Month: December 2021

Last week, The New York Times ran an interview with Paul Thomas Anderson (where he correctly stated that movies should only be two hours long) that naturally centered on his creative process and his latest film, Licorice Pizza. For those who saw the film, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s father, George, makes a small cameo as a water bed salesman, and according to Anderson, he was “the right man for the job.”

In a newly released outtake from NYT writer Kyle Buchanan, Anderson reveals how he landed Leo’s dad for the part, and how it ended up being a serendipitous casting choice:

I created a picture of a guy who owned a wig shop that sold these water beds, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I kept saying, “Who do I know that looks like this?” And like a bolt of lightning, I remember, like, “Leo’s dad looks exactly like this.” So I tracked him down, asked him if he’d ever be interested in being in a film. He said, “Sure.” I explained the scenario to him. He said, “Sounds great. Did Leo tell you that I owned a water bed company?” It was called Foggy Bottom.

Interestingly, Leo has never worked with Anderson and famously turned down the role of Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights. His dad, on the other hand, knew better than to pass on starring in a PTA movie. Especially since he had all this experience.

(Via Kyle Buchanan on Twitter)

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Welcome back to the end of the year doldrums! I mean — er — SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the market. I mentioned it briefly last week but as we enter into the final days of the year, most sneaker brands are keeping things relatively quiet. You still have your big brands churning out releases, but the truly jaw-dropping break-the-internet sort of action isn’t going to pick up until mid-January at the earliest — unless some big names drop surprise end of the year releases.

That’s not completely out of the realm of possibility, but we’re not exactly holding our breath over here. While the list is light, we still managed to collect all the bangers in one place, including the latest Yeezys, a fresh New Balance collaboration, and the star of the show, the A Ma Maniére Jordan 1s. Let’s dive into this week’s best drops!

Converse x A-Cold-Wall Chuck Taylor All Star Lugged

Converse is planning a whole month of restocks and special drops through their Holiday Heat initiative and first up is the return of the A-Cold-Wall designed Chuck Taylor All Star. Featuring a rugged black nylon upper with reflective zig-zag stitching and a chunky rubber outsole, this sneaker is label head Samuel Ross’ attempt to combine the legendary shape of the Chuck Taylor All-Star with Brutalist architecture.

I’d say he nailed it! The Converse x A-Cold-Wall Chuck Taylor All-Star Lugged features premium materials and drops in full-run unisex sizing.

The Converse x A-Cold-Wall Chuck Taylor All Star Lugged is out now for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Converse website.

Women’s Air Force 1 Swarovski Triple Black/Triple White

I’m not even torn on these sneakers, I straight up don’t like them, but… we’re in a slow week and I’m sure this is someone’s thing, even if it isn’t mine. This sneaker is as it sounds — a monochromatic Air Force 1 covered in 228 Swarovski crystals. I know that is supposed to come off as luxurious, but it just strikes me as tacky. Like wearing sneakers at a wedding. Nike says the crystals are installed to return light and allow visibility on dark roads, which I guess is a good thing, this way whoever robs you can find you while you’re trying to run away.

Seriously Nike, who is wearing Swarovski crystal-covered sneakers on dark roads?! Each crystal is held in place by a modular 4-piece shroud, which means you can use a mini screwdriver to customize each pair of sneakers. Nike provides the screwdriver and you guessed it, it’s also covered in crystals.

The Women’s Air Force 1 Swarovski Triple Black and Triple White are set to drop on December 2nd for a retail price of $450. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Jordan 1 x A Ma Maniére Sail and Burgundy

We gave you advanced warning of this sneaker drop last week and if you’re attempting to scoop up a pair this week, prepare yourself, you just might experience heartbreak. Not only have these sneakers been hotly anticipated since their first announcement, but they’re also by far the dopest sneakers to drop all week during a season when the cool sneaker releases are few and far between. So pretty much everyone wants a pair.

Continuing the partnership with Atlanta-based brand A Ma Maniére, this Jordan 1 features a textured suede upper with a snakeskin collar and swoosh, and quilted sock liner, with a phrase of encouragement that reads “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

Do it with me people, let’s collectively expect to catch the W on this drop.

The Air Jordan 1 x A Ma Maniére is set to drop on December 3rd for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT or Flight Club.

COLORSxSTUDIOS New Balance 327 Collection

This two sneaker collection, made in collaboration between New Balance and the Berlin-based label, marks the latter brand’s first foray into footwear collaborations, and it’s a good one. Featuring two different takes on the 327 silhouette, the colorways featured here keep things on the monochromatic end while still presenting two designs that manage to look different from one another.

One pair features an understated canvas upper in cream with burgundy and black accents while the other features a black base with contrast stitching. The former pair emphasizes the overall silhouette of the sneaker while the latter pair draws your eyes to the sneaker’s intricate paneling. A solid first attempt from COLORSxSTUDIOS.

