Month: August 2022

There are certain things you just can’t help staring at: sunsets, puppies, Twitter, and the LA Lakers, for instance. There is something intrinsically compelling about the purple and gold with all of their wins, losses, tragedies, and spectacles. That’s why we’re talking, once again, about a project focused on the team and their rich and wild history, following the delicious dramatization of Winning Time and a docuseries focused on Magic Johnson’s life and times. Now we have Legacy: The True Story Of The LA Lakers, a Hulu-made 10-part docuseries from Training Day director Antoine Fuqua in his latest foray into documentary filmmaking and iconic athletes; a series with a story that spans more than 40 years encompassing the entire reign of the Buss family and mononymous legends like Kareem, Magic, Shaq, Kobe, and LeBron.

Current Lakers CEO Jeannie Buss is producing, so it’d be understandable if that sparked some trepidation about whether this is the real story, unfettered by PR concerns and preciousness, but Fuqua assures that there were no guardrails from on high, telling us that every question that got asked got answered. Besides, did Michael Jordan’s involvement with The Last Dance stop it from being interesting? That one is, of course, the easiest comp for this series, though Succession also might be another fit considering the story it’s telling about its larger-than-life patriarch and his children as they try to find their way in and around his kingdom. Family does come first in this story, both the Buss family and the on-court families (quarrelsome as they have been at times) that propelled the Lakers’ multiple dynasties.

Below, Fuqua expands on the series’ focus, the enduring appeal of the Lakers story, navigating conversations about the loss of Kobe, and why comparisons to Winning Time don’t bother him.

What is it about this story that is so compelling, warranting multiple projects?

Well, it’s fascinating what Dr. Buss achieved, a man that came from very humble beginnings. The organization is worth billions of dollars, and he left an incredible legacy for his children. I think it’s the great American story, if you will. What I find most fascinating about it is if this was The Godfather, Jeanie’s Michael Corleone. She winds up getting the first chance as a female owner, and all the things she went through; family drama. All the things the players went through, off camera as well as on camera on the court. I just found it to be rich, and fascinating, and you couldn’t write a Hollywood script this complex.

Was there anything that was off limits or just pushed to the side that Jeanie [Buss] or Magic or any of the others were reluctant to talk about?

Not at all. No. We put them all on the table. Every question we asked, they answered, and we didn’t hold anything back in the context of the story; 10 episodes. We talked to the brothers; Jeanie’s family as well. We talked to her other family members, and everyone spoke their truth. It’s all on camera.

How does this differ for you from when you’re doing a scripted piece as far as your level of immersion?

Well, it depends on the project. I got involved with this two and a half years ago now, so that’s a lot more time involved in the project. You have a blueprint or map of where you want to go, what you’d like to do, and then you start talking to people. Then it starts to take you down other pathways, naturally. Stories you don’t know. It just comes down to the interviews. Documentaries are definitely different in that way where you have to be able to pivot, to quickly go get the information and do the research and do your due diligence to make sure that you’re showing the truth on camera as it’s unfolding. It’s quite different.

Are there specific ways that this is satisfying to you, this kind of storytelling, over scripted storytelling?

Yeah. You’re always surprised because you don’t know the dialogue. In a script, you know every word and you know every turn. You know where to pivot. In a documentary, you’re getting to know the characters. The goal is to go into situations and interview people you think you know, and then you discover more about them as they open up, hopefully. They tell you things, and you start to really see from the inside.

I imagine, this long in the game, that’s exciting as a challenge for someone with as much experience as you have.

Oh, yeah. I love it. You got to exercise all the muscles, right?

I’ve seen five episodes, which takes us right to the point of Shaq signing with the Lakers. How far does this go?

All the way up to pretty much now.

So, if Kyrie goes to the Lakers, then you got to film another episode covering next season. Is that the deal?

[Laughs] No. No, we’ll be done [by then]. Unfortunately. I wish it would happen so I could put it in there, but I don’t think we’ll know anything about that for a while.

Obviously, there’s going to be a large focus on Kobe, not necessarily just his playing career but his unfortunate end. What can you say about those episodes and just the emotionality of those interviews? I’m sure it’s still a very fresh wound for everyone.

Yeah. They were difficult for everyone. Long moments of silence. What do you say? You’re talking about something that, like you said, that’s very fresh, very fresh, and it’s very emotional. Those interviews are hard.

Does that extend into conversations with his family, or does it stay mostly with his on-court and business family?

