Year: 2024

Alan Richson was born to portray Reacher even though he’s eating ungodly calories and previously risked his health to get there (and is being healthier about this now, thank goodness). The show of brilliant simplicity gained a devoted audience upon debut, and that fervor grew to splendidly ridiculous heights with the second season. Before that season concluded, Prime Video (Amazon) announced that Ritchson’s Big Guy would return for another Lee Child-authored adventure somewhere in the U.S.

Since that shrouded revelation, numerous details have surfaced to tell us where Reacher will land and what he will do next, so let’s get started.

Plot

No shortage exists of Reacher books to fuel Reacher‘s seasonal adventures, and this series is having a ball bouncing around the source material. As viewers will recall, the first season adapted The Killing Floor, and the second season followed Bad Luck and Trouble. After a fair amount of teasing, Amazon revealed that the third season is based upon Child’s Persuader book (the Jack Reacher series’ seventh book), which is centered in Maine. That’s lobstering country for those who want to see Reacher eat. (Also, we will have to cross fingers for the fourth season to take on Tripwire to put Ritchson’s Reacher in Key West, where he can critique the key lime pie.)

Expect to see Neagley (Maria Sten) miraculously surface as a connecting thread and ally in this adventure. Also get ready for Reacher to move on from both both Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) and Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan), who are both off pursuing their lives after being Reacher love interests. This season, Reacher will get randy with DEA agent Susan Duffy, who will be portrayed by Sonya Cassidy.

The most ominous news thus far about this season, however, is that Reacher will no longer be the Biggest Guy around. The Bad Dudes found a Bigger Guy to fight Reacher, and his name is Paul “Paulie” Masserella. He will be portrayed by Olivier Richters, a.k.a. “The Dutch Giant,” the world’s tallest bodybuilder who stands 7’3″ IRL as opposed to Alan Ritchson’s 6’3″.

Already, Paulie is wreaking havoc on the Reacher set while attempting to show Reacher who is boss of the dry erase pens.

Sure, nobody would want to run into this guy in a dark alley or in the daylight, but c’mon, do we expect him to have the mind of Reacher? Not gonna happen. Still, expect some bruises. I mean, look at this dude’s thighs:

Cast

Alan Ritchson’s leading man has nearly erased the memory of Tom Cruise’s Reacher off the map, and that’s how things shall stay. However, the Bigger Guy called Paulie will be portrayed, as mentioned above, by Olivier Richters, and Susan Duffy will be portrayed by Sonya Cassidy. And thank goodness that we can always rely upon Maria Sten as Neagley.

Release Date

Amazon revealed that the wait for more Reacher will end in 2025. The bad news, however, is that we have to wait until 2025 to see Reacher punch something anew.

Trailer

Since no trailer exists yet, perhaps thirst can be sated by looking back at the funniest first-season moments. Roscoe Conklin, you are missed.

Theaters kids everywhere, rejoice! There will finally be an on-screen version of “Defying Gravity” for you to sing along with and fulfill your dream of flying on a broom into the sunset. Start practicing that high note now.

The highly-anticipated Wicked adaptation is heading to theaters this fall with an all-star cast, a blonde Ariana Grande and Peter Dinklage as a goat professor. What more could you want from a fairy tale?

Based on the book and Broadway adaptaion of the same name, the movie will tell the “unofficial” story of how the Wicked Witch became so wicked all those years before Dorothy appeared in Oz, told through some over-the-top dance numbers. Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming film.

Plot

The story follows a pair of witches, Elphaba and Glinda, who form an unlikely bond after meeting at a prestigious school. There, they learn about their important destiny in the land of Oz. Ariana Grande portrays Glinda, the bubbly (literally!) young witch while Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba, the outcast with green skin and a lot of power. After the two become roommates, they are forced to see the world through new perspectives, while learning the dark secrets of Oz and the powerful wizard.

Here is the official synopsis:

The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Unlike Wonka, Warner Bros wants you to know this is a musical starring two of the most powerful vocalists right now. Both Grande and Erivo sang live on set, which is rare for a movie-musical “These are live vocals,” Director Jon M. Chu told Vanity Fair. “When we were shooting it, those girls were like, ‘F*ck the pre-records. We’re going live.’”

Cast

Aside from Grande and Erivo, the movie stars Jonathan Bailey as the love interest Fiyero, Ethan Slater munchkin Boq, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Glinda’s BFF, Jeff Goldblum as the all powerful Wizard, and Michelle Yeoh as the mysterious Madame Morrible. And Peter Dinklage as a cute goat!!

