It’s understandable that a young child seeing a movie like “E.T.” might think the wide-eyed creature from another planet is real. After all, it’s an award-winning film with still-impressive animatronics that bring E.T. to life. One would probably assume, however, that a child who acted in the movie and saw the behind-the-scenes filmmaking process firsthand would know he wasn’t real.
However, that wasn’t the case for actress Drew Barrymore.
Barrymore played the main character’s younger sister, Gertie, in the film. After an initial scare, Gertie adored E.T.—and as it turns out, so did 7-year-old Barrymore.
Barrymore recently had some of the cast members on her daytime talk show for the film’s 40th anniversary and they described how she would interact with the E.T. character, even in-between takes. Henry Thomas, who played the main character Elliott, shared that it had been cold on the set one day and Barrymore asked the wardrobe lady for a scarf to put on E.T. so he wouldn’t get cold.
“I really, really loved him, in such a profound way,” said Barrymore, adding that she would take lunch to the adorable alien on set.
Dee Wallace Stone, who played Elliott and Gertie’s mother in the film, said “We found you over there just talking away to E.T., and so we let Steven [Spielberg] know. And so Steven, from that time on, appointed two guys to keep E.T. alive so whenever you came over to talk to him, he could react to you.”
u201cSteven Spielberg appointing 2 guys to ensure E.T. was always operating incase Drew Barrymore went over to talk to him has made my heart so full. What a menschu201d
For young children, the line between reality and fantasy can be quite fuzzy. Kids’ imaginations allow them to believe in everything from fairies to Santa Claus to monsters in their closets, and the fact that Barrymore believed E.T. to be real is such a pure example of childhood innocence.
That Spielberg took care to honor that innocence and nurture Barrymore’s imagination even when they weren’t filming is so touching. It’s particularly moving in this case, considering how key adults in Barrymore’s life were famously not protective of her childhood.
“Saturday Night Live” had some fun with the lukewarm feelings some Democrats have about President Biden over the weekend with a trailer for the mock horror film “2020 Part 2: 2024.”
The bit was funny because it mirrors the sentiments many had about Biden running in 2020. Hence, the trailer was a sequel to the fake film, “2020.”
In the sketch, a group of friends comes to terms with the fact that Joe Biden may be running for reelection at the age of 81. “I mean, I love the guy but he did his part,” “SNL” breakout star Bowen Yang says.
They try to rationalize a second term by pointing out Biden’s numerous achievements but cringe when they consider he recently crashed his bicycle. However uncomfortable Biden’s age makes them, they also have to consider a candidate who may be on the ballot if Biden decides against running again. This is where the true horror begins.
The friends ponder what could happen if the Democrats ran Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker or Pete Buttigieg, striking fear in all of their hearts.
Finally, the group considers the most horrifying and also best-qualified choice of all. “I have the perfect candidate. A superstar who can go all the way—Hillary,” Mikey Day says as he turns into the villain from “Smile.”
While the idea of a repeat of 2020 has some Democrats on edge, a recent poll found that the majority of Americans don’t want to see it happen either. In a prospective presidential race, 64% of voters don’t want to see Joe Biden on the ballot and 68% don’t want to see Trump.
In a hypothetical head-to-head race in 2024, Biden has a 4% lead over Trump.
When most people think of Julia Roberts, they think of “Pretty Woman” or “Ocean’s Eleven” or one of the other plethora of films she’s acted in. Most people don’t see her signature red hair and broad smile and immediately think of a civil rights icon. But there’s a connection that Gayle King encouraged Roberts to share during a recent interview.
Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King paid for the birth of the megacelebrity when her parents were in a bind with medical bills. The story is obviously more nuanced than the Kings ponying up $300 or whatever the price was to deliver babies back then.
Roberts explained to Gayle King that her parents became acquainted with the Kings after Coretta Scott King asked if her children could attend the acting school Roberts’ parents owned. The two couples became good friends after that, and thanks to a fateful phone call, Roberts was welcomed into this world carrying a little bit of unknown history with her.
