Category: News

The logistics of festival-going can be…”stressful.” What to wear? Where to crash? What to pack? Now add a few thousand miles in between home and ground zero and things can get hectic. One might feel marooned, or dare I say “shipwrecked.”

But that chaos is also part of the fun, as Destination Festivals can procure some of life’s most memorable experiences, especially the ever-growing, always-popping Holy Ship! Wrecked. From December 13-17, one of Bass music’s most highly sought-after parties on the planet will return to the Yucatan shores of Mexico for a four-day music frenzy at Riviera Maya. Notable juggernauts like Dom Dolla, Louis The Child, Jai Wolf, Lane 8 as well as dozens of incredible artists will be ready to spin for thousands of electric music pilgrims.

Next-level festival enthusiasts who make a long journey need not worry about travel stress: UPROXX has you covered with some of Holy Ship! Wrecked’s titanic DJs offering their “Best Travel Advice for Destination Festivals.”

HoneyLuv

In order to get the most out of your trip, always create a little itinerary to be able to maximize all your options. My top essential item that is a must for me to have, are Turmeric pills; only because going on a destination trip, I love to eat, and sometimes the food just don’t sit right with your tummy. Lastly, the most important travel tip, make sure you are always open to experiences and willing to try new things.

VNSSA

My piece of festival advice is; hydrate hydrate hydrate! Drink more water than you think because you’ll need it from all the dancing! Pickle juice and liquid IV packs are life savers when it comes to staying hydrated longer, so don’t forget to pack some.

Also, don’t forget your earplugs. Whether your head’s in the speakers or you’re taking a disco nap, earplugs are a must-have at any festival.

Valentino Khan

Having done Holy Shipwrecked too many times to count (even back when it was on a cruise ship) I think the best piece of advice I can give is to just walk around. It’s a great atmosphere and you’ll always stumble into something interesting, often with a drink in hand. You’ll be bouncing from set to set, meeting up with friends, and finding some activity to get into along the way.

Oh, and def make sure you plan ahead for room service at the end of the night— that’s a must.

KHIVA

When it comes to prepping for a festival (and travel in general) the main thing for me is being ready for anything so you can think less about logistics and more about enjoying and feeling healthy and as rested as possible! Mostly means thinking ahead so that you’re not dependent on anything and can just go with the flow with less time spent waiting around or doing ‘errands’.

For me personally, this often involves wearing things that are easily adaptable to multiple situations, snacks on hand, transport details organized/screenshotted if you’re in a destination with no service, bathing suit in tow in case there’s somewhere to swim, and even, EVEN, coffee packets, items organized for ease of use etc etc.

The more you can plan ahead to make things easier for yourself the more smoothly and efficiently you can bop around and feel free and energized. This can come in extra handy when abroad, where something like a quick ‘pop to the shop’ or finding an ATM might entail more than anticipated!

Wax Motif

Always check the weather ahead of traveling and pack accordingly while also keeping in mind that if traveling to a tropical destination, the weather can be unpredictable. A few essential items you should have for a destination festival would be; bug spray, a reusable water bottle (with a filter), and a small medicine pouch containing allergy, stomach relief, pain relief, and motion sickness medicine.

Also, additional toiletries such as handy wipes, lip balm, single-use toothbrushes are always great to have extra off.

Lisbona Sisters

Don’t overpack. You’ll likely never wear or use half of the stuff you bring. Take it from us, we’re the worst over-packers; maybe one day we’ll listen to ourselves.

Two Feet

When traveling to a destination festival make sure you start hydrating before you even get on the plane. Drink more water than you think you need in general! On that note – eat a good breakfast before the long day of sets, and on the way back home pay for the upgraded seat if you can, it’s worth it.

So Tuff So Cute (GG Magree & Mija)

NEVER FORGET TO PACK YOUR SWIMMY. You never know what hour of the day/night you will find yourself either in the ocean or a cozy hot tub. Bonus points if you can get matching swimsuits with your best friend because vibes.

Singer Harry Styles was hit in the face with a Skittle thrown by an audience member at a concert in Los Angeles on Monday, November 14. As he thanked the crowd during his Love On Tour concert he can be seen wincing and holding his eye.

Luckily, the “Watermelon Sugar” singer recovered from the incident because getting hit with a flying object from a far distance could cause serious injury.

The incident inspired Skittles to speak out on Twitter. “Didn’t think I needed to say this: Please don’t throw Skittles,” the candy company tweeted.

