Month: February 2023

We’re currently amidst a bona fide “Brendanassaince,” referring to Brendan Fraser, the beloved actor who’s currently enjoying a well-deserved comeback. He might even even win an Oscar next month. It’s something he’d probably rather have than a role he missed out on some 20 years back. That’s right: The star of the late-‘90s-through-late-aughts Mummy movies almost but not quite also nabbed the role of Superman. But at the time he wasn’t so sure he even wanted it.

In a predictably frank interview with Howard Stern — the one where he revealed he and Matt Damon were buck nekkid shooting a key School Ties scene — Fraser looked back on one of the many chaotic attempts to bring the Man of Steel back to the big screen. There was the time, in the late ‘90s, when Tim Burton was going to do it. Kevin Smith even wrote a draft. Nicolas Cage would have starred. That one, obviously, didn’t happen. But Hollywood tried again a few years later, this time with J.J. Abrams, and Fraser was one of the stars they tapped to audition (along with Paul Walker).

“Everyone in town was reading for Superman. They were testing six or seven guys in 2002 or 2003,” Fraser recalled. Still, he had his doubts. “Of course it’s a life-changing, amazing opportunity, but I had to reconcile with, ‘Okay, say you do get the job to be the Man of Steel. It’s going to be chipped on your gravestone. Are you okay with that? You will forevermore be known as the Man of Steel.’ There was a sort of Faustian bargain that went into [the] feeling, and I think inherently I didn’t want to be known for only one thing, because I prided myself on diversity my whole professional life. I’m not a one-trick pony.”

Fraser did express regret that it didn’t work out, which he blamed on “shenanigans and studio politics, and, probably, inherently, in my screen test. I think that’s why you test — they could kind of see I was only there like 98 percent instead.”

Hollywood eventually got their act together, and by 2006 there was Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, starring Fraser’s almost-first name namesake Brandon Routh. Alas, that one underperformed, leaving Supes off the screen for another seven years. Now the guy who played him there, Henry Cavill, is out too, and there’s yet another silver screen Superman in the works. Time really is a flat circle.

You can watch the relevant part of Fraser’s Stern chat in the video above.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

It took to inside 24 hours to the deadline for the NBA trade market to heat up, but the three-team blockbuster involving the Lakers, Jazz, and Timberwolves seemed to open the league up for business.

Shortly after that deal went down, word broke of another trade involving a West play-in hopeful, as the Portland Trail Blazers sent Josh Hart to the New York Knicks for Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, Svi Mykhailiuk, and a future first round pick.

The deal went down just minutes before the Blazers tipped off against the Warriors at home, with Hart saying some goodbyes to teammates on the court before leaving the floor.

It’s a deal that makes sense for both teams, as it’s a mild sell from the Blazers, who aren’t in a position to really contend this year, but can still maintain hope of a play-in spot. They get a first for Hart, who can be a free agent this summer if he declines a $12.9 million player option, and take a flyer on Reddish, who now moves on to his third team in four years. Reddish has yet to find his place in the NBA, as the talent hasn’t meshed with a team or role just yet, but he will have a lengthy audition in Portland to try and show the Blazers (and the rest of the league) what he can do.

The Knicks add another solid veteran to their wing rotation, bolstering their roster for the postseason push with a guy who meets Tom Thibodeau’s defensive demands and is a very good rebounder at his position. How much this helps New York will likely come down to whether Hart can regain some of his shooting form, as he’s hit just 30.4 percent of his threes on the season, a career-worst mark.

There’s no reason Perry Mason should be this good. The original Raymond Burr-starring series from crime master Erle Stanley Gardner was a prototype for modern legal drama, and it came with its own noir attitude, but the HBO reimagining has injected some serious prestige into the court proceedings. It’s a much larger story than the week-to-week whodunnit. A totally different animal.

And the second season looks dynamite. Matthew Rhys is perfectly cast as the broken defense lawyer whose conscience only fully extends to protecting the innocent in a city that doesn’t care all that much about real justice.

Diving back into the 1930s, here’s the official synopsis for what season 2 has to offer: “Months after the Dodson case has come to an end, the scion of a powerful oil family is brutally murdered. When the DA goes to the city’s Hoovervilles to pinpoint the most obvious of suspects, Perry, Della, and Paul find themselves at the center of a case that will uncover far reaching conspiracies and force them to reckon with what it truly means to be guilty.”

Beyond Rhys, the show also stars Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Diarra Kilpatrick, Eric Lange, Justin Kirk, Katherine Waterston, Hope Davis, and many more. The second season of Perry Mason lands on HBO March 6th.

Muni Long has put in the work. Her career began as Priscilla Renea, her real name, and included solo hits like 2009’s “Dollhouse.” She became a prolific songwriter for the likes of Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Meek Mill, Nick Jonas, and too many more.

