Month: October 2021

Country musician Travis Tritt wants to make his stance on performing shows during Covid-19 known — he’s against any and all protections that keep his fans and crew safe from the disease. In a statement released today, Tritt announced that he was canceling shows at any venues that had restrictions in place regarding vaccination status, testing, or mask mandates.

“I’m putting my money where my mouth is and announcing that any venue or promoter mandating masks, requiring vaccinations, or pushing COVID testing protocols on my fans will not be tolerated. Any show I have booked that discriminates against concert-goers by requiring proof of vaccination, a COVID test, or a mask is being canceled immediately. Many people are taking a firm stand against these mandates around the country, and I wholeheartedly support that cause. I have been extremely vocal against mandates since the beginning. This is a sacrifice that I’m willing to make to stand up for the freedoms that generations of Americans have enjoyed for their entire lifetimes. There are plenty of promoters and venues around the country that appreciate fans and the freedom of choice in this great country, and those are the promoters and venues that I will be supporting. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this situation creates for anyone who had purchased tickets to these shows. We will try to reschedule unrestricted shows in these areas as soon as we can.”

Though guidelines for protecting Americans from Covid-19 have sparked debate, Tritt’s stance is a fairly radical one. Most artists are happy to have restrictions like testing or vaccination in place, along with masks. Another musician in the country space, Jason Isbell, was one of the most outspoken artists about having guidelines to keep fans safe in place. It will be interesting to see how fans and peers react to Tritt’s decision. If you’re unfamiliar with Tritt’s music, check out a live performance of one of biggest hits, “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive,” above.

As we all know pretty much know by now, the reopening of travel is happening on a country-by-country basis and depends greatly on which passport you hold. There are a million variables that we won’t get into here. But there was one slice of sunshine in the travel news this week and it’s a nice one, to be sure.

Thailand is reopening to vaccinated travelers from some countries, starting November 1st. The backpacker-friendly nation had already started a “Sandbox” travel system on October 1st. That system was put in place in very popular destinations around the country. Basically, if you were vaccinated and traveling from a low-risk country, you could go to Phuket or Ao Nang, for instance, but you had to stay there for seven days — a sort of quarantine in paradise. The success of that scheme has led to the government announcing that the country would fully reopen to vaccinated travelers from “low-risk” countries starting November 1st, 2021.

According to a press release from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the country will welcome vaccinated travelers from “10 low-risk countries, including China, Germany, Singapore, the UK, and USA” starting in November. They plan to expand the list of ten countries on December 1st and again on January 1st. You’ll also be required to show a PCR test before you board a flight to Thailand and get a test once you arrive. If you’re negative when you arrive, you’ll be allowed to travel around the country.

While November 1st is right around the corner, the same press release also notes that “consumption of alcoholic beverages in restaurants as well as the operation of entertainment venues under appropriate health precautions would be allowed from 1 December.” So that gives you about a month to chill in Thailand before the party crowd returns in earnest.

It goes without saying that any part of this or all of it could be reversed as the Thai government sees fit. Still, it’s a ray of hope for any traveler looking to get in on a slice of paradise in one of the best food countries on earth before 2022 arrives.

Until then, here are some Instagram shots from Thailand to whet your appetite.

Billy Porter, star of Pose and progressive fashion pioneer, is not a fan of Harry Styles’ Vogue cover look, despite the forward momentum it generated in the movement for breaking down arbitrary gender barriers in fashion. For what it’s worth, though, his skepticism for Styles’ cover comes as much from his own experience being castigated for his daring red carpet looks as for anything Styles’ dress did.

“I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to,” Porter observed in an interview with The Sunday Times excerpted by Rolling Stone. “I’m not necessarily convinced and here is why. I created the conversation [about non-binary fashion] and yet Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time. I’m not dragging Harry Styles, but he is the one you’re going to try and use to represent this new conversation? He doesn’t care, he’s just doing it because it’s the thing to do. This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars and not be gunned now. All he has to do is be white and straight.”

