Phoebe Bridgers dropped her Copycat Killer EP — which features alternate, more string-focused arrangements of some Punisher songs — back in November. Save for some limited physical editions, the album was only available digitally, but now Bridgers is giving it a proper vinyl release, available starting May 14 via Dead Oceans.
Bridgers previously told Uproxx about the process making Punisher, saying, “So fun. I’ve been getting a pretty regular question of, were you afraid to put out your second record because there’s more pressure? I’m like, ‘F*ck no.’ I made the whole record knowing that people were going to hear it. And I made the first record being like, ‘I wonder if I’m going to have to get a day job after this.’ Mostly I just wanted it to be better than the first record, which I think it is. […] Lyrically better. I didn’t really want to be as dirge-y anymore. There are some dark songs, for sure, but I tried to get creative a little bit with the production. I just had more fun. I wanted to sound like an adult wrote it. I wrote a lot of Stranger In The Alps when I was still in my teens.”
Pre-order the vinyl edition of Copycat Killer here and stream the EP below.
Despite — or is it because of? — not traveling further than 30 miles away from my apartment since March 2020, I feel like I’ve aged 10 years in the past year. I look it, too. Meanwhile, Paul Rudd continues to look as youthful as he did 20 years ago. What a jerk.
The Ant-Man star was born 52 years today, on April 6, 1969, in Passaic, New Jersey. (The number one song in the country: “Dizzy” by Tommy Roe. The number one movie: Goodbye, Columbus. The number one Oscar winner also born in April 1969: Renée Zellweger.) To celebrate, Mark Ruffalo wished his Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star a happy birthday — and revealed the secret to Rudd’s Holy Grail-like magic.
“Happy birthday, Paul Rudd! Did I find the secret behind your eternal youth?” Ruffalo wrote on Instagram, along with a photo of Rudd wearing his Ant-Man costume and Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet from Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. I don’t know about you, but I’m fine with Rudd using the Infinity Stones to mess with the fabric of time, as long as he keeps showing the Mac and Me clip on Conan (he’s running out of time).
Breckin Meyer previously gave another explanation for the Clueless actor’s lack of noticeable aging. “On the set of Clueless, they would come and they would get us like 20 minutes before set,” he said. “On Paul’s trailer, they would knock like an hour beforehand because he had to finish sucking the lifeblood out of the babies he takes in order to maintain [his youth], and then he was camera-ready.” It’s either that, or moisturizer.
NBA players find ways to keep us entertained, regardless of whether they’re taking to the hardwood and doing what they do best or leaning into their electric personalities and either captivating audiences or getting a laugh on both the big and small screen. But who’s the best? There have been plenty of performances by NBA players that qualify for consideration. That’s why we pulled in some help to decide, asking both the DIME editorial team and a collection of other Uproxx editors and film and TV critics to vote and pick the best. Which led to a lot of interesting takes.
For instance, Dime editorial director Martin Rickman had this to say about Ray Allen in Spike Lee’s He Got Game: “Ray’s ability to let the role come to him instead of overacting or trying to do too much is hard for A-listers much less legendary three-point gunners.” Uproxx editor at large Brian Grubb added that respect has to be paid to Allen for carrying a significant portion of that film while most others on this list are more like cameos. And that’s true, but what cameos they are. As features editor Jason Tabrys said, Kevin Garnett’s performance in Uncut Gems might be “the coolest and calmest part of a movie that is filled with anxiety over Adam Sandler’s character’s actions and everyone’s responses to him.” Hip-hop editor and TV/Film critic Aaron Williams had nothing but praise for the memorable way Blake Griffin showed his self-deprecating sense of humor on Broad City with features writer Jess Toomer remarking on how Griffin showed he was down for anything.
All told, more than 25 performances got a vote with a fierce competition breaking out for the top spot. Take a look at the above video to see where we landed on the true on-screen MVPs and then let us know which ballers we missed on.
Morgan Freeman has played God in multiple movies, including 2003’s Bruce Almighty (starring Jim Carrey) and 2007’s Evan Almighty (with Steve Carell), although it feels like many more. He also hosted a National Geographic special called “The Story Of God,” and that authoritative voice only contributes to the vibe. Freeman even poked fun at how “people seem to confuse me with Him” during a commercial for an Israeli air-conditioner manufacturer where he’s all happy to exert god-like control the weather in his home. So yeah, people think of him as the trusted voice of God, and that’s likely the gist of why Freeman made a pro-COVID vaccination commercial for the Creative Coalition advocacy group.
