Month: February 2024

Jon Stewart sits down at The Daily Show this week as the iconic host returns to his old stomping grounds. Stewart’s return was such a huge surprise that it even caught his old co-worker John Oliver by surprise.

As for why Stewart chose to come back after exiting the show heading into the 2016 election, the comedian opened up to CBS Mornings on Monday about his decision to wade back into America’s chaotic landscape.

“Who better to comment on this election than someone who truly understands two aging men past their prime?” Stewart quipped before getting surprisingly candid about his recent departure from Apple TV. Despite The Problem with Jon Stewart being renewed for Season 3, Stewart reportedly walked after Apple wanted him to refrain from commenting on China and AI.

“I very much wanted to have some place to unload thoughts as we get into this election season,” Stewart said via The Hollywood Reporter. “I thought I was going to do it over at — they call it Apple TV+. It’s a television enclave, very small. It’s like living in Malibu. They decided, they felt that they didn’t want me to say things that might get me in trouble.”

However, Stewart made it very clear that he has no aspirations about affecting the outcome of the 2024 election as Donald Trump and Joe Biden become the likely candidates.

“You guys know from doing this, just about everything I had wanted to happen over the 16 years that I was at The Daily Show did not happen,” Stewart said. “And I think I’ve learned that post-Daily Show … I don’t really view it as ‘I really want to have an influence on this issue, this election,’ things like that.”

What Stewart does want to talk about is AI and the state of our government. Ahead of his CBS Mornings appearance, Stewart appeared on The Daily Show’s Ears Edition podcast to promote his return as host.

“If you want to be present in this world, you have to be present in this conversation and you have to be as relentless and as tenacious as the counter-narrative that’s being formed,” Stewart said via THR. “It’s not just the election. It’s AI. It’s the way that we’ve militarized all our conflicts. It all ties together to one larger idea, which is the form of government we love so much is an analog — I don’t want to say dinosaur — but it is analog and the world now moves at an increasingly infinite digital pace and reconciling those two things, I think, is the challenge of the moment for people.”

Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show on February 12 at 11 pm ET.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

When Doc Rivers became head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks after the team fired Adrian Griffin (with Rivers maybe working back channels prior to the firing to work his way into the organization), ESPN suddenly needed to figure out new broadcast plans for the playoffs and NBA Finals.

Rivers had joined Doris Burke as the new lead analysts for ESPN’s top booth alongside Mike Breen after the network let Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson go during layoffs last summer. The new No. 2 booth was Ryan Ruocco, JJ Redick, and Richard Jefferson, and many felt Redick was the natural choice if they were to elevate anyone into Rivers role. The last month have featured internal conversations at ESPN regarding what to do, and on Monday word emerged from Andrew Marchand of The Athletic that it would in fact be Redick joining the Finals broadcast team.

JJ Redick will join Mike Breen and Doris Burke on ABC/ESPN’s NBA Finals broadcast team, sources briefed on the network’s decision told The Athletic.

One would think this would go into effect sooner than later, as they’ll want Breen, Burke, and Redick to get some reps together before they have to call the Finals together. Redick has been one of the fastest rising former players in the sports media space, as he’s quickly climbed the ranks at ESPN and become one of the most popular player podcasters with his Old Man and the Three show.

Marchand goes on to note that Redick’s elevation now creates another decision for ESPN brass with the No. 2 team, as they will either roll with Ruocco and Jefferson or potentially add Bob Myers as the third member of that broadcast booth. At minimum, Myers will call more games in the second half of the year as ESPN regularly splits up its top teams for weekday games to manage everyone’s schedule, but it’s possible he’s on the call alongside Jefferson and Ruocco in the conference semis this spring.

If you watched the trailer for the family-friendly comedy IF and thought “that’s cute, but what if all of my imaginary friends were vaguely demonic” then Imaginary is the film for you.

Imaginary is the latest film to turn your beloved childhood friends into cold-blooded enemies, which is just what we all need right now after Barbie made everyone all nostalgic and whatnot. It’s time for people to be scared again! The Blumhouse production, from Kick-Ass 2 director Jeff Wadlow, will attempt to make you turn on your favorite plushes in a way that Five Nights At Freddy’s never could. Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming horror flick.

Plot

The movie follows a woman named Jessica, who moves back to her childhood home with her new family and step-children. Jessica’s stepdaughter Alice becomes attached to a little bear named Chauncey she finds unsuspectingly lurking in a dusty basement, at first, everything seems fine, but then Jessica starts to become suspicious that the cute bear might not be an innocent stuffed animal, much like fellow scammer, Lots-o-Huggin’ Bear.

Here is the official synopsis:

From Blumhouse, the genre-defining masterminds behind FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S and M3GAN, comes an original horror that taps into the innocence of imaginary friends – and begs the question: Are they really figments of childhood imagination or is something more terrifying lying just beneath?

