Sara Bareilles is opening up about the “crazy” time she spent touring with rock band Maroon 5.

“Oh my god, it was crazy. It was crazy,” the singer, 46, said in a clip of a recent Rolling Stone interview shared via TikTok on Friday, July 3. “I saw cocaine for the first time. Like, went to use the bathroom at a party and there was a little — this [does] not even belong to the band, this was one of those things where we’re out and about.”

Bareilles continued, “I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s cocaine.’ Couldn’t believe it. Still never done cocaine, guys. I don’t do drugs. Except with therapists.”

Bareilles famous attended UCLA as the same time as Maroon 5 band members Ryan Dusick and Mickey Madden. (The band also consists of lead singer Adam Levine, PJ Morton, James Valentine, Nate Morton, James Carmichael and Matt Flynn.)

After college and establishing themselves in their respective singing careers, Bareilles has toured with Maroon 5 on multiple occasions, including the band’s 2008 “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long Tour” and their 2012 “Hands All Over Tour.”

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@thesarabareilles on writing a song based on Stephen Colbert losing his father and two brothers at a young age: On Anderson Cooper’s podcast, “He had this incredible conversation with Stephen Colbert. It’s these two men that I really love, and their tenderness with each other and about their loss was so moving to me.” #sarabareilles #goodgrief #stephencolbert #andersoncooper #allthereis

♬ original sound – Rolling Stone

“Oh my god, those boys were so wonderful to us,” the singer continued of her experience on the road with the band. “They were so generous and so kind and they were, felt like big brothers. They took me on the road, our band, they took us under their wing, they shared everything they had.”

She continued, “It was — it was really awesome. I could not get over seeing all the girls. There was a lot of, like, literally throwing underwear. I thought it was, like, a trope that happened, but it’s real. They just throw their underwear, and I’m like, ‘Did you bring two pairs?’ is the first thing I think about, because if you’re wearing a skirt and you sit down on a surface your vagina is touching the chair. So, this is where my mind goes.”

In a January 2014 interview with CBS News, Bareilles opened up about how the members of Maroon 5 were able to alter the path of her singing career by showcasing her talents while touring.

“Those boys changed the trajectory of my life in a big way,” she told the news outlet at the time. “And yeah, I’m forever grateful.”

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In addition to discussing her on- and off-stage connection with the band, Bareilles also discussed the release of her new album “Good Grief” — her first in seven years — which focused on her depression and feelings of grief during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“What I realized is that grief must be witness. You must share it. It doesn’t heal on its own,” she explained. “And the recognition that is born from taking the time to share and unpack and just see each other in your grief is the thing that actually transforms and transmutes.”

She added, “Of course, I wish my friends were still here, but I am a different person because of losing them and loving them. And I am more of who I think I’m meant to be become because of it. So it’s wild. Grief is a miracle. It’s just love. It’s so beautiful.”

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 14 seconds ago

The 1996 summer blockbuster Independence Day is full of iconic moments that absolutely thrilled audiences. This includes the sight of alien vessels blowing up the White House and thrilling dogfights between American fighter jets and smaller extraterrestrial ships. Arguably, though, the most iconic thing in the entire film is Bill Pullman’s rousing “Today, we celebrate our Independence Day” speech. Onscreen, his powerful words rallied the entire world together in defiance of an alien invasion; offscreen, those words cemented Independence Day as the most patriotic movie of the ‘90s. Long story short? It’s impossible to think of this movie without remembering this amazing line.

Because of this, you may be shocked to discover that the movie’s script did not originally have this legendary line. Instead, it was added at the last minute to convince 20th Century Fox that the movie should be named Independence Day; Warner Bros. owned the rights to this title, and Fox wanted to name the movie Doomsday in order to avoid paying a rival studio. Fortunately, two weeks after Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich snuck the line into the film’s dailies, Fox approved using the title Independence Day.

Sneaking In The Perfect Line

When Independence Day premiered in 1996, many fans thought it was the first film with this title. However, they were wrong: in 1984, Warner Bros. released a movie of the same name. That earlier film didn’t feature invading aliens. Instead, it focused on a small-town artist (played by Kathleen Quinlan) trying to make her dreams come true. It got mixed reviews, and very few people saw the movie because it was only available on VHS until 2015. However, its success (or lack thereof) didn’t matter. Because WB already had a movie with this title, 20th Century Fox wouldn’t be able to name their own blockbuster Independence Day without paying for the rights.  

