The Founder of Hollywood's Most Elite Sex Club Is Unhappy |
In a leafy enclave near Beverly Hills, behind an aging Tudor mansion, Snctm is hosting a pool party. The sun is radiant overhead, the sky is cloudless and blue; the therapeutic aroma from the eucalyptus trees mixes in the air with the scents of expensive perfume and hydroponic weed. Couples lie here and there on chaise longues or large blankets on the grass. A trio of topless young women, members of Snctm's erotic-theater troupe, known as Devotees, float languorously on giant blow-up swans, sipping drinks through bent straws. Two more Devotees bounce on a trampoline. In a little while, the brunette will be tied up, the blond will employ a suede flogger and other toys, dispensing pain and pleasure. A waitress circulates, delivering food prepared by the French chef—a choice today of sirloin sliders or fish tacos, with a side of crisp steak fries. Sitting poolside in a wicker chair, presiding over all, is Damon Lawner. A handsome man of forty-five with a lean and chiseled physique, he wears gauzy, low-slung pants and a necklace of fragrant mala beads he picked up during a sojourn in Bali. With his longish tousled hair and high cheekbones, his inner glow and sober mien, he looks like a hunky Hollywood guru. But the truth is Lawner never set out to save any souls besides his own. Four years ago, he was a cash-strapped real estate agent with a beautiful wife and two young daughters, struggling with monogamy, facing with dread the prospects of his fifth decade. As many men do when they reach his age, he began to ask himself, "Is this all there is?" |
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| Kid Cudi is standing in front of a jumbo screen at the home of the New York Mets, watching a stadium full of fanatics chant his name. He hasn't toured in five years, and he forgot how much he needed this feeling. Not just the idolatry but the physical connection with fans that's kept him alive all these years. Night after night this summer, he'll feel it again when he embarks on a twenty-seven-city world tour, an ambitious, theatrical exhibition combining his love of singing and acting into a concert that's romantic and "trippy as f***." |
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The 25 Best TV Shows of 2022 (So Far) |
The year has crossed the halfway mark, and already we're drowning in fantastic television. The first half of 2022 has offered up a dazzling number of series for premium watching. Ozark made its big Netflix return, Amazon has offered us a beautiful look into the lives of three young adults on the autism spectrum, and ABC (yes, A-B-C, the network) has turned out the best comedy of the year. Apple TV+ also muscled its way into the streaming game with two of the year's biggest hits, Pachinko and Severance, each bound to take home Emmy gold. If this all serves as any indication for the second half of the year, it's not going to be a matter of whether or not there's any good television, but whether you have the time to watch it all. To stay ahead of things, we've chosen a handful of series that you should get in your queue. |
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This Timeline of Trumpworld Excuses Proves Mar-a-Lago Raid Week Was Even Stupider Than You Remember |
The week that began Monday, August 8, provided such a neat encapsulation of the Trump Scandal Defense Cycle that we should not allow it to drift into summer-dog-day oblivion without comment. Each day brought a new development almost divinely crafted to expose the knee-jerk nihilist sycophancy of Trump's defenders, as they repeatedly threw themselves in front of the Reality Bus only to be shocked—SHOCKED!—to find themselves under the wheels by the following lunchtime. |
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Thankfully, You Don't Need to Know Much Before Watching House of the Dragon |
House of the Dragon, the first of many Game of Thrones spinoffs to battle it out in pre-production for a green light from HBO, will officially grace our screens this Sunday. It's been three years since the controversial finale of Thrones, and this prequel is hurtling us back to not just the world of Westeros itself—but 200 years in the past. The power-jockeying of Game of Thrones may have been hard enough for viewers to keep track of the last go-around, so this time, House of the Dragon is mainly sticking to the drama of one royal family. The Targaryens—the dragon-riding house that conquered and united the Seven Kingdoms—are our sole focus. They may be ancestors of Game of Thrones protagonist Daenerys Targaryen, but House of the Dragon doesn't require any knowledge of the past eight seasons to enjoy. It certainly helps, but new viewers should be able to squeak by with just a little help. For those uninitiated or viewers who need everything they need to know in one place, we've got you covered. |
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Harvey Guillén's Coming Out Journey |
Throughout the seasons of What We Do in the Shadows, many people have questioned Guillermo's sexuality. I've personally gotten the question of "is he or isn't he?'' many times before. I suppose now the answer is that he was hiding in the shadows all along—something I personally can relate to. It was important to me that I handled Guillermo's coming out story authentically and with fragile hands. If you had put a mirror to my face while filming this episode, I feel as though I would have seen a younger version of myself anxiously waving back at me. We had lived this life before. |
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