Month: March 2022

It’s time to dust off those Spy Glasses that came in your McDonald’s happy meal in 2002. On the anniversary of the first Spy Kids movie, Netflix has announced that director Robert Rodriguez has another Spy Kids title in the works, in partnership with production company Skydance and Spyglass Entertainment. Rumors of a revival have circulated for several years.

The first three movies in the franchise came out between 2001-2003, featuring the Cortez family and their various top-secret adventures. Rodriguez will write, direct, and produce a “reimagining of the beloved franchise and introduce the world to a new family of spies.” So, probably not the Cortez family, but maybe they will make a cameo? Or maybe Elijah Wood will be interested in returning as The Guy.

No cast has been announced at the moment. The original trilogy starred Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Daryl Sabara and Alexa PenaVega. A fourth film was released in 2011, starring Jessica Alba and Joel McHale, with Sabara and PenaVega reprising their original roles.

In 2020, Rodriguez wrote and directed We Can Be Heroes, a family film based on 2005’s Sharkboy and Lava Girl, also from Rodriguez. The film became a success, which is what prompted the latest revival of Spy Kids. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger will produce for Skydance, while Spyglass’ Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre will executive produce the film.

So much (too much!) has been made about the divide between critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, especially when one is much higher than the other. Godspeed to anyone who clicks on the “All Audience” tab on The Last Jedi. So it’s nice to find a movie that everyone agrees rules:

Everything Everywhere All at Once, A24’s multiverse brain-bender starring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis and written and directed by the Daniels, is a hit among critics and at the box office. Deadline reports that it “grossed over half a million dollars on 10 screens in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco [over the weekend] for a hefty $50,965 per-screen-average — a number rarely seen since the pre-COVID old days of theatrical releases and the biggest of the year so far.” In fact, it’s the best per-theater-average of any film since Spider-Man: No Way Home.

This is A24’s best launch since Uncut Gems (2019) and one of its best ever. It’s the biggest limited opening 2022, and the third highest per screen average since 2019. The sci-fi drama scores 97 percent with critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Exit polls were in the 90’s across the board and social chatter active.

The reception so far on Twitter has been impressive, to say the least:

Everything Everywhere All at Once is playing in select IMAX theaters tonight, March 30 (check for tickets here), before a wide release on April 8.

(Via Deadline)

As Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage on the Oscars continues to dominate headlines, Rock has been receiving praise for keeping his composure during the whole thing even as claims of him reconciling with Smith have reportedly been exaggerated. As it turns out, Rock recently revealed that he’s spent most of his life avoiding confrontation after his own anger got the better of him during a childhood fight.

While sitting down for a January episode of the Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade podcast, Rock shared an anecdote about how he violently reacted after years of bullying and basically spent the rest of his life avoiding any and all confrontation. According to Rock, the whole thing happened at a party where another boy pushed him down and kicked sand in his face in front of the girls, which was the final straw for Rock after years of being picked on at school. Via PEOPLE:

“I went home, I put a brick in a book bag — this is like a legendary story in my neighborhood — I swung that sh– and smacked the guy in the face with this brick and stomped on him, Joe Pesci-style, to the point that we thought he might die,” Rock told hosts David Spade and Dana Carvey.

Later on, with the help of therapy, Rock realized the long-term impact the event had on his life.

“Long story short, from that day on, as my shrink puts it to me, you have been scared to be angry ever since,” he said. “The guy you saw was bending over backwards to be nice because I was so scared of my anger.”

While Rock also revealed that intense therapy sessions have helped him to not keep his feels repressed and let people walk all over him, not letting his anger out came in handy after being publicly assaulted by Smith. In fact, Rock’s professionalism has earned him accolades from Whoopi Goldberg. who doesn’t think the comedian gets enough credit for being the “adult” in the situation.

“Why do you think he would have indulged in a brawl (on a stage) in front of 3 billion people?” Whoopi asked during Wednesday’s episode of The View. “Why wouldn’t he be the adult?”

(Via PEOPLE)

It’s been a long time coming. That’s probably how Eric Bellinger feels after earning his first Grammy nomination for his personal work at this year’s award. The singer previously received a nomination at the Grammys nearly a decade ago, but it came through his work on Chris Brown’s 2011 album F.A.M.E. He’d go on to earn himself a Grammy Award in 2012 thanks to that album securing a win in the Best R&B Album category. Bellinger was nominated as a songwriter once again in 2015, but in the years that followed, Bellinger was unable to receive some Grammy love.

