Year: 2022

After Henry Cavill finally made his return as Superman following years of false starts, the actor dropped another equally as huge bombshell on the heels of his Black Adam cameo. He was leaving The Witcher. Cavill revealed that he’d be exiting the Netflix series, which did not go over well with fans and sparked strong reactions, and passing the mantle of Geralt of Rivia to Liam Hemsworth.

The Witcher brouhaha went down in early November, and since then, Netflix and the creative team have been relatively quiet about Cavill’s exit. But with the new spinoff series, The Witcher: Blood Origin, set to drop in the next few weeks, showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich finally addressed the elephant in the room. Via TechRadar:

“It’s a big deal for us, too,” Hissrich admitted when TechRadar mentioned how fans had negatively responded to Cavill’s impending depature. “And that’s the thing – there’s a lot of talk and rumors about and we fully understand why fans are going there.”

However, like a true pro, Hissrich quickly steered the conversation back to Blood Origin, which she understandably doesn’t want to be overshadowed by Cavill’s exit.

“What I will say is please come back for The Witcher season three so that we can continue to do this,” Hissrich said. “Obviously, that [Cavill’s departure] is huge news. But what I don’t want to do is – this has to stay about Blood Origin, Declan [de Barra, Blood Origin‘s showrunner], the cast, and the crew. This is their time in the spotlight.”

In fairness, Hissrich and Netflix are in a tough spot. They’re in the midst of building out a franchise that they hope will be the streaming platform’s Game of Thrones, but their main star just quit after three seasons. That’ll take the wind right out of your sails, and obviously, there’s a huge question mark around whether Hemsworth can right the ship.

The Witcher: Blood Origin premieres December 25 on Netflix.

(Via TechRadar)

The world is all about reboots, revivals, and remakes of established content these days, for better or worse. Some of the proposed ideas sound great, like a second Freaky Friday or that random Orphan installment from earlier this year. Other ideas are…..less great.

But one remake that actually seems like it could be good is an updated version of the classic 1987 comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Though this time, instead of Steve Martin and John Candy, it would be Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, and there would probably be some sort of subplot about Ubers or other updated transportation services. The more you think about it, the more it makes sense, right?

Barrymore ran the idea by her friend and former co-star Adam Sandler while the two were chatting on The Drew Barrymore Show. Sandler told the host that he watches her show “all the time,” to which she reminded him, “You helped me get the pilot. You and Cameron [Diaz].”

Of course, after mentioning Diaz, who just recently began acting again, Barrymore gushed about their remake idea. “Her and I did discuss remaking Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and then I was like, ‘Well you know Adam and I talk about that,’” she said. The actress then said that she would want to play Candy’s character Dell, a shower curtain ring salesman (this was the ’80s, mind you). She added, “Well, I also want to play John Candy.”

Sandler is all for the idea, encouraging his 50 First Dates co-star to go for it. “You could do a good Candy,” Sandler replied, “You know who could do Candy the best? [Chris] Farley. He would walk around the office and say lines from Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” Sandler and Farley worked together on Saturday Night Live.

Barrymore and Sandler have made multiple movies together, and the actress even admitted earlier this month on the Chicks in the Office Podcast that it would make her “so happy” to make another movie with Sandler. Maybe they can try for a 51 First Dates or The Wedding Singer sequel too. Why not!

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

At 2 a.m. in California last night (technically this morning, December 7), Finneas was awake. It seems he was up watching Family Guy or at least had the show on his mind when he tweeted an observation about the long-running animated series: “The family guy house has an enclosed porch. They are literally never in there.”

It turns out that while the sun porch is indeed rarely shown on the show, his claim of the room “literally” never being used isn’t quite true. Finneas isn’t the first person to make this observation, as it’s been the subject of many an internet conversation for years. In 2014, for example, one Stack Exchange user asked if the interior of the porch has ever been on the show. A commenter came through with four examples of episodes that included scenes in that room: 2000’s “Wasted Talent;” 2001’s “Ready, Willing, And Disabled;” 2006’s “Stewie Loves Lois;” and 2010’s “Halloween On Spooner Street.”

On a related note, earlier this year, Finneas and Billie Eilish made an appearance in The Simpsons universe, linking up with the most precocious of the Simpson children in the Disney+ short film When Billie Met Lisa. The Simpsons, by the way, also has a mostly forgotten room of its own.

Roddy Ricch is facing a new lawsuit for allegedly not thinking outside of his 2019 single, “The Box.” A musician named Greg Perry filed the claim against Ricch, Atlantic Records, and producer 30 Roc, alleging that Ricch copied his 1975 song “Come On Down.” Specifically, Perry has noted it as a copyright infringement for mirroring the violin instrumental at the beginning.

“Expert musicology analysis confirms that the ascending minor scale played by violin at the opening of ‘Come On Down’ is a distinctive musical element which recurs a total of six times throughout the song,” the lawsuit reads, according to Rolling Stone.

“Comparative analysis of the beat, lyrics, hook, rhythmic structure, metrical placement, and narrative context by a musicology expert demonstrates clearly and convincingly that ‘The Box’ is an unauthorized duplication and infringement of certain elements of ‘Come On Down,’” the document also states.

Perry’s “Come On Down” isn’t a random pick either. The song has been frequently referenced in rap, from Epic Records giving him 60 percent interest in Young Jeezy’s 2008 song, “Wordplay,” to Epic Records obtaining a sample for Yo Gotti’s “I Remember.”

“The use of the distinctive compositional elements of ‘Come On Down’ have remained so popular in both the R&B and rap community that access to the composition is firmly established,” Perry’s lawsuit mentions about the song’s usage.

Listen to the two songs below.

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

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have a years-long inside joke going where they crop each other out of their photos. Here’s Reynolds on the red carpet with the right side of Lively’s face; another time, Lively wished her husband a happy birthday with a photo of Ryan Gosling (the Chris Pine of Ryans?) and the left side of Reynolds’ face.

Earlier this week, the Deadpool actor shared a picture of the happy couple with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, writing, “We met Jessica Claus and her husband on the Polar Express. She was everything I’d always dreamed since I was a kid. She smelled like cinnamon buns and sangria.” In the comments, Lively replied, “My. Shoes.” Reynolds offered a correction in his Stories. “I cropped my wife’s shoes out in the photo I posted. It’s inexcusable and I’m sorry to anyone I’ve hurt with this callous lack of fortitude,” he wrote.

But that’s not what it’s important. The initial caption is.

“We met Jessica Claus and her husband…”

Did you know Mrs. Claus’ first name? I didn’t, and neither did a lot of people, apparently. “I was today years old when I learned that Mrs. Claus is a JESSICA,” reads one comment, as spotted by BuzzFeed, while others thought her first name was Sharon. At least she’s not a Karen. People have been surprised by the Jessica revelation for years:

Mrs. Claus, who made her movie debut in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, was given the name Jessica in the 1970 Rankin/Boss special Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. Apparently, she’s also gone by “Mary, Maya, Matha, Anywyn, Layla, or Goody,” but weirdly, Goody didn’t catch on. Probably because she’s a baddie.

(Via BuzzFeed)

The reigning American League MVP is sticking around New York for a long time and for a lot of money. According to multiple media reports, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge will re-sign with the team for nine years and $360 million, marking the largest average annual value of any contract for a position player in baseball history.

Earlier in the week, Jon Heyman of MLB Network now-erroneously reported Judge would be heading to San Francisco to join the Giants. Ultimately, however, the Yankees made a substantial offer, and Judge validated the decision to turn down a 7-year extension worth $213.5 million from the Yankees earlier this year. He also reportedly turned down larger financial offers elsewhere to remain in New York.

Judge, who will turn 31 years old in April, hit .311 with a league-leading 1.111 OPS this past season. The 62 home runs he hit on the year are an American League record, and Judge led the American League in runs scored (133), runs batted in (131), walks (111), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686), and total bases (391). It may be safe to assume Judge will not replicate that level of insane production in any full season moving forward, but the Yankees are betting on the powerful slugger’s ability to maintain value deep into his 30’s while aiming to capitalize on his prime in the near future.

On Monday (December 5) night, Mariah Carey took the stage at New York’s Lincoln Center For The Performing Arts, for a Moët & Chandon event (as ET Canada notes). As she sang, Carey had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction when one of her dress straps stopped doing its job and came undone. Things went smoothly, though, as the moment wasn’t revealing and Carey’s team quickly fixed the issue while Carey sang an impromptu freestyle.

Carey addressed the situation in a dressing room video shared after the fact, in which she said, “My gosh. It was very, very close to being a full-on scandal, but we made it work! This part broke — came untethered, I should say — but we got it back and everybody was super professional.” Of her freestyling, she added, “It was just a freestyle moment, it is what it was, it’s nothing great. But, let me say this: we made it.”

