Month: October 2022

Steph Curry entered Tuesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns a perfect 22-for-22 from the free throw line on the season. Curry tends to make a lot of shots from the free throw line — he’s a career 90.9 percent shooter from the charity stripe — but still, he was on quite the hot streak at the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign.

But of course, Curry missed a free throw because of the thing that has caused more missed free throws than Hack-a-Shaq: the announcer’s jinx. TNT is broadcasting Tuesday night’s game, and right as Curry stepped up to the stripe for the first time against Phoenix, Harlan just so happened to mention that his record was unblemished so far.

As a result, the ball got about halfway down before deciding to pop up, as if it had conspired with Harlan to give us a moment that we could blog about. Curry seemed to realize what was going on, too, and even pointed at Harlan as if to blame him for the miss.

At least everyone was able to laugh about this, because before the miss, Curry was on pace to go the entirety of the season without a miss from the free throw line, which would have been very impressive.

Over the last few years, Pete Davidson has turned into a perhaps unlikely sex symbol. Or maybe “unlikely” is inaccurate; just ask Emily Ratajkowski. The SNL alum has had his share of high-profile romances, including with someone once married to a certain figure currently in the midst of an implosion. Now another celebrity has thrown her hat in the “would date Pete Davidson” ring.

As caught by Page Six, Martha Stewart went on The Drew Barrymore Show Tuesday, where the two played a game called “Red Flag, Yellow Flag, Green Flag,” in which the guest weighs in on certain qualities they may find turn-ons or turn-offs. At one point, Barrymore was describing the mystery man, saying, “Your date has as many tattoos as Pete Davidson.”

Maybe unexpectedly, the lifestyle guru raised a green flag, signaling that she was down. That prompted Barrymore to inform her, “Okay, your date is Pete Davidson.” Again, Stewart went with green.

“I mean he has dated so many women,” Stewart said. When Barrymore responded with a “So what?”, Stewart clarified, saying, “No I’m not saying that’s bad. I think that’s good and he’s sort of cute.”

Stewart added that she knows Davidson, which shocked Barrymore. “Oh you didn’t know I know him? He was on the [Justin] Bieber roast with me, do you remember?” she recalled. “He was this little twerp. He was even twerpier than Bieber.”

Barrymore weighed in, saying, “But everybody speaks about Pete Davidson in such a positive way. Like he has to be a good guy.”
“Oh he is a good guy,” Stewart replied. “Very good guy and he knows how to get in and get out.”

So anyway, Pete Davidson, you can have Martha Stewart if you want. Everyone else can watch her Barrymore appearance. The Davidson business begins around the 2-minute mark.

(Via Page Six)

We’ve been watching the highly anticipated When We Were Young Festival come into fruition recently, and now we’re witnessing the birth of a new alternative-leaning festival: Adjacent Fest in Atlantic City, which was announced today and which is taking place on Memorial Day weekend — May 27 and 28 — next year. Headliners include Blink-182 and Paramore.

Along with those emo legends, there are a ton of notable acts on the roster: Bleachers, Thursday, Turnstile, Japanese Breakfast, Jimmy Eat World, Mannequin Pussy, PUP, Jeff Rosenstock, Meet Me At The Altar, Coheed And Cambria, Idles, The Linda Lindas, Wheatus, Surf Curse, Beach Bunny, Waterparks, Knocked Loose, Phantom Planet, The Front Bottoms, and more. Find the full lineup and ticket information on their website.

Blink-182 recently pleased many fans by returning with their original vocalist and guitarist Tom Delonge. So far they’ve released the song “Edging.” About the track, drummer Travis Barker, who also produced it, said, “I wanted to imagine as a listener what I wanted to experience and at the same time as a band member what we wanted to make and say, and most importantly how it would sound production-wise in 2022.” Mark Hoppus added, “I’m so happy to be back in the studio creating new music and looking forward to a giant world tour.”

Last night, Taylor Swift joined Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show to talk about her intense productivity, her “Bejeweled” music video, and of course her new album Midnights. To celebrate the Swift season further, Fallon did a skit where he delivered a news update about Joe Biden and Donald Trump while using mostly Swift’s song titles. “It’s time for the news,” he said, “Taylor’s version.”

