Month: February 2023

Freshman GOP representative George Santos has been caught lying about a lot of things. No, he’s not Jewish. No, he’s not a former college volleyball champ. No, his mother didn’t die in 9/11 (!!). But this alleged whopper might be the strangest of all: He reportedly lied about producing one of the biggest flops in Broadway history.

As per Bloomberg, during his first, failed campaign in 2021, Santos allegedly told potential donors that he was once a producer on Spider-Man: Turn on the Dark, the notorious stage musical that ended its relatively short run with, as Playbill put it at the time, a “monumental financial loss.” The production was plagued with technical mishaps and actor injuries, as well as bad press. It was a walking punchline that still attracted large crowds — albeit not as large as the ones for Wicked.

When asked about Santos’ claim by Entertainment Weekly, a spokesperson for the show, Rick Miramontez, said, “Of all the tribulations the producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark had to endure, we are very pleased, proud and relieved to report working with George Santos was not one of them.”

Why would Santos — whose name never appeared in the show’s playbills — lie about this, of all things? The elected lawmaker has yet to comment. It would have been strange had he helped produce the famous bomb. For one thing, he’s 34 now (or so he says). The show started previews in 2011, which would make him 21 or 22 then — a very, very young age for someone mounting any Broadway production, let alone one of the most expensive in history.

(Via Bloomberg and EW)

Anna Kendrick doesn’t use Twitter as often as she used to (if only we were all so lucky), but when she does, it’s a delight. “As an anemic little rodent, can I just ask: are there iron supplements that don’t taste like I’m swallowing a dirty penny?” the Alice, Darling actress recently tweeted, eliciting a response from none other than Russell Crowe. Kendrick also discovered the one fun thing about having her Twitter account hacked, and of course there’s the Ryan Gosling tweet. Most Oscar-nominated performers wouldn’t joke about wanting to masturbate during, like, Crazy, Stupid, Love or Blue Valentine (weird choice!), and maybe she wouldn’t 10 years later. Then again, the first thing she says in her Vanity Fair “Anna Kendrick Rewatches…” video is about her cleavage, so you never know.

In the video, Kendrick revisits scenes from her own movies, including Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the Twilight series, and Pitch Perfect. “I’m distracted by my cleavage,” she admitted while the “Cups” scene (feel free to make your own “more like [boob size] cups” joke) from the a cappella comedy is playing. “Can I say that? Is that weird?”

Kendrick also admitted that “Cups” — which reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 — is “a weird nails on chalkboard thing” for her. And has been since at least 2015.

You can watch the video above.

(SPOILERS for this week’s BMF episode will be found below.)

Each week for the ‘BMF’ To Blowin’ Money Fast series, we’ll recap the episode by looking at a few key things to see how they hurt Meech and Terry’s money-making goals. Each item will be marked as a profit or a loss, the former keeping them in the black and the latter pushing them into the red. Throughout the course of the season, something that was once unprofitable could turn profitable, and vice versa, but we’ll have to wait and see what that might be.

Last week on “Runnin’ On E,” the fourth episode in season two of BMF, everything nearly falls apart for life as they know it for Meech and Terry. Meech spends most of this episode recovering from gunshot wounds he received after Lamar, who he believed was dead, shot him from point-blank range. As he recovers, Terry does what brothers do best and steps back into BMF to get a few things in line to help Meech. At this point, Detroit, and the rest of the country, is in a cocaine supply drought, but Terry is able to get a small batch in order to get some money rolling through. Unfortunately, his plan to move it upstate fails when Denise, who unknowingly took the product during a drive to Lansing, was arrested by Detectives Bryant and Jin for drug possession. With their backs against the wall, Meech and Terry are forced to make a run for it from Detroit before they are arrested.

