Jared Leto left Met Gala guests puzzled with a realistic full cat costume based on late designer Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, Choupette. Doja Cat also donned a feline look for the gala.
Days later, some real animals got in on the act, wearing looks inspired by outfits worn by Cardi B, Salma Hayek and other stars for the Pet Gala.
By then, it was clear that Hollywood was headed for rough times. Screenwriters went on strike in early May and actors joined them two months later, grinding all film and television production to a halt. Leading the actors’ charge was The Nanny star Fran Drescher, whose fiery speech announcing the strike galvanised the union.
There was still fun to be had. The Barbenheimer matchup between “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” produced box-office gold — two bona fide blockbusters.
Live music — once silenced by the pandemic — roared on. Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Coldplay and others led to a blockbuster year for concerts.
There were stories of loss and heartbreak. Striking actors and writers spoke about the pain they were experiencing, and why their struggle to win protections from artificial intelligence and a share of streaming profits was so important. Stars lost their moments while filmmakers tried to give them their due, as “Blue Beetle” director Angel Manuel Soto did when he attended the film’s premiere holding a photo of absent star Xolo Maridueña over his face.
The deaths of stars like Paul Reubens, who as Pee-wee Herman delighted a generation, and Matthew Perry, whose role as Chandler Bing on Friends has delighted audiences around the globe across three decades, stunned fans.
Other stories dominated headlines. Gwyneth Paltrow spent two weeks in a Utah courtroom in a trial over a ski slope collision that ended with a jury siding with her, awarding her a symbolic $1 verdict.
The year will perhaps be best remembered for the everlasting dominance of Swift, who delighted fans with her record-breaking Eras tour.
But her superstardom reached new heights through her relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce and the blockbuster release of a film version of her Eras show — a pair of unpredictable events in a year that went off script in more ways than one.
AP
