Month: February 2022

Gorillaz leader Damon Albarn found himself on the business end of collective internet ire recently when he claimed Taylor Swift, who famously writes her own songs, doesn’t write her own songs. Shortly after, Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff responded to Albarn, and now he has again addressed the situation.

At 37 minutes into the latest episode of The What podcast, the conversation found its way to the Albarn/Swift spat and Antonoff said (as Billboard notes):

“I think the Damon thing, what it says to me — because obviously, it’s completely absurd and everyone knows that — you’re talking about one of the greatest songwriters of our generation who has her name as the only name on many songs. You don’t need me to explain it, it’s just fact.

The problem I had with the Damon thing beyond what he actually said is […] I don’t mind talking sh*t, this or that, but I don’t like it when artists take almost this Trumpian approach of just making things up. I don’t care if Damon Albarn or anyone likes or doesn’t like something. But to unequivocally make a statement that isn’t true, that you actually have no idea about, and not to get too deep on it, but isn’t that kind of everything that’s wrong with our world at the moment? Is just people talking about sh*t at they have no clue about?”

In his initial response, Antonoff tweeted, “i’ve never met damon albarn and he’s never been to my studio but apparently he knows more than the rest of us about all those songs taylor writes and brings in. herb.”

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

Jeff Bezos once reportedly said that he really wanted Amazon to have its own Game of Thrones, and the streaming service took a shot at this with Wheel of Time, but the show that’s really intended to go there is the long-gestating Lord of the Rings series. It’s finally all happening (apparently on September 2, 2022), so let the previews begin.

Vanity Fair got that ball rolling with a feature chock full of exclusive images and tidbits including discussion of the show’s budget, which Reuters previously reported at $465 million, and Vanity Fair did some more leg work. Amazon wouldn’t explicitly confirm any number, but apparently, the government of New Zealand says the first-season budget came in slightly cheaper at $462 million, as opposed to Wheel of Time‘s $80 million per season and Game of Thrones‘ $90 million for the final (underwhelming) season.

With a show of this scale, one can imagine that the pandemic reality created a lot of wallet-related concerns, and co-showrunner Patrick McKay confirmed that this was the case. And yep, that big Tom Hanks moment sparked a great deal of anxiety:

…the show’s crew were glued to their phones: Within 45 minutes, word spread that in nearby Australia Tom Hanks had contracted COVID, the NBA had canceled its season, and the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic. “We’re all just going, ‘Oh, my God, what are we going to do? We’re going to have to shut everything down,’” says Payne. The panic metastasized, setting off other anxieties, big and small. “It was terrifying. ‘Oh, my God, is anyone going to understand what we’re trying to do here? Is this way too ambitious? We have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow.’”

Yep, that’s one of those historic moments where you’ll always remember where you were when you heard about the Saving Private Ryan star contracting Covid. For McKay and fellow showrunner JD Payne, they were juggling hundreds of millions of dollars and navigating through a Galadriel water scene, whereas for myself I’d just left a yoga class and felt all relaxation evaporate. That’s not exactly comparable, but hey, we’re all living through this thing.

McKay also did let everyone know that Lord of the Rings will not be full of sex and violence like GoT. In his words, Amazon set out “to make a show for everyone, for kids who are 11, 12, and 13, even though sometimes they might have to pull the blanket up over their eyes if it’s a little too scary.” The tone might sometimes be intense and scary, but ultimately, optimism and and themes of friendship and vanquishing the darkness will prevail. In 2022, that could hit just right.

(Via Vanity Fair)

Ahead of the Super Bowl, Universal has released the first full-length trailer for Jurassic World Dominion. You can watch it above. The trailer begins where the second film in the trilogy, 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, left off, with humans and dinosaurs being forced to coexist. Or as Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm dramatically put it, “We’ve entered a new era. Welcome to Jurassic World.”

What could go wrong? Sure, you have to deal with the occasional T-rex attack, and a Dilophosaurus might spit black goo in your face, as Newman f*cked around and found out. But it gives Chris Pratt the opportunity to look like a character from Yellowstone (but with dinosaurs, which is the only way to make that show’s ratings go even higher), and Blue’s baby raptor is pretty darn cute. All in all, I’d say the pros outweigh the…

Never mind. Here’s the official plot synopsis:

From Jurassic World architect and director Colin Trevorrow, Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed. Dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.

Jurassic World Dominion opens on June 10 and stars Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, Dichen Lachman, Scott Haze, Campbell Scott, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, Omar Sy, and the original Jurassic Park trio of Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill. Also, dinosaurs. Lots and lots of dinosaurs.

The classic West Coast IPA is what many drinkers imagine all IPAs taste like. There’s full of crisp, dry, over-the-top hop bitterness with citrusy, resinous, piney, and downright dank flavor. They get this iconic flavor profile because they’re brewed with a ton of hops including the likes of Cascade, Simcoe, Centennial, Citra, Chinook, Amarillo, and many others.