As you might imagine, Fox didn’t want to pay if they didn’t have to. Therefore, they used ID4 as a working title during production; for the theatrical release, they wanted to name the movie Doomsday to match the disaster vibe of other ‘90s films. However, writer Dean Devlin and director Roland Emmerich really, really wanted to name this movie Independence Day, so they hatched a plan. He knew that Fox executives were regularly viewing dailies from the film to ensure that their money (it had a $75 million budget) was well spent. Because of this, he teamed up with Bill Pullman to secretly convince those execs of the need for a name change.

The original script for Independence Day did have the big Bill Pullman speech, which his character used to rally the nations of the world together against the alien threat. However, it didn’t have the iconic “Today, we celebrate our Independence Day” line. Devlin and Emmerich conspired with Pullman, pulling him aside to add this new line. Their goal was simple: they wanted the Fox executives watching the dailies to be so moved by the end of the speech that they approved naming the movie Independence Day. Incredibly, the strategy worked: two weeks after execs viewed the dailies, 20th Century Fox negotiated a deal with Warner Bros. for the rights to the name.

All of this adds a wonderfully meta dimension to the ‘90s biggest blockbuster film. In the context of Independence Day, the end of the speech is used to rally the world together in the name of a righteous cause. In the real world,  the end of the speech was used to rally studio executives into making the smartest name change in Hollywood history. It was a great call, really; like, can you imagine if this crowdpleasing movie had a name as generic as Doomsday? Fortunately, two men making a movie about out-of-this-world invaders were able to do the impossible and bring a bunch of stubborn studio executives back down to Earth. 

It’s rare enough that a series over 40 years old finds new life in the present, with The Golden Girls being one of only a handful of series that come to mind. Rarer still is a Saturday morning TV staple of the same vintage that, likewise, finds a resurgence in the present. Yet She-Ra: Princess of Power has done just that, with the two-season animated series finding new life on the Apple TV store 41 years after its September 1985 premiere. And it’s not hard to see why.

‘She-Ra: Princess of Power’ Was a Series First

She-Ra: Princess of Power is a spin-off from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which itself was a spin-off of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe toy line. Unlike its parent, though, She-Ra: Princess of Power was developed as a series first, with Filmation and Mattel working together to create the show, with Mattel footing the bill. Writers Larry DiTillio and J. Michael Straczynski created the initial group of characters, which included She-Ra, sister of He-Man, her alter-ego Princess Adora, and her nemesis, the evil Hordak. They also came up with the premise, with Mattel releasing the accompanying toys after the series had begun production (but before the premiere).

Released at a time when the most empowering female protagonist on Saturday morning was Smurfette, She-Ra: Princess of Power stood apart from its Saturday morning kin. The series is set on the planet Etheria, where Princess Adora (Melendy Britt) has lived ever since being kidnapped at birth by Hordak from Queen Marlena and King Randor of Eternia. Raised by Shadow Weaver (Linda Gary), Adora grew up believing the Horde kept peace in Etheria and served as a Horde Force Captain. That changed while on a mission in the Whispering Woods, where she encountered He-Man (John Erwin).

He has been tasked by the Sorceress (Linda Gary) to find the one who is destined to wield the Sword of Protection, a sword similar to that of his own Sword of Power. That just so happens to be Adora, who, after touching the jewel on the hilt, is contacted by the Sorceress. She reveals the truths that Adora has long been denied: her kidnapping as a baby, the true atrocities of Hordak and his Evil Horde, and that He-Man is her brother, Adam. The Sorceress then instructs her to exclaim, “For the Honor of Grayskull!” transforming Adora into She-Ra for the first time, and transforming her horse, Spirit, into Swift Wind (Erik Gunden), a flying unicorn. Together, they foil Hordak’s attack against the rebels, with Adora breaking rank and joining the Great Rebellion as their leader.

‘She-Ra: Princess of Power’ Is Groundbreaking and Still Relevant Today

She-Ra: Princess of Power may have been a spin-off, but it differs significantly in tone and thematically from its He-Man. The setting allows for a more fantastical tone, not the medieval sci-fi feel of its predecessor. There are wielders of magic like the absent-minded Madame Razz (Gary), imaginative characters like Swift Wind and Kowl (Gunden), a flying creature that looks like a cross between a koala and an owl with bright, rainbow ears, and more adult themes, like Adora’s arc of guilt and redemption, not unlike the struggle of another Warrior Princess that would appear 10 years later in live-action.