By all means, Bellinger is very talented as a songwriter and an artist. He’s written for the likes of Brandy, Jennifer Hudson, Sevyn Streeter, Teyana Taylor, and more while releasing solid projects like 2015’s Cuffing Season, 2017’s Eric B for President: Term 2, 2018’s Eazy Call, and more. But for quite some time Bellinger was very much a slept-on act on an “if you know you know” list. The lack of Grammy recognition didn’t diminish his career because he was more than worthy of one with his undeniable talents. Finally, at the end of last year, he struck gold.

Bellinger’s eighth album, New Light, was selected in the Best Progressive R&B Album category. There it joined other nominees like Lucky Daye, Masego, Hiatus Kyoto, Cory Henry, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and others. At long last, Bellinger was getting the recognition he truly deserved.

Ahead of the Grammy Awards, we spoke to Bellinger about New Light, why he believes this is the album that brought him back to the Grammys, and what it would truly mean for him to win.

Congratulations on your Grammy nomination! Where were you when you found out and what was your initial reaction?

Ah man, I was actually in New York. I was at a rehearsal singing backgrounds, I was actually doing a show with Alicia Keys, and I was in the middle of rehearsal while the announcements went off, so I was lowkey watching it in the corner with my headphones. Don’t tell her (laughs)! But nah I’m joking, so when they announced it, it was dope, because I was just like, “Yo! I got nominated!” and everybody what like what are you talking about? Then as I explained it, we took a break and everybody celebrated with me, it was a joyous occasion.

You were previously won and were nominated as a songwriter thanks to your work on Chris Brown’s FAME. How fulfilling is it that this nomination is now for an album of yours?

It feels great bro. To transition from the songwriter world to the artistry world, or from the producer world to the rapper, it’s not easy to transition. For me, that was confirmation that this is for me. Yeah, I have some success as a songwriter, but although I’ve been independent, and to me, in an upward battle when it comes to really making a mark on the other side of the fence. This was great for me to remove the chip off my shoulder to know that all things truly are possible.

You have plenty, and I mean plenty, of great songs in your catalog, great albums as well. What do you think made New Light the album that receive the recognition it has?

I think it was just having a proper team in place to handle all the different things that are necessary when it comes to checking off boxes to even be a potential candidate. I think we got so many incredible people in place now that just know what needs to be done and I’m not guessing anymore. We’re all experienced, we’ve all been here, And we’re all veterans in this. We can lean on each other, I can throw a no-look pass and know that I’m gonna have somebody right there at the rim ready to slam it in.

After the plethora of projects that you’ve released over the last near-decade, did it ever get to a point where you believed maybe the Grammys aren’t for me?

I always wanted it. I just always felt like it was gonna be tougher because I was independent, but I always knew it’s possible because I’ve seen it done, you know? I feel like, “Why wouldn’t it be me? Why couldn’t it be me?” As long as I stay consistent, if it ain’t this year, it’s next year, and if it ain’t next year, it’s the year after that. Because I’m doing what I love, I’ve learned to enjoy the journey rather than anticipating the celebration at the destination.

Continuing off that last question, when you look throughout your discography, what’s a song or album that you think should’ve or you hoped would receive some Grammy love?

Yeah, I think The Rebirth album (2014), I think Cuffing Season, Part 3 (2019), I think Eventually (2016), Eric B For President album (2017) (laughs) maybe all of them. I definitely feel like we’ve been going crazy, like the music didn’t necessarily get better, the team just got stronger.

Furthermore, what makes New Light different than the other projects you’ve released? Was it the creative process? Types of collaborations?

I think this is a personal album. I had time after the quarantine, after the isolation, that was all spent doing self-healing, doing more awareness work on myself, so I was able to be more honest — I was forced to be more honest in the songs. I don’t really want to talk about no bullsh*t, so it was real, pure moments and intentional sessions. I got songs like “Counting My Blessings” and “Backwards,” you know, not being afraid to talk about how sh*t is backwards. You work hella hard to have money to be able to buy what you want, then they just gave it to you for free. All of the life experiences helped create “Blue Dreams,” like man, that’s a song just about manifesting. “Shine On The World,” it’s about having confidence in yourself to not be afraid to shine when the world tries to dim your light. A lot of the songs have a lot more purpose and intention behind them because of the place that I was at and the state of mind that I was in mentally while creating the album.

In this stretch of the journey as an artist, what does New Light represent for you and the music you’re creating?

