For his directorial debut, Dave Franco gathered an impressive cast for a horror movie about distrust and always being watched.

The Rental follows two couples, Charlie and Michelle (The Guest‘s Dan Stevens and Community‘s Alison Brie, Franco’s real-life wife) and Mina and Josh (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night‘s Sheila Vand and Shameless‘ Jeremy Allen White), who rent an ocean-side house for some rest and relaxation. But before they can even browse through the house’s DVD library, which is the first thing I do at every rental property, the owner (icon Toby Huss) makes an odd comment about being a peeping tom, and things only get weirder from there. Brb, I’m adding “camera in the shower head” to my list of nightmares.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Two couples on an oceanside getaway grow suspicious that the host of their seemingly perfect rental house may be spying on them. Before long, what should have been a celebratory weekend trip turns into something far more sinister, as well-kept secrets are exposed and the four old friends come to see each other in a whole new light. Alison Brie, Dan Stevens, Jeremy Allen White, and Sheila Vand star in this unnerving and sophisticated debut thriller from Dave Franco.

IFC’s The Rental premieres on On Demand and in select theaters on July 24.

Our Longest Summer series will look at the eight teams whose seasons are now officially over, and will have to wait until mid-October to make decisions on what’s next and how to proceed after falling short of the cut-off for a continued 2019-20 campaign.

It may seem like a lifetime ago, but the 2019-20 Detroit Pistons were supposed to compete for a postseason berth in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons landed in the playoffs last season and, with Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond anchoring a team with a respectable roster, there was optimism, at least in some circles, for a repeat performance. Fast-forward to the end, however, and Griffin appeared in only 18 games, with Drummond seeing only 49 games of action before being dealt to Cleveland before the deadline.

In some ways, Detroit’s demise was foreseeable, especially with regard to Griffin’s injury issues. The All-Star forward was banged up considerably by the end of the 2018-19 campaign and, while unfortunate, it wasn’t totally shocking that he wasn’t able to play at full strength this season. Still, the Pistons heavily relied on his brilliance in 2018-19 and, without that centerpiece available, the lack of talent on the roster became glaring on the way to a 20-win performance in the aggregate. Now, the Pistons shift fully to rebuilding mode and the 2020 offseason provides a number of questions for the team to attempt to answer.

2020 Free Agents

Christian Wood (UFA), Tony Snell (player option), Brandon Knight (UFA), John Henson (UFA), Langston Galloway (UFA), Thon Maker (RFA), Jordan McRae (UFA)

2020 Projected salary cap space (assuming $115 million salary cap)

$33.9 million, per Early Bird Rights

Areas of Strength

This is a tough one. There are some intriguing young pieces on the roster with Luke Kennard and Sekou Doumbouya, though neither is established enough to specifically build around. From there, Christian Wood emerged in a big way this season, but the young center now hits the free agent market with unrestricted status. The Pistons certainly can afford to bring Wood back at a considerable number but, if they don’t, things become even more adventurous. Detroit did benefit from a strong season from Derrick Rose, who remains under contract at a reasonable cap figure, and flexibility is the order of the day for this franchise.

Areas of Need

Aside from a magic potion to make Griffin 100 percent healthy again, the Pistons need a focal point. Though Wood’s emergence is encouraging, Detroit still lacks star power and, though they could get lucky in the draft lottery with a path to select a prospect like LaMelo Ball, every rebuild begins (and sometimes ends) with the quest for a franchise player that the Pistons don’t have for the future. Beyond that, Detroit’s roster is (very) thin when accounting for only players that are firmly under contract, and Griffin’s highly lucrative contract is tough to navigate.

Biggest Decisions

Wood is the team’s only free agent that should command a large sum on the market, and Detroit’s willingness to pay up is perhaps the franchise’s most interesting decision of the offseason. If the Pistons believe Wood is an average starter (or better), bringing him back would plug a hole and give the team more of an identity. If the bidding gets out of control and Detroit sees the need to move on, the canvas is even more bleak. From there, the team’s lottery pick will be key to everything and, in advance of that, the Pistons are a team that could really use some lottery luck and a path to selecting a prospect with legitimate star equity.