While the traditional IPA can be traced back to England in the 1700s, the West Coast version began in the 1970s when Anchor’s Fritz Maytag began dry-hopping his Liberty Ale. In the 80s, Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman created the continuously popular Sierra Nevada Pale Ale featuring a healthy dose of Cascade hops. As the 90s began, more and more brewers began to push the boundaries of just how hoppy an IPA could get, and the style exploded in popularity.

Today, there are more West Coast IPAs on the market than any of us could ever drink. Instead of trying and drinking nothing but piney, bitter IPAs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for years on end until we pickle ourselves, we decided to pick eight of our favorites and rank them on overall piney, resinous, bitter, dankness. Keep reading to see the rankings.

8) Beachwood Amalgamator

ABV: 7.1%

Average Price: $4 for a 16-ounce can

The Beer:

With a name like Amalgamator, you know you’re in for something totally unique. This 7.1 pefcent ABV West Coast IPA is brewed with 2-row and Honey malt and is hopped with Mosaic, Columbus, Amarillo, and Warrior hops. It gets added bold flavor from being dry-hopped with a ridiculous amount of Mosaic hops.

Tasting Notes:

A fruity nose awaits you with some berries, citrus rind, and grapefruit in there. The palate is a swirl of citrus, floral, and dank hops along with wet grass, mango, pineapple, and a slight herbal quality. Not a bad beer by any means, but we would prefer a little more resinous pine in the flavor and less fruit.

Bottom Line:

This is a great beer if you like your West Coast IPAs to have a nice mix of fruitiness and bitter hops. If you’re looking for all pine, you won’t find it.

7) Hopworks Powell IPA

ABV: 6.4%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This owl-adorned beer is Hopworks’ flagship beer and for good reason. This 6.4 percent ABV crushable West Coast IPA was created to be enjoyed often. With its fruity, piney, slightly bitter flavor profile, it’s the type of beer you can use to ease your way into the style but continue drinking for years.

Tasting Notes:

Your nose is met by aromas of tangerine, pineapple, grapefruit, caramel-like malts, and resinous pine. The palate is loaded with biscuit-like malt, tropical fruit flavors, more citrus zest, and a fair amount of bitter pine at the finish. Those are classic West Coast flavors.

Bottom Line:

This is a decent version of the classic West Coast IPA. The only thing missing is the massive kick of dank hops at the finish. Otherwise, it’s perfect.

6) Lagunitas Super Cluster

ABV: 8%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Lagunitas is one of those brands that has made a name for itself by cranking out dank, piney, bitter IPAs. You can pick almost any of its beers and be happy with your choice. One of its best is Super Cluster, what the folks at Lagunitas refer to as “a Citra-hopped mega IPA of intergalactic proportions.”

Tasting Notes:

This bold banger is filled with caramel malts, citrus zest, grapefruit, wet grass, and pine needles on the nose. Drinking it reveals notes of honey sweetness, orange pulp, pineapple, a slight herbal quality, and a ton of dank, piney, bitter hops. The finish is dry and fruit.

Bottom Line:

This beer definitely lives up to its name. It’s a bold kick of Citra hops. But, because of this, it leans a little too into the citrus flavor than we’d prefer in a West Coast IPA.

5) Ballast Point Sculpin

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $14 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Often ranked as the best West Coast IPA ever created, Ballast Point Sculpin was named for the stinging Sculpin fish and its hoppy bite lives up to that moniker. This year-round beer gets most of its piney, resinous, bitter flavor from being hopped five different times during the brewing process.

Tasting Notes:

Strong aromas of a forest of pine trees, candied orange peel, sweet malts, and light floral notes hit your nose right away. On the palate, you’ll find flavors of ripe grapefruit, citrus zest, wildflowers, caramelized pineapple, and a ridiculous amount of dank, bitter spruce.

Bottom Line:

This is a really in-your-face beer. The dank, pine flavor is so overwhelming that it’s a challenge to find any of the other flavors.

4) Port Brewing Wipeout IPA

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $5 for a 22-ounce bottle

The Beer:

San Diego might be the heart of the West Coast IPA world and Port Brewing’s Wipeout is one of the best. This seven percent ABV year-round offering gets its bold, piney flavor from the addition of CTZ, Cascade, Centennial, and Amarillo hops.

Tasting Notes:

Grapefruit juice, lemon zest, mango, caramel malts, a slightly herbal flavor, and resinous hops greet your nose before your first sip. Drinking it brings forth notes of tangerine, bready malts, pineapple, lemon curd, and a crazy amount of resinous, piney, dank, bitter hops at the finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a great, highly memorable West Coast IPA. It’s filled with fruity, citrus, and malt flavors, but the dank, bitter pine is still the star of the show.

3) Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion

ABV: 5.9%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

The coolest thing about Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion is the fact that it’s continually changing based on when you buy it. The version we tried was brewed with a dry-hopped wallop of Talus, El Dorado, Blanc, Vic Secret, Comet, and Cashmere hops.

Tasting Notes:

Complex aromas of tangerine, citrus peels, slight tropical fruits, and a ton of piney, resinous hops meet your nose. The palate is swirling with slight caramel malts, grapefruit, tangerine, but mostly dank, slightly bitter, very piney hops. The finish is dry, bitter, and refreshing.

