With the film still fresh in people’s mind thanks to its annual non-stop marathons, A Christmas Story sequel is officially coming to HBO Max, and this time, with original star Peter Billingsley reprising his role as Ralphie. The sequel will be directed by Clay Kaytis (The Christmas Chronicles) with a script from Nick Schenk who recently wrote the Clint Eastwood vehicles Cry Macho and The Mule. Along with his longtime partner Vince Vaughn, Billingsley will also serve as executive producer for the follow-up to the holiday classic that sees a grown Ralphie return to his childhood home.
While the original movie followed Ralphie, a nine-year old boy who desperately wanted a Red Ryder BB rifle and was set in 1940, the new story will take place in the 1970s and sees an adult Ralphie return to his house on Cleveland Street to deliver his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had growing up. The studio is hoping to recreate the same real-life tone of the first movie to show the now-father reconnect with childhood friends, reconcile the passing of his Old Man, and callbacks to the initial film.
Production on the film is already set to start in Hungary in February, so there’s a good chance HBO Max is looking to have this offering ready for the 2022 holiday season. However, this isn’t the first time a sequel to A Christmas Story has been attempted. In 1994, Succession star Kieran Culkin starred in My Summer Story (originally titled It Runs In The Family), which was a direct follow-up to A Christmas Story. Almost two decades later, A Christmas Story 2 was released straight to DVD. If you have no recollection of these films, that’s because they were awful and completely whiffed capturing the charm of the original. We probably shouldn’t even have mentioned them.
Boston Calling was forced to cancel its 2020 and 2021 editions due to COVID-19, but as of now, the 2022 festival is still a go and set for May 27 to 29. In fact, the full lineup was announced today, and it’s headlined by Foo Fighters, The Strokes, and Metallica.
Foo Fighters lead the first day of Memorial Day Weekend at Harvard Athletic Complex, which also features Haim, Avril Lavigne, Rüfüs Du Sol, Cheap Trick, Oliver Tree, The Struts, Paris Jackson, Grandson, The Backseat Lovers, Paris Texas, Mob Rich, Pom Pom Squad, Born Without Bones, Avenue, Miranda Rae, and The Chelsea Curve.
The Strokes are Saturday’s headliners, and also playing that day are Run The Jewels, Earthgang, King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, Black Pumas, Orville Peck, KennyHoopla, Sudan Archives, Celisse, Hinds, Frances Forever, Charlotte Sands, Julie Rhodes, Van Buren Records, Ali McGuirk, Coral Moons, and Dutch Tulips.
Closing the final day are Metallica, as well as Weezer, Modest Mouse, Japanese Breakfast, Glass Animals, Goose, Ripe, Cults, Peach Tree Rascals, Horsegirl, Djo, Cam Meekins, Oompa, Cliff Notez, Crooked Coast, Aaron And The Lord, and Paper Tigers.
This comes after festival organizers announced yesterday that Rage Against The Machine will not be performing at this year’s event as originally planned. The band announced yesterday that they had postponed their 2022 tour.
Check out the full lineup poster above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Meat Loaf is obviously a legendary singer. His operatic vocals were a mainstay in my car as a teenager; you couldn’t go 10 minutes without hearing “Bat Out of Hell,” or “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night),” or “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” or “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” (all from the same album!) on the radio. Not that I minded: his high-brow sleaze was a much-needed break from Foreigner and the Eagles.
But Meat Loaf, who sadly passed away at 74 years old this week, was also a talented actor, appearing in movies as diverse as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Spice World, Fight Club, and Focus (which he called his best work), but my personal favorite is Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. It’s a short scene in the 2006 film where he plays young Jack Black’s god-fearing, rock-hating dad during “Kickapoo,” but it rules. He belts out lyrics like, “You’ll become a mindless puppet / Beelzebub will pull the strings,” and it’s not every day you get a song with Meat Loaf and Ronnie James Dio.
In 2006, Meat Loaf told MTV how his role in the Tenacious D movie came together. “For five years, Jack Black has been saying he wanted me to play his father. In every interview he did he always [said], ‘I’m gonna make the movie Tenacious D, and I want to make Meat Loaf play my father.’ Every interview,” he said. “And my daughters, Pearl and Amanda, they kept reading it and [would] call and say, ‘Jack said it again, Jack said it again.’ I said, ‘When he calls me, I’ll tell him I’ll do it.’ He did call. He called me himself.”
