Month: August 2023

Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world, but he can still afford any fines he’s acquired by being a reckless chaos agent. One such punishment is only now being made public: Earlier this year, Twitter, back when it was still called that, was fined a ton of money because they dragged their feet on turning over Trump data to the feds.

As per The Washington Post, in March special counsel Jack Smith requested the former president’s Twitter records, in relation to the case involving the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which later nabbed him his third indictment. The social media giant was not against the idea of turning over Trump’s records. What they did oppose, though, was a gag order preventing them from alerting Trump.

Alas for Twitter owner Elon Musk, lower-court judge Beryl Howell did not agree with him, saying she would fine them $50,000 a day, with the catch that the fine would double every day they didn’t comply. Twitter caved three days later, at which point the total fines had amassed to $350,000.

During an appeal the following month, Howell argued that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that letting Trump know about the search warrant “would seriously jeopardize the ongoing investigation.” Howell said that doing so would give him “an opportunity to destroy evidence, change patterns of behavior, [or] notify confederates.”

In June, the gag order was lifted, with the stipulation that Trump would not be informed which of his many cases had inspired the search warrant.

This information was made public after the court appellate ruling was unsealed on Wednesday.

The ruling does not reveal which Twitter records Smith had sought, but they could have included draft tweets and direct messages. In the lead-up to the Jan. 6 riot, Trump was one of the social media platform’s more prolific famous users.

Shortly after that big day, he was permanently banned from its coffers. That ban was lifted shortly after Musk took over in late 2022, but he has yet to return, instead preferring to get himself in legal trouble on his own rinky-dink clone of the service he once adored.

After learning the news about the search warrant, Trump had a predictably chill response on Truth Social.

“Just found out that Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ secretly attacked my Twitter account, making it a point not to let me know about this major ‘hit’ on my civil rights,” he wrote. “My Political Opponent is going CRAZY trying to infringe on my Campaign for President. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Does the First Amendment still exist? Did Deranged Jack Smith tell the Unselects to DESTROY & DELETE all evidence? These are DARK DAYS IN AMERICA!”

Or maybe these aren’t?

(Via The Post)

Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world, but he can still afford any fines he’s acquired by being a reckless chaos agent. One such punishment is only now being made public: Earlier this year, Twitter, back when it was still called that, was fined a ton of money because they dragged their feet on turning over Trump data to the feds.

As per The Washington Post, in March special counsel Jack Smith requested the former president’s Twitter records, in relation to the case involving the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which later nabbed him his third indictment. The social media giant was not against the idea of turning over Trump’s records. What they did oppose, though, was a gag order preventing them from alerting Trump.

Alas for Twitter owner Elon Musk, lower-court judge Beryl Howell did not agree with him, saying she would fine them $50,000 a day, with the catch that the fine would double every day they didn’t comply. Twitter caved three days later, at which point the total fines had amassed to $350,000.

During an appeal the following month, Howell argued that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that letting Trump know about the search warrant “would seriously jeopardize the ongoing investigation.” Howell said that doing so would give him “an opportunity to destroy evidence, change patterns of behavior, [or] notify confederates.”

In June, the gag order was lifted, with the stipulation that Trump would not be informed which of his many cases had inspired the search warrant.

This information was made public after the court appellate ruling was unsealed on Wednesday.

The ruling does not reveal which Twitter records Smith had sought, but they could have included draft tweets and direct messages. In the lead-up to the Jan. 6 riot, Trump was one of the social media platform’s more prolific famous users.

Shortly after that big day, he was permanently banned from its coffers. That ban was lifted shortly after Musk took over in late 2022, but he has yet to return, instead preferring to get himself in legal trouble on his own rinky-dink clone of the service he once adored.

After learning the news about the search warrant, Trump had a predictably chill response on Truth Social.

“Just found out that Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ secretly attacked my Twitter account, making it a point not to let me know about this major ‘hit’ on my civil rights,” he wrote. “My Political Opponent is going CRAZY trying to infringe on my Campaign for President. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Does the First Amendment still exist? Did Deranged Jack Smith tell the Unselects to DESTROY & DELETE all evidence? These are DARK DAYS IN AMERICA!”

