Month: May 2024

For some people, life is pretty streamlined. They discover what they’re good at from an early age, those talents get noticed, and they dedicate their life to that passion. But for many (if not most) of us, our dreams might remain tucked away in our hearts as we navigate through a slightly more complicated existence. One with a day job, families, bills and other obligations.

Thank goodness Richard Goodall, a 55-year-old janitor from Terre Haute, Indiana, never gave up on his own dream. Otherwise the world might have missed out on his remarkable singing voice.

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Goodall, who recently received “America’s Got Talent”’s highly coveted Golden Buzzer for his show stopping performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, shared his endearing backstory before taking to the stage.

Goodall told the audience that he spent much of his childhood up in his bedroom listening to music on his “Radio Shack stereo” and belting along to the tunes.

“Eventually, I was like, I got to find me a job, so I become a janitor at Chauncey Rose Middle School, which is only three blocks away from my house,” he continued. But throughout his 23 years of custodial work, he never stopped serenading students.

It was the students’ encouragement, in fact, that inspired Goodall to step aboard a plane for the first time in his life to make it to his audition, which he noted was a good metaphor for his “AGT” experience overall.

“I felt that front wheel come off the ground and you have this floating (feeling), you’re no longer stable. And that’s what this whole experience is like right now,” he said. “It’s a good off-balance, but until you actually do something, you don’t know if it’s right for you or not.”

Goodall’s courage paid off, because despite his nerves, he delivered a rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’” that brought the crowd to their feet in a standing ovation. Many were even moved to tears.

Simon Cowell called Goodall a “hero,” saying “That was special, genuinely special. I think America is going to love you.” Howie Mandell then joked that Goodall “cleaned up” before surmising that he probably had a bunch of students rooting for him at home.

Indeed, many former students who knew Goodall ended up praising him in the Youtube comments section.

“I can’t express with words how lucky I feel to be able to say that I am one of the kids who always told him how amazing his voice is. My favorite part of walking through the hallway of Elementary school is hearing this phenomenon. Richard, you are indeed a true hero,” one person wrote.

“Growing up, Mr. Goodall was always singing to us between classes, or on our way to recess. Any time we would see him in the halls, he was always sooo nice. I couldn’t believe it was him on our TV!” another added.

Goodall defined himself as being a simple person who just wants to “have fun” and “make people happy.” No matter where he goes in the competition, he is certainly winning at that. What a beautiful reminder that you never know when your time will come, so don’t stop believin’.

What happens when the proudest moment of a parent’s life is also the strangest?

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Then Cason’s grandmother decided to send a text to family members about her newest bundle of joy. Again, nothing unusual there either.

But when that text went to a stranger named Dennis Williams, and he decided to join in on the celebration, things became even more interesting. Check out the exchange below.

And just like that, the Williams brothers arrived at the hospital with gifts and well-wishes for the new mom and dad.

The following note from the Lashley family was posted on Williams’ Facebook page praising the brothers’ kindness and generosity for providing a small token to a family they didn’t even know a few hours beforehand.

The best sentiment from the Lashleys:

“If we all only had this kind of heart.”

This hilarious and heartwarming story is going viral for all the right reasons.

Plenty of stats and polls point to a depressing truth: Our world is becoming more and more divided by racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural lines.

But it’s easy to forget just how far we’ve come:

Two random black dudes showed up in the hospital room of a white family to provide gifts and love to their newborn baby, and the Internet universally loved it. That, in itself, is an epic feat.

These families will be connected forever due to a random act of kindness that warmed the hearts of millions.

Not to mention, when baby Cason grows up, his parents will have one amazing birth story to share with him.

But first, let’s share this great story with everyone who needs a smile.

This article was originally published on 3.22.16

FX’s Shogun became a massive hit this year after premiering in February, but the historical drama isn’t the first adaptation of James Clavell’s novel.

In 1980, Richard Chamberlain starred in an NBC miniseries based on the novel, which is a fictional retelling of the power struggles in 17th century Japan after John Blackburn’s impactful arrival. The series consists of five episodes which aired over five nights in September 1980, and later even got a short theatrical release. Now, all twelve hours of the original Shogun TV adaptation is available to stream.