It’s crazy because going into creating the album, my overall goal is to win a Grammy. When I first started making it, it was like “Yo, we got to win a Grammy with this album.” I never thought that on any other album going in and creating, but this time that was literally the main goal. It’s fire to have been nominated and be in strong consideration from my peers.

New Light was nominated in the Best Progressive R&B Album category, a category that the Grammys added to its field back in 2013. I think it speaks to the many colors and shades within R&B, do you think so? And do you think it’s a category that best speaks to your style?

Yeah, I do man, I do. I felt like I’ve been a pioneer for just merging different experimental sounds and sonics with R&B. From the beginning of my career, sampling Kriss Kross on “I Don’t Want Her,” it was R&B, but it was progressive. I think my love for drums and my love for cadences and BPMs created a new sound in R&B that has always been progressive.

You’re also on tour at the moment, your first one in a couple of years. What have the interactions you’ve had with fans taught you about this album and even about how you’re viewed as an artist?

Lately man, I feel like I’ve been able to experiment and not be afraid because of my comfortability in my space and in my personal life from my songwriting. That set me up to where I’m not hurting to where I have to jeopardize or compromise the character of my music or what I do. I think with that, who I’ve been able to portray is just literally myself and my actual growth. This is actually where I’m at in life, this is the music, this is everything that I’m talking about — it’s all so true and genuine and it comes from my honest place. So I think that’s my weapon in this all: to be able to truly be myself. This isn’t no, like, “this is what people recommend of me.” I’m able to really, really be myself and that is was getting the shine, just genuineness. I think in a time where a lot of people are doing things based on what they feel will work for the people, I’m doing what works for me and it gives me such a peaceful state of mind that it’s like, “Man, this is a winner’s mentality.” I’m able to really live life happy, you know, that’s the ultimate goal, that’s the ultimate win.

With the work you’ve put in, the albums and songs you’ve released, collaborations you’ve done over the years, what would a Grammy win for this project after all that mean to you?

It would mean everything, it would mean God’s promise is true. It would mean even if it don’t happen, I still feel like I already won being an independent artists bro. Ain’t nobody else up there independent. So with everything that I’m doing, that would just be the cherry on top. Even in all of this, I’m already basking and walking in victory. The fans and the people that tell me they voted for me or that they know of nominated, they tell me they rooted for me to win or they feel like I got this. The confidence that people tell me that “I got it,” it’s to the point where I already know that the people know I deserve it so that’s good enough for me. The people know! They know I deserve it. I just wanted the people to know that I’m out here, and for me to be on that list with those incredible artists — Masego, Lucky Daye — it’s like man, them dudes are doing it at the top of this, and I’m in that in that same category, except I’m the fuel behind my machine. There’s no feeling that can compare to that.

You’re absolutely one of the more active artists in the game, so with that being said, what’s next for you?

Man, the acting vibes. The label vibes, building my label, I got some R&B artists that are super dope. I’m excited to bring them to the world man and get on my Eazy Gordy swag.

When Jorja Smith came to the studio to hear Ibeyi’s upcoming album, Spell 31, she fell hard for a track called “Lavender & Roses.” So much so that the French-Cuban twins asked the British R&B sensation to be on the track. The sweeping love song, talks about how no matter how much you want to help someone, they are at the mercy of their fate.

It’s a lot of forceful talent on one tune and it’s produced by XL Recordings boss Richard Russell. Ibeyi’s Lisa-Kaindé Diaz shared a statement on the mythological themes that play into the tune and its creation:

“We knew we wanted to create something with Jorja that would be different from what we’ve done previously that would allow us to connect with the true meaning of the song. When we came across the three sisters of fate from the Greek mythology that personify fate we knew immediately that it would be the right idea. Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos are sisters, one of them creates the thread of fate, the other analyses it and the third one cuts it. “Lavender and Red Roses” is a song about the feeling we all experience when we love someone troubled. It could be a partner, a sibling, a parent, a friend. We wanted to talk about the pain of witnessing a loved one hurting, repeating patterns and getting lost. And how it triggers in us the desire to reach them, hold them tight and wash their troubles away with lavender and red roses. But the truth is you can’t save them, if they pull you into their darkness, you will have to protect yourself, and allow them to find their own strength and light, their own way.”

Ibeyi has also announced three special album release shows in New York, Paris, and London. Those dates are listed below and tickets are available here.

Watch the video for “Lavender And Roses” above.

