According to reports, actors Seth Rogen and Elle Fanning are in talks to join Dev Patel on the cast of the upcoming film based on the male exotic dancing enterprise Chippendales. Craig Gillespie, known for helming Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Fright Night (2011), I, Tonya (2017), and Cruella (2021), is on board to direct the film.
Dev Patel, who was announced to topline the true events-based film in 2017, will play Steve Banerjee, an Indian immigrant who acquires the struggling LA club Destiny II and transforms it into a hotspot.
“Bored with pumping gas in the Mobil station he owned, he found an outlet for his entrepreneurial dreams when he acquired the struggling L.A. rock club Destiny II,” the synopsis reads. “He transformed it with a new name and theme nights that included female mud wrestling and a ‘male exotic dance night for ladies only,’ with the latter catching on.”
The club, which gave a platform to the then famous “Chippendales” theatre group, takes a hit when Banerjee's co-creator Paul Snider kills Banerjee's playboy bunny girlfriend Dorothy Stratten, sending the protagonist into a downward spiral of legal battles.
If things fall into place, the project would mark a reunion for Rogen and Gillespie, who just wrapped production on the anticipated Pam and Tommy series for Hulu.
Fanning has been approached to essay the role of Stratten, while Rogen is in consideration to play Nick De Noia, the choreographer who came up with Chippendales routine.
Lauren Blum and Rebecca Angelo are rewriting the script after Craig Williams and Isaac Adamson penned previous drafts. New Regency, Bold Films, and Permut Productions are bankrolling the film.
Keep visiting this space over and again for more updates and reveals from the world of entertainment.
The actress defended her claim that acting demands more than desk jobs in a recent interview.
She said office workers can "chill out" during work hours, unlike film stars.
Fans and working professionals called her comments privileged and out of touch.
The backlash started after her appearance on Amazon Prime's Two Much with Kajol & Twinkle.
Critics pointed out the financial gap and support systems actors have compared to regular employees.
Kajol probably didn't expect this reaction when she sat down with Twinkle Khanna on Two Much. But her comments about actors working harder than people with 9-to-5 jobs have blown up, and not in a good way.
Fans slam Kajol after she says actors work harder than regular employees sparking online outrage Getty Images
The comments that started it all
Kajol was speaking out about her earlier comments on Two Much with Kajol & Twinkle on Amazon Prime, where she said actors work harder than most people. This time she was explaining why she thinks that.
She told The Hollywood Reporter India that her days are full of shoots, events, and very early flights. One day involved waking at 5 AM to catch a flight to Jaipur for a 3 PM event.
But it was her take on regular jobs that got people talking. She claimed desk workers don't need to be "100% present" and can take breaks, "chill out," and relax while working. She kept coming back to the unending scrutiny actors face like the feeling of always being watched or something as simple as how you cross your legs or who's snapping a picture in the background becomes a constant calculation. You have to be switched on, she insisted, all the time.
The internet, frankly, was having none of it. YouTube and Reddit exploded with responses. "For the kind of remuneration actors are paid, they shouldn't have a problem working 12 hours a day for 4 days a week," one user wrote. Another pointed out that films typically take 3-4 months to shoot, while regular jobs run year-round.
The responses got more pointed. "Vanity mein naps or massages bhi toh hum lete hain," a Reddit user commented, referencing the comfort of vanity vans. Someone else joked: "If you work poorly, you get fired. If you act poorly, you get a Filmfare award."
The bluntest response yet? "Respectfully, Kajol, shut up."
Nobody denies acting is demanding. Long hours, public pressure, and constant judgement are very real. But comparing it to regular employment ignores some major differences.
Most people work 12 months a year with two weeks' holiday if they're lucky. They don't have spot boys fetching drinks or vanity vans for rest breaks. One netizen nailed it: "A working parent's schedule is continuous, every single day, with no wrap-up party or off-season."
Online erupts as Kajol defends claim that acting demands more than everyday 9-to-5 workGetty Images
There's also the money. While her fee for a single film is probably more than most people earn in a year, she says that doesn’t make the work easy. Still, it does provide a comfort that regular employees don’t have. Kajol has not yet replied to the backlash.
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