Month: August 2021

Last season, FX’s What We Do in the Shadows ended on a cliffhanger: What would happen to Harvey Guillién’s Guillermo, Nandor the Relentless’ relentlessly well-meaning (and -suffering) familiar? His vampiric Staten Island roommates discovered that he’s actually a vampire killer, a descendant of no less than Abraham Van Helsing, the most famous bloodsucker killer of them all. Is Guillermo going to be okay? Probably not, but the first look teaser for Season 3 shows him enjoying what looks to be at least some well-earned downtime.

We the ever-mousy Guillermo not conversing with his roomies, who probably are none too happy to discover his origins (and his talent for killing vampires), but writing in his diary. What about? A run-in with a high school friend, who’s arguably doing much better than him. That old classmate is a doctor, with a family and a beautiful home. Meanwhile, Guillermo lives in a cavernous Staten Island home with too many roommates, cleaning the fangs of the immortal who was probably never going to convert him anyway.

Enjoy this quiet respite, though, because Season 3 apparently gets intense. At a recent panel at this year’s Television Critics Association, as per Den of Geek, executive producer Paul Simms talked about how they had all once again “painted ourselves into a corner,” and that even he isn’t sure what will befall poor Guillermo.

Luckily you won’t have to wait long to see what goes down. Season 3 kicks off on September 2, running through October 28.

You can watch the teaser in the video above.

Marvel’s Shang-Chi, the second in the MCU’s Phase 4 period, has run into a couple speed bumps in the weeks before its release. First there was some fuss between its star, Simu Liu, and Disney CEO Bob Chapek over the latter calling it an “experiment.” (MCU honcho Kevin Feige chalked this up to a simple misunderstanding.) And then there’s the character himself. He was created in 1973 and, as you probably can imagine, some aspects don’t exactly hold up in 2021. But Feige swears they surgically removed anything that could have been culturally insensitive.

As per Variety, Feige addressed certain concerns to Chinese fans, who have worried that the movie, which does not yet have a release date in their nation, would carry on some of the more questionable aspects of the comics. Among the concerns: that in the ‘70s comics our hero’s father is no less than Fu Manchu, the infamous villain first introduced in the early 20th century and now widely seen as an anti-Asian stereotype. But Feige says not only is he not in the film — the father is instead Wenwu, or The Mandarin, played by Tony Leung — but he was never once considered for inclusion.

“[Fu Manchu] is not a character we own or would ever want to own. It was changed in the comics many, many, many years ago. We never had any intention of [having him] in this movie,” Feige explained. “Definitively, Fu Manchu is not in this movie, is not Shang-Chi’s father, and again, is not even a Marvel character, and hasn’t been for decades.”

Feige also addressed another big worry: that in the comics, Shang-Chi rejects his Chinese upbringing and conforms to Western ideals. Instead, in the film, the opposite happens.

“That sense of running away…is presented as one of his flaws,” Feige said. “It is a flaw to run away to the West and to hide from his legacy and his family — that’s how the movie is presented. And how he will face that and overcome that is part of what the story’s about.”

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hits American theaters on September 3, so we’ll see whether or not Feige and company licked some of the more problematic problems with the source. Its Chinese release, however, is still up in the air, and there’s concern the MCU’s first film about Asian characters will not pass the censors.

(Via Variety)

At this point, it feels like you know what you’re getting with a video from Yo Gotti’s CMG camp. There will be cars, jewelry, stacks of cash, and perhaps most importantly, squads of scantily clad women twerking for the street-bred rappers signed to the label. When there are multiple CMG rappers involved, as there are in 42 Dugg‘s “Rose Gold” video featuring EST Gee, these trappings will be doubled to account for the additional rap star’s benefit.

Dugg and Gee do what they do best on the song, flexing their hard-won block credentials and the fruits of their success — both in the rap game and their “extracurricular” activities. The two rising stars do have undeniable chemistry together, which fits as both were hand-picked by Yo Gotti as the future of trap-inspired street rap. The two Midwestern spitters do similar things but in vastly different ways, with Dugg’s slippery flow reflecting the loose relationship between beat and rap cadence characteristic of rap artists from his hometown, Detroit, and EST Gee’s choppier approach evoking his fellow Louisvillians’ more precise attack.

“Rose Gold” is one of the 23 original tracks on Dugg’s latest mixtape, Free Dem Boyz, which is out now on CMG and Lil Baby’s 4PF label, along with “4 Da Gang,” “Maybach,” and “Turnest N**** In The City.”

Watch 42 Dugg’s “Rose Gold” video featuring EST Gee above.

