of The Moon, He Will Punish Disney

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Jeremy Slater revealed that Oscar Isaac made a very unconventional deal with Disney when he agreed to do Moon Knight. “The contract Oscar Isaac signed was very much like, we will do more stories when we find stories that he is creatively excited to tell,” he said. “They can’t just sort of snap their fingers and summon him back for another adventure.” The reason for this is simple: according to Slater, Isaac is “really creatively involved in the future of that character.”

Of course, this puts additional pressure on Slater and other Marvel gurus to up their storytelling game. Slater claims that “part of the challenge, and part of the joy over there, is finding what stories does Oscar want to explore, and how does he want that character to be used? What’s something that would entice him to get back and play in that sandbox one more time?” Unfortunately, since we haven’t gotten any new Moon Knight episodes in over four years, it’s clear that Slater and the rest of his team have failed (so far, at least) to come up with a story that Isaac found creatively compelling.

The Marvel Slop-o-Matic Universe

Still, hope springs eternal, and Slater spilling the tea about Isaac’s contrast may provide Marvel fans with hope for the actor’s eventual return. However, this surprising news has me asking a more fundamental question: why aren’t more Marvel stars negotiating these kinds of contracts? Historically, the biggest MCU stars have been tied down to decade-long contracts that require they appear in a certain number of films and shows regardless of quality. That’s how Chris Hemsworth ended up doing the hated sequel Thor: The Dark World, and how Brie Larson came back from the blockbuster success of Captain Marvel to do The Marvels, the biggest cinematic failure of the entire franchise.

Whenever fans complain about the declining quality of the MCU, what they’re really complaining about is the declining quality of the writing. Bad writers can turn even the most beloved heroes into walking (or flying) punchlines, and even good writers get ground down by the requirements of major executives like Kevin Feige. In fact, studio pressure is the primary reason why so many Marvel movies follow the same, bland formula: execs look at what worked before in movies like The Avengers (armies of generic goons, endless quips, an inexplicable blue light in the sky), and try to apply it to as many films as possible in an attempt to recapture lightning in a bottle.

Our Favorite Lunar Psycho

It never really works, which is why we have so many awful, phoned-in sequels like The Marvels, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Previously, the actors have always been relatively helpless when it comes to fixing the movies they are attached to. But Osar Isaac is quietly demonstrating an option most of these stars have never considered: negotiating a contract where he doesn’t have to come back if he’s not happy with the project. It’s the right call for Moon Knight, of course. Personally, I’d rather have only one excellent season of this Emmy-nominated show than watch it descend into pure slop.

But it’s the right call for Marvel shows and movies across the board. We all know that the real cure for superhero fatigue is good writing, just as we all know that the studio and especially its parent company will cut corners whenever possible to meet deadlines and maximize profits. Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight contract is more than a sweetheart deal; it’s a way for future MCU actors to break the cycle of sloppy storytelling and only appear in works they are passionate about. For this to happen, though, these actors will have to emulate their onscreen characters and become real-life heroes ready to fight the biggest supervillain of them all: The Walt Disney Company.

By Robert Scucci
| Published 13 seconds ago

Conan O’Brien, like most Golden Era Simpsons writers, is a rare breed. He’s made a career out of a unique brand of low-brow humor that somehow could only come from an Ivy League education. Between his upbringing, education, and naturally unhinged comedic sensibilities, he’s brought us “Marge vs. the Monorail,” the best Hot Ones interview of all time, and decades of late-night television that, in hindsight, makes me realize he was always at his best when broadcasting after midnight.

I could spend the rest of my life talking about every hilarious Conan O’Brien moment, but there’s one from 2007 that may very well be the crowning jewel of his entire career: his interview with overtly enthusiastic and egregiously eccentric bread expert Steven Kaplan. For years, the segment was so perfect that I genuinely thought it had to be staged.

It wasn’t staged, but I’m about to unpack why it feels like it was, and why it may very well be the funniest moment in television history.

Good Bread Is Back, Baby!

In 2007, Late Night with Conan O’Brien brought Steven Kaplan on as a guest for one of its segments. Kaplan is an Ivy League scholar with multiple degrees from Princeton University, Université de Poitiers, and Yale University. He has spent decades studying (and teaching) multiple aspects of the French Revolution, with a primary focus on bread, grain trade, and provisioning. In other words, he’s a total bread nerd.

