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George Miller, Like The Rest Of Us, Sounds Bummed He Couldn’t Get Tilda Swinton Into His New ‘Mad Max’ Prequel

After bringing Three Thousand Years of Longing to Cannes, director George Miller‘s next project will be the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa, starring Anya Taylor-Joy. Miller had the whole thing planned out until filming Three Thousand Years led to a problem: He loved working with Tilda Swinton.

With his appreciation for the actor at an all-time high, Miller tried to find a way to get Swinton into Furiosa, but he couldn’t bring himself to shoe-in a character just for her. He’s seen how that story ends too many times. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“In Suspiria, she played three roles, one of which is an old man, so I thought, well, she could play one of the men [in Furiosa]. But unfortunately, there was no role that she would fit. If you force a character into a film, it’s usually the first one to end up on the cutting room floor,” said Miller of Swinton, whom he met five years ago during Cannes. “I would never do that to her, but I definitely wanted to make it happen.”

When we say Miller is jumping straight to Furiosa, we weren’t kidding around. The Mad Max prequel started filming on Wednesday, less than two weeks after Miller stopped by Cannes to premiere Three Thousand Years and gush about Swinton. While that means Furiosa will be arriving sooner rather than later, Miller will no doubt take his time in an effort to match the technical wizardry of Fury Road, which is regarded as one of the best action films ever made.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

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Report: Ryan Fitzpatrick May Join Amazon After Retiring From The NFL

One of the NFL’s most well-traveled quarterbacks is calling it a career. A report by ESPN indicated that Ryan Fitzpatrick, who spent 17 seasons in the league as a member of nine different franchises, decided it was time to retire. Fitzpatrick found a unique way to announce his retirement, as he apparently texted his former teammates a list of the names alongside whom he played, and one of them — former Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson — posted it to Twitter.

Fitzpatrick, especially in his later years in the league, was known for being one of the NFL’s more unique and entertaining personalities, which might explain his apparent next step. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Fitzpatrick is in talks with Amazon to join their team ahead of the network becoming the home of Thursday Night Football next season.

While it is unclear what Fitzpatrick’s role would be, the network’s top broadcast duo for games will be Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit.

Fitzpatrick retires with 34,990 career passing yards and 223 career passing touchdowns. During his career, Fitzpatrick suited up for the St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, and Washington Football Team. He was limited to one game in what ended up being his final year in the league due to a hip injury he suffered in the season opener.

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Tim Heidecker Links With Kurt Vile On The Vile-esque New Single ‘Sirens Of Titan’

Tim Heidecker is the Tim & Eric guy, yeah, but he’s also been establishing himself in the non-comedic music world with a series of well-received albums in recent years. Up next is High School, which is set for release later this month. Before the LP drops, Heidecker shared “Sirens Of Titan,” a spacey new collaboration with Kurt Vile.

The tune actually sounds quite a bit like a Vile song and that was intentional, or at least acknowledged by Heidecker; He says of the song’s video and of the track itself:

“I’m so happy to have Ben Levin’s incredible talents here to put a visual spin on this song, a song which catches me in a reflective mode, thinking about some of those awkward days in my high school days, feeling weird and learning about all the cool sh*t. I wrote it thinking about how Kurt Vile writes songs and I was embarrassed to send it to him, but did anyway and he liked it enough to come over and sing and play on it!”

Vile is the latest in a long list of indie collaborators with whom Heidecker has worked in recent years. Heidecker co-produced his new album with Mac DeMarco and Eric D. Johnson (best-known for being a member of Fruit Bats, The Shins, and Bonny Light Horseman), while 2020’s Fear Of Death featured contributions from Weyes Blood, Stella Mozgawa 0f Warpaint, Brian and Michael D’Addario of The Lemon Twigs, and Jonathan Rado of Foxygen, as well as audio engineering from Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties.

Watch the “Sirens Of Titan” video above.

High School is out 6/24 via Spacebomb. Pre-order it here.

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Kayleigh McEnany Would Like To Remind Republicans Celebrating Johnny Depp’s Court Win That He Hates Trump And Once Kind Of Suggested He Be Assassinated

Yet another random TV personality has an opinion about the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard court ruling and her name is Kayleigh McEnany.

