There’s something soothing about hearing the voice of Ed Helms on the other end of a phone call. Yes, it’s a voice we all know very well – an often frantic voice when it belongs to Helms’ Andy Bernard from The Office – but the actual Helms is such a calm, cool and just plain doggone nice customer, well, it’s just a much needed pleasant and calming experience.

Helms is promoting Coffee & Kareem, his new Netflix movie which premiered this past weekend and is, frankly, pretty insane. Helms plays James Coffee, a Detroit police officer who teams up with a 12-year-old kid to help bring down a drug ring. (I know this sounds like a movie “for the whole family,” but it is most definitely, let’s say, not that.

Also, it’s been five years since Helms starred as Rusty Griswold in the Vacation sequel, reboot, a movie that wasn’t received favorably at the time, but since has found a bit of a new life, especially after its directors (John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein) hit big with Game Night. Helms is still immensely proud of Vacation (as he should be, because it’s hilarious), and has a theory about what happened and the shift we saw in comedies around that same time.

And we discussed that scene from The Office when he and Rainn Wilson have a guitar/banjo duel to John Denver’s “Country Roads” for the affection of Ellie Kemper’s Erin. (This scene is mostly brought up because I’ve been watching a lot of The Office lately and anytime this scene comes on it puts me in a good mood no matter what.) Helms says he and Rainn Wilson still talk about this scene quite a bit and are thinking about recording a new version. I tried to implore with him that, yes, right bout now would be a great time for that.

Ed Helms: Hey, how are ya?

I don’t know how to answer that anymore. It’s a complicated answer these days.

Well, we got time. Go for it. Just dive in. Yeah, it is complicated. It’s too complicated.

Well, I live in New York City…

Well, yeah, let’s get into it. And it is a crazy time. I mean, thankfully I will say that the people in New York are modeling a level of heroism and just badass energy that I’m in awe of and so grateful for. Because it’s keeping me going and feeling okay about things. Like when I saw those firemen cheering for all of the medical workers? I mean, that’s what we need more of right now. That stuff, that’s the human spirit stuff that’s going to get us all the way through this.

It was weird the first day everyone started cheering at 7pm for the medical workers out the window, because it’s kind of weird just to hear screaming coming from everywhere down your street. I now find it comforting.

Yeah, totally. And honestly, in my neighborhood in Los Angeles, the same thing started happening and the first time I heard it I thought there was a riot starting or something. And then as soon as we caught on, we just went out on our back porch and started screaming with everybody else. Yeah, now it’s a nice weird communal experience that we’re all sharing for a good cause.

What have you been doing to pass the time? Other than doing press, which I guess is something to do. If I’m you I wouldn’t like doing press, but I might not mind it right now.

Yeah, that’s true. I think most of what I’m up to is press, for Coffee & Kareem. And then I’m also in regular writing meetings with the writing staff of my new show, Rutherford Falls, that’ll be on Peacock sometime in the future. It was supposed to be in production this week, but obviously that’s punted and we’ll just see what happens. But we’re still writing and meeting regularly. And then of course, we have a two-year-old, so that’s a lot.

Yes, you have your hands full.

So we’re trying to be there for our child and each other and also give each other some space. I mean, you know what, all things considered, it’s going well. We just don’t have a lot to complain about given what so many other people are going through.

So Coffee & Kareem is nuts. For me, it came along at just the right time. I was all in.

And all I can say is yeah, we’re just so proud of it. And I think, when you work on something like this and then a global pandemic happens, there’s a part of you that feels like, well, what on earth is funny in the world right now? There’s nothing funny in the world right now. I mean, it’s hard to feel, it seems hard to enjoy a lot of things right now. And then the other part of it is, well, we want to find these distractions or things that we can talk to our friends about and laugh about. And I just hope, my biggest hope for this movie now, is just that it brings people some bit of relief and some laughs and distraction from all the insanity out there.

Well, it’s weird because I agree with what you said, what’s funny right now? But this isn’t like past tragedies where it’s only about trying to get your mind off of it. In this case, it actually serves a purpose of keeping people inside. And I don’t want to say it’s specifically watching this movie, but it is a new movie out this weekend. And doing anything inside is actually doing your part to help.