Grande has been manifesting her role as Glinda since she was a Nickelodeon star. “I had no expectations, I was just thankful to go in at all, I was so excited to have the opportunity to audition,” Grande said earlier this year on the Zach Sang Show, “Since I was 20, I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t know when this is happening, but when it’s happening, may I please at least just audition?’ That’s all I wanted, was an audition. I’ve never wanted anything more.” As Grande famously believes, “I want it, I got it, I want it. I got it,” and so forth. You can see clips of her audition below:

Release Date

In 2022, it was announced that the story would be split into two parts, in order to really drag out our time in Oz. Currently, Part One is set to hit theaters on November 27th, 2024, and Part Two is slated for November 26th, 2025.

Trailer

The full trailer was released earlier this month and featured a glimpse at the dazzling sets and larger-than-life musical numbers:

Industry has, unfairly or not been compared to both Succession and Euphoria but stands on its own well-heeled feet. The show has also been called a Gen-Z-friendly Succession, which isn’t the worst analogy but also does not give due credit to the show that can only properly be experienced by streaming it on Max. In short, this is a thrilling series about the 20s-something financial set, who work hard and (at times) party harder.

The third season of this underappreciated gem will soon hit HBO in the U.S. and BBC One in the U.K. In addition to the ensemble cast already present, a familiar face to HBO viewers will soon appear. Let’s talk about what we can expect when the workplace drama returns.

Plot

These fledgling Pierpoint investment bankers will continue to push through their stress-filled daily lives at work while letting the good times roll after hours. That includes enormously messy personal lives as individual ensemble members rise and fall in the ranks. Creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay also enjoy a wink and a nod to other HBO shows, including this Reddit-noted labeling of Rishi (Sagar Radia) dressing like Kendall Roy:

What’s new this season? The character of Sir Henry Muck, who is a tech CEO portrayed by Kit Harington. According to BBC, his character is “the embodiment ‘of old money’ privilege.” Does Harington look like he knows more than Jon Snow in this first-look photo?

From the show’s third-season description:

As Pierpoint looks to the future and takes a big bet on ethical investing, Yasmin (Marisa Abela), Robert (Harry Lawtey), and Eric (Ken Leung) find themselves front and center in the splashy IPO of Lumi, a green tech energy company led by Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington), in a story that runs all the way to the very top of finance, media, and government. Since leaving Pierpoint, Harper (Myha’la) is eager to get back into the addictive thrill of finance and finds an unlikely partner in FutureDawn portfolio manager Petra Koenig (Sarah Goldberg).

Cast

New additions to the cast include Kit Harington, Sarah Goldberg, Roger Barclay, Fiona Button, Miriam Petite, and Adam Havill. Returning actors include Myha’la, Marisa Abela, Conor MacNeill, Adam Levy, Sarah Parish, Harry Lawtey, Ken Leung, Sagar Radia, Indy Lewis, Trevor White, and more.

Release Date

The bell will ring (perhaps that’s not the best lead-in but fits the theme) on Sunday, August 11 at 10:00pm EST. The season will contain eight episodes.

Trailer

No third-season trailer exists yet. However, these clips might persuade you to join the Industry audience if you aren’t curious enough already.

Friday night was a big matchup of top rookies in Los Angeles, as Caitlin Clark and the Fever arrived at a packed Staples Center to face the Sparks with fellow top-4 picks Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson.

In the first half, it looked like Indiana would drop their sixth straight to open the season, as Jackson (16 points) and Dearica Hamby (18 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) led L.A. in scoring and Brink (15 points, nine rebounds) provided the rim protection as the Sparks took an 11-point halftime advantage.

The Fever would claw their way back into the game in the second half behind strong nights from Aliyah Boston (17 points), Kelsey Mitchell (17 points), and Temi Fagbenle (18 points), making up for another rough shooting night from Clark.

The top pick missed her first seven threes but was able to make a positive impact with her passing and rebounding, as her teammates picked up the scoring slack around her. However, as the Sparks, led by a late push from Brink, tried to close the gap, Clark (11 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) found her stroke and hit a pair of huge threes in the final three minutes to turn a three-point lead and turn it into a six-point advantage.

Clark’s timely buckets lifted the Fever to a 78-73 win and finally got them in the win column. It was another game of ups and downs for Clark, who continues adapting to the WNBA game, but her last two shots were evidence that her confidence hasn’t been diminished in the slightest by early season struggles.

The Sparks just didn’t get quite enough around their top trio, and thanks to a balanced effort from the team and some late heroics from their young star, the Fever can remove the weight of wondering when they’ll finally win before traveling to Las Vegas on Saturday.

