Month: April 2022

The movie that has been in the works for years and took over a year to shoot finally has a name. The seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise is officially titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One. Two colons, one em dash. The Mission: Impossible franchise continues its respect for punctuation.

What is dead reckoning though? Well, according to OxfordLanguages, dead means “no longer alive” and reckoning means “​​the action or process of calculating or estimating something.” So maybe Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part I involves protagonist Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) reckoning with the lives he is responsible for taking, including Henry Cavill and Henry Cavill’s dramatic little mustache back in the 2018 masterpiece Mission: Impossible–Fallout. OxfordLanguages, unfortunately, cannot explain why there are two parts to the seventh sequel of a franchise that began in 1996. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One experienced several production delays as a result of COVID-19. Cruise proudly enforced COVID protocols on the set by doing what he does best: screaming.

Along with Cruise, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One stars Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Haley Atwell, and Shea Whigham, with Christopher McQuarrie directing.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One is coming to theaters on July 14, 2023, with part two expected on June 28, 2024.

Jordan Davis might be the most interesting player in the 2022 NFL Draft. The 6’6, 341 defensive tackle out of Georgia was arguably the most dominant single force in college football for most of the 2021 season — on the undisputed most dominant team in the country — but has only continued to grow his legend during the pre-draft process.

In case any NFL fans were curious about Davis’ freakish athleticism for his size, the big man dropped jaws in Indianapolis when he ran a 4.78 in the 40 yard dash.

That 40-time was the culmination of work that started for Davis in December, after his worst game of the season — in his words, “a hiccup” — against Alabama in the SEC title game. The Tide used tempo to neutralize Davis, running to the line and trying to gas out the big man, and saw a lot of success.

A month and a lot of miles on the treadmill later, Davis got his revenge, helping the Dawgs beat Bama in the national title game by once again controlling the line of scrimmage and answering a lot of questions about himself in the process. On Wednesday, the big man with the personality to match spoke with Uproxx Sports at the P&G Style Lounge in Las Vegas about his growth as a player at Georgia, how the Dawgs took the leap in 2021, how he had to look in the mirror after having his flaws exposed in that SEC title game, the work he put in before the Playoff, the art of playing defensive tackle, and much more.

To start draft night, tomorrow night. Where’s the excitement level at for you?

Excitement, anxiety is all wrapped up in one. But regardless, I know I’m gonna be in great hands. I know we’re gonna have a great time. Just have to keep grounded and just don’t worry about where or when, just worry about getting to this point. I’m already here, I know eventually my name is going to be called, so I’m not really concerned.

When you look back on your journey started playing football competitively in 10th grade to being here now getting ready to go into the NFL. What are you most proud of about yourself to get yourself to this point?

[Long, contemplative pause] Choosing the right friends, man. Choosing the right people to surround myself with, because at the end of the day, that’s probably the most important thing. You have a lot of players that fall by the wayside because they have the wrong crowd around them. But, you know, my friends and my family, they support me, they tell me when I’m wrong, they tell me when I’m right. The give me the real deal and regardless, this moment is for them. It’s not moreso for me, you know, obviously I’m gonna be excited to hit the ground running and get working, but it’s really for them to soak in the moment and enjoy it because they’ve been with me every step of the way.

From when you got to Georgia to where you are now as a football player. What would you say is your biggest area of growth?

Mentality. Dawg Time every year, it’s the most adverse time of the year — winter workouts — it’s really a grind, but just knowing that you’re gonna make it through no matter how hard it is. Just keeping one foot in front of the other. Don’t stop, don’t quit. And I think that’s one thing that I learned that Georgia was like, you know, you first get there and you’re like, man, it’s so hard, but you just gotta keep moving, cause if you just stop you’re making no progress. But if you keep one foot in front of the other, even if you got to crawl, at least you’re making progress and at least you’re moving forward.

How much does it help being at a place that has the level of talent around you pushing you like that. Just being in that D line room and seeing the guys around you? What do you think that did for you in pushing you to this level?

