After garnering a fanbase from his self-released EP of demos back in 2018, Dominic Fike is gearing up to make his major-label debut. The singer has been teasing his upcoming album’s lead single since he first performed it live in 2019. Now, Fike finally breaks ground with the sultry song “Chicken Fingers.”
Directed by Jack Begert, Fike’s “Chicken Tenders” takes the singer on a surreal journey out of bed. Over a lulling beat, Fike details a passionate night in his hotel room with a girl and an appetizing plate of chicken wings.
“Chicken Tenders” was supposed to arrive two weeks ago, but Fike chose to delay its release in light of the protests against police brutality. Instead, Fike shared a powerful essay of his own experiences facing police violence. “My life has felt cursed since I was a little kid,” he wrote. “I’ve watched police, the supposed good guys, beat my mom and take her away. I’ve watched my brothers taken away. Aunts, Uncles. Sh*t, my dad just got 20. It’s like they had a problem with my family. I’ve since realized the real curse is the system we live in is designed fun us to lose, again and again.”
Fike went on to explain that he was charged with a felony after attempting to diffuse a situation between a police officer and his younger brother. Because of his felony, Fike said he will never be allowed to tour in the UK. “I can’t go to so many places, because of a decision this asshole made out of spite,” he wrote. “None of these decisions were based on trying to help us, they wanted us to disappear.”
It’s pretty remarkable there wasn’t a sequel to David Dobkins’ Wedding Crashers. If you don’t remember, it was an actual sensation. The Office even did an episode based on its plot. There were ripoff reality shows based on the idea of crashing weddings. And yet, the temptation to do another one was resisted. It’s kind of a miracle there isn’t two bad sequels. And Dobkins says the Monday after that opening weekend, the money was on the table, but there just wasn’t a story that didn’t feel like a complete retread of the first film. But, as he says ahead, he finally has an idea that he likes for a second Wedding Crashers.
In the meantime, Dobkins new film, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (on Netflix as you read this) reunites him with two of his Wedding Crashers stars, Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. Ferrell and McAdams play Icelandic musicians who, through a series of unusual events, wind up as the Icelandic representatives at the Eurovision competition. (And this movie is just a ball. A ball!) Dobkin and Ferrell have been trying for years to reunite on something (he tells us about a couple of the failed attempts), but when this script got to him, frankly he had no idea Eurovision was even real – and even suggested a title change fearing no one would buy it.
I will say, being inside a lot lately, when your movie showed up it was just pure joy.
Aw, that’s perfect, man. That’s exactly what I would have wanted.
This isn’t the first time with one of your movies. When Wedding Crashers came out I had just moved to New York and had no friends, so I just kept seeing that over and over.
They’re your buddies.
Yes, those were my two friends when I first moved here.
John and Jeremy.
And now Eurovision is helping me through a pandemic.
That is really kind of the most special thing as a filmmaker you can hear, to be honest.
Really?
That somebody found a moment, not even just with the movie, but just there’s a moment in their life that fit in with the film that made it special and unique. It really is the most gratifying version of somebody enjoying it.
I’m actually surprised this is the first big movie about Eurovision, at least marketed to American audiences…
Oh my God, me too. Look, I was shocked as well. I kept saying it to Netflix, I’m like, “I can’t even believe that we’re the first people here.” Look, I was lucky. Will and I had been looking for something for 15 years and we’ve been very close on a couple of things, but they didn’t pan out for one reason or another. And when I got sent this script my agent said, “It’s a song contest movie.” And I was like, “Absolutely not. Pass.” And he was like, “Well, Will sent it to you and he wants you to read it. He wrote it.” And I said, “Oh, well, if it’s Will, I’ll read it, but I’m probably not doing this.”
And when I finished the script I said, “Look, it’s really good. I think I’m going to want to do it, but we have to change the title. This is a ridiculous title.” And there was silence on the end of the phone, and my agent said, “David, I think this is a real contest. You can’t change it.” And I was like, “What?” So I literally googled it and then I was like, “Oh my God. What is this?“
You mentioned you and Will tried to get a couple of things going and they didn’t happen. What was one?
We were making Neighborhood Watch together at Fox at one point and it was really exciting. I loved that movie. It later became The Watch, with Ben and Vince. But when we were doing it, the script was amazing, and it just seemed like it was going to be a really fun ride. And I just think budgetarily, we could never agree with the studio. They wanted it to be $50 million and we were at $70 million and I really wanted to make it Ghostbusters. I wanted it to be scary and fun and the aliens to be really unique, and they saw something with people in costumes and masks, and we could never quite come together with that.
It almost seems like a good thing that you didn’t make it? I realize your vision of it would have been something different, but if I remember correctly that movie got caught up in tragic real-world events.
Oh my God, I remember that.
That’s why they had to change the name.
