Month: March 2024

Looking purely at the charts, “What Was I Made For?” isn’t the biggest hit of Billie Eilish’s career. It managed a peak at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which is great, but not as good her as the chart-topping “Bad Guy” or the No. 2 hit “Therefore I Am.” It’s certainly one of the best-received songs Eilish has released so far, though, and the response to her and Finneas’ performance of the Barbie favorite at the 2024 Academy Awards was proof of that.

Compositionally, the song is relatively simple, which played in its favor on stage at the Oscars: Its three core elements — Eilish’s voice, Finneas’ piano, and the orchestra that accompanied them — were able to gorgeously play off each other with no distractions.

When the song was over, Eilish gave an audible “whoa” in response to the audience’s reaction. She got a standing ovation, and crowd shots showed that a bunch of people were either teary-eyed, close to it, or were otherwise wowed, including much of the Barbie cast. In particular, Ariana Grande looked floored, and Kate McKinnon appeared to be holding something in after giving a triumphant scream.

It was a huge night for Eilish outside of the performance, as “What Was I Made For?” also won Best Original Song. That makes 22-year-old Eilish the youngest two-time Oscar winner ever.

Find the full list of this year’s Oscar winners here.

NFL free agency will officially open on Monday, but plenty of deals are already being discussed and figure to be announced as soon as the noon “legal tampering window” opens.

One such deal will be Russell Wilson joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the former Super Bowl winner was released earlier this month by the Denver Broncos as they seem ready to reset their roster almost entirely. Wilson’s time in Denver was fairly disastrous, even if he rebounded some from a horrendous 2022 season with an up-and-down 2023 campaign, and the team’s decision to give him a long-term deal immediately after trading for him backfired spectacularly as they now have $85 million in dead cap on their sheet.

Wilson announced the news on his social media page with a video set to “Renegade.”

That money owed to Wilson allows him to sign a much cheaper contract than he’d otherwise be seeking, and that has allowed him to reach an agreement on a 1-year deal in Pittsburgh that will be “team-friendly” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

While Wilson wasn’t spectacular in 2023, he also showed he might still have some left in the tank as he completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 3,070 yards, 26 TDs, and eight interceptions. That might not be what you want from a guy making $40+ million per year, but it’s a massive upgrade over what the Steelers have had at the quarterback position in recent years, as Kenny Pickett has not panned out and they had Mason Rudolph starting to end this last season. That they still managed to make the playoffs in spite of getting almost nothing out of the QB position is a minor miracle, and we’ll see just how much competence at that position (provided Wilson can simply duplicate last year) can do for the Steelers in 2024.

The 2024 Oscars were dominated by Oppenheimer, as Christopher Nolan’s latest epic ran up the statue count in most every major category of the evening, from Best Director to Best Actor to Best Picture and many more.

However, while it was a night to celebrate for Oppenheimer, other bits stole the show for the awards ceremony itself. There was Ryan Gosling’s incredible performance of “I’m Just Ken”, Al Pacino no-selling the Best Picture presentation, and John Mulaney’s hysterical presentation for Best Sound.

Mulaney took to the stage and began talking about the importance of sound editing to films, offering up maybe the first and last ever mention of Madame Web on the Oscars stage.

From there, Mulaney continued on before going off on a minute-long tangent in which he just detailed the entire plot of Field of Dreams as only he can, poking fun at the lack of any financial planning on Costner’s part to mowing down his field to build a baseball stadium and the bizarre rules of ghost baseball.

At the end, he concluded they should just give the 2024 Oscar for Best Picture to Field of Dreams, which I have to disagree with, as the correct answer of course is that this year they should’ve given the Best Picture award to Ocean’s Eleven.

The actual winners of the award Mulaney was presenting were Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn for The Zone of Interest.

Heading into the 2024 Academy Awards, all bets were on Lily Gladstone. The Killers of the Flower Moon star was the odds-on favorite to nab the Best Actress Oscar for her turn as Mollie Burkhart, part of the Osage community targeted by white murderers one hundred years ago., Surely it wouldn’t go to Emma Stone, not because her work in Poor Things wasn’t phenomenal — it was — but because she already has one, for La La Land. Well, guess what happened?