Definitely, I would say starting with the D line room, we’re always unified. And that’s one thing that we pride ourselves on. And so me, Trayvon, ‘Vonte, Zion, Jalen, all those guys in that room, we all operated under one tune. And so it was no individuals. It was no clash, backlash. There was no animosity, secret animosity, we all said what we need to say. If somebody was wrong, we’ll address it. And somebody’s right, we’ll address it. And it was just one of those things that we kind of set the blueprint for the rest of the team. And when the rest of the team was on board, that’s when we started seeing real changes. And I’d say like within the team, the team has grown so much in the past year.

You know, you look at the 2020 Cincinnati game and you’re like, damn, like they barely escaped by the skin of their teeth but they found something in them, to have that grit and to push forward and to come back and win. And we just carried that momentum into the next season and we knew that we had something special just to go on that historic run during the regular season, a little hiccup in Bama, and then come back for the postseason. It’s like, you can’t write it better. Like you really can’t. It’s crazy. It’s amazing. It’s crazy. And I’m just forever grateful. It’s something that you’ll always remember.

I do want to talk about the two Bama games. Because I think you would probably say the first one was the toughest game you had of the season.

Right.

What did you learn from that, that you were able to, in a month’s time, come back and have a different approach to when they tried to tempo you out of the game or when they tried to attack you in the ways they did? And what do you think that showed about you as a player that you can take an experience and learn from it, grow from it, and put it on the field a month later?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, the first time you know they definitely exposed a lot of holes in our defense and exposed a lot about myself. And it was one of those days you have to sit in the mirror and reflect and think about maybe you’re not as good as you think, maybe you have to put in a little more effort. And you know, you just had to go back to the drawing board. My drawing board was getting on the treadmill and running and getting moving get active, so when they do tempo, you know you’re going to be ready for it. And so coming back on the second time around, we knew we had it in the bag because of the amount of work we put it. No matter how the game went, we knew we had it. So, as long as we have one more point than the other team, we know we was gonna get it. But it’s like literally, you just have to do something different to be different. And I think that I really took that in consideration moving forward.

When you’ve spoken with teams during this draft process, what are the things that you’ve wanted them to know the most about you as a person?

Definitely my character. I feel like I don’t have any off the field issues or have any issues at all, honestly, but I just want them to know that what they see is what they get and they’re gonna get a guy that’s ready to work and has high energy and high tempo. But also the ability to stop the run and also the ability to pass rush. That was one of the things I was working on at pro day and the Combine was just showing them that I can move and I’m functional, not just a slow run stopper. And, you know, at the end of the day I think they understand and tomorrow we’ll see who wants me the most.

You talked earlier about your growth on the mental side of the game and I think defensive line is a particularly difficult one, especially on the interior, because part of your job is to free everybody else.

Right.

And it’s not always to go make the play.

Definitely.

What have you learned about when to pick your spots on when try to go make a play and when you say, okay, I know I just gotta be in my gap and let everybody else flow?

It’s kind of just the instinct thing. You know, it’s instinct and the trust. If you’re gonna go out and make that play, then you just gotta go 100 percent and you can’t miss it. Also, if you holding two blocks or holding a double team for a linebacker, you trust in him that he’s going to make that play for you, because at the end of the day you’re taking up two for him to be free. I think that’s something that we always take into consideration when we’re playing D-line. And just mentally, playing D-line is a mental game, it’s one of the hardest positions. Offensive line and defensive line, you’re always hitting somebody every play. It doesn’t matter like, you know, running backs, you could get the ball, you can go out for a flare out and not touch anybody, but literally, defense line and offensive line are always hitting every play and you can’t say that for every position. So it’s just really a mental thing. You just have to get your mind right. You have to be mentally strong and prepared to play that position.

Who are the guys that you look at and you try to pull things from into your game?

Fletch. Fletcher Cox, John Henderson, that’s a really old guy, that’s somebody I watched when I started off.

You gonna get somebody to slap you in the face before games like John Henderson?

