Month: May 2021

Sean Hannity has never been known for his progressive views. This is, after all, the man who in 2016 offered then-sitting President Barack Obama a one-way ticket to Africa. So it might seem odd that the Fox News host would come to the defense of former Olympian/reality TV star-turned trans activist/wannabe California governor Caitlyn Jenner. And while Hannity did indeed call Jimmy Kimmel an “ignorant a**hole” after the late-night host called Jenner out on some truly, well, ignorant comments she made about California’s homeless population while being interviewed on Fox News last week, Hannity’s anger may not have come from a serious dedication to LGBTQ+ rights.

Sounding a lot like his buddy Donald Trump, Hannity declared war on “far-left, low-rated late-night host Jimmy Kimmel” for “spewing more hatred and more rage” for asking whether it was “transphobic to call a trans person an ignorant a-hole?” during his Thursday night show last week.

Enjoy!! Reality! Shutting down the WOKE!! pic.twitter.com/BDuSGtJYbN

— Sergeant Major (@SergeanMajor33) May 11, 2021

While Hannity claimed Kimmel’s comments stemmed from he and Jenner talking about “the real problem of homelessness” in California during their interview, that’s not exactly how it went down. Unless you consider the equivalent of “Eww… homeless people! It’s gross when my rich friends and I see them everywhere!” to be a serious conversation about the struggle of America’s homeless population. Which is what Kimmel was calling Jenner, whose interview was conducted in her airplane hangar, out for.

Caitlyn Jenner to Hannity: “My friends are leaving California. My hangar, the guy right across, he was packing up his hangar and I said, where are you going? And he says, ‘I’m moving to Sedona, Arizona, I can’t take it anymore. I can’t walk down the streets and see the homeless’” pic.twitter.com/Z1WbBBQXq7

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 6, 2021

Still, Hannity seemed more focused on re-engaging Kimmel in a public war of words—as they’ve been known to spar in the past. In a rather blatant attempt to elicit a response, Hannity pulled up some old clips from The Man Show, including one in which Kimmel appeared in blackface to portray Karl Malone (a clip Kimmel apologized for in 2020). He continued his taunting by asking Kimmel (who undoubtedly was not watching): “Don’t you have anything better to do? Maybe actually trying to be funny or boost your dismal ratings? Because we’re absolutely crushing you by like 70 percent in total viewers, Jimmy. So, uh, that’s this quarter. Jimmy, here’s my advice: Don’t talk about my show anymore.”

After repeatedly calling Kimmel “an ignorant a**hole,” Hannity ended his diatribe by warning Kimmel: “You talk about my show, I’ll hit you back 50 times harder. Ball’s in your court.”

So… this wasn’t really about Caitlyn Jenner at all, right?

(Via Mediate)

Around the same time that Seth Rogen introduced Tom Cruise to “adult films on the internet,” Cruise tried to introduce Rogen to Scientology.

While promoting his memoir, Yearbook, Rogen appeared on The Howard Stern Show, where he discussed his encounter with the Mission: Impossible star in 2006.

“I was driving up to his house. I had to pee so bad,” Rogen told Howard Stern. “I was nervous to meet him anyway. I didn’t want to meet him and be like, ‘Hi, nice to meet you. Can I pee? Can I use your bathroom?’ It was going to be an awkward first interaction, so he had this really long snaking driveway leading to his house… I stopped halfway up the driveway, kind of in the woods, above Sunset Boulevard, and I peed in a Snapple bottle in my car. And then I sealed the bottle and left it there.” That should be the next Snapple Fact: “Seth Rogen peed in one of our bottles before meeting Tom Cruise.” Way more useful than knowing how many teeth a sloth has. Unfortunately, Rogen got caught:

“As I was leaving the meeting, I was snaking back down the driveway and, as I was passing the exact spot that I peed in, I noticed a red light in the woods,” he shared. “And there was a security camera literally pointed exactly at where I was peeing.”

Rogen also recalled his “bizarre” meeting with Cruise, who was in his “very weird period, where he had had his child, but no one had seen his child and there was genuine speculation as to whether the child was real… I remember meeting this baby, being like, ‘This poor baby doesn’t know she’s like the most talked about person on the planet.’ Which is a lot of pressure.” Deep into the conversation, Cruise brought up Scientology. “I’ll never forget the wording [Tom] used,” Rogen said. “‘It’s like with Scientology,’ he said, ‘If you let me just tell you what it was really about… just give me like 20 minutes to, like, really just tell you what it was about, you would say, ‘No f*cking way. No f*cking way.’”