“Biden and Trump are both running for re-election and they’ve got major ‘Bad Blood’ which everyone knows ‘All Too Well,’” he said. “Of course Trump has quite the ‘Reputation.’ Every day he’s like, ‘I Did Something Bad’ and Biden has to be like, ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.’” He does this for a full two minutes, using songs like “You Belong With Me” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” The audience cheered with recognition of each song title, some more than others.

Fallon closed it with this: “Head to the polls and fill out every ‘Blank Space.’ It doesn’t matter if you’re blue or ‘Red’ or even ‘Lavender Haze.’ You gotta let your voice be heard — both in 2024 and during the midterms in 20’22.’ This has been the news, Taylor’s Version.”

Watch the full video above.

Since 2017, the Netflix animation comedy Big Mouth has both amused and grossed-out viewers. Co-created by voice co-star Nick Kroll, it’s an inventive and absolutely fearless look at one of the most tumultuous times in a person’s life: puberty. Over its five seasons and counting, the show has never shied away from going there, and often beyond, sometimes with the help of Duke Ellington’s ghost (voice of Jordan Peele). A sixth season is en route, but when does it come out?

The answer: Friday, October 28. That’s when all new episodes of the show will drop, although perhaps fans will decide to go through them in shifts, not just because of how intense it can be, but because that’s when this year’s World Series begins.

Big Mouth is loosely (very, very loosely) based on the childhood of lifelong friends Kroll and co-creator Andrew Goldberg. Kroll voices Nick, an adolescent who, along with his friend Andrew (John Mulaney, standing in for Goldberg), wrestle with the onset of puberty. Making matters worse, their puberty blues are embodied by Hormone Monsters, some better equipped with steering them through such muddy waters than others.

The show has proven so popular that it spawned a star-studded spinoff, Human Resources, which depicts the office culture of said Hormone Monsters. That show bowed earlier this year, and has already been renewed for a second season. Meanwhile, some of the Big Mouth brain trust is teaming with no less an icon than Mel Brooks to turn one of his finest, bluest cinematic efforts, History of the World: Part I, into a Hulu show.

With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both out of action, the L.A. Clippers faced an intriguing challenge on Tuesday evening with a road trip to face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. By halftime, it was clear that the Clippers were locked in battle, trailing 49-43 after 24 minutes of action. However, there was a very interesting play just before the halftime break arrived, and it involved Clippers center Ivica Zubac and a case of mistaken clock management.

With about nine seconds remaining in the half, Thunder guard Tre Mann connected on a three-pointer to give Oklahoma City that six-point edge. Zubac then took the inbound pass and heaved a shot from more than 80 feet, seemingly not realizing that the Clippers were inbounding with 8.7 seconds to go.

Hilariously, Zubac nearly made this shot, and it would have been incredible if it went in. Regardless, it brought entertainment to everyone watching, and the broadcast team was clearly quite confused by what transpired.

Zubac actually had a very strong first half, finishing with six points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in 17 minutes of action. This mental error doesn’t erase those contributions, but it certainly might get him recognized in some anti-highlight compilations.

One thing that we can all agree on about Taylor Swift is that for the last few years she has been unstoppable. In 2020 alone, the pop star unveiled two full-length albums, Folklore and Evermore, both of which satisfied fans. While putting out new material, she has also been re-recording old albums. No matter what’s going on, she’s doing something. On The Tonight Show Monday night to promote her new album Midnights, she explained why.

“I love writing songs, poems, stories, scripts,” she told host Jimmy Fallon. “I love writing those things because there’s a part of it I don’t quite understand how it comes to fruition. There’s something so mysterious about writing but I’ve found that the more I write the more I keep writing. I don’t know what’s been going on but in the last six or seven years, I’ve just been constantly making things and the more things I make the happier I am. So I just continue to do it. I’m just happy you guys like that.”

After the crowd cheered. she added, “Sometimes it feels completely involuntarily. Sometimes your day is completely interrupted by a hook or a lyric or just a thing on piano or sometimes you don’t know what the place for it is going to be but I am just always reaching for my phone and recording things.”

Watch the full interview above.