Mostly, it’s just been with the team and Jeanie and Linda; the people that knew him in the Laker organization. We’re having conversations now with the family about possibly a little bit more, but we’ll see. I’m not done editing.

As you said, this is keeping you on your feet and you don’t really know where this is going to go in a lot of places with the story as you’re telling it. You know the Lakers, you know the mythos of it. What is the one thing that just knocked you out and that was really surprising to you?

I think it’s really how they all feel like they’re family. It really surprised me how they all talked about Dr. Buss. Sometimes, you hear one or two people talk about Dr. Buss or talk about an individual in a certain way, and you think, “Okay. Everyone didn’t love him like that,” but they all really came and had their own personal story. Even times when they disagreed with him and they felt like they were treated a certain way, everyone loved the man because of how he treated them. He was a unique owner. He hung out with some of the team and partied with them, and he was just sort of like a regular guy. You know what I mean? He had his feet planted on the ground. I find that fascinating. We all wish that the people we do business with, just about all of them, 99.9% of them, would have something amazing to say about us and genuinely mean it if someone asked about us.

When Winning Time, the scripted version of Jeff Pearlman’s book came out, obviously, there was some controversy with some of the stuff and the portrayals of some of the people in it, specifically Jerry West. When you’re seeing those stories break as you’re working on this, what goes through your mind?

Not much because it’s entertainment. A lot of it’s made up. A lot of it’s just untrue. Not that it’s not entertainment. Not that it’s not well done. Not that there are not extremely talented people all involved all the way around. It’s just not the truth. For me, as long as no one’s looking at that to be the definitive truth, I got no problem with it. The goal of the documentary is to tell the truth, the real story of the Lakers, the real journey, and I think there’s room for both. I don’t think there’s a problem with it. That’s just entertainment. That’s a show.

It’s such an incredible story that it defies melodrama. I remember watching the Spencer Haywood thing where he was going to kill the coach. You’re like, “There’s no way that that happened,” and you look it up, and you’re like, “Oh, shit.” It’s like, “Okay. Well, it’s not exactly how they portrayed it, but some shit almost went down.”

Right, you can’t make it up. If you didn’t see certain things, you’d go, “Ah, that couldn’t have happened. That can’t be true.” Then, you see the reality. Some things are close, there’s some crazy shit that happens, but, again, it’s all entertainment. This one’s really important because it is the legacy and it’s the legacy of Dr. Buss and his family, so there’s a bigger responsibility, I think. At least for me, it is a big responsibility to get it right. [But] I have an appreciation for Winning Time and the entertainment value of it.

‘Legacy: The True Story Of The LA Lakers’ is now streaming on Hulu.

Bobby McFerrin is best known for his hit song “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” which showcased his one-man vocal and body percussion skills (and got stuck in our heads for years). But his musicality extends far beyond the catchy pop tune that made him a household name. The things he can do with his voice are unmatched and his range of musical styles and genres is impressive.

The Kennedy Center describes him: “With a four-octave range and a vast array of vocal techniques, Bobby McFerrin is no mere singer; he is music’s last true Renaissance man, a vocal explorer who has combined jazz, folk and a multitude of world music influences – choral, a cappella, and classical music – with his own ingredients.”

McFerrin is also a music educator, and one of his most memorable lessons is a simple, three-minute interactive demonstration in which he doesn’t say a single word.

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In a video shared by the World Science Festival, McFerrin demonstrates the power of the pentatonic scale by prompting the audience to sing specific notes when he stands in specific places on stage. With just his body movements and a handful of sung notes, he turns the audience into an instrument, showing them how intuitive the pentatonic scale truly is for all of us.

The pentatonic scale has five notes per octave instead of the seven we often think of as standard (the heptatonic scale). The pentatonic scale is thought to have been used since pre-ancient times and is found in nearly every culture in the world. Its beauty is in its simplicity; many folk songs have been composed using only the notes in this scale.

Perhaps that’s why it seemed so natural for the people in the audience to know what notes to sing when McFerrin moved without him telling them which notes to sing beyond the first few. It’s a delightful demonstration of how music connects us in an innate, inexplicable and seriously incredible way.

Watch the demonstration from the “Notes & Neurons: In Search of the Common Chorus” event in 2009:

Many people have tried to take the classic story of The Wizard of Oz and make it something…different. Most recently, James Franco took a disappointing stab at it in Oz The Great and Powerful, while the NBC series Emerald City was a lackluster retelling that only lasted a season. Now, it looks like Warner Bros is taking advantage of those last few failed stories and creating their own modern take on the iconic story. What could go wrong?