Rogen was worried that he was too “weak-willed” to say no to TOM CRUISE (“Are we strong enough to have him do this to us and not be converted?”), but luckily, Judd Apatow was there, too, and he told Cruise, “Eh, I think we’re good. Let’s just talk about movies and stuff.” Years later, he would blow up Tom Cruise in the Preacher pilot.

The moral of the story: get Judd Apatow to decline all Scientology invitations for you.

(Via E! Online)

As people wonder about Tucker Carlson’s is-he-or-isn’t-he-vaccinated status (and there’s been no answer forthcoming yet), the Fox News host keeps on rustling up dust in the fight against common sense. On Monday night, he took major issue with Dr. Fauci’s Sunday Meet The Press appearance, during which he stated that seasonal mask wearing wouldn’t be the worst idea in the future, even post-COVID. Why? Well, the flu has basically been nonexistent as a result of people actually masking-up, but Tucker launched into a nightmarish set of predictions to show everyone what he thought of Fauci’s suggestion of taking precautions against respiratory illnesses.

Welcome to the future, Carlson warned: “When Kamala Harris and her husband kissed the other day while wearing masks, they were giving you a preview of your daughter’s wedding.” Before this, he declared, “Get ready for a lifetime of filthy wet cotton covering your mouth, reduced oxygen flow to your brain, a world where every stranger looks the same because no one has a face.”

Never mind that masks don’t actually get soaking wet unless one is behaving very strangely with them, and there are such things as washing machines. Nope, Tucker used the rest of his rant to sow more fear by repeating a conspiracy theory (which has been roundly debunked) that accuses Dr. Fauci of helping to fund a Wuhan lab where coronavirus may have originated. Tucker also demanded that Fauci be investigated, and of course, Tucker is suggesting that Fauci was involved in creating some sort of bioweapon (so he could take credit for a cure), which (again) is a right-wing fringe falsehood that has been proven false.

For the record, Fauci has responded to previous attacks on him by Tucker as “crazy conspiracy theory” stuff. You can watch Tucker’s latest wild rant below, if you have the stomach for it.

Fresh off the release of “Your Power,” Billie Eilish performed the new single on The Late Show last night, joined by Finneas on a small stage in a big desert space for the pre-taped performance. Along with that, Eilish also took some time to chat with Stephen Colbert, and during their conversation, they discussed the reaction to Eilish’s viral Vogue photos.

Eilish didn’t talk about what she wore in the photos and how that was received, but about how it feels to be so massively popular on social media. Colbert asked what it’s like to get that kind of attention and Eilish responded:

“I do get excited. I think it more just makes me never want to post again, because it’s like a weird… I feel like I wanted to post more when less people cared, and now that more people care, it’s like scary to me. I mean, it’s amazing. It was so weird the day that all those pictures came out because I would post one and I would see, ‘Billie Eilish has broken the record for the fastest picture ever liked.’ And then I would post another one and it would say, ‘Billie Eilish just broke the other record she just broke with the new fastest picture ever liked.’ So it’s been crazy. It’s been a very weird, surreal week.”

Check out the full interview above and watch Eilish and Finneas perform ‘Your Power’ below.

It’s safe to say that if you’re someone who reads comics, you probably know who Mark Millar is, and, even if you don’t, it’s very likely you’re a lot more familiar with his work than you think. If you’ve ever seen Kick-Ass, Wanted, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Logan, or even Captain America: Civil War, you’ve watched one of the stories Millar wrote come to life. Suffice to say, Millar is a big deal in the realm of comics, which is why Netflix’s acquisition of his publishing company, Millarworld, makes perfect sense in a world where Disney+ and HBO Max are two of your biggest competitors. If Jupiter’s Legacy left you wanting more, you’ll be thrilled to know it’s merely the first of his properties Netflix is adapting for the streaming service. Here’s a complete list of what other Millarworld television shows are being cooked up over at Netflix.

Untitled Spy Series

While Millar is no rookie to telling compelling spy stories, this untitled series promises to be something “very different” from anything we’ve previously seen from him. In a recent Netflix blog post, Millar confirmed the show’s writer is someone he has been a “massive fan of for two decades,” and stated that the six-episode series has “the potential to be one of the biggest franchises I’ve ever created.” Despite the studio keeping things pretty hush-hush, this seems like one to be very excited for.

