During the weekend, Sofia Coppola penned a long article on Indiewire to explain her point of view on making The Beguiled without including any African-American characters. She has been facing some backlash for not including the character Mattie, who is featured in Thomas Cullinan’s book and Don Siegel‘s 1971 movie.

Here’s an excerpt of what she had to say:

I wanted to tell the story of the isolation of these women, cut off from the world and in denial of a changing world. I also focused on how they deal with repression and desire when a man comes in to their abandoned world, and how this situation affects each of them, being at different stages of their life and development. I thought there were universal themes, about desire and male and female power dynamics that could relate to all women. The circumstances in which the women in my story find themselves are historically accurate—and not a distortion of history, as some have claimed.

Throughout the film, we see students and teachers trying to hold on to their crumbling way of life. Eventually, they even lock themselves up and sever all ties to the outside world in order to perpetuate a reality that has only become a fantasy. My intentions in choosing to make a film in this world were not to celebrate a way of life whose time was over, but rather to explore the high cost of denial and repression.

In his 1966 novel, Thomas Cullinan made the choice to include a slave, Mattie, as a side-character. He wrote in his idea of Mattie’s voice, and she is the only one who doesn’t speak proper English—her voice is not even grammatically transcribed.

I did not want to perpetuate an objectionable stereotype where facts and history supported my choice of setting the story of these white women in complete isolation, after the slaves had escaped. Moreover, I felt that to treat slavery as a side-plot would be insulting.

There are many examples of how slaves have been appropriated and “given a voice” by white artists. Rather than an act of denial, my decision of not including Mattie in the film comes from respect.

Our gallery was updated with additional The Beguiled images, including some Tintype images from the set taken by Sophie Caretta.

Kirsten was stunning last night at the Vogue Party, held during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday (July 4) at the Palais Galliera in Paris, France. Check some images added in our gallery:

Kirsten is in Paris this week, to attend the Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week. Yesterday she attended the Rodarte Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017-2018 show, and was photographed alongside fellow actress Brie Larson.
Today she attended the Christian Dior Haute Couture, and pictures from both events has been added in our gallery.

It’s been nearly two years since Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical premiered on Broadway, and over a year since the show swept the 2016 Tony Awards. So why, you may ask, are your social-media feeds all of the sudden being flooded with celebrities doing their best Schuyler, Burr, and Lafayette impressions? It’s all part of Miranda’s fund-raising campaign for the Immigrants, We Get the Job Done Coalition, which works “locally and nationally to empower millions of Latino children, youth, and families through three essential service pillars: increasing the capacity of Hispanic grassroots organizations, advocating for social justice, and providing direct programs that transform communities.”

The video, taped on the set of The Beguiled, has fun cameos from Kidman, Dunst, Fanning, Farrell, and Coppola herself—but the real stars come from the film’s younger generation. Oona Laurence, so engaging in Pete’s Dragon, pops off the screen as Aaron Burr, while Angourie Rice, Addison Riecke, and Emma Howard make for (apologies) a beguiling trio of Schuyler sisters, complete with original stage choreography.

Watch it:

We finally have scans added of Kirsten editorial to Dazed Magazine (which you can read the interview here). The complete shoot is absolutely gorgeous.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has announced yesterday the Hollywood Walk of Fame class of 2018, and Kirsten is among the honorees.

“The Walk of Fame Selection Committee is pleased to announce our newest honorees to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Committee looked carefully at each nominee and we feel that we have selected an eclectic group of talent that will appeal to the tastes of many fans around the world,” Vin Di Bona, chairman of the selection committee for 2017, said.

“As a Walk of Famer myself, I know these honorees will remember the dedication of their stars with great memories and will be proud that they are part of Hollywood’s history now and forever. We look forward to their big day as the Walk of Fame Class of 2018 becomes cemented one by one on the most famous sidewalk in the world!”

Dates have not been set for the star ceremonies, which must be scheduled within two years from the selection date. Kirsten received the news during last night’s The Beguiled premiere.