The internet is buzzing with disbelief, because who the heck can say their birth was paid for by the Martin Luther King Jr.? Turns out, Julia Roberts, that’s who. Jay Willis commented on Twitter “No this is one of those history facts that my brain can’t process.”
Another commenter reminded us how recent this piece of history was, saying, “Illustrates just how young MLK was when he was assassinated and how recently he lived. Too many of us think America’s racist past was long ago. It is living memory.”
Most other reactions were just complete shock that this happened and isn’t documented, while others noted how uncomfortable Roberts appeared when she relayed the story. Turns out, there was likely good reason for the discomfort. Someone reposted a tweet from 2021 by Ashley Reynolds that included an article detailing how Roberts’ parents were targets of hate after they cast Yolanda King, one of the King’s children, as the lead in their play where she had to kiss a white boy.
The whole connection between the Roberts family and the iconic King family is simply fascinating. Listen to Roberts tell how the friendship happened below.
u201cToday is Julia Roberts birthday! 55 years ago MLK and Coretta Scott King paid for her parents hospital bill after she was born. Canu2019t stop thinking about this since I read it. Here she is talking about it with @GayleKingu201d
Former president Barack Obama reminded everyone of his off-the-cuff sense of humor at a campaign rally for Democratic voters in Detroit on Saturday, October 29. Nearly six years after leaving the White House, the 61-year-old lamented that it was more challenging for him to be out on the campaign trail than it used to be.
“I have to admit that sometimes going out on the campaign trail feels a little harder than it used to,” the 44th president said to the crowd. “Not just because I’m older and grayer…”
A woman behind Obama responded by screaming that he’s still “finer than a mug,” using what sounds like a euphemism for a much stronger phrase. Although, she may have used the whole term. The funny thing is that after she made the bold proclamation, she had no interest in backing down. She stayed strong, nodding affirmatively and twirling her finger in the air as Obama laughed on the stage.
The moment was a refreshing flashback for many who cherish the years when the young, charismatic politician was in office.
Warning: Contains explicit language.
u201cObama: Iu2019m getting old and gray.nnBlack lady: You fine than a mfer. nhttps://t.co/8ilpc5GsKMu201d
The audience and Obama thought the outburst was funny. “She said I was still fine,” Obama told the crowd with a grin. “I’m not gonna tell Michelle you said that, although Michelle does agree. She knows,” he said.
Obama’s appearance was part of a five-state tour to support Democrats in the midterm elections. The elections are an uphill battle for Democrats who face the headwinds of inflation, economic uncertainty and history. In modern elections, the president’s party has traditionally lost seats in Congress in the midterms.
The Week 8 edition of Monday Night Football featured an old-school division rivalry. The Cleveland Browns welcomed the Cincinnati Bengals to town and, in the early going, it was a slugfest to say the least. Neither team scored in the first quarter, with fewer than 150 total yards accumulated and a turnover on both sides. However, not all turnovers are created equal, and Cleveland’s giveaway came in hilarious fashion from the right arm of Amari Cooper.
Cooper, who is famously a wide receiver, took a reverse and lofted a ball into Cincinnati’s secondary late in the opening period while being hit. The result was disastrous for the Browns in that there wasn’t a single Cleveland pass-catcher in view for what became a (very) easy interception for Cincinnati’s Vonn Bell.
Obviously, Cooper should not be held to the same standard as a quarterback, and he was under duress when he threw the ball. Still, there has to be a trigger for Cooper to just eat the ball in that circumstance, and he was off-balance before he even uncorked the throw.
Fortunately for Cleveland, the play did not set Cincinnati up in immediate scoring territory, and the Bengals punted on the ensuing possession. As such, maybe this can become a point of amusement for Browns observers, as it certainly was for everyone else.
Kyle Kuzma has had quite the journey in his six year career that’s seen him be an important cog in the Lakers 2020 championship team, only to get dealt the following summer to Washington in the Russell Westbrook trade.
In Washington, Kuzma has continued to refine his game and become a terrific two-way wing, but hyperathleticism has never been part of his game. That’s not to say Kuzma isn’t a good athlete, he’s just not the guy that jumps out of the gym and makes jaw-dropping plays above the rim.
