Year: 2022

Paul Schrader is many things: a legendary screenwriter, a beloved film director — and a DGAF crank on Facebook. The author of Taxi Driver, who’s had a resurgence of late with First Reformed and The Card Counter, loves to go on the social media service and speak his mind, not caring who he offends. His latest target: the TV adaptation of one of his greatest films, 1980’s American Gigolo.

Showtime is behind the reboot, which stars the mighty Jon Bernthal as Julian Kaye, a perpetually well-dressed male escort who gets embroiled in some shady goings-on. Richard Gere played Kaye in the original, and it turned him into a megastar and sex symbol. It could do the same for respected and always-welcome character actor Bernthal. But Schrader won’t even be watching it.

“After the Showtime trailer appeared online I’ve been asked if I am involved,” Schrader wrote in his post. “The answer is no.” When they told him about it, he told them exactly what was on his mind.

“I replied that I thought it was a terrible idea–times had changed, internet porn had redefined male sex work, viruses, etc. I couldn’t imagine Julian Kay working a Hen Party,” Schrader wrote. “I thought that was the end of it.”

Still, he did take the money, and he explained why. “They did not want my involvement. Here were my options: (1) take $50G and not be involved (2) take $0 and not be involved (3) threaten an expensive and futile lawsuit and not be involved,” wrote Schrader. “I took the $50G.”

Schrader also said he would not be watching it, saying there was no way he “could be objective about it and, even if I could, it’s too much agita.”

Bernthal has never worked with Schrader before, but he was incredible in The Wolf of Wall Street, by Schrader’s frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese. Schrader did direct one of the show’s other stars, Gretchen Mol, in 1999’s Forever Mine.

The American Gigolo show currently has no release date.

(Via Deadline)

For the last two weeks, Morbius was trending on Twitter. The Jared Leto-starring comic book movie, about a scientist who accidentally turns himself into a vampire, didn’t do so hot when it hit theaters in April. But all of a sudden it was the talk of the internet. It wasn’t exactly because people adored it. It just became a joke, and even its star got in on the action. Amidst the hullabaloo, Sony decided to give it a little re-release. But just because something’s a hit on social media doesn’t translate into a hit in movie theaters.

Sure enough, as per Forbes, the Morbius Mulligan did not go so well. On Friday, the day the film was re-dropped in theaters, it grossed a mere $85,000. For some perspective, on the same day Top Gun: Maverick, the movie everyone’s seeing, grossed $25,000,000. Morbius couldn’t even break the $100,000 mark.

Granted, the Morbius reissue may have never stood a chance. Most theaters were only playing it once, often in mid-evening time slots, during the 9 o’clock hour. Still, its $270 per screen average — the lowest in the top 20 — doesn’t suggest the throngs were hungry for more Morbius. Oh well. We’ll always have those Morbius memes.

(Via Forbes)

Grand slams are cool. Inside-the-park home runs are cool. Thanks to a minor league game on Saturday night, we got to see both of those things happen at the exact same time, as a line drive to right center ended up with the bases getting completely cleared and four runs scoring.

Nathan Lukes of the Buffalo Bisons, the triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the fourth inning against the Rochester Red Wings. The lefty slapped a fastball high in the zone into right field, but because of where the outfielder was standing, he didn’t really have a great way to approach this one.

As such, he tried to make a driving catch and failed, which allowed the ball to roll all the way to the wall. It let everyone score, while Lukes was able to slide into home and hit one of the more impressive homers we’ll see this baseball season.

The fun part is that this is the second inside-the-park grand slam we’ve seen in two days. During the regional round of the College World Series on Friday, Louisiana Tech catcher Jorge Corona didn’t even need to slide after hitting a ball to center field that cleared the bases.

Baseball players cannot stop hitting inside-the-park grand slams, and I think it’s pretty good.

It’s been more than 100 days since WNBA star Brittney Griner was first detained in Russia over allegations of having cannabis oil in her belongings while going through an airport. While the American government, NBA, WNBA, and plenty of other have stated that they’re working to get the All-Star center back to the United States, there has not been any sort of resolution regarding her situation.

