Keeping it real is always in style!

Cardi B has never been one to hold back. Whether she’s spilling her beauty secrets, shutting down rumors, rapping about her feelings, or sharing candid looks at her family life, the Grammy winner has built her career on being unapologetically herself. So, naturally, partnering with Zevia for the better-for-you beverage brand’s Real Talk Interpreter campaign was a perfect fit.

“I got to be myself. I love shoots where I can just show up and be me. That’s why this partnership works. It’s funny, it’s honest, and it’s not too serious,” she tells ET.

The partnership celebrates the unfiltered moments that happen when people say exactly what they’re thinking, something the former Love & Hip Hop: New York star has never had much trouble doing.

“I mean, you don’t gotta be rude, but I think people appreciate honesty,” she says with a laugh.

“I’ve always been myself, even when it got me in trouble. I’d rather people know exactly who I am, so they know exactly what to expect,” the hitmaker continues.

“I could never pretend to be anyone else, and I wouldn’t want to be anyone else. I think what my fans appreciate most about me is that they never have to guess when it comes to who I am.”

For the “Bodak Yellow” rapper, being genuine is a way of life, and she brings that same straightforward approach to her health habits.

“I’m definitely more mindful now because I got a lot going on. Touring is no joke, and I need energy every night. … It’s really about balance. I still enjoy the foods I love, but I try to make smarter choices where I can. That’s why Zevia works for me. I still get the flavor I want without any sugar,” she explains.

As for what she keeps stocked on her tour bus, she has found her favorites. “I really love the new Orange Creamsicle and Strawberry Lemon Burst. I can scratch my soda itch with a better soda option.”

Of course, Cardi’s commitment to authenticity goes far beyond her wellness routine, extending to her enviable wardrobe and impressive handbag collection.

When asked whether she’d ever carry a convincing designer dupe, the New York native makes her stance crystal clear: “I’d never buy fake anything, especially not a Hermès bag.”

Cardi’s love of fashion has also become a family affair, especially when it comes to spending time with her daughter, Kulture.

“I love being home with my family and shopping with my kids,” the Grow Good founder shares.

And it sounds like the 8-year-old is already her mom’s mini-me.

“Kulture is a real girly-girl, like me. She’s always finding something for us to do, like skincare, TikTok recipes, and going to concerts. I love doing everything together.”

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Willem Dafoe has perhaps one of the most interesting and impressive resumes of any actor working today. The 4-time Academy Award nominee has played everything from a larger-than-life supervillain in Spider-Man to a humble motel manager in The Florida Project, and in every single one of those projects, he delivers 110% every single time. Dafoe’s legendary dedication to everything he does almost makes his mere involvement a bona fide stamp of approval, and that’s very much the case for his next two projects, Late Fame and The Birthday Party.

The two new films are a near-flawless showcase of Dafoe’s range as an actor, as one portrays him as a quiet and introspective poet while the other has him playing an intimidating and wealthy businessman. Ahead of the films’ release, I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Dafoe about his new roles and how he decided to make them his next projects. Our full conversation also covers Dafoe’s surprising history with the James Bond IP, his ongoing working relationship with Robert Eggers, and what fans can expect from his upcoming horror film Werwulf.

Willem Dafoe Breaks Down His Process for Choosing a Role and Why He Chose to Star in ‘Late Fame’ and ‘The Birthday Party’

“You don’t really know the role until you do it.”

Image via Quiver Distribution

COLLIDER: Let’s just jump right into it. It’s rare that I get to talk to someone about two movies rather than just one movie, and I think that really speaks to how you are always working on something interesting at all times. What does your process of choosing a role look like from the biggest blockbuster to the smallest indie film?

DAFOE: You know, I’ve got a non-answer for that because it’s always different. I think there’s certain tendencies. The director is very important for me, and I think I look for situations, situations where I can find something, or I can learn something, or something can happen to me. So, that’s what I look for.

It’s not really the role specifically because you don’t really know the role until you do it. And sometimes I think even if you see the role too clearly and you say, “Wow, this would be really great for me,” that’s something to avoid because it’s almost like you know what it is. You’ve got to have that space to reach for. You’ve got to have that space that’s a little difficult. You’ve got to have that space that’s full of questions. I think that is what gives you the energy to really extend yourself and forces you in a creative way to find something new, and that becomes the heart and the energy of what commits you to having your world drop away and trying to imagine the situation of another person, another way of looking, another way of feeling. That’s the pleasure of performing.

Because really, the thing that we can do is just share an experience. Have an experience, and share an experience. It’s not really about telling people things. It’s not necessarily about communicating the message. It’s about having an experience to expand the possibility of how we see things.

I wouldn’t call that a non-answer at all. That was a wonderful answer. Let me hone in a little bit more on Late Fame and The Birthday Party, specifically. What drew you to those two roles? Was it mainly the directors involved? How would you describe getting involved at first?

DAFOE: It’s probably complicated. Late Fame, I read the novella. A friend gave it to me and said, “I think this is a movie. It’s really interesting,” — a writer-actor friend in New York named Danny Sippy. He gave it to me basically because I was looking for something to do with Abel Ferrara, who I work with quite often. Abel, it wasn’t for him right off the bat, and I knew it wasn’t because it’s set in Vienna and a period movie. It just didn’t seem like the right material for him, but I was really stuck on it.

