In The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Nicolas Cage plays “Nick” Cage, a fictionalized version of himself. Sure, both Nic and Nick were in Face/Off and Leaving Las Vegas and National Treasure, but unlike real Cage, fake Cage, uh, swears more?
“A version of Nick Cage that doesn’t want to spend time with his kid doesn’t exist. I also said to [writer-director Tom Gormican], ‘I don’t use that much profanity.’ He’s got me saying the F-bomb every other sentence. Where’s this coming from? That’s not me,” Cage (the real one, arguably the realest one) told the Hollywood Reporter. “He said, ‘Neurotic Nick Cage is the best Nick Cage.’ I have a lot of quiet moments at home with just my cat, reading. Do we want to show any of that? No, because it’s not fun.”
Also fun: learning about Cage’s mantra.
“I developed this mantra, which is: ‘I never had a career, I only have work.’ And when I say that, I am saying that I’m a better man when I’m working because I don’t want to be that guy that’s sitting by a pool getting bombed on mai tais and Dom Perignon.
That’s the biggest difference between Nicolas “I Am a Goth” Cage and myself: I do want to be that guy that’s sitting by a pool getting bombed on mai tais and Dom Perignon. Also, he’s a multi-millionaire Oscar-winning actor; I had cereal for lunch. And breakfast.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent opens on April 22.
Amazon’s The Boys goes into Season 3 mode on June 3, officially, although there’s some supplemental (and semi-canon) action currently at work with The Boys Presents: Diabolical animated series. Some Billy Butcher happens in that spinoff, but don’t worry, the live-action deal’s coming back. And as we saw at the end of Season 2, Billy’s got even more of a score to settle. As if he didn’t hate Homelander enough, right?
To briefly recap, Billy saw his wife, Becca, inadvertently killed when Ryan tried to rescue her from Stormfront, and his powers went awry. Becca asked Billy to keep Ryan safe, and so, he entrusted the boy to Grace Mallory. And now, once again, Billy is all alone, and this time, his state of mind is likely worse than during his brief disappearance between Seasons 1 and 2. Vengeance has been the name of his game since we met Butcher, and for Season 3, the show’s teasing something else with a new poster.
Here’s Butcher looking like he’s taking the Compound V. “Soon, it’ll be time to level the playing field.” the show’s Twitter account revealed in a caption.
Yeah, it’s gotta be happening. In the comics, Butcher did, in fact, gain super strength by the power of Compound V. In the process, he did some major damage to Soldier Boy (who will be played by Jensen Ackles in Season 3) as well as Black Noir. And of course, it makes sense to level-up his journey for this third round of episodes, but I’m pretty sure that the physical confrontation that everyone will want to see (most) will be Butcher against Homelander. There’s a lot of history there, and god only knows how many more lives that Antony Starr’s character has ruined by jerking off from atop a skyscraper after Queen Maeve put him in his place during the last season finale. Issues!
When it comes to celebrity weed brands, Seth Rogen’s Houseplant sits comfortably at the top of the food chain. Rogen is to the celebrity cannabis space what Popeyes is to the fast-food chicken sandwich. In fact, it’s not even fair to lump in Seth Rogen with the other celebrity brands. Yes, like virtually all of those brands, Houseplant is a product of white labeling, but with Rogen’s expert curation, his eye for design, and the brand’s commitment to quality, Houseplant earns its place in the pantheon of great cannabis brands, celebrity-owned or otherwise.
Now the company is tapping into a different segment of the market by offering pre-rolls of some of their best-selling strains.
The Houseplant pre-rolls are now available at select retailers throughout California and come in sets of seven .5 gram joints rolled in organic ultra-thin rice paper offered in three different strains: Pancake Ice (sativa), Pink Moon (indica), and Ice Fog (hybrid). To see how the joints stack up to Houseplant’s signature flower, we sampled a tin of Pink Moon.
