The Swift and Kloss friendship is back in the spotlight. Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss were photographed side by side at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday, in what outlets describe as their first public image together since 2018. They were there to watch Swift’s husband, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the New York Jets.

The moment carried extra weight because the game was reportedly Kelce’s 200th in the NFL. Swift wore red, as she often does on game days. According to British Vogue, she sat in a private box with Kloss and her own parents, Andrea and Scott Swift.

From a Vogue Cookie Wish to a Shared Cover

The Swift and Kloss friendship began with a casual remark. In a 2012 Vogue profile, Swift spotted a framed photo of Kloss in designer Prabal Gurung’s studio and said she wanted to bake cookies with the model. Kloss, who had launched a cookie line that year, replied on Twitter the day the piece ran, asking whether it would be Swift’s kitchen or hers, according to Business Insider.

They met in person backstage at the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Swift performed and Kloss walked the runway, pointing at the singer and lip-syncing along as she passed. Swift later said she kept a Polaroid from that night in her New York apartment, labeled “BEST FRIENDS FOREVER VS2013.”

The bond played out publicly from there. In 2014 the two took a spontaneous road trip to Big Sur, and Kloss posted photos of the adventure. In 2015 they shared a Vogue cover, and Kloss appeared in Swift’s “Bad Blood” video alongside a cast of famous friends. Business Insider reports Kloss even had her own bedroom in Swift’s New York apartment.

Years of Rumors and Unanswered Questions

The distance became a talking point around 2018. Kloss told The New York Times that year that the two spoke often and urged readers, “Don’t believe everything you read.” Even so, Swift did not attend Kloss’s October 2018 wedding to Joshua Kushner. Business Insider notes that Kloss’s guests included Katy Perry and Scooter Braun, both of whom Swift has feuded with.

Braun’s role added fuel. The Standard notes that Kloss was photographed with him in 2019, after his company acquired Swift’s former record label and the master recordings of her first six albums. Swift has spoken publicly about that dispute. The last known photo of the two together before Sunday came when Kloss went backstage at the Nashville stop of Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018.

Neither woman has publicly confirmed a falling out. British Vogue says explicitly that no such rift was ever acknowledged by either party, and Business Insider says Kloss has continued to call Swift a “close friend.”

A Wedding Guest, Then a Front-Row Seat

The signs of a thaw came earlier this year. Kloss attended Swift and Kelce’s July wedding at Madison Square Garden. Afterward she told Vogue she tries to protect the privacy of her friends’ personal lives but called them “an amazing couple” and said she was “so happy for them.”

The sources differ slightly on how long the gap lasted. The Independent and The Standard describe it as nearly a decade, though the dates they cite, 2018 to 2026, add up to about eight years. They also treat Sunday as the first photographed meeting since 2018, even though Kloss was a wedding guest in July. That is likely because no wedding images of the two together were reported.

The sources do not say what the two have discussed privately, so any theory about what changed remains speculation. What the record does show is a friendship that began with a magazine quote and became one of pop culture’s most closely watched pairings. The latest chapter is a pair of friends in a stadium box.

File photo: Taylor Swift at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (3).png by iHeartRadioCA, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A Harvard conversation between Stephen Colbert and cellist Yo-Yo Ma ended abruptly on Thursday night, after a dispute over a Colbert picket line outside the venue and a fire alarm that forced an evacuation. The cause of the alarm has not been established.

The event was part of the university’s Office of the Arts “Learning from Performers” series and was held at Sanders Theatre. It was scheduled to run 90 minutes, but according to Harvard Magazine’s reporting, as relayed by The Hollywood Reporter, it stopped about 40 minutes in when the alarm sounded. Colbert, the former late night host, was evacuated from the building.

Why strikers targeted the Colbert picket line

The Harvard Graduate Students Union has been on strike since Oct. 27, seeking higher wages and stronger workplace protections. Before the event, the union posted on Instagram asking the two performers not to cross its line, and urged them to relocate, postpone or cancel the appearance in solidarity with workers. “Please don’t cross our picket line tomorrow night!” the post read.