“The entire fandom thanks you for this. I think the person that threw them should be banned from ever buying them again,” a Styles fan responded to the tweet.

u201cDidnu2019t think I needed to say this: Please donu2019t throw Skittles.u201d

— SKITTLES (@SKITTLES)
1668528220

Here’s footage of the incident.

u201cwhoever the fuck threw a solid object at his eye, u literally ruined kiwi bc he wouldnu2019t open his eye for the whole songu201d

— mandiud83cudfe0HARRY TALKED TO ME?? (@mandiud83cudfe0HARRY TALKED TO ME??)
1668494435

u201cYALLLLLL. This goes without saying. ud83dudc4fud83cudffb DO ud83dudc4fud83cudffb NOT ud83dudc4fud83cudffb THROW ud83dudc4fud83cudffb STUFF ud83dudc4fud83cudffb AT ud83dudc4fud83cudffb PEOPLE ud83dudc4fud83cudffb Harry Styles took a forcefully thrown skittles to the freaking eye last night. Come on, use some common sense!! ud83dude21u201d

— jennie (@jennie)
1668550766

Skittles took things a step further on Saturday, November 19, by posting a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times warning people not to hurl their candy at anyone. “Protect the rainbow. Taste the rainbow. But please, don’t throw the rainbow,” the ad read.

u201cPSA: Protect your eyes from Skittles (by eating them, not throwing them)u201d

— SKITTLES (@SKITTLES)
1668885645

This isn’t the first time Styles has been hit with objects on stage. Earlier this year, he was hit in the crotch with a water bottle. He played the direct hit off with his trademark humor, “That’s unfortunate.”

u201cHarry talking to the crowd before the Unfortunate nEvent at United Center in Chicago, IL – October 14(via @glambygab)u201d

— HSD Love On Tour (@HSD Love On Tour)
1665807250

He was also assaulted with a chicken nugget. After the crowd demanded he eat it, he refused because he’s a vegetarian. Plus, it was cold.

u201chttps://t.co/rHCWvuQNEMu201d

— u2661u2728kalina midnights erau2728u2661 (@u2661u2728kalina midnights erau2728u2661)
1661654678

Let’s hope that all of the publicity surrounding the pegging doesn’t inspire copycat Skittle tossers to pelt Styles even further. Styles probably doesn’t want Skittle hurling to become a concert tradition like when people throw toilet paper and shoot off squirt guns while watching “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Styles isn’t the first rock star to be assaulted on stage with candy.

The Beatles had some real troubles in their early years after guitarist George Harrison admitted that he loves jelly beans. Fans reacted by pelting him with candy while the band played on stage.

“We don’t like Jelly Babies, or Fruit Gums for that matter, so think how we feel standing on stage trying to dodge the stuff, before you throw some more at us,” he wrote to a fan in 1963. “Couldn’t you eat them yourself, besides it is dangerous. I was hit in the eye once with a boiled sweet, and it’s not funny!”

The Foo Fighters had a similar problem after they made fun of Mentos commercials in the video for their 1996 hit, “Big Me.”

“Every time we played it, it would just start raining Mentos, and them mother fu**ers hurt,” Grohl said according to Gigwise. “We did a show in Canada and, in the middle of the song, someone threw a pack, and it hit me right in the face. I was so pissed, I picked it up and said, ‘It’s been 10 fu**ing years since that video.'”

Here’s Grohl explaining the situation on stage.

Warning: Strong language.

Amy Schneider became a Jeopardy legend this year after having the second-longest winning streak in the show’s nearly 60-year run. Last night, Scheider dominated again by winning this year’s Tournament of Champions. But even though winning a ton of Jeopardy games and racking up a lot of money is fun, sometimes you need to go back to your roots and enter your friendly neighborhood bar for a trivia contest.

Schneider went to her first post-Jeopardy trivia night, ready to impress the crowd with her (almost) GOAT status. Maybe it was the same bar that Kor Skeete famously cheated at in season one of The Rehearsal. It was all fun and games… until Schneider’s team came in third. Listen, everyone has off days.

Maybe if Schneider had teamed up with her fellow champions she could have won. But then again, would winning trivia at a local be as cool as winning over a million dollars on national TV? It depends. Is anyone cool at the bar? Was there free food? Is Ken Jennings there offering goofy commentary that you have to laugh along with anyway? Probably not, but Schneider is being a good sport about it.