This wasn’t my first experience with Houseplant, I’ve tried a number of the brand’s signature flower strains so I’ll be looking for ways these pre-rolls differ from the whole flower versions. Let’s smoke.
Before we get into this weed we have to talk about the packaging. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Houseplant’s flower tins. On one hand, I think what Seth has designed is truly bespoke — the tins are colorful, interesting, and once you’re familiar with the brand, comfortingly recognizable. They look like nothing else on the market.
But… they also kind of suck. They’re hard to open, and do nothing to mask the smell once they’ve been pried open with two hands and some tools.
House plant’s pre-roll joint packaging fixes all of these issues. Yes, the weed is still in a tin box, but the clamshell closure on this box is so tight that smell isn’t an issue, while still being easy to open. The packaging is also incredibly elegant, with minimal branding via a removable slip cover that reveals a monochrome embossed tin housing seven pre-rolled joints individually arranged on a cardboard rack. There are three joints on the top layer, and four joints underneath.
Dane Rivera
Space wasn’t an issue, so we have to say it’s a little disappointing that Houseplant couldn’t throw in the eighth joint to make it an even number, but at .5 grams per joint, you’re looking at a collective total of 3.5 grams. Considering that’s the same amount as a Houseplant flower jar which retails at $60, not giving the eighth joint is fair, especially because you’re getting the same amount of weed for five dollars cheaper.
Unfortunately, it’s also drier and less fresh. This isn’t a one-off phenomenon — joints, while convenient, are typically drier than whole flower, less sticky, less stinky, and less flavorful. That’s very much the case here. The pre-roll version of Pink Moon doesn’t really compare to the premium experience of smoking the whole flower version, which should be expected, but what this form factor does offer is convenience, and for a more casual smoking audience, I think it really delivers.
While this bud isn’t as fresh as the whole flower version, the joints are perfectly rolled and feature a paper tip filter, and a set of wooden matches, in a small form factor that allows for a powerful smoke session that delivers a strong high. Unlike longer more substantial pre-rolls (think Jay-Z’s Monogram brand, with their cigar-like hand-roll joint) the Houseplant joints are short and stubby. They pack a powerful punch, but not so much at one time. They are shareable, but if you’re a hardcore stoner, you might want more than a .5 gram joint — in which case we’d direct you to the Pink Moon flower tin.
Dane Rivera
If you’re just looking for a quick smoke session, something to elevate your headspace before hitting the beach, or catching that late-night movie, or dinner meet-up, these little joints are the perfect companion. Take a couple of hits, pass it off to your friend, or just kill it solo, it’s never so much weed that the high will dominate your night, but it’s enough that you’re going to head into whatever experience you have planned in a blissful elevated state.
While the weed isn’t as flavorful as the whole flower version, it’s still far from harsh, producing a smooth and milky smoke with flavors of tangerine citrus and pepper-forward earthy undertones. The THC percentage is high, 27%, with a terpene profile dominated by Limonene, Caryophyllene, and Linalool, producing a soothing high that is relaxing, but pleasingly cerebral, never weighing you down or making you feel sluggish. A few hits into this and my eyes were glossed over, my head was buzzing, and my thoughts bounced around in jazz-like riffs and tangents.
The Bottom Line:
If you’re a casual smoker and you’re interested in trying out Seth Rogen’s brand, grab a tin of these Houseplant joints. You’re getting premium flower that delivers a powerful high, in beautiful packaging that supplies you with everything you need to light up, and a more forgiving price point that will save you a few bucks for snacks.
If you’re a more experienced stoner and you love smoking at of your glass piece, vaporizer, or rolling your own, there is very little reason to grab these over the whole flower versions. Ultimately, while the quality is good for a pre-roll, it can’t compete with the OG.
