Category: News

The conversation surrounding the 2023 NBA Draft focuses on one person: French big man Victor Wembanyama. While there are a number of other players who are viewed as potential All-Star prospects in the draft, Wembanyama is the kind of generational talent that has evaluators salivating about what he can accomplish from the moment he steps into the league.

Wembanyama’s talents were put on full display during a recent pair of games with the G League team, led by another top prospect in 2023, Scoot Henderson. Both of the games aired on ESPN2, but because Wembanyama plays his professional ball for Metropolitans 92 of France’s top league, it’s not always easy to check out his games.

But in a bit of news that dropped on Thursday morning, the NBA announced that every game Wembanyama plays for his club side will be aired on the NBA App for the remainder of the season for free. The arrangement will make the LNB Betclic ELITE the first league without ties to the NBA to have games streamed on the app — beyond just the times Wembanyama plays, the app will include other regular season games, postseason contests, and games in the Leaders Cup from Feb. 17-19. This will also feature the LNB All-Star Game, which takes place on Dec. 29.

Wembanyama’s first game on the app will take place on Oct. 29 against JL Bourg Basket, with coverage starting at 2 p.m. EST.

After an anonymous couple of years, minus his performance in the Best Picture-nominated Ford v Ferrari, Christian Bale came back in a big way in 2022. He butchered gods in Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder; was told to “shut up” and let Taylor Swift sing in Amsterdam; and he’ll investigate a murder with Edgar Allen Poe in The Pale Blue Eye.

The 1800s-set Netflix mystery-thriller follows Augustus Landor, a “world-weary detective [who] is hired to discreetly investigate the gruesome murder of a cadet,” according to the plot synopsis. “Stymied by the cadets’ code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case — a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling).” Batman and Dudley Dursley from Harry Potter solving a murder? OK!

“Every character in the story has secrets,” Bale told Vanity Fair about The Pale Blue Eye (not named after the Velvet Underground song). “And while Poe seems to be the one who is clearly putting on a performance, he is actually the most sincere. Everyone else is more quietly putting on a performance, but no one is who they are pretending to be.”

The Pale Blue Eye, which also stars Robert Duvall, Gillian Anderson, and Lucy Boynton, opens in select theaters on December 23 before hitting Netflix on January 6, 2023.

Fred Again.. is preparing to drop Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022), and nearly every album cycle includes a sit-down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. The 2020 BRITs Producer Of The Year discussed his diaristic writing style, being mentored by Brian Eno, meeting Burna Boy, and working with Ed Sheeran.

Fred explained that he admires artists who deeply know themselves, like Burna Boy and Stormzy. “I think that’s probably why I’m so inspired by rappers a lot,” he said. “That’s probably why I work a lot in that world because so entwined in the culture of that is a degree of, like, self-security.” He added, “And, of course, Ed because Ed low-key comes from that world, too.”

Lowe brought up the first time he remembered Sheeran mentioning Fred Again.. to him, saying, “It was like he had discovered some kind of symbol of chemistry that no one had ever discovered before. And you were obviously making music before that, but from his point of view, he was like, ‘I found my guy.’”

Fred Again.. reciprocated Sheeran’s sentiment: “We were very sort of twins from the beginning. We have a very similar taste and upbringing in music. So, it was very natural and effortless. And we both like to write quickly. And the thing I would say mostly from… it’s similar to Burna Boy, actually. And it’s the instincts thing. He’s just instinct, instinct, instinct, instinct. Every time he’s writing, it’s just like, ‘Go, go, go, go, work it out later.’ And sometimes there’ll be a little tweak you make later, but fundamentally, the thing is born from instinct, and then you can fine tune the thing beyond that.”

Fred Again.. is credited as a producer on all but four of the 15 tracks on Sheeran’s 2019 album No.6 Collaborations, including “Beautiful People” featuring Khalid, “I Don’t Care” featuring Justin Bieber, and “Take Me Back To London” featuring Stormzy. He also co-produced Sheeran’s singles “Bad Habits” and “Shivers” from last year’s = (Equals).

Watch Fred Again..’s full chat with Lowe above.

Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022) is out 10/28 via Atlantic Records. Pre-order it here.

Some artists discussed are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Like Megan Thee Stallion before him, Jack Harlow is hosting and performing on this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live, which naturally means a hilarious promo ahead of the show. Since it’s almost Halloween, the quick sketch revolves around cast members Kenan Thompson and Marcello Hernandez trying to guess Harlow’s costume.

Decked out in a white t-shirt and chinos with a huge white fur coat, Harlow greets the cast members and expresses his excitement. They compliment him on his costume, but it quickly becomes clear they have no idea what it is. As they run through a list of options that includes “a box of Kleenex,” “a cotton ball,” “the whole White Lotus” (I may have screamed here), “a pimp on a cruise ship,” “a sexy Yeti,” “Fluff Daddy,” “almost historically-accurate Jesus,” and Macklemore (I temporarily died), Harlow becomes increasingly exasperated.

