Category: News

It doesn’t matter if you work for minimum wage or have a net worth of over $40 million, inflation is affecting all of us as the prices of goods keep going up. Reliably relatable star Cardi B noted the sharp increase in cost for fresh produce on Twitter and wound up wondering if she might not be better off simply foraging for herself.

“Naaaaaa grocery shopping prices are ridiculous right now!” she marveled. “You might as well eat outside!!” Apparently, Cardi’s shopping trip went downhill from there, prompting her to follow up with: “Bitch why lettuce cost 6 dollars where I live at?” adding a Love & Hip-Hop meme in which Remy Ma declares, “This is where I’m starting to get aggravated.”

Cardi has been a critic of the rising cost of living since last summer, asking “how are people surviving?” during an Instagram Live stream with fans in September. Just before the holidays, she shut down a fan’s criticism of her perceived wealth after she rightly pointed out that the economy appears to be headed for a recession, has pointed out how even with her impressive income, she’s just as susceptible to going broke as anyone. “If I don’t save, work, and budget I could lose it too!” she tweeted. “What makes you think that no matter how much money you got you can’t lose it all if you don’t manage your money correctly?”

Last year, The Bear became a standout hit due to the fact that calling one another “chef” all the time is really fun. But the real reason the show stuck with viewers was the realistic (and sometimes heartbreaking) situations that can knock you on your feet, like the death of a family member or inheriting his sandwich shop. Or both!

Season one of The Bear centered on Carmy moving back to Chicago from his upscale New York City chef role, and now that we have establishes that everybody is in love with Jeremy Allen White, it’s time to expand the universe a bit with season two!

The second season will get more into the business side of the shop, and whether or not Sydney will be involved in the profits. “It really is the natural extension,” creator Chris Storer told Variety in a new interview. “The thing we talk about a lot is that winning is losing, so even though they have this new opportunity, it still creates a lot of the same problems,” he added.

Even though we probably won’t get a Carmy/Sydney romance, Storer says that he wants to explore the characters’ relationship with the shop in the sophomore season. “Season 2 really is about the opportunity to start fresh and what does that mean. What does Carmen and Sydney’s dream restaurant look like? But also at the same time, what is a dream restaurant in 2023 look like? I think that’s the thing they’re sort of battling with,” says Storer.

As for Carmy processing his brother’s death, Storer says that there will be some opportunities for the chef to learn more about himself, along with his co-workers. “Nobody’s fixed and everyone’s a work in progress. Every second counts,” Storer added.

In addition, co-showrunner Joanna Calo made mention of how the show’s first season’s theme revolved around “finding a family and feeling anchored,” whereas Season 2 will be about expanding the cast’s lives and looking toward taking care of community.

While we don’t have a premiere date for season two of The Bear, the producers have apparently mapped out future seasons in case it does just as well. It probably will.

(Via Variety)

Scott Cooper was told by a prolific, yet unnamed filmmaker that if everyone likes your movie, well then it’s probably bad. Then Cooper’s first film, Crazy Heart came out to nearly universal acclaim and wins Jeff Bridges his first Oscar. This is all notable because since then, Cooper’s films — which usually feature rural American locations with very flawed characters — have all been a bit more polarizing. To the point, ahead, Cooper says he doesn’t care about awards. He might be one of the few filmmakers I actually believe when they say this. To even back that up, his new film, The Pale Blue Eye was supposed to get a fancy premiere at the Venice Film Festival, but it wasn’t quite right and Cooper wound up forgoing that experience (and, yes, awards chatter) to instead finish his new film the way he wanted to finish it. (The Pale Blue Eye debuts on Netflix on January 6th.)

Based on a 2003 novel by Louis Bayard, Christian Bale plays detective Augustus Landor. He’s asked by the leadership at nearby West Point to not investigate a suicide by one of its students, but instead investigate why that student’s heart was stolen from the morgue. During his investigation, Augustas meets another student, a sort of strange fellow named Edgar Allen Poe (Harry Melling) and the two team up to solve this mystery.

Back around the time of Crazy Heart, Cooper talked about a handful of movies that he considered his influences. Now that he’s directed six movies, it’s interesting to look back at how movies like The Last Picture Show and Nashville have influenced his whole career, which he discusses. And also, theaters aren’t really playing the type of movies that Cooper makes anymore. The Pale Blue Eye is Cooper’s first collaboration with Netflix. Is this is future going forward?

How are you?

I’m quite well, thank you. Finally finished the film and got it ready to go out into the world.

You just recently finished it?

I was trying to get it finished for the Venice Film Festival, but just didn’t do that in time and I’ve just finished in the last few weeks.

