Year: 2022

It’s been nearly 24 hours since Donald Trump made the “MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT” that he’s got a new grift — NFTs — and clearly has no idea what they are or what he’s even talking about. But the rest of the world can’t stop talking (or laughing) about them, which is just fine with us. Because of the many comical things about this whole endeavor, the funniest part might be that the former president claims the Trump Digital Trading cards “feature some of the really incredible artwork pertaining to my life and my career,” before adding that “it’s been very exciting.”

Except, as many people have already pointed out on social media, no one remembers when Trump went all High Noon like Gary Cooper… or when he was an astronaut:

​​https://twitter.com/HuskyCaucasian/status/1603437178469728298?s=20&t=dReGbFxfgpSrJaTd2ctr4A

Same goes for Top Gun: Trump, Trump the pro football player, or Donald Trump, race car driver:

But here’s the worst part: According to Gizmodo, Team Trump didn’t even bother to hire an actual artist to create images of the former president achieving all sorts of things he never achieved. As Kyle Barr writes:

The images were so lazy that based on reverse image searches they were edited photos scraped off the internet. It’s unclear if they were edited by hand or perhaps crafted using AI image generation, though the one image of Trump in hunter garb bears a very distinct resemblance to waders crafted by Banded, a hunting apparel company.

Trump’s cowboy outfit appears to match a leather duster made by Scully Sportswear, a California-based costume and western garb shop.

As for the astronaut photo? Amazingly, even that image was not real:

On the bright side, if you’re reading this, chances are you’re not going to jail for trying to help stage a coup for a guy hawking crappy, photoshopped NFTs, so there’s that.

(Via Gizmodo)

At long last, months after photos of Margot Robbie as Barbie from the upcoming movie went viral, we have our first Barbie teaser trailer. The colorful early look dropped this morning (December 16), as did a new social media presence for the movie, which adds fire to some casting rumors.

Back in May, it was rumored that Dua Lipa had landed a role in the movie, although that has yet to be confirmed. However, an official Instagram account for the movie, @barbiethemovie, surfaced yesterday, and what’s particularly interesting there is the accounts that it follows. There are only 16 of them, including cast members like Helen Mirren, Issa Rae, Rhea Pearlman, America Ferrera, and Simu Liu, along with, yes, Lipa.

It should be noted that it’s also possible Lipa is involved with the movie by contributing music to the soundtrack and doesn’t have an on-screen role.

Meanwhile, Lipa recently spoke about why she wants to take “baby steps” when it comes to her acting career. In an episode of her Acts Of Service podcast with guest Dan Levy, Lipa explained, “I think my biggest thing would be taking on a really big role and be like, f*ck, now I have to be an actor and feel these emotions and feelings on camera when I haven’t brought myself up to that point yet.”

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

Billie Eilish was on the road for basically all of this year for the Happier Than Ever, The World Tour. She wanted to close out the year in her hometown, so she planned two nights at the Kia Forum — one was last night, December 15, and the finale is tonight. However, it’s hard to imagine how she can top last night’s concert, considering she brought out both Phoebe Bridgers and Dave Grohl for performances.

With Bridgers, the pair sang “Motion Sickness” together — an undoubtedly beautiful moment of female solidarity in an industry that’s always posing challenges for women. Happier Than Ever dealt with a lot of similar themes as that song does: the manipulation of men in music, the unfair position women are constantly put in no matter how successful they are.

Grohl and Eilish sang “My Hero,” together, a sprawling homage to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins who passed earlier this year. Eilish honored his life during her Grammys performance in April, donning a shirt with his face on it. The month before, Grohl also praised Eilish: “There’s a lot of great young bands that are f*cking killing it and have devoted fan bases. They might not be as popular as Nicki Minaj, but honestly, when I see f*cking Billie Eilish, that’s rock and roll to me. She started a revolution and took over the world.”

Watch clips of the performances below.

Let’s get this out of the way now: there is no post-credits scene for Avatar: The Way of Water — and that’s one of the reasons why it’s so good.

