Remember Donald Trump? He used to president of the United States. He lost re-election almost two years ago, and like the aging former high school quarterback who never stops yapping about his glory days, he’s never gotten over it. Indeed, he still tells boring stories about how the election was rigged or something to whoever will listen. Apparently he also thinks he can still be suddenly reinstated into his old gig, or even that there can be a Mulligan. Which, well, ain’t happening, no matter how much the big guy wants it to.
On Monday, Trump went nuclear about a story currently being misrepresented amidst conservative circles. Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted he limited stories on Facebook about the sitting president’s son’s laptop in the lead-up to the 2020 election. Republicans are putting the blame on the FBI; what’s actually been reported is that the feds told Zuckerberg to be extra cautious about Russian interference. But guess who went with the former, misleading claim for personal gain?
“So now it comes out, conclusively, that the FBI BURIED THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY BEFORE THE ELECTION knowing that, if they didn’t, ‘Trump would have easily won the 2020 Presidential Election,’” Trump wrote on his failing Twitter clone. He deemed it “massive FRAUD & ELECTION INTERFERENCE at a level never seen before in our Country.”
Luckily, Trump offered some practical solutions: “REMEDY: Declare the rightful winner or, and this would be the minimal solution, declare the 2020 Election irreparably compromised and have a new Election, immediately!”
The whole screed had strong Michael Scott-declaring-bankruptcy vibes. That said, it’s not the first time Trump has fantasized about simply removing his successor from office. Earlier this year, MAGA crony Mo Brooks confessed that Trump contacted him about some harebrained scheme to remove Joe Biden, install him, and then hold a special election. That didn’t happen, as there’s nothing in the Constitution that remotely addresses this idea, nor was there any reason to do so. (Oh, and then Trump turned on Brooks.)
Does Trump really want his old gig back — the one whose job description he never seemed to have read? Or is he actually getting extra worried that he might be headed for the slammer and could really use the legal protection of the presidency? Whatever the case, surely it has nothing to do with all those classified documents he may have illegally shoved in magazines in his the not exactly secure resort where he now lives.
The second episode of HBO’s House of the Dragonfeatured some tense alliances in turmoil and ended with a new one potentially taking on a sinister threat. And what’s clear about the show about, well, dragons, is that a lot of it will involve the water.
That’s good news for Steve Toussaint, the actor who plays the Sea Snake, Lord Corlys. And it’s apparently also bad news for Steve Toussaint, the actor who plays the Sea Snake and is having a bit of trouble keeping his stomach in check on the water.
In an interview with the New York Times, the actor admitted that in recent months he’s had some trouble keeping his stomach in check the last few times he’s been on the water.
“It’s a weird thing,” he said, laughing. “The last couple of times I’ve been on a boat, I suddenly started getting seasick. I’ve never had that in my life, but just recently it started happening.”
Through two episodes and some sneak peek trailers there hasn’t been any clear evidence we’ll see Toussaint on a boat this season, though with the powers of CGI he may not have to actually get on the water much anyway. But there’s definitely some danger coming for Toussaint’s character, as a battle with Crabfeeder looms large on the horizon. And then there’s that (spoilers incoming) alliance with Daemon Targaryen that seems to have solidified at the end of Episode Two, the second instance in the hourlong drama where Corlys got deep into treasonous territory.
Toussaint was asked about that, too, and had some interesting things to say about what his character feels he can do given how important he is to the safety of the Targaryen crown.
In terms of the character, the resentment that Corlys has for what he considers these privileged people helps me a lot. In fact, there were some points where Ryan would have to rein me in and go: “If you spoke to the king like that, you’d have your head cut off. You’ve gone too far.” It would be more difficult for someone like — and I didn’t have this discussion with them, so I don’t know — Paddy or maybe Gavin Spokes [who plays the Small Council member Lord Lyonel Strong], whose characters have to be mindful of not upsetting people and trying to keep the balance. I never felt that way with my character.
There is a side to him that is, as far as he’s concerned, above the rules. Also, he knows just how valuable he is for the realm, because he controls the majority of the navy. So he knows he’s got a little bit more leeway.
The full interview is worth parsing for sure, as it also includes his reaction to some unfortunately racist backlash to his casting as Lord Corlys. But Toussaint has certainly found his bearings playing the role, even if he’s struggling to find his sea legs in real life.
There’s nearly an endless amount of new bourbon on the shelves right now. Some of it is great. A lot of it … not so much. There was a time — not that long ago — when a rare or limited release whiskey was an assurance of quality. Rare and limited releases were where brands highlighted their talents and hidden barrels. In 2022 with the dearth of endless releases, that’s not always true. Sometimes brands are just trying to keep up (and stay relevant).
