Category: News

The Walking Dead series finale is this Sunday. Yes, really.

After 11 seasons, the AMC zombie series is ending — except for the spinoffs, which are just beginning. It’s a tough task for showrunner Angela Kang, who has to balance making the episode feel like a satisfying finale, while also setting up future stories for characters we know don’t die. Another issue: The Walking Dead has so many freaking characters that some fan favorites are going to draw the short end of the proverbial straw.

“What I’ll say is that this is the approach that we took, and it’s possible that not everybody’s going to be satisfied with this, but when you do have that many characters, you cannot give every person equal weight in something that is basically, I don’t know, 60 minutes of screen time. You’re just gonna have a nothing burger story,” Kang told Entertainment Weekly. The finale is “definitely focused more on some particular stories,” she added. “It’s not going to be every single person gets equal screen time, because like I said, it just makes it impossible to wrangle.”

This is why the final episode should be focused on just one character. Sorry, Daryl, Carol, Maggie, Michonne (is she still on the show?), Gabriel, and Negan. It’s Jerry time.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Despite the lack of a red wave, which is currently being pinned on Donald Trump, the Republicans still have a chance of eking out a very, very small majority in the House of Representatives. More specifically, Kevin McCarthy held off a challenger to being named Speaker of the House, and apparently that decision has opened the door for Marjorie Taylor Greene to just start naming herself to committees.

It’s a surprising turnaround considering Greene was stripped of her House committees in February 2021 for endlessly spewing outlandish conspiracy theories. However, in a surprisingly cunning move, her newfound allegiance to McCarthy is apparently paying dividends. Here’s what she recently told Charlie Kirk about her future if Republicans control the House. Via Mediaite:

“I’m very excited to serve on Oversight. That’s the committee I’ve asked for and no one has told me no about anything. I am going to be pursuing many things and I’m thrilled to be able to do that.”

It should be noted that Greene is operating under the assumption that McCarthy will follow through on naming her to the Oversight Committee, which has not officially happened yet. Back in October, it was reported that McCarthy is being “held hostage” by Greene and other fringe House members like Paul Gosar who are demanding considerable more power in the GOP majority. On top of being named to Oversight, Greene reportedly also wants a seat on the House Judicial Committee, which would be bonkers and yet, frighteningly, not out of the question in the new House alignment.

(Via Mediaite)

Herschel Walker is currently touring the state of Georgia, desperate to pick up more votes before his scheduled run-off with Democratic incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock takes place in December. With neither politician scoring a clear win in the 2022 Midterms, Walker has had to make more stump speeches — a fact that’s probably giving his PR team a headache but is giving the rest of us some bizarre comedic gems.

Take Walker’s latest rally for instance. The former NFL player spent over two minutes rambling off the plot of an 80s horror film in an effort to sway voters to his side. According to his speech, Walker stayed up into the early hours of the morning watching Tom Holland’s original version of Fright Night, a movie about a kid who recruits a TV show host to play vampire hunter when his next-door neighbor turns out to be one of the undead. All judgment of Walker’s choice to skip the Colin Farrell remake aside, Walker initially used the film to garner some laughs from the crowd before changing course and using his time at the podium to give everyone a confusing recap of the movie that had absolutely nothing to do with his campaign talking points.

Enjoy the visceral awkwardness that ensues below:

But wait, that wasn’t the only weird AF speech Walker forced his Georgia constituents to listen to this week. In what appears to be a totally different rally held by the congressional hopeful, Walker slams the Green Party’s agenda, using Russian tanks and the factually incorrect belief that America’s doing “the best thing we can” by continuing to use “gas-guzzling” cars to defend his climate change denial stance.

In a fun game we often like to play when it comes to this guy, let’s play a round of “See If You Can Make Sense Of What Republican Senate Candidate Herschel Walker Is Saying Here.”

In all seriousness, if Walker’s SNL-worthy run for Congress doesn’t convince everyone that they too can become a politician, we don’t know what will. The bar is just so low, folks.

Working from home has its perks. Kurt Vile created his recent album, Watch My Moves, at his new OKV Central home studio in Philadelphia. And now for his latest holiday cover of Bob Dylan’s “Must Be Santa,” Vile figured he might as well get his two daughters in the mix to sing back up vocals. Heck, they’re around, right?

Vile and his two little Viles sing over warm synths, flipping Dylan’s raucous, accordion-studded 2009 take on the Christmas staple on its head.

“I thought I’d do an acoustic version and have my daughters sing backup,” Vile said in a statement. “But then it turned into more of a weird synth version with their vocals, which is really the hook.”