Nah [laughs]. Nah, I can’t do that. But, you know, I get motivated in other ways. But you know, those are the guys that they compare me to, and say, like Calais Campbell, they say we were similar in size and stuff like that. I don’t really have any idols but those are the guys that just try to pick out little things and add them to my repertoire because if I add them to my toolbox I can just be better. I can get better by looking at somebody who does their job well. Those are guys that you watch his kids, watch growing up, and Fletch, I was watching him as a kid and he’s still playing the league. So it’s like, you know if he can do it then you can do it.

You’ve got the red carpet tomorrow night. You gonna be stepping out in something?

Definitely. Definitely gonna be stepping out in something. I might wear my Crocs on the red carpet. [Laughs] Nah, but yeah, definitely got a nice nice little fit. It’s something that I’ve been designing it for a good while.

How’s this partnership with Head and Shoulders helping you you get ready for tomorrow night?

Oh, this partnership is amazing, man. I’m going to be ready, my hair’s gonna be nice. Nice, silky smooth, shining, and you know, they just like me, they just never stop working. So we just keep it moving with Head and Shoulders and I’m glad that I had this opportunity to partner with them.

Tyler The Creator’s ongoing partnership with Converse has proven uniquely fruitful. Not only have Golf Wang Converse sneakers been a cool treat for fans for the past few years, reflecting Tyler’s long-established love for the skater-favorite brand, but he’s come up with some pretty neat projects as a result, such as last year’s hilarious, Tyler-directed “Really Cool Converse Club” commercial. The latest is a new sneaker model that fans can customize with 100,000 options, the Golf Wang x Converse Chuck 70. The brand announced the collaboration via a few social media posts showing off some of the possible combinations.

The Golf Wang By You project includes a bunch of side decals of Golf Wang and Tyler The Creator logos and color options. Quantities are limited so I suggest clicking this link as soon as you can.

During a recent Converse All-Star series talk in March, Tyler discussed his affinity for the brand but also revealed his disdain for a different trend. “What the f*ck is a NFT?” he wondered to the audience’s amusement. “I paint at home, I play instruments. … I have a friend who’s making me speakers by hand right now. What the f*ck is a NFT? None of the examples I’ve seen is, like, beautiful art. It’s a f*cking monkey in a Supreme hoodie.”

If festival season is breaking your bank, you can still see your favorite artists on the cheap. Live Nation Concert Week is returning next week, offering $25 concert tickets to see bands and musicians across all genres.

The $25 “all-in” tickets include taxes and fees, so fans won’t have to worry about annoying extra costs. This year’s Concert Week will offer tickets to over 3,700 shows across North America.

Among this year’s artists participating in Live Nation Concert Week are Haim, Machine Gun Kelly, Nas, 070 Shake, Omar Apollo, Russ, H.E.R., Courtney Barnett, and more.

Non-music acts participating in Concert Week are Chelsea Handler, Dave Chappelle, Gabriel Iglesias, Tina Fey, George Lopez, Margaret Cho, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Chris Rock and the queens of Season 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

The sale of $25 tickets begins Wednesday, May 4 and runs until Tuesday, May 10. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, May 3. Rakuten members will also have access to this presale, and will receive a special access code in their emails if they sign up for an account by May 1.

The full list of performers is available to view here.

Some of the artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It looks like Tekashi 69‘s antics might be catching up to him at last. TMZ has shared a video of the controversial rapper getting punched in the back of the head at a nightclub in Miami despite his cadre of security guards. While the attacker fled before being identified and didn’t give a reason for the assault, Tekashi hasn’t exactly endeared himself to fans of hip-hop over the past few years. Tekashi was at the club, Pilos Tacos Tequilla Garden, to perform a song from the DJ booth, apparently as a kind of soft re-launch of his rap career, which stalled after his stint in prison for racketeering.

According to the rapper himself, he was only grazed by the blow, and it’s reported he stayed at the venue after the attack to sign autographs. “He scuffed my shoulder by my neck,” he’s quoted by TMZ. He also connected with the shoulder of my security guard. I didn’t know this guy. There was no prior dispute.” Even so, the attack is a reminder that for some folks, Tekashi is as much a target as a star ever since he got his sentence shortened by testifying against his Nine Trey Blood associates. He’s also got a few rap rivalries brewing, and as much as his fellow musicians have laughed off the threats as entertainment, it seems there could still be plenty of those who take them seriously enough to act on them.

