Month: September 2020

Like Tom Cruise jumping off of a building, Florida news anchor Jamie Holmes threw caution to the wind on Thursday morning when he delivered a pun-filled report on the actor’s upcoming expedition to space. With cringe-worthy lines like “space is a risky business, but Space-X has made all the right moves,” and “I just hope the weather holds, and there are no days of thunder,” Holmes may have just reached the Valhalla of dad jokes with this one. The reactions from colleagues are also pretty great and varied from laughing with tears in their eyes to absolute disbelief at what they just witnessed.

You can see the full report below:

After a little bit of sleuthing, it appears that Holmes workshopped his Cruise puns on Twitter before taking them live. You almost have to admire the confidence it took to say, “Yes, these tweets are good enough for TV, ” and then executing. But would it have killed him to work in an Interview with the Vampire reference?

As for the status of Cruise’s upcoming film that he plans to shoot in actual space, Holmes is most likely referring to the recent, unconfirmed reports that Cruise and director Doug Liman have an October 2021 launch date set with Space X. According to Deadline, the Space Shuttle Almanac tweeted a photo of spacecraft set to launch in the next years, and it had an interesting addition:

Under the October 2021 part of the chart reads “SpaceX Crew Dragon,” with an image of a small space vehicle beside it. Next to the illustration are a list of three names: SpaceX Pilot Lopez Alegria, Tourist 1 Tom Cruise and Tourist 2 Doug Liman. The tourist flight also shows a vacant spot for a third visitor.

Again, this is an unconfirmed report and could just be a preliminary fight, not the actual start of production. As of now, there is still no official word on when Tom Cruise will be launched into orbit, but it’s only a matter of time.

(Via Jamie Holmes on Twitter)

Candace Parker was honored with her first career WNBA Defensive Player of the Year trophy this morning after leading the Los Angeles Sparks to the league’s third-ranked defense despite the depleted Sparks losing several key players from 2019.

Parker earned 16 of 47 possible media votes in a year that there was no clear front-runner. Alysha Clark of the Seattle Storm, the pesky perimeter anchor of the league’s best defense, finished in second place with 11 votes, while Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas finished third with 10 votes. No one else received more than four votes.

In her first year in the league back in 2008, Parker earned both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards, an unprecedented achievement in basketball. She nabbed her second MVP trophy in 2013. But in a call with reporters on Thursday morning, Parker said the DPOY means more than any of those. Like so much of her career, Parker also attributed her success to the lessons she learned from the late, great Pat Summitt at Tennessee.

“This is going to go above MVPs and Rookie of the Year,” Parker said. “The first coach that really challenged me that I could be Defensive Player of the Year was Pat Summitt, and I can hear her line, ‘Offense sells tickets, defense wins games, rebounding wins championships.’”

Parker finished with by far the highest total rebounding rate of her career, and used that to limit opponents to one possession during a condensed WNBA season and allowed the Sparks to control tempo. That, in addition to her posting typically high steal and block numbers and turning Los Angeles into a great defense whenever she stepped on the floor, made her the league’s selection for DPOY even a decade-plus into her career.

Just because Nelly is currently competing on Dancing With The Stars doesn’t mean he’s willing to sacrifice his style. Rather than sport the classic all-black dance shoe, Nelly decided it was time to come up with his own creation. The Country Grammar singer called up a custom shoemaker to upgrade his Jordan 3 Retro Black Cement shoes with a dance floor-approved heel.

Nelly shared the new shoes in an unboxing video posted on Instagram. “So, yo. Them judges hating on hip-hop,” he said. “Told ya boy he needed dancing shoes. So I called my homie the Shoe Surgeon and told him I needed dancing shoes. Yung Swivel edition.”

The singer also gave a quick behind-the-scenes look at his shoes in action just ahead of the live taping.

Nelly discussed the shoe upgrade to the Dancing With The Stars judges, who were incredulous at the invention. “Wait, those are a dance shoe, but like, a sneaker all in two?” a judge asked.

The judges weren’t the only ones who were impressed at Nelly’s shoe game. Fans who were watching the show also noticed Nelly’s sneaker update and offered their thoughts.

Watch a clip of Nelly and his heeled Jordans in action with his dancing partner Daniella Karagach on Dancing With The Stars above.

Mariah Carey’s been on a press tour promoting her upcoming memoir The Meaning Of Mariah Carey and with every stop comes another new reveal, clearing up 20+ years of rumors and speculation about the superstar’s life and career. Talking to Tina Fey for Billboard, she showed off her knowledge of Mean Girls in a trivia quiz, while in an interview with Vulture, she finally admitted that her songs “My All” and “The Roof” were about her relationship with Major League Baseball star Derek Jeter.

