Phew! Is it reallyfrigginhot where you live right now?
This time of year, we in the northern hemisphere develop a love-hate relationship with the sun. That glorious, lifegiving ball in the sky can feel oh so good, right up to the point where we become convinced it’s trying to light us on fire.
Summer is still loads of fun, though, with the long light in the evenings, the sprinklers and swimming pools, the smell of freshly cut grass and somebody in the neighborhood barbecuing something yummy. There’s something deeply nostalgic about summer, with distinct smells and sounds and sensations that take us back to our childhoods.
That’s why I put the first video in this list first. It’s reallyfrigginadorable, for one, but also the simple joy of water coming from a hose is such a sweet symbol of summer.
So whether you’re sweltering at the moment or lucky enough to be enjoying some perfect weather (or cold—is that a thing anywhere right now?), I hope you’re able to bask in some of summer’s delights.
And if you’re not able to, here are 10 things to tickle your smile trigger.
1. The only thing better than baby giggles are baby giggles plus a good doggo.
Replying to @chloebluffcakes thank you, from deep in my heart. Thank you alyssa, taylor, abby, cindy, libby and wveryone else who helped make this possible. You didnt just save a little girl from heartbreak, you saved something in me ♥️ #birthdayparty.
Charlotte started at a new school this year and her mom sadly passed away from brain cancer just three months ago. So when only one invitee responded to an invitation to her party, her sister shared in a TikTok how she was heartbroken for her and pleaded with people to just go to kids’ parties. The video went viral, and then strangers’ kindness started pouring in. Amazing. Read the full story here.
3. Famous street barber gives Kingston (aka The Best Kid Ever) a free haircut and some wise life advice.
He was so excited to meet me, I had to bless him! 💙✊🏼 #vicblends #barber #motivation #UnsealTheMeal #OscarsAtHome #InstaxChallenge #WomenOwnedBusiness #BridgertonScandal #inspiration #love
What. A. Sweetheart. Oh my gosh. Kudos to Kingston’s parents for raising such a wonderful young man.
4. Drew Barrymore’s zest for life is infectious—and inspiring, considering what she’s been through.
u201cI want to love anything as much as Drew Barrymore loves everything. Perfection.u201d
People may think that being rich and famous makes it easy to enjoy simple things, but Barrymore has had to overcome an incredibly traumatic childhood to get where she is today. (As in, she was blacklisted in Hollywood at age 12 due to her cocaine addiction—not a typo, age 12.) Read more about her impressive journey to joy here.
5. These tiny frogs who can jump but absolutely cannot land are entirely too relatable.
Oh, I feel you little froggy. The inner ear systems of these pumpkin toadlets are so tiny that they lose balance midair, resulting in their graceless tumbling. (Shout out to all my peeps who are great at starting things but struggle to finish!)
6. Emmanuel the Emu is out here stealing everyone’s hearts with his silly shenanigans.
Emmanuel Todd Lopez—that’s the infamous emu’s government name—took the internet by storm this week, highlighting the delightful account of Taylor Blake from South Florida’s Knuckle Bump Farms. There’s so much more Emmanuel where this came from. Get the full story here.
7. Ever seen a silverback gorilla gently petting a groundhog? Now you have, and it’s probably made you a better person.
u201cSilverback gorilla gently petting a groundhog.. ud83dude0au201d
Every once in a while, an online trend so absurd and random will suddenly become a thing, and it is imperative that every single person on the internet tries said challenge. We had the Ice Bucket Challenge, The Cinnamon Challenge, and of course who could forget the Saltine Challenge? Now, Gen Z has invented its own food-related event that is sweeping the nation: The Tortilla Challenge. And it sounds exactly like you would expect.
The challenge requires two people to fill their mouths with water and then slap each other with tortillas. That’s…it. While it sounds quite simple, most people seem to fail and spit water everywhere. Enter: The Rock and Kevin Hart.
While promoting their new animated movie about superhero dogs, the duo decided to try out the challenge, which has been a growing trend on TikTok. Is it too soon to talk about celebrities slapping each other?
The two went up against each other, with Hart getting the first slap, which invoked a look of pure hatred on The Rock’s face, which is not something you want to see on a former professional wrestler.
Of course, it was all in good fun, and they got to “slap the sh*t” out of each other…that’s what it’s all about, right?
While The RZA by himself is an indelible part of hip-hop history, he has also created an alter ego for himself by the name of Bobby Digital. The name previously appeared in the title of his 1998 debut albumBobby Digital In Stereo and, under the alias, he has released a few solo albums. This week, Digital is back with the new track “Troubleshooting” which appears on the Wu-Tang Clan member’s soundtrack for his upcoming graphic novel Bobby Digital And The Pit Of Snakes.