Finally, he tells them, “this is just my outfit,” but when he’s finally alone in the elevator, he disappointedly sighs as he reveals his true costume inspiration. Obviously, Harlow’s got a gift for this comedy stuff, which’ll serve him well as he joins more outrageous sketches on Saturday (and hopefully gets to show his chops when the White Men Can’t Jump remake comes out).

Watch Jack Harlow’s SNL promo above and catch him as he hosts and performs this Saturday, October 29.

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

The Kanye West fallout continues: Following Ye’s antisemitic comments, it appears his Donda Academy school is shitting down for the rest of the year.

An email supposedly sent to parents, reportedly obtained by Hollywood Unlocked, reads:

“Dear Donda Academy Families —

We hope this email finds you well.

First, we would like to express our gratitude for the community of families and scholars that Donda Academy brought together. However, at the discretion of our Founder, Donda Academy will close for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year effective immediately, Thursday, October 27. THERE IS NO SCHOOL TOMORROW.

Our leadership team will be working diligently to assist all families during this transition, ensuring that every scholar has what they need to succeed in their next community in a prompt and gracious manner.

We intend to begin afresh in September of 2023, and we are confident that our scholars will continue to advance as the creative innovators, courageous influencers and academic leaders of the next generation.

Thank you for your support.”

Of course, a lot has been going on with West lately: Adidas cut ties with him, it’s estimated he’s no longer a billionaire because of that, Shechers kicked Ye out of their office, and Madame Tussauds kicked Ye’s wax figure out of their museum.

The social media reactions to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are out, and the epic sequel is going over huge with critics. Saddled with the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman, the sequel had everything working against it. However, director Ryan Coogler and the cast rose to the challenge. Based on the reactions, they’ve apparently delivered an emotional blockbuster piece that honors Boseman’s legacy while pushing the world of Wakanda forward as the African nation faces its greatest adversary yet: Tenoch Huerta’s Namor, whose performance is also earning rave reviews.

“#WakandaForever is exactly the cathartic experience I hoped it would be, helping us move past our grief while watching the Wakandans fight to do the same,” Travis Hopson tweeted. “The intro of Namor was incredible, the story bittersweet and packed with emotionally charged twists.”

“#WakandaForever is blockbuster filmmaking on another level,” Daniel Howat wrote. “It surpasses the incredible first film with high stakes and and thrilling world-building. It’s an emotional, dark journey, leading to a full-scale war, but always feels personal. This may be the best Marvel movie yet.”

“#WakandaForever is outstanding,” Orlando Maldonado tweeted. “It handles loss, grief and revenge with a maturity and seriousness rarely seen in the MCU. Black Panther continues to be their crown jewel. Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett and Tenoch Huerta all bring some of the best acting I’ve seen all year.”

“Namor is one of the better villains the MCU has had to offer. Tenoch Huerta just kills it!” Brandon Davis wrote. “Emotions are heavy. Ryan Coogler ups his game on the action. It’s a lot to take in, balance so much, and is powerfully good.”

“Black Panther: #WakandaForever is as epic as Marvel sequels get,” Germain Lussier tweeted. “The story is hugely ambitious & thematically rewarding with gut-wrenching twists and turns throughout. You feel the length but it’s fun, wildly beautiful and has the best credits scene in Marvel history, no contest.”

You can see more reactions to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever below:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11.

How has your first day at your job? As long as you didn’t almost kill James Gandolfini in a car crash after pretending you had a driver’s license, it went better than Michael Imperioli’s. Unless you ate the last donut in the break room. Then you’re a monster.

Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos, recalled his first day on the set of the HBO series on Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace. “The first day of work, I had to drive him. I didn’t have a driver’s license, you know, but I didn’t tell anybody that because I wanted the job. Because Christopher’s job was to drive Tony,” he said. “But I’m like, well, how hard could it be?” Famous last words (Pete Campbell can relate).

Imperioli continued:

“I had to drive backwards down the sidewalk with trees on both sides and extras running out of the way. Delivering dialogue to Tony Soprano. Looking forward. I mean, that’s hard to do,” he admits. “Even if you know how to drive which I do now. I did it like four times the fifth time. Boom, right into the tree. The airbags go off, Jim’s head snaps back.”

Imperioli was certain he was going to be fired, but when he looked at over Gandolfini, he was “laughing hysterically.” He was probably thinking about Dookie at the time. I’m glad no one was injured, but now I’m suddenly concerned that Imperioli crashed a vespa into Jennifer Coolidge on the set of The White Lotus. I eagerly await her tell-all.