Or maybe these aren’t?

(Via The Post)

For the first time in ten years, HARD Summer returned to Los Angeles for a sprawling event that took over Exposition Park this past weekend. It was a welcome return to the city where HARD was born, beginning in 2007 and expanding to its regular Summer, Halloween, and one-off events over the years. But after a decade in the I.E., it was time for HARD to return home, anchored by a headline B2B set from Skrillex and Four Tet, and featuring the likes of Kai Wachi, IsoXO, Amémé, Kid Cudi, and many more. The talent was predictably world-class, but that’s only a part of HARD’s story.

Having run this event for as many years as they have, HARD has also mastered the logistics necessary for a successful event. Reports from the ground praised the overall safety and organization of the festival footprint, the food options, and curation. Scheduling meant that some tough choices had to be made, particularly with the big-ticket artists, but this is often necessary to prevent overcrowding at certain stages.

Short of experiencing HARD in person, the below photos will have to do to give you a solid case of FOMO. HARD will surely be back, so make sure not to miss out next time.

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

Sons of Anarchy creator/showrunner Kurt Sutter largely left the Mayans M.C. building back in 2019. That series has since concluded in a similarly devastating way as SOA did, and now, The Shield writer is gearing up to return to TV under his SutterInk production umbrella.

He’ll act as showrunner/executive producer for The Abandons, which will stream on Netflix. The series shall be a Western action-drama in the days when there’s a renewed interest for that sort of thing. Speaking of which, I must mention that Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan once portrayed a Sons of Anarchy cop (RIP Deputy Hale), so I probably won’t stop thinking about that for awhile.

Now, let’s talk more about what to expect from The Abandons.

Plot

Sutter conceived The Abandons long before Sheridan became reigning Western TV king, but surely, it won’t hurt that Westerns are all the rage these days. We probably shouldn’t expect The Abandons to target the same conservative-leaning audience as Yellowstone, especially given the strong matriarch characters on board (see below for cast info). Here’s a plot synopsis:

“As a group of diverse, outlier families pursue their Manifest Destiny in 1850s Oregon, a corrupt force of wealth and power, coveting their land, tries to force them out. These abandoned souls, the kind of lost souls living on the fringe of society, unite their tribes to form a family and fight back. In this bloody process, ‘justice’ is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law. The Abandons will explore that fine line between survival and law, the consequences of violence, and the corrosive power of secrets, as this family fights to keep their land.”

Cast

Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones, The Purge) will portray a powerful matriarch who adopts four orphans after being unable to birth her own biological offspring. And Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, The Crown) will portray a matriarch who also happens to be a mining-fortune heir and savvy business woman in her own right. She will also have a host of political allies.

Sutter has also suggested that, should the show run for multiple seasons, we could see the likes of Billy The Kid, although that’s all vaguey-vague now with no word on possible casting.

Additionally, there’s been absolutely no talk of Charlie Hunnam appearing on this show. However, Hunnam has recently had fond things to say about this time on SOA and suggested that he wouldn’t mind returning to that world. Could he, instead, end up in The Abandons? No one would be mad about that.

Release Date

Netflix hasn’t issued a release date as of yet. The series was understood to be filming while the strike hammer came down on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA fronts. As a result, filming isn’t currently happening, but hang tight for more developments there and hopefully a firm 2024 release date.

Trailer

Well, there’s no trailer yet, and it might be awhile before that happens. Until then, please enjoy this [NSFW, obviously] clip of Sutter as Sons Of Anarchy‘s Otto when he chewed off his own tongue.

We don’t know when The Abandons will come to Netflix, but once we do, then you will know as well.

The Phoenix Suns are finally out from under the ownership of Robert Sarver and new owner Mat Ishbia has quickly looked to change the perception of the franchise around the NBA. While some of that has been spending big and making major trades to reshape the franchise on the court, it also means paying tribute to those who helped lead the Suns to some of their best years.

This season, the Suns will honor two such players by retiring their jerseys, as the Nos. 31 and 32 will go into the rafters for Shawn Marion and Amar’e Stoudemire.

“Shawn and Amar’e are two of the very best to ever wear a Phoenix Suns uniform,” said Mat Ishbia, owner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury. “Shawn changed the game with his elite versatility and Amar’e was one of the most electrifying players the league has ever seen. Shawn and Amar’e helped define the Suns and inspired generations of fans, and our Suns family is incomplete without them in the Ring of Honor.

“As we embark on the new era of Suns basketball it is a priority that we remain connected to our storied history. We are excited to celebrate Shawn and Amar’e and properly recognize their incredible contributions and achievements.”

There is no easier job than being the team owner who takes over a franchise for a notoriously terrible owner, as you have some absolute layups to get fans excited in your first few years. If you are willing to spend a bit more than the previous owner and do some things fans want the team never did previously — in this case, retiring the jerseys of two fan favorites from years past — you can win over the fan base very quickly.

However, it’s not only about making fans happy, but showing the best players on the team that you’ll look to show them appreciation throughout their time with the franchise and beyond. That means someone like Devin Booker, who noted his excitement to see Stat and the Matrix get their jerseys raised this season.

The exact dates for each jersey retirement night will be released in the future, but it’s cool to know that a pair of Suns legends will get honored this year.

Robbie Robertson, best known as the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan in the ’60s and ’70s and as the guitarist and songwriter of The Band, has died at the age of 80 years old. According to Variety, his management announced his passing in Los Angeles after a long illness. Robertson was also well-known for his long collaborative history with famed director Martin Scorsese, recently completing his 14th film project with the soundtrack for the upcoming Killers Of The Flower Moon.

Jared Levine, Robertson’s manager of 34 years, said in a statement, “Robbie was surrounded by his family at the time of his death, including his wife, Janet, his ex-wife, Dominique, her partner Nicholas, and his children Alexandra, Sebastian, Delphine, and Delphine’s partner Kenny. He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel and Seraphina. Robertson recently completed his fourteenth film music project with frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Six Nations of the Grand River to support a new Woodland Cultural Center.”

Robertson’s work with Scorsese began in 1976, after the director filmed The Band’s farewell concert, The Last Waltz. Since then, Robertson was credited as composer, music supervisor, and music producer on films like Raging Bull, The King Of Comedy, Gangs Of New York, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, and more. Robertson was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame as a member of The Band and for writing classics like “The Weight” and “Broken Arrow.” With his death, only one original member of The Band remains: Garth Hudson.

Nikola Jokic is famously one of the NBA’s most laid back superstars. His initial reaction to winning his first NBA championship was, quite literally, “We can go home now,” and he was mad he had to stay in Denver for the parade because he thought it might make him miss a horse race on Sunday — although he did end up loving the parade.

On the court, he tends to be fairly stoic and it can seem at times that he doesn’t even really care all that much — with the notable exceptions of his frustration with referees, propensity for an occasional over the top retaliation foul, and when the other team’s owner tries to hold the ball. That relatively quiet nature means when he does get fired up and vocalize his frustrations to his teammates, they tend to perk up and take note.

Thomas Bryant spent last season in Denver and only remembered one time the two-time MVP really lit into the team, recalling the timeout during Game 3 of the NBA Finals when cameras caught Jokic ripping into his teammates. As Bryant told Gilbert Arenas and the rest of the Gil’s Arena crew, Jokic was just pleading with his teammates to play the right way and just run the offense.

I do enjoy listening to guys who have played with Jokic talk about him, because they all say the same two things to hammer home the kind of player he is. The first is that he really, truly doesn’t care about his own scoring and just wants to get everyone involved. The second is gushing about how easy he is to play with and how freakish his abilities are to just break down defenses. Watching Jokic it almost doesn’t make sense how easy he makes the game look, and even other NBA athletes, who are the elite of the elite, are somewhat baffled by how simple the game is to him. Bryant’s the latest to make those points, but he also loved seeing the fire from Jokic and seeing that passion that tends to get held inside come out in that moment. Given how the rest of the Finals went, I think it’s fair to say his point was taken and they ran the offense how it’s supposed to all the way to a title.