Only two wins stand between the Dallas Mavericks and a berth in the NBA Finals. Despite trailing by as many as 18 points in Game 2 of their Western Conference Finals road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas chipped away in the second half and were able to pick up a 109-108 win thanks to some late heroics by Luka Doncic, who drilled a stepback three with three seconds left over Rudy Gobert to secure the win.

Right after he made the jumper, Doncic, uh, had some stuff to get off his chest to the Defensive Player of the Year, as he let Gobert know his thoughts about whether or not he could guard him. (Spoiler: Luka Doncic does not think Rudy Gobert can guard him.)

Doncic discussed his game-winner on Inside the NBA after the game, and expressed his surprise that the Wolves let Gobert get switched onto him. And then, Doncic went into his postgame interview with the media, where he decided to have a little fun and tell everyone that he didn’t actually say this to Gobert. Instead, he claims, he had a little something to say in Slovenian.

Normally lying to the media is a bad thing, but this is a bit of an exception because it’s both very silly, and also, clearly a lie.

Luka Doncic handed the Minnesota Timberwolves an absolutely gut-wrenching loss on Friday night, as the Mavs superstar hit a stepback three over Rudy Gobert with three seconds left to give them a 109-108 win and a 2-0 series lead.

Dallas trailed by as many as 18 in the first half, but their defense tightened up in the second half and Luka and Kyrie Irving came alive, swiping yet another game on the road in this Western Conference Finals. After the game, Doncic joined the Inside the NBA crew for a postgame conversation, and unsurprisingly, Draymond Green had one thing on his mind.

Green wanted to talk with Doncic about targeting Rudy Gobert on that final possession, asking Doncic if that was the matchup he was looking for coming out of the timeout. Luka confirmed it was, saying, “we wanted that.”

In case Green’s feelings on Gobert weren’t already known, in the middle of the interview he got more “Draymond Sucks” chants, and shouted back “Rudy sucks,” with Chuck cracking the desk up by telling them to go home and they’ll “see you next year.”

Once the interview continued, Doncic noted he was “a little bit” surprised the Wolves gave him that switch and didn’t send a double, leaving Gobert on an island on the perimeter where he is not at his most comfortable. Shaq asked if he’d attack any big that way, with Luka noting it’s matchup dependent and with Rudy, “I can’t move fast, but I can move faster than him.”

This interview followed a spirited debate about whether Gobert should’ve been on the floor, with Green, Shaq, and Chuck agreeing they should’ve had someone else out there that could switch. Kenny disagreed and felt it wasn’t an issue of Rudy being out there or not, but instead was a strategic issue of not doubling Luka, feeling Doncic would’ve done that to anyone.

While that may be true, Doncic certainly seemed happy to see Gobert on him, and despite being a bit coy on the TNT desk, he let Rudy know exactly how he felt in the moment.

The series will now shift to Dallas, where the Mavs will try to protect home court and, possibly, polish off a sweep to punch their ticket to the Finals for the first time in over a decade.

Luka Doncic is a bad, bad man, and on Friday night, his playoff legend grew a little more. Doncic put Rudy Gobert on skates on the team’s final possession of the game to knock down a game-winning stepback three, and as a result, the Dallas Mavericks picked up a 109-108 win to give themselves a 2-0 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.

After letting homecourt advantage slip away in Game 1, Minnesota looked like it was going cruise to a blowout win during the first half of Game 2. With Doncic looking a little banged up and Kyrie Irving struggling to impose himself in the first half, the Wolves were able to open up a lead of as many as 18 points in the second quarter to get the home crowd at the Target Center rocking.

While the lead got to 58-40, Dallas was able to get into a bit of a rhythm to close out the first half. It wasn’t much — only an 8-2 run to close the period which saw the Timberwolves make one shot from the field in the final 4:27 — but it was just enough to get the deficit down to something more manageable, and instead of wondering if Doncic and Irving would get to rest up during the fourth quarter, the Mavericks went into the locker room down by 12.

While the two teams traded blows early on in the third, the Mavs eventually came to life behind Doncic, who had 11 points and three assists in the frame.

With Doncic spearheading the effort — whether he was hitting shots on his own or generating looks for his teammates — Dallas was able to go on a 21-7 run that got the Wolves lead down to two points. Minnesota was able to get a jolt of energy late in the period when Reid hit a three in its waning moments, but after looking comfortable for much of the first half, their lead was only 86-82 heading into the fourth.

