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Tony Hawk helped create a song for an autistic teen who is soothed by skateboarding rhythms

Odin Frost has always loved the sound of skateboarding, especially the rhythmic sound of the wheels rolling over wood. As a nonverbal autistic young man, having tools for soothing distress and anxiety is important for Odin, and his parents say he connects with music and different kinds of rhythms.

Tim Frost, Odin’s dad, sent legendary skater Tony Hawk an email inviting him to collaborate with him and Odin on a musical piece based on the sounds of skateboarding. The idea was that they could use skateboard sounds as percussion and build a song around it. Not only did Tony agree to help out, but he did a special recording of a run on the half pipe specifically for Odin and Tim to use for that purpose.

If Odin looks familiar, there’s a good reason for that. We shared his life story last summer, when photos of him and his best friend Jordan went viral after their high school graduation. Both boys had both been given slim chances of survival and had overcome tremendous obstacles to graduate from high school, and their story of friendship, perseverance, and family support touched millions.


Upworthy was thrilled to learn about Odin had gotten a chance to meet his hero, Tony Hawk, and we recently caught up with both Tony and the Frost family to chat about their musical endeavor and what it was like for them to meet one another.

Despite living very different lives, Tony told us that he identifies with Odin in a couple of ways. One, he understands what it was like to be different from other kids growing up, and celebrates what’s good in that experience. And two, he knows how having parents who support you makes all the difference in the world.

“You can see that Odin thrives from it,” Tony told us. “I met him. I can tell that he’s right there with them. You know, on the surface, from the outsider’s perspective, you don’t understand how in tune he really is with everyone.”

Tim shared how he came up with the idea of making a song based off of Tony’s skateboarding with and for Odin, and Tony explained how it helped him see skating in a whole new way.

“I think I didn’t understand the potential of it until I heard the song they created,” said Tony. “I think that one thing that Odin has taught me is that there is a zen of skating in just the motion and the sound of it that maybe I never had tuned into.”

Imagine teaching the world’s most recognizable skater (at least by name) something new about skateboarding. But as Tony said, “We learn from each other.” Indeed we do. What a delightful match-up of creativity and humanity this collaboration turned out to be.

You can see more of the Frosts’ story about connecting with Tony Hawk and listen to the whole song they created here. (The song begins at the 2:00 mark.)


Dropped In -Featuring Tony Hawk

youtu.be

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Phoebe Bridgers ‘Pretty Much Had Diarrhea All Day From Nerves’ Before Her ‘SNL’ Performance

Last year, Phoebe Bridgers revealed that she once accidentally pooped herself on stage. It’s embarrassing, sure, but things like that can happen sometimes. It turns out Bridgers recently had other fecal-related goings-on before her Saturday Night Live performance, as she revealed on Desus And Mero.

Bridgers was asked where the performance ranks amongst all of her experiences and she responded, “Very, very high, but also… yeah, I don’t know, I…” Bridgers trailed off before letting out a laugh, seemingly taking preemptive delight in what she was about to say. She continued, “I pretty much had diarrhea all day from nerves, but it was great. I think I was more excited for it to be over because it was so nerve-wracking, but it was really cool.”

She went on to talk about smashing the guitar on stage and the reactions to that, topics she has touched on before in multiple interviews. Elsewhere during the conversation, she talked about her Saddest Factory record label, saying she’s looking forward to devoting more time to it: “This album cycle has been so, so long that I think the next thing that I want to do… I started a record label over lockdown, which is so dumb, but I did. So we have some cool stuff that I’m working on and [I] can’t wait to kind of take a back seat and work on somebody else’s records for a while.”

Check out the full interview above.

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Elton John Blasts The Catholic Church For Being Against Gay Marriage While Simultaneously Raking In Cash From Its Investment In ‘Rocketman’

Elton John warned that he would “hit someone” if Phoebe Bridgers didn’t win a Grammy, and now it appears that “someone” was the Holy See. The musician and biopic-haver very publicly called out the Catholic Church on Monday in a tweet that included some expertly-crafted screenshots that detailed the relationship the church has with his own life.

