Month: October 2021

During the latest episode of Hollywood Wayz podcast, Entourage creator Doug Ellin launched into a profanity-laced tirade against the producers of Billions who he claims iced him out of the series when it was picked up by Showtime.

According to Ellin, after Entourage fizzled out with a movie that nobody remembers, he went to work developing a show about hedge fund managers with a creative team he only refers to as “the guys behind Rounders.” As Dustin Rowles at Pajiba notes, that would be two of Billions‘ three creators, Brian Koppelman and David Levin. However, HBO passed on the series, which Ellin put on the shelf until two years later when Andrew Ross Sorkin (the third Billions creator) said he wanted to do a show about hedge funds, so Ellin introduced him to Koppelman and Levin.

While that teaming led to Billions becoming a hit for Showtime, Ellin claims that everyone involved essentially ghosted him, and he has some strong feelings about it. Via Pajiba:

“Now, I want everyone to be clear on this. I want nothing about this. I haven’t seen the show — maybe it’s great. I thought those guys were talented so it wouldn’t surprise me,” Ellin said on his podcast in response to this revelation. “But this was like kind of as low rent, lowlife s—t as can possibly be done … I want nothing out of this. I want the universe to take care of itself and burn them in f—-ing hell.”

Griping about getting the cold shoulder is starting to become a theme for Ellin. Back in April, he claimed that Entourage has been unfairly viewed through a “wave of righteous PC culture,” which he feels has negatively impacted his relationship with HBO. The network reportedly passed on a new pilot he made, and his attempt to reboot Entourage for a new generation has gone nowhere, which is probably for the best. The last season of that show made the final season of Game of Thrones Season 8 look like… well, the final season of Game of Thrones, but you get the picture.

(Via Radar, Pajiba)

While we now know a Spider-Man and Venom crossover movie is in the works, here’s one collaboration we didn’t see coming for Eddie Brock and his symbiote pal Venom: a mash-up with The Matrix. Okay okay, so it’s not a crossover in the traditional sense, but fans of these series might find it pretty amusing that because of the two films sharing the same filming locations last February, some scenes from Venom: Let There Be Carnage actually feature set pieces from The Matrix Resurrections — namely some helicopters that appear when Brock (Tom Hardy) and Venom are on the run.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage Location Manager Christopher Kusiak revealed the helicopters seen flying near Coit Tower in the film were not part of Venom‘s production but were actually from the set of The Matrix Resurrections. According to Kusiak, “the helicopters were actually on the Matrix movie. The Matrix was filming at the same time so we were catching part of their activity on camera.” Kusiak said the team ultimately decided to keep them in, as they inadvertently helped out Venom: Let There Be Carnage. However, Kusiak also added that the cast and crew of Venom: Let There Be Carnage wasn’t always so lucky to have The Matrix Resurrections nearby.

“Lots of stuff impacted filming,” Kusiak said. “A lot of our driving shots went away because The Matrix controlled all of downtown…We ended up moving a stunt up onto the top of the parking garage because we couldn’t get to the areas we wanted because of The Matrix. But if we would’ve been there first, it probably would’ve gone the other way.”

As The Matrix Resurrections has not yet hit theaters (we’ll have to wait until December 22 for that), it’s unclear what scenes the crew was filming or if Venom: Let There Be Carnage had any impact on their filming schedule. However, seeing as how The Matrix got there first and reportedly paid the San Francisco Police Department $420,371.63 over 21 days of shooting to help manage the public during their stunts (comparatively, Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage paid $192,422.58), it seems likely that they had to deal with a lot fewer inconveniences than Kusiak and the Let There Be Carnage team. However, there’s no denying Venom made the best of a tricky situation and saved some serious cash, making the movie’s wildly impressive opening taste even sweeter.

Carlos Santana’s upcoming album, Blessings And Miracles, has already delivered the err… supernatural… collaboration “Move” (not “Smooth!) with Rob Thomas. Now, “Joy,” the fourth single from the album due out on Friday, features Chris Stapleton and is a happy expression of music carrying us past a dark period.

Stapleton’s vocals are are as crisp as ever and he’s joined by a backing choir on the hook. He’s joined by Santana throughout and can we ever get tired of Carlos Santana sprinkling a song with his uncanny guitar solos? The answer is no.

“We talked on the phone about the COVID situation and how there’s so much fear in the world,” Santana recalled about first speaking to Stapleton. “And I said, ‘We need to create music as a healing force. We must bring hope and courage and disinfect twisted minds infected with darkness.’ That gave him the ammunition to write such incredible words. Somewhere I said, ‘flying on the wings of angels,’ so it’s a collaboration. And what an incredible song it is. The choir in it — it’s like the Staple Singers.”

Listen to “Joy” above and check out the full album tracklist below.

