Celeb Sex Pass, Huh? Everything Moana, The Invite

 

“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” is a romantic comedy that opens on July 10. Daughtry (ZOEY DEUTCH, 31) is a bride-to-be who finds out her fiancé has used the so-called “celebrity hall pass” (if you meet a celeb, it’s ‘ok’ to have a “fling” with the celeb). Well, Gail makes an epic journey to Hollywood to even the scales. In other words, she plans to use the “celebrity hall pass.” FRED MELAMED, 69, MICHAEL IAN BLACK 54, and RICHARD KIND, 69, have smallish supporting roles. HENRY WINKLER, 80, and ELIZABETH BANKS, 52, have “cameo” roles as themselves. The film was directed by DAVID WAIN, 56, and he also co-wrote the film.

 

“Moana”, an animated Disney musical film, opened in 2016 and was a huge box-office hit. Moana is a Polynesian and the film takes place long before contact with Europeans.

 

Here is the “official” plot: The film follows Moana, the strong-willed daughter of a village chief. When a blight threatens her island, Moana sets sail in search of Maui, a legendary demigod, in hopes of saving her people.”

 

In 2019, “Moana 2” opened in theaters. It is animated, too. This one had a very complicated plot. Moana, of course, was the hero. This film got so/so reviews, but made an $850M profit!

 

A new, live-actor film is also entitled Moana. It opens in theaters on July 10. Here’s the gist of the official plot: “Promoted by a summons from the ocean… Moana undertakes a voyage aimed at recovering the well-being of her community.”

 

All the cast members have some Polynesian ancestry and you can’t kvetch about that. There are Jews who have some Polynesian background, like TAIKA WAITITI, 51, a famous film and TV series writer, a director, and an actor. But no “Moana” cast members are Jewish.

 

Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the songs for 2016 “Moana” and he wrote the 2026 “Moana” songs. The new film was directed by THOMAS KAIL, 49. Kail is a “top-tier” theater director and he has done some TV work. But “Moana” is the first feature film (with an asterisk) he has directed.

 

Kail has long been Miranda’s friend and collaborator. Kail directed the (original) hit stage productions of “In the Heights” (2007) and “Hamilton” (2015). Miranda wrote these two musical plays. In 2020, Disney+ streamed a filmed stage production of “Hamilton”. Yes, Kail directed a movie—but the filming of a play on a stage is “something else.”

 

Kail has won a Tony (“Hamilton”) and he received three Emmy awards (TV) for directing three musicals: “Grease”; “Fosse/Verdon”, and “Hamilton”.

 

It’s nice to note that Kail directed two “We Are the Lucky Ones” episodes. It was a 2024 Hulu series about a real Polish Jewish family that miraculously survived the Holocaust.

 

In 2019, Kail married famous actress Michelle Williams. They now have three children. In 2022, she told a reporter that she and her husband were raising their children Jewish and she was studying Judaism.

 

Celebrities rarely give out prompt updates about conversion (‘yes” or “no” ) so it’s very possible Williams has already converted-- or has decided “no”—but she won’t inform “us” for a long time.

 

“The Invite” opens up “wide” on July 10. The film is based on a hit Spanish film. The “Invite” screenplay was written by RASHIDA JONES, 50, and Will McCormack. Olivia Wilde directed.

 

All the events take place during one evening. Joe and his wife, Angela (SETH ROGEN, 44, and Olivia Wilde) reside in an apartment building. They live above another married couple, Pina (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton).

 

Joe is a vocally unhappy man. His soaring rock music career fizzled and he is teaching music students. Angela is doing nothing with her art degree. Edward and Pina, who are happy, invite Joe and Angela to dinner. Angela is afraid that Joe will tell Edward and Pina that they make too much “sex noise.”

 

Some critics liked “The Invite”. More said it just doesn’t jell as a really good movie.

 

Rogen is “just” acting in “The Invite”. This is rare for him now. In a June 13, NY Times interview, Rogen explained how he came to be an actor, a producer, a screenwriter, and a director. He holds all those jobs for his hit Apple+ show, “The Studio”. He has “fingers” in many other series and films. He told the “Times” that doing all these jobs gives him the power to create a product (film, TV) that satisfies him—his vision. (More Rogen next week).