Month: July 2020

Luca is the first name of the director of Call Me By Your Name, about an unforgettable summer for a boy in a small Italian town. Luca is also the title of Pixar’s just-announced new movie, about an unforgettable summer for a boy in a small Italian town.

Only one movie has a peach, though (probably?).

Directed by Enrico Casarosa, Luna is a “coming-of-age story about a young boy in Italy, who shares in adventures on the Italian Riviera with his newfound best friend. But a dark secret about his true identity seeks to threaten that bond,” according to Variety. Casarosa called it a “deeply personal story for me, not only because it’s set on the Italian Riviera where I grew up, but because at the core of this film is a celebration of friendship.” The kind of friendship that blossoms on the dance floor to a Psychedelic Furs song, and also sea monsters? Only time will tell, but people are already making the connection between Pixar’s Luca and Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name.

In all seriousness, if this does turn out to be Pixar’s first LGBTQ film, that would be very cool! Even better if Sufjan Stevens does the soundtrack. Sorry, Randy Newman.

Luca is scheduled to come out on June 18, 2021, following Soul (November 20).

(Via Variety)

Rihanna is fresh off the launch of a new Fenty skincare line, so that’s one more thing she can take off her to-do list. Naturally, her fans are still eagerly awaiting a new album from Rihanna, and she spoke about her music in an ET interview.

Towards the end of the conversation, she was asked if she has been working on music during the pandemic. She said, as she has before, that she is always working on music, and that her album will be out when she’s ready:

“I am always working on music. I am always working on music and when I’m ready to put it out in the way that I feel fit, it’s gonna come out. And you’re not going to be disappointed when it happens. It’s going to be worth it. I’m not just gonna put it out just because people are waiting. It’s taken this long, I’m gonna make it worth it.”

She noted elsewhere in the interview that she has “been more busy in quarantine than ever before,” although that comment came in context of her talking about her Fenty endeavors, so it may not reflect how much time she has spent in the studio over the past few months.

Rihanna also looked back on the 15-year anniversary of “Pon de Replay” and the 10-year anniversary of “Love The Way You Lie.” She said her first thoughts about those occasions is that she can’t believe they happened so long ago, saying, “I’m 10 years older, I’m 15 years older. I thought that was just a few years ago, now it’s like a decade-plus. That is what I think about! But I’m also really grateful to still be here and being able to expand into other ventures. I’m grateful. It’s been fun and I can’t even complain.”

Check out the full interview here.

Anthony Mackie, who entered the MCU as Sam Wilson/Falcon in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, has appeared in seven Marvel movies. Sam even became the new Captain America when Steve Rogers passed the shield in Avengers: Endgame, so he’s certainly got the platform to speak out on Hollywood’s shortcomings in the diversity realm. He recently told Variety that it was “more racist” for Black Panther to be the only MCU film with a predominantly Black crew.

His sentiments were along the lines of pushing studios to do better, and to hire Black crew members/directors/producers/stunt choreographers for other movies as well, because he noticed that almost all of Marvel movie hires that he’s witnessed are white. While speaking in a new interview with Fatherly, he actor says that he’s not actually calling Marvel Studios or Disney racist, but he does feel like studios are “unaware”:

“I don’t think what’s happening is a racism problem. I think it’s an unawareness problem. With Marvel, I really think with most companies, they feel like they’re doing what they should be doing. In no way, shape, or form, is it enough. My big thing is, put your money where your mouth is.”

Mackie then pointed out that “[y]ou can’t cast a Black dude as one of your main superheroes” (I assume he’s referring to Falcon becoming Captain America) “and not expect him to have that conversation.” He believes that he can’t pass up the opportunity to raise the issue and further the conversation until more changes take place, as well as helping the MCU become a better place overall. And it’s certainly fair for Mackie to not want Black Panther to be the “only” exception in the MCU.

At some point in 2020, The Hurt Locker actor will also appear in buddy-comedy form alongside Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes/Winter Solder in Disney+’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

(Via Fatherly)

The hip-hop world faced the tragic news of Malik B’s death yesterday. The rapper was an early member of The Roots, and shortly after his passing, Black Thought shared a touching tribute to Malik.

