Month: May 2023

(WARNING: Spoilers (or maybe not?) for this week’s Power Book II: Ghost episode will be found below.)

Power Book II: Ghost just aired the most explosive episode of its third season with episode nine, “A Last Gift.” And that’s saying a lot considering that last week’s episode ended with the death of Cooper Saxe, a role that was played by Shane Johnson over the last decade. This week, however, the drama is at a season-high. Effie was just arrested for the attempted murder of Lauren, and that means everyone knows Lauren is alive now. Brayden and his family are in legal trouble after a Ponzi scheme was uncovered at Weston Holdings, and Tariq learns that his mother is in danger despite her being in witness protection.

Another big moment in the episode came when the Tejada children – Dru, Cane, and Diana – learned that their mother Monet was responsible for their father Lorenzo’s death. It leads to an explosive verbal attack from the kids as they lash out at Monet for her actions. This was especially true for Diana who had plenty to say to her mother, someone she’s had a very up-and-down relationship with over the course of Power Book II: Ghost.

Fresh off the release of “A Last Gift,” UPROXX caught up with LaToya Tonodeo, who plays the role of Diana Tejada, to speak about Diana’s relationship with Monet as well as others like Salim and Tariq. She also spoke about the Tejada family’s dynamic and her favorite moments of season three.

What does Diana want the most from her relationships in ‘Power Book II: Ghost?’ That being those with her mom, family, Tariq, and others?

When it comes to Monet, I feel like she wants to be seen for who she really is and valued. When it comes to Tariq, I feel like it’s a little bit of appreciation and also wanting to be seen. When it comes to her brothers this season, she genuinely feels that she fits in with them. All three of them are very different, but I don’t really feel that there’s this high-intensity relationship between those three, but definitely with her mother and Tariq, it’s very hot and cold. With Monet for sure, she wants to be seen and I feel like that’s been the running theme since we first met those two in season one.

One relationship that caught viewers by surprise was yours with Salim. What about Salim attracted Diana to him?

He was different than anyone — at least she thought — that she is normally around. She grew up in this drug life and this drug family, and she never really had the opportunity to be around outside people. When Tariq came around, it’s like, oh whoa, this guy’s interesting. We understand each other, we both want a higher education and we both understand the drug game, this is nice. But Tariq says one thing like, “No, I would but you know, I can’t be with you. Your mom, your family, we can’t do that?” So it’s like okay?… So when she finally goes to school, and she’s finding her independence there, she comes across Salim who, to her knowledge, is completely different. He’s not in the life, he’s a smart, educated teacher’s assistant. This is different for her. I feel like that’s what attracted her initially to Salim because he’s totally different from the Tejadas, he’s different from Tariq. That was appealing to her.

We see their relationship rise and fall pretty quickly, what does Diana learn about herself through their time together?

I would say loosely, maybe to not trust, but at the same time, you could tell that Diana’s wheels have been turning with Salim because she didn’t really trust him fully. He was always asking questions and she was over that. So I feel like if anything it’s not to be so ready to put the guards down so fast. Even though her guards weren’t all the way down, she did let them down a little bit to let him in. And I mean, clearly, they had sex so like she let her guard down, but like just to be more cautious if anything.

Season three really dives into the cracks of a family, how they happen, how they widen, and how (if it all) they get repaired. With everything that’s happened, Lorenzo and Zeke’s death, finding out Monet’s responsibility for it, and your arrest, how do you think things will be for the Tejadas going forward?

Definitely messy, chaotic, confusing, emotionally draining, and feeling betrayed. This whole time they were under the impression that our father, Papi, was murdered, but definitely not at the hands of Monet’s hit. So for Diana, it’s very much a roller coaster of emotions and confusion. What do I do now? How do I look at my mother? She took away my father, how can I even move forward with that? So to watch her journey from that point, to see where how she’s going to navigate that, that’s going to be a beautiful thing to see. I can’t really say yet, but it will be nice to see her navigate that. With Dru, he killed Gordo thinking — it was just a whole mess load of just chaos. So (sigh) emotionally confusing and draining for sure.

Earlier this season, Monet stops by Diana’s dorm to ask her for help with taking down Detective Whitman. It’s there that she “apologizes” but not in the most sincere way, do you think that Monet was genuinely apologetic in that moment? What makes her worthy of forgiveness at that moment?

I don’t believe Diana thought that was a genuine apology at all. But like I’ve been saying recently, after going over all the episodes again and just taking in everything, I feel like with Diana, her weakness is matters of the heart. It’s always family over everything, family first. So even though Diana didn’t believe that Monet’s apology was genuine, it’s not the most pressing matter because my family is in trouble. So fine, whatever, I’ll take this apology, but at the end of the day, I know that there’s something bigger there and it’s my family. I have to protect my family and she does what she needs to do regardless of if Monet was genuine or not. She can’t watch her family fall, not on her watch. Not if there’s something that she could do about it.