Overall Offseason Focus

Though there may have been chatter that the Pistons could avoid the full-scale rebuild, that evaporated this season. Barring some sort of miraculous effort to send Griffin’s large contract elsewhere, the parameters appear to be set in Detroit and the franchise simply needs to patient in accumulating assets and doing anything they can to find a young star. That is easier said than done, but the Pistons are in a vastly different place than they were even nine months ago, and that is the reality.

On Friday, Tulsa’s historic Greenwood district — the area where the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre occurred with a white mob burning Black Wall street to the ground — will hold a Juneteenth gathering to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. in 1865. Festivities and peaceful protests are expected to continue throughout the weekend (although Trump’s indoor rally of 19,000+ attendees in downtown Tulsa on Saturday will complicate matters, even though Gov. Stitt has asked Trump not to visit Greenwood). Given that the Tulsa Race Massacre was depicted in the opening moments of showrunner Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen series, and in light of ongoing Black Lives Matters protests around the globe, the premium cable channel has decided to offer up the entire 9-episode season on HBO.com and Free On Demand.

The season will not only stream for free all weekend but as a marathon at 1:00pm EST on Friday with HBO and HBO Latino. In a statement, HBO declared that they are “proud to offer all nine episodes for free of this timely, poignant series that explores the legacy of systemic racism in America.” If you haven’t watched yet, you should. Watchmen is a phenomenal show that was risky and ambitious in adapting the “unadaptable” graphic novel from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s iconic graphic novel. And it also reimagined and recontextualized the story against the backdrop of the Tulsa Race Massacre and explored a world where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws

Lindelof was inspired to bring knowledge of the Tulsa Race Massacre to the viewing public at large after he read Ta’Nehisi Coates’ The Atlantic piece, The Case For Reparations. And the showrunner recently marked the anniversary of the massacre by urging people to get educated (he provided a recommended list of reading, listening, and viewing material) in light of police brutality protests following the killing of George Floyd.

Last week, the Peabody Awards recognized Watchmen, and Lindelof and Regina King accepted the award in a video that was reportedly taped prior to Floyd’s death. Watch below, as the pair discusses the (sadly now-always) timely subjects of systemic racism, police brutality and the continued killing of unarmed Black citizens.

Atlanta rapper/singer 6lack is about a week away from his 28th birthday and in response to a question from his friends and coworkers at his record label, LVRN, he decided that what he really wants to do is give his fans a gift — a six-song EP. Sharing a screenshot of the text conversation with his “LVRN Family” on Instagram, 6lack offered a link to 6lackbox.com, where fans can sign up for exclusive content.

It’s not the first time he’s set up an unusual rollout for a project. In the run-up to the release of his last album, East Atlanta Love Letter, 6lack actually mailed love letters to fans who signed up on his site. Given his penchant for going the extra mile, there’s no telling what 6lack’s gift for fans will include, but you can bet it’ll be something that will endear them even more to the “OTW” crooner.

6lack’s 27th year has been pretty impressive, as 2019 brought verses on Guapdad4000’s “Prada Process,” Tinashe’s “Touch & Go,” and the Queen And Slim soundtrack’s “Yo Love” with Vince Staples and Mereba. In 2020, 6lack has appeared on tracks with Gallant, K Camp, and Deante Hitchcock, as well as releasing “ATL Freestyle” to keep his buzz simmering as he prepares to release his third full-length LP.

Stay tuned for more info on 6lack’s upcoming birthday EP.

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

At this point, it’s clear that, at least for the foreseeable future, concerts won’t be like how they were before. That apparently applies to the behind-the-scenes aspects as well: Live Nation is changing some of their policies for 2021, and it puts a greater financial burden on artists.

In a recent memo (which was obtained by Rolling Stone), Live Nation reveals that they plan to decrease monetary guarantees to artists before an event by 20 percent. Also, if a concert is canceled due to poor ticket sales, instead of a 100-percent guarantee, artists will only get 25 percent. Those are just two of many changes outlined in the document.