Meaning it’s high time for a blind taste test to separate the great bottles from the mediocre — or even downright bad — ones.
For this blind taste test, I grabbed ten new bottles (a few so new that they won’t be on shelves until next month) plus some other pretty limited expressions. For the most part, these are whiskeys that are going to be rare and hard to find. That’s kind of the point. I did throw in a few limited releases that get wide distribution (but with a small bottle count) and a crafty release (Cedar Ridge) but that’s not available everywhere/all of the time. The overall point is that these aren’t really big nationally distributed basic expressions that you can grab at any corner liquor store — this is the stuff you find in specialty shops and higher-end whiskey bars where real effort was put into stocking great whiskey.
Our lineup today is:
15 STARS Fine Aged Bourbon Private Stock Aged 7 & 15 Years
Yellowstone Limited Edition 2022
Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2022
Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon Whiskey Bottled-in-Bond Release 003
As for the blind tasting and ranking, this was insanely hard. It might have been one of the harder rankings I’ve done. Basically, the bulk of these whiskeys are all great. That means I’ve split some serious hairs in the ranking below.
Let’s get into it!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This has a nice and deep nose with layers of woody cinnamon with a hint of dried chili next to a touch of dried apricot, a hint of maple syrup, and a dash of pine resin with a faint whisper of dried rose lurking way in the background. The palate has a spiced orange vibe that warms up on the palate before creamy vanilla with a line of salted caramel softens the taste. The end leaves the creaminess behind and hits on almond shells and old deck wood.
This is a really nice place to start.
From my notes: “a solid AF pour.”
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens soft with an almost meaty dried apricot dipped in pine-laced honey with a line of cinnamon-spiced tobacco sharpening the nose. The palate has a mild sticky toffee pudding vibe with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg next to meaty dates, rum-raisin, and a hint of walnut cake with a twinge of butteriness. The end leans into those sweet dates with a hint of black tea and a dash of wet brown sugar before raisins packed in vanilla tobacco leaves round things out.
This is another excellent pour.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a hint of old basement floorboards with a hint of worn leather jackets next to a hint of sour blueberry pancakes with a deep butteriness next to thin lines of red berry jam and maple syrup. The taste feels like a mix of pecan sandies and mulled wine spices (heave on clove and anise) next to soft vanilla creaminess with a hint of spiced cherry tobacco just kissed with dark chocolate and nutmeg. The end has a slight warmth with a hint of dry cedar bark and hazelnut next to brown sugar and cinnamon butter with a final echo of sour cherry.
This was very clearly a step up from the last two, but not by that much. All three are still great in their own ways, especially as I go back and re-nose and re-taste.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens fairly young and grain-forward but not overly so. The nose feels a bit like raw oatmeal cookie dough with plenty of muted brown spices and brown sugar with a hint of butter underneath it all. The palate has this soft Frosted Mini Wheat vibe with a creamy vanilla layer and a hint more of that spice. The end is subtle with a hint of dried mint and cold cornmeal next to a final line of winter spice.
This is very crafty but fine. It’s nowhere near the last three though.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a rich and tart berry cobbler with a solid layer of spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove) and buttery brown sugar with an almost warm tart berry compote driving everything toward a woody sense of walnut. The palate marries burnt orange rinds with rich, creamy, and salted caramel with a very faint sense of tart cream. The end brings it all together as the tart dark berries and butter brown sugar ends up all loaded into a nutshell and wrapped in a vanilla tobacco leaf.
From my notes: “Okay, we’re back! This is another solid pour of whiskey.”
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This pour opens with a hint of soft leather next to raisins, sour grapes, a dash of apple fritter with plenty of cinnamon, and a mild sense of dried red currants. The palate hits with an ABV buzz (kind of like the numbness you get from wasabi without the taste at all) before soft vanilla creaminess calms everything down toward berry jams with cinnamon and clove next to a light buttermilk biscuit with a hint of dry sweetgrass lurking under it all. The end softly lands on a dried prune/date/raisin finish with a twinge of tartness and a light sense of cedar-laced tobacco just touched with cardamon and vanilla.
What can I say? This is another great pour.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a sense of chili pepper-infused dark chocolate pudding next to a hint of toasted coconut, dry ginger next to root beer, and an echo of pineapple stems. The palate is full of orchard wood and espresso cream next to a hint of lush eggnog with plenty of nutmeg and a dash of some green, herbal, and savory — kind of like tarragon. The end lets the spice amp up toward red peppercorns as plum cake counters with a soft and sweet finish.
We have yet another winner right here.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this one is complex and meaders through mint fields and caramel apple stands as hints of old boot leather, plum jam, winter spice, and a hint of sweet oak round things out. The palate opens with a rich toffee before a warmth takes over with a soft spice (nutmeg and allspice) before woody vanilla and creamed honey take over. The end feels like a handful of candied fruits wrapped up in leathery tobacco leaves with a hint of cedar bark and dried mint in the background.