Where does the love exist between Diana and Monet?

Oh wow, good question. Well definitely, from Diana to Monet. I feel like there’s a heap load of admiration there. I mean, that is her mother. As for Monet to Diana, I believe Monet loves her daughter for sure. At the same time, it’s that tough love and maybe Monet was brought up that way, so she feels that she needs to try to instill those types of qualities into Diana, but Diana is a different type of person. She’s not as hard and cold as Monet, so Diana takes it like she’s not feeling seen by Monet, but there’s definitely love there. It’s just… I don’t know, damn that’s a good question. Definitely admiration, wanting to impress, and wanting to show her mother that she can be like her. She can be powerful and that she has strength, but at the same time, it’s like I’m not you and I’m going about it a different way. She just hopes she could that Monet can realize that.

How likely do you think it is that things get better, if not more normal, between Diana and Monet?

I don’t believe that’s likely at all. Diana is Lorenzo’s baby girl, she’s a daddy’s girl. So to find out that her mother was behind that? When she truly believed it was an accident? Diana does not believe that Lorenzo would have killed Zeke, not at all. So for her to be so callous and cold, that’s going to change the way Diana sees Monet. I think it will only lead to a mess.

If you, LaToya, were a friend of Diana’s at Stansfield, what is some advice you would give her with everything that’s happened?

I would definitely tell Diana to put herself first. At this point, she has to come to a place where she needs to only worry about herself. Forget everything else because it’s pulling her down in a way.

What were your favorite scenes of season 3?

Oh, my gosh. There are a few, I’m just gonna say two that I can think of — everything’s going so fast. One would be the time when I got to go off on Salim, that was fun. We had a lot of fun with those pictures and ad-libbing and stuff. Then also, episode nine where we finally confront Monet. To see everyone just pour out their emotions and how they’re feeling about finding out that information, everyone took it differently. Cane was very much hurt, but resolved. Dru was lashing out, and lashing out yes about Papi, but also what Monet made him do in regards to Gordo. Then with Diana, it’s strictly parental. Monet, my mother, killed my father. I’m done with you at this point and she lets it out. I believe this is the first time, besides the dinner table scene, that she really just had enough and she was fed up and she just let it rip. That felt so good and so rewarding. So that was definitely one of my favorites or my highlights for me of season three.

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

The Philadelphia 76ers are in the midst of a gigantic summer. The team has already entered the NBA’s coaching carousel following the decision to part ways with Doc Rivers, while a report on Friday morning indicated that the Houston Rockets feel very good about their chances of landing James Harden in free agency.

As for Joel Embiid, there is no word on what his future holds, as he is about to enter the first year of a 4-year supermax extension that runs through 2027 and features a player option on the final year. Like any major star on a team that has struggled to get over the hump — he’s still never played in the conference finals — reports are beginning to pop up about other teams being interested in acquiring his services, with Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reporting that the Knicks are keeping a close eye on the league MVP.

It’s important to mention that there’s no indication that Embiid wants out or that the Sixers would trade him, particularly to a team within their own division. Regardless, as the Knicks showed during their ultimately failed pursuit of Donovan Mitchell last summer, the team has plenty of young players and draft capital to try and acquire a gigantic name on the trade market.

It was only two months ago that Love Island UK series nine came to a conclusion with Kai and Sanam being crowned as the winners. The couple, who only began their relationship after Casa Amor, beat out Ron & Lana, Shaq & Tanya, and Tom & Samie to collect the series 9 win. In the months that followed, Love Island UK fans have kept an eye on the couples from series 9 to see who is still together (spoiler: Tom & Samie reportedly called it quits) while others have their eyes set on what’s to come in series 10. The summer season for series 10 is set to kick off in the coming weeks, but is there an official premiere date for it?

Is There A ‘Love Island UK’ Series 10 Release Date?

At the moment, Love Island UK has yet to reveal an official premiere date for series 10. However, a source spoke to The Sun and revealed that the Love Island UK summer season for 2023 is expected to launch on June 5, 2023. The source said, “It is hugely exciting and those working on the show cannot wait to get started,” adding, “This series will be eight weeks long, meaning the couple who win the show will be in the villa for two months.”

It is also being reported that ITV, the company that airs Love Island UK seasons, has already selected a final cast and will fly them out to the villa in the coming days to begin series 10. Whether all of this is true or not remains to be seen, but stay tuned for more updates on series 10.

