Month: April 2022

On Tuesday night, Olivia Wilde had a big night. She presented the first trailer for Don’t Worry Darling, her directorial follow-up to the much-loved Booksmart, at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, where Avatar 2 also shared its first trailer. Word of its super-sexy trailer — in an age when mainstream cinema is largely sexless, Ben Affleck-Ana de Armas movies aside — proceeded to break the internet, even though only those in attendance saw its risqué images.

But something strange happened while Wilde was on-stage: Someone approached the front rows and slid a mysterious manilla envelope onto the stage. “This is for me?” Wilde asked innocently, then proceeded to retrieve, open it, then go right back to her presentation.

Now we know what was in it: According to Deadline, the envelope contained custody papers from her ex-partner, Jason Sudeikis.

The two, who started dating in 2011, were never married, though they became engaged in 2013 and had two children together. Their relationship ended in late 2020. A couple months later, she began dating Harry Styles, who stars in her new film alongside Florence Pugh.

When it was revealed what exactly was in the envelope given to Wilde, many on social media pounced on Sudeikis, calling it a cruel move. However, as some noted, it’s important to remember that one has no control over how process servers conduct their business. It’s very likely Sudeikis had no idea the papers would be given to her in the middle of a triumphant presentation of her new movie.

Neither Wilde nor Sudeikis have commented publicly on the incident.

(Via Deadline)

Nearly three years after he released his Grammy-nominated debut album The Lost Boy, Cordae should his growth as a young rapper with his second body of work From A Birds Eye View. The 14-track release showcased contributions from Gunna, Lil Wayne, HER, Lil Durk, Freddie Gibbs, Stevie Wonder, Eminem, Roddy Ricch, and Ant Clemons. Cordae has released a few visuals to promote the album’s songs and a little over three months after From A Birds Eye View arrived, Cordae returns with a new video, this time for “C Carter.”

The new visual watches Cordae celebrate his accomplishments were many of them were dreams he held on to as a child. The video watches the young rapper interact with elders at a barbershop and embrace family friends in his neighborhood as he boasts about his success at a young age.

“C Carter” joins a few other songs from From A Birds Eye View that have received the visual treatment. “Chronicles” with HER and Lil Durk, “Today” with Gunna, “Sinister” featuring Lil Wayne, and “Gifted” with Roddy Ricch have all received videos.

The video for “C Carter

You can watch the video for “C Carter” above.

From A Birds Eye View is out now via Atlantic. You can stream it here is out now via Atlantic. Stream it here.

Cordae is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

There was a relatively brief period when Jim Carrey was SNL’s go-to Joe Biden. In the run-up to the 2020 election, the legendary performer played the future 46th president as a sunglasses-wearing badass, ready to return to the White House and kick out Donald Trump. Luckily that’s exactly what wound up happening. Still, Carrey’s interpretation had plenty of detractors, though to some he was so convincing they think he really is Joe Biden.

As per Yahoo! News, Jason Selvig of The Good Liars — a comedy duo who, like Jordan Klepper, roam the country, getting Trump supporters to say the craziest things — struck gold: a Trump supporter who believes Biden is dead and being played by other people.

“I mean, there are several different people playing Joe Biden at this point,” the woman tells Selvig. She cites a moment last year in which Biden fell three times while walking up the staircase to Air Force One as proof that not only is the president being played by other people, but that one of them is Jim Carrey. She claims the sometimes comedic actor, who she said was wearing a mask, was “being silly by falling up the stairs three different times”.

In the video, Selvig looks genuinely flabbergasted, but the Trump supporter wasn’t done, adding, “And James Woods is also I think one of the dopplegänger mask-wearing people,” referring to the acclaimed actor-turned-rightwing troll.

Trump’s supporters already have a stormy relationship with the truth, to the point that they’ll even boo him when he tells them to get the vaccine he helped get developed, but this is on a whole other level. The woman’s bizarre claims wound up disseminated so broadly that eventually Carrey himself was made aware of it, in between trying to get Christopher Nolan to direct the third Ace Ventura.

After Carrey responded with an “Oh dear,” the Good Liars social media account chimed in, asking, “Be honest, was the woman we interviewed in this clip just you in a mask?”