The song is part of the Spotify Holiday Singles collection and it must have felt feel pretty rewarding for the Vile family to take on a Bob Dylan tune together. Even more so that Bob Dylan gave it his blessing. Vile shared a story about making the song:

“When I was asked to be on this Christmas compilation, they said ‘you can do any Christmas song you want, as long as it’s not repeated by somebody else on this series.’ I thought it was nice of them to invite me, but I didn’t know if I could pull off a Christmas song! Then my mind jumped to when John Agnello showed me the Bob Dylan version of ‘Must Be Santa’ while we were making the Smoke Ring For My Halo record. It’s a really hilarious video (he showed me that first), and it shows a rambunctious Christmas party. Bob Dylan has a wig on, and someone goes flying through a window. All this time, I thought it was Bob Dylan’s song. It’s really catchy, and he makes it his own as he usually does. I figured if I can do Dylan’s ‘Must Be Santa,’ if that’s not taken, it’s a sign. I gotta be the next chapter in this version of a Bob Dylan song. Then I realized it was actually a classic Christmas song, and was written however long ago, but I still wanted to do it justice the way Bob did. I wanted to be the guy who attempted to pull it off.

This was also a great excuse to use my home studio OKV Central again, with my bandmate Adam Langellotti on bass, and Ted Young. Ted moved to Philly (he engineers with me a lot), but he was actually John Agnello’s assistant engineer back when I first heard Bob Dylan’s ‘Must Be Santa.’ It feels like a perfect circle, really. I thought I’d do an acoustic version and have my daughters sing backup, but then it turned into more of a weird synth version with their vocals, which is really the hook. I figured Bob wouldn’t hear it, but I still wanted to do it justice, and once I got my daughters singing with me I hoped he would at least like it. Now I know… he loves it [laughs]. Merry Christmas, Bob Dylan!”

Listen to Kurt Vile and his daughters cover “Must Be Santa” from the Spotify’s Holiday Singles Collection below.

SZA‘s long-anticipated sophomore album is finally on the horizon. In a recent interview with Billboard, SZA revealed that the album is titled S.O.S. and is currently planned to arrive sometime next month. The album marks her first in five years, following her 2017 debut, Ctrl.

Though she did not disclose an exact date, fans have already taken to Twitter to share their theories.

One fan on Twitter says he believes the album will arrive just before Christmas Day.

“The clock in the final minute of the “Shirt” video shows the time 12:21,” they said. “the license plate in the beginning says “NO CTRL, DEC 2022″. Argue in the comments.”

If SZA continues the pattern she established in 2020, a Christmas-time release date for S.O.S. shouldn’t be too far off. She surprised us on Christmas Day of 2020 by releasing her single, “Good Days.” In 2021, she dropped “I Hate U” on streaming platforms just weeks before Christmas. She has not confirmed if either of those songs, along with the Ty Dolla Sign-assisted “Hit Different,” which she released in September of 2020, will appear on S.O.S..

On December 3, SZA will perform on Saturday Night Live in an episode hosted by Keke Palmer. Ahead of the performance, she unveiled a teaser clip for a new song called “PSA.”

As for collaborators, SZA has kept rather mum, however, she revealed that she and producer Rodney Jerkins cut seven tracks in one day during the S.O.S. sessions in a recent interview with Complex.

“That was always my dream,” she said. “To work with [Jerkins] based on his work with Brandy and Amerie.”

The Sacramento Kings are 7-6 to start the 2022-23 NBA season. They’ve won four in a row and are eighth in the Western Conference, only a game out of the No. 4 seed. On Tuesday, they demolished the Brooklyn Nets, 153-121, on TNT. They own the league’s second-ranked offense. De’Aaron Fox looks primed to nab his first All-Star berth. Kevin Huerter is white hot beyond the arc. Domantas Sabonis is cooking. This is a super fun group to watch.

Following Sacramento’s dissection of the dysfunctional Nets, Charles Barkley, enthused by the Kings’ dominant performance and recent stretch of play, called upon commissioner Adam Silver to enact some change.

“Let’s call Adam Silver, he’s at the game. Let’s move all the Sacramento Kings (games) in for the Lakers (games),” Barkley said. “Let’s call him right now. Let’s kill all the Lakers games.”

The Lakers have struggled mightily out of the gates. They’re 3-10 and 14th in the West. Only the 3-12 Detroit Pistons and 2-12 Houston Rockets have worse records. Despite that, given Los Angeles’ immense popularity, headlined by stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they’ve played numerous nationally televised games. That doesn’t stand to change moving forward either, much to Barkley’s dismay.

The Lakers’ next chance to climb out of their early hole comes Friday at home against the Pistons. Meanwhile, Sacramento will aim to extend its winning streak to five when it welcomes the San Antonio Spurs to town on Thursday night.

Everyone wants a piece of the iconic rock group Pavement, and it seems there’s enough of them to go around. After reuniting for a summer tour, the band has made it clear to fans that this was only the beginning. Following the success of their art exhibition, Pavement continues to branch into other arts sectors.

Their newest venture is a theatrical production centered around their journey through music as well as popular tracks “Here,” “Summer Babe,” and “Harness Your Hopes.” Written and directed by filmmaker Alex Ross Perry, the musical titled, Slanted! Enchanted! A Pavement Musical, will star Michael Esper (Sting’s The Last Ship and Green Day’s American Idiot musicals), Zoe Lister-Jones (Band Aid, Delocated), and Kathryn Gallagher (Alanis Morrissette’s Jagged Little Pill musical).

