Month: March 2024

Draymond Green has plenty of clips of trash talk in his career, but there are none that are quite as legendary as what the rim mics picked up in a Clippers-Warriors game back in the 2016-17 season.

Less than a minute into the game, Green was chirping at Paul Pierce on the Clippers bench as Blake Griffin got set to shoot free throws, lighting Pierce up for “chasing a farewell tour” and saying “they don’t love you like that” repeatedly and saying “you thought you was Kobe?”

The clip is an all-timer and still pops up from time-to-time on social media over seven years later. This week, Pierce joined Draymond on Green’s podcast and made sure to come out of the gate to give his side of that exchange, noting he was trying to fire up Blake Griffin to deal with Green’s physicality, which was why he was chirping from the bench. He also insists he didn’t hear Green and only found out exactly what Draymond said after the game when the video was blowing up on Twitter.

Pierce noted he always appreciated that Green stayed true to who he was and would bring that energy constantly, even before he was a champion. While the rim mics do certainly amplify what someone is saying, it sure seemed like Green was saying that loud as hell and I’m not sure I fully buy that Pierce didn’t hear it at all, but he might not have caught every bit of it and certainly wouldn’t have expected it to become a thing the entire world would hear either.

Love Lies Bleeding is a passion project for Kristen Stewart, emphasis on passion. The actress, who previously said that the sex scenes in the A24 film will “shock” people, told NBC News that she’s tired of “rote” intimacy in movies.

“The run-of-the-mill, like, just-go-for-it simulated sex thing is so rote, and it’s like actors do have this default thing where, like, ‘OK, we’re supposed to make out and have sex now.’ That’s just not how people have sex, and I’m so sick of seeing it,” she said. “Really nailing the details and talking about the physical experience more so than even seeing it, like verbalizing it, talking to each other, sharing space, having it not be cut up into a ton of different shots, it felt like… a really beautiful thing to deliver an experience that was, like, literal instead of faux.”

Stewart’s co-star Katy O’Brian added, “If anyone takes anything from this movie, it’s to ask your partner what they like. You don’t see that in a movie.”

Love Lies Bleeding stars Stewart as a gym manager named Lou who falls for Jackie (O’Brian), “an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.” It comes to theaters on March 8.

(Via NBC News)

I’m almost never invited to funerals anymore. I laugh too much. Psychology says it’s a coping mechanism, my friends insist my dark, nihilistic sense of humor is to blame. I think it’s the bodies. I’ve never understood why a person would want crowds of people gazing at their embalmed husk, distant relatives and former schoolmates shuffling their way past a cushioned casket — a macabre conga line dancing to the sounds of sobs and wails and quiet belching. (Grief wreaks havoc on the gut.)

All this to say, watching a Yorgos Lanthimos film feels eerily similar to going to a funeral. There’s an element of absurdity, artificiality. Sadness. Mess. And a steady undercurrent of bleak, revealing humor.

With just a handful of feature films, Lanthimos has welcomed English-speaking audiences to the world of Greek Weird Wave – an experimental style of filmmaking pioneered by Lanthimos, Athina Tsangaris, Panos Koutras, Yannis Economides, and Alexandros Avranas. Soaked in surrealist imagery and existentialism, centering protagonists that are discontented with their realities (however heightened and strange they may be), Greek Weird Wave is a cinematic style born from the country’s sociopolitical troubles that reached their height over a decade ago.

For Lanthimos, the technique manifests with morbidly funny dialogue, fantastical settings, jarring physicality, and idiosyncratic characters searching for meaning, purpose, and a way to rebel – against societal standards and the darker parts of man’s nature. A Lanthimost (Lanthimosian?) film can be bizarre, provocative, disturbing, confusing, and comical. It’s not the kind of comfort watch or action-packed blockbuster built to please crowds. It exists to make us think, even as we marvel at the perverse imagination that can be conjured by the human mind.

In other words, should you ever forget how fucked up people can be, just take a trip through Yorgos Lanthimos’ filmography. We’ve even created a handy guide.

Poor Things (2023)

There’s something undeniably shocking about Poor Things, the revisionist Frankenstein so twisted and strange that it’d likely impress Mary Shelley herself. (She did, after all, seduce a man at her mother’s gravesite.)

Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, the bewitching, unorthodox science experiment of a tortured genius she aptly refers to as God (Willem Dafoe). A newborn whose brain is implanted in the corpse of her mother, Bella is insatiably curious, learning to walk, talk, and think for herself as a child would while also grappling with more feminine urges her male caretakers often balk at. When she escapes her comfortable prison to go on a European adventure with a smarmy, lascivious lawyer named Duncan Wedderburn (a deliciously debauched Mark Ruffalo, having the time of his life), she makes even more important discoveries — about her desires, her potential, and her purpose.

