Month: May 2023

Top Gun: Maverick came out one year ago last week. If it seems like longer, well, it shouldn’t. It took 36 years to get a sequel to Top Gun. Less than 400 days is nothing by comparison. Or maybe the reason it seems like it was just yesterday that we were enjoying the beach football scene is because Top Gun: Maverick is still in theaters — and still breaking box office records.

Top Gun: Maverick is now Tom Cruise‘s biggest film ever in Japan, where it continues to play. “The sequel, on its 365th day of release, became Tom Cruise’s biggest film ever in the market,” according to Deadline. “In doing so, it overtook 2003’s The Last Samurai with JPY 13.71B ($101.5 million).”

Japan originally opened the Joseph Kosinski-directed actioner on May 27, 2022, and then it had legs for miles with unheard-of holds. This is the second-biggest international box office market for the movie, just a hair below the UK. During the Reiwa-era (the current era of Japan’s official calendar which began on May 1, 2019), the sequel is the biggest live-action movie for the period. It is also in the all-time Top 10 for Hollywood releases.

Maverick is in the top 20 overall, just behind animes Weathering with You and Jujutsu Kaisen 0. The highest-grossing Hollywood film ever in Japan: Titanic. Even Tom Cruise has to give it up for fellow Oscar absentee James Cameron.

(Via Deadline)

This should be a time of celebration for the LGBTQ+ community. Pride is just around the corner. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie featuring Ryan Gosling in his Himbo era as “And Ken” is about to dominate the box office. Janelle Monae is topless and making new music. Summer is officially here and we should be hoisting those rainbow-colored flags high while parading down streets in short shorts and bucket hats.

Instead, thanks to a red-faced, middle-aged man (Florida Governor “Meatball” Ron DeSantis) who has a weird obsession with a cartoon mouse, Gay Floridians are reportedly leaving the Sunshine State “in droves” because they just don’t feel safe there anymore. Thanks to the many anti-LGBTQ+ laws being ushered in by Governor Ron DeSantis, organizers in the state are being forced to shut down planned Pride events as some within the Queer community flee in fear of persecution. Just last week, The Human Rights Campaign joined the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and Equality Florida in issuing a travel advisory for minorities, immigrants, and gay travelers in the state.

Fortunately, there are a few organizations, like Lake County Pride, that are taking a stand against DeSantis’ brazen bigotry. The group’s President and CEO Danielle Olivani told The Daily Beast that their Pride celebration was still scheduled to take place, despite threats from right-wing agitators.

“It’s not exactly being welcomed by the community where we’re having it. In fact, yesterday I just got a cease-and-desist from them, telling me not to mention them at all. They don’t want this to take place, but we’re gonna persevere,” Olivani said. “We’re gonna have this Pride because we’re fully within our rights to do so. And you know, we’re just gonna deal with things as they go. But right now, it’s a mixture of apprehension, fear. Yet, I’m hopeful at the same time.”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Ed Sheeran‘s new song, “A Beautiful Game,” is out now. If the title sounds slightly familiar, it was because it was written and played during the season finale episode of Ted Lasso that debuted on Apple TV+ last night.

Keeping with the vibes of the show, Sheeran delivers an ode to teamwork and positivity — two things the series built upon.

Fans had been speculating that the show was coming to a close after some goodbye posts from the cast on social media. While it had been on for three seasons, many viewers also felt that the latest one took a dip in quality. There had also been an alleged possibility of Jason Sudeikis leaving the title role — and his fictional soccer team and coworkers without a silly coach.

On the latest episode of the Fly On The Wall podcast (as EW notes), Sudeikis said, “This story is done. It sounds like such a political answer, but it’s the truth. We only conceived these three [seasons], then this thing became this big old thing.” However, there has been no firm confirmation that the show is over.

Still, Sheeran was excited for to close out the show.

“About a year and a bit ago, I was asked to do a song for the final episode of Ted Lasso,” Sheeran shared in a video. “I recorded bits of it while on tour, using crowds from the stadiums that I was playing. I’m super proud of it.”

Fans were seemingly moved by the song’s inclusion in the episode. “No lie I cried a little watching the last episode. Hands down 10 out of 10,” one user wrote on Twitter.

Check out Sheeran’s “A Beautiful Game” above.

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

It looks like Gunna is gearing up to drop new music. However, not everyone is excited about his impending comeback. Since he took a plea deal in the ongoing YSL racketeering case, which resulted in his release from Fulton County Jai last December, Gunna has been labeled a “snitch” amid rumors that he ratted out Young Thug.