Was that the George Zimmerman moment?
Yeah. It was.
Holy shit. I totally forgot about that, man. Yeah. I’m happy to not have been a part of that.
So that probably would have happened no matter what the movie was.
Look, I’m always concerned for movies, even right now, Mulan, which friends of mine made. And I know the movie happens to be really freaking good, and it’s just so sad right now. You’re like, “God, what is going to happen to that movie right now?” In this environment. This country’s going through, as far as racism and finally acknowledging our true responsibilities for our own past. And that minorities in this country are oppressed through financial inequality, amongst many other things. And now you finally have a movie with all Chinese cast and a Chinese lead and we’re in the middle of this thing and we have a president who is saying the most ridiculous, terrible shit every day.
Yes. Making racist jokes about the pandemic.
I’m concerned. Yes. I’m concerned for that movie because of that, exactly.
And then on top of that, if you go to a theater right now, you could catch a deadly virus and die.
Oh, that’s right. On top of that, you may die from going to the movies.
Yes. Don’t forget that part.
You do forget, by the way. That’s what’s sad.
When I mentioned earlier how many times I saw Wedding Crashers in theaters, how did that not get an immediate sequel? I’m actually impressed it doesn’t have one.
Thank you for saying that.
Oh, why is that?
Because you know what, man? They asked us to do it. I mean, they asked us to do it by Monday morning of opening weekend! And they put a king’s ransom on the table for us to say yes. And the couple times we sat down and hashed it out — Vince and Owen and I, by the way, we spent a couple of afternoons laughing our asses off, but in the long run, I was like, it’s the same movie. I don’t want to make the same movie again. It just felt like we worked really hard and we had a target in mind. It was almost like I led the battle of the bulge and we succeeded, and any good movie is really hard to pull off. And it just seemed really unlikely that we were going to make people as happy again the second time, especially at that point.
I would get a call every year, had I thought about it? Every year around July 15th, “Have you thought about maybe wanting to do this?” And I’m like, “I would do it. It’s that I don’t have a better movie to make or a movie that I think would be as good.” And about four years ago, I hung up the phone after saying no and I was like, you know what? Two guys that are in their mid to late 40s, that all of a sudden find themselves single again and have a skillset for that? But it’s actually a skillset that’s not going to work for them anymore? They’re kind of too old for this. I’m like, at least that’s a real story.
Right, so it’s actually a different story this time.
My friends that are in their late 40s who, either their marriages didn’t work out or they never even necessarily ended up with the girl that they wanted to marry. In either version, you can’t just have the life you want because you want it. And when you get later in age and you find that even going out dating is weird and strange and you’re looked at as a bit of an old man. I was like, that’s funny. How can we take that? That would be the story I would want to see of these two guys, and so we started hashing it out and we played around with it. It seems very promising. None of us feel like we need to go make the movie, we only would want to do it if we really thought we could nail it. But we’ve had conversations even recently. Owen and I connected last week and Vince and I connected the week before that, and there’s something that may be close. But we’re not going to move until we all agree if that ever happens. But that’s why we didn’t do it. I grew up remembering Jaws 2.
Oh, that’s crazy, but that movie’s a mess. And my memories are of loving Jaws so much. And by the way, I was underage and too young to see that movie, I was six years old. But I remember two years later, or something, being eight years old, and at that point I had seen Star Wars and become a movie fanatic. And going to the theater so excited to have that experience again and being completely blue balled by it. I was like, “This sucks.” And that would happen over, and over, and over again with sequels, frankly. So sequels, for me, in my mind there were some good ones. We’ve all seen Godfather II.
The Empire Strikes Back.
The Empire Strikes Back, yeah. But we didn’t have that story yet. I think we may have it now. We’ll see, but we weren’t going to go make a shitty version and just cash out. I’m sure that my kids’ education would have been better off, been paid for.
I think The Hangover, the original The Hangover, is great.
It’s a classic.
And the other two, the response wasn’t as good, and I think it kind of brought down the whole thing with it because people kind of have a weird feeling towards The Hangover now.
I think it can color the original.
And Wedding Crashers is just a standalone comedy.
You’re taking advantage of an audience and promising the same thing and you’re not delivering it, and you know you’re not. And it’s like they have to keep buying the shittier and shittier version and I’m just not into that. And by the way, I thought actually Todd [Phillips] did a really good job with The Hangover sequels. They’re not the first movie and they can’t be. I felt at least the third one was a different kind of movie in a sense, and I kind of appreciated that.
The third one is definitely different.
But none the less, I do think that it’s really hard to make a sequel that’s going to be as good. Though, Austin Powers 2, I thought was better than Austin Powers, so they do happen.
‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’ is available to stream via Netflix this weekend. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.
