Month: February 2023

It’s been a while since Elon Musk made news with Twitter. When the Tesla and SpaceX honcho took over the social media giant, not a few hours went by without him unleashing some chaotic new change. One of them was Twitter Blue, the subscription version of the service that allowed anyone willing to fork over eight bucks a month to get a blue checkmark that looks exactly like longtime verified version. He hoped it would one day account for half of Twitter’s revenue. But two months in it looks like a giant flop.

As per The Information (as caught by The Daily Beast), by January a measly 180,000 people had signed up for Twitter Blue. For context, that represents only .2% of monthly active users. And how much does 180,000 people paying $8 (or $11 they signed up via Apple iOS)? Just $28 million annually, or less than 1% of the company’s revenue.

Musk, who lost a probably Guinness-level amount of money last year, has struggled to find ways to make Twitter profitable. He’s also cut corners, even on janitors and bathroom toilet paper. What will he think of next to make money off a product he paid way more than he probably should have to obtain? Given this news, we may find out sooner rather than later.

(Via The Information and The Daily Beast)

Fans were in love with both the fun nods to the game sprinkled throughout the video, plus the fact that the production value looked insane.

Watch:

“Pedro Pascal delivering the most brooding and serious “It’s-a-me” is not something I knew I needed in my life,” wrote one person.

Another added, “Snl doesn’t always make great skits but when they do we get masterpieces like this.”

I think this this person pretty much summed up the collective response:

“If this would be a movie I would 100% watch it.”

Though fans might not be seeing Mario brought to life quite this way anytime soon, their favorite adventuring plumber will be taking to the big screen on April 7 for Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” starring Chris Pratt, Anya-Taylor-Joy and Jack Black.

Until then, just watch this video on repeat.

Beyoncé broke many records last night (February 5) at the Grammy Awards, and fans are ready to break their piggy banks open to join in the celebration at the Renaissance World Tour.

Not only is the “Cuff It” singer now the most-awarded musician on record for the annual music event, but she also became the first Black woman to win in the Best Dance/Electronica Album category. With her four wins, each of the Houston native’s solo albums has earned at least one Grammy Award. After losing Album Of The Year (AOTY) to Harry Styles, who didn’t have the best vocal showing during the event, the Beyhive is ready to show the British pop star how it is done with footage from the Renaissance World Tour.

However, if witnessing their beloved Queen Bey lose out on AOTY to Styles wasn’t hard enough, many found themselves on the losing end of Ticketmaster’s new pre-sale raffling system. Swedish pop star Zara Larsson may have a professional hook-up to help her secure tickets. Still, many of Beyoncé’s fans have lost all hope of securing tickets. To avoid crashing their site and to deter scalpers from gauging the ticket price, those interested in attending a show were required to enter a raffle using their email address. If selected, you were given a limited window to purchase your desired tickets using the custom code provided in the email. Those not selected received an email informing them that they were added to the waitlist. If tickets remain after the first wave of buyers finishes, they can purchase a ticket based on the remaining availability.

From the rumored ticket prices and the high demand, some card-carrying Beyhive members are either preparing to sit this tour out or are taking to social media to beg for their “waitlisted” status to be lifted.

Warning: This post contains a not very surprising spoiler about the ending of You People.

The new Netflix comedy You People takes a comedic look at interracial dating today, when so much talk about race is heated. There are a lot of comically uncomfortable moments strewn about the film, but one of the most awkward may come at the end: According to one of its supporting players, the final kiss between co-writer/star Jonah Hill and Lauren London was done with the aid of computers.

As per Insider, comedian Andrew Schulz, who plays Hill’s character’s Cousin Avi discussed the film’s very ending, in which the two young leads lock lips at the end after exchanging wedding vows, on Brilliant Idiots, the podcast he co-hosts with Charlamagne tha God.

“I don’t even know if I should share this s*it, but in the final scene, they don’t even kiss,” Schulz claimed. “It’s CGI. Swear to god, son.”

Schulz recalled being on-set that day. “I’m there, I’m watching the wedding, and I see them go in for the kiss and their faces stop like this far,” he said, putting his hands about six inches apart. “And I’m like, ‘I wonder how they’re going to play that in the movie. Oh, they’re probably just going to cut right there.’” He added, “But in the movie, you could see their faces come close, and then you can see their faces morph a little bit into a fake kiss.”

