Month: January 2023

Heading into Sundance, Jonathan Majors was already turning heads with his super jacked physique for Creed III. Majors was also packing some serious guns in the new trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but it turns out that neither of those roles featured the actor’s biggest body transformation.

In Magazine Dreams, Majors plays Killian Maddox, a toxic male bodybuilder who becomes a hulking beast of self-destruction and rage. The film has been garnering rave reviews for Majors at Sundance where the actor recently opened up about pushing his body to the limit for the insanely ripped performance, which involved eating 6,100 calories a day to pack on muscle mass. Via Variety:

“The normal bodybuilder works out two times a day,” Majors continued. “I’m playing Killian Maddox… Playing him you don’t f*ck around. What ended up happening is I would train two hours, two times a day for the movie and a third time after wrap. Meanwhile, you eat six times a day. Lots of chicken. Lots of elk. That’s just for me. I like it.”

Now that the role is over, Majors has scaled back his workout regimen, but not too much. The actor does have more Marvel appearances in his future, and he doesn’t mind pushing himself.

“I played football in Texas. I got an appetite,” Majors said. “I really like being physical. I like hiking and running. I’ve got dogs. I’m only 33… I got to do something to stay with it. I don’t work out three times a day anymore. Just once a day.”

(Via Variety)

On January 19, Dolly Parton turned 77 years old. Over those years, Parton has built one of the most esteemed legacies in music and in the entertainment industry more broadly. Her story is ripe for a film adaptation, and when/if that time comes, Parton has some ideas about the kind of person who should portray her. For example, they should have some boobs.

Parton was interviewed on CBS Mornings this weekend and a currently unproduced script of a biopic about her life came up. She was asked who should play her in the film and she responded, “Well, I don’t know. I think when it gets to that point, we’ll be auditioning a lot of different people. We’ll just have to see.”

The hosts then asked what qualities the actress should have and Parton continued:

“Well, she would need to have my spirit, I would think, and my personality. She’d have to have a lot of that fire and spunk. And she’d have to have some boobs, of course, whether they were homemade or whether they were for real [laughs]. She’d have to look the part, she’d have to be a little bit over-exaggerated. But hopefully… that would be pretty easy, even a boy could do that.”

Watch the interview above.

Jeremy Renner did not have the greatest start to 2023. He suffered a near-fatal snowplow accident yet miraculously seemed to be in good spirits while posting social media updates from his hospital bed. Despite the Mayor Of Kingstown star’s upbeat attitude, reports indicated that his injuries were much worse than originally reported.

Renner has now opened up more about his grueling recovery, and given that the snowplow nearly crushed him, what he’s detailing makes horrific sense. Over the weekend, he expressed endless gratitude for the support of friends, fans, and family. He also revealed that he endured 30 broken bones, which Renner vows “will mend, grow stronger, just like the love and bond with family and friends deepens.”

“Ouch” is my first response, and I’m probably not alone in that sentiment. Fortunately, fellow Avenger Chris Evans knew that it was time to seize the moment and fire up a joke. This actually sounds like something that Cap and Bucky would say to each other back in the day, but here’s Evans doing it himself: “That’s one tough mf’er. Has anyone even checked on the snowcat???”

Renner saw the response and had a ready response: “Love you brother…. I did check on the snow cat, she needs fuel.”

Given that the snowcat weighed 14,000 pounds, it’s a miracle that Renner is alive to exchange jokes with his buddy. Hopefully, his positive outlook will lead him to as smooth of a recovery as possible this year.

The first Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves trailer had dungeons (of course), dragons (naturally), and Chris Pine playing the lute (hell yeah). But you know what it didn’t have? Any dialogue from Hugh Grant, as Forge Fitzwilliam the Rogue.

The new trailer corrects this egregious mistake. You can watch it above.

“I don’t want to see you die,” he says, while Pine’s Edgin the Bard is being constricted by some worm thing (my apologies to the D&D heads out there, especially Joe Manganiello, for not knowing the creature’s name). “Which is why I’m going to leave the room.” Grant should exclusively play despere-for-attention villains from now on.

Here’s the official plot synopsis for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves:

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which was directed by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley and also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, and Daisy Head, opens on March 31.

Pamela Anderson claims in her memoir that Tim Allen flashed his penis at her on the Home Improvement set. In Love, Pamela, the model and actress writes, “On the first day of filming, I walked out of my dressing room, and Tim was in the hallway in his robe. He opened his robe and flashed me quickly — completely naked underneath. He said it was only fair, because he had seen me naked. Now we’re even. I laughed uncomfortably.”

