Year: 2022

Ana de Armas is an unexpected choice to play Marilyn Monroe, but the same thing could be (and was!) said of Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, and now she’s Oscar nominee Kristen Stewart. The Cuban-born actress, whose scene in No Time to Die should have been the whole movie, was cast as the Golden Age of Hollywood actress in Andrew Dominik’s Blonde. The film comes out later this year, and there’s been rumors that it was given an NC-17 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America — rumors that Dominik calls “a bunch of horsesh*t.” But Blonde will have the feel of an NC-17 movie.

“It’s a demanding movie,” he told Screen Daily. “If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the f*cking audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office. It’s an NC-17 movie about Marilyn Monroe, it’s kind of what you want, right? I want to go and see the NC-17 version of the Marilyn Monroe story.”

Dominik also discussed working with de Armas. He said that there was “work involved” in making her “sound American” as Monroe, but “she is fucking amazing — the one thing nobody’s going to complain about is [de Armas’] performance.” It’s unknown when Blonde will be released on Netflix due to theatrical release laws in France, but Dominik is hoping for a Cannes Film Festival premiere in May.

Until then, we still have Deep Water to look forward to.

(Via Screen Daily)

While other kids were playing soccer, young Donovan Carrillo had other dreams. Despite living in the warm and temperate climate of Mexico, Carrillo had a singular vision of grabbing gold at the Winter Olympics.

And now, win or lose, this passionate figure skater has already become a huge success story at the Beijing Winter Games, becoming the first Mexican to advance to the Olympic free skate final event.

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“I always wanted to be at the Olympics,” Carrillo told NBC after his performance Tuesday. “I used to talk about this dream with people. They were always laughing or telling me that it was impossible for a Mexican to qualify.”

Dreams do come true! 😍

📷: @DonovanDCarr pic.twitter.com/mtkAZMmxbM

— Olympics (@Olympics) February 8, 2022

In addition to dealing with the fact that Mexico has no competitive winter sports leagues, Carrillo was often called “a girl” for his interest in figure skating, telling the Associated Press that “they sometimes even think that to practice an artistic sport, it’s going to affect your (sexual) preferences as a person. I never thought that. I think that’s one of the reasons of why we don’t have many male skaters in my country.”

Donovan Carrillo, who practices in a shopping mall ice rink, is the first skater from Mexico to qualify for the Olympic free skate. 🥰 pic.twitter.com/qZFBl4LVYr

— Billy B (@billyburke87) February 8, 2022

Throughout his pursuit, Carrillo never let the naysaying keep him down. Instead, he became more resourceful, training alongside girls and practicing in the ice rinks of shopping malls. Imagine having to perfect your pirouette while dodging families and amateur hockey players.

Hard work and determination paid off, because Carillo found himself in Beijing, bearing the flag of Mexico at the opening ceremony.

donovan carrillo is such a vibe#olympics pic.twitter.com/D67FTX2RBZ

— 🌬 (@sanika1020_) February 10, 2022

Carrillo’s entire Olympic debut has been an homage to his heritage: blades displaying the green, white and red color of the Mexican flag, a sparkling black and gold costume designed by Mexican fashion designer Edgar Lozzano, and using music from his father’s favorite band, Santana.

“It’s something that I always try to do with my performance, to involve the Mexican culture,” Carrillo told AP.

Donovan Carrillo is the first Mexican in over 30 years to represent Mexico in ice skating at the Winter Olympics LETS GOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/75w5UTOf6K

— Estefanía (@estyledesma) February 8, 2022

Fast forward to Tuesday (Feb 8), and Carrillo delivered a stunning, career-best, history-making performance in the short program, nailing the quad toe loop and landing an insane triple axel.

The score of 79.69 takes Carrillo to the longer free skate competition, a never-before seen feat from his country, making the 22-year-old athlete Mexico’s most successful figure skater in history.

Carrillo might have been pressed with overwhelming obstacles, but he proved to the world that dreams are worth pursuing.

Resident Evil 4 is considered one of the best video games ever made. The Resident Evil franchise has always been touted as one that helped popularize the survival horror genre. Then, with the changes made in Resident Evil 4, it was praised yet again for revolutionizing it. The franchise was able to become more action-heavy, with many of the game’s features being adopted in future entries. One change, the over the shoulder camera angle, was used until Resident Evil 7 when the franchise moved to a first-person camera angle.

Despite the newer games shifting away from what Resident Evil 4 made popular, its influence has still been very present in the franchise. Recent remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 both took mechanics from Resident Evil 4 to make those games feel more modern. With both remakes being so popular, there have been rumors of an eventual remake for Resident Evil 4, but that raises an important question: How does one recreate, and improve on, a game that revolutionized an entire franchise?