But since changing her stage name to Muni Long in 2020, her artistry has reached new heights, and she’s making sure everybody knows her name in more ways than one. Maybe you’ve just now learned of her after “Hrs & Hrs” won Best R&B Performance at last Sunday’s 2023 Grammys. If you’re unsure how to pronounce Muni Long, all you have to do is look up her Instagram profile, and she literally spells it out for you: “MUH-Knee LONG .”

And if you need further translation, Muni Long is pronounced “Money Long.”

Long debuted her new identity with Black Like This in 2020, and then came Public Displays Of Affection in 2021. “Hrs & Hrs” became her first Billboard Hot 100 entry by early 2022 (peaking at No. 16), around the same time Uproxx caught up with Long.

“My intention is not to go viral or have everybody love what I’m doing, I really don’t care,” she told us in January 2022. “I couldn’t care less about that part. I think that’s part of the magic, right? It was like a balance between focusing on what you want and attracting it and then creating that distance so it’s like you’re not desperate for it when it comes to you. I’m just excited that I finally figured out that formula because I know that that means I can do this over and over again.”

Long added in the same interview, “Even the name Muni Long is an affirmation. My whole life is centered around attracting the best possible out of this universe, and you can’t do that when you have any type of blockages or animosity. Of course, you need darkness in order for life to exist and vice versa, but I just choose to be the light and that’s really the biggest thing.”

As Nintendo continues to expand its library of online games available on the Nintendo Switch Online service, two consoles that have been sorely missing are the GameBoy and Gameboy Advanced. Both had very full libraries on previous Nintendo consoles but Switch owners were unfortunately left out to dry with no way to play their favorite portable game consoles. At least that was the case until Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Nintendo announced that GameBoy and GameBoy Advanced Games would finally be coming to the Nintendo Switch Online service. Players with the basic service would only be able to play GameBoy games while everyone with the Expansion Pass would be allowed to play GBA games. Here’s the full list coming to both consoles.

GameBoy:

• Tetris
• Super Mario Land 2
• Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening DX
• Gargoyle’s Quest
• Game & Watch Gallery 3
• Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
• Metroid II – Return of Samus
• Wario Land 3
• Kirby’s Dream Land

GameBoy Advance

• Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3.
• WarioWare Inc: MegaMicroGames
• Kuru Kuru Kururin
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit
• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

All games will have online multiplayer between friends. They also teased a few more games that will be coming in the future, such as Pokemon TCG and Fire Emblem.

This is really exciting. Some of these games have been getting harder to find over the years and both the GameBoy and GameBoy Advance have deep libraries for Nintendo to pull from. Hopefully, they will continue to support both console services and fill them with classic games for fans to play through.

A new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was shown off during the Nintendo Direct on Wednesday. Like the last few, it gave us slight glimpses into gameplay with some cool features shown off like grinding on rails, the use of the guardian technology to float into the sky, and maybe even some new sheikah slate powers. We were also given some more insights into the story, with an ominous voice speaking of revenge and other devious goals as they look to destroy the current Kingdom.

It’s going to be a fun time, and it looks like it is primarily going to be the same kind of game as Breath of the Wild but with more stuff to do, which is never a bad idea in a sequel. The real surprise came in what wasn’t announced in the Direct itself. If fans went to the eShop to quickly go buy the game they were greeted with a surprise price increase as far as Switch games are concerned. Right now, the standard pre-order price on the US eShop is $70. Usually, Switch games are only $60.

This is now going to ask an interesting question of fans. Can a game on current Switch hardware be worth $10 above the normal price? Right now, PlayStation 5 games are all $70 but that’s a next-generation console. The Switch, for as beloved as it is, has only received one upgrade and that was only to the portable screen. It is just as powerful as it was when it first launched and is still considered by most to be a previous generation console. Not a next gen.

However, this is Zelda we’re talking about, and not just any Zelda. This is the sequel to what many consider one of the greatest games ever made. Fans are going to pay any amount of money to play it. Does that justify the price increase? Possibly, but there are going to be some out there who feel they are being nickel and dimed for a game on older hardware, and Tears of the Kingdom is going to need to run close to perfect to justify that price increase. We’ll find out if it can do that in May.

Last year, Fly Anakin unveiled his highly anticipated debut album Frank, which featured guests like Henny L.O., Pink Siifu, Billz Egypt, Nickelus F, and more. The Richmond, Virginia-based performer recently announced Skinemaxxx, a pair of EPs produced by Foisey, with Side A arriving soon.

The rapper is back today with the new single “Outsidigan’s Anthem.” The track is what Anakin describes as “a theme song for outsidigans. The ones that are outside even when they wanna go home. The streets need us. Free Max B.”

