Month: August 2022

If you were dangling from the top of a 2,000-foot-tall radio tower in the middle of nowhere, you would probably use a curse word or two to adequately express just how absurd the situation is, right? It seems like the only natural way to deal with the stress of all of that, which just so happens to be the plot of the upcoming thriller Fall starring Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner.

The duo star as two women who are determined to reach the top of a really high structure, despite the fact that one of their boyfriends died on a similar trip, which is reason enough to never want to climb anything ever again (even stairs). But, while filming the movie, which also stars The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the actors naturally said over 30 curse words that seemed appropriate at the time, but not when the movie was being edited for a theatrical release, instead of on a streamer.

“When we were filming the movie, we didn’t know if we were R or if we were PG-13, so I said the F-word so many times I think Scott wanted to kill me in post when we were trying to a PG-13 rating,” Gardner explained. In order to make those hardcore curse words into tamer, PG-13 alternatives, the studio used a type of DeepFake technology from Flawless, a London-based dubbing company that uses technology to change the mouths of the actors who may or may not be cursing. PG-13 ratings normally allow for one or two instances of the F-word, but not 30.

Director Scott Mann explained why he used Flawless (where he is also co-CEO) and their technology to make it seem like the actors were really saying “freaking!” instead of…the alternative. “For a movie like this, we can’t reshoot it. We’re not a big tentpole… we don’t have the resources, we don’t have the time, more than anything else,” Mann explained. “What really saved this movie and brought it into a wider audience was technology.”

Currey said she couldn’t even tell which of her scenes had been dubbed over. “As far as I know, every movement my mouth made in that movie, my mouth made.” Besides, viewers probably won’t be focusing on the actor’s mouths, they will be looking down the 2,000-foot drop and probably try not to throw up!

Fall hits theaters this Friday, August 12.

(Via Variety)

Los Angeles-bred newcomer TRAETWOTHREE didn’t have to travel far to come to Uproxx Studios for his UPROXX Sessions performance of “Keep Doing You.” Born and raised in the Crenshaw district, he’s the latest in a proud LA legacy of hip-hop-influenced crooners who perfectly balance street wisdom with an emotional vulnerability that also includes fellow Sessions alumni Blxst, Kalan.FrFr, and Kyle Banks. In “Keep Doing You,” the Crenshaw crooner delivers a smooth West Coast banger perfect for late-night cruising and laid-back turn-ups.

Trae, whose debut project Out The District is out now on Ncredible/Art@War/Atlantic Records, plugs the cool, kickback vibe of LA nightlife into the post-hyphy groove that has come to dominate the LA sound over the past few years, detailing his experiences with smooth precision and velvety vocals. As he puts it, “People look at Los Angeles as having a lot of gangbanging and negativity, but we want to give it a different feel. I’m a young and fly night owl. This is the positive player side of Crenshaw.”

Watch TRAETWOTHREE’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Keep Doing You” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

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

At the moment you’re reading this, Rudy Giuliani should probably be in Fulton County, Georgia, testifying to a grand jury about whether or not Donald Trump attempted to mess with the election process in the Peachtree State. But Rudy claimed he was physically incapable of flying, and even had a doctor’s note to prove it. But when the county district attorney’s office graciously offered to foot the bill for a train or bus ride for the former New York City mayor, he declined once again.

Rudy did almost die by back-pat not too long ago, and he sure does seem to be in bad shape. Strangely, he seemed to feel well enough on Monday night to have an animated chat with Newsmax, a.k.a. the only network desperate enough to put his mug on camera, about how Trump was totally right to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Given all the sorts of legal issues in which Giuliani is currently embroiled, and his failure to show up in Georgia to discuss the election (after completely blowing off the his previously scheduled testimony), one would think that he’d want to keep quiet on the topic. But, oh HELL NO. While discussing the raid on Mar-a-Lago, Giuliani — who many believe Trump has set up as the scapegoat for all that election meddling — called it “outrageous” and accused the FBI of going after the former president based on “some kind of a cockamamie theory about electors.” (Leave it to Rudy to use a word like “cockamamie.”)

Rudy, his glasses getting foggier by the second, insisted that Trump “had every right to contest that election. What is this, the Soviet Union? He had every right to contest that election.”

Someone may want to tell Rudy that it’s probably best to not make any sort of reference to what is now Russia as part of his defense.

On August 4, out of the blue, Megan Thee Stallion shared the definition of the word “traumazine,” which read, “the chemical released in the brain when it is forced to deal with painful emotions caused by traumatic events and experiences.” Given that it’s a cool-sounding word and relevant to Megan’s recent experiences (most notably the whole Tory Lanez fiasco), it was quickly rumored that Traumazine would be the title of Meg’s next album. Now, it appears she may have confirmed it.