After her Tournament of Champions win, Schneider took to Twitter to thank fans for following along on this journey. “I don’t feel lucky to have won; if there’s one area where my instinctive self-deprecation clearly shouldn’t apply, it’s my skill at Jeopardy! I’m damn good at this game, and I’m proud of it!” See! You can be good at Jeopardy! and still be bad at bar trivia. Next time you and your college buddies get together just remember: you’ve got this. And you can use your phone under the table for a quick Google search. I won’t tell anyone.

The Smile have just embarked on their first ever North America Tour in support of their debut album A Light For Attracting Attention. The Radiohead offshoot group of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner delivered one of the year’s most brilliant albums. So now on tour, they’ve obviously been playing the cuts off of the album, but also a couple of other songs sprinkled within. So what songs exactly is The Smile playing on tour?

The attendee-generated setlists on setlist.fm, are easily the best resource for this data. Taking a look at The Smile’s setlists from the first handful of concerts on the tour, which have included two nights at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre and a show at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom, they open their sets with “Pana-Vision”or on the occasion when they have two nights booked in one city (as in the Brooklyn case), album opener, “The Same.” They’ve been firing off two separate encores and closing with Thom Yorke’s “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses.” Their newest song, “Bending Hectic,” has also been a fixture on this tour.

The tour will continue through 2022 as the band make their way to the west coast. Find The Smile’s average setlist for their current tour below. Also find the group’s upcoming tour dates here.

1. “Pana-Vision”
2. “Thin Thing”
3. “The Opposite”
4. “Speech Bubbles”
5. “Free in the Knowledge”
6. “A Hairdryer”
7. “Waving a White Flag”
8. “Colours Fly”
9. “We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings”
10. “Read the Room”
11. “Skrting on the Surface”
12. “Just Eyes and Mouth”
13. “People on Balconies”
14. “The Smoke”
15. “You Will Never Work in Television Again”
16. “Open the Floodgates” (Encore 1)
17. “The Same” (Encore 1)
18. “Bending Hectic” (Encore 1)
19. “Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses” (Thom Yorke Song) (Encore 2)

Right in time for Thanksgiving weekend to arrive, Netflix is revealing their full December slate, which might motivate us all to clear out our November queues and make room for the return of several successful franchises. At the top of that list: Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig bringing us more Knives Out with Glass Onion, which sadly does not have any Chris Evans sweater action but still rules on its own accord.

In addition, The Witcher will receive a prequel series to show us the time when elves were regarded very differently (than how Jasper’s most infamous song previously detailed) on the Continent. And Emily Cooper will continue her tear through the City of Lights while not understanding the language and still winning everyone over. This will also be your last shot at streaming Casino Royale along with the Men In Black and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films on Netflix, so get those in while you can.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) Netflix in December.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix series streaming 12/23)

Daniel Craig’s Detective Benoit Blanc is back with a new gathering of oddball characters, and everyone’s a suspect after a Greek-private island “pretend” murder party turned into the real deal. Another incredible cast — including Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, and Ethan Hawke — is here to stir the intrigue. Oh, and don’t forget about Dave Bautista in a speedo. Rian Johnson will also bring us a third part of this series, so let’s hope that Blanc doesn’t freaking die in this installment.

Emily In Paris: Season 3 (Netflix series streaming 12/21)

Primetime soap-opera king Darren Star’s latest success returns with a character who’s somehow less sophisticated in France than Carrie Bradshaw was in the final Sex and the City season. Emily Cooper’s having a lot more fun than her predecessor, though, even though she cannot speak French. This season, she’ll continue to nurse the mutual attraction with Hot Chef Gabrielle while he and she are dating other people (Camille and Alfie, respectively). Sylvie’s Savoir fallout should continue as well, but I’d really like to see more dirty-skillet controversy, please.

The Witcher: Blood Origin (Netflix limited series streaming 12/25)

Henry Cavill will depart the franchise’s building after the flagship series’ Season 3, but this limited prequel series takes things back to where it all began. We’ll likely see the inception of the first Witcher prototype, over 1200 years before Geralt of Rivia grunted his way across the continent. Michelle Yeoh portrays Scian, an elven swordmaster whose ferocious reputation may precede her, and expect plenty of swordplay and axe swinging. No Jaskier, though!

Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Netflix film streaming 12/2)

Emma Corrin (The Crown‘s first Princess Diana) portrays the title aristocratic character in this steamy adaptation of the D.H. Lawrence novel. Lady Chatterly’s husband falls prey to a war injury, and she subsequently starts getting randy with one of their gamekeepers. If you’re not familiar with the story, you can tell from million miles away that this does not happen without conflict.