(Via Yahoo! News)

Some compositions are so ubiquitous they are recognizable in their first few bars, even by people who are not music aficionados. French composer Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero” is one of those pieces, known for its relentless snare drum beat throughout, as it gradually builds tension from a sweet, simple tune to a grand, flourishing climax.

Ravel wrote the piece for a friend, a Russian ballet dancer, while on holiday shortly before touring North America in 1928. According to Classic FM, the composer was about to go for a swim when he called a friend over to the piano and played a simple theme with one finger, saying, “Don’t you think that has an insistent quality? I’m going to try to repeat it a number of times without any development, gradually increasing the orchestra as best I can.”

That he did, with tremendous success—and with the sacrifice of the poor percussionist charged with repeating the same 24-beat note pattern throughout the piece, for a whopping total of 5,144 drum strokes on the snare drum. While different instruments are introduced as the piece progresses, creating a buildup of sound that eventually incorporates the full symphony orchestra, the lone snare drummer never gets a break. They play the same rhythm over and over and over, just gradually increasing in volume.

But what would “Bolero” be without the signature snare drum? Or the orchestral buildup? What if someone were to play “Bolero” on just one instrument? What if several someones played it on the same instrument? Would that even work?

Such experimentation with well-known pieces can be risky. But four cellists managed to pull off an incredible feat by performing “Bolero” together on a single cello. While it’s not the full 15-minute piece, it’s doggone impressive how rich and full the piece feels on just this one instrument. Watching the cellists physically coordinate the playing of it is sheer entertainment, beautifully executed—and the little bullfight shoutout to the Spanish theme is just delightful.

Enjoy this fun performance by the Wiener Cello Ensemble 5 +1, shared by Classic FM:

Most parents hope they raise kind humans. Those that will show up for a friend in need without looking for a pat on the back for doing so. This story about a college student who was sexually assaulted in the ’70s by a popular and beloved college football player shows exactly what it means to be the kind of person who shows up for someone in need. Betsy Sailor was a student at Penn State University in the late ’70s when she accused a football player of assaulting her at knifepoint. Nevertheless, the football season continued and the players closed ranks around the star player leaving Sailor isolated and fearful. That is until Irv Pankey knocked on her door.

Pankey was a star football player at the time who would eventually go on to play in the NFL. He had everything to lose by showing support to a person who publicly accused his teammate of rape, but after hearing the ordeal play out in court, he couldn’t sit back quietly. Being a Black football player in 1978, it was risky for him to break ranks with his team, but his position in society is what helped him understand what it was like to feel isolated. Pankey told ESPN reporters Todd Junod and Paula Lavigne that he thought to himself, “She does not deserve to be a pariah. You will never have to walk alone again.”

And she didn’t. Pankey became Sailor’s protector walking her to class and making sure she felt safe. The two became inseparable during their time at Penn State. Pankey would invite Sailor to parties that he threw and the football players in attendance all knew and respected her. In the late ’70s it was still a rare thing for women to report sexual assault, and when they did, they were often not believed or worse, they were blamed for their own assaults based on how they were dressed or how much they had to drink. For a college student to stand up and accuse a star player of assault at a time where social outcasting was almost guaranteed to happen was a brave, bold thing to do, and the players at Pankey’s get-togethers understood that.

Streaming now on @ESPNPlus is u201cBetsy & Irv.u201d It should reaffirm a belief in humanity. It’s a bright light in an otherwise dark narrative of rape and murder. Because this story isnu2019t about an evil man. Itu2019s about, as one survivor says, a u201cguardian angel.u201d1/5pic.twitter.com/VMnLfX6uH1

— Paula Lavigne (@Paula Lavigne)
1650452457

Sailor says in ESPN Films’ new documentary “Betsy & Irv,” “I felt a bit of respect, and the respect came from, I believe, a woman that was taking on something quite large. And the majority of people that I was dealing with were Black football players that had certainly been up against battling big things in their lives.” Sailor recounts that Pankey’s kindness in showing up for her gave her a sense of freedom that she felt she otherwise wouldn’t have had.

The player that assaulted Sailor, Todd Hodne, was eventually kicked out of school and later went on to serve a life sentence in prison for various crimes including the murder of New York taxi driver Jeffrey Hirsch. It was revealed through investigations that Hodne had assaulted multiple other women, including while out on bail for Sailor’s assault.