The Emmy-award winning miniseries landed on Paramount+ this week, much to the relief of Shogun fans who are already pretty happy by the influx of Shogun news.

Even though the 2024’s adaptation was originally marketed as a limited series, FX has been quietly working to adapt even more of Clavell’s work to the big screen. In a press release, FX has announced that “FX, Hulu and the Estate of James Clavell are working to extend the critically acclaimed global hit drama Shōgun, moving forward to develop the saga with two additional seasons of the drama series.”

Whether you like it or not, Shogun is here to stay. Now is the time to really commit!

You can catch Shogun (2024) on Hulu.

FX has had quite the roller coaster journey over the years. First there was FXNow, then FX+, which became FX on Hulu, which then became a little FX tab on the streamer. But through all of that chaos, name changes, and uncertainty, the cable channel still stood strong!! Much like the crew on The Bear!

After living comfortably on Hulu, the first season FX’s The Bear will actually will get a chance to air on FX ahead of its third season premiere.

Beginning on Sunday, June 2nd, two episodes of the drama series will air on FX at 10 p.m. ET. for four nights, all leading up to the season one finale on Wednesday, June 5th. You’ll have to make your way back to Hulu to watch season two.

Finally, on June 27th, all 10 episodes of the third season will drop on Hulu at once. That’s a lot of bear in such a short amount of time, but you must understand that Carmy was working against the clock to get out of that freezer.

Season three will bring back the cast of familiar faces, including our favorite chefs, Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

While the third season is still weeks out, the network reportedly plans to knock out season four in order to keep its in-demand stars on board, though FX has not confirmed. How much more dinnertime drama can we take?! A lot.

(Via Variety)

Draymond Green first dipped a toe in the media waters with a run on TNT for the 2021 Playoffs, and at the time he was viewed as the next star in the sports media space. Green showed off his brilliance as a basketball mind, and some likened him to Charles Barkley for his willingness to speak his mind, crack jokes, and offer blunt criticism when needed.

However, as Green has continued in his TV and podcasting career, he has proven to be less the heir apparent to Barkley, and more like how Shaquille O’Neal was early in his TNT career. When Shaq first arrived on TV, he was fresh off of his playing career and was not willing to let go of some of the personal grudges he had from his playing days, most notably with Dwight Howard. O’Neal bristled at the comparisons Howard received to him as a dominant center on the Orlando Magic, and, for years, Shaq would take any opportunity he got (and sometimes, creating opportunities himself) to critique Dwight or make a joke at his expense.

Beyond that, Shaq had (and, to a degree, still has) a self-seriousness that has never allowed him to be willing to be the butt of a joke. As Barkley put it this week in speaking with Jimmy Traina of SI, “the worst thing you can do to him is laugh at him.” He would try early on to force bits into the show, attempting to one-up Barkley, but they never felt natural and he clashed with the more laid back style of the long-established crew.

As they discussed in their recent documentary, it took a few years and some off-air conversations to get Shaq to settle into a comfortable place on the show. He stopped forcing the funny and instead learned to play off of Chuck, wind him up, or set him up for a joke — a good “whatchya say, Chuck?!” from Shaq is sometimes the funniest thing on the show. That took time and it was partially getting Shaq out of that mindset of still being a competitor. Whether it was Charles on the desk or Howard (or basically any center in the league) on the court, Shaq had to recognize his job was no longer trying to dominate them. That didn’t stop him from being critical of guys or making jokes, it just had to stop being so constant, so forced, and so seemingly personal.

Draymond faces a lot of the same problems as a TV analyst that Shaq had early on in his career. Rudy Gobert is to Draymond what Dwight Howard was to Shaq. He gleefully takes any opportunity to go at Gobert, and while there are times when he drops a genuinely great one-liner, the constant jabs have become grating and take away from the show. He also has a tough time accepting being the butt of jokes, and Charles Barkley has taken advantage of that to get him exceedingly mad at times — especially if he can find a way to compare him with Gobert.

