Month: November 2020

Harrison Ford was only twelve years younger than Sean Connery when the latter played his dad onscreen, which he did in 1989’s threequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But it was inventive casting, remaking the former James Bond as a bookish, bumbling but deeply loving father to the world’s most athletic archaeologist. After Connery passed away on Saturday, tributes poured in. But Ford, who is certainly not on or anywhere near social media, took a few days to respond. And it was worth the wait.

“He was my father … not in life … but in Indy 3,” Ford said in a statement, which was obtained by Deadline. He continued:

“You don’t know pleasure until someone pays you to take Sean Connery for a ride in the sidecar of a Russian motorcycle bouncing along a bumpy, twisty mountain trail and getting to watch him squirm. God we had fun — if he’s in heaven, I hope they have golf courses. Rest in peace dear friend.”

Ford was alluding to one of the more action-packed parts of the picture, in which Connery’s Henry Jones Sr. and his son — whom we later learn is really a “Junior,” having stolen his nickname from their dog — give chase to the fearsome Nazis. Henry Sr. is nonplussed at his untraditional archeological methods, but you can’t argue with success!

Connery reportedly died peacefully in his sleep in his home in the Bahamas. He retired, at least from onscreen appearances, after 2003’s The League of Gentlemen, though he made two more voice-only appearances in the years after. He made Last Crusade not long after winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1987’s The Untouchables.

(Via Deadline)

What is the most Star Wars movie with the most downer ending? Is it The Empire Strikes Back, which concludes with our heroes defeated but ready to, uh, strike back? Is it Revenge of the Sith, with Annakin Skywalker left a bad guy widower? Or is it Rogue One, the spin-off which leads right into the events of the original 1977 Star Wars but also leaves all of its heroes dead? They all end with partial optimism, but one of its stars is even more upbeat than that, saying her character could always come back from the dead.

Felicity Jones, Oscar-nominee and portrayer of Rogue One’s driven loner Jyn Erso, was speaking to The Hollywood Reporter (in a bit caught by The Playlist) when talk of her most money-gobbling movie came up. She was asked about a sequel, the reporter saying Jyn’s fate was “unclear at the end of Rogue One.” It wasn’t, really, but Jones picked up the slack. “I just keep saying that reincarnation is totally possible in the Star Wars universe,” the actress replied. If that’s the case, there could be some of freaky return, or maybe even a prequel. “I think it would be fascinating to see her getting older and wiser and fighting the dark forces in the universe, of which there are many it seems.”

A prequel would probably be more in fitting with the Star Wars-verse. After all, Jones co-star, Diego Luna, will soon return as Jyn’s co-conspirator Cassian Andor in his own Disney+ prequel. But beyond the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi popping up as helpful spirits in the sequels, the franchise has not yet tried full-on reincarnation. Still, let’s not forget about Riz Ahmed’s Bodhi Rook, or Donnie Yen’s Chirrut Îmwe, or Jiang Wen’s Baze Malbus, or — the easiest to bring back — the Alan Tyduk’s voiced bot K-2SO.

(Via THR and The Playlist)

This weekend, many celebrities got into the spooky spirit as they celebrated Halloween with to-the-max costumes. Lil Nas X’s went all-out, disguising himself as Nicki Minaj, and The Weeknd was equally as unrecognizable in his Nutty Professor getup. Though he didn’t don a costume himself, Florida rapper Rod Wave had quite the scare this weekend when he his stage crumbled under his feet during a Halloween performance.

Rod Wave was scheduled to play a set in Atlanta this Saturday as part of his Girl Of My Nightmares show, a cheeky reference to his track “Girl Of My Dreams.” The rapper showed up with a huge entourage, bringing out over a dozen people with him on stage for the first song. However, things didn’t quite go according to plan, as the stage wound up buckling under the weight of his crew. Rod Wave fell to the side after the platform caved in, but he was immediately helped up by a crew member.

Aside from what looks like a twisted ankle, it seems like Rod Wave made it out unharmed. He even made light of the incident the following day, reposting a video of his fall on Instagram, writing “PIMP DOWN I REPEAT PIMP DOWN” in a since-deleted post.

According to TMZ, the remainder of the concert was reportedly canceled for safety reasons, leaving fans, who paid good money for their tickets, disappointed, especially since the accident occurred before he was able to perform a single song.

Check out a fan-captured video of Rod Wave’s tumble above.