Who’s that, you ask? McEnany is the former White House Press Secretary to Donald Trump. She’s borrowed the same playbook as other former Trump cheerleaders who helped facilitate his attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 Presidential Election, writing a tell-all before nabbing a hosting gig over on Fox News. During an episode of a show called Outnumbered that airs on the right-wing network, McEnany weighed in with her two cents about Depp’s recent victory in court.

While her fellow co-hosts discussed the domestic violence case, McEnany wanted to remind the public — read, Trump supporters — that Depp is no angel.

“These are two people that were in a toxic relationship and are both very flawed. They both have problems, that was evident in both of their testimony. But let’s be clear. There are no winners here. Not a single person in this case is a winner. We heard about their personal life, intimate details. And I think that those who are celebrating Johnny Depp are a bit misguided, in my view. ” McEnany began. Not a bad start, all things considered. But then McEnany opened her mouth again.

“I remember Johnny Depp as being the actor who said, and I’ll read it directly, ‘When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?’ that’s when President [Donald] Trump was president. I see some Republicans celebrating him, I don’t think that this is your guy,” she continued.

So, to sum things up, McEnany doesn’t have a problem with people supporting a man who was found guilty of being a “wife-beater” by the UK court system, but she does take issue with people supporting a guy who made jokes about a president who tried to overthrow American democracy? Got it.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering who McEnany thinks does deserve public support, here’s her suggestion: Brett Kavanaugh. No, really.

“If you’re looking for someone and I totally absolutely believe in due process and people should be heard, look at Brett Kavanaugh, not Johnny Depp,” she said, referencing the sexual misconduct accusations against the now-Supreme Court Justice that failed to hurt his career or reputation in any meaningful way. “That’s just my view, but the jury has decided and we respect the opinion of the jury.”

Watch the full segment below:

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Phil Lesh And Friends Will Perform With Jeff Tweedy As Philco At Chicago’s Sacred Rose Festival

The inaugural multi-genre Sacred Rose music festival will bring a promising line-up to Chicago this August. Headlining the festival are Khruangbin, The War On Drugs, Black Pumas, Animal Collective, Margo Price, and more. In addition to these exciting performers, Phil Lesh And Friends will perform with Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline of Wilco.

Their collaborative performance at Sacred Rose will mark their first-ever performance under the name “Philco.”

“Nels and I are honored to be asked to join Phil and Friends for Sacred Rose,” said Tweedy in a statement. “There has been so much about Phil and the Dead to be inspired by over the years, from their longtime musical brotherhood to their wonderful and incomparable music, to their relentless touring and longevity. But perhaps the biggest inspiration is their dedication to the community that has grown up around them. This is a trait that we in Wilco deeply appreciate and have aimed to emulate over the years. There’s nothing better than playing music with your friends, for your friends.”

Also joining Philco during their performance are Jeff Chimenti of Wolfpack, Karl Denson of Rolling Stones and The Greyboy Allstars, John Molo of Phil Lesh And Friends, Stu Allen of Phil Lesh And Friends and Dark Star Orchestra, Grahame Lesh of Phil Lesh And Friends and Midnight North, and Elliott Peck of Midnight North.

Check out the full Sacred Rose lineup below.

Sacred Rose 2022 Line-Up
Courtesy of Sacred Rose

Tickets for Sacred Rose are available for purchase here.

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

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A ‘Star Wars’ Writer Explains The Process Behind Obi-Wan Not Knowing Anakin Is Still Alive

[This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi]

There’s a 10-year gap between the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, and all that time, Obi-Wan thought Anakin Skywalker was dead. He left his charred corpse on the fiery banks of Mustafar, after all, but little did he know: THE DEAD SPEAK. They also fight, as Obi-Wan learned in episode three of Obi-Wan Kenobi, which was co-written by Joby Harold.