The COLORSxSTUDIOS New Balance 327 Collection is set to drop on December 3rd at COLORSxSTUDIOS and December 4th at the New Balance webstore. Pick up a pair for a retail price of $135.

Adidas Yeezy QNTM Amber Tint

Yeezy Brand is unloading a steady stream of colorways leading up to year’s end and first up this week is the Amber Tint iteration of the Yeezy QNTM. The Amber Tint takes a page out of the Yeezy design book from three years ago, dressing the silhouette in earthy tones amongst reflective detailing and a translucent midsole.

It’s not as fun and vibrant as this year’s Yeezys have been, but if you miss that old Kanye sneaker style, this scratches that itch.

The Adidas Yeezy QNTM Amber Tint is set to drop on December 3rd for a retail price of $250. Pick up a pair via the Adidas CONFIRMED app or at Yeezy Supply.

Air Jordan 1 Element GORE-TEX Particle Grey

We’ve officially entered the GORE-TEX season! If you’re hoping to still rock your favorite sneakers throughout the winter season, Nike has got your back. This week brings the release of the Particle Grey Air Jordan 1 Element GORE-TEX which features water-repelling GORE-TEX materials on the sneakers underlays and toebox with waterproof nubuck leather overlays, an inner bootie, gusseted tongue, reflective Swoosh, and a lined collar.

It’s like a pair of Jordan 1s in a really fly jacket.

The Air Jordan 1 Element GORE-TEX Particle Grey is set to drop on December 4th for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT.

Adidas Yeezy 500 Ash Grey

Maybe it’s the end of the year fatigue talking (I checked, it’s not) but lately, a lot of the Yeezys that have been pouring out of Adidas these last few months have looked incredibly similar. Case in point, this week’s Ash Grey, which is just a brown version of last week’s Utility Black.

In a normal week, we’d ignore this sneaker in favor of something a bit more exciting and fresh, but it’s slim pickings out there, so this will have to do. As it stands, it’s a fine sneaker. If you like the alienesque shape of the 500, this colorway is in keeping with what has come before. I don’t doubt that this is somebody’s favorite colorway, we just feel like we’ve been waiting for something truly next level to come out of Yeezy Brand for a while now.

The Adidas Yeezy 500 Ash Grey is set to drop on December 4th for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Adidas CONFIRMED app or at Yeezy Supply.

When John Quincy Adams remarked that “There is nothing more pathetic in life than a former president,” he might have been foretelling the year 2021. While some former presidents have gone on to have impressive second acts—97-year-old Jimmy Carter is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian who has spent his post-presidency years building houses with Habitat for Humanity and teaching Sunday school—others have gone back to being Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, in what seems like a desperate bid to remain relevant, Trump decided to revisit a favorite pastime: Being a xenophobe. As Newsweek reports, Trump issued a statement in which he repeated a long-held—and vile—Republican conspiracy theory about Somalia-born Congresswoman Ilhan Omar being married to her brother. And by “issued a statement,” we mean: had a spokesperson tweet it out from her own account because he’s been permanently banned from all legitimate social media platforms.

“Congresswoman Ilhan Omar should apologize for marrying her brother, committing large-scale immigration and election fraud, wishing death to Israel, and for essentially abandoning her former country, which doesn’t even have a government—Exactly what she’d like to see for the United States!”

It’s not the first time that Trump—who once talked to Howard Stern about how his daughter Ivanka has “always been voluptuous”— has gone down this road. According to Newsweek, during a 2020 campaign event in Florida, the then-president claimed that Omar “came in here and married her brother or something” and described her birthplace as “a place that doesn’t even have a government.”

Omar, who was born in Somalia, came to the United States as a refugee in 1995, at the age of 12. She became an American citizen in 2000. She was married to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a citizen of the United Kingdom, from 2009 to 2017. Republicans have spent years repeating the line that Elmi was actually her brother, and it was reported that the FBI even investigated the matter in 2000. For her part, Omar has called the idea that she married her brother, reportedly to help him gain U.S. citizenship, both “absurd and offensive.” And rightly so.

Trump’s statement came on the heels of MAGA-loving Lauren Boebert’s anti-Muslim outburst on the House floor, in which she referred to the congresswoman as part of the “Jihad Squad,” then went on to suggest that she could be a suicide bomber. Boebert reportedly called Omar, but not to apologize; according to Newsweek, “Omar ended the call by hanging up.”

(Via Newsweek)

International art fair Art Basel is once again taking place in person in Miami this year. Along with exhibitions from artists across the globe, this year’s event will also feature a special musical performance by none other than Lizzo. To promote her upcoming set this weekend, Lizzo got creative. Taking inspiration from the experimental nature of the works seen at Art Basel, Lizzo made a painting of a butterfly using her booty as a paint brush.

