The late Chadwick Boseman was born in Anderson, South Carolina, a city that, like many in the Palmetto State, also features a Confederate statue. The 118-year-old monument — which is dedicated to the Confederate veterans of Anderson County and bears the inscription, “The world shall yet decide in truth’s clear far off light, that the soldiers who wore the gray and died with Lee were in the right” — was vandalized back in June, and now there’s a petition to replace it with a memorial for Black Panther actor.
“Upon the release of his film Black Panther, Mr. Boseman took it upon himself to rent out a theatre in his home town of Anderson South Carolina to show the film for free. So that young boys and girls could be inspired by the film without the financial barrier. Mr. Boseman is without question an American treasure and his accolades go on and on. It is only fitting that his work is honored in the same place that birthed him,” the petition reads. It is “currently illegal to remove or alter monuments dedicated to confederate war efforts in the state of South Carolina,” so the petition demands two things: for Section 10-1-165 to be repealed, and for a statue of Boseman to replace the racist monument:
As I left and entered my classroom, I faced a monument erected to a man and an ideology that believed that I was inferior… We must move past the tragedies of our past in this nation and celebrate new heroes. Mr. Boseman is a hero to this nation but more importantly a hero to the town of Anderson. His legacy was one of excellence and equality. As fellow citizens go about their day they should have a face that sees all people as equal. That sees all citizens regardless of outward appearance as a member of the Anderson community… And upon the removal of a monument to the past I can think of no better person than Mr. Chadwick Boseman as a monument to the future.
To sign the petition, as nearly 11,000 people already have, click here.
Compton rapper YG is back with another raunchy new video after his most recent video, “Swag,” made waves for its curious co-opting of Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality. This time around, YG swerves back into his usual lane with “Equinox,” throwing a debaucherous pool party full of scantily-clad women and inviting his 4Hunnid signee Day Sulan along for the ride. It’s their second collab after Day Sulan appeared on YG’s album, 4Real 4Real.
The video’s got a straightforward premise: Thongs, twerking, and alcohol abound as the Hub City duo takes the festivities from a private tennis court to a backyard pool. Meanwhile, YG and Day Sulan trade rapid fire verses, boasting about their respective sexual prowess and demanding reciprocal actions from their potential partners. There’s also a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from none other than Swae Lee, who joins in a crowd scene as the camera follows the directive in the hook and rocks from left to right.
YG’s popped up on a few other songs over the course of 2020, including the defiant “FTP” and “Konklusions” with Kehlani, but after breaking up with the Bay Area singer, he appears to have laid low. Now, he’s begun promoting his new project, My 4Hunnid Life — his last under his deal with Def Jam — due October 2. Meanwhile, Day Sulan enjoyed a spectacular introduction to the rap game after her debut single “Mascara” when its follow-up, “Big” featuring Rubi Rose,” went super viral behind its bootylicious music video.
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Mac Miller produced a lot of beloved work during his short life, and one of the earliest ones for which he became known was the fan-favorite 2010 mixtape K.I.D.S. Ten years later, the project got a fresh vinyl reissue, which includes a pair of new K.I.D.S.-era songs, “Ayye” and “Back In The Day.” Additionally, the package also includes a 24″ by 24″ poster, a Most Dope silkscreen D-side, and two discs in a widespine jacket.
Elliott Smith — Elliott Smith: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition
Kill Rock Stars
Elliott Smith is one of the most artistically influential indie artists of the ’90s, and his self-titled sophomore album has become a fan-favorite. The album, released in 1995, experiences its 25th anniversary is this year, and this expanded edition is a fine way to celebrate. It includes a remastered version of the album, a previously unreleased live album, and a coffee table book full of vintage Smith photos.
August marked the 30th anniversary of Pixies’ third album, and 4AD’s vinyl rerelease is one that superfans will love, especially their non-UK ones. The new edition of the record is pressed on limited edition red vinyl, and it includes the original 16-page booklet that before now was only available as part of the initial UK pressing of the album.
Decades after founding The Modern Lovers, Jonathan Richman launched a solo career and later released his fourth solo album, the 1992 lo-fi masterpiece I, Jonathan. Now, nearly 30 years later, the project is getting a fresh vinyl release. This is actually first time this project has been available on vinyl, which makes this release all the more special.