05/01 – New York @ The Sultan Room
05/14 – London @ Hoxton Hall
05/17 – Paris @ Lafayette Anticipations

Spell 31 is out 5/6 via XL Recordings. Pre-order it here.

Roblox has increased its standing in the music world lately, from hosting a Lil Nas X concert to draining Cardi B’s bank account. Now the video game is going to have a Grammys presence, too, as they and the Recording Academy are teaming up for a Grammy Week on the platform.

The Las Vegas-themed experience (since the Grammys will be in Vegas for the first time this year) goes down virtually from March 30 to April 3 and will feature “artist avatar meet & greets, chats, mini games, prizes,” and a performance from Camilo, making him the first Laton artist to perform on Roblox.

Camilo says of the performance, “When Roblox approached me, I immediately got very excited because this was the first time in my life that I would be doing something like this. I’m also grateful that I’ll be able to bring this unique experience to La Tribu, especially during Grammy Week. I was already incredibly honored to be one of this year’s nominees, and to perform in a completely new way in the Metaverse, brings it to a whole new level. I can’t wait!”

Camilo is among this year’s Grammy nominees, as Mis Manos is up for Best Latin Pop Album.

Panos A. Panay, Co-President of the Recording Academy, also noted, “We are thrilled to partner with Roblox for our first-ever official Grammy Week experience in the Metaverse. We are always looking to innovate and reach music lovers wherever they are, and there is no better partner for us to accomplish this than Roblox. Online gaming platforms are quickly becoming one of the most important music discovery channels for tens of millions of fans. As an Academy, it’s our priority to continue broadening where and how our members connect with audiences around the world. Plus, my 8-year-old twin daughters think this is amazing.”

Jon Vlassopulos — vice president, global head of music of Roblox — also said, “The Grammy Awards are iconic and we’re delighted to bring the hottest music show of the year to fans across the globe. We’re thrilled to be featuring Camilo, our first Latin virtual concert performer on Roblox, giving the community new music and genres to discover.”

Find the full list of 2022 Grammy nominations here.

(Spoilers for the first episode of Moon Knight will be found below.)

In the opening minutes of the Moon Knight premiere, Ethan Hawke’s character, Arthur Harrow, is seen performing his daily ritual of smashing a glass cup and putting the shards in his sandals, causing him to walk with a cane. It’s a brutal introduction to the mysterious workings of the character who Hawke partially modeled after Waco cult-leader David Koresh. As for where the idea for the painful scene came from, that was all Hawke.

In a recent interview to promote the Disney+ series, Hawke revealed that he was trying to picture what a big, full-page comic book drawing of his character might look like, and that’s when he came up with the broken glass idea. Via Variety:

I started really meditating on that, and I started thinking about spiritual people who go crazy, who get mad on their own spiritual pride, and how often that turns inward and you see that they’re secretly self-lacerating in some way and hating themselves. Because we all have sin, and the idea that somebody is free of sin is not really possible if you’re human. And so with the self-hatred and the turning inward, I had this image of him listening to a hymn while he put broken glass in his shoes, that he hid from other people.

To Hawke’s surprise, Marvel was immediately onboard with the idea. “Let’s shoot that. That’s a great idea. Let’s open the show with that,” Hawke said about the studio’s response. It was an exciting example that “these guys do want to play,” which is what initially attracted the indie actor to the project after being approached by Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac.

“They’re extremely active, friendly,” Hawke raved about Marvel back in September. “They do good world-building and create space for actors. If you want to play, they want you to play.”

(Via Variety)

The family of legendary action star Bruce Willis shared some sad news on social media Wednesday, March 30. The actor is suffering from aphasia, a language disorder, and will step back from his career on the big screen.

Willis, 67, starred in some of the most iconic films of the past five decades, including the “Die Hard” franchise, “Pulp Fiction,” “The Fifth Element,” and “The Sixth Sense.”

“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him,” his family wrote in a joint statement.

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Johns Hopkins describes aphasia as “a language disorder caused by damage in a specific area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension. Aphasia leaves a person unable to communicate effectively with others.” It can be brought on by a stroke, head injury, brain tumor, infection or dementia.

One can imagine how hard it would be to act with that disorder.

“This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support,” the Willis family added.

Although Willis will not be filming any more films, he can retire knowing that he was one of the most unique onscreen personas in film history. He was the tough guy with the heart of gold and often portrayed believable, blue-collar action guys at a time when over-the-top ridiculously swole actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone ruled the box office.