On Halloween, Kuzma decided he’d try to out being a high-flyer and learned the hard way that’s a hard costume to pull off in a game, as he took a fastbreak outlet and decided to try throwing down a reverse, double-pump jam that rocketed off the back of the rim and became a semi-transition three for the Sixers.
This is a textbook case of putting too much dip on your chip, as Kuzma could’ve done any number of things in this situation to get his team two points but couldn’t resist the chance to flex a bit. The problem is, he’s not usually that guy and all he got was a guaranteed spot on Shaqtin’ A Fool this week.
Last week, after months of pushback and attempts to weasel out of the deal, Elon Musk officially acquired Twitter. Whether or not the Tesla and SpaceX honcho will make dramatic changes has yet to be seen. Prominent figures who’ve been banned — most notably former president Donald Trump — will stay so, at least for the time being. But Musk was quick to make one rash move: He fired three of the social media service’s top execs. But which ones?
As per Insider, Musk terminated the positions of former CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, and former Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde. But it was all part of a plan. A source told Insider that Musk fired the three execs “for cause” so that he didn’t have to pay them splashy severance packages as well as unvested stock awards.
The execs are reportedly considering taking further action, but it’s not as though they’re leaving the company with empty pockets. They will reportedly still receive hefty payouts; between the three of them, the cash could go as high as $122 million. Musk could avoid these payments if he’s able to prove that there was just cause for the terminations, namely that they broke the law or violated company policy.
Musk is not done retooling his new company. Insider reported that team leaders and VPs spent part of the weekend drawing up lists over who to keep and who to let go based on performance reviews.
Since Musk took over Twitter, things have not gone swimmingly. There was an instant uptick in racist and anti-Semitic posts, as well as ones featuring misinformation. Some of that misinformation was shared by Musk himself when he chimed in on the attempted murder of Nancy Pelosi’s husband by a MAGA fanatic with a claim that’s already been debunked.
If you think Donald Trump is unhinged with social media, just check out his oldest son. Don Jr. routinely goes to lengths even the exiled former president doesn’t, not afraid to ruffle the feathers of even the least easily offended. (Or he simply records deranged, slurry videos that make his dad’s speeches seem like masterful orations.) But in the last two days, he seems to have gone too far even for him.
As per The Daily Beast, Jr. — like way too many in the Republican party — thought it was pretty funny that an 82-year-old was nearly murdered by an unhinged MAGA zombie. Early Friday morning, Paul Pelosi, husband to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, narrowly avoided being hammered to death by a home intruder, with a long history of posting far right talking points. This didn’t prompt self-reflection among the GOP. Instead it inspired them to make lots of jokes. A number of them came from Jr. himself.
One, posted on his Instagram account, featured a picture of underwear and a hammer, with the caption “Got my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready.” The post was a reference to a debunked conspiracy theory positing that the perpetrator was a gay sex worker or Grindr hook-up summoned by Paul Pelosi. If you heard this one, it’s because it was amplified by Elon Musk on the social media service he recently acquired. Musk has since deleted the post.
Jr. also deleted this post, as he did with another, featuring a doctored image from South Park depicting Herbert Garrison, during his trans period in the aughts, having sex with evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. “Dear fact-checkers,” he wrote in the caption, “this has nothing at all to do with anything going on in the news and simply posting a cartoon of what appears to be an altered South Park scene.”
But those since-deleted posts now only live on in screengrabs posted by journalists and others on social media. He has yet to delete a joke on Twitter about hammers.
As it happens, his father doesn’t agree with his son, at least not publicly. In an interview with Spanish-language conservative network Americano Media, the ex-president called the attack “terrible,” although he then pivoted, weakly, to blaming it on crime in American cities, which he has claimed, falsely, is at historically high levels. When even Donald Trump takes the high ground, you know the Republican party has somehow found a new low.