In an interview with The Wrap, Harold explained how Obi-Wan went so long without learning of Anakin’s fate, let alone that his former apprentice is now a Sith Lord. “That was something I discovered along the way,” he said, “and sort of had to confirm with [Star Wars expert Pablo Hidalgo] and think, ‘Hold on a second, what does he actually know? Does he know the moniker Vader? What would that mean? Can he associate the two? What was he cognizant of? How isolated is he? Where’s Vader at that time? Where’s his reputation and how well known is he?’ and all those pieces of the puzzle.”

Ewan McGregor being a — hot take alert — very good actor allowed Harold to write Obi-Wan’s painful realization into the script. “The the great piece of storytelling you can use is getting to Ewan play the moment of realization that that which haunts him is still alive,” he said. “And what does that mean for him?” It probably means his poor emotional support eopie is out there in the Tatooine desert, all alone. The eopie is the real victim.

The next episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ on June 8.

(Via The Wrap)

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All The Best New R&B From This Week That You Need To Hear

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

This past week was filled with some strong R&B and afrobeat releases. They include Kaash Paige’s “24 Hrs” with Lil Tjay, Chloe’s addicting cover of Kanye West’s “24,” and a beautiful video for Kehlani’s “Melt.” Here are some more releases you should check out:

Umi — Forest In The City

Almost two years ago, Seattle singer Umi took a big step in her career with the release of her impressive EP Introspection. Her progression continues with the arrival of her debut album Forest In The City. The project presents 15 songs with no guest features for a body of work that she hoped would “be a sonic oasis.”

Blk Odyssy & Baby Rose — “Complex Of Killing A Man”

In a few weeks, Blk Odyssy — the project of New Jersey artist Juwan Elcock — will release its upcoming Blk Vintage Reprise album. It’s an extended edition of the 2021 project. In preparation for the project, Blk Odyssy connected with Fayetteville singer Baby Rose for their new song “Complex Of Killing A Man.” The record details the story of a tragic murder from end to beginning.

Nonso Amadi & Majid Jordan — “Different”

Canada-based Nigerian singer Nonso Amadi looks to continue his grand return in 2022 with the release of “Different” with Majid Jordan. He described the record as “the feeling you get when you meet a girl you like in a room filled with other beautiful women – and how she stands out from the rest and makes you want to chase after her.” The lavish record does a great job of capturing this feeling.

Thuy — I Hope You See This (Deluxe)

Vietnamese singer Thuy (pronounced twee) concluded her 2021 year with the release of her I Hope U See This project. It delivered nine songs with help from DCMBR and John Concepcion. Some months later, she returns with a deluxe reissue of the project complete with five new songs and additional appearances from DCMBR, P-Lo, Christian Kuria, and Destiny Rogers.

IV Jay — “Good Karma”

IV Jay is starting her 2022 campaign on a high note thanks to “Good Karma.” The record first gained traction on SoundCloud and TikTok thanks to a snippet of it that she shared. The track is the latest example of songs that supports same-sex relationships and it stands the first record from IV Jay that sees her speak “openly speak on loving a woman,” as she says in a press release. She adds, “It’s amazing to create something so special and inclusive for the LGBTQ community.”

Jex Nwalor — “Come Back”

At just 19 years old, Canadian singer Jex Nwalor is already making a name for himself. It began with the release of “Times Goes ‘Bye’” and “Don’t Say,” which attained almost 10 million streams on Spotify. Now he returns with “Come Back,” a track he uses to look back on past relationships and how grown since their conclusions.

Debbie — “All Night Long”

Another young singer to keep an eye on is 22-year-old British native Debbie. She first made an impression on the world with “Stay” earlier this year, and now she’s back with the stunning “All Night Long.” Her roaring vocals are front and center on the new song, one that strikes as an honest and heartfelt offering, reflecting on the lows of a romantic relationship.

Terrence Leon — “More”

Austin singer Terrence Leon continues his active year with his new single, “More.” It stands as his fifth record in as many months, and on it, Terrence requests to receive a little more from his significant other in hopes of feeling more fulfilled in their growing relationship.