“Troubleshooting” has a smooth guitar solo opening before the drums and cymbals join the mix. A soulful vocalist belts out “Trouble keeps on finding me, the man trying to take my time / Keeping me from love I need, that’s why I got to take what’s mine / I feel it in my spine.” The tune definitely feels more like jazz or an old ballad than what people may expect seeing The RZA’s name associated, but it simply shows how versatile the legendary artist is.
The graphic novel soundtrack consists of eight total songs and no featured artists.
Check out “Troubleshooting” above.
The soundtrack for Bobby Digital And The Pit Of Snakes is available now via 36 Chambers. Listen here.
Before he became a star on Comedy Central, the Canadian comedian was a writer and performer up north. And that included a short stint on the CBC mock news program This Hour Has 22 Minutes. From 2008-09, Fielder developed an On Your Side segment where he interviewed unassuming people and asked them, well, basically the things that Fielder became known for on shows like Nathan For You and The Rehearsal. And that includes a moment that’s gained new attention in the wake of The Rehearsal’s debut: interviewing the president of the CBC while working for the CBC.
In the segment, which you can watch above, Fielder sits down with the president of the CBC, Hubert Lacroix. And though it was filmed more than a decade ago, the segment has all the hallmarks of Fielder’s interviewing genius. Including the fact that he refuses to break character as things get weirder and more uncomfortable.
It starts with a strained anecdote about how the network is taxpayer funded, and if you don’t like what’s being broadcast you may as well dump money into a toilet and flush. Something like that. Then the interview starts, with Fielder tossing a softball about the purpose of the network itself. Lacroix gives a decent answer, mentioning a desire to show off more Canadian-based programing. But Fielder then follows with a very specific question about his own work on This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
“Like, for example, what do you think of what I do?” Fielder asks.
And here’s where things change. Lacroix thinks he’s in on the joke, sarcastically saying “without you the CBC wouldn’t exist.” But Fielder presses him even more, asking specifically what his favorite interview his been, even after praising This Hour and its specific style of humor. It’s clear that while Lacroix knows what the show is supposed to be, he’s not the biggest fan in the world. And even though he’s in charge of the network the interview will air on, he’s definitely not in charge of this interview.
“Every person sitting in my chair right now must be wondering ‘OK, how am I going to deal with this?’ because obviously you’re very good at what you do,” Lacroix said, avoiding the question once again. Lacroix clearly knows what the show is supposed to be, but he’s not familiar enough with it to name a single person Fielder has interviewed. By the end of the interview, the company’s president is basically pleading with Fielder to make things less awkward. But all he says, with a slight smile, is “just name one.”
YouTube
It’s worth noting that Fielder didn’t work for CBC very long after this interview, but it probably has nothing to do with any consequences for making the company’s president look foolish. Thankfully he was destined for bigger, less Canadian things on Comedy Central and beyond.
In terms of unexpected pairings that actually work really well, the Russ and Ed Sheeran one feels like it hits the sweet spot on the axis chart. Titled “Are You Entertained,” their collaboration finds the two ostensible underdogs (who are both actually ridiculously successful) feeling themselves and letting you know it. In the video for the new song, Russ hops off a private jet in the UK, where Ed picks him up for a night on the town. They hit a pub, a fancy restaurant, and a nightclub, soaking in their success.
It’s always fun when Ed Sheeran gets some bars off, as he’s wont to do every now and again, but alongside Russ, who usually brings out the best in his collaborators — see Chomp and Chomp 2 — Ed sounds … well… swaggy in a way we rarely hear from him. It’s pretty cool because he doesn’t force it, he just lets his natural charisma — and some smooth falsetto ad-libs — shine through.
Russ seems to be enjoying his travels lately, making his jet-setting the focus of both this video and his last one, “Yes Sir.” I suppose international travel does tend to boost one’s confidence — especially when it’s via private jet with celebrity concierges like Ed Sheeran in many of your stops. As for Ed, he continues to branch out musically, recently appearing alongside Burna Boy in his “For My Hand” video from Love, Damini, and with J Balvin in “Sigue.”
Watch Russ and Ed’s “Are You Entertained” video above.
While the latest January 6 hearing brought more damning revelations about Donald Trump and his allies, Twitter users couldn’t help but be distracted by an interesting (and hansome) addition to the proceedings: A guy who looks like Clark Kent. The mystery man was seated between former Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger and former Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Matthews as they testified during the hearing.