Collective Soul made alternative rock that helped define the ’90s, and now their first two albums are getting rereleases. Hints, Allegations And Things Left Unsaid has only seen rare vinyl editions since its 1994 release, while the band’s self-titled sophomore album is celebrating its 25th anniversary by getting its first-ever vinyl pressing. Additionally, the expanded CD and digital versions include a half-dozen bonus tracks.
In 1993, PJ Harvey followed her acclaimed debut album with Rid Of Me, which was her major abel debut and is now available as a new vinyl pressing. Also available is 4-Track Demos, which followed Rid Of Me and featured demos recorded in 1991 and 1992. This pair of releases is similar to Harvey’s release from last month: Reissues of Dry and Dry Demos.
Partynextdoor’s latest project came out back in March, and Uproxx’s Aaron Williams previously said of it, “It’s upbeat and it’s catchy, with the dancehall influences at its foundation giving a veneer of fun and frolic. It’s never enough to cover up the melancholy at each song’s center. The party next door is just a smokescreen for the loneliness of the neighbor throwing it.”
Charles Bukowski — Charles Bukowski Reads His Poetry
Real Gone Music
August 16th marked what would have been the 100th birthday of beloved writer Charles Bukowski. While not a professional musician, he exists in the recorded record, like on the September 14, 1972 poetry reading captured on this release. This “vomit vinyl” pressing is limited to 1000 copies, so it’s a must-cop for bibliophile vinyl-heads.
Talking Heads and their members got involved in their own endeavors outside of the band, and one of the most fun is Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth’s Tom Tom Club. The 1982 self-titled album was recorded in Barbados following the sessions for Remain In Light, and is an essential part of the extended Talking Heads universe. This limited edition honors the record’s Barbados roots with its tropical yellow and red vinyl pressing.
Uproxx’s Steven Hyden wrote of My Morning Jacket’s long-awaited sequel, “On The Waterfall, My Morning Jacket sounded determined to remind fans of the monolithic jams they made their name with in the ’00s. […] The sequel, however, carries no such pretenses. Even the hardest rocking track, “Wasted,” which settles on a surly guitar groove accented with punchy horns, feels more like an invitation to explore the darkest corners of innerspace than a call to party.”
Picture discs sure do look fantastic, and that’s especially true of this new Xena: Warrior Princess release. This visually striking offering contains the original soundtrack for the Season 5 musical episode, “Lyre Lyre, Hearts On Fire,” featuring songs sung by the cast. This would surely be a unique addition to any vinyl collection.
Sparklehorse — Box Of Stars: The Sparklehorse Collection
Vinyl Me, Please
For the first time ever, the first four albums from Sparklehorse, the beloved indie project of the late Mark Linkous, are all available in one vinyl collection. 1995’s Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, 1998’s Good Morning Spider, 2001’s It’s A Wonderful Life, and 2006’s Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain have all been freshly remastered and pressed on 7-LP, 180-gram vinyl. There aren’t a ton of copies of the Vinyl Me, Please release available, either, so this is one to pounce on.
Fans of HBO’s Euphoria won’t see a second season anytime soon, since it suspended production earlier this year due to the pandemic and isn’t exactly the type of show that one can film while social distancing. There’s some good news on the horizon, though, if you don’t mind trading glitter makeup and tears for a different type of coming-of-age HBO show set in a dazzling, sun-soaked Italian landscape with a story helmed by Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino.
We Are Who We Are (which is not a limited series, as Guadagnino has left the door open for multiple seasons) will arrive in a few short weeks, and the new trailer reveals more about Jordan Kristine Seamón’s Caitlin, an anchoring presence U.S. Army brats on a Veneto base. Jack Dylan Grazer’s Fraser has transplanted to the base with his two mothers (played by Chloë Sevigny and Alice Braga), and both teens are grappling with identity and sexuality. All of this sounds like an Italian-set romance (with twists) and might stir up comparisons, but Guadagnino doesn’t want that. He recently told Variety that those thoughts are slightly “lazy” because “Call Me By Your Name is about the past seen through the prism of a cinematic narrative and this is about the here and now. This is about the bodies and souls of now. I think they are so different.”
Duly noted. This series also stars Kid Cudi, as well as Francesca Scorsese as “an outspoken, witty, sexually uninhibited girl,” according to HBO. From the synopsis:
A story about two American kids who live on a U.S. military base in Italy, the series explores friendship, first-love, identity, and immerses the audience in all the messy exhilaration and anguish of being a teenager – a story which could happen anywhere in the world, but in this case, happens in this little slice of America in Italy.
