Month: March 2022

It’s been four days since Will Smith attacked Chris Rock live at the Oscars, and it’s still pushing news about the Russia Ukraine War and Madison Cawthorn’s claims that the GOP is basically Eyes Wide Shut below the fold. One of the most interesting developments occurred on Wednesday when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement claiming that Smith was “asked to leave the ceremony and refused.” Jimmy Kimmel, like all of us, is curious as to just how that went down.

On Wednesday night, after suggesting that the best way to punish Smith would be to sentence him to making only Hallmark Christmas movies for one decade (has he seen After Earth?), Kimmel had some questions about Smith’s purportedly failed ejection:

I don’t know who asked him to leave—maybe Jazzy Jeff asked him? I don’t know. ‘Hey Jazzy, can you pass a message along to Will?’ Can you imagine? Who would have accepted his Oscar if he’d been thrown out? Chris Rock, maybe? I don’t know.

You know, usually when someone’s asked to leave and refuses to go, that’s when security comes in and takes that person away. But in this case, they decided to give him an Oscar and let him back onstage to speak.

Kimmel went on to note how much oxygen the story has taken from all of us, and that we’re all feeling the effects of the slap. “My jaw hurts just from telling so many jokes about it,” he said.

You can watch the full clip above.

Another week, another Wheel of Fortune contestant losing on a technicality.

That’s not to excuse contestant Chris for messing up — he should know better than to add a word (in this case, an article) that’s not on the board when attempting to solve the puzzle, which is what happened during Wednesday’s episode. The category was “Food & Drink” and the puzzle read, “_RO_EN CONCOCTION.” After fellow contestant Shannon incorrectly guessed “D,” the turn went to Chris, who elected to solve. “A FROZEN CONCOCTION,” he answered before quickly realizing his mistake. “No, you know what? We can’t accept that,” host Pat Sajak said before further explaining why not.

“Chris knows what he did, which is why he went back. He threw in that article. He threw in the ‘A’ in front of it, and we can’t accept it. Just the way it goes,” he said. “It’s just one of the rules, and we gotta go by ’em, and Carol ends up getting the trip to Puerto Rico.”

Poor Chris, but shout out to Carol for winning that trip during Margaritaville Family Week. I bet Jimmy Buffett would have accepted the “A.” This is the guy who wrote a song called “Math Suks” after all. Spelling isn’t really his thing (drinking margz with the boys is).

(Via Yahoo!)

Days after teasing new music, Shawn Mendes is back with a new single. On “When You’re Gone,” Mendes reminisces over a relationship that has now come to an end. The song, presumably about his ex-girlfriend and fellow singer Camila Cabello, features Mendes singing over poppy electric guitar sounds, before escalating into a thumping kick drum and synth-driven chorus.

“I don’t want to move on / I don’t want to know what it’s like when you’re gone for good,” he sings, seemingly in denial that the relationship is over.

By the song’s bridge, he appears to accept that the song’s subject has moved on, singing, “Starting to feel like you don’t need me / Wanna believe it’s all for the better / It’s getting real, I’m missing you deeply.”

Outside of their individual music, both Mendes and Cabello have remained mum about their breakup, which the pair announced last November — until last week, when Mendes shared a video on Instagram opening up about his post-breakup feelings.

“You don’t realize when you’re breaking up with someone, you like, think it’s the right thing,” he said. “You don’t realize all the sh*t that comes after it, which is like, ‘Who do I call when I’m like in a panic attack? Who do I call when I’m like, f*cking, on the edge?’ And I think that’s the reality that kind of hit me: ‘Oh, I’m on my own now.’ Now I feel like I’m finally like, I’m actually on my own. And I hate that. That’s my reality, you know?”

The song is accompanied by a music video containing a montage of his live performances, including some at SXSW, where he played the song earlier this month.

Check out “When You’re Gone” above.

Maybe, just maybe, Oscar-winning Jared Leto should just say no to more comic book movies. Obviously, there are lots of hands in the cookie jar on projects like these, so one can’t really blame him for an entire movie’s quality (yet we can judge him for his Worst Joker), but the first (and sizeable) batch of Morbius: The Living Vampire reviews have arrived, and let’s just say that it’s not good. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie’s currently sitting at a 19% rotten rating after 79 reviews. And it doesn’t appear to even be so-bad-it’s-good, simply straight-up bad.

All of this is happening three months after the movie achieved the dubious most-delayed movie record of the pandemic. The film was initially due to arrive on July 10, 2020, and the eventual April 1, 2022 release date now feels like a cruel joke. Maybe that’s how it was always supposed to be for the movie about a so-called brilliant scientist who tries to cure his own blood disorder and ends up vamping out, but them’s the cards.

Whatever the case, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is stumbling from the looks of things. The reactions and reviews are overwhelmingly negative, and that includes tweets and reviews from critics who have seen the movie and some (seriously funny) fake Twitter reactions. That last category will come last because you might need a laugh after this batch of misery. These first tweets (from critics who’ve legit seen Morbius) flat-out call it “bad” and “sloppy” and nonsensical with credits scenes that are “insulting” to audiences. This looks like the first Marvel Cinematic Miss.