The memo begins, “The global pandemic has changed the world in recent months and with it the dynamics of the music industry. We are in unprecedented times and must adequately account for the shift in market demand, the exponential rise of certain costs and the overall increase of uncertainty that materially affects our mission. In order for us to move forward, we must make certain changes to our agreements with the artists.”

After outlining the changes, the memo concludes, “We are fully aware of the significance of these changes, and we did not make these changes without serious consideration. We appreciate you — and all artists — understanding the need for us to make these changes in order to allow the festival business to continue not only for the artists and the producers, but also for the fans.”

Read the full memo below.

“The global pandemic has changed the world in recent months and with it the dynamics of the music industry. We are in unprecedented times and must adequately account for the shift in market demand, the exponential rise of certain costs and the overall increase of uncertainty that materially affects our mission. In order for us to move forward, we must make certain changes to our agreements with the artists. The principle changes for 2021 are outlined below.

Artist Guarantees: Artist guarantees will be adjusted downward 20% from 2020 levels.

Ticket Prices: Ticket prices are set by the promoter, at the promoter’s sole discretion, and are subject to change.

Payment Terms: Artists will receive a deposit of 10% one month before the festival, contingent on an executed agreement and fulfillment of marketing responsibilities. The balance, minus standard deductions for taxes and production costs, will be paid after the performance.

Minimum Marketing Requirements: All artists will be required to assist in marketing of the festival through minimum social media posting requirements outlined in artist offer.

Streaming requirements: All artists will be required to allow their performance to be filmed by the festival for use in a live television broadcast, a live webcast, on-demand streaming, and/or live satellite radio broadcast.

Billing: All decisions regarding “festival billing” are at the sole discretion of the promoter.

Merchandise: Purchaser will retain 30 % of Artist merchandise sales and send 70% to the artist within two weeks following the Festival.

Airfare and Accommodations: These expenses will be the responsibility of the artist.

Sponsorship: The promoter controls all sponsorship at the festival without any restrictions, and artists may not promote brands onstage or in its productions.

Radius Clause. Violation of a radius clause without the festival’s prior authorization in writing will, at the festival’s sole discretion, result in either a reduction of the artist fee or the removal of the artist from the event, with any pre-event deposits returned to the festival immediately.

Insurance: The artist is required to maintain its own cancellation insurance as the promoter is not responsible for the artist fee in the event of a cancellation of the festival due to weather or a force majeure.

Cancellation by Artist: If an artist cancels its performance in breach of the agreement, the artist will pay the promoter two times the artist’s fee.

Cancellation Due to Poor Sales. If a show is cancelled due to poor ticket sales, the artist will receive 25% of the guarantee.

Force Majeure: If the artist’s performance is canceled due to an event of force majeure – including a pandemic similar to Covid-19 – the promoter will not pay the artist its fee. The artist is responsible for obtaining any cancellation insurance for its performance.

Inability to Use Full Capacity of the Venue: If the promoter – either because of orders of the venue or any governmental entity – is not permitted to use the full capacity of the venue, then the promoter may terminate the agreement, and artist will refund any money previously paid.

We are fully aware of the significance of these changes, and we did not make these changes without serious consideration. We appreciate you – and all artists – understanding the need for us to make these changes in order to allow the festival business to continue not only for the artists and the producers, but also for the fans.”

After months of drama, last summer’s planned Woodstock 50 anniversary festival was ultimately canceled. The story involved investors dropping out, new ones coming in, venues being changed, and artists having no idea what the heck was going on. Now, the event’s organizers are blaming original investor Dentsu Group in a new lawsuit, in which they are suing the company for “sabotage” and “destruction of the festival,” Rolling Stone reports.

The complaint was filed on Wednesday in New York Supreme Court, and it alleges that “Dentsu Group and its affiliates Dentsu Aegis Network and MKTG are directly responsible for the destruction of the Woodstock 50 Anniversary Festival.” The suit also claims that Dentsu affiliate Amplifi Live, LLC, which “governed the terms of the production of the festival,” “breached that agreement.”

