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Opening on Friday, March
9, is Thoroughbreds, co-
starring the late Anton
Yelchin in his final film
role. You may recall that
Yelchin died in a freak car
accident in June 2016,
age 27. At the time of
his death, Yelchin was a
well-established film actor,
probably best known for
his role as Chekov in the
Star Trek re-boot movies.
Thoroughbreds is dedi-
cated to Yelchin.
The film is a black
comedy and quasi-thriller
about Lily and Amanda,
childhood friends in sub-
urban Connecticut who re-
connect when Amanda’s
very wealthy mother hires
Lily, a model student, to
tutor Amanda for the SATs.
Amanda has a sharp
wit, but is almost a socio-
path and starts to lure Lily
into her nasty plans. They
bond over Lily’s contempt
for her oppressive stepfa-
ther. Yelchin plays Tim, a
local hustler who the girls
hire to do some dirty work
for them. The film played
numerous festivals and
got good reviews. A British
reviewer said this about
Yelchin’s performance:
“[He] gives another
twitchy, compelling turn
that reminds us why he’ll
be missed so much.”

Yelchin

Gellman

Alexander

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54

March 8 • 2018

jn

Spike, the sort-of-for-men
cable channel, has been
re-named Paramount TV
and now features original
scripted shows aimed
Willis
at a young audience of
any gender. Remember
Heathers, the 1988 hit black comedy, set
in a high school, starring Winona Ryder?
Well, it’s been revived as a Paramount
series. The first 10-episode season
started on March 7 (new episodes air
Wednesdays, 10 p.m.), but there will be
many encore showings this week and
the first episode is free to view online,
also streaming for free on Roku.
In the movie, there was a four-
member “hot girl” clique that all called
themselves “Heather.” In the series, the

leader of the Heathers
(Heather Chandler) is a
very heavy-set girl and
another Heather (Heather
Duke) is played by a man
(this Heather has gen-
der identity issues). But
before I get lost in the
Heathers weeds — here’s
the Jewish stuff: The star
character, soon-to-be a
“Heather” — Veronica
Sawyer (the role Ryder
played) — is identified as
“half Jewish” in the pilot.
Not sure which half, or if
this fact will have mean-
ing going forward.
Appearing in recurring
parts are Selma Blair, 45,
and Cameron Gellman,
19. Blair, a Southfield
native, plays Jade, the
stepmother of Heather
Duke. Jade is a former
stripper who’s biding her
time until her 82-year-old
husband dies. Gellman,
a relative newcomer,
plays Kurt Kelly, the high
school’s secretly gay
quarterback. He is secretly
dating Heather Duke.
Jason Alexander, 58,
(“George” on Seinfeld) will
guest star on the March
15 episode of the hit CBS
series Young Sheldon.
He’ll play Mr. Lundy,
Medford High School’s
resident drama teacher.
Lundy is described
as “boldly shepherd-
ing” Sheldon into the
world of acting. Nice to
note: Alexander and his
(Jewish) wife, Daena
Title, have been married
since 1981 and have two
sons, Gabriel, 27, and
Noah, 22.
On June 14, Detroit-
native Allee Willis, 70,
will be inducted into the prestigious
Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. This multime-
dia artist is best known for writing such
mega-hits as “I’ll Be There for You” (the
theme from Friends), the Pointer Sisters’
“Neutron Dance” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s
“September” and “Boogie Wonderland.”
I’ll say much more about Willis and
another 2018 hitmaker/inductee, Steve
Dorff, 68, following the induction cer-
emony. •