When Jessica (DeWanda Wise) moves back into her childhood home with her family, her youngest stepdaughter Alice (Pyper Braun) develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear named Chauncey she finds in the basement. Alice starts playing games with Chauncey that begin playful and become increasingly sinister. As Alice’s behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be.

Wise told EW that adults tend to yearn for childhood while forgetting how hard being a kid can be, which is why it’s the perfect way to spook some adults. “We often cite a desire to return to a level of childhood innocence, but being a kid can be scary! It’s full of uncertainty, vulnerability, and monsters that lurk in dark corners. Imaginary is a horror thriller for the kid inside each and every one of us.”

Cast

The film stars Jurassic World Dominion’s DeWanda Wise alongside The Walking Dead’s Tom Payne. Taegen Burns, Pyper Braun, Veronica Falcon, and Betty Buckley also star.

Chauncy The Bear plays himself, after what was likely a long and grueling audition process. Unfortunately for his dedicated fans, Lil’ Cub Pudding did not make the cut.

Release Date

After being delayed, Imaginary is expected to hit theaters on March 8th. Since it’s a Lionsgate film, we can expect it to land on Peacock sometime later this year after its initial theatrical release.

Trailer

The first teaser, which dropped alongside Five Nights At Freddy’s last fall, invited viewers to close their eyes and “imagine” what was happening. Thankfully, they dropped a real trailer soon after that so you don’t have to think so hard. Check it out below.

During last night’s Super Bowl halftime show, Usher took us through 25 years of R&B excellence in a mere 15 minutes. If you didn’t catch the show, it was insane — Usher rolled (literally) through hits, was joined on stage by the likes of Alicia Keys, Lil Jon, and Ludacris, had about four costume changes. It was a testament to the star power and discipline of Usher, who reminded the world he was still on top of his game as a vocalist and performer.

And for sneakerheads paying attention — a reminder that Usher has fantastic taste in footwear. During the final stretch of his performance, Usher strutted around the stage in a shimmering pair of chromed-out Jordan 4s, which may have had you wondering: How can I get a fresh pair of those?

Here is everything we know about Usher’s Jordan 4s:

If you were hoping to score a pair, we’re sorry to say you’re out of luck. Usher’s silver 4s were a custom job crafted by none other than the Shoe Surgeon himself, Dominic Ciambrone. The sneaker featured a simple three-color design with a metallic chrome upper, a white midsole, and blue accents with a custom stone-encrusted “U” logo at the heel.

Chrome uppers aren’t that big of a rarity in the sneaker world but we’ve never seen the metallic color on a pair of Jordan 4s, so if you’re hoping for a dupe that’ll get you in the same ballpark, it’s… not going to happen. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make something similar.

The Shoe Surgeon is currently taking requests on his website, so if you’re looking to build the sneaker of your dreams, hit up the site.

A must-visit for any fan of amusement parks is Wisconsin Dells. The Wisconsin city is known as “The Waterpark Capital of the World” due to its multiple water-based theme parks, including Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. The Greek-themed resort will not only have you singing “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” (most of what I know about Greek mythology, I learned from the animated movie where Danny DeVito voices a half-man, half-goat), but it’s also the future home of America’s tallest waterslide.

If you think the drop at the end of Splash Mountain (soon-to-be Tiana’s Bayou Adventure) is scary, wait until you get a load of The Rise of Icarus. The ride is 145 feet tall, features five body slides, and is the star of the park’s $8 million expansion. Have a look:

When The Rise of Icarus was announced last year, Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park wrote on Facebook:

As the Greek myth goes, Icarus soared too close to the sun on wings fastened to his body with wax, with the heat of the sun melting the wax and Icarus falling to the sea. Here at Mt. Olympus you’ll experience a much happier ending at the bottom of the slides!

(In case you were wondering, the world’s tallest waterslide is Kilimanjaro, located at the Aldeia das Aguas Park Resort in Brazil. It’s 164 feet tall.)

Other attractions at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park include an outdoor theme park with the Hades 360 Roller Coaster and a Trojan Horse Go-Kart Track; an outdoor water park with a rotating water slide and a fast “lazy” river; and an indoor water park for when it gets chilly (it is Wisconsin after all). The Rise of Icarus opens this summer. You can find more information here, and buy tickets to Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park on the park’s website.

Beyoncé’s mission to break the internet in a recent Verizon commercial may not have been a success (which I think was the point?), but it did succeed in generating substantial hype for her new music — which dropped in realtively short order after the commercial aired in the form of two new singles, “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.” They’re the first pieces of “Act II,” which fans believe will mark Beyoncé’s first full-length foray into country music. It’s also something she’s allegedly been sitting on for a while, so just when did she record this mysterious project?

