Month: March 2024

In addition to being one of the more exciting young voices in rap music today, it’s turning out that GloRilla is also one of the best connected. After Glo recently revealed that she and Lil Uzi Vert are cousins and sharing a cute moment with Saweetie backstage at the Billboard Women In Music Awards, another of her relations was revealed.

Appearing on Los Angeles radio show Big Boy’s Neighborhood while doing press in the city for her new album rollout, Cardi B casually dropped that she just found out that GloRilla is her cousin as well. According to Cardi, her grandfather lived in Tennesse for a time, having a child with a woman who wasn’t Cardi’s grandmother. That child is GloRilla’s dad! Big Boy, like all of us, looks to be blown away by this tidbit.

Cardi and Glo collaborated in 2022 on the remix of GloRilla’s single “Tomorrow,” a song that turned out to be a fan favorite and helped propel GloRila to her current level of popularity. It looks like that song wasn’t just another example of solidarity for women in rap — it was also a family reunion. Does this mean Cardi is related to Lil Uzi Vert too? Probably not directly, but it is fun to see how connected the rap world really is because it’s a reflection of how connected we all are as people.

You can watch Cardi’s full interview with Big Boy up top.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

2023 was an outstanding year for Gunna, who came back from six months of incarceration to have one of the biggest album runs of his career. Gunna was released from jail in December 2022 and immediately went to work, beginning the rollout for his fourth studio album A Gift & A Curse, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and spawned one of the songs of the summer, “FukUMean,” Gunna’s first solo top-10 Hot 100 single. Fans are already wondering about a possible follow-up just a year later.

So, will Gunnna drop a new album in 2024?

With two new singles out — “Bittersweet” and “Prada Dem” featuring Offset — and the Bittersweet Tour set to kick off in May, signs are pointing to “yes.” While Gunna technically didn’t go on a tour for A Gift & A Curse, he did perform two high-profile shows in Los Angeles and New York, so theorietically the Bittersweet tour title may suggest an album of the same name coming out within a similar timeframe — or even as early as April. Offset’s partcipation on “Prada Dem” may also suggest that Gunna’s time in trap rap exile is coming to an end, as even Young Thug’s father has said Gunna “can’t hurt” the YSL founder’s defense against racketeering charges and even seemed to suggest that calling him a “snitch” is inaccurate.

If all this means that Gunna’s speculative 2024 album sees him reunite with other fan favorites and frequent collaborators, it’s only good news.

Gunna is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidary of Warner Music Group.

The Boston Celtics once again took care of business on the home floor on Thursday night. Thanks to a 37-point outing from Jaylen Brown, Boston was able to pick up a 127-112 win over the Phoenix Suns in their latest statement about how hard it’s going to be to beat them at TD Garden once the postseason rolls around.

Late in the game with the Celtics up by 18, Phoenix called a timeout while the ball was in Royce O’Neale’s hands. O’Neale — who didn’t make a three all game — decided to shoot before making his way to the bench, but his shot got contested by Boston coach Joe Mazzulla. It didn’t seem like O’Neale had a big problem with this, but as he explained on Inside the NBA, Charles Barkley was very much not a fan.

“I would’ve knocked the hell out of him, I’m not gonna lie,” Barkley said. “I would’ve hit him … I’ma tell you why I don’t like it. What if he stepped on his ankle and hurt himself badly. He can’t do that, come on, man.”

While Kenny Smith found the whole thing pretty funny, he agreed with Barkley’s sentiment that a coach can’t be doing this, which got Barkley to once again say that O’Neale should have “knocked the hell out of him.”

Mazzulla did explain himself after the game, telling the press that “I didn’t want him to feel good about himself going to the bench … one of the biggest pet peeves is thinking that a guy is just gonna get a free shot. That’s just not the way it works.”

The Scream franchise has a long history of taking horror movie tropes and flipping them on their head, and they are doing it again by continuously producing an endless number of sequels years beyond its peak. It’s also known as the Friday The 13th Effect.

Scream first hit screens in 1996, followed by Scream 2 in 1997 and Scream 3 in 2000. A follow-up called (you guessed it!) Scream 4 hit theaters in 2011, which also happened to be the last film in the franchise that creator Wes Craven worked on. After a fresh reboot, the series returned in 2022 with Scream and 2023’s Scream 6 starring Gen Z icon Jenna Ortega along with Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Hayden Panettiere, and Courtney Cox. Now that you’re all up to speed, here’s where things get a little dicey.

