Over the 20-plus years, the Fast and Furious franchise has amassed quite the alumni roster. Every movie they add more and more actors to the Toretto “family.” Among the more improbable additions was Dame Helen Mirren, the beloved, Oscar-winning English thespian who first appeared in 2017’s eightquel The Fate of the Furious, playing the criminal mother of Jason Statham and Luke Evans’ Deckard and Owen Shaw. But it wasn’t them begging Dane Helen to join the team. It was somehow the other way around.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mirren was asked about the rumor that Vin Diesel, the series’ resident Dom, asked her to take a small but scene-stealing role. That rumor was almost true, just inverted.
“I didn’t ask, I begged!” Mirren recalls:
“I think I was at some function, and he was there, and I got introduced to him. And I was shameless: ‘Oh God, I’d just love to be in one of your movies! Please let me be in it.’ And then Vin, with that beautiful, deep voice of his, said: ‘I’ll see what I can do.’ And he did it for me. He found this great little role for me, which was perfect. I’d just never done anything like that before — one of those big, big movies. And, in my vanity, I just loved driving and really wanted to do my own driving in a fast car.
Last year, when F9 came out, Mirren revealed that she was willing to do more Diesel than maybe drive him around.
The Fate of the Furious wasn’t the first time that Mirren — who got her start at the Old Vic in London, has acted for legendary filmmakers like Michael Powell, Ken Russell, John Boorman, and Peter Greenaway, and who has played two separate Queen Elizabeths, on both stage and screen — did action. She appeared in two RED movies, alongside Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Brian Cox, Ernest Borgnine, and more. That’s range.
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, there’s been an influx of worldwide support for the beleaguered nation. Last week, the United States announced a “first tranche” of sanctions against Russia, while other countries have levied their own against the country as well. The conflict has other people doing what they can to support the cause. One small example of that is Twisted Sister’sDee Snider allowing Ukrainian supporters to use “We’re Not Gonna Take It” for their cause.
People are asking me why I endorsed the use of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” for the Ukrainian people and did not for the anti-maskers. Well, one use is for a righteous battle against oppression; the other is a infantile feet stomping against an inconvenience.
Some, however, asked Snider why he didn’t do the same for those who were fighting against mask mandates throughout America. Snider answered these questions with a simple, yet effective tweet. “Well, one use is for a righteous battle against oppression; the other is a infantile feet stomping against an inconvenience,” he wrote in his post.
It’s not the first time in recent years that Snider has approved the use of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” for certain causes. Back in 2015, he gave permission to then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump to use the song at his campaign rallies. “I said, ‘Look, we don’t see eye to eye on everything — there are definitely issues that we’re far apart on,’” he recalled at the time. “But thinking back to when I wrote the song and what the song is about, it’s about rebellion, speaking your mind and fighting the system. If anybody’s doing that, he sure is.”
Amazon is taking over as the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football this fall, and it has spent the past few months going big game hunting for its first ever NFL broadcast booth only to come up empty.
Amazon has taken swings at big names currently residing in the NFL, but has been rebuffed by the likes of Sean McVay despite offering nine figures to leave the sidelines for the booth. On Sunday, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported that Amazon has turned its attention away from poaching the NFL sidelines and towards ESPN’s top college football booth and will make a push to bring on Kirk Herbstreit — who has done a few Monday Night Football broadcasts when ESPN has had doubleheaders. Marchand notes that Herbstreit’s contract allows for him to pull double duty, doing college at ESPN while also calling NFL elsewhere.
While Herbstreit is under contract with ESPN for around $6-plus million per year, sources have told The Post that with the way his deal is written, he would be allowed to do the NFL with another entity, while continuing on college for ESPN.
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If Amazon and Herbstreit were to make a deal, ESPN, according to sources, would want the option to still use Herbstreit on some NFL games. While continuing as the home of “Monday Night Football,” it will extend to 25 games a year in the next two years.