What was the hold up?

Oh, I didn’t finish shooting the film until the end of February. So it just takes time. So I’ve just delivered it so I’m happy that people are finally starting to see it.

Are you disappointed it didn’t get to have that big festival screening?

Well, I certainly love festivals and I love Venice, had a lot of fun there. Generally, people like to take their films to festivals because they reach a wider audience, but also because they want awards consideration. But I don’t give much consideration to that. It’s really about making a film that I want to race out on a Friday night to see. And you really can’t judge a film for, I don’t know, 10, 12, 15 years anyway…

A lot of filmmakers say they don’t really care about awards. You’re one of the few I actually think I believe.

Well, look, you don’t make films I make and think that they’re going to placate a wide voting body.

But your first one did. Crazy Heart.

Right. And then, of course, I took a hard right turn with Out of the Furnace and Black Mass and Hostiles and Antlers and this. I never want to sand off the edges of my films just to make them more awards-friendly. One of the world’s great directors who shall remain nameless once said to me after seeing one of my films and really embracing it, he said, “Scott, if everybody likes your movie, it’s likely not very good.”

Your first movie, again, was met with almost universal praise. So did that bother you?

Well, look, it’s always kind of a double-edged sword when your first film gets embraced the way it does because then you make your mistakes as a filmmaker in a very public setting as opposed to toiling away and really honing your craft. But, look, I’m incredibly thankful and grateful for making Crazy Heart. That changed my life. Jeff Bridges remains an incredibly close friend of mine and I certainly wouldn’t be talking to you now had I not made that film.

You mentioned Out of the Furnace. It just reminded me, after I saw that movie, I don’t know if you’re going to find this amusing or not, but I decided to start a Harlan DeGroat Twitter account.

I love that.

It did not take off.

No, I’m sure not. I’m sure not. But look, that film means a great deal to me. Sam Shepherd — who was a mentor of mine, and sadly is no longer with us — he saw the film, really loved the film, and he said, “Well, it’s a good thing that your first film won awards because this one won’t win a damn thing.” And I said, “Sam, what’s your relationship to the Academy?” He said, “They don’t dig my shit, man.”

Do you feel you have a through-line through your movies? Because I keep thinking they do, but I can’t put a finger on it. And I feel like you’re the person to ask that.

I have to say, I’ve tried just to figure out how to tell the truth about how tragic and unfair life can be without losing hope. Right? Most narratives, I think lie to the audience about how life works out. And I guess if there’s anything that certainly ties my film together, it’s that making films can be a way of observing and making sense of the world. I know that you don’t get to choose your obsessions, they kind of choose you. But I guess something that binds them is, I like stories that kind of say something deep-rooted about American life and its relationship with the darker corners of the human psyche.

Around the time of Crazy Heart, you mentioned how The Last Picture Show was an influence. I’m wondering if it is more the Peter Bogdanovich of it? Or is it more the Larry McMurtry of it? Because it seems you hit on the McMurtry themes a lot.

Yeah, it is. And actually Larry McMurtry, who’s also no longer with us, adapted Empire of the Summer Moon for me. A great nonfiction book that I’m sad that we never got to make. I really liked Larry a great deal. I love how achingly human that film is. Peter Bogdanovich … I’ve been fortunate that directors from that era – whether it be William Friedkin or Bogdanovich, Mike Nichols, Michael Mann, who’s a bit later – all of those directors have really embraced me and mentored me in ways that I’m incredibly grateful for. And those are the movies that I tend to watch over and over because I didn’t go to film school. I’ll watch their films with the sound off, so that I see how they’ve really told the story with the camera, the staging, the mise-en-scene. So those movies do mean a great deal to me.

Going back to The Last Picture Show, I’m wary of comparing a filmmaker’s movies to other movies when you might not agree. But your movies remind me less of The Last Picture Show and more of Hud. I know those movie have similar themes but Hud…

Right, where you kind of have a hard-driving story…

With an ornery cuss.

Who’s suddenly kind of driven to an act of violence that can threaten his world. Yeah. I mean, I certainly see those parallels now that you mention it, which certainly means a great deal to me, I have to say. And I really love the original title Horseman Passed By. And I’m not quite sure why that was changed. Horseman Passed By, but it’s really quite ellagic. But the great thing about McMurtry is his works are timeless and they kind of have a timeless conflict between modernity and time of yesteryear. And I find that to be really interesting to me.

You also mentioned Nashville. There are other Altman movies I’d compare your movies to before that one, but is something like that in you?

I love that film and that truly is one of the cornerstones of ’70s American filmmaking…

But is something like that in you?