While the Superman doppelgänger has yet to be identified, it’s only a matter of time. As of Friday morning, “Clark Kent” was still trending on Twitter as people fired off thirst tweet after thirst tweet about the hunky look-alike. There were also plenty of jokes about phone booths and the Man of Steel taking off his glasses to save democracy.
Being gay and on Twitter means that you have zero idea if American democracy will survive but you do know that there was a very attractive guy with Clark Kent glasses at the latest January 6th hearing
Granted, the January 6 hearings are a serious matter of grave national importance, it’s worth noting that this is fine Superman-related publicity for Warner Bros. Discovery. Earlier in the week, Henry Cavill was trending following a Deadline report that he could be making an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con to announce his return as Superman. The news of Cavill potentially getting back in the tights was enough with Twitter to go wild with hopes that he’ll get another (better) crack at the iconic character.
Now, with Clark Kent trending, that’s just more proof that there’s a lot of love out there for the Man of Steel. Maybe a little too much because, again, these people were getting super horny about a random guy in glasses watching an insurrection hearing. But hey, that’s Twitter.
It’s another day and that means it’s time for more new bourbon! The releases kind of never stop these days. To help you figure it all out, I’m here to blindly taste as many as I can to give you an idea of what you actually might like to drink at home. Let’s face it, there’s so much on the bourbon shelf these days that you’re just as likely to pick up a mediocre bottle as you are to pick up a stellar one.
Let me help you avoid that. Below, I’m blind tasting 12 new bourbons. These bourbons either just hit shelves or are about to (one of them literally dropped this week). I’m then going to rank these bourbons based on taste alone. Price has nothing to do with it. The general price for these bourbons is between $40 and $90 per bottle with four ringers that reach into the hundreds of dollars per bottle.
Our lineup today is:
Nelson Bros. Whiskey Reserve Bourbon
Stellum Bourbon Equinox Blend #1
Jack Daniel’s Small Batch 2022 Special Release Coy Hill High Proof
Rabbit Hole Nevallier Cask Strength Bourbon Finished in New French Oak
Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Original Cask Strength
Hidden Barn Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch
15 STARS Fine Aged Bourbon Timeless Reserve Aged 14 Years
Hardin’s Creek Colonel James B. Beam
Woodford Reserve Batch Proof
Baker’s Single Barrel 7 Years Minimum
Barrell Bourbon Batch #033
Silverbelly Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Will a wily underdog for $50 beat out the big hitters? Will the newbies from the huge brands take out the awards darlings? Let’s dive in and find out!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
The nose on this is pretty classic with clear notes of vanilla and orange zest, winter spices, candied cherry, and apple pie filling with a light grainy edge. The palate holds onto that graininess as dark chocolate and dark cherry lead to a hint of zucchini bread with pecans and a hint of lemon. The end has a warmth that leans into white pepper and alcohol as a whisper of green tea and grain round out the finish.
This was a nice start but didn’t blow my mind. Good stuff though.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Soft grains and leather lead to a hint of sour apple on the nose with a touch of sweetgrass, woody spice, and mild toffee. The palate opens with dried and leathery apricots dipped in fresh honey next to a sharp cinnamon stick shoved into an orange rind with clove berries in between. The mid-palate layers of creamy citrus with a whisper of jasmine and maybe some oolong tea as a thin line of black potting soil, dark cacao powder, and old dusty oak staves fill out the finish.
This was really f*cking good.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a tannic line of charred oak next to Graham Crackers, maple syrup, and crème brûlée with a lot of buzzing warmth. That buzz explodes on the palate with high ABVs which coat my entire mouth instantly before sour cherry, old wicker, and sharp black pepper lead to an intense buzzing. That buzz fades on the finish as a vanilla/cherry tobacco smooths out toward a soft yet buzzy end.
This was a wild ride. There’s a lot going on but you really have to fight to get past whatever the ABV is on this one to find it.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a subtle nod to white pepper next to soft vanilla cream, hints of burnt orange, salted caramel, and a touch of woody spice. The palate reveals layers of tart black currants next to chewy vanilla tobacco leaves that lead to a hint of savory figs and woody cinnamon with a twinge of sweetness to it. The finish builds on the chewy vanilla tobacco toward a supple end full of sour cherry, soft spices, and a touch of suede.
This is also very nice, very subtle too — it took a minute to really dig into it.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a balance of old leather boots and freshly cracked black pepper next to a hint of walnut shell, vanilla pod, and orange zest. The palate leans into what feels like star fruit as orange marmalade, salted butter, and fresh honey drip over rye bread crusts. The end comes with a good dose of peppery spice and old leather as those walnuts and orange combine with a handful of dried fruit and a dusting of winter spices on the finish.