And then, just like that, Dallas took the lead. Behind a pair of triples by Irving — his first two of the series — the Mavs went on an 8-0 run in the first 97 seconds of the fourth to take their first lead since early on in the first quarter.

The two teams passed the lead back and forth, with Irving and Reid taking and making big shots throughout the first half of the period.

A quick, 6-2 burst by the Wolves helped them open up a narrow, three-point lead, but they couldn’t quite extend it, as the Mavericks always seemed to have an answer. And then, a funny thing happened: Irving missed a wide open three off of an offensive rebound on one possession, and after Edwards nailed two from the charity stripe right after that, the usually reliable guard went 0-for-2 from the free throw line.

It was a five-point cushion that felt gigantic with 89 seconds left, but Irving managed to get an open look on a corner three that he nailed.

On the next possession, the referees declared that Irving knocked the ball out of McDaniels’ hands and out of bounds. But review showed that Irving actually grabbed McDaniels’ arm — which cannot be called on replay — and forced McDaniels to drop the ball out of bounds, which gave possession back to Dallas with 47 seconds left.

Doncic missed a midrange jumper the next time down, and with Dallas opting not to foul, the stage was set for Edwards to drive a stake into their heart. Instead, he picked up his dribble at the free throw line and got enveloped by Dereck Lively, and in a moment of panic, he tried to pass to Reid, who wasn’t in the spot Edwards expected. The ball landed out of bounds as a result, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Doncic made them pay for switching Gobert onto him by drilling a stepback three to give Dallas a one-point lead, then took advantage of a chance to talk gobs of sh*t to the French big man.

With exactly three seconds left, Minnesota had time to get a good look. McDaniels got the ball into Edwards, who gave it to Reid for an excellent look that rimmed out.

Doncic led all scorers with 32 points, and had a triple-double thanks to his 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Irving deputized him with 20 points, while the duo of Lively and Daniel Gafford combined for 30 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks. For Minnesota, Reid’s 23 points led the way. While Edwards had 21 and Karl-Anthony Towns had 15, the two combined to shoot 9-for-33 from the floor, which is not going to be good enough against the Mavericks.

Now, the series will shift to Dallas, and while the Mavs should feel fantastic considering they took both games off of the Wolves on their home floor, Minnesota has been an outrageous road team during this postseason. Game 3 will take place on Sunday night at 8 p.m. EST on TNT.

In case you were wondering, don’t mess with comedian Steve Hofstetter. The stand-up comic posted a video of himself recently shutting down a heckler who didn’t like Hofstetter taking a break from his routine to praise Jessica Mendoza, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Stanford graduate, who last year became the first female to call a professional baseball game.

“Next!” the heckler shouts. At first, Hofstetter is caught off guard but then he tries to give the guy a chance to explain what he found “offensive” about celebrating this historic moment in sports. “You and I can talk later,” the anonymous guy says, directly challenging an earlier warning from Hofstetter to not approach comedians after shows.

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Once the guy refuses to explain why he’s offended, Hofstetter asks him to leave, saying not only is he being a jerk but he’s not at least willing to stand up for his own beliefs. Then things get weird. It turns out the heckler is at the show with his family, including his daughters. “You have daughters and I was standing up for women’s rights and you were offended by that,” Hofstetter says. “I hope the rest of you are going to be okay later.”

Unlike some heckler videos that drag on and on, this one is maybe most amazing in the way he gets shut down before he can even really get started. The whole video is funny, inspiring and just a classic example of a comedian taking down a heckler. Like near the end, when Hofstetter addresses a common trope of someone questioning why a male comedian needs to stand up for women’s equality.

“As it turns out, I actually have a genetic history of women in my family,” he says. “If you want to be a real man then respect the women in your life.”

This article originally appeared on 04.26.19

Gordon Ramsay is not exactly known for being nice.

Or patient.

Or nurturing.

On his competition show “Hell’s Kitchen,” he belittles cooks who can’t keep up. If people come to him with their problems, he berates them. If someone is struggling to get something right in the kitchen, he curses them out.

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His whole TV persona is based on being the world’s worst boss.

Ramsay went on Reddit and allowed users to ask him any question they wanted.

So when a fellow cook asked him a sincere, deeply personal question about what to do when you’ve hit a roadblock in your career, you could probably guess what was coming.

