Lena Dunham says Taylor Swift is responsible for one of her favorite 'Too Much' moments
There are few things more heart-wrenching than a well-placed Taylor Swift needle drop.
In the season finale of Netflix's "Too Much" (now streaming), creator Lena Dunham masterfully deploys "Bigger Than the Whole Sky," a bonus track off Swift's Grammy-winning best album "Midnights." The elegiac ballad, released in 2022, comes at a moment of release for Jessica (Megan Stalter), who had just broken up with her boyfriend, Felix (Will Sharpe), when her dog unexpectedly died.
While crying on the couch, she receives a text asking to meet up with Wendy (Emily Ratajkowski), who started dating her ex-boyfriend Zev (Michael Zegen) before Jessica moved to London. After despising and envying his seemingly perfect new partner from afar, their coffee date is a chance for Jessica to reconcile with the fact that Wendy was never the bad guy after all.
And in a tear-jerking sequence set to Swift's song, Jessica walks backward into her old New York apartment – saying goodbye to Zev, before she leaves him behind and strolls forward onto the sidewalk.
'Too Much': How Lena Dunham made the year's most devastating episode of TV
"Bigger Than the Whole Sky" is achingly apropos for Jessica as she closes that chapter of her life, with its bittersweet lyrics about grief and the pain of moving on. ("I've got a lot to live without / I'm never gonna meet / What could've been, would've been / What should've been you.") Swift is a longtime friend of Dunham, although it's the first time that the "Girls" writer has included her music in one of her projects.
"I'm always listening to her when I write – I mean, like 99.9% of America, I'm just always listening to her," Dunham says. "Originally, that was actually a different song and it was something that had been used in another film fairly recently. She watched the sequence and so did her brother, Austin, who is amazing and does all of her music placement. So she said, 'Actually, I think I know what should be here.'"
Dunham thought she'd have to re-edit the sequence to fit Swift's song, but to her surprise, "we did not have to move a frame," Dunham continues. "That song just said everything that had to be said about their relationship, about her relationship to her dog – I mean, it's one of my absolute favorite moments in the show, and one of my absolute favorite moments I've ever had the chance to film. It's my first time actually getting to use a T.S. song in my work, and besides the amazing music that my husband put together for the show, it's everything I could've dreamed of. I couldn't feel luckier that she let us use it."
In classic rom-com fashion, Jessica and Felix eventually make up and get married at episode's end. For viewers who have had longterm relationships, Dunham hopes they appreciate the complexities of both characters, who wrestle with personal demons but still find their ways back to each other.
"I've had a couple of twentysomethings watch (the show) and they're really sweet about it, like, 'It's funny!'" Dunham says. "But there's something when I talk to people who are in their 30s; they just get it in a different way. It's about that moment where you go from living your life for the crazy story to being like, 'I don't want to be a person who moves through the world alone. How can I find that connection?' So it's interesting to see how my friends who have gotten to that point are able to understand the love story in a different way."
Review: Lena Dunham's 'Too Much' is actually just enough
The series is loosely inspired by the real-life love story between Dunham, 39, and Luis Felber, 39, a British musician whom she married in 2021. (Somewhat notably, "Bigger Than the Whole Sky" was co-produced by Jack Antonoff, whom Dunham dated for five years.)
Felber co-created "Too Much" with his wife and was instrumental in helping bring Felix to life on screen.
"I love writing men, but at the end of the day, I haven't had a chance to be one in this lifetime," Dunham says. "Patriarchy hurts everyone; men, too. So what does it look like for a guy who is tender and complicated and has made mistakes to try and put some of that behind him? Between my husband and Will, who himself is such an amazing writer and director, I felt like Felix was the most fully embodied man I've ever gotten the chance to create."
Additionally, "Lu is a native Londoner, so he was also there to make sure we were showing a version of London that was different than the kinds we've seen in other romantic comedies," Dunham says. "We were seeing some spaces that weren't just Notting Hill; whether it's about Jessica living in East London, or Felix making music in Camberwell, or going to the outskirts of the M25 to see his parents. There was a truth and authenticity, and I hope Londoners will recognize there was a lot of love put into it."