Colbert and Ma went ahead as scheduled. Dozens of Harvard workers then demonstrated outside the theatre. Fox News framed its coverage around the union’s claim that the pair had crossed the line, while The Hollywood Reporter described the entertainers as having been “accused” of doing so. Neither Colbert nor Ma had publicly responded in the coverage available, and The Hollywood Reporter said it had asked Colbert and Harvard for comment.

The fire alarm and who is responsible

The timing invites speculation, but the available reporting offers none of the answers. The union said in a statement that the alarm “was unrelated to HGSU’s picketing activity” and that it had no knowledge of its cause. It added that members at the picket were relieved to learn no one inside was at risk. No other party has been named as responsible, and the cause remains unclear.

Fiona Coffey, director of the Office of the Arts, apologized in a statement to Harvard Magazine. She thanked the students and staff who spent “an enormous amount of time and energy” preparing the evening and said she was “profoundly sorry that it ended in such a disappointing way.”

Why the Colbert picket line charge stung

The union’s appeal leaned on Colbert’s own history. During the 2023 Hollywood strikes he stood with protesters. He also co-founded the limited-series comedy podcast Strike Force Five with fellow late night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver, which was meant to help financially support out-of-work production staff and writers. That record made the request to honor a labor action on campus a pointed one.

For now, the story has two unresolved threads: whether the performers will address the criticism, and what set off the alarm. The strike, meanwhile, continues, with the union still seeking the pay and protections it says its members need.

File photo: Stephen Colbert June 2023.jpg by Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Maya Jama is no longer the Love Island UK host, announcing on Sunday that she is stepping down from the ITV dating series after nine series fronting the show. She shared the news on Instagram with a goodbye message and a reel of her best moments.

What Maya Jama said about leaving

Jama’s statement was warm and free of any hint of conflict. “As all good things must come to an end, it’s my time to step down as the host of my beloved Love Island,” she wrote, calling her tenure “an incredible era.” She thanked the viewers, whom she said the show “really does belong to,” and the production crew, who she said work tirelessly for months each year to make it happen.

She framed the exit as a career choice rather than a fallout. “To truly grow, you have to take a leap every now and then,” she said, adding that she now wants to “throw myself into something new.” She also noted that she started the job at 28 and signed off by promising to cheer the team on “from the sidelines forever.”

A reversal of her earlier comments

The announcement lands after months of speculation. Following the most recent summer series, rumors circulated that she was eyeing the exit. In an interview with Deadline, Jama dismissed them, saying the UK press “always do this” and that similar stories had appeared each of the previous three years. She explained that she never decides on the next series until one has finished, and called the talk of her departure “fake news” at the time. Her Instagram post suggests that she made her decision once the dust settled.

From Whitmore’s successor to a bigger profile

Jama took over from Laura Whitmore in 2023. Her duties went beyond the flagship summer show. According to Deadline, she also hosted the companion series Love Island Aftersun and the spinoffs Love Island Games and Love Island All Stars, which made her the face of the franchise across several formats.

Her profile outside the villa has grown considerably in that time. Variety notes that she competed on the second season of BBC One’s The Celebrity Traitors, where she was the only original Traitor to reach the final episode. Deadline adds that she was banished at the last roundtable. This year she also made her acting debut in the second season of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen. Before all that, she built her reputation as one of the youngest DJs ever on BBC Radio 1.

What happens next for the show

The sources do not say who will replace her, and neither includes a statement from ITV about its plans for the next series. That leaves a significant question for a show whose presenter is closely tied to its identity. The last handover, from Whitmore to Jama, shows the format can survive a change at the top. For now, the only certainty is that the next Love Island UK host will inherit the slow-mo walks and fire pits Jama is leaving behind.

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The latest Strictly Come Dancing elimination came down to a single vote. Bethany Antonia and her professional partner Nancy Xu left the 2026 series on Sunday night after head judge Shirley Ballas broke a deadlock in favour of their dance-off rivals.

A split panel and a deciding vote

Antonia, 28, known for playing Lady Baela Targaryen in House of the Dragon, and Xu landed in the bottom two against former Love Island contestant Cach Mercer and his partner Maddie Ingoldsby. Both couples performed their routines again. Antonia and Xu repeated their foxtrot to Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love”, while Mercer and Ingoldsby reprised their waltz to “That Ain’t You” by Mulaa Joans.