Filmed initially in grainy black-and-white with a fish-lens focus that makes the audience feel like the a Peeping Tom, Lanthimos introduces more color, more frill, and more bodily autonomy by way of his heroine as she learns of the world and her prescribed place in it. Stone is magnificent, physically contorting herself in ways both comical and awe-inspiring as Bella is given agency to steer the course of her destiny. And, unlike most of the other films on this list, Lanthimos challenges his storytelling instincts by giving us a quietly happy ending that feels both surprising and earned.

The Favourite (2018)

Set against the backdrop of 1700s England, during the reign of Queen Anne, this opulent, off-kilter comedy doubles as a lavishly-costumed feminist orgy. Here, the primal hungers of women govern court and country more than the machinations of power-hungry men as Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone scrap and scheme for the affections of Olivia Colman’s melodramatic monarch.

While Weisz’s Sarah is a childhood confidante-turned-lover happy to pull the political strings so that Anne can cling to her childlike existence, Stone’s Abigail is a grasping upstart, eager to disrupt their codependent relationship to further her goals. A melting pot of ankle-breaking dance moves, duck races, revenge plots, sky-scraping wigs, skeet shooting, bunny metaphors, and kinky power plays, Lanthimos marries riotous farce with something more profound, examining the ways in which we mask our true natures.

The Killing Of a Sacred Deer (2018)

The concept of cosmic justice is what fuels most of the dread-inducing action in this tense thriller starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Barry Keoghan. Pulling from Greek mythos, Lanthimos tells the story of Dr. Steven Murphy (Farrell), a cardiovascular surgeon living a somewhat sterile, though, by all appearances happy, life with his wife (Kidman) and two children. When he strikes up a friendship with a fatherless young man named Martin (Keoghan), his comfortable existence is upended.

Martin’s devious designs for Steven slowly reveal themselves as his children begin to sicken and his career flounders — consequences for a botched surgery performed by a drunken Steven that cost the boy his parent. Under Lanthimos’ direction, Keoghan delivers a spine-chilling portrayal of a misguided sociopath, a grief-stricken man balancing invisible scales as he tortures innocents, slops down cold spaghetti, and deadeyes his way through uncomfortable, violent confrontations. It’s how unaffected Keoghan appears by all of the chaos Martin conjures that makes this commentary on class, privilege, and the limitations of karma so nightmarish.

The Lobster (2015)

What if your very existence hinged on your relationship status? That’s the central question behind this bleakly funny comedy set in a dystopian future and starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. As David, Farrell sheds his leading man skin to play a chubby dud with a wilting mustache, large-framed glasses, and the winning personality of a wet blanket. He checks into The Hotel after his wife leaves him, hoping to find a match in 45 days. If he doesn’t, he’ll be turned into the animal of his choice — hence the title. The eclectic batch of fellow “guests” he meets challenge him in cruel and exciting ways, but it’s his romance with Weisz’s character, and the ambiguous end they meet that makes this the kind of film that lingers long past its rolling credits.

Alps (2011)

This Greek-language film contends with loss and grief in a way that’s uncomfortably thought-provoking and inappropriately funny. Angeliki Papoulia plays Monte Rosa, a nurse newly inducted into an agency called Alps whose members serve as stand-ins for dead relatives to help grieving families move forward. If that premise doesn’t make you squirm, seeing it play out with Monte Rosa impersonating a deceased tennis player, blurring boundaries, and losing more of herself with each familial scene likely will.

Questions of ethics aside, Lanthimos ramps up the awkwardness of this story by keeping its rhythm unpredictable — injecting violence, humor, and sex at the strangest times to make audiences feel as adrift and desperate as the main character. Everyone’s motives are suspect here, but the driving theme is one that feels universal: Is there a right way to mourn? And, if so, who gets to decide?

Dogtooth (2009)

Lanthimos reimagines the suburban nightmare with this sick, grim psychological drama about a trio of adult children living under the nonsensical tyranny of their parents. Trapped in their home, robbed of their names, and taught an invented language that keeps them from interacting with the outside world, the family at the center of Dogtooth is dysfunctional to a disturbing degree. Their isolation and deprivation push them to extremes — they murder cats, sexually experiment with one another, and reenact Flashdance performances. But when the eldest daughter gets a taste of life beyond their sad, fenced-in existence, Lanthimos makes the reasoning behind this tragic, incestuous experiment known.