From my notes: “This is a really good pour of whiskey.”
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this one is salty/sweet with a sense of caramel and buttermilk next to soft oak and a mild hint of coconut shells. The palate toasts that coconut as buttery toffee leading to a vanilla cream pie with a lard crust and a dash of orange oils. The end mixes a soft vanilla cake with a pecan waffle with a whisper of woody maple syrup and light raisin.
This is really good. It’s not quite as amazing as some of the bourbons on this list but it’s damn fine.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a hint of sourdough maple bars next to coconut cream pie, overripe bananas, and soft almond paste cut with rich toffee. The taste leans into a dried nutshell with a hint of rum-raisin next to wintry spices, cherry syrup, and a hint of cedar bark. The end has a mild oatiness with a touch of almond and spicy cherry tobacco leaves with a hint more of that sourdough doughnut.
This very local whiskey is made with 74 percent corn, 14 percent malted rye, and 12 percent two-row malted barley. After mashing and distilling, the juice is aged for at least four years in Iowa. Once just right, the whiskey is touched with a little water to bring it down to proof and bottled without any fussing. For this 2021 release, only 400 cases were released, but it was the first Cedar Ridge Bottled-in-Bond to make it out of Iowa.
Bottom Line:
This was the thinnest bourbon of the day. It felt crafty with those grainy notes but it was still perfectly fine. It’s not overly crafty or young by any stretch. That all said, I’d likely use this for cocktails more than anything else.
9. Daviess County Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Lightly Toasted American Oak Barrels — Taste 9
This brand new release from Daviess County is the first in Lux Row Distillers’ new Toasted Barrel Finish Series, which will be an annual release. The juice in the bottle is a blend of rye and wheated bourbons that aged at least four years. Once vatted, those whiskeys are re-filled into lightly toasted new oak for a final maturation. Once just right, the whiskey is proofed down and bottled (only 18,000 bottles were shipped).
Bottom Line:
This is where things get really good on this list. This is worth seeking out. The only reason this is this low on the list — and this is a massive nitpick — is that I’d like it at a little higher proof. But that’s just me.
The latest batch of Redwood Empire’s Grizzly Beast is a four-grain bourbon. The California whiskey was made with 69 percent corn 22 percent rye, five percent malted barley, and a mere four percent wheat. After five years of maturation, 26 barrels were picked for this batch. Those barrels were vatted and the juice was just kissed with pure water from a local Russian River Valley aquifer.
Bottom Line:
This is another really solid pour that could have easily been tied for second place with nine through three on this list.
7. 15 STARS Fine Aged Bourbon Private Stock Aged 7 & 15 Years — Taste 1
The whiskey is a blend of old sourced barrels of bourbon from Bardstown, Kentucky. In this case, it’s a blend of seven and 15-year-old barrels with a reasonable yet bold proof of 107.
Bottom Line:
This had that little extra ABV oomph I was looking for, so it’s a tad higher in my seven-way-near tie with the other bottles on the list today.
This year’s Yellowstone Limited Edition is a masterstroke of blending by Master Distiller Stephen Beam. The juice in the bottle is a mix of seven, 15, and 16-year barrels finished in Sicilian Marsala Superiore casks (a drier sherry-like Sicilian fortified dessert wine). Once vatted, the whiskey was just touched with water to bring it down to 101 proof, which yielded about 30,000 bottles this year.
Bottom Line:
I can see this winning in a different blind taste test. It’s that good. Overall, the depth was there, the ABVs were subtle, and the juice was enticing. You really can’t ask for more.
This Ohio whiskey is all about grain-to-glass. The juice is made from a mash of sweet yellow corn, soft red winter wheat, dark pumpernickel rye, and Two-Row malted barley. The whiskey spends about four years in oak before it’s bottled as-is at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This was a fun ride of flavor and warmth. The ABVs were a little hot on the mid-palate. But a single rock will calm that right down. This also feels like a great candidate for a subtle yet very good Manhattan.
This brand new release from Barrell Craft Spirits really leans into unique and rare finishings. The blend is a mix of Indiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky bourbons that were finished in three different oaks separately before blending. In this case, that’s Japanese Mizunara casks, French, and American oak. Different toast and char levels were used for the barrels to achieve a unique palate that builds on the heritage of Barrell’s other triple cask-finished whiskeys (Dovetail, Seagrass, and Armida).
Bottom Line:
This is a great bourbon with serious depth — it’s everything you should expect from a Barrell release. It’s nuanced and really takes you on a journey. Just make sure to add a little water or a rock to really plumb the depths of this one.