A few hours later, Questlove decided to honor the late rapper in a different way. Instead of an overall tribute to his life, Questlove shared just a slice of it: he told a story about how he knew Malik before they made music together. As he put it, “Even before Malik was in The Roots, he was my oil guru.”

It’s a tale best told by Questlove himself, so read his post below.

“A lighter tale of Malik Abdul Basit

As a true Bol from philly you know that one’s oil game HAD to be on point. I came in this game rockin oils since age 9. Most of yall joke about me smelling like Breakfast (thx Kravitz clan) but long before my vanilla combo mastery my true graduation from basic Frankincense & Myrrh morphed into new exotic philly jawns like ‘Mecca Musk’ & ‘Somali Rose’ & ‘Egyptian Musk’ & yeah…..’Money On the Street’ & ‘Hug My Neck Aphrodisiac’

Malik introduced me to that world.

Even before Malik was in the Roots —he was my oil guru.

IYKYK…there is no panic like the last drop of oil w no re-up in the future.

I been bugging Malik for my ‘$OTS’ re-up. Paged him 911 (ask your parents kids) he was hard to catch but I knew I had some leverage bait this time: these were my last days interning at #RuffhouseRecords. I was everyone’s plug for all free cd’s/lp’s & especially Kriss Kross posters for anyone’s younger sibling or cousin

Tim Dog’s sophomore Do or Die just came out (his ‘I Get Wrecked’ single w KRS made brief noise for a sec) & I had 6 songs from the not yet released Cypress Hill ‘Black Sunday’ lp—-that was just enough to garner a ‘word? BET!’ confirmation from Malik to tell me that him & Mussa (remember the cat dozing off watching TV in our ‘Distorion’ vid? Him) would scoop me in a half hour. Confused I thought it was gonna be an even exchange (having paid him upfront weeks ago at a show I thought he was gonna drop it off—-ha ha ha yeah ok

They arrive to my west philly house and then Malik breaks the news to me: we gotta take a trip to ‘Norf’ to get the oils. I wasn’t planning on this. But oh well.

It was 3pm.

Malik told me the particular fragrance I dug was a mixture of 3 import oils from Saudi Arabia (his parents often taught school there) my dad was already on his cynic ‘fool me once….’ bag with Malik from a previous sale: ‘that boy tried to hustle me with Blue Nile that wasn’t all the way Blue, I know Johnson’s baby oil rebranded when I smell it’)—-Malik told me we’d have to run to grab 2 oils & then West Oak Lane for the other oil, & then to South Philly so he can mix em together.

Uh (checks Swatch) ok.”

It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Martha Stewart. What’s she up to?

Oh my.

All the Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party host wanted to do was talk about her mostly chlorine-free East Hampton pool (“I made it extra deep for diving and with no protruding steps so we could really race the length without worrying about obstacles. After all these years, It is a fun place to swim!!!”). Instead, she learned about thirst traps, a term she was blissfully unfamiliar with until ET‘s Nischelle Turner informed her on the definition. In that case, Stewart said, “that’s definitely a thirst trap”:

This one came about because Stewart “thought I looked great coming out of the pool. My camera came on backwards, selfie mode, and I looked so nice. The sun was on my face. I thought, ‘Oh, that looks pretty,’ so I took the picture. It looked good.”

The internet agrees: since posting the pool selfie, Stewart has been proposed to 14 times, “I don’t know what for, but they’re proposals,” she told E! Online. “I haven’t checked lately, that was the first day.” The photo was also replicated by comedian Chelsea Handler, who wrote, “I’m here to take @marthastewart48’s swimming lesson. If I look this good at 78 I better still have a pool to show myself off in.”

The key to looking youthful at 78: drunk hoverboarding, obviously.

(Via BuzzFeed)

When hip-hop fans make lists of the best rappers ever, Eminem usually finds his way near the top. However, Snoop Dogg doesn’t think the Detroit rapper is one of the ten best to ever do it.