The suit continues, “Despite Woodstock 50’s best efforts, Dentsu’s sabotage was effective and complete, and directly resulted in huge damages to Woodstock 50. As a result of Dentsu’s egregious conduct, Woodstock 50 is entitled to tens of millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.”

Amplifi Live offered a response to the suit, with a representative saying, “Dentsu’s affiliate, Amplifi Live, acted in the best interest of the public last year after Woodstock 50 breached its agreement. After a full evidentiary hearing, the court credited Amplifi Live’s evidence that a safe and profitable festival could not be mounted, and therefore refused to order Amplfi Live to continue funding the project. […] Amplfi Live is vigorously defending these claims in arbitration and pursuing breach and fraud claims against Woodstock 50. Amplifi Live and its parent and affiliates will vigorously defend Woodstock 50’s eleventh-hour effort to escape the arbitration forum. Woodstock 50 does not represent the Woodstock brand, having lost that license, and the claims in this new filing have no merit and are improper.”

Last summer, Michael Lang explained why he thought things didn’t work with Dentsu, saying, “We just frankly picked the wrong partner in Dentsu. They didn’t really understand the business. When the agreement went at the last minute of just being a backer to a co-producer, they had input into everything that we did. It just pretty much went off the rails from the beginning. They weren’t cognizant of the timeframe for how these things have to get done and how much work has to get done. So they waited for months before signing [production company] Superfly [who was hired to help produce the festival], which was tasked with getting the permits. Then when they pulled the plug, everything sort of stopped.”

It’s always a weird thing when the holiday season starts, as John Hughes’ Planes, Trains and Automobiles starts plying in a constant loop as Thanksgiving approaches, when out of nowhere Kevin Bacon shows up, in a race against Steve Martin’s Neal Page for a New York City cab. There are Reddit threads devoted to this appearance, with the theory being Bacon is playing his character from Hughes’ She’s Having a Baby, which was released that next year. Well, a note to those Reddit threads: Bacon clears the whole thing up here.

Now that that’s settled, Bacon is starring in this weekend’s new Blumhouse release, directed by David Koepp, You Should Have Left. Bacon plays Theo Conroy, a, let’s say, man with a past, who is on vacation with his young wife (which is very much part of the plot), played by Amanda Seyfried. The couple end up on vacation at a remote house in Wales and … strange things start happening. Probably the less said the better. Ahead, Bacon takes us through how this movie came to be (he’s also a producer) and, as he says, blows up a Reddit thread.

This has been a strange experience. Universal had me in a zoom waiting room. Just all these faces hanging out on my screen.

Yeah, well, listen, we just need to keep our fingers crossed that we don’t get Zoom-bombed. I’m sure you’ve heard of that phenomenon.

Oh yeah. That sounds terrible. And then you’re in a video being made fun of. I don’t want that.

People have said, well, once you do a virtual junket, you’re never going to want to do another junket. Yeah, I don’t want to travel to the Four Seasons and sit in front of a potted plant. On the other hand, I really do miss human contact, so this is very strange.

So you produced this movie, too, right? What does that mean? I feel that can mean anything from doing nothing to being highly involved, which I assume you are.

I’ll tell you exactly: I did a movie with David Koepp called Stir of Echoes 20 years ago. And we had been talking – more like I had been begging him to do something else with me for a long time. I was talking to Kyra [Sedgwick, Bacon’s wife] and she said, what about a horror movie that has to do with a marriage? David and I were having lunch and I brought that up, and right away I could see that this one was sparking ideas. He’s a great idea person.

And I believe that he’d already written an outline, and I happened to see a review and then read a book over that weekend of a German translation called You Should Have Left. And was kind of floored, as sometimes happens in the zeitgeist, with how similar where we were at with the story was to You Should Have Left. So, I spoke to David about it, and he was like, no-no-no, I’m not going to read it, I can’t even look at it. And then of course he went out and read it. And we have to get it. So we got in touch with the writer and he was willing to sell us the option on the book.

Is what we see in the movie kind of a combination of what you guys had before and the book? I know there’s some pretty major changes.