Namely, John is mad that the Catholic Church is staunchly against gay marriage but is more than willing to profit off of his story by investing in Rocketman, the 2019 film based on his life.

“How can the Vatican refuse to bless gay marriages because they ‘are sin’, yet happily make a profit from investing millions in ‘Rocketman’ – a film which celebrates my finding happiness from my marriage to David??” John wrote in the tweet, which included the #hypocrisy hashtag.

The screenshots in the tweet show headlines from representative stories on the topic, starting with a decree from Monday that reaffirmed the Church’s stance against gay marriage. That was apparently enough for John to remind the Vatican that its finances are, well, complicated. And as the Daily Beast reported, and John pointed out via screenshot, that includes funding the film Rocketman.

But the most curious item on the report to come out so far is a $4.5 million expenditure recorded in February of this year related to finance for the 2019 films Men in Black: International and Elton John’s rather steamy biopic Rocketman, which portrays the entertainer’s drug problems and is the first studio movie to portray gay sex between men in an authentic way.

While investing in mainstream entertainment is hardly sinful, the great contradiction is that the Catholic Church preaches to the devout that homosexuality is a sin.

You could argue, if you really wanted to stretch yourself here, that the church is also supporting extraterrestrial life. But unlike Men in Black, Rocketman was very much based on real life and a very real gay love story. And the connection John is making here is clear: gay marriage is more than okay for the church as long as it’s part of an investment that makes them a bunch of money to continue saying gay marriage is not morally okay.

The Daily Beast story is from 2019, so this has been public knowledge for a while now, but John is highlighting again today because of the re-affirmation of the stance against gay marriage. He has pretty clearly had it with the Church’s ongoing position on an issue that’s very important to him. John fittingly tagged @VaticanNews in the tweet, so hopefully, the Roman city will get the memo that he’s not happy.

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Well, Guess What: Some Russian Dudes Built A Full-Size ‘Mandalorian’ Spaceship In Siberia

While most of us have spent our quarantines binge-watching The Mandalorian, a group of Russian Star Wars fans kicked their love for the bounty hunting series into hyperdrive by building a life-size replica of Mando’s ship, the Razor Crest, in Siberia. The labor of love took almost a year to complete and a serious amount of cash that was raised through crowdfunding and dipping into saving accounts, but in the end, the crew ended up with a meticulously detailed version of Mando’s iconic ship that even comes complete with a seat for Baby Yoda. “This is the way” (sorry) they did it, via The New York Post:

[Aayal] Fyodorov told AFP the model cost more than 750,00 rubles, or $10,200. Besides fundraising, the Star Wars fan said he dipped into savings and sold his car to make his dream a reality.

“We were very much motivated to make it. As if we were inside the TV series and rebuilding the ship,” he said. “This is the only such cosplay ship in the world.”

The model ship has now become a major attraction for locals, AFP said.

Fyodorov is also an avid cosplayer, and you can see from his Instagram post below that he didn’t waste any time getting decked out in his equally detailed Mando gear and posing in front of the life-size Razor Crest replica:

The impressive recreation has already drawn international interest as you can see from this CBS News coverage below:

And you can watch an even longer video from ABC News, which breaks down Fyodorov and his friend’s construction process below:

(Via New York Post, CBS News, ABC News)

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The WNBA Unveiled A New Game Ball And ‘Count It’ Campaign For Their 25th Season

The WNBA is entering its 25th season in 2021 and to celebrate, the league launched a new “Count It” campaign, paying homage to the players and coaches that helped pave the way to this point, proving a women’s pro basketball league can not only exist but thrive on and off the court.

As part of the campaign, the league has created a committee that will select the W25, the 25 greatest players in WNBA history, as well as the 25 greatest moments the WNBA has seen. The league will also further their work off the court with increased efforts with the Social Justice Council to continue driving change for racial and gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. On the court, the WNBA will also introduce the Commissioner’s Cup, which will be a 10-game in-season competition, where each team will have 10 games designated as Cup games on their normal regular season schedule, with a championship game coming out of the Olympic break.