Super Crooks

Netflix is continuing its trend of going all-in on anime with Super Crooks, a “superpowered heist comic about eight super-villains” and their final job together. The series will be told in 13, 30-minute episodes and is being produced by the legendary Bones Inc., which is known for its work on series such as My Hero Academia and Mob Psycho 100. According to Millar, fans will get a first-look at the show at this summer’s Annecy Festival.

American Jesus

American Jesus is a series that will assuredly be controversial to some. The show follows a 12-year-old boy as he learns he’s Jesus Christ incarnate and must save mankind by working alongside a pretty unlikely ally: the Antichrist. While the cast has yet to be revealed, Everardo Gout (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Sacred Lies) and Leopoldo Gout (Molly’s Game, Instinct) have been confirmed as co-showrunners and executive producers on the series. In addition, Everardo Gout will also be directing.

The Magic Order

If you’ve ever wished Harry Potter were a bit more like a Sunday night HBO show, The Magic Order is for you. The show revolves around five wizarding families in charge of keeping the world safe from supernatural threats. While this life isn’t cheery per se, it’s made worse when the Order begins to get picked off one by one by an unknown assassin. With a compelling plot and The Conjuring‘s James Wan behind the camera, this is one to watch.

In addition to these shows, Netflix is also releasing five Millarworld films: Reborn, Sharkey The Bounty Hunter, Huck, Empress, and the recently announced Prodigy. All these films are fairly early on in development, with no firm release date given as of right now, but with a variety of talented writers, such as Marvel’s Bek Smith and Matthew and Ryan Firpo, and Michael Bacall of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and 21 Jump Street fame, they seem destined for success. While Millarworld might not have been a studio you knew about, Netflix is proving it’s definitely one to watch,

There was a time when people might have been interested in hearing Mickey Rourke’s thoughts on what constituted a good movie or talented acting. That time was 1987. Still, the opinionated Oscar nominee has almost made a second career out of trashing his own movies. And for more than a decade, his favorite target has been Iron Man 2.

Rourke’s latest knock came via Instagram, in a bizarre game of One of These Things Is Not Like the Other. While gushing about the stellar acting on display in Law & Order: SVU—a show that premiered in 1999, but Rourke only seems to have recently learned about—he took a moment to trash the MCU’s “crap” acting.

After praising the next-level acting of Mariska Hargitay, noting that “There’s very few, if any actresses in films these days that can hold her jockstrap” (a quote she’ll no doubt want to add to her business card); the brilliant “physicality” of Christopher Meloni (wait until he learns about Law & Order: Organized Crime); and “the charisma, the attitude and swag and senserity” of Ice-T, Rourke went on to thank the pandemic for bringing SVU to his attention—then sh*t all over the MCU. Again.

“i guess if it wasn’t this lockdown most likely i’d never see this show, but since i do all my lifting training in my living room my tv been on whole lockdown and i was able to discover this fabulous show. Respect to all of you, the work that you all do is real acting, not like that crap that all on Marvel sh*t.”

Ummmm… thanks?!

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A post shared by MICKEY ROURKE (@mickey_rourke_)

After rising to fame in the 1980s with movies like Diner (1982), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), 9 ½ Weeks (1986), and Angel Heart (1987), Rourke all but abandoned Hollywood for a career as a professional boxer. In 2008, he mounted an impressive comeback as the star of Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler—a role that earned him an Oscar nomination and a renewed interest from filmmakers, producers, and casting directors.

It was as a result of this re-found fame that Rourke was cast as Ivan Vanko, a.k.a. Whiplash, a power-hungry Russian physicist determined to take Tony Stark down in Jon Favreau’s highly anticipated Iron Man sequel. But Rourke was bitter that his ideas for the character didn’t make it into the final cut. He told CraveOnline:

“I explained to [screenwriter] Justin Theroux… and to [Jon] Favreau that I wanted to bring some other layers and colors, not just make this Russian a complete murderous revenging bad guy. And they allowed me to do that. Unfortunately, the [people] at Marvel just wanted a one-dimensional bad guy, so most of the performance ended up the floor… At the end of the day you’ve got some nerd with a pocketful of money calling the shots. You know, Favreau didn’t call the shots. I wish he would have.”

You can read Rourke’s full love letter to SVU above.