Mattea Roach recently cracked the Top 10 on Jeopardy!‘s list of consecutive winners, and she’s not slowing down anytime soon. Of course, she was already a real winner after her first victory, which allowed her to pay off her student loans, but beyond that, she’s chipping away after being the first superchamp since Amy Schneider racked up 40 wins. Roach currently holds the #8 spot after 17 consecutive wins (with $396,182 in total winnings so far). However, she’s also now officially — at age 23 — the youngest superchamp in the long-running show’s history. So, she’s #1 at being young and being far more accomplished at that age than any of us.

As she holds the line, Mattea spoke with Good Morning America (above), where she discussed how thrilled she is to represent Canada, something that she has in common with late host Alec Trebek:

“To get to represent Canada on the ‘Alex Trebek Stage’ means a lot. As Canadians, we’re so proud of our homegrown celebrities who made it big in the U.S. And so, it didn’t occur to me as I was taping these shows that I had become the longest-running Canadian but I’m really honored by the support that everyone across the country has shown me. It’s so meaningful and it fills me with so much joy.”

Mattea will continue to defend her superchamp status and go for win #8 on Thursday.

(Via ABC News)

Jermaine Johnson has seen a lot in his young football career. He’s gone from being academically ineligible coming out of high school to a star on Last Chance U to the Georgia Bulldogs and, finally, Florida State, where he broke out in 2021 to rocket up draft boards.

That journey has given Johnson a perspective on life and football beyond what most 23-year-olds have, as well as an appreciation for what the game can provide and how quickly things can go away if the work isn’t properly put in. On Thursday night, Johnson figures to hear his name called in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft as one of the top edge rushers in this year’s class, a moment he admits there were times he never even thought was possible.

On Wednesday, Johnson spoke with Uproxx Sports from the P&G Style Lounge at the Delano on the Las Vegas strip to look back on his journey, what he wants teams to know about him as a player and person, and how he intends to be the next game wrecking pass rusher in the NFL.

Where’s the excitement level at with Draft night a day away?

It’s up and it’s high. It’s one of the days you dreamed about as a kid and, shoot, even sometimes I never thought I’d get here. So, I mean they’re high. It’s awesome. Unbelievable.

When you look back at your journey to get here, what are you most proud of yourself for making it through to this point?

Not giving up. You know, not taking the easy way out and staying true to my value and what I believe my value is, because anywhere along the way I could have devalued myself and taken the easy way out. But I never did. So I guess just sticking through it and trusting that even though I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel sometimes that you know I’ll be guided to it.

From where you were a few years ago in JUCO to where you are now. What would you say is your biggest point of growth as a football player?

As a football player? Man, that’s such a hard question to ask because I’ve grown so much since junior college to now. I mean, it’s not even the same player in my eyes, not even remotely close. So just it’s a whole different player, man. I wish I could give you one or two things, but it’s just a whole different player.

When you’ve talked with teams through this pre-draft process, what have you wanted them to know about you, the person?

As a person? I mean, I just wanted them to know my outlook on the game, and how I think it’s supposed to be played. Understanding that the team comes first and understanding that when you put the team first, you just trust that your individual accolades and goals will handle themselves but it’s a team first thing. Like back in the day, like in medieval times when you go to war, you weren’t going out there trying to get as many kills as you can, you go on out there and you’re fighting for something that that you truly believe in and you’re fighting for the people and your brothers next to you.

So I mean, that’s just like football. I think we’re modern day gladiators. And you know, I’m going out there and they’re my brothers and that’s the first thing on my mind. I don’t care about sacks and, you know, statistics and stuff like that. I just know that you know, if I keep playing football, the way I play it all that stuff will handle itself anyway. So I mean, I just want teams to know that’s how I look at things and you know, that I’m not a fluke and that I’m very much the real deal.

You’ve been on a number of teams already in your career. What do you think you’ve learned about what it means to be a good teammate and going from a few different places and being in a few different cultures and what you think that can bring now that you go to another team with whoever picks you?