We Are Who We Are — which also stars Spence Moore II, Ben Taylor, Corey Knight, Tom Mercier and Sebastiano Pigazzi — will debut on September 14.
The only series in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs that wasn’t a sweep was the one most expected to end in four games, as the Magic swiped Game 1 against the Bucks before Milwaukee rattled off four straight wins to set up a meeting with the Miami Heat in the second round.
Thus far in the Bubble the Bucks haven’t looked like the dominant force they were prior to the hiatus, and, coupled with their disappointing finishes the last two years in the playoffs, there’s plenty of chatter about the Heat being able to pull off an upset in the semis. There are a variety of reasons for this, from the recent form of both teams to Miami being a stylistic nightmare for the Bucks (and the Heat being 2-1 against Milwaukee this season), but it begs the question: How vulnerable is Milwaukee to an upset?
For many pundits, the answer is “very,” as the Heat have become a trendy pick to meet the winner of the Boston-Toronto series, while oddsmakers still lean heavily in favor of Milwaukee, who are -385 favorites to win the series (implied odds of 79 percent). How Miami can find their way into that 21 percent is reliant on a few factors that could swing things in favor of the Heat.
Three-Point Shooting
This is the chief reason many point to Miami as to having a very real chance to beat the Bucks, who make protecting the paint their top focus on defense (and are elite at doing so). While they collapse into the paint to protect the rim, they are willing to give up three-point shots and Miami was the second best shooting team in the league this season, hitting 37.9 percent of their shots beyond the arc. No team gave up more three-point attempts on average than the Bucks, allowing teams to hoist 39.3 attempts per game in the regular season, as teams hit 35.5 percent of those shots. However, that’s also just the recipe for most good defensive teams, as the three teams behind Milwaukee in threes allowed are Toronto, Miami, and the Clippers. The key for is who they give those attempts to, and for Miami it may come down to whether their secondary and tertiary options can sustain their shooting over the course of the series.
The Bucks will likely place Wesley Matthews on Duncan Robinson and have him effectively face guard the best shooter in the league, insisting he is the one that doesn’t provide helpside defense to not leave themselves vulnerable to Robinson’s capabilities of stringing together five, six (or more) threes. Expect Milwaukee to funnel shots in the direction of Jae Crowder, a 29.3 percent three-point shooter on the season, and Kendrick Nunn, a 35 percent shooter in his rookie season (provided Nunn gets real playing time in this series, which he may not after being scratched for three of four against Indiana).
In their three meetings this season, Nunn has taken 23 three-pointers against Milwaukee, the most of anyone on the Heat, making eight of them. Robinson has 21 attempts, making 11, and Kelly Olynyk is 8-for-16 in those meetings — he, too, will get some opportunities but his emergence as a 40 percent shooter has the Bucks trying to run him off the line more, as evidenced by just seven of those attempts coming in the last two meetings. Crowder, meanwhile is a ridiculous 9-for-15 against the Bucks, as they are happy to let him fire away. Given his season long percentage (and career marks from deep), that’s the right choice, but his shooting has, quite literally, tipped the scales in Miami’s favor. It’s not as though it all falls on Crowder, but he is certainly the one Milwaukee targets in their gameplan as the player they want to have letting it fly on this Miami team. If he continues to light up the Bucks, Miami has a very good chance. If he regresses to the mean and looks more like his season-long numbers, the Heat will have a much more difficult time.
On the flip side, Milwaukee’s shooting has been a major factor in their success against the Heat, as they’ve shot 31.5 percent and 20.4 percent from distance in their two losses and 40.5 percent in their lone win. Miami’s only shot against the Bucks is to win the three-point battle, and they certainly have the personnel to do it.
Giannis vs. Bam Vs. The Foul Game
The most fascinating one-on-one battle in this series belongs to Giannis Antetokounmpo going up against Bam Adebayo, who is capable of spectacular defensive performances against the MVP. In Miami’s two wins, Adebayo has managed to stay out of foul trouble against Giannis and, thus, stay on the floor to match minutes with him, playing 37 and 38 minutes. In their lone loss, which came recently in the Bubble, Adebayo picked up five fouls in 22 minutes of play. Giannis is a master of getting to the free throw line, but Miami has done a superb job of keeping him away from the charity stripe, as he’s had just 20 attempts in three games — he’s taken 13 three-point attempts in those games and missed all of them, indicating how well they’ve frustrated him to settling for jump shots.