The last (of three) Larceny Barrel Proof releases of 2022 is here. The juice, in this case, is a classic wheated bourbon — 68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, and 12 percent malted barley — from Heaven Hill. This small batch bourbon was aged for six to eight years before vatting and bottling as-is, creating 2022’s highest ABV release from the brand.
Bottom Line:
I’m really looking forward to seeing how this stacks up against both the rest of Larceny Barrel Proofs from this year and other wheated bourbons. This felt like it’ll be in the running for the best whiskeys of 2022.
2. Remus Repeal Reserve Series VI 2022 Medley — Taste 8
This year’s Remus Reserve is a mix of six to 14-year-old bourbons. Buckle in. The blend is made from two percent from a 2008 bourbon with a 21 percent rye mash, 27 percent from a 2012 bourbon with a 21 percent rye mash, 29 percent from a 2014 bourbon with a 21 percent rye mash, 17 percent from a 2012 bourbon with a 36 percent rye mash bill, and 25 percent from a 2014 bourbon with that same very high rye mash bill. Once vatted, the whiskey is just touched with water for proofing and bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
Remus Reserve releases tend to be one of the high points of the yearly bourbon release calendar. This year’s release was no different. This is great bourbon that packs depth and nuance but goes down very easily and never feels overdone.
It’s deep but accessible — a nice balance.
1. Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2022 — Taste 3
This year’s LE Small Batch is made from a blend of 20-year-old Bourbon from the OBSV bourbon recipe (high rye mash bill, delicate fruit yeast), a 15-year-old OESK (lower rye mash, slight spice yeast), a 14-year-old OESF (lower rye mash, herbal notes years), and a 14-year-old OESV (lower rye mash, delicate fruit yeast). The blend is non-chill filtered and bottled at 109 proof. All of that yielded a mere 14,000 bottles this year.
Bottom Line:
This is a contender for the best bourbons of the year list, for sure. It’s just really unique and yet somehow nostalgic and comforting. It’s worth waiting in line to buy come September.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
This was a ridiculous ranking. All of these whiskeys are without fault and each one has its own charms. Yes, some are better than others. But they’re all worth a look if you really want to get into trying a lot of different bourbons. Yes, even Cedar Ridge.
Brasstacks, the top five are all bottles that I would keep an eye out for. Some will be findable… but only for a minute. Others, well, you’re going to have to do some hunting. The point is, there are a lot of great whiskeys out there. Look at those tasting notes above, find one that speaks to you, and then go out and have a good time tracking it down. Hell, maybe you’ll make a few friends along the way.
When Lizzo accepted the MTV VMA for the Video For Good Award this past weekend, the “About Damn Time” singer appeared to address some recent comments made by comedian Aries Spears at the end of her acceptance speech. “To the bitches that got something to say about me in the press… You know what, I’m not gonna say nothing,” she said on stage at the MTV VMAs. “They be like, ‘Lizzo why don’t you clap back? Why don’t you clap back?’ ‘Cause, bitch, I’m winning, ho!” It definitely felt like a jab at Aries Spears, especially when she tweeted out a clip of the acceptance speech with the words, “KEEP MY NAME IN YO MOUF CUS I KNOW IT TASTE GOOD BITCH!” But what did he say specifically?
What Did Aries Spears Say About Lizzo?
In an appearance on the Art Of Dialogue Podcast, it was suggested to Spears that Lizzo makes good music. He replied with a fairly unhinged (and frankly, misogynist) diatribe that body-shamed Lizzo numerous times. “Lizzo? I can’t get past the fact that she looks like the sh*t emoji,” he said. “She got a very pretty face, but she keeps showing her body off… Come on, man… A woman that’s built like a plate of mashed potatoes is in trouble.”
He took issue with what he called the hypocrisy of Lizzo’s “confidence,” indicating that she doesn’t care about diabetes, heart disease, or cholesterol, despite admitting he’s hardly a pinnacle of fitness. He then insinuated that this was a systemic problem with women in general: “You all claim womanhood and sisterhood and support for your sister when it comes to that ridiculous sh*t. But if you really gave a f*ck, why wouldn’t you go, ‘Black girl, we love you, we love your confidence booboo, but this ain’t it.’ That’s the real love… Y’all will jump on me for making jokes, but y’all won’t be real and go, ‘Sister, put the eclair down. This ain’t it, it’s treadmill time.”
Aries Spears says that he can’t get passed the fact that Lizzo looks like the emoji when asked about her music. pic.twitter.com/C2d4pbfDwl
Not a great look for Aries Spears, a middling comedian whose career highlights include appearing on MAD TV nearly 20 years ago and being Cuba Gooding Jr ‘s jealous little brother in Jerry Maguire.
Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Bottle service — when you pay for an entire bottle of liquor at a nightclub to be delivered to your table — is often (almost always) wildly expensive. But for those who love to floss, bottle service does hold value. Because it’s about more than the bottle you’re buying, it’s also about the fanfare around it.
A good bottle service moment makes you feel like you’re in a rap video, screaming “YOLO!” to the ceiling. And everyone deserves a little bit of that energy. And if you’re going to splurge, you’re going to want to get something that at least tastes insanely elevated, right? Something so exclusive that on first taste your guests will think: “this person has style, great taste, and knows how to have a good time.”
Entire Moët Hennesy’s Volcán De Mi Tierra X.A. a premium-aged tequila — exclusively available on bottle service menus at high-end restaurants and nightclubs and costing an average of $1,900. Obviously, that’s a lot of f*cking money to spend on tequila and a lot of money to throw down completely blind. So we acquired a bottle of this super exclusive tequila (a retail release is in the cards, but a firm date hasn’t been announced yet) and tried it for you.
Volcán De Me Tierra X.A.
Dane Rivera
The Tequila:
Volcán De Me Tierra’s X.A. tequila is produced at NOM 1523 and stands as the only brand currently in production at the Agrotequilera De Jalisco distillery. The “X.A.” name stands for extra aged as this tequila isn’t a single expression, but a blend of reposado, añejo, and extra añejo tequilas. While tequila blends, especially aged blends, are nothing new in the tequila industry, Volcán still approached the process with uniqueness in mind. Volcán De Me Tierra’s original lineup of expressions — the much more affordable Blanco and Añejo Cristalino — were developed by famed tequila Maestra Anna Maria Romero, but Moët Hennesy uses luxury as a selling point, so the brand needed a product that truly spoke to the high-end minded audience, which is how and why the brand developed X.A.
“Originally we went for an añejo and we developed a beautiful one,” Volcán COO Santiago Gallardo tells us over Zoom. “But the feedback was also that we need something very easy to drink. Easier said than done — we evolved the original añejo profile into the X.A. We found a wine cask with our cooperage in South America and Chili called TN Coopers, a specialty that’s called ‘Grace’ that had never been used in the industry.”
According to the TN Coopers website, the Grace barrel has a strong concentration of vanillin and imparts a natural sweetened and toasted intensity. That Grace barrel ended up being the secret ingredient for X.A.
“It’s American all oak, but multi-plot,” Gallardo continues. “It’s one that came out with the sweetest profile taste out of all the others. We tasted the repo and said ‘this is killer, but it needs an added complexity.’ We had that añejo we developed, and some extra añejo, after a few different blends we came up with the X.A. profile.’
The result is a dangerously easy-to-drink tequila that comes across as supremely smooth, even sweet, but not in a heavily perfumed or unnatural way. The bottle is also something of a marvel — X.A. comes in a stylish, super tall black glass bottle with gold lettering, hand stamped with a heavy statement-making gold cap. A light system built into the bottom allows the base of the bottle to light up (resembling a volcano) and adding to the fanfare of it all. In short, we can’t imagine a situation where ordering this bottle wouldn’t charm everyone at the table, even the biggest tequila snob in your friend group (though they’ll be salty they hadn’t heard of it).
Gallardo tells me that the brand is currently getting better at accelerating and scaling the bottling process, which initially was taking 13 minutes per bottle. For something this beautiful, that doesn’t sound like a long time, but that’s probably a major factor in keeping this brand exclusive to bottle service. As mentioned, a retail release is indeed coming, though Gallardo says the brand still hasn’t landed on a suggested retail price — though he imagines a non-gift box version would fall somewhere below $200.
So in terms of look, feel, and process, Volcán nailed it, but how does it taste?
Dane
Tasting Notes:
As I mentioned, this is dangerously easy to drink. This is wince-free tequila that instantly bathes your tongue in a bouquet of flavors that go down smoother than any aged tequila I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking. It’s perfect for sipping and savoring, with an initial Devil’s Food chocolate flavor note that grows in complexity as it crosses your palate.
After the initial chocolate comes rich coffee tones with some dark cherry and floral honey notes lingering on the backend, before finishing with a rush of cooked agave, vanilla heavy molasses, and tongue-tingling spiced oak. It’s a journey of flavors that begs for another sip, which I was happy to oblige. With a few ice cubs the flavors really open up, I was originally tempted to throw a quick margarita together with this tequila, just for the novelty of making a cocktail with a $1,900 bottle of tequila, but after drinking it with the ice cubes, it kind of felt like a waste. I can’t think of a more perfect way to enjoy this on a hot day than with a few ice cubes in the glass.
The Bottom Line:
It’s a great tequila — especially for those who want their tequila smooth rather than getting a ton of vegetal, green-pepper notes. Is it worth $1900?
That depends.
