Month: March 2022

While preparing to make Game of Thrones, a project he never expected to get off the ground, D.B. Weiss wrote a script called Metal Lords that hit the backburner as Thrones became a mammoth juggernaut for HBO. However, once the dragon series concluded its eight season run, Weiss quickly returned to his film about a high school metal band and retooled the script that hadn’t been touched since 2006.

Along the way, he became friends with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. Morello came aboard the Netflix film as an executive producer, but the musician quickly took on the role of a hard rocking advisor as he pushed the actors to fully embrace the metal genre.

“It doesn’t matter the accuracy of your cymbal hits. You just have to go fucking berserk the entire time,” Morello told Billboard. “That’s metal! Don’t worry about the rest. Kick my ass with your facial expressions, which should be, at a minimum, Neanderthal-like and at a maximum, like you’re just in some sort of roiling pain and never stop doing that.”

Here’s the official synopsis for Metal Lords:

Two kids want to start a heavy metal band in a high school where exactly two kids care about heavy metal. Hunter (Adrian Greensmith) is a diehard metal fan —is there any other kind?— who knows his history and can shred. His dream in life is to win at the upcoming Battle of the Bands. He enlists his best friend Kevin (Jaeden Martell) to man the drums. But with schoolmates more interested in Bieber than Black Sabbath, finding a bassist is a struggle.

Metal Lords starts shredding April 8 on Netflix.

(Via Billboard)

Just when you think you’ve figured out who the dumbest member of the Trump family is, someone else makes an incredibly stupid statement that forces you to rethink your whole algorithm. When it comes to the Trump “kids,” Don Jr. is usually at the top of the list. But now Eric Trump is making a grab for the title after bragging about how the family and their businesses are flush with cash… right after cashing a huge loan check.

As Raw Story reports, Eric Trump made a statement earlier this week on the general financial health of the Trumps and their real estate portfolio and other business holdings after signing a $100 million refinance loan on Trump Tower, noting that:

“Trump Tower is one of the most iconic properties in the world and sits on arguably the most prestigious corner in all of New York. We have incredibly low debt, have a tremendous amount of cash, and have an extremely profitable company. We had no problem refinancing.”

As Raw Story wrote, Forbes first reported on the deal on Wednesday:

“Donald Trump refinanced Trump Tower in February, taking out a $100 million loan, according to documents recorded Tuesday by New York City’s Department of Finance,” Forbes magazine reported Wednesday. “Trump’s previous mortgage on his flagship piece of real estate, $100 million from commercial real estate investment trust Ladder Capital, was scheduled to come due in September.”

All of this, of course, comes in the wake of Mazars USA, Trump’s longtime personal and business accounting firm, dumping the former president as a client because they could not in good conscience stand behind the financial statements they had prepared for him for a solid decade, from 2011 to 2020.

According to Forbes, this new influx of cash came courtesy of Axos Bank of San Diego, an internet bank whose CEO has contributed loads of money to Republican campaigns dating all the way back to 2012, including a hefty donation to Trump himself.

(Via Raw Story)

After it was revealed that the Teen Wolf revival movie would actually be happening, many fans wondered if the original cast would return. Surprisingly, most of the main ensemble cast will be back, including Tyler Posey as Scott McCall, Holland Roden as Lydia Martin, Shelley Hennig as Malia Tate, and Crystal Reed as Allison Argent –who famously died in season three. Noticeably absent were three main members: Dylan O’Brien, Arden Cho, and Tyler Hoechlin. While Cho and Hoechlin haven’t made any official statements, O’Brien recently revealed why he decided to sit this one out.

While promoting his new film The Outfit with Zoey Deutch, O’Brien said he was very torn on whether he should return to play his iconic character, Stiles, in the Paramount Plus movie. “It was a difficult decision. A lot went into it,” the actor said, mentioning that the project came together very quickly.

