Category: News

There are always stories about how great the ’90s were, but actually, when compared today, they were many things that were pretty inconvenient. Sure, you got to roam the streets doing who knows what for who knows how long while your mom watched an “Unsolved Mysteries” episode on all the ways you could be kidnapped. But you also couldn’t just pick up your cell phone and ask if dinner was ready or if you could get another 15 minutes outside. The notion of inconvenience in the ’90s had one Reddit user asking people what they don’t miss from the decade of neon and cassette tapes.

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The question turned out to be a fun twist on the old rose-colored glasses nostalgia that generally happens when we reminisce on decades past. Personally, I don’t miss having to talk to random people in someone’s house when I call to talk to a friend. If we’re being completely honest here, I don’t miss actually having to talk on the phone. Text me, please and thank you because if you call me I will absolutely stare at my phone until it stops ringing and then text to see why you called. It’s nothing personal, I just prefer very little human contact. People can be very peopley, but what were other people’s gripes?

1. Trying to plan your own route with an actual map

Man, it feels like we were once pirates. Blue, pink and yellow lines zigzagging across a map of your state or worse, the entire country if your road trip was taking you out of state, just seems reckless now. Sure, if there’s ever some sort of crazy apocalypse and Siri is no longer yelling at us for making wrong turns, map reading will come in handy. Until then, “Hey Siri, give me directions to the children’s museum.”

2. Not having a quick way to look up random trivia

The younger generations will never know the annoyance of wondering something with no answer for literally days until you make your way to the library to research it. Imagine for a moment having a question and instead of walking your fingers over to the Google, you have to put on real pants and go to the library, look through the card catalogue then search the aisle for the title of the book you need that holds this secret knowledge. The whole thing just sounds exhausting.

3. Missing your favorite television show

Remember when you missed your favorite television show and … you just missed it. That’s it. There was no watching it later unless you had a VCR that could record, otherwise you had to wait until the summer for the reruns. Sometimes missing one episode of a show ruins the whole show because you missed a key piece of information.

4. Actually having to leave your house to rent a movie

No. Just, no. Getting fully dressed to wander the aisles of your local Blockbuster or Hollywood Video to read the back of empty movie boxes only to come home to watch a crappy movie you feel obligated to watch, does not sound like a good time. People in the ’90s really liked leaving the house.

5. Needing to keep a pocket full of change

There would be plenty of people confused if their parents handed them a handful of coins because they were going out, but it was how we had to live. You either had quarters to call home or you left really fast messages after the beep of a collect call meant for you to leave your name. Plenty of parents got the “mompickmeupthemoviesover” messages, then promptly hung up the phone without accepting any charges.

6. Not being able to use the phone and internet at the same time

The only internet was dial-up in the ’90s and it was a fickle beast because internet was still new and shiny. Not only did you have to wait for your connection to load with that god-awful sound it made, but you couldn’t use the internet if someone was yapping on the phone. The absolute frustration that came with the early years of internet would be enough to make someone’s head explode today.

7. Blowing into game cartridges and consoles to get them to work

You just want to play Street Fighter and the dang thing won’t work, so you do what any kid in the ’90s did, you start blowing the dust out of it. I’ve heard this doesn’t actually do anything, but it certainly did something when I was a kid because after blowing your hot Dunkaroo breath in it, the game miraculously worked.

8. Discmans that didn’t fit into your pocket

When CDs came out it seemed that they were a game changer. You no longer had to re-spool your unraveled tape with a pencil because it kept getting stuck in your boom box, but CDs came with their own problem. They scratched easily and the portable music player was too big to fit into your back pocket like the much smaller Walkman that played cassette tapes.

9. Having no idea what your pictures looked like before printing them

Developing pictures was really the wild west in the ’90s. Would you get a cool close-up of you and your friends, or would you get a blurry picture of your thumb? It was anyone’s guess. Taking a million pictures and hoping for the best was really the only strategy because Polaroid cameras were too big to carry everywhere.

10. Hoping that someone would be home to answer the phone

There was nothing worse than being ready to leave some place or having your car break down only to dig through your pocket for a quarter to put in the payphone just for no one to be home. How wild is it to think about that now? Someone had to literally be inside their home to receive a phone call.

It’s truly amazing how quickly we adapt to things as humans. While most of the things on the list are little annoyances, it goes to show how far we’ve come with technology and convenience. We have really embodied the term “work smarter, not harder.”