I think so. I do love that story. He weaves, what is it, 20, 24 characters into one kind of cinematic tapestry. Well, I certainly am in the process of cooking up a couple of things with Christian Bale again that kind of gets to the heart of American life. Much like that film did, but doesn’t quite have the equal parts of comedy and tragedy and musical. But it was such an astonishing cast. But I would love to make my own version of Nashville. But in the moment, I’m in the process of writing a couple of things that I think Mr. Bale will help me express.

You do seem to love your flawed protagonist. Is that why you wanted to adapt The Pale Blue Eye?

Yeah, I think so because we all are flawed. And look, I grew up in the state of Virginia, which is where Poe spent his formative years. And my father taught English and literature and he introduced me to a novel, The Pale Blue Eye, to pleasure read. And he said, “This is such a clever book where a young unformed Poe is found at the center of his detective story, something that he bequeathed to us.” And I thought, well, this is an opportunity to upend what people think of Poe. Because they think of him as someone who’s obsessed with the satanic and the occult and death and paranoia, and allowing me to be able to essentially make an Edgar Allen Poe origin story. The events that take place in this movie inspired him to become the author of The Raven and The Premature Burial and The Telltale Heart.

This is your first movie with Netflix, right?

It is, yes.

What do you think your future is going forward? Because movies like yours aren’t really playing in theaters much anymore.

Well, I’ll say a couple of things.

Okay.

The way people consume media has changed, and I don’t think that will ever go back to the way we used to.

No, I don’t either.

I am incredibly grateful that Netflix allowed me to make a film that I’ve wanted to make for about a decade. More people will see this film on Netflix than they’ve seen all of my films combined. They’re also allowing the top markets in the country to see the movie in theaters for a couple of weeks before it actually makes its way onto the streaming service. So if people are like I am and they love the cinema experience, they’ll seek it out. So I kind of had the best of both worlds, but look no further than the box office this fall to understand that the type of movies that I make are not being well attended. And I don’t know if that’s because people have just grown comfortable watching things at home, or if they’re still concerned about catching COVID or if people just have too many other things in their lives, they have long-form television, they have TikTok and social media, they have sports.

I’m going to say it’s “all of the above.”

There’s nothing for me like being in a darkened cinema and surrounded by strangers and seeing a film. It’s one of the greatest gifts of my life and I’ll never stop doing it.

‘The Pale Blue Eyes’ debuts via Netflix this Friday, January 6th. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Taylor Swift’s cat, Olivia Benson, before? She’s a Scottish Fold cat and actually one of Swift’s three felines. But Olivia Benson (named after a Law & Order: SVU character) is the one that appeared in Swift’s videos for “Me” and “Blank Space.” No shade to Swift’s other two cats, Meredith Gray and Benjamin Button, but Olivia Benson was recently claimed to be the third richest pet in the world, with an alleged net worth of $97 million, per AllAboutCats.com.

But how the heck does a cat get tabbed with a net worth of nearly $100 million? Besides making cameos in her mom’s music videos, Olivia Benson has also appeared alongside Taylor Swift in commercials for brands like Diet Coke and AT&T, so that seems likely to factor into the figure. But considering that the only two pets higher up on this “Ultimate Pet Rich List” than Olivia Benson are a $500 million German shepherd named Gunther VI who flips mansions formerly owned by Madonna and a $100 million feline influencer named Nala Cat who owns a premium cat food line, I suppose that just makes Taylor Swift’s cat a glorified nepo baby?

And of course, Swifties have some thoughts on this report and are trying to figure out ways of how they can get in on the action as well.

Judging by his physique, Chris Hemsworth already appears to be a person who pushes himself to the limit. The guy convincingly plays Thor, the Norse god of thunder, for the love.

But even Hemsworth, with his bulging biceps and sleek six-pack, is bound by the laws of human nature, which include pesky limitations like fear and aging. Now that he’s in his 40s, the Australian actor, husband and father of three wants to maximize his time on Earth. So in a six-part series on Disney+, he pushed himself to the brink in six different challenges to “discover how to live better for longer.”

The titles of each episode—”Stress Proof,” “Shock,” “Fasting,” “Strength,” “Memory” and “Acceptance”—offer a glimpse of what kinds of challenges he undertook in his quest for optimal existence.

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The series trailer shows some of what Hemsworth endured in these challenges, from doing a polar swim in the Arctic to walking a plank on top of a high rise to climbing a rope to a cable car dangling over a deep ravine.

What the series descriptions and trailer don’t show is how many of the real-life examples of people who have mastered what he’s trying to do are women.

