Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the Game of Thrones series finale. Today, we learned that the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League is coming to HBO Max in 2021. What do these two pop culture events have in common? To answer that, it helps to know why #ReleaseTheSnyderCut became a thing in the first place, for better or worse (worse).

Basically, Zack Snyder stepped away from Justice League, the follow-up to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, due to a family tragedy. Joss Whedon, a co-writer, stepped in as director to finish the film. But many DC bros, like the ones depicted on Harley Quinn, believe the version of Justice League that hit theaters isn’t the real Justice League, which is supposedly darker, 214 minutes long, and as Jason Momoa so eloquently put it, “ssssiiicccckkkkkk.” Well, after years of rumors, mob justice has prevailed and we’ll see if the “real” Justice League is better than the “box office disaster” Justice League that led to glowing reviews like, “I guess it’s better than Suicide Squad.”

But what does that have to do with Game of Thrones?

The “success” of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut has inspired jokes about other cuts that HBO Max (or Quibi — they could use the publicity) should release next. With years of targeted online harassment and annoying hashtags, your dream cut could come true!

Give the people what they want (cat buttholes).

In a slightly cryptic bit of news, director S.J. Clarkson (Jessica Jones, Banshee, Succession) has signed on to direct a female-centric movie for the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters. And, yes, that’s the new official name for Sony’s cinematic universe, but feel free to call it SPUMC, for short.

While details are under wraps, insiders tell Variety that there is a “strong possibility” that the secret Marvel movie is the Madame Web project that was reported in 2019. If that’s the case, it sounds like the project is starting from scratch as there’s no writer attached, and the studio is more concerned with landing an A-list actor first and then developing the film around them.

However, there will be some hurdles given Madame Web is a challenging character to put on screen. She’s an elderly woman strapped to a chair, but that hasn’t stopped Sony from swinging for the fences in trying to entice some pretty big names to the role:

In the comics, Madame Web is depicted as an elderly woman with myasthenia gravis and thus was connected to a life support system that looked like a spider web. Due to her age and medical condition, Madame Web never actively fought any villains. For that reason, sources have stressed it’s possible the project could turn into something else. The studio has a list of possible stars, such as Charlize Theron and Amy Adams, but stress that nobody has committed or even met to for the part yet.

Ever since hashing out a deal with Marvel to continue sharing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man with the MCU, Sony has made aggressive moves to develop its bench of Spider-man related characters that it still holds the rights to. It already made a big splash with Venom and is hoping to build out its cinematic universe with the Jared Leto-starring Morbius followed by a Madame Web movie, which could lay the groundwork for everything from a Sinister Six movie to a live-action Spider-Verse, if not both.

(Via Variety)

As the country begins to slowly—and hopefully carefully—reopen after the initial pandemic lockdown, many businesses are requiring customers to wear masks. Studies have shown that universal mask-wearing is an effective way to drastically slow the spread of the virus and businesses are well within their rights to protect the public with mandatory mask policies.

Some Americans have a hard time with this development, for whatever reason. We’re seeing armed protests and public meltdowns over the idea. Folks are trying to use the bodily autonomy arguments that reproductive rights advocates use, as if they are remotely comparable. People are filming themselves arguing with store employees and managers, seeing themselves as freedom fighters against the tyranny of supermarkets and warehouse stores.

There are several ways to effectively handle a disgruntled customer who refuses to comply with company policy. We shared a video of a delightful Gelson’s employee in Dana Point and his incredibly accommodating manager who did everything they could to help a mask-averse flat earther who filmed herself looking like a fool. Now another hero has been placed in the spotlight—a Costco employee named Tison who took the no nonsense, matter-of-fact approach to a guy who tried to pull the “free country” card.

The man with the camera told Tison that he was going to share his video with his 3,000 followers on Instagram. Tison, with zero hesitation, spoke directly to the camera.

“Hi everyone. I work for Costco and I’m asking this member to put on a mask because that is our company policy. So either wear the mask or…”

At this point, the man turned the camera to himself—showing him not wearing a mask but inexplicably wearing sunglasses indoors—and said, “And I’m not doing it because I woke up in a free country.”

Tison was having none of it. No argument. No debate. He just took the cart the man was using to shop and said, “Sir, have a great day. You are no longer welcome here in our warehouse. You need to leave. Thank you very much.”

Whatever the man thought he was doing by filming himself flaunting his refusal to abide by store policy, it backfired spectacularly. Overwhelmingly, people’s responses to the video have celebrated Tison’s handling of the situation. Private businesses have the right to set store policies. In the age of a pandemic, requiring masks is a perfectly reasonable requirement. It’s no different than “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” You have a right to go barefoot in public. You do not have a right to go barefoot in a store that requires shoes.