According to one report from Imran Khan of Fanbyte, one way that a Resident Evil 4 remake may look to improve on the previous game is by bringing back some previously cut content, which could potentially make the game even more terrifying than the original.

The reason for this time change isn’t arbitrary. Capcom wants to adjust the tone of the remake into something spookier, taking direct inspiration from discarded Resident Evil 4 demos. That footage, which was used in early GameCube preview reels, featured Leon wandering a lonely castle, getting possessed by black smoke, and fighting off living dolls, as well as other ghostly manifestations. Some of this stuff made its way into the original game in other ways. Most of it, however, was left on the cutting room floor and direct comparisons are being made during development of the remake.

Some changes to the story, such as giving side characters bigger roles and more screentime, are also planned.

While the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 remakes were praised for their gameplay changes, another aspect that made them so beloved was how terrifying they became. They took two games that became less scary as they aged and made them feel horrifying again. Resident Evil 4 is, for some people, when the franchise moved away from being traditionally scary and focused more on being a campy good time. That doesn’t mean it lacked scary moments, but it definitely leaned more into action and camp than horror. This reported remake, with the addition of the cut content, could bring the best of all worlds together.

In the latest episode of the Facebook Watch show (Meta Watch show?) Cardi Tries…, the rapper’s latest dilettante endeavor gives her husband Offset a tattoo commemorating their wedding day. In a twist, though, Offset suggests giving her the same tattoo, so under the watchful eye of celebrity tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado, the couple draws each other matching tattoos of their wedding date that line up when they hold hands. The episode, fittingly, has dropped just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Funnily enough, this is the second wedding-themed episode of the show, which finds Cardi B, well, trying out a new job each week and reacting with her typical unfiltered charm, highlighting the skill and talent it takes to do things that a lot of us take for granted. In her prior wedding episode, Cardi tried out wedding planning, ultimately getting ordained and surprising the couple by humorously officiating their marriage. In an even sweeter turn of events, Cardi was given the opportunity to put her ordination to use once again when a chance, missed meeting with actor Kal Penn led to Penn asking Cardi to officiate his own wedding, something he seemed pretty serious about and Cardi was certainly down to do.

You can watch the episode on Cardi’s Facebook page.

Jack Reacher is the titular character in Lee Child’s aptly titled Reacher series, consisting of 26 (!) books about the said former U.S. Army major. One of those 26 novels was adapted into 2012’s hit film, Jack Reacher, starring none other than the overly-daring stuntman himself, Tom Cruise. But, as Cruise is famously, uh, vertically challenged, many were wondering just how tall Reacher is supposed to be?

In the novels, Reacher stands (literally) at a pretty honorable 6 feet, 5 inches, and described as “extremely tall, extremely broad, long-armed, and long-legged.” Cruise isn’t exactly the first person to come to mind, as he is 5 feet 7 inches, but Child was very pleased with his performance in the 2012 feature film. Some fans were disappointed with the lack of height on their main hero. So, when it came time to cast the Amazon Prime Reacher TV show, the height of the main role was crucial.

That’s why the role ultimately went to Alan Ritchson, known for his portrayal of Aquaman on the much-loved CW superhero series Smallville, alongside Superman. Ritchson is the exact height that author Child imagined Reacher to be. So there you go! Sorry, Tom Cruise.

Ritchson also starred as a teenage mutant ninja turtle in the 2014 live-action reboot, though his height probably wasn’t crucial for his role of a teenage turtle.

Like a far-right-leaning Terminator, Gina Carano is back! It was one year ago that the mixed martial artist-turned-actor lost her chance to be immortalized as a Star Wars action figure when she was fired from her role as Galactic mercenary Cara Dune in Disney+’s hit series The Mandalorian. In August, Carano announced that first post-Mandalorian gig would see her teaming up with right-wing sh*t disturber Ben Shapiro and his The Daily Wire. And now, the fruits of their collective labors are on display for all the world to see.

The Hollywood Reporter shared the first trailer for Terror on the Prairie, a new Western that the outlet describes as centering “on a pioneering family that fights back against a gang of vicious outlaws hellbent on revenge.” Carano co-stars alongside former Justified star Nick Searcy, yet another outspoken star who has stirred up controversy with some of his ultra-conservative opinions.

Jeremy Boreing, Shapiro’s The Daily Wire co-founder, issued a statement noting that just because their media outlet is conservative doesn’t mean their films will be. “When people hear that a conservative media company has entered the film business, they’ll often assume we’re making either hyper-politicized movies or milquetoast dramas,” Boreing said. “But we have no interest in producing Hillary’s Hard Drive Part III or Christmas Romance in the Rockies. We’re making top-quality entertainment that all Americans can love.”

