Month: August 2020

Despite the pandemic tossing Hollywood into disarray, Jurassic World: Dominion is the first major studio film to resume production, and now, a classic character is stepping into the raptor’s den.

In what we hope is an ongoing series of tweets, Sam Neill, who famously played Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park films, shared a photo from the set of Jurassic World: Dominion on Tuesday morning. The beloved New Zealand native seemed particularly happy to reunite with one particular item: His old hat.

Earlier in the week, Neill teased that he’d be joining not just the Dominion cast, but his original Jurassic Park co-stars Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern. He also had high praise for the third installment in the Jurassic World series.

“Hold onto your hats- gettin’ my old one back on this week , and facing off dinosaurs once again. Best yet. Excited and terrified- these things will kill ya,” Neil tweeted before noting that he’d obviously be looking more “grizzled” this time around.

Hopefully, the production goes easier on Neill than it has for Bryce Dallas Howard. While the actress isn’t running around in heels like she did in the first Jurassic World, she’s definitely getting knocked around filming stunts for the dino adventure. After being prompted by Chris Pratt, she shared photos of her bruises from just the first few days of shooting, and those look pretty painful.

As for how Jurassic World: Dominion is even shooting despite the current pandemic, the movie is being filmed at Pinewood Studios in the U.K. where productions have been cleared. However, Universal is sparing no expense on medical stations, safety procedures, and a staggered shooting schedule that will ideally protect the cast and crew from infection. Remarkably, the insurance policy on the film will remain in place “without exclusions,” so it’s safe to say that Dominion is acting as a guinea pig as Hollywood slowly fires back up.

(Via Sam Neill on Twitter)

After Chance The Rapper released his anticipated record The Big Day last summer and shared the story of asking his childhood sweetheart Kirsten Corley for her hand in marriage, he’s pushed Tom Cruise’s couch-jumping antics aside to be crowned the internet’s most prized “wife guy.” Now, Chance takes his big husband energy to new heights as he’s graced the cover of Parents Magazine with an adorable photo of his picture-perfect family.

Along with appearing on the cover, Chance and Kirsten sat down for an interview with the publication about how they raise their children to be socially conscious. During the conversation, Chance addressed the country-wide demonstrations over racial injustice and offered advice on how parents can properly educate their children on issues of inequality:

“I would like to believe that all the stuff we’re going through right now is transformative in the immediate sense that my daughters are going to grow up in a much more safe and just society. I personally think that the way I was taught about a lot of this stuff, in terms of equality itself, it was taught to me in a way that racism was in the past tense: There were people that didn’t know we were all supposed to be the same so they made mistakes and eventually we all learned and grew from it. And that’s not necessarily true, or the reason why there was racial inequality. It was so that certain people could have a better life and it didn’t treat anybody that was considered ‘other’ in humane ways, and it’s not something that is over either. […]

I think the way you address what’s going on this country is head-on. Not necessarily a way that’s so visceral that it makes your kids over-emotional, but in a way that’s direct. If you’re a parent of Black children, it’s important that you empower them and explain to them the beauty that’s within their Blackness because that’s not really going to come outside of the home. There’s not a lot of representation of beauty within the mainstream media that looks like us. If you’re a white parent ore any other parent, you gotta just teach your kids the history of the United States and how it started with chattel slavery and how, even when slavery was abolished, there was Jim Crow laws, the prison industrial complex, just aching them that there’s a lot of ways that slavery didn’t end.”

Chiming in, Kirsten said teaching children about racism should begin in the home: “I honestly feel like it starts at home. Racism is born at home. If their parents or other people are talking about people based on their skin color, it makes them have that kind of disposition towards people of color. Kids need to be taught to love people and not that they don’t see their color, but just love them in spite of it all and just be kind of everyone.”

Watch a clip of Chance and Kirsten’s interview with Parents Magazine above and read the full cover story here.

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got the anticipated sophomore album from Fontaines DC, a new single from Angel Olsen, and the return of pop-punk kings Motion City Soundtrack. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.