There’s the diss song reply track, and there’s the “replying to my ex’s song about me” track. G-Eazy offered up the latter on “Had Enough,” sending a not-so-subliminal reference to Halsey’s “Without You” by rhyming “how could I forget about you?/ You wonder how I live without you, babe,” over glitzy synth play.
Guapdad 4000 — “Lil Scammer That Could” Feat. Denzel Curry
Guapdad 4000 and Denzel Curry turn up over a hypnotic James Delgado production on “Lil Scammer That Could.” The intensity of Guapdad’s verse belies his cool finesse god image, but it works all the same.
French Montana — “Straight To The Bag” Feat. LGP Qua
French Montana got with rising Philly SPITTER LGP Qua on “Straight To The Bag,” a Harry Fraud production that breathes new life into the titanic horns from Missy’s “Sock It To Me.” Qua is true to his lineage on the money-hungry track, rhyming with fervor about his paper chase.
Lecrae — “Deep End”
Lecrae speaks to the times on “Deep End,” a Foushee-sampling confessional from his upcoming Restoration album. He vocalizes the thoughts of many when he rhymes, “Me, I’m just tryna hold onto my peace / ‘Cause I’m liable to lose it and go get the piece.”
K Camp — “Friendly”
K Camp and Yung Bleu talk to the woman of their eye on “Friendly,” a sultry single that they paired with a colorful Nfluence and Creedlife-crafted video. The visual inadvertently shows the peril of the strip club scene as they toss dollars around on a dancer in a field.
YFN Lucci — “Wet (She Got That)”
YFN Lucci is looking to set the mood on “Wet (She Got That),” a sultry single that he also released a creative, steamy video for.
Apollo Brown — “Freedom“ Feat. Che Noir
Apollo Brown and Che Noir offered up another taste of what to expect from their upcoming As God Intended album on their “Freedom” single, where Che delves into pensive rhymes about the state of her native Buffalo — and America — rapping, “Get my family out the hood, the only reason that I’m stressin’ / small city but, n****s carry heat the size of precious.”
Meyhem Lauren & Harry Fraud — “Steamed Monkfish”
Mayhem Lauren dropped a video for his rugged “Steamed Monkfish” single, adding moonlit visuals to his Harry Fraud-scored track from their Glass 2.0 album. Glass 2.0 adds three original new to their original Glass album.
Blu & Exile — “Miles Davis”
Eight years after their last collaboration album, Blu and Exile are set to light up July 17th with their Miles: From An Interlude Called Life, double album. They offered up another appetizer in the form of a Zack Mack and Exile-directed video for the jazzy “Miles Davis.”
Jahmed — “TwoTen” (Remix) Feat. Mozzy and D Smoke
Jahmed got Mozzy and D Smoke to bolster the impact of his bouncy “TwoTen” single,’ a track from his TheBoofMobile album. The two MCs also joined him in the crimson-tinted video.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Are you sitting down? Good, because Netflix just rolled out their July lineup, and it’s full of action-packed shows and movies that will, literally, blow your mind. The weirdest superhero series on TV returns as The Umbrella Academy sends its dysfunctional, super-powered family back to the ’60s. Katherine Langford wields a legendary sword in a new YA fantasy series. And Charlize Theron heads up a group of immortal mercenaries in The Old Guard.
Oh yeah, and there are dozens more blockbusters and TV shows landing on the streaming platform this month, too.
Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) Netflix this July:
The Umbrella Academy: Season 2 (Netflix original series streaming 7/31)
The Hargreeves are heading back in time to ’60s-era Texas, but really, with how deliciously weird this superhero series is, should we even be surprised? After Vanya (Elle Page) chipped off a bit of the moon and destroyed the world with her unstable powers, Number Five teleported the siblings back in time, and they have to stop another world-ending threat. First, though, they need to reunite with each other and sort out their sibling squabbles.
Cursed (Netflix original series streaming 7/17)
Katherine Langford ditches high school drama for an Arthurian adventure in this Frank Miller-created series based on a best-selling YA fantasy book. Langford plays Nimue, a powerful young woman (with a mysterious gift), who eventually becomes the legendary Lady of the Lake in the OG legend of King Arthur. But before that, she has a key role to play in the fight against the terrifying Red Paladins, who are destroying the kingdom, and she’ll need the help of a destined mercenary and Merlin to do it.
The Old Guard (Netflix film streaming 7/10)
Charlize Theron stars in this sci-fi action flick based on a popular graphic novel. Theron plays Andy, the leader of a cover group of mercenaries who never seem to die. They’ve been protecting the world from unseen threats for centuries, but when the world finally learns of their existence, they’re faced with a new fight — one to keep their enemies from replicating and monetizing their abilities.