The judges split evenly. Anton Du Beke backed Mercer and Ingoldsby, while Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood wanted to keep Antonia and Xu. That left Ballas to settle it, and she sided with Mercer and Ingoldsby.

Why this exit stands out

On paper, the result looks like an upset. Antonia and Xu’s foxtrot had earned 30 from the judges on Saturday, which put them joint fourth on the leaderboard before the public vote was counted. One source says they were level with Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola, whose rumba to Coldplay’s “Yellow” also scored 30. Turner and Coppola had topped the table the previous week.

Mercer and Ingoldsby scored 26 for their waltz, which left them joint bottom on judges’ marks. The dance-off exists to fix this kind of gap, because the public vote can pull a couple down the table. In this case the viewers’ verdict, combined with the panel’s split, outweighed a healthy judges’ score. The sources do not say how close the public vote was, so it is not clear how narrowly Antonia and Xu missed out.

Dyer’s first 10 tops the table

At the top, former Love Island winner Dani Dyer and her partner Nikita Kuzmin scored 36 for an American smooth to Harry Connick Jr.’s “It Had to Be You”. The routine earned them their first 10 of the series.

Remembrance Sunday tribute

The results show also marked Remembrance Sunday. The professional dancers performed a group routine to Peter Gabriel’s arrangement of David Bowie’s “Heroes”, choreographed by Lizzie Gough. It opened with British soldiers leaving for war. The piece took its inspiration from the Monument to the Women of World War II and focused on women’s lives during the conflict.

The programme also featured music from Gregory Porter, with a routine from professionals Alexis Warr and Aljaž Škorjanec.

What happens next

The remaining couples return on Saturday 14 November, with the results show on Sunday 15 November. The sources give slightly different start times of around 6.25pm to 6.30pm for the live show and 7.10pm to 7.15pm for the results, so check BBC listings. There is also hope that actress Jaime Winstone will be back after missing Saturday’s live show through injury. Her return would matter to the leaderboard as the field narrows.

For Mercer and Ingoldsby, the dance-off win is a reprieve after a bottom-two finish on judges’ marks. After a tight Strictly Come Dancing elimination that turned on a deciding vote, they will have to improve quickly to avoid being back in the bottom two next weekend. Episodes of the 2026 series are available on BBC iPlayer.

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Maya Jama has announced she is leaving her role as Love Island host, ending a three-year run fronting one of ITV’s biggest entertainment franchises. The 32-year-old shared the news on Instagram on Sunday 8 November, posting a highlights reel and a message saying it was “time to throw myself into something new”.

What Maya Jama said about leaving

Jama’s statement was warm rather than dramatic. “While my own Love Island journey has come to an end, I wish the show and the team all the success in the world,” she wrote, adding that she will be “cheering you lot on from the sidelines forever”. She thanked viewers, saying the show “really does belong to the people who watch it”, and praised the production team for working “for months every year” to make it happen.

She also reflected on how far she has come, noting she was 28 when she started and has loved “every slow-mo walk, fire pit and live show”. Her reasoning was simple: “to truly grow, you have to take a leap every now and then.”

One detail needs clarifying. Jama refers to “nine incredible series” over three years, while most reports put her tenure at three years since she succeeded Laura Whitmore in 2023. Digital Spy notes she also fronted the Aftersun companion show and the spin-offs All Stars and Games, which likely explains the higher count, though the sources don’t spell it out.

ITV’s response and what happens next

ITV was gracious. A spokesperson called her “a fantastic and much loved host” and wished her “every continued success”. Digital Spy reports an insider describing the split as “all very amicable” and unsurprising given her “very busy schedule”. The same outlet says channel bosses are expected to begin the search for a new Love Island host straight away. That is a report from an unnamed source, not an official announcement, and ITV has not named a successor.

The departure follows a remarkable few weeks. Jama competed as a traitor on the BBC’s Celebrity Traitors, reaching the final alongside Richard E Grant, King Kenny and James Acaster. According to the Mirror, she came close to winning before being unmasked at the last moment. She still donated the sum she stood to win to Action for Children, which confirmed a gift of £83,500.