There’s also a key difference in the intentions of the two main characters. It’s as clear as the difference in the phrases used in their respective transformations, “I have the Power” versus “For the honor of Grayskull.” He-Man uses the Sword of Power as a weapon for conflict almost exclusively. She-Ra, on the other hand, bears the Sword of Protection, and while she does use it in combat, it also magically transforms into a shield, nets, or helmets as needed to protect. Her purpose to protect is never seen as less than He-Man’s purpose to fight: she is his equal, a strong, heroic protagonist in her own right, and the leader of a rebellion that boasts heroic protagonists.

1985 also happened to be the year that another series centered around a female protagonist, Jem and the Holograms, premiered, making the year a touchstone for female representation on television. The two series, as a result, were ahead of their time. With female representation on television as good as it’s ever been now, it’s clear She-Ra: Princess of Power was far ahead of its time. Morally, it’s positive, with a clear delineation between good and evil. It’s a clever blend of sci-fi and fantasy, has diverse characters, and, like Xena: Warrior Princess after it, bears hints of queer representation that was decidedly against what was allowed on TV at the time (and definitely not on Saturday morning). All told, these elements and more make it unsurprising that this 41-year-old animated classic has found a renewed popularity on Apple TV. Turns out she has the power, too.

You need to brace yourself for how many great books will not be found below. This is a rather reckless endeavor, to try to rank just 25 of the best books ever published, since there are great works of literature that are centuries old, at this point. Some authors of great books lived and died so long ago that they couldn’t have processed the idea of such books becoming movies, because cinema wasn’t a thing yet. Some legendary authors lived, wrote, and died before they could ever be photographed.

The point is, the novel, as an art form, goes back a wildly long time. There are probably more books to choose from, for a ranking like this, than most other art forms. So, please don’t be too alarmed. There was no attempt to please anyone here 100%, and instead, an attempt was made to highlight some classic staples, a few modern books that are on their way to becoming classics, a handful of pulpier novels that might not be “high art,” but they are entertaining, and then a few personal (maybe even selfish) picks from the person currently yapping, just because it keeps things interesting, and because a top 25 filled exclusively with the books you’d expect might be a little boring. Brace yourself. Snubs are coming.

25

‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ (1949)

Image via Simon & Schuster

Kicking things off with something that’s a bit of a downer, here’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is an undeniably essential read. It feels like some people think just knowing about Nineteen Eighty-Four is enough, and it is, admittedly, iconic enough that a good many things in it are knowable without reading it in full… but you are missing out if you don’t tackle the whole thing.

George Orwell really did write one of the greatest dystopian stories of all time here, and its influence on pretty much all the dystopia-related novels, movies, and games (plus other things) made after 1949 can’t be denied. It’s mostly about a desperate/probably futile attempt to stand up against – and stand out in – a world that’s been pretty much ruined by a totalitarian superstate. It remains relevant, sad as that might be to admit, and really does feel so ahead of its time in so many ways.

24

‘Dracula’ (1897)

Image via Penguin Classics

Jumping back another half a century now (and don’t worry; it’s not going to be the only book from the 1800s here), here’s Dracula, which is quintessential as far as the horror genre is concerned, much like how Nineteen Eighty-Four is incredibly important within the bounds of dystopian fiction. Dracula is an epistolary novel about the titular count, a vampire, causing chaos, and a collection of characters who want to hunt down and kill him.

It’s simple in terms of its premise, but the style here does make it feel like something a little more special. Dracula also can’t be overlooked for how important it was for the century or so of horror to come, following its publication, and there isn’t really a story about a vampire – or vampires – that comes close, for sheer influence and importance. Even if you might feel uneasy about reading books that are more than a century old, Dracula is still worth taking on and devoting your time to.

23

‘Wuthering Heights’ (1847)

Image via Chartwell

This might seem like it’s establishing a pattern of jumping back 50 years with every new entry, but that’s not the case (promise). Wuthering Heights is a real classic, since it’s not far off being 200 years old, which is wild to think about. It would’ve been very out there for its time, one would imagine, in terms of how dark and angst-filled it’s willing to get as a story about love… kind of? But not really a love story, being more centered on obsession and a dangerous kind of passion.