The unmasked man made another video in which he oh-so-predictably called everyone in the store and everyone wearing masks “sheep.” He also erroneously said that since everyone in the store was wearing a mask, they were protected from him and he was protected from them. (That’s exactly not how the protective effect of universal mask-wearing works. It’s not like herd immunity. The one person not wearing a mask puts everyone else at risk.) He said it’s not about masks “it’s about control.” Yeah. Controlling a novel virus outbreak. This really doesn’t need to be this hard.

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No store employee should be forced to put up with anyone’s b.s., especially in a time when most of us want to keep people alive while also trying to keep businesses afloat. Thanks, Tison—you deserve a round of applause for being calm, cool and clear. Don’t want to wear a mask? Go shop someplace else. It’s that simple.

Most minority owned small businesses were not able to take advantage of the short-term loans being offered by the federal government during the onset of the coronavirus. Thankfully, basketball legend Magic Johnson is here to help.

Many people may not know this, but Johnson has become an incredibly successful businessman since retiring from the NBA. In an era when professional athletes are increasingly focused on building their “personal brands,” Johnson was a true pioneer. Rather than simply squeezing every last dollar out of traditional corporate endorsements, he has integrated personal principles into his business ventures. For example, in the early 1990’s the Johnson Development Group launched Magic Johnson Theaters, a chain of cutting-edge movie theaters in urban centers that were often ignored by the national theater chains. Johnson eventually sold his stake in the chain to AMC but they’ve left a lasting imprint in black and other minority communities.

Now, Johnson is using his sizable clout as a celebrity investor to help out minority owned businesses that have struggled to acquire small business loans during the coronavirus.

According to CNBC, Johnson has partnered with MBE Capital Partners to source $100 million in loans to minority and women-owned small businesses. The loans will be distributed through the same federal government program that is currently issuing small business loans but will be earmarked to target businesses in need.

“This will allow them to keep their employees and keep their doors open,” Johnson said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“We have to remember that these businesses have been in urban communities for a long time,” Johnson told CNBC. “They’ve been doing great things, and they probably didn’t have a relationship with the banks when the stimulus package went out. So now, we’re able to say, ‘Hey, you can have a relationship with us.'”

A representative for MBE said the loans could help as many as 100,000 small businesses over the coming months, with an application process that is meant to simplify and expedite a process that has often been criticized as overly complicated and slow.

Even better, MBE CEO Rafael Martinez said the program could be expanded to upwards of $1 billion.

“There is a ton of money left,” he said.

As Johnson himself noted, getting money to minority and women owned small businesses isn’t just important for the economy. As numerous reports have shown, minority communities are the hardest hit by the coronavirus. That’s likely due to a number of reasons including lack of access to health care, lack of health nutrition and equal educational opportunities that facilitate healthier lifestyles. Simply put, financial resources are directly tethered to a community’s health. Keeping people employed and building economic resources aren’t just the right thing to do, they are imperative to offset the incredible damage done to these communities by the coronavirus and to help build a foundation to buffer them against the next crisis.

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The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Contrary to popular opinion, there’s actually a wealth of heady, intellectual, emotionally vulnerable hip-hop out there in the streaming economy. Even as more and more of the product readily available seems to take on the disposable qualities of the medium, some artists still focus on making art — the kind that’s meant to be lived with, that’s supposed to speak to something in the human spirit, that should comment on the conditions in which it’s created.

It’s easy to lose hope though. It’s like musicians are so busy trying to fill the bottomless pit of the internet to appease fans’ gluttonous appetites for “more, more, more” that quality isn’t even a distant second to quality — it’s not even a consideration. Thank whatever deity you choose to believe in for Atlanta’s Deante Hitchcock and his major-label debut, Better, the antidote to the ever-churning cycle of junk and the very definition of a diamond in the rough.

Ironically, Hitchcock could very well have gotten lost in the wash if not for another collective of hip-hop artists seemingly dead set on driving against the seemingly endless downhill rush to the bottom. After years of independent toil, putting out one excellent but criminally overlooked mixtape after another, the wittily observant wordsmith received an exponential boost in attention from his placement on Dreamville’s much-hyped compilation album, Revenge Of The Dreamers III. As one of the 100 or so recipients of what he called “golden tickets” — invites to the mysterious yet star-studded week-long recording session in his hometown — Deante received one of the most coveted co-signs in the game: That of J. Cole, one of the so-called “big three” top-selling, best-recognized rappers today alongside Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

It’s telling that it was Cole, the widely-accepted champion of the brand of thoughtful, mature rap that bridges the chasm between the pop-friendly platitudes of Drake and the dense mysticism of Kendrick, who ultimately put his seal of approval on Hitchcock. The Atlantan artist himself is somewhat of a bridge between the dusty funk of soulful Dungeon Family predecessors like Goodie Mob and Outkast and the brand of vibey-but-vapid trap of contemporaries who are off-shoots of the Future/Young Thug family tree. Equal parts T.I. and CeeLo or 21 Savage and JID, Hitchcock gracefully glides along on thundering 808s with spiritual insights and introspective wisdom that has as much appeal for fans of trap tales as it does for folks who love “real hip-hop.”