The WNBA’s 25th season also marks the debut of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, an innovative and multi-faceted competition platform. A “competition within a competition” that features player prize pools, the Commissioner’s Cup is comprised of ten designated regular season games per team and culminates in a championship game between the two teams atop the standings in each conference. Uniquely, the Commissioner’s Cup platform also convenes fans, players, and partners in local communities for conversations and programming centered on equality and social justice. The Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game will take place following the Olympic break as an exciting jumpstart to the resumption of WNBA regular season action.

The league also will be getting a new game ball from Wilson as part of the 25th season celebration, with Wilson adding Liz Cambage of the Las Vegas Aces to their player council to give them feedback from the WNBA perspective on potential changes to the ball going forward.

Wilson

In all, the 25th season of the WNBA will feature a number of new initiatives as they celebrate a quarter century of women’s hoops, with an eye on the future as well with how they can continue to grow the women’s game.

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Paul Raci Got An Oscar Nomination For ‘Sound Of Metal’ And He’s Ecstatic

It’s been a long road for Paul Raci. A career that started as playing a bartender with one line opposite Burt Reynolds in 1987’s Rent-A-Cop culminated today with an Oscar nomination. A career, as Raci recounts, where he’s lost so many roles he knows he’d have been perfect for but lost out to “bigger names.”

With Sound of Metal, Raci’s knowledge of sign language (his parents are both deaf) sealed the deal for him and, well, it paid off for everyone today. In Sound of Metal, Raci plays Joe, a man who lost his hearing during Vietnam and runs a substance abuse program for deaf people. Riz Ahmed (also nominated today) plays Ruben Stone, a man who plays in a heavy metal band who is rapidly losing his hearing and is a former addict, seeks help from Joe. And now that Raci is an Oscar nominee, he says he’s getting so many offers he’s been turning down roles. (Honestly, this is the kind of story that makes Oscar season worth the grind.)

Paul Raci: Hey, Mike, how are you doing?

I’m okay. But I have a feeling you are doing really well this morning.

Oh, it’s a beautiful morning. It’s raining here in Los Angeles. But I’ve never seen more beautiful rain in my life.

Were you feeling pretty good about this?

Well, it’s such a head trip watching social media. And everybody has an opinion and you’re going up and down. And I didn’t get the Globes. I didn’t get the SAG. So I’m out of the game. Now I’m back in the game! So I was feeling it could go either way. Anything could go either way, but I’m certainly gratified this morning. I can’t believe this has happened! And I’m just more than blessed.

You’ve lived with this movie a while. I remember being at the Toronto Film Festival in 2019 when it premiered. And that, especially now, seems like a very, very long time ago. And it just kept building momentum.

I know. And how long do you have to wait til you’re good, for Christ’s sake? I’m waiting and waiting, and then after 40 years of acting, “Well here, this is a great role. This could really turn into something.” Then you’ve got to wait on that. It’s just incredible. But I think it’s kind of apropos because we’re coming out of this pandemic now, I’ve got my vaccines in my arm now, I’m ready to go, and we see the light at the end of the tunnel. So. hopefully this movie can act as a unifier to us all. We have things more in common than we don’t, and hopefully that this will open some doors up, this movie.

This all does seem to follow your career a bit. This is a long way from Rent-a-Cop.

[Laughs] Oh, you’re hilarious! Yeah, me and Burt Reynolds!

Now on the cover of that DVD or whatever, they can put another Oscar nominee at the top of that one.

Hopefully, they’ll do that! Oh, you’re funny, man. Oh, that is so funny because I remember I had one line in that movie. I was the bartender and I say to Burt Reynolds, I go, “Hey, Burt, phone call.”

I’m actually looking this up. His name in that movie is Tony Church, so I’m assuming you called him Tony, not Burt…

Tony, yeah! “Hey Tony, phone call.” And I remember the makeup people, they made my eyebrows look like I was Groucho Marx. I was so pissed off. They made them really deep. Really deep Brown.

Was this a struggle to get this role? I’m under the impression your background and having knowledge of how to use sign language got you the part?

Yeah, they wanted it to be an authentic portrayal and so that’s why they had to cast all the deaf characters that are culturally deaf with deaf actors. It wouldn’t have worked if they’d cast people just learning sign language. So they did that right. And with my role, this guy’s a late-deafened guy; he speaks and then he gets deafened in a war.