You get a very strong feeling in your gut from reading Wuthering Heights, and such an experience has proven hard to translate and capture on screen, though that hasn’t stopped various people from trying. With Wuthering Heights, you do just have to read it, or maybe listen to it in full, and then it’s pretty easy to see what all the hype (a hype that has persisted for nearly two centuries) is about.

22

‘Empire of Pain’ (2021)

Image via Doubleday

Yes, Empire of Pain is a work of non-fiction, and there is going to be one other non-fiction book below, but they’re still books. Documentary movies are still movies, with filmmaking skills needed to make a good one, and you do have to be a good writer to craft a genuinely interesting non-fiction book. Thankfully, Patrick Radden Keefe is a phenomenal non-fiction writer, and Empire of Pain might well be the best demonstration of his writing skills to date.

He condenses a lot of information into a coherent and surprisingly epic narrative, with the focus being on the Sackler family and what it did throughout the 20th century to bring about the opioid epidemic, which has, for the most part, been a 21st-century problem. There’s more drama and dread here than you get in a good many works of heavy-going fiction, and Empire of Pain also well and truly feels like one of the most important books published in the last decade or so.

21

‘Lolita’ (1955)

Image via Olympia Press

When writing Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov just went for it in a way few writers had before, and also very few writers have since. He tackled some of the most challenging subject matter a work of literature has ever tried to tackle, since Lolita is about a sexual predator who becomes infatuated with his 12-year-old stepdaughter, nicknaming her Lolita and doing little else but manipulating her – and those around her – so that he can get closer to her, and abuse her.

This guy’s also the narrator, which is a wild approach to take, and it makes the whole novel challenging to read, since you have to be in his head the entire time. Further complications ensue because his way of describing his life is poetically done and sometimes even funny, so it’s hard not to feel conflicted about finding the style of the writing engaging and compelling, and all the while, the story – and what it’s dealing with thematically – is more horrifying than a good many works of actual horror. It’s a real trip of a book, to put it (far too) mildly.

20

‘A Storm of Swords’ (2000)

Image via Bantam Spectra

The highlight of the Song of Ice and Fire series to date (and it might remain the best of them, should books #6 and #7 never actually come out), A Storm of Swords is both huge and hugely satisfying. The War of the Five Kings breaks out near the end of book #1, is explored throughout book #2, and then here in book #3, escalates further, with many of the most distressing and cathartic sequences of the whole series found here.

If you know, you know. And even if you’ve not read A Song of Ice and Fire, but have seen Game of Thrones, then you also know, since the events of A Storm of Swords are largely covered throughout that show’s third and fourth seasons. It’s nice to never say never, in terms of the possibility of George R.R. Martin finishing his series, but even if he might go down in history as someone who couldn’t finish a long-running saga, his reputation for starting and then developing such a saga well (just minus an ending) will still be intact, for what that’s worth.

19

‘Infinite Jest’ (1996)

Image via Little, Brown and Company

Infinite Jest is near-infinitely dense, and it goes on and on and on in a way that’s equal parts impressive and frustrating. Actually, not equal parts. It’s more impressive than it is frustrating, since it is almost always interesting, not to mention sometimes quite entertaining, and always admirable with its scope. It’s about several different groups of characters that generally feel pretty separate from each other, though there is a film referred to as “the Entertainment” that unites all, since it has the ability to transfix anyone who watches it, ensuring their death, because it’s apparently just that entertaining.

It’s a strange book, in other words. It’s also over 1000 pages long, and those pages are more packed with text than you’d find in a more ordinarily formatted book. Infinite Jest is also somewhat infamous for all its endnotes, which are like another novel entirely when viewed on their own, so that does add further to the postmodern-ness of it all. It’s not the easiest thing to get through, by any means, but it is worth tackling, and ultimately proves very rewarding.

18

‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ (1979)

Image via Pan Books

And now for something completely different, because The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a brisk read, and an overall short book, compared to the aforementioned Infinite Jest. Both are pretty funny, for what that’s worth, though The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy plays a particularly high number of things for laughs, in turn being a contender for the crown of “funniest book of all time.”