Deadline reports that Kenya Barris, the mind behind Black-ish and its various spinoff shows, will be writing and directing a new take on Wizard Of Oz for Warner Bros. His company Khalabo Ink Society will be producing.

While most of the production details are under wraps, the company is stressing that this will be a “reimagining” of the classic tale, which is based on the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from 1900. Of course, the 1939 musical version is the one fans all know and love, though it’s unclear which direction Barris will take. There are 14 books in the original series, so realistically, any of them could be in the running!

This isn’t the first movie to take place in the Oz Multiverse. The highly anticipated adaptation of Wicked, an unofficial prequel to Wizard of Oz, is currently beginning production with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo set to star. So…it looks like we will all be visiting Oz at some point soon…whether we want to or not.

(Via Deadline)

When I arrived at Outside Lands festival in San Francisco last weekend, I was skeptical of whether Post Malone would work as a Sunday night headliner on the main stage. This is the same stage that acts like Stevie Wonder, Metallica, and Arcade Fire have closed down before and now this guy was gonna follow suit?

I’ll admit, I haven’t been the biggest fan of Post Malone over the years. He always struck me as an artist who benefited from being white (he did), sliding from hip-hop to rock to country and back seemingly on a whim. But now, as he has become one of the biggest pop and hip-hop stars in the world, the challenge is to present himself with authenticity.

It’s hard to be at a concert these days and not wonder what the “new normal” is that we’re living in. With COVID rates still all over the map, what are we risking by being at a concert, let alone a festival with tens of thousands of people around you for a headlining set? I’ve found that you really need to surrender to the circumstances to be able to approach the connection we used to feel with artists before March of 2020. Surrender to the music, surrender to what might be in the air, and just let go. It’s a slippery proposition, but we need live music right now more than ever. And there’s not a more powerful concert moment lately than when an artist helps get you over that hump of anxious energy so you can be in the moment.

As Post Malone walked out onto the stage, with a red cup in hand, one of the first things he said to the crowd was, “I’m here to play some sh*tty music and get f*cked up!” The crowd of tens of thousands roared. I sorta rolled my eyes and wondered if this was just a shtick. But what I soon came to realize about him, is that he was absolutely wrapped up in the moment the entire time.

You see, the thing that’s the most fascinating about Post Malone on stage, is that he’s up there by himself in front of a wall of lights and the occasional pyrotechnics that erupt around him. There’s no DJ, there’s no hype man, no band, etc… So it really raises the stakes because the attention is always focused entirely on him.

He stood there in white Chuck Taylors, a T-shirt with Cameron Tucker’s face from Modern Family emblazoned on it, and cut-off jean shorts that showed off all of his lower body tattoos. He opened with “Wow,” from 2019’s Hollywood’s Bleeding, then went into “Wrapped Around Your Finger” from the newly released Twelve Carat Toothache, followed by “Better Now” from 2018’s Beerbongs & Bentleys. It struck me just how much the Post Malone discography had grown and when I looked around during “Better Now” especially, the most diverse crowd of the weekend was easily the biggest, too. And everyone was moving. The crowd was gripped.

As Posty’s performance kept going, I found myself increasingly interested in everything he was going to do next. On “I Fall Apart,” he bent over and straddled the mic with his mouth, hands behind his back, while singing as loudly as he could. When that song ended, he grabbed an acoustic guitar and took a seat to sing “Stay” and “Go Flex,” a cigarette in between his fingers the whole time. It was a pure display of emotion.

I loved the way he danced and moved and worked the crowd; losing himself, his happiness was galvanizing. When he played “White Iverson,” the song that first put him on the map eight years ago, it felt like a real moment of togetherness for the crowd. And even if it has its limits sometimes, his leaned-out Gen Z falsetto was endearing and pure.

But it was the way that he was unapologetically himself that stuck with me the most. He sings about getting f*cked up (and sometimes about the ramifications of it, too) and he presents himself like he’s in the same mind-state as the crowd when he’s on stage. He’s beaming, he’s partying, but he reflects on his insecurities, too. “Thank you so much for your love and support over the years,” he told the crowd. “The world has been such a sh*tty place and it just feels so beautiful to be out here with you to have a good time. I feel like I’m the luckiest f*cking guy in the world. How everyone was so patient with me and supportive of me. You know…this long stretch we’ve had.”