In our 2017 interview with Anakin, whose real name is Frank, he talked about his role in the rap collective Mutant Academy.

“In my mind, every member got superpowers, but we’re human and we ain’t sh*t, so we stuck on Earth entertaining ya’ll,” he explained. “Mutant Academy started out as a duo between Henny L.O. and myself in 2011. He came to me with the name, I designed the logo. 2015, we decided to expand and brought along some talented people we met along the journey. The current roster is Fly Anakin, Henny L.O., Koncept Jack$on, and Big Kahuna OG in the rap department. Producers- Foisey, Unlucky Bastards, Sycho Sid, Ewonee, Graymatter, BSTFRND and new member we haven’t announced yet.”

Listen to “Outsidigan’s Anthem” above.

Skinemaxxx (Side A) arrives 4/5 via Lex Records.

When Chiiild dropped “Bon Voyage” last November, he hinted that Better Luck In The Next Life was coming in 2023. December brought “You Get Me (A Final Word),” and then March 3 was identified as the album’s official release date around the arrival of “Good For Now” featuring Lucky Daye last month.

Today, February 8, “Antidote” joined the list of Better Luck In The Next Life singles.

“‘Antidote’ is about being enamored by a person,” Chiiild said in a statement. “It describes the infatuation of watching someone live life optimistically and simply wanting a piece of that because they symbolize the light for you. It is a representation of the idea that this person could save me from any emotional or physical struggle.”

The lyrics viscerally bear that out.

The ethereal track takes listeners into Chiiild’s vulnerable inner monologue. He’s in awe of someone as “the light, you are my only source” and wonders “where you are when your eyes close” because “I know you’re hurtin’, but it barely shows.” He opens himself up to a scary possibility: “Are you the one?Are you the antidote?”

Chiiild is set to begin his Better Luck In The Next Life Tour on March 2 in Santa Ana, California. All dates and ticket information can be found here.

Listen to “Antidote” above, and watch the Better Luck In The Next Life trailer below.

Is Ron DeSantis tough enough to take on the guy who once bullied his way to the presidency? Seth Meyers doesn’t think so. And judging from DeSantis’ mature, reasonable response to Trump’s recent childish attacks on him, he probably isn’t.

Earlier this week, Trump went low even for him, which is to say incredibly low: He reposted a potentially damning photo that may or may not show him drinking with underage women. The photo, which has been circulating for a couple years, shows DeSantis when he was in his early 20s, when he taught high school in Georgia. With him are three young women, who are allegedly students. Of course, there’s no way to tell that. For one thing, their faces are blurred out. But Trump, the chaos agent, shared it anyway, claiming its authenticity.

As per Bloomberg, DeSantis responded — which may have been the worst thing he could do. “I spend my time delivering results for the people Florida and fighting against Joe Biden,” the Florida governor said during a press conference. “I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans.”

Fair enough! But anyone with even a passing knowledge of Trump knows shaming him doesn’t work. (Nor does it work on his supporters.) One thing you don’t do with bullies is honor them with a response. They’re bullies. Trump is a bully — a bully so low he’d baselessly claim one of his likely rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential ticket once boozed with underage women. Now he’s almost certainly going to aim even lower still.

Of course, Trump might have thinner skin. After all, DeSantis isn’t the one who tried to get Twitter to censor a celebrity who called him a “p*ssy a** b*tch.”

(Via Bloomberg)

Paul Giamatti (pictured above with his natural skin color) is ready to conspire with you. According to Deadline Hollywood, the guy who keeps trying to bring down the billionaires of Billions will co-host the hoaxy podcast Chinwag with philosopher Stephen Asma.

“I like nothing more than hanging out with my pal Steve and getting into a good chat about highly weird stuff,” said Giamatti. “I’m ridiculously excited for listeners to join us as we off-road into some wild, whacky territory and, like any great chinwag, have some laughs along the way.”

Chinwag will feature special guests gabbing about said weird stuff and answering questions like “Are we living in a simulation?,” “What’s the most perfect sentence in literature?,” “Is Bigfoot interdimensional?,” and, presumably, “What’s in that dumpster???” If you know, you know.

Asma is a Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago and Senior Fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture. Giamatti is a legend. With their powers combined, it sounds like a seriously funny time digging into thorny questions orbiting the world of science, superstition, and the occult. If they have Jonathan Frakes on, the universe will fold in on itself.

If you’re worried that we are living in a simulation, don’t sweat it too much. Even if none of this is real, it feels real to you, so you really shouldn’t change anything you’re doing. Plus, Chinwag is part of the simulation, and it sounds pretty cool. It’ll hit podcast libraries all over starting April 5th.

(via Deadline)