The singer shared a video showing the painting’s process on TikTok. “Hey y’all, it’s your girl Lizzy Picasso here,” she announced, adopting the new moniker to create her masterpiece. The video shows Lizzo creating her colorful painting on an easel before an assistant lathers her backside in royal blue paint.

“I think I need to make more ass art,” she wrote in the caption alongside her video.

There’s good new for those who want to own Lizzo’s actual painting. During a livestream of her performance at Art Basel on December 4, fans will be able to bid on the artwork and one lucky buyer will get to take it home.

Watch Lizzo paint a picture of a “bootyfly” above.

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

Although biographical films about hip-hop pioneers have become a hot commodity in recent years — just see Straight Outta Compton, Roxanne, Roxanne, and Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B for proof — one group that has yet to see its story adapted to the big screen is Wu-Tang Clan, which instead has been recounting its origin in the Hulu original series Wu-Tang: An American Saga. However, according to group member Raekwon, the group did come close thanks to an unlikely ally: Leonardo DiCaprio.

In an excerpt of Raekwon’s upcoming memoir From Staircase To Stage: The Story Of Raekwon And Wu-Tang Clan published on Rolling Stone today, Raekwon detailed his efforts to produce a Wu-Tang film with DiCaprio’s help — and how RZA ultimately shut those plans down in favor of the television series concept.

“We started talking about the possibility of a Wu-Tang movie and I told Leo I’d love to see him play a role in it, anything he wanted to do,” Rae recounts of meeting the actor at what he calls “an old mafioso-looking pizza spot.” “He talked about his production company and all the directors he thought might do a great job — and these were big names and people he’d worked with.”

However, Rae recalls, “RZA’s energy was entirely different. He barely said anything and seemed to be going through the motions, nothing more. I could tell he wasn’t going to agree to do it, and my instincts told me why: my guess is that he was already in bed with a production company, deep into developing the scripted series for TV, even though none of us had signed off on it.”

The “Ice Cream” rapper said the move hurt his feelings “because it proved to me that he’d already counted me out before I began. He didn’t think I could bring that kind of power to the table, but I’d gotten them there, all ready to rock and roll.” Eventually, though, the TV show plans went ahead and the show itself has become a well-received success, so even if Raekwon’s movie idea could have been a winner, it looks like the story was told how it needed to be after all.

Since it first set sail in early 2012, Holy Ship! has been a glittering fixture in the lives of traveling dance music enthusiasts and festival-goers worldwide. With good reason, too. Despite its intimate size, the 4,000-person cruise-wrapped-in-a-music-festival brought “shipfam” from more than 30 different countries together to party.

The success of Holy Ship! isn’t a huge surprise to those who know how it all began. Gary Richards, who is accredited with the invention of Electric Daisy Carnival and goes by the onstage moniker Destruco, originally founded and ran the event. Then, in 2017, Meagen DesChenes’ legendary all-women crew at HARD Events (who had been supporting Richards since the inception of the event) took over production in partnership with Cloud9 Adventures and The Bowery. With DesChenes at the helm, the splash got bigger. In fact, word spread quickly about the limited-capacity boat party-music festival making waves in picturesque tourist meccas like the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.

Unfortunately, Covid-era logistics and travel paperwork eventually beached the plan for a festival on a boat in 2020. But from that setback, Holy Ship! Wrecked was born.

For 2021, the event drops its proverbial anchor in Mexico’s illustrious Maya Riviera. From the 3rd to the 7th of December, music fans will enjoy an all-inclusive takeover of the iconic Hard Rock Hotel where they’ll party with shimmering on-stage stars like Alison Wonderland, Charlotte de Witte, Chris Lake, Madeon (DJ Set), Marc Rebillet, Nora En Pure, Seth Troxler, Subtronics, and ZHU, among others. To make the moments even more memorable, the organizers will continue their signature tradition of arranging activities, games, and other shenanigans with the DJs, so fans can rub elbows with their heroes in the wildest ways. This year, for instance, music fans can enter to win a “Master of the Universe” pageant with Desert Hearts; get DJ lessons with heavyweight turntablist A-trak; or be simultaneously fed and entertained at Marc Rebillet’s insanely energizing Brunch Cook-Off.

Are you one of the lucky ones who have joined in the onboard debauchery at Holy Ship over the years? If so, the photos ahead will be a nostalgic set of dance steps down memory lane. If not, here’s a chance to get a glimpse at what you’ve been missing — because while Holy Ship! Wrecked is sold out, there’s still a wait list!

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The rock and roll supergroup is very much alive. Just last week, the Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins and Pat Smear played on stage with Jane’s Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney as the group NHC. But what Pearl Jam’s venerable leader Eddie Vedder has in store with The Earthlings, just might top that.

