Month: July 2021

In the midst of all the horrible news this industry generates about hip-hop — the violence, ignorance, misogyny, and casual homophobia of it all — it’s nice to get some good news once in a while. To that end, Chance The Rapper is set to bring a free literacy event to his hometown, Saturday’s Books & Breakfast.

Living up to its title, the program will offer free books and free breakfast to attendees, as well as free family portraits. Designed for young children between the ages of three and eight, the events will run weekly on the South and West Sides, including sites in Englewood, Garfield Park, North Lawndale, and West Chatham. You can find more information here.

Chance has always been community-focused, and recently, he’s been returning to his efforts to give back. Most recently, he headlined the LA-based COVID-19 service event 1DayLA alongside his “Holy” collaborator Justin Bieber, helping the event “organize beautification projects, back-to-school events, free medical clinics, homeless assistance, and aid distribution.”

Meanwhile, you begin catching him live again sooner rather than later, as editing his concert film Magnificent Coloring World has made The Rapper “super thirsty” to start performing as well. You can catch the film in theaters in August.

Hot on the heels of Pig being held out as Nic Cage’s most critically acclaimed movie (which is saying something, after the Coen Brothers and the whole Oscar thing, etc.) of all time, A24 (which also brought us First Cow) has another horror-barn-burner for you: Lamb. The film recently premiered at Cannes, and director Valdimar Jóhannsson (making his feature debut here) appears to go heavy on the steeped-in-folklore note here. Don’t mess with nature, y’all. It will come back to you with glowing eyes.

Noomi Rapace stars here as one half of a childfree couple in Iceland, and the pair discovers something along the lines of Sweet Tooth (a child that’s, uh, not entirely a human child), only this doesn’t seem to be a miracle at all, despite the cheery music playing in the background, and the steady drip of dread here is exactly what one expects from A24. Those undercurrents should strike an unsettling chord for those who’ve already seen countless nefarious horror kids, let alone a fur-baby like this one. The obsessive motherhood theme, too, and the fertility motif, all of it whips up into a heady brew with triggered livestock waiting in the wings.

Previously, an international teaser for this film kept a lot of what’s happening here under wraps (as far as a big physical reveal goes), but this trailer lets loose a bit more while cranking the sense of dread up to eleven. We get a better look at the “child” and the consequences that nature might unleash before all is said and done. I’m gonna go hug my dog-child now, and close my eyes until Lamb arrives in limited theaters on October 8.

With a little over a week to go until The Suicide Squad bursts into theaters and HBO Max, the first social media reactions to advance screenings are rolling in, and the consensus is in: James Gunn was the perfect choice to direct for what he affectionally calls “the sh*tty supervillains movie.”

Before the movie even hit, fans were already head over heels for King Shark, and he’s apparently one of the highlights, but judging by the reactions, The Suicide Squad is firing on all cylinders as people praise Gunn for the film’s wild and irreverent tone. The word “gory” also keeps getting tossed around, but right alongside “fun” and “epic,” so it appears that The Suicide Squad is the absolute wild ride that it looked like in the trailers.

Here are just some of the reactions pouring in:

Here’s the official synopsis from Warner Bros:

Welcome to hell — a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.

The Suicide Squad hits theaters and HBO Max on August 6.

BTS has been achieving milestone after milestone lately, and now they’ve just tallied another one: The group had their first BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge performance today. They performed two of their own songs — “Dynamite” and “Permission To Dance” — and as is tradition, they also did a cover. The group chose “I’ll Be Missing You,” the classic single from Puff Daddy (now known as Diddy) and Faith Evans.

According to BBC Radio 1 presenter Adele Roberts (via Metro), Suga’s Korean rap on the song translates to:

“We’re now used to our routines taken away
But still can’t give up living on
We’re more worn out because we don’t know where this ends
We’re an island we made ourselves because we couldn’t trust each other
Hope an end comes for this tiring pandemic virus
Negative thoughts can sometimes be a minus
I knew it wasn’t the end so I couldn’t say bye
When that day comes, will say ‘hi’ like nothing happened. […]
I hate this world, our traces became memories
I just empty my mind, trust without conditions
I fill it every day with just loneliness
Not like the longing that encircles me
We miss you, baby
Whenever it may be
Here’s hoping we meet again, I promise.”

The group said of the performance, “It’s been almost two years we haven’t seen the ARMYs. It’s like 700 days and it’s the first time ever because sometimes we meet them three times, twice a day, and now it’s been a year or so. We miss all of you, BBC, Armys, everyone abroad
and in Korea, too. It’s kind of like a message to all of you.”