For Green, who is still an active player, I don’t know if he will be able to make the adjustment Shaq did until he’s done playing. He still is actually competing with guys like Gobert and some of those personal beefs with players or teams can’t be set aside until he’s hung up his sneakers for good. Once he’s done playing and gets some separation from the players he’s talking about, I do think Green can be spectacular at TV. His breakdowns when he talks about the game are about as good as it gets, especially talking about the defensive side of the ball. He has a unique ability to explain the game in a fairly concise, digestible way that would provide a lot of value in the basketball studio show landscape.

The problem is, that gets overshadowed by the other stuff, especially when he has to talk about a team like Minnesota where he just flat out doesn’t like a couple of the guys — namely Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns to a lesser degree. I assume Green’s presence is not a small part of why after Game 4, Minnesota didn’t send anyone upstairs to the TNT desk for the customary sitdown with the Inside fellas. That takes away from the show, and until Green is done playing (and even then, maybe a couple years removed from playing), I don’t think he’ll be able to avoid the things that distract from the actual good work he can do on set. But like Shaq, once he’s further removed from his playing days and settles into a role on television — whether it’s with Turner or another network — it’s very easy to see how Draymond Green can excel.

Late August isn’t generally considered the spookiest time of year. But maybe it should be. It’s when kids are preparing to go back to school, if they aren’t already waking up unfathomably early to catch the bus. It’s also post-blockbuster, pre-awards season, so there aren’t even any movies to look forward to. Scary! But there’s another reason why late August is so spooky: it’s the beginning of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.

Halloween Horror Nights at the Orlando, Florida-based theme park kicks off on August 30 and runs on select nights through November 3 (HHN also occurs in Universal Studios Hollywood). This year’s attractions are still being rolled out and announced, but there will be 10 haunted houses (2023 had The Last of Us and Stranger Things, among others) and five scare zones “filled with hordes of menacing creatures and outrageous live entertainment.”

Lines to get into the houses can be long, so if you don’t feel like waiting (and spending a little extra money), Universal Studios is offering a “Premium Scream Night event” on Thursday, August 29. The perks include exploring HHN before it “officially” opens, limited capacity, staggered entry by group, all-you-can-eat food, and access to select attractions in the park.

Halloween Horror Nights Premium Scream Night event tickets go on sale on June 6 and cost $350 (or $325 for Universal passholders). Tickets for all other nights are on sale now on Universal’s website.

Here are the houses that have been announced so far:

Slaughter Sinema 2

Goblin’s Feast

Major Sweets Candy Factory

The Museum: Deadly Exhibit

Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America

Triplets of Terror

Stay spooky out there.

No, that’s not really Justin Timberlake in the thumbnail for Veeze’s “Pop Yo Sh*t” video. The Detroit rapper makes hilarious — and potentially controversial — use of AI deepfake technology in the video, grafting his own face onto stars like Timberlake, Jay-Z, and more — and vice versa. The track is the self-deprecating rapper’s first of 2024, and his first since last year’s breakout tape, Ganger. The video was shot in London as Veeze continues to open on tour with Travis Scott along with fellow Detroiters Babyface Ray and Skilla Baby, and prepared for his own first headlining show in London.

In a new interview with Crack magazine, Veeze explained his unusual vocal style, saying, “If you spoke to someone who knew me in the first grade, they’d say I rap just like how I talk. I’ve never really raised my voice. I am not going to the studio and making up a character like these other guys.” That voice is serving him well, as his Navy Navy imprint has partnered with Warner Records and his profile has continued to grow in 2024. Whether he will follow up Ganger with a new album this year remains to be seen, but he’s one of the more unique voices currently bubbling under the surface when it comes to rap — although that latter half may be changing sooner rather than later.

Watch Veeze’s video for “Pop Yo Sh*t” above.

Under the Bridge is a brutal watch. Centered on the horrific murder of a fourteen-year-old girl named Reena Virk, the Hulu series is based upon Rebecca Godfrey’s book of the same name. After the murders happened, none of the teens accused of contributing to Reena’s death would talk to reporters. But then Godfrey entered the scene. Youthful and patient with a dark streak, the twenty-something writer was able to gain the trust of the defendants and the surrounding community. The book she wrote about the incident and the ensuing trial was applauded for its evocative prose, probing tone, and vivid character studies.