While Styles’ dress — and the numerous androgynous looks he’s pulled off over the years — have drawn fire from angry conservatives looking to preserve their own worldviews, he’s also found his fair share of defenders and imitators.

Don Toliver is currently one of the hottest names in rap, with his new album Life Of A Don debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart. It’s no surprise, though, as he’s signed to Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack label, sharing with his mentor a certain level of cool-kid clout — enough to warrant a look from perennial streetwear favorite A Bathing Ape, which teamed up with Toliver to release a new line of exclusive co-branded merch. In addition, Toliver’s listening party for Life Of A Don was held at BAPE’s New York store and captured for posterity in the video above.

The merch line consists of four T-shirts combining the streetwear brand’s trademark logos with Don’s name and the album title. The shirts are all $129 and can be purchased either at A Bathing Ape’s website or on Don Toliver’s online shop with album bundles.

Seeing Don Toliver teaming up with A Bathing Ape makes perfect sense when you consider Travis Scott’s propensity for licensing his likeness to practically any brand looking to raise its profile among young spenders: Travis counts Sony, McDonald’s, and more among his partnerships, even as he insists he’s not looking to be a “brand” of his own. Don’s following in his footsteps and well on his way, although he’s making sure to balance savvy money moves with fan-favorite singles like “Flocky Flocky” and “Drugs N Hella Melodies.”

Life Of A Don is out now via Cactus Jack and Atlantic.

Well, folks, it looks like we’re going to have to wait a bit longer to see the dark fantasy world Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones writer George R. R. Martin have been cooking up for us: Elden Ring has officially been delayed. The good news is, as far as delays go this one should be a piece of cake to wait for — especially for anyone who followed Cyberpunk 2077 hellish development cycle. While Elden Ring was originally scheduled to release on January 21, 2022, the upcoming action RPG has been moved just about one month later to February 25. Developer FromSoftware announced the decision in a tweet shared from the official Elden Ring Twitter account earlier today, explaining the team has pushed the date because “the depth & strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations,” thus requiring more time to perfect.

Following the announcement, FromSoftware was quick to soften the blow with the reveal of an upcoming “Closed Network Test” that takes place November 12-14 via PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. According to publisher Bandai Namco’s official site, “the network test is a preliminary verification test in which the selected testers play a portion of the game prior to the full game launch,” where “various technical verifications of online systems will be examined by conducting large-scale network load tests.” All interested players are encouraged to sign up for a chance to test the game out, with registration closing on November 1.

All this comes shortly following the gameplay of Elden Ring leaking on Twitter, showing off the game’s open world, HUD, and overall aesthetics. While we’re sure the upcoming title will have many of the qualities that make Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro such beloved titles, it’s worth pointing out just how much Elden Ring differs from its predecessors in how vast and open its world will be, with dungeons scattered throughout the realm and a map, compass, and waypoints to guide you. For those who aren’t able to get a look at the game during its network test, Elden Ring will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 25.

After Drake’s reluctance to allow his Degrassi character Jimmy to be paralyzed after an episode about a school shooting became public, his portrayal is now being praised by the leader of an organization dedicated to kids with mobility issues for helping normalize wheelchairs. Madeline Robinson, executive director of Wheelchair 4 Kids, told TMZ that Drake’s role — however reticent he initially was to play it — gave kids in wheelchairs confidence. “When was the last time you went to a mall and saw a kid in a wheelchair hanging out with other kids?” she wondered, saying it’s rare.

“It is great when we see our kids being represented,” Robinson asserted. That was the logic that the show’s producers used to get Drake on board with the character development when the actor threatened to quit after seeing the script, worried that it would have a negative effect on his then-nascent rap career. In AV Club’s oral history of Degrassi: The Next Generation, writer James Hurst recalled telling Drake, “Aubrey, there’s some kid somewhere in a wheelchair, who’s completely ignored, who’s never on television, never gets represented. I need you to represent this person. You’re the coolest kid on the show, and you can say there’s nothing wrong with being in a wheelchair.”