In August 2023, it was announced that horror director Christopher Landon would tackle the seventh installment, which was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. Then, in November, Barrera was fired from the production due to her social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war where she was vocally supportive of Palestine. Landon posted (in a now-deleted post) said, “This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.” Shortly after that, Ortega exited the film, though it was reportedly over shooting conflicts with Wednesday. Landon also exited the film in December.

After that, writers Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt scrambled to get production back on track by allowing Neve Campbell to return as Sidney Prescott for Scream 7. The actress did not appear in 2022’s Scream 6 after a salary dispute. At the time, the cast rallied around her with support. As for right now, it seems like she’s the only one on board.

Still, Scream VII is moving forward…albeit with very little momentum. Here’s what we know so far.

Plot

Scream 6 brought the crew to the horrifying land of New York City, where Ghostface actually blends in very well. The official plotline for the seventh film has not yet been released, though it will likely focus on Sidney’s story.

Cast

It’s been confirmed that Barrera and Ortega will not return to the franchise, though it’s unclear if they will be replaced. Cox, who has appeared in every Scream film, has not confirmed if she will return either.

Nearly two years after her very public bow out of the franchise, Campbell shocked the world by announcing she would be returning as Sidney Prescot for Scream 7.

In March, she posted a picture of the script with the caption, “It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies. My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me, has never waned. I’m very happy and proud to say I’ve been asked, in the most respectful way, to bring Sidney back to the screen and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!! Well actually I could,” she said.

Release Date

While production is still in the early stages, Variety reports that the Scream films “don’t require extensive visual effects and can be produced quickly,” so it could very well hit theaters by next year, assuming that script is complete (and they don’t lose any more actors).

Trailer

Filming has not yet begun, so there is no trailer yet. Instead, you can look at these outtakes from the original film featuring Henry Winkler. It was a simpler time.

No matter how you slice it, Aaron Donald is one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. Now, the clock will start on his inevitable Hall of Fame induction, as the Los Angeles Rams legend announced his retirement on Friday afternoon in a statement and a video posted to his Twitter account.

The Rams posted about his retirement as well with a graphic that sums things up pretty nicely.

There is no question that Donald is an all-time great and on the short list for the greatest defensive linemen to ever live. The No. 13 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Pitt, Donald spent the entirety of his professional career with the Rams — first in St. Louis, then in Los Angeles — and put together a resume that few, if any, can match. He was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year on three occasions and earned All-Pro first-team honors eight times in 10 years. In 2021, Donald was the lynchpin of the Los Angeles defense as the team went on to win the second Super Bowl in franchise history.

In all, Donald will retire with 111 sacks and 176 tackles for loss in 10 years. Donald has flirted with retirement in the past, but now, it’s official, and the clock will start counting down on when — not if — he’ll be enshrined in Canton.

Reneé Rapp, who is quickly becoming one of our leading celebrities, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the 35th GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday.

While accepting the award for Outstanding Music Artist, the “Not My Fault” singer and Mean Girls star said, “We’re in a room of very influential people, very privileged people, which is exciting and also a huge privilege to be a part of that,” she said. “Having said that, I’d like to take the opportunity to show support and call for an immediate ceasefire and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.” She urged all the famous people attending the ceremony to “continue to advocate for yourselves, continue to advocate for your friends, your queer friends and for those who can’t advocate for themselves.”

To date a number of other celebrities have also called for a ceasefire, including Gigi and Bella Hadid, Susan Sarandon, Kehlani, The Weeknd, Annie Lennox, Hunter Schafer, Hozier, Pedro Pascal, Angelina Jolie, Mark Ruffalo and Boygenius.

Rapp also reflected on her coming our journey at the GLAAD Media Awards. “Living as my authentic self and as an out queer artist and a lesbian most recently is the most rewarding, validating, scary, and exciting experience I’ve ever had,” she said. “The creatives in the room know that we couldn’t do it without GLAAD. Thank you, GLAAD for helping the world see us as we are. It means a lot.”

You can watch the speech below.