He presented the notion that he needed this just as much as we did and in that moment, the stage sort of disappeared. By the time he closed with “Rockstar” and “Congratulations,” it felt like we were all there getting f*cked up together, except one of us was singing and their gratitude showed. Here was an artist who had to be misunderstood before he could be accepted. Surely we can all relate.

And I came around to Post Malone that night. When he smashed his guitar and then set it afire in a controlled blaze, then smashed it some more to extinguish it and gave the pieces to the crowd before walking off? I felt that. And there was something especially powerful seeing it all with 20,000 other people. Because we’re all still trying to figure out what the new normal is in this world and Post Malone’s wild performance made so much sense in its own chaos.

Because it’s ok to party your face off and lose your mind for a while. This generation has been privy to way too much BS and it’s not stopping anytime soon. But if we can just let go, and surrender together, we might still make it.

Quentin Tarantino is not just an iconoclastic filmmaker. He’s also an eccentric film watcher. He’s seen everything, and he has lots of unusual, sometimes surprising opinions about them. For instance, he loves Top Gun: Maverick just like everyone. But he also vastly prefers a certain franchise entry that very few like to one that most people adore.

The maybe-retiring auteur and noted feet fetishist made an appearance recently on the podcast ReelBlend, where he did what he often does: run his mouth about cinema. At one point, they wound up talking Indiana Jones movies, where he dropped two hot takes: the beloved threequel Last Crusade is bad and the despised fourquel Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is not.

“I like Crystal Skull more than the Sean Connery one,” Tarantino said. “I don’t like the Sean Connery one. I don’t like [that] one at all. … That’s such a boring one. It’s boring! And he’s not an interesting character. The joke is made immediately. It’s like Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.”

For those not in the know, Tarantino was referring to a much-derided, little-remembered 1992 cop comedy in which Estelle Getty plays Sylvester Stallone’s mother, from a brief period in which the sometime Rambo tried his hand at jokes. (See also: Oscar.)

Is Tarantino wrong? Last Crusade is few people’s picks for the finest Indiana Jones romp, and maybe Crystal Skull — a big money-maker but often seen as a stepdown in the series — deserves a re-evaluation. It’s been 14 years. Maybe the guy who keep rewriting history in his movies is right and it’s time to revamp how he think about Indy films.

(Via IndieWire)

Today, Nipsey Hussle received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in an emotional ceremony, where his partner Lauren London gave a speech dedicating the star on what would have been his 37th birthday. “I think I speak for the entire city of L.A. when I say that we’ve always known Hussle was destined for greatness,” she said.

“This moment only amplifies that for us,” she continued. “Nip would have been honored by this moment. I think he would want everyone to remember that you can’t get to what’s possible unless you commit to moving forward. That doesn’t mean forgetting where you come from, but requires acknowledging the reality you were born into and the power you have to change that reality for the better.”

“So whenever you’re in the city of angels and you see this star, I hope it encourages you to break away from whatever might be holding you back and for you to run your marathon until God says that it’s finished. Nip will forever live in our hearts. I’m grateful for the love and support the world has shown us but especially I wanna thank the city of Los Angeles. I love you, and as y’all know the marathon continues.”

Others who received stars on the Walk Of Fame today included singer Ashanti, hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas, the late Carrie Fisher, former NFL player Michael Strahan, and actor Michael B. Jordan.

Hussle was killed on March 31, 2019 when he was shot by Eric Holder in front of his Marathon Clothing store. Holder has since been convicted of murder and is awaiting sentencing.

Due to a fractured right foot suffered last summer, New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson missed the entirety of the 2021-22 NBA season. It was announced during New Orleans’ media day in September that Williamson had undergone surgery to repair the fracture and the timeline for a full return was vague basically the whole season before Williamson was ruled out for the year in late March.

Williamson, who recently inked a five-year, $193 million extension with the Pelicans, didn’t speak much publicly throughout the season, but has opened up this offseason about everything he’s endured and experienced amid his injury. He most recently spoke with GQ’s Tres Dean and discussed, in part, how he navigated that trying season.

The piece centers on Williamson’s love for anime, particularly Naruto, and catalogues his experience at San Diego’s Comic-Con earlier this summer. But the 22-year-old does touch on other topics, too. At one point, Williamson addresses how all the noise and unfounded speculation surrounding his prolonged absence and injury riddled 2021-22 affected him.

“It’s been a lot. I can sit here and explain it, but nobody will really be able to feel it the way I did,” he said. “My foot was broken and I couldn’t magically heal it. It hurt, because I love the game of basketball. But because of it, I was experiencing hate and pain from people I don’t know every day, and it started to wear on me.”