When co-presenter Michelle Yeoh called out Stone’s name, her reaction wasn’t to freak out and cry. She looked shell-shocked, overwhelmed, genuinely not expecting her name to be called.

What’s more, she suffered a wardrobe malfunction. The back of her white dress came slightly undone, making her walk to the stage all the more of a trip. She leaned into the mistake, the way Jennifer Lawrence, another of the presenters, used to do. She joked, “I think it happened during ‘I’m Just Ken,’” alluding to the arguable peak of the night.

Stone proceeded to honor the other women in the category: Sandra Hüller, Annette Bening, Carey Mulligan. She singled out Gladstone, saying, “I share this with you.”

She then admitted that the other night was “panicking” about how “something like this might happen.” But Yorgos Lanthimos, her director, told her, “Please take yourself out of it.” She concluded. “Because it’s not about me. It’s about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. And that is the best part about making movies, is all of us together.” She then shared the award with everyone who worked on Poor Things.

Stone also thanked her daughter, who’s about to turn three, and who means so much to her that she slipped in a Taylor Swift line, saying she’s “bigger than the whole sky” — a reference, of course, to “Bigger Than the Whole Sky.”

Poor Things wound up winning four awards that night. Killers of the Flower Moon was shut out entirely.

Sure, it might feel like Jimmy Kimmel hosts the Oscars every year, but this ceremony had a high point that set it apart from all others: Ryan Gosling’s Kenergy. Also, Messi the Dog stole the show, and John Cena showed almost everything while the customary envelope opening commenced.

Additionally, a certain ex-president was apparently watching at home. That would be Donald Trump, who decided to tell the world that Kimmel is the “WORSE HOST” in Academy Award history. Via Truth Social:

“Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars. His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be. Get rid of Kimmel and perhaps replace him with another washed up, but cheap, ABC ‘talent,’ George Slopanopoulos. He would make everybody on stage look bigger, stronger, and more glamorous. Also a really bad politically correct show tonight, and for years – Disjointed, boring, and very unfair. Why don’t they just give the Oscars to those that deserve them. Maybe that way their audience and TV ratings will come back from the depths. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Kimmel was ready for the frequently-indicted politician, too. Here’s his live response, which included a reading of the gibberish and an “Isn’t it past your jail time?”

According to the Twitter responses, this was a highlight for sure.

You can read the rest of our 2024 Oscars coverage here.

Can you feel the Kenergy? You can if you watch Ryan Gosling perform “I’m Just Ken” in a pink suit. The yearning power ballad, written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, was a show-stopping number in Barbie, the highest-grossing movie of 2023 — and a highlight of the 2024 Oscars with cameos from Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig, Emma Stone, and even Slash.

Check out the video below.

The thing is, “I’m Just Ken” almost didn’t make it into Barbie. “At that first screening the song wasn’t working. I panicked. The humor wasn’t translating and Greta had to fight,” Ronson told the Times. “The studio asked her how much she really needed it and she said, ‘With every inch of my body.’ And then there was a big swing.”

The song has even become an unlikely inspirational anthem. “I know I’ll sound like David Brent, but the song helped young boys,” Ronson said. “My friend’s eight-year-old got broken up with and he said, ‘It’s OK, because Ken got broken up with by Barbie.’ The song tells boys that it’s OK to be runner-up. The internet’s caused a level of isolation in boys and this idea of male camaraderie and sharing your feelings is a nice and unexpected thing to come out of it.”

You can find the updated list of Oscar winners here.

In Oppenheimer Robert Downey Jr. gave arguably his most intense performance. As Lewis Strauss, the government bureaucrat who destroys the career of J. Robert Oppenheimer (and maybe the future), he’s arrogance and entitlement personified, and the last hour is basically a prolonged panic attack. But when Downey won the Best Supporting Oscar, as predicted, at this year’s Academy Awards, he was back to his charming and self-deprecating self.

Downey’s speech kicked off in high gear. “I’d like to thank my terrible childhood, and the Academy. In that order,” he said.

He then thanked his “veterinarian, I mean wife,” namely Susan Downey. Why did he call her a veterinarian? There’s a reason. “She found me, a snarling rescue pet, and loved me back to life. That’s why I’m here.”