In the fifth episode of season two, titled “Moment Of Truth,” Meech and Terry escape the grasp of death and imprisonment by running out to Atlanta. We see that their main goal is to somehow purchase product to bring back to Detroit and sell in order to pay back debts. The duo thinks it will be an easy process, but it proves to be much harder as they run into respected figures in the city who aren’t willing to budge. As expected though, Meech and Terry are able to find a way and make their trip successful. Back in Detroit, Charles reaches new heights to frustrate viewers and Lamar continues to terrorize the Flenorys despite Meech and Terry being out of town.

Meech

PROFIT

Meech’s tunnel vision is one of his best qualities. While Terry has one foot in a life on the straight and narrow and the other in the drug game, Meech always has his eyes set on making more money and elevating. So during their trip to Atlanta, Meech does everything to make sure Terry’s head is in one place and that includes throwing his textbook out of the car window. When Terry is set on gambling and playing dice to win more money to pay for product, Meech eventually proves that there’s a better way to go about it. Throughout their time in Atlanta, the Flenory brothers’ success together proves that they are better together and it’s just what Terry needed to convince himself that he does want to continue in BMF. For what it’s worth, it was Terry who forced him and Meech to flee to Atlanta, but it’s Meech and Terry together that will help BMF rise to the top.

Charles

LOSS

Throughout the season, we watched Charles and thought, “There’s no way this can get worse.” Sure, he can be a pain in the behind to everyone in the family. Yes, he hounds Terry and assumes the worse in him and yes, he neglects Lucille, but that’s got to be it right? Nope. In “Moment Of Truth,” we watch Charles’s frustrations with his family and their situation, as well as his own exhaustion from it all, push him to do the worst: cheat on his wife. A party at Mabelle’s house with just the right amount of attention and temptation causes Charles to fall into his trap. While he seemingly intends to hide the secret for as long as he can, his first night back home with Lucille after their retreat proves that things will certainly not be the same between them. It remains to be seen if the family can at least stick together because if not, that’s a big loss in terms of everyone’s support system.

Terry

PROFIT

As we mentioned already, it’s Terry’s fault that he and Meech were forced to flee to Atlanta. His refusal to listen to Meech, and instead, enlist Denise to bring product to Lansig ended terribly as she was arrested by Detectives Bryant and Jin. Even when the duo makes it to Atlanta, it was Terry’s rash decision-making and rare impulsive that causes he and Meech to lose half of the $15,000 they had left to their name. Still, when their backs were against the wall, Terry was able to come through and save the day by rolling a seven during a dice game where he and Meech needed to win all the money on the table. To make things even better, Terry admits that his time in Atlanta with Meech made him want to return to BMF. Terry certainly had his fair share of mistake, but his return to BMF only means that the sky is the limit for the pair.

Lamar

LOSS

Lamar Silas is not giving up his search for the Flenory boys. At the end of episode four, we watch him track down Meech and Terry in his Jeep and attempt to take them off the road and possibly kill them. Luckily for Meech and Terry, he fails as they’re able to escape to Atlanta. However, that doesn’t stop Terry. He later decides to pay a visit to Lucille and Charles’ house where he nearly makes a move to shoot Lucille. Fortunately for the Flenorys again, they’re able to survive as Lucille says a prayer with Charles that makes him run off for some reason. Lamar is by far the most dangerous thing standing in Meech, Terry, and all of BMF’s way. Everything they love and want to protect is at risk as long as Lamar is around. Meech made a promise to Monique that he would take Lamar down, and with the way things are now, Meech needs to act on that as soon as possible.

Goldie

PROFIT

In the spring of 2022, 50 Cent expressed desire to cast Mo’nique in one of his shows. Two months later casted her in BMF to make up for lost time. Though most of the entries in the BMF To Blowin’ Money Fast series have to do with the characters on the show, but with Mo’nique’s debut on BMF this week, it’s only right that she gets some love in addition to her character. Mo’nique makes her debut as Goldie, the owner of a strip club in Atlanta who has plenty of street smarts and a no f*cks given attitude that comes in handy for men who want to try and overpower her — as we see in this episode. Goldie’s is a slick-taking, bossed-up character which is perfect type of person that Meech and Terry need to have their way in Atlanta. It remains to be seen what other interactions the duo has with Goldie, but I pray to the man upstairs that this is far from the last time we seen Goldie. Mo’nique is great and Goldie is great, so let’s not fix anything that isn’t broken yet.