Riley Keough steps into Rebecca’s shoes in the adaptation. Fresh off her Emmy nomination for her work as the eponymous Daisy Jones in Amazon Prime’s Daisy Jones and the Six, Keough delivers an understated, thoughtful performance as a woman returning to her old hometown to find source material for a new book. Godfrey did not make herself a character in her own book, but she developed the material alongside showrunner Quinn Shephard for more than two years before her untimely passing in 2022. And one of her wishes was for Keough to play her.

The Rebecca we see onscreen has been fictionalized, and she finds a partner in crime in Cam Bentland (Lily Gladstone), a cop character created whole cloth for the series. But the other relationships she engages in have varying levels of truth to them. Keough has a dangerous, searching quality to her as she befriends the teens connected with the murder. Rebecca’s connection with the group of suspects is palpable as Keough’s scenes with them are tinged with the heady excitement of staying out past curfew or bumming a cigarette for the first time. As Rebecca gets closer to Warren Glowatski, one of the prime suspects, she also comes to realize that her connection with this boy might be in detriment to the memory of the girl he murdered. In the final two episodes, Keough’s Rebecca gets to ask and pose answers to the questions that Godfrey never asked in her original book, and the results are intriguing.

Speaking via Zoom, Keough and I had a wide-ranging conversation about the truths and fictions behind the series, spoke about how it felt for her to portray Godfrey on screen, the importance of taking a holistic approach to the narrative, and how the team behind the show tried to utilize “radical empathy” in their storytelling.

As someone who read the book, I was surprised to find out that the series included three additional facts that Godfrey chose not to include in her telling of the story. One is Reena’s false accusations against her father, Manjit, but the other two were personal to Rebecca —her own tragedy as she lost her brother as a teen, and Rebecca and Warren’s very real friendship. How did it feel to bring those two previously untold storylines to light?

I think that the choice to include and what not to include, I would say that [showrunner] Quinn [Shephard] would be the person to talk to about that because she and Rebecca were really close, and from what I understand, Rebecca was totally on board in terms of making this … yes, it’s based on Under the Bridge, but to tell this story in a delicate way, I think that you have to include more perspectives than Rebecca’s. I think that’s what’s so beautiful about the adaptation. Rebecca’s book was used, Reena’s father’s book was used as source material, the trial itself and the facts were used, so it wasn’t just Under the Bridge, the book. I think it just makes for a more holistic view of what happened. It’s very ensemble. In a sense, you have all of these characters supporting Reena’s story, and Reena herself is a character. Of course, in Rebecca’s book, it wasn’t centered around Reena, and that was the thing that was problematic with Under the Bridge, and I think Rebecca was on board with addressing that, and on board with her character not being perfect.

You’ve said in previous interviews that Rebecca Godfrey wanted you to play her in the series, but unfortunately you never got to meet her in real life due to her untimely passing in 2022. In the absence of her presence, how did you prepare to step into her shoes?

I think that knowing that she wanted me to play her gave me a lot of freedom. I know she was familiar with my work and I think that she trusted me, and knowing that made me feel like I was able to play her but I didn’t necessarily feel the drive to mimic her. I felt like she felt connected to me in a deeper sense and that she would be okay with my take on her. You know? And bringing myself to her, as well. It’s heartbreaking that I wasn’t able to meet her. The timing was just totally crazy, but knowing that she wanted me cast was the coolest thing.

You and Javon Walton have such easy chemistry together. How did you find the relationship between Warren and Rebecca?

That was an interesting relationship in real life. Rebecca had this really close relationship with him. They talked and maintained a relationship for a long time. Javon’s super easy to work with, and I think I’m pretty chill, and I think we just tried to make the most of the scenes. It’s very heavy material, and I was aware that I’m working with these younger actors and it’s a really heavy story, and wanting to bring a little levity where it could exist because they were dealing with such heaviness. So, we actually had a lot of fun together. Me and all the young actors and Javon, too.