Yeah, that is a great take on it. It is all of our social responsibility or moral responsibility to stay home and to socially distance and things that make that easier are good. And yeah, that’s a good way to look at it.

At what point when you were filming this were you like, “This movie is insane?”

Obviously the script was insane from the get-go. So there was never any illusions that we weren’t making a completely insane movie. But it always gets more real and amped up once you’re on the set. And you’re doing these big crazy stunts and you’re screaming at each other and just fully committing to these big crazy jokes, and praying to God that they work. And the other thing was that as insane as it is, and even edgy and trash talky and whatever, the movie itself is not mean spirited. It actually has a pretty sweetheart to it. And there’s a good, I don’t know, life-affirming morals that come out of it.

Well, it made me happy.

I’m really glad to hear you say that. It means a lot and, again, the place where we’re at in this moment, it’s the best I can hope for is that it gives people some brief escape from whatever they’re dealing with and dwelling on. Yeah.

Are you aware of the reassessment of your Vacation? It started after the same directors did Game Night. People went back and watched Vacation and are coming around on it.

That’s really awesome. I am not aware of this. Where can I find some Vacation affirmation? I love that movie so much. I’m so proud of it.

I’ve written about it. I know Bilge Ebiri at New York magazine loves it. If I mention it on Twitter people start replying with “faucets.”

Man, that really, really warms my heart. I’m so grateful for all of that. Everyone involved in that movie was so proud of it and just thought, this is a really fun movie. It came out in a moment where it was one of the first comedies that hit about $15 million box office its opening weekend, and it was considered a bomb. But it was basically, that was a bellwether because very few comedies since then ever made more than that. So, it was actually, I think unfairly, compared to everything that came before it as opposed to measured on the new yardstick that was affecting the comedy box office overall. And so, I do hear from a lot of people after the movie came out. I would be on airplanes and see over people’s shoulders that they were watching it and I could just hear them laughing really hard. It really was gratifying to see people enjoying it.

See.

We just had so much fun making that movie.

Finally, people are listening to reason. This is a hilarious movie.

Well, that’s so good to hear. I remember thinking, “Man, if I could just play Rusty Griswold for the rest of my life, I could do a lot worse.” But now we’ll see what happens with James Coffee.

Obviously a lot of people are watching The Office right now. One of my favorite scenes is the one with you and Rainn Wilson dueling on John Denver’s “Country Roads. It’s pure joy.

Well, that is awesome. And you know what, Rainn and I talk about that scene all the time because it also is something that I think a lot of fans latched on to, that moment. And we talk about maybe trying to do a special version of it or something, but just because we connected with that, too. That’s one of the scenes that we as a cast love just as much as the fans for sure. And it’s a great song. I mean, John Denver!

Well, if you’re going to do a special version, pretty soon is a good time. I suspect people would like that.

Yeah, you’re right. You’re right! People are starved for anything.

You’d have to do it over FaceTime or something. But it would still be great.

Hey, I really want to thank you for the positive energy and reinforcement on this, and Vacation. Oh and The Office. It’s really nice to hear. I really appreciate it.

You know what, I’ll throw in Cedar Rapids, too. That was on cable the other night. I watched it. Good movie!

Awesome. Well, thanks so much.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Incarcerated Gifford, Florida rapper YNW Melly has reportedly requested an early release from prison after being diagnosed with coronavirus. According to TMZ, the 20-year-old rapper’s lawyer filed documents claiming that Melly is suffering from severe chills, heavy labored breathing, headaches, and body aches and that the facility’s staff is ill-prepared for the outbreak, lacking protective masks and cleaning supplies.

According to the documents, the “Murder On My Mind” rapper is down to 114 pounds and is not being properly monitored according to CDC guidelines. He’s reportedly sharing a cell with another inmate who has COVID-19 and Melly’s lawyer worries that they could be passing the virus back-and-forth between the two of them. Melly and his lawyer are requesting for the rapper to be released and placed on house arrest at a medical facility at his own expense. Melly’s family announced his diagnosis using his Instagram account implored his fans to #prayformelly.