“I’m not a doctor, but I trust science. And I’m told that, for some reason, people trust me,” he tells the camera. “So, here I am to say I trust science and I got the vaccine” And the bottom line? “If you trust me, you’ll get the vaccine.” Well, Freeman’s still got a sense of humor about this whole God thing, and in response to The Hill posting about this PSA, there’s a whole lot of “voice of God” remarks going on out there. It’s the running joke that shall never die.
At this point, every time I see Morgan Freeman or Betty White trending, I look for this meme to know everything is okay (they are both ok, btw. Morgan Freeman is suggesting people get a vaccine, which I agree with. And he IS the voice of God.) pic.twitter.com/uWb2fdGe9N
On Friday, Lil Tjay released his new album Destined 2 Win, following up his well-received debut True 2 Myself and his 2020 mixtape State Of Emergency. Over the weekend, he shared the latest video from the new project, “Oh Well,” which finds Tjay and his friends posted up at a gas station for a jaunty parking lot party. The New York native shows off his footwork over a beefy beat while Tjay reflects on his newly luxurious circumstances.
“Oh Well” arrives on the heels of singles “Run It Up,” “Born 2 Be Great,” “Headshot,” and “Calling My Phone,” the first four singles from Destined 2 Win. The album itself features 21 tracks and includes guest appearances from 6lack, Fivio Foreign, Moneybagg Yo, Offset, Polo G, Saweetie, Toosii, and Tyga, while running the gamut from celebratory anthems to introspective ballads.
Tweeting about the album a week before its release, Tjay explained the album’s title, writing,” I named the album Destined 2 Win cause I always felt like something in me was meant to be great. Even when sh*t tried stop me it never did and I kept getting up!!” A day before its release, Tjay also shared the first episode of a documentary detailing the album’s creation.
This week in pop music saw some exciting returns. Olivia Rodrigo followed up her chart-topping single “Drivers License” with another lovelorn track, Demi Lovato shared an exciting collaboration with Ariana Grande, and BTS returned to debut a new soulful single.
After Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single “Drivers License” had an eight-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the singer is venturing into more playful territory with “Deja Vu.” About the follow-up single, Rodrigo said she wants to shy away from being labeled in a certain genre: “It’s definitely not like ‘Drivers License’ at all, which I’m really happy about. I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself into this category of ‘sad ballad girl’ thing. It’s definitely a little different and sort of weird.”
Demi Lovato — “Met Him Last Night” Feat. Ariana Grande
This week, Demi Lovato followed up her LP Dancing With The Devil… The Art Of Starting Over with a deluxe version of the record. It saw a handful of extra tracks, including synth-forward groove “Met Him Last Night” with Ariana Grande, a tune where Lovato sings about coming face-to-face with her demons.
BTS — “Film Out”
After a wildly successful 2020 where BTS had major performances, smashed chart records, and earned a Grammy nomination, the K-pop supergroup are gearing up for the release of their upcoming Japanese-language compilation album, BTS, The Best. Sharing a first look at the project, the group debuted the soulful song “Film Out,” which marks a pivot from their recent jovial releases.
Dove Cameron — “LazyBaby”
Dove Cameron may have gotten her start as a Disney Channel star, but she’s been focusing on her music career for the past year through her 2020 singles “We Belong” and “Remember Me.” Now, Cameron returns to share the groove-driven track “LazyBaby,” a bass-heavy number inspired by the recent revival of ’80s disco.
Chiiild — “Awake” feat. Mahalia
Psychadelic soul singer Chiiild returns with another atmospheric jam off his upcoming project Hope For Sale. Describing his aim for the single, Chiiild compares the song’s feeling to “when the week’s finally over and you need to take the weight off.”
Audrey Nuna — “Space”
Celebrating her 22nd birthday, R&B singer/rapper Audrey Nuna shared the chilling track “Space,” marking her first release of 2021. The song offers a way for Nuna to showcase both her moving vocals and quick-witted lyricism over a subdued beat.
Tiberius B — “No Smoke”
Celebrating the fact that they’re the newest signee of Mark Ronson’s Zelig Records label, producer Tiberius B announced their upcoming EP Stains with the shuffling track “No Smoke.” The single’s soothing video is inspired by an accident they had as a teenager, which ended up being a blessing in disguise.
Chloe Moriondo — “I Eat Boys”
After a handful of her relatable singles attracted a sizeable fanbase, Chloe Moriondo announces her debut album Blood Bunny as the newest signee of Fueled By Ramen Records. The 18-year-old singer announced the impending project with “I Eat Boys,” a charming and tongue-in-cheek tune about pushing back against cat callers.