Then I started seeking out who had the rights to it, and unbeknownst to me, because I’m not really an industry person and I don’t develop things often, it was already a script. Shortly after I started looking for who owned the rights, they asked me to do the role. It was the script from Samy Burch, who did, among other things, May December a couple of years ago, and the amazing thing about it was it was transposed from Vienna to present-day New York City. Initially I thought, “Bad idea,” because Vienna was such a character in the original, but then I read the script, and I said, “Wow, this is really what’s in the air. This is really pertinent. This is something I relate to because I know something of this.” But there are also a lot of questions that are raised that are really interesting and really are in the air. So, that’s when you feel like you’re going to make a movie that people will relate to and will be rich material. So that’s why the reason I did that.

The Birthday Party, it’s a long story, but I did a movie called Inside with a Greek director, and there was a very good producer on it. The movie was really made in the shooting. There was a good script, but we had to tweak a lot of things in the process, and both the director, Vasilis Katsoupis, and the producer worked very well. And the producer said, “I have this book,” and he told me this story, and I said, “What? That’s fantastic!” It’s 1970s Greece, kind of an Onassis kind of character. It was interesting, but I didn’t think it was right for me.

When it was time to cast, he called me up and said, “I want you to do this.” And I was a little bit like, “You really think I’m right for it?” And after some talk, he introduced me to a director that I like very much. He was unknown to me, and I loved his movies. So, these things come together, and I say, “Why not?” It’s like you go towards situations, you go towards people, you go to places where you think you can have an experience or contribute something. So, that’s basically the road to how I choose.

Willem Dafoe on Working With Greta Lee in ‘Late Fame’

Lee can also be seen in Netflix’s ‘The Last House.’

Image via Magnolia Pictures

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Another thing about Late Fame that I loved is Greta Lee is just firing on all cylinders in that movie and is having a blast. What was it like having her as a scene partner in that film?

DAFOE: It’s an interesting story. She’s great. It’s an interesting story because it’s kind of a sidebar to the main story about his relationship with the Enthusiasm Society, and like Ed Saxberger was, perhaps, she is turned on. She’s doing the thing that she loves to do, but she’s having difficulty sustaining herself, not just economically, but finding the right work. She’s still got the hunger. And she’s at that point.

Saxberger, the character I play in Late Fame, at a certain point, the scene kind of moved away. He didn’t get the teaching gig to support him. You can take a job and still continue your art, but he decided to walk away from that life and start another life by working at the post office, having some friends in a bar, living very simply, very solitarily. She is at that point where she has to decide, but she’s not giving up. So, there’s a kind of compassion and desperation.

What’s tragic about her is she’s pushing. She needs the attention, so she’s kicked everything up. But at the same time, you’re kind of touched by her commitment to what she’s doing. It’s what she feels like she’s made for. It’s what turns her on. And I think Saxberger relates to that. And it’s a flirtation with a younger woman, and I think it’s kind of a return to a younger man than he was and a flirtation, so that’s always understandable.

She’s the perfect foil to Sax for the whole time. I especially love, without getting too much into the spoilers, there’s one scene where we get to see a very different side of her character that is a big revelation for him. It’s fascinating to see how both of you worked together in that movie.

DAFOE: She was a good partner. And, yeah, it’s an interesting relationship between the two.

Willem Dafoe Explains His “Tragic Character” in ‘The Birthday Party’

“I feel for him, but I wouldn’t want to be him.”

Image via Quiver Distribution

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Speaking of interesting relationships, The Birthday Party is chock-full of them. Marcos as a character is such a larger-than-life figure, and I feel like we learned so much about him just through visuals alone, let alone the dialogue. He almost carries himself as a Bond villain with his big estate. Do you think that Marcos considers himself the hero or the villain of his own story, even though he is very much the protagonist?

DAFOE: Listen, he’s not stupid. But at the same time, he’s so involved in trying to save his life and save the lives of people around him that he’s blinded. He’s also someone who’s been hurt by life, even though he’s very successful and he’s what you call a self-made man, I suppose. He’s concentrated on building this empire, and somehow has lost touch with his wife, with his children, one who has tragically died, and that’s sort of an old story. We all know that: The man who sacrifices the things he loves in the pursuit of something out there. So, he’s difficult. He’s a complex character. I feel for him, but I wouldn’t want to be him. It’s a tough character.

But I think it’s an interesting story just about how people gather around these people of power and what their relationship is, including their family. The central relationship is between him and his daughter, who he loves very much, but it’s tinged by all kinds of complex problems. I also like the relationship with his wife, which is very complicated because there’s a lot of love there, but they can’t stand each other in a way. You see that in a lot of relationships. It’s just a little bigger than life because he’s bigger than life, and his power and the attention and the love and the damage that he can do because of his resources is bigger than life. It’s a very Greek story. He’s a very tragic figure.

But it’s an interesting portrait of power and an interesting portrait of family in a position of power. It’s not a celebration. I remember someone said, “Why do you want to make a movie about rich people?” It’s as much a study of a cautionary tale not only about rich people, but where you place your attention and your relationship to other people. You’ve got to give them space, and you’ve got to get a lot of things to change. You can’t hold on too tightly, or you’ll strangle them. So, I think this is a familiar scene, but it’s played out in a very specific way because it’s a story that happens in the ‘70s with a man of power, an almost Onassis-like character. So, it’s interesting, not only on a personal level, but also, now, particularly, from a political level.