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Fontaines DC — A Hero’s Death

Just over a year after the release of their blistering debut Dogrel, Irish poet-punks Fontaines DC have returned with the brooding, reflective A Hero’s Death. “It’s an album that is not scared to look within and into the deepest and darkest aspects of individual humans and humanity,” guitarist Carlos O’Connell told me in a lengthy interview. “And you find the light at the very end. Not from the outside world, but that light is within and just needs to be found hiding down deep.”

Le Ren — Morning & Melancholia

On her debut EP, Lauren Spear has collected a handful of meditations on love and death and the variety of emotions — often conflicting — that come with both scenarios. Morning & Melancholia is only four tracks, but they showcase Spear’s pertinent knack for evocative instrumentation and introspective songwriting.

Cutler Station — Meat, No Sides

Ohio four-piece Cutler Station are back with a new album, a collection of power pop tunes that bristle with energy and nostalgia for a simpler time. Interestingly, the inventive instrumentation also features a pedal steel guitar that gives each track a unique zest of twang. Cutler Station has been around for some time now, and they are ready to experiment with their sound, making Meat, No Sides a welcome addition to the playlist.

Angel Olsen — “Whole New Mess”

Angel Olsen’s All Mirrors was one of our favorite albums of 2019. Without the ability for a victory lap due to the pandemic, Olsen is already slated to release the new album Whole New Mess, and has shared the title track. Where All Mirrors employed some of Olsen’s grandest productions to date, Whole New Mess sees her hearkening back to the simplicity of her earlier records, and the title track is a somber acoustic number that revels in the ashes of a breakup.

Nicholas Braun — “Antibodies (Do You Have Them?)”

What more needs to be said about Succession star Nicholas Braun’s debut single “Antibodies (Do You Have Them?)”? The epic quarantine anthem is a modern pop-punk number inspired by Blink-182 and Papa Roach. While the single itself presents as a joke, Braun has stated that he will be donating all of the proceeds to the organizations Partners In Health And Cope. Partners In Health is a global organization that helps people in communities that don’t receive adequate healthcare and Cope is a non-profit assisting the Navajo nation in the midst of the pandemic.

Lomelda — “It’s Infinite”

The second single from Lomelda’s forthcoming album Hannah is a bit more reserved than the album’s first offering. “It’s Infinite” is a beautiful, lo-fi affair that finds Hannah Read’s warbling vocals floating above a simple guitar line accented by rolling pianos and percussion with increasing intensity. Right when the song hits its peak, the extra instrumentation cuts out, leaving just the acoustic guitar.

Motion City Soundtrack — “Crooked Ways”

Motion City Soundtrack announced in 2016 that they would be breaking up. That didn’t last very long as the band was back on the road by 2019. Now, they have released their first new music since 2015’s Panic Stations. “Crooked Ways” is a reminder of what made the Minnesota rock band so exciting and long-lasting. The track opens with relatively standard emo fare before diving into a chorus hook that will be sure to have fans screaming along if live music ever returns.

Mike Huguenor — “Evening Light Seen Through A Window”

You might be familiar with Mike Huguenor through his work with Jeff Rosenstock, and now he’s ready to release music on his own. “Evening Light Seen Through A Window” previews Huguenor’s experimental new album X’ed, which is constructed entirely out of sounds from guitars. You read that right — every note of music on this album was played, in some way, by a guitar. Who said that guitar music was dead?

Knot — “The World”

Earlier this summer, members of the beloved band Krill reunited to form a new project called Knot and shared their debut single. Knot’s self-titled debut is just around the corner, set for release later this month, and now they have shared its second single in the form of “The World.” The track is a unique emo-inspired rocker that features intricate guitar noodling and snappy production to keep your attention locked.

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

Sarah Paulson and Ryan Murphy just can’t quit each other, and the American Horror Story vibe is still alive with the actress’ latest turn for the showrunner in an upcoming Netflix TV series. Ratched is a prequel of sorts to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Next, and in this trailer, Paulson (as the title character) is informing the world what will happen if they dare to swipe her peach from the break room.