This was another winner. This ranking is going to be tough.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Woah! This is totally different. The nose is full of digestive biscuits and whole wheat pancakes cut with vanilla and pecan next to hints of anise, caramel candy, and cinnamon-toast tobacco. The palate holds onto the massive graininess with a clear sense of rye bread crumb next to thick oatmeal cookies with more of those pecans and plenty of raisins and spice. Later, a hint of white pepper arrives and leads the finish to soft espresso cream with a dash of nutmeg and creamy toffee.
This is such a departure but so delicious. I want more immediately.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Soft orchard fruits and maple syrup lead the way on the nose as roasted almonds and vanilla/caramel tobacco pipe tobacco round things out. The palate balances creamy vanilla sauce with a dark and bitter chocolate powder that’s nearly espresso bean oil. The finish is subtle but deep with a hazelnut vibe that blends with the chocolate for a lush Nutella feel next to woody maple, rum-soaked raisins, and a hint of old porch wicker draped in old leather.
Goddamn, this is another winner. It’s completely different than the last dram but just as nuanced and delicious.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Caramel corn, cherry candy, dry peanuts, and vanilla pods open up on the nose. The taste is slightly peppery with a good hint of peanut brittle next to cherry licorice ropes, a hint of milk chocolate, and a whisper of old corn husks. The finish arrives with subtle winter spices and sour red cherries next to a whisper of dry forest moss, vanilla tobacco, and woody winter spices.
This was pretty nice overall. It’s pretty classic and straightforward but it works.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Grains and a very distant echo of chocolate arrive on the nose with a smooth line of vanilla creaminess next to a hint of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice with a touch of oakiness. The palate has a light dried fruitiness with more vanilla next to woody spices next to a touch of apple tobacco. The finish warms up a bit with plenty of dark and dried fruit next to mulled wine spices and a hint of soft leather.
This was very much “that’s really nice” but didn’t quite hold my attention.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Leather and cherry lead the way on the nose with rye spiciness, a hint of caramel corn, and a touch of sweet black licorice ropes. The palate is part vanilla cookie and part winter spices matrix and sort of meets in the middle with a nutmeg-forward eggnog creaminess before a slight green herbal funk arrives. The finish is woody and spicy with an underbelly of vanilla tobacco and dried nutshell.
I liked this but it was a little all over the place. Or I’m just getting tired since I’m ten drams in. Either way, it feels like it needs a rock to let it bloom to its full potential.
Taste 11
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Funk and leather lead the way on the nose as green grass mingles with nasturtiums and pear candies, a hint of jasmine, some mint, and maybe some green peas. The palate shakes up the senses with grapefruit pith, sparkling apple cider, anise, nutmeg, and plenty of dark chocolate tobacco. The end is long and meandering as chamomile mixes with wildflowers, dry granite slates, black limes, and a hint of brandy butter next to a whisper of white moss.
This was a lot. I feel like I could spend another ten minutes finding more “notes” in this one (hello, Barrell) but I just don’t have the time or patience right now to do that.
Taste 12
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Caramel and leather lead the way on the nose with a hint of creamed corn and orchard fruit. The palate leans into woody spices and more caramel as a line of vanilla softens everything. The end is a little watery unfortunately with a layer or two of leather, caramel, apple, and cinnamon in there.
This was pretty basic. It was fine but really doesn’t stand up to the powerful pours that came before it.
This whiskey is a sourced Kentucky Bourbon that’s built for country music legend Alan Jackson. The juice is named after Jackson’s iconic “silverbelly” hat. That juice is made in Owensboro, Kentucky, and then built from barrels that Jackson hand-selected with his daughter Mattie Jackson Selecman, who’s a certified sommelier by day.
Bottom Line:
As I mentioned in my tasting notes, this is perfectly fine. Another day and another lineup of bourbons, and this might have been closer to the top. Today, it just couldn’t compete with the bigger hitters.
11. Baker’s Single Barrel 7 Years Minimum — Taste 10
Baker’s is pulled from single barrels in specific warehouses and ricks across the Beam facility in Clermont, Kentucky. The juice is always at least seven years old. In this case, it was aged eight years and one month before bottling as-is.
Bottom Line:
Baker’s is always hit-and-miss with me. The newest release from 2022 has very fine points but didn’t quite stand up to other whiskeys on this particular list. I liked it, mind you. It just didn’t wow me.