There’s an expectation that every blockbuster must have a “bonus” scene either during or after the credits, which can be fun when it’s Bruce Campbell doing Bruce Campbell things. But often times, it feels like a commercial for a movie that hasn’t been made yet. As Brady Langmann wrote for Esquire, “We’re at the point where superhero movies are telling us that the next sequel or spinoff is more important than the film you’re watching the trailer for.” Avatar: The Way of Water does set up the next installment in the franchise (and the ones after that, hopefully), but it also feels like a complete film.

The lack of a post-credit scene is not going unnoticed (or unappreciated), either:

Cameron hasn’t specifically criticized the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe for their reliance on post-credits scenes, but he has dinged the superhero factories for other things. “When I look at these big, spectacular films — I’m looking at you, Marvel and DC — it doesn’t matter how old the characters are, they all act like they’re in college,” he said. “The things that really ground us and give us power, love, and a purpose? Those characters don’t experience it, and I think that’s not the way to make movies.” In another interview, Cameron said Avatar: The Way of Water goes farther with female empowerment than Wonder Woman by having a pregnant warrior.

Can Avatar: The Way of Water top Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to become 2022’s second highest-grossing movie (Top Gun: Maverick has a near-insurmountable lead)? Cameron sure hopes so.

Henry Cavill is as hot of a ticket as you’d expect. In fact, he may have broken the record for announcing a new franchise after enduring the Superman dustup, which happened after he departed The Witcher. Let’s back up and recap.

Following the Black Adam release, we learned that Cavill had surprisingly decided to hang up his leather pants as Geralt of Rivia in favor of returning as Clark Kent donning a cape. In a somewhat unexpected move, Netflix quickly announced that Liam Hemsworth would now lead The Witcher, and it seemed like Cavill would happily be “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound” for James Gunn as he reshapes the DCU/DCEU, but uh, that didn’t turn out to be happening.

We soon found out that Gunn had decided to roll with a younger version of Superman, at which point the public found out that Cavill was effectively done as the Man of Steel. Cavill swiftly acknowleged — it must be noted, with light text on a dark background that could be read as setting a somber mood — that “My turn to wear the cape has passed.” And this was kind-of heartbreaking, as though someone had pulled the rug out from underneath Cavill.

Well, do not feel sorry for Henry Cavill. He’s already recovered his groove, and he will (characteristically) nerd hard for a different franchise that has already been announced. No, this isn’t a James Bond casting thing, but it should please a voraciously devoted fanbase. Via Deadline, Henry will lead and heavily produce Amazon’s take on adapting the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop RPG universe:

Amazon Studios has made it official, confirming that it has secured global rights to the Warhammer 40,000 game from Games Workshop for Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) to star in and executive produce the Warhammer 40,000 franchise across all Amazon Studios productions. The agreement encompasses rights to the universe across TV series, film, and likely games and animation.

Warhammer 40,000 is set in the far future, where humanity stands at the edge of what might be its brightest future, or its darkest age. The threats to humankind’s empire are many — traitors driven by the fires of ambition, alien empires sworn to reclaim the stars, and the corruption of reality by malevolent gods.

Henry Cavill is diving face first into four decades worth of tabletop games, novels, and video games? This tracks.

And who knows, this may have been in the works for awhile and simply looks like an impeccably timed reveal. In February, Cavill Instagrammed his visit to Warhammer World, where he rubbed nerdy elbows with employees and gushed about feeling “giddy with excitement.” He further expressed how “wandering the halls of the exhibition centre was a dream come true.” He wasn’t done yet and raved about how “[t]he brilliance of the artistry is rather wonderfully matched,” and “I don’t often feel at home, but I did that day.”

It looks like Henry Cavill is finally home. Hopefully, The Rock is doing alright, too.

(Via Deadline)

One of the biggest pops from the audience during my opening night screening of Avatar: The Way of Water had nothing to do with Pandora. Instead, it happened before the movie even began: when the words “directed by Greta Gerwig,” all written in pink, appeared on screen. Folks, our first look at Barbie, the most important movie of 2023, is here, and it looks… unexpected.