Here’s the full list of titles coming to Netflix in July:
Avail. 7/1 AnneFrank: Parallel Stories A Bridge Too Far A Thousand Words A Touch of Green: Season 1 A Walk to Remember Abby Hatcher: Season 1 Airplane! Ali Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Charlotte’s Web Clash of the Titans (1981) Cleo & Cuquin: Season 2 Cloud Atlas David Foster: Off the Record Definitely, Maybe Delta Farce Donnie Brasco Double Jeopardy Fiddler on the Roof Frida I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry Killing Hasselhoff Kingdom: Season 1-3 Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events Mean Streets Million Dollar Baby Paranormal Activity Red Riding Hood (2011) Schindler’s List Sleepless in Seattle Sleepy Hollow Spaceballs Splice Stand and Deliver Stardust Starsky & Hutch Sucker Punch Swordfish The Art of War The Devil’s Advocate The F–k-It List The Firm The Karate Kid The Karate Kid Part II The Karate Kid Part III The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! The Town The Witches This Christmas Total Recall (1990) Trotro Winchester Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt: Season 2 Deadwind: Season 2 Say I Do (Netflix Original) Under the Riccione Sun (Netflix Film) Unsolved Mysteries (Netflix Documentary)
Avail. 7/3 The Baby-Sitters Club: Season 1 (Netflix Original) Cable Girls: Final Season Part 2 (Netflix Original) Desperados (Netflix Film) JU-ON: Origins (Netflix Original) Southern Survival (Netflix Original)
Avail. 7/5 ONLY
Avail. 7/6 A Kid From Coney Island
Avail. 7/7 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
Avail. 7/8 The Long Dumb Road Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix Documentary) Stateless: Season 1 (Netflix Original) What Is Love? (Netflix Original) Yu-Gi-Oh!: Season 1
Avail. 7/9 Japan Sinks: 2020 *Netflix Anime The Protector: Season 4 *Netflix Original
Avail. 7/10 The Claudia Kishi Club (Netflix Documentary) Down to Earth with Zac Efron (Netflix Original) The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants in Space (Netflix Family) Dating Around: Brazil (Netflix Original) The Old Guard (Netflix Film) The Twelve (Netflix Original)
Avail. 7/14 The Business of Drugs *Netflix Documentary On est ensemble (We Are One) *Netflix Documentary Urzila Carlson: Overqualified Loser *Netflix Comedy Special
Avail. 7/15 Dark Desire (Netflix Original) Gli Infedeli (The Players) (Netflix Film) Skin Decisions: Before and After (Netflix Original) Sunny Bunnies: Season 1-2
Avail. 7/16 Fatal Affair (Netflix Film) Indian Matchmaking (Netflix Original) MILF (Netflix Film) Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Avail. 7/20 Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love (Netflix Family) How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast): Season 2 (Netflix Original) Ip Man 4: The Finale Jack Whitehall: I’m Only Joking (Netflix Comedy Special) Street Food: Latin America (Netflix Documentary)
Avail. 7/22 61 Fear City: New York vs The Mafia (Netflix Documentary) Love on the Spectrum (Netflix Documentary) Norsemen: Season 3 (Netflix Original) The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion Signs (Netflix Original) Spotlight
Avail. 7/23 The Larva Island Movie (Netflix Family)
Avail. 7/24 A Cantar (Sing On! Spain) (Netflix Original) Animal Crackers (Netflix Film) Dragons: Rescue Riders: Secrets of the Songwing (Netflix Family) In the Dark: Season 2 The Kissing Booth 2 (Netflix Film) Ofrenda a la tormenta (Netflix Film)
Avail. 7/29 The Hater (Netflix Film) Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons: Season 4 (Netflix Original)
Avail. 7/30 Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (Netflix Anime)
Avail. 7/31 Get Even (Netflix Original) Latte and the Magic Waterstone (Netflix Family) Seriously Single (Netflix Film) The Speed Cubers (Netflix Documentary) Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet (Netflix Original) The Umbrella Academy: Season 2 (Netflix Original) Vis a Vis: El Oasis (Locked Up) (Netflix Original)
Here’s the full list of titles leaving Netflix in July:
Leaving 7/4 Blue Valentine
Leaving 7/5 The Fosters: Season 1-5 The Iron Lady
Leaving 7/8 Solo: A Star Wars Story
Leaving 7/9 47 Metres Down
Leaving 7/11 A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III The Adderall Diaries Enemy Ginger & Rosa Locke The Spectacular Now Under the Skin
Leaving 7/12 Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain
Leaving 7/15 Forks Over Knives
Leaving 7/18 A Most Violent Year Laggies Life After Beth Obvious Child Room Tusk
Leaving 7/21 Bolt Inglourious Basterds
Leaving 7/25 Dark Places Ex Machina Mississippi Grind
Leaving 7/26 Country Strong
Leaving 7/28 Ant-Man and the Wasp Her
Leaving 7/29 The Incredibles 2
Leaving 7/31 Back to the Future Back to the Future Part II Back to the Future Part III Can’t Hardly Wait Casper Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Chernobyl Diaries E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Freedom Writers Godzilla Guess Who Hancock Hitch Jarhead Jarhead 2: Field of Fire Jarhead 3: The Siege Open Season QB1: Beyond the Lights: Season 1 Resident Evil: Extinction Romeo Must Die Salt Scary Movie 2 Searching for Sugar Man Sex and the City 2 Stuart Little The Edge of Seventeen The Interview The Pianist The Pursuit of Happyness Twister Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
The 10 best Will Ferrell movies? That was easy. The 10 best Rachel McAdams movies? Way tougher. There are so many gems in her filmography: Mean Girls, Wedding Crashers, Midnight in Paris, Doctor Strange, Game Night, etc. And yet despite starring in a Best Picture winner (Spotlight), the Canadian actress is still probably best known for her role in The Notebook. No list of the best tear-jerking films is complete without the 2004 romantic-drama, and its most famous scene, McAdams’ rain-soaked kiss with co-star Ryan Gosling, inspired Kobe Bryant to buy the dress for his wife, Vanessa.
