Month: January 2024

Are you tired of having to do endless homework before watching the latest Marvel movie or show? You’re not the only one. Viewers seem to be exhausting of the comic movie line’s whole “cinematic universe” thing, as witness such underperformers as Ant-Man 3 and The Marvels. (Meanwhile, the DCEU has recently come to an ignominious end with Aquaman 2.) Luckily Marvel has noticed and have decided to launch a wing, called Marvel Spotlight, that doesn’t require bingeing multiple hours of ephemera just to understand the plot.

The first out of the gate? Echo, which follows Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez, aka Echo, a deaf Native American Choctaw and former criminal gang leader. She was introduced in the show Hawkeye. Did you not watch Hawkeye? Allegedly it doesn’t matter. Echo has her own contained storyline, in which she seeks to avenge her father’s murder after learning the culprit is her former mentor, Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio).

But when does Echo come out? Very, very soon.

The show is set to hit both Disney+ and Hulu on Tuesday, January 9. What’s more, they’re not doing a traditional staggered release, as they’ve done with other shows. All five episodes, each about 45 minutes long, are set to drop on the same day.

Yes, there’s some overlap with the greater MCU. D’Onofrio’s Kingpin was originally seen in the Netflix iteration of Daredevil, whose star, Charlie Cox, also makes an appearance, at least. But Marvel swears you don’t have to bone up beforehand. Instead you can just watch Echo kick some butt.

Echo hits Hulu and Disney+ on January 9.

On January 8, CRSSD unveiled the details of its annual Spring 2024 Festival. This year’s festivities are set to take place on Saturday, March 2, and Sunday, March 3, in San Diego, California. CRSSD’s Spring 2024 Fest will feature performances from Grammy Award-winner Black Coffee, Little Drago, Sango, Tale Of Us, Armand Van Helden, Dixon, Jeff Mills, Astra Club, Joris Voorn, and more.

Ticketholders can enjoy three separate concert spaces along the city’s Waterfront Park, including the Ocean View, The Palms, and City Steps stages. Although both days will highlight electronic dance music’s broad spectrum (house, club, dub-step, trip-hop, techno, etc.), the lineup features buzzy acts in hip-hop and soul. Dozens of musicians are listed on the official flyer, yet the event’s promoter has teased that more announcements are still coming.

CRSSD’s Spring 2024 Festival is set to occur on March 2 and 3, 2024, at the Waterfront Park in San Diego, California. The presale will begin later this week. To access the presale queue, text the code “SPRING24” to (855) 912-1457. The general sale for the festival will begin on January 12. Find more information here. It is important to note that CRSSD has a 21+ age restriction.

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

UPDATE: The Pacers announce that Haliburton suffered a hamstring strain on this play, and while he won’t return against Boston, there’s no word on any sort of long-term absence.

EARLIER: Tyrese Haliburton has been brilliant to start the 2023-24 NBA season, and as a result, the Indiana Pacers made it to the final of the inaugural In-Season Tournament and are fighting to make the postseason in the Eastern Conference without needing to go through the Play-In Tournament. As a result, while much of the sports world had its eyes on the college football national championship game on Monday night, Haliburton and the Pacers had a high-profile matchup of their own with the Boston Celtics.

But unfortunately for the fine folks in Naptown, Haliburton needed to get carried into the locker room before the half after slipping on a spot on the floor and accidentally doing a split. Haliburton attempted to drive to the rim when his foot slipped, which caused him to do a near full split and sit on the ground in some serious pain.

Haliburton couldn’t even walk to the back, as towels were thrown over his head as he was carried in to get further examination.

It’s hard to put into words how brutal of a loss this would be for Indiana, as Haliburton is well on his way to earning his second consecutive All-Star nod — an added bummer to all of this is that Indianapolis is hosting the All-Star Game this season, and Haliburton surely would have gotten celebrated as the local hero during the game. At the time of his departure, Haliburton had seven points and six assists on the evening.

Back in mid-2021, as his initially stuttering presidency took a turn for the better, Joe Biden got a new nickname: People started calling him “Dark Brandon.” It was a co-opt of the Republican slogan “Let’s Go Brandon,” twisting it to depict him as a badass who got stuff done. Lately Biden has been living up to that rep, kicking his re-election campaign into high gear by trashing his likely opponent, former president Donald Trump.

Per Mediaite, the current president spoke at the Mother Emanuel AME Church on Monday, where he drew cheers for calling Trump what he is: a “loser” (of the 2020 election, that is).

“Time and again they lost in every court of law that challenged the results, 60 losses in courts of America,” Trump told the crowd about his predecessor’s Sideshow Bob-on-rakes attempts to prove there was voter fraud in the 2020 election.

“There’s one thing they don’t have. They don’t have respect for the 81 million people who voted the other way, voted for my candidacy! And voted to end the presidency,” he continued. “In their world, these Americans, including you, don’t count. But that’s not the real world. That’s not democracy. That’s not America! In America, we all count! In America we witness to serve all those who, in fact, participate.

“And losers are taught to concede when they lose,” he added. Then he twisted the knife. “And he’s a loser!”