Why the timing makes sense

Few will be shocked by the move. Jama made her acting debut in the second series of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix drama The Gentlemen, and the BBC notes that the Times speculated she could command “£1m per deal” after her Traitors run. One commentator quoted by the BBC said the show let her seem “less like the presenter of Love Island and more like a genuinely versatile television star”. Digital Spy also links to a report that she was approached to host The Voice UK, though the details were not available in the material we reviewed.

Her career path also shows why she may be ready to move on. She rose through Rinse FM and BBC Radio 1, then hosted MTV’s The Wrap Up and Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star. Love Island was her biggest presenting job to date, and leaving at a career high gives her room to try something different.

Fans, meanwhile, are already mourning. Former contestants including Amy Hart and Casey O’Gorman posted tributes, and some viewers wrote that they hoped the news wasn’t true. Whoever ITV picks next will inherit a show with a loyal audience and a very recognisable standard for the slow-mo walk.

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The Talarico SNL cameo gave Saturday Night Live’s first post-midterms episode its biggest moment. The Texas senator-elect walked into a Trump sketch built around Republican defeat and turned it into a joke about the show itself.

How the Talarico SNL cameo played out

The sketch opened with Sarah Sherman as Chuck Schumer and Kenan Thompson as Hakeem Jeffries, according to Variety. The two celebrated the “blue tsunami” while resisting calls to hand over to a younger generation of Democrats. James Austin Johnson’s Trump then froze the action, as the cold open’s president routinely does, and began a postmortem.

“I didn’t even say it was rigged,” Johnson’s Trump said. “I accepted the results, which is even scarier in a way.” He said his only real concern was the White House ballroom, then muttered, “Oh my God, I hate my life.” He also complained that the next two years would be unbearable, not because the opposition is Democratic but because it is Millennial. That led to a long tangent about the sitcom New Girl.

Rolling Stone reported that Trump also ran through his nicknames for incoming Democrats, including “Talafreako” for the Texan. Talarico walked out to correct him: “That’s Senator Talafreako.” The audience applauded for roughly 20 seconds, according to The Independent. He then poked fun at his own fundraising: “I’m James Talarico, the guy who’s been texting you every day asking for five dollars.” Trump’s reply: “In this economy, who can blame you?”

Talarico pivoted from a call to work together to a jab at the show. “It’s clear people want something new,” he said. “I’m talking, of course, about SNL’s cold opens. How many of these Trump freezers are they going to do?” Johnson’s Trump answered, “Infinity.” Talarico closed with the show’s signature “Live from New York” line.

The real-life win behind the joke

The cameo came days after Talarico beat Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Variety put his vote share at 55.09%, and The Hollywood Reporter described a 12-point margin in the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history. He is the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988. Rolling Stone also noted that Democrat Gina Hinojosa was elected to succeed Greg Abbott as governor.

The Hollywood Reporter said Democrats gained at least 42 House seats and seven Senate seats. Variety reported that the party also won a majority of governorships.

The Hollywood Reporter noted that surprise appearances by political figures have a long history on the show, from Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin to Kamala Harris’s 2024 turn opposite Maya Rudolph. A sitting or incoming senator is less common. The outlet argued that the moment reflected the growing media profile of a new class of Democrats, many in their 30s or early 40s.

The rest of the episode

The night had other firsts. Druski became the first online content creator to host the show. He appeared in whiteface as Elizabeth Holmes in a spoof of the Nathan Fielder documentary You Can See Everything, after warning in his monologue that he could not promise to avoid it. Emma Stone joined his monologue to tease their upcoming film The Catch, and Walton Goggins appeared with musical guest The Strokes. Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Michael B. Jordan turned up during the goodnights.

Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth also appeared in the cold open. The Hollywood Reporter suggested the scene could read as a send-off, given rumors that the defense secretary may leave the administration.

The show has momentum to build on. Variety said the Halloween episode drew 5.2 million viewers, the season’s biggest audience so far. John Mulaney hosts next on Nov. 14, with Phoebe Bridgers as musical guest. Whether the Trump cold open is still around then is a question Talarico’s SNL appearance has now put to the show on air. By Johnson’s Trump’s account, the answer is “infinity.”