Downey then acknowledged something big about Oppenheimer. “Here’s my little secret: I needed this job more than it needed me. Chris [Nolan, director] knew it.”

He also made sure to include another big person in his life: “I’m going to thank my stylist, in case no one else does.”

And Downey thanked one of the most loyal people in his life: Tom Hansen, his entertainment lawyer of 40 years — “half of which he spent trying to get me insured and bailing me out of the hoosegow. Thanks, bro!”

It was a simultaneously charming and humbled speech, not afraid to reference the dark days of his career. He’d already delivered an awards speech where he read bad reviews, but this one was even more entertaining and, quietly, moving.

This year’s Oscars ceremony began an hour earlier, so hopefully, we’ll see the final winner announced an hour earlier, too? We shall see. At least John Cena has brought some naked levity to the evening.

As well, we’re seeing Jimmy Kimmel as the evening’s host again. This almost appears to be a regular gig for him after hosting the ceremonies in 2017, 2018, and 2023. Why so frequently? Well as The Hollywood Reporter wrote in late 2018, this is “the least wanted job in Hollywood,” and that’s for a reason.

Since the rise of social media, Oscar hosts have faced increasing scrutiny upon being announced and after the show actually begins. Does anyone remember when James Franco and Anne Hathaway were panned for their awkward chemistry back in 2011? That was only the beginning of the end for the gig, for which derision appeared to hit its apex in 2018 when Kevin Hart did step down as host following backlash over his past homophobic tweets. Then in 2022, Chris Rock surfaced without much social media criticism, but as everyone remembers, his night as emcee included a pretty fierce smack on the face. In other words, it’s not a carefree gig.

Meanwhile, Kimmel (who is already employed by ABC) appears to be the Oscars host for the foreseeable future, although he fully denies having been made permanent host. Not everyone is thrilled about a repeat host, of course, but again, social media criticism is probably the reason why we’ve got a “safe” host like Kimmel tonight.

Over the last few episodes of Saturday Night Live (SNL), girl power has been running strong (Happy Women’s History Month). Anyone But You star Sydney Sweet made her hosting debut. While Kacey Musgraves and Ariana Grande stepped in as musical guests. But things are heading out of the delicate auro the ladies brought into the realm of ragers.

Yesterday (March 9), the SNL team took to its Instagram page to announce the talent to unveil the next set of stars slated to grace the small screen. On March 30, “Fein” rapper Travis Scott will make his long-await return to the beloved late-night show, but only in the role of featured musical guest. Scott made his SNL performance debut in October 2018 to promote his acclaimed album Astroworld.

When he appears later this month, fans expect a medley of his latest chart-topping album, Utopia’s biggest hits.

Golden Globe Award-winning actor Ramy Youssef will host the evening. The comedian is sure to bring the show’s much-missed refreshing humor. Outside of flexing his onscreen skills, Youssef’s cameo will serve as a promotional boost to his forthcoming HBO comedy special Ramy Youssef: More Feelings.

Youssef’s special, Ramy Youssef: More Feelings, will debut on the network on March 23. Find more information here.

The Houston Rockets have taken strides forward this season in their first year under new head coach Ime Udoka, improving from a 22-win team a year ago to already have 28 wins with a month to play. Along with a new staff and some veteran additions, a big reason for their improvement is the continued growth of third-year center Alperen Sengun.

Sengun is averaging 21.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game this season for Houston, taking on a much more central role in the offense. His leap as a scorer (and the Rockets running more of their offense through him) has created plenty of excitement for the future in Houston as they look to build more around Sengun going forward.

Unfortunately on Sunday evening, Sengun suffered an apparently serious left leg injury when he went to make a chasedown block attempt on Domantas Sabonis in the final minute of a Rockets win over the Kings. Sengun landed awkwardly after going up for the block and immediately grabbed at his leg in pain. He was tended to on the floor and eventually taken off the court in a wheelchair, clearly in tremendous pain.

The NBC Sports California broadcast showed some replays of the injury and you can see his right leg buckle upon landing and twist under him.

It’s been a breakout year for Sengun and he seems to be a core piece of the Rockets for years to come. We’ll have to wait official word on the severity of this injury as it certainly seems like it could cost him a significant amount of time in a highly unfortunate setback for both the Rockets and a budding star in the league.