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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
'Bad Vegan' Sarma Melngailis claims her ex ruined her life
The recognizable duck portraits that once hung in the dining room of Pure Food and Wine now live in an apartment a block and a half away, with the shuttered Gramercy restaurant's co-owner, Sarma Melngailis. 'When the restaurant was opening, it started with those photographs. Those are two of the three. I got two of them back,' Melngailis, 52, told The Post. 'I didn't want to put vegetables on the wall,' she said — despite the fact that the eatery, which was popular with A-listers like Alec Baldwin, Gisele Bündchen, Bill Clinton and Woody Harrelson, was focused on 'raw vegan' dishes. 15 Sarma Melngailis — aka, the subject of the Netflix series 'Bad Vegan' — has written a memoir, 'The Girl with the Duck Tattoo,' about the incidents that led to her arrest. Chris Dempsey Melngailis has a thing for ducks: There's one tattooed on her arm, and she named her mail-order food business (which, according to its website is, 're-hatching soon') One Lucky Duck. But she claims her own luck ran out when she fell for Anthony Strangis, her now ex-husband and the man with whom she was arrested in Tennessee, near the Dollywood theme park, in 2016. The story of her downfall, conviction on charges of grand larceny, and subsequent prison time were detailed in the buzzy Netflix docu-series 'Bad Vegan.' 15 Melngailis claims her ex-husband is to blame for driving her restaurant into the ground after promising he could help her expand the business — and make her beloved dog, Leon, live forever. Chris Dempsey Now, Melngailis is telling her side of the story in a new memoir, 'The Girl With The Duck Tattoo,' and an exclusive interview with The Post. 'That guy took control of me and my mind, for the most part. He dragged me into a delusion,' she said of Strangis. '[People like that] put you in a state of fear and you end up trapped. It puts you in a situation where you don't see your way out.' She claims he is to blame for driving her restaurant into the ground after promising he could help her expand the business — and make her beloved dog, Leon, live forever. The Post has reached out to Strangis for comment. 15 Melngailis was convicted of grand larceny, among other crimes. 15 Her then-husband, Anthony Strangis, also served time for the crimes. Melngailis, who grew up in Massachusetts, was a Manhattan culinary darling before her arrest. She gave up a career in finance to pursue a degree from the French Culinary Institute — a gamble that paid off when she and then-boyfriend Matthew Kenney, a star chef in the city's vegan world opened their first restaurant, Commissary, in 2001, followed by Pure Food and Wine in 2004. The couple split a year later and Melngailis bought out Kenney's stake, throwing herself completely into the restaurant. As former employee Benito Borjas-Fitzpatrick told The Post in 2016, 'She was obsessed. She worked constantly. Sometimes she would even sleep at the restaurant.' It was a celebrity hotspot just as veganism was becoming super trendy. And it brought Melngailis her own fans, including Alec Baldwin — with whom, she claims in her memoir, she had an emotional affair. Baldwin even met his future wife, Hilaria, at Pure. 15 Pure Food and Wine was a hit with A-listers such as Woody Harrelson (left, with Melngailis, her then boyfriend and business partner Matthew Kenney, and actor Jason Lewis). Getty Images 15 The Gramercy restaurant served a raw vegan menu. Victoria Will Melngailis writes in her memoir that Strangis, who also went by the name Shane Fox, came into her life through Baldwin, after the two men had a Twitter exchange in 2011. 'Then [Strangis] followed me, and I followed him back. He started commenting on my posts, and soon, our own back-and-forth ensued. It quickly moved to direct messages,' Melngailis writes. 'He said his name was Shane Fox. I still didn't know much else about him, but since Alec followed him, I assumed they were friends, or at least acquaintances.' Melngailis and 'Fox' exchanged texts, then phone calls, for two months before meeting. 'It wasn't even that we had an emotional connection. It was that he knew how to hook me.' Melngailis told The Post. 15 Alec Baldwin met wife Hilaria at Pure Food and Wine. Getty Images She only found out later that he had lied about his real name — and been convicted nearly a decade before of grand theft and impersonating a police officer. 