Just the word selfless, man. It’s not about you. It never was and it never is about you. You’re part of a team. You have a role to play on that team, whatever that role may be, your job is to give 110 percent in that role. It’s not about you. And I think that’s it.

Who are guys that you look to who are in the league as guys you’ve tried to pull from and add stuff to your game that you watch film on?

Khalil Mack and Myles Garrett. I mean those guys are dominant pass rushers — dominant, dominant pass rushers. And they take games over and they make offenses game plan against them and I mean, they just wreck games and that’s what I intend to do.

You’ve got the red carpet tomorrow night. You got everything all ready to go?

Yeah, everything’s ready man. It’s gonna be well worth the wait.

How have you ended up with this partnership with with Gillette and how are they helping you out for tomorrow night?

I mean, Gillette and I we share the same values in terms of confidence, man. If you got confidence there everything else will handle itself. So to be quite honest, they’re getting me clean. They’re getting me ready for this night on the red carpet and I couldn’t thank them anymore for that.

Great news: soon you’ll finally get to see an iconic “Ew, Daviiid” on a different platform! “Schitt’s Creek, the show that many people think is a Netflix show simply because it is streaming on Netflix, will no longer stream on Netflix.

On Thursday, April 28, Hulu announced that the feel-good Emmy-winning family comedy starring a majority of the Levy family (Eugene, David, Sarah) has acquired streaming rights to all six seasons of the series. Schitt’s Creek, which originally aired on Canada’s CBC from 2015-2020, will leave its long-term stay at Netflix for Hulu starting October 3, 2022.

“Based on the number of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ GIFs we Slack every day, it’s no surprise that we are absolutely thrilled to welcome Johnny, Moira, Alexis, ‘Daviiid’ and the wonderfully unique residents of Schitt’s Creek to Hulu,” said Joe Earley, President of Hulu in a statement sent to press. Ew, Joooe. “We can’t wait to share the award-winning, blisteringly-funny, yet heartwarming series and characters with our subscribers. We know they’ll fit in nicely.”

Schitt’s Creek made Emmy history in 2020 by sweeping all comedy categories, earning the most wins in a single season for a comedy. Its awards include Outstanding Lead Actress and Actor in a Comedy Series for Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy, Outstanding Supporting Actress and Actor in a Comedy Series for Annie Murphy and Dan Levy, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

Drake London was in the midst of an all-time season at USC when he broke his ankle against Arizona on October 30, piling up 88 catches for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns in just eight games for the Trojans. That performance was good enough to earn Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors despite missing four games, and he enters this week’s NFL Draft expected to hear his name called on Thursday night.

The 6’4, 219 pound receiver looks to follow in the footsteps of other big receivers that have taken over the NFL in recent years, citing Mike Evans and Keenan Allen among the players he watches film of to try and pull things into his game.

On Wednesday afternoon, London sat down with Uproxx Sports at the P&G Style Lounge on the Las Vegas Strip to talk about the upcoming Draft, his work with TJ Houshmandzadeh, and what he thinks separates him from the rest of a stellar wide receiver class.

It’s now just a night away. Where’s your excitement level for Draft night to finally be here?

I don’t know how to put it into words in a sense. Put it on the scale of one to 10, I think it’d be 11. I may not show it [laughs], but deep down inside? Yeah, definitely excited.

Excited to be done with pre-draft interviews and workouts?

I can’t wait. I was actually just talking about that. Just being able to settle down for once and just go about my business. I think that’s what I can’t wait for.

Being here with Head & Shoulders, how did you get partnered with this? And what’s it been like being with them for Draft week?

Yeah, you know, I’ve been using it for so long in my life. It’s been keeping my hair healthy, no dandruff. So I have a great ScalpShield Technology that they’ve been using and it’s been protecting my hair ever since. So yeah, I was happy they partnered with me.

What’s been the most surprising part of the Draft process? From when the season ended to now going through all the workouts and going through all the interviews, sitting with teams, what’s been the part that you maybe weren’t expecting?