The reviews don’t improve the situation. Here’s Alonso Duralde from The Wrap:

It’s become something of a running gag on the internet that “Morbius” isn’t really a movie. Online observers insist that, from its ever-changing release date over the last two years to its grim and somewhat goofy premise involving Jared Leto as a scientist who turns into a vampire, this has to be an elaborate prank and not an actual film… We can confirm that “Morbius” is, really and truly, a movie. Granted, it’s not much of a movie, but it’s a movie nonetheless.

Owen Gleiberman from Variety:

“Morbius” isn’t even a debacle. It’s a little over 90 minutes long if you don’t count the credits (which include what has to be the worst closing teaser I’ve ever seen in a Marvel movie — it ends with the word “Intriguing,” dangled as if Vincent Price had uttered it), and for all the overwrought push of Jon Ekstrand’s score, the film is nothing more than a flimsy time-killer, an early-April placeholder of a movie.

Kate Erbland from IndieWire:

Even the most basic elements of the film are incomprehensible. Michael has all the trappings of a bad guy — this is the kind of guy who has a massive chamber of bats in the middle of his lab, both for decor and research — but by the time he gifts yet another origami animal to someone he cares about, you’ll have to wonder, this dude is a villain? (Leto, who notoriously immerses himself in his work, could seemingly find little here, his Michael is somehow both confounding and very boring. )

Matt Donato from IGN:

Morbius presents its origin story with the most formulaic structure, as an overly serious Leto is doing the opposite of Tom Hardy’s campy Venom schtick that so many adore. It’s a choice that promotes Morbius’ moral conundrum as a self-conscious vampire over anything considered “superhero cinema fun,” taking everything deathly serious to an ultimate detriment.

And here are some of the aforementioned jokey tweets, which are perhaps the apex of what Twitter can do for you. “Be careful out there everyone!” is a valid public service announcement, alright.

Morbius supposedly now arrives in theaters on April 1, 2022.

Foo Fighters and Machine Gun Kelly were both on the March 22 lineup for Paraguay’s Asunciónico festival, with Kelly set to take the stage immediately before Foo Fighters. However, their performances were canceled due to inclement weather. Kelly talked about that on The Howard Stern Show recently, discussing how he and the band still met up and how especially kind Taylor Hawkins, who tragically died a few days later, was to everybody.

Kelly spoke about how he had been texting with Dave Grohl before the sets were canceled, who told him Foo Fighters planned to watch Kelly’s performance. Kelly was excited about that but bummed when the set was called off. However, Grohl invited Kelly to his hotel, where he and the rest of Foo Fighters were going to have a rooftop party.

Kelly continued:

“We got out the elevator, all 20 of [his entourage], and Taylor, Dave, the whole Foo Fighters team, but specifically Taylor, he went up to every single one of us and gave us each our moment. Like, every single one of us, man, down to my assistant; They were relating over, ‘Oh you’re from Topanga? Oh, I’m from Topanga!’ It was like, dude: he’s such a beautiful soul, man. […] He stopped at every single person and gave his heart, man.”

He went on to note that Hawkins brought up Kelly’s role as Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in the 2019 movie The Dirt, saying, “He was talking to me about how he was at the premiere and he was like, ‘Oh man, the way you did Tommy’s mannerisms… he’s the man, huh?’ We were just relating on that.”

Kelly then mentioned how proud Hawkins was of his kids and Kelly shared a message for Hawkins’ children, saying, “I just want to say to his kids: Your father, when we left there, the kids in us came out. We were just like, ‘This is the greatest night of our life!’ […] I really want to thank him and let his kids know he made us feel — in a time when the outside world […] was really coming in hard on us — he made us feel so confident in ourselves and loved. Your father is a great, great man and we were all lucky to know him.”

Watch Kelly discuss Hawkins above.

Billie Eilish had a big night at the Academy Awards this past weekend, as she and Finneas performed “No Time To Die” during the show and picked up the Oscar for Best Original Song. Eilish, ever the fashion innovator, also arrived with a distinct look. On the pre-show red carpet, Eilish wore a dress that Vogue described as “designer Alessandro Michele’s tiered, ruffled, off-the-shoulder gown with a dramatic train.” ET called it “an all-black tulle dress by Gucci.”

Not everybody was a fan of the outfit, as one TikTok user included Eilish on their list of the worst-dressed celebrities from the event. In their video, they said, “I hate to do it, but here’s my worst-dressed from the Oscars.” The video then cuts to a photo of Eilish and the person says, “I’ve had enough of her sh*t.”

That got a response out of Eilish, who duetted the clip, adding a video of herself sitting on the toilet, seemingly mid-use, her baggy t-shirt strategically positioned to cover herself. Eilish starts by flashing a peace sign before transitioning into just the middle finger. She captioned the video, “i HAVENT had enough of my sh*t. i am sh*tting right now.”

Check out the video below.