1. “Ghost Of Future Pull / New Light”
2. “Santana Celebration”
3. “Rumbalero” Feat. Salvador Santana & Asdru Sierra
4. “Joy” (Carlos Santana & Chris Stapleton)
5. “Move” (Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas, Zac Barnett, and American Authors)
6. “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” Feat. Steve Winwood
7. “Break” Feat. Ally Brooke
8. “She’s Fire” (Diane Warren, G-Eazy, and Carlos Santana)
9. “Peace Power” Feat. Corey Glover
10. “America for Sale” Feat. Kirk Hammett and Marc Osegueda
11. “Breathing Underwater” Feat. Stella Santana, Avi Snow, and MVCA
12. “Mother Yes”
13. “Song For Cindy”
14. “Angel Choir” Feat. Gayle Moran Corea / “All Together” Feat. Chick Corea
15. “Ghost Of Future Pull II”

Blessings And Miracles is out 10/15 via BMG. Get it here.

With Donald Trump firmly out of office and enjoying(?) his retirement at Mar-a-Lago, the political tell-alls seem to be flocking to the shelves. The latest insider’s account of Trump’s final days in office sheds some light on how his biggest allies — GOP senators Tom Cotton and Mitch McConnell — managed to help derail his last-ditch efforts to hang onto power.

According to journalist David M. Drucker’s new book, In Trump’s Shadow, Trump’s campaign to cast doubt on the 2020 Presidential Election failed thanks in larger part to two of his closest friends in Washington. Though the administration’s efforts to overturn election results in key states like Pennsylvania and Arizona fizzled in court, plenty of Republicans on Capitol Hill were ready to fall in line behind their new conservative messiah, with members like Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Josh Hawley rallying their colleagues to overturn the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6th.

In his book, Drucker explains how rank-and-file members like Cruz and Hawley recruited a dozen or so senators to their cause, and how both McConnell and Cotton, working quietly behind the scenes, ended up derailing their planned political rebellion.

“In mid-December, after the states had certified their results and the Electoral College had voted, Cotton read in McConnell,” Drucker writes, saying the senator had done research into Trump’s claims for months before the vote. “Together, they plotted to countermand Trump’s bid to overturn the election and neutralize interest in objecting to Biden’s victory that was developing in some quarters of the Republican conference.”

Though McConnell was an outspoken opponent of Trump’s voter fraud claims once the Electoral College vote was completed, Cotton was waiting to weigh in until after the run-off elections in Georgia. Drucker says the senator had planned to publish an op-ed after that crucial race, contradicting Trump’s claims. He held off because he was “worried that Republican infighting could tank the party’s chances” in the South.

“Even as he privately counseled colleagues to follow the majority leader’s prompts and ignore Trump’s pleadings, he urged that they all keep their powder dry until January 6 to avoid an intra-party row that might blow up in their faces in Georgia.”

That wait-and-see approach blew up in his face after Sen. Hawley announced he would object to the certification vote just one week before it was scheduled to take place. Shortly after, Sen. Cruz announced he’d recruited 10 GOP members to vote no as well. That’s when Cotton was forced to make public his break with Trump.

“With momentum building, Cotton reevaluated,” Drucker writes. “He hopped on the phone with McConnell, and the two mulled strategic options for undercutting what they feared would be a “bandwagon effect” in favor of objecting. After some discussion, McConnell urged Cotton to speed up his timeline for announcing his opposition. The majority leader had been aggressively whipping the issue. But he believed that Cotton, with his conservative bona fides and reputation as a Trump loyalist, might be more effective at talking teetering Senate Republicans off the ledge by providing cover to those who privately wanted to stand behind the certification of Biden’s victory but feared the consequences back home.”

He published his dissent on Jan. 3rd, just three days before the insurrection — an event that worked to change even more Republicans’ minds about refusing to certify the vote. But, according to insiders Drucker interviewed, it was McConnell and especially Cotton who ended up having the biggest influences on those on-the-fence Congress members.

“Two senior members of McConnell’s leadership team, Senatory John Thune and Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, emphasized that the whole thing would have gotten completely out of hand if not for the stand taken by Cotton,” Drucker says. “‘Tom played a very important role, especially as people were starting to waver,’ Thune told me on January 8, with the shock of what amounted to an attempted coup, albeit an amateur one, still fresh in the air. ‘He took a risk coming out Sunday rather than waiting quietly until Wednesday; he knew it wouldn’t be popular with the base.’”

After years in development and numerous delays due to COVID-19 worries, we’re now less than a month out from Marvel’s latest — and perhaps most unique — undertaking: Eternals. Leading up to the film’s theatrical premiere on November 5, Marvel has been going all-in promoting Eternals, with new trailers and sneak peeks dropping just about hourly as of today. One such clip is a two-minute-long featurette shared by Marvel Entertainment titled “In The Beginning,” which features commentary from the film’s cast regarding Eternals undertaking of telling a Marvel Universe creation story, as well as how the movie shows a concentrated effort by Marvel to make their films more diverse.

