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In 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, yes, we got the promised conclusion of the downfall of Anakin Skywalker and how he became Darth Vader. What we didn’t get was a lot of interaction from younger versions of characters we met in the Original Trilogy like Tarkin and Mon Mothma. Turns out, we were supposed to meet Genevieve O’Reilly’s version of Mon Mothma, discussing an early concept of a rebellion, but it was cut out of the final film. O’Reilly was just starting out in her career and, watching it now, you can tell how long she worked on it to get the voice Caroline Blakiston originated in Return of the Jedi just right.

Over a decade later Star Wars came calling again (as she explains, literally, while she was at the post office) with an offer to reprise her cut role in Rogue One. And she’s back as Mon Mothma once again now in Andor. As O’Reilly points out, it’s a different Mon Mothma we are used to. The Imperial Senate still exists (it was finally disbanded in the original Star Wars in a retroactively comical way, using almost a throwaway line for something that seems pretty important) and Mon Mothma has to deal with the political bureaucracy (and her lousy husband who keeps inviting her political enemies over because they are “fun”), while also secretly running the what will become the Rebel Alliance that’s still in its infancy.

Ahead, O’Reilly explains why this version of Mon Mothma in Andor isn’t quite the stoic pillar we get to know later on, the time she met Caroline Blakiston in person, and what it was like being asked to play a role again that she figured she had lost out on a decade before.

I remember being excited for Revenge of the Sith because we’d get to see young Mon Mothma and Tarkin, but then we barely got that at all. But your deleted scene is great and I wish that wasn’t cut out.

Thank you. That’s so kind of you. It was extraordinary filming those scenes in Revenge of the Sith. It was one of my first jobs. I was very young. It was extraordinary to be a part of, to do those scenes with Natalie Portman. With Jimmy Smits. With George and all of his team. With Anthony Daniels. It was such an extraordinary, well-oiled machine to step into as a young actor and there was really interesting things in those scenes.

You’re talking about forming the rebellion. It seems like kind of an important scene and I, to this day, don’t understand why it’s not in the movie.

Well, I understand why they made that choice as producers because, what people were interested in, was of course how Darth Vader became Darth Vader.

Not me. All these characters we’ve heard about for so long, I wanted to see how they came together.

[Laughs] Well, thanks. So thanks for watching the deleted scene.

I could tell how hard you worked to get the voice right from Return of the Jedi...

I did! You’re cool to recognize that. I worked very hard. I was, and I will always have great respect for Caroline Blakiston, who played that role originally. It originated with her with George Lucas. That was extraordinary that they did that together back in the early eighties to have a woman as the head.

Have you ever met her?

Yes.

What was that like?

I met her, actually, it was just before the pandemic. We met in London and we didn’t know each of us were going to be there and we were at a meeting and she said to me, “You’re Genevieve.” And she said, “I’m Caroline.” It was a beautiful moment. She gave me a big hug and we both have such great admiration for each other. She is an actor. I’ve seen lots of her other work. And so we just really, it was a lovely moment between the two of us that we shared this character. Yeah. It was really special.

In Return of the Jedi, she’s only on camera briefly, but she just seems so important. And now you bring that to the character…

I love Mon Mothma. And a lot of respect has to go to Caroline, you’re right, in how she did that originally. But I think she is such a pillar within the rebel community. She is so noble and regal. So even now I go back and watch that scene to remind me of where she started. I feel like in Andor, this is the first time they have really invested narrative space in the woman and I’m very grateful to Tony Gilroy and to Disney for that. Because I think in Andor for the first time we get to see more than that pillar, more than that statue, we get to see the woman behind her. We get to see behind the scenes with her, what she had to wrestle with, the costs to herself.

Just having to deal with her lousy husband. He invites her political enemies over for a dinner party because they are, “fun.”

But that’s what’s so great about where we start in Andor. We start somewhere we don’t really expect to see with Mon Mothma. We start with her steeped in Empire. We start with her, yes, as a Senator who holds the beliefs that we’ve known and we’ve loved for so long, but she is up to her neck in Imperial society. And she’s having to navigate a world of men, a world of power, a world of with an ever looming autocrat and you will know because of what you’ve just said before, you know her history. She’s been a Senator since she was 16 years old. So she was steeped within the constructs of that orthodoxy that is in empire. So I have even more admiration for this character than I ever had before because I see what it had taken for her to become that woman in Return of the Jedi. To become that woman in Rogue One and I hope the fans love that too because we are taking her on a journey from a place we’ve never seen her before.