New episodes of ‘BMF’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.

Today, a longtime Bruce Springsteen-themed fanzine, Backstreets, officially announced that they’ll be shutting down after 43 years of publishing. The zine, which has covered The “Boss” and his E Street Band since 1980, felt “dispirited, downhearted, and, yes, disillusioned” over Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model.

Backstreets broke the news on social media, with an image bearing lyrics from Springsteen’s “Nebraska” and a longer goodbye letter on their website.

“After 43 years of publishing in one form or another, by fans for fans of Bruce Springsteen, it’s with mixed emotions that we announce Backstreets has reached the end of the road,” Backstreets‘ editor-in-chief, Christopher Phillips, wrote.

“There’s no denying that the new ticket price range has in and of itself been a determining factor in our outlook as the 2023 tour approached — certainly in terms of the experience that hardcore fans have been accustomed to for, as Springsteen noted, 49 years,” he added. “Six months after the onsales, we still faced this three-part predicament: These are concerts that we can hardly afford; that many of our readers cannot afford; and that a good portion of our readership has lost interest in as a result.”

Springsteen’s trouble with Ticketmaster started last year after he announced his 2023 tour, which he currently is playing right now. Certain cities, through Ticketmaster’s “platinum” option, fluctuated because of increased demand and had tickets being sold for thousands of dollars.

“You don’t like to be criticized. You don’t like to be the poster boy for high ticket prices. It’s the last thing you prefer to be,” Springsteen later told Rolling Stone.

Read Backstreets‘ full closing statement here.

Five players were ejected from Friday night’s game between the Orlando Magic and the Minnesota Timberwolves after a brawl broke out in the third quarter. Two players, Austin Rivers and Mo Bamba, were at the center of the whole thing, with Rivers running up the court and towards Orlando’s bench, where he was confronted by Bamba.

Things escalated between the two quickly, and eventually, the pair were tossed from the game. Apparently, they weren’t done with one another as the two got into a confrontation after they left the court.

Both players were asked about the incident after the game, with Bamba passing on the opportunity to comment and Rivers claiming he was acting in self-defense. Things were not quite as cordial on Instagram, though, with both players posting things about just went down. Bamba went first with a meme that seemed to imply that Rivers had this coming.

Rivers, meanwhile, decided to post a note to his IG Story where he called out Bamba, saying “we only know u from an old rap song,” and insisting that people in Orlando “don’t mess with u there.”

In a bit of unfortunate news for anyone who hopes to see these two step on the court again this season, Friday’s game was the last matchup between the Magic and the Timberwolves of the 2022-23 NBA season.

Raye isn’t afraid of speaking her truth. Today (February 3), the singer/songwriter is celebrating her debut album My 21st Century Blues. In honor of the feat, she cheekily set up an installation comprised of white-painted guitars, speakers, stereo systems, and other instruments — right in front of her former record label.

She unveiled the installation in a TikTok clip, which contained text reading “maybe I was petty and built this installation in front of my old record label.”

Raye signed to Polydor back in 2014, and split from the label in 2021. During those years, she recorded several songs, some of which were released in the form of EPs and standalone singles, and some given to other artists to sing. Shortly before parting ways with Polydor, she expressed her frustration with the label via Twitter.

“I have had albums on albums of music sat in folders collecting dust,” she said, “songs I am now giving away to A list artists because I am still awaiting confirmation that I am good enough to release an album.”

It’s safe to say going independent paid off for Raye, as My 21st Century Blues has reached No. 1 on Apple Music UK, as well as UK’s iTunes store.

My 21st Century Blues is out now via Raye. You can stream it here.

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have their sights set on their next artistic endeavor: scoring director David Fincher’s upcoming film, The Killer.