X.A. aims for a luxury market and it delivers on presentation, process, and flavor. But bottle service is obviously quite a markup and the fact that this will retail for $200 underscores that. That said, this bottle comes with a lot of fanfare, depending on the club (in Vegas, at Zouk, it arrives with a full parade of sparkler-waving staffers). If you have the means and like a big, chaotic scene, it’s a fantastic pick and you’ll surely get complemented on your good taste.
Here is a list of venues you can currently find X.A. at both domestically and internationally:
NYC:
The Box
Little Sister
Somewhere Nowhere
Gurney’s
Brooklyn Mirage
House of X
Paradise Club
Marquee
Baccarat Hotel
Catch
Vegas:
Tao Beach
Marquee DayClub and Nightclub
Hakkasan
Fuhu
Ayu Dayclub
Delilah’s
Gatsby’s
Zouk
STK Las Vegas
Los Angeles:
Hyde/ Nightingale
Tao
Melrose Place
La Mesa
The Edition Hotel
Miami:
LIV
E11EVEN
Sexy Fish
Baoli
Kiki
Space
Bagatelle
Story
International:
L’Opéra / Loulou Ramatuel / le Quai (St. Tropez)
La Guerite, Baoli, Palm Beach (Cannes)
Ushuaïa and Hï (Ibiza)
Scorpios (Mykonos)
Bagatelle (Tulum)
Bagatelle (Bodrum)
After Netflix nailed down the rights to the sequel all the way back in 2019, Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hill Cops 4 is officially moving ahead. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zola‘s Taylour Paige have joined the cast of the fourth installment, which is now titled Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. The streaming giant secured the film rights from Paramount, which released the first three films in the ’80s and ’90s and helped make Murphy a marquee star. Now, Netflix has made the fourth movie a reality, and it even managed to get legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
As for Gordon-Levitt, the actor has been increasingly busy after returning from a career break. Via Deadline:
Gordon-Levitt has been busy going all the way back to the pandemic when he had multiple pics bow including the popular Netflix actioner Project Power and the Oscar-nominated The Trial of the Chicago 7. Over the past year, Gordon-Levitt has stayed busy on both the TV and film fronts, starting with the Showtime series Super Pumped, where he played Uber founder Travis Kalanick. Next up, he will voice Jiminy Cricket in Disney’s Pinocchio. He also recently wrapped production on the drama Providence opposite Lily James.
While Murphy took some time away from Netflix to make the Coming to America sequel for Amazon, he will be back on the streaming platform later this year with You People, a new comedy film co-written by Jonah Hill and Kenya Barris.
This past weekend, a Pitchfork report came out outlining multiple sexual assault allegations against Arcade Fire lead singer Win Butler. The recounts from several people seemed especially damning for the musician who came across as a man using his position of power to make unwanted sexual advances. Butler issued a statement claiming that, “…These relationships were all consensual” and that he would be, “…Continuing to learn from my mistakes and working hard to become a better person, someone my son can be proud of.”
The timing of the report alleging sexual misconduct against Butler, came ahead of Arcade Fire’s UK, European and North American tour in support of their latest album, We, scheduled to begin on August 30th in Dublin, Ireland. Yet despite the very public allegations casting a shadow over Butler and the band, a source has indicated that Arcade Fire have no plans to cancel their tour and will continue as scheduled, according to a report from The Fader. “A well-placed source has informed The FADER that the dates are still scheduled to proceed as planned…,” the report reads. Adding that, “Beck and Feist, the previously announced support acts, have not made any statements on the allegations or their plans for the upcoming dates.”
It would be hard to imagine an Arcade Fire concert having the same energy as it has in the past ever again. But it remains to be seen whether Arcade Fire, or even their support acts change their tune once the tour begins tomorrow.
Carrell’s Alan Strauss is a celebrated therapist and author at the top of his field. Gleeson’s Sam Fortner is a squirrely health inspector who likes to sample dishes from the eateries he judges. But his appetites don’t end with food and both men are masking devastating struggles in their personal lives. For Strauss, it’s the recent death of his wife and the estrangement of his ultra-Orthodox son. For Fortner, it’s the compulsion to kill total strangers over the smallest slight.
Throughout the show’s 10 episodes – each a brisk 30-minutes filled with dizzying amounts of dramatic highs (and lows) – it becomes clear that theirs is a twisted, potentially lethal doctor-patient relationship. Gleeson, known for his franchise work and his ability to play a relatable every-man across a wide array of genres – see Ex-Machina, About Time, and Frank of Ireland – is at his most menacing as Sam, a Kenny Chesney groupie with major daddy issues who wavers between genuinely wanting to fix the broken parts of his psyche and his need for utter control. He’s a character who’s hard to pin down, even for the man playing him.