The scene where Rebecca visits Warren in the penultimate episode, it’s such a captivating, easy scene. Even though you’re literally sitting in a jail together, your rapport makes it so fun, and your connection is almost magical in a way. I really gravitated toward that scene, maybe because I was looking for some levity, too.

There were a lot of conversations about this because I felt it was really important to see that there was a real connection there, that she was comfortable with him and that there was a familiar feeling between them. He says at the end, ‘we have a connection,’ so we had to feel that. So, I think that moment was a good moment to feel a connection, but you also want it to feel lived in. When you have that connection with someone, you feel so comfortable with them. She ends up inviting him to her house, and it’s this weird, familiar thing, and all those moments where you can feel that were really important so that you were able to understand where you were coming from.

Speaking of Warren and Rebecca’s friendship, the last two episodes of the series emphasize that Rebecca was determined to retain this kid’s humanity even though he did this terrible thing. The idea of finding humanity in people who have done terrible things is not new to me — in my other life, I’m actually a therapist who often works with court-mandated individuals — so this perspective was very heartening to me, but I can see how it might anger or frustrate other people. Was it important to you to be a part of sending a message like that?

I think that that’s why it was nice to have more than one — it’s an ensemble. Because you have Rebecca’s perspective, you have Cam’s perspective, you’re able to look at multiple perspectives. And it’s not saying Rebecca’s right. It’s not saying that Cam is right. It’s just giving the audience an opportunity to consider different ways of thinking about things. I think radical empathy was really the theme of the show, and honestly working back from Suman’s forgiveness of Warren. That’s something that actually happened. It’s something that happens often with incarcerated individuals on Death Row or who have committed horrific crimes. The families end up having some sort of relationship with the person. So, if Suman was able to get there, I think it would be a missed opportunity to not allow the audience to potentially have that perspective as well.

There’s also so much grief in the series. Suman is one of the people who we see grapple with a huge loss and she eventually works through her grief with forgiveness, but there’s also anger in her grief earlier in the series. This mirrors Rebecca’s journey with how she’s dealing with her latent grief from her brother Gabe’s accidental death. It feels like the idea of anger as a very real and very lingering part of grief is a running theme throughout the series. Can you relate to the manifestation of anger as one of the stages of grief? And, if not, how did you access that for the character of Rebecca?

The way that Rebecca deals with life and grief isn’t totally relatable to me, but I’m a very empathetic person and I understand how one could feel that way. My experiences in life are still happening every day, and things are different every day, so though anger hasn’t been my overarching emotion in my life experiences, I think it’s pretty common. It’s one of the stages of grief, and I think that that can manifest in different ways, like it can manifest as self-hatred, which may be more of I think Rebecca is actually dealing with.

And that might be part of what draws her to Warren, too. There’s a scene in which Rebecca talks to Cam in the finale about how she thought she was relating to Warren because she saw Gabe in him, but she was really seeing herself. And that scene made me very curious about what Rebecca’s thought process when she breaks down in the courtroom hallway after Warren’s testimony. It feels like she could be reacting to a lot of things, so I’m curious what your take is on what exactly she’s reacting to in that moment.

You know, I hate telling people exactly what’s going on in moments that aren’t super clear like that. If you really want me to talk about it, um, I can say that she’s just heard a lot of things come out of Warren’s mouth, and she has a reaction to it. [smiles]

Fair enough! So, something a bit lighter! The final scene between Cam and Rebecca has “I Love You, Always Forever” by Donna Lewis playing overhead, which feels promising for their relationship. What do you think happens to them after this? Do they ever see one another again?

I don’t know. Again, I think that’s up for the audience’s interpretation. But I do think that there’s so many people in your life that you have relationships with, and the spectrum of love is so large, and I think people make it so simple. I think that there’s different types of love. There’s being inspired by someone, being in love with someone in a partnership … and my point is that I don’t think they need to be together. It is what it is a little bit.

Relationships aren’t always meant to be! They’re not always perfect! But I do know that there’s a lot of people rooting for that relationship…

I didn’t say that they’d never hook up! [laughs] Just kidding!

Finally, this is something we touched on a bit before, but Rebecca was responsible for protecting the memory and legacy of someone she never knew, and this is a point of contention between her and the Virks in the last few episodes of the series. As this is a new retelling of the story, do you have any thoughts about who has been getting to tell Reena’s story and does telling her story come with any specific responsibilities?