Black was the original choice to play the “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” singer in the VH1 made-for-TV movie Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back, but then there was a scheduling conflict and Black got mega-famous. Meat Loaf wasn’t upset, though:
I just saw him in movies that he had done, and I had heard some stuff from Tenacious D. I said, “This is the guy to play me. He’s got the energy, and he understands it.” He was going to [play me], then his career took off and [this] movie got postponed. He tried, and I said, “Well, the guy’s an idiot if he does it.” I said, “Let me see — a studio picture over the Meat Loaf story? Let me think about that for a minute. Gee, I don’t know, that’s a hard decision.”
The music world woke up this morning to learn that rock icon Meat Loaf, best known for his 1977 album Bat Out Of Hell, had died at 74 years old. In the final months of his life, Meat Loaf (whose real name is Michael Lee Aday) seemed excited about the future: In one of his final interviews, conducted before an October 2021 appearance at the Motor City Comic Con in Detroit, he told Billboard he had a bunch of new projects and endeavors in the works.
One of those plans was a four-track EP that would feature a “rock ‘n’ roll version” of “What Part Of My Body Hurts The Most?,” from Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical. He hoped to have Shaun “Stoney” Murphy, with whom he recorded the collaborative 1971 album Stoney & Meatloaf, join him for the project.
He noted of Murphy, “I was doing Hair at the Vest Pocket Theater and got a message Motown wanted to meet me. I said, ‘Why don’t we do a duet record,’ and they said, ‘That’s exactly what we were thinking.’ I said, ‘With Stoney,’ and they said, ‘That’s exactly what we were thinking.’ So I went with Stoney and said, ‘They want to do a record with us,’ and she said ‘OK’ and we did it. It was very cool, all those great people we worked with.”
Furthermore, he was also considering going on a world tour, saying:
“My voice is in incredible shape. […] I can sing ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ no problem — all the same key, all the high notes. […] I’m figuring out how to do shows without moving, with [props] being brought out and doing weird stuff, creative stuff… I keep calling my agent. I left him a message, ‘Let’s do five weeks, 16 shows in America, take a little break, do 16 shows in Europe, take a break, do another 16, then see how we like it. I’m ready to get out there.’”
On top of that, he said he was also working with producers on a game show based on his 1993 No. 1 hit “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That),” which had been picked up by ABC in the US. Meat Loaf explained, “It’s really spectacular and really expensive. There’s ‘I would do anything for love’ and then there’s ‘I won’t do that’ — things like put a bowl of spiders on your head. It’ll be a bunch of stuff going on at the same time, so it’s like a Barnum And Bailey three-ring circus.”
He also noted that while he wouldn’t be hosting the show, he would have had a role on the program “like the color guy on the football games. They want me to be up on some throne on top of the whole thing. I’ll talk and interview people before they go into the game.”
On November 1, 2018, then-president Donald Trump famously attempted to send the country into a state of panic by announcing that the U.S. was under attack. “At this very moment, large, well-organized caravans of migrants are marching towards our southern border,” Trump said, noting that: “Some people call it an ‘invasion.’”
By “some people,” of course, Trump meant himself. And as for the caravans? Well, those groups of immigration-minded marauders never seemed to materialize. But if you’ve been watching Fox News lately, you might have noticed that the caravan brigade seems to be on the move again. The Daily Show host Trevor Noah couldn’t help but notice that, just like in 2018, these so-called caravans sure do love making their move during a midterm year. So he enlisted the help of singer Brian McKnight and his 1999 hit “Back at One” to lay out the situation as Fox News sees it and count the caravans coming our way.
It’s worth noting that none of the massive caravans Trump swore were headed our way like a swarm of murder hornets never seemed to materialize, or really be seen outside of Fox News. But the suggested threat was regularly trotted out by the then-president in order to justify both his much-beloved border wall as well as Draconian ideas for overhauling our country’s immigration policies.
Fox News’ dedicated coverage of these supposed groups of migrants grew so regular that even Shep Smith, who was then one of the network’s most prominent anchors, called bullsh*t on his own bosses and left the network in 2019. Coincidence? Doubtful.
While we generally don’t concern ourselves with the many intricacies of the celebrity dating world, we make an exception for Uproxx favorite Bill Hader. Especially when we learn that he’s been consorting with a certain Oscar nominee who’s also a favorite of ours for about a year now, but that both members of this couple we’d most definitely want to hang out with have made a concerted effort to keep their romance under wraps. As People is reporting, Hader and the ever-charming (and deadpan) Anna Kendrick have been very quietly dating for more than a year now.
