Month: July 2021

Matthew McConaughey’s potential run for Texas governor is going better than expected. The Oscar-winning actor hasn’t formally entered the race, but polls currently have him just slightly behind incumbent Greg Abbott. Not everyone’s into yet another screen star getting into politics, including Texan politician Ted Cruz. But if a video he released on Independence Day is any indication, having the star of EdTV leading The Lone Star State would at least be…interesting.

The video — which was posted on Twitter, along with the words “happy 245th birthday America – lets rock” — runs some 2 ½ minutes long, and it finds the possible gubernatorial candidate summing up a long, strange 2020.

“As we celebrate our independence today, as we celebrate our birth as a nation, the day that kick-started a revolution to gain our sovereignty, let’s admit that this last year, this trip around the sun, was also another head-scratcher,” he began.

Then he tried to put things in perspective. “But let’s also remember that we’re babies as a country,” he said. “We’re basically going through puberty in comparison to other countries’ timeline, and we’re going to go through growing pains.”

But that’s natural, he argued. “This is not an excuse, this is just the reality, and this is good, because we gotta keep learning, we gotta keep maturing, we gotta keep striving, we gotta keep climbing, we gotta keep building,” he said. “And we gotta make sure we maintain hope along the way, as we continue to evolve.”

And we can’t not continue to evolve, he said. “Because the alternative sucks.”

Alright alright alright, man.

(Via CNN)

Paul Rudd likes a prank. For nearly 20 years, whenever he would appear on his shows, the actor would trick Conan O’Brien into playing a clip from the bad cinema classic Mac and Me. But evidently he likes to mess with people even when cameras aren’t rolling. On Monday, Seth Rogen shared his own story of being the victim of a Paul Rudd ruse.

It was a short story, told over a single tweet. “Once I was in the spa in a hotel in Vegas getting a massage,” Rogen wrote on Twitter. “When I finished I turned over and to my shock Paul Rudd was massaging me. He saw me go in and convinced the masseuse to let him take over, thinking I’d notice immediately. I didn’t, and Paul did the entire rest of it.”

And that’s it! It sounds like Rudd knows how to do a massage. After all, Rogen didn’t know the difference between a pro and the guy who kept stealing 1996’s Romeo + Juliet. A couple weeks back, Rudd did one final Mac and Me prank for the final week of O’Brien’s TBS show Conan — which also saw the guy he once treated to a massage getting the host high.

Ever since Donald J. Trump’s presidency ended in disgrace and violence in January, Fox News hasn’t been as relentlessly fawning and fact-challenged as the likes of OANN and Newsmax. But they’ve tried. For one thing, they employ Tucker Carlson, who can always be counted on to spout dangerous nonsense — like asking viewers to harass people wearing masks. But one of the network’s former execs, who was there at the beginning, is calling them out — or trying, with not much success, to call out its owner, Rupert Murdoch.

In a blistering op-ed published by The Daily Beast, one Preston Padden — who was president for network distribution at Fox Broadcasting Company for seven years, and saw Fox News take off in its infancy — tried to square his longtime association with Murdoch with what his biggest network has become.

“Over the past nine months I have tried, with increasing bluntness, to get Rupert to understand the real damage that Fox News is doing to America,” Padden wrote. “I failed, and it was arrogant and naïve to ever have thought that I could succeed. I am at a loss to understand why he will not change course. I can only guess that the destructive editorial policy of Fox News is driven by a deep-seated vein of anti-establishment/contrarian thinking in Rupert that, at age 90, is not going to change.”

Padden calls Murdoch “brilliant, courageous, optimistic, and a gentleman,” but that what began as a “truthful center-right news network” has curdled into a “bile-filled network,” peddling claims “that no reasonable person would believe.” He singles out their misinformation about masks and vaccines, and about the election. He blames them for stumping for the rally that mushroomed into the deadly but failed Jan. 6 insurrection. “Millions of Americans believe these falsehoods because they have been drilled into their minds, night after night, by Fox News.”