During a recent Breakfast Club interview, Snoop explained his position, saying:

“Eminem! The Great White Hope! White rappers had zero respect in rap. Let’s keep that one thou wow. [Dr. Dre] has probably put Eminem in the position where he could be labeled as one of the top ten rappers ever. I don’t think so, but the game thinks that he’s top ten lyricists and all that that comes with it. That’s just because he’s with Dr. Dre and Dr. Dre helped him find the best Eminem that he could find.”

He was then asked why Em didn’t make the cut, and he responded, “There’s just some n****s in the ’80s that he can’t f*ck with. Like Rakim, like Big Daddy Kane, like KRS-One, like LL Cool J… shall I go on? Like Ice Cube.”

As that conversation indicated, Eminem is widely esteemed and considered one of the best rappers ever. Naturally, then, there were plenty of hip-hop fans on Twitter who had thoughts about Snoop keeping Eminem out of his top list.

Some people didn’t agree with Snoop:

Some fans think, however, that even Eminem himself would side with Snoop:

One fan argues that Snoop received the same career perks from which Snoop claimed Eminem benefited:

Another person suspects Snoop may have left Eminem off his list after he didn’t make Eminem’s recent list:

Then there are those who think this whole thing is a bit silly:

Whatever the case may be, both rappers are staying busy: Snoop is fresh off a Verzuz battle and Eminem just released a collaborative single with Kid Cudi.

With the pandemic raging in many corners of the U.S. and full-on lockdowns on the verge of returning, it’s pretty safe to say no one is going to have a “normal” August. Even when talking about camping, we have to be very careful with how we go out and enjoy nature. Your safety is not yours alone. We need to pull together to ensure the safety of one another.

In the practical sense, that means no indoor dining, wear a freaking mask, no parties/ concerts/ public gatherings, and no flights unless your need to travel supersedes the risk (if you have to ask, it probably doesn’t). But you can still have whiskey and you can still get outside. See? It’s not all bad!

If you choose to go camping this summer, find a spot far away from other campers (BLM land!), shop and fuel up beforehand, bring hand sanitizer, pack extra masks, and don’t forget the whiskey. Drink it straight, on the rocks, or in your go-to cocktail, and let it help you forget about how long it took you to put the tent up.

To find the perfect whiskey for your “no contact” summer trip, we asked some of our bartender pals for their favorite tentside bottles.

High West Campfire

John Marchetti, bartender at Dr. BBQ in St. Petersburg, Florida

High West Campfire truly is the world’s only blend of bourbon, rye, and scotch. Best sipped with a splash or two of water, this complex, blended whiskey is best enjoyed with old friends. I don’t know where to start on the notes because there are so many. Think vanilla, honey, toffee, chai spices, nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange zest.

This blended whiskey finishes long, sweet, spicy, and — best of all — smoky.

Blackened Whiskey

Karl Steuck, bartender at Spirit & Spoon in Los Angeles

I’ve really been digging on Blackened Whiskey. It’s a rad blend of bourbons and ryes, hand-selected by the late and great acclaimed Dave Pickerell. Predominantly bourbon, the sweetness of the juice works perfectly with the rye’s savory spice. Definite notes of honey, cinnamon, and allspice all combine with an unexpected smooth apricot note lingering underneath.

Blackened is an unexpected-yet-ultimately-crowd-pleasing dram, appealing to many discerning palates — especially in the summer around a campfire. In my opinion, it’s perfect as a neat sipper, on the rocks, in an old fashioned, mixed with soda water, or in a mule.

Lagavulin 12

Nazar Hrab, beverage director at The Pineapple Club in New York City

Camping deserves something smokey — definitely a peaty Scotch. I would say Lagavulin 12. Drinking smoky spirits like this next to the campfire is absolutely magical.

Joseph Magnus’ Murray Hill Club

Melissa Reigle, beverage manager and head bartender at Byblos in Miami

Camping is for stories and bourbon is for long, winding stories. And if you want a long rich bourbon with a phenomenal story, Joseph Magnus’ Murray Hill Club is for you. Almost a century after prohibition, the Magnus family found a single bottle of Murray Hill. They approached Nancy Fraley — a professional whiskey “noser” — and she was so impressed that she helped the family replicate the recipe.