Melly has been incarcerated for the last year after being arrested and charged with double murder. Authorities say that the rapper shot and killed two close friends and members of his YNW rap crew and tried to make it look like an attempt on his own life. He pleaded not guilty.

Read the original story here.

For years now, we have been tracking several recurring bits in both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. Chief among them is the black helicopter that has been peppered into the last few seasons of both shows; the CRM logo on that helicopter; the people of the CRM military organization; and the way that they divide people into As or Bs.

The timeline, from what we can surmise, looks a little like this: around eight years before the present timeline, Jadis had been in frequent contact with CRM. Eventually, a CRM helicopter picked up Jadis and Rick Grimes — an “A” — after he severely injured himself saving Alexandria from a horde of zombies. A few months later, a CRM helicopter was stranded in Texas with Althea on Fear the Walking Dead.

The World Beyond, meanwhile, appears to be about a heavily-militarized community that includes CRM soldiers, perhaps the same soldiers we saw Michonne follow in her last appearance on The Walking Dead. Meanwhile,

The World Beyond, a 20-episode limited series, will about a group of teenagers who seem to be trying to leave the CRM behind.

Elsewhere, in the promo for The Walking Dead season finale — air date TBA — Gabriel refers to the “others,” which probably means CRM, Maggie’s group in The Commonwealth, and perhaps Stephanie’s group.

The point being: The universe of The Walking Dead is about to get much larger. We just need for producers and the cast and crew of these shows to be able to start making new episodes again. In the meantime, we’ll hang tight and wait for a new release date for all three series.

Given Tiger King‘s enormous popularity and the short-lived nature of Netflix’s “Most Popular” feature, the big-cat documentary series can already claim a record for holding the top spot for the longest time. What a strange time we’re living in, for multiple reasons, but Joe Exotic fans can at least take comfort in news that a spinoff series about the cold case of Carole Baskin’s missing husband (Don Lewis) is in the works. So maybe a decades-old mystery shall finally be solved, and one certainly can’t expect Baskin to be thrilled about that one, but she’s also resisting something closer on the horizon for what’s now a burgeoning franchise.

As previously reported, featured player Jeff Lowe has claimed that a new episode for the main series, an apparent reunion installment, is on the way, although that sounds sketchy, at best. At least, the timing sounds off. Not much in the way of a production can go down during a pandemic due to social distancing, but Lowe seemed pretty insistent in his claims. Well, Baskin’s team has now weighed in with Entertainment Weekly to shut down any hopes that she might join the party. As her rep stated, “We have not been approached about a new episode and would not participate if asked.”

Word on the “reunion” aspect comes courtesy of Joe Exotic’s husband, Dillon Passage, who said that he wasn’t invited either, but he did know some insider information. Here’s what he told Andy Cohen:

“It’s going to be like a live-based episode, I believe. Kind of like a reunion. But no, Netflix did not contact me to be a part of that. I’m not sure completely on the details. I only spoke with one of the producers a little while about it because I was asking her. I saw an article saying there was gonna be another episode dropped and I was kind of curious.”

So, the reunion episode is happening? Well, it sounds like this might be legit, and I have little doubt that it will happen eventually, but a fast turnaround just isn’t realistic right now for any sort of production, whether that’s big-budget Hollywood stuff or someone pointing an iPhone at Jeff Lowe for a big-cat reunion party. The mystery shall remain for now, until we see that alleged reunion episode land on the Netflix Most Popular list, five seconds after release.

(Via Entertainment Weekly & Andy Cohen on Sirius XM)

She anticipated being dragged for it, too.

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Lady Gaga briefly guested on The Tonight Show last week, but it did not go as planned. The goal of her appearance was to make a big announcement, but when it came time to share the news, Gaga wasn’t ready to. There were apparently still details to work out, although Gaga did offer that whatever she was going to announce was “for COVID-19.”

She promised to touch base with Jimmy Fallon in a few days, and she finally made the announcement yesterday: She and a number of musicians are teaming up with WHO and Global Citizen for One World: Together At Home, a livestream concert TV special. Gaga guested on Fallon again last night to discuss the news, and while there, she apologized for her previous appearance.