Meanwhile, Carey is currently leading the surge of holiday songs back towards the top of the charts. On the latest Billboard Hot 100 (dated December 10), Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” is No. 1 for a sixth week, but Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is up to No. 2. All in all, six Christmas songs are currently in the top 10 and 25 are in the top 100.

Celebrity wax figures are hit or miss: Some look like perfect copies of the person, others are barely recognizable as human. Exaggerations aside, Madame Tussauds Dubai recently put a new Taylor Swift figure on display, and for the most part, it looks solid. From a distance, it’s clear to see that the figure depicts Swift during her Folklore/Evermore era. Upon closer inspection, though, something is off, placing the figure in the uncanny valley.

That’s what Swift fans seem to think, anyway, with one Swiftie comparing it to the titular AI doll from the upcoming horror movie M3GAN. (Appropriately enough, a recent M3GAN trailer featured a spooky remix of Swift’s “It’s Nice To Have A Friend.”)

As for what’s not quite right here, some blame the hair, while others think the “lifeless” eyes (“She looks like she’s got cataracts”) are at fault.

Others were more optimistic, though, with one user sharing a gallery of previous Swift figures and describing the latest as a “glow-up” compared to older iterations.

Meanwhile, Madame Tussauds recently unveiled a Lil Nas X wax statue that was so convincing, the rapper successfully used it to prank friends into thinking it was actually him.

Check out some more reactions to the Swift figure below.

Bartees Strange is having a great year. He unveiled his sophomore album Farm To Table, embarked on a massive tour with Pom Pom Squad, and joined The National onstage to perform “Mistaken for Strangers.” It looks like 2023 is going to be even bigger; it was just announced that he’ll be the guest curator for the Sled Island Music & Arts Festival.

The festival will take place from June 21 to 25 in different venues across Calgary in Alberta, Canada. According to the website, will have not only music but also comedy, film, and visual art. The website also has a statement that reads, “Bartees’ wide range of musical influences, unique style, and dedication to fostering more diverse audiences and music scenes made him the perfect candidate to take on this role, and we could not be more excited to be working with him on next year’s festival!” More information about the lineup will roll out in the next few months.

Last year, Strange told Uproxx a funny festival story: “I opened a set with like ‘Mossblerd’ and it was like 2pm — Mimosa time at the bar — and we were playing it and it was wild. Everyone left,” he said. “I was like, ‘Damn, all right, song two, let’s do it.’ It was a problem. It’s kind of the festival nightmare — to pull up to a crowded room and empty it.” Luckily, he’s come far since then.

Tickets go on sale Friday, December 9, at noon MST. Find more information about the festival here.

On Tuesday, over one-and-a-half million Georgians voted for a former athlete who can’t string a coherent sentence together, who thought there might be 52 states in America, who ranted about werewolves and vampires at rallies, who blurted out that he didn’t even live in the state in which he was running, who had secret children and maybe secret abortions, and who once declared, “This erection is for the people.” But it wasn’t enough. Once again, incumbent senator Raphael Warnock narrowly defeated challenger Herschel Walker. And perhaps no one was more excited by the news than Walker’s son.

Back in October, amidst a flurry of surreal revelations and allegations, the footballer-turned-bumbling MAGA candidate found himself with a new, surprising foe: his son Christian. Christian, from his first marriage, used to be the only one of his four kids he acknowledged publicly. He used to be his dad’s biggest cheerleader. He, too, was a MAGA conservative. But he flipped on his father in the final weeks of his congressional campaign, accusing him of “lying” and calling out his claims that he was some “family man.”

After his father lost for a second time, coming in second in the Georgia runoff, Christian Walker offered him some helpful advice.

“Don’t beat women, hold guns to peoples heads, fund abortions then pretend your pro-life, stalk cheerleaders, leave your multiple minor children alone to chase more fame, lie, lie, lie, say stupid crap, and make a fool of your family,” Christian tweeted. “And then maybe you can win a senate seat.”

He added, Don’t compare Warnock running over his wife’s foot to my father holding guns and knives to my mothers throat, threatening to kill his therapist, her, and one of his adultresses in a therapy session, and telling my mom and I he was going to beat our asses. Get off my page.”

Christian also reiterated his claim that his family begged his father not to run, but “we got the middle finger.”

He then offered advice to his party. “Republicans, we say we don’t play “identity politics” and then you ran this man mainly because he was the same skin color as his opponent with no background other than football,” he wrote. “A boring old Republican could have won.”

Anyway, congrats to Raphael Warnock. And salutations to Donald Trump, who handpicked Walker as a candidate, only to see him, like most of his other picks, either underperform or flame out. But then, he probably has bigger fish to fry.