Humor in literature feels kind of rare, or at least books that are almost entirely comedic don’t feel as common as, say, movies that are 100% focused on being comedies. Though, to the further credit of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it also functions as an excellent piece of science fiction, and then if you find the whole thing too brief, for whatever reason, it thankfully kick-started a whole series, with Douglas Adams writing five Hitchhiker’s Guide books before his passing in 2001, with there being a sixth and final book, called And Another Thing…, written by Eoin Colfer and published in 2009.

17

‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ (1846)

Image via Penguin

One of the ultimate literary crowd-pleasers (or whatever you’d call the book equivalent of a crowd-pleaser), The Count of Monte Cristo also stands as one of the ultimate serial novels. It was published over a period that spanned 1844 to 1846, satisfying in the same way that the best TV dramas would more than a century later, with a good many cliffhangers found throughout to keep readers hooked.

For 180 years now, people have been able to read The Count of Monte Cristo as one complete work, and it delivers as a dramatic adventure tale about vengeance, crime, and justice all these many (many) years later. Of all the books published before 1900, The Count of Monte Cristo is up there among the easiest to read, and it’s all executed in a way that makes more than 1000 pages surprisingly digestible.

16

‘Wiseguy’ (1985)

Image via Simon & Schuster

Nyeah, this is a great book about the mafia, see? No, but for real, Wiseguy is incredible, and it’s that previously alluded to non-fiction book that deserves to be here. Maybe there should be more works of non-fiction here, beyond just Empire of Pain and Wiseguy, but to go back to that whole idea of not being able to please everyone, there might well be people who object to even two non-fiction books being here.

With Wiseguy, it tells a story you’d be familiar with, if you’ve seen Goodfellas, since it was the book that said Martin Scorsese gangster film was based on. Yet there’s also so much here that adds to what they were able to put into the movie, with Wiseguy feeling almost like the book equivalent of a Goodfellas extended/director’s cut. You get the style and narrative of the movie quite closely, just with more detail and events covered (and Henry Hill’s quoted extensively throughout Wiseguy, which mirrors the way Ray Liotta, as Hill, narrated so much of Goodfellas).

2026 has been a big year for fans of Steven Spielberg, particularly for those who are fond of his work in the sci-fi genre. Spielberg has been on a bit of a hiatus from sci-fi movies since 2018, when he directed the Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke-led blockbuster, Ready Player One. He has since worked on historical epics such as The Fabelmans and West Side Story, but through his production company, Amblin Entertainment, he has a producing hand in dozens of projects every year, even the ones he doesn’t direct. A few years ago, Spielberg worked with his long-time collaborator Tom Hanks on a project that’s still making strides on streaming after all this time — the duo famously worked together on one of the greatest war movies of all time, Saving Private Ryan.

Back in 2024, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks each served as producers on the Apple TV series, Masters of the Air. The series features some big names, including Dune: Part Two and Elvis star Austin Butler, as well as Callum Turner, who is being eyed as a potential favorite to play James Bond. For those who aren’t familiar with Masters of the Air, the best elevator pitch for the series is Top Gun: Maverick, but set during World War II, so there’s little to no surprise why it’s been such a fan-favorite. The series finale of Masters of the Air came out in March 2024, and although it’s been well over two years, the series is still in the Apple TV top 10 in a handful of countries around the world. This comes despite no renewal — the show is a limited series, so there was never a plan for Season 2.

What Is ‘Masters of the Air’ About?

An official synopsis for Masters of the Air, which holds scores of 85% from critics and 73% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, reads as follows:

“Based on Donald L. Miller’s acclaimed book, Masters of the Air follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group — the ‘Bloody Hundredth’ — as they risk their lives high above Europe during World War II. Facing brutal odds, mechanical failure, enemy fire, and psychological strain, these American airmen forge unbreakable bonds while carrying out the Army Air Forces’ most dangerous bombing missions.”

Masters of the Air was written and created for TV by John Orloff, who is also known for his work as one of the lead writers on Band of Brothers. Orloff even penned the script for the 2011 conspiracy thriller, Anonymous, starring Rhys Ifans.

Check out all nine episodes of Masters of the Air on Apple TV and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Hanks and Spielberg’s future projects.

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Release Date

2024 – 2024-00-00

Writers

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John Shiban, John Orloff

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Serena Williams will no longer compete in this year’s Wimbledon doubles draw alongside her sister, Venus Williams.