I think it’s the depth that the teams go to know who you are truly. I’ve literally had, like, high school teachers telling me “Oh, such and such just talked to me about you,” and I’m like, there’s no way they go that deep, you know? That’s when I was kind of like shocked.

What are the things that you wanted teams to get to know about you not just as a player, but as a person when you got to sit down with them and talk to them?

What I wanted to be known and I think that was the boat that I was in, I couldn’t really participate in physical activity or anything at the time, so just showcasing that I’m a person who’s dependable. Somebody who you don’t really have to worry about, watch over, or just, you know, in the back of your head, like, “Oh, he’s gonna mess up and do something wrong.” That’s what I was trying to get through to a lot of teams and I think I did.

This is obviously a really talented wide receiver class. When you’re trying to kind of pitch yourself to these teams, what are the things that you think separates you from from others in this class?

When I’m covered, or so to speak covered, I don’t think I’m really covered. That goes to probably the basketball background that I had, just getting rebounds. I have to deal with guys who are 6’10 down in the trees, on the block. So I really have to use my height to my advantage at the end of the day, and if I have a 5’8, 5’11 corner, I don’t really see no issue with them being on my hip.

From when you got to USC to now, what is the area of growth that you think has been the biggest for you on the field?

I think honestly just becoming a football player solely and that in general. I’ve been playing basketball and football my whole life, so I haven’t really had the time to sit down and lift weights, stretch the way I’m supposed to, run the way I’m supposed to. So I think it’s just ultimately coming into one sport and just being a football player in general. And I’m still working towards that.

Is there an area on the field that teams say, like, this is what we want you to continue to work at when you get in these rooms and they talk about your strengths and your weaknesses?

I think it’s everything. And I can probably say that for a lot of the prospects. We’re going in there where the rookies were the youngins again, so I think there’s so many things that we get to learn at the end of the day. So I wouldn’t say it’s anything like specific. It’s just you’re gonna learn the tricks of trades of the NFL world, and especially being a receiver in the NFL.

Working out with TJ Houshmandzadeh and being able to be around the guy who’s been in those locker rooms and has been a pro for a long time and knows what it takes. What was that given you, mot just on the field, but knowing what it’s going to take to be a pro?

Oh, it’s something special. To have TJ in my corner is a huge, huge deal to me. I mean, literally a living legend. His smarts for the game, his physical attributes, the things that he teaches me things that he that he tells me and just what he brings to me as a person is beyond great.

And then beyond him, who are some of the guys that you look at and you watch kind of film of to try and pull things into your game?

Calvin Johnson, Mike Evans, Keenan Allen, a guy like Davante Adams, the list goes on and on. I can pretty much take a lot of things from a person’s game and try to implement it into mine fairly quickly.

Donald Trump endorsed J.D. Vance in the Republican Senate primary in Ohio, even after the poverty porn author called him “America’s Hitler.” Somehow, this story gets even weirder. In the days before the endorsement, the former-president and his son, Donald Trump Jr., spoke on the phone with Tucker Carlson. The Fox News host told them that they can’t trust David McIntosh, who Rolling Stone describes as “the president of the conservative Club for Growth and a top backer of Vance’s rival Josh Mandel.”

Why’s that? I’m sorry in advance:

The reason, Carlson asserted, is that McIntosh has an embarrassing and “chronic” personal sexual habit.

Rolling Stone cannot confirm the claim and will not repeat it. But during that phone call, the twice-impeached former president spent a notable amount of time gossiping and laughing about the prominent Republican’s penis and how “f*cking disgusting” and “f*cking gross” he allegedly was.

Trump also has a deep fascination with Mandel’s sex life. “The [former] president has used the term ‘f*cking weird’ to describe Josh Mandel more than once, when I have spoken to him about [Mandel],” a source recently told the Daily Beast. “He has talked about [Mandel] and sex in the same sentence more times than I would have liked to hear.” An obsession with someone’s “gross” and “disgusting” and “weird” sex life? Takes one to know one, I suppose.

You can read the rest of the Rolling Stone report here.

(Via Rolling Stone)