While some people might prefer the drama and luxury of a White Lotus hotel, others might be more inclined to check into a hotel more violence-oriented. It’s all personal preference! Luckily, the John Wick universe is expanding faster than Keanu Reeve’s fists and The Continental is heading to screens just next month.

The prequel follows a young Winston Scott (played by Ian McShane in the films, and Colin Woodell in the series) who is climbing his way up the organized crime ladder in New York City. The event will consist of three parts, with each episode taking place over the course of one evening. Here is everything we know about what will surely be the most assassin-obsessed TV event of the season.

Plot

Unlike the Wick we all know and love, this story will take place in 1970s-era New York City, which is really as dangerous as any face-off against John Wick could ever be. The series will provide a backstory for Winston, Wick’s confidant-turned-enemy, and how he ended up at the top of the hotel chain to begin with. Here is the official plot description:

The three-part event will explore the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the John Wick universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape of 1970’s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the hotel’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his future throne.

Cast

Since it’s a prequel, there will be no Keanu, unless there is some sort of flashforward but let’s be honest, Keanu is really busy these days. Instead, you get Colin Woddell as Winston Scott, alongside Mel Gibson as mob boss Cormac. Ayomide Adegun portrays a young Charon, while Peter Greene, Ben Robson, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jessica Allain, and Katie McGrath round out the rest of the cast.

Release Date

The first part will drop on Friday, September 22nd on Peacock, with parts two and three releasing on September 29th and October 6th.

Trailer

Aya Cash stormed The Boys as Stormfront in Season 2 of the Amazon superhero-skewering series, and she ended up burnt so crispy that the character was a shadow of herself in the next batch of episodes. Stormfront certainly will not return for Season 4. Yet we might be receiving Aya Cash in close to the same mode again because she’s joining the cast of an HBO series that is sliding into the power vacuum created by some undeniable superhero fatigue in Hollywood.

The Franchise, a new parody series from Sam Mendes and Veep producer Armando Iannucci, along with Veep‘s Jon Brown as showrunner, is in the works as a straight-up comedy. The show will also arrive with a blessed 30-minute runtime and — this sounds reminiscent of The Dawn Of The Seven — revolves around a fictional superhero film that’s sliding into the gutter. There are no details yet, but Aya might actually play a crew member for that fictional film, and this series promises to bring some unique touches:

“The crew of an unloved franchise movie fight for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. The Franchise shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the question — how exactly does the cinematic sausage get made? Because every f*ck-up has an origin story.”

The series will also star Daniel Brühl, Himesh Patel, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Richard E. Grant, and more. It will also coexist in a streaming sense (on Max) with the upcoming DC Universe from James Gunn. Hopefully, that won’t make it too awkward, but heck, such a vibe could be good for both entities.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Donald Trump has a lot of weird beliefs. Remember when he said that asbestos gets a bad rap? Is he also pro-mosquito? But one of the absolute weirdest has to do with windmills.

“If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations, your house just went down 75 percent in value. And they say the noise causes cancer,” he said in 2019, offering no evidence of who “they” is.

Needless to say it (but I’m going to say it anyway), wind turbine noise does not cause cancer. “In fact,” according to Fact Check, “some sound waves help diagnose cancer, and they might even fight off the disease, researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research outside London have found.”

Joe Biden took a shot at his predecessor’s bizarre obsession with the wind during a speech in Belen, New Mexico, on Wednesday. While talking about wind turbines, he said, “Those blades are 103 yards long. Longer than a football field. And by the way, they don’t cause cancer.”

Biden has been full of piss and vinegar lately. He’s selling “Dark Brandon” merchandise (which Trump believes is a “thinly veiled” reference to his indictments); he tweeted Marjorie Taylor Greene’s accidentally complimentary words about him; and now this. Biden only has to keep it going until he’s, uh, 86.

(Via Twitter/Acyn)