Dayglow — “Woah Man”
Texan songwriter Dayglow issued the shimmering track “Woah Man,” the third single from his sophomore LP Harmony House. About the song, Dayglow, the moniker of Sloan Struble, said: “I initially wrote it for a friend who was going through a hard time, but then later realized that I was really writing about myself. In the middle of so much change, growth, and responsibility, I found myself feeling a lot of pressure.”
Bailey Bryan — “Temporary”
Rising pop singer Bailey Bryan announced her anticipated upcoming project Fresh Start, with the earnest track “Temporary.” For Bryan, her impending album is a reminder that constantly reinventing yourself is possible. “My life over the last year has felt like a constant, rapid cycle of shedding my skin, and it still is,” she said. “I hope it always will be. I now believe that there’s no limit to the amount of ‘fresh starts’ you can have in a lifetime, a year, or even a day.”
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
TikTok can help smaller musicians reach huge fan bases, especially if their song gets turned into a viral challenge. That’s exactly what happened with Erica Banks when her track “Buss It” quickly became the backdrop for a challenge that had celebrities like Chloe Bailey and Rico Nasty dropping low to her track. The song’s popularity led to a number of offers from big labels like DaBaby‘s Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment, but she decided to turn them down.
Speaking in an in interview with The Neighborhood Talk, Banks explained why she decided to decline DaBaby’s label offer. When DaBaby DM’d her asking if she wanted to be the “First Lady of Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment,” she was ready to jump on the opportunity. But she instead heeded the advice of her mom, who said it was still too early to be accepting offers:
“I had already turned everybody down. I personally did not sign with DaBaby because I was very excited, it was my second offer, I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’ I was about to get all the planning done. But then I called my mom, like, ‘This is what I’m about to do, I’m about to go sign with DaBaby.’ She’s like, ‘Oh no, we need to slow down. This is only the second offer. We’re not gonna just jump on whatever.’ Once she explained to my why it’s important to wait I was like, okay, you know what? You’re right. So I decided to wait. And now I’m glad I didn’t make a decision that I made because that’s a little early. You don’t want to take the first two offers, the first three. You might get something that fits you better.”
Not taking up DaBaby’s offer proved to be the right move for Banks. Instead, she inked a deal with Warner Records.
Watch a clip of Banks’ The Neighborhood Talk interview above and revisit her performance of “Buss It” with UPROXX Sessions here.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Atlanta Hawks entered the 2020-21 NBA season with tangible expectations for the first time since 2016-17. President of basketball operations Travis Schlenk handed out sizable contracts to multiple veteran players, headlined by Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and prior to the end of the 2019-20 campaign, the Hawks sneakily acquired Clint Capela in a four-team swap for a modest price. With those new faces pairing with Atlanta’s intriguing young core, playoffs were the expectation for the Hawks but, through 34 games, the team wasn’t meeting those newfound expectations.
As such, the Hawks moved on from head coach Lloyd Pierce on March 1, and that decision came just days after Pierce acknowledged that a move like that could be coming in the future. At the time of the firing, Atlanta was 14-20 and actually in the middle of the race for the play-in, but with injuries and reported discontent behind the scenes, leadership felt that was the best time to pull the trigger. Veteran coach Nate McMillan was elevated from assistant to interim head coach and, well, the Hawks have been rolling since then.
It must be acknowledged that Atlanta’s schedule hasn’t been a murderer’s row during this recent stretch, especially when accounting for available rosters, but the Hawks went from the middle of the play-in discussion to a real chance to earn home-court advantage in the first round, all within five weeks.
The Hawks are 12-4 in their last 16 games, including an 8-0 start to the McMillan era. Though Atlanta had a couple of frustrating losses on a recent road trip, the team managed to navigate an eight-game journey out West with a highly respectable 4-4 record and, in the last 16 games, they own a dazzling +6.1 net rating buoyed by an offense that is scoring 116.4 points per 100 possessions.
Trae Young is the sun, moon and stars in Atlanta, which actually makes this recent run more impressive. That is because Young is actually struggling by his lofty standards, scoring only 22.5 points per game on a 44/34 shooting split and battling overall efficiency issues. In the last few seasons, any struggles by Young were essentially impossible for the Hawks to overcome, but right as the calendar was flipping to March, the Hawks were getting just a little bit healthier at a couple of key spots.