Just days after the explosive finale of Vanderpump Rules, it seems Maren Morris is getting involved — by turning one of the viral quotes into a song.

During the episode, Tom Schwartz tells his ex-wife, Katie Maloney, why he couldn’t tell anyone that he knew his friend was cheating. (This friend, Tom Sandoval, made headlines and has since been synonymous with the title “Scandoval.”)

“My health, my wealth, my family,” Schwartz said. “There’s f*cking man-eating now crocodiles in Florida now.”

“You sound like a country song,” Maloney responded.

After seemingly seeing this convo, Morris took this as a challenge. She picked up her guitar in a new TikTok and performed Schwartz’s speech word-for-word… And, to no one’s surprise, it sounds better than the original.

Fans are loving her creative spin. “The Bravo fans are genuinely some of the best. I mean A1 content every day!” one user wrote. “Maren Morris is so iconic love her beyond,” another added.

The country star is also no stranger regarding her love for reality TV. Last year, Morris appeared on Watch What Happens Live, where she revealed which Housewife she’d want to see come back. “Okay. Lisa is going to hate this. But I would say Vanderpump,” she said. “Because I think maybe becoming a grandmother has like softened her.”

Check out Maren Morris’ new Vanderpump Rules TikTok song above.

Harrison Ford has been doing this “acting” thing for quite a while, and he has fans from every generation lining up to see his on-screen antics, whether it be for his roles in Star Wars or Blade Runner or, his best movie of all, Working Girl. But many could argue that his most iconic role, which he has been playing for over forty years, is the snake-hating archaeologist, Indiana Jones.

The latest (and final)(???) installment in the Jones saga, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, is heading to theaters this summer, and a lot has changed since the first movie was made back in 1981. This time, Jones has to head back in time, which isn’t that surprising once you recall 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull brought aliens into the mix. Of course, it might be challenging to bring Ford back to his younger self, but he said it was all him. Mostly.

While at Cannes this week (per Variety) Ford explained the process of “de-aging” which has been popular amongst the older generation lately.”It’s not Photoshop magic. That’s what I looked like 35 years ago,” Ford insisted. “[De-aging technology] is just a trick unless it’s supported by story. I think it was used very skillfully. I’m very happy with it.”

But not everything had to be digitally altered. One journalist remarked about how “hot” (her words!) the 80-year-old is when he took off his shirt at one point in the movie. Ford replied, “Look. I’ve been blessed with this body. Thanks for noticing,” he joked. He’s a body-positive icon!

The latest flick involves Jones and his goddaughter, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, as they chase down an elusive artifact that can rewrite the course of history. Even though we can’t really rewrite history (if we could, Ford would already have an Oscar), we can marvel at the fact that this man has been to hell and back for every role he plays. And that’s even more impressive than a CGI six-pack.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny heads into theaters on June 30.

(Via Variety)

Coi Leray‘s a little over a year removed from the release of her debut album Trendsetter. Since then, her profile has grown by leaps and bounds, with her Grandmaster Flash-sampling single “Players” landing in the top 10 of the Hot 100 and soundtracking the upcoming WNBA season.

She’s as popular now as she’s ever been, so the time is ripe for a new album, which she announced today on social media. Titled Coi, the album’s due on June 23 via Uptown Records and Republic, with features from David Guetta, Giggs, Lola Brooke, Saucy Santana, and Skillibeng. Her more recent singles, “Bops” and “My Body,” will also appear among the new album’s 15 tracks, which will run the gamut of genres from rap, rock, pop, reggae, and even dance, according to the press release. Check out the cover art below.

Coi’s been a hot topic of discussion lately, thanks in part to a mention from Latto’s new single “Put It On Da Floor.” After Coi took issue to having her name mentioned in the lyrics, she received a good-natured shout-out from Latto during the Atlanta rapper’s performance at Coachella. This not only ended their “beef,” but established that they appear to be on good terms. Still, that didn’t stop some fans — you know the ones — from speculating that the two rappers had gotten into a fistfight, although that rumor was quickly debunked. As they say, all publicity is good publicity, and Ms. Leray will have plenty heading into the roll out of her new album, which should out-sell her debut now that she’s got some momentum.

Coi is due 6/23 via Uptown and Republic. You can get more info here.

When the first John Wick film hit theaters, it was a modest hit that made $86 million at the box office on a roughly $30 million budget. Not exactly blockbuster numbers, but still a very solid return. However, a funny thing happened. The film hit home video where audiences couldn’t get enough of Keanu Reeves creatively murdering everyone to avenge his dead pup.

A sequel was greenlit, and it nearly doubled the box office of the original with a $174.3 million haul. Not long after, John Wick: Parabellum smashed into theaters and continued the trend of almost doubling the box office of its predecessor. That film brought in $328.3 million globally.