Indeed, I thought the guy was making a terrible mistake pouring his heart out to a chef as notoriously tough as Ramsay:

“My hopes and dreams are nowhere to be found as I scale and portion salmon after salmon, shelling pods after pods of broad beans.
…
Sometimes I look out the tiny window and I can see people walking around the streets, enjoying the sunlight, while I’m here, questioning my dedication to this art as I rotate stock in the cool room, getting frost bitten, but the fear of the chef stops me from stepping outside to warm up.
…
The closest thing to feeling any kind of joy I get is those rare moments when I walk through the dining room near the end of service to get some coffee for everyone, and there will be a few diners left, idly sampling those little petite fours that we’ve painstakingly ensured are all perfectly round, identical, and just plain delicious. Then, one of them will stop the conversation they’re having with their company, look up from their food and say, ‘Thank you, chef. This is delicious,’ and making the previous 14-hours of sweat and tears kind of worthwhile.

My question is, how did you deal with it? How the fuck did you deal with all the bullshit, Gordon?”

But the way Ramsay responded? Totally amazing. And completely unexpected.

Turns out, real-life Gordon Ramsay? He actually can be a really kind, big-hearted dude.

He’s sympathetic to the guy. Not just because he’s a good person. But because he’s been there.

Working in restaurants is a tough, tough business. As of 2012, the average salary for cooks was less than $23,000/year. And those who are just starting out often have to work unglamorous, tedious jobs that no one else wants to do. Ramsay didn’t have fancy culinary school training. He rose up through the ranks putting in long hours for low pay in kitchens all over the world. That’s why he gets it.

Which brings up another point.

Diet Dieting GIF by Bobbi DeCarlo – Find & Share on GIPHY

When we go out to eat, we, as a culture, tend to behave … how should I put this?

Let’s go with “not like perfect angels.”

Of course, no one likes getting the wrong order. Or waiting a really long time for a meal. Or eating something that doesn’t taste the way you expect it to.

But it’s important to remember that the people behind the food, like Ramsay’s anonymous letter-writer, might be working 14-hour days. Or might be a recent immigrant who speaks limited English, trying to support a family thousands of miles away. And possibly making very little money. And sure, they screw up sometimes. But we all screw up at our jobs sometimes.

Because they, like the rest of us, are human beings.

Which is why saying…

“Thank you, chef. This is delicious.”

Could mean everything to someone.

This article originally appeared on 04.22.15

Chris Porsz was tired of studying sociology.

As a university student in the 1970s, he found the talk of economics and statistics completely mind-numbing. So instead, he says, he roamed the streets of his hometown of Peterborough, England, with a camera in hand, snapping pictures of the people he met and listening to their stories. To him, it was a far better way to understand the world.

He always looked for the most eccentric people he could find, anyone who stood out from the crowd. Sometimes he’d snap a single picture of that person and walk away. Other times he’d have lengthy conversations with these strangers.

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But eventually, life moved on and so did he. He fell out of love with photography. “Those pictures collected dust for 25 years,” he says.

Then, a few years ago, Porsz found those 30- to 40-year-old photos and sent them to be printed in his local newspaper.

And remarkably, people started recognizing much younger versions of themselves in his shots. “There was this lightbulb moment,” he says of the first time someone wrote to him about one of his photos.

Eventually, he became curious about the people he’d photographed all those years ago, and he decided he’d try to find some of them. It wouldn’t be easy — the photos were taken a long time ago, and Porsz didn’t have names or contact information for many of the people in them.

But he did find some of them, sometimes in extraordinary ways. “Some were absolute million-to-one coincidences,” he says.

Like the time he went out on a call (he’s a parademic these days) at 3 a.m., and the man he was there to treat recognized him as the photographer who’d snapped his picture all those years ago. On another call, he asked a local shopkeeper if he recognized any of the subjects in the photos. He did.

Once Porsz began posting about the project online — he calls it “Reunions” — it became easier and easier to reconnect with his former subjects.

Many were eager to recreate the old shots as best they could, like Layla Gordon, who Porsz originally photographed drinking milk in 1983.

Others groups, like these schoolgirls, had fallen out of touch. “Reunions,” fittingly enough, brought them back together.

Porsz says that his subjects, like this wild-haired couple, were strangers to him 30 years ago. Now he considers many of them friends.

In all, Porsz has collected over 130 before-and-afters in his new book.

The response to Porsz’s work has been more than he ever imagined.

He’s personally heard from people all over the world who’ve been inspired by his project and want to try to recreate it themselves. But beyond that, he just hopes it brings a little warmth and happiness to the people who see it.

“It’s important for me for my photography to make people smile,” he says. “Because there is so much sadness in the world.”

And while the project is finished for now, don’t count out the possibility of “Reunions Part 2” somewhere down the line.

“I’d love to meet these guys in 2046 when I’m 94 years old,” Porsz says.

This article originally appeared on 11.30.16