Thanks to fierce pushback, FKA Twigs was seemingly able to reverse the UK’s ban on her Calvin Klein campaign. Unfortunately, in life, everything’s not as easily mendable. For The Crow star, there are still years-old traumas whose impact can still be felt to this day. Yesterday (March 14), the “Killer” singer opened up to Vogue UK about those ongoing battles.

During the chat, FKA Wigs claimed that the abuse she allegedly endured throughout her relationship with Shia Lebouf has had a lingering physical and emotional effect on her. “I’d be sad for six months to a year, and then one day, I’d wake up, and everything would be fine,” she said. “But the fact is being abused changes the whole of your nervous system.

The supposed suffering has made FKA Twigs more vigilant in relationships since their 2019 split. “[My] window of tolerance is now much smaller than it used to be,” she said.

In December 2020, FKA Twigs filed an explosive lawsuit against Labeouf. The filing accuses Lebeouf of “relentless abuse,” including sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress throughout their relationship, which spanned from September 2018 to May 2019.

Initially, Labeouf denied FKA Twigs’ claims. However, while speaking with Jon Bernthal on his podcast Real Ones in 2022, Labeouf seemingly confirmed several parts of FKA Twigs’ damning statements. The case is still pending.

At long last, Rick Grimes has returned to The Walking Dead realm in The Ones Who Live, and there’s certainly a vocal fanbase that has been enjoying the breathlessness of Grimes’ ongoing reunion with Michonne. Will this allure be enough to warrant a second season for this spin off?

The simple answer to that question that there is no answer. However, Dead City and Daryl Dixon both received second-season renewals (with the latter transitioning into The Book Of Carol), so it would feel almost unheard of for the the daddy of them all to not receive another helping. Speaking to The LA Times, co-creator Scott Gimple is keeping it cryptic:

No decision has been made yet about a second season — “anything can happen,” Gimple said — and it remains unclear whether fan interest in the franchise is capable of surmounting the structural challenges facing basic cable in the long run, especially as AMC lacks a streaming partner with the scale of Hulu, like competitor FX has.

That latter sentence seems telling on a broader note, since Hulu and FX’s partnership has led to wildly popular, multi-season sensations including The Bear and Reservation Dogs, but AMC is not to be written off, especially with their history of beloved dramatic series including Mad Men, Breaking Bad and a wealth of planned series in the making. So, fingers crossed that Rick and Michonne make their way home and perhaps receive a second dose and an overarching reunion season.

(Via LA Times)

Love Lies Bleeding has been racking up rave reviews, which has only increased interest in the noir love story starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. The film was already on the top of several Must See lists, but if you’re hoping to catch it soon on streaming, it’s gonna be a bit.

When Will ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ Be On Streaming?

Considering Love Lies Bleeding just opened in theaters, the earliest it would arrive on VOD for rent or purchase is late April, if not early May. Going by The Iron Claw, the current release window for A24 films is roughly 45 days between theatrical and digital.

A24 also re-upped its exclusive streaming deal with Max, but that’s going to be an even longer wait. The Iron Claw hit theaters in late December, and it’s still not available for streaming on Max as of this writing. According to Forbes, it won’t arrive on the service until April or May, which is nearly a four-month wait.

If Love Lies Bleeding follows a similar strategy to The Iron Claw, it won’t start streaming on Max until mid-July.

Here’s the official synopsis:

From director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, 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.

Love Lies Bleeding is now playing in theaters.

France has done a pretty good job at churning out centers who dominate on the defensive end of the floor. For years, the NBA’s most imposing paint protector has been Rudy Gobert, and while he’s still as good as anyone in the league at doing that, Victor Wembayama is going to take that title sooner rather than later. Already in his rookie year, Wembanyama is a marvel on defense, as he uses his size, length, and athleticism to protect the rim and jump passing lanes like few we’ve ever seen.

It’s very hard to see a future where Wembanyama isn’t named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year during his career, but this year, Gobert is the favorite to earn that award for the fourth time. Wembanyama got asked about this recently, and while he admitted he’d be happy to see Gobert win the award this year, he made clear that he’s coming for it going forward.

Wembanyama did chuckle as he said that Gobert’s turn is going to be over soon, so it’s very possible this was a joke that he felt comfortable making because it’s his national team teammate. Having said that, he is also correct and he made clear that he wants to win DPOY during his career, so we wouldn’t be surprised if he enters next year as the NBA’s favorite to win the award.