When Elon Met Ye: A Love Story
It’s one of the stranger bonding moments captured on camera this year: and Kanye “Ye” West — two men not exactly celebrated for their emotional sensitivity — are seen lying shoulder-to-shoulder on a giant floor cushion, talking about their love lives like teenagers at a slumber party. This bizarre little moment plays out in a new West documentary that’s equal parts concert film, therapy session and billionaire fever dream.
“You and Kim, like, off and on or something?” Musk asks, chuckling, as the two recline in what West describes as “an idea of a bedroom” — a stark, circular room with a mattress covering the entire floor. West doesn’t answer. So Musk volunteers his own romantic update: “Claire [aka Grimes] and I … we’re sort of … you know, in the same text stream, she’s like, ‘I love you.’ And then, like, you know, a day later, like, ‘I hate you.’ ” He laughs. West admits he has no answers, “[I have] answers to everything except for that.”
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The clip, shared exclusively with The Hollywood Reporter, is part of In Whose Name?, a documentary by first-time filmmaker Nico Ballesteros, who began shadowing West with a camera in 2018, when Ballesteros was just 18. Over six years, he compiled more than 3,000 hours of footage, capturing pretty much all of West’s chaotic unraveling; his bipolar diagnosis, the breakdown of his marriage to Kim Kardashian, collapsed endorsement deals and a string of controversies over antisemitic tirades and conspiracy-tinged rants.
Along the way, there is a parade of cameos: Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, LeBron James, Rihanna, Chris Rock, Drake, Kardashian, Diddy, Kris Jenner, Pharrell Williams, Scooter Braun … and, um, the 47th U.S. president.
Still, it’s the Elon moments that stick. In another clip, filmed backstage during a 2023 Miami show, Musk gushes to West about the production: “Wow, yeah, thanks for inviting me, this was an amazing experience. A rare experience. I didn’t know what to expect, this was an amazing production.”
Rambling agrees. — CHRIS GARDNER
Marijuana, Mix-Ups and a Mic Down the Pants — Three’s Company Goes Live
It’s been more than two decades since John Ritter’s death, but the sitcom legend was the star of the night during a lovingly loopy staged reading of Three’s Company at the Sunset Room in Hollywood. Held Sept. 12, the event doubled as a fundraiser for the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health, with Ritter’s widow, Amy Yasbeck, emceeing alongside John’s son Tyler Ritter.
The cast read through the season seven episode “Going to Pot,” involving mistaken drug busts, comedic gunplay and the usual innuendo-laced misunderstandings. Adam DeVine, stepping into Ritter’s short-shorts (at least in spirit), earned laughs with a bit about a wayward mic drifting below the belt. Kaley Cuoco, who played Ritter’s daughter on 8 Simple Rules, brought level-headed charm as Janet. “John was one of my favorite people on earth,” she tells Rambling Reporter. “I’ll spend any moment I can to honor and remember him.”
Jason Alexander nearly stole the show, channeling Don Knotts’ Mr. Furley with pitch-perfect voice and timing. “Ritter and Knotts were both singular performers,” he says. “It’s a joy to celebrate them.” Original castmembers Richard Kline and Priscilla Barnes also cracked up the crowd, reprising their roles as nurse Teri and lovable lech Larry. In fact, it was Kline who earned the night’s warmest ovation. “They say if you’re playing a priest, you wear a collar and a black shirt,” he says, explaining his approach to Larry’s signature wardrobe. “If you’re playing Larry, you open three buttons.”
The evening helped raise funds to support research and awareness around the aortic condition that took Ritter’s life at just 54. — STEVE BELANGER
A Gadget Too Clever Even for Batman’s Utility Belt — a Coded Script Pouch
The script for Matt Reeves’ next Caped Crusader movie is so double-top-secret, even Batman had trouble getting his hands on it.
“Benito, my assistant, [found] a very, very high security pouch,” the director tells Rambling, describing how he had the script for The Batman: Part II delivered to star Robert Pattinson in a high-tech, lockbox-style device. “Then [Pattinson] was like, ‘I can’t open it.’ “
Eventually, with a little help from the director — “It has a code on it that we had to send,” Reeves explains — Pattinson literally cracked open the case.
Much to Reeves’ relief, the contents passed muster with the actor. “He’s Batman, and if he doesn’t like it, not good,” Reeves says. “But the things that it does for his character, for Batman and for Bruce [Wayne], have never been done before in this way. I had a feeling he would respond to it — but the fact that he did was incredibly encouraging.”
Reeves confirmed the long-awaited sequel is now officially in prep, with filming set to begin this spring. “It’s been a journey that is taking longer than I would’ve wanted … but the most important reason is getting it to a place where I just felt like it was the best script we could possibly write.” — C.G.
This story appeared in the Sept. 18 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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