Bottom Line:

This beer tastes the way we imagine West Coast-style IPAs taste. It has a nice malt backbone and some other fruit flavors, but it’s clear the dank pine and slightly bitter hop flavor as all the brewers care about.

2) Sierra Nevada Dankful

ABV: 7.4%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Few beers are so on the nose as Sierra Nevada Dankful. You know exactly what you’re in for when you crack open a can of this beer. This 7.4 percent ABV “generously hopped” IPA was brewed with Columbus, Chinook, Mosaic, Ekuanot, Nelson Sauvin, Zappa, and Idaho 7 hops.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find scents of dry hay, slight herbal notes, citrus zest, and floral, piney hops. Drinking it reveals hints of wet grass, lemon zest, grapefruit, light malts, and a kick of super dank, piney, pleasingly bitter hops throughout.

Bottom Line:

This is the epitome of a dank, piney, West Coat IPA that showcases everything a giant pile of hops can bring to a beer.

1) La Cumbre Elevated

ABV: 7.2%

Average Price: $10.50 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

There’s a good chance that when you think of West Coast-style IPAs you don’t think of New Mexico. The folks at La Cumbre are hoping to change that with their Elevated IPA. Brewed with Hallertauer Herkules (CO2 extract), CTZ, Centennial, Chinook, Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra, Nelson Sauvin, it almost feels like they just threw every hop into the brew kettle.

Tasting Notes:

Spruce tips, tangerine, caramel malts, citrus zest, this beer’s nose makes you want to take a sip. If you do, you’ll be treated to flavors of orange peels, toffee, ripe grapefruit, tangerine, slight tropical fruit notes, but mostly dank, resinous, bitter, flavorful hops.

Bottom Line:

This beer has a malt presence, but it doesn’t take away from the overall bitter, piney, resinous, and supremely dank flavor that makes this beer memorable.

While a group of fine folks in the state of North Carolina are taking legal measures, and citing the 14th Amendment, to block pro-insurrectionist Madison Cawthorn from running for office again, the congressman might just be too busy to be worried about it. He knows that “normal Americans” (whatever that means) support him, despite the fact that he failed to show up for more votes than any other newbie congressperson. So just how does he know this? Because when he’s not busy dealing with the details of his short-lived marriage to a possible Russian spy or praising Donald Trump as a “genius,” the 26-year-old is randomly wandering into Cracker Barrels and Waffle Houses in order to take the pulse of real America. And he claims they really like him!

In an interview clip shared on Twitter by PatriotTakes, Cawthorn shared that:

“[A]bout 10 percent of my time, I prowl around the country trying to save my generation from the lies of socialism. And I’ll tell you, the thing that I do in any city that I go to in any state in this entire Union: as soon as I land at the airport, I either find a Cracker Barrel or a Waffle House. And I want to go to those places just to get around normal Americans again. And anywhere you roll into, for myself, anywhere I go into, people of every single generation will walk up to me and shake my hand and say, ‘Thank you for fighting for the next generation. You’re giving me hope.’”

You heard it here first, people: If you want to dig in and find the truth about the real America, it’s been hiding under your regular ‘browns, scattered all this time.

David O. Russell, Neil Burger, Seth Gordon, Shawn Levy, Dan Trachtenberg, Travis Knight. Those are the names of the directors who, reportedly, over the last 12 years, had been attached to direct the film adaptation of, the very successful adventure game, Uncharted, before the job eventually landed with Ruben Fleischer – who is coming off the massive success of the first Venom film and the mild success of the second Zombieland film. For Fleischer, he doesn’t quite understand why this was so difficult. After he read the script, it popped out at him that this was basically an Indiana Jones movie, just set in modern times. And the fun thing for Fleischer is, strangely, no one makes Indiana Jones-type movies anymore. (Except, technically, James Mangold.) And he was very excited to do just that and does not at all try to hide the, many, many references to Indiana Jones in his Uncharted film.

Fans of the game seem to know it’s basically just a modern Indiana Jones. (I have never played Uncharted, but when people try to get me to play it, this is always how it’s sold to me.) Tom Holland, who, as you might know, just had a movie come out less than two months ago, plays Nate Drake. When we meet Nate he’s a talented bartender and also a talented pickpocket, but going basically nowhere. One day, Sully (played by Mark Wahlberg), a friend of his long-lost brother shows up with information on how to find a considerable amount of gold. And off the two go and that’s basically it. As far as video game adaptations go, this is, refreshingly, very straightforward and easily accessible for people who never played the game.

Ahead, Fleischer admits his favorite movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark and is not at all trying to hide the fact that he’s made his own version of Raiders here. We also get into Fleischer’s past two films. The rumors persist that Tom Hardy and Fleischer, let’s say, didn’t see eye to eye during the making of Venom. When I ask Fleischer about this, he has that look on his face that there’s some stuff he’d like to say, but stays … diplomatic. What’s interesting about his Zombieland sequel is that it performed better than the first movie, yet Fleischer felt it didn’t have the same role in the zeitgeist that the first one did. Which, he’s right. But we try to figure out why.