Injuries have been a massive issue for the Hawks all season, with De’Andre Hunter missing 30 games (after showing signs of a breakout), Bogdanovic missing 25 games, Cam Reddish missing 24 games, Gallinari missing 13 games and perimeter stopper Kris Dunn missing the entire season. Even now, Hunter, Reddish and John Collins are sidelined in early April, but the play of supporting pieces like Bogdanovic, Gallinari, Capela and even Tony Snell has helped the Hawks stay afloat and more.
Gallinari (64.6 percent true shooting) and Bogdanovic (58.2 percent true shooting) have found their strides since March began and, in an incredibly small three-game sample size, newly acquired Lou Williams is fitting in beautifully. From there, Snell is leading the NBA (!) in three-point shooting for the season and posting an obscene 82.0 percent effective field goal shooting mark in the last 16 games.
Both from a roster and identity standpoint, the Hawks are an offense-first team and that won’t change anytime soon. Though Young’s defense is improved from his first two seasons, he won’t soon be mistaken for Gary Payton, and players like Collins, Gallinari, Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter are all superior offensively than defensively. Still, the addition of Capela has been enormous in making Atlanta’s defense respectable. With Capela on the floor, the Hawks are yielding only 107.7 points per 100 possessions, and Capela is leading the NBA in rebounding at 14.2 per game. He isn’t quite on the level of Rudy Gobert, but Capela has been in the next tier down and, if he can sustain this pace, he should earn some ballot inclusions when it comes to Defensive Player of the Year voting.
If anything, Atlanta’s win-loss results are lagging behind their peripherals, albeit slightly. The Hawks are a top-10 team in net rating (+1.7) for the season, despite the reality that the team’s core pieces have essentially never been healthy at the same time. It is easy to envision a world in which the Hawks can take advantage of a schedule that is easing up, and combined with presumed improvement on the health front, this is a scary team.
In the grand scheme, it could be argued the Hawks are simply meeting expectations now with a pace to win just over 37 games. That basically aligns with their preseason over/under projections but, in recent weeks, Atlanta has been even better than that. To put it mildly, the East is wide open beyond the top three and, while their recent pedigree may not stack up to that of the Heat and Celtics, there isn’t much of a reason that the Hawks can’t stick around the No. 4 seed mix all the way to the end.
Where do the Hawks land this week in our DIME power rankings? Let’s explore.
1. Utah Jazz (38-12, Last week — 1st)
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Utah dropped its last game, falling by eight points in Dallas on Monday. Given that the Jazz won the previous eight games and still maintain the best record and point differential in the NBA, we’ll cut them some slack for a close road loss.
2. Brooklyn Nets (35-16, Last week — 2nd)
The injury bug is still biting the Nets, as James Harden left their win on Monday. Brooklyn continues to win games, though, and there is no sense in dropping them from this perch until something changes in a negative way. They hold a half-game lead in the East standings, for good measure.
3. Phoenix Suns (35-14, Last week — 5th)
Phoenix is 27-6 in the last 33 games, including 9-1 in the last 10 games and an active six-game winning streak. If anything, No. 3 is too low for the way they are playing, and they get a crack at the Jazz (in Phoenix) on Wednesday. That should be fun.
Jrue Holiday will be sticking around long-term and, when he plays, the Bucks are 27-11 this season. Milwaukee maintains a top-three net rating, and they won three in a row last week. It might even be weird to have them at No. 5, but they’ll have to settle for a two-spot bump.
6. L.A. Clippers (33-18, Last week — 3rd)
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No one needs to worry about the Clippers, but they did go 1-2 this week. The real black mark was a weird home loss to Orlando, but the other loss came to the scalding-hot Nuggets. They still took care of business against the Lakers and this is a top-four team in net rating.
7. Philadelphia 76ers (34-16, Last week — 4th)
Joel Embiid is back and that is pretty much all that matters for the 76ers. He didn’t play in the home loss to Memphis on Sunday because it was the second of a back-to-back, but as long as Embiid is healthy, Philly is just fine.
8. Dallas Mavericks (28-21, Last week — 10th)
The Mavericks are pretty scary right now. They’ve won five in a row, including four road wins, and Dallas looked good in toppling Utah on Monday. They still aren’t in the top tier, but they are playing much closer to that level during a 19-7 stretch.
9. Portland Trail Blazers (30-19, Last week — 9th)
Portland continues to fly under the radar, but they’re 5-1 in the last six. The only loss in that span came to the Bucks, and the Blazers are 11 (!) games above .500 with a +0.5 net rating. If you want to understand how wild that is, Toronto has outscored their opponents by more total points (27) than Portland has (20) this season.
