Happy Saturday, It's Fall ...?

In partnership with

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

• We scour 100+ sources daily

• Read by CEOs, scientists, business owners and more

• 3.5 million subscribers

Sign up today!

Happy Saturday, friends. The calendar says September, and fall movie festival is in full swing, but for a lot of people in a lot of places (here in particular), it’s still brutally hot. My kid had his first high school cross-country meet this week and it was in the mid-80s on steep, dirt trails. Drink water, people!

It’s the perfect time to get inside and go to the movies. We discussed a bunch of stuff this week on our Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast. Hope you’ll join us in one of these places.

• BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE. We were surprised at how much we enjoyed this sequel, which comes 36 years after Tim Burton’s original. It’s a little scattered and uneven, but that kind of chaos is part of the point. Plus it’s just so good to see Michael Keaton return to one of his signature roles. In theaters.

• LOVER OF MEN: THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. He’s arguably our most important U.S. president, but did you know that Abraham Lincoln was also gay? That’s the premise of this documentary, which lays out a pretty convincing case, based on Lincoln’s letters and other evidence. People are, predictably, losing their minds in the comment section. In theaters.

• MOVIE NEWS LIVE! Lots to discuss this week, including Alonso’s Venice Film Festival report, “Megalopolis” in IMAX, Oasis reunion tour ticket prices and more. Don’t look back in anger: Join us every Friday at Noon Pacific.

Over at our Patreon, we’ve begun recapping season 4 of “Only Murders in the Building.” It’s so nice to be back with Charles, Mabel and Oliver, even though the first couple of episodes cast more of a somber note. The show is still terrifically funny, and we loved seeing the trio visit Los Angeles. (Keep an eye out for the “Mulholland Drive” apartment building.) But episode 1 in particular takes some risks in terms of tone and form that really pay off. Are you watching the series on Hulu? I’d love to know what you think so far.

Also at our Patreon, we’re devoting our September Off the Menu poll to Gena Rowlands, who died last month at 94. Alonso always curates these polls so carefully, but when it comes to considering this film legend’s career, there really isn’t a bad choice among them. Right now, “A Woman Under the Influence” — arguably her most famous and celebrated performance — is in the lead, but there are still a few days left. If you’re at the $5 level and up, be sure to vote. If not, we hope you’ll consider joining us over there for all the extra goodies we offer. It’s a nice community of folks.

Francis Ford Coppola’s epic “Megalopolis” has been decades in the making. The auteur reportedly sold a portion of his winery to spend $120 million of his own money to produce it. Now, after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival to wildly mixed reviews, “Megalopolis” is finally debuting in theaters on Sept. 27. But! You can see it in IMAX at an early screening on Monday, Sept. 23. It’s playing nationwide, and tickets are available here. There will also be a pre-screening conversation with Coppola and other guests that’ll be livestreamed into theaters. The science-fiction drama stars Adam Driver as an ambitious architect in a decadent but decaying world. Alonso and I haven’t seen the film yet but we can’t wait; if anything, the intense split among our fellow critics makes it even more intriguing. Keep an eye out for our review later this month.

This week, I had the pleasure of catching up over lunch with a dear mom friend from pre-school days, Jen Wang. She always picks the best sushi places in LA, and it always feels like no time has passed, even if it’s been a couple of years. Jen is an extremely talented journalist who does high-profile cover pieces for big magazines: Greta Lee, Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber are among her recent subjects. Her latest interview for W Magazine is with Hunter Schafer, star of the indie thriller “Cuckoo,” which we reviewed here. Jen’s really good at providing an intimate glimpse into a celebrity’s life without sounding fawning like so many of these articles tend to do. Give it a read.

We lost an absolute legend and a personal hero of mine this week with the death of Linda Deutsch. Linda was a trailblazing Associated Press special correspondent who covered some of the biggest criminal and civil trials of the past 50 years: Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson and many more. She handled breaking news with speed and clarity but also wrote elegant and vivid big-picture analysis. With complete dedication and consummate professionalism, Linda embodied so much of what makes The Associated Press so enduring and reliable. I worked for the AP for 15 years, many of those in the Los Angeles bureau, and always loved seeing Linda there. She was a petite spitfire: warm and generous with a quick sense of humor. My old AP colleague and friend John Rogers wrote a beautiful obituary for Linda, who died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at age 80. Hope you’ll take a moment to read it.

A couple of cool items I’d love to recommend to you:

Saturday, Sept. 7 is National Beer Lovers Day. This is a real thing! I love being an ambassador for Athletic Brewing Company, and if you’ve never tried their delicious and refreshing non-alcoholic beers, now is a great time. As we’ve established, it’s fall, which means they have their Oktoberfest beer back in stock, but you can’t go wrong with any kind you try. Take 20% off your Athletic purchase with my link and code CHRISTYL20.

We also loving working with our friends at Coffee Bros. over at our Breakfast All Day channel, and they’ve got a great deal going right now on one of their newest roasts. Kenya Peaberry is a light-medium roast with notes of candied grapefruit, rosemary and grilled pineapple. Take 20% off with our link and code PBERRYPLZ. Enjoy!

(Some links are affiliate links, which means if you purchase something, we may receive a small commission.)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your weekend to hang out with me. These are busy days, so I don’t take it for granted. If you’ve found value in my newsletter, I’d be honored if you’d pass it along to a friend. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.