Month: October 2021

Much fuss was made about the way that Adam Driver said the word “ghouls” in Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Won’t Die. Well, Driver (arguably) does it again with his ill-advised “sweetie” aimed at Lady Gaga in this trailer for Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci. This biographical crime drama’s based upon Sara Gay Forden 2001’s book, The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed — and filled with the likes of Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jeremy Irons, and Al Pacino. Naturally, Jared Leto looks nothing like Jared Leto here while playing Paolo Gucci, but watch out, Adam Driver. Lady Gaga’s portraying Partrizia Reggiani, who….

******
******
HISTORICAL SPOILER ALERT
******
******
******
******

…eventually put a hit out on her husband, Maurizio Gucci, who’s played by Driver. And as we see with that visit from a Treasury Department agent, Maurizio wasn’t her only target.

The Italian accents are big, the wigs are big, and the make-up jobs are big. Everyone’s going all out here, and it’s a testament to the rest of the cast (including Pacino, who’s playing Aldo Gucci, former chairman of the global fashion empire) that Leto somehow does not steal the show. He does try, however, by donning massive prosthetics because looking like himself is apparently something that he rarely wants to do. The Gucci family wasn’t wild to hear of Leto’s casting, and god only knows how they’ll react to him smacking himself in the head with a newspaper and insisting, “Gucci is my name, too!”

Paulo was f*cked and eventually lost his clout, as well as his place within the legendary fashion house (although he did design that double-G logo). Below, it sure looks like Leto’s still oozing a few Bad Joker vibes (we live in a society).

It’s like this family was filled with a dozen Fredo and Sonny Corleones or something, which fits with the brief synopsis for this movie: “The turbulent marriage and divorce of Patrizia and Maurizio Gucci, the head of the Gucci fashion house, leads to murder.” Using “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics is a splendid touch, too. It seems like we could (or couldn’t) use a Gaga-30 Seconds To Mars cover of that song, just for kicks.

House of Gucci arrives on November 24.

Acclaimed electro-pop producer Kelly Lee Owens is currently commemorating the release of her 2020 album Inner Song with a cross-country tour, but now, she has another reason to celebrate. Owens was tapped by FIFA to pen the official theme song for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which is slated to take place in Australia and New Zealand. The project resulted in her euphoric track “Unity,” promoted by both Owens and FIFA on Thursday.

The fully-instrumental track shows what Owens does best, combining ethereal soundscapes with her wistful and airy voice. The release of “Unity” also coincides with the announcement of FIFA’s official slogan for the upcoming Women’s World Cup, “Beyond Greatness.”

Speaking about the new song, Owens shared her excitement about the opportunity. “I’m thrilled to share with you all today my new single ‘Unity,” she wrote on social media. “Written especially for the @FIFAwomensworldcup that will be held in Australia and New Zealand in 2023. ‘Unity’ is a song that I put everything I had into it – rising arpeggios, rising basslines…. It’s led with my voice, but I wanted the sense of community brought in with choirs.” Owens continued, “Our values were completely aligned. They [FIFA] kept using the word epic and I just took that and ran with it and made it as epic and bold as I could.”

Listen to “Unity” and hear it in FIFA’s commercial for the Women’s World Cup 2023 above.

While we now know Saturday Night Live was merely the beginning of a lifelong career in comedy for actor Will Ferrell, back in 2003 even the star himself wasn’t too sure about his future. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ferrell opened up about the years directly following him leaving the late night comedy sketch show — and how he was worried his career might have been coming to a close.

After filming Old School and learning director Todd Phillips had to fight to keep Ferrell’s role in the film, Ferrell began filming the now iconic Christmas comedy Elf with quite a bit of doubt about the performance. Ferrell even revealed he distinctly remembers “running around New York in his silly yellow tights, thinking, ‘Boy, this could be the end,’” while the movie was filming. According to Ferrell, both he and his manager kept a pretty close eye on the reactions to the film’s screening leading up to its release, with his manager calling to provide him with updates on the audience’s reactions. While the family screen test reportedly “went great,” Ferrell’s manager told the actor they might get “eviscerated” by a group of USC frat boys who were next to review the film. However, Ferrell said shortly after the USC frat test ended, he got a call saying, “no, that group actually liked it, too.”