Kinetta (2005)

If you can’t stomach the 95-minute-long arthouse frenzy that is the director’s debut, we won’t blame you. It’s experimental in both the best and worst of ways, with camera work so shaking it will leave you nauseated and sparse dialogue that’s interrupted by human dog-barking. It’s just weird, and not in the clever, fascinating way so many of Lanthimos’ later works are. But, the seeds of his style and storytelling can be found here, in the premise of three strangers (a hotel cleaner, a police officer, and a photographer) who decide to recreate crime scenes together, and in the way he blurs reality and fantasy to make us question our own sanity.

Last May, Kesha released Gag Order, fulfilling her contract with Dr. Luke’s record label. The following month, the defamation lawsuit ended between Kesha and Dr. Luke ended with a joint statement. The statement confirmed that Kesha and the record producer had “agreed to a resolution of the lawsuit” and included commentary about Kesha’s allegation that Dr. Luke drugged and raped her in 2005. The sprawling legal battle began in 2014, as chronicled by Vulture.

All of that information is crucial context for Kesha’s latest social media activity. On Wednesday, March 6, the multi-platinum-certified pop singer and songwriter wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “First day I’ve owned my voice in 19 years. Welcome.” Kesha also went on Instagram Live to preview new music. One screen recording reposted by Kesha on X shows her wiping away tears while an upbeat, poppy song snippet plays in the background.

At the same time, Kesha posted a link to the website KeshaIsWaitingForYou.com alongside an ethereal trailer video showing her undressing by a river. Eventually, she is completely nude.

As of this writing, the website doesn’t give much away. It can probably safely be assumed that this means Kesha is about to drop an album, and it might even be likely that the album’s cover art is the only image on her newly launched website: An entirely naked Kesha facing away from the camera — looking toward an opaque moon while everyone else is looking at her bare bum.

Over the past few months, Cher has been trying to have a conservatorship over her son, Elijah Blue Allman. Yesterday (March 6), a Los Angeles judge granted the pop star a three-month delay to get medical records and reach a private settlement, instead of dismissing her conservatorship case completely, according to Rolling Stone.

“I do think there is a lot of breadth between conservatorship or no conservatorship,” judge Jessica Uzcategui said at the hearing. “You mentioned some options. So that’s where I would encourage the parties to meet and potentially mediate.”

Allman once again appeared in court, as he is pushing back against Cher’s request and claims that he has “severe mental health and substance abuse issues.” The publication noted that Allman’s lawyer Steven Brumer feels Cher’s side is stalling — and that she refuses to meet in the middle about navigating finances.

“We’ve talked about alternative and less-restrictive means,” Brumer shared. “[They] indicated that a supportive decision-making agreement is not in [Allman’s] best interest because he still has the ability to fire that person.”

“We are concerned that this is an effort to continue moving this case forward, further and further, to bleed Mr. Allman dry,” he added. The conservatorship was initially filed because Cher felt that Allman couldn’t handle receiving trust payments from his late father, Gregg Allman. However, Allman has maintained his sobriety.

The next hearing in this ongoing case between Cher and Elijah Blue Allman is set for June 11.

At this point, Questlove has so many jobs, it’s not only hard to keep track of them all but one also wonders when exactly he has the time to do so many things without the assistance of a secret twin, a la The Prestige. He’s joked about it himself, but it’s getting out of hand; in addition to organizing the Grammys’ hip-hop tribute in 2023, organizing the annual Roots Picnic, directing the live-action Aristocats remake for Disney, and curating playlists for his celebrity friends, he’s a best-selling author. In that last capacity, he just announced the release date for his upcoming book, Hip-Hop Is History, a deep-dive follow-up to his fifth book, Music Is History.

Questlove announced Hip-Hop Is History last August, so that turnaround is pretty impressive. At the time, he said, “No one asked me to, but I’m carrying that burden. And for all those who are present and accounted for, there is something to celebrate with hip hop’s 50th.There may be a lot of water under that bridge. Our disdain for looking in the rearview mirror is entrenched in pain and trauma. But as a child of legacy and nostalgia culture, I want to be the GPS for people to celebrate that thing called hip-hop.”

Hip-Hop Is History is out on June 11 via Auwa Books, Questlove’s own imprint.

The full trailer for Fallout has arrived, and the overwhelming reaction on social media is abundantly clear: Bring on that sweet Walton Goggins action.

As The Ghoul, The Righteous Gemstones star is front and center in the latest trailer for Amazon‘s adaptation of the hit video game series. Not only does he kick off the proceedings with a Rod Serling-like introduction, but he steals every moment is on camera as the deformed gunslinger who fires quips as fast as he fires bullets.

The Ghoul also seems to know an awful lot about why the world is a post-apocalyptic hellscape, and he seems hell-bent on sending Ella Purnell’s curious Vault Dweller on a quest for revenge. And while all of that makes for a riveting trailer, Goggins’ mere presence was enough to sell folks on giving Fallout a whirl when it starts streaming next month.