'There were so many red flags.' But, she added, 'when you meet somebody in person, you're able to sense how you feel around them. You don't get that online. 'What I did by communicating with him so much online is, I let him get into my head before I even met him — and that was dangerous.' She hired him as a manager at the restaurant and, employees told The Post in 2016, they saw a change in her. The staff was also wary of Strangis. 15 Matthew Kenney split from Melngailis and left the restaurant in 2015. Michael Sofronski 15 Among the dishes served at Pure Food and Wine: Zucchini and green zebra tomato lasagna . Michael Sofronski 'He had an air of an Italian-style gangster . . . walking with a big gait and speaking in a cryptic fashion about money,' said former longtime bartender Daniel Schubmehl. Suddenly, employees claimed in 'Bad Vegan,' their once-dedicated boss was rarely around. Despite the duo's high living — spending around $2 million at casinos and on luxury travel and jewelry, according to the Brooklyn DA's office — Melngailis failed to make payroll five times in 2014. According to an indictment, she transferred nearly $1.6 million from her businesses to her personal bank account. When she went AWOL in early 2015, Pure, along with a One Lucky Duck juice bar she had opened next door, shuttered. It reopened a few months later, thanks to funding from wealthy patrons — only for the staff to walk out after not being paid again. 15 Melngailis' book is available now. Chris Dempsey Melngailis told employees the issue was due to her having changed banks; in a media interview, she chalked it up to slim margins and expensive ingredients. Accused of owing nearly $2 million to investors, employees and the IRS, Melngailis and Strangis disappeared — and she was dubbed the 'vegan Bernie Madoff.' But Melngailis, who writes in her memoir that she and Strangis were 'jointly liable' for the financial damages, claims she didn't want to run. 'He [Strangis] took me away. I was screaming my head off in the car,' she told The Post. 'I didn't want to leave. I didn't run. I wasn't aware that we were fugitives on the run. He just took me away.' In the memoir, she details psychological and sexual abuse by Strangis. 15 'I wasn't aware that we were fugitives on the run,' Melngailis said, claiming Strangis 'took me away.' Chris Dempsey The couple weren't seen for nearly 10 months, sparking a manhunt. In May 2016, they were arrested at a $99-a-night Fairfield Inn & Suites in Sevierville, Tenn. — tracked down by police after ordering a Domino's pizza. 'I never thought I was doing anything wrong. That's why it's been really painful… ' Melngailis told The Post. 'I did bad things but I paid my debt to society. At no point in time did I really — I never had the intention of doing anything bad. The last thing I would have ever wanted to do is not pay my employees.' She pleaded guilty to tax fraud, grand larceny and conspiracy to defraud in May 2017 and served four months behind bars. Strangis pleaded guilty to four counts of grand larceny and served a year and three days in lock-up. 15 Melngailis served four months at Rikers for her crimes. R Umar Abbasi 15 Melngailis filed for divorce from Strangis, seen here at a New York State Courthouse in 2017, in 2018. Stefan Jeremiah 'It was very surreal. Wherever you are, you just adapt,' Melngailis told The Post of her time at Rikers Island. 'I could see Manhattan from the dorm I was in. It's very strange to be locked up and have a view across the way of Manhattan. 'It's still on me to figure out how to address everything. I'm not going to lie, it's been hard when people are kind of yelling at me based on this false narrative of what happened and calling me a criminal,' she said. 'Someone will slide in [my DMs] and call me a grifter based on that narrative for which they [Netflix] profited. It's frustrating.' She's referring to the Netflix docu-series 'Bad Vegan,' in which she was interviewed — and which, she claims, did her dirty. 'It's been really painful because with what the director and producers made from selling the show to Netflix — all [my] debt could have been paid. I got $75,000, which I used to pay back the employees, so they were covered early on,' Melngailis told The Post. 