Willem Dafoe Reveals His Surprising History With the James Bond Franchise

Dafoe played the main antagonist of the 2003 video game, ‘James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing.’

Custom Image by Zanda Rice

When I described him as a Bond villain, that ties a little bit into one of my favorite pieces of Willem Dafoe trivia. You actually played a Bond villain at one point in one of the James Bond video games.

DAFOE: I did. And, you know, I think I never even saw it. I enjoyed doing it, but that was very early when people were making video games. Very, very early. I remember it was a very quick recording session. I kind of invented an accent on the spot. It was very loosey-goosey. But many people have told me they really enjoy it, so it’s a case of sometimes it’s good to jump in and play it loose and fast. Sometimes that has a spirit that may not be precise, but it has a spirit that really brings the character to life.

That’s wonderful. A lot of people think you would make such a great Bond villain, because you’ve had so many great villain roles. With all this chatter of who the next James Bond is going to be, would you ever want to revisit the James Bond franchise in live action at some point?

DAFOE: I don’t want to send a little headline out there, but, you know, in the right situation. I mean, when I was a kid, I remember seeing From Russia with Love and Goldfinger when I was really young, like uncomfortable. I was young enough that the sex scenes, for example, or the romance scenes or whatever you call them, were not cool. They were uncomfortable for me because one of my sisters was babysitting me and couldn’t get me lost and had a date, and they took me along. And I remember I suffered through it. [Laughs]

Then, I’ve watched Bond films through the years. They’re a particular thing. Yeah, it is something that might be fun to do, and I’d really check it out if they came my way.

Willem Dafoe on Working With Robert Eggers on the “Otherworldly” ‘Werwulf’

“We’ve got a very, very full-on movie.”

Credit: Frederic Kern/Future Image/Cover Images

About two years ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with someone who you’ve worked with quite a bit, Robert Eggers, and he had very wonderful things to say about you. What is it about him as a filmmaker that you really love working with so much, and how has your relationship now evolved going into what we’re going to see later this year in Werwulf?

DAFOE: He gets better and better. He’s just very committed. He’s smart. He knows his passions. He knows his limitations. He knows what he loves, and he knows actors. He was an actor. I love working with him because he gives me fun things to do, and he knows how to punch my buttons, and he’s a world maker, you know? And that’s what you want from a director. You want him to make the world, so when you enter that world, the world speaks to you. And if a great part of acting is reacting, that world tells you what to do, and you do it. It’s always in the doing — the quality of the doing, the authenticity of the doing, and as we know, he’s a nut about research and all that. It’s an ideal situation. I really love working with him.

He’s demanding. It’s not easy. But one thing that he does, that is the reason why I sought him out: I saw The Witch, and then I asked for a meeting with him, and then I’ve worked with him, I guess, four times now. A lot of particular period movies or elevated movies that aren’t naturalistic family drama, these sorts of things, he makes it so easy to enter the world because he doesn’t show. Like a good actor, he inhabits it. He creates things, not to tell you where you are, but because he wants to be there. He has such love for the material and gives you beautiful research that really makes you learn things and puts you in another head. So, that really makes a space. Once you learn those things, you want to pursue them, and that’s the road to inhabiting something. Because once you learn something, you become a different person, and that different person then becomes available to pretend to be this character. So, it’s a growth process. It’s a game.

He’s fun to work with, and just committed and strong, and I enjoy him so much. And I always admire people that really give themselves to their work totally, and he does. He has collaborators that become extensions of him. There’s such understanding and such complicity that he doesn’t delegate anything. He’s everywhere, but he’s everywhere with the collaboration of a team. It’s a beautiful thing to work with him. Not always easy. It’s not a character thing. He just doesn’t sign things; he experiences them.

For example, in the case of Werwulf, we’ve got a very, very full-on movie, and I think it’s going to be very beautiful. I haven’t seen it yet completely, but I have done some ADR, and just some of the visuals and some of the short little clips that I saw are just stunning. Stunning. Otherworldly. So, yeah, you heard it. I’m a cheerleader. What can I say? [Laughs]

Willem Dafoe’s Late Fame is in theaters now, with The Birthday Party set to debut in the U.S. on August 14.

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Release Date

August 7, 2026

Runtime

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90 minutes

Director

Kent Jones

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“Real Housewives of New Jersey“ stars Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga reconciled in November 2025 after multiple years of feuding. Now, months later, after filming the most recent “RHONJ” season, the self-proclaimed “Queen of New Jersey” is opening up about where she stands with her sister-in-law and why they reconciled.

This comes as Giudice appears on Bravo’s newest limited series, “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th,” as one of the seven principal cast members. The others are Vicki Gunvalson, Porsha Williams, Luann de Lesseps, Kyle Richards, Gizelle Bryant, and Lisa Barlow.

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Giudice and the main cast of “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th” appeared on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” on August 9 following the show’s premiere episode. During the appearance, she was asked what led to her and Gorga burying the proverbial hatchet.

Giudice responded, stating that filming Fox’s “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Race” with her daughter, Gia Giudice, was part of the motivating factor, noting that she wanted to set a positive example for all four of her daughters.

