Month: August 2022

It’s pretty simple, really: Ken Jennings will host the new season from Jeopardy! from September until December, at which point Mayim Bialik will take over. That’s it. But it’s a concept that a stranger couldn’t seem to grasp during an awkward encounter with Bialik.

“I went to the lobby of where I was filming this Jeopardy! shoot today and [a] man was wearing a mask and I was with [my assistant],” Bialik said in a video on Instagram. “[She] said to the man, ‘We’re here for a Jeopardy! shoot.’ The guy says ‘Oh, are you going to be on the show?’ and it was kind of awkward.” The former-The Big Bang Theory and Blossom star told the guy that she’s also a host, “and he was like ‘What about Ken Jennings?’ And I said ‘Well, we actually share duties.’ And he was like ‘Oh.’”

The Call Me Kat leading lady went on to explain that the man said he was from Canada just like Alex Trebek was. In the end, it seems like she laughed off the encounter. Mayim’s fans, of course, were nothing but supportive despite the awkward moment.

At least he wasn’t there to meet Mike Richards.

Bialik doesn’t take over for Jennings on regular Jeopardy! until next January, but she will host Celebrity Jeopardy! beginning September 25.

(Via Good Housekeeping)

Earlier this month, Michelle Branch found herself in an unfortunate situation. On August 11, she publicly accused husband Patrick Carney (drummer of The Black Keys) of infidelity, tweeting, “Just found out my husband cheated on me with his manager […] while I was home with our 6 month old daughter.” Shortly after that tweet, Branch was arrested and charged with domestic assault after she, per her own admission, slapped Carney in the face “one to two times.” After the arrest, Branch officially filed for divorce.

Between the split and the assault case, Branch has a legal journey ahead of her, but it just got a bit easier: Billboard reports that on Wednesday (August 24), the domestic assault case was “dismissed at the request of the state.” TMZ reports they obtained the disposition and say the reasons for the dismissal are unclear.

After the news of the alleged cheating broke, Branch said in a statement, “To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”

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

Instagram is generally Britney Spears’ social media platform of choice, but every now again, she’ll deactivate the account for a brief while before returning. Now, shortly before releasing her comeback single, her and Elton John’s “Hold Me Closer,” Spears has again gone dark on Instagram. Fans first started noticing the deactivation at around 7:30 p.m. ET last night (August 24).

Spears has, however, taken to Twitter to share some thoughts, revealing how she’s feeling ahead of the song dropping. Shortly before 9 p.m. ET yesterday, Spears wrote in a series of tweets:

“Okie dokie … my first song in 6 years !!!! It’s pretty damn cool that I’m singing with one of the most classic men of our time … @eltonofficial !!!! I’m kinda overwhelmed… it’s a big deal to me !!! I’m meditating more and learning my space is valuable and precious !!! I’m learning everyday is a clean slate to try and be a better person and do what makes me happy … yes I choose happiness today. I tell myself every day to let go of the hurt bitterness and try to forgive myself and others to what may have been hurtful. I want to be fearless like when I was younger and not be so scared and fearful. I pray there actually is truth to the Holy Spirit and I hope that spirit is with my children as well !!! Yes … I choose happiness and joy today !!!”

Spears’ last new single was the 2016 Tinashe collaboration “Slumber Party.” However, a few other songs — “Mood Ring,” “Swimming In The Stars,” and “Matches” with Backstreet Boys — were released as singles in 2020 to coincide with a reissue of the album.

Earlier in the day yesterday, Spears shared a snippet of the new song and some kind words about John, writing, “Thank you for your [generosity] and just thinking of me to join you on such a brilliant song !!! How cool is it to be a background voice ON YOUR song !!! Sir Elton I did it thanks to your genius, creative, and legendary mind !!! I am so grateful !!!”

Find Spears’ tweets below.

Harry Styles is gearing up in the film My Policeman. The movie involves a storyline centered around homosexuality, which is important on the surface in terms of visibility and inclusion. However, Styles’s recent comments on the film have many feeling like he has missed the mark in representing a community he’s never claimed to be a part of.

In a conversation with Rolling Stone, the Harry’s House artist spoke on his personal journey with sexuality and how it relates to the film. Later, he compares the film to his work in another film, Don’t Worry Darling, which features gay sex scenes.” So much of gay sex in film is two guys going at it, and it kind of removes the tenderness from it,” Styles said. “There will be, I would imagine, some people who watch it who were very much alive during this time when it was illegal to be gay, and [director Michael] wanted to show that it’s tender and loving and sensitive.”

Needless to say, fans were not happy with what they deemed as the pop sensation “queerbaiting.” Some used funny memes and videos while others downright ripped him for such misguided commentary. You can check out some of the comments in tweets embedded below.

In the wake of animated shows getting slashed and booted by Warner Bros. Discovery, at least one good thing is staying on our screens. Apple TV+’s Central Park is singing its way into a third season that continues a streak of delightful delightfulness.

The show, which features the Central Park-dwelling Tillerman–Hunter family and a lot of original songs, hits the streaming service September 9th. There’s also a major change in the cast. Kristen Bell is back, but not in her original role as Molly, the biracial budding comic book artist. The dilemma there speaks for itself, and Bell has been replaced by Broadway and Umbrella Academy star Emmy Raver-Lampman. Instead, Bell will play Paige’s (Kathryn Hahn) sister Abby.

The rest of the core cast is back, too. Leslie Odom, Jr., Josh Gad, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, and Stanley Tucci will be joined by a slew of excellent guest stars Sam Richardson, Ike Barinholtz, Ben Schwartz, Zoë Chao, Ron Funches, Jack McBrayer, Amber Ruffin, Yvette Nicole Brown, Craig Robinson, Tim Meadows, David Alan Grier and more.