But, Padden claims, not even Fox News’ owner believes the tall tales it spins on the regular:

The greatest irony is that I don’t believe that most of the falsehoods on Fox News reflect Rupert Murdoch’s own views. I believe that he thought that it was important to protect his own health by wearing a mask during the pandemic and he encouraged me to do the same. I believe that he thought that it was important to protect his own health by getting vaccinated at the earliest opportunity and he encouraged me to do the same. And I believe that he thinks that former President Trump is an egomaniac who lost the election by turning off voters, especially suburban women, with his behavior.

It’s big if true, though surely by now the damage done to a wide swath of America, perpetuated since the 1990s, is already very much done.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Anyone that has watched the Fast and Furious movies knows there’s one thing that matters above all else: family. That core value is the driving force of Dominic Toretto and his crew as they take fast cars to heights never seen before. His desire to do everything for family is an admirable trait that keeps you cheering for him whether he’s committing crimes or saving the world.

With the most recent move in the franchise, F9, recently releasing to theaters we’re once again getting to witness Dom defying the odds to protect his family. In fact it’s so inspirational it’s leading to a new hilarious meme. Everyone is inserting Dom’s love of family helping him overcome any obstacle into movies, TV shows, and, yes, video games.

This has of course led to everyone seeing what video games they can put Dom into. One of the most obvious answers, and one of the more popular choices, has been to put him into JRPG’s. Stories like Final Fantasy and Persona have always been about overcoming the odds to defeat an almighty evil. So what else is going to power the heroes through that than family? The Persona 5 photoshop in particular where he’s thanking the protagonist for reminding him of the importance of family deserves a special shoutout, because the level of detail in it is hysterical.

Of course, Dom isn’t going to keep his love for family contained to only the world of JRPG’s. He will extend his help and advice to the Elder Scrolls universe as well. Goblins are no match for the power of family after all.

If there’s any script that reaches the same level of insanity as Fast and Furious it would be the Metal Gear Solid franchise. While Metal Gear may be more of a meta-commentary on world politics, compared to Fast and Furious being car action movies, they clearly both know the value of family.

https://twitter.com/TheCoolRedben/status/1411985394758033408/photo/1

He’s even found his way into helping the only being as fast as his 1970 Dodge Charger, Sonic the Hedgehog. A perfect crossover.

If there’s one thing we learned here today is that you never mess with a man’s family. If you do, not only will you have to face the wrath of that family, but Dominic Toretto may appear to assist them. It’s a force that even video games most powerful bosses were unable to defeat. Family above all.

Doja Cat may have already put out a deluxe version of her recent album Planet Her featuring Gunna and Eve, but that hasn’t stopped fans — and some of Doja’s peers — from campaigning for a remix featuring just one more rapper whose visual aesthetic matches Doja’s well: Yung Baby Tate. The Atlanta rapper posted a video of herself freestyling to the instrumental from the exuberant Planet Her song “Get Into It (Yuh),” sparking interest in an official remix featuring the verse.

Although Doja’s already released the album and a deluxe version, if anyone were to advocate for a sharp rapper like Tate, it’d be Doja Cat, who explained when releasing her new album that she put rappers like Gunna, JID, and Smino on her projects to highlight her love for “bars.” Certainly, Tate is someone who’d have worked with Doja had they crossed paths earlier in their careers; her breakout project, GIRLS, featured collabs with female rappers like Bbymutha, Kari Faux, and Latto (formerly Mulatto).

Both rappers will be busy this year, though, with Doja touring Planet Her and Tate appearing on Love & Hip-Hop. Additionally, Doja made it clear that she doesn’t plan on doing too many more collabs going forward because she doesn’t want them to sound like mashups — but since this verse already exists, maybe she can make an exception.

Watch Yung Baby Tate’s freestyle video above.

Yung Baby Tate is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

While we occasionally hear about how Donald J. Trump is doing after his presidency ended in violence and disgrace, details remain thin on the ground. For instance, we know he mostly lives in resorts, ranting to strangers about the election he lost. But we don’t know if he’s living alone. Where is Melania? Where is Barron? Are they by his side or enjoying a peaceful existence away from Mar-A-Lago and his many groveling hangers-on?