Speaking of Rogue One, did they just basically call and say, hey, sorry we cut you out of Revenge of the Sith, but we want you for Rogue One now?

Well, yes.

Okay.

First of all, I would say when they did cut me from Revenge of the Sith, I will never forget the kindness that George and his producer, Rick, approached it with. They wrote to me. As a young actor, they wrote to me and said that the work was strong. That it was great. It was just that, narratively, they had to take a different direction. Of course, as a young actor I was devastated, but now I can see they dealt with that with such grace and good leadership. But, yes, they essentially rang me in. John Schwartz, I think who was a producer on Rogue One, rang me and said they were producing it and would I like to come back and play her. What an extraordinarily generous thing. They could have easily recast her. And I was cut from it and I think that shows such dignity within their leadership. So yeah, they rang me. I was in the post office.

Oh wow.

With my children. I remember, I think one of my kids was really little and I remember talking on the phone to the producer of Rogue One while wrestling my child who was trying to pick up a highlighter going, “Yeah, I know, stop, stop, what, what? Star Wars. Oh my gosh. Yes, please. Of course. Put it down, put it down.” So it was a really lovely moment as a human being to be in one of those situations that don’t quite make sense, but are wonderful.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

This year’s recipients of Time Magazine’s Time100 Next awards were announced today, with the most influential across television, film, music, and more being honored with a photoshoot — and an occasional bio was written on their behalf. British musician FKA Twigs was included in the 2022 nominee class and Hole’s Courtney Love wrote about why she was chosen.

“A few years ago, I saw the FKA Twigs video for ‘Cellophane’ —the one where she’s pole dancing and swirling in silks, wearing steep plastic hooker shoes and looking hauntingly elegant,” Love wrote. “She maintains the mystery of Mata Hari while conveying so much emotion: at one point in the video, the expression on her face is pure yearning. And when she’s dancing, she’s like a lightning rod.”

“I remember her from L.A. when she was a little sprite. I could see the artist in her then,” she continued. “I love how, over the years, she has toyed with us, as if she’s whatever we imagine her to be but you know she’s not. This year, on her mixtape Caprisongs, she breaks it all down in front of us: her insecurities, sex, heartbreak, her songwriting, her trauma. The photo on the cover was so on point—her mouth open, ready to spill her guts. She is ready to tell us who she is, victorious, flying by in the breeze, the music in every muscle in her body.”

View FKA Twigs’ Time100 profile, along with other recipients, here.

Cate Blanchett has been nominated for seven Oscars. Only six actresses have more: Meryl Streep (21), Katharine Hepburn (12), Bette Davis (10), Judi Dench, Geraldine Page, and Glenn Close (8). By this time next year, it’s likely that she’ll have her eighth nomination — and based on the early reception for Tár, possibly her third win.

Tár stars Blanchett as composer Lydia Tár and “examines the changing nature of power, its impact and durability in our modern world,” according to the plot synopsis. The film, which was written and directed by Todd Field (In the Bedroom), premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, where it was met with glowing reviews.

“Tár is breathtaking entertainment,” Vanity Fair‘s Richard Lawson wrote, “anchored by Blanchett’s alternately measured and ferocious performance, a tremendous (but never outsized) piece of acting that is her most piercing work in years.” The New York Times‘ Kyle Buchnan was equally effusive, tweeting, “Tár is incredible and kept reminding me of Kenneth Lonergan’s masterpiece MARGARET, with its focus on a flawed, frustrating, often hilariously self-involved protagonist and the people she leaves in her wake. Blanchett slays hard. It’s her career-achievement reel all in one movie!”

You can catch Tár fever yourself in the trailer above. The film opens on October 7.

Even though Bob Odenkirk has hung up his brightly colored Better Call Saul suits, he’s not leaving his AMC family anytime soon. Odenkirk will lead the upcoming series Straight Man as William Henry Devereaux, Jr., an unlikely chairman of the English department in an underfunded college in Pennsylvania.

AMC has just released the first images from the series, which is expected to have an early 2023 release date. In the first look, Odenkirk is giving off some academia vibes, complete with clear Warby Parker-esque glasses and looking very stressed out at a computer. You know, your basic 21st-century English professor.