Ruben Fleischer: I was just kind of checking out all the characters that you have back there. The MUSCLE Men, I particularly appreciate it. I haven’t seen those guys for a minute.

So what you’re saying is, when the MUSCLE Men movie comes out…

I’m ready.

You’re going to bring all these literally thousands of characters to life.

It’s surprising. I mean, that must be in development somewhere. I can’t believe it’s not.

It’s the last thing left.

Yeah…

Before I saw this I knew nothing about Uncharted. I’ve never played the game.

Says the guy with the Excitebike sweatshirt? I would’ve thought you were big gamer who would know everything there is to know about Uncharted.

I’m making my way. I’ve just upgraded from Atari 2600.

SO you’re getting to the ’90s. You have yet to hit 2000 in your gaming.

Yes, I’m thinking about getting a Super Nintendo. Then after I’ll get to Uncharted.

I hear it might be eight-bit.

But seriously, I’m assuming you want people who just want to see an action-adventure movie to come see this, too.

I mean, Raiders is my all-time favorite movie.

Oh, you don’t say? Yeah, I noticed quite a few references.

Well, my point being is that it’s a genre that they just don’t make that much anymore. So, I approach this more as somebody who got to make a treasure-hunting, globe-trotting adventure, more than a video game adaptation. And while it was based on a game that, lucky for us, it was incredible source material with a great sense of humor and some of the best action set pieces in all of video games. But, at the end of the day, I knew I had to make a movie that would be entertaining for people, whether or not they’ve heard of the game or anybody else.

I’ll admit, I’m always wary with video game movies where I haven’t played the game. Like the Assassin’s Creed movie, people who play that game seem to enjoy the adaptation of it. But I don’t know anything about that world. But with this, it was just like, oh, this is an Indiana Jones type-movie.

To me, if you’re doing an adaptation, you have to assume four out of five people probably have never heard of what it’s based upon. So it just has to work for its intended format, which for us was theatrical feature films. And having great characters, a lot of humor and giant action set pieces are the makings of any great action tent-pole movie. So, whether or not it’s based on a video game doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, we have to satisfy that same audience. But I think that’s in large part because the video game itself was inspired by those same movies that I grew up loving and is I think, admittedly, derivative of that genre.

I was trying to count the Indiana Jones references until Tom Holland just mentions Indiana Jones by name and kind of pulls the rug under that. You’re obviously doing that on purpose and wanting people to know.

Yeah, very much so. I mean, I hope we didn’t gild the lily too much. But yeah. I mean, it’s my favorite movie. And so, I wanted pay it tribute and also let the audiences know we get it. There is overlap and we’re not doing it to be derivative. We’re doing it to honor something that we love.

It is weird they don’t make those movies anymore. Why is that? People love these kinds of movies.

You tell me. I mean, National Treasure was, I think, the last one.

And people love that movie now. There’s nostalgia for that movie, which is kind of nuts.

Well, hopefully we’ll be able to capitalize on that. But yeah, I couldn’t answer you. But when I read the script, I was just thrilled because it felt like a childhood dream come true to get to make this kind of very Indy-inspired movie that I think that has a lot of the same aspects. The biggest distinction obviously is that their movie is set in the 1940s, and our movie is contemporary. And I think that’s the key distinction as well as the specifics of the characters and the adventure…

Well, now you’re going to get us in trouble. Indiana Jones is set in the ’30s. So I want to make sure everyone doesn’t start yelling at us for that.

Was it the ’30s?

Yeah. 1936, 1935, and 1938 for the first three. And then the 1950s for Crystal Skull.

That which shall not be mentioned.

Fair enough.

I appreciate you saving me there.

There’s been a long list of directors attached to this, going back around 12 years now. Were you wary about that? Seeing this long list of people who couldn’t get it made for whatever reason and finally gave up? I don’t know why it was so difficult to get made.

Yeah, me neither. Because as soon as I read the script, I was like, I want to make this movie. So I can’t really speak to what came before me. But all I know is that when I read the script and imagined the way it would look on film and just how great those action sequences would play and how great that central relationship at the core of the film was to me, I jumped in with both feet.

So, ten years ago Mark Wahlberg was supposed to play the lead role originally. How does that work? Do you go to him and be like, “Hey, we want you to play Sully now.” Or was he always all in?

Mark was really happy to play the older wiser guy and give Tom the space to shine. He, I think kind of appropriately, felt like he’d graduated from that role, just due to time, and really embraced the idea of being the older more experienced character. And it played true to life, just in that you had Mark, who’s had a 20-some-year career, and Tom, who’s a newer kid on the block. But their relationship both on-screen and off was very true to the Nate-Sully relationship at the core of the franchise.

So, No Way Home comes out and becomes one of the biggest movies of all time. Is that good for this movie? In that there are two big Tom Holland movies coming out in such a short amount of time.