Oskar Blues/Founders/New Holland/Great Divide/istock/Uproxx
These days, it’s easy to take bourbon barrel-aged stouts for granted. It seems like they’re everywhere and practically every brewery makes one. One of these robust, sweet, oaky, whiskey barrel-aged beers is such a no-brainer on a cold evening that it’s surprising to consider that it wasn’t always like this. Not only weren’t barrel-aged stouts once a lot harder to find, but prior to 1992, the style didn’t even exist.
That was the year when Goose Island’s brewmaster, Greg Hall got an idea to make a special beer to celebrate the Chicago brewery’s 1,000th batch. He met Booker Noe at an event in South Bend, Indiana, and managed to get some bourbon barrels from the famed Jim Beam master distiller. Eventually, that interaction and those barrels would lead to what we know now as Goose Island Bourbon County Stout.
Since this year is 30th anniversary of the iconic, industry-changing, barrel-aged stout, we thought it’d be fitting to pay homage by ranking eight of our favorites. Lots of these beers are pretty easy to find at your local, and you can thank Greg Hall and Booker Noe for that.
When Guinness opened its Stateside brewery in Maryland it was quickly clear the iconic Irish brewery was ready to start experimentings. While it has since made a handful of barrel-aged stouts, its original bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout is loaded with bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, and dried fruit flavors.
Tasting Notes:
The nose starts with a nice mix of sweet bourbon, caramel, and a lot of alcohol smell. Surprisingly, the palate itself is a little more muted than expected for a barrel-aged beer. There are roasty, malty, caramel and, chocolate flavors, sweet bourbon, and raisins. Overall, it’s a little muted and watery than I’m used to.
Bottom Line:
This is a good effort from Guinness. It’s not a bad beer, it’s just that when you compare it to some of the popular versions on the market, it’s not quite at the same level.
One of the more popular barrel-aged beers on the market, New Holland Dragon’s Milk is technically a year-round offering. But this bourbon-barrel aged, sweet, vanilla, oaky, and chocolate-filled imperial stout just tastes better on a cold fall day.
Tasting Notes:
Bold notes of vanilla beans, woody oak, sweet bourbon, and fudge greet your nostrils before your first sip. The palate continues this trend with some coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and dried fruit notes. Its only downfall is that it’s sweeter than it probably needs to be. It makes it seem more like a dessert beer.
Bottom Line:
This sweetness element to this beer makes it more likely to be enjoyed during dessert than as an evening beer. It’s just too sweet otherwise. We suggest pouring it over ice cream.
When it comes to barrel-aged stouts, there are few as confusing as Oskar Blues Barrel-Aged Ten FIDY. The reason is the name refers to the alcohol content of regular Ten FIDY which is (you guessed it) 10.50% ABV. The barrel-aged version is 12.50% ABV. Shouldn’t this limited-release vanilla and oak-filled beer be called Twelve FIDY instead?
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find raisins, vanilla beans, chocolate, oaky wood, and bourbon sweetness. Drinking it reveals roasted malts, freshly brewed coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and more woody oak. The finish is warming and loaded with caramel and rich oak. The only downfall is that it all tastes a little generic.
Bottom Line:
This barrel-aged stout has everything fans of this style look for and it’s not a bad beer by any means. It’s just that all of the flavors taste a little generic and unexciting.
The narwhal is the unicorn of the sea that at some point was thought to be more of a myth than a reality. This legendary sea creature is the perfect embodiment of the barrel-aged stout style. Sierra Nevada harnessed its power. It rested its Narwhal Imperial Stout in bourbon barrels to create this malty, vanilla, bourbon monstrosity.
Tasting Notes:
Before your first sip, you’ll be met with aromas of charred oak, freshly brewed coffee, sweet bourbon, and toasted vanilla beans. The palate is swirling with flavors like raisins, dried cherries, rich chocolate, toasted vanilla beans, marshmallows, coffee, and warming bourbon at the very finish.
Bottom Line:
Sierra Nevada Narwhal might not have the name recognition of some of the other barrel-aged beers on this list, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying it. It’s up there with the best of them.