'But beyond that I didn't get anything for my participation. But they profited a lot.' 15 Melngailis has dreams of reopening Pure Food and Wine. In January 2024, New York Magazine's Grub Street reported that Melngailis was set to participate in a second documentary — documenting the reopening of Pure Food and wine in its old location — with 'Bad Vegan' producer and former customer Mark Emms, as well as the former restaurant's landlord Jeffrey Chodorow. Melgnilis claims she was promised her current one-bedroom apartment and an $8,000-per-month salary to be a partner in the reopening, but that the deal fell apart. 'I moved back here to reopen,' Melngailis told The Post of returning to NYC from Somerville, Massachusetts, where she was working as an executive assistant. Her would-be partners, she alleged, 'were not honest. I was brought back here and then wasn't paid. That put me in an increasingly vulnerable situation. They were not remotely honest about what their plan was.' 15 Melngailis moved back to New York City after working as an executive assistant in Massachusetts after her jail sentence. Chris Dempsey She claimed that she and Chodorow, himself a longtime restaurateur, could not agree on money. 'I did my best to try and help her resurrect the restaurant in its original location. I wish her nothing but the best, but it just couldn't get done,' Chodorow told The Post. 'Obviously, we both have a perspective on why, but I'm not going to demean the process we went through in any way. I only know I tried. And she tried as well. It's a shame.' For now, Melngailis — who said she is paying her own rent on the apartment — said, 'Everything is in limbo. 'I feel like that restaurant is meant to be there,' she said of the old location. 'That restaurant — everybody wants it back. That place is so special. There's a reason why people used to describe it as special. It needs to come back in the right way, with the right energy behind it.'
Cosmopolitan
4 hours ago
- Cosmopolitan
Too Much Netflix ending explained: Do Jessica and Felix end up together?
For all the lies, betrayals, family secrets, good friends and horrible people that Jessica and Felix experience in Too Much, the sexy and romantic new series from Lena Dunham on Netflix has a joyful, happy ending. What are the artistic choices and implications of the Too Much series one finale? Let's get into it! Warning: there are major spoilers ahead! Throughout the first season of Too Much, Jessica maintained a private Instagram where she recorded messages to her ex Zev's new girlfriend Wendy. There was lots of venting, crying, and real talk. In one video she accidentally set herself on fire. Towards the end of the series, she accidentally switched the entire account to public. All of a sudden, people including Wendy were watching and reposting her breakdown/healing journey. So embarrassing! However, as Rita Ora playing herself predicted in the penultimate episode, the whole ordeal was actually not a big deal. The internet forgot. Jessica was viral for a day or two, but it didn't affect her job or relationship in the long term. It did not ruin her life. As a matter of fact, Jessica's Instagram faux-pas was the push she needed to get some closure about how her previous relationship ended. But first, tragedy strikes. I am sorry to say that, yes, Jessica's dog Astrid dies in the Too Much series one finale. It's not an easy watch. It leads to another fight between Jessica and Felix. They were already broken up and then experienced something traumatic from different angles. Astrid was Jessica's best friend, but Felix was there when she died. It's so awful. In the final episode, as she's folding up Astrid's clothes, she gets a simple text from an unknown number that changes everything: "Hey. It's Wendy. I'm in London for work. Let's meet?" Even though the conversation hasn't happened yet, it's like a weight lifts off of Jessica. She just knows she's finally going to able to let Zev go. In a fantasy sequence, she floats back to New York and Taylor Swift's "Bigger Than The Whole Sky" plays. She sees Zev, alone in his bed reading, and says goodbye to him. A whole range emotions cross her face, from calm content to grief. She meets Wendy at a cafe and they have a very real and uneasy but ultimately healing talk. Wendy asks if Zev was lying to her when he told her he and Jessica had been separated for six whole months when they first started dating. Jessica confirms her suspicion. They laugh together. The apologise to each other. They compliment each other. At the very end of the episode, Wendy sends back the shirt she inadvertently stole and wishes her well. They sure did! In true romantic comedy fashion, Jessica rushes to meet