10. Jack Daniel’s Small Batch 2022 Special Release Coy Hill High Proof — Taste 3
The latest edition of Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill series is a bombastic hazmat whiskey. This stuff is so volatile that you need to store the bottle standing up at all times and it cannot go on an airplane. The juice in the bottle was created from barrels where the angel’s share (evaporation) was so high that the barrels couldn’t be bottled in a single-barrel format. Instead, about 55 barrels were batched and bottled as-is at this intensely high ABV.
Bottom Line:
I liked this but it took a minute to get past that high ABV. If you’re not a hardened bourbon drinker/taster, you might never get past it. Still, there was a surprising amount of nuance and depth at play that was very tasty. It just really needed a rock to calm it all down and let it bloom.
This new release from Nelson’s Green Brier is a big evolution for the brand. This high-rye bourbon is aged for four years before it’s masterfully blended into his expression. It’s then bottled without any fussing or meddling.
Bottom Line:
This was really nice but felt like a cocktail base more than a sipper. It’s nice on its own, don’t get me wrong. But I was left thinking about how good it must taste in a whiskey sour or old fashioned.
This year’s new Batch Proof from Woodford Reserve’s Master’s Collection leans into high ABVs straight from the barrel. The whiskey is hewn from a few barrels that worked wonders at their barrel proof. Those barrels were batched and then bottled at the ABVs they evened out to.
Bottom Line:
This was another one that needed a rock to let it really find its full potential. Neat in a Glencairn, it was very good but didn’t quite grab my attention like some of the other whiskeys below.
This brand new release from Jim Beam is part of the small craft distillery operating inside of Beam’s massive Clermont campus. The juice is only two years old and blended by Master Distiller Freddie Noe to highlight the quality of juice coming out of Clermont today.
Bottom Line:
This was the first pour where I thought, “Okay, I’d drink that every day.” This was a nice and easy sipping bourbon. It was nuanced yet accessible and just easy. That said, I can also see this dominating in the best way possible in a cocktail.
This year’s first Barrell Batch release is a combination of several bourbons. The whiskeys were distilled and aged in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana for five, six, seven, and nine years. Once those barrels made it to Barrell Craft Spirits in Kentucky, they were masterfully married and bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
There was a lot going on here and I was a little overwhelmed by it initially. That said, everything going on in this dram is goddamn delicious. I do think I need to try this against fewer whiskeys next time to give it the time it needs to fully bloom in the glass and on my senses.
5. Rabbit Hole Nevallier Cask Strength Bourbon Finished in New French Oak — Taste 4
The latest Founder’s Collection from Rabbit Hole is a pricey masterpiece. The juice in the bottle is made from a few hand-selected barrels of 15-year-old bourbon that was then finished in new French oak before bottling as-is in only 1,155 bottles.
Bottom Line:
This is the part of the ranking where I start splitting some serious hairs. I really liked this but it felt a little less nuanced than the next four. But only slightly. Overall, this was delicious and enticing.
4. Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Original Cask Strength — Taste 5
The newest release from Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley is an evolution of their brand. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of three bourbons which create a four-grain bourbon. That blend was then bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
This was just really good. It had complexity and depth but felt familiar and inviting. The only reason it’s fourth and not, say, second, is that it wasn’t a “holy shit, that’s insane” bourbon. It was just a “wow, that’s really nice” bourbon.
This expression is made from instant-classic Stellum Bourbon barrels. The ripple here is that the blend of this bourbon was created from specific rare barrels used for Stelllum that were blended until the exact moment of the vernal equinox. That whiskey was then bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
Hippy-dippy gimmick aside, this is a masterfully made whiskey. It’s somehow both classic and fresh. This is something I want to go back to again and again to find what else is buried in that flavor profile. All told, this could easily have been tied for number two.
2. 15 STARS Fine Aged Bourbon Timeless Reserve Aged 14 Years — Taste 7
The whiskey is a blend of old sourced barrels of bourbon from Bardstown, Kentucky. Those whiskeys spent 14 years in the barrel before the crew at 15 STARS picked them up and created a whole new experience from them for this award-winning release.
Bottom Line:
This was just really good. It was tasty and subtle while still having a little panache and, dare I say, bite. It grabbed my attention and held it while offering nuance and soft flavors. This is good stuff.
1. Hidden Barn Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch — Taste 6
Former Master Taster for Old Forester, Jackie Zykan, just left her post at Brown-Forman and her new whiskey is already on my desk. Zykan’s first release at her own shingle is a sourced whiskey from Neeley Family Distillery in rural Kentucky. The bourbon is made from a sweet mash (a brand new mash with every cook instead of reusing mash for a sour mash) with a high-ish rye content over pot stills (a true rarity in bourbon these days). Those barrels aged for four to five years before Zykan picked a handful for this inaugural release at batch proof.