10. Los Angeles Lakers (31-19, Last week — 8th)
The non-LeBron, non-AD Lakers aren’t close to a top-10 team in the league. Everyone knows that. They have banked three wins in the last ten days, and that is helpful to keeping them afloat and out of the play-in, but the waiting game continues.
11. Atlanta Hawks (26-24, Last week — 12th)
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Though they will play this week without John Collins and De’Andre Hunter, the Hawks have three home games against the Pelicans, Grizzlies and Bulls. Atlanta will likely be favored in all three, with the potential to keep things rolling.
12. Miami Heat (26-24, Last week — 16th)
Since the middle of February, the Heat have been as streaky as any team in the league with the potential exception of Sacramento. Miami won 11 of 12 games, then lost six in a row, only to win their last four. The end result is a 26-24 record that is tied for the No. 4 seed in the East. As a sidebar, it is wild that 26-24 is tied for the fourth in the East right now.
13. Boston Celtics (25-25, Last week — 15th)
Boston sitting at .500 through 50 games can only be described as disappointing. Many saw a step back coming with their roster decisions from the offseason but, with back-to-back wins to end this week, perhaps the Celtics can finish strong and attempt to avoid the play-in tournament.
14. Memphis Grizzlies (24-23, Last week — 13th)
If the season ended today, Memphis would be the No. 8 seed. Honestly, that is quite impressive for a team that has operated without Jaren Jackson Jr. all season and the Grizzlies are just… solid.
15. Indiana Pacers (22-26, Last week — 20th)
It’s not as if the Pacers are playing particularly well. They are 7-12 in the last 19 and basically just hovering the same area. Still, the door is open with the way Charlotte’s injury issues are popping up, and Indiana seems like they have another gear to find if their own health cooperates.
16. Charlotte Hornets (25-24, Last week — 18th)
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The Hornets got brutal news with Gordon Hayward this week, as he will be sidelined for several weeks with a foot issue. That adds to the already persistent absence of LaMelo Ball, and the Hornets are just trying to hang on for dear life.
17. New Orleans Pelicans (22-27, Last week — 14th)
This was a week that can only be described as “incomplete” for the Pelicans. Zion and Ingram are both injured, and the Pelicans were running out some bizarre lineups as a result. They got a win. They lost two games. Wake me up when the big guns return.
18. New York Knicks (25-26, Last week — 19th)
New York ranks higher this week than last week, but not because they are playing well. The Knicks have dropped four of the last five games, and there just wasn’t anywhere else to put them.
19. San Antonio Spurs (24-24, Last week — 17th)
Is it time to worry a bit about the Spurs? They’ve lost eight of the last ten, including three straight home games, to fall to .500 on the season. Two of the home losses were in overtime, though, and things would feel much better if those break in the right direction. They are now outside of the top eight in the West for the first time in a long while, and they will face Denver (twice) and Dallas in the next three games.
20. Toronto Raptors (20-30, Last week — 30th)
The Raptors were genuinely horrendous in March, as evidenced by their No. 30 placement last week. Obviously, Toronto isn’t the worst team in the league and, after a buzzer-beating win on Monday, the Raptors are back within striking distance in the race for the play-in. Nothing is solved, but they should be fine if health cooperates.
21. Sacramento Kings (22-29, Last week — 11th)
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No team has bounced around more than the Kings in this space, and that aligns with their maddening inconsistency. After a winning binge last week, they were rewarded with a big jump. This week, Sacramento went 0-4 with three double-figure losses. They still have the worst defense in the league as well, which makes life difficult.
22. Chicago Bulls (20-28, Last week — 21st)
Chicago was going to drop more than this before a nice win over Brooklyn on Sunday. Prior to that victory, the Bulls lost eight of nine games, and they were heading the wrong direction. They are unquestionably better on paper after acquiring Nikola Vucevic, but they need to start banking wins in short order.
23. Golden State Warriors (23-27, Last week — 22nd)
It is basically common knowledge that the Warriors are rudderless whenever Stephen Curry (and Draymond Green) is off the floor. That puts Golden State in a considerable bind overall and, after a 53-point (!) loss to Toronto, the Warriors lost to the Hawks with Curry and Green back in the lineup. They’ve lost seven of eight and it’s not going particularly well.
24. Detroit Pistons (15-35, Last week — 25th)
The Pistons picked up two blowout wins in the same week. That hasn’t happened much this year, but the victories came over Washington and OKC (see below), so there may be a small asterisk. Detroit also lost by 44 at Madison Square Garden.