Today, the rapper shared a quick new teaser video, which is set at a rainy outdoor funeral and shows Megan, wearing all black, placing a black rose on a casket. Then, in comes a different version of Meg, this one wearing all white. After that reveal, the word “traumazine” is shown on screen. The post is captioned, “It almost that time…”

Given that the video doesn’t exactly specify what “Traumazine” is, this doesn’t count as a confirmation of the album’s title (it could be just a song, after all). It sure does look like a confirmation, though.

Also relevant is that Megan recently shared a message about her album, writing on an Instagram Story last month, “So happy abt my album. It’s finished. It’s for the hotties. It’s honest. It’s me. It’s real.”

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Idris Elba seems to be increasingly dropping hints that he wants to suit up again as his The Suicide Squad anti-hero Bloodsport. While walking the red carpet for his new movie, Beast, Elba made it clear that he wants to come back and tell the backstory of how his character put Superman in the ICU. Granted, the answer is “Bloodsport shot him with a Kryptonite battle,” but Elba is eager to bring the classic comic book moment to life.

“I would definitely like to tell the Superman story. There’s no doubt,” Elba told Variety. “Bloodsport versus Superman. It needs to happen.”

Before anyone chalks this up as wishful thinking, Elba also recently told reporter Erik Davis that he’s got a “got a really big thing cooking for DC right now.”

As for what all of this means… well, that is anyone’s guess. However, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn has been teasing another spinoff project following the success of Peacemaker. More notably, he tweeted about Elba’s character back in May and gave this notably cryptic answer to a fan who asked if Bloodsport will return: “That would be nice wouldn’t it?”

There have also been rumblings of Henry Cavill returning as Superman, but those rumors flatlined when he didn’t show up at this year’s Comic-Con despite headlines claiming he’d make a surprise appearance. Although, it didn’t take long for the Cavill talk to immediately fire up again when it was reported shortly after the Comic-Con no-show that he tested positive for COVID.

While all of this sounds exciting, there’s still the specter of whatever the heck is going on at Warner Bros. Discovery in the air. The newly formed media conglomerate recently shelved Batgirl, and it has been making waves about reconfiguring the DC brand. While Gunn has made assurances that none of this has affected his work on Peacemaker season two, it’s hard not to feel the palpable uncertainty around any DC Comics project right now.

(Via Variety)

“Ozymandias” is not only widely considered to be the best episode of Breaking Bad — it’s in the running for the best episode of any TV show. (I’m partial to the season two episode of Dog with a Blog, “The Mutt and the Mogul,” but you do you.) It’s the only episode with a 10 out of 10 rating on IMDb, although the latest episode of Better Call Saul might deserve a perfect score, too, for two reasons:

1. It parallels “Ozymandias”

2. Kim Wexler looks cool as hell while smoking a cigarette in the rain

These are equally important.

In “Ozymandias,” Walter threatens his family, and when the police are called, he has a moment of self-realization of what a monster he’s become before cowardly fleeing the house. In “Waterworks,” Saul threatens poor Marion, and when the police are called, he also has a moment of self-realization of what a monster he’s become before cowardly fleeing the house. It’s striking when you watch the scenes side by side, as seen below:

“Ozymandias” ends with Walt being picked up by a van that takes him to Best Quality Vacuum, where he gets a new identity and leaves the state. What happens next for Saul? The promo for the series finale (!) has Gene reciting the code to get in touch with Ed (“Hoover Max Extract Pressure Pro model 60”), but Gene is already his new identity — his third identity, actually. Does he have any moves left to play?

One thing’s for sure: Walt taking baby Holly in “Ozymandias” was bad, but Gene nearly clocking the drugged-out cancer patient in the coconut with his dead dog’s ashes is even worse.

(Via Reddit)

It’s been nearly four years since Lil Wayne released Tha Carter V, the most recent installment in his trademark series. After kicking off the series in 2004 with Tha Carter, Wayne reached for GOAT rapper status with That Carter II in 2005 before winning a Grammy with 2008’s Tha Carter III. Three years later we returns with Tha Carter IV which sold nearly a million copies in its first week. A dispute between Wayne and Birdman, who owns Cash Money Records which Wayne was previously signed to, caused Tha Carter V to be delayed until 2018. Hopefully, there are no delay issues when it’s time for Tha Carter VI to arrive.

When Will Lil Wayne Release Tha Carter VI?