However, in that loss, once Adebayo was out of the game, Giannis marched to the rim and dominated. While he still only had nine free throw attempts, he feasted in the restricted area and was the catalyst for the second half reversal that saw the Bucks run away with a 14-point win after trailing by 17 at the half. Adebayo will have to be able to stay on the floor for Miami to have a chance at frustrating Giannis and getting him to settle for outside shots rather than camping out in the restricted area where he’s virtually unstoppable.
Goran Dragic vs. Eric Bledsoe
To be clear, Khris Middleton can’t play the way he did against Orlando for the first four games if Milwaukee is going to win this series or any others, but his performance in Game 5 was much more in tune with what the All-Star did this season. What’s more concerning is the point guard matchup in this series, where thus far Goran Dragic has outplayed Eric Bledsoe in the two meetings he was healthy — which were also the two wins for Miami. Dragic has been sensational in the playoffs, bringing an added dynamic to this Miami offense, and in turn making Nunn’s minutes not as needed. Bledsoe hasn’t been a great scorer thus far in the playoffs, but he’s been a good facilitator and, most importantly, seemed to turn up his defensive play along with the rest of the Bucks to close out that series.
Bledsoe doesn’t need to win the scoring matchup with Dragic, but he just simply can’t be played off the floor. He has to be able to knock down some spot-up looks when the defense collapses on Giannis and Middleton, but mostly he has to be confident off the dribble and attacking downhill to open up looks for others, which he was doing well against Orlando. On defense, Bledsoe has to find a way to bother Dragic, who got very comfortable against Indiana, scoring 20 points in all four games, often stepping into a major role in the fourth quarter when Miami was desperate for some offensive creativity. Bledsoe is capable of being a defensive nightmare for opposing point guards and he has to step up into that role, at minimum, in this series, even if he’s not producing a ton offensively. If Dragic continues to score 20 a night as he did against the Pacers, that is an added dynamic to their three-point specialists that the Bucks simply cannot afford to let Miami have.
The first trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s sandy epic Dune doesn’t premiere online until next Wednesday, September 9 (with a “trailer date teaser” playing before screenings of Tenet), but if you need your Timmy-as-Paul Atreides in the desert fix before then, you’re in luck. Empire published an interview with the Little Women star, where he describes his “awe-inspiring” experience shooting the film, alongside Oscar Isaac and Zendaya.
“That part of the Wadi Rum [desert in Jordan] is so awe-inspiring, you might as well be getting chased by that cliff in the background,” Chalamet said. “It wasn’t a green-screen or anything. That’s one of the most thrilling parts of the book and the movie. We had the sketches… On Call Me By Your Name or Beautiful Boy, it can be counterintuitive to see the storyboards because then maybe you limit yourself based on a camera angle or whatever. It’s the opposite [here] because, for a sequence with the sandworm chasing you, I could never imagine that.” I really hope Dune keeps its December 18 release date, because I need to set a mashup of the sandworm chase set to “Mystery of Love.”
Speaking of awe-inspiring things: here’s Timmy and Zendaya doing desert stuff.
Timothée Chalamet talks to Empire about #Dune’s ‘awe-inspiring’ desert shoot. Read the story and check out brand new, never-before-seen, world-exclusive Dune images here: https://t.co/tWjj1TYYBTpic.twitter.com/Y8Bo2K1G5H
In March, Girlpool released their latest new song, “Like I’m Winning It.” The track is a departure from the indie-rock of their 2019 album What Chaos Is Imaginary, instead leaning more into synth-pop territory. Now the group has been pulled into even more varying genre directions with their latest effort: A remix EP, Touch Me (It’s Like I’m Winning It), featuring three new versions of the tracks remixed by their musical peers.
Contributing to the EP are Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, Porches, and Lydia Ainsworth. The band says of the idea behind the EP, “It’s really cool to hear our song realized differently by artists we admire. Each remix is so unique and unexpected.”
Tucker previously said of the song, “‘Like I’m Winning it’ is about power and lust: How can the weight of someone’s attention feel so heavy just because of its scarcity? This is a song about playing with that line — the line between the electricity in receiving attention and what’s unattainable. I sent this song to our friend Amalia Irons a couple of days after I made a demo at home. I knew she would create a video for this song that was charged, psychedelic, and romantic.”