R. Kelly, the disgraced R&B star accused of grooming and sexually abusing several young women, is officially on trial in New York City, where he faces the above charges as well as allegations that he kept them under his power through means of a criminal conspiracy. R. Kelly stands accused of numerous criminal acts, among them, bribing government officials, knowingly giving two women a sexually transmitted disease, and psychologically and physically abusing the women under his influence. The trial began today, with both sides delivering their opening statements.

According to the New York Times, the prosecution’s opening speech lasted around one hour, during which assistant US attorney Maria Cruz Melendez outlined the loose criminal organization Kelly allegedly fostered to help him keep these and other women under his thumb. She said that he “used his fame, his popularity and a network of people at his disposal to target, groom and exploit young girls, boys, and women for his own sexual gratification.” Some of those associates have already pled guilty to bribing witnesses on his behalf.

Kelly was said to have not only coerced some of the women to have sex with him but also with other men, often as a punishment for displeasing him, in addition to being isolated, locked alone in rooms for days, and being physically beaten by Kelly. Kelly’s defense denied the charges, attributing the expected testimonies against the singer to the women being fame-hungry.

Meanwhile, Kelly still faces the prospect of another criminal trial in Chicago, where he faces similar charges, including child porn and obstruction of justice charges.

ESPN’s biggest morning show is going to get a new look in the near future, as First Take will apparently no longer feature Max Kellerman. According to Front Office Sports and confirmed by the New York Post, Kellerman is expected to leave First Take at some point soon, without a permanent replacement in the fold.

Instead of a permanent verbal sparring, Stephen A. Smith will take on a rotation of ESPN personalities and guests as he will be the undisputed face of the program that has become ESPN’s most popular entity (or, for some, the most loathed). Molly Qerim will remain on as the show’s host, steering the ship from topic to topic. Per Front Office Sports, the idea may simply be “Stephen A. vs. the World.”

As for Kellerman, he will remain at ESPN and the expectation is that he’ll return to a more prominent role on the radio side, while also continuing to host his boxing program. There are rumblings that Kellerman could join ESPN Radio’s morning show with Keyshawn Johnson and Jay Williams, or expand his current program, The Max Kellerman Show, which occupies an afternoon timeslot.

Nothing is official as of this moment, but it seems First Take will look quite different in the near future as Stephen A. will no longer sit opposite just one co-host.

There’s messy and then there’s Lauren Boebert.

The freshman politician has proven she can hang with the big dogs when it comes to publicly humiliating herself. From throwing masks at House staffers to praising the Taliban on Twitter to her Kamala Harris cardboard cutout, she’s almost as good at self-owning as fellow GOP blowhard, Ted Cruz. But while her wild publicity stunts are just that — bids for attention — the latest scandal that she finds herself embroiled in might have more legal consequences.

Boebert is facing questioning from the Federal Election Commission after her team filed documents disclosing thousands of dollars in questionable payments. Via CNBC, the FEC sent a letter to Boebert’s campaign treasurer, asking about four separate Venmo payments made between May and June that totaled more than $6,000. On the forms, the transactions were described as “personal expense of Lauren Boebert billed to campaign account in error.” Later, the document noted that the “expense has been reimbursed.”

This is the first time Boebert’s use of campaign funds has been called into question, either. A separate complaint was filed by a government watchdog group earlier this year, asking the FEC to investigate a reported $20,000 in mileage reimbursements that Boebert received during her 2020 election campaign. If those Venmo payments end up violating the FEC’s laws against using campaign dollars for personal expenses, Boebert might be facing some serious trouble in court.

Of course, she’s not the only Republican who’s had a hard time keeping track of their money. Both Cruz and Matt Gaetz have come under scrutiny — Cruz for buying hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own book, reportedly with campaign money, and Gaetz for some oddly timed Venmo transactions with an accused sex trafficker. There’s fiscally conservative and then there’s just fiscally incompetent.

(Via CNBC)

Ah, Fall. To some, this season brings with it visions of pumpkins and fallen leaves, but at UPROXX, we’re excited for two things: fall sports and all those new fall games. So, naturally, we combined these two great loves for the latest episode of everyone’s favorite gaming show, Recon.

In this episode of Recon, SushiBae and UPROXX’s AJ Lodge are huddling up to talk about — you guessed it — sports! What starts off as a conversation about the latest Madden and FIFA games turns into a broader discussion about what sports games are doing well, and which they think could use a little bit of coaching. They also talk about extreme sports games such as the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 +2 remake, classic family games like Mario Kart and Wii Sports, as well as alternative sports titles like Rocket League and Knockout City.