Fans can rest assured knowing the musical will catch the true essence of the group as Perry (who is also working on the band’s untitled documentary) has already proven himself to be a superfan.

It is unclear which tracks will be featured in the production, but what we do know is Keegan DeWitt and Dabney Morris will serve as the musical’s song arrangers. While Angela Trimbur will serve as the official choreographer.

The band took to Twitter to share the announcement with the caption, “the majesty and mystery of Pavement, one of rock music’s most unique treasures, brought to life on the theater stage for an abbreviated, unforgettable stand.”

Slanted! Enchanted! A Pavement Musical is slated for a limited showing with two performances at the Sheen Center in New York City on December 1 and 2. To order your tickets, click here.

Margot Robbie has become one of the world’s most in-demand actresses, but that means that she cannot possibly take on every project she is offered, including the now-defunct Pirates of the Caribbean reboot that she had been planning.

Robbie had been attached to a Pirates of the Caribbean film featuring a female-led cast since it was first reported in 2020. She was on board to reunite with Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson for the reboot, which was supposed to be a fresh take on the now 20-year-old movie franchise that was led by Johnny Depp.

But despite the promising start, the movie didn’t gain much traction over the last few years. While speaking to Vanity Fair this week, the Barbie actress confirmed that the Pirates revamp has been canceled.

“We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led — not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story — which we thought would’ve been really cool,” Robbie explained. “But I guess they don’t want to do it.”

Even though Robbie won’t be setting out to sea, in the spring, Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that there were multiple sequels moving forward, besides the one with Robbie attached. “Yes. We’re talking to Margot Robbie. We are developing two Pirates scripts — one with her, one without,” he confirmed. There have been no further updates on what exactly the non-Margot film will be, but we know that it won’t have Johnny Depp.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Top Gun: Maverick is 2022’s highest-grossing movie, and will likely remain so unless Avatar: The Way of Water has something to say about it. A good chunk of the Top Gun sequel’s nearly $1.5 billion box office total comes from people who watched it multiple times (like the guy who went to the theater 45 days in a row), but only a select few — possibly only one person! — have noticed the easter egg in the beach football scene.

“My favorite party trick is showing people that they sampled the volleyball scene audio in top gun 1986 for the beach football scene in top gun maverick,” @msmegalodon tweeted, along with evidence of Top Gun: Maverick‘s Hangman (played by Glen Powell) having the same distinctive (and shirtless) howl as the original’s Slider (Rick Rossovich).

The viral tweet caught the attention of Top Gun: Maverick editor, Eddie Hamilton, who wrote, “Emma I am stoked you noticed this. Very deliberate little nod to the original iconic beach volleyball scene. Bravo. Well played.” In a follow-up tweet, he added, “No one else has spotted this as far as I’m aware. Enjoy your time in the smug zone.”

Hamilton passed along the tweet to Tom Cruise and Top Gun: Maverick co-writer Christopher McQuarrie, who tweeted, “Tom and I were most impressed when Eddie showed us this over breakfast this morning. Keep on smugging, Emma.”

Smug zone > danger zone.

(Via Cinema Blend)

Saying the season hasn’t started the way the Brooklyn Nets wanted would be an understatement. After the team got pummeled by the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night, Brooklyn fell to 6-9 on the year. Kyrie Irving continues to be suspended from the team, Ben Simmons has largely been either hurt or a shell of his former self, and Steve Nash got fired with Jacque Vaughn taking over in his place due to the team’s original plan of hiring Ime Udoka falling through.

Throughout it all, Kevin Durant has played like one of the best basketball players in the world. Durant’s averaging more than 30 points per game and keeps finding other ways to impact games, but it has not necessarily translated to wins for one reason or another. In the midst of all that, Durant told Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report that his focus is on trying to lead.

“Look at our starting lineup. Edmond Sumner, Royce O’Neale, Joe Harris, [Nic] Claxton and me. It’s not disrespect, but what are you expecting from that group?” Durant said. “You expect us to win because I’m out there. So if you’re watching from that lens, you’re expecting us to play well because No. 7 is out there.”

Durant went on to say that he’s having fun during games, and believes that the perception that he’s “miserable” would change “if I got mic’d up more.” He also explained that his perspective has changed in recent years, due in large part to the Achilles tear that he suffered during the 2019 NBA Finals.

“I’m really having a good time,” Durant said. “I wish y’all could hear me talk during the game. If I got mic’d up more, people would stop asking me if I’m happy or not. I’m enjoying every moment I get to step on this f*cking court, and part of it is because I tore my Achilles. And the pandemic, I didn’t know if we were going to play again. I didn’t know if I was going to play again.

“I was just like, ‘This can’t be it for me,’” he continued. “I have to really enjoy every single moment I’m out here. That’s part of being a pro. I have to be coachable, I have to knock down shots, I have to be aggressive, and I have to talk to my teammates the right way. That’s the journey and the battle.”