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File photo: James Talarico Press Conference.jpg by Antonioaesparza, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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The I’ve Had It podcast has lost at least nine sponsors in a matter of days after a 39-second clip of its hosts laughing at a joke about Charlie Kirk spread across social media. Hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan have since apologized, calling the joke “insensitive” and saying they should not have laughed.

What happened on the I’ve Had It podcast

On Thursday’s episode, the pair read social media reactions to Tuesday’s midterm elections. The Independent reports that Democrats took control of the House and Senate and won key governors’ races. One post they read said, “We’re digging up Charlie Kirk and doing it again.” Both hosts laughed. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated at age 31 during an outdoor campus event in Utah in September 2025.

The moment was clipped and posted to X, where Business Insider says it drew nearly 6 million views. Critics called for a boycott. The segment has since been removed from the episode, though copies of the clip remain online.

Sponsors pull out

The advertiser reaction was fast. After one X user urged followers to boycott Cash App for sponsoring the show, the company said Friday that it does not condone violence of any kind and was no longer a sponsor. On Saturday, Chewy said it does not sponsor or support the podcast, adding that the hosts’ comments “do not reflect Chewy’s values.” Its CEO, Sumit Singh, publicly backed the decision.

Other brands followed. Zenni said it had canceled its advertising and was reviewing podcast placements against its brand safety standards. Casper and Honeylove also cut ties, and Honeylove posted its announcement Sunday. Boll & Branch said it does not currently advertise on the show and will not in the future. Business Insider put the total at no fewer than nine companies.

The hosts’ apology and donation

Welch and Sullivan responded Saturday in a statement on the show’s Instagram account. “It was an insensitive joke, and we should not have laughed. We regret it, and we apologize,” they wrote. They added that “there is nothing funny about gun violence,” noted their long-standing support for gun safety reform, and said they had donated to Everytown for Gun Safety. They closed by promising to keep using their platforms “to fight for the safety of all Americans.”

Reaction to the apology was mixed. Some commenters on one report suggested it came only after the financial pressure began. The sources do not show whether any sponsors have reconsidered.

A familiar pattern since Kirk’s death

The episode fits a pattern that has followed Kirk’s killing. Business Insider notes that ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show over his remarks about Kirk before reinstating it, and that companies including Office Depot and Nasdaq disciplined employees over negative online comments. Brands have also shown how quickly they will respond to online pressure. In the I’ve Had It podcast’s case, several announced their exits on X within a day or two of the clip gaining traction.

For a podcast that depends on advertising, the episode shows how little time a single viral moment needs to put revenue at risk. The longer-term effect on the show’s finances remains unclear.

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Jack Bayles, head of comedy at the production company Various Artists Limited (VAL), has been asked to step back from the business a day after Russell Brand was convicted of rape and sexual assault. He will no longer work on two sitcoms the company is making for the BBC.

VAL said in a statement that it had asked him to step back “while we consider the verdict and events surrounding the trial”. It added that its thoughts were “primarily with every one of Brand’s victims”. The BBC, approached by the Press Association, referred questions to VAL’s statement.

What the court heard about Jack Bayles

Bayles has not been charged with anything, and the claims about him come from evidence given at Brand’s trial. The court heard that in 2009 Bayles and Gareth Roy, another member of Brand’s team, pressed a young female staffer to give the comedian a massage during work on a Channel 4 project. According to evidence reported by The Times, the pair told her Brand would only carry on working if she agreed.

Once she reluctantly did, the court heard, Brand pushed his head into her groin. He reportedly got up only after seemingly taking offence at her remark about his “bony” body. A workplace manager told the trial the woman had complained that Bayles and Roy told her several times to “just do it”. The manager also said the woman reported that the men were present throughout and “watched and laughed”. The woman said she was left “so repulsed by the situation” and complained to her Channel 4 bosses. The jury convicted Brand of sexually assaulting her.

Bayles says he has no memory of the incident

In a statement to The Times, Bayles said he was “appalled and sickened” by Brand’s actions and had cooperated voluntarily with the investigation. He said he does not remember the incident, which happened 17 years ago. But he accepted he “clearly missed something at the time and did not see nor recognise that it caused distress”, and apologised.