Conan O’Brien, who served as president of The Harvard Lampoon during his college years, clearly didn’t know what he was getting into when a man who was arguably more educated than him sat in the interview chair to talk about his one burning passion: good bread. Kaplan was there to promote his then-new book, Good Bread Is Back, but instead we got a masterclass in improvisational comedy.

At first, the interview starts out as normally as it possibly could. O’Brien asks Kaplan why he got into bread studies, and Kaplan immediately sets the tone for the rest of the segment. He explains that if you want to understand a country’s history, you need to understand its dietary habits and the way people congregate around food, pointing to breadmaking as a perfect entry point.

Things completely go off the rails after Kaplan compares the breadmaking process to a sexual act, explaining that you need to mount the dough, fondle it, and yes, even inseminate it with live yeast. Conan, being the formally trained comedian that he is, immediately leans into Kaplan’s eccentricities, and Kaplan, an Ivy League academic who very clearly shares similar comedic instincts despite his career path, catches on almost instantly and commits to the bit as aggressively as humanly possible.

What starts as O’Brien antagonizing Kaplan quickly turns into Kaplan getting the upper hand, especially once they start comparing loaves of bread and Kaplan produces a comically large bread knife that he just so happens to carry on his person at all times.

That Is The Tautology In Which Non-Believers Are Locked Into!

What makes the Steven Kaplan interview feel so surreal is that it plays out exactly like the kind of written sketch you’d see on SNL or I Think You Should Leave. Kaplan walks on set, Conan asks what he’s about, Kaplan passionately explains bread, Conan pokes fun at him, Kaplan leans into sexual innuendo, Conan becomes visibly horrified, Kaplan starts aggressively fondling loaves, and Conan completely loses control of the interview.

After all the buildup, they finally taste the bread, which prompts Conan to shrug and admit, “Yeah, it’s good bread.” The final punchline comes when they explain that professional bread tasters are categorized as either spitters or swallowers. A visibly defeated O’Brien, who only learns this terminology after already gulping down his bite, quietly realizes he’s a swallower.

It’s a masterclass in escalation that only two incredibly smart guys with a shared love for absurdity could pull off. O’Brien, one of the funniest men alive, immediately recognized the opportunity to create something memorable with a fascinating guest, and Kaplan, armed with an intimidating academic resume and surprisingly sharp comedic instincts, recognized exactly what Conan was doing and ran with it completely unprompted. It becomes a battle of wits devoted entirely to going as low-brow as possible.

It’s been nearly 20 years since Late Night with Conan O’Brien aired the Steven Kaplan segment, and not a single week goes by that I don’t think about it. To this day, it still might be the funniest moment in television history.

Today’s Sheinelle Jones was blown away by the unexpected item she found while recently cleaning.

“I found this old suitcase, and I unzipped it, and it was my wedding dress,” Jones, 48, shared on the Thursday, May 14, episode of TODAY With Jenna and Sheinelle. “I remember everybody telling me that you’re supposed to get them preserved and I didn’t. I remember Uche and I took pictures all over the streets of Philadelphia so the bottom of it is [dirty].”

After cohost Jenna Bush Hager praised how “beautiful” the dress was, Jones admitted that she now sees the outfit in a new way after her husband, Uche Ojeh, died in May 2025 at the age of 45 after being diagnosed with a brain cancer called glioblastoma.

“Now, obviously, I see it differently. I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness! I never had it preserved. Do they do that? Is it too late?’” she asked. I remember people were like, ‘Oh, one day your daughter may want to wear your dress.’”

During the candid chat, Bush Hager, 44, recalled the moment she went searching for her wedding dress. In her situation, it was for a very specific reason.

“I wanted to do this party, which I think we should still do,” the morning show host shared. “It’s called ’Seven year itch.’ Everybody wears their wedding dress. Mine won’t fit so I guess I have to go to, like, vintage or David’s Bridal or whatever. At my seven year anniversary, I said, ‘Mom, where is my wedding dress?’ She said, ‘I have it.’ I said, “I want to try it on because I want to do this party.’ She was like, ‘OK, sure, we can try it on.’ It didn’t fit.”

Jones was visibly shocked that her cohost couldn’t fit into her wedding dress. Bush Hager, however, quickly reminded her friend that things have changed after giving birth to three kids.

@jennasheinelle

Finding the wedding dress = instant time machine 😍🤍 #JennaandSheinelle

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♬ original sound – TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle

“When you’re 26, there’s certain things,” she joked. “This don’t fit over my left thigh.”