The saga of how a Pavement B-side from 1999 became their biggest “commercial” hit in the 2020s is a phenomenon that most aging Pavement fans won’t readily comprehend (I, for one, turned 39 today and celebrate the band’s entire catalog.) This piece by Nate Rogers over at Stereogum does a masterful job of explaining the mechanisms that made “Harness Your Hopes” a viral hit on the TikTok platform; perhaps the last place you’d expect to hear a Pavement song. But credit to the greatest band in the history of Stockton, California for embracing it as only they can.
The new video for “Harness Your Hopes,” features actress Sophie Thatcher from the hit show Yellowjackets, spliced in front of classic Pavement videos from days past. It’s like a visual diatribe on the internet renewal of ’90s indie rock gold. Recorded in 1997, The song initially appeared on the Spit On A Stranger EP (produced by Nigel Godrich, mind you), and Matador Records will be reissuing the EP, now with two versions of “Harness Your Hopes,” on April 28.
Watch the video for “Harness Your Hopes Above and check out Pavement’s 2022 Reunion Tour dates here. The album artwork and tracklist for the Spit On A Stranger reissue are below.
Pavement
1. “Spit on a Stranger”
2. “Harness Your Hopes”
3. “Roll With the Wind”
4. “The Porpoise and the Hand Grenade”
5. “Rooftop Gambler”
6. “Harness Your Hopes” (Live Brixton Academy, 1999)
The Spit On A Stranger EP Reissue comes out on 04/08 via Matador. Pre-order it here.
Earlier this week, Nicki Minaj sat down for a nearly two-hour-long interview with Joe Budden on Instagram Live. During the interview, she talked about her fourth album,Queen, which she admitted wasn’t “presented correctly,” a label and management company she’s working on founding, and her overall influence on hip-hop.
When Minaj first stepped onto the scene, she donned a pink wig, which made up her signature look, and is now part of many female rappers’ repertoires.
“I would never see any female rapper wearing pink hair, pink hair became a part of that starter kit,” Minaj said in the interview. “Every female rapper will put on a pink wig at some point.”
Still, despite the influence of Minaj’s aesthetic, the “Do We Have A Problem?” rapper admitted she’s frustrated at the fact that she’s never been on the cover of Vogue. She also noted that the influence of white artists is regarded differently than that of Black artists.
“When Billie Eilish comes out and sets a trend with her green hair, she’s immediately put on American Vogue,” Minaj said, before later recalling pleasant encounters with Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
Minaj later said, “The same way I feel like I should have been on the cover of American Vogue, so should have Lil Kim, if we being all the way a thousand.” She continued, saying, “When myself or Lil Kim goes on the internet, every day we see our influence. I’m not gonna say it’s about me only and not give that woman her just due about what she did.”
Early Minaj songs, including “Roman’s Revenge” and “Stupid Hoe” are thought to be about Kim. While Minaj has never confirmed the subject of these songs, Kim has slammed Minaj several times, including in a Hot 97 interview with Ebro and Peter Rosenberg, where she called Minaj “a snake,” but said she’d be willing to collaborate with her.
There’s no question that we live in challenging times. But along with challenges come opportunities for change—and for changemakers to rise up.
When the world feels dark, we naturally crave the light. We look for torches of goodness, people who create and shed light on positive change in their communities and in society, as a whole. Sometimes we find these wonderful humans in the most unlikely of places—for instance, in the “Salsabrations” of a beloved snacking brand known for chilled salsas and hummus dips.
Family-owned Fresh Cravings says that its motto, “Crave Goodness,” is about inspiring people to seek the best for themselves, their friends and family and their communities. It’s not just lip service; the company puts its money where its mouth is, giving back to the communities it serves. In 2021, Fresh Cravings launched a national giveback campaign to “Salsabrate™ The Good” by donating $5,000 a week—$250,000 total—to 50 grassroots, non-profit organizations with an emphasis on youth change-makers. And it’s continuing its commitment to amplify and support the good in 2022.