On multiple occasions now this offseason, Williamson has mentioned how the fallout and discourse stemming from his absence weighed heavy. This is yet another reminder to prioritize these athletes as humans and grant them as much understanding as we can. Nonetheless, it’s wonderful he’s been cleared to return to the floor and should be ready to lead a dangerous Pelicans squad this fall and beyond. Williamson is a delight to watch and a vivacious personality. We’re all lucky to watch him play.

As the situation around Donald Trump‘s alleged mishandling of top secret documents continues to escalate, Rudy Giuliani insists that the former president is doing just fine. Couldn’t be better! During a recent appearance on Newsmax, Giuliani once again trotted out the line that Trump isn’t worried about the raid because people immediately showed up outside of Mar-a-Lago to defend him. The crowd size grew over the weekend following reports that Trump is under investigation for violating the Espionage Act, which revealed the serious nature of the FBI search.

Via Insider:

Giuliani, a former New York mayor and longtime Trump ally, told Newsmax that Trump said the raid is “going to help me.”

“You see the number of people in front of Mar-a-Lago already? This is gonna turn around, American people have common sense, they’ve gone too far now,” Giuliani recalled Trump telling him.

However, Giuliani should probably be more concerned with what’s happening to Rudy Giuliani. On Monday, news broke that prosecutors have targeted the former president’s attorney in the going investigation into alleged election meddling in Georgia. Giuliani, Trump, and several of his inner circle, including Lindsey Graham, are accused of violating the law while allegedly attempting to coerce Georgia officials to “find votes” that would flip the state to Trump during the presidential election against Joe Biden.

According to CNN, Georgia prosecutors called Giuliani’s legal team on Monday and informed them that America’s Mayor is now a target of the investigation. And to be clear, the Georgia situation is also another legal landmine for Trump on top of the whole FBI raid. But, hey, he’s doing fine!

(Via Insider, CNN)

Billie Eilish is still on the “Happier Than Ever, The World Tour,” which feels like it might never end. What began in February and swept across the US until June, then went to Europe and now heads to Asia and Australia. Naturally, Eilish made a stop in South Korea, at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, and the stars were out. Well, perhaps the most notable stars in the country, at least: BTS.

J-Hope and RM (Hobi/Hoseok, Namjoon/Namseok for the superfans out there) were spotted in the crowd for the concert and the #BTSArmy is going absolutely nuts. A grainy video clearly shows the pair dancing to “Bad Guy,” which likely presents itself as some sort of infinity moment for pop music stans. “JHOPE and rn dancing to bad guy at the Billie eilish concert sorry if u can hear me singing,” a user said on Twitter along with the video.

And J-Hope and RM weren’t the only K-pop artists in attendance. One user noted that along with the BTS pair, K-pop stars in Red Velvet, TXT and Jung Ho-Yeun, were also there.

It should really come as no surprise that Billie Eilish fans crossover with BTS fans. Of course, the clips and pics on Twitter are as seemingly never-ending as Billie’s tour.

Donald Trump is fuming after FBI agents allegedly “stole” his passports. Yes, as in plural. The twice-impeached former president has been the subject of a bombshell investigation into whether his administration violated the Presidential Records Act which requires a departing president or vice president to hand over sensitive documents to the National Archives and Records Administration before leaving office. During a recent FBI raid of Trump’s Florida mansion, Mar-a-Lago, agents seized 11 boxes of classified material Trump was supposed to have handed over, including top secret information on fellow presidents and maybe even nuclear weapons documents.

Naturally, people have been predicting the MAGA cult leader may soon end up behind bars because of all this, which might be why the FBI apparently confiscated Trump’s passports — all three of them.

In a post to his TRUTH Social platform, Trump ranted about having multiple passports stolen by agents during the raid. While he clarified that one passport was expired — which, if so, why keep it? — the other two were likely active, meaning Trump now had no way of fleeing the country should the DOJ actually charge him with any criminal activity.

Obviously, normal people don’t have multiple passports just lying around their megamansions next to boxes of classified government intel they were supposed to have left in the damn White House, so Twitter users had thoughts.

It’s likely Trump has both a regular, government-issued passport and a special diplomatic passport since he is a former president, but it’s strange that he’s just now noticing all three of his travel documents are missing — and even stranger that he’s so pissed off about it. Where were you planning to go, Donald?

(Via The Daily Mail)