“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” Serena, 44, announced via Instagram on Saturday, July 4, alongside a video showing the athlete walking tenderly on her nearly fully-bandaged right leg. “Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside @venuswilliams once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.”

The tennis star continued, “I’m especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to play here. Thank you to the fans for your incredible support and for making this comeback so meaningful…All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you…”

Serena returned to tennis back in June, coming out or retirement to team up with Victoria Mboko in a doubles match against Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez. (Mboko, 19, suffered an injury that forced the pair to withdraw.)

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said in a statement to The Athletic on June 1. “Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments in my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”

In her highly anticipated lead-up to Wimbledon, Serena also competed at the Berlin Open alongside Karolina Muchova. (The pair ultimately lost to Guiliana Olmos and Erin Routliffe 6-4, 6-4.)

Serena then made her Wimbledon return in her first singles match in nearly four years against Maya Joint, at which point she tweaked her knee late in the first set of the much-awaited match. (Joint ultimately won the match 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.)

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“It fels so good to be back on the grass at @wimbledon,” she wrote via Instagram following her first-round loss. “I’m incredibly thankful for the wild card — and even more grateful my daughters got to see that it’s never too late to chase something you love.”

Related: Why Zendaya’s ‘Challengers’ Reminds Serena Williams of Roger Federer

Julian Finney/Getty Images Serena Williams was reminded of another tennis icon — Roger Federer and his wife, Mirka — while watching Zendaya’s new film Challengers. In a review of the movie for Vogue, which was published on Friday, April 26, Williams, 42, opened up about seeing the real world of competitive tennis reflected in the […]

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In addition to sharing a video of the athlete struggling to walk on her right knee, Serena also posted photographs of medical syringes filled with fluid taken from her knee and snapshots of what appeared to be a small part of her rehab process.

“The photo of the syringes shows the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match…yikes!” Serena continued in the caption. “The good news is my knee shouldn’t swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I just wasn’t able to get it ready for doubles.”

By Robert Scucci
| Updated 18 seconds ago

Have a crappy first draft and want to make it into a better second, third, fourth, and final one? You might want to check out 2020’s Black Bear because the film shows you the process in real time, and I think I just spoiled the entire thing for you. But did I really?

It’s a movie about a woman named Allison (Aubrey Plaza), who’s staying at a beautiful remote cabin to work on a project, either a novel or a film. I think this part is obvious. We get a look at her morning routine, complete with sitting in a red swimsuit on a dock overlooking a foggy lake. We watch her sit down at a table by the window and start writing, occasionally looking up to take in the scenery before putting pen to paper.

We then get what I believe are two “drafts” in the form of acts, and the whole thing spirals from there. While there’s a lot of discussion about what Black Bear is actually about (just check the IMDb reviews, lots of people are rightfully confused), I think the answer is simple: it’s one of those movies about a writer who’s writing something; something that would come off as extremely pretentious in almost any other context.

Because of how open-ended the whole thing is, I could be way off the mark, but you really just need to sit down with Black Bear and enjoy it for what it truly is, no matter what kind of subtext you’re picking up from it: three actors showing an incredible range and crushing every single scenario.

Part One: The Bear in the Road

Before each act in Black Bear, we see Allison go through what appears to be her writing routine. She sits alone in the wilderness, folds up her towel, walks back to the cabin, and gets to work. In the first act, “The Bear in the Road,” we’re introduced to the other characters we’ll be spending time with: the pregnant and unhappily married couple Gabe (Christopher Abbott) and Blair (Sarah Gadon).

Gabe is a former musician who owns a bed and breakfast that he runs with Blair. Allison is a film director who chose to stay at their bed and breakfast so she could find inspiration for her next project. Gabe is secretly obsessed with Allison’s work, and Blair is a problem drinker even though the baby bump is starting to show.

This act ends almost exactly how you’d expect, with Allison and Gabe growing close, and Blair absolutely losing her mind over it. When things truly heat up in “The Bear in the Road,” the screen goes black, and we once again see Allison sitting alone on the dock in a red swimsuit, folding her towel, walking back to the cabin, and opening her notebook, setting up the second part of the movie.