Indeed, you don’t have to look too closely to see some weird digital smudges on Hill’s face when he and London embrace. Neither Hill, London nor Netflix has commented on the allegation. It’s also unclear why CGI techies would have to fake the snog in the first place, unless they were simply uncomfortable even doing a movie kiss.

You People now streams on Netflix.

(Via Insider)

You can tell from the soundtrack of Apple TV’s new comedy series Shrinking that it’s enough to ruin a person. For starters, the theme song “Frightening Fishes” is by the one and only Ben Gibbard, known for his sad music in Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service. Now, as per Stereogum, there’s a new scene involving a beloved Phoebe Bridgers song that many fans can definitely relate to.

Embarking on a cathartic bike ride, the main character Jimmy (played by Jason Segel) puts on “I Know The End” by Bridgers, the explosive closer to her critically acclaimed album Punisher. He’s weeping by the end of the track, so emotional that he yells out, “F*ck you, Phoebe Bridgers!” and then accidentally rides straight into an open car door and flips off his bike.

In our 2020 interview with Bridgers about Punisher, she discussed writing that song, “It’s my first end of the world song,” she added, “Conor Oberst and I were joking about how he’s been writing apocalyptic songs since the beginning of time. And now his material’s going to feel like old news.”

Bridgers continued, “I was imagining a giant tornado or California separating from the rest of the United States. It definitely feels relevant, but in my brain, it was just an invention.”

Where did she get the inspiration from, Bridgers revealed, “I am rereading Oryx And Crake, the Margaret Atwood story where she predicted the pandemic. She calls it a ‘waterless flood.’ God, that book is insane.”

Watch the Shrinking scene above.

GloRilla may have walked away from last night’s Grammy Awards empty-handed, but her spirit is full. Despite her not taking home a gramophone trophy for Best Rap Performance, the Memphis native still had a breakout night. Not only did the “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” rapper perform her record as part of the ceremony’s 50th-anniversary tribute to hip-hop music, but she was also able to meet the most awarded musician in Grammy history, Beyoncé.

GloRilla managed to sneak in a brief chat with Beyoncé near her table between performances and acknowledgments. Then, the rapper took to her personal Facebook page to relive the moment, writing, “I hugged Beyoncé. I’m never taking a bath again.” In another post, writing, “I’m finna get my 15-second conversation with Beyoncé tatted. Ahh! I’m still not over it.”

While GloRilla hasn’t shared what the pair discussed, she did grab a selfie video during the ceremony with Beyoncé declaring her love for the singer, “I love you so much,” GloRilla says with a full smile with the caption, “I met Beyoncé — bye. My life is complete.”

Well, it seems GloRilla is living out the lyrics to her song “Tomorrow 2” as she raps, “Every day the sun won’t shine, but that’s why I love tomorrow.” But, of course, GloRilla knows the awards will come later, so she’s set on enjoying the present moment.

Since mid-December of last year, a strange new show has been airing on Twitch. It’s called Nothing, Forever, and it’s an AI-generated pastiche of Seinfeld that airs relentlessly. The graphics are blocky and low-res, reminiscent of ’80s computer games. The “jokes” are surreal and random, because they’re AI. And on Sunday, a month-and-a-half into its run, it went too far: Its version of Jerry went transphobic.

As per Vice, the AI show was banned for 14 days from the live streaming service after Larry Feinberg, the show’s resident Jerry, went the way of Ricky Gervais and Dave Chappelle. The show’s creators are appealing the ban and trying to figure out ways to ensure their AI characters don’t turn bigoted.

On Sunday night, during a stand-up bit, Larry went rogue. “There’s like 50 people here and no one is laughing. Anyone have any suggestions?,” he said on stage. “I’m thinking about doing a bit about how being transgender is actually a mental illness. Or how all liberals are secretly gay and want to impose their will on everyone. Or something about how transgender people are ruining the fabric of society. But no one is laughing, so I’m going to stop. Thanks for coming out tonight. See you next time. Where’d everybody go?”

The show’s staff blamed Larry’s transphobic and rightward drift on the team temporarily switching to a less sophisticated AI model during an overhaul, so the show wouldn’t go off the air. Ironically the show is now banned after that model turned Larry into a bigot.

One staffer said on Discord that “none of what was said reflects the devs’ (or anyone else on the staff team’s) opinions.”