“They met years ago,” a source close to the couple told People. “She’s hosted Saturday Night Live and they’ve done a movie together, but they got together well after the movie.”
That movie would be 2019’s Noelle, a light-hearted Disney comedy (yes, it’s rated G) in which Kendrick and Hader play Noelle and Nick Kringle—the adult children of Santa Claus—who are called upon to take over the family business of delivering toys around the world in a single one-night span.
In 2006, Hader married Maggie Carey, the writer-director behind the 2013 comedy The To Do List, starring Aubrey Plaza. The couple, who have three daughters together, announced their separation in 2017 and were officially divorced in 2018. The following year, the three-time Emmy winner began dating former The O.C. star Rachel Bilson, who had co-starred with Hader in The To Do List.
As for Hader and Kendrick: It’s unlikely either star will be spilling any details about their relationship anytime soon. “They are both very private people,” People’s source said, “and with the pandemic it was easy to keep it quiet. They’re both hysterical so they must keep each other laughing all of the time. She’s really, really happy.”
Though both People—and Page Six—reached out to both Hader and Kendrick’s reps, no requests for comment were returned.
Yikes, winter made itself known in a big way this month, so let’s hunker down and enjoy everything that Netflix has to offer this weekend. Preferably, let’s do so in a warm room with hot chocolate and popcorn and blankets with company optional. This week, return of Ozark returns with the first half of a finale season, which (so far) belongs to Julia Garner. There’s also some unsettling true crime and a ridiculously horny dating show, so don’t worry about not finding variety to keep you interested all weekend.
If that’s not enough, there’s a World War II dramatic movie and a food-tourism series that’s fiery hot. A royal-obsessed sugar cookie of a project follows, and if you manage to work through all of those sections, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread also came to the streaming service this week, in case you missed it in theaters.
Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) the streaming platform this week.
Ozark: Season 4, Part 1 (Netflix series streaming 1/21)
The bad news is that Marty Byrde and fam will only be with us for one more season. The good news is that this is a supersized season that will arrive in two halves, so I’m pretending that we’re getting two more seasons. Jason Bateman’s baby has been good to us all, even if it’s been bad for Marty, Wendy, and the kids, and so-so for Ruth. This season, we’ll see what happened after the blood-spattered tarmac happenings. Marty and Wendy were received with opened arms (for a new life in Mexico?) after Helen took a gunshot to the head, and one can bet that this new beginning won’t be any more relaxing than the Byrdes’ money-laundering U.S. life. Luckily, Laura Linney and Julia Garner will still be around to make Marty’s life a little more hellish, and then I hope the ladies can take a nice vacation.
Too Hot To Handle: Season 3 (Netflix series streaming 1/19)
If you want to watch a bunch of beautiful people who are also sexually frustrated, then this is the dating show for you. Netflix is officially describing them as “horned-up hellraisers,” and yes, that sounds perfectly accurate. They’re all banking on being able to abstain from both sexual contact and solo gratification while playing this game for prize money…. and maybe some love? And yes, this one was inspired by Seinfeld. Watch out for those Costanzas.
Munich – The Edge of War (Netflix film streaming 1/21)
This movie, which is based upon Robert Harris’ international bestseller, takes place as Adolf Hitler’s gearing up (in 1938) to invade Czechoslovakia. Negotiations are also set to begin between a British civil servant and a German diplomat, who seek a peaceful resolution on behalf of Neville Chamberlain’s administration. The history books can tell us what happened next on the larger scale while this story also revolves around two men, also friends, who put themselves in danger while attempting to navigate political subterfuge.
A hairdresser in the Big Apple ends up making heads pretty for a charming prince’s wedding, and then, like, they end up having a thing? This sounds sketchy as heck, and of course, he’ll find himself torn between duty and love in the process. Bridgerton this ain’t.
The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman (Netflix limited series streaming 1/18)
True crime fans can get a fix with this stunning story about Robert Freegard, who fleeced and conned several women and one man. These victims ended up believing that they were in, uh, operations for the secret service, and that they must comply for the safety of their families. Eek.
Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:
Avail. 1/16 Phantom Thread
Avail. 1/17 After We Fell
Avail. 1/18 Mighty Express: Train Trouble
Avail. 1/19 El marginal: Season 4 Heavenly Bites: Mexico
Juanpis González – The Series
The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman
Too Hot to Handle: Season 3
Avail. 1/20 Midnight Asia: Eat · Dance · Dream
The Royal Treatment
Avail. 1/21 American Boogeywoman
Munich – The Edge of War
My Father’s Violin
Ozark: Season 4 Part 1 Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series: Part 2 Summer Heat
That Girl Lay Lay
Avail. 1/24 Three Songs for Benazir
Avail. 1/25 Ada Twist, Scientist: Season 2 Neymar: The Perfect Chaos
And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:
Leaving 1/17 The Bling Ring
Homefront
Leaving 1/21 The Shannara Chronicles: Seasons 1-2
Leaving 1/31 Bleach: The Entry
Bleach: The Rescue
Bleach: The Substitute
Cloud Atlas
The General’s Daughter
My Girl 2
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Seasons 1-8 Mystic River
Shutter Island
The post reads in part, “Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight surrounded by his wife Deborah, daughters Pearl and Amanda and close friends. […] We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man. We thank you for your understanding of our need for privacy at this time. From his heart to your souls…don’t ever stop rocking!”
Meat Loaf, whose real name is Michael Lee Aday, had one of the biggest albums in the history of recorded music with Bat Out Of Hell: It’s certified 14-times Platinum by the RIAA and with about 44 million sales worldwide, it’s one of just a handful of albums ever to reach at least 40 million sales, making it one of the most successful LPs of all time. His biggest singles include that album’s “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad,” as well as “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That),” which was the lead single from 1993’s Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell and his sole No. 1 single in the US. His final album was 2016’s Braver Than We Are.
As an actor, Meat Loaf made appearances in iconic movies including The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Fight Club, and Wayne’s World.
A lot was made of Squid Game surpassing Bridgerton to become Netflix’s biggest show ever (according to Netflix), with a staggering 1.65 billion hours viewed in its first four weeks of release compared to only (“only”) 625 millions for the Shonda Rhimes-created series. But Squid Game wasn’t Netflix’s most popular title in 2021, not even close.
Deadlinereports that “Lucifer, a drama that debuted on the Fox broadcast network before becoming a Netflix show in 2018, topped Nielsen’s list of the most-streamed original series of 2021 in the United States.” All that honest-to-god silliness paid off:
The 93 total episodes of the series netted more than 18.3 billion minutes of streaming during the year, according to the measurement firm’s year-end report. That put it well in front of Squid Game‘s 16.4 billion, but the Korean phenomenon had only nine episodes on Netflix in 2021.
Netflix dominated Nielsen’s chart of 2021’s most watched streaming shows; the first non-Netflix series is all the way down at number 10, with Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, followed by Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso at #12 and Disney+’s WandaVision. Every other show in the top 15? Netflix, including The Great British Bake Off at #3. It also took the top 12 spots among acquired shows, topped by 33.8 billion minutes for Criminal Minds.
Meanwhile, Disney+ is the Netflix of 2021’s most-viewed movies list, taking nine of the top 11 spots, including Luca with over 10 billion minutes and Moana and Raya and the Last Dragon with over eight billion minutes. The only non-Disney+ or Netflix title is Amazon’s surprisingly fun The Tomorrow War at #12. You can see the full charts here.
Lana Del Rey put out not one but two records last ear, and both Chemtrails Over The Country Club and Blue Banisters built on the slower, more folk-oriented sound she’s hewed to over the last few years. Her latest single, however, sounds pretty vintage Lana. Yes, it’s slightly more wispy, and her voice is a little wavery, but the classic strings and piano behind her melodies are a bit more structured than, at least, her 2021 output.
After teasing the new song in the Euphoria trailer a few days ago, “Watercolor Eyes” officially debuted within the show. Of course, this is nothing new for Lana, who is the queen of pairing her songs with cinematic events. Some might even argue she’s the queen of soundtracks, and getting a song in the next hot new TV show is just par for the course for Lana.
Since the pop star disappeared off social media, she’s been a lot more prolific, so maybe a few of us creative types can take a hint from that? Anyway, there’s been no news about yet another new Lana album as of yet, so it’s very possible the song is just a one-off released for the show. But then again, at the rate she’s going lately, this might well be the precursor for yet another project.
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