I think it’s great. Because more than anything else, it said that audiences are ready to return to the theaters, as long as there’s a movie that they’re excited to go see. So our job now is just to make sure that Uncharted is a movie that they want to go see. My bigger concern, less so than the specifics of Spidey, or Tom, or anything else, is just in this day and age, due to the pandemic and streaming and everything else, movies aren’t being seen in theaters where they’re intended as much as they should be. And so, what was really exciting for me and everyone else in the industry was just that Spidey said, audiences still love going to the theater to see a movie. I think that’s really important.

I mean, for me, it’s the pandemic. When Spider-Man came out, it was right before Omicron. And then it got bad in New York again, but now rates here are back down and I have been going back.

Great.

So that’s good news.

Terrific news. I mean, I really hope that Uncharted will be something that people feel like they need to go see in the theater. I mean, the action is at such a scale, it’d be a shame if everybody ended up watching it on their phones.

Just talking to you about it, your messaging is very much, “Hey, this is an action-adventure movie,” as opposed to leaning in to the video game aspect.

Without a doubt. I mean, which is true, and it has great characters, great performances, a lot of humor. The other thing that I think is fun for audience, I mean, it’s just escapist entertainment at the end of the day. And it has this expansive globetrotting feeling. Which if you’ve been stuck in your apartment for two years, there is an escapist quality to the film, in being able to see the South Pacific, or Barcelona, or even New York, for people who aren’t from there. It provides a sense of adventure and travel, just inherent to the film. So I really hope it gets people out of their houses and out to the movie theater.

So how many more years until your tell-all book about the making of Venom will come out? Because I would read that in a heartbeat.

I don’t know that there’s that much to tell, honestly.

Yeah, I bet there is. I bet there’s a lot that went on behind the scenes of that movie.

Well, that’s…

I bet you have some stories.

Maybe some time we can meet up for a drink and I’ll download them for you, Mike.

Did you see the second Venom? Do you care? I don’t know if I would if I were you, which is why I’m asking.

I’m just really happy that the movie performed and that people are still investing in Eddie’s story and journey. And I think seeing the teaser at the end of No Way Home is really exciting at the possibility of those two characters colliding in their paths.

Your line you keep saying is every 10 years you want to do a Zombieland movie. Is that still on?

Call Emma.

Yeah, okay, I’ll do that.

Yeah, that is my line. It’s true to the day. So we’ll just have to see where things are at in 2029, but I’d be lucky to get to go back to that world.

Were you happy with everything with that second movie? I enjoyed it quite a bit. It made money and it seemed to do pretty well for a movie that had been 10 years since we had seen the first one.

I mean, I was thrilled with the movie. I’m really, really proud of it. It was 100 percent what I wanted it to be like. I really got to make the movie that I wanted to make in every detail. I honestly wish more people had gone and seen it in the theater. Just being totally transparent and honest. But at the end of the day, I was incredibly proud of the film. And I think it stands up to the first one. And I just love the new characters that we introduced. Yeah, I mean, I’m very proud of the movie.

Looking at the numbers, it looks like it did fairly well?

Yeah, it did better than the first one, which was an accomplishment. But yeah, you always want it to do better. I don’t know if this is appropriate to say out loud, but the truth is, I just didn’t feel like it had the resonance of the first one, but maybe that’s just the challenge of a sequel.

I think it’s the challenge of putting movies out today versus 2009. It just feels like it’s so hard to break through now for any substantial amount of time, if that makes sense.

There’s just so much stuff. Yeah. That’s probably true. Yeah, because it didn’t have that zeitgeist feeling. I mean, more people saw it arguably, based in the box office, than the first one…

When Zombieland came out in 2009 there were only two MCU movies at that point and none that year. And no Star Wars.

Yeah. I guess that’s true.

‘Uncharted’ will be in theaters February 18th. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Brie Larson can’t really say anything about the upcoming second Captain Marvel movie, The Marvels. You know it and I know it, but in our recent talk ahead of the debut of her new star-studded Super Bowl ad for Nissan (Hi Dave Bautista! Hi Danai Gurira! Hi Eugene Levy’s God-level locks!) she’s happy to engage in what she calls “the dance” where we playfully ask and she playfully dodges and we have a good laugh about the nature of super-secret movie news.

But, dear reader, an army of Disney lawyers couldn’t stop Larson from co-signing the idea of a Fast & Furious/Marvel crossover. And so there’s a touch of that here, a few complimentary words about her Marvels director, her love of cars, and a great deal about how she disconnects from the idea of being on millions of screens at once, putting herself out there on YouTube, and her freshly announced Disney+ unscripted series about helping people overcome things that they might feel shame over.

So I guess the first thing I have to ask is, can we just talk about Eugene Levy’s hair in the ad for a second? Because it’s so amazing, isn’t it?

Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. A lot of thought was put into that hair, by the way. The facial hair, the hair on his head. All of it. There’s a lot. A lot of conversation, a lot of planning around all of that.

I’m getting Fabio vibes. Now, that’s natural, right? That’s not a wig. I assume he just took six months, went to a cabin, pondered things, and grew that out, right?

You’re absolutely right. We are method here. We go hard for the Super Bowl. We plan six months in advance so that our hair is the correct length.