Her latest stop also revealed more about her and Jeter’s relationship. Popping by Oprah’s Apple TV+ show The Oprah Conversation, Carey called Jeter the catalyst for her divorce from label executive Tommy Mottola. She once compared her marriage with Mottola to prison due to his strict control over her movements and she says Jeter offered her an alternative who presented as more of an equal. “I didn’t think I would ever meet anybody who wouldn’t … feel superior to me,” she noted. “Because of the fact that I’m not one way or another in most people’s minds, and they have preconceived notions.”

She also credited the similarity between their families as another link between them, saying, “It was the racial situation — that his mom is Irish, his dad is Black, but he was also very ambiguous looking to me,” and that meeting his family introduced her to “a functional family that basically looked like mine but didn’t feel like mine.”

Meanwhile, one of her rumored paramours is said to have much more anxiety about the contents of the book, as it is said to finally open up about her long feud (and supposed romance) with Eminem.

The Meaning Of Mariah Carey is out on September 29. Get it here.
Story via Vulture.

While Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has showed off the latest sneaker from Jordan Brand during the team’s Eastern Conference Finals tile in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble, the company officially unveiled its newest addition to its iconic Air Jordan line on Thursday morning. The news was announced with a short video on the official Jordan Twitter account, which shows the shoe in a vibrant colorway as it is suspended in the air.

The XXXV brings back a slightly modified version of one of the XXXIV’s most noticeable additions, the Eclipse Plate 2.0. According to Jordan, the tweaks made to that will “help unlock Zoom Air for a more responsive feeling in the heel and forefoot.” It also draws on a past pair of Js, as the tongue and the padding around its collar are inspired by the Jordan V.

“Integrating premium materials and textures was a priority for the Air Jordan XXXV,” Tate Kuerbis, a Jordan Brand footwear designer, said in a release. “The brand has a history of giving these materials an aspirational quality. When players see it, when they touch it, they feel like they have the power of the Jumpman behind them. Everything we do has to tie back to making the best basketball shoe on the planet.”

“The XXXV is comfortable, supportive and lightweight, to the point that I don’t even feel like I’m wearing it,” Tatum said in a statement. “I can play my style without even thinking about it. I was shocked that Jordan could take the Eclipse Plate in the XXXIV and upgrade it in the XXXV.”

The first pairs of the Jordan XXXV drop on Sept. 27 in the Center of Gravity colorway. The sneaker releases globally on Oct. 17, with a handful of colorways on the horizon: “Warrior,” which was inspired by Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura, comes out Oct. 21; “DNA” follows in the footsteps of the Fire Red colorway of the Jordan V on Nov. 11; Zion Williamson’s “Bayou Boys” colorway hits retailers on Nov. 30; and “Mopho” drops on Christmas Eve in China in celebration of Liaoning Flying Leopards guard Guo Ailun.

Cardi B couldn’t go to Rio to appear in Anitta’s colorful performance of her new single “Me Gusta” for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, so instead, she’s projected on one of the stage’s background panels as a hologram to rap her bilingual verse. Anitta appears in a leopard print ensemble flanked by dancers to show out on a rooftop overlooking the Brazilian city backed by transparent walls in vibrant red, yellow, blue, and green. Guest rapper Myke Towers also appears as a projection on the center panel, illustrating the creative ways in which artists can still issue live performances in the era of COVID.

Cardi’s appearance on the track continued a hot streak for the rapper, who took much of 2020 off to enjoy family time with her daughter Kulture and pursue political activism by interviewing Presidential candidate Joe Biden. When she made her return to the musical spotlight with the controversial single “WAP,” not only did she make up for lost time, but she also took over public discourse, dominating the Hot 100 chart and turning her impromptu acronym into the hottest new lingo being used by everyone from actors to conservative politicians.

Watch Anitta and Cardi B’s late-night performance of “Me Gusta” above.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In the summer of 2015, Sharon Van Etten released her five-track I Don’t Want To Let You Down EP. Ahead of that, she dropped the title track as a single, and that single featured a song called “All Over Again” as a B-side. The song is one that might not be familiar to casual Van Etten listeners, as it was only accessible on the 7-inch vinyl single. Now, though, Van Etten has made the track available digitally for the first time.

Making the announcement today, Van Etten wrote, “My 7″ ‘I Don’t Want To Let You Down’ had a b-side that was never digitally released – until today. ‘All Over Again’ is a deeply personal song written during the ‘Are We There’ sessions. Broken hearted years ago and driven to find true love, it’s hard to believe I was ever there when I look back now from such a fulfilled space. I’m humbled to share yet another vulnerable moment with you.”