They’ll either singing about the splendor of Central Park or about wanting to pave over it and replace it with condominiums. The Emmy and NAACP Image Award-nominated promises over 40 new songs this season as well as Richardson’s interim mayor not knowing what a hot dog is.

Fans should get prepared to say goodbye to Amanda Rollins. As the 24th season of Law & Order: SVU lands September 22nd, it will be Kelli Giddish‘s last, although it’s unclear when exactly her character will bow out. According to The Wrap, Giddish clarified that she was leaving the show in a statement to address some internet rumors.

“I wanted to address the chatter I’ve seen online and let everyone know that this will, indeed, be my last season on Law & Order: SVU. Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life. I’ve been so fortunate to be a part of the Law & Order family for the last 12 years. There is simply no other character on TV like Rollins. She’s grown and changed, and I have as well. I started on this show when I was in my late 20s and I’m grateful I got to spend so many of my adult years with Rollins in my life,” Giddish said. She went on to thank Dick Wolf, her castmates, and the crew.

The latest season is part of an ambitious launch of the enduring cop procedural’s extended universe. The flagship show, SVU, and Organized Crime are returning with a 3-hour cross-over event involving all the major teams. It’s a gutsy move, and now we know the season will also include a farewell to a mainstay. Giddish’s exit leaves a Rollins-shaped hole in the show. If Christopher Meloni comes back full time because she’s leaving, it will prove that history rhymes. Fortunately for fans, Ice-T will never, ever leave.

(via The Wrap)

Back in 2015, the Austrian psychological horror film Ich Seh Ich Seh (Goodnight Mommy) made a sizable impact because its trailer went viral. Even Austria didn’t care about the film until then, but when people started calling it the “scariest trailer of all time,” the entire world took notice. To be fair, it’s an incredible film, and its trailer was built from whispering twins, strange masks, a cockroach placed on their mother’s face, and a whole lot of atmosphere.

Now that the long-gestating American remake is heading to Amazon Prime September 16th, it’s gotten a very Americanized trailer which shows just about everything.

A non-spoilery synopsis would point out that the new Goodnight Mommy stars Naomi Watts as a woman who returns to an isolated home after having facial reconstructive surgery, but her twin boys (Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti) begin to suspect that she’s not actually their mother. The remake was written by Kyle Warren, in what will be his first feature film produced, and directed by Matt Sobel, who won decent acclaim for the tense family drama Take Me To The River.

The trailer for the new version is also undeniably creepy, even as it flashes some clear third act sequences. Watts dancing sensually in a full face of specialty gauze is its own special brand of unsettling, and it arrives just in time for Halloween costume planning time. Where can we get gauze in bulk?

According to Deadline, Miss Juneteenth star Nicole Beharie is set to join the cast of The Morning Show as a lead for its third season. She’ll star alongside Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, providing a Millennial-aged foil to the two Gen Xers at the news desk. Apple TV+ describes her character, Christina Hunter, as a “grounded, competitive and charismatic millennial” who “works hard, plays hard, and navigates the Teacup with good-humored irreverence.” For a show that’s all about public persona as a currency of power, they’ve set up a beautiful clash between the generations, vying for different kinds of eyeballs.

Beharie will also be seen in the upcoming John Boyega drama Breaking, as well as the Sundance favorite Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

Jon Hamm is also joining the Morning Show team as “corporate titan” Paul Marks. In other words, he’ll be a string-puller who tosses monkey wrenches into the works in order to get his whimsical way. Hard to beat Hamm in a role like that.

This is a solid pair of actors providing fresh blood for a series that already has an absurd amount of talent on screen and behind the camera. The third season is currently filming.

(via Deadline)

Rejoice! As our patron saint Nicole Kidman has foretold, movies are magic, and the teaser trailer for Empire of Light testifies to that eternal truth. Sam Mendes‘ first film after 1917 features a dreamy cast, a cinema-celebrating vibe, the gorgeous visuals of Roger Deakins, and a likely-flawless soundscape from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Did you want an official synopsis? Sure thing:

“Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s, Empire of Light is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema.” That human connection is between characters played by Oscar winner Olivia Coleman and BAFTA winner Michael Ward. The other humans in the film include Oscar winner Colin Firth and Toby Jones. Empire of Light, which will see theaters for a limited award-qualifying run on December 9th, will play at the BFI London Film Festival on October 12th, which is when we can expect reviews to pop up.

There’s no doubt this is going for Oscar glory. The cast, the prestige behind the camera, and the release date all speak to high hopes with the Academy. Plus, AMPAS loooooooves movies about movies, so this thing was basically constructed in a lab to please the voters. Beyond awards hope, Empire of Light simply looks like a gorgeous romance that demands a darkened room and a very big screen.

Charli XCX found herself on the surprising side of a movie review earlier this month when Lena Wilson expressed her disdain for the comedic horror film Bodies Bodies Bodies. Among many other critiques, the New York Times writer stated that the movie doubled as a 95-minute advertisement for cleavage, as well as promotion for the “Hot In It” artist’s new single “Hot Girl (Bodies Bodies Bodies).” Charli XCX could not help but fire back.

In a TikTok posted Wednesday afternoon, the pop singer used the green screen feature to show the paragraph where her song is mentioned, and then autotuned her voice while she said “I don’t know what’s going on and I simply don’t wanna know.”

This isn’t the only backlash Wilson has received, as Newsweek reports she deleted all her social media after a spirited exchange with actress Amandla Sternberg. Last week, Sternberg contacted Wilson over Instagram DM, telling her, “Ur review was great, maybe if you had gotten ur eyes off my tits you could’ve watched the movie.” Wilson ended up leaking the messages and claiming homophobia, which only wound up backfiring.

Check out Charli XCX’s TikTok above.

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