I watched the series expecting that it would be well done and interesting, as most National Geographic specials are, but I kind of figured it would be a big testosterone fest. And it easily could have been created that way.

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the people Hemsworth met with to learn about how to prepare himself for each challenge were largely women who had already mastered what he was attempting. And the best part was, it was never pointed out directly. There was no big “female power” pronouncement, no indication that women were going to serve as his mentors for much of the series. But the featuring of women was noticeable and notable.

For instance, in the first episode, “Stress Proof,” Hemsworth takes on the challenge of walking across a crane jutting out from the top of a high-rise building. Despite his daring feats on screen, Hemsworth has a fear of heights, so this challenge was particularly stressful.

To explore how to manage the stress of the crane walk, Hemsworth shared the impressive abilities of Faith Dickey, a mountain climber and highlining champion who walks across slacklines hung between cliffs. She shared how she learned to make stress her friend and channel it, as well as how she utilizes self-talk to make it across a narrow strip of fabric suspended hundreds of feet above the ground.

She even once did it in heels:

Following the Dickey example, Hemsworth met with a group of firefighters at a training facility in New South Wales to learn how to control his breath and heart rate under duress. He was teamed up with 16-year veteran firefighter Tara Lal to enter a burning building in full gear and attempt to “rescue” dummies from the inferno. Firefighting is a highly male-dominated career field, yet they chose a woman to be Hemsworth’s mentor. Love it.

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In addition to the specific skill mentors, the psychologist who helped Hemsworth through his preparation for the stress walk was also a woman, Dr. Modupe Akinola.

Each episode featured women who shared their wisdom and experience with Hemsworth, from all around the world. A Finnish woman who cuts holes in the ice and swims under it. A British American freediver who can hold her breath underwater for six minutes. The Indigenous women and girls who run through the rocky mountainsides of Sierra Tarahumara, Mexico. The 85-year-old weight-training African American woman who could inspire anyone to exercise. And the list goes on and on.

The diversity of people of all ages and ethnicities highlighted in the series, as well as the high proportion of awesome women, creates a far more well-rounded exploration of better and longer living than the “Chris Hemsworth does these six hard things, look at him go” entertainment one might expect based on the trailer. The understated representation is well done and very much appreciated.

Latin music’s stars are mourning the loss of Elena Huelva, who was a Spanish influencer that was battling cancer. Yesterday (January 3), Sebastián Yatra, Aitana, and Alejandro Sanz shared their condolences for the passing of the inspiring social media personality.

Huelva amassed a strong social media following after chronicling her battle with cancer. According to the New York Post, she was diagnosed in 2016 with Ewing sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. Huelva didn’t let her diagnosis slow her down and she often enjoyed going to concerts and appearing on red carpets. A hashtag that she commonly used in her posts was #MisGanasGanan, which roughly translates to “My will is winning” in English.

On January 1, Huelva said goodbye in a heartbreaking video posted to her Instagram account. She revealed that her health was deteriorating. “Things are not going well,” Huelva said while holding back her tears. “They found more disease in my windpipe, which is very dangerous, as you know, because that’s where we breathe.”

Huelva left her followers with one last inspiring message before passing away on Tuesday at age 20. “[I want to] make it clear that I’ve already won. I know that my life was not in vain, because I fought and got what I wanted,” she said. Huelva understood that her story has raised awareness for her disease.

Yatra expressed his condolences on Twitter. “We will miss you Elena,” the Colombian pop star wrote. “Fly high. THANK YOU for what you left us.” Spanish pop icon Sanz also was moved by Huelva’s story. “Thank you Elena for leaving your mark,” he wrote. “A master class on how to make the most of our time. We’ll miss you very much. A huge hug to the family.”

Spanish singer Aitana shared a few of her photos with Huelva in a heartfelt post on Instagram. “My girl, your will always won,” she wrote. “Elena, what an example of strength you always gave us all. A new star shines in the sky, more than any other. I love you.”

Just when you thought the Republican party couldn’t find as bigly a liar as Donald Trump, along comes George Santos (if that really is his name). The newly elected Republican congressman from New York has lied about seemingly everything about his life and career, from his educational and work background to being Jewish and his mom dying on 9/11. He even lied about being sworn into congress yesterday! And Jimmy Kimmel cannot get enough.

On Tuesday night, Kimmel couldn’t wait to talk about the GOP’s newest serial fabulist, and his bizarre “first” day in congress. After spouting off the many lies that Santos has so far been caught in, Kimmel explained:

He basically catfished an entire congressional district. But despite all that, he did not resign. He showed up to his first day of work in Washington today where no one — not one of the many scoundrels wriggling around the House — wanted to sit with him… Imagine being so toxic, not even Matt Gaetz wants to sit next to you?