“The show couldn’t be more dear to me. It was the first thing I ever did I and so many people there are extremely dear to me. It was something I was trying to make work but it all happened very fast,” the Maze Runner actor added. “We didn’t really know that it was happening and they kind of just threw it at us a little bit, which is fine because we all love the show. We were trying to figure it out.”

Despite his best efforts, O’Brien was unable to make it work and decided it was best for his character to stay out of it. “Ultimately, I just decided it was left in a really good place for me and I still want to leave it there.”

O’Brien has nothing but love for the cast and crew, and insists he will support the movie. “I wish them well and I’m going to watch it the first night it comes out. I hope it f***ing kicks ass, but I’m not going to be in it.” Let’s just hope they don’t kill Stiles, and perhaps he’ll make a text appearance like Samantha in And Just Like That.

It’s Mario Day! Since the internet is the way it is, Nintendo’s iconic plumber has adopted March 10 — or MAR10 — as a day to celebrate his legacy. It’s a good excuse for the company to hold sales on a few games that don’t go on sale very often. One truth about Nintendo games is they rarely ever drop in price, so games that were released at $60 years ago still cost $60 today. When there is an opportunity to grab one on sale, then you should take it.

There might not be a better time to get some Mario games on sale than right now, but while some of us would love to drop more than $100 on every game listed, we also know that isn’t a viable option for everyone. That’s why we took a look at what’s on sale today and broke down what we think are the best games at the best price.

Luigi’s Mansion 3, $39.99

Usually a $60 game, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is down to $39.99 right now on the eShop. Already got it? Then you can get the multiplayer pack on sale for $6.99, down from $9.99. This is one of those cases where a great Nintendo game that has been out since 2019 is still being sold at full price, and there’s no reason to believe that’ll drop any time soon. That’s why people who have yet to buy Luigi’s Mansion 3 or its multiplayer pack might want to look into this sale.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is maybe the best game in the entire franchise. It has a variety of really fun levels and it does a great job of not feeling like it’s just another version of the previous two games. The best feature is easily the co-op Gooigi feature. Players can add in a companion on their adventure called Gooigi, but unlike Luigi, he is far more durable. This makes Luigi’s Mansion 3 one of the best games to play with a sibling, significant other, friend, child, or really anyone. Playing games with other people is fun and Luigi’s Mansion 3 is one of the best at giving the chance to do that.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, $39.99

Another $60 title dropped down to $39.99, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury came out in early 2021. It still having a $60 price tag isn’t that surprising, but this is still a great opportunity to get one of the best games of 2021. Everyone already knows how good Super Mario 3D World is, since that’s a port of a Wii U game, but the real surprise was the Bowser’s Fury add-on.

Bowser’s Fury took the concept of Mario Odyssey, a game where Mario is able to keep exploring after obtaining a collectible, and expanded on it. Instead of exploring a variety of worlds, Mario instead has his entire adventure in the same general world, one that is smaller but incredibly dense with lots of variety across 12 different islands. There’s still a snow level, a cloud area, and a lot of water, but nothing ever stops Mario’s momentum. He just keeps going. It was so fun that many fans said they want the next mainline Mario game to be something very similar. Until then, this is the best we got and right now it’s on sale.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, $9.99

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is maybe the best deal on the entire eShop. This game is usually $60, but it’s dropped all the way down to $9.99. That’s an absolute steal for a game that was one of the biggest surprises of 2017. When everyone saw that Ubisoft and Nintendo had partnered to let Mario and the Rabbids go on an adventure together, there was a little bit of concern. Then, everyone saw it was an XCOM clone and became confused.

Turns out the folks behind the game knew what they were doing, because Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is one of the best games on the Switch. It’s a fun take on the XCOM formula of combat, because all of the characters can do things that only someone in the Mario or Rabbids universe could possibly attempt. The levels have some surprising difficulty in the late game and the sight of Mario with a plasma gun is funny. This is a steal at $9.99.

