Year: 2022

Lightyear is — and Chris Evans cannot stress this enough — NOT about Buzz Lightyear the toy. It’s the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on.

If you were also confused about what the hell that December 2020 tweet from the sweater-wearing Knives Out actor meant, maybe the trailer will help clear things up?

Pixar released the first full-length trailer for the Toy Story spin-off about Buzz Lightyear’s origin story on Oscar nominations morning (a painful reminder of what should have been for the First Man stans among us). There’s no Woody, or Bo Peep, or even the Little Green Men — but there is an alien, the evil Emperor Zurg.

“Buzz’s world was always something I was excited about,” said director Angus MacLane. “In Toy Story, there seemed to be this incredible backstory to him being a Space Ranger that’s only touched upon, and I always wanted to explore that world further. So my Lighytear pitch was, ‘What was the movie that Andy saw that made him want a Buzz Lightyear toy?’ I wanted to see that movie. And now I’m lucky enough to get to make it.”

Lightyear, which also features the voices of Keke Palmer, Dale Soules, Taika Waititi, Peter Sohn, Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez, and Isiah Whitlock Jr, opens on June 17.

The weather this winter might be wonky, but today a snowstorm finally blew in bringing with it a blistering blizzard of the powdery white stuff. Of course, we’re talking about Pusha T’s new song “Diet Coke” here, so maybe don’t get it near your face.

The veteran Virginian rapper returned today with the new single after a long hiatus to deliver his first solo song in nearly four years (not counting the Adidas commercial he did for Damian Lillard’s shoe in 2020). Yesterday, Elliott Wilson got the hype train started by tweeting out a snippet of the new song — which is produced by 88 Keys and Kanye West — along with a clip of the upcoming music video.

Shot in greyscale, the video sees Pusha and his G.O.O.D. Music benefactor Kanye dancing to the song against a white background. Just that clip was enough to set Push’s name trending on Twitter for the next several hours as fans stated their excitement for more of the former Clipse member’s signature drug talk. Ever self-aware, Pusha himself joked that he “raps abt more… well you know.”

Although “Diet Coke” is Pusha T’s first solo song in a while, he’s cropped up on a number of collaborations in the meantime, including Babyface Ray’s “Dancing With The Devil,” Pop Smoke’s “The Vision,” and Alicia Keys’ “Plentiful.” Meanwhile, he’s also working on his own new album, which he promises will top 2018’s Daytona.

Listen to Pusha T’s new song “Diet Coke” above.

Last week, Lil Dicky teased some sort of endeavor seemingly connected with the upcoming Super Bowl, tweeting, “I’ve always wanted to perform at the halftime show. This year, I’ll be taking matters into my own hands.” Now, we know what Dicky’s cooking up: He’s teaming up with delivery company Gopuff for the “Quartertime Show.”

He made the reveal with a video today, in which he introduces the idea and explains, “It’s a show that exists between the first and second quarter. Interesting, innovative, I know! I know. Now, there’s not the same amount of time in between the first and second quarter as there is at halftime, so I’m going to have to put on the fastest show anyone’s ever put on.”

He then teased another celebrity joining him in this endeavor and hopped on a video call with Cardi B, who was dispensing some of her vodka-infused Whipshots into her hand. Dicky asked if she’d perform with him and she surprised him by shooting down the idea with a laugh.

The “Quartertime Show” is set to go down on February 13 early on during the Super Bowl and will be broadcast on Dicky’s Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook profiles.

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

With the nominees for the 94th Annual Academy Awards out in the wild, fans of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad are not happy that the film was snubbed for Best Visual Effects while Marvel films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings made the cut. Despite all of its impressive outfits, The Suicide Squad was also snubbed in the Best Costume Design and Best Makeup & Hairstyling categories.

As for which films did make the cut for Best Visual Effects, here’s the full list from the Academy:

Dune
Free Guy
No Time To Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home

While most, if not all, of the The Suicide Squad fan reactions agree that Dune definitely deserved its nomination, there’s obviously some animosity over seeing the two Marvel movies make the cut. As for Free Guy‘s inclusion, well, that’s a head-scratcher.

Here are some of the reactions below:

While The Suicide Squad may have been snubbed at the Academy Awards, the film’s legacy continues to live on despite attempts to paint it as a disaster because of its disappointment at the box office. (In the film’s defense, it had a duel theatrical and streaming release that hit as the Delta variant was surging pandemic cases over the summer.) The spinoff series Peacemaker starring John Cena is currently streaming on HBO Max and has been dominating streaming charts as well as getting rave reviews.

So, yeah, The Suicide Squad might not be getting Academy love, but fans and streaming audiences are clearly loving Gunn’s spin on the DC Extended Universe.

The latest major trade domino involving the Portland Trail Blazers has fallen. According to multiple reports, the Blazers have decided to end CJ McCollum’s time in the Pacific Northwest, as the team will send the high-scoring veteran guard to the New Orleans Pelicans. This comes several days after the team decided to send a pair of wings, Norman Powell and Robert Covington, to the Los Angeles Clippers.