Tonio Hall — “OMW”

After releasing his project Over My Feelings last year, Dallas native Tonio Hall is back with his sultry release “OMW.” On it, Hall is filled with passion on the slow-burning effort as he documents his return to his faithful lover for a night filled with steaming intimacy

Jay Isaiah — “Garden”

Continuing a year that’s already seen “Happy Heartbreak,” “Highway,” and “Over U,” Toronto singer Jay Isaiah keeps his momentum alive with “Garden.” The soulful R&B record also flaunts elements of funk as Isaiah goes to great lengths to openly express his love for his partner.

Asha Maclean — “I Don’t Wanna”

Following two singles in 2021 — “Serial Fboy” and “Rain” — 17-year-old singer Asha Maclean is back with a new take on Aaliyah’s classic track “I Don’t Wanna.” Maclean’s soothing vocals fit perfectly for her take of the classic song which is much more bass-heavy than the original. Her cover is just the start of more to come from her this year.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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The WNBA Hopes To Add 1-2 Expansion Teams Before The End Of The Year

The WNBA currently has 12 teams, and according to a new report by Chantel Jennings and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, at least one more appears to be on the way. The Athletic spoke to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who brings word that the league has whittled down a list of 100 cities that could potentially get an expansion franchise to a list of 10-12.

According to Engelbert, the plan is to bring a new team to 1-2 of those cities, with an eye on having those expansion franchises begin playing in 2024.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told The Athletic she hopes to identify one or two cities for an expansion franchise by the start of the WNBA playoffs in September or by year’s end at the latest. Those new teams could begin to play as early as the 2024 season, she said. This would be the first time the league has added an expansion team since the Atlanta Dream were founded in 2008.

While the list of cities that could receive teams was not released, The Athletic speculated that six could be in the running: Nashville, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, and Toronto, with that final city allegedly being “given the checkmark” by the league for the various infrastructure plans it has submitted. Beyond that, the report indicates that Wanda Sykes is among those interested in bringing a team to Philly, while Warriors owner Joe Lacob would like to get a team in San Francisco.

“There’s no crisp or clear formula, but you see cities that rise to the top pretty quickly,” Engelbert said of how the league will determine which cities are in pole position to get teams. “And we’re also looking at our current WNBA franchise cities and comparing what lessons we’ve learned and what’s worked and not worked over the last 25 years. We really want to set up new owners for success.”

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On The Up: The Must Hear Emerging Artists This Month

We’re bringing you another new crop of emerging talent to put firmly on your radar this month. Our June edition features artists are collectively delivering daydreaming Texas indie rock, powerful trans rap and pop anthems, multinational R&B, Rick Rubin-approved Americana, and indulgent art-pop. Peep our latest slate of must hear artists On The Up below.

Why Bonnie

Originally from Houston but now living in New York, Why Bonnie are the latest signees to Texas-based label Keeled Scales — the home to fellow Lone Star State natives like Sun June and Buck Meek. Fronted by Blair Howerton, Why Bonnie glistens with the same sun-soaked sentimentality as that of their label-mates. Where 2018’s The NightgownEP showed promise from the indie rockers, early singles from their upcoming debut album, 90 In November, flash polish in Howerton’s ambitious lyricism and reassuring melodies. “I wanted to capture the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye to the landscape that shaped you while still dealing with the anxieties of what lies ahead,” Howerton said of the title track. It’s a lovely intention and how Zach Braff’s classic Garden State explored the idea of when “home” isn’t home anymore. 90 In November comes out on August 19th.

ZORA

ZORA is a Minneapolis-based trans rapper, singer, and producer, making incredibly important music. Her latest single, “All Around The World!” was written as a trans pop anthem in the wake of numerous, inexplicable anti-trans bills being brought up by lawmakers. On “Runnitup,” the 22-year old spits like Leikeli47 over menacing footwork production. And the way she delivers the chorus on “Happiest I’ve Ever Been” is a powerful moment meant to come across with both acceptance for her refreshed mind-state, but still a sense of unease because it surely came at a cost. This is music about acceptance, realizations about who we are, and that people need to be allowed to be themselves to be truly happy. Zora’s debut album, Z1, is due out on June 17th via Get Better Records, a queer and trans owned and operated independent label.