Don’t do that! And don’t tell Ratched to put her name on the peach, either. She’ll dream up all manner of revenge, and of course, Paulson must have had a ball while putting her spin on the iconic villain originally portrayed by Louise Fletcher. This origin story of the fearsome asylum nurse looks to have plenty of fanciful Murphy touches while also promising to give you nightmares. From the synopsis:

In 1947, Mildred arrives in Northern California to seek employment at a leading psychiatric hospital where new and unsettling experiments have begun on the human mind. On a clandestine mission, Mildred presents herself as the perfect image of what a dedicated nurse should be, but the wheels are always turning and as she begins to infiltrate the mental health care system and those within it, Mildred’s stylish exterior belies a growing darkness that has long been smoldering within, revealing that true monsters are made, not born.

Ratched streams on September 18.

The Los Angeles Clippers are 1-1 to start the seeding round in the NBA Bubble, having narrowly lost the the Lakers in the opener and then bouncing back to trounce the Pelicans in their second game. On Tuesday, they will take on the incredibly hot Phoenix Suns, as they look to maintain their advantage over the Nuggets (also 1-1) for the 2-seed in the West.

Some good news arrived on Tuesday morning for a Clippers team that has had three key contributors miss time in the bubble due to family emergencies, as Lou Williams will make his seeding round debut after finally clearing his 10-day quarantine after his excursion to Magic City for wings while in Atlanta for an excused absence, as his agent informed Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Williams’ visit to the Atlanta establishment has been the topic of plenty of conversation, but after 10 days in his Orlando hotel room, he’s back in the lineup and has cleared all of the necessary tests with negative results to be able to play in Tuesday’s game. In their opener against the Lakers, it was almost jarring to see the struggles of the Clippers bench, which is among the best offensive bench units in the league, without Williams and Montrezl Harrell, who remains away after the death of his grandmother.

Getting Williams back will give L.A. another on-ball creator and shot-maker, something that will be a welcome sight for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard who have carried the load in that area through two games. One would expect Williams’ minutes to be relatively limited given its his first game back, but it’ll be good for the Clippers to get him back on the court and into rhythm with the team once again.

Bobby Shmurda, the Brooklyn rapper still best know for his 2014 hit “Hot N****,” may be returning home soon, according to a report from Complex positing that his parole hearing has been scheduled for just about two weeks from now on August 17. The news comes on Bobby’s 26th birthday — today — and while better gifts could probably be devised, it’s certainly cause for excitement for both the rapper born Ackquille Pollard and his fans, who’ve been eagerly awaiting his release since 2016.

Complex reports that a Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) official said, “Mr. Pollard is currently scheduled to appear before the Board of Parole the week of August 17, 2020. The Board of Parole has two weeks from the date of the interview with the incarcerated individual to render a decision.” If the outcome is positive for the rapper, his earliest parole eligibility date is December 11, 2020, meaning he might be home for Christmas.

Of course, there’s always a possibility that the parole board renders a different decision, in which case the latest he could be released is December 2021. Bobby pled guilty in 2016 to weapons possession and conspiracy charges after he and his GS9 cohorts were scooped up by authorities in a gang investigation. His own songs, “Hot N****” and “Bobby B*tch,” were used against him as evidence by the prosecution. Bobby’s most recent musical release was ironically a feature on Tekashi 69’s 2018 single “Stoopid.”

Most viral petitions are bad, but most viral petitions aren’t for Eric Andre to become the next host of the The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Over the past few weeks, Ellen DeGeneres has faced accusations of fostering a “culture of fear” with employees saying “they faced racism, fear, and intimidation.” So it’s no wonder that #ReplaceEllen trended on Twitter for much of Monday, with users suggesting who should take over for Ellen if she leaves/gets fired from her daytime series. One popular suggestion is someone with talk show experience: Eric Andre.

The “Make Eric Andre the host of the Ellen Show” petition has only been up for a day, but it’s already been signed thousands of times by Legalize Everything fans and received a coveted show of support from Andre himself. “With the recent scandals plaguing Ellen Degeneres, we the people of the world hereby nominate and elect Eric Andre to become the new permanent host of The Ellen Show,” it reads. “Fans have been lining up outside of NBC Studios, Adult Swim, The White House, and for some reason my house too… all chanting: ‘Get Eric Andre to replace Ellen, keep show format the same. Also don’t change the name!!’ These fans keep me up at night, please… for the love of god sign the petition and make Eric Ellen.” Sign it for the Photoshop alone.

Eric Andre gave birth to jazz. Now you can give birth to Andre as the host of Ellen.