Parents are often our first source of love and safety. But sometimes, they are the exact opposite. The pain of having an unstable parent can be hard to understand within ourselves, even harder to explain to others and nearly impossible to fully process without some kind of help.

Maisie Williams, best known for her role of Arya Stark on HBO’s “Game of Thrones” series, recently opened up about the “traumatic” relationship she shared with her father on an episode of the podcast series “Diary of a CEO.”

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Though she didn’t delve too deeply into specific details (to protect her siblings), her words depict complex emotions often felt by those who grew up with childhood stress—including confusion, loneliness, self-loathing and a loss of trust not only in other people, but in themselves and the world as a whole.

“A lot of the traumatic things that were happening I didn’t realize that they were wrong,” she told host Steven Bartlett. It wasn’t until her teacher began expressing concern about her home life at the age of 8 that she thought something might be going on.

“She was saying, like, ‘What’s wrong?’ you know, like, ‘What’s happened? Are you hungry?’ … ‘Did you eat breakfast?’ I said, ‘No.’ And she said, ‘Oh, why no?’ And I said, ‘We just don’t have any breakfast,’” she recalled, saying that “it was the first time that all of the doors were open and all of these things that we were experiencing were out on the table.”

The Painful Past Of A @GameOfThrones Star.@Maisie_Williams was cast in the biggest tv show in the world at 12 years old.

But uncovering her excruciatingly painful & traumatic childhood with such vulnerability is what really blew me away.

Out Now 👉🏽 https://t.co/xa96TsdXRe pic.twitter.com/X8MwSbhfxR

— Steven Bartlett (@SteveBartlettSC) September 26, 2022

After that interaction, Williams began to compare herself to her classmates, wondering why other kids didn’t feel the way she did. “I would look around at other kids and be like, ‘where does that joy…when does that come for me?’” Childhood trauma can hardwire the brain for chronic depression. However, since depression sets in so early in life, those symptoms might not seem out of the ordinary until later in life, and often not without the professional guidance of a therapist.

Instead of acknowledging her father’s role in her pain, Williams blamed herself for it, thinking that something must be “inherently wrong” with her. She’s not alone in her reasoning. Kids tend to blame themselves for their parents actions and moods.

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Eventually, Williams was separated from her father, and even though it was the best thing for her, it wasn’t without its own complications.

“I was so glad I didn’t have to see my dad anymore, but it was against everything I’d ever known. You still care a lot about that person, or the pain that led to those very, very poor decisions,” she recalled.

Williams added that “you can feel so liberated and free and at the same time that impending doom is kind of still there.” The unfair truth is that childhood trauma often has lifelong effects. Without healthy caregivers to set an emotional foundation of security, it can be a Herculean effort to recondition a sense of safety in order to live without constant anxiety and dread. As Williams put it, “all your problems don’t just go away” after being pulled out of a harmful situation. There’s still psychological wounding that needs healing.

Williams is not the only celebrity who has used her fame to raise awareness around these issues. Jenette McCurdy wrote “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” a memoir that details her troubled relationship with her mother. Hayden Panetierre recently spoke on “Red Table Talk” about having to give up custody of her daughter, offering perspective from that of the parent who must let go in order to really do what’s right by their child. Hopefully this inspires others to speak about these things. Nothing about dysfunctional family dynamics is easy, but being able to communicate these challenges helps it not be such an alienating task.

You can watch the full interview below:

If there’s one thing we learned from The Last Dance — well, other than the whole “Michael Jordan makes for some pretty good television” thing — it’s that you could isolate any of a number of things that happened to the 1998 Chicago Bulls and turn them into a pretty interesting bit of media. Some movie executives agree with this general premise, which is why we’re getting a film based on Dennis Rodman’s famous 48-hour bender in Las Vegas, when Rodman left the team for a few days to blow off some steam and was found in bed with Carmen Electra by none other than Jordan himself.

The movie, titled 48 Hours In Vegas, was announced last year, and on Thursday, we learned that things are trending towards Jonathan Majors coming on board to play Rodman. Via Deadline:

Lionsgate’s highly-anticipated film centered on Dennis Rodman’s 48 hours in Vegas during the 1998 NBA finals may have zeroed in on the actor who will portray the infamous basketball star. Sources tell deadline, that Jonathan Majors is in early talks to play Rodman aka “the Worm” in 48 Hours in Vegas. While a deal isn’t closed, sources say Majors is very much on board and negotiations are headed in the right direction.

There is not really much else we can say other than we hope this movie is released as soon as possible because it is going to be extremely good. Also: There should be a movie about Scott Burrell, who seems very nice.