“Sr.” (Netflix documentary streaming 12/2)

Robert Downey Jr. leads this tribute to his late dad (Robert Downey Sr., obviously) while detailing his maverick career. It’s a meditation on generational dysfunction and how to heal said rifts while also digging into the links between art and mortality.

White Noise (Netflix film streaming 12/30)

Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig are onboard as a “frequently married couple” in Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of the best-selling Don DeLillo book. Expect this to grow hipster-like while the story tackles mundane everyday matters and also the wide-ranging issues that matter most, including death and love and finding unhappiness despite, well, everything.

Avail. TBA
The Glory
God’s Crooked Lines
The Interest of Love
My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Avail. 12/1
Dead End
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean: Season 1 Episodes 25-38 The Final Episodes
The Masked Scammer
Qala
Troll
21 Jump Street
Basketball Wives: Season 1
Basketball Wives: Season 2
Coach Carter
Forged in Fire: Knife or Death: Season 1
Hachi: A Dog’s Tale
The Happytime Murders
LEGO Friends: Holiday Special
Love Island USA: Season 3
Meekah: Season 1
My Girl
Peppermint
Troy

Avail. 12/2
Big Brother: Season 10
Big Brother: Season 14
Firefly Lane: Season 2 Part 1
Hot Skull
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
My Unorthodox Life: Season 2
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
“Sr.”
Supermodel Me: Revolution: Season 1
Warriors of Future

Avail. 12/3
The Best of Me
Bullet Train

Avail. 12/4
The Amazing Race: Season 17
The Amazing Race: Season 31

Avail. 12/5
Mighty Express: Mighty Trains Race

Avail. 12/6
The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus
Delivery by Christmas
Sebastian Maniscalco: Is It Me?

Avail. 12/7
Burning Patience
Emily the Criminal
I Hate Christmas
The Marriage App
The Most Beautiful Flower
Smiley
Too Hot to Handle: Season 4

Avail. 12/8
The Elephant Whisperers
In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case
Lookism

Avail. 12/9
CAT
Dragon Age: Absolution
Dream Home Makeover: Season 4
How to Ruin Christmas: The Baby Shower
Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area Part 2

Avail. 12/10
Alchemy of Souls: Season 1 Part 2
Prisoners

Avail. 12/13
Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure
Last Chance U: Basketball: Season 2
Single’s Inferno: Season 2
Tom Papa: What A Day!

Avail. 12/14
Don’t Pick Up The Phone
Glitter
I Believe in Santa
Kangaroo Valley

Avail. 12/15
The Big 4
The Hills: Season 1
The Hills: Season 2
Sonic Prime
Violet Evergarden: Recollections
Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery

Avail. 12/16
A Storm for Christmas
BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Cook at all Costs
Dance Monsters
Far From Home
Paradise PD: Part 4
Private Lesson
The Recruit
Summer Job
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari

Avail. 12/18
Side Effects

Avail. 12/19
Trolley
Trolls

Avail. 12/20
A Not So Merry Christmas
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh Part 1

Avail. 12/21
Disconnect: The Wedding Planner
Emily in Paris: Season 3
I AM A KILLER: Season 4

Avail. 12/22
Alice in Borderland: Season 2
Mathieu Dufour at Bell Centre

Avail. 12/23
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Piñata Masters!

Avail. 12/25
After Ever Happy
Daughter From Another Mother: Season 3
Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical
Time Hustler
The Witcher: Blood Origin
Vir Das: Landing

Avail. 12/26
No Escape
Treason

Avail. 12/27
Chelsea Handler: Revolution

Avail. 12/28
7 Women and a Murder
A Night at the Kindergarten
The Circle: Season 5
Stuck with You

Avail. 12/29
Brown and Friends
Rise of Empires: Ottoman: Season 2

Avail. 12/30
Alpha Males
Chicago Party Aunt: Part 2
Secrets of Summer: Season 2
White Noise

Avail. 12/31
Best of Stand Up 2022
Lady Voyeur

And it’s your last chance to stream these titles:

Leaving 12/9
The Shack

Leaving 12/10
Fast Color

Leaving 12/11
Manhunt: Unabomber

Leaving 12/14
Black Ink Crew New York: Seasons 3-4
The Challenge: Season 12
The Challenge: Season 25
Merlin: Seasons 1-5
Teen Mom 2: Seasons 3-4