Felix at an environmental protest. She tells him that she forgives him for cheating on her with the older woman. (To be fair, she hooked up with Andrew Scott's character in a previous episode. They're not perfect people!) She gives him a grand romantic speech. They're both pretty quick to acknowledge that they self-sabotaged their way out of a relationship that they both wanted. Jessica gets arrested, and Felix proposes! That, too, was quick. Is it a good idea that these two get married so impulsively? Thats a problem for series two. Guess not. She tells Felix that she's planning to, but the wedding appears to be in London. All of Jessica and Felix's real friends and family are there. Hannah and Elijah Nora and James are back together. Polly's coping. Kim and her coworker/love interest make up. Jess wears the tee shirt over her wedding dress. (In one final fantasy sequence, Jessica and Felix appear wearing costumes identical to the ones Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman wore in the wedding scene at the end of Sense and Sensibility.) All is well! There is a little artsy bit at the end where Dunham, who not only plays Jessica's sister Nora but directed most of the episodes, steps out of character and yells "cut." The scene then blends into a BTS montage that also serves as wedding footage. It's cute. It's meta. There's no need to overthink it. I think it just means they had fun making this show, and it shows!
National Geographic
5 hours ago
- National Geographic
How pizza omakase became a trend and where to try it
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). If you've ever looked at the menu in a pizzeria and been blinded by indecision, then pizza omakase might be for you – the food trend that gives you licence to sample a slice of everything. Meaning 'I leave it up to you' in Japanese, omakase traditionally refers to the experience of sitting around a small sushi counter while the chef expertly crafts perfect sushi in front of you. Eschewing such workaday formalities as a menu, they hand you delicate slices of fish and rice with reverence, adapting what's served to your tastes and desires. As a catch-all term for leaving your dinner decisions in the hands of the chef, omakase is an intimate, often high-end tasting menu experience that's taken off around the world extending far beyond sushi, incorporating the likes of desserts and foods cooked over fire. And omakase has now also embraced pizza, with a concept that largely offers a tasting menu of different slices, bookended by appetisers and desserts. Popping up everywhere from Japan to Costa Rica, pizza omakase is not about sitting respectfully at a counter, as is the way with its sushi forebears; the experience is often enjoyed by many people at once in a lively restaurant dining room. One of its pioneers is Franco Pepe (star of Netflix's Chef's Table), at his Pepe in Grani pizzeria in the small hilltop town of Caiazzo, north of Naples. There are three pizza tasting menus available, which change seasonally apart from a few signatures, all beginning and concluding with fried pizza – savoury to start and sweet to finish. Just like traditional omakase, the mood and tastes of the customer are taken into consideration, assessed in real time by front of house staff and communicated back to the pizzaioli. Pepe's signature margherita sbagliata (margherita 'done wrong') is topped with just mozzarella before being cooked, then dressed with tomato passata and green pesto. Photograph by Pepe in Grani 'The goal is to guide the customer through the entire experience, reaching the final course without ever feeling weighed down,' says Pepe. The idea for pizza tasting menus started to take shape around 2013, he says. He doesn't claim to be the concept's originator, although he notes 'if you ask ChatGPT it will tell you that I was the first.' That honour, he says, falls to friend and colleague Simone Padoan of Verona's I Tigli. 'In his case,' continues Pepe, 'the menu was made up of whole pizzas to be shared in slices. I chose a different approach, offering just one slice of each type of pizza.' Pepe also hosts intimate omakase experiences at Authentica, 'the world's smallest pizzeria' set above the restaurant. Here, up to eight guests sit around a counter and eat selections of still-bubbling slices cooked by the man himself. 'If this has become a trend, I can't help but feel pleased' says Pepe. 