Ahead of the performance, Roberts said in a press release (as Consequence notes), “[BTS] have been so passionate, so supportive, and have hoped for a Radio 1 Live Lounge since the first time we played the band. Four years later, BTS have broken records, barriers, and boundaries. That dream is now going to be a reality. I’m beyond excited for us to finally be hosting the biggest boy band in the world!”

Watch BTS cover “I’ll Be Missing You” above and find their “Dynamite” and “Permission To Dance” performances below.

For horror fans, The Exorcist holds a rarified place within the genre. The exquisitely crafted 1973 film, directed by William Friedkin and based on William Peter Blatty’s book (which was based on a true story), was the first horror movie to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Picture—yet it didn’t hold back on the scares. So it was only a matter of time before someone came along and bought the rights to tinker with it.

On Monday, The New York Times announced that Universal Pictures and its Peacock streaming arm were shelling out a reported $400 million to snatch up the rights to The Exorcist trilogy (yes, there were two other films—not to mention a couple of prequels, none of which came close to living up to the groundbreaking original). That’s a lot of cans of Andersen’s pea soup. According to Brooks Barnes, a reporter for The New York Times:

Universal’s decision to revisit The Exorcist is striking in and of itself. The R-rated 1973 film about a baffled mother (Ellen Burstyn) and her demonically possessed daughter (Linda Blair) was a global box office sensation — “the biggest thing to hit the industry since Mary Pickford, popcorn, pornography and The Godfather,” as Vincent Canby wrote in The New York Times in 1974. It has become a cultural touchstone, the type of film that fans and critics guard as sacrosanct.

Yet the company was smart enough to tie the acquisition announcement to the news that the trilogy would be put into the hands of David Gordon Green, the indie filmmaker-turned-legendary-horror-franchise rebooter responsible for 2018’s well-received Halloween (as well as its upcoming pair of sequels). Green will be joined again by Danny McBride, who co-wrote and executive produced the Halloween trilogy, and Ellen Burstyn will reprise her role as Chris MacNeil, a hotshot actress and mom to demonic tween Regan MacNeil (played by Linda Blair in the original). But don’t call it a reboot: Universal has confirmed that the trilogy will be a “continuation” of the original film. And presumably ignore the fact that The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Exorcist III, and/or any of its prequels even existed (just as most audiences did).

The movie is set to star Hamilton’s Leslie Odom, Jr., who’ll play a dad trying to track down Burstyn’s character for some much-needed help and advice about his own demonic spawn. (Remove any crucifixes from the room should be first on Chris’ list of to-dos.) The first film in the trilogy is scheduled to be released in theaters in late 2023, with the latter two movies possibly going straight to streaming on Peacock. Let the pea soup fly!

(Via The New York Times)

Showing up George Lucas probably isn’t the best way to get hired by Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light and Magic. But beating the company at its own effects game has indeed just landed a popular YouTuber known as Shamook his dream job at Lucasfilm’s legendary VFX shop.

For more than a year, Shamook has been sharing his deepfake videos that improve up the technologies being used by major outfits like Marvel, DC, and ILM. In late 2020, he posted a video of ILM’s version of a de-aged Luke Skywalker from The Mandalorian versus his own, and it was clear to the more than 2 million people who have so far watched the comparison that the YouTuber’s was better.

While some companies might respond with a cease and desist letter, ILM took a different approach — they made Shamook a job offer, which he wrote about in the comments section. Now, IndieWire has confirmed with the company that the news is indeed true. A representative for Lucasfilm issued the following statement:

“[Industrial Light and Magic is] always on the lookout for talented artists and have in fact hired the artist that goes by the online persona ‘Shamook,’ Over the past several years ILM has been investing in both machine learning and A.I. as a means to produce compelling visual effects work and it’s been terrific to see momentum building in this space as the technology advances.”

For his part, earlier this month Shamook told his followers: “As some of you may already know, I joined ILM/Lucasfilm a few months ago and haven’t had the time to work on any new YouTube content. Now I’ve settled into my job, uploads should start increasing again. They’ll still be slow, but hopefully not months apart. Enjoy!”

You can watch his original The Mandalorian deepfake below:

(Via IndieWire)

The trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, directed by Jason Reitman (the son of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II director Ivan Reitman) and starring Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, and dozens of Minions-esque Stay Puft Marshmallow Men, is here.

You can watch it above.