25. Minnesota Timberwolves (13-38, Last week — 26th)
It’s been a lost season for the Wolves, but they got D’Angelo Russell back on Monday night. That’s a small consolation, but Minnesota can evaluate their young core down the stretch and see what they have. If nothing else, they’ve been more competitive under Chris Finch.
26. Cleveland Cavaliers (18-32, Last week — 27th)
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Even with a dominant road win over San Antonio on Monday, the Cavs are 4-11 in the last 15 games. They are now tied for the worst net rating (-7.9) in the NBA with the Thunder, and they just can’t score. Maybe that 125-point eruption against the Spurs will ignite something.
27. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-30, Last week — 24th)
OKC is still playing well above its baseline when you compare their win-loss record to their point differential. Things are starting to correct, however, with the Thunder losing six of the last seven games. They are deploying a fun roster of young guys, but it’s not exactly conducive to high-level performance on a consistent basis.
28. Washington Wizards (17-32, Last week — 23rd)
As noted above, the Hawks had a 14-20 record in early March. The Wizards had the same 14-20 mark at one point. Now, Washington trails Atlanta by 8.5 games in the Southeast Division with a 3-12 mark in their last 15 tilts. Yikes.
29. Orlando Magic (17-33, Last week — 28th)
Following a hideous stretch in late February and early March, Orlando has been more competitive. At the same time, they are also clearly in a different stage with their roster, letting young guys play larger roles. They won twice this week, but also got walloped in Utah by 46 points, so there will be some growing paints.
30. Houston Rockets (13-37, Last week — 29th)
There isn’t really any debate about this selection. Houston is 2-27 in the last 29 games. That is mind-numbing and, while they still don’t have the worst record in the league, they are well on their way at this point.
Despite her battle rap roots, Philly artist Tierra Whack has become better known for her imaginative videos over the past few years, beginning with the colorful Whack World and including clips such as “Dora” and “Unemployed.” As there is perhaps no greater symbol of the limitless power of imagination than Lego, it’s only right that the interlocking blocks feature prominently in her latest video, “Link.”
In the video, she builds one of the most common Lego creations that just about every kid has put together with the blocks, a spaceship, with the help of some colorful, abstract-looking alien friends. She launches the ship to explore space, only to quickly end of missing her friends and attempting to return. Unfortunately, a flaw in her ship’s design — and isn’t there always one of those? — makes getting back even more of an adventure than she expected.
According to a press release, the lighthearted video was shot in partnership with Lego as part of Lego Group’s Rebuild The World Campaign. Schoolkids from Whack’s hometown helped put the video together, from adding their own sound effects to designing rocket and structures in the video. Whack says of working with the kids, “I was so excited to work with kids because their energy is fun, exhilarating, never-ending, and full of surprises. I really trusted them, and I knew they were going to come up with something great.”
LeVar Burton seems to be getting serious about becoming the new host of Jeopardy! following the death of Alex Trebek. Back in November, a fan petition emerged calling on Sony Pictures Television and the show’s producers to name Burton as Trebek’s successor while citing his well-respected work on Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation. When the petition came to Burton’s attention, he reacted to its presence with grace and humility, but he didn’t seem too optimistic about its chances.
“Even if nothing comes from it, I can’t tell how much how I appreciate all y’alls love and support,” Burton tweeted in the fall.
However, there’s been a development. On Monday night, the Roots actor re-upped the fan petition and included a message to Jeopardy! producers. “Leaving this here in the event the powers that be are listening…” Burton wrote above the link.
As of this writing, the petition is sitting at 135,399 signatures with a goal of 150,000, and it does make a compelling case for tapping Burton as the new Jeopardy! host. Via Change.org:
Between hosting 21 seasons of the educational Reading Rainbow, playing the brainiac engineer Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: the Next Generation, and filling the roll of Kunta Kinte in the ever important mini-series Roots, LeVar Burton has inspired and shaped the minds of several generations of trivia-loving nerds. This petition is to show Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and producers Mike Richards and Harry Friedman just how much love the public has for Burton, and how much we’d all love to see him as the next host of Jeopardy!
Recently, the show’s producers gave Dr. Oz a controversial two week guest-hosting stint, which sparked a petition of its own denouncing the decision to showcase Oz and his history of questionable medical advice (that doesn’t embody Jeopardy!‘s history of promoting science and learning). In comparison to Oz, Levar is clearly a fan favorite.
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