Donald Trump and his minions have made a big huff about absentee ballots, arguing that the only ones that should count are the ones done in person. (Naturally, this didn’t stop Ivanka and Jared Kushner from sharing a picture of themselves, smiling as they held up their…absentee ballots.) The implication has been that the majority of those ballots would swing Biden’s way. But, as a new video made by the tag team pair of Project Lincoln and outspoken Trump critic Mark Hamill, there’s a large portion of the population the president appears to be overlooking. Or simply insulting.

The ad, caught by Raw Story, goes out of its way to remind voters that since, as Hamill’s narrator puts it, “elections have consequences,” that they can help put an end to “tyranny.” Elections are so important, the ad argues, that during the Civil War, legislators made sure that everyone, including soldiers away from home, had a way to vote. “This is how absentee voting began — sent from the bloody battlefield across the nation.”

But now, we’re reminded, that’s under siege. “More than 150 years later, tyranny is looking for a new foothold,” Hamill narrates, as a picture of Trump pops up. He points out that Trump and his team has been trying to discount votes that arrive after November 3 — this despite the United States Postal Service having become incredibly slow under the watch of Postmaster General (and Trump appointee) Louis DeJoy, and despite it being a law to count each and every ballot. “If [Trump] gets his way, many who cast absentee ballots will not have their vote counted.”

Then the ad really turns the knife, showing how Trump is targeting those he speaks of (though not always) fondly. “This will deny thousands of troops overseas of their most sacred right,” Hamill says, “stripping the men and women of our military of the very freedoms they served and sacrificed to defend.

“Nothing is more important than counting every vote, especially those that are serving our country,” Hamill concludes. “Suppressing any vote is un-American.”

This is (allegedly!) the final ad put forth by Project Lincoln, group of turncoat Republicans who’ve made it their mission to unseat the man who took over their party, before the election. If so, the combined power of one of Star Wars most iconic players (and arguably the best Joker) and the appeal to the military may make it a fine final push.

You can watch the PSA in the video above.

(Via Raw Story)

The United Kingdom isn’t the first place most people consider when thinking about the burger wars. However, McDonald’s and Burger King have developed a tense rivalry in the UK since they set up shop across the pond in the mid-’70s.

Currently, McDonald’s is the top-ranked fast-food chain in the UK with around £2 billion ($2.58 billion) in annual sales. Burger King is the second most popular burger joint with around £600 million ($774 million).

But in light of a major spike in COVID-19 cases, Burger King is calling a temporary truce and asking people to buy a Big Mac to help keep people employed. On Saturday, UK Prime Minister Boris Jonson announced a month-long lockdown in England to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

So, Burger King extended an olive branch to its arch-rival on Twitter Monday with a statement titled, “Order at McDonald’s.'”

“Just like we never thought we’d be encouraging you to order from KFC, Subway, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Five Guys, Greggs, Taco Bell, Papa John’s, Leon… or any of the other independent food outlets, too numerous to mention here,” the statement reads.

“In short, from any of our sister food chains (fast or not so fast). We never thought we’d be asking you to do this, but restaurants employing thousands of staff really need your support at the moment,” the statement continues.

“So, if you want to help, keep treating yourself to tasty meals through home delivery, takeaway or drive-thru. Getting a Whopper is always best, but ordering a Big Mac is also not such a bad thing,” the statement concludes.

via Burger King UK

The statement is as unbelievable as Coke urging you to buy a Pepsi. Or the Republican Party suggesting you vote for Joe Biden. But these are tough times in the UK and abroad, so Burger King is taking a moment to bury the hatchet in support of the loyal opposition.

The month-long lockdown will begin on Thursday, November 5, and extend until December 2. Under the new restrictions pubs, bars, and restaurants will be closed except for takeout and delivery.

The UK recently surpassed over 1 million total cases of COVID-19 with deaths rising to over 46,000. The country of 59 million reported a daily high of 26,7070 infections on October 21.

“The modeling presented by our scientists suggests that without action we could see up to twice as many deaths over the winter as we saw in the first wave,” Johnson said in Parliament on Monday. “Faced with these latest figures, there is no alternative but to take further action at a national level.”

One of the reasons cited for England’s huge uptick in COVID-19 cases is Johnson’s “Eat Out to Help Out” program launched in the summer. The program encouraged people to visit restaurants by paying people’s bills up to £10 pounds per meal every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in August.