The series also stars Fear Street’s Olivia Scott Welch and Hanna’s Mireille Enos. The Office’s Paul Lieberstein and Damages’ Aaron Zelman are writing and producing the show.

Earlier this year, Odenkirk expressed his excitement to be attached to the project in order to showcase his drama/comedy skills. “I am thrilled that AMC is embracing the unique scenario and characters in Paul and Aaron’s adaptation of Straight Man,” Odenkirk said. “I have loved the mix of comedy and drama in Better Call Saul, and this is another story with a unique dynamic, and the kind of closely observed character writing and exploration that AMC has become the touchstone for. It’s going to be fun to play and watch!” As long as Odenkirk’s character doesn’t end up in jail for 86 years, the show should be great!

Straight Man will debut on AMC in 2023.

(Via Deadline)

As of Wednesday morning, Hurricane Ian had strengthened to a Category 4 (or possibly category 5) hurricane as it makes its way toward Florida’s west coast. And according to meteorologist and hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross, it looks an awful lot like a dick.

On Sunday morning, as Mediaite reported, Norcross predicted the path of the storm for Fox Weather viewers and, while doing so, inadvertently turned the state of Florida into a giant penis, complete with testicles. If Norcross even noticed what he had drawn while explaining the concept of the “cone of uncertainty,” he didn’t let on — nor should he have, as there’s obviously nothing funny about a potentially deadly hurricane making landfall. But the unsolicited weather wang did bring some much-needed levity to the reports.

As Mediaite noted, Miami-based Norcross is a well-respected hurricane expert who many Floridians credit with saving lives. “As Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida in 1992, the mild-mannered weather man stayed on the air for 22 hours straight to keep people safe and informed,” wrote Mediaite’s Kipp Jones, who also pointed to a New York Times article about the weatherman titled “Storm Blows a New Hero Into Town,” which explained:

In 22 consecutive hours on the air, simultaneously broadcast on television and radio, Mr. Norcross, with no real competition, talked South Florida through Hurricane Andrew on Aug. 23 and 24. People with collapsing roofs knew to huddle in bathtubs with mattresses over their heads only because Mr. Norcross told them to. And as they hid there, his voice, never before considered even faintly mellifluous, soothed them through a fearful night.

(Via Mediaite)

As Black Panther: Wakanda Forever nears its release date, the highly anticipated sequel has reportedly locked in its runtime, and it’s going to be a long one. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wakanda Forever will run for two hours and 41 minutes, making it the second longest Marvel movie behind 2019’s massive “The Infinity Saga” climax, Avengers: Endgame.

Of course, the long runtime tracks for the ambitious aim of Wakanda Forever. On top of mirroring the real life death of actor Chadwick Boseman by forcing the characters to grapple with the sudden and tragic loss of T’Challa, the film will also set up an epic conflict between the nation of Wakanda and Tenoch Huerta’s Namor. In the comics, Black Panther and Namor have always been bitter rivals, and Marvel fans have been waiting to see that clash play out onscreen ever since the first movie. (There was a bit of a rights issue with Namor, but that has clearly been ironed out.)

“He’s a dream antagonist,” Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler recently told Empire while also confirming another surprising detail: Namor will be a mutant just like in the comics. This will mark the MCU’s second dive into the mutant world following the season finale of Ms. Marvel which confirmed the young hero is also packing the X-factor gene.

So just to reiterate, Wakanda Forever will honor Boseman’s death, presumably line up a new Black Panther, unleash Namor, and bring more mutants in the MCU? No wonder the movie’s almost three hours long.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11, 2022.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

With his new multimedia project Entergalactic coming out Friday, Kid Cudi stopped by The Tonight Show to talk about the upcoming project, perform one of its songs with Ty Dolla Sign, and share adorable stories about his family with host Jimmy Fallon.

One of those stories involved another of Cudi’s acting roles from earlier this year in the horror film X. Because of the film’s explicit nature — it’s about a film crew being killed off while trying to shoot an X-rated movie at an elderly couple’s farm — Cudi jokes that he asked director Ti West to make a “mommy edit” so he could screen it for his mom. To his surprise, the director came through, asking for his mom’s address so he could send her the cleaned-up version of the film.