There’s little footage from the film itself, outside of a few quick shots of Margot Robbie’s Barbie (working her magic) and Ryan Gosling’s beach blonde Ken, as well as Issa Rae and Simu Liu. Instead, the teaser is a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey, with a little girl destroying her dolls in favor of Barbie, played by a giant Margot Robbie (this better not awaken anything in me). There’s also a dash of Jacques Demy, the director of French musicals The Young Girls of Rochefort and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, in there.

“It was something that was exciting because it was terrifying,” Gerwig said about working on Barbie. “It felt like vertigo, starting to write it, like: ‘Where do you even begin, and what would be the story?’ And I think it was that feeling I had was knowing that it would be really interesting terror.” She was worried it would be a “career-ender,” but that’s why she wanted to do it. “Then you’re like,” the Oscar-nominated writer of Lady Bird and Little Women added, “I should probably do it.” And thank god (is there a god in the Barbie universe? Or is Barbie god? I hope this is answered in the movie) she did.

Barbie, which also stars Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, and Michael Cera, opens on July 21, 2023, the same day as Oppenheimer.

With another year almost in the bag, it’s a natural time of reflection for a lot of us. What did we learn this year? How did we grow? What are we grateful for?

Some might be thinking about loss, grieving loved ones who have passed away. Some may have gone through big transitions this year and are reeling from the change. Some might look back with a realization that they want next year to be different, feeling resolved to take the steps necessary to build the life they envision.

In any year, there are moments we want to cherish and moments we don’t want to relive. It’s all part of the complex reality of being human—the ups and the downs, the good with the bad, the yin balancing the yang.

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But what we focus on matters. When we celebrate the good, we nurture a mindset of optimism that can spill over into all parts of our lives. It’s easy to point to everything that’s bad and become a cynic. But when we shift our focus to the good, we find hope and faith in humanity again and again. And that can make a world of difference.

Here’s a sampling of good to get you going:

1. Mom gets an unexpected expression of love from her sweet son with a speech delay.

@jaylabrenae5

It’s an even sweeter moment for me knowing I used to pray for the days my son could tell me he loved me due to him being speech delayed. I’m in awe right now😭❤️ #momlife #sahm #mommoments #sweetestboy #toddlertalk #beautifulmoments

“It’s an even sweeter moment for me knowing I used to pray for the days my son could tell me he loved me due to him being speech delayed,” wrote Jayla. “I’m in awe right now.😭❤️” We are right there with you, Mama.

2. Baby tries pho for the first time and his reaction is 100% relatable.

@brookestersandmommy

10/10 recommended by Hendrix 🤣 #babyboy #pho #firsttime #baby

Pho for the win. Every time. (And baby named Hendrix? Also 10/10.)

3. This Army vs. Navy drumline battle is just non-stop awesome.

Drumlines are fun, but drumline battles are epic. Read the full story and watch last year’s battle as well here.

4. Kevin Bacon and Old 97’s have gifted us with the Christmas song of the season.

Kevin Bacon has been entertaining us musically throughout the pandemic, even singing Beyoncé with a bunch of goats. ‘Here It Is Christmastime’ from “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” is just icing on our Kevin Bacon cake.

See the scene from the special and learn how the song came about here.

5. She looked worried searching for her family, but when she spotted them it was pure joy.

See on Instagram

That wee one’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. A sweet reminder that showing up matters. Read the full story here.

6. Liquor store employee sees a man without shoes and immediately gives him the Jordans off her feet.

Ta Leia Thomas is known in her community for her kindness, but this spontaneous sacrificial act is just the best. Read the full story here.

7. Baby gets glasses for the first time and her reaction is priceless.

@kaseysimpson6

#trend #foryoupage❤️❤️ #blind #littlesister #firsttimeseeing #blowthisup #blindnessawareness #tikkok

Anyone who wears glasses can understand that moment of WOW. I remember thinking, “Wait, people can actually see blades of grass?” when I got my first pair of glasses. Clear sight is something we simply can’t take for granted.