You can make that determination for yourself by watching the trailer for Terror on the Prairie above.

With James Gunn expanding the DC Extended Universe thanks to his work on The Suicide Squad its hit spinoff, Peacemaker, it’s a fair question to ask if the next big DC property, The Batman, has any connection to that world. Several times in his HBO Max series, Peacemaker (John Cena) makes quips about Batman, and The Suicide Squad movie stars Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), a longtime companion of Batman’s arch-nemesis The Joker. However, those characters are connected to Ben Affleck‘s Batman and not Robert Pattinson‘s new take on the Dark Knight.

Despite The Suicide Squad being a soft quasi-reboot of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, the film and its spinoff from Gunn remained connected to the DCEU that was slowly being built by films like Justice League. In fact, while promoting Peacemaker in August 2021, Gunn revealed that Warner Bros. is no longer shying away from connecting the DC films. At least entirely.

While the DCEU continues to expand with films like Black Adam and The Flash, director Matt Reeves was given the go-ahead to create a completely separate universe for The Batman. Like Joker, it’s a separate thing with no connection to any of the DC films that preceded it, including The Suicide Squad.

“Warner Bros. has a multiverse where they’re exploring different ways to use the character … We don’t get involved in that,” The Batman producer Dylan Clark told Empire. “Matt is interested in pushing this character to his emotional depths and shaking him to his core.”

The Batman hits theaters on March 4.

At least one Astroworld Festival victim’s family didn’t appreciate their loved one being used as a prop by Kanye West when the volatile star demanded an apology from Billie Eilish on behalf of Travis Scott, calling Ye’s comments “hurtful” and “ridiculous,” according to Rolling Stone.

Bernon Blount, whose nine-year-old grandson Ezra Blount was the youngest victim of the crowd crush at Astroworld that left nine others dead and hundreds injured, said, “To hear Kanye’s words, that’s hurtful to us. What an idiotic thing to say.” Ezra’s grandmother Tericia Blount also had words for Kanye, saying, “I think it’s just crazy, and I hate to use that word, but I think it’s ridiculous. She’s making sure that she is caring for the patrons at her concert, and I just think that’s crazy of Kanye to even let that demand come out of his mouth.”

Eilish issued the statement for which Kanye demanded an apology at one of her recent shows, stopping performing until a distressed fan received medical attention. Explaining to impatient concert attendees why she wasn’t performing, she said, “We’re taking care of our people. I’m waiting for people to be OK until I keep going.” Reporting on the incident, some outlets interpreted her comment as a dig at Travis Scott, who reportedly continued performing during the crowd crush, at least 30 minutes after authorities declared a mass casualty event.

Kanye, taking his cue from one of those outlets — a gossip Instagram page that simply framed Billie’s statement as a straight-up diss — posted his all-caps apology demand on Instagram, threatening to cancel his upcoming Coachella headlining set otherwise. In response, Eilish commented, “Literally never said a thing about Travis. Was just helping a fan.”

The Blounts appear to be taking Eilish’s side in the disagreement, with Bernon telling Rolling Stone, “That’s crazy that he wants someone to apologize for putting the welfare of someone else before their profits. That’s someone who needed their asthma pump. They could have lost their life, right then. This world is twisted, and we have to stop doing this.” Terecia echoed this sentiment, saying, “I totally commend Billie Eilish for having that decency about her. I think what she did was wonderful, and I would love to tell her myself how brilliant and awesome she is for doing so.”

The 2022 BRIT Awards took place earlier this week, and Adele was the highlight of the evening, as she performed and won multiple awards. There was more to the show than her, though, as plenty of other artists made their voices heard. In the Best Rock/Alternative Act category, for example, Coldplay was nominated alongside Sam Fender (who won the award), Glass Animals, Wolf Alice, and Tom Grennan. If you ask Liam Gallagher, he doesn’t think Coldplay should have been up for the award at all.

Ahead of the ceremony, Gallagher spoke with Absolute Radio (as NME notes) and was asked for his thoughts on the category. When Coldplay was mentioned, Gallagher said, “Leave it out. Leave it out. They’re not rock, man. If they’re rock, man… Jesus. I mean, I like Chris Martin and he wrote some great albums and all that, when I think about it. But that new stuff is like… that ain’t rock, man. I don’t know what [alternative] means, but it’s not rock.”

He also correctly predicted that Fender would take home the prize before giving some praise to Wolf Alice, saying, “They do alright, man.”