Fresh off the dismissal of Sarah Palin’s defamation suit against the New York Times and dining-out shenanigans in the Big Apple, she’s still ranting away. The former Alaskan governor and ex-VP candidate paid a visit to Fox News, where she chatted with Jesse Watters about rising prices at the gas pump.

This is, to be certain, a very real concern for consumers, and this was the case even before Biden shut down the import of Russian oil. The average price of gas in America is now above the $4 mark and seemingly rising more by the day. Palin, for some reason, seems to believe that Democrats don’t drive petroleum-based vehicles and only travel in “rice rockets” that don’t guzzle gas. (In 2011, she blamed Obama for rising gas prices, so at least she’s consistent.)

“It cost almost $140 bucks to fuel up my truck, and I know that the Jen Psakis ([inaudible] how you say her name) are gonna say, ‘Don’t drive a big truck then, Sarah.’” the one-time attempted rapper declared. “They don’t understand that petroleum products are everywhere. Every piece of plastic we touch. Everything that is transported from here to there. Everything is petroleum based. And all they think about is, well, drive your little tiny, well, rice rocket or something and don’t spend so much on gas. They have no clue, Jesse, what’s going on.”

It’s unclear whether Palin is talking about cars that she literally believes run on “rice” as fuel, or if she’s alluding to the pejorative term that refers to East-Asian manufactured motorcycles and automobiles. Perhaps Sarah doesn’t even know which she’s talking about, since she does love to ramble. On another subject, it looks like Sarah’s reported romance with former New York Ranger legend Ron Duguay is going places because the National Enquirer reports that they’re eloping soon. That maybe means a little break from Sarah Palin popping onto cable news at night.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Grimes inadvertently revealed she had given birth to a daughter with Elon Musk. The baby, named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, was born last year via surrogate and is her second child with Musk, following X AE A-XII Musk. Grimes also noted she and Musk had gotten back together, but since the interview, things have changed on that front.

Following the publishing of the conversation, Grimes took to Twitter and posted a thread clarifying a few points from the interview. One of the things she noted was the fact that she and Musk are no longer together.

“Me and E have broken up *again* since the writing of this article haha, but he’s my best friend and the love of my life, and my life and art are forever dedicated to The Mission now, I think Devin wrote that part of the story rly well. Sique – peace out,” Grimes said. She later clarified that “The Mission” is “Sustainable energy, making humanity a multiplanetary species and the preservation of consciousness.”

She preceded these announcements by saying, “This is the last time I’ll do any traditional press cuz I’m a pretty private person. Haven’t done press in a long time cuz my personal life is so mad and I think it’s hard to foreground my work but also maybe it’s all intertwined at this point.”

Grimes is set to release new music this year, including an EP called Fairies C*m First, which features the single “Shinigami Eyes,” and an album called Book 1.

Ever since coming into the rap game, Jack Harlow has been pretty open about idolizing Drake. While on tour in November last year, he stopped his Toronto show upon realizing that Drake was watching from the balcony, and his new single “Nail Tech” sounds a lot like something Drake would have put on his own last album, Certified Lover Boy. The two rappers have drawn comparisons before, with fans noting the similarities in their laid-back but confident styles and regular-guy postures as Jack’s profile has increased over the past two years.

All of that is to say that watching the two of them link up and bro down in Turks and Caicos via their various social media posts seems about as inevitable as it has been amusing. The two definitely share a sense of humor, lending their posts the air of a buddy comedy like Step Brothers or Superbad, if one of the characters was the “older brother” archetype. Witness Drake’s bemused reaction to Harlow hovering over him as he Googles exotic beverages:

Complex even captured Drake’s laugh-filled response to Harlow’s post, in which he explains he was looking up the ingredients for a “weng weng drink” (vodka, tequila, rum, bourbon, brandy, and scotch in a collins glass — yikes).

All of this begs the question: If Jack Harlow is going to play the Billy Hoyle counterpart in the upcoming White Men Can’t Jump Remake… Does that make Drake his Sidney Deane?!?