There isn’t an official release date for yet, but Lil Wayne previously announced that the project is “coming soon.” He shared this news during his performance at Drake’s OVO Festival earlier this month. As we know with artists, “coming soon” means as early as two weeks to as far as sixth months, sometimes even longer. With that being said, we’ll have to wait a bit longer for some concrete information about Tha Carter VI.

The upcoming album, which would make for the 14th in Wayne’s career and the first since Funeral, is one that he’s been talking about for a couple of years now. Back in 2020, during an interview with Variety, he said, “My favorite Carter album is the next one.” The following year, during an appearance on ESPN, he said, “Carter VI is coming soon, but I got No Ceilings coming first. No Ceilings 3.” The latter project was released at the end of 2020, which cleared the way for Wayne to continue and finish work on Tha Carter IV.

Sheesh, sun seekers, please strap in! Much like your local summer fruits which are no doubt coming into season, this was a ripe two-week stretch of summer vacations and with them, the solemn duty of watching. August can be tricky in the NBA. Some guys are attending or running camps, pick-up runs, and pro-ams, which means the unwarranted (and frankly, unwanted) expectations begin to rear up that athletes should be “getting serious”, even though the regular season is still months away. Thankfully, one of the best indicators of this unsolicited advice not landing is that the vacations keep coming.

So many, in fact, that I am going to advise you to fill up your water bottle or glass to periodically sip throughout this dispatch. Nobody needs to get parched having fun in the vicarious sun.

Steph Curry

Ultimate wife guy, Steph Curry, took the ultimate anniversary vacation to the south of France, and while we congratulate Ayesha and Steph we also thank Ayesha, more directly, because she was responsible for making sure we saw Steph Curry’s reaction to a cake with a giant sparkler jammed in it.

Rating: Reaction about the same to shattering 3-point records night after night, which tracks.

Luka Doncic

Luka is a prime example of the earlier, please focus on your own vacation or lack thereof, behavior. This guy cannot catch a break. He’s puffin’ on a stogie and holding a nice glass of wine, kind of dressed up? Wrong: He’s miles from the gym, and how dare he be wearing a shirt with buttons on. Tickling some ivories in board shorts, while sun streams in through the windows around him? No: He should be pummeling the hardwood in a gym filled with garish, bracing fluorescent light and these shorts aren’t regulation.

Rating: Dudes, relax.

Devin Booker

Not to get anyone too excited but this might be a SVW first. Are Devin Booker and Kendall Jenner, rumored to be in splits-ville, actually spending a fine and very much their own business summer in still-together-burgh? You don’t huck axes in the woods, or declare yourself a ‘trek king’ (TNG or rugged backwoods) with just anybody.

Rating: You may ask, “Does Book, who looks demonstratively chill in everything he does, really need a vacation?” Yes!!

Klay Thompson

NBA champ and beloved sea captain, Klay Thompson, went to the Bahamas and alas, it looks like, did not bring his captain’s hat. He did however bring plenty of literal laid back success when he dug his toes down in the white sands to carve out an emphatic message to the world.

Rating: You may ask, “Much like the saying, ‘If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?’ If someone writes on a beach and doesn’t take a picture, does the message get swallowed up by the sea?” Yes!!

Ben Simmons

I don’t typically like to share a completely out of context, generic, view from a speeding boat with a sizeable lounging area pics as hard evidence that someone is either on, or having, a good vacation, but, after the season Ben Simmons had, I’d share if he was having a longer shower than usual.

Rating: Now the bath information I would keep to myself.

Chris Paul

CP3 was engaging in the time honored tradition of throwing your kids, mid-protest but also laughing, into the pool.

Rating: Do we dock points for tube socks around the pool? In this economy?

Jimmy Butler

Jimmy went on a nice work trip to Bogota, Colombia, to no doubt wish Gustavo Petro well in leading the people in a historic, left-wing switch, but also as a research trip for the thing he loves third best in the world: coffee. Yes, a work trip is getting a pass here, but frankly for a man who wakes up pre-dawn to work out, doing some comparatively relaxing tasks like hauling beans, climbing a mountain, and dunking on kids in a pickup game in Bogota, feels pretty relaxing.

Rating: The first and second things he loves best are his daughter, and Kyle Lowry. Sorry Mark Walhberg, you’re out.

Serge Ibaka

Mr. MaFuzzy Man traveled to Lison, Portugal, for his brother’s wedding, where we also were treated to seeing the origins of Avec Classe in Serge’s dad. Not to take too much away from that experience, but Serge has also been getting into the skincare influencer game, sharing some of the secrets to looking so… like he does.