8. Throwback to this 3-year-old drumming prodigy who wipes his nose and drops his stick while barely missing a beat.

u201c3-year-old playing the drums.. ud83dude0au201d

— Buitengebieden (@Buitengebieden)
1670622488

The kid is Russian drum prodigy Lyonya Shilovsky and the video is from when, at age 3, he impressively led an entire orchestra in a part of Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” called “Galop infernal”—better known as “the cancan”. (Shilovsky is now 13 and still playing percussion.)

9. A little girl asked L.A. County Animal Control for approval to keep a unicorn in her yard. They responded with an official unicorn license and more.

See on Instagram

Click the arrows to scroll all the way through. Absolutely delightful response to an adorable young citizen.

10. May we all be as joyful about the weather as Albert the camel is when seeing snow for the first time.

@ranchograndeojai

Snow camel walks with the goats #ranchograndeojai #ranchoojai #ojai ##ranch #camel #goats #snowdrop

Didn’t even know a camel could hippity hop like that. Yay, Albert.

Hope you found some smiles here! Come back next week for more! (And if you’d like to get these posts delivered to your inbox so you never miss them, join our free Upworthiest newsletter here.)

Unfortunately, when it comes to Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, the headlines so far have been primarily about how badly Ticketmaster messed up the sales of them. What may have flown under the radar some is just how gigantic and historic the sales so far have been.

In a new report, Billboard estimates that the November 15 presale generated about $554 million in sales for Ticketmaster and Seat Geek. Furthermore, there are an additional 170,000 tickets left that weren’t sold during the presale, and those have an estimated cumulative face value of $37 million. That brings the estimated income of just Swift’s US The Eras Tour dates to $591 million.

That would make The Eras Tour the highest-grossing one of all time among female artists, easily passing Madonna’s 2008 and 2009 Sweet & Sticky Tour total of $407 million. It would also be No. 4 on the all-time tour chart, a rank that’s currently led by the $776.2 million Ed Sheeran earned with his Divide tour.

As for the ticketing mishap, Swift was not particularly pleased, as she wrote in response, “I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could. It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

When going to a The 1975 concert on their current At Their Very Best tour, it feels like anything can happen. Pretty much anything has, whether Matty Healy is eating raw meat, singing Maroon 5, or making out with fans. There’s actually some news on the latter front: At a recent show, after taking the proper precautions, Healy gave a fan their first kiss.

The fan, who goes by Carmen Mattson on TikTok, shared a video of the experience. They were at the front of the crowd at The 1975’s December 14 show in Minneapolis, holding a sign that says, “Be my first kiss, I’m 22.” From the stage between songs, Healy read the sign aloud, noting of the part about her age, “That’s important.” After considering the request for a couple seconds, Healy said, “Yeah, a hundred percent,” and made his way down to Mattson.

He quickly U-turned, though, to say into the mic, “You better not be f*cking 16,” after which Mattson offered to show her ID to prove her age. She handed that to a security guard and Healy grabbed it, bending it, biting it, and otherwise verifying its authenticity. He then approached the fan, grabbed her face, asked if she was ready and if this was really about to be her first kiss. He then went in, giving her a long closed-mouth kiss and a second shorter one before returning to the stage.

Check out videos of the moment above and below.

Some could argue that this was Harry Styles’ year. The pop star unveiled the massive LP Harry’s House, which topped the charts and was the first platinum album of 2022. In only three days, it broke the record for the biggest vinyl week. But the success and great moments didn’t stop there.

His ubiquitous hit “As It Was” became the longest running No. 1 single of the decade, and Texas State University began offering a course on the singer. Styles’ accomplishments even transcended the music world — he was in the much-discussed movie Don’t Worry Darling, and remember when there was the whole conversation about whether or not he spat on Chris Pine? He also won his first acting award.

His Love On Tour was no casual affair. People camped outside of venues for days hoping to get barricade, and he now has his own banner inside of New York’s famous Madison Square Garden to commemorate his legendary 15-night residency. At one show, a fan surprised him by throwing a chicken nugget on stage: “I don’t eat chicken, sorry. I don’t eat meat,” he said. Though he was also hurt by some skittles that were hurled at him, 2022 was definitely still a solid year for him.