“I don’t know how to describe him still, but I think that’s a good thing,” Gleeson told UPROXX over Zoom. “I shifted back and forth on where I felt about his instincts and his nature over the course of the show … over the course of takes, sometimes.”
He lands somewhere in the morally grey space between man’s desire to change and his ability to do so, making Sam an erratic, reprehensible, and at times, oddly empathetic weirdo so desperate to be normal that he thinks kidnapping his therapist is his only recourse.
We chatted with Gleeson about the show’s strange premise, lurking on Kenny Chesney forums, exotic takeout, and which version of The Office he likes best.
What’s it like to chain Steve Carrell up in your basement? I think the world would like to know.
[Laughs] I think it’s important to point out that I didn’t chain him in every day. There was the props guy. Steve would do it himself on occasion. I didn’t knock on his trailer in the morning and say, ‘Steve it’s time.’
Did that prop influence how you guys interacted on set while shooting?
It is interesting because in normal scenes, in normal shows, the control is seesawing back and forth and that’s what keeps things interesting. Physically, Sam is in utter control at every moment of their relationship. He’s got him chained up. If Sam decides to walk out and leave the house, Strauss is dead. That’s it. So that’s a huge amount of control that’s on Sam’s side. And on some level, he must understand that and possibly enjoy it. But psychologically, the advantage weirdly is on Steve’s side. He is more intelligent. He is more in tune with how people work. And so the seesaw there, you were still able to do it. It was just on a different basis than it normally is.
This is a very lean show. Most of it is just you and Steve in a room together, playing off each other. How does it compare to some of the more massive franchise projects you’ve been a part of?
I think the focus is easier in a situation like that. The scripts were all wonderful, were written with plenty of time to learn everything, to dig into everything, to have the important conversations early. There was no scrabble to try to work out something suddenly on set. The important conversations had already happened and then you’re free to play and push around and all the rest of it. It’s tiring work, it’s intense work, but it was in all the right ways. I absolutely loved it. I wish I could work like that nearly all the time. I think being able to change things up is part of the joy of being an actor. But I mean, I would choose that experience over most other ones I’ve had really.
Sam is one of the few serial killers we’ve seen on TV who is actually trying to not kill people. What was the most challenging part about playing him?
I think initially it was trying to find where to place the truthfulness of his ambition to get better. How much does he understand that there is an alternative, which is just to hand himself in, and that that is by far the most human thing to do? And how much does he understand that he’s actually driven almost purely by selfishness, even in his desire to get better? That this is more about controlling himself than it is about being good for other people?
I think, when anyone does something as monstrous as killing another person, the question is always, ‘Why?’ Why do this? Why are they like this? Is it nature? Nurture? Is there an answer in Sam’s case?
That’s one of the central questions of the series and one of the central questions when you’re kind of tackling Sam. And for me, it was important not to make a decision on exactly where it came from. I think he had a terrible childhood, but plenty of people have worse childhoods and never do what he did. So where does that come from? Are you born different? Do you become different? Is it a little bit from column A, a little bit from column B? I think those questions are endlessly interesting. I think if you just answer them… I don’t think you can just answer them. I think that would be a mistake. And the series doesn’t imagine that it can offer an answer for the whole thing, tied up in with a nice bow or with a manacle would be more appropriate.
What kind of research did you do into serial killers to figure out where Sam fit in?
I read plenty about the way that serial killers are classified, the different types of serial killers, and the way that people drift between the definitions. And Sam didn’t seem to fit any one definition totally. There are not many that fit just one definition. But he seemed to float in between them in a way that I found worrying and that I would imagine, in a way, he would find worrying himself.
He has a lot of quirks. A Kenny Chesney obsession. A love for exotic takeout. A Dunkin Donuts habit. Where did those eccentricities come from?
That all came from the Js [showrunners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg]. They had this great understanding that even a serial killer will never be just that one thing. If you’re really looking at the person, they will have other interests. There will be other things in their life that do not define their lives in the same way or other people’s lives in the same way, but that are true aspects of their character. And so they added in the normal human interests that everybody has. And then they just gain bizarreness because of this other aspect of his character. If you just had a character who listened to Kenny Chesney and enjoyed food, you’d be like, ‘Yeah, that seems like a normal person.’ But it changes it.
Did you just do something with your head like you don’t think that’s the case?
I don’t know if it’s normal to go to that many Kenny Chesney concerts.
I don’t know, man. I’ve been to a few Strokes concerts in my time. Those message boards exist. There are people who follow the band around and go to every gig. It’s a real thing.
Are you on Kenny Chesney forums now?
Under a fake name? That would be great to have Sam Fortner as a name. We should have done that as a publicity thing from the beginning.
I was just thinking that … the viral marketing, we should have done that.
Or some kind of Grubhub coupon code. You eat a lot in this show.