The incident was alleged to have taken place in 1991, the same year Anderson was cast as Lisa, the original “Tool Time Girl,” on the hit ABC sitcom.

Variety reports that “Allen, who was 37 at the time, was presumably referring to Anderson’s modeling for Playboy, which helped turn the budding actress into an international sex symbol.” She was named Playmate of the Month in February 1990.

Allen denies the flashing ever occured. “No, it never happened. I would never do such a thing,” he said in a statement.

Love, Pamela comes out on January 31, the same day as the Netflix documentary, Pamela, a love story, in which “through personal video and diaries, Pamela Anderson shares the story of her rise to fame, rocky romances, and infamous sex tape scandal. Pamela Anderson defined a decade. Now she will define herself.”

(Via Variety)

It’s now been a few days since the world learned that iconic musician David Crosby had died at 81 years old. It would seem that Crosby’s passing was unexpected to those close to him, as he was apparently “practically giddy” about planning a new album and supporting tour, according to collaborator Steve Postell.

Postell told Variety:

“David didn’t think he was gonna last for years, which he joked about all the time, but there was no sense that we weren’t gonna be able to do this show and these tours. We were talking tour buses, and what kind of venues, and the whole team was all back together again — the road manager and tour manager and sound guys — on top of this band we’d put together. There was not even a remote sense that we weren’t about ready to hit the world. And it’s a shame people didn’t get to hear it. This was something else. This was as close to the original thing [sound of Crosby, Stills & Nash] as we were gonna get. It was very powerful.”

He also noted, “[Crosby] seemed practically giddy with all of it. […] He was showing us new songs, like, ‘What do you think of these lyrics?’ He hadn’t lost the fire. I’d like people to know that he was on it. He was writing, playing, singing his ass off and preparing a fantastic show. That’s what he was doing. He was not lying in a bed for two years, out of it. That’s not what happened at all.”

Read more from Postell on Crosby here.

2023 has started with massive layoffs for a number of significant companies, including Amazon, Google parent company Alphabet, and Salesforce, among others. On January 18, Microsoft announced a whopping 10,000 layoffs expected to happen between now and the third financial quarter of 2023. Immediately before that, though, a handful of the company’s higher-ups enjoyed a private Sting concert.

The night before the layoffs were announced, the company hosted “an intimate gathering of 50 or so people, including the company’s top executives” that featured a performance from Sting, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The event took place in Davos, Switzerland to coincide with the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. WSJ noted, “While hobnobbing at Davos is part of doing business for major tech corporations and the events are planned far in advance, making it difficult to change them, some employees thought it wasn’t the right time for a company-sponsored Sting concert. The theme of the event was sustainability.”

As for the layoffs, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella noted in a message shared with Microsoft employees:

“Today, we are making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10,000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3. This represents less than 5 percent of our total employee base, with some notifications happening today. It’s important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas. We know this is a challenging time for each person impacted. The senior leadership team and I are committed that as we go through this process, we will do so in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible. […]

These decisions are difficult, but necessary. They are especially difficult because they impact people and people’s lives – our colleagues and friends. […] I want to extend my deepest thanks and gratitude to everyone who has contributed to Microsoft up to this point and to all of you who will continue to contribute as we chart our path ahead. Thank you for the focus, dedication, and resilience you demonstrate for Microsoft and our customers and partners each day.”

This article originally appeared on 08.17.16

A group of 105 homeless people gathered at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Each of them was given a disposable camera and told to take pictures that represent “my London.”

The photos were entered in an annual contest run by London-based nonprofit Cafe Art, which gives homeless artists the chance to have their work displayed around the city and, for some of the photographers who participate in the yearly challenge, in a print calendar.

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“Some people have had experience, and others have never picked up a camera before,” said Paul Ryan, co-director of Cafe Art.

The program, Ryan explained, includes mentorship and training from professional volunteers at the Royal Photographic Society, including winners of the contest from previous years, many of whom are ultimately inducted into the society.

The goal of the challenge is to help participants gain the confidence to get back on the job market, search for housing, re-engage with their social circles, or even activate dormant skills.

“I really enjoyed it. And I started to get involved in my art again, which I’d left for years,” a 2015 participant said in a video for the organization’s Kickstarter campaign.