At that point the crowd hooted and hollered at Biden sticking it to the guy who sometimes can’t remember who replaced him in the Oval Office.

It was another forceful speech, coming mere days after he warned another crowd about the danger of a second Trump presidency. At that one, while speaking about him finding it funny that Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, was attacked in his home, Biden seemed to come this close to calling Trump a “sick f*ck.” But simply calling him a “loser” is good, too.

(Via Mediaite)

California’s Napa Valley has become known for its top shelf vineyards. But in May, tourists will flock to the region for something else. From Friday, May 24, to Sunday, May 26, the 2024 BottleRock Napa Valley Festival at Napa Valley Expo is prepared to have ticketholders drunk strictly on the multi-day event’s energy (and presumably some pricey booze).

Over the three days, musicians like Pearl Jam, Ed Sheeran, Stevie Nicks, Maná, Kali Uchis, Megan Thee Stallion, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Kid Laroi, and more are set to entertain massive crowds. With the general ticket sale scheduled to begin on January 9, festivalgoers are ready to dig deep into their pockets to secure entry. So, how much are the tickets going for?

How Much Are Tickets For The 2024 BottleRock Napa Valley Festival?

According to the festival’s official website, several ticketing options are up for grabs. Unfortunately, VIP tickets are currently marked as sold out. However, general admission tickets are available for purchase. Like VIP packages, single-day and three-day GA ticket packages can be secure during the public sale.

The three-day GA tickets are $456 ($409 for the ticket and $47 for fees). The single-day pass for Friday, May 24, and Saturday, May 25, cost $318. The single-day pass for Sunday, May 26, costs $277.

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

Last year, The Weeknd’s acting career was temporarily cut short when Max canceled The Idol. Surely that means the“False Idols” singer has more time for music. Will The Weeknd drop a new album in 2024?

According to a recent post online, it appears that so. On January 7, The Weeknd took to his official X (formerly Twitter) page to tease his next album. In a gallery shared to his account, The Weeknd uploaded the covers of his 2020 album, After Hours, and 2022’s Dawn FM. The last image in the gallery was a blank black canvas marked by a question mark.

The Weeknd didn’t provide any further information, but the post’s caption “three” signaled that whatever he is secretly cooking up will close out the chapter of his career. He first teased the album during an interview with Variety in June.

“I’m finishing the third part of this saga, of this trilogy,” he said. “The name of it will come out soon, but it’s not called what some fans think it’s called… what they think it’s called is actually a song on the album, but that’s not what the actual album is called [some fans speculated that it would be titled ‘After Life’]. So I’m just gonna say that.”

The Weeknd has not revealed when the unnamed project is set to hit streaming services.

Martin Scorsese movies have been long for a long while now. Unlike some, we don’t mean that as a complaint. Pictures like The Wolf of Wall Street (three hours on the dot), The Irishman (just shy of 3 ½), and Killers of the Flower Moon (only three minutes shorter than that) all earn their butt-numbing lengths. What may prove to be his next film, though, will probably be one of his shortest.

In a new chat with The Los Angeles Times (in a bit caught by Variety), the legendary filmmaker talks up a film he announced semi-recently: He wants to make another film about Jesus Christ. The idea was partly inspired by his meeting with Pope Francis, but it won’t be a straight biopic, nor an epic like The Greatest Story Ever Told.

For one thing, it will be set mostly in the present day, because he wants the film to feel timeless. For another, it won’t cover his whole life — just his core teachings, focusing, as the L.A. Times puts it, “on Jesus’ core teachings in a way that explores the principles but doesn’t proselytize.”

Then there’s the bit that will appeal to those who complain about his films’ lack of (sanctioned) intermissions: It will only run about 80 minutes.

Not all Scorsese movies are long. His debut, 1968’s Who’s That Knocking At My Door, runs a scant 86 minutes. Taxi Driver’s under two hours, Raging Bull’s a couple hairs over two, and one of his finest, his 1985 dark comedy After Hours, is a lean, mean 97. Still, that was his last feature narrative that was under two hours (though Bringing Out the Dead is “only” 121 minutes).

But if the picture hits the 80-minute mark, it will be his shortest-ever feature narrative, maybe even shorter than his Fran Lebowitz HBO doc Public Speaking (82 minutes). It’s his attempt to make not only Jesus but religion itself more palatable to a wider audience.

“I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible and take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion,” Scorsese explained. “Right now, ‘religion,’ you say that word and everyone is up in arms because it’s failed in so many ways.”

He continued:

“But that doesn’t mean necessarily that the initial impulse was wrong. Let’s get back. Let’s just think about it. You may reject it. But it might make a difference in how you live your life — even in rejecting it. Don’t dismiss it offhand. That’s all I’m talking about. And I’m saying that as a person who’s going to be 81 in a couple of days. You know what I’m saying?”

Should the film get off the ground like he says, it will be Scorsese’s second Jesus movie. The first got him in a lot of hot water. Back in 1988, the filmmaker became persona non grata with the Catholic Church, who condemned The Last Temptation of Christ, his loose reinterpretation of the Gospels featuring a self-doubting, self-hating son of God (Willem Dafoe), who struggles staying holy in a world full of human pleasures. Perhaps this time it will be stress-free.