As CBS prepares to air the second season of the hit sitcom, Ghosts, the network apparently thought it’d be nice if actual ghosts can watch the show. While you’d just assume that the undead are probably already watching inside the homes they currently haunt, CBS went the extra mile by booking empty theaters for the Season 2 premiere.

According to Variety, Ghosts will screen at midnight in empty theaters in Los Angeles, Savannah, and Portland, Oregon. To get the word out, the network is also employing the use of mediums as well as social media because, hey, maybe ghosts use Facebook. We don’t know their non-lives.

“[The theaters] love it because they’re bringing an audience in at times that aren’t competing with other living audiences,” [CBS chief marketing officer Mike] Benson said. “They also really appreciate that there’s really essentially no wear and tear to their buildings whatsoever. The overhead costs are pretty low. The downside is that there’s really no concession business whatsoever.”

CBS is hoping the Ghosts event will be a hit with with actual ghosts. Although, they had to get a little creative on that front. “We understand it’s hard to get the data around the attendance, because there’s no real way to track it,” Benson told Variety. “So the only way to track it is through hearsay through mediums. But what we’re hearing so far is that non-living people love it.”

Of course, the question nobody seems to be asking is what happens if the ghosts don’t like it. Are we looking at an end of Ghostbusters type scenario where we’re not allowed to think about marshmallows? Will they start messing with our WiFi? This could get ugly.

Ghosts Season 2 premieres September 29 on CBS for anyone with a pulse.

(Via Variety)

We all remember childhood as an idyllic time but maybe that’s because the adults around us protected us from the harsh realities of life. JID‘s new video for “Money” from his album The Forever Story realizes this duality through a nostalgic look at two brothers that turns tragic when viewed through the glare of hindsight.

As the two boys frolic in their unassuming bubble of childish irresponsibility, the world they inhabit is revealed to be a cold place. The fields and streets they play in are lined with litter, the toys they leave scattered across the floor of their home trip up their mom, who returns from an obviously messed-up night job, and the sandwiches they devour are slapped together from bread and bologna.

They can’t afford new sneakers when they make a trip to town after scrounging up just enough for train fare, and when they return, the eldest is unable to rouse their collapsed mother. The video ends on a haunting final shot of the boys being comforted by a social worker as their mom is loaded into an ambulance, her face covered by a white sheet.

The metaphorical depiction of the song’s themes is reminiscent of JID’s videos for “Kody Blu 31” and “Dance Now,” tying in the themes of the album.

Watch JID’s “Money” video above.

The Forever Story is out now on Dreamville/Interscope. Get it here.

If there’s a K-pop group that gives major BSE (Big Sister Energy), it’s EXID. They’re bold, mature, and could definitely care less about what others think about them when it comes to their music and concepts. (Check out “L.I.E.“) You can say that’s why they’ve earned themselves the veteran title in the Korean pop scene since their debut in 2012.

Celebrating 10 years in the industry, Solji, Elly, Hani, Hyelin, and Jeonghwa reunite to release their four-track single-album X (named after the roman numerals but also represents the cross between EXID and their fans LEGGO) alongside its lead single “Fire.” After parting ways with their label, Banana Culture Entertainment, two to three years ago, each member has gone their separate ways — some signing with new agencies to pursue acting, variety, producing, and, of course, singing. To clarify, EXID never officially said they were disbanding. But, rather, called it an indefinite hiatus.

Now with the five returning to the scene, even if it’s for a brief moment, EXID’s comeback celebration was well-needed for K-pop as iconic girl groups of early generations like Girls’ Generation, 2NE1, Sistar, Kara, and more have made headlines for reunions this year as well.

To coincide with the new project release, EXID is set to hold a concert next month, October 29, called ‘EXID 10th Anniversary FAN-CON ‘ in which fans will be able to attend and even stream online.

Find the X tracklist below.

1. “Fire”
2. “IDK (I Don’t Know)”
3. “Leggo”
4. “Fire” (English Version)

The last time actor Timothée Chalamet and director Luca Guadagnino worked together, they made Call Me by Your Name, an arthouse hit that was nominated for four Oscars (including Best Picture). For their follow-up, instead of working with an alleged cannibal, they made a movie about a cannibal romance.

Based on a novel, Bones and All stars Chalamet and Taylor Russell as Maren, a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee, an intense and disenfranchised drifter, as they go on a “liberating road odyssey to “[search] for identity and [chase] beauty in a perilous world that cannot abide who they are,” according to the official plot synopsis. Also, they’re cannibals. That feels important to mention.