Yeah. I think there are pretty major changes. Honestly, it’s hard for me to remember where the book was at and where we were at, but I think tonally there were things that were similar, and the fact that it was a couple certainly was similar. But there was a lot of stuff that we also adjusted.

A couple of weeks ago it felt like it was announced out of the blue this would be available on demand. How did that work?

David was really leading the charge on it and said, you know, I know that we were waiting maybe for things to change or for things to sort of open back up even in the video on-demand segment, but it was actually a process that started months ago. Is there a spot when we could put this out? Thankfully, Blumhouse and Universal were open to the idea, and here we are.

A few weeks ago theater owners kind of made it known they weren’t happy about movies being released like this.

Listen, a lot of people worked really hard on the film, and I think it’s an excellent film, and I think it has a right to be seen. I grew up in love with going to the movies and sitting in a dark room with a bunch of strangers. I’m a movie consumer. I often play hooky and go off to an afternoon movie. Sometimes I go with David, actually, that’s one of the things that we do – I’ll call him up and say, hey, what are you doing, let’s go to the 2:00. I look forward to the days when we can be doing that again, but we can’t right now.

No, we can’t.

So I think that we’re thrilled that we have this opportunity to put it out.

What’s the last movie that you and David Koepp played hooky for and went and saw?

Wow, that’s a really good question. Let’s see, what was the last movie that played hooky? Well, it was probably, it might’ve been something in London? I’ll tell you one thing that we did see, which was interesting. There was this amazing exhibit at the Tate Modern in London. It was called The Clock, and it’s a 24-hour movie that the guy curated every single second of a 24-hour cycle from movies, clips of movies. So in other words, someone would look at his watch and go, in a 1935 thriller, “Well, it’s 12:43!”

Oh yeah, I’ve heard about this.

And then there would be another shot of a clock moving, and then you go through it and you sit and you watch it in real-time. I mean, you can’t watch the whole 24 hours. You could try! So we went to see some of that, and amazingly, when we showed up, I think both of us were thinking the same thing, which was are any of our movies in this movie? And they were.

Oh, which one?

Well, Secret Window was. While we were there, in the theater, we saw a clip from the movie that Dave wrote and directed. And then what I was told was that I was there, but like 4:30 AM or something. And I think the film was Hollow Man. I think it was Hollow Man. It’s an amazing accomplishment. It’s hard to explain how breathtaking it is. They’re from all over the world and all different genres and ages and stuff, it’s a really cool thing.

So here’s something I’ve always wondered — and there are Reddit threads devoted to this — why are you in Planes, Trains and Automobiles? The theories are you are playing the same character from, She’s Having A Baby. Is that accurate?

No.

Ah. Okay.

No, I can tell you exactly what it was.

Okay good.

[Laughs] I love that there’s a Reddit thread! But I’m going to blow it up. I made She’s Having A Baby with John Hughes. And I loved working with John, he was fantastic. And when we wrapped She’s Having A Baby, he was about to start Planes, Trains and Automobiles. And I said to him, dude, you have to get me a part in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Let me do anything! I said I’ll be an extra. So, he made me an extra. But what happened was Planes, Trains and Automobiles ended up coming out first, I think.

That is correct.

Before She’s Having A Baby, even though we had shot She’s Having A Baby first. There was some kind of a shifting of their schedule. So that when Planes, Trains and Automobiles came out, it didn’t look like I had any kind of connection to the movie or to John Hughes, that I just was this random kind of thing. It was really because I really enjoyed John and I enjoyed that experience and just wanted to keep it going, so I showed up and hailed a cab for him.

Okay, this makes more sense than coyly introducing a character for a future movie Marvel-style.

Yes.

Before we go, do you worry about movies this kind of size being in theaters after the pandemic? Even before it seemed like there was trouble. This movie seemed like it would have been a fun one to see with a crowd.

I totally agree. And I went into the movies as a young man because I loved to be in that dark room with other people, strangers, and I want us to be back there. And I do think that, especially for me, I traditionally love to go and sneak in and watch my films with a crowd. You learn a tremendous amount from doing that. And I hope that I get to do that someday with You Should Have Left. I think it’s going to be a long time, it’s going to be a retrospective before that actually happens, but yeah, I miss that.