The 1975 are having a big moment with the release of their highly anticipated album Being Funny In A Foreign Language, which came after compelling singles like “Part Of The Band” and “I’m In Love With You.” Their tour will bring them even more attention, especially with their New York City stop at the iconic Madison Square Garden, where they’ll be livestreaming the performance.

The livestream will take place on the Amazon Music UK channel on Twitch on the Nov. 7 at 1:30 A.M. GMT (8:30 P.M. EST). It will be re-broadcast globally the next day at 6 P.M. GMT. About this livestream, the band said in a press release, “We wanted all our fans to be able to see our brand-new live show together so we’re excited everyone will get the opportunity to see it from MSG with the help of Amazon Music.”

Laura Lukanz, Amazon Music’s Head of Music Industry, UK, Australia & New Zealand, added: “We are very excited to bring the fans of The 1975 even closer to the band with this very special livestream of their Madison Square Garden concert. It’s a truly iconic venue and we’re proud to be part of such a momentous occasion in their career that will allow millions of fans from all over the world the opportunity to be a part of this unique show with them. We are passionate about creating meaningful experiences like this for Amazon Music customers worldwide. The 1975 are a defining band of their time and we are thrilled to be collaborating with them on this unforgettable event.”

The two most prominent clients of Donda Sports are ending their affiliation with the agency in the aftermath of numerous hateful remarks made by its founder, Kanye West. In statements posted to each of their social media accounts on Tuesday evening, Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown and Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald announced that they will terminate their partnerships with the agency.

Donald said in his statement that “our family” made the decision, and said that “the recent comments and displays of hate and antisemitism are the exact opposite of how we choose to live our lives and raise our children.”

Brown, meanwhile, published his statement and offered up an apology for his recent efforts to try and justify sticking with West in light of hateful remarks towards the Jewish community, spreading misinformation regarding the murder of George Floyd, and a number of other controversies. He then said that “after sharing in my conversations, I now recognize that there are times when my voice and my position can’t coexist in spaces that don’t correspond with my stance or my values” before revealing he is parting ways with the agency.

Brown was asked about his decision to stick with Donda Sports on Monday and said that “I don’t agree with everything that everybody does. Like I said, I don’t stand for any hurt, harm, or danger toward anybody, but sometimes people need unconditional love and help to get them through the situation.” A number of organizations that have long been affiliated with West, like CAA and adidas, have terminated partnerships with him in recent weeks.

Special effects have evolved so much since the infancy of cinema. But sometimes doing things the old-fashioned way is best. Just ask the cast of Avatar: The Way of Water. The 2009 original was a game-changer in terms of digital tech, and presumably the belated sequel will be, too. But there’s one aspect that’s completely real: Some of the cast spent the shoot holding their breath under water for real. In fact, it turned into something of a competition.

A new piece by The New York Times delves into the cast effectively trying to one-up Tom Cruise, who regularly risk his life to entertain the masses. For Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, he held his breath underwater for over six minutes. Kate Winslet, who plays a Na’vi, essentially told him to hold her beer: On Avatar 2, she did it for seven minutes, breaking his record. Sigourney Weaver, who plays a teenage Pandora native, did it for six-and-a-half.

Then there’s Zoe Saldaña. “I’m very competitive, but we had an Oscar-winning actress in our cast that did seven minutes,” the actress, returning as Na’vi warrior Neytiri. “I got almost up to five minutes. That’s a big accomplishment, you guys.”

Cameron agreed. “Five minutes is huge,” he said.

It’s partly thanks to Cameron having his cast train with “the world’s best breath-hold specialists,” all so he could film lengthy underwater takes without having to cut. When asked, What’s gained from doing it for real?”, Cameron had a snappy retort.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that it looks good? Come on!” Cameron replied. “You want it to look like the people are underwater, so they need to be underwater. It’s not some gigantic leap — if you were making a western, you’d be out learning how to ride a horse. I knew Sam was a surfer, but Sig and Zoe and the others weren’t particularly ocean-oriented folks. So I was very specific about what would be required, and we got the world’s best breath-hold specialists to talk them through it.”

So there you have it. Digital effects are great and all, but an army of techies pounding away at computers will never be as impressive as the star of Hideous Kinky holding her breath for the length of a prog rock song.

(Via NYT)