All jokes aside, Jones has been open about the highs and lows of her life as she grieves the loss of her husband.

On Monday, May 11, the author of Through Mom’s Eyes opened up about the challenge of celebrating Mother’s Day without her husband for the first time.

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“I’ll be honest with you, it was kind of tough for me,” she admitted on Today. “I think when you have firsts — and Mother’s Day was a first for me since Uche passed — you fortify your heart, right? Christmas and Easter, you kind of fortify yourself. But there’s some holidays that you don’t see coming that are harder than you think. Mother’s Day was brutal.”

Ultimately, the mother of three stayed busy as her children all had activities during the day.

“My little guy had a game at 9 a.m., Kayin had a game at 7 p.m., Clara had dance, so I couldn’t stay in bed,” she said. “I’m like, ‘OK, it’s gonna be OK.’”

Vivica A. Fox is proving that longevity in Hollywood is all about reinvention. In a new interview, the actress reflected on everything from her dramatic transformation in the revenge thriller “Is God Is” to the lessons she’s learned after spending more than three decades in the entertainment industry.

Fox stars in “Is God Is” as Ruby, a burn-scarred mother seeking revenge after surviving a devastating house fire set by her estranged husband. The role required the actress to undergo hours of prosthetic makeup, creating a look that left many fans stunned when the trailer dropped.

“When I did the film ‘Why Do Fools Fall in Love,’ I [aged] from 16 to 60,” the 61-year-old told AARP’s Movies for Grownups. “But I had never played a character that was injured or severely burned as Ruby was. This was like the hands, the neck, the face… Four hours of prosthetics.”

The actress admitted she loved the reaction from viewers who barely recognized her. “The one thing that I really, really loved when the trailer was [released] and it went viral, everyone kept saying, ‘Oh, my God, is that Vivica Fox?’” she shared. “They’re just not used to seeing me that way. I love surprising people. I love challenging myself.”

Hollywood Is Finally Embracing Black Women’s Stories

Fox also reflected on the impact of films centered around strong Black women, noting similarities between Is God Is and her beloved 1996 film “Set It Off.” Thirty years after starring alongside Queen Latifah, Kimberly Elise, and Jada Pinkett Smith in the iconic crime drama, Fox said she’s encouraged to see more opportunities finally opening for Black actresses.

“I think, finally, people are getting to appreciate African American female stories and to give them opportunities to play out their stories,” Fox explained. “Our stories are being embraced and being told and being funded and being acted out by some amazing actresses.”

Vivica A. Fox Reflects On Career Longevity In Hollywood

Beyond acting, Fox also opened up about becoming a producer and learning how to evolve in an industry that often moves quickly. “I’ll be honest with you; producing fell into my lap,” Fox admitted while explaining how her team encouraged her to take more ownership behind the scenes.

The actress said staying relevant in Hollywood means learning how to adapt over time. “This is a journey, and there are different chapters,” she said. “You can’t play one character. You’ve got to mature and play another character. Then sometimes, you step behind the camera. Then you’ve got to learn what your brand is.”

Advice For Young Actors Chasing Fame

Looking back on her decades-long career, Fox admitted there’s one thing she wishes she had done more often in her early years: slow down. “The main thing for me is that now I’ve taken the time to smell the roses,” she shared, admitting she once became consumed by the “treadmill of success.”

Fox also had a message for younger actors hoping for overnight success in the social media era. “Nowadays, everybody thinks that they can just swipe to fame,” she said. “Don’t have a moment. Build a career.”

Vivica A. Fox Says Pam Grier Inspired Her To ‘Pass The Baton’

Fox also reflected on the importance of mentoring the next generation, revealing that legendary actress Pam Grier played a major role in shaping how she approaches Hollywood.

The “Kill Bill” star shared that she once had the opportunity to interview Grier, whom she considers both a role model and inspiration behind the name of her production company, Foxy Brown Productions. “She was the first super-strong, beautiful African American woman that I saw,” Fox said of Grier.

According to Fox, the encounter became an emotional moment after Grier encouraged her to lead with kindness and generosity. “She said to me, ‘Vivica, it’s how I’m supposed to be, and I challenge you to do the same,’” Fox recalled.

Now, after decades in Hollywood, Fox says she tries to do exactly that by supporting younger talent and helping open doors where she can. “I’ve been passing the baton to the [next generation], and I’m always kind, because I believe a happy set is a productive set,” she explained.