There have been numerous shows of support for Griner, who the government believes is being wrongly detained, among those in the basketball world. The latest example of this came on Saturday afternoon, when members of the Boston Celtics wore “We Are BG” t-shirts.

Jaylen Brown was asked about the shirts as he sat down with the media and explained that the effort was led by one of his teammates, Grant Williams.

“Came from the Players Association, led by Grant Williams, but as a collective, wanted to come out and show our support for Brittney Griner,” Brown said. “She’s been over there for an extended amount of time, and we feel like enough is enough.”

The QR code on the back of the shirts links to a petition calling for Griner’s swift and safe return back to the United States. As of this writing, it’s received signatures from more than 240,000 people.

Just before the one-month anniversary of his sophomore album Come Home The Kids Miss You, Jack Harlow arrived with a video for one of the album’s most popular songs. “Churchill Downs,” which is highlighted by a stellar guest feature from Drake, got the visual treatment in the best way that the song could. Jack and Drake brought their talents to Kentucky’s Churchill Downs, the famed horse racetrack in Louisville, which is Jack’s hometown. The visual captured scenes from last month’s Kentucky Derby and its scenes from it that are the source of criticism that Jack and Drake recently received from PETA.

“Jack Harlow and Drake have chosen to glamorize horseracing with their new ‘Churchill Downs’ video,” the animal rights group wrote in a statement according to HotNewHipHop. “In response, PETA is calling on Harlow to donate the song’s proceeds toward caring for Thoroughbreds discarded by the industry, which exports 7,500 of them for slaughter every year.”

PETA’s Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo added, “Jack Harlow’s glamorized portrayal of horse racing is missing the whips, drugs, and deaths that run rampant in the industry. “Profiting from the abuse of others is never acceptable, and PETA is calling on Jack Harlow to pony up and pay for the care of American Thoroughbreds who would otherwise be shipped to foreign slaughterhouses. The only sure thing in horse racing is that the horses always lose.”

Earlier this year, Kanye West and The Game were criticized by PETA for the cover art of their “Eazy” collaboration.

You can revisit the video for “Churchill Downs” here.

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

Paddington is arguably more popular now than he’s ever been. The marmalade-loving, raincoat-wearing bear who relocates from Peru to England is now a movie star, battling the leads in The Undoing and, in the case of the sequel, getting a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. Until we know who he (gently, politely) fights in the third installment, he’s taking a break to have some afternoon tea with the Queen.

On Saturday, to celebrate Elizabeth II’s platinum Jubilee, a video was released showing Her Majesty sitting down with the CGI bear voiced by Ben Whishaw. Naturally Paddington makes a faux pas: He starts gulping from the teapot before his host has had a sip. He gets back on track by talking marmalade sandwiches, prompting the Queen to open her handbag, revealing where she stores her own backup food. Paddington also accidentally sprays an éclair onto a palace footman.

The Jubilee honors the 70th anniversary of Elizabeth II’s coronation, which even brought back Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who decamped for the United States amidst accusations of racism among the Royal Family. Their return sparked boos from some in the crowd on Friday. But for now, let’s take a brief respite with a nice bear talking tea and fruit preserves.

(Via Deadline)

The Golden State Warriors led by as many as 15 points in the second half of Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals. As we’ve seen so many times over the years — especially when they’re playing big games at home — Golden State is excellent at landing a few haymakers and completely taking the opposing team out of a game.

That didn’t happen in Game 1. The Boston Celtics were able to withstand a flurry from the Warriors, compose themselves, and blow them away in the fourth quarter en route to a 120-108 win. On Saturday, Klay Thompson spoke to the media about what exactly happened and expressed his belief that Golden State got a little too comfortable upon opening up a big lead.

“I thought we got comfortable when we went up 15, including myself, our team, the fans,” Thompson said. “We’ve done it so many times, we probably expected we were just gonna win. But then I reminded myself the playoffs are about being uncomfortably until you complete the mission. So, it was a harsh reminder, but it was something we needed to go through, including myself, and it’s about how we respond tomorrow, which I’m very excited for.”