Rating: I just hope you’ve got some compost lying around.

Rudy Gobert

Rudy can’t stop going on vacation, or looking pensively out at the sea wearing hypercolor swim trunks while golden light showers down on him and his platonic bestie.

Rating: Which is fine, this is literally what we’re here for.

Kevin Love

Kevin Love LOVES a summer vacation, taking as many as three very extensively planned trips a few summers ago that saw him, his new wife Kate Bock, and their dog dropping off a helicopter into Canada’s arctic to romp around as a family on glaciers “for fun”. Love is now on his honeymoon! Sharing soulful snaps of him looking out across the savanna in Tanzania, clutching an extremely pro camera, and captioning honeymoon photos with sweet nothings like, “It’s Kill or Be Killed”.

Rating: Aw!

Jordan Clarkson

It was Jordan Clarkson time to go to the local fair and fill up on smoked turkey legs.

Rating: An exciting new medieval time for Jordan Clarkson to have.

Tyrese Maxey

Maxey was taking a nice summer staycation in his own backyard, never scoffed at or scorned here in these hallowed get-yourself-a-base-tan-that-can-do-both halls, and the only thing that was missing was his dog, who refused to get in the pool with him.

Rating: Maybe he just got his lifeguard certification.

Jusuf Nurkic

Nurk was chilling in Croatia, enjoying an espresso and the view of about half a dozen mega yachts.

Rating: Thinking generous thoughts for the person in the comments who wrote, “Kinda like the Willamette”.

Bogdan Bogdanovic

Bogdan took a great selfie on the back of a boat, and from my years of expertise and field research I can tell you he has not been in the water yet. However, his lack of sunglasses makes me feel as if he is about to.

Rating: Like the Talking Heads wailed on and on about, take me to THIS river, and drop me in THIS water, stat.

Kyle Kuzma

Kuz, who just got back from several vacations as recounted in SVW’s first dispatch, went and took himself on another one. Rather, he took his gf, Winnie Harlow, to Jamaica for her birthday.

Also, if Tyrese Maxey wants some tips about coaxing his stoic dog into the pool, he should take them from Kuzma who gently and encouraging took one of his shepherds, Duke, around the pool.

Rating: I don’t want to alarm anybody but this summer’s SVW MVP race is so far looking like a breakaway sprint???

Justin Holiday

Remember the City Slickers vibe of Kent Bazemore’s, Harrison Barnes’s and Justin Holiday’s trip to Colorado? Well Justin got the frontiersman bug in him, and I’m not talking about something carried by ticks. Justin started practicing archery in his backyard, reimagining a favored and well-worn saying that probably has the archery community absolutely LOVING IT.

Rating: Us too, this rules.

JaVale McGee

Remember what I just said about summer staycations and enjoying the pool you have instead of wishing for the pool you don’t? Well JaVale McGee (and Spencer Dinwiddie and Anthony Roberson) really took that to heart, captured here enjoying sprawling in the shallow end thanks to the stealthy efforts of JaVale’s sister.

Rating: Is Dinwiddie wearing capris?

Mike Conley

Kindest man alive, Mike Conley, took a beautiful vacation with his beautiful family to Cabo, and if you didn’t choke up looking at these photos have I got some news for you!

Rating: The news is you’re a monster.

Josh Richardson

Josh Richardson has some excellent advice for all the summer vacation naysayers and narcs who want strangers they’ve never met to “get to work on their bodies”.

Rating: The scorching burn level of this post is barely mitigated by the giant sun umbrella.

Rui Hachimura

Rui went on a dude’s trip to Mykonos where he enjoyed some beautiful vistas and all the dudes in question chatted beforehand to make sure they each had the right breezy, button-up shirt for “mixed patterns night”.

Rating: They are (unfortunately for us but fortunately for him) carrying that one guy in the back.

Justise Winslow

If you didn’t know this was take your baby to the beach month you’ve got your priorities all wrong.

Rating: Please get a load of this baby, because even Justise sure can’t get enough.

Josh Okogie

SO sorry to Josh Okogie, who went to Europe and had a fantastic and pretty funny (like all the pics you’d take in Europe) time, only for me to miss it in my first recap. Never again, Josh!

Here we can see Josh also stocked up on the currency of summer (water balloons) and took his mom on a sunset beach horseback ride.

Rating: What I said earlier about SVW MVP being all but locked up? Well, I was wrong.

Kelly Oubre Jr.

Kelly went on his honeymoon to Rome, and the Tsunami Papi enjoyed everything from great works of art, to great fountains, to the ancient, footworn tracks on the ancient, cobblestone streets.

