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Seija Rankin

Senior Editor

Seija Rankin is a Senior Editor at The Hollywood Reporter, where she covers books, television and film and oversees the magazine’s About Town section. Before joining THR, she was the Books and Features Editor at Entertainment Weekly. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin’s School of Journalism, and lives in Los Angeles.

More from Seija Rankin

‘The Other Black Girl’ Showrunners on Connecting to Theme of Corporate America: “We’ve Felt That Experience of Having to Sacrifice a Piece of Yourself to Succeed”

When Jordan Reddout and Gus Hickey heard that Hulu was developing an adaptation of The Other Black Girl, they knew they wanted in. “We called our agents and said, ‘Do whatever you have to do to get us a meeting,’ ” says Reddout, who had already read (nay, “devoured”) the best-selling novel about a book publishing […]

Peter Sarsgaard on How His Bond With Jessica Chastain Began After Their Movie Wrapped

Peter Sarsgaard’s role in Memory leans heavy, at least on paper. The actor plays Saul, a man struggling to come to terms with his early onset dementia. He meets a former classmate, played by Jessica Chastain, who is struggling herself — she was raped by older boys as a child and is 13 years into […]

Amelia Dimoldenberg Looks Beyond the ‘Chicken Shop’

When Amelia Dimoldenberg was a child, she dreamed of being an editor of Vogue. The London native kept a diary full of magazine collages, taking notes on masthead pages about potential trajectories: “assistant to the editor-in-chief: maybe start here.” Now, at 29, she is the face of some of the buzziest — and most beloved […]

How ‘Eileen’ and ‘Nyad’ Screenwriters Brought Two Wild and Turbulent Lives to the Screen

Eileen Screenplay adapted by Ottessa Moshfegh and Luke Goebel Ottessa Moshfegh’s debut novel, 2015’s Eileen, was an overwhelming literary success; it won the PEN Award for debut fiction and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. But beyond the accolades, the critical reception often included backhanded — sometimes bordering on misogynistic — disparagements of the protagonist. The […]

Aly & AJ on Playing Their Dream Venue, Reinventing Their Sound, and Their Time Away From the Spotlight: “It Saved Us”

When Aly and AJ Michalka headlined the Greek Theatre for the first time in September, it was a moment tinged with nostalgia and ripe with promise for the next phase of their careers. The venue was the site of the very first concert the L.A. natives attended (LeAnn Rimes in 2004) and has long been […]

Matt Rogers Is Looking for More Ways to Get Himself Across

In “Everything You Want,” the second single from Matt Rogers’ new album Have You Heard of Christmas?, he croons about sending holiday tidings to a former flame — who, as it turns out, he can’t quite remember. “Gifted you my heart and swore a lifetime of my love, you’ve gone away now,” he sings. “Go […]

Awkwafina and Sandra Oh’s ‘Quiz Lady’ Was Never Meant to Have an R Rating

After Jen D’Angelo’s first feature (a script she describes as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead meets Titanic) made The Black List, she received industry attention but quickly realized the endeavor would be obscenely expensive — and a rights nightmare. She instead decided to write a film inspired by her brother, a longtime Jeopardy! whiz who […]

What the ‘Leave the World Behind’ Adaptation (and a Julia Roberts-Starring Role) Means to Rumaan Alam

When Rumaan Alam released his third novel, Leave the World Behind, the world was six months into a deeply traumatizing — and claustrophobic — pandemic. The book opens on a white family vacationing at a rural Long Island Airbnb as the Black family who owns the home knocks at the door asking for refuge from a […]

Britney Spears’ Memoir Revelations: Passing on ‘Chicago,’ Her Madonna Bond and More Bad Behavior From Justin Timberlake

By the time Britney Spears’ memoir The Woman in Me dropped Tuesday morning, much had already been said — by critics, by the tabloids and by Spears herself, often railing against the former — about the contents of the highly anticipated book. In an excerpt and People cover story, Spears spoke about effects of her […]

Danny Pellegrino on Sharing a Book Publication Day With Britney Spears and Whether He’ll Reunite With Ariana Madix

Danny Pellegrino is used to sharing the spotlight with celebs. On his hit podcast Everything Iconic, the writer and comedian discusses pop culture phenomenons and has interviewed everyone from Elizabeth Olsen to Andy Cohen. In 2019 he wrote Vanderpump Rules stars and then-couple Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval’s drink recipe collection, Fancy AF Cocktails (in […]

What ‘Saturday Night Live’ and ‘Monty Python’ Taught Bob Odenkirk About Writing a Children’s Book

Bob Odenkirk knows he should probably leave his kids alone. But the Better Call Saul star spent the pandemic working on an Audible murder comedy podcast with his son, Nate, 23, and collaborating on a children’s book with his artist daughter, Erin, 22. “If I want to do a good job as a dad, I […]

Heather McMahan Talks New Netflix Special: “I’m Ready for My Melissa-McCarthy-in-‘Bridesmaids’ Moment”

In July 2019, comedian Heather McMahan was at a Lululemon-sponsored Malibu retreat when she got a phone call that changed her life — after a suggestion from Maria Shriver (who followed McMahan, also host of the Absolutely Not podcast, on Instagram), the Today show asked her to join Jenna Bush Hager as a fourth-hour guest co-host. […]