According to Insider, a forthcoming book fills in some gaps. It’s called Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, by journalist Michael Wolff, and though it won’t be released until July 27, it’s already provided solid dirt. It’s how we learned it was Rudy Giuliani who convinced Trump that Mike Pence could overturn the election (which he couldn’t). Ditto the stories of Trump staffers requesting offices on the second floor of the White House because the then-president hates stairs.

The latest breakout bit from Wolff’s book involves his post-presidential life. For one thing, it’s reportedly “unclear” how much time Melania is spending at Mar-A-Lago with her husband, just as it was unclear how often she was in the White House or in a Maryland home with her parents. But when she is there, she and Donald dine at the center of a patio restaurant, alone, at a “roped-off table.”

That sounds weird and presentational, but it’s gets stranger. As Wolff describes it, the former POTUS and FLOTUS are “looked at, somewhat, like zoo animals. No, no, that’s not right. They are like a newly married couple: every night is a wedding at which they spend their dinner greeting friends and wellwishers.”

What’s more, Donald seems to time his arrival for dinner just as everyone has filled the tables, at which point, Wolff writes, “everyone stands and applauds.”

Back in April, CNN reported on some of Melania’s mysterious involvement in her husband’s life post-White House. “She’s not a presence at Mar-a-Lago at all. She’s not mingling with people and rarely interacts with her husband’s staff,” a couple told the network. CNN also claimed that, when she is there, she “makes frequent trips to the on-site spa — with one person telling CNN she sometimes goes for treatments twice a day.”

Anyway, sounds like they’re living their best life, far away from almost everyone else’s.

(Via Insider)

Richard Donner, one of the most successful Hollywood directors of the ‘80s and ‘90s and one of the major architects of the modern superhero movie, has died, according to Deadline. He was 91 years old. No cause of death has been reported.

Donner got his start in the industry, like so many in his generation, with television. He cut his teeth directing episodes of The Twilight Zone, Route 66, The Rifleman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Perry Mason, even Gilligan’s Island. His feature film debut came in 1961, with X-15, aviation drama co-starring Charles Bronson, hot off of The Magnificent Seven.

It would take another decade and a half for his first blockbuster: 1976’s The Omen, which introduced the screen to Damian, the young Antichrist who unwittingly causes the gruesome death of anyone who happens upon his secret.

Donner parlayed that into the gig directing 1978’s Superman: The Movie, the first major film to take comic books seriously. Filled with big, handsomely paid names (Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Glenn Ford, screenwriter Mario Puzo), plus one fresh-faded instant star (Christopher Reeve), it was a troubled production. Indeed, Donner’s relationship with the producers was so fractured that they removed from the adjacently filmed sequel, replacing him with A Hard Day’s Night auteur Richard Lester.

But Donner’s contribution to comic book cinema would leave it forever changed. No longer would superheroes be treated only like kitsch and camp. They were epics with big themes and flawed heroes who didn’t always do good. They would get big budgets and big names and dominate the box office. And it all started with Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie.

Despite the Superman production headaches, he went on to a very successful career. He rebounded with The Goonies, for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, as well as the fantasy Ladyhawke. In 1987 he found his per series: Lethal Weapon, the buddy comedy that changed the buddy comedy forever. He’d return to the series every few years, in between comedies (Scrooged), dramas (Radio Flyer), and other thrillers (Assassins, Conspiracy Theory, 16 Blocks).

One of the last films he worked on, some 15 years ago, was a redux of Superman II, which cobbled together something like a director’s cut, using never-seen footage and some digital touch-ups, getting as close as he could to his original vision. But you can see Donner’s touch in every comic book movie you see today.

(Via Deadline)

Black Widow will finally see a theatrical release later this week, and while the news Monday may revolve around one actor’s strong rebuke of the Marvel franchise and its star, that’s doing little to damper the excitement for the movie at hand.

On Monday, Disney released a sneak preview of the film on its YouTube page, featuring three of the movie’s biggest stars trying to pull off a daring escape.