(Via IndieWire)

A24 has made horror movies (Green Room, The Witch, Hereditary), coming-of-age dramas (Moonlight), science-fiction thrillers (Ex Machina), coming-of-age comedies (Eighth Grade, Lady Bird) a cow movie (First Cow), an Adam Sandler movie (Uncut Gems), and whatever the heck Spring Breakers is (Spring Breakers). But The Green Knight is the indie distributor’s first attempt at full-blown fantasy — and it looks great.

Directed by David Lowery (A Ghost Story), The Green Knight stars Dev Patel as Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew who goes on a quest to confront the titular green-skinned knight and “tester of men.” He looks like a cross between an Oathbreakers and an ent, to put it fantasy terms. You can watch the visually stunning trailer above.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table.

The Green Knight, which also stars Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan and Ralph Ineson, opens in theaters on July 30.

Jason Statham shot Post Malone… in the trailer for the movie Wrath Of Man that was revealed in March. Malone has a small role in the film, and while he was on set, he apparently asked his co-star to collaborate on some music with him. That was an opportunity that Statham, like he did to Malone in the film, shot down.

In a recent USA Today interview, Statham spoke about what it was like to work with Malone, saying, “Post came in with this big enthusiasm for being killed that day. He’s like, ‘I can’t wait for you to kill me, man.’ I got sucked into that enthusiasm and he did a great job. It’s just a shame that it was a short moment together, but I was privileged to pull the trigger in our little scene.”

He was then asked if the two have plans to collaborate musically, and he noted that Malone did ask to make a song with him: “He invited me to come make a record. I quickly relieved him of that bad choice.”

In a recent interview with Bossip, Statham also discussed how Malone came to be involved with the movie, saying, “[Director] Guy [Ritchie] told me that Post called him up and said, ‘If you’re making a movie, I wanna be in it,’ and it was as simple as that. People wanna work with Guy Ritchie for some reason [laughs]… me too. You know, he’s got a good way, people like his films, and that’s how it happened with Post: He gave the call and he couldn’t have been more gracious. He turned up, just was as down to earth as you could be, so we were really lucky. I’m glad I got to shake his hand, you know?”

Kevin Hart has long been a stand-up playing comedic roles in movies, but his latest project for Netflix is trying hard to pull at your single parent heartstrings. Monday brought a trailer for Fatherhood, a Netflix drama arriving in time for Father’s Day that chronicles Hart’s character as he navigates life as a single father in Boston.

Based on a memoir by Matthew Logelin, the film details the long path of fatherhood taken by Hart’s character after his wife tragically dies a day after their daughter’s birth. There are some funny scenes previewed in the trailer — Hart punches a clown in a funhouse and talks graphically about baby poop after stumbling into a meeting for new mothers — but the movie is a drama at its core and the trailer is complete with touching moments of parental triumph meant to pull at your emotional heartstrings.

As Deadline noted, the Sony picture jumped to Netflix after previously having a a theatrical release date in April. Lil Rel Howery, Alfre Woodard, DeWanda Wise and Anthony Carrigan are also slated to star in the project. But all eyes are on Hart as he takes on a very serious role in a drama that’s certainly supposed to be more heartwarming than laugh out loud.

“I’m well aware of what my daughter doesn’t have,” Hart says to a stern nun lamenting his child’s lack of maternal role model at one point.

Fatherhood hits Netflix on June 18.

If you’re trying to figure out what a new artist will be like live, look no further than Vevo’s live DSCVR videos. These clips not only help support emerging artists who might not have a lot of videos banked yet, but will give fans a great sense of what it might be like to watch the artist perform. That’s exactly what their version of “Blossom” does today for rising artist Audrey Nuna, who is prepping the project A Liquid Breakfast for release in just a few weeks.

The Korean-American artist was already making waves last fall for her style, and followed up the recently-released track “Space” with today’s new song “Blossom.” Even though “Space” only came out a month ago, the slow-burning track has already racked up over a million views. “Blossom” showcases a much different side of the Jersey-based musician, proving that her R&B chops might not be the only thing she’s bringing to the table. In just under two minutes Nuna oscillates between straight-faced, effortless rapping and her beautiful, lilting singing voice, proving that she’s just as versatile as they come.

The track also has personal meaning to Nuna, who shared the following quote about the song: “‘Blossom’ is a song about growing up. My grandma recently told me about her childhood and how she had to flee a war by foot. I’m happy I was able to put her voice in the outro.” Look for her project A Liquid Breakfast out on 5/21, and watch the live performance of “Blossom” above.