Upworthy is thrilled to partner with Fresh Cravings in sharing these youth-led initiatives and celebrating the unsung heroes who are being lifted up in this campaign. Check out these young folks and the awesome things they’re doing for their communities:
Jahkil Jackson was just 8 years old when he decided he wanted to do something to help people experiencing homelessness in his hometown of Chicago. He started creating and giving out Blessing Bags filled with basic supplies such as toothbrushes, soap, hand sanitizer, socks and more. Five years later, he has an entire team of volunteers nationwide who build and distribute Blessing Bags through his non-profit Project I AM. “My goal with the organization is not only to help the homeless and build awareness,” says Jahkil. “It’s also to show kids that helping others, being involved in their community and doing good in the world is actually cool.”
Hey there, Gen-Z! Halie Thomas founded The HAPPY Organization at age 12 to help kids become happier, healthier, more informed and more active humans. How? Through a unique interactive peer learning experience for 2nd to 5th grade kids, focusing on physical, mental and spiritual wellness education. HAPPY stands for Healthy Active Positive Purposeful Youth, and over the past eight years the org has helped more than 50,000 kids become leaders in their own lives. “It’s really just all about creating this experience that’s holistic, but also fun and engaging for young people to start to learn how to take care of themselves,” says Halie.
To learn more about The HAPPY Organization or to support Halie’s efforts, please visit: https://www.thehappyorg.org.
Chelsea discovered the healing power of art after her grandfather died when she was 4 and her grandmother encouraged her to draw a picture of him. Now she wants to help others heal through creativity. For her 10th birthday, she asked guests to bring art supplies to donate to other kids instead of gifts, and so began Chelsea’s Charity–a nonprofit supporting children’s mental health through art. Less than two years later, her organization has made over 15,000 art kits for kids! “A lot of kids are really excited and happy and just joyful when they get the art kit and that makes me very, very happy,” says Chelsea.
14-year-old Khloe Thompson saw a need among the women experiencing homelessness in her community, so she started making toiletry-filled tote bags for them. Now she enlists others to help make and distribute the bags and also mentors other young people to be changemakers in their communities. In addition, she takes a trip to Ghana each year to help install water pumps in bathroom facilities. “I feel a lot of optimism for the future because I feel as if there’s so many people that want to give back,” says Khloe. “How ever old they are, there’s a little spark inside someone. It just takes a lot to ignite it sometimes.”
To learn more about Khloe Kares or to support Khloe’s efforts, please visit: https://www.khloekares.com.
During the pandemic, 8-year-old Morgan set a goal to raise $100 for Little John’s Kitchens, a nonprofit pay-what-you-can restaurant that’s helping fight food insecurity. She set up a virtual lemonade stand, making videos about Little John’s and asking people to donate. That $100 goal blossomed into a whopping $89,000 in donations. Morgan’s LemonAid Stand continues to raise awareness and collect money for Little John’s Kitchens with even bigger goals in mind. “I have no plans to stop when there is so much need,” says Morgan.
Peyton was just 7 years old when she founded her nonprofit organization, Eye of a Child, which helps brings awareness and resources to fight child homelessness. Peyton says she has seen homelessness in her own family and learned in her research that 2.5 million children experience homelessness annually. She asked her mom if she could invite 100 homeless people to her 8th birthday party, which prompted the idea for Eye of a Child. The organization makes and sells heart-shaped crayons and custom t-shirts and then donates the profits to homeless shelters. “You should still care for somebody, even if they don’t have as much money,” says Peyton. “They’re still here—care for them while they are.”
To learn more about Eye of a Child or to support Peyton’s efforts, please visit: https://eyeofachild.org.
After Emma Benoit survived a suicide attempt that left her paralyzed at age 16, she wanted to help others who are struggling to find hope and strength. More than 20 teenagers die by suicide in the U.S. every day, and Emma is using her story to empower youth to fight that devastating statistic. “My Ascension” is Emma’s powerful documentary film that encourages young people to be vulnerable and talk about how they’re feeling. “Talk to people. Talk to someone. Tell someone how you’re feeling, because you just never know what a conversation can do for you,” says Emma.