It would be fascinating to see if Herbstreit could balance the rigors of calling Thursday night NFL games while also still doing ABC’s primetime game and College Gameday on Saturdays, but if anything, Amazon having Thursday nights would make it easier to compartmentalize rather than needing to bounce from college to the pros over the course of Saturday to Sunday. Marchand points out that there could be some lawyer fighting that takes place over whether ESPN has to let Herbstreit go to Amazon for NFL should he want to double dip, but the Worldwide Leader may also not have much of a choice if it doesn’t want to have to shuffle its top college football booth and road show.
(SPOILERS for this season of Euphoria will be found below.)
This season of Euphoria has explored most of the storylines around each of the characters. There’s Rue’s struggle with drug addiction, Nate, Maddy, and Cassie’s love triangle, Lexi’s play and her journey towards coming out of her own shell, and more. Aside from cliffhangers in the show, there is one thing that hasn’t been answered on this season of Euphoria and it has to do with Nate Jacobs and his family. A Jacobs family photo shows a third son together with Nate’s mom and dad, Marsha and Cal, as well as his older brother Aaron. So with no information given about Nate’s younger brother, it begs this question:
What Happened To Nate’s Other Brother On ‘Euphoria?’
Long story short, we have no idea. Fan theories have led the way in the search for answers about Nate’s younger brother. Some suggestion that Ashtray, who is Fezco’s adopted brother, is actually Nate’s younger brother as a baby photo of him is a bit similar to that of unknown Jacobs. Others believe a more dramatic story is in play as one person suggested that Nate killed his younger sibling, whether it be by accident or purposely, and it’s the reason that Cal dislikes him so much.
A more common theory is that Elliot, who’s played by Dominic Fike, is Nate’s younger brother. Fike admitted that he was almost convinced to believe this theory during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show. “I looked at it for a while and there were so many things connecting and so many people were talking about it all through these Reddit threads, and at the end of it, I was like, ‘Am I Nate’s brother?’” he said. “I almost called him up and asked him.”
The hope is that the question about Nate’s younger brother will be answered during the season two finale, but if not, we’ll have to wait until at least season three to find out.
Mitt Romney has had arguably the most interesting last decade of anyone in the GOP. Ten years ago, he was the Republican presidential nominee. Today he’s one of the only members of his party to speak out against Trump (following a brief dalliance in his orbit, of course). On Sunday, he even went on CNN, the enemy to most on the far right, where he called certain extremist members of his party “morons.”
Over the weekend, while Ukraine is fighting off invading Russian forces, the GOP is throwing their annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, which features speakers such as former president Donald Trump praising Russian leader (and good buddy) Vladimir Putin. At the same, a kind of counter-conference is being held. That one is run by noted white nationalists. Very few key Republican lawmakers are speaking there — with the exception of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, the Arizona representative so despicable his own siblings hate his guts.
During his CNN appearance, Romney was asked about the tiny anti-Trump wing of his own party, especially those who’ve sung the praises of Putin. Liz Cheney, the daughter of former vice president Dick, who was censured by her own party for standing up to Trump, even tweeted, “All Americans should renounce this garbage and reject the Putin wing of the GOP now.”
Romney concurs. “Obviously, Liz Cheney was right with that statement and she has been right for a long time,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash. “I also saw that Ronna McDaniel came out with a statement as well talking about how repugnant these white nationalists are.”
“It’s unthinkable to me. It’s almost treasonous. And it just makes me ill to see some of these people do that.” – Sen. Mitt Romney reacts to pro-Putin sentiments from GOP members and some media outlets: https://t.co/S6ESuaj46b#CNNSOTUpic.twitter.com/ZPDC3bGMgI
They then moved onto that white nationalist gathering. “There’s no place in either political party for this white nationalism or racism,” Romney stated. “It’s simply wrong. As you’ve indicated, speaking of evil, it’s evil as well.”