Bottom Line:
This was so engaging and out of left field in the best possible way. It also delivered on what was promised with a grain-forward bourbon unlike any other. It was so unique while also hitting nostalgic bourbon notes kind of like you were drinking from inside of your grandmother’s cookie jar.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
It’s always wild with these blind tastings. On any given day, any whiskey can fall to the wayside or rise to the top, depending on what you’re tasting them against. Jackie Zykan’s new bourbon is so engaging that it was impossible to beat today. Will that still be true if tried against only batch proof small batch bourbons? Maybe not. And the same goes for Silverbelly. Would it be last if I tasted it again only bourbons with the same proof? Likely no.
But today was today and this is where all of these bourbons landed. I’d say, seek out ten through six based on which flavor profile speaks to you. Five through two are all worth seeking out in general as great bourbons. But number one, Hidden Barn, is the true champion of the day.
As part of the Apple TV+ show’s San Diego Comic-Con panel on Thursday, creator Dan Erickson was asked about the mysterious scene in episode five where Mark (played by Adam Scott) and Helly (Britt Lower) stumble upon a room where a Lumon Industries employee is feeding baby goats.
Erickson says he does have his own answers to your burning questions — even though he won’t give them away yet. For example, Erickson simply said, “Yeah,” in response to a fan question during the Q&A about the infamous goats inside Lumon Industries’ severed floor and whether or not there is a “significance” to them that will be revealed.
Erickson also discussed how he can’t help but read the Severance subreddit. “I was warned not to go on Reddit, on the subreddit for this show, at all. And I held off for about six minutes and then I went on and I was just on it every day. It’s kind of addicting. Sometimes they have ideas that are better than what I thought of,” he said. But while writing season two, he had to log off, because it’s “that thing of infinite options.” It can be “counterproductive to have all these other voices in your head — great as they may be.”
With the release of the second Captain America solo effort, Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) had become a relic of a bygone era – in both the Marvel-verse and the real world.
“It was never going to be a slam dunk that they would automatically do a second one,” says Stephen McFeely when we spoke with him recently. McFeely co-wrote Winter Soldier and its predecessor, First Avenger with Christopher Markus.
That first film didn’t bring in as much money at the box office as Iron Man or Thor, but studio heads Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito appreciated the “charming period piece” that was Cap’s first solo outing and believed in what the character could be. Most of all, they had faith in the story McFeely and Markus could tell with him – a commentary on the military-industrial complex and the pitfalls of blind patriotism packaged as an ode to ’70s spy thrillers, complete with a Robert Redford heel turn.
“What does it mean to jump Steve in time?” McFeely recalls asking. “We quickly realized there was a need to not just do iPhone jokes. What’s the deeper thing here? Our Cap has missed Vietnam and Nixon and Watergate — all these things that we take for granted and these compromises that we’ve made along the way to get to where we are. So that was what we wanted to talk about. What does it mean to be a soldier and an American in 1945, and what does it mean now?”
To assist in telling that story, Marvel brought in big-screen newcomers Joe and Anthony Russo, a directing duo that had a list of TV credits to their name – think Arrested Development and Community – but no track record when it came to the kind of epic action expected from the MCU.
“We had already written a script before these TV directors had been hired,” McFeely explains. “Kevin [Feige] and Louis [D’Esposito ] said, ‘We’re going to go get these guys.’ We go, ‘What? Why would you do that?’ And then a universe was born.”
The Russos worked with McFeely and Markus for a year, knocking out a script that felt tighter and more structurally complex than any Marvel film before while establishing a creative partnership that has continued to help drive the MCU and, most recently, Netflix’s star-studded thriller The Gray Man. In that film, they once again work with Evans, throwing a series of exploding cars, train chases, and brutal brawls at the screen. But, just a few years ago, the team was cutting their teeth on an action sequence in an elevator that would eventually become one of the more intricate and memorable in MCU history. A throwback powered by practical effects, athleticism, and suspense that would put an exclamation point on Rogers’ all-important transition from a good soldier who always follows orders to a hero that questions authority in the name of the greater good.
Below, UPROXX chats with McFeely, actor Frank Grillo, and stunt choreographer Thomas Robinson Harper on how they crafted that crucial elevator fight, its importance, and if we’ll ever see anything like it in the MCU again in an era of CGI dominance.
Does Anyone Want To Get Out?