Rating: Mama mia that’s amore. Sorry, trying to delete.

Wedding Bells Were Ringing!

What’s this? A mini section? Well, when summer is the only time to really cut loose it’s also the time most NBA athletes get married. These last couple weeks saw no fewer than three nuptials and happy couples joined in holy summer matrimony.

Tobias Harris

Tobias Harris got married to his longtime love, Jasmin Winton, but had to clarify that it was not to his other longtime love, Boban Marjanović. What a rich life, to have so many longtime loves people would mistake you for marrying! Guests included DeAndre Jordan, Georges Niang, and most likely Boban Marjanović. Congratulations!

De’Aaron Fox

Swipa Da Fox had a sick wedding where Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo sang and laughed their hearts out, T-Pain performed, and Trae Young lost his mind over T-Pain performing. Congratulations!

Kelly Olynyk

Kelly Olynyk got married in a snapback? Anyway, wouldn’t you love to have Udonis Haslem at your wedding, giving all the other guests intense and heartfelt pep talks about supporting you by having a good time and not clinking their glasses because how gauche is that? Justice Winslow, who you saw as recently showing off his adorable baby on the beach, was also there. Congratulations!

Where In The World Is Metta World Peace?

Friends of this column will be familiar with past iterations of this subsection, including, ‘Paul Pierce’s Place’, but is now being taken over with good reason by Metta World Peace.

Metta was first seen lying down on his belly in a river in Lake Tahoe, enjoying a tall can and some ducks. Then, he went north to enjoy a coffee in the woods of British Columbia, before hopping in an inner-tube and going speeding down a white water river, getting kind of far away for my liking but oh, ok, he was fine, and sat down for a nice sunset dinner later on.

Hot off the release of his latest single, “Dance Now,” rapper JID has announced the release date for his long-anticipated third studio album, The Forever Story. The album marks his first album in four years, following the release of his sophomore album, DiCaprio 2 in 2018.

Set to drop later this month, The Forever Story contains collaborations with Kenny Mason, 21 Savage, and Baby Tate. The Dreamville rapper was also reported to have been working in the studio with Dr. Dre earlier this year.

Last fall, JID collaborated with Imagine Dragons for a song called “Enemy,” from Arcane League Of Legends. The song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. He spoke with Billboard about the success of the song, and later dived into his upcoming album.

“This next album [The Forever Story] is the best sh*t I’ve ever done in my life,” JID said. “Every step I’ve taken was worth it, and our blocks are building.”

Earlier today, JID revealed the album’s cover art, which was shot by photographer Naskademini. On the cover, JID is seen standing in the middle of a crowd containing people from all walks of life.

Check out the cover art below.

The Forever Story is out 8/26 via Dreamville/Interscope. Pre-save it here.

Cobra Kai‘s fourth season finale revealed how Terry Silver installed himself as the most dastardly karate villain of the franchise. He’d made sure that John Kreese got framed for his own (brutal) misdeeds and put behind bars for the time being. The Season 5 trailer revealed how Terry was making good on his threat to expand the Cobra Kai dojo throughout the Valley and make “no mercy” a standard for like a billion more schools.

New Season 5 stills reveal that plan in action, and front and center, you’ll see Dallas Dupree Young, who’s been promoted from bullied kid to series regular.

And meanwhile, Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence must come together for real and try to leave their egos behind, if they can.

To that end, Karate Kid II antagonist Chozen will (again) return to help the Miyagi-Do cause (and tell Silver that he’s “gasoline” to his enemy’s “fire”), and Silver’s probably going to have to deal with a little bit of opposition within his ranks. Ideally, that will come from Tory, who believed that she won the All Valley Tournament fair and square, only to learn that Silver paid off a judge to make a bad call in her fight against Samantha.

There’s no telling whether Tory will simmer in her rage for the entirety of the season, but it’s clear that Silver needs some help to run all of his hydra-head schools. So, he’s enlisted a The Karate Kid III villain, Mike Barnes, with Sean Kanan returning to pick up like so many O.G. cast members have done before. What Barnes will do, there’s no telling, but since he’s doing it at Silver’s behest, you can bet that he’ll be up to no good.

All of the show’s success (and the cross-generational appeal) is a testament to how showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg have managed to deftly weave in characters from the past at the right moment. Yes, I’d like to see more of Elisabeth Shue’s Ali, but I’ll trust them to make it happen when the time is right. Like maybe she can pop onto the screen and kick Silver in the nads.

Admit it, you wouldn’t be mad if that happened.

Netflix’s Cobra Kai returns on September 9.