While appearing on Access Hollywood, McAdams recalled the time the basketball legend, who tragically passed away earlier this year in a helicopter crash, approached her at the premiere of Sherlock Holmes. “I got to meet him. He said, ‘You know, I bought your dress.’ I didn’t know what he meant at first. I was like, ‘You bought my… what?’” It was her actual dress that she wore on-screen in The Notebook. “I was, like, blown away,” she continued. “I didn’t realize he was such a movie fan and such a romantic.”
Vanessa Bryant recalled that moment during her eulogy for her husband:
He just thought outside the box and was so thoughtful, even while working hard to be the best athlete. He gifted me the actual notebook and the blue dress Rachel McAdams wore in The Notebook movie. When I asked him why he chose the blue dress, he said it was because it’s a scene when Ally comes back to Noah. We had hoped to grow old together like the movie. We really had an amazing love story. We loved each other with our whole beings — two perfectly imperfect people, making a beautiful family, and raising our sweet and amazing girls.
In addition to June being Pride Month, it’s also Black Music Month. What better opportunity for Lizzo — herself an icon of pride and Black music — to link up with Queer Eye‘s Fab Five for an exuberant, animated lyric video for her new single, “Soulmate”? The song is a bright celebration of self-love, with inflections of pop, soul, and Lizzo’s own brand of brash hip-hop, and the video matches that energy, with animated Lizzo hanging out with her collaborators, playing with Corgi puppies (shout-out to Antoni!) and pampering herself on “Self-Love Lane.”
The positive lyrics reinforce the message of the upbeat song, as Lizzo boasts about being her own soulmate, “She never tell me to exercise / We always get extra fries / And you know the sex is fire.” The video represents this by depicting two Lizzos, who share fries and get married by the Fab Five’s Bobby.
Even though Lizzo’s “soulmate” never tells her to exercise, she recently posted a video doing just that in response to critics’ fat shaming her. She also led fans in a self-care session on Instagram Live during quarantine, showing that she practices what she preaches.
Watch Lizzo’s animated lyric video for “Soulmate” above.
Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Like her microwave-exploding co-star, Zoë Kravitz is stuck in London and waiting patiently for production to resume on The Batman. The pandemic threw a monkey-wrench into the highly-anticipated reboot from director Matt Reeves, which had barely gotten started before the whole world shut down. Naturally, Kravitz is excited to get back into the role of Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman), and she recently opened up about what it was like wearing the costume for the iconic character.
After talking to Variety‘s The Big Ticket podcast about her work as Rob in Hulu’s gender-swapping reboot of High Fidelity, which could land a few award nominations for Kravitz, the actress revealed what it was like suiting up as Catwoman for the first time on set and how the role carries a lot of expectation from not just fans, but her friends and family who can’t wait to see her portrayal of the classic hero-villain:
“It’s cool, man. It’s cool. I can’t say it wasn’t cool, but I’ve been really trying to not think too much about just what that character means to everybody else. Just because it can be distracting in the wrong way, especially when you’re trying to become someone else…. The script is phenomenal. The story’s really strong. I feel very clear on who Selena is and what she wants, and I’m trying to stay more focused on that.”
Kravitz also received words of encouragement from former Catwoman actresses Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, and Michelle Pfeiffer who personally hugged Kravitz not long after she got the part. “[They] sent really sweet, encouraging messages when that was announced. So I feel supported by my girls,” she told Variety.
Late-night talk shows are continuing to rely on their new virtual platform in light of the pandemic. Even across screens, Jimmy Fallon has brainstormed some fun games for his guests to participate in. On Thursday night, Fallon invited Demi Lovato to join him on The Tonight Show, and the singer was asked to perform renditions of popular songs with jumbled lyrics.
Lovato joined Fallon for the quasi-karaoke game, Google Translate Songs. The premise of the show is fairly self-explanatory: Fallon types popular song lyrics into Google Translate, puts them into another language, then translates them back into English. The result is a hilariously reimagined song with confusing lyrics.
Lovato was the first to play and was tasked with singing “Walking On Sunshine” translated into Russian, which became, “Now Mom’s In The Sun Now.” Lovato’s captivating voice allowed her to still give a beautiful rendition of the song, even though the lyrics made no sense. “I will congratulate you on grasping email / I cannot wait to write on you when you finally move,” she sings.
In other Lovato news, the singer appears in the Netflix film, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, alongside Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. In a recent interview, Ferrell gushed over Lovato’s talent. “And she was so sweet and lovely and she was actually shooting during her birthday,” Ferrell said about Lovato. “We kind of had this really special moment. She had just come out of her last rehab stint. I really wanted to work with her on this because I’m a fan. I go, ‘You’re so sweet I can’t believe you’re doing this, I just can’t believe.’ And she said, ‘Well I had to tell you, watching your movies really, kind of, helped me go through what I had to go through. It’s weird when you get hit in the chest with something like that and it’s so personal to her, it was one of the sweetest things ever.”
The odds are in favor of their being some manner of sports in 2020, and I’m not talking about marble racing or competitive Mouse Trap tournaments. Bats, balls, linament, the whole thing. But there’s a great big valley of uncertainty between now and the first pitch, first tip-off, or first hot dog swallow so it’s good to continue trying sportifying everything to stave off boredom. Challenge your WFH friends to see who gets the most unique stab at the “I don’t know how to do email sign-offs anymore” sign off or teach your little babies to joust. Whatever.
If those ideas aren’t working for you, though, then the people behind TBS’ Tournament Of Laughs (the second episode airs Sunday at 10 PM and the first is streaming here) may have a sales pitch for you: what if March Madness, but with comedians? 64 of them, to be exact, channeling all the weird energy of these unprecedented times into comedy clips that viewers can then vote on to help widdle down the competitors and ultimately help influence the ultimate victor. The prize? Bragging rights. Also the friends they made along the way. Regardless, it’s something to laugh at all piled into one place and the opportunity to feel the God-like thrill those American Idol fans have been smugly enjoying for years.
Tournament Of Laughs is hosted by SNL alum and actor Jason Sudeikis, who is managing to do a pretty great impression of a SportsCenter anchor while introducing the comics and clips. We spoke with Sudeikis about that, feeling like ET while filming, forgetting about committing violence on Baby Yoda, impersonating Joe Biden, and how press tours and SNL From Home can set the stage for a pretty great grift.
I feel obligated to ask anyone who I know is a huge sports fan about sports, and obviously, the vibe of the show definitely speaks to that as well. How have you been filling the time without basketball, without baseball?
I’m a soccer fan, as well, so for me, it’s been the little things that help you out. The Last Dance was very, very, helpful to give you something to look forward to every Sunday for five weeks. And then more recently, me and some pals that work on this show that we have coming up this August for Apple TV [Ted Lasso], we play a lot of FIFA. We’re making our own sports. Dealing with our own virtual soccer to scratch that itch.
I guess the FIFA counts as research?
Oh yeah, exactly. We’ve written off the whole thing.
Perfect. So with this show, it really seems to lean into the daydreams of anybody who grew up watching SportsCenter and March Madness. Was that a part of the show when you signed on or is that partly your influence?
No, that was all them. They had that all lined up. I believe the show was probably even pitched in the absence of March Madness. I came into it after the fact. But you hit the nail on the head as far as the theme. I’m basically getting to play as if I was Rich Eisen or Scott Van Pelt. Just hosting SportsCenter and being the guy showing you the highlights and talking you through some of the great plays, the great moves and making a few jokes here and there.
Did you have any say in the comics that were chosen to be a part of the show? Did you call in any favors? I’m curious how easy it was to get participation. Obviously a lot of people are making this kind of content but adding the competition factor is definitely unique.
The producers had everything all lined up. It was one of the questions that I had coming in because with COVID going on, it affects everyone. It affects so many gigs. I’ve never done standup, I came up in the improv and sketch world, but I have a lot of friends who do stand-up and all the gigs were canceled. So this is a good opportunity to get them paid for doing what we all… anybody that does what we do, we do it for free to a certain degree. Unfortunately, people that rent homes and apartments don’t feel the same way. [Laughs] And it’s understandable, no judgment on them. So when I asked, “Who do we have?” And then when the producers started listing the names I was like, “Holy smokes, this is great,” because it’s a lot of people that I’m friendly with but also fans of, and a half dozen or more people that I also didn’t know.
TBS
So I know in the initial press release they had called out the at-home sets, and that’s hard to believe. This was filmed in your home, is that right?