The video begins with us hearing someone ask the question oh-so-many of us had when we first heard the Eternals were going to be involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: why didn’t the god-like superheroes get involved during the Avengers battle with Thanos? Based on previous trailers and as shown once again in this clip, it would seem orders from “The Watcher” prevented the team from taking action against any enemies that are not considered deviants. However, when it comes to why that rule is set in place, Marvel Studios president seems to imply more news is coming, stating, “Eternals explores the very creation of the Marvel Universe itself.”

Actress Gemma Chan delved a bit deeper into the characters who comprise the Eternals, stating five of them are more of the “thinkers” while the other five are more physical “fighters.” However, regardless of their ability, the team ultimately forms a sort of “dysfunctional family,” keeping in line with director Chloe Zhao’s vision for the next entry in Marvel’s phase four. Salma Hayek then added the film is not set in “the typical place,” with “the typical shots” and “the typical cast,” before Kumail Nanjiani agreed that, compared to many blockbuster films, everyone in Eternals looks and sounds different. The video then showcased the talents of Lauren Ridloff, the MCU’s first deaf hero who uses American sign language in the film. According to Angelina Jolie, “a lot of people are going to see themselves as superheroes for the first time” in Eternals.

Eternals, with its jaw-dropping and diverse cast that features the likes of Chan, Ridloff, Jolie, Hayek, Nanjiani, Richard Madden, Don Lee, Barry Keoghan, Brian Tyree Henry, Kit Harrington, and many more, hits theaters exclusively on November 5.

It’s been about three months since Halsey gave birth to their first child, and in the days since, she has been open about the start of her parenthood journey. In early August, they showed off photos of their postpartum stretch marks, and later that month, she shared her frustrations with how some in the music industry handled her pregnancy. Now Halsey is one again pulling the curtain back, this time on their Saturday Night Live performance and what their body looks like now.

During her performance of “I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God,” Halsey wore a tight-fitting and physically flattering outfit, which apparently led to a lot of compliments. Halsey addressed that praise in a new Instagram post today by sharing photos showing that her postpartum body isn’t as slender as it seemed on SNL.

In a lengthy caption, Halsey explained, “The body behind all those compliments the other night was wearing a custom tailored outfit and lighted perfectly after much testing, so I could feel good and do my job. I do not want to feed the Illusion that you’re meant to feel and look ‘great’ immediately postpartum. […] I will never have my ‘pre baby body back’ no matter how it changes physically because I have now had a baby! And that has altered me forever; emotionally, spiritually, and physically. That change is permanent. And I don’t want to go back!”

Find Halsey’s post below.

“I am posting this because no matter what I do people are going to talk about my body. It is confusing symptom of being in the public eye so rather than complain I am going to give you something real to talk about! I did SNL two nights ago and a lot of people were quick to say how good I looked. That was a weird feeling. My body has felt like a stranger’s for a long time. I uphold myself to honesty to the point of over sharing sometimes but this feels important. The first picture on this slide is days after my baby was already born. A lot of people don’t know that you still look pregnant for a while after. It is still changing and I am letting it. I have no interest in working out right now. I’m too tired and too busy playing with my darling son. With that being said, the body behind all those compliments the other night was wearing a custom tailored outfit and lighted perfectly after much testing, so I could feel good and do my job. I do not want to feed the Illusion that you’re meant to feel and look ‘great’ immediately postpartum. That is not my narrative currently. If you’ve been following me because you’re also a parent and you dig what I’m doing, please know I’m in your corner. I will never have my ‘pre baby body back’ no matter how it changes physically because I have now had a baby! And that has altered me forever; emotionally, spiritually, and physically. That change is permanent. And I don’t want to go back! But In the spirit of honesty, I’m really tired and not a superhuman and this is really hard. Doing my best to serve my art and my family whilst keeping it all so very real. Love.”

As the backlash continues following Dave Chappelle‘s controversial remarks about transgender women during his latest comedy special, The Closer, Netflix has reportedly suspended one of its trans employees who has spoken out against the comedian. For the record, Netflix did not suspend the employee, Terra Field, for her now-viral Twitter thread, but for allegedly trying to attend a meeting she wasn’t invited to. Variety reports that Field and two other employees have been suspended for “crashing” a virtual leadership gathering. A spokesperson for Netflix made it clear that the suspensions and pending investigation were not because of Field’s tweets because employees are “encouraged to disagree openly.”