Diners could choose whether to eat indoors or outdoors and masks weren’t required.

UK health officials were horrified by the idea of encouraging people to eat indoors during a pandemic. Although there’s no concrete data that links the program directly to the recent surge in the virus, Toby Phillips, head of research and policy at Oxford University’s Pathways for Prosperity Commission, says it’s hard to deny the connection.

“Looking at the English regions, there is a loose correlation between uptake of the scheme and new cases in the last weeks of August,” Phillips wrote in The Conversation. “Again, this isn’t to say that the scheme caused those cases. But it certainly didn’t discourage those people from going out.”

By now we’ve been inundated — in a good way! — with celebrities, from Taylor Swift to Michael Keaton, making videos and tweets and other forms of content, trying to get out the vote. A lot of made them clear who they think you should vote for. But the important part has been making sure you’re exercising your civic rights in the first place. Even fictional characters are getting in on the act. As caught by ComicBook.com, Jay and Silent Bob — the dynamic duo first embodied by Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes in the 1994 no-budget smash Clerks — have released a video where they wildly speculate how other characters would vote if they could.

“We know you hate when famous people tell you who to vote for. But we’re not famous. We are fictional,” said Mewes’ Jay as his partner remained quiet, as is his wont. “We know how fake people think. So if you wanna know who your favorite fictional characters would pick for President, just ask me and Silent Bob.”

Being part-time comic book characters created by one of the world’s biggest comic book nerds, they mostly stuck to superheroes. “Who do you think Batman would vote for?” Jay wondered. That one’s not so obvious. “Yes, he’s a billionaire, an actual billionaire, so we think he would like those tax cuts. But we know he doesn’t like Jokers!”

Wonder Woman, though, is pretty clear-cut: “whoever doesn’t want to control her uterus,” Jay said.

There were a fair amount of puns. Spider-Men Miles Morales and Peter Parker need to get out and vote because, as Jay puts it, “in those swing states.” (They don’t, actually, both being New Yorkers.) He points out Black Panther can’t vote, being a king (and of a far-off land).

The two included some non-comic book figures, too, including Jaws the shark (“We’re gonna need a bigger vote”), Harry Potter (“he’s from England. Plus he’s a kid”). But by the end, they made sure their fans were thinking about the real world, not just the Marvel-verse and what have you. “Don’t be a fictional character, use your voice to vote.”

You can watch Jay and Silent Bob’s video in the tweet above.

(Via ComicBook.com)

It’s not news that Joe Biden’s a staunch adherent to wearing masks in public. It’s also not surprising that Donald Trump still can’t stand wearing masks, nor can many of his followers, and the president has even shamed a reporter for doing so during a press conference. Now, an ex-Trump official, Richard Grenell (who acted as Trump’s acting director of national intelligence) is trying to do Biden dirty for tweeting a photo of the former VP (who is maskless) on an airplane alongside his traveling national press secretary, Remi Yamamoto. It’s all for the purpose of labeling Biden as a “phony” and fraud, but there’s one big problem: the photo dates back to 2019.

“Washington, DC phony! @JoeBiden doesn’t wear a mask on a plane – but wears one OUTSIDE!?” Grenell (who is an RNC senior advisor) happily tweeted to his 671,000+ followers. (You can see the photos below.)

CNN K-File editor Andrew Kaczynski screen-captured the moment for Twitter before that tweet gets deleted, which might eventually happen, given that Twitter has labeled Grenell’s claim with a “manipulated media” tag. “A combined 27K RTs on photo from 2019 before there was a pandemic,” Kaczynski declared. “These people tweet in all caps about fake news.”

As CNN details, the 2019 unmasked photo was taken by Adam Schultz (who’s Biden’s official campaign photographer) and is dated as follows: “Yamamoto and Biden huddle on a flight to South Carolina in November 2019.” The photo recently appeared in a Vogue profile of Yamamoto, and now, it’s gone viral on Twitter after Grenell fake-labeled it, and right-wing talk radio host Mark Levin added fuel by retweeting it.

CNN also reports word from a Twitter spokesperson that the tweets “do not violate Twitter rules and will not have any fact check labels affixed to them,” although that status appears to have changed, given that Twitter has now added that “manipulated media” tag onto Grenell’s tweet.