Stream the “Touch Me (It’s Like I’m Winning It)” remix EP below.
The basketball world lost another luminary figure on Monday, as the Thompson family announced legendary former Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. had died at 78.
Thompson coached at Georgetown from 1972 to 1999, compiling a 596-239 record over 27 seasons and building them into a national power. Thompson led the Hoyas to 20 NCAA Tournament appearances, only missing out on March seven times, including three trips to the Final Four (1982, 1984, and 1985), and the 1984 national championship. He coached future Hall of Famers like Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, and Allen Iverson, the latter of whom posted a touching tribute to their former coach on Twitter, thanking him for saving his life and wishing for one more phone call to talk about life.
Thanks For Saving My Life Coach. I’m going to miss you, but I’m sure that you are looking down on us with a big smile. I would give anything just for one more phone call from you only to hear you say, “Hey MF”, then we would talk about everything except basketball……. pic.twitter.com/03yj4gZv5q
”He gave me a chance, saved my life.” @alleniverson shares his relationship with legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/uKfFduUY3P
It’s the latest tremendous loss for the basketball world, after the recent deaths of legendary Arizona coach Lute Olson and former UConn and NBA star Clifford Robinson late last week. Thompson was a massive figure in the sport not just for his successes on the court, but for his leadership and guidance off of it to countless players. Tributes from around the basketball world poured in on Monday morning to remember Thompson and his efforts, both as a coach and a Black man who fought for much more than just himself.
This year just keep getting worse!! RIP COACH JOHN THOMPSON. I was honored to have the opportunity to pick your brain and learn from you while in DC. You had the look of intimidation and focus but had the mindset of a wise man. You’re a legend and will truly be missed!!
Whenever he was getting in our asses about something it’s because he saw the bigger picture and was trying to make sure we were ready whenever that picture was developed… it’ll never be another like him… 1of1… I’m grateful I got to experince it…
Today was tough… rest easy Big Coach! You believed in me when few did! When i tried to transfer you convinced me to stay. Thru some of my darkest days at Gtown you would pull me to the side and tell me it’s going to be ok… then you would tell me to stop being a bitch
It was ritual for Big Coach to make us sit Indian style infront of him while he told stories… nobody complained or fought it… then he’s tell us to get the fuck outta his face haha
Netflix’s limited series High Score is an attempt to highlight video game history, a topic so large showrunner Melissa Wood admitted it could swallow up the entirety of her filmmaking career. And she’d be just fine with that, if Netflix is interested.
The show is both sprawling and narrowly focused, touching on the intensity of the early console wars between Nintendo and Sega, the differences between the Japanese and American game markets, and how gaming pioneers unleashed new ideas that radically shifted its trajectory into the multi-billion dollar market that it is today.
But it also is a limited series on small stories hidden in plain sight that changed the industry forever. In its six episodes, Wood and France Costrel highlighted the work of relative unknowns like Jerry Lawson, a Black man who first pitched the idea of a console that had interchangeable game cartridges. High Score is a series that manages to make Mario and Zelda visionary Shigeru Miyamoto a side character, not a major player, making clear the simple fact that some of the best stories about video games are often the least well known.
Uproxx spoke to Wood about High Score, the joy of working with other creatives on projects and why the show highlighted some stories and decisions over others during its six episodes. And what might be coming next if there’s more High Score in store.
Uproxx: I was just reading your Reddit AMA after finishing the series myself. What was it like to get some feedback from people who have watched?
Melissa Wood: That was fun. I’d never done that before. It’s great to talk to people directly, you don’t usually have a chance to do that. Things go out in the world so it’s nice when you have that direct line to people who’ve seen the show.
Netflix
Gordon Bellamy
One thing I was thinking while watching this and I wanted to ask you about was how you choose the narrative of the show. The industry has so many stories and so many ways to explain its history, but where do you start deciding what’s important and needs to be explored?
It was really hard, actually. Because you’re right, the industry is huge. So much has happened in the last 40-something years and there’s endless stories to sort of look into. There are a few things that sort of guided our decision-making in the beginning. One was we sort of wanted to look at the industry from a personal perspective and from a different perspective. For instance, we knew that we wanted to include a music composer because we thought that this was a part of gaming that’s not really thought about really often but it’s so crucial to the experience as a player.