Thompson scored 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting in Game 1 and hit three of his seven attempts from deep. The Warriors will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Sunday night.

Last fall, Big Thief announced a world tour that kicked off at the end of January with performances in France. The string of shows, which comes after the release of their Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You album, was set to last until mid-June with a conclusion in Berlin, Germany. However, the band recently announced that they would extend their world tour with two performances in Tel Aviv, Israel. The shows were billed July 6-7, and together with the announcement, the BAND explained why they felt like it was important for them to perform in Israel, which is bassist Max Oleartchik’s hometown, but they were still hit with criticism.

“Over the last seven years we’ve traveled constantly around 3 of our members’ home country, the United States, meeting each other’s families and childhood friends and sharing in the joys and sorrows of a complicated, beautiful and tumultuous home,” they wrote. “We have grown so close. It is important for us to share our homes, families and friends with each other in order to gain a deeper understanding of one another and the people and places that have made us who we are. It is important for us to go where we have family to share space and play for them. It is foundational.”

They continued, “It is in that spirit that we made our decision to play in Israel. We are well aware of the cultural aspect of the BDS movement and the desperate reality of the Palestinian people. In terms of where we fit into the boycott, we don’t claim to know where the moral high ground lies and we want to remain open to other people’s perspectives and to love beyond disagreement.”

Big Thief concluded their message with the following:

We understand the inherently political nature of playing there as well as the implications. Our intention is not to diminish the values of those who support the boycott or to turn a blind eye to those suffering. We are striving to be in the spirit of learning. With this in heart, the show’s profits will be donated to NGOs that provide medical and humanitarian aid to Palestinian children, including joint efforts between Palestinians and Israelis working together for a better future.

With love,
Big Thief.

You can view the band’s full message in the post above and read some responses from fans below.

The New York Mets are currently without the services of ace pitcher Max Scherzer. The three-time Cy Young award winner joined the team as a free agent this offseason, and while he’s been excellent when he’s been on the bump for the Mets, Scherzer has been on the injury list for an oblique strain he suffered last month.

All that time at home for Scherzer has apparently found a way to quite literally come back to bite him. A report by Mike Puma of the New York Post indicates that Scherzer got bit on his left hand by one of his dogs while he’s working to rehabilitate his oblique strain, but the good news is the Mets apparently aren’t all that concerned.

At home in Florida, the Mets right-hander was bitten by one of his dogs in recent days, according to a source. The bite was to Scherzer’s non-pitching (left) hand, lessening the team’s concern. Scherzer is on the IL with an oblique strain and rehabbing for a potential July return to the Mets.

Since joining the team on a three-year deal that pays him an MLB record $43 million a year, Scherzer has gone 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA. New York is 35-19 on the season, a commanding 8.5 games up on the second-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East.

On Friday, Angel Olsen released her sixth album Big Time. The project is her first since 2021’s Songs Of The Lark And Other Far Memories and it delivered ten songs without any guest features. Together with the album’s arrival, Jeff Tweedy from the band Wilco debuted a cover of the project’s title track, which also served as the second single before its release. Tweedy shared the cover through a post on his substack page with the caption, “Here’s a song I learned from Angel Olsen’s new record that came out TODAY!” He also included photos that he took with Olsen when she visited him a few years ago.

As expected, Olsen caught wind of the cover and shared her appreciation for it on Twitter. “Jeff!!!” she wrote, “Covering ‘Big Time’! [four red heart emojis] I owe you one @JeffTweedy.” Olsen may return the favor sooner than you think as Tweedy is just a week removed from dropping his Cruel Country album with Wilco. That project presented 21 songs for their first body of work since 2019’s Ode To Joy.

Olsen herself has been pretty active in the cover department recently. She recently shared a cover of Bob Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings” and donated proceeds from it to gun control. Prior to that, she covered Harry Styles’ “Boyfriends.”

You can check out Jeff Tweedy’s cover of “Big Time” here.

Big Time is out now via Jagjaguwar. You can stream it here.