Drake is now arguably the biggest star in hip-hop, so it’s clear he’s surmounted his worries, however well-founded they may have been.

Women is Losers (HBO Max film) — If you loved Shang Chi and the Legend of the Seven Rings, then be sure to check out Simu Liu’s newest movie, which debuted at this year’s SXSW festival. This 1960s-set drama costars Lorenza Izzo and revolves around Izzo’s former Catholic schoolgirl, who attempts to rise beyond stereotypes and oppression and poverty and really, you know, go somewhere. If the title sounds familiar, that’s because the movie’s named after Janis Joplin’s song of the same name.

We’re Here (HBO, 9:00pm) — Nope, you’re not looking at a photo of Beyoncé. This ^^ would be the fabulous Shangela (of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame), who’s back with the rest of the Queens (including Bob and Eureka) in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Temecula, California after COVID interrupted the first round. In Season 2, the trio will continue to recruit small-town residents (in this case, that would be Noah, Faith, and Olin) and train them for onstage moments that they never dreamed possible.

9-1-1 (FOX, 8:00pm) — A man overexerts himself during a fitness quest, which leads to an awfully awkward rescue call, and they also find a groundskeeper whose daily chores have gone wrong.

Wakefield (Showtime, 9:00pm) — This miniseries follows a beloved and brilliant psychiatric nurse who’s caring for patients int he Blue Mountains of Australia. Her array of patients will also entertain as well as endear.

Ordinary Joe (NBC, 10:00pm) — It’s like Sliding Doors but with TV Prince James Wolk (Watchmen, Mad Men, Political Animals, Zoo) and no Gwyneth Paltrow. If that’s not enough to make you climb aboard, consider that Wolk not only plays a rock star (!) but two other Joes in parallel timelines. This week, the various Joes deal with Halloween and its many masks (and what they mean).

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Rep. Adam Schiff, Kacey Musgraves

In case you missed these weekend picks:

Halloween Kills (Universal movie on Peacock) — A horror blockbuster is here to spook you in your living rooms, y’all. Michael Myers survives that damn fire, which leads to a fully-had-it-up-to-here mindset of Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, who’s mad as hell at firefighters and vowing that Michael Myers is going down. If it was a matter of wills and badassery, she could make it happen, but that’s not how things usually roll out in this franchise. Laurie may believe that she can (once again) presumably kill her brother and tormenter, but the bloodbath is only getting started. David Gordon Green directs again here, and he’ll be back for Halloween Ends, so good luck, Laurie.

You: Season 3 (Netflix series) — Nothing says (twisted) family bonding like two parents digging a grave for their murder victims while an infant sits in his car seat and does his best to amuse himself. Yikes. Fortunately for all of us, however, the show about Stalker Joe manages to sustain its gimmick and volley the nutso-factor into the stratosphere. It’s a lot like Mr. & Mrs. Smith but with serial killers. Joe (or “Will”) can’t give up his ways (including his roaming eyes), Love refuses to give up hers, and their sleepy little suburb is about to get rocked into oblivion.

In an announcement that probably no one saw coming, Hulu has picked up History of the World, Part II, a sequel series to the classic 1981 Mel Brooks film. Naturally, the legendary comedian will be a writer and executive producer on the new series, but he’ll also have some help from a sizable chunk of the team behind Netflix’s Big Mouth.

Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen, and Kevin Salter will help Brooks bring the eight-episode sequel series to life. As of this writing, there is no information yet on which historical events the show will lampoon when it starts production in Spring 2022. Via Variety:

“History of the World, Part II” is described as a sequel to the 1981 film. The film was made up of segments set during different periods of world history. Among those was the Stone Age, Ancient Rome, and the French Revolution. Like most of Brooks’ work, it also featured musical numbers, including one about the Spanish Inquisition and, of course, “Jews in Space.”

In a follow-up statement, Brooks said, “I can’t wait to once more tell the real truth about all the phony baloney stories the world has been conned into believing are History!”