Leaving 12/15
The Danish Girl

Leaving 12/27
Instant Hotel: Season 1

Leaving 12/28
Shrek the Musical

Leaving 12/31
1BR
A Cinderella Story
A Clockwork Orange
A Little Princess
Blood Diamond
Blow
Blue Jasmine
Casino Royale
Chocolat
Eyes Wide Shut
I Love You, Man
Life as We Know It
Men in Black
Men in Black II
Men in Black 3
National Lampoon’s European Vacation
National Lampoon’s Vacation
New York Minute
Point Break
Police Academy
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

Bob Dylan’s latest book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, came out earlier this month. The book is a collection of Dylan’s commentary and notes on 66 songs by other artists — from Willie Nelson to Nina Simone. The audiobook version features an illustrious cast of celebrity voices reading chapters like Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Goodman, Oscar Isaac, John Goodman, Jeff Bridges, Renée Zellweger, Alfre Woodard, and Jeffrey Wright. Pretty cool right? You know what’s not cool though? Marketing a $600 limited edition copy of the book autographed by Bob Dylan, but including only replica autographs and not the real thing.

That’s exactly what Dylan’s publisher, Simon & Schuster did, and now they got caught (duh) and are apologizing. “To those who purchased the ‘Philosophy of Modern Song’ limited edition, we want to apologize,” the publisher tweeted. “As it turns out, the limited edition books do contain Bob’s original signature, but in a penned replica form. We are addressing this information by providing each purchaser with an immediate refund.”

As Variety reports, when the books started arriving to customers last week, the signatures looked fishy. Of course Bob Dylan fans have robust online forums and plain old social media with which to compare photos. They found 17 different variations of the signature that were made using an “autopen,” a widely-used device that replicates real signatures using a machine pen. At first, Simon & Schuster were declining refunds, but now they’ve finally caved under the pressure because, come on!

Previous mentions of the “personally signed” limited editions copies appear to have been removed from Bob Dylan’s Twitter account.

After making some rather unusual commentary about AirTags and BBLs, the internet quickly went to work on Lucky Daye, unearthing some unsavory information about the singer’s past. In a tweet yesterday (November 20), the New Orleans singer offered his opinion about how purchasing a BBL should get him unlimited access to the booty, complete with an AirTag.

“If I get you a BBL, I’m putting an AirTag in it,” he tweeted.

Immediately, the “Over” singer found himself in hot water. Suddenly, the topic of conversation began to shift toward Daye’s alleged issues with paying his child support.

“Lucky Daye got a kid?? & he don’t take care it???” one person tweeted.

Another person noted that singer’s age, implying he was too old for his recent Twitter shenanigans, asking, “what is the reason?’

“Not only did I find out today that Lucky Daye is 37 years old, but he’s also a deadbeat dad?” they tweeted. “C’mon man, what is the reason? What do you mean you gotta do nothing, so your kid doesn’t end up spoiled? That’s wack AF. I wish his 12 y/o daughter STRENGTH because wth is wrong w him?”

Many folks agree with how the singer is being dragged across social media. One fan noted, despite his attempts to beat the “deadbeat dad claims,” that nothing lasts forever. “Lucky Daye has been getting the business since sunrise. He’s done a fair job keeping his real age, and deadbeat dad claims separate from his career. Nothing lasts forever.”

When it comes to music, this past March, the Grammy-nominated artist released his second studio album, Candydrip, with features from Smino, Lil Durk, And Chiiild.

Do you enjoy the classic 1985 film Back to the Future? Sure, we all do. Then you’re probably going to love this wild anecdote about the time Michael J. Fox made Woody Harrelson drink, we kid you not, snake blood. Apparently, Alex P. Keaton could throw down with the best of them when it came to partying during the 80s, and Harrelson made sure everyone knew about their snake guzzling adventure while presenting his dear friend Fox with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award over the weekend.

According to Harrelson, the two were cruising through a jungle in Thailand, as best buds do, when Fox paid a local guide to take them to a mongoose versus cobra fight. When they got there, Fox sat down with kid who was “toying” with loose cobras right next to them. Marty McFly has no fear, folks, and that was only the start of the evening.

Via Entertainment Weekly:

“He taunted a bunch of these cobras and then he found the orneriest cobra, grabbed it by the neck, threw it in a cage with mongoose, where I saw the craziest fight I’ve ever seen between any animals other than studio executives,” adding, “You guys know I’m kidding.”