It hasn’t even been a week since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, and Daniel Radcliffe is already sick of hearing about it. You and me both, buddy. While appearing on Good Morning Britain on Thursday, The Lost City star was asked for his thoughts about the incident, which everyone from Jim Carrey to Joe Rogan to the White House has weighed in on. “I’m just so already dramatically bored of hearing people’s opinions about it that I just don’t want to be another opinion adding to it,” he replied.

Radcliffe also explained what it’s like have jokes made at your own expense at awards shows. “When you’re going on stuff as a kid you’re never quite sure if the joke’s with you or you’re the butt of the joke,” he said. “So you sort of have a mode of just being like, I’ll just keep smiling and laughing and maybe it’ll end soon.”

That — “maybe it’ll end soon” — is how many people feel about The Slap, including me. My tipping point happened at the movie theater last night (go see Everything Everywhere All at Once!), when the two guys I was sitting next to you went from arguing about NFTs (the words “it’s a club” were used in defense of those damn dirty apes) to faking outrage about Smith’s “assault” on Rock. “Dramatically bored” is right.

(Via Variety)

The Phoenix Suns picked up yet another crunchtime victory on Wednesday night in San Francisco, beating the Warriors on the road in a 107-103 thriller.

It was an exceptional game to watch and a potential preview of the Western Conference Finals or Semifinals. Both teams showed why they’re among the league’s best on the defensive end, and the individual offensive star of the night was Warriors guard Jordan Poole, scoring 38 points to go along with nine rebounds and seven assists, as he continues to fill up the stat sheet in Stephen Curry’s absence. Unfortunately for Poole, it was one of the few shots that didn’t go down for him that will be the most memorable of the night, as he got baited into a wild game-tying shot from halfcourt by Devin Booker and the Suns.

After a pair of Chris Paul free throws put Phoenix back up by three, Poole brought the ball up, with Jae Crowder pushing him towards the sideline and Booker stepping up to the halfcourt line with his hands out threatening to foul in order to keep the Warriors from having a shot to tie the game. Poole tried to circumvent that by putting up a halfcourt heave, but didn’t wait quite long enough, as Booker calmly dropped his hands and let the young guard fire a wild shot with five seconds still on the clock.

It was a shot that looked more ridiculous in real time, as the replays show Booker’s great work in baiting Poole into that effort, but it certainly wasn’t the final shot the Warriors would’ve hoped for. It wasn’t terribly far off, which is fairly impressive, but Phoenix was happy to see him fire one up from 42 feet away and calmly pull down the board to ice their 62nd win of the season.

The loss dropped Golden State to fourth in the West by virtue of Dallas owning the tiebreaker with them, which means if things hold as is, it’s possible we get this matchup in the second round, which would immediately become the marquee series in the West.

Olivia Rodrigo is nominated for a whopping seven (!) Grammys at this year’s ceremony, but it’s one of her favorite memories of a performance over ten years ago that’s top of mind right now. In an interview with People, Rodrigo remembered watching Beyonce’s rather iconic 2010 performance of “If I Were A Boy” — which, by the way, also interpolates Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” in a brief moment of genius — and being pretty inspired by the moment.

“There’s this video of Beyoncé doing ‘If I Were a Boy’ at the Grammys, and I remember watching it like 25 times, being so enamored with her,” she said. “It’s so crazy that, maybe one day, a younger girl’s going to watch my performance many times and think that it’s cool. That’s the dream. That’s all I want.” Olivia is slated to perform at this year’s event, so it’s very likely that exact scenario will occur this Sunday.

In the lead up to the Grammys this year Olivia has been anything but slowing down. She recently released her Sour film documentary, Driving Home 2 U, and is also apparently practicing for her upcoming tour behind the hit album by singing while running on a treadmill. That’s probably harder than touring itself, right? I mean, I can barely get myself to keep going on the treadmill with normal breathing… but I guess that’s how you get into the kind of shape Beyonce is in.

Russ has often bragged about how he was able to find success in the music industry without having to sign a horrible contract with a record label. His ability to do was a result of undeterred consistency in which he released 11 albums and 87 songs between December 2011 to August 2014. It eventually led to him signing with Columbia Records in 2016, and the following year, he released his debut album There’s Really A Wolf. Since then, Russ has released three additional full-length projects: 2018’s Zoo, 2020’s Shake The Snow Globe, and last year’s Chomp 2. Now, for his latest endeavor, Russ is aiming to help aspiring artists.

With help from his best friend and rapper Bugus, Russ has launched his own label called Diemon. The imprint is named after the collective that both Russ and Bugus have been a part of for more than a decade. “Everyone owns their masters; everyone owns their publishing,” Russ said to Variety about the label, which he calls “artist-friendly.” “We don’t eat on your merch or your tours, and everything’s a profit split deal. We’re not looking to invest in an artist just to change their music. If we like an artist enough to sign them, it’s because we like what they’re doing.” He added, “It’s just a super artist-friendly situation, where we’re here to provide resources and mentorship to artists that we believe in.”

Russ wants potential artists on the label to understand the inner workings of the music industry as well as that they’re “no suits with no rhythm.” In addition to launching the label, Russ also revealed that its first artist is a California native named LaRussell who he discovered on TikTok.