Please, universe. Make it happen.

Check out more of the boys’ hilarious vacation antics below.

Known for his work as a vocalist, songwriter, and bassist for The xx, Oliver Sim is coming into his own on his debut solo single “Romance With A Memory.” On the groovy, drum and synth-infused track, Sim gladly says goodbye to a former lover.

“Maybe it’s best that we never meet again / So I’m let down by reality,” Sim sings, deciding that the relationship he and the song’s subject once shared was not worth saving.

“Romance With A Memory” was produced by Sim’s xx bandmate, Jamie xx, and is accompanied by a lyric video featuring clips of drag performers Charity Kase, HoSo Terra Toma, and Gena Marvin.

“I’m thrilled, excited, ecstatic, overcaffeinated, and overjoyed to be sharing ‘Romance with a Memory’ with you all,” said Sim in a statement. “Terrifyingly, this is the first song I’ve ever released under my own name, I really hope you all enjoy it… I’ve also made a compilation of some of my favorite monsters, killers, and queers getting down.”

After the success of The xx’s 2017 album, I See You, Sim, Jamie, and bandmate Romy Madley Croft decided to take a hiatus. During that time, Sim wrote several demos and later brought them to Jamie to lay the framework for new music.

Sim says more new music, both solo and with The xx, is imminent.

“I hope both the music and monsters make you feel as happy as they make me—I cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to watch a ghoul having a good time,” Sim said in a statement. “P.S. still very much in a loving and happy relationship/band with Romy and Jamie.”

Check out “Romance With A Memory” above.

Better Call Saul has consistently ranked among the best shows on TV since it premiered in 2015, which is pretty crazy when you think about it. Did anyone expect the spin-off about the strip-mall lawyer from Breaking Bad to be this good? I didn’t. But here we are seven years later, and I would die for Kim Wexler to make sure that she doesn’t die.

There’s no hint about Kim’s fate in the trailer for the first half of the final season of Better Call Saul — and yet, I’m still concerned. Very concerned. “No one knows what we’re doing,” Saul tells her late in the trailer, “except for us.” Good things don’t happen to people who get into bed (literally or figuratively) with Saul Goodman.

Elsewhere in the trailer, business is booming at the nail salon for Saul (who’s now referred to as “Salamanca’s guy”); Howard is building a case against the man formerly known as Jimmy; and Mike does Mike stuff. “Whatever happens next,” he says, “it’s not going to go down the way you think it is.” That’s true of Better Call Saul, too.

Better Call Saul returns on April 18, followed by the second half of the season on July 11. Season five will also be available on Netflix on April 4.

Following the release of the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer, excitement is high for the Disney+ series that sees Ewan McGregor reprise his fan-favorite role from the Star Wars prequels. Not only that, but Obi-Wan promises a rematch between the Jedi Master and his pupil Anakin Skywalker, who is now the ominous Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Hayden Christensen‘s return as Vader is now the subject of a new interview, in which he offered some clues about what to expect from the Dark Lord as we catch up to him 10 years after Revenge of the Sith.

Here’s what Christensen told Entertainment Weekly after being asked if his Vader will be seen without his mask during the Obi-Wan Kenobi series:

“I wish I could tell you,” Christensen tells EW with a coy smile on his face. “I’m sworn to secrecy.”

As for the kind of Dark Lord we’ll see in the series that helps fill in the gap of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Christensen is more straightforward: “We’re going to see a very powerful Vader,” promises the actor.

Despite Vader not appearing in the trailer (although his signature breathing sounds are heard), his powerful presence is felt through the Inquisitors, an elite force of lightsaber wielding assassins tasked with hunting down Jedi on the run. While the Inquisitors aren’t Sith, they report directly to Vader as he carries out the Emperor’s orders to exterminate the Jedi, who used to count Anakin Skywalker as one of their greatest warriors before his turn to the Dark Side.

Obi-Wan Kenobi starts streaming May 25 on Disney+.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)