We knew that we wanted to have sort of a diverse cast of characters whose own experiences and creation would vary from each other. For instance Gordon Bellamy’s attachment to Madden, we felt like that was really special and unique and different from the other people in our series.
What we really wanted to sort of not go down the route of with our series was sort of telling the same perspective of the visionary lone creator who has a great success over and over again. We thought that would be really repetitive and thought it would sort of sell the industry a bit short in how innovative it was and how many various people had been involved in creating these games.
Once upon a time, every video game console came with a single dedicated game.
Then in 1976, a Black engineer named Jerry Lawson invented “interchangeable cartridges” and changed the industry forever
I was actually going to ask about the show’s diversity. The industry as a whole, and still is today, dominated by men. Specifically straight, white men. The series does a good job to show not only how many other stories there are but also how important games are to other people, more marginalized people. I’d never really seen that in a gaming property to this scale before.
It’s so interesting because we certainly wanted the show to be diverse, we feel like representation matters. France (Costrel), my creative partner, she grew up in France so she had a completely different background than I do but we felt that games are sort of a common language. No matter where you’re from, games can be a common connection and everyone can sort of experience these worlds. So it was definitely a goal to show the diversity and a diversity of players and creators.
I’ve talked to a few journalists and read some things and a lot of people do comment on the diversity of the show. And while I’m glad people noticed that, in some ways I feel that, when we wrapped the show I was like ‘I feel like we didn’t quite meet the mark of diversity that we aimed for.’ So it really kind of shows how low the bar is and more work needs to be done in this industry.
Television is kind of the same way where things are starting to change and they’re being more active about bringing in a diverse crew and covering diverse subjects. I don’t know, I’m just sort of thinking this week with all these things going on in the news, how it’s been so noted on the series about how it’s so diverse when it could have been more so.
Netflix
There’s a pretty distinct mix of visual effects in High Score. There’s archival footage, there’s some recreations of events and also some animation. Was that the product of necessity or were you able to decide what you wanted to do with each moment with a bit more purpose?
For sure we knew from the very beginning the we wanted to combine a lot of different elements to make the series as visually interesting as possible. We didn’t want it to feel historical. We didn’t want to have talking heads, then archival, then talking heads. We thought that would feel very sort of static and boring and we wanted it to feel more immersive and active.
So it was the plan from the beginning that we were sort of going to combine a lot of different materials to tell the stories. And really, in the end, it came down to the stories themselves kind of determining who could be animated or what could be archive, what could be digital. Obviously, you know stories like Jerry Lawson, who is no longer alive, we wanted to bring his story to life through animation so we could sort of connect with him as a person even though he’s no longer here. But other stories like Howard Scott Warshaw, who created E.T., he had these amazing, very visual stories he told about meeting (Stephen) Speilberg. Even though we were able to film a lot of other stuff with Howard Scott Warshaw — he was such a cool story participant, up for anything — we just thought it would be really fun to sort of bring those to life with animation and kind of have it play like a video game. So it was sort of a mix of necessity and creative vision.
It must have been really exciting when some of this was filmed. It seemed like some people were extremely game for whatever, and were really passionate about their stories. That must have really guided those decisions.
Oh yeah. It was so great because, these are creators themselves. Sometimes when you’re making a documentary you do a lot of explaining why you need to actually film material in order to show something. But everyone we worked with on this series, they knew. They were makers themselves, so they knew that they were going to have to participate to tell their stories. And we really tried to bring them in, as soon as we started talking to them on the phone and bringing them into the brainstorming because we really wanted to make whatever they did authentic to who they were.
And so obviously some people, Shaun Blum, for one, the Nintendo gameplay counselor, he was really ready to ham it up for the camera. And it works, because that’s who he is. And other participants wanted to just show their passion or be sort of poetic about what we filmed, so it really felt like a collaboration with them and it was also fun because it gave us the opportunity to sort of not repeat ourselves. We wanted every person to feel like their own story was unique and had its own stake in our series.
Netflix
The series itself is firmly set in the past, at the impetus of gaming and where it starts and how it grows. It seems like it unfolds maybe not exactly sequentially, but things evolve with an exception for a brief moment in the last episode. If there are more episodes in High Score, does it continue where it left off or eventually get to the present? Or are there more stories to tell in the 70s and 80s?