News of the Pelicans’ interest in McCollum had been circulating in the last day or two, and on Tuesday morning, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the two teams were in serious discussions regarding a deal.

The news was eventually confirmed by Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reported that the Pelicans will send a package involving Josh Hart and some of the considerable draft compensation the team has accrued in recent years via the trades involving Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday to Portland.

Later, Shams added that Hart, Satoransky, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker would the the three players headed to Portland, with draft picks still being determined.

Woj then brought word that Tony Snell and Larry Nance would also be included in the deal going to New Orleans.

After a rough start to the year, the Zion Williamson-less Pelicans have quietly sneaked into the play-in picture in the Western Conference, as the team sits in 10th place with a half-game cushion between themselves and the 11 seed. There’s a bit of a gap between themselves and the teams ahead of them, but presumably, acquiring McCollum — who is under contract for the next two seasons, too — is an attempt to make up some of that gap.

McCollum, who has only played for the Blazers in his NBA career, is averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 35.2 minutes per game this season while connecting on 38.4 percent of his attempts from three.

There’s one Oscar record that’s unlikely to be broken this year: most awards won by a single film. The current record is 11 set by 1959’s Ben-Hur, 1997’s Titanic, and 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but only one film was even nominated in 11 categories for the 94th Academy Awards: The Power of the Dog, with 12. But considering Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee are both up for Best Supporting Actor, that would mean Jane Campion’s gothic Western would have to win every other award it’s nominated for. That’s doubtful (but not impossible!) to happen.

A lot of other Oscars history was made this morning, though, including:

-Steven Spielberg is the first director to be nominated for Best Director in six different decades (1970s: Close Encounters of the Third Kind; 1980s: Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; 1990s: Schindler’s List, which he won, and Saving Private Ryan, which he also won; 2000s: Munich; 2010s: Lincoln; and 2020s: West Side Story).

–Jane Campion is the first female filmmaker to be up for Best Director twice

–Drive My Car is the first Japanese film to be nominated in more than one category

–Flee is the first film to ever be nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, Best International Feature Film, and Best Documentary Feature

-Denzel Washington extended his own record as the most-nominated Black actor in Oscars history with his 10th nomination for The Tragedy of Macbeth.

–CODA star Troy Kotsur is the first deaf male actor to be nominated for an Oscar, and only the second deaf actor overall after Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God

-Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Best Original Song nomination for “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto puts him one step closer to an EGOT. He already has the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony

-At 87, Judi Dench is the oldest nominee in Best Supporting Actress history

-Ariana DeBose and Kristen Stewart getting recognized for West Side Story and Spencer, respectively, marks the first time that two openly queer people have been nominated for acting Oscars in the same year

-Jared Leto wasn’t even nominated for his, um, unique performance in House of Gucci, preventing Nintendo from winning the company’s first Oscar

You can find the full list of nominees here.

After dropping the killer “Baby Don’t Cry” last October, Sunflower Bean have officially announced their third studio album, Headful Of Sugar. Due out May 6th, the album sees Julia Cumming, Nick Kivlen, and Olivia Faber sardonically tackling the often ridiculous world America has become.

“Tomorrow is not promised, no tour is promised, no popularity is promised, no health or money is promised,” Cumming said in a statement. “Why not make what you want to make on your own terms? Why not make a record that makes you want to dance? Why not make a record that makes you want to scream?”

Surely we can get behind that sentiment. On the lead single, “Who Put You Up To This?,” Cumming grows deeper into the role of the indie pop vixen, morphing with the mood of each of the band’s twists and turns. Nick Kivlen’s guitar solo stands out and is a depart from the band’s early days, where they rested their laurels (delightfully) on jangly C-86 guitars. Lyrically, the song dissects anxiety, identity and self-actualization.

“Questioning your life is the first step to taking the agency to change it,” the band says of the song. “Sometimes you have to let go of who you have been so that you can become who you want to be. ”

The video paints Cumming as a femme fatale of sorts, in the midst of a money heist gone awry. She narrowly escapes, only for us to witness a cliffhanging ending to the clip that seems destined to continue in the lead up to the album release.

Watch the video for “Who Put You Up To This?” above. Check out the Headful Of Sugar album artwork and tracklist below and Sunflower Bean’s tour dates here.

1. “Who Put You Up To This?”
2. “In Flight”
3. “Otherside”
4. “Roll The Dice”
5. “Headful Of Sugar”
6. “I Don’t Have Control Sometimes”
7. “Stand By Me”
8. “Post Love”
9. “Baby Don’t Cry”
10. “Beat The Odds”
11. “Feel Somebody”

Headful Of Sugar is out 5/6 via Mom+Pop. Pre-order it here.