(Via L.A. Times and Variety)

Netflix struck streaming gold with Tim Burton’s Wednesday series starring Jenna Ortega. The unblinking Addams daughter’s show currently qualifies as the most streamed series in all of Netflix history (sorry, Suits), and the streamer also saw fit to greenlight an Uncle Fester sideshow starring Fred Armisen.

So naturally, Netflix wants more of the main attraction and has confirmed a second season with plenty of details still shrouded in secrecy. Still, some hints have dropped here and there, so let’s discuss what could be lurking around the corner, including a heretofore unseen member of the Addams fam who could surface outside of a portrait at Nevermore Academy.

Plot

The show certainly didn’t take the predictable path and put the title character on an investigative path to clear the Addams family rep of Garrett Gates’ murder. As well, Wednesday rebelled against taking the path of her parents, but ultimately, the finale left open a major question: whether or not Tyler (and Hydes in general) was able to act of his own volition, or if he was simply acting at Thornhill’s behest. Whether or not Tyler’s true nature will be further dealt with in Season 2 remains unknown, but at least we know (among the many dangling threads) that Wednesday has gained character depth and begun to realize that she cannot simply achieve her goals by acting alone.

With that said, the overstuffed first-season finale didn’t leave straightforward clues about what comes next. However, Jenna Ortega has gone on record with ET to hope that Wednesday will be “darker” when she resurfaces. The actress also wants the script to go deeper into Wednesday’s motives, including why “her main drive with the monster was a kind of competitiveness.”

Will Ortega receive her wish? No one knows — her previous comments about the show’s writing weren’t a hit — but the show will soon pick up production again in Romania, so we will watch for developments.

Cast

This should wouldn’t exist if Jenna Ortega wasn’t returning as the gothy lead character. Presumably, Morticia and Gomez will still be portrayed by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman. Ideally, we will see Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome, Hunter Doohan, Jamie McShane Emma Myers, and Joy Sunday again. Will Fred Armisen drop in as Uncle Fester again, or will he simply be starring in his own series from here on out?

No one can say, but Netflix has confirmed that there will be a new member of the Addams clan to surface in Season 2, and Ortega has crossed her fingers in favor of this being Cousin Itt.

Release Date

Netflix has not publicized a release date, but with filming ongoing in spring 2024, it’s possible that we’ll see the show return in early 2025. In the meantime, Ortega will surface in Tim Burton’s next Beetlejuice movie.

Trailer

C’mon, there’s no trailer yet, but you can be miserable again with Ortega’s character below:

As the tech giant tends to do every year, Apple revealed a sweet new gadget for its loyal consumers last June at its Worldwide Developer Conference. The Apple Vision Pro was unveiled as the company’s first step into the VR headset industry. The product delivers a 4K display for each eye which lets users switch between augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Navigation with the headset can be done without a controller thanks to the Vision Pro’s ability to track the eyes, head, and hands. Users will be able to use FaceTime, watch movies, view photos and so much more with the headset. With these cool features and so much more, what does the price tag look like for the Apple Vision Pro?

How Much Will The Apple Vision Pro Cost?

Today, Apple announced that the Apple Vision Pro would begin shipping to users on February 2 with Pre-orders for the headset beginning on Friday, January 19, at 8 am EST/5 am PST. The price tag for the Apple Vision Pro is a whopping $3,499 which is more than the newest version of the iPhone and most editions of the MacBook laptops. The $3,499 price tag is also just for the base model. In partnership with Zeiss, Apple will also offer prescription lenses for the Apple Vision Pro. Readers will be an extra $99 and prescription lenses will be an extra $149.

The base model of the Apple Vision Pro offers 256 GB of storage and comes with the following: Solo Knit and Dual Loop Bands, a light seal and two light seal cushions, an Apple Vision Pro cover, a polishing cloth, a battery, and a USB-C charging cable and USB-C power adapter.

You can read more about the Apple Vision Pro here.

On Sunday night, Emma Stone won her second Golden Globe. It was for Poor Things, in which she plays a Frankenstein’s monster-like creature who learns the pleasures of the flesh and the annoyances that are men. It’s a fearless performance and any actress would be glad to have it out in the world. Thing is, it’s not the only out-there Stone performance skulking about the pop culture landscape. While Poor Things plays multiplexes, she can also be seen every week on Showtime, teaming up with Nathan Fielder and one half of the Safdie brothers for The Curse.

The satirical show began airing episodes in earlyish November. It has one more episode left. But when is it airing?

The answer: Sunday, January 14. That’s when viewers can watch the capper, called “Green Queen,” which will bring the whole crazy tale of a couple who simply wanted to break into the home renovation TV landscape and instead upended their lives.

The Curse stars Stone and Fielder as Whitney and Asher Siegel, a newly married couple who team up with an HGTV producer, played by Benny Safdie, for the show Fliplanthropy. After Asher offers a cool hundred to a young girl on camera, only to ask for it back when the shot is completed, the girl puts a curse on them, which leads to all manner of havoc. And their wild journey is nearly at an end.

You can watch The Curse on Sunday, January 14 at 9pm.