According to her, “I’m always thinking as a mom, you know, ‘what kind of lesson can I teach my daughters,’ so I was like, ‘I’m not fighting.’ I wanna show her that I’m gonna end the fighting.” Notably, Giudice said her feelings were first directed at her ex, Joe Giudice, but she later directed them at her brother, Joe Gorga, and his wife, Melissa.

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She Opened Up About Reaching Out To Joe And Melissa Gorga

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Giudice continued, going into some detail about her process of reaching out to Joe and Melissa. According to her, “So, I texted my brother, and I said, ‘Do you want to meet? Let’s meet together and let’s talk.” From there, she shared that “ever since that day it’s been great.”

After that, Andy Cohen asked Giudice how filming season 15 of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” with Joe, Melissa, and the rest of the cast had gone. She said, “Amazing. Yeah, it was great.” Cohen then stated that this was the first time in “15 seasons” that Giudice had enjoyed filming the show.

Melissa Gorga Recently Opened Up About Her Relationship With Teresa Giudice

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Melissa interviewed with E! News in August 2026 while at the premiere event for “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th.” During the chat, she was asked for an update on her relationship with Giudice, and she said they were in a great place.

In regard to ending their feud, Melissa said, “That’s what it’s all about. We were so proud that we were able to turn it around, and maybe we can be an example for people who think they’re never going to speak to their family members again.”

Melissa continued reflecting by sharing advice for other families who had similar drama, saying, “If we can do it, anyone can.” Additionally, she also spoke about the upcoming 15th season of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” noting that “the season finale ended with a bang.”

Teresa Recently Celebrated Four Years Of Marriage

According to PEOPLE, Giudice began dating Luis Ruelas in July 2020 and then tied the knot with him in August 2022. Now, most recently, the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star took to Instagram to highlight their fourth wedding anniversary.

She did so by posting several photos from the occasion and including a lengthy caption. She began, “Happy 4th Anniversary to my Love, the man who makes me feel like a queen every single day. Four years ago, I married my best friend, my greatest blessing, and the love of my life.”

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Giudice continued, “Every morning I wake up beside you, I’m reminded how lucky I am. If I had to choose you all over again, I would—365 days a year, forever and always.”

Toward the end of the post, she added, “My man, my forever, my everything—I love you more than words could ever express. Here’s to celebrating us today and to a lifetime of waking up beside each other, laughing together, loving each other, and growing old hand in hand.”

The ‘RHONJ’ Star Has A New Book Coming Out

Giudice announced in June 2026 that she was set to release a new memoir, “The Queen of New Jersey.” It comes from Ballast Books and will be released on November 17. Notably, this is the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star’s third memoir, following her most recent, 2017’s ‘Standing Strong.”

She said on Instagram about the book, “Life has taught me so much — about family, loyalty, strength, forgiveness, and what it truly means to rise. Every time I fell, I got back up stronger. I can’t wait for you all to read The Queen of New Jersey and share this journey with me.”

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The 2026 Sundance Film Festival was a particularly bittersweet entry in the long-running cinematic event. Not only was it the first iteration since the death of its legendary founder, Robert Redford, but it was also the last to take place in its long-time home of Park City, Utah, with next year moving to Boulder, Colorado. However, the spirit of Sundance was not dampened, as critics and other attendees were treated to an impressive selection of features from new and established voices alike, from the acclaimed Grand Jury and Audience Award winner Josephine starring Channing Tatum to the starry The Invite, which A24 snapped up for a pretty penny. Among the standouts was the feature directorial debut of Paloma Schneideman, Big Girls Don’t Cry, which still owns a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Set in idyllic rural New Zealand in 2006, Big Girls Don’t Cry tells the coming-of-age story of a 14-year-old named Sid Bookman, played by newcomer Ani Palmer. During a summer break in the age of instant messaging, Sid finds herself seeking the validation and attention of a group of older girls amid her own blossoming sexual curiosity, losing sight of who she really is at heart in the process. Enter The Summer I Turned Pretty star Rain Spencer, who plays her older sister’s new American friend, Freya, who has a unique understanding of Sid and notices the path of destruction she’s going down in trying to get in with the cutthroat clique. Ahead of its theatrical release, Collider can exclusively share the official trailer, teasing the growing pains ahead as Sid explores her desires.

At the start of the footage, Sid looks lost in her rural New Zealand home, unsure of what to do with her Christmas break. Her desire to mingle with the cool, wealthy, out-of-town teens hanging out at the pool and having fun in the sun spurs her to message her crush, imagining herself as part of her circle. Once the effortlessly captivating Freya arrives, though, she starts to break out of her shell, finding someone willing to get to really know her even as she starts wading into the party scene where she’s pushed into uncomfortable territory. While she undoubtedly makes memories, Sid also finds herself up against her artist father, who struggles to understand what’s going through her head, and her own queer adolescent awkwardness and recklessness, as she embraces other identities to fit in and creates chaos along the way. It’s Freya, however, that reminds her who actually cares about her. Between her best friend, Freya, and the vicious crowd she falls in with, she’s bound for a transformative, messy summer wrestling with who she is and who she pretends to be.

‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ Has Been a Darling on the Festival Circuit

Rounding out the main cast of Big Girls Don’t Cry as Sid’s father is Game of Thrones alum Noah Taylor, with Beatrix Rain Wolfe, Ngataitangirua Hita, and Sophia Kirkwood Smith among the supporting group. The LGBTQ+ drama emerged from the A Wave in the Ocean program created by two-time Oscar-winning The Power of the Dog director Jane Campion, who also served as an executive producer. Since its Sundance debut, it has only continued to make a splash at other film festivals, even winning top honors at the Biarritz Film Festival. Collider’s Taylor Gates hailed Schneideman’s debut in her 8/10 review, highlighting Palmer’s breakout turn and saying “The performances, combined with the dreamy score and stunning visuals, elevate the coming-of-age tale into something special.”

Big Girls Don’t Cry arrives in theaters this October. Check out the exclusive trailer in the player above.

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Release Date

January 24, 2026

Runtime

100 minutes

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Director

Paloma Schneideman

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Writers

Paloma Schneideman

Producers

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Vicky Pope, Thomas Coppell

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Hercule Poirot has been solving mysteries now for over a century, and he has become exceedingly efficient at it. As you’d expect. If you’re not good at something after 100 years what’s even the point any more? Well, he must be bored because the world’s most famous Belgian detective is preparing to solve mysteries once again in an ambitious new reboot that plans to introduce him to a generation that may only know him as the fella with the funny mustache.

Created by Agatha Christie in 1920’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Hercule Poirot went on to appear in 33 novels, two plays and more than 50 short stories, becoming one of the most celebrated detectives in literary history. BBC‘s synopsis of the new series states:

The series is an intimate study of Hercule Poirot the man and an epic portrait of Britain between the wars. The series will centre around three of Christie’s early stories, while also introducing Hercule Poirot to future friends and allies and one particular nemesis…

Reports had suggested that it could stretch to three seasons, while Benji Walters (Obsession) is attached to write the series. No plot details as yet but it’s not like there’s a dearth of Christie novels from which to pillage some kind of story.

Poirot is a fixture of stage and screen, and has been for decades now. Most famously, he was played by David Suchet, who portrayed Poirot on ITV between 1989 and 2013. More recently, Kenneth Branagh brought Poirot to the big screen in Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and A Haunting in Venice, while John Malkovich offered a darker interpretation in the BBC’s The ABC Murders.

Who Stars in ‘Hercule’?

Edward Bluemel (Killing Eve) is taking on the role of Poirot for this saga, while he’s joined by

Henry Ashton (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder), James D’Arcy (Oppenheimer, Constellations), Calvin Demba (Supacell, Life), Phil Dunning (Smoggie Queens, Am I Being Unreasonable?), Jack Gleeson (House of Guinness, In the Land of the Saints and Sinners), Tamsin Greig (Riot Women, Friday Night Dinner), James Nesbitt (Cold Feet, Run Away), Guy Remmers (The Buccaneers, Lessons), Rebecca Rittenhouse (His & Hers, Maggie), and Mawaan Rizwan (Juice, The Split Up).

Production is set to begin on Hercule shortly in Liverpool, England, with BBC aiming for a 2027 release.

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Release Date

February 9, 2022

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Runtime

127 minutes

Writers

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Michael Green

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“Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum Kandi Burruss shared a heartwarming message for her ex-husband, Todd Tucker, on his 53rd birthday. Burruss’ special post comes months after the pair finalized their divorce after 11 years of marriage.

Burruss took to Instagram last week to shout out her ex-husband, Tucker, for his milestone birthday. The post featured images of Burruss and Tucker posing with their children and a separate photo of Tucker cheesing wide on the red carpet. “Happy birthday @todd167!!!!! I pray this next year brings you joy & success! Keep living your best life,” she captioned the photo.

Tucker reshared the photo to his Instagram Stories and created a post of his own. “My life is like a new album, a range of emotions!” he wrote. “I hope you have enjoyed sharing my journey. I’m not perfect, but I’m working at it! Live, Love, Laugh!”

Kandi Burruss Announced Plans To Divorce Todd Tucker In Late November 2025

Burruss announced her plans to divorce Tucker in November 2025, per The Blast.

“I’m stepping into a new chapter pouring into my work, my family, and my own growth. I’m grateful to everyone who supported us throughout the years, and I ask for privacy, grace, and understanding as we navigate this transition with our family,” she said at BravoCon.

“To Todd, thank you for surviving the blogs, the shade, the rumors, the lies, the truth, the almost fights, the actual fights, the reunions,” she added.

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The pair were married for 11 years before divorcing; however, things weren’t always sunshine and rainbows. Over the years, fans saw their ups and downs play out before the camera, leading to drama and tears.

Kandi Burruss Admitted That Things Were Getting Ugly Between Her And Tucker

During their divorce, Burruss and Tucker made headlines after reports revealed the pair had reached a crossroads over their signed prenuptial agreement. During a livestream, Burruss answered a fan question about Tucker and revealed she saw him in a different light after going through this.

“I hope. I hope we get to be friends,” she said. “That would be my goal.”

“But you know when you’re going through the divorce, people get on your nerves, and you really start looking at them differently,” she added.

Burruss Talks Co-Parenting With Tucker

Since their divorce, Burruss and Tucker are on good terms, and the former “Real Housewives” star spoke with the media about how she and Tucker have handled co-parenting.