These days, the family has a rich cache of memorabilia and stories, as well as an award-winning bourbon.

Pinhook Rye’d On

Steve Livigni, food and beverage partner at Hotel June in Los Angeles

I really like the whiskeys this brand is putting out. The newest release ‘Rye’d On’ is delicious, very flavorful at 97 proof, but not palate charring. The packaging is great too.

Bulleit Rye

Hayden Miller, head bartender at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami

The smokiness of a campfire on a camping trip and the spiciness of this rye mash come together for a full sensory experience.

Uncle Nearest 1884

Jorge Centeno, chief spirits officer at the Deer Path Inn in Lake Forest, Illinois

Uncle Nearest 1884 is the perfect camping companion. It’s full-bodied with notes of oak, a clean finish, and it goes well with s’mores.

Bulleit Bourbon

Frantjasko Laonora, head mixologist at Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort in Curaçao

Smoke with smoke doesn’t go too well together. My feeling is that you want something that is lighter on the palate. This sip starts you off with smooth tones of maple, oak, and nutmeg then finishes off with a light toffee flavor — making it perfect to sip around a bonfire.

WRITER’S PICKS:

Baker’s Bourbon

One of Jim Beam’s small batch collection, Baker’s is aged for seven years and sits at a potent 107 proof. It’s full of rich vanilla, sweet honey, and subtle spice, making it a breeze for summer sipping after a long day of hiking.

Laphroaig 10

After an afternoon spent swimming in a lake, you’re probably going to want to relax in a comfortable chair while you warm yourself on a campfire. A smoky fire deserves an equally smoky whisky. Laphroaig 10 is the perfect juice for the job because it’s full of robust peat smoke, sweet caramel, and subtle ocean brine.

An effort she has teased for the past month, Beyonce, in partnership with Disney+, is preparing to release her upcoming visual film Black Is King exclusively on the streaming platform. As revealed when the film was originally announced, the film will present a second look at the lessons learned in last year’s The Lion King remake, which Beyonce co-starred and for which she produced the soundtrack. In taking this second look, Black Is King will aim to help “today’s young kinds and queens in search of their own crowns.” After a pair of trailers that gave viewers a look into the film, Beyonce returned with a third and final look before the film’s premiere.

Sharing it to her Instagram page, Beyonce delivered the Black Is King trailer, one that featured a narration from herself. “To live with no reflection for so long,” she began seconds into the new trailer. “Might make you wonder if you truly even exist.” Following this narration, the trailer would go on to preview the first song from Beyonce set to appear on the upcoming visual album. The latest preview follows last week’s star-studded trailer, one that saw appearances from Jay-Z, Kelly Rowland, Naomi Campbell, Tina Knowles-Lawson, and more.

The latest trailer serves as the latest piece of content from Beyonce aimed at highlighting and celebrating Black lives at a higher level. Prior to the initial Black Is King, Beyonce celebrated Juneteenth with a new track “Black Parade.”

Watch the final trailer for Black Is King above.

Sabrina Ionescu is the expected future of the WNBA, as the 2020 first overall pick by the New York Liberty had a record-breaking college career at Oregon and has been considered the consensus top WNBA prospect for two seasons, after deciding in 2019 to return to school for her senior season.

The WNBA schedule did her few favors for her debut appearance, as the Liberty had to face the 2018 champs in the Seattle Storm in Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird’s first games back after missing last season with injuries. The Storm blitzed Ionescu from the start and applied tremendous pressure to her, giving her few easy looks and trying to force the ball out of her hands. While there were flashes of her immense talent, it was a tough first game, but on Wednesday night she bounced back in a major way against the Dallas Wings with 33 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.

The Liberty lost, 93-80, despite Ionescu’s efforts, which is expected to happen a good bit this season as the Liberty try to rebuild with an extremely young team around Sabrina. Still, it was great to see Ionescu show all the facets of her game that made her such a start at Oregon and the presumptive next face of the WNBA. She got it going from three-point range, hitting 6-of-10 from distance, and was 11-of-20 from the field overall, while also showing off her tremendous vision to set up her teammates.