Vedder’s first solo album in 10 years, Earthling, is due out next February and his backing band (The Earthlings) is a decorated bunch. On the drums is Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, with former Chili Pepper (and Pearl Jam touring member) Josh Klinghoffer on keys, guitar, and backing vocals. Andrew Watt, the reigning Grammy Producer Of The Year (for his work with Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, etc.) is on guitar, Chris Chaney is doing double supergroup duty on bass, and The Swell Season’s Glen Hansard is on guitar and vocals.

If you’re already a member of the Pearl Jam/Vedder Ten Club fan club, then you can sign-up for a pre-sale link here. If not, tickets to the general public are available via Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Registration page here.

Check out the full tour dates below and go to pearljam.com for additional details on the tour.

02/03/2022 — New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
02/04/2022 — New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
02/06/2022 — Newark, NJ New Jersey @ Performing Arts Center
02/09/2022 — Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
02/15/2022 — El Cajon, CA @ The Magnolia
02/17/2022 — Inglewood, CA @ YouTube Theater
02/21/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Benaroya Hall
02/22/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Benaroya Hall

Earthling is out 2/11/2022 via Seattle Surf/Republic Records. Pre-order it here.

Billie Eilish has been vocal about the fact that she is vegan, and now all her work related to animal rights is being recognized by the biggest organization in that space: PETA has named Eilish their 2021 Person Of The Year. Eilish is now the youngest person to ever receive the honor.

PETA President Ingrid Newkirk says, “With all eyes on Billie Eilish at her first Met Gala, she turned the spotlight onto the plight of animals killed for food and fashion. PETA is happier than ever to celebrate her for pushing the fashion industry toward its sustainable vegan future.”

Newkirk refers to the Oscar De La Renta dress Eilish wore at the gala, which Eilish revealed recently she only wore after the brand confirmed they would stop using fur: “I wore a big, beautiful dress made by Oscar De La Renta, who, I said at the beginning of the conversation of, ‘Let’s make a Met Gala dress,’ ‘You have to stop using fur, because if you don’t, I’m not working with you.’ That was also thanks to my mom for being with me on that one, and fighting for it with me. So I got Oscar De La Renta to stop using fur, completely. And that was a really, really big thing for me. I hope that more brands follow along with being environmentally conscious and try to help the world instead of make it worse.”

Meanwhile, Eilish recently implored her followers to stop eating turkey, and her recent Air Jordan sneakers were 100 percent vegan.

The Miami Heat have cooled off a bit, going 6-4 in their last 10 games after a hot start. Still, the team sits third in the Eastern Conference at 13-8. After an offseason that saw them add Kyle Lowry to bolster their hopes of returning to title contention, the early portion of the season has provided plenty of reason for optimism.

However, as is the case with a few teams so far, injuries and illnesses have forced some key players out of the lineup in Miami, most notably Jimmy Butler who has missed four games and is dealing with a tailbone injury currently. On Wednesday, the Heat announced another key starter will be out for some time as Bam Adebayo will have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb suffered in Monday’s loss to the Nuggets.

While there won’t be a timetable for his return set until after he has surgery, the expectation is a 4-6 week absence, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

For a Miami team without a lot of frontcourt depth beyond Adebayo, particularly in terms of replacing what he does for them as a defensive unit, that is a significant absence. Dewayne Dedmon is dealing with a knee injury of his own that has him listed as questionable for Wednesday night’s game against the Cavs, and an increase in small-ball lineups with PJ Tucker at the five could be in order for a banged up Miami team.

Coming in hot off the latest episode of Succession, where his character, Cousin Greg, scored a date with Kendall Roy’s PR consultant Comfrey (Dasha Nekrasova), the very tall Nicholas Braun stopped by The Tonight Show and revealed the most famous person to hit him up for spoilers about the hit HBO series: Bradley Cooper.

According to Braun, he was invited to watch a football game at Cooper’s house, and despite not being a big football fan, of course, he wasn’t going to miss a chance to meet the extremely famous actor. However, as Braun discovered, Cooper is a huge fan of Succession and started peppering Braun with his different theories about the show.

“He has so many theories,” Braun told Jimmy Fallon while also noting that Cooper is a “close talker,” which made the interaction very intense. We’re talking, like, Cooper was asking about very specific facial expressions in hopes of figuring out what happens next on the show.

Of course, Fallon wasn’t going to let an opportunity slip by to hit Braun with one of Questlove’s theories. According to the musician, Cousin Greg is secretly a NARC for the government, and he’s going to bring the whole Roy family down in Season 6. In an impressive show of acting skill, Braun did his best to not react at all to this theory and just coyly played along. “I’m not nodding yes or no,” Braun said with a smoothness that Cousin Greg could never pull off.

(Via The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon)