Month: June 2023

Killer Mike‘s new album Michael is due next week and one song fans are most excited about is his collaboration with former Outkast member and full-time recluse, Andre 3000. The song is called “Scientists & Engineers” and also features Future — a one-time Dungeon Family disciple, according to Atlanta rap lore — and singer Eryn Allen Kane. However, fans almost didn’t get to hear the track after Andre told Mike he wasn’t feeling it. Fortunately, Kane’s presence on the track convinced him to change his mind when he heard the final version.

Mike recounted the story during this year’s 4th Annual Black Music Moguls Brunch in Atlanta, sharing a video of the anecdote on Instagram. In it, he recalls, “André 3000, he’s in Japan right now as we talk, playing the flute. He called me, he’s like, ‘Kill, I don’t know about the song, man. We just got a good rap record, man.’ And then Cuz [Lightyear] was like, ‘You sent him the final record?’ I’m like, ‘Nah.’ I sent it over with Eryn’s hook and stuff. He hit back with, ‘Yeah, yeah, you got the record. Who is that?!’ So thank you, Eryn, I really appreciate you for that.”

In addition to the aforementioned features, the No ID-produced Michael will also include appearances from Dave Chappelle and Young Thug (on the previously-released “Run“), Mike’s longtime partner-in-rhyme El-P (“Don’t Let The Devil“), Lil Wayne, and more, along with the previous singles “Don’t Let The Devil” and “Motherless.” It’s due June 16 via VLNS/Loma Vista.

Donald Trump‘s former attorney general is joining the growing chorus of people who are firmly convinced that the former president is staring at an indictment over his mishandling of classified documents. While appearing on CBS Mornings, Bill Barr offered his candid thoughts on Trump’s legal predicament, which looks particularly dire after the release of an audio recording where Trump can be heard bragging about having classified intel for an attack on Iran at his golf course.

“I suspect an indictment is near,” Barr said. He also said Trump could’ve avoided all of this had he not “jerked them around for a year and a half.” Them being the investigators who went out of their way to handle the matter delicately.

Via The Daily Beast:

Barr said he believes special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation turned up “substantial evidence” to indict the former president. He called Trump’s handling of the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago—and another that is still missing—“risky” and “reckless,” and praised the DOJ’s approach to the case. “This is not a case of the Department of Justice conducting a witch hunt,” Barr said. “In fact, they approached this very delicately and with deference to the president.”

While Barr is certain that an indictment is near, former FBI Director James Comey is worried that it won’t affect Trump’s standing with GOP voters in the slightest.

“It is this crazy world that Donald Trump has dragged this country into but he could be wearing an ankle bracelet while accepting the nomination at the Republican convention,” Comey recently told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. ““It would be rejected if you put it in a script for a show but you could have a President who is potentially incarcerated when he is elected president, so that would be weird and awkward.”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Animals can be far cleverer than we give them credit for, especially creatures we don’t think of as having distinct personalities. Most of us expect cats and dogs to do show us their unique quirks, but what about a flying squirrel?

A video is making its way around the internet that has people giggling over the dramatic antics of a large pet flying squirrel. It includes no narration explaining what’s happening and no context—it just shows a flying squirrel repeatedly faking its own death by broom.

That’s right. Death by broom. And from the way it looks, the little bugger came up with the idea on its own and made multiple attempts to create a convincing crime scene.

This is one you just have to see.

Twitter user @Birrellebee wrote that the squirrel “faked his own death, and created a whole crime scene…for attention. I think I’m in love.”

Whether the squirrel really did this just for attention or for some other reason isn’t clear, but no one seems to offering a more plausible explanation for it.

Watch:

u201cThis flying squirrel faked his own death, and created a whole crime sceneu2026for attention. I think Iu2019m in love. u201d

— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d)
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While some people have expressed understandable concern over flying squirrels living indoors as pets, we don’t know what the living situation here really is. Maybe the squirrel was injured and rescued. Maybe it can’t survive in the wild. We simply don’t know.

What we do know is that this adorable rodent deserves an Oscar for its performance. The way it gracefully somersaults right into position. The placing of the broomstick on its neck and splaying itself out flat on its back. The checking to see if anyone is looking. The repositioning of the murder weapon multiple times to figure out which one seems more believable.

Was that really what it was doing? Who knows. But it was a genuinely incredible performance nonetheless.

And of course, the people of the internet didn’t disappoint in the comments.

u201c@pimlius @nycsouthpaw Well, maybe he shouldu2019ve thought of that, befor being such a wee drama queen. Nobody likes an attention whore.u201d

— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d)
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u201c@RIDICULO_pathy @BirrelleBee I love this squirrel ud83dude02ud83eudd70u201d

— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d)
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“@GreigBeck @BirrelleBee @MAllanScott It’s an insurance scam.”

u201c@GreigBeck @BirrelleBee @MAllanScott Itu2019s an insurance scam.u201d

— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d)
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u201c@Marx_Bros_Thing @BirrelleBee Sameu201d

— Sarah Beeud83dudc1d (@Sarah Beeud83dudc1d)
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The Miami Heat shot their way to a win in Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals, as the team was able to become the first squad to go into Denver and knock off the Nuggets all postseason. Now, with things tied up at one win each and the series shifting to Miami for Games 3 and 4, the Heat are in a position where they will lift the Larry O’Brien trophy if they can simply win all their home games.

Through the first two matchups, Bam Adebayo has shouldered quite the load for Miami, as he’s been battling with Nikola Jokic and leads the Heat with 23.5 points and 11 rebounds a game. His performance earned praise from Jimmy Butler on Tuesday, as the Heat star believes his teammate is going to be the reason they end up winning a title.

“Bam’s been playing incredibly well this entire playoffs — for sure this series — and this one, he got the toughest matchup by far on the defensive side of the ball,” Butler told reporters on Tuesday. “And he plays with so much energy, he never takes a possession off or a play off. So you gotta really respect him for that.

“And on the offensive end, he’s doing everything for us,” Butler continued. “We need him to continually be that. He has been that for us all year long, and like I said, he’s going to be the reason why we win a championship.”

Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Finals will take place on Wednesday, June 7 at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

While hometown festivals can constitute a great opportunity for artists to connect with some of their earliest supporters, they can also be a lightning rod for backstage shenanigans. The latest example comes from Hot 97 Summer Jam, where a video has surfaced of Bronx native Lil Tjay being restrained by security guards as he apparently tries to attack someone during an altercation backstage.

Tjay, who is only a year removed from a life-threatening situation in which he was shot multiple times during a robbery attempt in nearby New Jersey, is riled up in the video, struggling to get free and repeatedly warning the guards, “You gonna be fired.” While it’s not clear he has the pull to make that happen — at least in regard to the guards he doesn’t directly employ — according to the person filming, he’s attempting to retaliate after the altercation was instigated by the other party. “N**** popped on Lil Tjay, bro,” he says.

Not to be a killjoy or anything, but it’s probably better that Tjay didn’t get to escalate the conflict. After all, we’ve seen far too many times how these things can go bad in a hurry, and he’s already on his second life. Not for nothing, Tjay’s also been involved in too many run-ins with the law recently; as recently as January, he had no fewer than two arrests for firearm possession. Let’s all hope he can stay out of trouble for the foreseeable future and enjoy the life he very nearly lost less than a year ago.

Despite all the legal trouble surrounding The Flash star Ezra Miller, Warner Bros. Discovery has held strong on delivering the superhero blockbuster to theaters after the film reportedly wowed audiences in test screening. (It probably didn’t hurt that Michael Keaton’s Batman is along for the ride.)

With the film’s release just a little over a week away, critics have finally had a chance to see The Flash and the big question is whether it lives up to the hype that’s been building over the past few months. The answer… kinda.

While most of the reviews are positive, The Flash appears to fall victim to the same problem as virtually every single superhero movie these days: A convoluted, CGI mess of a final act. There are also mixed reactions as to how well The Flash basically offers up DC’s version of Spider-Man: No Way Home and whether audiences really need another multiverse film.

You can see what the critics are saying below:

Mike Ryan, Uproxx:

What makes Andy Muschietti’s The Flash a great movie (written by Christina Hodson, who also wrote Bumblebee, and has a knack for turning big-budget summer movies into stories with heart) is it’s not about saving the universe. Well, it sort of is, but that’s kind of secondary to Barry just trying to save his mom. Personally, I can’t really relate to saving a universe. It’s such a big thing, it doesn’t really matter. But as the movie gets deeper into Barry’s love for his mother, this is something, as humans, we can relate with and turns The Flash into a surprisingly heartfelt and emotional movie.

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter:

Director Muschietti handles the action with confidence. But like the conflict between Barry’s superhero exploits and his soulful attempt to mend the broken heart that has suspended him in arrested adolescence, the film often feels torn in two opposing directions. It’s strongest when its focus remains personal, an aspect embedded in Miller’s deftly layered performance and reflected in the corresponding sadness of Keaton’s Bruce Wayne/Batman. The early word on The Flash calling it one of the greatest superhero movies ever made was pure hyperbole. But in the bumpy recent history of the DC Extended Universe, it’s certainly an above-average entry.

Owen Gleiberman, Variety:

Ezra Miller has never gone full Ezra Miller the way they do in “The Flash.” With sculpted dark brows, almond eyes, and insinuating lips, the actor is a mesmerizing camera subject, like the young Jimmy Fallon crossed with the young Bob Dylan. But it’s the voice that gets you. In “The Flash,” Miller is insouciant, irritated, irascible and irresistible, like Andy Cohen on a bender of high anxiety. Just watching Barry order an elaborate peanut butter sandwich in the opening scene, with his hungry jitters and nervous speed-demon élan, is mesmerizing. With the possible exception of Deadpool, no straight-as-an-arrow DC or Marvel superhero has exhibited this level of psycho flippancy, this antic dissociation from his own heroism.

Pete Hammond, Deadline:

Let’s give credit to director Andy Muschietti and screenwriter Christina Hodson for making what was becoming a worn out movie genre a brand new life with a smart, funny, thrilling, emotional, and altogether swell take on a character that has been around 80+ years, but until now never got the showcase he deserves. And bringing him vividly alive in a rich and dazzlingly dual performance in which he brilliantly plays opposite himself is Ezra Miller, and simply put, better casting you could not imagine. Whatever the well-publicized previous troubles the actor had in his own life simply do not matter here, he is the real deal and a superhero superstar is born.

Christian Holub, Entertainment Weekly:

Viewers who enjoy Miller’s take on the character are thus welcome to a double serving (several scenes in the film consist of this one actor talking to themselves), while those who get easily annoyed by performative eccentricities might find it a lot to take. The upside is that, in the alternate reality created by Barry’s time travel, Michael Keaton is still Batman.

Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue:

There are simply too many multiverse stories out there, and The Flash falls victim to being the lesser of the Flashpoint stories. A movie that thrives on the nostalgia bait laid out with Michael Keaton’s return as Bruce Wayne, it’s frankly a mid-level watch after seeing something like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. And maybe the near-hysteric level of unnecessary hype ruined my viewing experience of it, so temper your expectations and you might have more fun. The Flash is far from the “best superhero movie” title that had been thrown around by audiences and critics after CinemaCon. It is, in a way, fine—not “bad” fine, not “great” fine. Just fine.

William Bibbiani, The Wrap:

Andy Muschietti (“It”) directs clean, bright, mostly satisfying action sequences, at least up until the film’s epic finale, which takes place entirely against a backdrop of a beige desert. One can’t help but look at this action sequence, which might as well be set in limbo half the time, and remember the immortal words of John Ford at the end of “The Fabelmans,” as yelled by David Lynch: “When the horizon’s in the middle, it’s boring as sh*t.”

Joshua Yehl, IGN:

Fresh, funny, and fast – The Flash is a good time at the movies. Director Andy Muschetti’s clear love of the character anchors the many refreshingly unique action scenes and twisty time-travel plot, never losing sight of Barry Allen’s powerful emotional journey. Though the story doesn’t necessarily justify its excessive fan service and the third act is a bit unwieldy, that doesn’t stop The Flash from being an earnest and entertaining superhero film – and one of the better efforts from DC in recent memory.

The Flash races into theaters on June 16.

J. Cole and Lil Durk’s collaborative song “All My Life” kicked off the rollout of Durk’s new album Almost Healed. The song performed well, peaking at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. However, fans found themselves hung up on J. Cole’s reported verse fee to appear on the track.

Music blog Raphouse TV is at the head of the financial rumor. The outlet tweeted, “Lil Durk reportedly paid J. Cole $978K for his ‘All My Life’ verse, counting 489 words Cole spat. Cole reportedly charges $2K per word for the feature.” Based on Cole’s star power in the rap game, the price tag would be justifiable if it were real.

After gaining over eight million impressions, Cole’s longtime friend and manager Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad took a second to dispute the claim. According to Hamad, Raphouse TV is false or, as he put it, “Cap.”

Lil Durk’s team also issued a response to the rumor. “False news, we ain’t never paid for a feature… Ever,” wrote Durk’s DJ Bandz.

When asked about the song’s reception, Durk admitted to Complex, “[Cole] smoked my ass on that one, for one — barely. That barely happens. But shout out to J. Cole, shout out to [Dr.] Luke, we made it happen.”

In his memoir, Pageboy, Elliot Page discussed his transition, the actor who threatened to have sex with him “to make you realize you aren’t gay,” and his secret romance with Kate Mara. The Umbrella Academy star also revealed that he was hooking up with co-star Olivia Thirlby “all the time” while making Juno.

“I was taken aback the moment I saw Olivia Thirlby,” Page wrote, according to Page Six. “Sexually open, far removed from where I was at the time. But the chemistry was palpable, it pulled me in.” One day while they were in Thirlby’s hotel room, she told Page, “I’m really attracted to you.” From there, “we started sucking face,” Page detailed. “It was on. I had an all-encompassing desire for her, she made me want in a way that was new, hopeful. It was one of the first times someone would make me cum, the first time I would open up.”

The couple began having sex “all the time” and everywhere. “Her hotel room, in our trailers at work, once in a tiny, private room in a restaurant… We thought we were being subtle. Being intimate with Olivia helped my shame dissipate. I didn’t see a glint of it in her eyes and I wanted that — done feeling wretched about who I am.”

Page and Thirlby have another connection, beyond what happened on the Juno set: he was in Inception, while she appears in Christopher Nolan’s next movie, Oppenheimer.

(Via Page Six)

WARNING: spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

As with every superhero movie (or Taylor Swift music video) there are bound to be a million easter eggs that represent other things, because it’s not enough to just see a movie anymore, you have to know the lore. But it’s fun to do the Leonardo DiCaprio meme when you see something that others don’t so if that’s your prerogative, then Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is the movie for you!

Among the vibrant animation and critically acclaimed web-slinging, there are numerous easter eggs hiding out in the movie, mostly consisting of various iterations of Spidey and his human counterparts. There are quite literally hundreds of bits of callbacks and references jam-packed into the adventure, but here are some that you might have missed.

J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson

You probably didn’t miss this, but it’s fun to talk about! J.K. Simmons returned to the Daily Bugle as J. Jonah Jameson in multiple different iterations throughout the movie, even with his own little blockhead as a Lego. Maybe he should get his own spinoff about the power of journalism in the Spider-Man universe. They have an incredible photo policy there.

Lego Spider-Man

Speaking of Lego Spidey, an entire Lego Spider-Man sequence was featured as a nod to Chris Miller and Phil Lord’s work on The Lego Movie. What’s even cooler is that they added the Lego scene after a clip of the trailer remade as legos went viral, so they reached out to the Twitter user who made it. Turns out he is a 14-year-old who now has a movie credit. Sometimes you don’t have to stay in school! Just play with Legos.

Doctor Strange

It seems like the only person who really made a name for himself in the multiverse is Doctor Strange, thanks to his ability to be present in just about every universe out there. At one point, Spider-man 2099 warns Gwen to not “get him started on Doctor Strange and that little nerd back on Earth 199999,” referring to the events in Spider-Man: No Way Home. That little nerd in question is Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.

Venmon

But wait! You simply cannot have a Spider-Man film without bringing back the best villain we all love to hate: Venom. While several variations of the character and his suit can be seen throughout the film, a live-action Mrs. Chen, who appears alongside Tom Hardy in Venom also makes a small cameo in her store.

‘Spider-Man’ For PS4

Miles’ roommate Ganke is seen playing the 2018 Spider-Man game on the PlayStation 4 in the background of one of the scenes. He also makes a joke about not being Miles’ “Guy In The Chair,” which might have been a reference to Peter Parker’s friend Ned Leeds in the Tom Holland-led Marvel installments.

Donald Glover’s Prowler

In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Donald Glover appeared as Aaron Davis, who is known in the comics as The Prowler. While Glover only has a small cameo in Homecoming, Glover as The Prowler is seen during the Nueva York segment of Across The Spider-Verse meaning that he might just have a larger part in the next installment.

Mahershala Ali’s Prowler

Is this getting a little confusing for you? It would be weird if it wasn’t. Mahershala Ali voiced The Prowler in Into The Spider-Verse and unfortunately met his demise, but since time isn’t real and nobody really dies, Ali’s iteration of the villain came back from a brief moment towards the end of the movie.

Doc Oc

Alfred Molina also makes his iconic return (again) after appearing as Doc Oc in Spider-Man: Homecoming. This time, he has a small cameo as a cutout in a training facility while Miles is running from various spider-people.

Bagels!

Sometimes, a bagel is just a bagel. Other times, it’s a clear reference to the multiple multiverses thrown at you from every angle. In one brief moment in the movie, a billboard with a bagel appears as a nod to Everything Everywhere All At Once, the Oscar-winning movie from last year which helped bring the concept of a multiverse to a wider audience by using tax fraud.

Basically Every Other Spider-Man

While Spider-Man 2099 is doing a bit of wall-breaking by explaining the concept of canon events, there are scenes from just about every other Spider-Man movie, including Andrew Garfield’s portrayal and Tobey McGuire. Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, and Peni Parker from the first Into The Spider-Verse also appear, making it a whole family affair.

(Via Collider, The Hollywood Reporter)

The only surprising thing about Drew Barrymore’s rise as a talk show host is that it took so long for this to happen. I feel like Drew could have given us some much needed moments of levity at least a decade ago, but also I can accept that there are times and places for wonderful projects to emerge, and here we are.

Drew’s sense of humor and effusiveness are refreshing, but she knows where to draw the line and call out what isn’t funny at all. This includes The Razzies going after the young star of the Firestarter reboot, and now, she’s taking aim at the tabloids for getting really personal with their falsehoods. Mind you, the tabloids have been all over Drew since shortly after her own Firestarter days and for reasons that she detailed in her first memoir way back in 1990. The “wild child” coverage was not a great look for the tabs, and they’re keeping that streak going following Drew’s recent profile with Vulture, in which she clearly expressed that she “cannot wait” to fully unravel her complicated relationship with her mother, Jaid, while Jaid is still alive:

“All [my relevant interview subjects’] moms are gone, and my mom’s not. And I’m like, Well, I don’t have that luxury. But I cannot wait. I don’t want to live in a state where I wish someone to be gone sooner than they’re meant to be so I can grow. I actually want her to be happy and thrive and be healthy. But I have to f—ing grow in spite of her being on this planet.”

The tabloids ran with their erroneous ball and completely misrepresented Drew’s words to make it seem like she was eager for Jade to die. Like, what? Well, Drew was not here for these shenanigans. Here’s how she responded on Instagram: “To all you tabloids out there, you have been f*cking with my life since I was 13 years old.” She added, “I have never said that I wished my mother was dead. How dare you put those words in my mouth.”

You can watch Drew’s video message below:

(Via Vulture, Drew Barrymore on Instagram & Entertainment Weekly)