His flexes, while suitably bold to match his increase in status, are still relatable for anyone who hasn’t quite leveled up yet. On the album’s cocksure intro, “I Remember,” he recollects both “ridin’ dirty with my motherfuckin’ gas gauge broke” and performing “shows in Texas, back when the venue name was long as my setlist,” but just one track later, he crows “I Got Money Now.” In the latter track, he goes from “eatin’ on ramen to gettin’ it poppin’” and boasts that he “made it look easy, like Straight Outta Compton” over a triumphant sample of Minnie Ripperton’s “Le Fleurs,” combining contemporary Southern rap sounds with silky soul.

When it’s time to be vulnerable, he coolly switches gears on the 6lack-featuring midnight storm throwback, “How TF,” pondering “How the fuck am I supposed to tell you that I love you and know I really fucking mean what I said?” On the next track, he reunites with St. Beauty, with whom he previously partnered on their Revenge Of The Dreamer contribution “PTSD,” and Miguel to admit to his doubts in religion. “Can’t feel the pastor when he talk about upcomin’ rapture,” he notes. “Preachin’ money’s the root of all evil but ask for money after.” That doesn’t stop him from later embracing the contradiction, speaking to God — personified as a woman — on “Growing Up/Mother God,” finding faith in matriarchal love rather than the pulpit.

By showing off so many dimensions with so many clever turns of phrase, Hitchcock demonstrates his care in the artform better in just 10 tracks than many of his peers do in double that number. His versatility is also clearly displayed by the ease with which he asserts himself alongside such varied collaborators as 6lack, JID, and Young Nudy — all of whom also appeared on Revenge in different capacities. By putting so much thought, effort, and curation into not just each track but in the project as a whole, Deante lives up to its lofty title; it’s just better than so much of what else is currently available that there’s no doubt in my mind that he has the potential to one day reach that upper echelon currently occupied by his most conspicuous co-signer. The quality of Better suggests that the best is yet to come.

Better is out now on ByStorm Entertainment and RCA Records. Get it here.

When Bill & Ted Face the Music was first announced all the way back in 2018, Steven Soderbergh was quietly listed as an executive producer, which seemed like nothing more than a neat little piece of trivia at the time. But in a new interview with Flaviar’s NightCap Live, Soderbergh reveals how he helped shepherd the film after learning that Bill & Ted writer Ed Solomon was sitting on a script. The two worked together on HBO’s Mosaic, and when Solomon shared that he had a third film in him, Soderbergh immediately started greasing the wheels to make it happen. Via Collider:

And one day we were talking, and he was like, “You know, we wrote a third Bill & Ted movie.” And I said, “Well, great! Like, what’s going on with that? Can I read it?” And I read it, and I was just part of a group of people, including Scott Kroopf, the original producer, and Keanu and Alex, that really wanted to see this happen. My role was more as cheerleader than anything… “I’ve seen it, it’s really good, and we’re almost done, and I feel like it’s the perfect movie for people who want to feel better about what’s happening right now.

That’s high praise coming from one of the most talented writers and directors in the business. Unfortunately, Soderbergh doesn’t have equally as good news for Bill & Ted 3‘s release date. The film is currently sitting on an August 21 release date, but he doesn’t sound optimistic about that happening in light of current conditions.

Bill & Ted Face the Music brings Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves back to their classic roles as the rockers scramble to write the perfect song that will repair a bogus rip in time and space that threatens to destroy the universe. Only this time, the aged duo will have their daughters along to lend a hand.

(Via Flaviar’s NightCap Live & Collider)

Following a way of live concert cancelations this summer, NOS Alive is the latest music festival to announce they are postponing this year’s iteration. The Lisbon, Portugal festival was set to celebrate its 14th consecutive year this summer. But a new law passed by the government banning large-scale events coupled with safety concerns led to organizers making the decision to reschedule for the following year.