He then addressed the two representatives who attended that conference. “Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, I don’t know them,” Romney said. “But I’m reminded of that old line from the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid movie where one character says, ‘Morons, I have morons on my team!’”
Romney added, “And I have to think anybody who would sit down with white nationalists and speak at their conference was certainly missing a few IQ points.”
Romney also addressed the pro-Putin members of his party, including Trump, who’s praised the Russian leader’s actions as “genius” and “very savvy.”
“Well, I said it’s nearly treasonous,” Romney remarked. “Standing up for freedom is the right thing to do in America. Anything less than that, in my opinion, is unworthy of American support.”
In the last couple days, Trump and even Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who’s gone so far as to denounce Ukraine as “corrupt” while praising Putin, have tried to walk back their statements. In Trump’s case, he couldn’t help himself from both formally condemning the invasion while calling Putin “smart.”
For the last seven long years, the Republican party has had a loose cannon in their midst. He even became president for a single term. His name is Donald J. Trump, and his latest deplorable act is praising his good friend Vladimir Putin, the Russian president currently being condemned worldwide for invading Ukraine. While the move has been widely condemned by Democrats and much of the Republican party, there have been a few outliers heaping praise on Putin. One is Tucker Carlson. Another is Trump, who called his actions “savvy” and “genius.”
That puts fellow Republicans in a sticky situation, as Senator Tom Cotton discovered on Sunday. Appearing on ABC’s This Week, the Arkansas lawmaker — best known for a deranged New York Times op-ed in which he recommended sending the National Guard to violently suppress Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020 — was asked by host George Stephanopoulos no less than four times if he would condemn Trump’s remarks. And he failed each and every time.
Stephanopoulos began gingerly, highlighting Cotton’s own critical stance of Putin’s actions and pointing out that they don’t exactly gibe with Trump, who was calling Putin “smart” just the night before during the ongoing Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida.
“If you want to know what Donald Trump thinks about Vladimir Putin or any other topic,” Cotton testily responded, “I’d encourage you to invite him on your show. I don’t speak on behalf of other politicians. They can speak for themselves.”
But Stephanopoulos was undeterred, bringing up some more of his Putin praise and asking him, “Are you prepared to condemn that kind of rhetoric from the leader of your party?”
Cotton wasn’t. “George, you heard what I had to say about Vladimir Putin: That he is a ruthless dictator who’s launched a naked, unprovoked war of aggression,” he said.
Stephanopoulos continued to grill him, asking, “Why can’t you condemn Donald Trump for those comments?”
When Cotton mostly repeated himself, Stephanopoulos dug in deeper. “You’re a senior member of the Republican party. Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican party. He said last night again, suggested that he’d be running for president. When Fox News asked him if he had a message for Vladimir Putin, he said he has no message,” he said. “Why can’t you condemn that? I feel quite confident that if … a Barack Obama or Joe Biden said something like that, you’d be first in line to criticize him.”
Cotton kept up appearances, saying, “Again, George, if you want to talk to the former president about his views or his message, you can have him on your show.”
Of course, Trump has long had a habit of saying the quiet part loud, which is almost always met with silence from members of his party. Then again, Cotton — who quietly helped Mitch McConnell thwart Trump’s plans to overturn democracy on Jan. 6 — should know full well what happens to members of his party who speak ill of the one-term former president who now rants to strangers in resorts.
You can watch Cotton’s appearance on ABC’s This Week in the video above. The back-and-forth about Trump starts around the 4:10 mark.
Pokémon is one of the biggest franchises in the world. What started off as just a couple of games has evolved into a multi-media giant with trading cards, tv shows, and apparel bringing in billions. So anytime anything new in relation to Pokémon comes out, it’s usually a big deal.
For that reason, The Pokémon Company usually tries to keep the franchise fresh with a constant output of new games to make sure there’s always new Pokémon for fans to be excited about. The last games in the franchise, Sword and Shield, came out in 2019 so we all knew an update was going to be on the way soon. What we didn’t know is just how close it actually was. On Saturday, The Pokémon Company announced that the ninth generation of the franchise is on the way and it will release in 2022. The big hook to this one? It’s the first mainline game in the series that will be open world, an obvious plus for anyone that’s been diving into Pokémon Arceus the last month.
Welcome to the open world of Pokémon.
Embark on an open-world adventure in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, arriving on Nintendo Switch in late 2022.
What will separate this game from Legends Arceus however, besides being a mainline title, is that this open world is going to be seamless. While the trailer didn’t make that explicitly clear, a website that was launched to showcase the upcoming game confirms what everyone was hoping for. We will be able to explore this entire world with no borders.
Various towns blend seamlessly into the wilderness with no borders. You’ll be able to see the Pokémon of this region in the skies, in the seas, in the forests, on the streets—all over! You’ll be able to experience the true joy of the Pokémon series—battling against wild Pokémon in order to catch them—now in an open-world game that players of any age can enjoy.
This is a huge deal for fans of the franchise because while everyone really enjoyed Legends Arceus, a small criticism against it was how the game didn’t have a truly open world. It instead had open regions that the player could explore, but to go from region to region the player would have to select it on a map. This upcoming game, based on everything we’ve been told, will not be like that.
Alongside this announcement came three new starters! According to the Pokémon website, Serebii.net, the three new starters’ names will be Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly. All three are absolutely adorable and soon enough they will evolve into destructive forces that can take us to the top of the Pokémon world once again.
Given all that he’s been through, from being at the center of Donald Trump’s first impeachment to, now, overseeing an invasion of his nation, it’s easy to forget about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s humble origins. He was a comedian. He even had a sitcom in which he plays a high school teacher unwittingly elected president of Ukraine. A few years later, that’s what happened to him. Few could have expected that. And few could have expected a comic-turned-politician to be as brave as Zelenskyy has been in the last handful of days.
Last week, Russia, under the auspices of President Vladimir Putin, invaded Ukraine. They may have expected an easy seizing of power. Instead, Russian forces have seen massive pushback, including from Zelenskyy himself. On Saturday, Zelenskyy made waves when it was revealed that not only did he refuse an offer from U.S. President Joe Biden to be evacuated from the bombarded capital of Kyiv, he had an all-timer response: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
Since that quote went viral, people have been comparing Zelenskyy to Jon Stewart, had the former Daily Show host become elected to the highest position in America — and had he put himself in danger to defend his country from invaders. Stewart hasn’t commented on the comparisons, but he did the next best thing: He praised Zelenskyy for doing what he may never have to.
“We are comedians, and we know the general brand of cowardice that runs through our business,” Stewart said on a recent episode of The Problem with Jon Stewart, his new Apple TV+ show, while speaking with writers Robby Slowik and Rob Christensen.
“What this dude is doing, it is incredibly moving,” Stewart said of Zelenskyy. “I mean, we’re watching Shecky Greene transform into Churchill,” referencing the legendary comedian.
Stewart was stunned, not only by Zelenskyy but by his fellow countrypeople, who’ve taken up arms against the invading Russian forces, giving them what for. “What a terrible time to notice the real spine of this country,” Stewart remarked. “I wish it was not in such terrible circumstances.”
Since the invasion began last week, politicians and performers alike have sometimes struggled to address it. There have been moving addresses. There have been cringe-inducing follies. Comics have tried to find jokes about the situation without trivializing it, often by lampooning two of Putin’s biggest cheerleaders in America, former president Donald Trump and Fox News host Tucker Carlson, both of whom have heaped praise upon him during the skirmish.
There’s little that’s funny about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which hasn’t gone as smoothly as the aggressor nation must have wanted. Russian forces have been with strong resistance, including from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who refused an offer to be evacuated, saying, “I need ammunition, not a ride.” There’s still humor to be found in the febrile situation. The Lincoln Project targeted Putin-supporting Republicans in a new parody ad. And SNL’s Weekend Update managed to get in some zingers, mostly by targeting Trump and Tucker.