I think telling anyone else’s story comes with an incredible amount of responsibility. I don’t know if there is a right way. I think that’s something we talked about constantly with this show. It’s something I’m familiar with even with my own family. [Note: Keough is Elvis Presley’s eldest grandchild. When her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, died in January of 2023, she became the sole trustee of her mother’s estate and the heir to Graceland.] It’s a large conversation, and something that I feel passionately about, but I don’t totally have the answer to. I think that if you’re going to tell somebody’s story you have to be incredibly empathetic and really get a holistic idea of it. That sort of radical empathy, again, and being understanding and inclusive, it’s all a big responsibility. And I think we did feel that. It’s not to say that we did it perfectly, but we tried to.

Have you watched the Hacks season finale yet?

If not, you might want to head outta here after this question:

Will There Be A ‘Hacks’ Season 4?

The quick answer would be “yes,” and fortunately, Max decided to let that revelation fly right after dropping a cliffhanger ending. That’s a much kinder approach than [cough] some other shows have taken to informing their audiences lately, and fans of Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder (and their re-upped dynamic) are will be reaping the benefits.

This news arrives following (as mentioned in the press release) word from Max that the series hit its highest viewership numbers over the past month, and Head of Max Original Programming Sarah Aubrey declared the following:

“We congratulate HACKS’ brilliant cast and crew, and our partners at Universal Television. HACKS is a masterfully crafted comedy delivering laughs and sharp insights about the vulnerability and joy of sharing a dream. The creative team behind this singular show is not only brilliant but also a joy to work with. We couldn’t be happier to give viewers another season with Deborah, Ava, and the rest of the HACKS family.”

Now, about that cliffhanger: good for Ava, right? Deborah would have never revitalized her career without Ava’s writing, and she damn well deserved the head-writer spot on Deborah’s late-night show. That’s especially the case because Ava chose to be loyal to Deborah and turn down another job, and man, this blackmail stuff has really come full circle after that lawsuit hell from the second season. And from the look on Deborah’s face, you could tell that she realized that Ava was really and truly her match. Let the fallout flow.

The formal social media announcement can be found below.

Back in 2012, Marnie Marie Michaels was quite the polarizing character on Girls. On the one hand, she was self-centered; on the other hand, she was a songwriter, so what could we really expect. Allison Williams, who played Marnie, recently reunited with her on-screen husband, The Bear‘s Ebon Moss-Bachrach, for a Vanity Fair interview, where Williams reveals that Marnie is finding an unlikely fan base in the Gen Z viewers. It’s been long enough now that her songs can be considered a novelty, right?

“The whole show got a lot of flack when it was airing for everyone being too selfish and self-centered and blah, blah, blah,” Williams admitted. Marnie was surely not a fan favorite, but she did cause quite a stir!

Williams believes that the current generation of young adults are more understanding of Marnie. “My theory is what was coded as selfishness among Millennials is now coded as self-care and just being aware of what you need, and advocating for your needs and standing up for yourself,” she explained “And so Gen Z is like, ‘No, we get her. She makes sense to us.’” It’s nice that she makes sense to someone, considering her past.

On the other hand, Moss-Bachrach attributes Marnie’s popularity to her narcissistic tendencies that have become the “baseline” in a social media-obsessed world. “It was massive narcissism. It’s insane self-involvement,” he shared.

But Williams won’t ever give up defending Marnie. “I actually think that it’s a bunch of girls trying to create the best environment for each of them to survive and thrive and being wrong, but like still trying and caring,” she replied. “I think that’s a pursuit that is resonant in a new way, whereas before it just looked like we didn’t know that any other countries existed or that anyone had lives that were less fortunate than ours. But that was sort of the point — it just got missed a little bit.”

As to where Marnie would be today, Williams is sure she didn’t give up on her singing dreams. “I think Marnie’s still trying to have a singing career, in addition to other jobs,” Williams said. Maybe she became a toy maker!!?!?

You can watch the reunion below.

(Via Vanity Fair)