Well, the mongoose won the fight, and as tradition dictated, it was time to become “brother to the snake” by drinking its blood.

“They took the snake, yep, tied it by its tail, run the blood out, half-filled four glasses with cobra blood and half with Thai whiskey,” Harrelson explained.

Turns out, downing snake blood pushed the limits of Doc Hollywood‘s partying skills. “Mike and I drink lots of things together, and he can hold his own — [what] can I say, he’s Canadian,” Harrelson said. “But Mike promptly vomited his snake cocktail. Never could hold his cobra blood.”

As Fox took the stage, he leaned right into the epic tale.

“I love you. We did some damage,” Fox said to Harrelson while accepting the award. “We did some damage in the ’80s.”

Marty McFly is hardcore, folks.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

There are some true life stories that are destined to be told as movies or TV shows. Certain elements that feed into our shared obsessions with sex, glamour, broken dreams, and what they can do to people when desperation sets in and moral barriers crumble. Hulu’s Welcome To Chippendales is that kind of story, exploring the rise and fall of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, the founder of the Chippendales male strip clubs. But what turns a good story into a great film, or in this case, a great limited series (that just launched on Hulu)? In this case, patience and the space to really explore Banerjee’s slide, finding the devil in all the details and microtraumas that led to a broken life.

Uproxx spoke with executive producer and star Kumail Nanjiani on getting the opportunity to go deeper, the evolution of a project that first found him 5 years ago, drawing inspiration from people who equate success with goodness, and finding ways to make this character feel authentic and inevitable. A clear showcase for Nanjiani that should generate awards buzz, we also talked about the sometimes final shift comic actors make to drama, absorbing other great crime sagas before filming, and getting Steve’s look exactly right to offer a contrast between him and the near perfect “Adonis” like dancers that populated his world.

What was your did you know about the Chippendales going into this?

Nothing. I had no idea about any of this. This project first came to me five years ago as a movie with the same writer. It was a movie script and I read it and that was when I first realized all this stuff, and then I didn’t do the movie at that point. And then when this came my way, the mini-series version, there was just so much more detail and there were many more things that are in the show that I had no idea happened, so I had no idea about any of this.

What were the things that sort of excited you and also the things that kind of scared you going into it?

I was excited to do a story that felt so epic and personal at the same time. It becomes an ensemble piece, but at the center of it is this guy’s sort of journey into success, his rise and fall at a very specific time in America. So I was excited about doing something that spans from the 70s to the 90s, and watching this guy build an empire and all the ways that he has to sacrifice himself and the people around him to get that success and to hold onto that success. That’s what was really exciting to me.

And then the stuff I was intimidated about was just I’d never gotten the opportunity to play a character like this. Over the course of eight episodes, this guy really changes in big ways and doesn’t change in other big ways. So for me, the challenge was how do I create a human being that does a lot of bad stuff in a way that feels justified? So that someone watching him can think, “Oh, okay. I buy that he would think this was the right thing to do.” How do you justify the unjustifiable?”

Do you have to find a way internally to justify some of the choices that he makes in the process of creating the character and achieving that?

I have to make sure that every decision he makes internally feels inevitable, and it feels like the right thing to do. I don’t know. I don’t think bad people maybe know that they’re bad. This guy certainly doesn’t. And so it was about how do I create a worldview that’s consistent through all 8 episodes, but have him start off in a place that feels very innocent and childlike, end in a place that feels very dark and criminal, and have that worldview stay consistent the entire time?

Obviously, I’m going to assume you don’t know anybody who’s murderous. But do you know anybody in your real life that kind of gives you a hint of someone like Steve at the start who is obviously very driven, someone who’s a huge dreamer? Or is it all just research about Steve and his life?

No, it’s taking from a lot of different types of people and different people that I know for sure, especially when I was talking about people who have a certain worldview. I know people who sort of think of morality in a very specific kind of way. I know people who are nicer to me now that I’m a bit more successful, and I’m somehow a more valid person because I have a longer IMDB list. There are people, I think, in our industry who equate success with a moral good, who think being rich and being a good person are the same thing. And so it was sort of borrowing worldviews from things like that. It’s sort of an approach that I see a lot in our business. And then, other kinds of people that I’ve met. It’s just borrowing little traits from all kinds of people. I love playing characters who are kings of a tiny fiefdom. I’ve done that comedically.