“We co-parent well,” she said. “Whatever’s gonna make the kids happy. Like, they wanna ‘Oh, why can’t we all take a trip together?’ OK, you want us both on the trip? We gonna figure out how to do this co-parenting thing on a trip. Now, I ain’t ever think I would have said, like, back in the day if you would have asked me, I would have been like, ‘What?!’ But now I’m like, ‘OK, let’s keep it friendly.’”

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Burruss Is Still Rooting For ‘The Real Housewives Of Atlanta’

While some details about Burruss’ divorce from Tucker leaked online, it remained largely private, as the Xscape singer departed the show a year earlier.

“It’s been 14 seasons, and they allowed us to sit around for a little too long, but during that time I had started working on a lot of other things, and I got some nice big projects coming soon, so I’m super excited about those things,” Burruss said, per The Blast.

But even though she’s left the show behind, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want it to do well. She said during a recent podcast interview that even while she’s off the show, she’s rooting for its continued success.

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“I think it’s important to continue to support the franchise even though I’m not there because I was there for 14 seasons, and I want them to be successful,” she said. “I want ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ to continue on another 15 years.”

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘The Last House’

Coming off his Oscar nomination for The Secret Agent, actor Wagner Moura took some time to promote his upcoming Netflix thriller, The Last House, from director Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Fast X). Moura’s well known for his heart-pounding work in action and drama like Narcos, The Gray Man, and Civil War, but in a conversation with Collider’s Steven Weintraub, he admits this single-location mystery gave him a run for his money.

Now streaming on Netflix, The Last House is a sci-fi slow burn about a family of four trapped in their home as a mysterious threat waits outside. Moura plays opposite Past Lives standout Greta Lee, and Gabriel Barbosa (May December), Emma Ho (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), Noah Alexander Sosnowski (Section 8) and Riley Chung (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes).

In this interview, which you can watch in the video above, with a transcript below, Moura discusses why The Last House was an unexpectedly demanding shoot, and reveals his thoughts on the ending and who really survives. He also teases one of his many upcoming projects, working alongside Kristen Stewart (Love Lies Bleeding) in Panos Cosmatos’s (Mandy) next horror, Flesh of the Gods.

Wagner Moura on the Challenges of Filming in One Location

“This was the most physically demanding thing I have ever done before.”

COLLIDER: After watching the movie, I realized I do not have enough water and food in my place. I’m just curious if after making this you had an epiphany of, like, “I need to keep more shit at my house?”

WAGNER MOURA: No. You know what? The kind of epiphany that I had was kind of the opposite. I think that I thought, “I don’t need half of the things that I have in my house.” We have too many things. I love the fact that these characters, especially Greta [Lee]’s character, recycles things. I think that we have too much stuff. We have to get rid of it and give it to people that need it. I think that we have too many things.

I always remember the line from David Fincher’s Fight Club: “The things you own end up owning you.”

MOURA: Exactly. That’s right.

One of the things that’s really interesting about the film is that it takes place in one location, but this had to have been a challenging shoot because of how much stuff you go through when you’re working with kid actors. Where does this rank in your filmography in terms of difficulty making of it?

MOURA: Dude, believe it or not, I think this was the most physically demanding thing I have ever done before, and I’ve done films like Elite Squad or Narcos, or even Civil War. This was unexpectedly hard. When I read the script, it’s a film with four actors in a house, and we were shooting in a soundstage, and then we’ll have our trailers outside. [Laughs] It was very, very physically demanding. Either that or I’m getting old, or maybe both.

Especially the part in the water. We shot the film chronologically, and so the water was the last part of it. Like, it was the last two or three weeks. Oh man, that was challenging. That was very challenging, demanding. Very physically challenging.

When I saw the water, that’s when I realized I can’t be an actor. I can’t be any part of this.

MOURA: Bro. Yeah, man. And again, I read the script, like, “Oh, this can be fun,” but it was very, very hard. We had to hold our breath in the water and spend the entire day in the water, with the water, like, here, and our skin… Oh, it was hard. It was very difficult.

Again, that’s not for me. Do you think the family are the only survivors, or do you think other people survived this?

MOURA: I think there are other people that survived, as well, and that’s interesting. I mean, I hope the film does well and then we can have a sequel to that, either with our characters or not. I’m very curious to know how the world is after they get out of the house. And the creatures, I would love to know more about those creatures, and how the world is now.

I do like that Louis [Leterrier] did not try to explain everything. It’s just what the characters could see is what they understood.

MOURA: Yes. That’s right.

Wagner Moura Teases Working With Kristen Stewart in ‘Flesh of the Gods’

The upcoming film comes from ‘Mandy’ director Panos Cosmatos.

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Before I run out of time, I’m really looking forward to Flesh of the Gods. For people that don’t realize who this filmmaker is, what can you tease people about it, and how does it compare to Mandy?

MOURA: Dude, Panos [Cosmatos] is one of the most unique artists I have ever met in my life. He has a very particular aesthetic. I had never seen anything like Mandy before. And then, this film has such a great script. Also, Kristen Stewart, she herself is a major creative force in the film. I was very, very happy with everything we did there.

The Last House is available to stream on Netflix now.