Right, Vietnam.

They told my agent they had too many people audition and they were going to go with “a name” eventually, which has been the story of my life. That’s been the story of my life as an actor. “They’re going to go the other way, they’re going to go with a name.” So that was the word on it. And she begged them to look at the tape and they finally did. And so it worked out, but there’s so many great actors in this town. I just wonder how many times that happens to so many very, very well-qualified actors, but yet Hollywood has got to do what it’s got to do. It’s got to go with the name, with the money, and that was the fate of this movie, except Darius [Marder] refused to accept that. He kept on looking for the right person for the right role.

It has to be frustrating when you probably know in your heart of hearts that there have been previous roles that you were the best person.

I can guarantee you that in my 40-year career, 30 years out here, that has happened several times. You know you’re right for the role, you know that you can handle it, but yet, this guy’s been here before, so we got to go with the guy that’s been here before, with the name. And guys like me get relegated to the, “Hey, Tony, phone call.”

Does today feel like a culmination of all the times that happened to you? And now you’re an Oscar nominee forever.

God, I did plays in 99-seat shithole theaters that I just did it because I just wanted to be an actor. And just freezing in these cold theaters during the wintertime in Chicago. Or even ones that I did in Columbus, Ohio just a couple of years ago. God, all that stuff is now part of the work, my body of work, and it culminates with this. This is perfect. I accept!

People were very excited when your name came up this morning.

Yeah. My phone blew up, my computer blew up, my sister called crying hysterically from Chicago. Yeah, there’s been an outpouring of love. On Twitter, I’ve been watching the Twitter, people counting me out and praying for me, all these weird things. And now, the outpouring is crazy. It’s just, God, it’s just added 20 years to my life. I’m going to be here forever now!

Was there a time you almost gave up acting?

Oh, of course. I would tell my agent, “I’m tired of going in for these one-liners,” because that’s all I got. When I moved out here, my hair was short and I was trying to fit into a mold of “I want to be the dad.” I want to get a TV show like a sitcom, anything. And then there was a switch where I said, you know what, screw this. I’m going to let my hair grow. I’m going to get into a rock and roll band again. Which I did.

Yeah, I watched clips of that.

It’s a Black Sabbath tribute band. And so I just started doing things to make me happy. So I started singing again, being in a hard rock band, letting my hair grow, and screw Hollywood. And then all of a sudden they come knocking on my back door. Isn’t that weird?

I have a feeling you’re not going to have as big of a problem with getting roles as you’ve had in the past.

No. As a matter of fact, I’m turning things down! So that’s already been turning. And I was like, yeah, how about that? No more bartender roles! It’s going to be good.

‘Sound of Metal’ is currently streaming via Amazon Prime. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

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The 2021 Grammys Had Less Than Half As Many Viewers As Last Year’s Ceremony

Between the pandemic and the barrage of artists criticizing them, the past few months have presented challenges to the Recording Academy. Despite all the hurdles they faced, though, they managed to put on a Grammys broadcast this year that was imperfect but still quite entertaining and about as good as could be done given the circumstances.

As was probably expected, the broadcast had fewer viewers than usual, as has been typical with big events during the pandemic; This year’s Super Bowl had its lowest ratings in over a decade. The Grammys also experienced a drop-off and it was significant.

Variety reports that per Nielsen Live+Same Day fast-affiliate numbers, the show had an average of 7.88 million viewers, earning a 1.9 rating with adults 18 to 49. That makes this year’s show the lowest-rated in Grammy history. For reference, last year’s Grammys managed to draw 18.7 million viewers and achieve a 5.4 rating in the aforementioned demographic.

The publication also notes that these numbers are not final and that final figures that take into account live West Coast viewing will be available soon. With that in mind, the final figure is expected to rise by about 15 to 20 percent in the official national ratings. That said, even if the 7.88 million viewer count rises by 20 percent (the generous end of the estimate), that would elevate it to about 9.46 million viewers, which is still around half of the count of 2020 Grammy viewers.