These are 11 of the top vote-getters from this year’s contest:

1. Ella Sullivan — “Heart Bike Rack”

2. Alana Del Valle — “London Bus with Sculpture”

3. Beatrice — “Out of the Blue”

4. Laz Ozerden — “What Now?”

5. Leo Shaul — “The Coffee Roaster”

6. Christopher McTavish — “St. Paul’s in Reflection”

7. Hugh Gary — “London Calling”

8. Keith Norris — “Watching Mannequin”

9. Siliana — “After the Rain”

10. Saffron Saidi — “Graffiti Area”

11. Jackie Cook — “Underground Exit”

Ryan, who has been developing the program for seven years, said that while there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for individuals who are homeless, for some who are too used to being “knocked back,” the experience of seeing their work on display or in print — and of success — can be invaluable.

“Everyone is helped in a different way, to get up to the next step in whatever way they need to.”

This article originally appeared on 09.14.16

When Laura Izumikawa was pregnant with her daughter, Joey, her friends who had kids warned her life as she knew it would change once Joey was born.

In some ways, this was true. After Joey was born, Laura’s stress levels rose, and her “me time” diminished significantly.

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Parents know this is just par for the course — new motherhood comes with all sorts of worries and responsibilities. Often the only time moms have a moment to decompress is during those precious few hours of nap time.

While many take that time to catch a few more winks themselves, Laura decided to do something a little different.

Outside of her new mom life, Laura is a professional photographer who specializes in taking photos of couples, weddings, families, and kids. Secondarily, she was blessed with a daughter who’s an incredibly heavy sleeper.

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So she decided to put her photography skills and her daughter’s sleeping skills together to create some adorable works of art to commemorate Joey’s infancy and ultimately unwind from the stresses of new parenthood.

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It started out as just a fun way to update her grandparents on how much Joey is growing. Then her friends asked her to put the photos on Instagram, and the rest as they say, is cute, hilarious history.

1. She’s been a tourist on Hawaii.

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2. And won a gold medal in her sleep.

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So how does Laura do all this without waking her baby? Simple, she does the arm flinch test to make sure Joey’s totally out, then, ever so carefully, starts to put props around her.

“The most important thing for me is not to disturb her sleep or make her feel uncomfortable at all,” wrote Laura in an email.

She does pop music icons like:

3. The fierce Beyoncé.

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4. Sia in her famous eye-hiding wig.

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5. Slash from Guns and Roses.

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And she does spot-on fictional characters, too.

6. Furiosa from “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

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7. The lost, but not forgotten Barb from “Stranger Things.”

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8. Leia from “Star Wars” with her dad.

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9. “It’s Wayne’s World! Wayne’s World! Party time! Excellent!”

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10. The Princess Bride “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to … (snores).”

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11. “The hills are alive…”

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At the end of the day, parenting can be exhausting. If you can find a way to smile or laugh through it, you’re doing pretty great.

“I’ve found joy in slowing down and watching her grow,” wrote Laura. “With these photos, playing with Joey, watching her slowly drift to sleep and dressing her up in hilarious outfits showed me that parenting can be fun and enjoyable.”

It’s all about finding a special way to bond, whether or not that includes props and wardrobe changes.

This article originally appeared on 09.01.16

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? A firefighter? A rockstar? What about a veterinarian or a fighter pilot?

While you were dreaming up your future career, did the fact that it typically attracts workers of a certain gender influence you at all? You might be quick to say “no way,” but gender stereotypes likely played a part in your development even if you weren’t aware of it.

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In #RedrawTheBalance, a campaign from Inspiring the Future, a group of kids were asked to draw people in various careers like firefighters or surgeons.

Here’s what they drew:

A surgeon.

A firefighter.

Notice a trend?

According to several studies, children tend to be more rigid in their gender stereotyping, which may be because they have a more “absolutist sense of rules” than adults do.

Children learn this stereotyping behavior from lots of places — parents, friends, and, of course, the media they consume. Unfortunately, the stereotype that certain jobs are for certain genders still prevails to this day, which is a shame because it means that kids grow up thinking there are certain jobs they can’t do because of their gender.

There is good news, however. While young kids are impressionable, that doesn’t mean it’s too late to correct those impressions — sometimes all it takes is them meeting one person doing one job that doesn’t fit a stereotype to change the way they see the world.

That’s what happened when these kids get their minds blown when people who do the jobs they illustrated walk into the room and they aren’t exactly who they expected to see.

Children appear excited and interested during the PSA.

If you’d like to see what happened for yourself, click on the link to the video below: