Swift sweeps VMAs; Glitter doc shelved — SkimNews
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- Taylor Swift unveiled the 'Patient Zero' music video with Dakota Johnson at the 2026 MTV VMAs, paired with 'The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore' — four new tracks ('Patient Zero,' 'Cleveland!,' 'Pink Clouding,' 'Babylon') written in Sweden with Max and Shellback.link ›
- MTV named Swift the inaugural Artist Director Honors recipient, citing her four prior Best Director wins, 14 Grammys on 58 nominations, 11 consecutive No. 1 albums since Fearless, and the $2.07B-grossing Eras Tour.link ›
- Patti Harrison impersonated Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos (plus Lauren Sánchez Bezos) on WIRED's cover — running Gaza quotes other outlets had cut from her prior interviews.link ›
- Israel moved to revoke the citizenship of NAZA directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after Netanyahu accused them of treason; over 1,500 Israeli filmmakers signed a solidarity petition, and the Guardian-co-produced doc lands in 50+ countries theatrically in November.link ›
- Netflix pulled the Hunting Gary Glitter trailer and postponed its Oct. 14 release indefinitely — Glitter is awaiting trial on four new historical sex offence charges after pleading not guilty this summer.link ›
- Jensen Ackles landed the lead in MGM+'s Rules of Prey, based on John Sandford's first Lucas Davenport novel, with Daniel Sackheim directing and Amazon MGM Studios distributing across 11 markets including the U.S., U.K., and Germany.link ›
Taylor Swift turned the 2026 VMAs into a one-woman showcase, unveiling the 'Patient Zero' video starring Dakota Johnson and collecting MTV's brand-new Artist Director honor — a category invented, in effect, for her. The 'Encore' reveal added four Sweden-born tracks ('Cleveland!,' 'Babylon,' 'Patient Zero,' 'Pink Clouding') to the biggest-selling album in history. The same week, Netflix pulled the 'Hunting Gary Glitter' trailer and postponed the Voltage TV docuseries indefinitely, citing 'new legal information' — three weeks before its Oct. 14 release while Glitter awaits trial on fresh historical sex offence charges.
The stories behind this week
Dakota Johnson Stars in Swift's 'Patient Zero' VideoThe VMAs stage gives Swift's expanded 'Encore' album its biggest live-audience launch moment yet, rewarding fans who drove the original 'Showgirl' to 'the biggest first week for an album in history.' Johnson — Swift's wedding guest in July and now her on-screen collaborator — adds genuine Hollywood wattage to a rollout that pairs a 13-second teaser with a Sunday-night reveal across the VMAs audience.
Taylor Swift Named First MTV VMA Artist Director HonoreeMTV invented a new category and handed the first one to its most decorated artist, formalizing the cable channel's own acknowledgment that artist-driven direction has become central to how music reaches screens. The four prior Best Director wins at the VMAs made the choice inevitable, and the honor codifies a directorial role Swift has long occupied.
Patti Harrison Mocks Five Tech Billionaires on WIRED CoverHarrison's interview lands at a moment when outlets cut Gaza commentary pre-publication and platforms profit from outrage-fueled addiction. Her WIRED cover — lampooning five tech billionaires — uses the magazine's platform to run Gaza quotes other publications removed, while the figures she impersonates continue running the platforms whose economics she names.
Brothers Review: McConaughey & Harrelson's Meta-SitcomThe two reviews covering Brothers land in similar territory — this one calls it 'inessential' but 'a fun little trip,' while Variety says the leads' chemistry 'isn't enough.' For viewers deciding whether to commit, the cross-coverage consensus points to a pleasant, supporting-cast-driven diversion rather than appointment television.
‘Crew Girl’ Renewed For Season 2 At NetflixA Season 2 pickup from Netflix validates the performance of "Crew Girl," a smaller-scale YA entry produced under Thunderbird Entertainment's Great Pacific Media banner, and confirms the streamer remains open to commissioning second seasons of teen dramas that blend sports and high-school melodrama.
Israel Moves to Revoke Filmmakers' Citizenship Over Gaza DocThe Israeli government’s attempt to punish its own citizens for exposing state violence risks isolating it further diplomatically and culturally, while the global theatrical rollout ensures the evidence reaches wide audiences despite domestic suppression efforts. The scale of domestic filmmaker support — over 1,500 names — signals deep dissent within Israel’s creative community.
Jensen Ackles To Star In MGM+'s 'Rules Of Prey'The order deepens Ackles' value to Amazon MGM Studios, giving the streamer a third active series with him while it adapts a 35-plus-novel crime franchise that already has a built-in audience. MGM+ gets a prestige procedural anchored by a star with a loyal genre following, plus international distribution across 11 territories.
Netflix Pulls Gary Glitter Doc Trailer, Postpones ReleaseBecause Glitter awaits trial on four new historical sex offence charges after pleading not guilty, the postponed doc faces indefinite limbo under active U.K. contempt rules — leaving Voltage TV's multi-year investigation and its abuse-survivor testimony in suspension, with the streamer offering no new release date beyond a vague promise to "provide an update."
Why it matters: The VMAs are now functionally a Taylor Swift showcase — MTV didn't just hand her the inaugural Artist Director prize, they built the category to do it, which means Sunday's other winners were competing for whatever was left.
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