The lovely trailer, set to Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker,” shows Lee and Maren traveling across the United States, striking people with tire irons along the way. “You don’t think I’m a bad person?” Lee asks Maren as their foreheads are pressed together. Later, she tells Lee, “All I think is that I love you.”

Bones and All, which also stars Michael Stuhlbarg (probably not as the world’s most supportive dad this time), Mark Rylance, André Holland and Chloe Sevigny, comes to theaters on November 23.

The planet is of apes. Again!

The Hollywood Reporter reported on Thursday that a sequel film to the 2010s Planet of the Apes trilogy begins production next month, and it has a cast and title. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be directed by Wes Ball, who directed all three films in The Maze Runner trilogy. The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes cast includes Owen Teague (It), Freya Allen (The Witcher), and Peter Macon (The Orville). The film is expected to hit theaters in 2024. Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Patrick Aison are writing the script.

Per THR, the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set “many years” after the events of The War for the Planet of the Apes, which came out to critical acclaim in 2017. It was a sequel to 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The Batman director Matt Reeves directed both films. The first film in the franchise, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, came out in 2011 from director Rupert Wyatt. The film trilogy followed Caesar (played via motion capture by motion capture king Andy Serkis), a genetically enhanced ape who leads an uprising against humanity.

“Planet of the Apes is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history, as well as being an indelible part of our studio’s legacy,” said 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell. “With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes we are privileged to continue the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema, and can’t wait to share Wes’ extraordinary vision for this new chapter with audiences in 2024.”

In 1968, Charlton Heston starred in the first Planet of the Apes film, based on the 1963 novel by Pierre Boulle. That film had its own sequels and a television series. Before the 2010s trilogy, Tim Burton directed a 2001 adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter. That one did not spawn any sequels, fortunately.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Today’s UPROXX Sessions rapper follows in the footsteps of Canadian favorites like Drake and The Weekend, making big moves and repping his home country. Meet Friyie, the 27-year-old rapper from Toronto who’s collaborated with Roddy Ricch and Rick Ross and is a rising star, years in the making. Back in 2017, his single, “Money Team,” amassed over 1 million views on YouTube and became the soundtrack to the Mayweather vs. McGregor press conferences. That same year he opened Cardi B’s Las Vegas show at the T-Mobile Area.

Today the 6’s Friyie brings his 2022 single, “Sorry Not Sorry,” to UPROXX Studios, one of four he’s released this year. “Sorry Not Sorry” is also featured on Never 2 Late, the rapper’s upcoming EP. Friyie’s high energy is assisted by cheeky lyrics like “now your best friend Ghost like Tommy,” for an all-around hard-hitting performance.

Watch Friyie perform his single “Sorry Not Sorry” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

DRAM is back. After experimenting with a name change — I sense some music industry rights issues behind that — the Virginia crooner has returned to the persona that first made him a playlist while carrying over the straight-soul trappings of his last album. Today, he released a new single, “Let Me See Your Phone,” and announced his third studio album, What Had Happened Was, coming on October 27 via Waver Records.

“Let Me See Your Phone” is a slow-burning ballad in the vein of tracks like “Exposure” and “Cooking With Grease” from his 2021 album Shelley FKA DRAM, which should have absolutely killed that tired “R&B is dead” argument in its cradle. The new track is produced by Rory Farrell — that’s right, Rory from the New Rory & Mal Podcast actually makes music too — and finds the Hampton, Virginia native making a plaintive request to confirm his suspicions about a disengaged lover. It’s reminiscent of the Erykah Badu duet “WiFi” from his 2016 debut Big Baby DRAM, only from the perspective of the end of the relationship rather than its potential beginning.

In a press release, DRAM calls What Had Happened Was his most “raw and open album yet.” It’s described as “both a review of personal traumas he had to overcome, and how he’s been able to evolve as a person.” You can pre-save it here, listen to “Let Me See Your Phone” above, and see the tracklist below.

1. “Vibe of the Year”
2. “Ride Or Die”
3. “Wham”
4. “3s Company”
5. “Let Me See Your Phone”
6. “Where’s My Sunshine”
7. “Best That I Got”
8. “Can’t Hold You Down”
9. “Bad News”
10. “Angry”
11. “A Mother’s Love”
12. “Note To Self”
13. “Soul to Take”
14. “Big Baby DRAM”
15. “Ppl”
16. “Reflections”
17. “First Time Again”
18. “Wwyd”
19. “Wham (Remix)”