The idea to house Winter Soldier’s paranoia-driven mid-point climax in a tightly-confined glass box was sparked by two things: budget constraints and the Russos love of old-school action films. In our conversation, McFeely noted the pair’s affection for director Brian De Palma while referencing the tension in his film, The Untouchables. The Russo’s have credited Die Hard With A Vengeance director John McTiernan as a source of inspiration for their latest film, The Gray Man, and it’s easy to see the parallels between Winter Soldier’s elevator sequence and the one in that third Die Hard film with Bruce Willis in the Federal Reserve Bank elevator. But Winter Soldier ups the ante, packing in dizzying amounts of fight choreography and loads of suspense.
McFeely: [When] he looks Robert Redford’s character in the eye and says, ‘I’m not doing what you’re asking,’ in our various drafts, it then led to a lot of running around that building, trying to figure out a way out. It becomes a big chase sequence initially. But it became clear that meant we’ve got to build a lot [of additional sets]. It was going to take a lot and we just didn’t have it. Joe [Russo] came in and said, ‘I don’t know if we can afford all this, but we can afford an elevator.’
Harper: [Marvel was] pretty tight with money to be honest with you but we had an old-school producer, Michael Grillo. He knew how to get it done.
McFeely: The idea that everyone’s coming for Cap, Cap is smart enough to see it, and we are enjoying him seeing that guy sweat, and that guy’s finger move and then these huge dudes get on. It’s inviting the audience into the deliciousness, and they just can’t wait for it to end or to begin, I guess. That tension makes that scene. Yes, we could’ve spent 90 seconds just beating the hell [out of them], and we do; but my favorite part of it is, of course, the front end, when he asks if anyone wants to get out.
Harper: My brother, who works on my rigging crew, built a whole mock-up of the elevator with exact dimensions and height so we could rehearse it. We just started with two guys and then we added another guy and then we just kept adding and figuring out who was in whose way and how we could use another guy to do something. And so pretty soon we had all 12 of them in there.
Grillo: There were a lot of guys in that elevator. It’s like fighting in a phone booth, as they say. These were big guys in there. Strong guys. So we really had to be cognizant of not really hurting each other. It was like a football play. It was like this guy has to go there, that guy’s got to go there. I’m going to throw the ball over there and then we’re going to fight over there. It was like cause and effect. It was like dominoes.
Harper: Chris Evans was a dancer. He knows choreography so he could remember stuff right out. You’d show it to him once, maybe twice and he goes, ‘Okay, I got it.’ And he would nail it every time because he comes from a dance background. When I worked with Patrick Swayze it was the same. His mom owned a dance studio. In the end fight in the first Point Break, Keanu [Reeves] was sick at the time, so I did that whole fight with Patrick. And Patrick was absolutely one of the best. It was like he had a photographic memory for choreography. But he grew up competition dancing, so it really compliments when you’re going to do choreography for a fight. It really is like a dance.
Grillo: It wasn’t by accident that that thing came together. It was really well choreographed and it really kicked off the movie. It was a big part of what they wanted to do when they were telling the story.
Nothing Personal
According to Harper, the stunt team had a couple of days to film the elevator fight before moving on to the next big action sequence. He worked with the film’s editors and DPs, teaching them how to pan a camera with a punch, stopping and bringing it back just a little as soon as there’s impact. The result is crisper, cleaner jabs that feel visceral and convince the audience these guys are actually brawling with each other. Sometimes a punch did land, but for the actors, that was part of the fun.
Harper: We had done it so many times that they knew the routine. The first take is always at half speed, then we sneak up on it. A great fight, a full-blown fight, is really at about three-quarter speed of real-time because that’s when it really sells. If you go too fast, you can’t see stuff.
Grillo: The action stuff’s always the easiest. It’s sitting back and waiting for other people to do their thing that’s hard.
Harper: We call it egg on your face, and it’s the worst thing in the world, those chopsocky movies. You see them all standing there dancing around, waiting to fight one guy. I absolutely hate that. I’m like, ‘No, everyone is either incapacitated or dealing with another guy or something.’ I could point out exactly why one guy was laying on the floor and which guys we could get rid of to shoot something at a different angle. There was no ‘flailing around.’
Grillo: It’s very sequential. The pentacle of that fight is me and Chris having the standoff and if one guy is out of sync in that little, tiny space, you have to go again. And listen, a lot of times that’s what happened.
Harper: I like to have the actors do as much as I feel they can. And they are going to get bruised up here and there, but that’s part of it and they’re good with it. Frank’s a boxer, that’s his passion. The only thing with Frank is he would get a little too close. I was going, ‘Frank, you don’t need to be that close. You’re going to hit one of these guys.’
Grillo: We beat the hell out of each other. We were black and blue at the end of it but in every movie I do it ends up that way because you can’t help but hit each other. I like to do that. It’s like playing in the schoolyard again.