Part Two: The Bear by the Boat House

The second half of Black Bear introduces the same characters but in a totally different context. Here, Allison is an actress who’s married to Gabe, who’s now the filmmaker, and Blair is another actress in the movie he’s working on. The same jilted lover story plays out, but the roles are reversed, and we’re on an actual movie set.

Allison is the unstable woman whose husband is having an affair, and she’s being manipulated by the crew into delivering a powerhouse performance during the final shoot. Blair and Gabe flirt and stage an affair between scenes, pushing Allison over the edge. The whole thing plays like a behind-the-scenes reel of a more developed version of “The Bear in the Road,” as if the first act we witnessed was the rough draft, and what happens here is the result of further refinement.

You see kernels of the original idea play out in “The Bear by the Boat House,” but it has a distinctly different flavor, which all clicks again when the whole thing eventually transitions back to Allison sitting on the dock in her red swimsuit, folding her towel, heading back to the cabin, and starting to write.

A Deconstruction Of The Creative Process

Most of the time, I try to keep my reviews spoiler free. I like to talk about the vibe, the talent, and the themes a film talks about, but breaking down Black Bear without first laying out its mechanics, which effectively spoils the movie, is impossible.

Or, I’ll ask again, is it?

My read on the film is that we’re watching a writer at work, and their ideas coming to life through the vignettes we get to see. The characters across both acts are the same but different in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Each act starts with crappy dialogue that eventually becomes more nuanced and intricate. The same can be said for the acting. Both vignettes feel like working drafts where the writer doesn’t quite yet know what story they’re trying to tell, and they’re working through the first few passages so they can figure it out.

I could be completely off base here, but that’s what Black Bear feels like. It’s a moment in the creative process when the creator is still trying to find their voice on a new project.

That said, I can’t say for certain that my assessment is correct here, and I can absolutely see why this film could be frustrating to some. At face value, it’s disjointed, its characters are all over the place, and aside from their names and the setting they occupy, they’re not really the same people. But that’s the point. We’re watching these characters get sketched out in real time by Allison, and we’re just seeing snippets of personality here.

That’s why the characters transition from one-dimensional to complex, with conflicting motives and alliances without any real rhyme or reason. It’s also a testament to everybody’s performance here, because they basically have to act like bad actors when the script is bad, and then up their game every single time (writer) Allison has a creative epiphany that allows the story to improve.

If there’s any reason to watch Black Bear, it’s for everybody’s range. I’m sure there are dozens of other ways to read this film, but I’m satisfied believing what I choose to believe. Maybe the film is actually about a girl named Allison who has amnesia, who returns to a location where she was traumatized, and she’s trying to remember what happened to her. Maybe the Black Bear is the friends we made along the way. Or maybe, just maybe, we’re watching somebody write a novel, or a play, or a movie, and we’re getting to see what happens when an incomplete story gets a full production to show you how important it is to always work past the first draft.

As of this writing, you can stream Black Bear for free on Tubi.

As far as effortless summer footwear is concerned, Madewell has mastered the art. But achieving that laid-back, elevated aesthetic doesn’t mean you have to splurge. The secret is to simply look for shoes with clean silhouettes, rich-looking textures and minimalist details that always feel timeless. As it happens, Walmart is surprisingly full of sandals that check every one of those boxes.

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13 Madewell-Inspired Walmart Sandals Starting at $9

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Can your summer wardrobe use a dose of elegance? It may be time to take a cue from the rich mom aesthetic. Defined by minimalist silhouettes, neutral hues and quiet luxury vibes, the trend is all about looking polished without appearing like you tried too hard. This season, that elevated style has officially made its […]

5. Timeless Heels: A sleek block heel offers just the right amount of height without sacrificing comfort. Dress them up for weddings or down for dinner on the patio.

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12. Simple Sequins: Subtle embellishments on these chic flats catch the light beautifully without feeling flashy. They add a little extra sparkle to casual summer looks.

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Related: 11 Cushioned Summer Sandals That Feel Comfier Than Sneakers

Sneakers may be comfortable, but they aren’t always the right choice to pair with sundresses, linen pants or breezy summer outfits. Luckily, today’s cushioned sandals deliver the same walk-all-day comfort with supportive footbeds, arch support and soft padding — all while looking polished enough for brunch, vacation and everything in between. From celeb-loved pairs to […]

UsNow Summer Sale Alert: These Chic Fashion Finds are over 30% off – Plus Free Shipping

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