Gaga said to Fallon, “I’m so sorry. We weren’t quite ready yet, and I really appreciate you being so nice about it, thank you. I love you, I love your viewers, and everyone at home watching. I just wish everybody well.” Also during the episode, she and Fallon called up Apple CEO Tim Cook and secured a big donation from him.

The event has a huge lineup, as it features Lizzo, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Finneas, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Chris Martin, Eddie Vedder, Kacey Musgraves, J Balvin, Keith Urban, Alanis Morissette, Lang Lang, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Joe Armstrong, Burna Boy, and Maluma.

One World: Together At Home premieres 4/18 at 8 p.m. EST on all major networks.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

“Tell me what life is like being at home for Tracy and his family.” If most people were asked that question, referring to our current quarantined existence due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, they would give a boring answer about watching Netflix or doing jigsaw puzzles. But because the “Tracy” in question is Tracy Morgan, and there’s nothing boring about the 30 Rock star, he gave a wild answer to Today show host Hoda Kotb.

“Me and my wife been quarantined for three weeks, so she’s pregnant three times. Every week she got pregnant,” Morgan said. “We’re also roleplaying a lot now. She playing a young maiden who’s grandfather was infected with coronavirus, and I’m the scientist who discovered a cure, and she’ll do anything to save her grandfather’s life. Anything.” The Last O.G. actor then talked about getting his pets tested for the virus, including his shark and moray eel (both of which he actually owns) and a 600-pound silverback gorilla, and “I’m going to take him down to NewYork–Presbyterian, and get him tested.”

The interview eventually turned serious, or at least as “serious” as Morgan ever gets (although he’s very genuine when discussing health-care workers, after what happened to him in 2014), but that came after two minutes of pregnancy, coronavirus-themed roleplay, and gorilla talk. He also, at one point, defended President Trump, saying that “it’s difficult for him.” It did not sound like a bit. Needless to say, people were confused.

You can watch the entire interview below.

Lil Yachty has been a creative force during the coronavirus pandemic, both musically and in terms of social media activity. He has been paying people to do wild things on Instagram Live (like shave their eyebrows off and drink pee) and “selling” toilet paper for extreme prices, but he’s also unveiled some new music. He shared the hilarious “Oprah’s Bank Account” video a month ago, and now it appears Yachty has a new album on the way.

Yachty recently hopped on an Instagram Live interview with 99 JAMZ’s Supa Cindy, and during their chat, Yachty said he plans on releasing a new album soon, saying, “I’m about to drop this album.” He was asked about who might be featuring on the album, and he responded, “I can’t say yet. I wish I could, but I’m super excited to drop it and just like… soon. Really soon.” He wasn’t able to give a specific date, but he reiterated that the record isn’t too far away.

It seems Oprah herself would be interested in the record. At the very least, she was a fan of “Oprah’s Bank Account,” as she said of the track, “I love it. I love it. I loveeeeee it! Yes, I love it! I haven’t seen the video, but it’s nice to be in a Drake song no matter what — especially for your bank account, OK!”

Watch the interview above.

Chris Hemsworth is at his best when he’s allowed to show off his goofy side (Thor: Ragnarok, Ghostbusters), but he’s a pretty good action movie star, too.

In Extraction, originally titled Dhaka, he plays the wonderfully-named Tyler Rake, a mercenary who’s sent to Bangladesh to rescue the kidnapped son of a crime lord. Also, he jumps off cliffs, hits bad guys with shovels, and, like any good action movie protagonist, he’s haunted by the memory of his (dead?) family. Extraction is directed by Sam Hargrave, the stunt coordinator for numerous Marvel Cinematic Universe, and produced by Anthony and Joe Russo, the “visionary directors,” as the trailer boasts, of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Hey, when you direct the highest-grossing movie of all-time, you can call yourself whatever you want (like “king of the world”).

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is a fearless black market mercenary who embarks on the deadliest mission of his career when he’s enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an international crime lord. Directed by Sam Hargrave, this action-packed, edge-of-your-seat thriller is produced by Joe and Anthony Russo, the visionary directors of Avengers: Endgame.

Extraction, which also stars David Harbour, Manoj Bajpayee, Marc Donato, Fay Masterson, Randeep Hooda, and Pankaj Tripathi, premieres on Netflix on April 24.

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