When the film finally opened at the box office, it raked in a whole lot of praise as well as a massive $220 million — a substantial profit for the $33 million dollar film. It also helped cement Ferrell as a movie star and was merely one film in a string of iconic movies the actor would star in the mid 2000s, preceding Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Following the success of Elf, Ferrell says that a sequel film was written. However, while the film would have paid the actor a whopping $29 million, Ferrell said he ultimately turned it down after balking at its “rehashed premise” and subpar quality.

“I would have had to promote the movie from an honest place, which would’ve been, like, ‘Oh no, it’s not good. I just couldn’t turn down that much money.’ And I thought, ‘Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.’”

While Elf 2 ultimately didn’t work out for the star, thankfully we can’t say the same about his career. Even today, the literal comedy giant continues to work both in front of and behind the camera, producing 11 upcoming projects and starring in six. His most recent endeavor, The Shrink Next Door, features Ferrell alongside Paul Rudd and premieres on Apple TV+ on November 12.

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a shocking loss on Wednesday night. Despite leading by as many as 26 points, L.A., which did not have the services of LeBron James, fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 123-115.

Russell Westbrook had major ups and downs during his return to his old stomping ground. He recorded a triple-double — 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists — but shot 8-for-20 from the field, registered 10 turnovers, and most notably, got tossed in the game’s waning moments. Thunder youngster Darius Bazley stole an inbounds pass from Rajon Rondo with four seconds left and OKC up by five, and instead of running out the clock, he took advantage of his clear path to the rim and dunked.

The crowd loved it, but Westbrook did not. He got up in Bazley’s face, which led to a fracas and his second technical of the night.

Westbrook, who was booed by the Thunder faithful, was asked about this after the game and was not apologetic about taking this approach.

“How I play the game, I’m more old-school,” Westbrook said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “And when sh*t like that happens, I don’t let it slide. … In the game of basketball, there’s certain things you just don’t do. Like in baseball, you don’t flip the bat. There’s certain things you don’t do in sports when the game’s already over. And I didn’t like it. Simple as that.”

The two teams are slated to play one another again on Nov. 4 in Los Angeles.

In ASAP Ferg‘s glitchy, trippy video for “Green Juice,” the Harlem rapper gets digitized into a familiar, green-tinged virtual reality. While it’s not technically the Matrix of the sci-fi action series that will be — ahem — resurrected soon, it’s a close enough simulation (no pun intended — that time) that it’s clear the imagery Ferg’s concept is working to evoke. While he stomps his way through a signature brag-filled verse, The Neptunes’ buzzing, booming production, and Pharrell‘s oddly inspirational chorus make “Green Juice” into a futuristic, chest-thumping anthem.

Ferg’s set to perform the new single for the first time this weekend at Rolling Loud New York, where he’ll also be offering his favorite green juice from Pressed Juicery via UberEats. It’s also a buy one, get one free situation, with each purchase adding the customer into a sweepstakes for exclusive signed merch. Technically, this means he and fellow New York rap staple Styles P will be competing for customers, what with Styles’ Juices For Life pop-up also coming to Rolling Loud this weekend. Will we see the first-ever rap beef prompted by competition for juice territory? Probably not, but it’s still a pretty amusing thought.

Watch ASAP Ferg’s “Green Juice” video featuring Pharrell and The Neptunes above.

It’s Halloween soon, and instead of going as his favorite meat (“hot dog”), Mitt Romney dressed up as Ted Lasso. All Thursday morning, the Republican senator from Utah has been tweeting images and GIFs of himself in costume as the titular coach from the Emmy-winning Apple TV+ comedy. “If you believe in yourself, and have clear eyes and full hearts — you can’t lose,” he wrote, which is a Friday Night Lights reference even though he’s touching Ted’s locker room “BELIEVE” sign. This is frankly unacceptable.