The award-winning duo announced their contribution through their website, which notes both their past and future projects. Fincher, Reznor, and Ross previously worked together, as they provided scores for his past films, 2010’s The Social Network, 2011’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, 2014’s Gone Girl, and 2020’s Mank.

They’ve since remained busy with recent external projects, as Reznor and Ross scored both 2022’s Bones And All (directed by Luca Guadagnino) and Empire Of Light (directed by Sam Mendes).

Nine Inch Nails also returned to tour across the country last year. However, there are no current scheduled performances from the band, according to Rolling Stone.

This year, in addition to The Killer, they’re slated to work with Guadagnino again on his film, Challengers.

As for Fincher’s film, it is based on a French graphic novel series that follows an assassin. Michael Fassbender is supposedly set to star alongside Tilda Swinton, and the movie will be available on Netflix.

Not much else about the project is known yet, but more details will likely emerge throughout the next few months.

The Killer is reportedly out on 11/10.

Saint Jhn has garnered much buzz over the years, especially as some of his songs, like “Roses” have gone viral on TikTok.

While Saint Jhn is enjoying the ride, he admits that sometimes, life can get overwhelming. On his new single, “Overstimulated,” the rapper/singer details the complex and sometimes contradicting feelings he deals with on a daily basis.

“I am overstimulated and bored at the same time / I’m indecisive, please forgive me when I change minds / Two fingers in the air, but these are not for gang signs / We from the same hood, but we are not the same kind,” he sings on the song’s chorus.

Last month, Saint Jhn shared his nuanced train of thought in an interview with SSENSE. He revealed that while he often finds himself feeling impressed, very rarely is his mind blown.

“When was the last time you saw real innovation? Innovation is absent right now,” he said. “We’re seeing technological innovation, but outside of that, is every other sector of art and culture innovating? Are we just retracing sh*t? People are finding things and putting twists on them. If we retrace steps, we might just revisit another era after this.”

You can listen to “Overstimulated” above.

Things got chippy on Friday night during the Minnesota Timberwolves’ game against the Orlando Magic. Late in the third quarter with the Magic up by 10 points, things got tense between Minnesota guard Austin Rivers and Orlando big man Mo Bamba, the latter of whom was sitting on the bench when things popped off.

While you can’t really see what happened before the camera cuts to the two teams getting into it with one another, other angles show that Rivers appeared to run down the court and make it a point to stop near the Magic’s bench. It is not 100 percent clear what anyone said that led to things popping off, but Bamba appeared to come off the bench to confront Rivers, something resembling punches were thrown, and a collection of players, coaches, and officials made it a point to break things up. At one point, Jalen Suggs of the Magic came running in and looked like he was trying to pull Rivers away, but instead threw him to the ground.

Unsurprisingly, the fracas led to a collection of ejections, with Rivers, Bamba, and Suggs all sent to the locker room a little early. They were not the only players tossed, though, as the officials ejected Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince, too. And according to a report, Bamba and Rivers needed to be restrained in the tunnel, as they kept trying to go at one another as they left the game.

Paramore‘s long-awaited new album, This Is Why, drops next week. However, fans across the globe have chances to hear it before its release through listening parties that are being hosted at record stores. Plus, all the events are free.

“Hear the album early and support your local record store,” the band shared in a statement. They also noted that while they won’t be attending these events, there will be special giveaways and other opportunities to give back to the music community.

Fans everywhere from Dallas’ Spinster Records to Lima, Peru’s Radio Studio 92 — and everywhere in between — will be able to connect with one another in a truly special event. Given the new album also marks Paramore’s return nearly six years after 2017’s After Laughter, here’s hoping that the stores match the anticipation.

The event will take place on February 7, with specific times available on Paramore’s website.

View all the participating This Is Why listening party locations below.

As for fans who are unable to make it this time, Paramore are returning to South America in March for their 2023 tour and will eventually hit dates across the UK, Europe, and North America throughout the next few months.

This Is Why is out 2/10 via Atlantic. Pre-order it here.

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