According to a statement Beyoncé shared shortly before the release of Renaissance in 2022 (and after a leak of the album hit the internet ahead of schedule), she actually recorded three “acts” of her then-upcoming musical project during the pandemic in 2020. “Act I” was, of course, Renaissance. “Act II” will be the country album, while “Act III” remains shrouded in mystery for the time being. Here’s what she wrote:

“This three act project was recorded over three years during the pandemic. A time to be still, but also a time I found to be the most creative.

Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration.”

Act II is due for release on 3/29.

A few notes before we dive into a little rundown of the best and worst of the 2024 Super Bowl commercials:

• This list is by no means definitive or exhaustive and I might be mean to one you liked or leave off another entirely
• America’s best working commercial actor was too busy coaching the game to be in an ad this year
• We will get to it later but I have no clue how we ended up with two Flashdance-adjacent ads in 2024
• I have always hated the E*Trade baby very much

Here we go.

THE GOOD

ON ONE HAND: Too many commercials relied on the celebrity of it all this year, a trend that’s been bubbling along for years now and finally broke me this year. I think sometimes it gets in the way of having actual fun ideas for these things because the creative process kind of starts and stops with landing a big name.

ON THE OTHER HAND: I gasped when Beyonce showed up. Look at her having fun in there. Her acting career has had its ups and downs but I vote we give her another shot at a fun little ensemble comedy.

In conclusion, I choose to believe Beyonce and Tony Hale are friends now.

A few notes:

• We are now going on like four decades of having fun with Arnold’s accent and it still hasn’t gotten old to me
• Which is weird because I also watched the Christopher Walken ad and came away thinking, “We get it, he talks funny, let it go”
• I am allowed to be inconsistent

I don’t know. Maybe I was just won over by Danny DeVito popping up at the end. Especially since he tweeted this last night after the halftime show, too…

I kind of wish he’d been eating a huge Jersey Mike’s sub, too. Let Danny thrive.

This commercial contained two of my favorite things:

• A cool and empowering message that people can do a lot of things that the traditional guidelines of society often keep them from doing
• Video clips of kids absolutely getting wrecked

Good commercial.

Ugggghhhh I don’t know. I should hate this. It’s got everything I usually hate, from the unnecessary Boston to the Tom Brady cameo to… all of it. And yet.

And yet!

I found it charming. I think it was the stuff with Matt Damon that helped. But mostly it’s the thing where Ben Affleck legitimately loves Dunkin so much. Next year the ad should just be a 30-second compilation of paparazzi shots of him sipping an iced coffee set to that one Dropkick Murphys song with “Thanks to our most loyal customer” at the end.

Listen to me.

I love this for Michael Cera.

This one has:

• Lionel Messi playing soccer with a dog on a beach
• The song “Cuando Cuando Cuando,” which is awesome and reminded me of Game Night, which is a good movie
• A deeply perplexing Dan Marino cameo where Messi kicks the ball to him on a yacht and he catches it with his hands (not allowed) and then just whips it back to the beach like it’s a football?

Insane. I loved it. Ted Lasso was there, too.

There are not enough commercials where old ladies zipline to get revenge on their nemesis in the name of snack chips. I am always saying this.

THE BAD

Buying up time for multiple ads in one Super Bowl is risky business because it can get old and annoying really fast if it doesn’t work. I like Dan Levy and Heidi Gardner very much.

These ads… less so.

Oreos are too tasty to get stuck with a Kris Jenner Sliding Doors punchline. They’re good cookies. We don’t need to bring Ancient Greece and the afterlife into this.

I do not and will never care about what kind of mustache Chris Pratt has.

I understand that FanDuel was in a tough spot here with the recent passing of Carl Weathers but there is something existentially depressing about running a silly little ad with Gronk missing a field goal and then smash-cutting to a black screen remembrance of the beloved actor in the ad who died two weeks earlier.

Carl Weathers deserved better.

ON ONE HAND: Good for the entire cast of Suits for cashing in on their rocketship ride to superstardom after one billion people watched every episode on Netflix last summer for some reason.

ON THE OTHER HAND: Please imagine explaining any of this to the version of yourself that caught a few episodes of Suits on USA in like 2013.

It’s… weird, right? It’s really weird. Reasonable arguments can be made that more people recognized Harvey Specter than Bradley Cooper in the second ad. Think about this for a few minutes today.

THE UGLY

Two problems here:

• Do not make me have positive feelings about the jiggly gummy candy you expect me to eat
• Why are we doing Flashdance references in 2024?

WHY ARE WE DOING THEM TWICE, ACTUALLY?