As for Kroll and the Big Mouth team, they recently dropped the trailer for Season 5, which premieres next month and looks freaking wild. There’s a puppet Christmas special, and a super jacked Kumail Nanjiani playing, well, a super jacked Kumail Nanjiani. (No word on the finger guns though.) Meanwhile, Barinholtz has been hard at work on his own separate series, Chicago Party Aunt, which has plenty of Big Mouth vibes itself. Brooks picked a good team is what we’re saying. And they seem pumped about it, too.

(Via Variety)

Nicki Minaj’s attorney has filed a motion to dismiss the complaint against her and her husband Kenneth Petty for failing to respond to the harassment case against them, according to Complex. Court documents filed last week address the motion filed by attorney Tyrone Blackburn on behalf of Jennifer Hough requesting a $20 million default judgment in Hough’s witness intimidation case against the couple. Hough sued the couple in August, saying they have been hounding her to recant her initial account of her alleged 1994 rape by Petty, for which he served a decade in prison.

Hough says that ever since Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty were married in 2019, the couple and their representatives have intimidated, bribed, and cajoled her to change her testimony in the hopes of getting Petty removed from the sex offenders registry. As he did not update his address and file as a sex offender when the couple moved to California in 2019, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. Last week, The Daily Beast reported that Blackburn filed the request for a default judgment after the deadline to respond to the lawsuit passed.

Now, however, Minaj and Petty’s lawyer, Judd Burstein, has filed a motion to dismiss the new complaint, saying that the delay in responding was “not willful.” Instead, the defendants maintain, it was the result of an innocent mistake after a Zoom conversation on September 22 ended with the impression that Burstein had been retained. However, Nicki says she learned on October 15 that her manager “had not understood” that she approved the lawyer, prompting her to contact him and ensure his services.

“My failure to respond to the complaint was the product of an innocent mistake, and I ask the court to excuse the delay so that I can defend what I believe to be an entirely frivolous case which plaintiff’s counsel has brought against me in an effort to use my name to generate publicity for himself,” the new documents read. The docs also assert that Nicki was never served the initial lawsuit, claiming that the person the process server handed the documents to was never at the residence.

Back in 2013 (so many years ago), we learned that Christian Bale auditioned for Batman Begins while wearing Val Kilmer’s suit. As it turns out, that suit got a lot more use during the casting process for The Batman. The Bruce Wayne role eventually went to Robert Pattinson who’s got a new, tricked-out suit that matches Matt Reeves’ vision for RPattz’s gothed-out, goon-fighting version of the character. The new suit appears to carry a dark secret, but before the updates happened, yeah, Pattinson tested in Batman Forever mode. And it was an intense and sweaty affair.

Via ComicBook, Reeves revealed during DC Fandome that the Kilmer suit played its role in getting Pattinson into bat-mode, which is sort-of a shame because, hell, what a wasted opportunity to not pull out George Clooney’s bat-nipped costume just for fun, right? Actually, that probably would have spoiled the mood, and Pattinson had other issues on his mind:

“It was crazy. But I remember putting it on and thinking, ‘This is impossible. This is going to be absolutely impossible.’ I mean, wearing a kind of two-inch-thick rubber suit, or latex suit, and being incredibly nervous and full of adrenaline the whole time.

“I remember we did like two takes and people were just saying, ‘What can we do about the sweat?’ (laughs) They were like, ‘Nothing! Nothing that can be done.’ I had to be drained of liquid.”

That sounds about right for a guy who blew up a microwave while trying to get through quarantine. And the sweat helped him get into the mindset of wearing all the smudgy eye makeup, for sure. In any event, Kilmer wore that suit while going up against Jim Carrey’s Riddler, and Paul Dano’s putting a distinctly new spin on that character. No word on whether sweat was a big part of Dano’s prep as well, but hey, it couldn’t hurt.

The Batman arrives on March 4, 2022.

(Via Comic Book)