To learn more about My Ascension or to support Emma’s efforts, please visit: https://www.myascension.us.
Maddie Bozik was 10 years old when she noticed that many kids in her school didn’t have access to winter clothes. She lives in northern Illinois, which is known for harsh, cold winters. So she started a winter clothing drive in her neighborhood, which morphed into Maddie’s Mitten March, a nonprofit that collects, cleans and distributes winter clothing for those in need. The organization utilizes two busses to collect and distribute the items, and Maddie says there’s no plan to stop. “We’ll just continue providing winter clothing to anyone who needs it,” she says.
To learn more about the Maddie’s Mitten March or to support Maddie’s efforts, please visit: https://www.mittenmobile.com.
Jack Griffin was 14 years old when he first recognized the problem of food insecurity and the difficulties in accessing resources many people face. Over $100 billion is allocated yearly towards fighting food insecurity, but Jack realized there was an information gap between the people needing food assistance and the people providing it. So he created FoodFinder, a website and app that makes it easier to search for food pantries, soup kitchens and meal assistance sites. “We’re here to raise the utilization of the more than 60,000 food pantries already on the ground serving folks in need,” says Jack, “so that anyone who is looking for help with food [does] not have to worry anymore about where they’ll get their next meal.”
To learn more about FoodFinder or to support Jack’s efforts, please visit: https://foodfinder.us.
There are amazing initiatives all around us that we may not see that deserve to be recognized. Supporting those who are already enacting positive change in their communities—especially young people who represent the future of humanity—is one of the best ways companies and individuals can make an impact on our world.
To learn more about the other organizations Fresh Cravings is lifting up and to be part of this ongoing festival of compassion and charity, join the Salsabration and sign up for the Fresh Cravings newsletter. We can all make our world a better place by amplifying goodness and taking inspiration from the beacons of light in our communities.
Abbott Elementary is only in its first season, but already, the hit ABC sitcom from creator Quinta Brunson is working hard to pay its success forward. As Brunson has revealed in interviews, the series is inspired by her sixth-grade teacher in Philadelphia, who made things work despite the struggles of working in an underfunded school district. To help remedy that situation across the board, Abbott Elementary has become the first entertainment brand to collaborate with Scholastic and provide free books to struggling schools.
Starting with Brunson’s old alma mater, Philadelphia’s Harrity Elementary, Scholastic will give two free books to students in various schools across the country. Not only that, but a Traveling Teacher’s Lounge will also show some love to the hard-working teachers by providing books for their classrooms, supplies, breakfast, and Abbott Elementary swag. Via Variety:
“Our mission at Scholastic has always been to support teachers and provide them with the resources and materials needed to build warm, positive classroom experiences for their students. That’s why we are so thrilled to team up with ABC and ‘Abbott Elementary’ — a show dedicated to uplifting educators and reflecting their experiences — to put books into the classrooms that need them most and get kids excited about reading and learning,” added Billy DiMichele, senior vice president of creative development at Scholastic.
Created by Brunson, and based loosely on some of her own classroom experiences, Abbott Elementary has been one of ABC’s strongest sitcom debuts in years thanks to Brunson specifically setting out to write a show that’s for the whole family.
“It’s not prestige television,” Brunson told Vanity Fair while lamenting the recent dark turn in sitcoms. “It’s TV for everybody.”
After it was announced that Rob Zombie would finally be making his passion project, a movie based on the 1960s sitcom The Munsters, many people assumed it would be a gory and gritty remake. His name is Rob Zombie, after all. But, the House Of 1000 Corpses director insists his movie is family-friendly.
Zombie posted on Instagram that the official rating for The Munsters is PG, which comes as a surprise to most Zombie fans. “For those of you speculating, wondering and assuming that THE MUNSTERS would be dirty, violent and nasty… well, you are wrong,” the director posted on Instagram, along with a photo that confirms the film’s official PG rating. “It’s all good down on Mockingbird Lane.”