'As it represents one of the most important experiences for the customer: the opportunity to experience the pizzaiolo's creativity.' Where to try pizza omakase 1. Pepe in Grani Franco Pepe's pizzeria is a pilgrimage for foodies, who descend on the hill town of Caiazzo in the Campania countryside 25 miles north of Naples, to sample next-level pizza made with the finest local ingredients. Pepe's signature margherita sbagliata (margherita 'done wrong') is always on offer, topped with just mozzarella before being cooked, then dressed with tomato passata and green pesto. The fried pizza slices, meanwhile – dressed simply with a slice of tomato, anchovies and lemon zest – touch the divine. Amazingly, Pepe manages the rhythm of the menu in a way that leaves you full but not overwhelmed. Menus from €40 (£34). Francesco Capece is co-owner of Milan's Confine restaurant, where pizza is given a fine-dining treatment. Photograph by Martina Corà Confine was recently named fourth-best pizzeria in the world by Italy's 50 Top Pizza ranking. Photograph by Martina Corà 2. Confine Another acclaimed Campania pizzaiolo, Francesco Capece is co-owner of Milan's Confine restaurant, where pizza is given a fine-dining treatment. Paired with wines, the tasting menu takes in different pizza styles including pan-baked padellino from Turin, and classic Neapolitan, served una sola fetta (as a single slice). It was recently named fourth-best pizzeria in the world by Italy's 50 Top Pizza ranking. Menus from €40 (£34). The by-the-slice pizza tasting menu at Seba's on Costa Rica's Pacific coast draws on a farm-to-table, open-fire ethos. Photograph by Christopher Avila 50 Top Pizza named Seba's the best pizzeria in Costa Rica and also ranked it among the top 50 in Latin America. Photograph by Christopher Avila 3. Seba's Launched in spring 2025, the by-the-slice pizza tasting menu at Seba's on Costa Rica's Pacific coast draws on a farm-to-table, open-fire ethos. Expect toppings including expertly grilled local beef, smoked fish and seasonal vegetables across varieties that range from classic Neapolitan and Romana to a New York-style large, foldable thin-crust slice. 50 Top Pizza named Seba's the best pizzeria in Costa Rica and also ranked it among the top 50 in Latin America. Menus from US$50 (£36). 4. Pizzeria Sei Multicultural influences and premium ingredients feature on the 11-course menu on monthly omakase nights at this Los Angeles venue. One for the more adventurous diners, Sei is led by chef-owner William Joo who plays with flavours that might result in the likes of a tom yum margherita with scallop pepperoni and a Baja fish taco pizza topped with sea urchin from Hokkaido, Japan. Menus from US$125 (£91). Pace yourself, as the meal kicks off with four starters and there is a selection of Italian desserts to finish. Photograph by Marc Fiorito 5. Tony's Pizza Napoletana Thirteen-time World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani doesn't hold back at his San Francisco pizzeria, where the offering is less dainty tasting menu, more full-on feast. Here, seven pizzas are served up whole, featuring styles from around the world and taking in the likes of an artichoke canotto ('dingy', the name referring to the pizza's shape, with a puffy raised crust) with mozzarella, artichoke, smoked provolone, spinach, garlic and lemon, along with Gemignani's award-winning signature margherita. Pace yourself, as the meal also kicks off with four starters and there is a selection of Italian desserts to finish. Menus cost $500 (£364) for up to six people. Roman native executive chef Daniele Cason serves a-by-the-slice counter omakase experience for up to eight guests taking in six types of seasonal pizza. Photograph by Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Tokyo The Pizza Bar on 38th is set high in the sky at Tokyo's Mandarin Oriental hotel. Photograph by Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Tokyo 6. The Pizza Bar on 38th At The Pizza Bar on 38th, set high in the sky at Tokyo's Mandarin Oriental hotel, Roman native executive chef Daniele Cason serves a-by-the-slice counter omakase experience for up to eight guests taking in six types of seasonal pizza including classic marinara and with toppings such as 'mountain vegetables' and courgette flowers. The pizza scene in the Japanese capital has rivalled the best in the world in recent years, so it makes sense that one of the leading pizza omakase experiences should be found here. Lunch menu ¥13,200 (£67), dinner ¥18,700 (£95). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