(Via Change.org)

In the last month, Kanye West has been continuously making headlines. The rapper re-joined social media, publicly dissed his wife, announced an album named after his mother which has already been delayed, and lastly, launched a presidential campaign. In the past, the rapper has been a vocal Trump supporter but said he was distancing himself from the Republican Party to instead run as in Independent. Despite his Independent affiliation, West is reportedly working closely with several members of the GOP.

A recent report from The Intelligencer shows West has campaign ties with Republican Party members as he attempts to get his name on the ballot in several states ahead of November’s election. Per the report, one of West’s electors in the state of Vermont as well as his campaign’s Arkansas point of contact are known members of the Republican Party.

Chuck Wilton, who will serve as one of West’s electors in Vermont, was also elected in May by the Vermont Republican Party to serve as a Trump delegate at this year’s Republican National Convention. When questioned by The Intelligencer, Wilton said he had been connected to West through “political contacts” and denotes that West similarly falls “center right” on the political spectrum. As for the second Republican contact in his campaign, West has invited Gregg Keller to be his point-of-contact in Arkansas. Keller has previously worked on the campaign for other Republican Party members like Mitt Romney and successfully assisted West in getting his name on the Arkansas ballot.

If West did succeed in getting his name on the ballot in more states, the rapper would still have a number of hurdles to jump before further participating in the race. West still needs to hold 270 electoral votes in order to participate in the presidential debates as well as have a 15 percent support in the polls. So far, West is falling short of 15 percent, as his July polling numbers saw just 2 percent support.

One of the oddest new performers taking advantage of the “anything goes” climate produced by social media and streaming is Atlanta rapper 645AR. Emerging from seemingly out of nowhere with viral hits “Bible And A K” and “Crack,” 645AR’s most distinguishing quality is his double take-inducing delivery — an ear-piercing squeak that takes Young Thugs vocal-rending approach to an out-of-the-box extreme. Today, he’s delivering the most attention-getting feature of his burgeoning career in FKA Twigs on the new single, “Sum Bout U.”

Somehow, it’s a collaboration that is shocking yet unsurprising, making sense even as it twists the boundaries of the genre with unconventional appeal. FKA Twigs is already pretty well-known for riding on the cutting edge of pop and soul with tracks like “We Are The Womxn” and her appearance on Ty Dolla Sign’s “Ego Death” with Kanye West. Here, she adopts a reflection of 645AR’s straining falsetto delivery, making for an aurally intriguing approach to the usual trap antics of 645AR’s Atlanta compatriots.

As Twigs is a little under a year removed from her outstanding album Magdalene and 645AR is garnering more and more attention with his unusual vocal tic, the pairing offers a chance for both to raise their respective profiles — especially at a time where new music releases have slowed down considerably in response to an ongoing pandemic

Listen to FKA Twigs and 645AR’s “Sum Bout U” above.

Many of us are itching to press the reset button on what’s proven to be a generally horrendous year. It turns out, living amidst widespread civil unrest, a global pandemic, and a political environment that seems to get more insane with each passing day is the perfect recipe for absolute exhaustion. So perhaps there’s never been a better time to live in a place so chill it’s actually called the Isle of Rum.

The island, off of Scotland’s west coast, is currently looking for both individuals and families to join its small population of between 30 and 40 to call the island home for the next two years. Maybe even longer. And they’re making it very cheap to do so.

According to Matador Network, the island’s community trust is currently seeking new residents to occupy four two-bedroom eco-homes that were recently built outside the island’s only settlement, the village of Kinloch. The eco-homes sport “clear and sweeping views” of the Rum Cuillin ridge and come equipped with high-quality fiber broadband. For a cool $590 a month (the price of a closet in LA), prospective residents can join a small community and help shape future events on the island.

The island is actively looking for currently self-employed applicants in the fields of catering, farming, mountain and marine tourism, fishing, and child care, as well as anybody with construction experience, including household maintenance — though anyone is welcome to apply regardless of skills, especially those willing to commit to staying on the island for up to two years.To download the application and see some pictures of the homes, head to the Isle of Rum’s website.

The deadline to submit your application is August 28th. Though… if you hear “rum” and think “tropics,” you may want to spend five minutes learning about the island’s climate before filing your application.