Obviously, you’re no stranger to being on a screen with a lot of eyes on you, but does it ever not feel weird to know that you’re going to be in a Super Bowl commercial and that the entire world is going to be watching you?

It doesn’t feel weird because I don’t think about it. [Laughs] I don’t really take it on. I think in order to actually be healthy in my mind, you have to have a bit of distance from that. My job is, I’m on set, I’m having fun, I’m doing what I love to do. And the outcome stuff isn’t for me, that’s not my job as an artist. My job is to just help make the thing. And then everybody else is allowed to have their own interpretation and feelings around whatever it is. You know? So all I get is process. The rest is whatever.

There are definitely certain moments where they’re like the pinch-me moments where you’re like, “holy moly, my face is in Times Square. I’m playing during the Super Bowl.” There are certain things like that, but I don’t have a hard time connecting any sort of… I don’t know, it doesn’t really connect with my experience. I live a pretty normal life. I can walk down the street and do whatever I want. I don’t really get recognized. So it doesn’t really fit in with my experience. I just feel like I’m the luckiest person in the universe and I feel really grateful.

What kind of car are you most likely to be behind the wheel of?

Oh, interesting. Well, this has been the fun part about doing all these Nissan commercials: I’ve actually got to test drive so many cars at this point and understand that it’s such a personality shift, depending on which car you’re in. It’s really changed my personality a lot. I had a smaller car for a while and I always had smaller cars, and I liked being able to zip around and have an easy parking spot. And then more recently, I got a bigger car and I am feeling myself. It’s a whole new level of confidence, of being a little bit higher on the road. And I had a lot of friends tell me that. They’re like, “Oh, once you experience that, you’re going to love it.” And it’s so true. I feel like a different person on the road.

I know that this isn’t the end of my car journey. I find myself, just like how I play different characters and I wear different clothes, and somehow I can be like, ooh, this feels really good. It feels good to be introverted or it feels good to be confident. I feel the same way about these cars. For this commercial, when I had to sit in the Z, I was like, wait, am I a sports car person now? I just find myself… I see why people have multiple cars. [Laughs] I guess, is what I’m saying. I never used to understand that. But now I get that, your car is an extension of your personality and we spend so much time in it, so it should be something that gives you a feeling of some kind.

Sticking with car culture, is it a dream for you to be in a Fast & Furious movie?

One hundred percent. One hundred percent.

We want to start the campaign right now?

Please, please tell everybody I would of course want to be in a Fast & Furious movie. I’m obsessed. I love them. I think they’re so good. They’re so fun. And they’ve made me appreciate cars. And it’s something that should be appreciated. They’re incredible. So of course, please.

See, the thing that they don’t do enough of is blend franchises across studios. You need an Avengers/Fast & Furious crossover.

Whoa! That’s a gazillion-dollar idea.

Right? What more can Marvel really do as far as upping the ante and bringing in more superheroes? There were 9,000 of them in Endgame. So yeah, you have to go Fast & Furious and Marvel. I think that’s the next step.

I’m down to play new characters and whatever. Whatever it takes, but I’m very down for a crossover moment. I think you’ve tapped into something that is a true love of mine, so I would be so down.

I’ll make all the calls.

Ok, great.

So, what are you legally allowed to say about The Marvels?

Um, nothing. [Laughs] That we made it? I can tell you that we made it. I can tell you that it’s going to be really good. You know the drill. It’s like, we’re going to play this game for a while now, and we’re going to play this game for I don’t know, however long it takes for the movie to come out, where every interview, someone’s going to ask me a question. And every interview, I’m going to say, sorry, I can’t. We’re both going to be like, “Yeah, I know.” I know you have to ask, you know I can’t say anything, but it’s fun. It’s a fun little dance that we’re playing isn’t it?

It doesn’t bother me. Sometimes I feel bad for you all because there are like 19 lawyers waiting on the other end of every phone call that you guys are on, probably.

[Laughs] Oh, don’t feel bad. I don’t feel bad about it. I feel it’s like, I wish I could talk about it. I can talk about my feelings around it. I can say that… I can’t say enough about how incredible our director, Nia DaCosta, is and what an honor it was to work with her, what an immense talent she is, how much I just feel like she’s the future. And I could also say that, when I read the script for the first time, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I was like, this is bonkers. And it’s the thing that I love about Marvel, is that they continue to reinvent. They continue to do the thing that you just would never think would be possible in these films. And they’re not afraid to go there. So I’m super excited about what we did. I think there are some huge personal achievements of mine that I’m really excited about sharing, but you know, it’s fun to have a bit of a secret. And it’s fun to know that, when this film comes out, people are going to be delighted. And I get to keep that to myself for a little bit longer.

Just a little bit longer. And then it’ll be everywhere.

Just a little longer.

I read something about how you were somewhat hesitant initially to take on the role [of Captain Marvel] because you’ve considered yourself to be more of an introvert. And obviously, with stuff like your YouTube channel and everything, you’ve gotten past the introvert phase.

Yes.

When did you make that conscious decision to just put yourself out there more? It’s just so positive.