According to The Verge, Chappelle’s special has caused internal strife inside the streaming company, where employees want to know whether transgender voices were included in the decision to stream the new special and where the company draws the line at hate speech.

“We repeatedly provide a platform for content that is harmful to the trans community,” an employee wrote in a Netflix Q&A document. “What is our plan on how we are going to repair this situation in particular?”

Here’s what Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in response. Via The Verge:

Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don’t allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line. I recognize, however, that distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries. Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean spirited but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering.

As for Chappelle, he’s bathing in the controversy. While attending a special screening of a documentary on his life last week, the comedian proudly told the crowd that he “loves” being canceled. “F*ck Twitter. F*ck NBC News, ABC News, all these stupid ass networks. I’m not talking to them. I’m talking to you,” Chappelle told the audience full of Hollywood celebs. “This is real life.”

(Via The Verge)

Lil Uzi Vert is quickly becoming one of rap’s most approachable superstars. Despite doing true rockstar things like getting huge pink diamonds embedded in his face and donning a Daft Punk-esque robot helmet for as-yet-unknown reasons, Uzi is just as likely to be found hanging out with fans and freestyling at gas stations. He recently explained that he’s a “happy person” who isn’t “gonna act gangster because that’s not what I am,” and that truth becomes more apparent with each social media post depicting his down-to-earth shenanigans.

The latest found him attending a traditional Cambodian wedding in his native Philadelphia on Saturday, where he danced with fellow guests and gifted the couple several thousand dollars in cash, according to HipHopDX. Uzi also freestyled for the other guests and took photos with the happy couple. The couple posted the photos on Instagram with a caption making it clear that Uzi was indeed invited and didn’t crash the wedding.

Both DX and Complex noted that it wasn’t the first time Uzi went viral for showing up at a wedding. Last year, he apparently showed up at a Palestinian wedding in New Jersey wearing a keffiyeh around his neck and again danced with the guests.

One thing is for certain: Uzi makes for an entertaining guest, so if you can get him that invite, it appears it’ll be worth it.

The welcome content factory that is Jeff Tweedy has delivered the goods once again. In the past 12 months, the Wilco frontman has delivered a solo album (Love Is The King), a New York Times bestselling book about channeling your musical creativity (How To Write One Song) and kicked-off a VERY active Substack newsletter, Starship Casual. Now the prolific songwriter and Chicago die-hard has dropped two new singles as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club.

“C’mon America” is the A-side to the 7-inch release that is part of unreleased bank of songs from Tweedy. It’s a passively patriotic tune whose opening guitar strums are reminiscent of Wilco’s classic “Kamera.” Its lyrical simplicity is endearing as Tweedy sings, “Now what you gonna do? Now that the world has turned against you?” The B-side is “UR-60 Unsent,” a gentle, wistful tune about an unsent mixtape to a lover and it comes from a different batch of unreleased songs, which makes you wonder just how much more material Tweedy is sitting on?

The Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 6 edition features a dozen 7-inch releases from John Waters, Washed Out, Hand Habits, Porridge Radio, and more. You can peep the Singles Club playlist and claim one of the 1,000 subscriptions here.

Listen to “C’mon America” and “UR-60 Unsent” above.

In Game 1 of the NLDS, the Atlanta Braves had first and third with no one out in the first inning and failed to score a run, which proved to be the difference in a 2-1 loss to the Brewers in Milwaukee. After a 3-0 win in Game 2 evened the series going back to Atlanta, it was clear that runs were going to be at a premium in this series and leaving opportunities on the table would be incredibly costly.

Naturally, when the Braves found themselves in a similar position on Monday afternoon, with runners on first and third with just one out in the second inning, the Atlanta faithful were hoping to avoid a redux of that Game 1 failure. When Travis d’Arnaud hit a fly ball to deep left field, it seemed all but assured that the Braves would at least have something to show for their hard work that inning, as Christian Yelich wasn’t even considering a throw to the plate with Austin Riley running.

However, for reasons passing understanding, Adam Duvall tagged up and took off from first as well, providing an easy target for Yelich to get the ball into second for an out that wasn’t even close to erase the run crossing home plate because Duvall got tagged out before Riley hit the plate.

It is, truly, one of the worst baserunning errors you will see in a spot like this. There are so many ways for this to have simply been “bad” and not “catastrophic.” For one, Duvall could’ve simply stood on the first base bag and assured the run crossed, as Yelich, for all his talents, doesn’t have the type of arm to make it a close play at the plate from that deep in the outfield. He could’ve turned around and gotten himself in a rundown to give Riley time to cross the plate. He could’ve just stopped and made the shortstop run to him and bought enough time for the run to score. Literally anything other than running as hard as possible right into an out would’ve scored a run, and yet, that’s what happened and the Braves strolled back to the dugout with nothing to show for an otherwise great offensive inning.