Instead, like the weird wedding guest you’re obligated to invite but sit at the kiddie table, Santos sat there in the midst of all the SOTH madness — beside a couple of actual children — yawning, playing with his phone, and, as Kimmel noted, “picking his nose and wiping it on his hand like a sweaty kid in middle school.” We only wish he was joking.

You can watch the full clip — and the painfully awkward footage of Santos — above, beginning around the 4:25 mark.

After (barely) surviving a terrifying snow plow accident, Jeremy Renner is receiving tons of love from his Marvel co-stars after he posted a video from his hospital bed thanking everyone for their support. According to the latest reports, the actor was attempting to help one of his family members move a car that was stranded in the snow. After freeing the car, Renner exited the plow to talk with the family member, and that’s when disaster struck. The plow reportedly rolled forward crushing Renner’s leg and put him in the ICU with “blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries.”

Luckily, Renner didn’t suffer fatal injuries and after firing off a brief Instagram video showing his appreciation for all the “kinds words,” his Avengers co-star assembled in the comments to wish him a speedy recovery. Via Variety:

“Speedy recovery buddy,” replied Chris Hemsworth, who is one of the six original Avengers actors along with Renner. “Sending love your way!”

Chris Evans, another original Avenger star, wrote, “Tough as nails. Love you buddy.”

“Continued prayers your way brutha,” Chris Pratt added. Pratt leads Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise.

Renner also received some love from the Russo Brothers and Taika Waititi. Even Thanos got in on the act. “Close but no cigar,” Josh Brolin wrote in the comments. “You’re blessed. Quick recovery, brother.”

According to Variety, Renner received well wishes from non-Marvel stars, too. Kate Hudson, Isla Fisher, Penelope Cruz, Jimmy Fallon, Heidi Klum, Vanessa Hudgens, Orlando Bloom and others flocked into the comments to send their love.

(Via Variety)

Ellie Goulding recently cleared the air about some long-held fan rumors that she cheated on her speculated ex-boyfriend Ed Sheeran. In 2013, the two were spotted at the MTV Video Music Awards holding hands — although he denied they were dating.

However, the discussion happened following the release of Sheeran’s 2014 song, “Don’t,” which includes the lyric, “It’s not like we were both on tour / We were staying on the same f*cking hotel floor.” Many thought it hinted at another musician who cheated on Sheeran.

Considering his affiliation with Goulding, it started to be reported that she cheated on him with Niall Horan. Sheeran went on to do an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where he denied it was about them but noted that the rumors were already widespread.

“I never let it slip. What happened was one of the newspapers in England just printed that it was confirmed when it never was,” he said. “We got in touch, and they took the story down. But obviously the damage had already been done by that point because every other newspaper picked up on it. So I never actually confirmed it.”

Now, the rumors have re-emerged. Nearly ten years later, Goulding dropped a TikTok where she jams out to Harry Styles. Considering the One Direction affiliation of it all, fans had some thoughts about the song choice.

“can’t believe u cheated on ed with niall but slay fr,” a commenter wrote.

“False!!!! But also slay,” Goulding replied, setting the record straight.

Considering Goulding is gearing up for her new album and Sheeran has a full family, it seems clear there are no hard feelings between them.

Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The nepo baby conversation may have died off in the press, but thanks to television personality Kelly Osbourne, it may be revived on social media. While her famous musician father may regret moving back to the United Kingdom, her talk show host mother, Sharon, has wasted no time finding her footing in British media by accidentally announcing the birth of her daughter’s son with Slipnot’s turntablist Sid Wilson.

During the broadcast of The Talk UK, her mother was discussing a story about modern grandparents’ involvement in their grandchildren’s lives. The Emmy Award-winning anchor let it slip that Kelly had, in fact, already given birth to her first child, saying, “[They’re doing] so great.” This isn’t the first time Kelly’s parents have slipped the beans about her growing family. In October 2022, the former reality star reluctantly confirmed she was indeed having a boy after her father mistakenly told the press before she could.

Metal fans quickly began fantasizing about the potential musical abilities Kelly and Wilson’s son would have given that he is the grandson of the genre’s most impactful band, Black Sabbath founder Ozzy Osbourne, as well as the son of a Slipknot member.

Kelly has responded to fans wanting to know more about the baby in her Instagram Story, writing, “I am not ready to share him with the world,” adding, “It’s no one’s place but mine to share any information about on my baby,” as a clap back to her mother.

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