Van Etten also recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of her second album, Epic, which came out on September 21, 2010. She wrote, “Today marks 10 years since ‘epic’ was released into the world. So much love went into the making of this record.”

Listen to “All Over Again,” as well as “I Don’t Want To Let You Down,” above.

Though Shamir is gearing up for the release of his self-titled record, make no mistake — the album is far from his debut, as self-titled efforts often are. With five records already in his catalog, Shamir aims to hone his sparking indie pop sound through recent songs like the vibrant “On My Own” or the ’90s pop-inspired “Running.” Now, Shamir offers another taste of the upcoming release with “Other Side.”

“Other Side” displays Shamir’s ability to lean on different musical styles as it opens with undulating guitar riffs, banjo, and steel pedal reminiscent of a dusty country western score. While the song’s style contrasts from other singles released ahead of Shamir, it’s not uncommon for the singer to draw from a wide array of influences. Oftentimes introspective, Shamir’s recent singles touch on topics like identity or toxic relationships and, even when his inspiration doesn’t come directly from his own experiences, Shamir is able to see the big picture. Shamir does just that on “Other Side,” pulling the song’s storyline not from his own life, but rather a particularly affecting episode of the true crime series Unsolved Mysteries:

“I watched an episode of Unsolved Mysteries about a woman whose husband was lost during the Vietnam War and how she never gave up trying to get answers about what happened to him. I wrote this song from her perspective. They’re both now deceased, so the song is also about how (I hope) they’ve reunited in the afterlife, or more accurately, the ‘Other Side.’”

Listen to “Other Side” above.

Shamir is out 10/2 via Shamir. Pre-order it here.

Wednesday brought the not entirely surprising news that Disney has delayed Black Widow yet again as the pandemic continues to make theatrical releases a risky venture for both public safety and box-office haul. With the Marvel movies being interconnected, Disney can’t just move Black Widow to May 2021 without shifting the MCU movies that follow, and that’s exactly what happened. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will now open in July 2021 followed by Eternals in November 2021.

At this point, the MCU has now seen two of its major blockbusters delayed an entire year, and most of its stars seem to be rolling with the punches. Here’s how Shang Chi star Simu Liu reacted to having his big MCU debut being delayed a second time:

As for David Harbour, who’s waiting to makes his MCU debut as Red Guardian in Black Widow, he lamented the fact that fans will now have to wait to drink soda out of his head.

“Sorry,” Harbour wrote on Instagram. “You’re gonna have to wait til May 2021 before you can pop a straw thru my helmeted head and sip your Diet Coke, and marvel (get it, get it) at how the RG packs his whole overly fleshy self into that super suit.”

While Harbor and Liu are having fun with the unprecedented circumstances that are out of their control, Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani took a more serious tact by praising Marvel for doing the right thing.

“Marvel made the right & responsible decision,” Nanjiani tweeted. “There’s a pandemic. Nothing is more important than health & lives. I can’t tell ppl to go to a movie theater until I feel safe going to one. Take care of yourselves. I promise it’ll be worth the wait!”

Nanjiani is also waiting for fans to see his MCU debut as Kingo in Eternals, where he’ll show off his new abs that nearly broke the internet.

Lili Reinhart feels “like a prisoner” for having to return to work during a pandemic, but she’s not the only Riverdale star who has to adjust to These Unprecedented Times.

KJ Apa, who plays Hot Archie on the CW series, shared a behind-the-scenes video of his preparation for a make-out scene with Camila Mendes (Veronica). It’s not as hot as it sounds. “Our new normal is washing our mouths before every take of a make-out scene,” Apa wrote, along with a video of himself and Mendes taking a shot of mouthwash and swishing it around their mouths for an awkwardly long amount of time. Be sure to stick around for the Ziplock bags full of minty spit (acting is so glamorous).

“That shit burns,” Reinhart commented on the post, while Bernadette Beck (Peaches ‘N Cream) added, “Can this become the new standard for make-out scenes?” (not a bad idea!) and Skeet Ulrich (Jughead’s dad) wrote, “Spit don’t swallow.” I’d expect better from a guy named Skeet.

Anyway, Riverdale is one of many in-production television shows and films with new on-set restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The producers estimated that safety measures cost as much as 10 percent of their production budget, and resulted in additional shooting days,” Variety wrote while visiting the set of the indie horror film The Knocking. “Talent and artisans are also increasingly isolated, they told me, as the busy life of the film set has been replaced by video conferences and solitary meals in cars.”

At least they don’t have to deal with Skeet Ulrich making oral sex jokes (probably?).