“You made a scene, didn’t you?” Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) asks while piloting a helicopter hovering above what looks to be a prison keeping David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov at bay. As inmates cause a ruckus behind bars, he runs and kicks down a large metal door to aid his escape. Florence Pugh’s Yolena is also involved here, as she and Natasha encourage Shostakov to outrun a mob of inmates and avoid guards to get to the top of a snow-swept structure to escape via helicopter.

The minute-long clip shows some impressive super soldering, though it ultimately seems unsuccessful in the end.

We’ll have to see just how Shostakov escapes his captors and what else Black Widow has in store for us when the movie, originally due in early May of last year, finally hits theaters on July 9.

The Beast Must Die: Season 1 (AMC+ series) — Jared Harris and Cush Jumbo star in this revenge-thriller series (which originally aired on BritBox UK and achieved a viewing record) that has already been renewed for a second season. The story’s based on Nicholas Blake’s 1938 novel and revolves around a mother who’s hell-bent upon avenging her son’s death, all while a detective’s working the case and hoping hoping to solve matters before mom takes justice into her own hands. Meanwhile, the detective’s suffering from PTSD, and yes, this sounds like an enormously chaotic show, but it’s so crushingly executed that you’d be gripping your seat arms if you watched it in a theater. (Note: Although AMC+ will stream the first two episodes of the series on July 6, AMC will wait a week for a traditional premiere on July 12.)

All American (CW, 8:00pm) — Simone’s aunt (who’s a journalism professor) receives a visit from the gang, all while both Simone and Olivia see the campus life differently than they expected.

The Republic Of Sarah (CW, 9:00pm) — This show follows the ending of tranquility of Greylock, N.H., after a stash of valuable coltan leads to new overlords, and a rebellious teacher (Sarah Cooper) steps in to halt the madness. Soon enough, there’s the prospect of Greylock becoming a sovereign nation, which will present problems of its own. This week, Sarah’s digging into how to create an independent currency for Greylock, and Grover opens up to Danny about Corinne.

In case you missed this pick from last Monday:

Relentless (Discovery+) — This Blumhouse Television/Stick Figure Entertainment series releases three episodes of this journey by an obsessive filmmaker (Christina Fontana) to uncover what really happened to a missing young woman (Christina Whittaker), a 21-year-old who left a 6-month-old child behind in Missouri. Less than a year later, Fontana touched base with the family and soon found herself staring down a trail of conspiracies and betrayal while becoming part of the story. Fontana soon realized how accounts lacked consistency across the board during interviews, and it’s fair to say that the filmmaker risked her own career and safety while bringing this story to her audience.

There were no NBA games on Sunday after the Milwaukee Bucks had won Game 6 in Atlanta on Saturday night to set up an NBA Finals matchup with the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, but that didn’t mean the 4th of July came and went without quite the story emerging from the world of the NBA media.

The New York Times published a lengthy report detailing internal discord within ESPN’s NBA team over the past year stemming from comments made by Rachel Nichols about Maria Taylor getting a larger role in NBA Finals coverage because ESPN was worried about diversity, not because Taylor deserved the role. The story created a great deal of discussion, particularly about allyship and race in sports media — and also led to some folks accidentally yelling at the wrong Rachel Nichols on Twitter.

Nichols, unsurprisingly, didn’t address the story on social media, waiting until Monday for the open to The Jump to speak, briefly, about the story. In her 30 second open, Nichols apologized to Taylor and others at ESPN for disappointing them and said she deeply values her colleagues, before Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins, who were the analysts on the show that day, offered their support to Nichols.

“So the first thing they teach you in journalism school is don’t be the story, and I don’t plan to break that rule today or distract from a fantastic Finals. But I also don’t want to let this moment pass without saying how much I respect, how much I value our colleagues here at ESPN. How deeply, deeply sorry I am for disappointing those I hurt, particularly Maria Taylor, and how grateful I am to be part of this outstanding team.”

It was a bit awkward, as one would expect, and a bit shorter than many had hoped as she didn’t address any specifics of what she said — there were also plenty of people on social media surprised that Nichols was hosting the show the day after the report was published. The show then moved on to Finals talk and that will likely be the last discussion of this situation from Nichols on TV, but it certainly won’t push it to the backburner yet in the public conscience.