The director has been sharing various photos from the set over the past few months, which has been looking pretty faithful to the original TV show. The movie will star Zombie’s wife Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily Munster, and Jeff Daniel Phillips (perhaps best known for his role of The Caveman in Geico’s commercials) as Herman Munster. Also starring is Daniel Roebuck and Richard Blake. Unfourntely, John C. Reilly will not be in the film to reprise his Licorice Pizza Herman Munster cameo.
While the PG rating is a bit surprising, it’s not unwelcome, as it will hopefully show off Zombie’s directing skills. After all, we know he is capable of appealing to a wider audience after directing that one episode of CSI: Miami in 2010.
The Munsters is expected to be released on Peacock later this year.
Has Vladimir Putin been Q all along?! OK, probably not. But as CNN reports, both the Russian dictator and those wacky QAnon conspiracy theorists have been pushing the same lie: That Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine had nothing to do with being a tyrannical maniac—it was all about him being a quiet superhero. Essentially, the theory goes that biological weapons are being mass produced in Ukraine, and Putin wanted to rid the world of such dangers. (Yay! Hooray, Putin!) Except, none of that is true. Obviously.
A new conspiracy theory has become popular among some of the online communities that formed around QAnon—one simultaneously being promoted by the Kremlin as a justification for its invasion of Ukraine. The false claim: the United States is developing bioweapons in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin has stepped in to save the day and destroy the weapons.
QAnon’s core prophecy has always been that there is a “plan” and that former President Donald Trump will rid the world of an evil cabal, culminating in the unmasking, imprisonment or even execution of cabal members. But that prophecy dates back to when Trump was actually president—now that he’s not, believers have been convincing themselves there is evidence that the plan is still very much in place, maybe even more so than ever before. In the Kremlin’s disinformation, some have seen that hope.
Unfortunately for fans of Q, Putin, and/or Trump, it’s all a big lie. And it’s not the first time Russia has made this sort of claim against a foreign country. They spun the same story about a secret biowarfare lab existing in Tbilisi, Georgia, too, as CNN notes.
For those of you thinking, “Well, it might be true,” remember that Russia also claimed that the HIV/AIDS virus was created by America in a lab, too.
On the bright side: there’s still a chance that JFK Jr. could materialize and be Trump’s running mate in 2024.
Does anyone else feel like rappers are taking this GOAT thing a little too far? Not only have a bunch of rappers gone around calling themselves the GOAT (an acronym meaning “Greatest Of All Time” as first coined by LL Cool J on his 2000 eighth studio album, The G.O.A.T.), but they’ve actually taken to throwing images of actual goats all over their videos and album covers.
Lil Durk added a couple of extra heads to the goat in his, Lil Baby, and Polo G’s “3 Headed Goat” video in 2020, which made it look like something out of Greek mythology. That same year, Rylo Rodriguez turned himself into a photoshopped faun on hisGoat In Human Form cover, drawing amused reactions from rap fans on Twitter. And last year, Young Dolph and Key Glock called themselves “A Goat & A Dolphin” for single from their joint album, Dum & Dummer.
Now, Key Glock is keeping that theme going with his new video for “Painkillers,” in which he walks a goat on a leash through a snowy mountaintop scene, which also continues a motif from his and Dolph’s Dum & Dummer sequel last year. He also cruises through the snow in his custom yellow Rolls Royce Phantom, which picks up a thread from his Yellow Tape cover — which is apropos, considering “Painkillers” is one of 10 new tracks that will appear on the deluxe edition of Yellow Tape 2, also announced today. The deluxe reissue will land at DSPs on March 25 via Paper Route Empire, Glock’s first solo release since the death of Young Dolph in a shooting late last year. You can pre-save the album here and check out the video above.
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