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Release Date

August 7, 2026

Runtime

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110 minutes

Director

Louis Leterrier

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There has been no shortage of massive gaming releases this year to enjoy, and one of the first that won fans over earlier in the year was 007 First Light, the James Bond game starring Patrick Gibson as the titular spy. Developed by IO Interactive, the same studio behind the Hitman games, 007 First Light was a massive success, and the developers have already confirmed that a sequel to the game is officially in the works. The next big release on the schedule is Marvel’s Wolverine, the new game from Insomniac, the same studio who previously released all three beloved Spider-Man games on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Wolverine is setting the stage for one of the biggest gaming launches in history, Grand Theft Auto 6, which has reportedly already earned over $1 billion in pre-orders.

There were a few big releases this summer to keep fans occupied while they were inside escaping the summer heat, and one of the first that comes to mind is Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced, which dropped on July 9. The ground-up remake sold over three million copies, and fans around the world have been eager for more out of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, especially content that feels more familiar to the franchise’s older days. It was confirmed this week that the story of Edward Kenway will continue through the fourth Volume of Assassin’s Creed: Forgotten Temple manga, which is now available for pre-order from Amazon. The full release for the new sequel is coming on September 24, and the official description leads fans to believe that it will be the last chapter in Edward Kenway’s story.

“Edward Kenway, the infamous pirate and Assassin, must complete one last swashbuckling mission! Shifting allegiances, new allies, deadly battles with the scheming Templars, and all-new enemies are going to put all of Kenway’s skills to the test in Assassin’s Creed: Forgotten Temple!

Exploring Kenway’s memories is having a strange effect on Kim. He’s suddenly capable of things he could never do before, like fearlessly leaping off a roof and landing on both feet, or fighting three men all alone and coming out unscathed. Could his ancestor’s memories be changing Kim for the worse?”

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What Do We Know About the Next ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Game?

Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe is confirmed to be the next mainline Assassin’s Creed game from Ubisoft, and it will be set in the 16th century Roman Empire during the Witch Trials. Codename Hexe will deliver a much darker, more stylized Assassin’s Creed game than entries of the past, one with a much more ritualistic tone as it takes the franchise back to its roots, more focused on stealth than open combat and RPG elements. No word yet on when Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe will be released, but it was revealed all the way back in 2022, and rumors indicate that it could come out as soon as 2027. It’s now been well over a year since the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and fans are eager for the next brand-new release from the franchise to continue the story of the Assassins and the Templars.

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

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Release Date

December 21, 2016

Runtime

116 minutes

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If a book’s about young people, and they either end up not young by the end, or learn something about eventually becoming an adult, then it’s probably a coming-of-age book. That change doesn’t have to be physical, and a coming-of-age story doesn’t have to span years, though it can very much be about literally growing up, and some of them do benefit from spanning a good deal of time in the life of a character (or the lives of some characters).

Also, some of them are aimed at younger readers, intended to be relatable and all, while others are more mature, and are probably more aimed at adults who remember what it was like to be a kid or a teenager. In any event, these are some of the best coming-of-age books ever written, with a combination of very old works and a few (slightly) newer ones.

10

‘The Body’ (1982)

Image via Simon & Schuster

Ranking this low because it’s kind of a novella, rather than a novel, but still, The Body is essential as a coming-of-age story. If you’re more into movies, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced this story as Stand by Me, which is up there among the best film adaptations of any Stephen King novel, novella, or short story. There are also differences between the original novella and the movie, making them both worthy of one’s time.

Narratively, The Body concerns a group of young boys going on a morbid journey to see a dead body that one of them heard about. And then they learn about themselves and face hard truths and all that, with added emotion coming about because one of them’s looking back on the whole experience as an adult (and an author… one of many Stephen King protagonists who’s themselves a writer).

9

‘The Wanderers’ (1974)

Image via Mariner Books

All the growing up stuff in The Wanderers is exceptionally rough and honestly kind of brutal at times. That realism is its most striking (and maybe even most admirable) quality, even if it’s also the thing that makes it a bit harder to recommend than most of the other books here. There’s an aimlessness to so much of it, too, reflecting the lives its disaffected young characters live.

Some of them mature in some ways, though lots of The Wanderers is about immature and clearly troubled people, and they talk and act in ways that are pretty crude/crass. But hey, there are a lot of strong emotions and even danger involved with being a teenager, and The Wanderers either tells it like it is, or it tells it in a slightly more heightened way than it actually is. Either way, there’s definite grit and realism to be found here.

8

‘Jane Eyre’ (1847)

Image via Penguin Classics

You might see Jane Eyre referred to as a bildungsroman, which is really just a fancier-sounding name for a “coming-of-age story.” The titular character is introduced as a young girl who lives a challenging childhood, though it’s far from exclusively about her younger years, considering the length of time the whole psychologically tense and dense novel ends up spanning.

But since those early years are so significant to what happens later, it makes that coming-of-age component of the novel very necessary. Also, plenty of good stories about not only growing up, but emotionally maturing, center on characters who are young adults, just because it’s a reality of life is that people don’t always mentally/emotionally mature right when adulthood hits. If only it could be like the flip of a switch, but if it were, then the world probably wouldn’t have nearly as many coming-of-age stories.

7

‘His Dark Materials’ (1995–2000)

Image via Scholastic

If it’s wrong to put a trilogy here, then just consider Northern Lights in this spot, because that probably feels the most like a coming-of-age story of any of the books in the His Dark Materials trilogy. It’s certainly about a loss of innocence, and a girl realizing truths about her parents and place in the world, with her venturing out into the world, and then having to venture out a bit further (beyond her world) in later books.