“It’s a tough subject to make jokes about,” Michael Che joked at one point. “In my lifetime I’ve seen footage of attacks like this on other countries, but never a white one.”
“Russia began their invasion of Ukraine,” Colin Jost said at the segment’s start. “President Putin launched the attack with support from allies like Belarus and Tucker Carlson.”
“Many analysts were surprised that Putin went through with the invasion, even though it was obviously going to be a colossal mistake,” Jost later joked. “But he couldn’t back down after all that build-up.” He then shivved his own network, cracking, “Kind of like NBC still had to go through with airing the Winter Olympics.”
Che also praised the Ukrainian people, including comedian-turned-president Zelenskyy. “I’m very impressed by all the Ukrainian citizens signing up to defend their country, even the famous ones,” he said. “Imagine that here? If you ever read on the news that Michael Che joined an American war, we have just lost that war!”
Jost, meanwhile, brought up former president Donald Trump’s widely condemned comments about the invasion. “Donald Trump praised Vladimir Putin for moving troops into the Ukraine, saying ‘This is genius!’…though ‘This is genius!’ is also how he sarcastically introduces Eric,” he joked.
The segment also featured bits about President Joe Biden’s new Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, New York City mayor Eric Adams, Prince Andrew, and a man who got AA batteries stuck inside his wang.
You can watch the latest Weekend Update in the video above.
If you’ve been keeping up with Season 2 of Euphoria, you’ve probably been on that emotional roller coaster for the past few weeks. Since the start of the show, Euphoria has always been known for its stunning cinematography and innovative approach to music. Sam Levinson’s vision in each character for Season 2 wouldn’t have been possible without Labrinth’s innovative scoring, resulting in another successful season. The 33-year-old singer-songwriter-producer is known for his ability to span across hip-hop, R&B, gospel, among other genres, allowing him to innovate storytelling, giving each scene a unique moment of its own. Over the past two seasons, Labrinth’s thrilling score earned him a 2020 Emmy win for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for “All For Us” as well as a Music Composition for a Series nomination.
It only went up from there as Season 2’s record-breaking launch had the strongest digital premiere of any episode of an HBO series and dominated Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart. The hype for the show’s original music only grew stronger as Spotify streams on the official Euphoria score increased by 260 percent since the Season 2 premiere and with listeners creating more than 600,000 Euphoria-related playlists on Spotify. Surprisingly, the show’s capability to bring back older music and mix it with current artists elevated this season in a modern and fresh way, which was interesting to see Gen Z engage and revive these old hits on their TikTok videos. Levinson’s script seamlessly blends with Labrinth’s experimental approaches, bringing back the season that was worth the wait. From the montages to the intense plot lines we’ve seen with our favorite characters, here are the top ten iconic music moments that were as powerful as the characterizations and storylines.
Check out the unranked list of the best songs from Euphoria Season 2 below.
Notorious B.I.G. — “Hypnotize” (Episode 1)
The beginning of Season 2 lived up to what we were all waiting for…a lit party. The first episode brought back a series of hip-hop classics as it kicked off the high-energy NYE party, exposing a lot of new and continuing storylines like the Cassie-Nate-Maddy situation, the start of ‘Fexi,’ Rue meeting Elliot, and many others. Choosing this ’90s classic hit was on-point as it gave a hint of nostalgia, feeling like a memory of high school even though our parties looked nothing like it…
Laura Les — “Haunted” (Episode 2)
In an interview with Paper Magazine, Laura Les discussed the inspiration behind hyper-pop hit “Haunted” which is about “getting overwhelmed by a feeling and how it changes things around you.” For people that love Lexi and are 100 Gecs fans, this song caught fans by surprise as she threw in her headphones and blasted this song to pump herself up for her bike ride to Fez’s store. It was interesting choice as revealed more of Lexi’s unique personality and it was definitely one of her more relatable moments.