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Alonzo Mourning Gave The Backstory Behind His Iconic Head-Shaking GIF

Alonzo Mourning had a Hall of Fame NBA career that spanned 16 seasons and one championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat, the team he was long the heart and soul of. Mourning’s toughness on the court was never in question and he battled back from needing a kidney transplant to finish his career as he wanted, with the Heat and helping them win a title.

However, for many, particularly in the younger generation, the Hall of Famer is simply “the head-shaking GIF guy,” as his lasting image is one of the internet’s most ubiquitous memes, sitting on the bench in a 30-point blowout at the hands of the Chicago Bulls, shaking his head before a knowing nod.

TNT

Mourning recently sat down with the great Trill Withers in the NBA Legends Lounge and was asked about his place in internet lore, and while he couldn’t recall exactly what that moment of realization captured in the GIF was, he very much remembers the Heat getting beat badly in that game by the Bulls and just recognizing “it is what it is.”

It’s a moment that, for a long time, Mourning probably hadn’t thought of until it became one of the internet’s favorite memes, as in that three seconds he expresses a feeling that everyone has sometimes where something’s gone terribly wrong and there’s nothing you can do but accept it.

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Katey Sagal Is An Erin Brockovich-Inspired Force With A Whiff Of Gemma Teller In The ‘Rebel’ Trailer

Steven Soderbergh’s Erin Brockovich (2000) led to an Oscar win for Julia Roberts and the household-name elevation of the environmental activist who persisted with her cause (justice!) despite all odds. Add in some Gemma Teller flavor on behalf of Sons of Anarchy‘s Katey Sagal, and you’ve got one heck of a spicy protagonist. This seems like a natural progression in Sagal’s return to a TV series regular role (long after Married… with Children) after most recently appearing in Shameless as a character who gave Frank a run for his grifting money. Also fittingly enough, this new show, Rebel, is executive produced both by Brockovich and Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff, who also wrote on Shameless, so things are all coming together.

By coming together, I mean that now we’ve got Sagal wielding a shotgun and refusing to take any lip from anyone, although the trailer makes it look like Rebel (as she is so nicknamed) isn’t having whatever John Corbett is selling. He’s portraying a male lead, as is Andy Garcia, and I hope Rebel out-badasses both of them after they get under her skin. Don’t lie, you’ll enjoy it, too. Yes, this show is very much inspired by Brockovich’s life, so please enjoy this synopsis:

Inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich today, Annie “Rebel” Bello is a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree. She’s a funny, messy, brilliant and fearless woman who cares desperately about the causes she fights for and the people she loves. When Rebel applies herself to a fight she believes in, she will win at almost any cost.

ABC’s Rebel will arrive on April 8.

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‘The Wonder Years’ Reboot Welcomed The New Kevin With Help From The Original Kevin, Fred Savage

The Wonder Years (the great show, not the great band) is returning to television with a reboot from The United States vs. Billie Holiday director Lee Daniels. Like the original coming-of-age classic, the new series takes place during the 1960s; unlike the old Wonder Years, however, the new Wonder Years is focused on a Black family living in Montgomery, Alabama. The lead role will be played by youngster Elisha “EJ” Williams, who received the good news from Kevin Arnold himself, Fred Savage.

“We got you on this Zoom because we wanted to welcome you to the family and tell you that it’s your turn to be the star of The Wonder Years,” Savage (who’s directing the pilot) told Williams. “It’s your part, man. Welcome.” It’s very cute. Williams will play Dean, an “inquisitive and hopeful 12-year-old kid coming of age in a turbulent time,” according to Variety. “It’s 1968 in Montgomery, Alabama, and Dean is trying to figure out his place within his Black family and the world at large. Though a little insecure, a tad awkward and a bit self-conscious, he is determined to make his mark on the world around him.”

The show comes from writer Saladin K. Patterson (The Big Bang Theory, The Bernie Mac Show) and executive producer Lee Daniels… [Williams] joins Saycon Sengbloh (In the Dark), who will play Dean’s mother, Lillian, in the show’s cast.

The Wonder Years reboot does not have a premiere date yet, but whenever it’s on, Joe Cocker still better be doing the theme song.

(Via Variety and THR)