[Laughs] I mean, there’s a well-known thing that actors will try everything not to eat in a scene. You don’t want to have to eat 17 plates of pasta because you make the mistake in the first take of eating too much. But Sam is meant to have this appetite. I’d asked the Js ahead of time, “Listen, where do you see him physically?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, have a good Christmas.’ You know what I mean? ‘If you arrive back with a bit of weight on that’s all good.’ So I arrived full and just got fuller over the course of the thing. But it is not fun eating that amount of cold, not very nice food.
There are plenty of shows about white men doing bad things. Is there something that made this story feel different?
Well, I think the therapy thing as a centerpiece of the whole thing, and I think the notion of loss at the center of it, what Steve is going through — that to me is really what the show is about. That’s the bit that I find almost most interesting. But the de-mythologizing of a serial killer, just showing it to be a person who lives in a place with a life that they’re not happy with — that other people would be happy with, but that they’ve decided is not good enough for them … they feel there’s a pathetic element to what will be a very good life for a lot of other people. That ego, and just … the banality of that. Do you know what I mean? That doesn’t sound exciting, but I found them tackling that to be really a good way to do it. Because I think there’s a version of the show, which is just keeping a serial killer as this unknowable, fascinating mind. And he is that in some ways, but not in a way that I think is just interested in the guts. This was interested in the sadness, the pathetic element of his life.
Basically, let’s stop idolizing serial killers.
Let’s not make them cool. Let’s not make them sexy. Let’s not make them like, ‘Oh, who’s that guy? That guy is interesting.’ It’s not that. The notion of being sexy and all the rest of that or being unknowable in a sexy way, I don’t really have much time for that.
Final question: When it comes to The Office, do you prefer the British version or the American one?
Look, this is all me and Steve talked about. I love both. And here’s what I think. They basically have the same title. That’s it. They’re both just at the very top of the list in terms of the sort of show that they are. Both those shows make me so happy but in totally different ways. So I’m not getting into the weeds on this with you. I refuse to follow you into deep water. That’s so many metaphors in a row.
‘The Patient’ premieres Tuesday, August 30 via FX on Hulu.
As they often are, things in the Blackpink camp have been superlative as of late. Their recent video for new single “Pink Venom” had the biggest YouTube debut of 2022 so far. Then, at the 2022 MTV VMAs last night (August 28), the group gave their first-ever US awards show performance. Now, there’s another achievement to add to the list: “Pink Venom” has debuted at No. 22 on the new Billboard Hot 100 chart dated September 3. Pop Crave notes this represents the “highest solo entry by a K-pop girl group” in the history of the chart.
The group’s highest-charting song on the Hot 100 overall is the Selena Gomez collaboration “Ice Cream,” which peaked just outside the top 10 in 2020, at No. 13. (That song was also co-written with Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét, by the way.) They so far have two other top-40 singles: 2020’s “How You Like That” and Lady Gaga’s “Sour Candy,” both of which coincidentally peaked at No. 33.
Elsewhere on this week’s Billboard charts, “Pink Venom” also thrived on the global ranks, debuting in the No. 1 spot on both the Global 200 and Global 200 Excluding United States charts. This is thanks to the second-biggest worldwide weekly streaming total since the charts were launched in September 2020: The track racked up 212.1 million streams and sold 36,000 downloads worldwide in the tracking week from August 19 to 25. That streaming total is second to only the debut week of BTS’ “Butter” in 2021, during which it had 289.5 million streams.
The Billboard #Global200 top 10 (chart dated Sep. 3, 2022)
Tekashi 69 has been in his fair share of controversy throughout his career, but in his latest TMZ headline, he’s more of a supporting character. The rapper was allegedly involved in some sort of altercation in Miami with his girlfriend Rachel Wattley, aka Jade, on Sunday night, resulting in Jade being arrested on a battery charge after supposedly punching the rapper. The altercation was caught on video and obtained — of course — by TMZ. The video shows 69 arguing with a group of women including Jade outside a club when one of the women tries to punch him.
When police saw the commotion, they asked Tekashi what happened after he retreated to his car. He told them Jade hit him; his statement was corroborated by witnesses on the street. However, according to the police report, the rapper didn’t want to cooperate with the officers and once they’d arrested her, went to pay her $1,500 bail. He told TMZ directly, “She attacked me in front of the police. I told them, ‘You have to evaluate her, she’s obviously under the influence.’ I don’t plan to press charges … I’m the one trying to bail her out.” This isn’t the first time 69 took a shot in Miami; earlier this year, he was struck from behind at a nightclub. He was also sued by a stripper last year who claimed he hit her with a champagne bottle during a club fight after missing his intended target.
You can check out a video of the altercation courtesy of TMZ below.
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emoji when asked about her music. 