As an actor, he also had a wry sense of humor that brought a sense of levity to the harrowing positions he found himself in, whether a fiery building or behind the wheel in a car chase. It shone brightly in the ’80s on “Moonlighting,” the romantic detective comedy co-starring Cybill Shepherd.

Rumors circulated that Willis may be facing health issues as an explanation for the glut of direct-to-DVD and video-on-demand films he’s made over the past several years. According to IMDb, he currently has eight films that have been completed or are in postproduction set to be released.

Now, with this announcement, his family can put those rumors aside and the public can focus on appreciating the great films he’s made over his storied career. “We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,” his family said.

His family signed off its announcement with Willis’ lighthearted philosophy of life. It sounds a lot like something you’d hear from the mouth of John McClane.

“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that,” his family said.

Yippie-ki-yay to that.

If you didn’t get tickets to Tyler The Creator‘s sold-out Call Me If You Get Lost tour, you’re still in luck: Fans of the “Lumberjack” rapper can stream tomorrow’s LA show tomorrow.

The concert, taking place at the Crypto.com Arena, will be available to stream for free via Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, and the Amazon Music app.

“Tyler The Creator infuses culture with his bold talent and first-rate artistry,” said Alaina Bartels, Amazon Studios’ head of talent synergy and specials. “He is a true phenomenon who effortlessly pushes creative boundaries with his music and storytelling, and we can’t wait to give his fans a front-row seat to this memorable concert. This livestream event showcases how Prime Video and Amazon Music continue to be destinations where artists can bring their big ideas and content dreams to make them a reality, with support across multiple Amazon businesses.”

In addition to Tyler, fans will also see performances from Kali Uchis, Vince Staples, and Teezo Touchdown. Those unable to watch the concert as it streams will be able to watch it on-demand after the show.

“Tyler The Creator is such an important artist, and we can’t wait to bring his show into the homes of music fans around the globe,” said Tim Hinshaw, Amazon Music’s head of hip-hop and R&B. “Tyler has gone above and beyond with this tour, constructing elaborate stadium-sized productions for his music, and we can’t wait for our customers to experience the full spectacle of this show with this livestream.”

Tyler isn’t the only hip-hop act taking to Amazon. This weekend, rapper J. Cole will also partner with Amazon Music to stream his Dreamville Festival live.

At the beginning of March, Kevin Morby roared back to the plate with the title track single to his upcoming album, This Is A Photograph. The new album, out on May 13th, was mostly written in Memphis, when Morby settled into the town for a period to aid his ailing father. He spent his days reflecting on the Mississippi riverside and thinking about some of the often troubled geniuses whose lives were marked by the city in some way. “Rock Bottom” is a song written from the perspective of those misunderstood souls, who created a lasting body of work even though they were chided for being different.

“They’re all gonna laugh at you, they’re all gonna laugh at you, all of my life,” the song opens. The video is an ice cream nunchuck western (seriously) directed by Johnny Eastlund and features Tim Heidecker, Bedouine’s Azniv Korkejian, Jess Wolfe of Lucius, and Morby’s bandmate Cyrus Gengrav. The cowbell-studded slacker punk rock lean of “Rock Bottom” definitely hearkens back to the pleasantly bizarre work of Jay Reatard, and Morby commented in a statement on how this was, in fact, an inspiration for him:

“I’d often pass a mural of the late James Lee Lindsey Jr. on Main Street (in Memphis) which eventually lead me down a rabbit hole to revisiting his body of work including watching the 2009 documentary filmed during his last days, Better Than Something. I was taken by how similar his story was to that of many other American icons that were ahead of their time and too-quickly rose from the bottom to the top, inevitably burning out. I read that his stage name, Jay Reatard, was worn as a badge of honor after years of being picked on in grade school – which may or may not be why on the cover of his seminal album Blood Visions he’s covered in blood as a nod to Sissy Spacek’s character in Carrie. Because of this I chose to begin the song by repeating ‘they’re all gonna laugh at you!’ When in the studio I pointed at the last Reatard’s album, Grown Up, F*cked Up as a reference for what I was trying to achieve sonically.”

Along with this second single, Morby has also launched a Substack newsletter that promises to give insight into the making of the new album that he calls his “magnum opus.” You’ll find photos, demos, doodles, poems and more that make up the “puzzle pieces” of This Is A Photograph.

Watch the video for “Rock Bottom” above.

This Is A Photograph is out 5/13 via Dead Oceans. Pre-order it here.