I did a series called Portlandia for many years, and it was always a guy who was king of a very tiny castle and really loved the power that he had. So bringing that aspect of it to Chippendale‘s was part of it. This guy’s certainly king of a very tiny castle and it’s very important to him that everyone recognizes he’s king. So it was just taking pieces of real people I knew, or real types of people I knew, and then combining it with other parts I played, insecurities I have and things I worry about, and putting it all together and making one person that makes sense with a bunch of disparate parts.

Physically, obviously, you got a lot of attention last time you went through a big physical transformation for a role. For this, it seems like you kind of went through another physical transformation. Is that the case, or was it more just makeup?

No, there’s no makeup. There’s no padding. People asked, they’re like, “Oh, that suit’s padded.” I’m like, “No, it’s not padded.” I just wanted to look different. I saw a picture of Steve and it was this nerdy, Brown guy surrounded by these sort of gorgeous, White Adonises, and it felt like he really didn’t belong. He owned a world that doesn’t really have room for him. And so it was important to me that I look like someone who doesn’t belong in that world. Everybody else is a certain kind of person who looks a certain kind of way by design. As you watch the show more, you’ll see that he curated the kind of guys that could be Chippendales dancers, and he would not have hired someone who looked like himself to do that, which I think is also kind of tragic. So yeah, I just wanted to make sure that I looked like someone who didn’t fit in that world. That was another part of the process.

Do you gravitate toward these kinds of Great American Crime Stories as a viewer?

Yeah. And always before I start shooting something, I just watch a bunch of movies that I think might help me prepare. And I’m not watching them academically. I just want the right stuff to soak in. Goodfellas, Casino, Boogie Nights. I watched The Conversation a bunch of times because that Gene Hackman performance is so good and he’s the guy who’s very closed off, very internal. You can feel there’s a lot going on inside him, but he is not very demonstrative. He doesn’t express his emotion, and I felt like Steve is like that. There’s a lot going on, but he’s buttoned up really tight. So The Conversation, for me, was definitely a very important reference point for this show and performance. Those movies, I’ve watched them many times before. The Conversation is one of my favorite movies. But then to re-watch it again with an eye to specific things, that’s the most fun part of the preparation, saying “I’m working right now. I’m doing research,” and I just get to watch a bunch of awesome movies.

A lot of comedic actors seem to gravitate towards drama at a certain point in their careers. Some of them stay there. Do you feel like for comedic actors, or for yourself, there’s a little bit of a chip on the shoulder of just, “I really want to show people that I can do dramatic work, that I’m not just a comedic actor?” Has that been something that has propelled you at points in your career?

Honestly, not really. I would see a lot of comedic actors go to drama and I’d be like, “Why? You’re so funny. What are you doing?” And then sometimes when they stay there, I’m like, “Come back! Give us one more comedy!” There are many people I could name that are tremendous comedic actors who are also tremendous drama actors now, and I’m like, “Well, go back to the thing that we fell in love with you for.” For me, it was never about, “Oh, I want to be serious now. Now I’m entering this serious phase of my career.” That’s not true. My next thing is going to be a comedy. I just really liked this project and I wanted to challenge myself and see how far I could push myself doing something like this. It’s great. I would love to do more drama. I found this very exciting. I’d love to do more drama, but I also think I’m always going to be doing comedies as long as I have the opportunity to do them because I still love those movies and I want to be a part of them.

The first 2 episodes of ‘Welcome To Chippedales’ are available to stream on Hulu

This article originally appeared on 12.09.16

“It’s the mooost wonderful tiiiiime of the — OH NO, did Charlie just ask if Santa is real?!”

— What some mom or dad is probably thinking this very moment

If you’re a parent in a household that celebrates Christmas, you can likely relate to the dreaded Santa Claus conversation. It may come with tears, it may come with tantrums, and it may even be worse for you, seeing that heart-wrenching look of disappointment spread across your child’s once-merry face.

It’s a dilemma Charity Hutchinson of British Columbia has been thinking about recently, as a mom to two young boys and the two nephews she cares for as well.

**********THIS PHOTO BY THERESA WAS CROPPED TO THE 3X2 SO NOT SURE WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR SETTING VS WHAT THE ACTUAL PHOTO WAS***********************

Just a few days ago, one of Hutchinson’s nephews raised the question, telling her he no longer believed in Santa Claus.

“I felt sad because he seemed disappointed telling me his news,” she explains in a message. “And in that moment I didn’t know what to say to him.”

Hutchinson soon stumbled upon some advice online, finding what she described as “by far the best idea I’ve seen about telling your kids about Santa.”