Bobby Darin — “Call Me Irresponsible” (Episode 3)
The lyrics of this timeless jazz song fits with Rue’s intention of not staying clean as she dances around her bedroom. Initially watching Rue’s blissful moment led up to showing the reality of how her choices will affect the people she loves and cares about the most. Zendaya told Decider: “Those moments remind us of why she does it in the first place… When we live inside of her brain that’s joyous and beautiful until we zoom out and remember what’s happening. There’s a very harsh reality to what’s happening to her. “
Townes Van Zandt — “I’ll Be Here In The Morning” (Episode 4)
Episode 4 starts with Rue’s love note to Jules — a visually stunning montage — portraying pop culture’s most iconic love stories and artwork – including Annie Leibovitz’s famous photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Titanic, and Snow White. “I’ll Be Here In The Morning” flowing through the montage signifies Rue’s real love for Jules as she states: “This may be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Labrinth — “I’m Tired” (Episode 4)
In a scene that was reminiscent of Rue’s overdose in the Season 1 finale, Rue continues her downward spiral, having a drug-induced hallucination of her own funeral, powerfully executed with Labrinth’s gospel-inspired vocals. Labrinth’s “I’m Tired” lyrics correlate with Rue and her journey with substance-abuse as this scene almost feels close to horrible, inevitable consequences. This ethereal scene was beautifully crafted as it constantly switched between Rue embracing Labrinth and her father, depicting how much the loss of Rue’s father has affected her.
Labrinth — “Left Behind” (Episode 4)
Even though this song isn’t officially released yet, I had to include this. After Cal’s confrontation to his family, the sequence at the end of Episode 4 showed the lowest points of all the characters. While we see Cassie feeling trapped, and the state of Kat and Ethan’s relationship, Rue’s narration returns, continuing her love note to Jules from the beginning of the episode. Creator Sam Levinson told Vanity Fair the visuals throughout the sequence was inspired by “Mexican murals from the turn of the century.” Once again, this proved that a Levinson/Labrinth collab always delivers as a masterpiece.
Labrinth — “Yeh I F*ckin’ Did It” (Episode 5)
This was where fans called for Zendaya to win another Emmy after her incredible performance. Even though it was devastating to see Rue hitting rock bottom, the overall episode stood out and further pushed boundaries from anything else on TV right now. Adding Labrinth’s single “Yeh I F*ckin’ Did It” had all of us at the edge of our seats as it added to the feelings of Rue’s helplessness and anxiety. At this point, we are patiently waiting for another Labrinth album.
INXS — “Never Tear Us Apart” (Episode 3)
We finally see Cal’s backstory in this season which reveals his secret relationship with his best friend Derek. INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart” describes that instant connection with two people which further represents the significance of Cal and Derek’s story and how it’s affected him over the years.
Tove Lo — “How Long” (Episode 4)
Tove Lo’s featured track “How Long” is about love, denial, and betrayal. Season 2’s ongoing theme in our favorite friendships and relationships revolves around secrets. Whether it’s Rue and Jules’ relationship or Cassie/Nate/Maddie love triangle, this song perfectly depicts the good and bad of keeping secrets from the people you love and care about the most.
James Blake — “(Pick Me Up) Euphoria” Feat. Labrinth (Episode 4)
The collaborative “(Pick Me Up) Euphoria” track is unique in its own way as it relates to every character. Lyrics including “no control,” “escape,” and “sweet relief” are expressed through dissonant pitches and Blake’s falsetto, reflecting the different emotional extremes that we see each character throughout the show.
All in all, there were definitely more notable moments throughout the season that were done effortlessly. Labrinth previously stated, “Euphoria gave me the freedom to be whatever artist I want to be.” From the innovative music and cinematography to the revival of old classics, Euphoria is crafted from pure inspiration. Check out the full playlist below.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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