In a snippet Gunna shared to Instagram, he seems to allude to these rumors.

“He forgave me for my sins, now they mad I got out,” he raps in the snippet.

Part of Gunna’s plea deal included that he plead guilty to racketeering. Since his release, he has maintained that he has not sold out Thug or any of his YSL labelmates.

He issued a statement which read, “While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way.”

You can listen to the music snippet above.

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

Are you already missing Succession? Don’t worry, there’s another HBO series about a family of rich dipsh*ts coming soon.

HBO has released the full-length trailer for season three of The Righteous Gemstones, Danny McBride’s faith-based comedy (but, like, in a good way, not a Kirk Cameron way) that’s one of the best shows on TV. If it’s possible, the show might be even better in season three. All your favorites are back, including McBride, John Goodman, Walton Goggins, Tim Baltz, Adam Devine, Cassidy Freeman, and MVP Edi Patterson, but now they’re joined by Steve Zahn, Stephen Dorff, and Shea Whigham. It’s honestly shocking that it’s taken this long for Shea Whigham to be on The Righteous Gemstones.

In season three, The Righteous Gemstones tells the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work. When the spoiled Gemstone children finally get their wish to take control of the Church, they discover leadership is harder than they imagined and that their extravagant lifestyle comes with a heavy price.

The first two episodes of The Righteous Gemstones season three premiere on HBO and Max (only 2020s kids will remember HBO Max) on Sunday, June 18th, followed by new episodes every following Sunday. Hallelujah.

Just a few days ago in Alabama, Paramore kicked off their North American tour — which will continue through August at various massive venues, arenas, and music festivals like Bonnaroo. For those who are attending one of Paramore’s summer shows and are hoping to prepare, here’s what to know about their opening acts.

Paramore is bringing four different acts on the road with them for select dates. The first, Bloc Party, will join the band in cities like Toronto and DC. This is also special because their last album was inspired by the opening act.

Foals, another indie rock group, will open for the two Los Angeles dates, along with additional stops in the Midwest.

Genesis Owusu served as the opening act for Paramore’s two sold-out Madison Square Garden dates, among others, and was praised by BrooklynVegan for welcoming the crowd in a “grand fashion.”

Finally, The Linda Lindas — the viral band that gained traction after a library video — will be continuing the rock energy as another opener on Paramore’s tour.

In a recent interview with The Cut, Paramore’s lead singer Hayley Williams talked about her tour views and what it’s like being on stage.

“There’s absolutely no reason to have any sort of manners onstage other than…” she said. “I will say, if I ever spot people fighting at a Paramore show in the crowd, I become like the worst teacher that you’ve ever had, because I will embarrass you and make you feel like what the f*ck are you doing here?”

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

Taika Waititi has been at the forefront of many successful franchises over the last decade, but he doesn’t seem to care if you know of him or not. The man wears many hats: writer, actor, and director, and even created Air New Zealand’s successful safety instruction videos. He quite literally does it all, while also voicing a Star Wars character.

Even though he has had his name attached to various Marvel films, he doesn’t seem to think that his name has any staying power. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Waititi claims he doesn’t really “expect” to be remembered down the line, or go down in history as the guy who directed a Sour Patch Kid ad campaign.

“Here’s the thing: No one’s going to remember us,” Waititi told the publication, referring to directors. “What’s the name of the director of Casablanca? Arguably one of the greatest films of all time. No one knows his name. How the f*ck do I expect to be remembered? So who cares?” The director concluded. In case you ever feel the need to join a trivia night at your local bar, the director of Casablanca is Michael Curtiz.

Instead of turning his job into a popularity contest, Waititi says that the films should speak for themselves. He continued, “Let’s just live, make some movies. They’ll be obsolete and irrelevant in 15 or 20 years. And so will I, and then I’ll die and someone else can do it. This whole idea of chasing, chasing, chasing this life. It’s like, do we have to actually work this hard? Maybe not.” Though it sounds a bit pessimistic, he has a pretty good point. Will anyone remember James Cameron in 20 years? Avatar 3 probably won’t even be out by then, though.

On the other hand, the internet is forever, so we will always be able to trace Thor: Love and Thunder back to Waititi. For better or worse. Just because he didn’t remember that Natalie Portman was in Star Wars doesn’t mean that everyone else forgot too!