The idea of Santa may seem frivolous to many adults, but to believe in something much bigger than yourself, only to learn you’ve been lied to by the people you trust most in the world? That can be a really big deal to a kid (and can possibly even create long-term trust issues for them, as one study found). The Santa conversation is one many parents understandably want to get right.

So when Hutchinson saw one of her friends on Facebook share an anonymous post detailing a strategy for breaking the news to your kids without disappointing them, she was thrilled.

Hutchinson loved the idea so much, she shared it on Facebook as well:

This is by far the best idea I’ve seen about telling your kids about Santa. Had to share! *********”In our family, we…
Posted by Charity Hutchinson on Tuesday, November 29, 2016

This is how it works:

1. Find a time to take your kid out, one-on-one, to a favorite spot and deliver the great news: The time has come for them to become a Santa.

The post explains (emphasis mine):

“When they are 6 or 7, whenever you see that dawning suspicion that Santa may not be a material being, that means the child is ready. I take them out ‘for coffee’ at the local wherever. We get a booth, order our drinks, and the following pronouncement is made: ‘You sure have grown an awful lot this year. Not only are you taller, but I can see that your heart has grown, too.'”

The post suggests pointing to a few different examples of how your kid has shown empathy or done something nice for another person throughout the past year. Let them know it was in those moments they proved themselves worthy of finally “becoming a Santa” themselves.

2. Assure your kid that they’re ready to become a Santa because they understand the true meaning of giving (it’s not just about the milk and cookies).

“You probably have noticed that most of the Santas you see are people dressed up like him. Some of your friends might have even told you that there is no Santa. A lot of children think that because they aren’t ready to BE a Santa yet, but YOU ARE.”

Get them talking about all the reasons they think Santa’s the best. They may start out by pointing to his sleigh-riding skills or the fact he can go around the whole world in just one night. But move the conversation toward Santa being not so much of a cool person, but a cool concept that’s focused on giving. Handing out presents makes the spirit of Santa a spectacular thing. Because your kid understands why giving back matters too, it’s time they become a Santa themselves.

Also, “make sure you maintain the proper conspiratorial tone,” the post notes.

3. Now that they’re in on the secret, have them choose someone who could really use a great gift and devise a plan to give it away — secretly, of course.

“We then have the child choose someone they know — a neighbor, usually. The child’s mission is to secretly, deviously, find out something that the person needs, and then provide it, wrap it, deliver it — and never reveal to the target where it came from. Being a Santa isn’t about getting credit, you see. It’s unselfish giving.”

In the original post, the writer explains that their oldest child decided to buy a gift for a neighbor who always walked out to get the newspaper without her shoes on. Their son spied on the neighbor one day from the bushes to estimate her shoe size — he predicted she wore mediums — and then slipped a pair of slippers under her driveway gate one evening with a note “from Santa.” The following morning, the neighbor was spotted wearing the slippers. Their son was ecstatic.

4. Remind them that being a Santa is top-secret business. And that, next year, they can carry on with their selfless Santa duties once again.

“I had to remind him that NO ONE could ever know what he did or he wouldn’t be a Santa. Over the years, he chose a good number of targets, always coming up with a unique present just for them.”

One year, for instance, he polished up a bike for a family friend’s daughters. The writer’s son was just as over the moon about giving the gift as the daughters were about receiving it.

Over the past week, Hutchinson’s post has racked up thousands of Likes and shares, with plenty of thankful parents chiming in in the comments.

“I never imagined it would be so popular!” Hutchinson explains. “I mean, it felt special when I read it and completely gave me goosebumps, but I didn’t realize it would go this far.”

Where the original post came from is still somewhat of a mystery. As The Huffington Post reported, it seems to have first cropped up in 2007 in an online forum. Ever since, the idea has floated around the web here and there, but has only made waves recently with Hutchinson’s post going viral.

Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

The secret of being a Santa, so to speak, has already worked its holiday magic on Hutchinson’s once-suspicious nephew.

Filling him in on becoming a Santa was an instant game-changer, she says.

“His eyes lit right up,” she writes. “That excitement and joy returned to him and he couldn’t stop asking me questions! … Instantly I could see the wheels were turning and he started planning who his special target would be and what he would get them and how he’d pull it off.”

Hutchinson is happy her simple Facebook post has turned into something so special. “It isn’t just a nice way to break the news to your kids,” she writes. “But it really teaches them about the true meaning of Christmas and how you should always give to others.”