(Via People)

During the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial earlier this year, it seemed like it was impossible for anyone to talk about anything else. Heard testified that she received “hundreds of death threats” every day because of the case; Billie Eilish ranted in an interview, “Who f*cking gives a f*ck? Women are losing rights for their bodies, so why are we talking about celebrities’ divorce trials?”

This topic came up in a new Teen Vogue profile of Phoebe Bridgers, and people are praising the singer-songwriter for her insight.

“I think that there’s been this falsehood — and I think queer people are included in this — of having to be the perfect victim, or the perfect survivor, or the perfect representation for your marginalized community,” Bridgers said. “If Amber Heard exhibited any neurotic behavior, it was held against her. Then Johnny Depp, out of his mouth, admitted some of the most violent, crazy sh*t in court, and it’s somehow like, people aren’t surprised?” She continued, “That whole situation was so upsetting to me, that it was treated like a fandom war. Laughing at someone crying in court? It was disgusting.”

About cancel culture, she added, “I mean, is [cancel culture] real? Who’s lost their job politically? One huge offender is in jail for actual sex crimes, and then anything short of that is, maybe, they lose a couple friends or lose a couple jobs,” she says. “Then five years later, they’re like, ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry.’ And they come back, but they never apologize — they never go away.”

Fred Armisen showed off his spot-on drumming impressions on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last month. Armisen’s command of the drum kit dates back to drumming for the band Trenchmouth or, more recently, Fred Armisen: Standup For Drummers on Netflix in 2018 — and countless instances in between. So, the rest of this article shouldn’t be surprising at all.

“I know how much you love the Beatles. Have you ever thought about doing a Documentary Now! on Get Back?” James Corden asked Armisen during last night’s (October 26) The Late Late Show. “Is that something you’d do? Which Beatle would you play?”

“Ringo,” Armisen said, impersonating the Beatles icon and throwing up two peace signs. “Peace and love. Peace and love. We absolutely would. I mean, I love that. That was such a great documentary. I loved it. I watched the hell out of it.”

The Beatles: Get Back is a three-part Disney+ documentary series directed by Peter Jackson that premiered last November.

Armisen has already successfully looped Cate Blanchett in to Documentary Now!, his mockumentary IFC series co-created with Bill Hader and Seth Meyers and executive production from Lorne Michaels, the trio’s former Saturday Night Live boss. The fourth season is currently airing.

Armisen told Corden, “The show really comes together very sort of last-minute. We sort of write it all on email. Every season almost doesn’t happen.” He added that Blanchett suggested her fourth-season episode, last week’s “Two Hairdressers In Bagglyport,” so it’s entirely plausible that Armisen runs with Corden’s Get Back idea.

Watch their chat above.

Piers Morgan sure gets riled up whenever he’s “defending” the Royal family against what he views as the ungrateful Prince Harry and the woman who “ghosted” him after a pub date, Meghan Markle. The ex-Good Morning Britain and current Fox Nation talking head is so very upset about what he calls the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ongoing disrespect for his beloved Queen. This began last year after the Sussexes sat down with Oprah Winfrey and discussed fleeing to the U.S. due to venom from the Royals, which Meghan alleged included racist statements about their son, Archie.

Then Piers raged hard because Meghan dared to earn a living by writing a children’s book, and now, he’s one-upping himself by firing off barbs over Prince Harry’s upcoming memoir. It’s understood that the book won’t be the most flattering account of Harry’s experience in The Firm, and Penguin Random House has now (via Variety) confirmed the name of the memoir (Spare!) and the release date, January 10.

The title feels like an obvious (and accurate, with tone left open to interpretation) reference to how royal siblings are referred to as “the heir and the spare.” Yesterday, Piers was already warming up because Harry (who has definitely watched The Crown on Netflix) isn’t trashing The Crown on Netflix. And Piers had to point out that Netflix is “his employer,” and he’s had it with “Harry’s silence.”

Yet he doesn’t want Harry talking, either, especially because Piers feels that a January memoir release is timed to “ruin” King Charles III’s coronation date in early May 2023. “Charles should strip this petulant, selfish, greedy, hypocritical brat of all his remaining royal titles/status ASAP,” Piers wrote on Twitter.

Further, Piers has had it with Harry while remarking “what a d*ckhead” because “he trashes his family, again, from his California mansion. All while playing the big privacy & ‘humanitarian’ crusader.”

The responses are rolling in with one Twitter user observing, “All this just because she wouldn’t shag you.”

Other remarked upon how Harry’s donating his memoir proceeds to charity, and he makes his own living rather than enjoying those sweet British tax dollars. Then there are the people who are actually inspired to order the book due to Piers’ vitriol, and it does seem like he’s still hung up on Meghan Markle.

Spare arrives in bookstores (and online) on January 10, 2023.