I’m pretty in touch with my feelings and I think it’s because it’s my job. My job is to be pretty clear with where I’m at, so that I can portray different emotions in a day. People can hand me a script and it’s like, oh, you’re crying today. Or, oh, you’re mad today. Oh, you’re happy today. And so I’m pretty good at moving through stuff. And so I’m pretty in tune, and it really was just a feeling that I had. I realized that there was only so far I could go with my art because I was only going so far with myself. And I had this fear of revealing myself. I had for a really long time, believed that if people knew who I actually was, that they wouldn’t believe me as a character on screen. And so I needed to be extremely private and really shut myself down, in order to do my job. And I grew out of that, quite simply.

I just started realizing that I have to believe in my talents more than that. That I don’t have to fully hide in order for people to believe me as somebody else. And also that maybe there is something powerful in, at least just for myself, in sharing myself. And so really, the YouTube channel was more of a practice of just can I put myself out there every week? Can I, as somebody who struggles with anxiety or struggles with being insecure, can I just keep putting myself out there every week and deal with it? And I totally can.

I feel really good about it. It’s been a wonderful experience for me. And during the time when I had to take time off from YouTube, I really missed it. I don’t know, it’s just the idea of doing something to do it, not necessarily because I have an outcome in mind or there’s something that I was trying to get at. While I was sheltering at home, I was like, I might as well be more comfortable with myself since I can’t try and force myself to be productive in a different way. So it’s been wonderful.

I just saw the press release come through for Growing Up, the new unscripted series with Disney+. Can you tell me a little bit about what that is? It sounds really interesting.

I’m really excited about it. It’s this idea that I came up with… it hit me one day while I was driving in the car, about four years ago. And it was just about shame, and it kind of just connected to what we were talking about earlier. I was just thinking, “[what] if we were able to talk about and release the thing that is inside of us that we feel is the most shameful thing about us?” I started getting really interested in that question. And so for the last couple of years, I started asking people that: friends, family, people that felt comfortable talking to me, I’d say, “Hey, what is the thing you feel the most shame about?” And I have to say that, 100% of the time, the thing that they told me, I didn’t think that they needed to hold onto. It didn’t seem shameful to me and it was holding them back.

I have incredible partners with this production company, Culture House. And so we’ve spent the last couple of years really refining this process and we ended up landing on the experience of growing up. That feels like just such a pivotal moment when you’re going through it. Going through high school, figuring out who you are, coming to terms with who you are. And so, each episode follows a different… we call them heroes… [each episode] follows a different real-life person. And we pair them with a director who has a similar background as them, and we help them tell their story. So we build sets that they help us design to recreate and we’re honoring them, their story, and the thing that they feel shame about and overcame, and also the thing that they are the most proud of. And it’s really a beautiful show.

To put it lightly, things between DaBaby and DaniLeigh, who have a child together, are not going well right now. The two have had multiple disputes in recent months, and now DaniLeigh’s family is involved: In footage taken at a Los Angeles bowling alley last night, DaBaby and some associates are seen teaming up to beat up DaniLeigh’s brother Brandon Bills (real name Brandon Curiel).

In videos shot by bystanders, DaBaby and a handful of other people gang up on Bills to throw punches, grab him by his hair, and repeatedly slam him on the floor in the bowling lanes.

Bills later shared a video offering his side of the story, saying, “N****s wanna grab me by my hair. N****s didn’t catch no fair one, n****s they came and jumped me, my n****, once I slipped, n****. I spoke to you like a man, my n****. I said, ‘Yo, come… let’s talk, one on one, like some men, my n****, me and you on the side, my n****.’”

DaniLeigh also posted on her Instagram Story, writing, “Lame as hell!!!! Running up on my brother on some slippery ass floors with 5/6 of ya boys while he’s by himself and not even touching him!!! Lame and soooo sad!!!! I pray this stops now !!! Bc this is my family! And I got a daughter to raise . Sad [broken heart emoji].”

This comes after Bills addressed DaBaby back in November, saying, “When you come to the West Coast, bro, which I know you be out here, you’re going to catch this one-on-one fade, bro. One-on-one fade to see what happens between me and you. I want to see how gangsta you are, to see how much of a real man you are. This n**** wanna disrespect my sister online for the world to see, disrespect my family… This don’t even got nothing to do with my sister no more, bro. This gotta do with me and you.”

Check out videos from the fight above and below.

Super Bowl LVI is nearly here, and anticipation is considerable for the matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. While the Super Bowl is an annual event like no other in American sports, attracting the largest television audience for any event in the country by a wide margin, the big game also serves as a handicapping paradise for die-hard observers. Sports gambling has exploded across the country, with more than half of the 50 states now offering legal avenues to wager, but Super Bowl props went mainstream long before the most recent growth.

In this space, we will dive into 10 intriguing prop bets for your consideration, acknowledging that there are hundreds more available, depending on the outlets providing lines in certain areas. There is some slight crossover with our Winners picks for Super Bowl LVI, but value never sleeps. Oh, and be sure to shop for the best lines, even more so on props than on the side and total for Bengals-Rams.