Besides the iconic Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (and all of its various annual offshoots) there aren’t any barrel-aged beers as well-known as Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout. This isn’t your usual barrel-aged stout. It’s brewed with coffee and chocolate before resting in ex-bourbon barrels.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all chocolate fudge, bold espresso beans, vanilla, cinnamon, and rich oak. The inviting nose brings you to an even more indulgent palate of dark chocolate, coffee, toasted vanilla beans, marshmallow, dried fruits, sweet bourbon, and oak. The finish is warming, sweet, and lightly spicy.
Bottom Line:
If you only drink one barrel-aged stout, we won’t be surprised if you pick Founders KBS. It’s a master class in barrel-aging stouts. The only caveat is that if you prefer not to have the addition of coffee and chocolate, you’ll want to try something else.
One of the most sought-after barrel-aged beers on the market, Firestone Walker Parabola spends more than a year aging in premium bourbon barrels. The result is a highly complex, warming, bold imperial stout with notes of chocolate, coffee, charred wood, and vanilla.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of freshly brewed coffee, toasted vanilla beans, dried cherries, and oak are prevalent on the nose. The palate is loaded with notes of raisins, oak, bourbon, pipe tobacco, vanilla beans, toffee, and light cinnamon. It’s bold, warming, bittersweet, and highly memorable.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason Firestone Walker Parabola is such a popular beer. This barrel-aged imperial stout ticks all the bold, warming beer boxes.
This is the OG barrel-aged stout that started it all. It’s easier to find and just as popular today as it was years ago. And for good reason. While every year there are various versions of this beer, the classic Bourbon County Stout is aged and blended from ex-bourbon barrels from the likes of Four Roses, Heaven Hill, Wild Turkey, and Buffalo Trace.
Tasting Notes:
Bourbon, bitter chocolate, dried fruits, roasted coffee, caramel, and oak are big-time aromas in this beer. That bold flavor profile continues to the palate with toffee, rich oak, more bourbon sweetness, vanilla beans, coffee, and fudgy chocolate. It’s indulgently creamy, rich, and warming.
Bottom Line:
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout is the pinnacle of barrel-aged stouts for myriad reasons. It’s always highly complex, balanced, and flavorful. It never has an off year.
While we enjoy Great Divide Barrel Aged Yeti every year, the most recent release was matured for a full 12 months in whiskey barrels from nearby Laws Whiskey House. This results in an oaky, vanilla, and caramel-filed banger of a beer.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of caramel malts, chocolate fudge, sticky toffee, vanilla beans, toasted marshmallows, and rich, bold oak greet you before your first sip. The palate doesn’t disappoint with notes of buttery caramel, pipe tobacco, cocoa powder, sweet bourbon, vanilla beans, maple candy, and more woody oak. It’s warming, rich, and definitely leaves you craving more.
Bottom Line:
When we got down to the bottom of this list, it was a bit of a toss-up. All of these last few beers are almost perfect. The thing that put Great Divide’s version over the top was the massive amount of flavors found throughout.
Time was a movie didn’t hit home video till six months, even a year after the start of its theatrical run. When streaming took over the industry, there was still a sizable buffer after theatrical. Then the pandemic happened and chaos reigned. Now one of the year’s most talked-about and controversial films will be available to subscribers of a popular streamer after a mere month and a half after it hit multiplexes.
That film is Don’t Worry Darling, and if you weren’t one of the many who made it a rare non-IP moneymaker, don’t, uh, worry, because it’s heading to HBO Max very soon. Indeed, it’ll be free to all subscribers on November 7 — a mere week after this writing.
The story of making Don’t Worry Darling is arguably more well-known than the story it tells. Initially one of the most anticipated films of 2022, it evolved, in the month-and-change before release, into a tabloid magnet. Bizarre claims about strange behind-the-scene tomfoolery spread like wildfire. What was supposed to be a triumphant Venice International Film Festival premiere instead became an awkward boondoggle. Then there was all that business about director/supporting player Olivia Wilde’s private life.
Anyway, Don’t Worry Darling will be available to HBO Max subscribers on Nov. 7. Maybe enough time has elapsed that one can watch it free of all the scandals — all the better to enjoy the acclaimed performance from lead actress Florence Pugh.
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