In another tweet, Romney wrote, “Warming up for Halloween weekend with the grandkids,” along with a Ted Lasso quote: “Your body is like day-old rice. If it ain’t warmed up properly, something real bad could happen.” But the weirdest of his Ted tweets has to be the one where he’s giving biscuits to in-the-news senator Kyrsten Sinema, who’s filling in for Hannah Waddingham’s character, Rebecca. “Biscuits with the boss,” he tweeted, while another added, he added, “She’s one tough cookie.”

The GIF is one thing, but the photo is reminding people of… something else.

Even those who weren’t picking up porn parody vibes from Mitt Romney and Kyrsten Sinema’s photoshoot (congratulations to me for the worst opening to a sentence ever) were confused and disturbed by whatever the heck is happening here.

The “Out of Context Ted Lasso” account was not having it.

This is scarier than most horror movies.

Anthony Sampson has understood the value of mentorship since he was a young man. Growing up in Houston, he had a mentor who helped him see the importance of volunteering and giving back to his community. By the time he graduated from college and settled in Dallas, he knew he wanted to share some of that wisdom and experience with the next generation.

That’s why Sampson, an Allstate insurance agent for 38-years, co-founded 100 Black Men of Greater Dallas/Fort Worth more than 20 years ago and is still deeply involved, sitting on the board of directors. The organization matches Black male mentors with mostly young Black men to help them live up to their potential and contribute to society. By building character and producing leaders, 100 Black Men works toward improving the whole community.

“It means a lot to our mentees to see positive examples of Black men,” Sampson shares. “I believe that ‘What They See Is What They’ll Be.’ In fact, it’s our organization’s official motto.”

According to Sampson, strong mentorship can help young people develop the skills they need “to understand how to deal with issues in life from a positive perspective.” To date, the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of 100 Black Men has mentored more than 1,500 young people.

Kynsington Hobbs is one of them. Now a senior in high school, Hobbs began a mentorship with Anthony Sampson when he was 13. He says working with Sampson changed his perspective of what success can look like in the African-American community, especially for kids who don’t have dads in the picture.

“Seeing someone like this, a role model, who’s showing you how to do the things the right way—how to tie a tie, for instance, or how to iron your suit pants, just the common things that we would think were normal for the average kid—often gets missed out in the African-American community.”

Hobbs says attending a 100 Black Men conference several years ago helped him truly understand the organization’s motto.

“Just seeing a bunch of successful black men, it really changed my narrative,” says Hobbs.

Jackson Session describes his mentorship with Anthony Sampson with similar enthusiasm. Session first connected with 100 Black Men his junior year of high school when a school counselor recommended he join the organization’s trivia bowl team. He began attending Saturday leadership meetings with Sampson, and eventually asked if he could intern in his Allstate office. Sampson hadn’t hired a mentee before, but he took a chance.

Courtesy of Anthony Sampson

Session credits Sampson with teaching him to present himself professionally and with helping him get a scholarship from the national 100 Black Men of America organization.

“He went out of his way to make sure that I was well-connected and that I was taken care of because he knew that I was serious about my education,” says Session, who is now a sophomore at Howard University, studying finance.

“I think mentorship in general is important because I think that growing up, especially now, we have a lot of outside influences,” says Session. “Having somebody who genuinely cares about you to tell you the right way to get to what you want to do, I think that’s important.”

Sampson is one example of thousands of Allstate agents and employees making a difference in their communities. In addition to supporting agent and employee volunteerism, for almost 70 years, Allstate has supported communities through The Allstate Foundation, which partners with leading organizations and local nonprofits to address some of the most pressing issues facing society. The Foundation’s efforts include empowering youth, breaking the cycle of domestic violence and supporting non-profit leaders, with an overarching purpose of advancing equity.

This Fall, in time for back-to-school season, The Allstate Foundation teamed up with education crowdfunding platform DonorsChoose to launch a new Racial Justice and Representation category on the site, making it easy for donors to help fund teacher’s classroom projects focused on increasing diversity in curricula and creating a more inclusive environment. From buying books written by diverse authors to providing materials for anti-racism education, donors can directly support teachers working toward racial equity. The Allstate Foundation matched all donations to these projects for a total of $1.5 million. These funds support teachers who – like Sampson – are serving as positive mentors helping students succeed.