In that way, you do get a more complete character arc for Lyra if you read The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, and then a young boy named Will also has an arc that mirrors Lyra’s, in some ways (he’s only in books #2 and #3). His Dark Materials, as a trilogy, feels aimed at younger readers, though not the youngest of young readers, and the whole thing plays out in a way that proves more than readable if you’re not a kid, too (the experience can be likened to a top-tier Pixar movie or something, being great when you’re young and then arguably more interesting – or emotionally engaging – once/if you’re older).

6

‘Harry Potter’ (1997–2007)

Image via Bloomsbury

Like His Dark Materials, you have to consider a few books here, for the whole story about growing up and everything, but that is very much what the Harry Potter series does. You probably know the deal with a series this famous, but it’s about the titular character (and some other magical folks) going through a witchcraft/wizardry school, and each book is focused on a different year of that whole process.

So, you start with characters who are about 11, and then they’re almost adults by the time the series wraps up… at least the ones who survived the surprisingly deadly final few books are adults by the time the series concludes. It makes a certain amount of sense for the series to get more serious as it goes along, though, mirroring the way one’s pre-teen years can be nice and carefree, at least in comparison to being a teenager (and then a TV show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer pushes that kind of idea even further, making a tense high school experience look like Disneyland compared to the horrors of genuine young adulthood).

5

‘The Secret Garden’ (1911)

Image via SeaWolf Press

The Secret Garden is straight up aimed at children, but it’s one of those essential classics you sort of have to consider if you’re talking about coming-of-age books. That does make it one of the easier ones to have younger readers tackle, for obvious reasons, though it deals with some heavier themes regarding things like grief, death, and prejudice, just not in ways that are too difficult to understand.

There are some things here that might not have aged the best, but the book is also well over 100 years old, so stumbling across a few parts that are questionable by modern standards… eh, it happens, when you’re dealing with pieces of entertainment that were made so many generations ago. What The Secret Garden has to say about maturing and realizing the world is much bigger than you initially might’ve thought, as a child, is the stuff that matters most and still holds up.

4

‘The Catcher in the Rye’ (1951)

Image via Little, Brown and Company

Holden Caulfield is up there among the angstiest protagonists in literary history, being a teenager who feels detached from – and despondent about – the world. He goes around internally complaining about things and not really getting on all that well with most people he comes into contact with, and that’s sort of just The Catcher in the Rye. And it’s a classic, so it turns out, that’s all it really needed to be.

You can read it when you’re roughly about Holden’s age, and get something out of it that way, or you can tackle it as an adult, and not necessarily find it nostalgic, but get more complex feelings out of the whole thing. It’s a book that has caused frustration among some readers, but it’s worth tackling regardless, so you can have some kind of view on it, be it positive, negative, or a bit of both (growing up – and stories about that process – being complicated and all).

3

‘The Outsiders’ (1967)

Image via Viking Press

It feels a little unnecessary to say The Outsiders is an easy read, and an essential one, because it’s the kind of book most people are probably familiar with, thanks to it often being assigned reading at school. Plenty of other books associated with English classes prove divisive, but The Outsiders does go down a little smoother, perhaps thanks to it being written by a teenager (S.E. Hinton was 18 when it was published).

The drama here mostly concerns a gang conflict between two groups of youngsters from different backgrounds, though speaking of “backgrounds,” some of that stuff feels kind of in the background, because The Outsiders is mostly about the characters and growing up and all that. Lots of it feels natural and not at all hard to get swept up in emotionally, making this, again, one of those quintessential “can be recommended to just about anyone” books.

2

‘IT’ (1986)

Image via Viking

There are similarities between IT and The Body, but this Stephen King book is a whole lot longer, and it certainly attempts more than “just” a coming-of-age story. It’s also a horror epic about kids battling a demonic entity that can shapeshift and inspire fear rather effortlessly, and then, at the same time as that childhood episode plays out, so too does a narrative about the same characters as adults.

The adaptations of IT to date have been done in a way where the first half is more of a coming-of-age thing, and the second half feels more like a retread with older characters, but taking in the source material – with it being both at the same time – proves more interesting and emotionally rewarding. King’s tackled stories about growing up since IT, sure, but it’s unlikely he’ll ever do something as impressive about this particular topic ever again. IT does just feel kind of unbeatable.

1

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (1960)

Image via J. B. Lippincott & Co.

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There’s a bit more at play with To Kill a Mockingbird, compared to some other coming-of-age books, since this is perhaps more of a period/legal drama where things are observed through the eyes of a child. Said child, nicknamed Scout, is living and growing up during the Great Depression, with much of the book being about her father taking on a legal case that involves defending a Black man in a Southern town, which creates controversy and further conflict.

What it has to say about prejudice and not judging people is broad, but the message does continue to ring true nonetheless, and To Kill a Mockingbird… well, it’s To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s been discussed and praised to death, and even if it’s boring to put such a well-loved book here, it feels like it earns that regardless (or, put another way, it’d probably make some people angry if any other book took its place here).

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To Kill A Mockingbird

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Release Date

December 25, 1962

Runtime

129 minutes

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Director

Robert Mulligan

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Writers

Harper Lee, Horton Foote

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