Pankey’s act of kindness was bigger than the time the pair spent together on campus and it made a lasting impact on Sailor’s life. Irv Pankey went on to play for the Los Angeles Rams and Betsy Sailor worked in HR, but after 40 years apart, the admiration and love can be felt through the screen watching “Betsy & Irv.” It’s clear from their story that one act of kindness and showing up for someone in need can make all the difference in the world.

Think of The Afterparty, a very good show, as Apple TV+’s answer to HBO Max’s The White Lotus. Both shows are murder mysteries (or sort of, in the case of The White Lotus) that end with the crime solved. The White Lotus found a creative way to birth a second season, namely by replacing most of the original cast but bringing back a couple of them for some sense of consistency. And that’s what’s now happening to The Afterparty.

As per Variety, the hit show, created by 21 Jump Street and Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse’s Chris Miller (and executive produced by his frequent partner, Phil Lord), will return for yet more murderous mayhem, this one at a different soiree. Ditto two of its stars, Sam Richardson and Zoë Chao. Everyone else will be replaced by a new septet, namely Zach Woods, Elizabeth Perkins, Paul Walter Hauser, Poppy Liu, Jack Whitehall, Anna Konkle, and Vivian Wu.

The first season of The Afterparty followed a simple premise: There’s a high school reunion after party at which someone is murdered, and each episode tells the same story from a different perspective, like Rashomon but with more people having fun. That season’s star-studded cast included Tiffany Haddish, Ben Schwartz, Ike Barinholtz, Ilana Glazer, and Dave Franco. The show has done so well that Miller and Phil Lord already have their next program lined up: a Western about a woman being catfished in the 1800s called, simply, Western.

(Via Variety)

Loneliness is one of the most dangerous health problems in the United States, although it’s seldom discussed. Psychology Today says loneliness has the same mortality risks as obesity, smoking, alcoholism and physical inactivity.

A meta-analysis from Brigham Young University found that social isolation may increase the risk of premature death by up to 50%. The problem with loneliness is that people suffer in silence and it afflicts the ones we don’t see.

A TikTok user who goes by the name Megan Elizabeth recently shared a touching story on social media about how her grandfather was feeling lonely so he reached out to her. The story shows what can happen when one person is brave enough to confront their social isolation and the important role grandkids can play in their grandparents’ lives.

See on Instagram

It started when Megan’s grandpa texted her to ask if she’d like to come over for a sleepover. “I haven’t been feeling well and miss you. We can order food and watch a mystery show. Love, grandpa,” he wrote.

Megan was happy to go see him, so grandpa made a series of requests to make the sleepover a hit.

“Could you pick up applesauce? The cinnamon kind,” he asked. “And if you go somewhere with mash potatoes, I would like that because I have no teeth and can only eat soft things. Ha!”

He also wanted some strawberry ice cream for dessert. “Thank you. You are my favorite granddaughter,” he ended the conversation. Megan later noted that she’s his only granddaughter.

Megan came by with a big bag of food and some ice cream and the two hung out and watched his favorite black-and-white “mystery movies.” When it was time for bed, grandpa hadn’t forgotten how to put her to sleep. He got her a glass of water to put by the bed in case she got thirsty and left a flashlight on the nightstand just in case his 29-year-old granddaughter got scared.

The next morning, at 5:30 am, he watched her leave for work.

See on Instagram

Grandfather and granddaughter grew up close to one another. Megan lived with her grandparents when she was young while her parents saved up money for a house. When they bought one, it was right across the street.

“I am so lucky to have grown up with my grandpa and my grandma (rest in peace),” she wrote on Instagram. “I feel so happy. I am thankful for my grandpa and he will never understand how much love he truly has shown me. And more importantly, the love he showed my grandma while she was alive. I believe in love and loyalty because of this man. He is my hero,” she added.

See on Instagram

Megan’s time with her grandfather made her realize a valuable lesson about her life.

“I think one of the most important realizations I have had recently is that it’s important to live in the moment but it is important to live in the now with intent,” she wrote on Instagram, “so that when you are 92, you look back and smile at all the people you loved, the memories you made and the life you chose to live.”