Of course, no conversation about sports and gaming would be complete without the mention of esports, one of the fastest-growing sectors of gaming. Whether you’re a die-hard Overwatch League fan or a casual Valorant enthusiast, there’s a team and game for everyone to enjoy. Last but certainly not least, be sure to watch Sushi and AJ discuss all the must-play games coming this Fall. From Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, we promise you’ll find at least one title that’s sure to knock your October outta the park.

To join the guys as they talk about everything from the AAA big hitters we’ve come to depend on year after year, to the indie underdogs that captured our hearts and hours of our free time, simply click play on the video above.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as well as Avengers: Endgame, on the off-chance you haven’t seen either and still clicked on this.

To anyone who watched The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the following should come as no surprise: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anthony Mackie is set to star in the fourth Captain America film. It seems the MCU is finally getting around to the next installment in that wing of the franchise, over two years after Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers bade farewell to the role he played for nearly a decade.

Tapping Mackie is a no-brainer. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly, time-hopping Steve Rogers bequeathed his iconic shield to his good buddy Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, played by Mackie. And The Falcon and the Winter Soldier concluded with Wilson swapping roles, taking over the character entirely. They even changed the title at the end to “Captain America and the Winter Soldier.”

This is good news for Mackie, an acclaimed actor who’s been with the MCU since 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It also makes him the second Black actor to get his own Marvel stand-alone movie after Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther, as opposed to one that splits the lead with other characters, as he did with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. You probably suspected all this was coming, but it’s nice to have it all locked in.

(Via THR)

An unearthed Saturday Night Live sketch has been stirring up controversy following the recent events in Afghanistan. In the 2001 sketch filmed shortly after the U.S. invasion following the September 11th attacks, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, and others play a bunch of partygoers who break into song and dance after Seth Meyers enters the room to announce the U.S. has captured Kandahar. After a video of the 20-year-old sketch was shown on Twitter, it led to a round of sharp criticism as people accused SNL of normalizing “imperialism” and not being “funny back then either,” according to the New York Post.

However, The Good Place creator and former SNL writer Michael Schur came to the sketch’s defense by noting that it’s clearly satire, and the purpose was to mock the country’s flippant attitude towards invading a country that we end up occupying for two decades. Via Twitter:

Not my sketch, but I was there. This is satire. It starts at a well-heeled cocktail party with everyone being ridiculous, and then they break into song when they hear we’ve reached Kandahar. The point was to make fun of how cavalier and ignorant we were being about the invasion.

Schur was joined by others on Twitter who also noted that the sketch was obviously not celebrating the Afghanistan war.

“Yeah this is mocking people who casually celebrated the invasion of Afghanistan which by the way was a super unpopular thing to criticize at the time,” wrote user mightywelsh. “This sketch is actually based.”

(Via Ken Tremendous on Twitter, New York Post)

Nine Perfect Strangers: Nicole Kidman’s one of several A-listers who’ve made themselves at home on the so-called “small screen” in recent years, and after a few Emmys and a Golden Globe for Big Little Lies and a Globe nomination for The Undoing, she’s not done yet. She portrays a wellness guru that might remind you of certain celebrities who shill bizarre products and claim that they’ll change your life with a dash of snake oil. Yes, the Paddington villain is here to shake up your little world again.

What If…? (Disney+ series) — We’re in the multiverse, baby. The MCU’s officially launching headfirst into that realm after Loki‘s season finale, and this show’s Twitter account clarified official participation as well. And that sounds about right. I’ve been looking forward to these alternate-reality scenarios since catching D23 footage a few years ago, and Disney+ will show us a wealth of scenarios that stand separate from the existing canon (thus far). Last week, Agent Carter took the serum and became Captain Carter. This week, King T’Challa materializes as Star Lord. Notably, Chadwick Boseman did voice work here, so you’ll be able to say a proper goodbye to his Black Panther. Let the good times and the tears roll.

Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens (Comedy Central, 10:00pm) — Awkwafina’s semi-autobiographical series returns for a second season, in which she gazes into the future with starry eyes. In the present, however, she’s training a new employee, dealing with her feisty grandmother, and then enduring an earthquake. There’s a little backward time travel, too, and the attempt to avoid inevitable mistakes.

Riverdale (CW, 8:00pm) — Following a bizarre time jump and, uh, literal war, Season 5 gives Hiram an origin story, which led him to eventually become a powerful Riverdale kingpin. Elsewhere, Reggie’s dealing with his daddy issues.

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Michael Keaton, Heidi Klum, Vince Staples Ft. Fousheé

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Ms. Pat, Sleater-Kinney, Jeff Bowders