(Via CNN & Vogue)

It’s been over a year since Clairo shared her Rostam-produced debut album Immunity, and fans have been anxious for its follow-up ever since. While Clairo has appeased her listeners with a handful of lo-fi demos, including a cover of The Strokes’ “I’ll Try Anything Once,” it looks like the singer has briefly pivoted from her solo project. Instead, Clairo announced the newly-formed band Shelly with the two breezy singles “Steeeam” and “Natural.”

The new group consists of Clairo, Claud, who recently shared a single off Phoebe Bridgers’ newly-minted label Saddest Factory, along with their good friends Josh Mehling and Noa Frances Getzug. Announcing the new project on social media, Clairo explained how the group came together. “My best friends and i made a band and put out an A/B side- ‘Steeeam’ and ‘Natural,’” she wrote. “We created everything during quarantine in LA, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta.”

In other Clairo news, the new group’s single arrives just over a week after the singer had a song make it into the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time. Clairo’s song “Sofia” landed in No. 98 on the chart dated October 24. While the song was released in 2019, it has recently seen an uptick in radio plays in the last few weeks. Clairo was ecstatic after hearing the news and thanked her loyal fans for their continued support.

Listen to Shelly’s “Steeeam” and “Natural” above.

By now, it’s become pretty common knowledge that Cardi B and Offset are back together and today, Cardi confirmed that the couple is giving things yet another chance by withdrawing her divorce case. Whether this is good or bad news probably depends on your personal feelings about the couple but apparently Offset is feeling solid enough again for some light social media teasing of his wife after she got his back during a recent police stop. In a new post on Instagram, Offset captured proof that Cardi B exaggerated some aspects of their life, calling her out for being a “Liar.”

Offset sneakily captured footage of Cardi sweeping the floor in their home (wearing a bonnet, bathrobe, and slippers, no less), telling her, “You need to stop lying on your songs, man. She be lyin’. She cleanin’. She got to clean.” Cardi just chuckles and playfully threatens him, “I’ma punch you in your head.”

The song Offset refers to, of course, is “WAP,” on which Cardi crows, “I don’t cook, I don’t clean / But let me show you how I got this ring.” In terms of rap fibs, it’s not exactly a bathtub that lifts up or losing 92 bricks but it’s a line which has amused fans to no end — especially with Cardi’s relationship drama making headlines just a couple of months later. Still, “WAP” proves to be the gift that keeps giving to pop culture, as Cardi recently revealed a “making of” documentary for the music video in which she confesses she wanted even more animals crawling on her and her co-star Megan Thee Stallion.

Check out Offset’s post above.

People often give Kanye West and his Yeezy brand all the credit for keeping Adidas on a competitive level with Nike. But since the early days of 2020, Adidas has been building up another huge name in a cross-brand collaboration. One that may not rival Ye in the design sense, but certainly bests him from a pure fame standpoint. Launched in January, Beyonce’s IVY PARK Adidas line — a gender-neutral athleisure collection that consists of performance-based athletic wear — has built up a catalog of unique sneaker colorways utilizing some of the Three Stripe’s most interesting silhouettes.

Clearly, what Kanye is doing with his Yeezy brand is a lot different than the remixes of classic styles that you’ll find in IVY PARK. But the brand is also a whole lot more than a celebrity cash grab. Each sneaker is treated with attention to detail befitting a Beyonce video — with color palettes that look uniquely Bey, sleek cuts, and exciting material choices. These may not be “from scratch” designs, but that doesn’t stop them from being exciting.

Kanye may be the most successful music-artist turned designer, but with heat like this from Beyonce plus Rihanna killing it with Savage x Fenty, he needs to watch the throne. Let’s dive into every IVY PARK Adidas sneaker, ranked from worst to best.

11. Adidas IVY PARK Superstar Platform

The Superstar is hands-down one of Adidas’ greatest silhouettes, but it’s the bottom of this list. Not because it’s a platform (no, that’s not a screen glitch, the shoe actually looks like that), though that doesn’t help. Because it’s… ugly. And not in that trendy so-ugly-it’s-fashion way.

It’s just straight-up hard to look at.

That’s probably why it wasn’t included in either of the first or second IVY PARK drops. Instead, it landed last month as part of a collection that also featured other Superstar reimaginings by Jonah Hill and Sean Wotherspoon.