Let’s roll through the plays.

Joe Burrow OVER 36.5 passing attempts (-115 at MGM)

This feels like a game in which Joe Burrow is going to have to throw and throw often. Burrow has surpassed 36.5 pass attempts in four of the last five games, and the only exception was a matchup against the Raiders in which Cincinnati led for the majority of the game. The Bengals could lead here, but the Rams have a tremendous rushing defense and it’s going to be on Burrow.

Joe Burrow OVER 11.5 rushing yards (-110 at MGM)

Burrow isn’t exactly known for his legs, as evidenced by this relatively low number, but he’s not going to hold anything back on the biggest stage. Most quarterbacks are taught to be judicious with rushing attempts, but this is the Super Bowl and — spoiler alert for later — I believe Burrow might be running for his life in the backfield.

Rams to finish with the longest punt return (-145 at Caesars) + Trent Taylor longest punt return UNDER 6.5 yards (-130 at Caesars)

Stick with me here, and I’ll explain two bets at once. Rams punter Johnny Hekker is tremendous at his job, and his superpower is preventing returns for opponents. Hekker has allowed only nine punt returns all season, an insane number on 51 punts, and they totaled only 60 yards. There is a decent chance the Bengals don’t have a single punt return yard, and Trent Taylor has to deal with Hekker’s star power.

Kevin Huber’s longest punt OVER 52.5 yards (-115 at DraftKings)

This is separate, but also related to the previous prop. While Hekker is elite at strategic punting, Huber is a guy who likes to boom his kicks. This one is also about simple math, with Huber having a punt of at least 53 yards in 13 of 20 games this season. There are also perfect conditions at SoFi Stadium, which certainly isn’t a bad thing for punting.

Tee Higgins OVER 5.5 receptions (+110 at MGM)

CJ Uzomah might play but, at the very least, he won’t be 100 percent healthy. That can lead to more work for Cincinnati’s receivers, and Higgins is the team’s primary threat over the middle. Combine that with Burrow’s sky-high projection for pass attempts, and this is a nice one.

Cooper Kupp UNDER 106.5 receiving yards (-115 at MGM)

This is simply a principle play. Kupp is awesome and he’s been the best receiver in the league this season. This number is also way too high because the entire world is betting the over. We’re taking a stand.

Van Jefferson OVER 30.5 receiving yards (-115 at MGM)

Kupp’s under and Jefferson’s over aren’t directly correlated, but it wouldn’t hurt to shift some targets to Jefferson. He has more than 30 yards in 13 of 20 games this season, and Jefferson is a big-play threat. Tyler Higbee is also a question mark, which could lead to more three-receiver sets with Jefferson, Kupp, and Odell Beckham Jr.

Joe Mixon UNDER 63.5 rushing yards (-115 at FanDuel)

Mixon has been under this number in six of the last eight games. I also expect the Bengals to throw a lot. The Rams are also tremendous in rushing defense. This one is pretty easy to spot.

Los Angeles OVER three sacks (-120 at Caesars)

Perhaps my favorite prop. The Bengals allowed nine sacks to the Titans, and the Rams are even more devastating up front. Cincinnati will certainly try to get the ball out of Burrow’s hands quickly, but they simply don’t project to be able to block Los Angeles. It’s not a given that four or five sacks will follow, but we’re playing the percentages with Aaron Donald and Von Miller living in the backfield.

The Los Angeles Lakers have struck fresh ground in their pursuit of rock bottom, losing to a Trail Blazers team that has spent the last two days trading away its biggest stars not named Damian Lillard, who is out with an abdominal injury.

The loss was absolutely dreadful, as the Lakers, with a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis, were unable to overcome Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, and 43 minutes of CJ Elleby. The end of the game featured Simons hitting some big shots, followed by quite possibly the worst execution by two teams in the final minute of a close game we’ll see all season.

After all of that, the Lakers ended up losing 107-105 in what certainly felt like their worst loss of the season — a rather high bar to clear — and the immediate response afterwards from the most loyal former Lakers was one of sheer disgust. Magic Johnson, who is capable of seeing the glass half full in almost any situation, found himself speechless at the Lakers losing that game with maybe the saddest tweet he’s ever sent.

On the Lakers postgame show, James Worthy was likewise at a loss for words, calling it the lowest point he can remember in his time as a Laker, noting that this Blazers team was basically a pickup team after all the trades they’ve made and very few of those players they got in return available to play on Thursday night.

It really was something to behold, as the Lakers just could not find it in them to pull away from the rag-tag Blazer squad, and as shots started falling for Portland in the second half, they began to believe they could get the win and managed to finish off L.A. despite a wild ending.

Now the Lakers head into Thursday’s trade deadline with vibes about as low as they can be after losing to that Portland roster with Russell Westbrook on the sidelines, which won’t help smooth over his frustrations that he’s been scapegoated for L.A.’s struggles this season. Something has to change for the Lakers and it’ll be fascinating to see what they end up doing between now and 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, because there aren’t a lot of obvious answers for a team with a ton of questions.