I don’t know, man. Part of me wants to know how this happened, how we ended up with two separate Super Bowl commercials that riffed on a movie that came out before any of the players in the game were born. A bigger part of me just wants to sigh very deeply and beg advertising executives to watch any other movie. Good for Jennifer Beals, though.

“What if the E*Trade baby played pickleball?” is the kind of idea Pete Campbell would have pitched in an episode of Mad Men before getting berated by Don Draper and mocked by Roger Sterling.

This represents the nicest thing I can say about this ad. It’s fascinating, in a perverse way. I… I kind of want to hear the ideas that got rejected before they settled on this.

Most companies spend their whole budget on making a spectacle that airs once during the game.

Temu appeared to spend $11 on making this ad and then used the rest of their budget to make people at home watch it during every commercial break all night.

No thank you.

Trains should not destroy private property with an ice-cold blast of wreckage to deliver single cans of beer to awkward parties.

LL Cool J should have been arrested at the end of this commercial

Jon Stewart makes his triumphant return to The Daily Show this week. However, since his departure, a lot of things have changed, and we’re not just talking about the political landscape. Now, more than ever, viewers have been ditching their cable subscriptions and turning to streaming to watch their favorite shows. However, The Daily Show is still airing on Comedy Central, a broadcast network, which makes things a tad tricky for cord-cutters. Fortunately, we got you covered.

First things first, Stewart will return as host on Monday, February 12, and he recently opened up to CBS Mornings about why he made the decision to come back to his old stomping grounds.

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“If you want to be present in this world, you have to be present in this conversation and you have to be as relentless and as tenacious as the counter-narrative that’s being formed. So much of the information that we see now is weaponized … and it keeps taking exponential leaps,” he said. “It’s not just the election. It’s AI. It’s the way that we’ve militarized all our conflicts. It all ties together to one larger idea, which is the form of government we love so much is an analog — I don’t want to say dinosaur — but it is analog and the world now moves at an increasingly infinite digital pace and reconciling those two things, I think, is the challenge of the moment for people.”

While Stewart is technically back as the host of The Daily Show, it’s only a part-time gig. That means he’ll only be at the desk on Monday nights followed by a slate of rotating guest hosts.

If you want to watch Stewart’s first night live, and don’t have a cable subscription, you have a few options. However, they will all include picking up a live TV streaming package like Hulu + Live TV, Philo, fuboTV, Sling, and YouTube TV.

If you don’t need to watch The Daily Show as it airs, Paramount+ will have the latest episode available for streaming on the next day without the purchase of a live TV package. That means Stewart’s first night back on The Daily Show will be available to stream on Paramount+ on February 13.

Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show on February 12 at 11 pm ET

Usher’s incredible Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show performance gave viewers 25+ years worth of hits crammed into the 15-minute set. It also delivered a banger of a new meme for fans online who couldn’t help but swoon at a tender moment he shared with guest artist Alicia Keys. Fittingly, she had joined him onstage to perform their 2004 hit “My Boo” which led to a tender embrace.

Naturally, their chemistry sent fans into a tizzy, resulting in a number of jokes at the expense of the stars’ spouses, Swizz Beats and Jennifer Goicoechea — especially Swizz. Check out some samples below.

Swizz, however, is holding it together — or, at least, trying to make it look that way. In an Instagram post with shots from the performance, the producer wrote, “Y’all talking about the wrong damn thing!!! y’all don’t see that amazing dress covering the entire stadium? Tonight’s performance was nothing but amazing with 2 amazing giants. Congrats @usher and my love @aliciakeys that song is a classic. We don’t do negative vibes on this side we make history.”

And, look, we get why the smoldering moment would get fans’ attention. After all, Usher did once sing, “Don’t leave your girl ’round me, true playa for real.” Swizz is probably safe. Probably.

Usher is at the forefront of the music world right now after his Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show performance this weekend. With how comfortable he and Alicia Keys looked together on stage, some might be wondering:

Is Usher Married In 2024?

Actually, maybe!

As People notes, Usher and Jennifer Goicoechea first sparked dating rumors when they were seen together at producer Keith Thomas’ 40th birthday party in June 2019. They have since had two children together: daughter Sovereign Bo, born in 2020, and son Sire Castrello, born in 2021.

Furthermore, the publication reports that according to court records, Usher and Goicoechea got a marriage license in Clark County, Nevada on February 8. A marriage certificate does not appear to have been filed yet, but perhaps one will be soon if the two decided to have a Las Vegas wedding while in town for the big performance.

In November 2023, Usher told People of Goicoechea, “I have an amazing partner, a support system. We have any amazing dynamic between our relationship, where I’m able to be passionate still about what I do, and have an incredible partner to work through some of the harder times as a young man, dealing with children and dealing with the dynamic of how you communicate with them.”

He also said, “I’m very happy, very fortunate to have an incredible friend, not just a partner. She’s my best friend and I love her.”