Marcus King

Hailing from Greenville, South Carolina, Marcus King first picked up a guitar when he was 3 years old and never looked back. The 26-year-old writes songs like Steve Miller and sings like Chris Stapleton. His 2020 album, El Dorado, was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and received a sneaky Grammy nod for Best Americana Album. Now he’s set to release his next album, Young Blood, on August 26th, which is once again produced by Auerbach and will be out on Rick Rubin’s American Recordings and Republic Records. Something tells us that this is who his labelmate Post Malone aspires to sound like when he dabbles in country songs.

Charlotte Dos Santos

On her 2017 Cleo EP on Fresh Selects, Charlotte Dos Santos established herself as an equal parts jazzy and exotic R&B vocalist. Tracks like “Red Clay” show the unique context she has as a Norwegian-Brazilian and now with her debut album, Morfo, due out in October on Because Music (Christine And The Queens, Metronomy), she’s promising to lean in even harder to her roots. “I am a child of the world, born in two cultures and on this album I am digging deeper into my ancestral roots and into my consciousness,” she said in a statement. On new singles “Hello, Hello” and especially “Away From You,” Dos Santos is downright elegant, but approachable at every turn.

Ruby Red

Ruby Red is the Oakland-born, LA-based alt-pop duo of Daniel Laner and Fernando Fine. Their productions are taking off in bigger, bolder fashion than on their modest, but notable 2020 Area Of Effect EP. On new tracks like “Too Late To Call” and “Overflow,” the synths are bouncing harder, the lyrics are more assertive and the overall vibes are well… sweatier. And like all good pop music, theirs is growing deeper towards emotional dancefloors with hooks that hit.

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San Francisco unveils major plan to combat homelessness amongst city’s transgender community

Home is somewhere to lay your head down at night without worry that someone will steal all of your worldly possessions. Home is where people start families and make lifelong memories. Having a place to go home to every night is safety. Safety from the elements and safety from other people who may mean you harm.

And there’s almost nothing more quintessentially American than owning a home. Yet, the reality is America does poorly with keeping people housed. Homelessness is a growing problem across the country, especially with the lack of affordable housing and wages that don’t always meet the minimum basic needs.

And the rates of homelessness among transgender people are higher than average with 8% of trans adults experiencing homelessness compared to 1% of cisgender straight adults, according to UCLA School of Law Williams Institute.

To help remedy the problem in her city, the mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, announced a plan to allocate $6.5 million toward an initiative to end homelessness of transgender people in the city.


The multiyear plan would see an end to trans homelessness by 2027. Transgender people face more discrimination, including when securing housing, than their cisgender counterparts. While this is unfair, it’s not particularly surprising when you consider the legislation around what bathrooms trans people can use. It’s not a far reach to assume they likely have difficulty finding a homeless shelter that will accept them based on their identified gender. Safety would also be a large component even if there was no discrimination in sheltering trans individuals.

“Transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming San Franciscans are 18 times more likely to experience homelessness compared to the general population, and we know that the rates are even higher for our minority trans communities,” Breed said in a statement. “With one of the largest TGNC populations in the country, we not only must ensure that all San Franciscans have access to housing and essential resources through continued investments, but we can show the country that we continue to be a leader on supporting and protecting our trans communities.”

America has not been kind to gender nonconforming people, especially people that identify as trans. It almost seems like it’s acceptable to treat transgender people poorly. It needs to stop. If we are silent when injustice is present, our silence is the loudest voice in the room.

Breed’s proposed plan would include at least 150 long-term housing subsidies through the city’s already established Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool program. It would also fund short-term rental subsidies, flexible financial assistance and support to build the capacity of nonprofits serving transgender and gender nonconforming people. The budget plan is extensive and will include planning for housing for LGBTQ youth who are at a transitional age.

Housing should not be reserved for those who society deems appropriate based on lack of knowledge and biases. Transgender people who are experiencing homelessness deserve a place to call home just as much as the next person. It’s not clear if this announcement was timed just in time for Pride Month, but it sure feels fitting.