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, nobody harmonizes like Dehd. The Chicago post-punk trio lay down vocal melodies that are downright infectious and sparkle with both edge and innocence. Jason Balla and Emily Kempf have got that certain something when it comes to laying down vocals and on the latest single, “Empty In My Mind,” they’ve got their sights set on somebody else, who has a different kind of “certain something.”

A song about the unpredictable wavelength of emotions that comes with feeling googly-eyed gaga for someone new, “Empty In My Mind” is a sweet love song. Balla’s catchy guitar riff is present throughout the entire hook-driven tune as they sing, “Give me all of your heart tonight, kiss me like we’re out of time. Empty in my mind, oh!” The band elaborated in a statement saying that the song captures, “the floating mindless space around a new crush… The sort of high that occurs, the spinning, the detachment and the feeling of ungroundedness. All of these things being either very fun or absolutely dreadful.”

Listen to “Empty In My Mind” above and check out Dehd’s upcoming tour schedule here.

Blue Skies is out 5/27 via Fat Possum. Pre-order it here.

The American rightwing has long aligned itself with the teachings of Jesus Christ, a figure who preached helping the poor and dispensing with material possessions. But their words and actions often suggest they never quite got to the New Testament. Take Marjorie Taylor Greene. The controversial lawmaker, who had to be educated about the Holocaust well into middle age, recently came out against [checks notes] the Catholic Church for [checks notes] helping those in need.

As per Mediaite, Greene, who was recently caught embellishing the truth while under an oath she took by placing her hand on a Bible, did an interview with the right-wing Christian organization Church Militant. Greene used her time to take aim at one of the largest wings of the Christian faith, claiming that “Satan’s controlling the Church.”

And what is Lucifer making the Church do? Help migrants and refugees, who are struggling to find safety from oppression and violence.

“The church is not doing its job, and it’s not adhering to the teachings of Christ, and it’s not adhering to what the word of God says we’re supposed to do and how we’re supposed to live,” Greene said.

“What they’re doing by saying, ‘Oh, we have to love these people and take care of these migrants and love one another,’” she said in a mocking tone. “Yes, we are supposed to love one another, but their definition of what love one another means, means destroying our laws. It means completely perverting what our Constitution says. It means taking unreal advantage of the American taxpayer. And it means pushing a globalist policy on the American people and forcing America to become something that we are not supposed to be.”

Yes, on top of smearing the entire Catholic Church, Greene also dropped the term “globalists,” which has well-known anti-Semitic roots.

Greene’s words made her an unlikely enemy: Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League, which usually goes after Hollywood movies, like Kevin Smith’s Dogma and 2007’s The Golden Compass, for alleged anti-Catholic sentiments. But this time Donahue went after a fellow conservative, who he said “slandered the entire Catholic Church.”

“Satan is controlling the Catholic Church? She needs to apologize to Catholics immediately. She is a disgrace,” Donahue said in a statement to Mediaite. “We are contacting House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy about this matter. He’s got a loose cannon on his hands.”

Then again, McCarthy isn’t terribly good at reigning in party members who’ve made unhinged statements, so good luck with that.

(Via Mediaite)

An early season matchup between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals got tense after Mets pitcher Yoan López threw up and in to Cardinals designated hitter Nolan Arenado. During the previous half-inning, Mets third baseman J.D. Davis got hit on the foot by a pitch from Genesis Cabrera, and had to leave the game as a result.

While X-rays were negative, Davis getting hit led to López retaliating in the bottom of the eighth with a 94 mile per hour fastball that was just a little too close for Arenado’s liking. The six-time All-Star was visibly upset with López, and it didn’t take long for both benches to clear, both bullpens to empty, and some pushing and shoving to take place.

At one point, Mets slugger Pete Alonso found himself pulled to the ground from behind by Cardinals coach Stubby Clapp — after they hit the deck, Alonso got up while Clapp was still holding onto him.

St. Louis would go on to win the game, 10-5, which helped them avoid getting swept in the three-game series against New York. The win put the Cardinals at 10-7 at this early point in this season, a half-game back of the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central, while the Mets are still clearly in first place in the NL East at 14-6.