He described a “frantic, pressured and toxic” workplace early in his career and said Brand was “chaotic, dismissive and manipulated the people around him”. He said he stopped working with Brand in 2010 and has had no contact since. He also said no complaints about Brand’s behaviour were made to him, and that he does not know whether any reached more senior people. “If I was ever present when Brand acted inappropriately and I failed to spot it and step in, then I sincerely apologise,” he said.

The wider fallout for the industry

Bayles joined VAL four years ago to oversee its comedy slate. The company was founded in 2017 by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. At VAL he was involved in the BBC sitcoms Such Brave Girls and Push. He previously produced Channel 4’s Catastrophe and became a Channel 4 commissioning editor in 2017.

The case of Jack Bayles shows how the Brand verdicts are pushing scrutiny beyond the comedian himself to the people and workplaces around him. Brand, 51, was found guilty of one count of rape and three of sexual assault after six women gave evidence. He was cleared of two further rape charges and one allegation of attempted indecent assault. Jurors heard he used his fame to pursue women, sometimes within seconds of meeting them, and that he ignored pleas to stop. None of his celebrity friends or former colleagues gave evidence in his defence.

Reports elsewhere said the Metropolitan Police is still investigating two further rape allegations against Brand. The force’s chief, Sir Mark Rowley, said he would not be surprised if more alleged victims came forward. The Daily Mail also reported criticism of the BBC for “buck-passing” over Brand, after it emerged he had boasted that his bosses were “incredibly tolerant” of his behaviour at work.

For now, Bayles’s step back is described as a pause while VAL reviews the situation, not a final decision on his future. Brand awaits sentence.

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File photo: 20191017 BBC Studios London, BBC Radio Theatre, New Broadcasting House photo by Amy Karle.jpg by Igbofur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The James Bond screen tests for the next 007 reportedly included two bigger names than anyone had expected: Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult. Multiple outlets reported on November 6 and 7 that the pair auditioned alongside Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor. Amazon MGM Studios has not confirmed any of it.

Who tested, and when

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the tests took place the weekend of October 24 in London, where Pattinson is currently filming The Batman Part II. Variety reported that Pattinson auditioned for director Denis Villeneuve. The two recently worked together on Dune: Part Three, due December 18. Deadline’s sources also named Hoult but stressed that the names are not officially confirmed.

The Hollywood Reporter had earlier said four, possibly five, actors were in the mix, though only three names had surfaced. Deadline’s insiders say a fifth actor was added at the eleventh hour, but the outlet did not know who that last addition was. It also said the group was no bigger than five.

A surprising pair

Pattinson is 40, already leads a major franchise as Bruce Wayne, and became a star through the Twilight films. That makes him an unlikely fit for the “fresh face” producers were reportedly seeking at one stage, as IGN noted. NME called his inclusion a surprise given how established he is.

Hoult, 36, has his own franchise credentials: Beast in the X-Men films and Lex Luthor in Superman, plus a well-received turn in Nosferatu. The two have a history. Hoult was reportedly the runner-up to Pattinson for the Batman role in the 2022 film, so they may be going head to head for a second blockbuster franchise.

Variety added that Harry Styles “had discussions” about the part, though it is unclear whether he actually auditioned. IGN’s summary of the Variety report says Theo James has not been ruled out either. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone noted that the buzz around Jacob Elordi, once seen as a frontrunner, has quieted in recent weeks.

How the search got here

The hunt began in May, when the studio said casting director Nina Gold had joined the project. Deadline reports that first-round auditions followed in August, and that the studio, producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman, and Villeneuve narrowed the list and sent out test offers in September. The final James Bond screen tests were originally planned for earlier in October. Scheduling conflicts among the finalists pushed them to the end of the month so they could happen around the same time.

Public speculation has run ahead of the facts. NME noted that Bond experts claimed Turner had effectively won the role after he was reportedly spotted at a screen test at Bray Studios in Berkshire. A separate rumour, based on an account allegedly from a colleague, said O’Connor had been cast. Neither claim has been confirmed, and the arrival of two more reported candidates complicates both stories.