Getting the rest of the team going will be the challenge for the Liberty, as Layshia Clarendon was the only other member of the Liberty to score in double figures with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting as New York shot just 42.5 percent from the field as a team.

For the young Wings, it was Arike Ogunbowale who led the way with 20 points, along with 13 from Moriah Jefferson, and 12 each from Katie Lou Samuelson and Ionescu’s former Oregon teammate Satou Sabally.

The game featured 10 rookies in total, a record for a WNBA game, as some of the league’s bright future was on display in Bradenton. Dallas was able to pick up its first win of the season and even their record at 1-1, and while New York will enter Friday’s game against Atlanta at 0-2, Ionescu offered a reminder of her tremendous talents and why there’s plenty of reason for optimism with the Liberty’s future around her.

As the NBA prepares to embark on its eight-game seeding restart in the Disney bubble on Thursday night, players continue to try and keep attention on the fight for social justice and the need to address systemic racism throughout American society.

The league is working on various initiatives to use its resources to help address those problems, most notably discussions with the NBPA on a foundation that will be funded with a reported $300 million to go to various areas of need (with the NBPA being a part of deciding where funding goes). While that is yet to be finalized, players continue to use their platform of post-game press conferences to emphasize the need for justice for Breonna Taylor, calling on the Kentucky attorney general to file charges against the officers who shot her while she was sleeping, and also offering other messages to the community.

Jaylen Brown has been a prominent voice throughout his career on social issues, and was part of organizing a protest march in his hometown of Atlanta after the murder of George Floyd by police sparked nationwide protests against police brutality. On Wednesday, Brown opened his availability with a two-minute statement, again calling for justice for Breonna Taylor and also issuing a plea for people to get out and vote — while also addressing one of the major reasons people in the Black community sometimes feel like voting doesn’t matter.

“I want to continue to demand justice for Breonna Taylor. I want that to continue to be reiterated while I’m down here. Also, I want to encourage people in my community to get out and vote. Not just for presidential elections, but state representatives, elected officials, etc. I think there’s a lot of power in coming together and voting. Especially in the Black community, politicians have made empty promises to the Black community year after year after year, and they think it’s OK and acceptable, and it’s not. So, I want to emphasize that we gotta continue to vote. We gotta come together and use our power and utilize it in the right manner. I want to inspire people in Georgia, where I’m from, Marietta, Gwinnett county, Boston, Massachusetts, Dorchester, Roxbury, Oakland, East Oakland, West Oakland, wherever my influence reaches I want people to vote. There’s a lot of power in exercising that and we gotta use it. So I want to continue to emphasize that, cause we’ve got to get some of these guys out of office who don’t care or don’t think it’s appropriate that we are trying to end systemic racism.

“I want to make voting a strength. I want to use my platform. I want to have people come together and talk about it. I understand the apprehension from the African-American community. Politicians have been making empty promises as well as people feeling like why would I participate in a political system that hasn’t necessarily participated with me. But I believe in small victories, and getting those guys [out] and the right people into office, I think a lot of that is voting. Let’s continue to express that. Let’s continue to lead in that direction and I want to use my platform to inspire people to use their influence, whatever color, whatever race, it’s always important, especially in the Black community, let’s exercise our power and get out and vote.”

Brown points out a problem that often leads to voter apathy, particularly within the Black community and other minority communities, which is how there can be no candidates on the ballot who are directly engaging with those communities and speaking on the issues that are most important to them. It’s something he understands, and needs to be addressed at a party level with bringing in more diverse candidates who are willing to engage in conversations and issues that impact these communities.

There are far more reasons why voter turnout can be low, including various voter suppression tactics that can cause tremendous wait times at polling places in minority communities to policies like Florida’s law that forces ex-felons to pay any fines still owed to the state before being allowed to vote. The latter issue is something LeBron James’ “More Than A Vote” campaign is looking to address, raising funds to pay off those debts and rid that hurdle for voters.

Brown’s other point of emphasizing the need to vote at a local level is important as well, because while national politics dominate news coverage, it is the local elections that often dictate the policies that most impact these communities and is also the beginning of the path to introducing more diverse candidates to the experience that can get them to larger positions.