You can see some of the reactions below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. 200 years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind — and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird and highly violent universe waiting for them.

Fallout will drop all of its episodes April 11 on Amazon Prime Video.

On Wednesday, March 6, Billboard held its annual Billboard Women In Music event, which will stream in full on Thursday, March 7, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. But a video of Charli XCX’s performance is already making the rounds because Charli reportedly debuted an unreleased song dedicated to the late songwriter and producer Sophie, who died from an accidental fall in January 2021.

There are conflicting reports as to whether the song is called “So Do I” or “So I,” but the video finds Charli belting emotional, yearning lyrics like, “Wish I tried to pull you closer / You pushed me hard, made me focus” and “You’d say, ‘Come on, stay for dinner’ / I’d say, ‘No, I’m fine’ (Now, I really wish I stayed) / Always on my mind.”

Charli has frequently spoken publicly about her close friendship with Sophie, who co-produced Charli’s 2016 EP, Vroom Vroom. She penned an open letter in February 2021, noting, “It’s really hard for me to sum up the special connection I felt with such an amazing person who completely changed my life.” This February, Charli gave an interview to The Face and spoke about a song dedicated to Sophie on her newly announced album, Brat, which is presumably the one she sang at Billboard Women In Music.

“There was a lot of distance between us because I was in awe of her and wanted to impress her,” the UK pop star said. “She believed in me in ways that I didn’t believe [in] myself. But I felt like I would never be interesting enough to operate in her world outside of the studio, which was the safe space where we could connect and bond over music.”

Charli continued, “I didn’t feel like I was magical enough for this unbelievably magic person. And that makes me ashamed now I don’t have the opportunity to experience that anymore, because she’s gone. I feel ashamed for being a coward. It’s hard to write about. I’m sad for myself that I didn’t experience all this person had to offer.”

Charli was recognized with the Powerhouse award at the Billboard Women In Music 2024. Brat is due out sometime this summer, she confirmed before releasing the lead single, “Von Dutch,” last week.

Charli XCX is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After months of anticipation, Dreamville Festival has announced its 2024 lineup. The festival, which will take place on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina, will be headlined by SZA, Nicki Minaj, and Chris Brown, with performances from Amaarae, Domani, Jeezy, Jeremih, Key Glock, Lil Yachty, Monica, Muni Long, Rae Sremmurd, Rema, ScHoolboy Q, Sexyy Red (who has been appearing on a lot of unexpected festival lineups lately), Teezo Touchdown, and TiaCorine.

Naturally, J. Cole, Bas, Cozz, Earthgang, JID, Lute, and Omen are also billed. Curiously, Ari Lennox doesn’t appear on the flyer, which hopefully means she’s busy working on her follow-up to Age/Sex/Location.

According to the press release, two-day GA tickets are now on sale in limited quantities, with a portion of proceeds being donated to the festival’s official charity partners, the Dreamville Foundation and Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy. You can find more information at DreamvilleFest.com.

See below for the full lineup.

Dreamville Festival Lineup For Saturday, April 6

SZA
Chris Brown
JID
Lil Yachty
Schoolboy Q
Sexyy Red
Jeremih
Earthgang
Teezo Touchdown
Amaarae
Lute
Luh Tyler
Domani

Dreamville Festival Lineup For Sunday, April 7

J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Rema
Jeezy
Monica
Rae Sremmurd
Key Glock
Bas
Muni Long
Cozz
Omen
TiaCorine
Chase Shakur

More than most comedians, Eric Andre isn’t afraid to push boundaries and really put himself out there. Remember his and Emily Ratajkowski classic naked photos? Well, speaking of nudity, Andre is back at it again, this time on stage with Madonna.

For those unaware, Madonna’s Celebration Tour concerts feature a “Vogue” portion of the show, during which Madonna and a celebrity guest “judge” an act performed by Madonna’s dancers. Well, Andre was the guest judge at Madonna’s Inglewood’s Kia Forum on March 4. At one point, Andre was getting playfully whipped by one of the dancers, so he went ahead, bent over, and pulled his pants down, exposing his bare butt to the however-many thousand people in attendance.

An Andre appearance on the Celebration Tour was to be expected: In January 2023, Madonna shared a promo video announcing the trek, and it featured a bunch of recognizable faces: Jack Black, Lil Wayne, Diplo, Judd Apatow, Amy Schumer, Bob The Drag Queen, Kate Berlant, Larry Owens, Meg Stalter, and of course, Andre. In the video, Andre dared Diplo to dip his balls in his margarita and drink it. Diplo, ever the team player, obliged.

Check out the Eric Andre butt clip (how’s that for a phrase?) above.

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