What happens next

The new film will be the first since Amazon took creative control of the franchise from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson in February 2025. Villeneuve will direct from a script by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. Pascal has said the new Bond will be announced before the end of 2026, adding: “We are being really, really methodical… Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow.”

Deadline says most observers expect a decision by the end of November, potentially before Thanksgiving. Until Amazon says otherwise, the full list of candidates, and who made the final cut, remains unverified. Craig himself was announced as Bond in October 2005 and played the role in five films through 2021’s No Time to Die.

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File photo: MJK 08789 Robert Pattinson (Damsel, Berlinale 2018).jpg by Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sebastián Lelio, the Chilean director whose A Fantastic Woman won the Oscar for best international feature, has died in Santiago at the age of 52. His family announced the news on Friday in an Instagram post that cited health reasons without giving a cause.

What is known about his death

The family statement, shared through the account of his partner, Amalia Kassai, spoke of “profound grief” and described him as “a beautiful person who contributed to Chilean culture in great moments of its history.” The family asked for privacy. The Hollywood Reporter, citing Chile’s El Mercurio Online, said Lelio was found dead by Kassai at his home in the Las Condes district of Santiago. Deadline likewise cited local media reports that he was found at home. None of the accounts gives a medical cause, and the family has referred only to “health complications.”

A career that crossed languages and borders

Born in Mendoza, Argentina, in 1974, Lelio moved to Chile as a toddler, grew up in Viña del Mar and studied journalism for a year before switching to the Chilean Film School. His first feature, The Sacred Family (2005), played at San Sebastián. Navidad (2009) and The Year of the Tiger (2011) followed.

The international breakthrough came with Gloria (2013), a Berlin premiere about a free-spirited middle-aged divorcee played by Paulina García. He remade it in English as Gloria Bell (2018) with Julianne Moore. Disobedience (2017), set in a conservative Jewish community in London, paired Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. The Wonder (2022), a period drama with Florence Pugh as a nurse sent to investigate a girl said to be living without food, earned a BAFTA nomination for outstanding British film.

His most recent release was The Wave, a musical that premiered at Cannes in 2025. It dramatises the feminist protest movement that swept Chile in 2018 and was his first film in his home country since A Fantastic Woman.

The film that made history

A Fantastic Woman starred the transgender actress Daniela Vega as a waitress and singer who is shut out of mourning when her older partner dies. It won the Golden Bear’s top prize at Berlin, a Spirit Award and, in 2018, the Academy Award. Reports differ slightly on the framing: the Independent notes it was Chile’s second Oscar after the animated short Bear Story, while Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter stress that it remains the country’s only win in the foreign-language category.

In the Guardian, critic Peter Bradshaw called it Lelio’s masterpiece. He saw it as a work with a plain political edge, in which a hostile society tries to erase a woman from her own grief. Bradshaw also drew a thread between that film and Gloria. In his reading, both are about people denied pleasure and dignity, and Gloria’s generation, he argued, had its young adulthood warped by the Pinochet years. That is why Bradshaw placed Lelio within Chile’s wider film renaissance, alongside Pablo Larraín and the late Patricio Guzmán, while saying few directors captured the country’s conflicted 21st-century mood as fully. He called him “a great humanist and a great cinematic poet of ordinary lives.”

Unfinished work and tributes

Lelio began shooting Chilean Poet, adapted from Alejandro Zambra’s book, in September. Deadline also reports he had Voyagers in development, with Andrew Garfield as Carl Sagan and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Ann Druyan. It is unclear from the sources what will happen to either project.

Sony Pictures Classics, which released A Fantastic Woman in the US, called him “a one-of-a-kind filmmaker whose work continued to evolve and surprise audiences around the world.” The studio said his work “challenged conventions, touched hearts and left an indelible mark on international cinema.”

That range, from a Santiago divorcee’s dance floor to a Victorian Irish village and a protest musical, is what the tributes keep returning to. Whatever the setting or language, Sebastián Lelio’s films kept coming back to people pushing against the limits imposed on their lives, and he did it with warmth and a sense of play.

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File photo: Sebastián Lelio (Berlinale 2017) (cropped).jpg by Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.