Well, who knows. For now it’s a limited series. I would love nothing more than to work on iterations of High Score for the rest of my career. It’s so much fun and there are so many story opportunities still out there. So I can’t say if we were to do a second season what it would look like. But any of those things are possible. I think there are so many stories that we didn’t cover in this time frame that we would love to cover. But I think that so much has happened since then that would also be completely new territory and we certainly would have more people who were still around in the industry that would participate. So, I mean, who knows?
I do think that there’s something really appealing to the nostalgia factor and something about it being a new frontier, where there weren’t really rules yet like there is now. Where people could go and kind of test their ideas and they had more sort of freedom. So that is appealing just in the sort of stakes and creativity are all there. But I also think that the games have changed and the technology is its own sort of story these days.
I thought it was interesting that when there are new ideas and the rules of an industry aren’t there, there are inevitably lawsuits and copyright infringement and all these sort of legal situations. The show seems to not editorialize when it came to that, or maybe pick a good guy or bad guy in any of those fights. Was it difficult to tell those stories and not frame it in that way?
I mean, we didn’t really feel that was the role of this series. There’s certainly room for a series like that, there’s a way to tell that kind of story. But we just wanted to focus on the people and their contributions and let the audience decide for themselves whether… like, the violence episode, episode 5. We don’t need a really strong statement there. We just let the character speak for themselves but I think you can subtly guess where we stand there in the sort of light treatment of it.
We didn’t really feel like it was our vision or our goal to sort of tell the audience what to think of the industry. It was more about sort of sharing the experience of the people that created these games. At the same time, it was noticeable that you focused on ideas and not necessarily all the work it takes to get there. Other portrayals of the gaming industry sort of glamorize the crunch aspect of making games and the sacrifices people make. Was it because that sort of thing is less interesting or less compelling television or maybe because the ideas are simply more interesting for you as creators?
I think it’s probably a combination of both. I know that there is an art to coding, absolutely. But I don’t know much about it. I do absolutely see that there’s an elegance and an art to it. But I think in a visual medium like TV and for a broad audience it’s really hard to translate that. And I think for myself personally working in a visual medium, working in a storytelling medium, something that’s a little bit more accessible like music and painting and how those ideas made it into the game they’re just easier for me to understand and translate.
Netflix
Last question: is there a game you’re playing right now that’s getting you through These Trying Times? I know you’re still doing a lot of press and enjoying the fact that the series is out, but is there anything you keep coming back to?
So during lockdown, I’m locked down with my seven year old, so I had to play Roblox a lot. But I will say I think that Sayonara Wild Hearts is the best game of the last year. I think that that’s a really great escapism game. It is slanted toward music and art, which I like a lot, which I think it’s just totally immersive and wonderful as a game that’s pretty simple.
Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” anchor Colin Jost has been all over the late-night and podcast circuit this summer, promoting his new book A Very Punchable Face, wherein he reveals that he may be leaving SNLafter the election (and also discussed the Cecily Strong’s exit from “Update”). We have not heard as much, however, from Jost’s co-anchor, Michael Che, who paid rent for 160 apartments back in April in honor of his grandmother, who passed away from Covid in the spring.
Che, however, was on Conan Needs a Friend this week, as he and the cast presumably prepare for another season of SNL. It’s a solid episode, as Che talked more about his upbringing, and brilliantly riffed with Conan for the full hour. Che — who is the first Black “Weekend Update” anchor — also talked about his experiences on “Update” and why he often makes jokes about race on both “Update” and in his stand-up material.
“It’s interesting to me,” Conan said to Che, having just watched a stand-up bit that Che had done on Black Lives Matter. “There’s no way anybody could watch that and not think, ‘Oh, Michael wrote this at the beginning of the pandemic, right after George Floyd, and it’s the perfect statement about this,’ and then you realize, this was written and performed in 2016. How the f**k did he do that? That’s insane!”
“That’s the reason I like to write about race stuff,” Che said. “It always holds, you know? If I write a joke about racism, I know it’s going to be there next year. I write those race jokes for the same reason that Mariah Carey wrote ‘All I Want for Christmas.’ It’s always gonna play. It’s always gonna be there. There’s Christmas every year.”
“This is a case in point, of you saying something that is indelibly sad, which is race jokes are always going to be relevant,” Conan said, “and then immediately had us howling… suddenly, I’m laughing at one of the saddest things anyone has said to me in a while.”
Michael Che will return to Saturday Night Live this fall, where there will be no shortage of material with which to work.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
: High Score) 