Which brings us to John Wick: Chapter 4. While the latest film did not double the box office take of Parabellum, it certainly surpassed it with $425 million in ticket sales, making it the highest grossing John Wick film to date. It also pushed the box office total for the entire franchise past the $1 billion mark, which is pretty impressive for a series that started as a small little revenge movie about a dead dog.

Via Variety:

“This milestone is a testament to the incredible work of Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves, alongside Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, who have made it their mission to outdo themselves with each successive film in this franchise,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Joe Drake said. “We could not be more grateful to global moviegoers for bringing us to this incredible achievement.”

Of course, the big question is will Reeves and Stahelski try to top themselves again with a fifth movie. As of right now, John Wick 5 is not officially greenlit, or even hashed out, and they ending of the fourth did seem to put a wrench in future plans. However, the star and director have teased that after Chapter 4 debuts in Japan later this year, they’ll have a bottle of whiskey and decide if there are more bodies for John Wick to drop.

(Via Variety)

For months, there has been speculation that James Harden could leave the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency this summer and return to the Houston Rockets. Harden has never explicitly shot down any rumors linking him with his old squad, instead opting to focus on what was going on this season.

While the regular season went well for Philly, the team was unable to get past the Eastern Conference Semifinals, which once again proved to be their biggest hurdle. Now, the Harden to Houston rumors are back by way of Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who brings word that the expectation in Houston is that a reunion with Harden is in the cards.

Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta “loves” the 76ers point guard. The franchise expects to reunite with him, sources say. Before hiring Ime Udoka on April 25, head coaching candidates were asked for their opinion on coaching Harden during the interview process, according to sources.

A logical guess is that this is a ploy by Harden to get a better deal from the Sixers, which can offer him a larger deal than anyone else on the open market. Despite that, Pompey reports that Harden’s interest in rejoining the Rockets “is mutual and not a ploy to get a lucrative deal out of the Sixers.”

After spending the first three years of his career as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Rockets traded for Harden in 2012. He spent a little more than eight years with the franchise, where he turned into one of the most productive offensive players in the history of the game and a league MVP. During his end of season press availability this week, Sixers GM Daryl Morey addressed Harden’s potential free agency, telling the press that “Scenario A would be to bring James back. Scenario B, if he’s not back, will be we’ll have to get creative. And we feel good about the tools available to us if that happens.”

Aespa is on a roll. In February, the group gave a memorable performance at their debut concerts in Seoul, which prepared them for their upcoming slot at Governors Ball. Earlier this month, they shared their new mini-album called My World. Now, even more is to come.

It looks like fans have other opportunities to catch them live this year. Aespa announced today (May 19) that they’ll be hitting stages in Europe, the United States, and Latin America on the SYNK: Hyper Line World Tour. The run will kick off in Los Angeles in the middle of August and finish in Paris at the end of September.

Find the full tour dates below.

08/13 — Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena
08/18 — Dallas, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
08/22 — Miami, FL @ James L. Knight Center
08/25 — Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
08/27 — Washington, DC @ The Theater at MGM National Harbor
08/30 — Chicago, IL @ Rosemont Theatre
09/02 — Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall
09/05 — New York, NY @ Barclays Center
09/08 — Mexico City, Mexico @ Palacio de los Deportes
09/11 — Sao Paolo, Brazil @ Espaço Unimed
09/14 — Santiago, Chile @ Teatro Caupolican
09/25 — Berlin, Germany @ Columbiahalle
09/28 — London, UK @ The O2
09/30 — Paris, France @ Dôme de Paris

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

After sharing early singles of Halle Bailey‘s take of “Part Of Your World” from The Little Mermaid upcoming live action movie, the full soundtrack has arrived — giving fans and film lovers an idea of what Bailey’s Ariel performance will sound like.

Other tracks previewed from the soundtrack included NewJeans’ Danielle performing a Korean version of the same song, as well as Daveed Diggs (who plays Sebastian in the movie) performing “Under The Sea” and “Kiss The Girl,” two more fan favorites from the original.

The rest of the newly-released album includes Melissa McCarthy (as Ursula) performing “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and Jonah Hauer-King (as Prince Eric) doing “Wild Uncharted Waters,” as well as other fun tracks.

“It just makes me cry,” Bailey previously said about her role and impact as the movie’s lead, according to Billboard. “The fact that all these little Black and Brown babies are going to be able to feel like they’re being represented is really special to me. I know that if I had that when I was younger, it would have changed a whole lot for me and my perspective on who I am as an individual.”

The movie hits theaters starting May 26, but fans have the tunes to hold them over until then.

Listen to the full The Little Mermaid soundtrack below.