Cudi also explained his and his daughter’s made-up language, which consists mainly of “meeps” and other nonsense sounds. Then, he joined Entergalactic co-star Ty Dolla Sign (a lot of Tys/Tis in Cudi’s contact list, eh?) onstage to perform “Willing To Trust” from the musical side of the project.

Watch Kid Cudi’s interview with Jimmy Fallon up top and check out with performance with Ty Dolla Sign below.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Every year, Time unveils its Time100 Next list, which “recognizes 100 rising stars from across industries and around the world.” One of those industries is music and consequently, the newly revealed 2022 edition of the list includes a number of recognizable artists, including SZA, Jack Harlow, Machine Gun Kelly, Rina Sawayama, Finneas, and FKA Twigs.

Each of the artists had a blurb written about them by another famous person. Jimmy Fallon, who will welcome Jack Harlow as co-host of The Tonight Show for an episode in October, wrote of Harlow, “‘What’s Poppin?’ That was the first time I heard Jack Harlow, and I couldn’t have pulled my phone out any faster to Shazam the song. That usually leads to a string of phone calls and emails to see if an artist is ready to perform or debut on The Tonight Show — and word back from his team was, ‘He’s ready.’ It’s been fun to ride with him — rom that race against time on Shazam, to his debut TV performance, to being part of his viral VMA opening, to his actually co-hosting The Tonight Show with me. And this is just the beginning for Jack Harlow.”

Actress Tommy Dorfman also said of Sawayama, “Rina Sawayama is magnificent. She puts in the work and it is paying off in a beautiful, organic way that I deeply admire. When you have the kind of artistic integrity that she has, you can’t fail. Because she’s not competing with anyone — she’s in a league of her own. Her music is so powerful and so danceable. She has such a warm and loving energy, so it’s always great to see her.”

Find the full Time100 Next list here.

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

We are just hours away from new Paramore music. Their first single in five years, called “This Is Why,” is set to drop later today, ahead of their upcoming sixth album, also titled This Is Why, which will arrive in February. Ahead of their new era, the band’s lead vocalist Hayley Williams shared a message to Discord.

In the message, Williams said the time spent at home during the COVID-19 pandemic was necessary in order for her to get in the right headspace to make music again.

“We’re all in our 30s now,” said Williams, “Almost every single time the guys and I are together — and that’s a lot — we find ourselves reminiscing on the last two decades of friendship as if we’re ancient. It may sound silly, but none of us can actually believe that we’re still here and that somehow, people still seem to care. It’s a massive deal… something we don’t take lightly.”

Elsewhere in the note, Williams shared that the band has a busy “next couple of years” planned for their new era.

“I know that I would not be ready to give myself back to the band and the music and the life that I love so much had we not voluntarily given it up for a season,” Williams said.

This Is Why is out 2/10/2023 via Atlantic.

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

Last night at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum, a powerful lineup of musicians showed up to honor the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins in a special tribute concert. (Hawkins passed away in March.) The show spanned several hours, with everyone from Joan Jett, Kesha, Mark Ronson, Alanis Morissette, Miley Cyrus, and more giving special performances in his honor. One of the special guests was none other than actor and Tenacious D musician Jack Black, who gave some touching words on Hawkins as he introduced Rush’s set.

“What an incredible show, what an incredible tribute to a beautiful man,” Black started his speech as the crowd cheered. “I was lucky. I got to see Taylor live in person several times and he always blew doors down. Anyone who saw him live and in person knows what I’m talking about. One of the best times I ever saw him was right here.”

He references attending Foo Fighters’ lead singer Dave Grohl‘s 45th birthday show, before continuing to share a special moment he had with Hawkins.

“Taylor just f*cking tore it apart,” he continued. “I snuck backstage before the show started. I poked my head into Taylor’s dressing room and he was just f*cking practicing as hard as hell. It was a beautiful thing to see, ’cause he was serious, no f*cking around. He really meant it and it was important to him. He didn’t want to do a good show. He wanted to f*cking blow people’s minds. And he did it.”

Black notes that the second time he saw Hawkins at the Kia Forum was when he was in the audience for a Rush show, which led into the band coming out. They played “Working Man” alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, as Rush’s drummer Neil Peart passed away in 2020. Rush also brought out Tool’s Danny Carey for “YYZ.”

Watch Jack Black give a tribute to Taylor Hawkins and introduce Rush above.

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