10. Adidas IVY PARK Sleek Super 72 White Black

Released this month as part of the second IVY PARK collection, the Sleek Super 71 White/Black suffers solely because it isn’t quite as good as drop 1’s Sleek Super. The colorways are solid, but ultimately it’s going to be impossible to rock a pair of these without being reminded that they aren’t the Maroons.

We’ll get more into this special silhouette when we talk about the original release.

9. Adidas IVY PARK Forum Lo Core White

The Forum Lo is a new entry in the IVY PARK catalog debuting in drop 2. The Forum Lo features a leather and suede upper with a translucent bottom sole and a fastening strap. It’s easily the least flashy sneaker in the entire IVY PARK collection.

Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. But if you can’t get behind a fastening strap, you’re not going to find a lot to love here.

8. Adidas IVY PARK Nite Jogger Maroon/Solar Orange

When IVY PARK initially dropped in January of this year this sneaker was criticized endlessly, and for good reason. It looks like a goddamn traffic cone thanks to its Solar Orange half and half colorway — with a toe box dipped in deep maroon.

This shoe is out there, but we respect Beyonce’s bold design here. They’re impossible to look away from. For better or worse.

7. Adidas IVY PARK Nite Jogger Dark Green Frozen Yellow

This Dark Green Frozen Yellow Nite Jogger suffers from the same problem as the Maroon iteration, only this one isn’t quite as ugly. Instead of a traffic cone, it resembles a Mountain Dew bottle — which is better, if only a little.

All jokes aside, this iteration sold out almost instantly when it launched as part of drop 2. Aftermarket prices hover above $200 for this pair right now.

6. Adidas IVY PARK Ultra BOOST Maroon

When the first IVY PARK collection dropped, this felt like the signature piece. While it’s not our favorite, it’s still pretty beloved. Featuring a double Maroon colorway atop a Solar Orange outsole, this design nails the futuristic fitness vibe that the Maroon Nite Jogger couldn’t quite master.

5. Adidas IVY PARK Nite Jogger Off-White

So far the IVY PARK Nite Jogger’s have suffered from a half-and-half presentation that just doesn’t work, but this mix of Off-White (not that Off-White, but wouldn’t that be something?), Ecru Tint and Dark Green just works.

It also brings something new to Adidas’ usual Nite Jogger offerings with a brighter presentation and an alternate lacing system that really shows of the silhouette’s cool geometry.

4. Adidas IVY PARK Ultra BOOST Hi Res Yellow

While the second IVY PARK drop brought a lot new to the looks coming out of the label, it also acted as an opportunity to refresh the first drop’s best designs. This didn’t work for the Sleek Super 72, but this Hi-Res Yellow version of the Adidas Ultra BOOST knocks the original Maroon dip out of the park.

It’s every bit as extreme as the original, but the Hi-Res has some balance as well — with a gum outsole that matches up nicly with the blinding colorway.

3. Adidas IVY PARK Forum Mid Green Tint

While the IVY PARK Forum Mid Green Tint is ranked third on this list, it’s micrometers from a tie for second! The Forum Mid corrects the bland mistakes of its low cut counterpart by having a more eye-catching silhouette and easily one of the best colorways out of IVY PARK.

It still has that leather and suede construction of the low top, but the fastening strap looks less out of place here and that Green Tint colorway is just too damn fresh.

2. Adidas IVY PARK Nite Jogger Ecru Tint

The Ecru Tint Nite Jogger isn’t only the best IVY PARK Nite Jogger, it’s the best Nite Jogger colorway Adidas has ever dropped. That’s high praise and, honestly, if this sneaker said “Off-White” instead of “IVY PARK” it’d be going for thousands on the aftermarket.

Be thankful it isn’t!

It looks like something that would come from the mind of Virgil Abloh, only without the gimmicky tags or production numbers. Clean, classic, bold, and damn near perfect.

1. Adidas IVY PARK Sleek Super 72 Maroon

As good as the second IVY PARK drop is — and it’s a major improvement over the first — the best IVY PARK sneaker is still the Maroon Sleek Super 72 from the original drop. The shape is IVY PARK’s most original, as it was adapted from Adidas’ Samba Silhouette to Bey’s personal specifications, and that mix of White premium leather and Dash Grey suede with subtle Maroon and Solar Orange accents work harmoniously.

The entire first IVY PARK collection might revolve around this same color scheme, but it never works quite so perfectly as it does here. We’re hoping the Sleek Super’s success inspires IVY PARK to dabble in more original shapes.