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

For the second consecutive NFL season, the Super Bowl features a team playing in its own building. The Los Angeles Rams “host” the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Super Bowl LVI and, even if the Rams may not have their traditional home-field advantage in the corporate environment of the big game, Los Angeles does enter as the betting favorite.

The Rams pulled off a minor upset in the divisional round, knocking off Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in what turned out to be the final game ever played by the legendary quarterback. From there, Los Angeles needed a comeback to prevail over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, and the Rams have won eight of the last nine games overall.

Los Angeles is flying high between a high-powered offense and a star-laden defense. No team was more “all in” than the Rams this season, using a bevy of assets to acquire players like Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller and others. Stafford partnered with Cooper Kupp, the NFL’s most productive this season, to key a passing group featuring Odell Beckham Jr. and Van Jefferson. On defense, Los Angeles centers on Aaron Donald, arguably the most impactful defender in the NFL, and the Rams create havoc while aiming for upside.

Still, there is uncertainty around this matchup, and the Rams will need to be buttoned up in three key areas.

Keep The Heat On Joe Burrow

This isn’t breaking any ground. The Bengals have flagrant pass protection issues, and the Rams are terrific in getting after the quarterback. Cincinnati famously allowed nine sacks to a Tennessee defensive front that is solid, but not as explosive as what the Rams deploy, and the Bengals allowed 55 sacks in the regular season, No. 29 in the NFL. It is possible, or even likely, that Joe Burrow is more willing to use his legs considering the stage and the urgency, but Aaron Donald and Von Miller have massive advantages in their individual matchups.

In fact, Los Angeles generated 50 sacks in the regular season, No. 3 in the NFL, which makes for the most lopsided single positional matchup in this game between the Rams defensive front and the Bengals offensive line. It is safe to assume that the Bengals will have a few counters in place, simply because they have to understand this deficiency, but that could also allow the Rams to sit on short routes. Los Angeles generated 19 interceptions in the regular season, tied for third-most in the NFL, and the Rams have play-making on the backend. The pass rush has to be responsible and not allow Burrow’s playmaking and creativity to beat them, but a steady flow of pressure can work wonders for every other element of a defense.

Avoid Big Plays On The Backend

It’s certainly possible that Joe Mixon and the Bengals running game could have an effective day at the office. Mixon is one of the better pure runners in the NFL, and the Rams will be justifiably focused on slowing Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. With that said, the Rams actually need to be focused on Cincinnati’s passing game, and it isn’t all about the aforementioned pass rush. It would certainly be nice if the Rams “got home” repeatedly throughout the evening at SoFi Stadium, but Los Angeles is facing a Cincinnati offense with big-play potential.

For one, Chase is one of the more dynamic players in the league with the ball in his hands, and he is a threat to take it the distance on any touch. Beyond that, the Bengals lead the entire NFL in averaging 8.7 yards per pass attempt, and you can’t reach that number on just checkdowns and screens. The Bengals average just 4.0 yards per carry, and the Rams boast a top-five rushing defense on a per-play basis. That proficiency, coupled with an elite pass rush, is a strong baseline, but the Bengals can offset that if they hit a few big plays. Avoiding them is key.

Don’t Get Conservative

We’ve all seen this, both with the Rams and elsewhere in the NFL. Los Angeles was in a commanding position against Tampa Bay in the Divisional Round, only to turtle and almost join the Atlanta Falcons in the land of postseason infamy. Later in the playoffs, the Kansas City Chiefs, led by the NFL’s most dynamic offense, simply stopped doing, well, anything against the Bengals defense, blowing a 21-3 lead in the process.

It isn’t as if the Rams are favored by an enormous amount in this contest, with Los Angeles entering as something around a four-point favorite, but Los Angeles is “expected” to lead the proceedings. From there, Cincinnati has made its bones with comeback bids, including twice against Kansas City, and Rams head coach Sean McVay has a tendency to get very conservative. That includes play-calling issues, leaning far too much on a mediocre ground game at times, and punting when he shouldn’t punt and kicking field goals when he shouldn’t kick field goals.

Coaches don’t change their stripes overnight and, despite his age, McVay isn’t one of the more aggressive coaches in the NFL when it comes to the analytical revolution in game management. He doesn’t have to be in this game, but there is a pretty solid chance the Rams take an early lead when accounting for their own history and that of the Bengals. If that happens, Los Angeles needs to keep their foot on the gas, not relying on a running game that averages 4.0 yards per carry and instead leaning on a prolific passing offense that features a top-10 quarterback and the NFL’s best receiver. Overall, the Rams are the more talented team, and being too passive can bridge the gap in Cincinnati’s favor.