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is putting Elon Musk on notice after learning that not only is a parody Twitter account impersonating her sporting a verified blue checkmark, but Musk has been interacting with the account, which has significantly boosted its reach.

“FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral,” AOC tweeted. “The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility. It is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread. I am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see.”

The account in question is @AOCpress and has been tweeting under the screenname “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody).” Granted, the word “parody” is in the screenname, but since it’s so long, the “parody” label is not visible when viewing tweets on the timeline.

As for Musk interacting with the account, all it took was a stroke of his ego. The parody account tweeted, “This might be the wine talking, but I’ve got a crush on @elonmusk,” which prompted Musk to respond with the fire emoji.

While AOC hasn’t specified what move her team is deciding, legal action could be on the table. The new Twitter verification system under Musk has been rife for abuse and impersonating a United States congresswoman could be the final straw that prompts yet another expensive lawsuit for the embattled CEO.

(Via Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter)

May has nearly come and gone. That was the month that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone pinpointed to grand-reopen their improved Casa Bonita in Lakewood, Colorado. This has led to a fan theory, which has since been proven wrong, that the eatertainment venue would reopen on the (fictional) Kyle Broflovski’s birthday, May 26. Earlier in the month, people crossed fingers for Cinco de Mayo to open those sopapilla floodgates, but there was no dice there, either. What gives?

This week, the Denver Post reported that Casa Bonita’s soft-opening (for lack of a better word on my behalf) would include test runs with lottery-based invitations, which would be followed by ticket sales for initial guests. However, there’s one very dedicated fan who is hoping that he can hop to the front of the list. Denver’s ABC affiliate passes on word that Lance Castillo has been camping out in the parking lot for over a week with full gear and everything. He even dedicated his time off work to this cause, and although he’s a bit bummed about the lottery system, he vows to stay until he’s invited inside:

“It was a bummer but I have my hopes up that someone inside will see my dedication and say, ‘Come on in bud,’” Castillo said.

He said he has already subscribed to that list.

“I’ll be here until the invitation comes out,” he said.

He’s not alone in his enthusiasm. Local press has already chatted with people who planned vacations to the Denver area in case they get lucky enough to be there on opening day. As well, there’s a massive camp-out event planned in the parking lot for whenever the official grand opening day is announced. In other words, don’t expect to have a quick in-and-out dinner there (anytime soon) if you’re in the area.

(Via Denver Post & Denver’s ABC 7)

After a regular season where he struggled to find his jumper, Duncan Robinson has been back to his sharpshooting ways for the Miami Heat during their run to the 2023 NBA Finals. Robinson’s up to 44.6 percent from behind the three-point line during the postseason, and hit double-digit scoring in five of the seven games Miami played in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Robinson’s most notable moment in the series didn’t come after a made three. Instead, it came during Game 7 in Boston, when the New England native scored on a back cut to give the Heat a 21-point fourth quarter lead and then held his hand up to his ear, signifying that he couldn’t hear the opposing crowd. On a new episode of JJ Redick’s “The Old Man and the Three” podcast, Robinson explained why he decided to do this, and revealed that it had something to do with his phone getting blown up by Celtics fans after Game 6.

Robinson said that he only wanted to do something like this if he was “relevant enough in the game to warrant that,” which led to him debating if he should do it after a back cut to get his 10th point of the game.

“But, I don’t know how this happened, but maybe somebody that I went to high school with or something — cause I still have the same number from when I was in high school,” Robinson said. “My number got put in a group chat somewhere, and it was like a massive group chat. So after we lose Game 6, my phone is blowing up from all these random New England numbers … ‘get f*cked, get f*cked, Celts in 7.’ They’re sending me memes of the Curt Schilling bloody sock, and it’s just all these random numbers, it’s like 70 texts. I’m like, ‘What is going on?’”

Robinson mentioned that all of this happened after a heartbreaking Game 6 loss in which he missed shots to help put the game away and left the door open for Boston to win on a Derrick White putback with no time remaining. All of this, Robinson says, really wound him up.

“I’m like, who the f*ck gave out my number? How the f*ck did this happen?” he says. “So then I start thinking, I’m creating all these scenarios in my head, I’m like, if I get the chance and I go into the Garden, I’m gonna do something. And I didn’t know what it was gonna be. Honestly, probably a little underwhelming, but you would be shocked at how many people that really bothered.”

Apparently, Robinson “heard from a lot of people,” many of whom really hated it for being “classless.” It is unclear if these people believe getting a stranger’s phone number and heckling them is also classless.