The incident underlined a problem AI faces: When it focuses on hateful or bigoted material, it simply turns hateful and bigoted. It’s also another reminder that AI, like deepfakes, could simply wind up being a very idea. Besides, what’s wrong with simply watching actual Seinfeld?

(Via Vice)

When he was nine years old, Dieunerst Collin became a meme. He was the kid who appeared in a video posted to Vine, the long dead video sharing app, standing in a Popeyes in Irvington, New Jersey, holding a cup of lemonade, giving the camera side-eye. The video lived on as a gift. Collin became known as the “Popeyes meme kid.” Now look at him. He’s 18 years old and he’s got his very first Popeyes commercial.

The ad — which, like the Breaking Bad one, dropped online less than a week before it airs during this year’s Super Bowl — features the teenage Collin shilling for one of the nation’s finest fried chicken chains.

“You might know me, I used to be that meme kid. And now, I’m in Popeyes’ big game ad,” Collin says while driving a Tesla. “It’s got all of those things those ads have, like a nice ride. Electric, of course.” He adds, “It’s got puppies.”

It also has a deal: On the Popeyes app and site from now until game day, customers who spend at least $20 will earn 400 bonus points. Those points are then redeemable for either free fries or a free pie on their next order.

Today Collin is a freshman at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, where he plays on the football team. But he’s already a success: He has a sponsorship from Popeyes that will use his likeness in ads.

In a recent profile of Collin by CNN, he revealed that his parents initially weren’t stoked that their son had become an internet meme.

“When it happened, we didn’t want to be in the spotlight. And just having that out there, people were coming to my dad and saying, ‘Hey, we’ve seen your kid on this,’ trying to make a joke of it. My dad didn’t like it for his kids to be joked on,” Collin said. “But now, the fact that I switched it into a blessing, he likes it.”

Super Bowl LVII, which pits the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles, takes place on Sunday, February 12 at 6:30pm, which you’ll be able to watch after you see the latest, slightly rescheduled The Last of Us.

(Via PEOPLE and CNN)

Passing down a title to anyone automatically gives you the right to be a little mean about it because, to be fair, you had it first. So, sure, even though it’s nice that People magazine decided to give Chris Evans the title of Sexiest Man Alive, Paul Rudd had it before him, so he automatically wins. It’s just how science works.

Rudd, being the gracious and kind person he is, decided to give some advice to Evans, who earned the title in November. When asked if he would give some tips, Rudd, being the sexiest and most thoughtful man, said he had already reached out. “I absolutely said, ‘Look, here’s the deal, Chris. This comes with a lot of responsibility,’” He explained to People. We all know how irresponsible Evans can be.

The Ant-Man star even offered to take time out of his busy day to help Evans. His text continued, “‘If you want to sit down… we’ll probably need to spend the day, it’s going to take hours, because there’s a lot you have to live up to and there’s a lot expected of you. And if you want to have like a real strategy session or what it’s been like and what’s required, I’m available.’ And I gave him a series of days.”

Keep in mind that the unsexiest thing you can do is not reply to a text, which is exactly what Evans did. “Yeah, he’s never returned one text. [But he’s] absolutely busy. He’s the Sexiest Man Alive. There are no days off for that.” Rudd should know! He’s been working nonstop since gracing the cover in 2021. Please, someone, give this man a break.

(Via People)

It’s been more than 24 hours since news broke of the blockbuster trade sending Kyrie Irving to Dallas for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and two second-round picks. However, there has been nothing official announced and the reason is the Nets are still looking at their options to expand the trade to add a third team, because once the deal is finalized, they would no longer be able to move Finney-Smith or Dinwiddie prior to the deadline.

Marc Stein quickly followed that up by noting the Nets are looking at rerouting Dinwiddie to Toronto along with draft picks to acquire former All-Star Fred VanVleet, in an apparent effort to keep Kevin Durant happy enough to remain in Brooklyn.

Stein also noted the Nets have interest in Pascal Siakam, with the caveat that the Raptors are reluctant to make their All-NBA forward available in talks — on top of there being a genuine question of whether the Nets have enough to even interest Toronto in a Siakam deal that doesn’t involve Durant.

The problem for Brooklyn is the clock is ticking, as Dallas needs the deal finalized by the end of the day Monday so they can get Irving at practice on Tuesday so he can make his debut on Wednesday night. That means we’ll have a resolution to all of this soon, and learn just how desperate the Nets feel they need to be to beef up this trade.