Mine is not. [The comics are] I go through this interesting process, not too dissimilar from like third act of ET. Like coming into the situation, I get my temperature taken, I’m in a room all by myself, I get changed, I take my tie and my plastic bag. I’m in a room with just me, a teleprompter and three cameras, two of which are locked down and one is remote controlled. The producers are in different parts of this house speaking to me through a walkie-talkie. It’s very different from anything I’ve ever done. But that’s where we are in this day and age with that process of just figuring it out as we go. It’s been very engaging.
For me, part of the problem is how quick the turnaround is going to be, especially after we get through this first round. We had 16 comics for the premiere and then 16 [this] week, and then we start getting into the week to week voting and elimination. That will be very similar to the process that I was used to at SNL where you kind of even forget people are watching the show, at least for me that is. By the time people are talking about the last one, you’re already on to the next one. I’m looking forward to that element, though, because I’m watching the pieces pretty much in real-time as well. At least I have over the last couple of weeks. There will probably be more of that. They’ll probably be coming in maybe as I’m talking about them. [Laughing] You don’t know. It’s part of the fun.
Popping back up on SNL From Home with the red tracksuit for “What’s Up With That,” did you have that already in storage or is that something they had to mail you?
No, man. The geniuses of that place figured out a way to bring that right to my home out here in L.A. That was all fresh. Eagle-eyed viewers would have noticed that it wasn’t an official Adidas tracksuit.
Ah! Okay.
It was like a velour kind of different thing. I’m not as good with the wigs as my gal Inga [Thrasher], who is my hair and wig lady from SNL, so that was just really a simple thing. It was all stuff that the producer and wardrobe there, sending packages the day of… they sent ring lights, they sent the tripods, I used my own phone. The same way that I feel like teaching at home has made all of us that have kids –especially younger children — appreciate the work and the patience of teachers, there’s nothing like trying to do a little 45-second sketch in your home to appreciate people behind the scenes at a place like SNL that make that seem so seamless. They did exactly what they do for me at the home version too. It was just me who took forever to be like, “Can you get this light to look right? Can I hang up a green screen?” Goodness, gracious. The crew is the glue.
Did you hold on to the suit now for next time or do you send it back?
Oh yeah! Oh no, no. I kept it all. I kept all the electronics too, I’m not sending any of that back. They know better. I don’t care if they put a return label on there or not. It’s mine now.
Yup, definitely.
I’ll say I sent it back. You can use that in the interview, “oh yeah that was a joke.” My kids are going to make the best home videos, better than the crap I made when I was a kid. Oh yeah. We’re in great shape now.
Honestly, you just keep doing these things… keep going on different shows. I feel bad I didn’t send you some electronic equipment. Were you expecting me to send like a ring light or a phone or something? A rig? I’m sorry.
You know what I need now? HDMI cords.
There you go. It’s cool, we’ll just set up like an Amazon wishlist for you and then we can get that taken care of, perfect.
[Laughs] Exactly. Perfect.
NBC
So the Biden thing, obviously that’s in a different state right now because he’s the nominee and you’ve obviously played him for a while on SNL, though I know Woody Harrelson stepped in. Have you put that down or is that something where you might return at some point in the future?
Oh gosh, that all comes down to… I don’t know. That’s a Lorne question. Ask him and tell me what he says.
With everything going on right now, I don’t want to assume a political ideology, but is there any worry when you play a character like that where you might say something that might stick and become a factor? Like obviously, it’s probably overstated to a certain extent, but Tina Fey’s famous Sarah Palin had an impact. Do you ever have that in mind or is that just not part of the process?
I don’t think you can have any part of that in your mind. I know I didn’t. I really enjoyed Studio 60 and Aaron Sorkin in general. I’m a big fan of his but we like to think like Sports Night, or even West Wing, or Newsroom, or Studio 60… I think he essentially looks for the best version of a place and yet from the inside when that show is on television… [Laughs] I think Al Franken said it best when he was talking about the heyday of SNL, when it was the number one thing to watch on television in the ’70s. When it was Chappelle Show, The Daily Show, Amy Schumer, all in one type of show. Franken was just like, “We’re really just trying to make each other laugh,” so at the end of the day, that’s really what it is. The cultural relevance of it and the significance of it is nothing… Lorne tries to be responsible with it. We’re not trying to take shots that weren’t fair or warranted, but as far as from a performing side, no I’ve never gotten in my head. I played George Bush towards the tail-end of his presidency or Mitt Romney when he ran against Obama or Biden now. If anything, you’re just trying to connect to the material.