“Mentorship to me is really engaging with youth that need a path to success,” Sampson says. “If I can get them to dream, I know that a dream will become a goal, and then that goal becomes a reality.”

To support classroom projects that promote racial equity, go to DonorsChoose.

When the deal that allowed Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures to “share” Spider-Man very publicly fell apart after the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home in Summer 2019, there were several headlines about how Tom Holland helped bring both sides back together after making a drunken phone call to Disney CEO Bob Iger. However, according to a new Empire feature on Holland’s upcoming jaunt in the multiverse-spanning Spider-Man: No Way Home, the actor admits that he started “pitching” new Spidey plans with Sony in case the relationship with Marvel was truly over. Via Comic Book:

“On the day that the announcement happened that I would no longer be in the MCU… I just drove over to Amy Pascal’s house and sat with her by her pool, and we sat there for hours, just chatting, and pitching movies. How would we do a film without Marvel? Does Peter Parker fall through a portal, and then he’s in the Venom world? Or do we do a Kraven the Hunter film?”

“It was a nice distraction… because as a young kid I was so in love with Marvel, and I was so lucky to be a part of it that when they took the rug from under my feet, I was not ready to say goodbye yet…,” he added.

Despite Sony and MCU working things out after a brief period of uncertainty, Holland’s dreams of having Spidey face off with Venom and Kraven the Hunter may still become reality. Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis recently said that a crossover with Spider-Man is in the works, and earlier in the year, Sony cast Avengers: Age of Ultron star Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kraven the Hunter. Considering those were two of Holland’s big wish-list items, one could surmise that his time as Spidey is nowhere close to an end.

(Via Empire)

So far, the creative partnership between Big Sean and Hit-Boy has been massively fruitful. Beginning with their work on GOOD Music’s 2012 posse cut “Clique,” the duo has put out almost a decade’s worth of hits and fan-favorite bangers, right up to last year’s Detroit 2 and its fiery singles “Deep Reverence,” “Lithuania,” and “Lucky Me.” They kept that momentum this year with “What A Life,” which turned out to be the first single from a collaborative EP the two announced today, What You Expect.

As revealed by Big Sean, the EP will include five new songs, a number he increased from just one new song after a month of chatting up how much he’s enjoying himself just rapping lately. “I had fun doing that LA Leakers freestyle n droppin the What A Life song/video,” he wrote on Twitter today. “it feel good to be active, n just doin whatever the f*ck I wanna do.” Last week, Sean drew attention for delivering a nearly nine-minute freestyle over four different beats, tackling Kanye West’s “Hurricane,” Drake and Jay-Z’s “Love All,” Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek’s “Dear Summer,” and Nardo Wick’s “Who Want Smoke??”

Meanwhile, Hit-Boy is riding high after his pair of successful King’s Disease releases with Nas, which prompted the Queens legend to call the California producer his Quincy Jones.

What You Expect is due 10/29 via Def Jam.

Rising Moroccan-Canadian pop singer Faouzia has positioned herself as one to watch with a handful of strong releases, including 2020 joint track with John Legend, “Minefields.” Now returning for her second empowering anthem of the year, Faouzia makes it clear she’s not willing to change herself for anyone else with the fiery single “Puppet.”

The thumping tune showcases Faouzia’s enthralling vocals over a disco-twinged beat and she sings of breaking free. In a statement about the single, Faouzia explains that she repeats the Arabic word for “freedom” throughout the song, which is indicative of the message behind “Puppet.”

“‘Puppet’ is a song about challenging relationship dynamics as a woman, taking charge, and shamelessly being yourself. I want young girls around the world to know that they don’t need to change who they are for anyone, and that someone that loves you shouldn’t ask you to be someone you’re not. If anyone tries to knock you down, or force you to conform, use that as motivation to stand up taller and only surround yourself with those that want to prop you up and support you. Throughout the song, the word “ حرية” is chanted, Arabic for ‘freedom.’ As the world continues down a difficult path daily, this message is more necessary than ever.”

Listen to Faouzia’s “Puppet” above.

Faouzia is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.