Like the other previews so far, the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer leans heavy on the Stranger Things-esque nostalgia. (Stranger Things is an homage to 1980s movies like Ghostbusters; now Ghostbusters is taking cues from Stranger Things. Snake, eating itself, etc.) The plot revolves around the family of Egon Spengler, played by the late Harold Ramis in the original movies, discovering and retrofitting the Ectomobile; there’s also a substantial dose of small-town Americana, a reference to The Walking Dead, a YouTube video for “New York City Ghostbusters 1984,” and although they’re not all in the trailer, Afterlife features cameos from Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts. Don’t worry, Muncher’s in there too.

I’m so proud of him. Here’s the official plot synopsis.

From director Jason Reitman and producer Ivan Reitman, comes the next chapter in the original Ghostbusters universe. In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. The film is written by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which also stars Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Bokeem Woodbine, and Tracy Letts, opens on November 11.

The Kid Laroi’s F*ck Love mixtape is a gift that keeps on giving. It was originally released in the summer of 2020 in a modest 15-track, 30-minute format. A deluxe edition later that year, titled F*ck Love (Savage), added some more tracks, which was followed just last week by F*ck Love 3: Over You, another expanded edition of the album. Now, the Australian rapper/singer is back with yet another addition to the album, this time dubbed F*ck Love 3+: Over You.

This version of the album adds six new songs — “I Don’t Know,” “About You,” “Lonely And F*cked Up,” “Situation,” “Attention,” and “Best For Me” — and bumps the mixtape’s total track count to 35 with a runtime of an hour and 18 minutes. While previous addendums to the album introduced songs with new featured artists — most notably the Justin Bieber collaboration “Stay” from F*ck Love 3: Over You — all of the song added via F*ck Love 3+: Over You feature Laroi unaccompanied.

Laroi wrote of the project on social media, “6 NEW SONGS OUT NOW!!!!! F*CK LOVE 3+!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU FAMILY. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.”

Stream F*ck Love 3+: Over You below.

F*ck Love 3+: Over You is out now via Columbia Records.

Star Trek legend and fan favorite LeVar Burton made his debut appearance as the host of Jeopardy! on Monday, but that’s not the only history that was made. The episode also featured the lowest score ever on the game show. The dubious record was set by Patrick Pearce, a product specialist from Fountain View, California. He entered Final Jeopardy with -$7,400 — which is where he stayed, because by rule, a contestant isn’t allowed to compete in Final Jeopardy with either zero or negative funds.

With his amount of wrong answers dipping into double digits, he was climbing out of the hole most of the night before taking a major blow during a Daily Double, and it was a question about U.S. government buildings overseas that finally put him into record breaking territory.

Pearce’s -$7,400 broke the previous record set by Stephanie Hull, who scored $-6,800 during a 2015 episode. “Desperation, desperation, desperation. Yeah. And I was thinking, ‘OK, if I get big money, I’ll get out of the hole,’ but I couldn’t do it. You can tell by the end of the round, it was just a total brain fart at that point,” she explained to Slate about her, uh, memorable experience on the game show. “Like the last question: ‘Speaking this way involves similes & metaphors,’ and I buzzed in and said, ‘What is ‘metaphorically’?’ And they were looking for figuratively. Like, my God, that’s terrible. But I was really in panic mode at that time. Total sheer panic.” Contrary to popular belief, Pearce and Hull do not need to pay the money back… or else.

What a curious way to begin Burton’s tenure as Jeopardy! host. Hopefully there’s many, many, many more episodes to come, ideally with fewer (respectfully) dumb-dumbs.

(Via Yahoo!)

Perhaps no athlete generated more buzz in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics than American gymnastics star Simone Biles. The most dominant gymnast of all time, the 24-year-old Biles was expected to shoulder the load for the United States en route to winning a host of gold medals this summer.

Unfortunately, after a vault where Biles didn’t quite look like herself during the team final on Tuesday, she spoke to a trainer and then left the arena. When Biles returned, she was not warming up with the Americans, and it was announced shortly after on the broadcast that she would withdraw the team gymnastics final.

Reports out of Tokyo indicated that the decision was related to Biles’ mental health, and eventually, USA Gymnastics released a statement regarding her potential availability going forward.

With Biles out, the United States has to turn to Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, and Grace McCallum — all of whom are first-time Olympians — on all of its remaining events. Beyond the fact that losing Biles for the remainder of the team events is a gigantic hurdle to need to overcome, the Americans also trailed the Russian Olympic Committee by 2.5 points following two rotations.

Biles came into the Olympics seeking to add on to her four gold medals, and the overwhelming likelihood was that she was going to continue to expand her collection. Her next scheduled events begin on Thursday.