Especially not doing that show now on a weekly basis year after year like I was when I initially started playing Joe Biden. My take on it is, whenever you get the call… and a lot of times, it depends on what’s possible. When Woody played him we were in London working on this Apple show, so it was impossible to get back. I’m never going to complain losing a gig to Woody Harrelson. May I be lucky enough to have that happen many times over the course of my career. You can’t think about… “Will this change the NASDAQ?” as I’m saying this silly joke, this four-line monologue. It’s mostly just about trying to keep the fake teeth in.
Disney
Did you feel the cultural significance when you punched Baby Yoda and did you face a bit of backlash with that?
Yeah, that was a whole thing. You know what? I kind of forgot about it. I can’t remember exactly how many weeks, months went by from when Adam Pally and I did that with Favreau and Taika Waititi. For me, the most significant thing was my little boy Otis, who, like any little kid from the last 50 years, loves Star Wars. And I remember he even got to see baby Yoda. And it didn’t hit me when that became such a huge thing when the first episode of Mandalorian premiered and everybody went hog wild about Yoda, baby Yoda, it didn’t even hit me then like, “Oh shit.”
Like a sense of dread. Like uh oh.
Nope. Forgot. Didn’t even… because it didn’t show who he was before and it was just this one-off neat thing where you get to dress up like a scout trooper, not a Stormtrooper just so you know. [Laughs] I think its a scout trooper, it’s not a Stormtrooper. Anyway so they premiered on a Friday or a Saturday, whatever it was, I know it was the weekend because Otis and I were playing video games and Olivia [Wilde, Sudeikis’ partner] came into the room and goes, “Hey, you’re trending on Twitter” and I’m not active on social media so in this day and age it’s kind of like, “Oh, that’s interesting.” And then immediately it’s like, “Wait, why?” I have no idea why. I already got a hard enough last name to spell. For it to be trending is bonkers, and then when she says, “apparently you punched Baby Yoda” and I was like, “Oh, that’s right!” I totally forgot that I literally hit… then I watched it and I was like, “I’ll be darned. How about that?” So that was the extent of it. It was very surreal and I started getting texts from friends going, “You bastard” and people saying like, “Did you really get to wear the suit or was that just your voice?” All those funny questions. And Liv is active on social media so I knew she was catching some guff on my behalf.
I’m wildly curious about Fletch. How real was that? Is it even still real, the possibility of you doing that? Because I thought it was was a fantastic fit.
There’s a version that almost went that I think would have been erroneous had it gone because it wasn’t ready. It was extremely real, drafts of the script and the studio, and I guess most importantly, money to back it financially. But yeah, it’s still going around out there. I’m not personally involved with it right now because I never personally have access to the money so I’m not exactly sure where it all stands now. I think the character of Irwin Fletcher has the opportunity to be a modern-day superhero, that’s my take on it. And I don’t mean that in the cape flying, throwing people through windows way. I just mean a person that is truly in search of truth and feels let down at every corner that he has to take matters into his own hands. I think it’s a compelling character that’s very, very, prescient and yet relevant at the same time. And it has been. Even from the early days as a character in a bunch of novels by Greg McDonald. I hope it sees the light of day with the right people behind it because I think it’s a cool idea.
Yeah, I actually agree and you never know. Look at how Ryan Reynolds swung back to Deadpool eventually. I honestly hope it does for you.
Yeah. You have all my blessings to start a Kickstarter or a GoFundMe.
All right, I will absolutely make that happen and at the very least, we’ll send you the money for the HDMI plugs.
That’s really what I was getting at. I appreciate you doing that. [Laughs]
‘Tournament Of Laughs’ airs Sunday at 10PM ET on TBS and you can vote for your favorite comics here.
DaBaby fights off a zombie invasion alongside Roddy Ricch in his action-packed “Rockstar” video. The latest single from DaBaby’s spring Blame It On Baby album, “Rockstar” flips the image of an archetypical rock star as a metaphorical reference to the rappers’ guns and drugs lifestyle. Reel Goats translates that imagery by literally loading them both down with full Call Of Duty-esque arsenals to battle the undead horde.
To be honest, it’s a little disappointing to find out that Roddy and DaBaby probably won’t make it through the zombie apocalypse — there are only like five head shots in the entire video. Come on, guys, you’ve seen Walking Dead, right? You have to aim for the noggin! The video is still pretty clever and there are even a few moments where it looks like our heroes might really meet their respective fates.
Of course, no self-respecting rapper or rockstar would ever let themselves get got — especially not in their own video. If LL Cool J can defeat those sharks and Busta Rhymes can beat up Michael Myers with martial arts moves, then it’s guaranteed DaBaby and Roddy Ricch will make it to the end of their own monster movie. With “Rockstar” hitting the top of the charts earlier this year and getting a “Black Lives Matter”-themed remix, DaBaby has certainly earned at least a little leeway when it comes to dodging the jaws of (film) death.
Watch the video for DaBaby’s “Rockstar” with Roddy Ricch above.
Roddy Ricch is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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