First-time Oscar nominee Kristen Stewart (for her role as Princess Diana in Spencer) has reached this achievement after dozens of movies, and her fans (which hail back to the days of not only Twilight but super early entries like Panic Room) couldn’t be more thrilled. She’s going up against a gathering of veteran nominees (Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Olivia Colman for The Lost Daughter, Penelope Cruz for Parallel Mothers, and Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos), but can she truly be the People’s Princess and snag the win from all of them? Never say never.

Stewart’s faced a rocky ride, for sure, during awards season. She swept up an early accolade from the Gotham Awards, but she was surprisingly overlooked for the SAG nominations. In addition, she (and the entirety of the Spencer production) got snubbed by the BAFTAs, which isn’t too surprising, given the critical outlook of the film and the Royal Family’s influence and ties with the British Academy. Still, it’s finally happening now, and NEON proudly represented with a tweet: “Oscar-nominated actress, Kristen Stewart.”

Naysayers, be gone. And Bella Swan, you can get outta here, too, but seriously, Twilight wasn’t the best showcase of anyone’s talents in that saga of films (ask Billy Burke, Robert Pattinson, Michael Sheen, J.D. Pardo, Rami Malek, and many more). This morning, though, it’s all about Kristen Stewart.

The 94th Academy Awards will broadcast on March 27.

January 6th was Donald Trump’s Super Bowl. While White House staffers watched in shock at the violence that was occurring just steps away from where they were standing, the then-president was apparently as giddy as a schoolboy.

As The Daily Beast reports, testimony given to the January 6th committee seems to confirm a story that former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has already told: That in the midst of the deadly chaos that Trump and his cohorts had unleashed and encouraged during their Stop The Steal rally on the morning of January 6, 2021, then then-president was practically gleeful watching what was transpiring on Pennsylvania Avenue—so much so, that he actually rewinding and re-watching certain parts of the footage like a proud papa.

The AP reports that as rioters began to force their way into the Capitol, they were further egged on by Trump, who tweeted (back when he could tweet): “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution …” Also according to the AP:

Back in the White House, as staffers watched in shock at what was unfolding down Pennsylvania Avenue on television screens positioned throughout the West Wing, Trump’s attention was so rapt that he hit rewind and watched certain moments again, according to Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary.

“Look at all of the people fighting for me,” Trump said, according to Grisham, who also served as chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump. At one point, the president was confused why staffers weren’t as excited as he was watching the unrest unfold.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg was there that day, and told the Jan. 6 Committee that he, along with several other staffers, including Ivanka Trump, attempted to convince the then-president that he needed to address the nation and tell the rioters to go home, but that he refused. Though Kellogg clarified that they were reluctant to have Trump appear before the press or make any live statement, as they feared that, if left to his own devices and whims, he could make the situation much worse.

“The president ultimately agreed to a video statement,” Farnoush Amiri wrote for the Associated Press. “Multiple takes were filmed but not used. In each one of the initial takes, according to the committee, he failed to ask rioters to leave.”

The final take wasn’t ideal either. In it, Trump stated that “This was a fraudulent election” and told the rioters “We love you; you’re very special.”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Jeff Bezos’ transformation from gigantic nerd to gigantic d-bag may officially be complete. The billionaire, who makes an estimated $222,900 per minute—yep, even while he’s sleeping—is about to become the proud owner of a $500 million mega-yacht, which is currently being constructed by Oceanco, a Netherlands-based shipbuilder. But as Business Insider reports, locals are not thrilled about Bezos’s latest display of his grotesque amount of wealth—as getting the 417-foot ship to its new owner will require that it pass through Rotterdam, where the city’s century-old Koningshaven Bridge will have to be taken apart then reassembled in order for the vessel to pass through.

To show Bezos just what Rotterdam’s citizens think of dismantling a beloved cultural landmark because of some rich dude’s latest dick-measuring contest, they’ve taken to Facebook to organize an official protest dubbed “Eieren gooien naar superjacht Jeff Bezos”—or “Throwing eggs at Jeff Bezos’ superyacht.”

More than 3,700 individuals have already confirmed their attendance at the event, which is set to take place on June 1, 2022, with nearly 13,000 more people registering their interest in attending. The plan is simple. According to the Facebook page:

Calling all Rotterdammers: Take a box of rotten eggs with you and let’s throw them en masse at Jeff’s superyacht when it sails through the Hef in Rotterdam.

Rotterdam was built from the rubble by the people of Rotterdam, and we don’t just take that apart for the phallic symbol of a megalomaniac billionaire. Not without a fight!

News of the potential disassembling of the bridge, which was renovated in 2017, was first made public last week. At the time, as Business Insider previously reported, Rotterdam’s mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb assured concerned citizens that “no decision” had been made as to whether the bridge would need to be fiddled with, nor had any application for a permit to even do so been filed. If a request was submitted and approved, Aboutaleb said that Bezos and/or Oceanco would be the one footing the bill, which… yeah, one would hope.

While concerned citizens await the decision, local grocery stores may want to increase their egg orders.

(Via Business Insider)