What’s an example of that? Where you watched yourself and learned something with an audience?

Listen, I’ve been to test screenings and marketing screenings, there’s a combination of things. One is that you’re seeing how they react, but then you’re also seeing it through other people’s eyes. It’s a really hard thing to explain. It’s kind of like if you make a piece of music, you record a song, the first time I’ll write and record a song and then I’ll play it for my wife or whoever, I’m now listening through different ears. And then you hear something, oh, I feel like I need more bass, or whatever it happens to be. You feel the same thing in watching a film. You go, oh wow, I don’t know if that scene really works as well as I thought it would. Or maybe that beat could be a little shorter. Or maybe those footsteps need to be brought out. Audiences, and sharing that with them, is very, very important in a filmmaking process, for sure.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

The public hasn’t heard much from Jennifer Lawrence since the half-hearted publicity tour for last year’s bleak Dark Phoenix (I don’t blame her). But the Oscar winner joined Twitter this week, not to promote anything but to speak out against racial injustice.

Lawrence joined Twitter using the handle “@JLawrence_RepUs,” showing her support for Represent Us, which aims to “bring together conservatives, progressives, and everyone in between to pass powerful anti-corruption laws that stop political bribery, end secret money, and fix our broken elections.” She shared a video about “our criminal justice system” featuring actor Omar Epps, along with a personal note.

“For three months since her murder, Breonna Taylor’s family, the people of Louisville, Americans across the country, and many around the world have called out for justice,” Lawrence, who was born in Kentucky, wrote. “And yet, those calls have gone unanswered. No arrests have been made, the officers responsible for her death remain employed by the LMPD, and disturbingly, the LMPD’s own investigation report was woefully inaccurate. As a Lousivillian, as a human being, I cannot be silent.”

She continued:

“I join all those who are speaking out against this grave injustice, calling upon Attorney General Daniel Cameron to take immediate action to hold those responsible for her death accountable. Mr. Cameron, the longer you wait to bring those responsible for her death accountable. Mr. Cameron, the longer you wait to bring criminal charges against officers Jonathan Mattingly, Myles Cosgrove, and Brett Hankison, the more trust erodes. I urge you to commit to transparency in the investigation and prosecution of these officers, and address the LMPD’s insufficient response to Breonna Taylor’s murder. We must not allow the erasure of Black women to continue in America. As many activists and leaders have been imploring for years: #SayHerName”

You can read the tweets below.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s filing of rape charges against Danny Masterson were surprising, to say the least. This development arrived over two-and-a-half years after Netflix fired him from The Ranch due to raised awareness of sexual assault allegations against him that sourced back to the early aughts. Those legal cases had stalled out in the court system, but no more. The practicing Scientologist is now formally charged with three counts of felony rape, and although his arrest was followed by his posting of a $3.3 million bail, he could face 45 years behind bars if convicted. Ex-Scientologist Leah Remini is overjoyed that the wheels of justice are moving against Masterson.

“Finally, victims are being heard when it comes to Scientology! Praise the lord!” Remini tweeted. “This is just the beginning Scientology, your days of getting away with it is coming to an end! #justice #scientologytheaftermath.”

In 2017, Remini helped raise public awareness of the cases against the That ’70s Show actor by interviewing multiple Masterson accusers on her documentary TV series. In 2019, four of these women then filed a lawsuit against the actor and the Church of Scientology. The women alleged that they were stalked and harassed because they went to police with their accusations against Masterson. The lawsuit’s claims strongly resembled those made by other opponents of Scientology about the organization’s alleged use of “fair game” retaliation practices against perceived enemies.

Remini has been vocal in illuminating “fair game” as a tactic since breaking away from Scientology in 2013. After doing so, she not only published a memoir (Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology) but also hosted three seasons of the Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath A&E docuseries, which landed the 2017 Emmy for Outstanding Informational Series or Special. As for Masterson, his attorney continues to maintain that his client is innocent and will be exonerated of the rape charges.

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