Harper: He loves that stuff. I had Frank do so much because it was right in his wheelhouse. He was good at it and he understood it. Chris knew what he wanted to do and what he couldn’t do and he had no problem having his double do it. He’s like, ‘Yeah, nope. I’ll have Sam [Hargrave] do that.’ And that was it. He’s a very professional guy.
Grillo: Dancer boy had to learn to get hit. [laughs] I’m joking. Chris was always game and fun. For all of his machismo — and he is Captain America — he really is a theater geek. I’m like, ‘Keep it down with the musicals, would you, please?’ But I love him. He’s like a brother. We had a lot of input. I’ve done 60-something movies. Half of them are action movies. Not all very expensive or good, either. So I’m forced to do my own stuff otherwise somebody I don’t trust is going to do it and get hurt.
Harper: My job is to give the director everything and more that they want out of the scene, but make sure that everybody goes home every night. It’s very nerve-wracking. I did Waterworld and I had 53 people over four square miles of ocean back in 1995. And I would just say a prayer every day, ‘Please don’t let someone die today.’ We had sharks in the water. I saw a guy on a jet ski get sucked right underneath a 65-foot boat. Thankfully, he didn’t get hit by the propeller. But I’ve had full-blown arguments with actors. That’s why I’ve turned down two Mission Impossible films. I will not work with Tom Cruise. I do not want to be the guy on call when he gets hurt or killed.
The New World Order
Despite the success of Winter Soldier and fan and critical praise for its genre-leaning and affinity for practical effects, epic CGI battle sequences and colorful space adventures have more defined the era of Marvel films that have followed. The very successful films that have followed. That’s less an indictment on Winter Soldier and more a sign of changing times, but while this love letter to throwbacks now feels like a throwback itself, it’s clear that there’s a level of wistfulness and what might have been over an MCU that more mirrored some of the practical wizardry on display in this memorable scene.
Grillo: Winter Soldier to me is the best all-around movie. It’s a smaller part of a big franchise that had such an impact on my career. But back then, they didn’t know what they were doing with all the characters. Crossbones is in the movie for like 12 minutes. But that was a character that was going to be developed. I had signed a multi-picture deal. They locked everybody in but obviously, things went in a different direction. But I’m very proud of being part of something that is at such a high level.
Harper: I was hoping they were going to go keep going in that direction [but] they stayed in the CGI world of it all. Jon Favreau is probably the best director I’ve ever worked with and in Iron Man 2 we came up with a fun thing for Scarlett Johansson to do where she jumps up with her legs around Happy’s throat and spins him around in the boxing ring. Kevin and Louis were like, ‘Oh yeah, but we could do this and CG in this.’ And we’re like, ‘No, no, no. Let’s do this real.’ I kept trying to get more real stuff in there. And they kept fighting me on it.
Grillo: It’s the business. I think they found their lane with these movies that were bigger and there was more CGI and the stories were a little more out there and comic bookish.
McFeely: I’ve been very fortunate to have a bunch of [Marvel] movies made, but [Winter Soldier] is arguably my favorite, because I think it’s the tightest script. There are certainly higher moments in other movies when people pick up hammers, and portals open, and people die that will tug your heartstrings more, but if you’re a cold calculating structuralist, Winter Soldier is a little Swiss watch, I think.
Grillo: Winter Soldier was the one film that stands alone as a filmmaker. As in making movies, not superhero movies. And I don’t know that it’ll ever go back that way.
Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” is a hit: It has nearly 75 million streams on Spotify already and its No. 7 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 represents Beyoncé’s biggest chart success since her and Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” was No. 1 in 2017. (Her most recent top-10 solo single was 2016’s “Formation.”)
Fans have listened to the song a lot at this point and now Beyoncé has offered a different look at it by releasing the instrumental and a capella versions of the song.
Having these two halves of the track makes it easier for fans to appreciate both the instrumental and the vocal, as it’s now easier to hear the subtleties of both. Not to mention, this opens the door for producers and remixers to put their own spin on the song, or for singers to take the mic and sing it along with the original production.
The a capella in particular has been well-received, as it has left some fans in awe of Beyoncé’s vocal capabilities:
Beyoncé vocals are so heavenly on the a capella version
Credited as composers on the album version of “Break My Soul” are Beyoncé, Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant, Christopher A. Stewart (Tricky Stewart), S. Carter (Jay-Z), Allen George, Fred McFarlane, Adam Pigott (BlaqNmilD), and Freddie Ross (Big Freedia).
Listen to the instrumental and a capella versions of “Break My Soul” above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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