NOS Alive’s 2020 iteration was originally slated for the first weekend in July. The music festival had booked big-name artists like Charli XCX, Anderson .Paak, HAIM, Kendrick Lamar, Jorja Smith, and many more. While this year’s NOS Alive is being pushed back, the festival has already confirmed that Da Weasel’s reunion show, which would have taken place on their stages this summer, has been confirmed for a one-off exclusive concert on July 10, 2021.

In a statement announcing the postponement, NOS Alive thanked its organizers for working behind-the-scenes to do everything they could:

“Behind the scenes, NOS Alive’s promoters, Everything Is New have worked non-stop for the past couple of months on every possible scenario with the Portuguese government, competent authorities and, together with other festival promoters, exchanged our views and opinions through APEFE (Association Of Promoters For Shows, Festivals And Events).

All throughout these discussions, the protection and safety of the amazing group of people that make NOS Alive what it is has always been our number one priority. We’re especially thinking of the public, our artists, sponsors, commercial partners, suppliers, the whole NOS Alive team and employees.

To all that share this feeling with us, thank you and stay strong, we will only get through this when we’re united and safe to gather once again next year.

We are feeling positive and committed about working towards making the 2021 edition the best one ever. Staying true to our signature that we want to maintain: the best line-up always!”

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

Jason Momoa must be the happiest man alive right now because all the speculation about Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel Watch Party on Vero has come true. Not only is the fabled “Snyder Cut” of Warner Bros.’ Justice League no longer fabled, it’s officially coming to HBO Max in 2021. This news arrives after a long haul for the dedicated #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement, ever since the 2017 Joss Whedon-helmed movie surfaced in theaters, and surprise, it’s all happening.

In a press release, Snyder expressed gratitude to HBO Max and Warner Bros. “for this brave gesture of supporting artists and allowing their true visions to be realized.” He also sent a shoutout to the “SnyderCut movement for making this a reality.” He’s followed by Robert Greenblatt, Chairman of Warner Media Entertainment, who revealed that his past fourteen months on the job has heard “a daily drumbeat in our offices and inboxes” from the movement. As for actual details on what to expect from the Snyder Cut, it’s not yet clear whether a “four-hour director’s cut” — yes, four hours — will be the approach, or if the cut will take the form of six “chapters” resembling a limited series.

While following up with Hollywood Reporter, Snyder’s teasing a complete revamp from Whedon’s theatrical cut:

“It will be an entirely new thing, and, especially talking to those who have seen the released movie, a new experience apart from that movie. You probably saw one-fourth of what I did. I always thought it was a thing that in 20 years, maybe somebody would do a documentary and I could lend them the footage, little snippets of a cut no one has ever seen.”

The outlet also reports word from unnamed sources, who estimate that the cost of completing this cut will land between $20-30 million, though these discussions have not been confirmed. However, Snyder is currently in the process of gathering his original postproduction crew for finishing visual effects, scoring, and all the things (and it sounds like a lot of them) that the Snyder Cut will require in order to, well, be cut into the desired product. There’s been no official word on whether composer Danny Elfman, who was quite skeptical last year that the Snyder Cut was a thing, will be involved.

And yes, Jason Momoa is thrilled. In this Instagram post, he’s declared, “justice served.”

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

The National Women’s Soccer League could become the first American team sport to return to the field after its nine owners reportedly approved on Tuesday a plan for a tournament in late June to be held in Utah.

Some teams are already holding individual workouts in their home states, but according to a report from Steven Goff of the Washington Post, there is an urgency on the part of the league to get teams from harder-hit regions such as the tristate area and Chicagoland into Utah, where the epidemic level has mostly been kept in check, with fewer than 100 deaths. Like other leagues, the NWSL according to Goff would keep players and staff in a contained, bubble-like area to mitigate the risks of them contracting the virus.

Under the plan agreed upon by owners (but not yet fully supported by the league’s biggest stars), team workouts in Utah would begin soon and a tournament would take place June 27-28. Teams would likely be split into three groups, then move into an eight-team knockout stage.

Sandy and Herriman, neighboring suburbs of Salt Lake City, are the two most likely homes for such a tournament, Goff reports, with no fans in the stands and CBS Sports airing games.

Women’s sports figure to be among the hardest hit by the pandemic, and the crisis has already begun to take a toll within college athletic departments. If the NWSL can take over a weekend in late June before any other American team sports have returned, it could be a big opportunity to take over the spotlight and remind fans of the incredible athletes who won the 2019 World Cup, many of whom play in the NWSL and struggle to gain the acclaim they receive during international competition while they are playing in the domestic league.

The NWSL had not begun its season when sports shut down in March. If this tournament goes forward as proposed and the NWSL pulls it off safely, they could start their a version of their regular season later in the summer.